### Chapter 162 – Room 201, The Cursed Room – ‘The Cube’ (11)
—
– Kim Ari
— Clang!
Just as I stepped back, a blade-like hand swiped where my neck had been.
“Hmm? Dodged? Not bad—”
Before Beatrix could finish her sentence, Songi’s wrist flashed with a spark.
“What the—”
I started rubbing my eyes in confusion. Pretty soon, she was likely to grow eyes all over.
Well, I didn’t intend to give her that chance.
The narrow mansion was filled with blinding radiance.
In an instant, a scale shot through the concrete wall and slammed down upon Beatrix’s body.
At the same time, Cha Jinchul and I began blasting the eyes that Beatrix had started creating all around us.
This was our first strategy!
While Songi twisted Beatrix’s senses, we kept popping her eyes with our rifles.
During the chaos, Elena took on the offensive.
Even Beatrix’s tough body, which treated bullets like a refreshing shower, couldn’t handle the weighty justice delivered through the scales.
Before long, half of Beatrix’s upper body was completely pulverized.
Surprisingly, even in that state, her monstrous body kept regenerating!
The power of justice alone wasn’t enough.
Until now, Jinchul had been cautious not to waste his stars, fearing damage to our allies from the mansion’s confining spaces, but he was now gesturing as if he had no choice but to summon stars—
— Rumble!
The entire mansion shook. Not just a little shake; it spun 360 degrees!
What kind of crazy structure does this cube have to allow such nonsense?
As we bounced around chaotically, Beatrix, with more than half of her upper body missing, casually ‘flew’ out the window.
“Flying too?”
Jinchul exclaimed in disbelief.
“Concrete-level toughness, regeneration that would make even a planarian cry, now the ability to fly, and on top of that, she creates monsters. What can she NOT do? Did the Bureau create her? Ari, are there creatures like that on Earth?”
I had nothing to say and just closed my mouth.
A moment of calm followed.
Songi bewilderedly asked, “Is this the end? I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”
“Of course not. Just look at Elena.”
Elena’s justice continued to shimmer all around. It wasn’t over yet.
“Seungyub.”
“Yeah?”
Without a word, I pointed at the mirror, and Seungyub rushed toward it.
I had a feeling the second round was about to begin; we needed to secure an escape.
— Slap!
As Seungyub tried to exit through the mirror, something grabbed him, and he was flung into the air.
The roof of the mansion, or rather, the ‘lid,’ had come off.
I realized the cube’s structure.
*
Watching Elena block the two scales that were about to crush us, I looked outside.
What a mystical space.
If it weren’t for having to fight Beatrix, I’d want to endlessly admire the surroundings.
In the bizarre space shrouded in deep blue fog, countless translucent boxes floated all around.
The distant ground looked like a red wasteland.
The boxes were connected by cables that we called ‘underground passages.’
Most of the insides of the boxes were filled with ‘mansions.’ Those must be the disguise rooms or escape rooms.
A few boxes had only the massive figure of monsters faintly visible. Those boxes must be the ‘trap rooms.’
What I saw through the gap created when Jinchul bashed the walls down with his protective suit was on a whole different level.
The ‘real structure’ of the cube was astonishingly surreal.
The lid of the box we were in had come off, and I heard Beatrix laughing, her body already regenerating from the damage.
“Ahahaha! Thanks, everyone~! It’s been a while since I’ve had such a fun fight.”
Meanwhile, Elena and Beatrix’s battle raged on non-stop.
Since Beatrix was floating in the air, Jinchul and Songi, who couldn’t fly, were left clueless.
The range of the bracelet’s power wasn’t within grasp, and the rifles were pretty much treated like BB guns, so they were meaningless.
Elena was practically soloing the battle against Beatrix.
The scales flew like sonic booms and were buffered by a bear the size of a bus.
The scale’s power felt weakened in front of the creature.
At least Beatrix was human, and the monsters were her tools, so the power of justice didn’t seem ineffective, but…
It didn’t show the same power as when facing Beatrix directly.
Thanks to that, Beatrix couldn’t stop her laughter.
— Crank!
The outer walls of all the boxes began to open one by one.
Monsters from other rooms were seen crossing over the cables toward the box we were in.
Hah! Now she’s calling over the monsters from other boxes? This is gonna be tough.
Even while the scales were relentlessly attacking Beatrix and showering her with golden waves, this wouldn’t avert defeat.
I had no idea what happened to Seungyub who was trying to escape, nor did I know how to exit given the twisted structure of the cube.
“Elena! Can you hear me?”
“Yep.”
“Justice loses power against monsters, so we’re at a disadvantage like this.”
“Ari…”
“The fight itself is forced by justice, but you can choose the venue or method, right? Just fly over and take Beatrix one-on-one. Don’t hold your ground here!”
“If I leave—”
“Holding back to save us won’t change anything. The only way to help us is for you to take out Beatrix!”
Elena glanced back at us with a sad expression before hardening her face and flying straight for Beatrix.
— Ka-boom!
In the meantime, a sharp object came crashing in through a gap in the collapsed wall, striking Songi.
With a metallic rod that seemed to be a scrap picked up from somewhere, Jinchul swept the weapon away.
