Chapter: 88
Episode 88 – Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ Re (1)
Two attempts later…
— Han Kain
Amidst the confusion, I somehow managed to reorganize the situation.
“Okay! Everyone, let’s calm down for now. First, let’s outline the roles assigned to each of us in the car. I’m the exorcist dispatched by the Vatican, a deacon, which seems to be right under the priest.”
Jinchul-hyung responded.
“And I’m the exorcist assigned to train you and assist the cardinal. A remarkable priest who knows nothing about the Bible,” he added with a hint of sarcasm.
Elena chimed in.
“Songee and I are playing the roles of sisters. It says we’re highly spiritual, but it doesn’t seem like we got any new abilities. Seems like just a different way to express our blessings.”
Next was Grandpa Mooksung, who pulled out a box.
“I am the cardinal dispatched to punish the wicked! Though I’ve never even been to a cathedral. Also, I think this box contains a ‘bell’. It must be an essential item for progressing in this room, so remember it well!”
Finally, Eunsol-noona answered.
“I’ve switched from being the mansion owner’s niece to playing a younger sister in this role. Looks like my part is to be the sibling who suspects her brother might be possessed by a demon.”
As we noted down our roles, I thought…
…Do I really need to write this down?
After all, I have the status window that I can view and control anytime I want.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 28
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room – Mansion of Fear)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
Out of curiosity, I changed the number next to the Sage’s advice to [13]. Surely this wouldn’t allow me to infinitely copy advice, would it?
Bzzzt!
…And just like that, the 1 was erased.
It felt simple, yet the status window was undeniably a ‘higher power’ than this pen. It didn’t seem like something I could mess around with.
Using the window like a filter, I expanded a side of it and jotted down some letters.
No problem here. It looks like I can use this space like a ‘notepad’ from now on.
Before organizing everyone’s rolls on this notepad, I checked where Seungyub and Ahri were.
[Teammate Location Information (*)
Park Seungyub: Village near the Mansion
Kim Ahri: Village near the Mansion]
Hmm? A village near the mansion? Aren’t they supposed to be inside the mansion this time?
I wrote down everyone’s names based on their roles.
/1. Exorcist Team
Cardinal: Kim Mooksung
Priest: Cha Jinchul
Sisters: Elena, Yu Songee
Deacon: Han Kain
Sister of the Owner of the Mansion: Lee Eunsol
2. Village Team
Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub/
I decided I would add more once I figured out what Ahri and Seungyub’s roles were.
After organizing that, I informed everyone in the car that Ahri and Seungyub were in the village near the mansion.
After a bit of the initial chaos settled down, we began sharing our respective roles and the sparse bits of info we had pieced together, and only then did we start brainstorming our next steps.
“I didn’t expect us to form an exorcist party, but in a broader sense, it shouldn’t change our goal.”
“Our objective would probably be to unveil the lies of the mansion’s owner, ‘Lee Sehyun’. For now, let’s act as ‘exorcists’, go to the village, and gather information,” Eunsol-noona pointed out.
She quickly added, “But first, didn’t we decide we needed to secure an escape route?”
“Right! What’s our plan?”
Originally, the plan was for everyone to head to the mansion while one person drove the car out of the area for an escape.
But a problem arose.
Initially, we thought we’d only need to wander within the mansion and maybe the distant mountain or cathedral. However, given the current situation, it seemed we would need to travel back and forth between the village and the mansion repeatedly to gather information.
The team also needed a car! If the designated driver left, it’d become a huge mess.
Should we walk out then?
But how far would we need to go? The stage had expanded from merely the mansion to the village around it. How far out would constitute an escape?
Just then, Grandpa opened his mouth.
“Let’s adjust our plan. The reason we initially wanted someone to escape was because ‘Lee Sehyun’ was so powerful that during the first attempt, he possessed Songee the moment we entered the mansion, right?”
“Exactly!”
