Escaping the Mystery Hotel

『Translator: RainTL』

༺ What Ahri went through (2) ༻

“Ox!”

This was getting exhausting. And it seemed that mom did not know about the basic etiquette of shiritori.

Should I scold her and tell her that she can’t start off with a word like that?

…

Fifth Attempt. The horrifying alarms that popped up at the start of the attempt.

[The Enemy is aware of the contestants.]

[The power of the curse has been enhanced.]

Seeing that gave me goosebumps, which definitely wasn’t common. I prepared myself in case my mom pounced at me from the get go.

…But nothing happened.

What was it?

There’s no way that notice wouldn’t have meant anything. It didn’t feel like Kim Sangmin was trying to do anything to me, and the power of the curse didn’t feel stronger either.

Was it because I was in the Hotel, which was cut off from the external world?

But in that case, how did mom get infected by the curse in the first place?

It was way too confusing. Blankly, I waited there hoping for the place to crumble down along with the message that we resolved the curse.

Good luck everyone~!

“Ox! Hurry up!”

Whatever. It was about time we made our way to the TV Station anyway, so let’s just ignore her.

She would probably break the door and come in and I would be at the TV Station by the time I came to myself, right?

.

.

.

Time went by.

Mom didn’t try to break through the door, nor did I get any alarms about the resolution of the curse.

That was strange. My mom had never been such a patient person.

In order to see what she was trying to do, I opened the door and walked outside. Leaving Room 103, I followed down the corridor all the way to the main entrance of the Hotel where I finally found her.

This was definitely strange.

My mom was definitely not someone who would quietly stand there watching the scenery.

…

That was when I suddenly recalled all the doubts that had been budding in my mind ever since I entered Room 101.

‘How was mom infected by the curse inside the Hotel, which had no way to communicate with the outside?’

‘There were all sorts of penalties in place after the Fifth Attempt began, so why was nothing happening to me?’

Added to that was the strange actions of my mom standing in the distance.

As if struck by a lightning bolt, my mind flashed with understanding. An answer that could provide the answer to all my doubts popped up in my mind.

“Who in the world are you?!”

“What a disappointment.”

“What?”

“Is this not your second time at the Hotel? I cannot believe you were this late to pick it up.”

“…”

“First time I can understand because you did not know what the medium of the curse was, but it is very disappointing that you were still fooled despite knowing that the media was the medium of the curse. What sort of media is there that is connected to the Hotel? Is it not obvious that another existence must have been the cause of the curse?”

“…”

“But that is besides the point. More importantly, this view is quite mysterious. Is this the very depths of the ocean? I see some interesting fish here and there.”

“Show yourself!”

“Fine. I was dying of boredom waiting behind the childish persona of your mother.”

Immediately, mom’s body started to separate ‘vertically’.

Despite knowing that it wasn’t my real mom, I was filled with fury the moment I saw that atrocious thing happen before my eyes.

What appeared after cutting through mom’s body was a tall man.

He looked like he was around his 40s or 50s. He was skinny and was wearing glasses.

His physical appearance, however, did not mean anything. If my assumptions were correct, that being was not even human in the first place.

“So you’re the ‘Convict’ of this room.”

“Convict? Is that what the Administration calls us? Well, I suppose you are not wrong. This place is indeed my prison.”

“Were you the one who gave power to Kim Sangmin? ‘Sir’?”

“He was a pitiful boy. For no reason, he was bullied severely by his peers and even became mentally ill as a result. After that, precisely because of that mental illness, his case was publicized negatively to the public by a reporter. Pitiful, is he not? He had the right to make the world pay for what they did to him.

“Did you seriously feel sympathetic for him?”

“Of course not. But it was quite interesting. A single piece of stone was able to make the world that interesting! You guys from the Administration should be thanking me for that.”

“So, why did you show yourself here? My teammates went to kill Kim Sangmin already. The curse should be resolved very soon and everything inside Room 101 is going to crumble down to nothing. Are you here to enjoy a little tea time before that happens?”

…

The prisoner gazed around the Hotel with an emotional look in his eyes.

“How mysterious. Do you understand just how mysterious this Hotel is?”

“…”

“Of course not. A puppy that follows its owner into a building has no idea how that building was the result of high-end architectural knowledge and experience. Likewise, you have not a single clue on how transcendently magnificent this Hotel is as a piece of art.”

“Are you here to show off and brag?”

“Brag? Why would I need to? I am already infinitely mightier than yourself.”

“…”

“Isn’t this truly mysterious? Everything in creation around us is technically just a part of Room 101. However, when you entered the room, another Hotel was created within Room 101. Another Hotel was formed inside the original Hotel. Is it possible to ‘proceed’ through this ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’? You didn’t even think about entering the other rooms apart from the ‘Room of Rest’, which is extremely timid of you. Let me tell you something marvelous. This ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’ has recreated everything, including the Cursed Rooms and the Gate Room.”

“That is interesting.”

