Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 143: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The FInal Trial End (34)

In a daze, I was being pulled by Kain through the burning theater.

I looked around in fear.

People were screaming and running in every direction.

Why is this happening? Why today of all days?

As I ran, trying to suppress the boiling rage inside me, a sudden realization struck me.

Where exactly are we going?

Naturally, we should have headed for the theater's main exit and out onto the street, right?

But Kain was leading me down an alley connected to the theater's back exit.

"Um... Kain?"

"Where are we? Shouldn't we head towards the street?"

"Oh? I must've gotten a little lost while running in a panic. But we can't go back to the theater, so I guess we should keep moving this way?"

I understood.

Kain must have also been scared and ran without thinking.

But I felt a bit unsettled in this alley since it was a place we usually didn’t go to and it wasn’t exactly known for being safe.

- Tap. Tap.

It was still early evening. The faint remnants of sunlight kept it from being completely dark.

- Tap. Tap.

We didn't even get to finish watching the entire performance.

We even got caught in a sudden fire and had to run for our lives.

What terrible luck!

- Tap. Tap.

"Elena."

"Hmm?"

"Are you happy?"

"You're asking that again? Are you stupid? We’re running away because the theater is on fire."

"That's unfortunate."

"...But it's not so bad right now."

"Really? But it seems like your shoes don't fit well. The sound is quite loud."

"Huh? My shoes are custom-made, so there's no way—"

Suddenly, chills ran down my spine, and I turned around.

At the end of the alley, with the setting sun haloing around them, stood a person in strange attire.

Suddenly, something shiny and sharp appeared in the person's hand.

"W-what the—" Before I could finish speaking, Kain grabbed my hand and started running again!

What is this? What is happening today?!

We ran and ran, completely lost.

Where are we going?

I had no idea.

I just followed Kain, who was leading me by the hand.

But Kain didn't seem to know this area well either.

What should we do?

Is there no one to help us?

- Ting!

A sharp object whizzed past us again, barely missing us.

Kain's clothes got slightly torn, and blood started seeping out.

At that moment, a curse slipped from Kain's mouth, "Damn it! Managing to hit us from this distance? She’s crazy"

"Kain! Are you okay?"

"Just run. Run faster!"

- Thud!

Suddenly, a hidden wire on the ground tightened and tripped me!

"Ah!"

As I struggled to get up, a sharp blade grazed past me.

Blood started flowing from my leg and thigh in an instant.

The burning pain and suffocating fear overwhelmed me.

Oddly enough, Kain quickly tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around my wound.

With a somewhat sorrowful expression, Kain muttered, "I'm sorry..."

Sorry? What are you even sorry for?

For not being able to protect me?

Isn't that a bit too much of a prince complex?

“...”

I'm tired. Really, really tired.

This is strange.

Today was supposed to be a happy day...

First, the theater caught fire, then a crazy person in a robe chased us down an alley with knives, and now I’m so out of breath from running that I could collapse at any moment.

In the end, I couldn't move any further and leaned against a wall.

Is our pursuer tired too?

The person who had been chasing us was nowhere to be seen.

"Huff... Huff... Are you okay? I have no idea what's going on today."

"I'm fine. But I'm worried about Ahri."

"What do you mean? Ahri was at the theater too?"

"Yeah, she was. I actually saw her earlier."

"You saw her earlier?"

"Yeah. But some high-ranking official suddenly summoned some police and took Ahri away.

"What? A high-ranking official? What do you mean?"

Kain just gave a wry smile and changed the subject, "We're almost at school. Just a little more walking."

"School? This road leads to school?"

"Yeah. They say it's an alley that students rarely use."

We walked down the road in silence.

By then, the sun had set, and a crescent moon hung low in the night sky.

Some noises reached my ears.

Loud, violent noises.

The screams of many people echoed in my ears.

I couldn't take another step.

I didn't want to see what was happening at the school.

Unconsciously, I stopped.

If I just went left here, I could go home—

- Tap.