“Right now, we have the ‘bell’ with us, and with Songee’s bracelet, we have resistance against mental attacks. Meanwhile, ‘Lee Sehyun’ is at an early stage of his corruption. His power isn’t that strong now.”
“Let’s proceed as a whole for now—gathering info together, and then one person can leave later,” he concluded.
*
After about thirty minutes of driving, we finally reached what appeared to be the village. To my surprise, it didn’t give off the rural vibe I expected.
The scattered houses looked charming in a way you’d expect to see in a tourist area, and there seemed to be more buildings than I had anticipated.
This felt like a scene straight out of a drama!
“Is this a village where wealthy retirees gather?” Jinchul-hyung summarized my thoughts in a single sentence.
Nailed it! It felt exactly like that.
Instead of the greenhouses or fields typical of countryside villages, there were only fancy suburban houses strewn about.
As our car passed by, a few people by the roadside glanced over, and all their outfits seemed to reflect high-quality fashion.
In the distance, I spotted the recognizable ‘mansion.’
It felt surreal; while the setting was reminiscent of Korea, how could such a gigantic and opulent mansion exist here?
Once we entered the village, Eunsol-noona suddenly advised us.
“There’s no need to hide the fact that you’re priests. Officially, it can be explained that I brought you here because of some strange occurrences in the village through my connections.”
“But, you must certainly hide that ‘Lee Sehyun’ is the prime suspect.”
“Noona, isn’t it strange that for odd happenings in the village, they’d call priests instead of the police?”
“Who knows… I’m trying to recall my memories, but this place feels different from Korea as we know it. It’s like the Vatican plays the role of some ‘administrative office’ here. Also, we need to be careful from this point on.”
“Hmm?”
“About how we address each other. From now on, everyone, please address me as ‘Believer’—even when there’s no one else around. That way, we won’t mess up when there are people present.”
That makes sense; from now on, I’m ‘Deacon Han’. We’d agreed to stick to our roles while in this room.
We parked by what looked like the village hall.
We decided to divide into three groups.
‘Lee Eunsol Believer’ and ‘Cardinal Kim Mooksung’ would head straight to the mansion to meet Lee Sehyun.
‘Sister Yu Songee’ and ‘Sister Elena’ would patrol the western area around the hall, while ‘Deacon Han Kain’ and ‘Priest Cha Jinchul’ would check the eastern side.
*
— Cha Jinchul
“Kain, what should we start with—”
“Priest Cha! Please pay attention to your address. Others will be around soon.”
“Aha, right. Deacon Han, what do you think we should investigate first?”
“Oh, could you try to sound a bit more dignified like an actual priest?”
Ugh! I shouldn’t have paired with this guy; he’s like having an extra mother along.
“…I’m regretting coming along with you. Okay then, Deacon Han, what should our investigation focus on?”
“We should investigate the missing children case happening in the village first and gather information about Mr. Lee Sehyun’s reputation too. Also, we need to find Ahri and Seungyub.”
“Right… got it.”
Given the circumstances, we did need to be cautious about how we spoke. I would try to be more careful with my words.
As we walked, I noticed Kain pulled out some strange papers and was engrossed in reading them.
“Deacon Han, what’s got you so concentrated?”
“This is a prayer I found in the car.”
Prayer?
“Why are you surprised? Is it so odd for a priest to not memorize even a line of a prayer? We’re going to meet several village locals while we’re in this room.”
“Once we converse, I’ll underline the important lines for you to remember. After our discussions, you should recite them. It’d be great if you could reflect with some reverence while looking at the sky.”
Please! I really want to escape. Why on earth is he so obsessed with this exorcist cosplay?
*
— Han Kain
Roaming around the village with Priest Cha, we set out to collect information.
As I had sensed, a good number of residents seemed like retired city dwellers who built wealth and sought a refreshing second life here.
We managed to gather two significant bits of information.
Firstly, the missing person’s case.
