Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 521
Only Krnovel
EP.521 Episode 521 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (7)
Episode 521 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (7)
– Han Ga-in
According to what the Vatican has discovered through its surveillance of the Cult of Horus, the location of the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ is the repositories within the Korean diocese.
“They are called relics, but as far as I know, they are just works of art. The truly miraculous and mysterious objects are probably stored in the American Archdiocese.”
Mina still seemed skeptical about whether the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ was really a mysterious object.
If there is something truly miraculous, it cannot be found in a Korean church.
Hotel mountain tools cannot be used by NPCs who are not part of the hotel party.
So, the Cult of Horus would have regarded the Realm of Dreams as a valuable painting, like the Mona Lisa or the Sunflowers.
Soon, Mina shared with me several ‘infiltration tools’ provided by the Vatican.
“What is this?”
“Think of it as a kind of disguise mask. Try it on.”
I put on something like a leather mask and stood in front of the mirror, and a completely different person appeared.
Of course, my real identity, ‘Han Ga-in’, was different from my appearance in room 207, ‘Cha Eun-ho’, and I was a man in my 30s.
“Isn’t that great?”
“Don’t trust it too much. It’s easy to see through a powerful chaos entity, and it’ll be destroyed right away if you get shot. It’s just used to fool ordinary people.”
“okay?”
“Now I will explain the infiltration plan -”
“for a moment.”
Finally, I conveyed my request.
“what?”
“Can’t you save it?”
“No… I could save it if I wanted to, but it’s so out of the blue. And I think it’d be a hindrance when I’m trying to infiltrate.”
“I took that part into consideration.”
“… good.”
*
Early dawn, when a round full moon fills the night sky.
This world started out subtly impressed by the fact that the moon existed intact.
The process of infiltrating the building where the relics were stored was not difficult.
As the hotel progressed, I became accustomed to these secret agents and their work, and the Vatican had already found out a lot of information.
‘Six seconds, stop. Five steps to the right. Move forward again.’
As I moved with this feeling, I soon arrived at a quiet space.
The surrounding area was more like an art gallery than a treasure trove, with sculptures and paintings on display here and there.
Perhaps it is a good idea to invite high-ranking officials from all walks of life to hold exhibitions frequently?
— Dalgrak!
As soon as I heard a rustling sound from the bag she was holding, Mina frowned and looked at me.
Just by looking at her expression, I could hear what Minah wanted to say.
‘I knew this would happen from the moment you made that weird request! It’s just a distraction from the infiltration.’
Anyway, I didn’t get caught right away because of ‘this guy’, so I just laughed awkwardly and tried to cover it up.
After putting the bag down in a suitable location, I carefully explored the inside.
Soon after, Mina found the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ hanging on the wall.
I nodded in response to the look that seemed to ask, ‘Is this it?’ and carefully examined the frame.
Should I take it out with the frame intact?
It’s too heavy for that, but I’m afraid it’ll make noise if I break or tear the frame off –
At that moment.
“…!”
I felt a strong stench that felt like it was stinging my nose.
An extremely sensitive sensation that often occurs after climbing to the second floor!
Grandpa Arina diagnosed that it was one of the strengths that emerged as my soul level rose.
The point is that someone – most likely something other than human – is approaching.
There is no way that an approaching entity in this place could be an ally.
After about 3 seconds, Mina’s expression hardened and she put her hands in her bosom.
Are you planning on taking out a gun and having a shootout?
There are many valuable works of art around, so the opponent will probably want to avoid a firefight if possible.
Considering this, it may be possible to escape without bleeding –
“…”
No.
There was a plan prepared in advance for this kind of situation to occur, right?
“Min-ah. Kneel down next to me and wait.”
“…?”
“Just tell me. What’s the point of being quiet?”
There is no need to remain silent when the enemy has already detected the intrusion.
“Eunho, what are you -”
“This won’t work. The frame is too heavy. All I need is the painting. And you, get on your knees?”
