### Chapter 454 – Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Revived After 100 Days’ Re (17)
—
– Yu Songee
Before diving into the work, let’s take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the second attempt.
What kind of human is Mayor Leon Kadilov?
A citizen of low rank, easily sacrificial for the city’s sake.
Someone who doesn’t genuinely trust even blood relatives.
He’s certainly not a good person.
But for the city, he possesses immense responsibility.
He’s oddly like a member of the Administrative Bureau.
In contrast, the true agents, like the progenitor, appear emotionally ordinary.
Anyway, to gain control of the city while avoiding a clash with the mayor, I need to satisfy two conditions.
First, I’ll need to make him aware of his impending doom.
Second, I must show that I’m the vessel that can support this city.
If I could add one more thing, what would it be?
“Dad, I have something to say.”
“What is it?”
Here we go.
“A few days ago, I made contact with survivors of the Rationalist Coalition from deep underground.”
“… How do you know that name?”
“The guy said the paradise is in crisis, and he wants to meet with the city’s leaders.”
“Ridiculous! The progenitor said communication with the depths has been cut off for over a century. How could there be any survivors?”
Wow, the mayor is completely clueless about the ‘time dilation’ down there.
“… Strictly speaking, they weren’t in a living state.”
“What?!”
*
— Swoosh!
The salty breeze tickles my nose.
“Whoa! Are we at the beach this time? Where are we?”
“…”
It’s probably Jumunjin Beach in Gangneung.
I have fond memories of coming here with my family as a child.
Back then, my parents were getting along just fine.
“It’s nice that there’s no one around! I could go for a swim!”
“…”
This is the world’s most secretive place, a dream.
In theory, there shouldn’t be anyone else here!
The cursed hotel has turned this last sanctuary into a space where even dreams are unsafe.
“Hey… Songee?”
“…”
“Isn’t that a tidal wave? No way, a tsunami at a Korean beach – Aaaah! Songee!”
My little world answered my frustration with a tsunami.
Thanks to that, my brother Kain, who was next to me, clung to a nearby tree to avoid being swept away.
“Why am I the only one being swept away! You’re right next to me!”
“It’s my dream! Ha! Stop!”
“…?”
“Wait, why isn’t the tidal wave stopping?”
“Aaaah!”
*
With a rush, I woke up in bed.
“…”
The balance of the bed tilted to the right.
That’s because there’s someone heavier than me lying next to me.
My brother groaned as he wrapped his head.
“This time we agreed to come in together, so why is there a tidal wave?”
“Don’t you know? My dreams are usually filled with hellish tidal waves and meteor collisions.”
“What kind of nonsense–”
“Next time’s going to feature volcanoes and dinosaurs.”
“I’d kinda like to see the dinosaurs though.”
“…”
I plan to keep the dream environment hellish going forward.
That way, this careless guy won’t waltz into my dreams without permission!
“What’s with your clothes? They’re filthy! You’re a total mud monster!”
“Didn’t you know? I was homeless outside.”
“What the–”
Now that I think about it, it seems like I couldn’t use the Dream Kingdom within the range of my indomitable reason.
Did my brother Kain leave through the passage he learned in the last attempt?
Using the Dream Kingdom while being homeless must have left him in this dirty state.
This painting is quite an awkward tool, but it’s incredibly useful.
What if we didn’t have the Dream Kingdom?
It would have been quite the challenge just to get Kain into the wealthy mansion in the first place.
“Hold on! I’m about to meet the mayor, and I need to look majestic!”
“No, I had a great idea, let’s go right now.”
“… Fine.”
*
— Creak!
When I opened the door, Leon, who had been reviewing documents late into the night, looked up.
“What’s going on at this hour?”
“… That guy showed up.”
“What? The security system didn’t detect any intrusions! How could this happen so suddenly—”
Even the mighty mayor was flustered when a mysterious figure claiming to be a survivor of the Coalition barged into the mansion.
I spoke as calmly as possible.
Like a girl hiding some secret, I tried to mimic an air of mystery as much as I could.
