### Chapter 469 – Room 206, The Cursed Room – ‘Demon King Revives After 100 Days’ Re (28)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 564
Current Position: Room 206, The Cursed Room – ‘Demon King Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
– Han Kain
As I flew through the dark underground city, heading towards destruction, I couldn’t help but observe the bizarre phenomenon lurking around.
Wiggle wiggle.
Wiggle wiggle.
A white mass squirmed nauseatingly before my eyes. It turned out to be an embodiment of the Japanese urban legend ‘Kunekune,’ but to me, it looked more like a gigantic caterpillar draped in a white cloth.
Just then, Ahri, who was flying nearby, chimed in.
“Isn’t it a bit much to gawk like that? You good?”
“I think I’m fine.”
“How fascinating. Eunsol went crazy the moment she laid eyes on that thing.”
“Haha! It’s not that Eunsol is weak; it’s just that I’m special, right? Those destined for greatness are always showered in blessings.”
“…”
“….”
Things went silent as ‘that’ made its presence known by dangling off my back, since I lacked the ability to fly myself.
It’s odd to think about it, but having such a creepy thing attached to me was genuinely unpleasant.
It would’ve been way better if Ahri had her arms around me instead!
No, no, let’s not go there!
Let’s drop the weird thoughts.
Anyway, it felt like a routine of me and Ahri trying to keep our distance from that ultimate being, who was acting like some kind of companion.
How the heck did we end up in this situation?
The ultimate being had been wanting to meet me since the first time he met Seunghyun.
Of course, just because he wanted something doesn’t mean we had to play along.
However, I went to the Sanctuary and broke through the trials as he wished, then talked to him.
Why?
Was it a reward for finding a way to allow humanity to survive through his deranged worship of the Demon King?
Or perhaps pity for a poor NPC?
Of course, it was neither.
It was simply that while he desired something from me, we wanted something from him too.
So, that’s why Ahri and I took the ultimate being down to the depths of Paradise.
“How much time has passed? Of course, it feels like just over an hour for us, but I mean in terms of the outside world.”
I figured I might as well get an answer to that.
“The entrance into Room 206 was Day 553, and we entered the depths at dawn of Day 556. Now it’s Day 564—”
[Date: Day 564 → Day 565]
“—Oh wait, it turned to Day 565.”
Every time I checked the status window, the date seemed to change so fast it was alarming.
What on earth would happen if I got lost in a place like this?
“I can see the research facility. Ha… It’s a familiar yet nostalgic place.”
“…”
Sometimes I wondered about it.
What role did this creature play in the scenario?
A foe?
Well, it’s hard to call it a true enemy since it hasn’t attempted to kill us.
Was there even a true enemy in Room 206?
“…”
The market of Paradise, the progenitor, the head of the facility in the depths, the ultimate being of the sanctuary.
If these important NPCs had to be categorized, it was quite dubious to label them all as enemies.
In some situations, they had been against us, but in the broader scheme, they were allies dealing with the disaster of the Demon King.
The ultimate being was no different.
“…”
I vaguely recalled hearing long ago from someone I couldn’t remember that terms like ‘opponent’ or ‘prisoner’ were concepts we had constructed for convenience during our siege on the hotel.
Looking back, the hotel had rarely used such terms.
They almost never mentioned ‘opponents’ and referred to prisoners with softer terms: ‘a minor risk,’ ‘a not-quite-groomed guest,’ ‘a troublesome patron,’ etc.
The hotel had a way of speaking that softened their approach to us as well.
What other secrets might be hidden in this place?
*
After arriving at the research facility, there weren’t any physical confrontations before meeting the director.
The soldiers charging at us with guns were subdued with just one wave of the ultimate being’s hand.
“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about. Just a trivial skill compared to your abilities.”
“…”
“That person over there, Ahri. Would you kindly wake up your colleague? I can’t manually control the whole city’s control system right now.”
Ahri studied the ultimate being with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“Is it because you’ve transcended humanity? Is that why you can’t directly control the device?”
“Well, that’s a question.”
“…”
Soon, Ahri woke up Miro, who was dozing off in the director’s body.
And suddenly—
— Whoosh!
A massive gust akin to a typhoon surged through, causing Ahri to crash against the wall, and Miro began to shimmer and tremble at a speed so fast that their form looked blurry.
“Ugh!”
As I exhaled after finally waking, the gale kicked up.
I stood there just waiting for Miro to possess me, but even the slightest movement, including my heartbeat, sent shockwaves through my entire body.
I felt like a superhero worrying that if I cough, the building would collapse.
Seeing it happen in front of me was utterly ridiculous.
For a fleeting moment, a juvenile thought crossed my mind.
Who would win if I fought against this ‘super-accelerated Miro’?
Let’s toss that silly thought aside.
— Crackle!
Soon, Miro’s form came under my control.
“Oh wow, what an interesting power!”
“…”
“What was that ‘crackle’ sound and light? Is it a phenomenon created by your mystical book?”
“…”
After grasping the second statement, I realized that the manifestation of the avatar’s power had grown stronger than before, but I had no clue why.
