Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 559
Only Krnovel
EP.559 Episode 559 – The Secret of the Esper 2 (4)
Episode 559 – The Secret of the Esper 2 (4)
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: 27th day
Current location: Esper Lake
Wise Man’s Advice: 1”
– Han Ga-in
After securing the entity wearing the ‘Crown of Thorns’, the situation on the Esper began to stabilize quickly.
This is because the efficiency level is different between me fighting and subduing them one by one and the ‘self-proclaimed Jesus’ calling them out with a single word, making them docile, and then taking off their masks.
Of course, no matter how quickly they acted, there were casualties.
There have already been quite a few masks that have committed acts so cruel that it is difficult to even speak of them.
The Hotel Delight incident was able to be passed over as there were no direct casualties, but the Esper incident cannot be like that.
Once a ship arrives at port, wouldn’t various organizations, such as the police or the management, get involved?
“…”
Let’s think about it later.
More than that, there is something else that I have been concerned about for a while now.
“You are all sinners. In the first world, before everything began! Humanity committed an unforgivable sin!”
The sermons are getting stranger and stranger.
Perhaps because of that, the reactions of the people sitting in the theater also changed ominously.
Bloodshot eyes, trembling body attitude.
This applies not only to ordinary people who are not wearing masks, but also to those who are still wearing masks and have become half-chaotic.
None of them can resist the power of the Crown of Thorns entity.
I took advantage of the gap and walked around and took off the mask.
“What should I do? What should I do, my child?”
The child who was asked the question answered with his eyes wide open.
“Uh, uh… Well, since I did something wrong, shouldn’t I apologize?”
A childish answer.
“Ha! Apology? That is not enough! How can you say that you have atoned to that extent? Christ said, “Repent, sinner, sinner of all ages! Repent. Confess your sins and atone for them.”
“I repent and atone for my sins.”
“Right? Everyone must repent, right? You can’t just say it, right? What should we do?”
People who are slowly panting.
I was starting to think I knew what that ‘atonement’ was.
I took off most of the masks and got up, thinking that I should start subduing the cult leader.
— Bam!
“Oh? Student, are you a student? Student, have you also received a revelation from the Great One?”
Is that how you interpreted the power of the divine sun that I showed you a little while ago?
I guess it’s okay.
“Pastor, so what should I do to repent?”
A mouth that opens sideways as if it were going to tear apart.
A bizarre, twisted laugh.
“The life of a sinner is so ugly. I must offer it all up – kekeke!”
I knew it instinctively.
The fact that the sentence ends in trouble!
He immediately took out the Book of Incarnation and attempted to subdue the cult leader.
At the moment when the screen seemed to freeze, the power of the grimoire touched the body of the insane cult leader.
I realized it the moment I made contact.
Can be subdued.
It can take away control of the body.
But I also knew that any further contact could be dangerous!
— Phagec!
“Ugh! What the hell is this? Father -”
No need to listen.
This fool is just an ordinary human being who happens to wear a crown of thorns.
It is merely a host that can be subdued at will.
But, what on earth is that ‘crown of thorns’ that guy is wearing… .
“…”
Take a risk and try to subdue them with a magic book?
Or maybe use a little more of the power of the sacred sun?
At that moment of hesitation, I realized that Elena had appeared behind me.
At the same time, I found an easy way to solve this situation.
“Eww!”
He screamed and panted as if in pain.
If anyone saw me, it would look like an evil demon was trying to tear me apart in one go!
He got down on one knee and bit his lip until it bled.
Then the expected reaction appeared.
— Jiiing!
A strong, tingling sound that makes your skin tingle.
Elena, discovered on a day of crisis, manifested the blessing of justice!
— Kwajik!
One shot was enough to end the situation.
The moment the golden wave struck the cult leader, only a single stream of blood remained.
*
“Mr. Cain.”
“yes?”
“Just now, was that an act?”
“…”
“Even if you borrowed the power of justice, it doesn’t make sense that Ga-in screamed when she was an enemy who could die with just one hit.”
I honestly nodded, not wanting to be deceived by something like this.
Fortunately, Elena didn’t get angry or anything for this reason.
“Oh my, oh my! What should I do…? I ended up killing him. He was a pretty famous SNS star.”
SNS star? It seems to be referring to the host who wore a crown of thorns.
“Whew… I guess I can’t just ignore it. Since so many people have died, I think the management office will come.”
If you think about it, the man Elena just made into a blood cake is nothing more than a victim controlled by the ‘Crown of Thorns’.
Elena must have known that too, but she didn’t feel any guilt at all.
I’m just worried about the aftermath that will come.
“…”
This is a new story.
Without going all the way to Elena, I felt like it was a headache for me, so I used Elena’s power without hesitation.
More than that, something was visible in the host’s body that had become a lump of meat.
“Eww! What are you doing?”
“This is fine.”
Crown of thorns.
A tool that can bewitch people and even chaos beings.
“…”
For a moment, I felt quite tempted.