‘Like Ahri.’
“Why are you so surprised? Stay calm. He’ll arrive soon.”
The mayor seemed to sense a disturbance in the usual aloofness of his daughter and looked over at me with uncertainty.
At that moment, a massive man responsible for guarding the mansion entered through another door.
“Robert!”
“…”
“I just heard from Songee that an intruder has entered the mansion! Quickly activate the security system—”
“Mayor, you live in a nice place.”
His voice was as strange as a metal skewer scraping against a steel plate.
It was clearly not Robert.
Was this person using the Grimoire to control his body? But what in the world was that voice?
Did he learn that nauseating tone from Elena?
“… Who are you?”
“How enviable! We’ve lived in a place worse than hell, yet here you are, enjoying such luxury! How can you afford to indulge in this?”
The mayor’s face paled a bit.
His tone naturally became more formal.
If he’s truly from the Coalition, he’s almost a superior to the mayor.
“W-Well, if you’re really from the Coalition, please behave like a human. There’s nothing to gain from threatening me.”
“Nothing to gain? Do you truly believe that?”
“What are you—”
— Crash!
“Ugh!”
In an instant, the creature lunged forward and grabbed the mayor by the throat.
An unpredictable act, supernatural strength, and a devilish atmosphere.
Even knowing it was all an act, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
If I felt this way, the mayor must be on the edge of panicking.
“What a fresh body! Your beating heart is simply delectable!”
“Grrr! P-Please calm down—”
“Child, I have served humanity my entire life. I rotted away in a lightless abyss without wealth or honor.”
“Th-Thank you for your hard work. I understand, but—”
“So, don’t you think you should at least offer your body for my sake?”
“Urrgh!”
… Whoa!
This atmosphere totally feels like a horror movie.
While the mayor might not know, my brother Kain stealing the mayor’s body was one of the scenarios I had considered.
That scenario has been scrapped.
Not to honor the mayor’s lifelong efforts to support paradise, or anything like that.
Since if we took on the mayor’s role, we’d end up wasting a lot of time on pointless bureaucratic tasks.
I know this from experience.
Slowly but surely, it’s time for me to intervene.
— Swoosh!
The cold yet sharp light emitted from my bracelet pierced through the office.
As if it would instantly dispel the madness of the fallen magician!
The next moment, the giant holding the mayor’s collar twisted his entire body and opened his eyes wide.
“Wait, wait! M-M-Mr. Mayor! What is happening—”
“Grrr! R-Robert! If you’ve regained your senses, let me go—”
I wonder how bewildering this situation must be for Robert?
He’d worked so hard to secure the mansion, only to lose consciousness; now he finds himself nearly killing his superior.
Unfortunately, his horrible day was still far from over.
“Eew! My hand— my hand!”
Robert’s right hand began to dance like a squirming worm.
His expression turned ghostly white as he watched the body part move against his will.
First, it was his hand, then the wrist, and soon it spread to his upper body.
Like venom from a viper, the power he couldn’t control gradually extended.
It looked like the devil itself was toying with this human.
In situations like this, many people show similar reactions.
“Oh, God! Progenitor!”
There’s no way I can handle this with my own power.
There’s a calamity here that I can’t manage.
When in trouble, one has no choice but to pray to the great transcendent.
Luckily, this time Robert had his salvation.
— Swoosh!
Once again, the bracelet shone brightly, and Robert’s arm found its place.
The mayor and Robert’s gazes fell on me, who ‘appeared’ to be suppressing the devil with some special power.
“Y-You, Songee!”
“Songee! Are you using your bracelet to suppress the monster?”
Could I actually suppress the powers of the Grimoire with my bracelet?
I might detect possession, but anything beyond that seems difficult.
In the first place, all of this is just an act.
So, I should display a little more reliability.
“Yes. Both of you, stay calm. Hooo—! Kain!”
There was no response.
Well, that’s because a demonic being must act with gravitas.
“Kain, are you planning to fight me? Show yourself.”
— Creak!
The office door opened again as a man entered.
