### Chapter 234 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (12)
—
[User: Yu Songee]
I could hear the waves crashing. My body would eventually crumble like the foam on the sandy beach. In the pitch-black depths of the night sea, at that moment when an incomprehensible entity began to rise, I surrendered everything.
Honestly, I thought it would’ve been easier to go crazy like Eunsol unni who just gouged out her own eyes. Fortunately, thanks to the instinctive power of the bracelet, my mind still felt so vivid. So, I decided to simply close my eyes and wait for death.
I know it sounds irresponsible, but I saw the chat window earlier. It looked like Elena unni had called out Kain oppa and took him somewhere. There’s no way they’d be on a date during all this chaos, so I believe they must have escaped, right? That’s what I’m going with.
— Splash!
I felt something approaching me from the dark abyss. A twisted and contorted grotesque figure loomed closer. I sensed that the first attempt of Room 202 was about to come to an end.
“I’d rather have my head bitten off first! My head’s pretty small, so you could probably take me down in one bite!”
I steadily offered my head toward the monster.
— Splash!
I realized again after a long time that my blessing was ‘Affinity.’
*
“Toto! Don’t you get itchy walking around with that stuff sticking to you?”
— Groooowl!
— Slap!
“Got it! Can’t you keep still for some time? I’ll give you a nice grooming.”
What on earth is going on? Let’s rewind. We arrived at the harbor to stop Lee Sooho. But it was too late, and as soon as we arrived, the Sea God rose and ended everything. I waited for death while enduring the madness brought on by the god’s rage, thanks to the power of my bracelet.
Then a giant sea turtle appeared and began to swim away with me on its back.
Does this make sense? I don’t know either.
This is how things generally go at the hotel. You just can’t predict what will happen. Common sense would suggest this would happen? Predictions often miss the mark. Considering the possibilities, this will happen? Predictions also mostly miss the mark.
1, 2, 4. What’s coming next?
On the surface, it seems like 8, and then 16 should follow. Or looking at it differently, maybe a sequence of 7 followed by 11, right? This is what people think of as ‘common progression.’
But the hotel is the type to shout, “You forgot 3 between 2 and 4!” and wipe us out just because of that. So, I decided to throw caution to the wind and simply follow my train of thought.
Looking at the barnacles covering Toto (the turtle I just named), I couldn’t stand it anymore and started peeling them off. Toto seemed to have been itchy too; they lifted their legs showing me where else the barnacles were.
The god who had risen with the power to shake the world swam off into the distance. Toward land? Who knows? I was more concerned about the snake that appeared beside me.
— Slurp!
“Don’t lick me! You perv! I’m a popular woman!”
I didn’t get the feeling that the sea snake understood what I said. It looked like it just wanted to climb on top of the turtle.
The sea was rising. The waves swallowed bit by bit the traces of Sea God Island. The screams of the merfolk, once heard even amidst the storm, ceased to be heard after a certain point. Around that time, a rather grand yacht approached nearby. It had a young man adorned with scales up to his waist.
“Hello! It seems like the world is ending, care to join me on this yacht!”
“You… are you a member of the Administration Bureau? I heard you entered the island—”
“Member? I don’t know any scary people like that!”
“…”
“I’m just good at removing barnacles from turtles!”
With that statement, I lifted Toto’s front paw and shook it, causing the young man to drop his jaw in surprise.
“Come aboard! You’re witnessing something strange today.”
— Slap!
Riding on the turtle’s back was enjoyable, but come on, a yacht is way better. As soon as I hopped onto the yacht, I relaxed.
“Goodbye, Toto! See you later, Pyu-Pyu!”
“Toto? Pyu-Pyu?”
“The turtle is Toto, and the snake is Pyu-Pyu.”
“Their names are Asdalios and Kioren—”
“Toto and Pyu-Pyu are way better names.”
“… Let’s go with that then. So, Administration Bureau lady, what are you thinking as you watch the collapsing island?”
“Can I get some food?”
“…”
*
When I saw the can of food brought to the table, I couldn’t help but feel my appetite surge even amid this chaos. This guy, presumed to be Lee Sooho, has a good sense of humor. Asking for food in a situation like this and actually getting it isn’t normal.
“It’s not a fantastic meal but—”
“It’s really subpar.”
“… You can’t expect steak to come out in a place like this, can you?”
“You’re the eldest son of the Chairman of Cheongseong Group, so I thought you’d be on a luxury yacht beyond imagination.”
“A yacht that big isn’t suitable for hiding.”
“So you usually hide like a rat then?”
“Now, that’s harsh. Serenade’s been coming after me to fillet me alive; I can only hide.”
From this brief chat, I understood one thing: Serenade was after this guy.
After chewing on an exploded lump of plain dough for a while, I thought I should trust that Kain oppa had escaped. I needed to figure something out. How should I even gather information? Should I show a hallucination with my bracelet?