In the present age when the use of the sacred sun is refrained from, the crown of thorns may serve as a sort of substitute.
“Did Elena prepare this?”
“No. In the first place, it’s hard to even consider something like this a mask. Besides, wearing a crown of thorns and imitating Jesus is a very delicate matter…”
Unlike the other masks, the Crown of Thorns was not prepared by Elena.
Something prepared by an unknown person.
therefore….
Only the ‘crown of thorns’ is real.
The rest of the mask is just a temporary phenomenon created by the crown of thorns.
“Mr. Gain, are you writing this?”
“… I’m thinking about it.”
The cult leader who was killed by Elena never felt like a ‘SNS star’ until the moment of his death.
He had lost most of his self due to the crown of thorns.
Could I endure it?
“…”
The ominous intuition I felt when I made contact with the crown of thorns at the moment when the two incarnations were about to subdue each other.
This thing is much more dangerous than it looks.
There are no second chances in reality, so you should avoid making hasty decisions.
Even if there is a 1% chance that I will not be able to control this crown of thorns, it is extremely foolish to try it without any countermeasures.
Wouldn’t it be better to join Eunsol and prepare the flute before trying it out?
Let’s think about it a little more.
“Elena, the confusion seems to have subsided somewhat. Now, let’s get the sailors to-”
“We were already gathering the staff and checking.”
After I stopped Elena, she said she put all the masks in storage.
However, while we were discussing amongst ourselves, a number of passengers and crew members started running wild while wearing masks.
If the mask didn’t fly away on its own, it means someone distributed it.
There is a high probability that the culprit is a cruise ship crew member or employee.
“Let’s go. Let’s find the culprit and hear his purpose.”
The moment I put the mask back in my pocket, I heard an incomprehensible voice.
‘Remember original sin.’
“Original sin?”
“yes?”
“no.”
*
Writhing snakes crawl across the ceiling, and the carpets on the floor flap like living creatures, catching employees’ ankles.
Add to this the sudden addition of a blood-curdling wall, and you have a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Naturally, the sailors were so terrified that they couldn’t even breathe deeply.
A situation where Elena pressures the sailors with ominous imaginations.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t try to fool me so easily.”
“Sir, I really don’t know!”
“Hmm… .”
I interrogated her for over 30 minutes, even using Elena’s lie detection skills.
As a result, it was discovered that the staff had been instructed by ‘someone’ to scatter the masks around the guest rooms.
The problem is, I don’t know who that ‘someone’ is.
“I really don’t know! Someone gave me instructions, so I thought I should follow them…”
I followed the instructions, thinking that I should naturally follow them, but I actually didn’t know who gave the orders.
Elena looked at me with a look of wonder.
“…”
One way is to leave the follow-up work to the management office.
The management office would be better at handling these issues than we are, and we can just contact Ari later to find out the truth about what happened on the ship.
“Everyone, please listen to me for a moment.”
*
“Around lunchtime? I remember it was around that time. At that time, as I was walking down the passage below deck-”
“Don’t stop, and try to do the same movements you did back then. As much as you can remember.”
“Oh, I understand.”
A strange fact I realized after returning to reality.
The blessing has weakened.
This story includes not only me, but all of my colleagues.
At first glance, it seems like a measure taken to maintain the hotel’s unique balance, but it’s actually a strange story.
Why should a hotel care about the balance of reality outside the hotel?
The owl’s answer to this also has some subtle aspects.
I think there is a more fundamental reason for the weakening of blessings than balance adjustments… .
Anyway, I’m adjusting to the weakened blessing.
“Is it okay?”
“John, you’re good to go. Next up, David? You said you sent the wolf mask to the fifth-floor room, right?”
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know it was a weird mask -”
“There’s no need to apologize, just try to recreate what you did back then as best as you can remember.”
It is not easy to obtain ‘insight’ information by just skimming through it like before.
As of now, I have to either reproduce it or find out for myself.
If you do that –
“…!”
It is visible.
I see it!
“Cain Oh -”
“Song-iya, be quiet. Can you see it now?”
A blurry image, like a black and white photograph.
Walking down the hallway with a mask on –
This is not it.
A situation where one looks to the past rather than future possibilities as before.
We need to look further ahead.
Who gave you the mask and who gave you the instructions!
“…”
An image that changes as if in reverse.
It’s a conference room.
Four? Five employees faced someone.
It’s blurry.
Why? Because the employees lost their memories?
A little more, a little more –
“…?”
Am I mistaken?
I think we made eye contact a little while ago.
He’s not as big as Jincheol, but he’s a fairly large man.
The facial features are unrecognizable.
The lips move slowly.
Slowly, as if to show it to someone in the future.
‘Shouldn’t we check our colleagues’ locations?’
“…”
It’s not an illusion.
An unidentified man discovered by Insight.
The man spoke to his ‘future self’!
“Brother, brother! Do you see something?”
“Colleague location information (*)
Eunsol Lee: Searching…