### Chapter 473 – Room 206, The Cursed Room – ‘Demon King Revives After 100 Days’ Re (32)
—
– Han Kain
“Shit, shit, shit!”
“Isn’t that a bit crude?”
“Shut it!”
It’s a plan filled with logical gaps, so I had no clue how it’d play out! I never imagined I would end up as the bait to lure the Demon King!
— Raaaaaa!
A grotesque cacophony filled the universe, almost shattering my eardrums.
The Demon King, the ultimate predator suffering from an unending hunger, rose from the Earth.
“We need to move fast! You’ll be caught soon.”
“How can I escape?”
“Isn’t flying a thing?”
“You idiot! Can I even move faster than the Demon King?!”
“Eh, are you slower than that?”
In that moment, it hit me.
This idiot is vaguely reminiscent of Lady Mei!
In the eyes of the ultimate being, I probably looked like a saint or angel until now. A being capable of doing anything imaginable, akin to a god rather than a mortal.
This idiot even vaguely knew of past cycles, probably aware that I fought the Demon King using the ‘Descent’ in my first round.
So when I heard about the “Clear Sky Tactics,” it led to this situation. I thought I could escape even if I couldn’t fight against the Demon King!
To a chick, even a fox would look like a predator. But this fool didn’t seem to grasp how huge the gap between a fox and a tiger is.
In other words, there’s no point in talking to this idiot anymore; I have to figure this out myself.
Thought 1.
While it has strong endurance, the Holy Sun’s power, no matter how hard it tries, doesn’t compare to the ‘Descent’ from back in the day. That Descent only bought me a bit of time before the Demon King. Now, running away with the Holy Sun’s power? No way, not happening!
Thought 2.
If I had to engage in a showdown of strength against the prisoner, a contest of who’s stronger and faster, I’d just be a dead chicken gallivanting around. I need fundamentally different methods—so—
“Y-You mentioned your companions are alive down on Earth, right? I heard you say that earlier. Can’t we use that?”
“…?”
If the ultimate being was a chick and I was a fox, then the Demon King would surely be the tiger. And the hotel? It’s at least a dragon or higher.
Even as a fox, wielding a tool bestowed by a dragon would mean I could contend with the tiger. The mighty Demon King couldn’t do naught against a mere hourglass!
“…?”
Floating in space with my eyes closed, I stretched my body.
“Ugh! A-Are you insane? Are you taking a nap right now? The Demon King—”
With the Holy Sun by my side, I felt like a ‘half’ god.
Isn’t a god an omnipotent being? A half-god can do just about anything.
Even while the Great Demon looms, I could afford a quick nap in the universe.
— Flap!
The ‘Dream Kingdom’ unfolded before me.
—
[User: The First God to Take a Nap in Space]
Date: <— This is meaningless.
Current Location: Space Rocking Bed
Wise One’s Advice: Seems like a huge problem]
—
The moment I awoke, a bewildered-looking man was nearby. A face that seemed oddly familiar, like a random person you’d see on the street.
Even though I was seeing him for the first time, I knew who he was.
He was the ultimate being.
Once twisted by the Demon King over eons, he had returned to his original self in dreams.
“You looked like this, huh?”
“Where am I?”
“…?”
“It’s incredible! You suddenly decided to lie down in space, and the whirlpool called the Demon King erupted like a volcano; I thought it was all over…”
“…?”
“Suddenly, a picture unfurled in the void, and we entered this bizarre hyperspace.”
The Dream Kingdom doesn’t just lead one into a dream world; it serves as a form of teleportation, apparently observable from the outside.
As I unwound, I couldn’t help but mutter something harsh.
“Did you really think I could fight the Demon King? You, who lived half the time as a part of the Demon King and still don’t understand his power? You were once the leader of an Order, for heaven’s sake—”
“Was my judgment wrong?”
“No, did you not understand what I said? No matter how fast I fly—”
“You just escaped the Demon King’s grip.”
“…?”
I was momentarily speechless.
“I didn’t know what trick you would pull, but I was sure you’d buy time from the Demon King one way or another.”
“…?”
“I figured you’d have that much in you. Looks like my prediction was spot on.”
In the end, thanks to using the Dream Kingdom, I managed to escape, so it wasn’t all wrong.
“I’ve never used the Dream Kingdom for this purpose before.”
“For this purpose?”
I thought it was just a tool to eavesdrop on my companions’ thoughts or teleport to their locations.
But if viewed differently, the picture itself could be a type of hyperspace.
— Twitch!
“Whoa! What’s that?!”
“…?”
Since the start, this picture had some ‘strange guest’ appearing.
I turned my gaze to my companions.
The ones protected by the hourglass had no dream at all. They must have lost consciousness entirely.
“…?”
Miro was dead.
At this point, the ‘body’ that could have controlled various mechanisms and time in the depths of Paradise had vanished.
Not a big issue.
I planned this part beforehand.
