Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 702
Only Krnovel
EP.702 Episode 702 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of Species’ (36)
Episode 702 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of the Species’ (36)
– Lee Eun-sol
Finally, inside the underground ruins of Gangwon-do.
As I walked a few steps, Ari appeared, frighteningly.
“Eunsol, take out your flute now.”
“…”
“As you know, the inside of the ruins is a dangerous place.”
Somewhere in the underground ruins of Gangwon-do, the King of Iss is sleeping.
Considering the information I’ve found by searching through my father’s memories, it’s possible that the King has been here ever since he first appeared on Earth.
“I don’t remember, but when Songi and I came here, we heard the prisoner’s voice.”
“okay.”
He hurried his steps, blowing wind on the flute of peace.
Ari walked ahead of me, guiding me. It seemed like she had been memorizing the layout of the ruins for hours before I arrived.
When I think about it, it’s strange.
How did Ari get around the catacombs without my help?
Isn’t it true that the power of old blood alone can’t handle the voice of a mother?
At that time, Ari calmly answered a question that wasn’t even asked.
“I inspected the ruins with the Duke earlier. That’s why I was safe even without the protection of the flute.”
Rather than feeling happy that my doubts were resolved, I felt bewilderment first.
Is this guy some kind of poisoner?
How do you know when I never asked the question, but just wondered in my mind?
It’s as if you’ve thought about what questions I might have and prepared answers to them in advance.
+… +
At that moment, a faint voice was heard.
“Ugh!”
Without realizing it, I blew a stronger wind into the flute of peace.
Of course, the power of the flute to ward off evil has nothing to do with how hard I blow it.
“What? Did you hear something?”
“You can still hear it! Can’t you hear a faint noise?”
“Not at all. It seems like he only talks to you.”
Because of the flute’s function, I couldn’t recognize my mother’s voice.
The King of Is is truly a great being, but the Flute of Rest is also the work of a great being.
Even if she were a mother, it seemed that she couldn’t break through the flute with just her voice.
At that moment, reality began to twist inexorably.
The lights disappeared in an instant.
A twisted underground corridor like the stomach of a beast.
The door turns into a beast’s mouth, and the ventilator writhes like a living creature.
A disembodied hand, a creepy gaze, a pale heart
It was only when an overwhelming presence took over the area that I finally realized.
The peacock appeared.
He whispered as he appeared.
‘Nice to meet you, Princess.’
I was a little embarrassed.
If I remember correctly, it was the second time, not the first.
“Is this your first time?”
Ari immediately intervened and explained the situation.
“This is a different peacock from the one before.”
It was only then that I realized that the ploy my colleagues had brought in was not just one entity.
“How many peacocks are there?”
“three.”
“Isn’t that too much?”
Meanwhile, the peacock, dressed in a grotesque form that resembled a writhing entrail, whispered:
‘Almost done. Follow me.’
“…”
I thought as I walked under the guidance of the twisted figure that I never wanted to see again.
Is it possible for colleagues to control not just one peacock, but multiple entities?
*
Soon, under the guidance of the Duke, they arrived at a place full of mysterious instrument panels.
So many wires that there is nowhere to step, glass tubes of unknown identity, and gray machines that constantly make strange noises.
Judging from the atmosphere, it seemed more like a cutting-edge science research lab than an evil magic ritual.
Perhaps, in the higher realms, the line between magic and science is meaningless.
There wasn’t anything I had to do actively.
All I did was offer a few drops of blood and a bit of flesh – it stung a little – as instructed by the Duke, and stand in the position the Duke instructed and bask in the strange light.
— Dididick!
When I glanced to the side while hearing the loud noise, it seemed that Ari also did not understand the peacock’s work.
I’m getting more and more anxious.
In Room 301, the direct destruction of humanity is the Grace Ceremony.
Therefore, in order to prevent the end, the grace ritual must be permanently stopped.
But, look at the way it turns out.