The primary targets had been kids in their early teens, and while the average demographic skews towards retirees, younger couples and children were certainly present.
Four young kids had already gone missing. These children were the sources of vitality for the village, and naturally, the villagers’ moods were dragged into a heavy gloom.
Hearing about the disappearances, I could understand why the villagers had reached out to a priest instead of the police to help them.
It turned out that kids could simply vanish from their homes without a trace or suddenly disappear from surveillance footage, almost as if a ghost had taken them.
And typically, if wealthy children were kidnapped, the perpetrator would demand a ransom. Yet, no such contact had been made.
The villagers were thoroughly convinced that some supernatural force was at play.
Secondly, the reputation of Lee Sehyun.
While we were aware of the ominous signs and corrupt future awaiting Lee Sehyun, the villagers believed he was a fantastic figure.
Known as a savvy young entrepreneur who amassed significant wealth through various ventures, he had played a vital role in the town’s establishment and development as well.
He was essentially the town’s representative, and it was hardly a coincidence that his sister sought external help in light of the unsettling events happening in the village.
Even hinting at any skepticism regarding Lee Sehyun got me disapproving looks, to the point that Priest Cha had to quickly apologize on my behalf for my junior deacon’s faux pas.
How on Earth were we to figure out the link between the missing kids and Lee Sehyun?
Where on the planet were those missing children? Were they locked up in that mansion’s basement? Or… were they already… dead?
I guessed we should start heading toward the mansion.
As we headed toward the village hall, I ran into Sister Songee and Sister Elena, who were coming back from the other side of the village.
“Dear sisters, any new findings to share?”
“Oppa?”
“Please call me Deacon Han.”
As I pointed out how she should address me properly, Priest Cha groaned from the side.
“Yikes! This one is deep in it. If you don’t sort out your address, she’s going to keep hounding you, trust me!”
“I think addressing him as Deacon Han is just right.” Sister Elena interjected. “We need to act like detectives around here, and there are countless eyes in the village and the mansion. Please be mindful too, Priest Cha.”
Sister Elena seemed to grasp my concerns while Priest Cha just couldn’t keep it serious.
Eventually, Priest Cha lowered his head upon hearing Sister Elena; she then continued with the information she’d gathered.
“There was a cathedral in the direction we took. It was remarkably different from when we saw it partially collapsed during our first attempt. I managed to meet the priest there.”
“Did the priest know anything?”
“Not at all. He hadn’t experienced anything supernatural like exorcisms or magic books.”
“He was an average person and seemed very uneasy with us, just kept saying to take care of the missing children incidents.”
Sister Songee chimed in now, “We did manage to find Seungyub and Ahri. They’ve become the village kids, and because of the missing children situation, everyone was so secretive that seeing them was tough.”
“Considering we mentioned we came from the Vatican, they reluctantly agreed to meet us.”
“Village kids? Have they become younger?”
“Yeah, they both looked around 10 years old. So cute!”
“Did you talk to them?”
“Seungyub seemed very restless, wanting to join us at the mansion. Ahri just said she was okay, though.”
Both had reverted to a child state in the midst of a town beset by missing child cases. There’s no way that’s mere coincidence!
Priest Cha, having concluded the same from the sidelines, exclaimed, “Deacon Han, what if those two are the next targets? Should we bring them to safety?”
“Hm. Priest Cha, this is something we thought of right away. I’m sure Ahri is worried too but she has the ability to safeguard herself, so no need to panic.”
“I’m not too worried about Ahri; it’s Seungyub I’m concerned about.
But, for now, there’s not much we can do. What with their parents around, it’s not right for priests to just snatch kids away. For now, let’s head to that mansion. I think it’s time we confront Lee Sehyun.”
Finally, the mansion!
As soon as the words slipped out, I heard Songee’s worried voice.
“During the first attempt, I was possessed as soon as I touched the statue. What should we do?”
Dun dun duuuuun!
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