“Wasn’t what you just said applicable to you, too? Unlike us, you can fly, right? Just go help Elena.”
“If she can’t win alone, it wouldn’t help if I just joined her.”
“Even so, it’s better than nothing—”
“I need to go with you. Your stars will definitely work.”
“Can you even fly while carrying me? Didn’t you mention it was hard to carry someone?”
“Just for a moment. If you abandon your survival instincts. So grab me and jump straight up! Full power!”
Without further ado, Jinchul grabbed one of the steel rebar pieces that appeared amongst the mansion’s collapse, holding on to it with one hand while grabbing me with the other.
Just before we took off, Songi waved her hand as if to say she was fine.
The side wall crumbled, and a giant hornet covered Songi.
— Crash!
With the sound of the ground exploding, Jinchul and I shot up into the air, over ten meters high!
“Did you also learn high jump skills?”
“Just fly already!”
In an instant, my blood was rapidly depleting. Looks like I won’t be making it out of this round alive.
Jinchul and I were flying toward the bizarre battleground where Elena and Beatrix were fiercely clashing like angels versus demons.
*
Giving Elena the command to fly over and engage in battle was the right call.
Most of the monsters didn’t have flying abilities. In a one-on-one, Elena had the clear advantage.
Beatrix seemed so busy dodging and blocking the scales.
“See that?”
“I see. It looks like Elena might win without us interfering, right?”
“Can’t just think short-term. Unlike Elena, that creature has a phenomenal regeneration ability.”
Meanwhile, the glow in Elena’s body was starting to dim.
Elena glanced at us.
In the next moment, for some reason, Beatrix crashed into a box thanks to the scales’ harmony.
“Now!”
I signaled Jinchul to steer toward Beatrix’s encased form.
Propelled forward by inertia, Jinchul fell toward the box.
This should do it?
Man, this is too exhausting. My flight efficiency is a mess…
Jinchul, could you ask our Patron for some wings next time?
I’d drained too much blood. I couldn’t even float anymore.
As tension eased, I dropped flat onto the floor.
The ground that had appeared distant, resembling a red wasteland, rushed toward me.
…
…
…
???
What the heck is this?
The ground beneath wasn’t any wasteland or soil.
Endless mounds of bizarre, deformed corpses took over the vastness of this space, filling the horizon.
The embodiment of the ‘infinite hell’ often mentioned in the afterlife.
This was my last memory remaining.
*
— Elena
Isn’t that incredibly durable?
That monster was less a protein-based creature and more like a concrete building, or something even tougher.
On top of that, she endlessly regenerated, as if sprouting like mold in a nutrient-rich petri dish!
The destructive power of the scales alone was insufficient.
Even at the moment when over 90% of the power of justice was consumed, Beatrix continued to endure.
Fortunately, her offensive capabilities didn’t seem as strong as her durability and regeneration.
She might have a solid body, but while just maintaining distance in the air, wouldn’t her plan be to use the monsters she created to fight?
But ultimately, aerial combat proved to be Beatrix’s blunder!
I could fly, and Ari came to join Jinchul, but most of Beatrix’s powerful weapons, the monsters, didn’t have flight capabilities.
As the power of justice nearly depleted, believing we were about to lose, Ari joined us, bringing Jinchul with her.
With her last shred of power, she bound Beatrix!
The moment she arrived, Jinchul summoned stars and forced them into Beatrix’s mouth.
Sure enough, the body of Beatrix, which couldn’t be easily destroyed even with the scales’ power, bent and lost both durability and regeneration in an instant.
What remained was just a grotesquely twisted mass!
By then, the scales had lost their glow, but Jinchul simply smashed the remains with his fists.
Victory smiles spread across the faces of those remaining.
This time, one of us—Jinchul or I—would surely inherit.
“Hahaha! Isn’t the combination of me and Elena invincible?”
“Great job!”
“Well done. We’re about to get another inheritance—”
But Jinchul’s face suddenly hardened.
— Whoosh!
Before I knew it, Jinchul had already grabbed me and we were rolling on the ground.
“Hmm? Dodged? Sure, you guys are tough~! I’ve never seen such strong people. What are you even?!”
From the air, Beatrix’s body began to ‘create’ itself.
First, an arm appeared targeting my vital points, then a torso, followed by legs, and finally, a head.
Ah… I get it now.
Beatrix’s incomprehensibly diverse abilities.
She doesn’t have countless superpowers.
Every ability stemmed from a single power.
She was able to create the monster “Beatrix” with the power to mold monsters.
I slumped to the ground, my body drained of strength.
I saw Jinchul once again summon stars, running toward the scene.
With the power of the stars, it wouldn’t take even five seconds to destroy Beatrix. But…
Five seconds was enough time for Beatrix to decapitate Jinchul ten times or so.
Jinchul’s head rolled past me.
… Is this it? Really? Just like this?
An indescribable sense of despair loomed over me.
A sharp something pierced my abdomen.
Just before my consciousness faded, I caught a glimpse of Beatrix’s face, which had turned ghastly pale.
“What did you do!? What did you do at Headquarters?!”
Sorry, but you should’ve asked that before you put a hole in my stomach.
With just a flicker of hope, I slipped into unconsciousness.
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