The most important task of stopping the grace ceremony was left to the dukes without any intervention from the colleagues.
To leave the most important work to the wrong people…!
Guys, is this a normal solution?
How can you trust the peacock?
They are guys we have no way of controlling!
When I was gripped by extreme anxiety and contemplating a desperate possibility – for a split second, it felt like the whole world had stopped.
+ Poor child… +
“Ahh!”
The vibration of the machines, the cold sweat running down the cheeks, the floating dust – all of it a distant apparition appearing in a realm of stillness where everything has stopped.
As soon as I saw the King of Ys, I felt a sense of despair as if all the anxiety I had felt up until then was exploding!
I tried to back away frantically, but my body stopped moving the way I wanted it to.
+ You’ve been ignoring everything I’ve said since earlier. It’s because of that little flute. +
“Huh… Huh…”
+ You don’t look well, are you okay? +
A voice of mockery disguised as concern.
Could it be because I had been using the flute of peace until just now?
I felt two figures hidden beyond the king’s welcome at the same time.
The first form was an agent who first took over the body of the King of Iss when he descended to Earth long ago.
The second figure is, alas! a nebula shining like a star.
The king was a living whirlpool, a wave of power surging ever upward.
At that moment, a calm voice was heard from the king’s mouth.
+ You’ve attracted some great kids. What a mysterious talent. How on earth did you do it? +
“Ugh…!”
+ Indeed, as expected of an apostle who cries for the three thousand worlds, he is very talented. +
“Ugh, ugh!”
+ Oh, so, is stopping the grace your goal? And you brought in some high-ranking kids to do it? +
It’s as if he’s figured out the entire plan in just a few seconds.
+ It’s an intuitive and reasonable approach, but it has a fatal flaw. +
When the words ‘fatal loophole’ came out of the king’s mouth, I realized what my mother was referring to.
+ Did you think my children would cooperate with you so obediently? +
Ah…! No further explanation was needed.
In the first place, it was a problem I felt without even having to hear an explanation from the king.
Let’s call the peacocks that the labyrinth in the sky contained in the time zone A, and the peacocks that were additionally brought in in the third round B and C.
A is somewhat trustworthy.
Because he is a duke who remembers what happened in heaven.
He saw and remembers the sight of the king doing incomprehensible things in heaven and leading everyone to destruction.
But what about B and C?
The other two dukes don’t remember the heavenly events! They just joined after hearing A’s explanation!
— Gooooo…!
The distant, loud noise is heard again.
An unimaginable magical power that makes the awe-inspiring feeling from the peacock just a moment ago seem like child’s play.
I realized this as I felt my mother’s power.
We quickly proceeded to Room 301 to avoid the trap set by the king.
If we change our perspective, doesn’t the statement that things were done in a rushed manner mean that they were done without caution?
Another trap has been set.
In other words, the dukes woke the king up!
+ The time has come. +
I feel my consciousness fading.
*
– ???
.
..
…
+ It is the moment to see the fruits of a long-prepared undertaking. +
I opened my eyes to a voice full of emotion.
The figure before my eyes is a being that some call the ‘King of Is’.
However, it was also an entity that was quickly becoming an empty shell.
Because the power that the king held is being transferred to me.
Soon more than 90% of the power will be transferred to me.
“Heeeee…!”
A girl lying on the floor, panting.
If ‘my memory’ is correct, that individual is also a hotel participant and her name is Kim Ari.
Even if I left it alone, it felt like it was going to die soon, but the groans were unpleasant.
— Kwajik!
+ Haa… ! +
At every moment, a wave of power beyond common sense surges toward me.
The weight of a bird just hatched from an egg seemed to double every second.
At some point, the five senses that had been confined to a narrow mortal form began to perceive a vast realm simultaneously.
Thanks to that, I also realized a slightly unpleasant fact.
“This is your choice.”
‘Your Majesty… please forgive my rudeness.’
