Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 271: Room ???, Cursed Room - ???? (9)

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- Han Kain

Puldyuhyung: Jjwerongrang Ryung!

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”

“Ah, damn it! I keep slipping into the Chat Window—ROLL TO THE SIDE!”

-  Shiiing! BOOM!

There was no time to think—no time to even breathe.

I just rolled and rolled, again and again!

And just when I thought I’d escaped, I felt another shell hurtling toward me at the exact spot I had landed—

- BOOM!

A moth came soaring from somewhere and quite literally blocked the shell with its own body. It couldn’t fully absorb the impact of the explosion, so my body was sent flying once more.

But at least it was better than taking that blast head-on!

While everyone was frantically dodging the shells raining down from all directions, Elena hovered in midair, nonchalantly sacrificed hundreds of moths as cannon fodder.

She stared into the distance, muttering something incomprehensible.

At that moment, the robot that had been relentlessly firing at us suddenly malfunctioned, as if something had jammed its ammunition.

The next instant, a massive explosion erupted from within its body, and it collapsed in an instant.

“Run! Run!”

We ran.

We ran like we had never run in our lives!

***As we resumed our climb through the mountain range, every moment became a life-or-death struggle.

Even though we had the tribespeople divert the robots and chose routes with the least enemy presence to force our way through, there were still far too many of them.

Once we crossed the “boundary” and made our way deep into the mountain range, the robots no longer fired warning shots.

Instead, they simply unleashed relentless bombardments upon us.

If not for the hundreds of moths throwing themselves into the line of fire like disposable lives, would we have even stood a chance at pushing forward?

I knew I shouldn’t be thinking like this, but for a brief moment, I regretted not turning some of the tribespeople into moths. Wouldn’t that have made breaking through even easier?

At some point, there were barely any of us left unscathed.

Grandpa’s left arm had vanished somewhere along the way, yet no one even thought to ask where it had gone.

Seungyub had lost a hand, reduced to dust, though fortunately, since his body was no longer organic, he didn’t seem to be in much pain.

As for me, I hadn’t been able to hear anything from my right ear for the past ten minutes.

...

After all this suffering, what awaits us at the summit of this mountain?

At this point, even if I died, I just wanted to see what was beyond it before I went.

Eventually, even the robots seemed to be running out of resources, as they stopped appearing.

As we finally caught our breath and gathered together, we had to confront a disturbing realization.

“W-where are we? W-what’s going on? This is the Cursed Room, right?”

Elena had suddenly come back to her senses.

And honestly... her regaining her sanity made me feel even more uneasy.

Why had she lost her mind in the first place?

It was the result of Ominous Imagination.

Her ability itself generated madness, so it was inevitable that she would be consumed by it.

So why is she suddenly regaining clarity now?

Is it because she has nearly depleted all of her power?

Even the moths she had created with her ability had nearly disappeared.

With not even a single drop left in the Ominous Imagination vessel, the very source of her madness had faded away.

“Yes, this is the Cursed Room. Questions later.”

“Ugh! What is this thing on my back?!”

“Later. Later.”

- Fwoosh!

A soft, fuzzy moth rubbed its antennae against Elena, making her face contort as if she were about to cry.

Seeing that sight, I couldn’t help but speak.

“Elena, be a little kinder to it. I’m not joking—it gave its life to get us this far.”

I meant it.

Before we entered the mountains, the moths had seemed like grotesque monstrosities.

But now, this last remaining one... looked just like a loyal puppy, lovingly clinging to its master.

***Exhaustion weighed down on me—both physically and mentally, my body felt sluggish and unresponsive.

How many hours have passed since we began climbing this hellish mountain range?

At least three hours, if not more.

Shouldn’t something appear by now?

It was then that the doctor reacted.

“That... isn’t that a ‘gate’?”

Just as he said, a massive structure that resembled a gate stood towering between the trees.

Forcing our exhausted bodies forward, we dragged ourselves toward it—when suddenly, the wind shifted.

The clouds that had blocked even the dim remnants of the setting sun in the western sky slowly drifted aside.

The final rays of twilight poured through, illuminating the space beyond the structure.

At the heart of the mountain range, hidden from external view, lay a colossal basin.

For a moment, realization struck.

Right now, we were witnessing everything—the entirety of this stage, this trial.

The great glory of humanity, which had once triumphed over nature.

The decay of that glory, swallowed by time and overgrown with weeds.

The prosperity that must have once illuminated the world.

And the utter ruin so complete that even the traces of that prosperity had all but disappeared.

Everyone stopped walking, staring blankly at the remnants of civilization.

What happened to this world?

“...Let’s go in. We need to find out what happened here.”

Feeling a strange, almost reverent weight in my chest, I took my first step into the basin.

The stone-skinned boy, now missing a hand, couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“What kind of building is this? I can see what looks like a sign.”

Surprisingly, even the doctor couldn’t suppress his academic curiosity.

“Judging by the remnants of the illustrations, I’d say it was a cultural facility of some sort. Of course, given the passage of time, there’s a high chance its appearance has changed significantly.”

“D-Doctor, you can just talk normally, you know.”

“Haha! Seungyub, I am speaking normally.”

“Sanghyun-hyung, what’s this? A car?”