— Bam!
As the door to the reliquary opened and armed guards, seemingly ignorant of the 21st century Korean setting, barged in, I acted confidently in front of everyone.
— Clang!
I smashed the picture frame against the wall and it broke.
“These guys!”
The guard at the very front, who was giving off a ‘strange stench’, has a distorted expression, as if he had been ordered to keep the artwork from being damaged.
“No matter how ignorant you are, don’t you know what art is?”
“Put the gun down.”
The voice should be as low and resonant as possible.
An atmosphere that feels like it’s weighing you down for no reason.
“What are you talking about? You crazy bastard!”
Of course, this is not enough.
A hand naturally stretched out into the air, and a grimoire appeared above it.
The guards were surprised by the obvious miracle, but the guard who gave off a beastly stench glared at them.
“They are not ordinary guys! They will do their best to avoid damaging the artwork -”
A pack prepared for this very moment.
The bag that had been quietly placed in a corner of the relic storage room opened and ‘it’ flew out.
— Foodie!
Shiny white fur.
Pure white powder gently sprinkled everywhere.
A beautiful parrot, like a fairy, landed on my shoulder.
An ordinary person would have reacted with something like, ‘A parrot out of the blue?’, but where is this?
It is a secret place of a sect that regards parrots as messengers of God.
That’s why I said it confidently.
“Do you know who I am?”
The guards started to panic.
A few people’s eyes filled with the thought, ‘Really?’
He added a word in a whisper.
“Didn’t the one you serve, the faithful Hong Go-hak, say, ‘The time has come?’”
The old man, Hong Go-hak, was yelling at me, the first time we met, saying that Horus would return soon.
Of course, you must have told this to people around you dozens of times, right?
Perhaps because they found something a little strange, several security guards rolled their eyes and looked at the large, stinking man.
As I had guessed from the beginning, that giant, seemingly inhuman figure seems to be their leader.
If you press that guy, the rest will naturally kneel.
— Gulp… !
A soft noise coming from the beak of a sacred bird.
A parrot looking up at the guard, as if it were a person.
“Why do you still show such an ugly aura?”
Although parrots are known to be able to mimic human speech, have they ever seen a parrot talking like this?
It’s weird.
But it was also divine.
Originally, in this world, evil and mystery are not different, so the strange is the symbol of God.
The giant, who had begun to sweat coldly, answered cautiously.
“I, my name is Park Sung-jin, and I am in charge of security-related work for the Korean Diocese -”
“however?”
“I, I heard there was a thief, I, I received a report -”
“Where is the thief here?”
He straightened his back and displayed a confident attitude in front of the bewildered guards.
The key to this kind of acting is to do everything with confidence.
This time, the parrot and I spoke in turns as if we were having a conversation.
“Everything under heaven is in his hand, and this temple belongs to the Most High.”
“I have come down according to His will.”
“So, Seongjin, is there anywhere here that I can’t go?”
At this point, Park Sung-jin was already on his knees.
Of course, the other guards behind also bowed awkwardly.
“doesn’t exist!”
“Then is there anything here that I cannot get?”
“doesn’t exist!”
Again, he picked up the picture frame and slammed it against the wall.
— Clang!
No one could stop him from proudly taking the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ out of the frame in front of everyone.
“Hmm… .”
When I took out the picture, it was just a fluttering piece of paper, so it was very light.
Now that we’ve set the mood, wouldn’t it be better to act ‘more mysteriously’?
The picture was rolled up and wrapped with a rope, then attached to the parrot’s leg.
“Seongjin, it’s dark. Open the window.”
“When you say window… are you referring to the ventilation shaft over there?”
“Whether it’s a window, a vent, or anything.”
“Oh, I understand.”
Soon, the dream kingdom and the parrot were sent out through the ventilation shaft.
“… Ugh.”
For a moment, I felt dizzy.