Poor dukes apologizing while lying flat on the floor.
A little while ago, ‘I’ said to Eunsol.
Do you think my children will cooperate with you so obediently? If so, aren’t you too naive?
That was right.
It is impossible for the peacocks who have served me for at least hundreds of thousands of years to be swayed by a few words from a participant.
Even if I had used my heritage, the exceptional children I had painstakingly created in the past would have been able to resist.
However, the dukes did not follow my will entirely.
The dukes are also aware of the terrifying truth brought to light by the participants.
The fact that a huge number of the Yith race have already come to Earth in search of the King, and that the scope of the Grace is the entire Earth.
Therefore, if the Grace ritual is carried out to the end, there is a possibility that a huge number of the Yith race will be annihilated.
Unfortunately, this was not an unfounded fear.
The Dukes may not remember, but it has actually happened several times in past episodes.
So, instead of destroying the Grace ritual, the Dukes narrowed the scope to within a small city.
In short, the intention of the dukes is this.
1. I will not go against the king’s will. Do what he wants to accomplish through his grace to the end.
2. However, as a protector of the race, I cannot stand by and watch millions of Is being annihilated. I will narrow the scope of my grace.
“Is this some kind of compromise you guys made?”
‘Your Majesty…’
“Haha! As expected, now that your hair has grown thicker, you don’t do as your parents say.”
‘It is you who gave us the mission to protect our species.’
“Yeah, yeah. That’s true.”
This was the first and last time I had this thought.
‘This time’ let’s respect the children’s wishes. I can fill in the gaps with my own strength.
Isn’t it admirable that he found a slim possibility of protecting his people without going against the king’s will?
But, there is no second time.
*
—Whoosh!
It became a bolt of lightning and headed towards the sky.
Up, up, higher, into the infinitely higher realms!
In less than a second, the solar system had disappeared without a trace, passing through a reddish nebula toward the distant star system.
…
A huge wall appears at the end of an endless climb.
Some people call it a ‘curtain’ or a ‘fishbowl’.
Even the greatest of men cannot overcome the veil by their own strength.
It is a wall that can only be overcome by the will of one who cries for the three thousand worlds.
I have obtained the body that holds that meaning!
—Whoosh!
When I crossed over a realm that had been insurmountable for eons, an indescribable, distant joy filled me.
If the emotions of a great man were like those of a mortal, it would not be strange if tears poured from his eyes like rain.
At that very moment.
The harsh truth that was hidden behind a curtain by the one who cried for the three thousand worlds has been revealed.
“…”
I feel countless gazes.
The current me was something that mortals could not even dare to face, but it was a good thing for the owners of the gaze.
Some people call them Mara Papiyas.
Some people call them Angra Mainyu.
Some call them Jormungand.
It is said that those who cry for the three thousand worlds use more intuitive expressions.
Unbidden liberation: An entity that prevents sentient beings from being liberated.
The reason why ancient humans built an ark and escaped.
The reason why I came to long for the salvation of children.
Perhaps, this is why Buddha devoted himself to creating heaven.
“…”
On the one hand, I also thought this.
Just as peacocks grow thick-headed and do not follow my words obediently, I too may have developed my own thoughts separate from the Buddha’s will.
If there is a beginning, there is an end.
If there is a Big Bang, there is a Big Freeze.
Considering the laws of the universe that endlessly cycle, their emergence is inevitable.
Therefore, Buddha may be the one who goes against the natural order, and heaven may be the one who goes against the natural order.
…
The moment that seemed like an eternity ended.
Even the moment I set foot on the celestial realm, those who blocked my liberation did not hinder me.
It didn’t seem like their time yet.
— Kwarrung!
*
– Han Ga-in
.
..
…
The grace ceremony has been completed.
The King of Iss will arrive at the hotel within a few seconds.
Unlike before, the hotel is no longer displaying a ‘Resolution Failed’ notification.
“…”