### Chapter 271 – Room ???, The Cursed Room – ‘????’ (9)
—
“Hey! I can’t understand you!”
“Geez! Stop using that dialogue box habitually – roll to the side!”
— Whoosh! Bang!
In a frenzy, I couldn’t even catch a breath as I rolled and rolled again! Just as I was about to be hit by another shell based on my rolling position—
— Bang!
A moth came flying out of nowhere and literally blocked the shell with its body. It couldn’t fully absorb the explosion’s shock, sending me flying in every direction again, but at least it was better than taking the hit myself!
While everyone scrambled to dodge the incoming shells, Elena hovered in midair, offering hundreds of moths as offerings to the shelling, mumbling incomprehensible words while gazing into the void.
In that moment, the robot that had been firing at us suddenly exploded from within, as if jammed, crumbling into pieces.
“Run! Run!”
I ran. I ran like I had never run in my life!
*
After starting to climb the mountain range again, we faced life-and-death crises every second. We ordered the tribespeople to distract the robots, picking spots where there seemed to be fewer bots to make our breakthrough, but there were still too many robots.
Moreover, once we crossed the ‘boundary’ and officially entered the heart of the mountain range, the robots no longer wasted time on warning shots. They just shot shells at us as they pleased.
If it weren’t for those hundreds of moths, which continued to drop like one-time-use lives in exchange for us, I doubted we would have even considered breaking through this place.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t think this way, I felt a slight pang of regret. If I had turned some of the tribespeople into moths, wouldn’t the breakthrough have been easier?
At some point, there weren’t many of us left in one piece. The Grandpa had lost his left arm, but no one bothered to ask where it had gone. Seungyub’s hand had shattered into powder, though thankfully, as his body was no longer organic, he didn’t seem to be in much pain.
Since about ten minutes ago, I hadn’t heard a sound in my right ear.
…
What would await at the end of this hellish mountain? I now genuinely felt that I wanted to see what was beyond, even if it meant dying.
At some point, even the robots seemed too exhausted to show up anymore. As we finally began to catch our breath, we realized one unnerving fact.
“W-where are we? Is this really the Cursed Room?”
Elena had suddenly regained her senses. Honestly, I felt more anxious now that she was back to her usual self.
Why did she go crazy in the first place? The influence of that ‘ominous imagination.’ Since her ability itself could generate madness, it was inevitable she would lose her sanity. But why was she now slowly returning to her senses?
Most of her power had been used, and the moths created from her ability had almost all vanished. Squeezing the last drop of power from the jar of ominous imagination drained the very source of that madness.
“Yes, it’s the Cursed Room. I’ll take questions later.”
“Ugh! What’s on my back?”
“Later. Later.”
— Fluffy!
A soft furry moth rubbed its antennae against Elena, who was on the verge of tears. As I watched that scene, I couldn’t help but open my mouth.
“Elena, be a little nice to that one. I’m not joking; it brought us here with its life on the line.”
I meant it. Before we started climbing the mountain, that dreadful creature had appeared terrifying, but now its last individual looked as adorable as a loving puppy to its owner.
*
It was exhausting. Both my body and mind were drained, making it hard to lift my feet. How long had it been since we began this hellish climb? At least three hours, right? Shouldn’t something show up soon?
At that moment, the doctor reacted.
“Isn’t that… ‘a door’?”
Just as he said, a structure resembling a gigantic door stood towering amidst the trees. As we squeezed out the remaining energy and made our way to the structure, suddenly, the wind picked up.
The clouds that had blocked even the dying embers of the sun in the western sky began to clear slowly. With that, the sun poured its remaining might, casting the last rays of sunset over the structure. In the center of the mountain range lay a massive basin that couldn’t be observed from the outside!
In an instant, I realized: we were witnessing ‘everything’ on this stage, this trial.
The glorious triumph of humanity overcoming nature. That glory succumbing to the passage of time, becoming a ruin overgrown with weeds. A light that once illuminated the world. A destruction so thorough that traces of its past splendor were nearly impossible to find.
All our companions paused in their steps, staring blankly at the vestiges of civilization. What on earth had happened to this world?
“Let’s go in. We need to find out what happened.”
With a slightly reverent heart, I stepped one foot into the basin.
The boy with the now-missing hand could hardly contain his curiosity.
“What in the world is this building? It almost looks like there’s a sign.”
Unexpectedly, even the doctor couldn’t hide his scholarly curiosity.
“Based on the remnants on this image, it seems it might have been a cultural facility. However, it is highly likely that it has faded over the passage of time.”
“S-so, doctor. You don’t have to be so formal.”
“Haha! Seungyub, this is just how I am.”
“Hyung Sanghyun, what on earth is this? An automobile?”
“Hmmm… it’s hard to discern with just the framework remaining. However, it seems this civilization progressed in a rather different direction than the 21st-century Earth we know.”