“Hmm... It’s hard to tell with just the frame left. But it does seem that this civilization advanced in a slightly different direction from the 21st-century Earth we know.”

As we wandered through the ruins of the collapsed city, taking in the remnants of the past, Grandpa muttered uneasily, “Where did the people who built all of this go?”

Jinchul-hyung let out a wry chuckle.

“Considering this place is the Hotel, and this is a Cursed Room, a scenario practically writes itself, doesn’t it?”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Some kind of demon awakened and wiped out civilization. They managed to seal it away through some means, but their descendants fled from the once-thriving city. Over time, they lived outside and civilization regressed back to the Stone Age?”

“Sounds plausible... but there’s something strange about it.”

“What is it?”

“There’s not a single trace of civilization outside the mountain range, so why is it only here? Are we supposed to believe that an advanced civilization capable of building all this just huddled together in this one mountain range?”

“...That’s a good point.”

Now that he mentioned it, it was odd.

If they had the ability to build a city like this, they should have lived across the entire world, leaving traces of their civilization everywhere.

Even if they had somehow collapsed, there should have been remnants scattered beyond the mountains.

The more I thought about it, the more my head ached.

We had undoubtedly arrived at a place filled with hidden answers, yet we still knew so little.

And then—

“Huh?”

“Seungyub?”

“Isn’t there... someone over there?”

Across the road, something in the shape of a human stood watching us.

Perhaps because she had only recently regained her senses, Elena, who had been oddly lacking tension, reacted with delight.

“Ahri! That’s Ahri, isn’t it? Maybe she reached the mountains through another route!”

Elena beamed, taking a few steps forward and waving her arms.

That was when we heard it.

“The day of judgment approaches. The Final Flash shall cleanse all. I am now death, the destroyer of worlds.”

A streak of blinding light slashed across the road.

The golden-haired girl, once so radiant...

...vanished without a trace, reduced to ash in an instant.

***『Hostile Entity: Elena Ivanova』

『Possesses “Ominous Imagination”. While prolonged use causes severe loss of rationality, the ability itself offers extreme versatility, making it highly difficult to counter. Once she begins using her power in earnest, victory becomes impossible. However, her reaction speed and physical capabilities remain within the bounds of an ordinary human, making long-range elimination via Final Flash the most effective countermeasure. The most threatening individual among the traitors’ descendants.』

***“E-Elena!”

“This is no time for shouting!”

The first to snap back to his senses was, of course, the battle-hardened Grandpa.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Seungyub with one hand and hurled him out of harm’s way before pulling out his gun and taking aim.

But the enemy had already disappeared between the buildings.

“Maintain formation! Stay in formation!”

“What if they fire that beam again?!”

“You idiot boar! If they could keep firing it, why would they bother hiding? They would’ve just blasted us all to death in a row! They’re only hiding because they can’t shoot again right now!”

We scrambled behind cover, searching for the enemy’s position while using the buildings as shields.

Where are they?

The beam had fired from one building, and then—

Something brushed against my leg.

A sharp thread?

Wire?

I instinctively lifted my foot, but someone else wasn’t fast enough.

“Ugh!”

In an instant, Seungyub’s leg was sliced open, and he tumbled to the ground.

The doctor, startled, rushed toward him—

“Sanghyun, no!”

At that moment, the enemy reappeared at the second-floor window of the adjacent building.

A chilling force lashed through the air—

A razor-sharp strike slashed through the doctor’s chest, leaving a gaping wound deep enough to fit a whole hand inside.

“Kuh...! Krrh...!”

There was no time to help him.

We scattered instinctively, taking cover behind buildings, trying to survive.

“Damn... To think I’d fall for such an obvious trick—attacking those who rush to help the wounded...”

His last words weren’t spoken out of rage toward the enemy, but rather as disappointment in himself.

***『Hostile Entity: Kim Sanghyun』

『Combat ability is not particularly high, but possesses healing capabilities. His history in special forces makes him difficult to eliminate. Since joining the party, he has been under psychological pressure to contribute as a “doctor” rather than betray them, which acts as a mental weakness. Due to this, if anyone is injured, he is highly likely to instinctively rush to their aid. Taking advantage of this moment to eliminate him is the most effective strategy. Considered a mid-tier threat among the traitors’ descendants.』

***My heart pounded violently.

Who the hell is this?

That body was definitely Ahri.

But there was no way Ahri would try to kill us.

Something unknown had taken over her.

“Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill us?”

Even as I shouted, I didn’t expect an answer.

It was just a desperate, frustrated outburst.

But unexpectedly, a quiet voice cut through the air.

“What reason do you have to remain alive?”

“What the hell does that—“

“None shall leave this land alive today. Beings that are not human have no right to exist—only the right to die. The traitors and their descendants are no exception. The 4,824 entities gathered in this sector are all hereby sentenced to execution.”

***『Hostile Entity: Han Kain』

『Possesses the “Grimoire”. While his physical combat ability is not outstanding, he has a variety of abilities, including possession and incarnation, allowing him to take over or control others’ bodies. If necessary, he can escape by possessing another body, effectively disregarding his own physical death, making him difficult to eliminate. Must be dealt with last. Considered the second-most threatening individual among the traitors’ descendants.』