He’s not an ordinary guy, but a high priest who summoned evil gods; I wasn’t sure that would resonate with him or elicit fear. So I decided to just tackle this head-on.
“How about we clear the air and be straightforward?”
“…”
“Oppa, just spill your feelings.”
“Why do you keep calling me your oppa?!”
“Then how about the handsome uncle?”
Lee Sooho let out a big sigh.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Since the conclusion is approaching, there’s no harm in easing each other’s minds…”
Conclusion?
“Let’s do this. Administration Bureau lady, you have many questions for me, but I’m curious about you too. Let’s trade questions one by one. You know this is all ending soon, so let’s not waste time with unnecessary psychological warfare.”
This was unexpected. I thought he might be aiming for something at the position where the sea god reigns over the world below! But reflecting on that conversation, it seemed Sooho believed his death was drawing near.
“Okay. I’ll go first. Why the hell are you creating this crazy mess, you sick bastard!”
I didn’t mean to go off like that, but I’ve had a rough day.
“Starting off pretty strong. Not much, really. Just making the merfolk pay for their sins.”
“The first—”
“Lady, it’s my turn now. Didn’t we make a promise?”
“…”
“Is Elena alright? What’s her state?”
“Looks like you’re worried about Elena even after causing all this chaos.”
“Answer the question.”
“Serenade had Elena locked up and pumped her with drugs, preventing her from waking. We’ve just rescued her, but given the mess you made, she’s probably dead by now.”
Upon hearing my response, Sooho looked distant, gazing skyward.
“Now it’s my turn? I don’t know what sin you’re referring to, but isn’t it the sins committed by the first merfolk? It’s been 700, 800 years since those merfolk died. Is it reasonable to hold their great-great-great-grandchildren accountable?”
I didn’t understand at this point. I sort of accepted that Kadarudakh—being an entirely different entity—could be unforgiving.
When someone gets bitten by an ant, do they seek out each ant that bit them to crush it? No, they just spray insecticide to wipe the whole nest out. Supernatural beings like gods likely wouldn’t care whether the sinner was a merfolk ancestor or not.
But the man who resurrected Kadarudakh was, at least once, human.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding here.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t punish the merfolk because of ancestral sins.”
“Pardon?”
“I merely made them pay for the sins they’ve committed ‘now.’ Of course, Kadarudakh, having risen, might have issues with the past, but that wasn’t my intent.”
The merfolk have two great sins. The original sin committed by their ancestors and the subsequent sins made by their descendants. Sooho claimed what he aimed to punish was not the former but the latter. Kadarudakh might address the former, but that was not Sooho’s intention.
“Now it’s my turn. Out of personal curiosity, how did you manage to control Asdalios and Kioren? The followers of Kadarudakh don’t obey me.”
“Toto and Pyu-Pyu?”
“… How did you control Toto and Pyu-Pyu?”
“Well, it’s the blessing bestowed upon me by the great ones in the hotel.”
“That’s quite a wishy-washy answer. It feels like you didn’t say anything at all.”
“It’s a misunderstanding! I really revealed everything!”
“Let’s just leave it at that. I passed on my first question too.”
With that, Sooho didn’t ask any further questions. The only things he seemed curious about were Elena’s condition and details about my blessing, ‘Affinity.’
I was also quite tired, mindlessly munching on the exploded noodles. Sooho briefly stepped away and returned with a new can.
“Spicy meat stir-fry?”
“If you eat this with it, it’ll be somewhat palatable. I almost forgot the last one.”
“Could’ve brought it earlier.”
“Sorry.”
Eating spicy meat stir-fry along with chicken noodles made it far more bearable than before.
Then suddenly, the sky brightened!
“Ahhh… here comes the conclusion.”
“What’s… what’s that!”
Seeing me panic, Sooho looked even more dumbfounded.
“Are you asking me what that is? It’s probably one of the weapons used by the Bureau when things go south, right? I think it’s called the Terminator?”
“Terminator?”
Light descended from the sky. Is that some nuclear missile? It didn’t seem like it, though.
It moved slowly, and I couldn’t see any physical object like a missile. It was literally a mass of light descending slowly toward the sea. Strangely, I felt that unmistakable overwhelming sensation from that light earlier when I saw the god.
A calm voice came from beside me.
“Everyone lives only once. In the end, it’s not about clinging to longevity but about living meaningfully. In that regard, I have lived a decent life.”
This guy, Sooho! What are you meditating on? Did you suddenly achieve enlightenment? In an instant, I felt utterly baffled and decided to say something.
“Uncle.”
“Do you have any last words?”
“I’ll tell you a fun story. We’ll meet again, and when that time comes, it won’t turn out as you think.”
Light came down. The blinding brilliance that shook the heavens and earth, carrying with it the power of an organization that had defended this world against countless evils, struck the surface with a force like no other.
— Flash!
The last sensation I felt at that moment was oddly joy. I sensed that the purification of civilization built by 7 billion humans over thousands of years was contained within that single ray of light.
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