At that moment, I noticed the mayor’s eyes shaking side to side, desperately trying to control his fear.
This man fears my brother Kain.
He’s overwhelmed by supernatural terror.
Every act so far was to create this emotion.
*
– Kim Sanghyun
The Demon King has a contradiction.
The records left by the Coalition, which sealed the Demon King after a struggle, and the experiences of the Kain Brigade, which fought against the Demon King, contain a common theme.
The Demon King is more akin to a cosmic natural disaster than a communicable entity.
But how could such a being have ‘worshipers’?
It’s possible that followers serve them voluntarily.
After all, humans often worship natural phenomena like storms or lightning as gods.
However, a storm can’t deliver revelations to humans.
In the second attempt, the Demon King revealed to its followers that Kain was a false prophet.
Is the Demon King truly a communicable existence?
Or is there some secret within the church that is separate from the Demon King?
One of those two must be true.
I seek to uncover that secret.
*
“Kadylov deceived us! He has plunged us into endless pain—”
— Thud!
In the underground communal area of Paradise, where a gathering was taking place.
Someone approached my direction.
The nearby followers glanced at her with slight awe and bowed their heads.
And why not?
For a layman, Ahri is living proof that a god indeed exists.
Ahri halted right in front of me.
“…”
“…”
Her eyes said it all.
‘Are you really going with the plan?’
During the meeting outside, Ahri had opposed my plan until the very end.
I responded with my eyes.
‘Let’s proceed.’
And then – a tiny hand lunged at my collar.
“Gotcha!”
With her sharp voice, murmurs spread around us, and the preacher turned in surprise to see what was happening.
“What, what is that? Lady Ahri? What’s going on—”
“Everyone, hold it right there! I’ve found Kadylov’s spy!”
The most feared and despised entity among the Demon King’s cultists is the mayor.
But to think they’d hear that the mayor had sent a spy had them all gasping in shock.
People surrounded me in a panic, and Ahri rummaged through my pockets to find out my ‘identification.’
“Everyone, look at this! Level Two Citizen, Kim Sanghyun!”
The Demon King’s cult does not discriminate against followers by rank, so being a Level Two citizen itself isn’t a problem.
The next word, however, is the real kicker.
“Direct inspection agent of the mayor! See?”
I nearly laughed at that.
Isn’t Ahri finding this whole situation absurd?
As an Administrative Bureau agent and a special forces veteran, I knew this made no sense even after just three seconds of thinking.
What kind of moronic secret agent would casually carry around their ID like this?
“Ugh, it’s real! He’s the mayor’s inspector!”
“Who is this guy!”
“This bastard is—”
“Never expected someone like this—”
But to fool a regular human, this was more than enough.
Actually, I’m not even fooling them, am I?
According to the set-up in Room 206, I’m truly a secret agent.
— Thud! Smash!
The excited cultists started to beat me up.
Ahri seemed slightly flustered and tried to intervene, but calming everyone down did not seem easy.
It’s fine. This is nothing compared to what I faced before arriving at this hotel.
Fortunately, before even ten minutes passed, the flustered heads of the cult rushed in.
“An inspector, you say? What nonsense!”
“This filthy wretch! Let’s skin him alive—”
“Wait!”
A sharp voice calmed the crowd.
The highest-ranking elder among the cult, Raymond, who was the first to figure out who the fake was during the last attempt.
“Before we kill him, we should interrogate him first. This chap will—”
“I’ll handle the interrogation.”
When Ahri calmly stated that, the elders murmured amongst themselves.
I noticed previously that her standing with the higher-ups in the church isn’t as strong as I expected.
It’s because she’s positioned as a young girl by definition.
“I caught him, didn’t I? Don’t you know about the blood power?”
“So be it.”
Here we go.
…
At that moment, a pressure I couldn’t articulate weighed heavily on my heart.
Given the experiences I’ve built within the hotel and with Ahri’s help, fooling the ‘humans’ of the cult shouldn’t be difficult.
But what reaction would the Demon King have to attempts to contact the ‘participants’?
I have no idea.
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