“Ari is alive, though. If she stayed in space, she would have suffocated.”
Did she fly back with her wing boots?
She’s alive, but she looked extremely mentally drained.
She might have fallen into a stupor after landing in a sea-like area while trying to return to Earth.
“Wow~! Your companion seems pretty impressive.”
“…?”
I almost rushed over to help Ari, but stopped short.
The Demon King had chased me out into space; now, going back to Earth where Ari is? That’s a big no. The Demon King would eventually return, so it was absolutely off-limits.
“… I need to go outside again.”
Returning to Earth was a no-go.
Moreover, staying here isn’t an option either.
I cannot predict the Demon King’s moves once it follows me out of Earth!
So, I need to open the door I came in through and head back into space.
Before going back, I must think.
How can I keep the Demon King as far away from Earth as possible?
Simply flying away won’t work.
The Demon King is way faster than I am.
“I’ve got it.”
“Oh? You have a plan?”
I walked toward the door we entered, recalling past memories.
I found Miro’s dream while worrying about the mental contamination from the Holy Sun.
I had a hunch there’s ‘her’ inside Miro’s dream when I saw Ari enter it beforehand.
Her, the poor being, who didn’t even know who she was or where she was, trapped in an eternal nightmare.
I figured she’d know the answer to my dilemma.
Different from me, she had been through enough mind-twisting experiences of her own.
First advice: Isolation.
If I isolate the Sacred Sun inside another mind crafted by the Incarnation’s power, the other half could avoid contamination.
That was a good success.
It allowed me to objectively see myself, who was half-crazy.
Yet, it wasn’t enough.
The scales of power still leaned towards the Holy Sun, especially in mental contexts.
Second advice: Moderation.
“…?”
【‘Isn’t this a problem caused by the excessive power of the Sun? There’s even a saying that too much of anything is as bad as not having enough.’】
【‘What do you want me to do?’】
【‘Just tone it down until you can control it. Since it’s expendable, use it vigorously when the time comes.’】
I now knew how to handle the end of 206.
At that end, I also knew what would happen to me.
“A shame.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
Standing at the door I entered, ugly memories flashed through my mind.
When I first obtained the Sun, I vowed to fill Room 206 with 144,000 souls.
The moment I lost the protection of the status window, I rushed to Paradise to devour souls.
Never content with just NPC souls, I even coveted Elena’s soul.
Listening to their prayers, I looked down from ‘above’—
Images I never held before, even before entering the hotel or gaining power over the Sun.
The childish madness of a newly birthed tiny god.
Another memory came back.
The gods I grew weary of during the painful life in Paradise.
The moments I listened to the woman praying desperately for help.
Wanting to heal the suffering of the sick gods lying in bed.
And the overwhelming emotion and thrill of ascending into space as a human, bare and unarmed.
Moments I would never forget.
“…”
“Could you share your plan? Your intentions are utterly unfathomable as someone who’s served the Order for so long…”
I turned my gaze to the pitiful being who regained his human form in the dream.
Someone who became part Demon King, overstepping mere worship.
He was the one who realized he was trapped in the hotel.
Knowing that whatever the conclusion, inevitable doom awaited him.
He wished to remain alive, even as part of me alongside other souls.
This is why he suddenly made me the Demon King’s bait.
Still, resolving the room was likely how he envisioned emerging as part of me.
“Oh, now I get it.”
“Eh?”
The hidden truth about Room 206.
A three-way confrontation, a common trope in fiction, a time check.
The typical trope refers to a time loop, with us being the possessors, reincarnating ancestors, and the Demon King.
The time check indicates irregularity in the passage of time.
I quickly grasped the meaning behind it, but what was the three-way confrontation about?
At first, I thought it meant the Demon King, the Order, and ‘us,’ but this seems a bit off.
If we are treated as separate parties, all cursed rooms might as well be a three-way confrontation.
“It was hinting at your existence.”
“Eh? What are you on about?”
One axis was obviously the Demon King.
The other axis, the descendants of the order hostile to the Demon King.
And then—
“Long time no see, NPC like you.”
An entity that knew about the hotel before we even revealed it.
A contradictory position as both leader of the order and a Demon King worshipper, yet, having known the hotel’s truth, states that both identities ‘mean nothing.’
One who designed the whole game and confused us in some phases while seeming like an ally in others.
“… I genuinely don’t understand. Your attitude is making me uneasy.”
“Be safe.”
Suddenly, an amusing online post I once saw popped into my mind.
What to do if you encounter a bear in the woods?
You don’t need to run faster than the bear.
Just be faster than the person next to you.
The simple, yet funny story about how the bear won’t chase you if it’s busy eating someone else.
With the Demon King shedding the guise to entice humans and returning to primordial impulses, it resembles an endlessly strong beast in some way.
So, the Demon King certainly has to stop occasionally to eat.
[Advice: 3 -> 0]
‘Was my guess right?’