“I can only lament at the fact that your mind is so shoddy that you only consider this outrageous miracle as ‘interesting’. Let me put this in ‘human words’ so that you can understand. Do you know what a black hole is? A black hole is created through a supernova explosion when a star that is several times bigger than the Sun comes to an end. The gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape it.”

“Are you trying to teach me Physics now?”

“The fact that even light cannot leave it despite being the fastest in the universe, means that the black hole is completely cut off from the outside. Looking at it from that perspective, you can say there could be another world inside the black hole – another universe inside it. Similarly, even your universe might just be the interior of an enormous black hole. Doesn’t that resemble this ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’?”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to get at.”

“Think about it with that dull head of yours. What would happen if you were to ‘proceed’ through this ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’? Would you be able to carry out the Inheritance?”

“Maybe, but I can’t do it by myself.”

“That would be the case for you, but what if ‘I’ were to do it? What if I destroyed this Hotel? What if I freed everyone that was imprisoned in this place?

From your perspective, this is still inside Room 101. Each of the rooms are, as you said yourself, a prison cell that restrains a single ‘Convict’. So, would the cell be able to last against multiple Convicts at once?”

!

“My teammates will resolve this room before you can do any of that crap. All that’s left for you is to be forever imprisoned in this crumbling dimension.”

“Can’t believe you were such an affectionate believer of teamwork. That is quite different from the memory inside the body I borrowed. I can leave and come back to this place at my will. The depths of the ocean might be a tough environment for humans, but even now, I can leave and ensure your teammates cannot do anything.”

“Do you think you can bluff in front of me? If devilish Convicts like you were able to go on a rampage inside the rooms, we wouldn’t be able to solve any of them. You must be already pushing yourself quite hard to show up here, aren’t you? And besides, I’m sure it’s only possible because we’re at the Fifth Attempt with some regulations gone. Am I wrong?”

Did that hit the mark?

Looking at him leisurely gazing across the surroundings, it didn’t seem like I was able to make him speechless with my words or anything.

More than that… It seemed like he was ‘bored’ by this conversation.

“I suppose your brain is not that slow even though you only left the previous Hotel by sheer luck. As you said, this little prank of mine is only possible because this is your Fifth Attempt. Actually, I have no plans on interrupting with your team. In fact, I’m hoping they clear this as ‘quickly’ as possible. I have already dealt with the hospital – the nurses won’t be overly aggressive and Sangmin was making some dolls so I broke them except for one. As for the one that I left behind, you have to understand – it’s only exciting when there’s an enemy involved after all. Right now, the bulky one from your teammates is fighting with the doll, so it should be over soon.”

What did he mean?

The Head Director said that as if he was helping us like the Devouring One.

“You look confused. The looks of confusion on human faces are quite an interesting sight. I’m pretty nice so don’t worry – in fact, the plan is almost complete so there’s no reason not to explain it for you. If you ‘resolve’ the room, the entire world inside the room will start to crumble, as well as this ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’.

Naturally, in that process, the Convicts will crumble to nothing as well. However, since I am free compared to them, I am going to help them endure through the collapse. It will be for a short moment but dozens of ‘Convicts’ like me will manage to regain their freedom! When that happens, do you think Room 101 will be able to last?”

I see.

If my teammates resolved the room, the dimension inside the room would crumble down. His plan was to aim for that exact moment and try to destroy Room 101 along with the help of dozens of other Convicts.

Would it be possible for them to escape like that?

I had no idea. It was way too beyond my comprehension that I couldn’t be certain of anything.

However, there was one thing I could say for sure.

If dozens of ‘Convicts’ that were inside the ‘Hotel inside the Hotel’ were to break free, how long would it take for Earth to be destroyed? 10 minutes?

— GUSHH!

The sound of an enormous flood echoed across. It was an external noise breaking through the supposedly unbreachable walls of the Hotel.

It appeared that my teammates had done it.

Everything started to crumble.

The Hotel inside the Hotel was starting to collapse…

The Head Director of the Hospital, who had been waiting for this moment, slowly turned his gaze to the sky.

An inexplicable radiance started to exude out of his body.

Were there five colors? Or maybe seven? With my knowledge and senses, it was impossible to express the radiant light in front of me.

Along with the otherworldly halo behind him, the director reached his arms to the side. Immediately, dozens of arms started to shoot out of his body as they each flew to all the rooms of the Hotel.

— Kugung!

The doors of the Hotel started to melt.

— GOOHHHH!

— RAHHHHH!

— KKAAAAAKKK!

Deafening roars reverberated across the Hotel. Their roars echoed through the walls of the crumbling Hotel and reached all the way outside.

I was simply baffled by the supernatural scene before my eyes.

What was I supposed to do? Would me attacking him change anything?

Do humans stop construction because of an ant? Would they even care about it?

The Hotel came crumbling down and so did each of the rooms.

Blankly, I watched as countless Convicts retained their form in the radiant, dazzling hands of the Head Director.

Each and every one of them were evil and wicked gods that considered mortals as insects.

The mighty presence of the evil gods shook heaven and the earth.

It was then.

Down came from the peak of the high heavens, a ‘pillar’.

***

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