Although it was only for a short time, using the power of the incarnation without a status window was still burdensome.
This level of usability was made possible by accepting the ‘second sentence’.
I guess I should start heading back now.
When I made a light gesture, Min-ah, who had this kind of sense, stood up politely.
Now, after leaving the Vatican Vault with confidence and disposing of the Vatican’s special identity mask, the perfect crime will be complete!
Haha, I knew this would happen, so it was a good thing I brought the parrot with me.
It was worth asking you to find the most mysterious and beautiful parrot possible.
That guy, since I named him Newfero, I’m going to need ‘help’ from him more often in the future.
I was thinking of having a fight if things got any worse, but it ended up going in a peaceful direction –
No.
Whenever I say something like, ‘It’s easier than I thought,’ something strange always happens.
So, let’s not think like that.
Let’s stop thinking about not doing it.
Let’s also give up the decision to quit.
Let’s not get hung up on the judgment that we should empty ourselves.
Let’s stop worrying about not being obsessed.
Let’s put down the worry about stopping.
Let’s forget even the thought of putting it down.
To relieve the burden of forgetting –
— Beep!
An unpleasant sensation that cannot be expressed in words.
The endless flow of thoughts that were chasing their own tails stops.
For a moment, I ‘feel’ an old man in the endlessly expanded cognitive realm.
He was the possessor of hideous magical powers.
He was a wizard who could twist the human mind.
He was the head of the Korean diocese, Archbishop Hong Go-hak.
I saw an old man.
The old man looked at me.
The physical distance is still several kilometers, so we cannot see or hear each other.
However, the old man did not doubt the mysterious ‘communication’ that was happening now.
Because he was a man who believed without doubt in the existence of miracles.
In the silent conversation, the priest felt me, and I felt the priest.
I felt the distortion in the faith of the one who was ‘faithful’.
‘You are too late.’
— Phagec!
“… No. It’s not too late.”
“Ugh! What, what did you say?”
When I turned my gaze, I saw Mina covering her ears with both hands.
“My head hurts! What just happened? Look at that, all the guards are down too -”
“Let’s go out for now.”
*
As soon as she returned home, Mina spoke in an excited voice.
“Wow! What, what was it? It can’t be compared to Ji-eun! It was on a whole other level. Is it because it was originally yours? I, I’m just really curious!”
“…”
“Oh, I’m just asking just in case. Isn’t that, like, God or something like that? So-”
“Min-ah. I’m so tired right now, I’ll just rest for a bit.”
“uh?”
My head hurt.
Now I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I spat out the blood that had been in my mouth for a while.
“Eww! What is that blood?”
“…”
Accepting the second sentence has increased my proficiency in the Book of Incarnation, but there is a limit.
Since I used the power of the Avatar a lot this time as well, without any status window protection, there can’t be no backlash.
“… I’ll cut it a little.”
Min-ah asks urgently, her body collapsing in an instant.
“Parrot! Where is the parrot? We have to find the picture!”
“… I don’t know. Look carefully. Since it’s a bird, it might be sitting on a tree or something.”
“what?”
I feel sorry for Mina, but thanks to the war of nerves with Honggohak, I lost control of Newfero.
I would have gone back to being a normal parrot and be squeaking scared somewhere.
If you were unlucky, you might have been bitten to death by a crow or a magpie… .
Well, as long as the picture is okay, that’s fine.
“Please find the picture. I’ll stop now.”
“Hey! Hey! Even just a rough estimate of your location -”
I lost consciousness like this.
*
…
…
…
When I woke up to the cold air, I was the only one around.
Is Minah still looking for Newfero?
“ah.”
There was a ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ on the table.
Luckily, it seems like Mina found it while I was passed out.
“…”
I finally found a way to find my comrades.
Also, there is a way to guess ‘Min-ah’s identity’!
— Flutter!
The kingdom of dreams unfolded.