"Kain?"

"Something must have happened at the school."

"I'm hearing strange noises. Shouldn't we go somewhere safe?"

"No, there are teachers at the school, right? It should be safer to go there."

With those words, Kain grabbed my hand again and led me toward the school.

Has Kain always been this assertive?

Kain is really strange today.

***- Han Kain

It was almost over. Elena's expression started to cloud with gloom.

Even though we carefully planned everything, there were many moments of danger.

Despite our efforts to ruin Elena's perfect life while hiding our true identities, unforeseen variables kept popping up.

At the theater, hunters suddenly appeared, forcing Perro to flee in a hurry.

In the alley, police showed up out of nowhere and took the robed Ahri away.

Losing Ahri, our top "arson expert”, was a big blow.

If it hadn't been for Ahri, who seemed suspiciously trained in arson techniques at the Administration, it wouldn't have been easy for the three of us to set buildings on fire one after another.

But it’s okay.

This entire process is just a buildup.

In the end, I'll be the one to deliver the final blow.

***- Elena

We arrived at the school.

The flames engulfing the entire school were so massive that I just stared at them in a daze.

The noise was deafening, filling the air with chaotic sounds from every direction.

The heat was intense enough to feel on my skin.

The smoke was so thick that it made my head throb.

Why is today like this? I just wanted to have a happy day.

I just wanted to spend time at school with my precious friends and enjoy myself as I watched a play at the theater with the person I liked.

I only wished for a happy day that would repeat forever.

As I stood there in a daze, Kain asked me another strange question, "Elena."

"Hmm?"

"Are you happy?"

"...Are you teasing me now? I'm starting to get a little angry."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for many things. But it'll all be over soon."

Over? What does he mean, over?

And what is he sorry for? I don't understand.

Kain seemed to have made up his mind about something and moved in front of me.

What is he planning to do?

- Piyooo!

A massive shockwave shook the earth.

The wall crumbled with a thunderous roar, and a monstrous bird appeared.

Just as I was panicking in the face of this overwhelming presence—

Kain pushed me aside and stepped forward.

Kain calmly stared at the bird.

The bird tilted its head in confusion and stared back at Kain.

"K-Kain, run! Run!"

***-Han Kain

The end of the plan was near.

I signaled to Grotesque Perro.

Doesn’t this damned parrot have an immense hatred toward me?

But now that he finally had a chance to settle the score, Perro hesitated.

His resolve faltered at this critical moment.

I glared at Perro and signaled again.

Finally, Perro made his decision.

A giant talon, as big as a child's fist, roughly swung into my stomach.

…

Ah.

Ahh.

Ahhhhhh!

A pain like lightning coursed through my entire body, paralyzing me.

In the midst of the excruciating shock, I trembled and looked at Elena.

Elena crawled toward me, crying uncontrollably.

Seeing her cry put a bitter smile on my face.

At one point, I considered ending this whole puppet show with Elena's death.

But that would have been pointless.

Having delved deeper into this illusion than anyone else, she had gained nigh-omnipotent power.

Even if she died, she would just escape into another dream with a different theme.

So we had to make her experience an "inescapable sorrow”.

We had to make the girl, who had gained nigh-omnipotent power in this dream, experience a tragedy that even her powers couldn't reverse.

"Kain! Kain! Just hold on a little longer. The doctors will be here soon."

Yeah.

If it's Elena, she could summon doctors out of nowhere, even in this situation, and save someone as injured as me.

So, I did something that even the girl who had accidentally attained god-like power couldn't reverse.

Do you wish to escape?

(Y/N)

Slowly, my body began to fade.

As Elena realized I was disappearing, I looked at her dazed expression and said my final goodbye.

"Elena, I'm sorry for today. I'll see you outside."

My consciousness began to fade.

***- Elena

Slowly, Kain disappeared.

Slowly, Perro disappeared.

Ahri and Songee, who were most likely around me, must have also disappeared.

“…”

My drifting consciousness slowly began to rise.