It seemed I had grazed an important topic that slightly crossed the line; the answer to the three-stack advice was surprisingly straightforward.
[Yes.]
That answer was sufficient.
— Creek!
The door to the ‘Dream Kingdom’ swung open, and I woke again in the vast emptiness of space.
—
— Oooooooh!
The moment I woke up, the ultimate predator that was startled by my sudden disappearance unleashed a triumphant roar.
And I clutched the ‘tastiest thing in the world.’
— Ah, oh great deity! Oh magnificent savior!
— Are you truly abandoning us?
— Where will you go, abandoning us?
— Please, please! Don’t do this!
I could feel the souls dissipating, the faithful following me.
Joshua, a third-class citizen who had spent his life at a shoe factory, was a faithful man who loved his family. Kevin, a second-class doctor, was a good man who treated the underprivileged out of compassion. Emily, a third-class citizen who suffered from a chronic illness, wished for happiness with her daughter if given another chance.
I laughed, and then I cried.
They were, in the truest sense, a part of me, and I was a father abandoning his children.
“I’m sorry. I guess I was never really a god.”
I just prayed they could find rest at the end of it all.
Numerous souls enveloped in the Holy Sun gradually dispersed into the cosmos. The ultimate predator seemed determined to swallow each and every one without spilling a drop.
“Eat! This is my flesh and blood, bread and wine molded from souls!”
I endlessly spewed forth souls, streaking across the empty void of space.
To evade the Demon King, I didn’t need to be faster than him.
I only needed to be faster than a Demon King that momentarily stops to eat.
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: 900th Day
Current Location: —
Wise One’s Advice: 3]
—
A long time had passed. According to my status window, it was nearing a year.
I had flown through the cosmos, endlessly shedding my flesh and blood made of souls.
It hadn’t been a comfortable time.
Occasionally, the Demon King pursued golden eggs, wanting to munch on the duck instead of the eggs.
Every time, the Dream Kingdom provided me with refuge.
Time wasn’t merely painful.
In my endless flight, the only companion was the Owl, and we spoke three times a day to alleviate loneliness and curiosity.
“… Just how far have we come?”
There’s a propulsion device created for human space travel called the ‘ion engine’. The thrust it generates is roughly enough to lift a sheet of paper.
How can you even move a spaceship with such little force?
The ion engine is the most efficient engine made by humanity, and since there’s no air in space, there’s no ‘resistance’ either.
If you generate thrust like that without stopping for even a minute or second, you can endlessly accelerate through the vacuum.
After a few months, you could reach a staggering speed of 140,000 km/h.
…
The same logic applied to me.
While on Earth, I pulled a thrust equivalent to a slow airplane, and having let it out uninterrupted for nearly a year, I was endlessly accelerating in the airless bounds of space.
I had no clue how fast I was going or where I was anymore.
But at some point, it felt like my movement transcended the limits of laws.
“…”
The sun had disappeared long ago.
My status window hadn’t indicated my current location for a while now.
“… It hurts.”
After an extremely long time, I felt pain.
At the end of this pain was a bizarre realm where fantasy and reality intertwined.
I see myself burning like a flame.
He had transformed into a small, young boy.
“Why… why did I choose this?”
“…?”
“I used up all the power of the sun. I was, we were surely leaping into greatness!”
“…?”
“We’ve returned to insignificance. I’ve fallen to the level of a worthless ant!”
“Insignificance? Even before I gained the Sun, I was already something remarkable.”
“What? What are you—”
“Becoming a god? Ascension? Challenging heaven? When did that ever become my goal?”
“…?”
Never.
The inheritance was merely a reward for clearing the Cursed Room and a tool to proceed with the hotel.
I had been foolishly trying to make the inheritance my life’s purpose.
Was it not the life of Han Kain, but the holy sun’s?
“I just want to go home. I want to see my parents and sibling. That’s all.”
Another version of me laughed.
“Oh? Good. Looks like you won this time.”
“…”
“Just know this is temporary. Friend, see you next time!”
As the last drop of power contained within the sun dimmed, the boy also faded into the void.
Even in the process of vanishing, he did not despair.
The words ‘We will meet again’ weren’t empty promises.
What vanished was the power of the souls accumulated within the sun, not the sun itself.
Someday, I would again seek greater power and accumulate souls.
When that time comes, the ‘revelation’ would awaken within me.
Ultimately, this battle would never conclude as long as I remained alive.
“Ah.”
As the power of the sun faded completely, the pain that had been suspended crashed over me.
I felt cold.
I felt hungry.
I felt thirsty.
I couldn’t breathe.
— Gogooooh!
In the distant, unidentified reaches of space.
I contemplated the Demon King charging at me for one last bite.
I’d like to summarize the content of Room 206 this way:
Han Kain, 20 years old, a freshman at K University.
Started as a miner, lived as a god, and fell asleep once again as a human.
This was my final memory from Room 206.
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