While strolling through the ruins of a fallen city, Grandpa muttered uneasily.
“Where have those who built this city gone?”
Jinchul smiled wryly.
“When considering this place is a hotel and the Cursed Room, a scenario could easily come to mind.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Well, something like a demon awakened, causing the civilization’s collapse. Somehow they sealed away the demon, but the descendants fled their prosperous city and ended up living outside, reverting their civilization back to a primitive level?”
“That sounds plausible, but there’s one strange point.”
“What is it?”
“There’s absolutely no trace of civilization outside—why is it only here in the mountains? Surely people who reached such advanced civilization wouldn’t have been huddled away just in the mountains?”
“… That’s true.”
Now that I thought about it, it made sense. If they had the ability to build such a city, they should have lived throughout the entire world. In that process, they would have left traces of their civilization all over, and even if they had been destroyed for some reason, there should at least be remnants of such buildings outside of this mountain range.
I could feel a headache coming on. There were definitely tons of clues hidden in this place, yet there was still so much we didn’t know.
And then—
“Wait?”
“Seungyub?”
“Is there someone over there?”
A figure resembling a human was watching us from across the road.
Maybe it was because she had just awakened, but Elena, who had felt the tension dissipate, now smiled brightly.
“It’s Ahri! Isn’t it Ahri? She must have entered the mountain via another route!”
Elena took a few steps forward, waving her arms in the air when—
A bizarre sound rang out.
“The day of judgment is upon us, and the final gleam will purify all. I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
A beam of light crossed the road. The once-beautiful blonde girl vanished without a trace, reduced to ash.
*
『Hostile Entity: Elena Ivanova』
『Possessor of ‘Ominous Imagination.’ The side effects of losing rationality worsen with use, but her ability’s flexibility makes it difficult to deal with. Once she truly begins to utilize her powers, there is no method of winning against her. However, her reflexes and physical abilities remain within the scope of an ordinary human, making sniping her from a distance with the last gleam the best countermeasure. The most threatening entity among the descendants of the traitors.』
*
“E-Elena!”
“Now’s not the time to shout!”
The first to regain composure was naturally the seasoned Grandpa. He immediately threw Seungyub aside with one hand and drew his gun to aim. However, the opponent vanished between the buildings in an instant.
“Large-maintained! Large-maintained!”
“What if it shoots another beam like before!”
“You idiot boar! If it could keep firing, why would it hide? It could’ve just shot us all dead! But now that it can’t shoot, it’s hiding!”
In a frenzy, we too moved along the buildings, searching for the enemy’s location. Where could it be? Surely it had just fired a beam and darted to the side—
I felt something touch my leg. A sharp thread? A wire? Instinctively lifting my leg, there was one slow-reacting person.
“Ugh!”
In a flash, Seungyub’s leg was smashed, rolling away. The doctor rushed over, alarmed.
“Seungyub! No!”
In that instant, an enemy revealed itself from the second-floor window of the adjacent building, slicing through the air with a chilling energy that left a deep laceration on the doctor’s chest.
“Kuh-hak! Cough!”
There was no time to help or not. Everyone frantically scattered, hiding along the buildings.
“Cough… I didn’t expect to fall for such an obvious trick aimed at someone coming to help…”
The doctor’s last words seemed more of disappointment in himself than rage toward the enemy.
*
『Hostile Entity: Kim Sanghyun』
『While lacking in combat prowess, he possesses healing abilities. Moreover, with special forces experience, he is difficult to remove. Since joining the party, he has been under psychological pressure to contribute as a ‘doctor’ to avoid giving in to ‘betrayal.’ Because of this, there’s a high likelihood that he will instinctively rush to heal anyone who gets hurt, making that a suitable countermeasure for elimination. His danger level is mid-tier among the descendants of the traitors.』
*
My heart raced. Who are they? That ‘body’ is definitely Ahri. But Ahri wouldn’t try to kill us, so it was clear that some unknown entity had taken over her body!
“Who are you? Why are you trying to kill us?”
Although I shouted, I didn’t expect an answer. It was just a thought that slipped out due to my frustration, but surprisingly, a soft voice pierced the air.
“What reason do you have to live?”
“What do you mean by—”
“Today, no one shall survive on this land. Non-human entities have no right to life, only the right to die. This applies to the traitors and their descendants as well. To all 4,824 entities gathered in this area, I pronounce the death penalty.”
*
『Hostile Entity: Han Kain』
『Owner of the ‘Grimoire.’ While not very strong in physical combat, possesses a variety of abilities through possession and incarnation, capable of stealing or controlling others’ bodies. In an extreme situation, he may escape through possession while ignoring the death of his body, making him hard to kill, so it’s necessary to eliminate him last. The second most threatening entity among the descendants of the traitors.』
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