I forced my body, which could barely move, to stand up and look around.

The burning school, the burning theater, the countless casualties…

Even if this is a stage created based on my ideal life, everyone really went all out.

I could see the doctors I had "summoned" running toward me.

But it was meaningless. The people they were supposed to save were already gone.

Ah...

I no longer want to stay in this dream.

This world is no longer "perfect" without the comrades I love.

A hologram appeared before my eyes.

With a press of the screen, the world crumbled.

***

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 72

Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage's Advice: 3

The status window flickered before my eyes as I came to my senses.

No way! How long has it been?

Seeing the status window again made me incredibly happy!

But so much time had passed.

I think it was around the 47th or 48th day when we finished the Fourth Trial?

We had spent over three weeks on the Final Trial alone.

I looked around belatedly.

The place I was in was oddly white.

There were four people in the room.

And I was dumbfounded.

This was the true nature of "Perfect Life"?

It wasn’t the Hotel using some kind of grand super magic…

It wasn’t the Hotel sharing a fragment of the great power of creation with mortals…

The reality of Perfect Life was much more obvious and trivial than that.

There was a hole in the back of our necks, like the ones you often see in movies.

A cable was plugged into the hole.

- Click!

Another person unplugged their cable and stood up.

Ahri looked around in confusion before reacting in disappointment, "It was just virtual reality. I really thought they had created a real world."

"They'll get rid of the hole once we leave, right?"

"If not, we can always charge our phones through it."

“...”

Songee and Elena also started to stir on the other side.

Seeing this, Ahri looked a bit uneasy.

"I think we were a bit too harsh on Elena at the end. Do you think she'll be mad?"

"If she is, let's just listen to her for a bit."

We leaned against the wall and rested in a daze.

Before long, Songee and Elena woke up and came over to us.

Instead of getting angry, Elena apologized.

"I'm sorry... I got greedy at the end and made things hard for everyone."

"No, no! It's not your fault, Elena. I wanted to stay too."

"Let's not dwell on every little thing. After all, we'll keep making mistakes and helping each other in this hotel."

I thought I should be the one apologizing but found it awkward to do so, so I just gave a stiff laugh.

After going through the Final Trial, it felt awkward to even look at Elena.

She couldn't look me in the eye either.

It seemed like it would take some time for us to start naturally talking again.

As we waited, a hologram appeared in the air.

Congratulations!

You have passed all five trials prepared by the Gate Room.

Truly, you embody the spirit of the hero we've been waiting for!

This is the beginning of a great journey!

How could we not be left in awe?

The First Trial, "Doppelganger Train”, tested whether you could survive on your own without anyone's help.

The Second Trial, "Witch's Forest”, tested whether you could make a cold decision with an injured comrade in front of you.

The Third Trial, "Jekyll and Hyde Game”, tested your quick thinking and judgment.

The Fourth Trial, "Secret of the Esper Ho”, tested whether you could uncover the secrets hidden in a belly and if you could respond accordingly.

The Fifth Trial, "Perfect Life”, tested whether you could overcome false illusions and prepare your mindset to face the harsh reality.

Of course, those present here have proven all these abilities.

The Gate Room will now end.

After reading the long notification, I realized.

It's over.

The long journey in the Gate Room is finally over.

I just lay on the floor and endlessly laughed like a madman.

Seeing me, the others, who were dumbfounded, also lay down nearby and started laughing together.

Floor 1, Room 107. The Gate Room…

We finally finished it!

The space slowly began to crumble.

I recalled the familiar faces I hadn't seen in a long time.

Jinchul-hyung, Grandpa Mooksung, Seungyub, Eunsol-noona….

I have so much to tell them.

Just before the space disappeared, the last notification appeared.

Those who overcome trials deserve a reward.

A ticket, an outfit, and a chance will be given.

May it greatly aid you in the journey ahead.

Also, it is only fitting that a special reward is given to the one who made the greatest contribution in the Gate Room.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp sensation on my shoulder.