“No time to waste; it’s already Day 568.”
“Right.”
Another three days had slipped by in an instant.
*
Under the ultimate being’s orders, I manipulated the city’s control system.
After a great deal of time inputting commands that made no sense to me, it felt a lot like poking around in ‘developer mode’ on a smartphone.
Meanwhile, a kind of loading began, and the ultimate being opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting.
“You all are truly remarkable. We never thought of this approach!”
“If you did think of it, it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“True. With our abilities back then, it wouldn’t have been possible. Honestly, I think it still wouldn’t be possible right now.”
“…”
Even the leader of the Order of Reason, who had upheld civilization behind the scenes for a long time, found this method strange.
The initial idea blossomed from something Seungyub had unconsciously muttered.
“How about we kill all NPCs, then rewind time and resurrect them?”
“Seriously, I’ve never even thought about such a thing. Killing 2.34 billion people? Even if we had the means to rewind time, that’s just plain devilish, don’t you think?”
“…”
“It’s not easy to casually think of such concepts unless you see humans as mere game characters.”
Ahri replied, sounding annoyed.
“So what? You don’t like it when we treat you like game characters? Like some sort of devil?”
“Haha! Of course not! Come on, let’s not get too testy among business partners.”
“…Business partners?”
“Isn’t that right? You came from the Administration Bureau, after all? It’s clear that such organizations change their names from time to time…”
“Ahh! There are listeners around!”
In that moment, I was struck by the absurdity of eavesdropping on a conversation between industry peers, and it made me chuckle a little.
“Just carry on chatting, I have my suspicions too.”
“…”
“…”
As soon as I laid out the mat for their conversation, both of them fell silent.
So I decided to toss in a question.
“I’m curious; since this is our first attempt, what do you think would happen if we killed off all survivors using means other than your unyielding reason? How would the Demon King react?”
If the Demon King is a beast, a cosmic predator that feasts on human souls, how would it respond to the loss of prey on Earth?
“Perhaps, it would have no choice but to leave the planet due to lack of food?”
This was the gist of our plan.
Eunsol had whimsically dubbed it the ‘Black Comedy’ of ‘Cleansing Warfare.’
Just then, a noise broke the silence.
— Beep!
As the loading finished, I busied myself again.
While controlling Miro’s form at the ultimate being’s complex instructions, I pondered about the ‘Cleansing Warfare.’
Eliminate all prey.
The Demon King departs due to a lack of food.
Then rewind time to resurrect the people.
This straightforward plan carried an inhumane element of treating NPCs as mere tools, and it also had plenty of loopholes.
Starting with the first problem.
How on earth could you kill off 2.34 billion survivors?
Never should I dedicate my unyielding reason to that!
If the soul burns to ashes like firewood, revival becomes impossible.
I needed to devise a way to kill off most survivors in Room 206 without it tied to unyielding reason somehow.
Is it even possible?
When I hit a wall during my brainstorming session, the Owl provided a shocking answer.
[It’s possible. Seek answers from the one who designed the board.]
The ultimate being, who formed the layout of Room 206, the first Demon King worshipper.
He had the means to wipe out humanity without involving the unyielding reason.
When I realized this, everyone was left in shock.
Offering all survivors as sacrifices, or brainwashing the entire humanity into becoming Demon King worshippers is undeniably mental, but in the end, it was just the Order of Reason’s version of paving the path for humanity.
But what reason could they have to create a method solely for eradicating mankind?
“No, no. Press the ‘second panel from the top right,’ then move on to the next step—”
“I pressed it right!”
“You have to press it again.”
The truth is often simple.
Ultimately, our initial thoughts were correct.
The Order of Reason never made something so senseless as a tool for eradicating humanity.
This control system can meticulously regulate the ‘city’ they constructed.
What it offered was simply a temporary water supply cutoff.
That was probably a precaution in the event of water contamination.
Now, what happens if we ensure no one can exit the city?
Humans can only survive for about three days without water.
— Rumble!
As the entire underground quaked, the ultimate being smiled benignly.
“It’s over!”
“…”
“Normally, we could shut off the pipes instantly, but time flows differently in the surface and depths. Up there, it will probably take days or weeks for the water supply to gradually cease. Of course, the side paths used by the Demon King’s cult will also be blocked.”
“…”
“Congratulations on your great achievement! So…”
The ultimate being, the strangest existence in Room 206, locked his glimmering eyes onto me.
“Shall we conclude our earlier conversation from the Sanctuary?”
He agreed to grant our request.
Now it was time for us to answer his request.
“Han Kain. You know better than anyone that such trivial games hold no meaning.”
“…”
“Whether you solve Room 206 or not, it has no significance to us.”
“…”
“I genuinely wish for true salvation. Please, become our savior.”
The once-human-like, grotesque being knelt before me, resembling a king paying homage.
At the same time, Ahri’s complicated gaze landed on me.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 571
Current Position: Room 206, The Cursed Room – ‘Demon King Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 3
“…Another big jump in the date. I wonder how my mates on the surface are holding up?”
[Advice: 3 → 2]
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