### Chapter 514 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (16) Fin
—
— ???
As I went through the trials of the hotel, I became acutely aware of just how remarkable modern conveniences are.
Computers, the internet, smartphones, washing machines—if I started listing them, I’d run out of time.
The difference in transportation is a great example.
In the 21st century, it takes just a day to fly from America to Europe.
But unfortunately, it’s 1897, before the Wright brothers made their first powered flight.
So, here I am, stuck on a passenger ship with Fortuna for the past ten days.
…
It’s a bit boring, but there’s been some gain.
I’ve managed to get some answers to my questions while chatting with Fortuna.
Want an example?
Let’s see…
The fact that Seungyub survived for so long after the first trial, allowing him to reunite with Eidia in Egypt, is quite a coincidence.
In other words, Fortuna’s very existence seems to be a product of chance. How did he become the boss of the second trial?
“Did Eidia expose more people to the mirror aside from you?”
“Yeah. But people kept offing themselves, so I stopped after a while.”
“… Offing themselves?”
“People with families struggled to cope. And generally, they didn’t really gain any special powers.”
“…”
The mirror can twist not only special beings like Eidia, me, and Seungyub but also ordinary humans.
Moreover, it has been underground near the border of Spain and Portugal since ancient times.
Finally, the stage for the second trial was set in Spain.
In other words, perhaps the boss of the second trial wasn’t ‘Fortuna’ but rather someone twisted by the mirror?
That ‘someone’ turning into ‘Park Seungyub’ is downright absurd fate.
“I had a dream last night.”
“…?”
“I dreamt of a huge guy, a very pretty blonde lady shining like gold, and a girl with a cynical face walking around with a parrot on her shoulder…”
“Anything else?”
“There was an older sister, and a white girl who looked a lot like her. Oh, and there was a weird guy who always talked in riddles.”
“A weird guy, huh… Yeah, Kain does have a peculiar side.”
Since I was also a ‘twisted being,’ I could earn Fortuna’s trust, and by touching Fortuna’s heart with old blood every day, he slowly began to recall ‘us.’
Naturally, the one he remembered the most wasn’t us.
“… Sis, I might have had a girlfriend.”
“Whoa~ Congratulations! I mean it.”
“She was really, really pretty and smart. She didn’t seem like the playful type, more cynical and cold?”
“Sounds about right.”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Can I see her again?”
Can Seungyub meet Yumi again?
Yumi isn’t considered a ‘participant’ by hotel standards but rather a part of the legacy contained in the soul’s container.
Currently, it’s not Yumi in that container but rather Seungyub himself.
“…”
Looking at it, it didn’t seem easy, so I kept my mouth shut.
I could only hope the hotel would show mercy.
…
As time passed, Fortuna slowly began to change.
Each time he fell into a trance, Seungyub would awaken from it.
In that state, the boy vaguely recognized reality, realizing he had attacked not only his comrades but also Yumi, leading to despair.
This emotional part—I’m not sure about it.
“There’s nothing to blame yourself for. It was the twisted god that turned you against your comrades, right? Attacking your friends in such a state has happened to plenty of people.”
“But Sis…”
“I’ve turned into the Terminator and melted Elena with lasers, among other things. I’ve ended the lives of several others too.”
“You must have struggled with a sense of guilt, huh? Thanks for telling me—”
“Guilt? I didn’t feel any, though.”
“Eh?”
“Why should I feel sorry when it wasn’t my intention? Legally speaking, I’m innocent! If anything, it’s your fault for not dodging the lasers better.”
Seungyub, who had been lying down, looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
I only hoped this slight shock therapy would help him.
Of course, it’s also expressing my unfiltered feelings!
Hey guys, next time, try not to get hit by lasers or whatever. Got it?
…
On a day when a drizzle was falling, we finally arrived in Spain.
*
The Vatican in Room 207 is nothing like the real Vatican; rather, it resembles an Administration Bureau.
Even the core facilities are in Spain, not Italy.
Probably because the mirror, which could be the root of all problems, is buried underground in Spain.
“If there’s something like a mirror in reality, would it also be in Spain?”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind.”
Fortuna, being the de facto second-in-command at the Vatican, made it smooth sailing once we arrived in Spain.
Although some priests from the Vatican questioned the nature of my mysterious existence, they all backed off at a mere nod from Fortuna. It couldn’t have been easier.
By evening, we finally met the Virgin.
She looked pretty, but I had to wonder, what was up with that flashy fashion?
The outfit was something that seemed to have been trendy in the Roman Empire—it’s not like she’s kept up with trends for thousands of years or anything.
But all those adornments from head to toe? That’s a bit excessive!
That much is bound to weigh her down!
“…”
Setting fashion aside, we both realized something simultaneously.
We are all twisted beings.
“Oh my, Fortuna brought a rare guest!”
“Yeah. Eidia, she’s one of us too.”
“…”
“Hoho… What a surprise! How did this happen? The ‘mirror’ here was supposed to be under strict control.”
The girl who had been spinning around suddenly broke into a sweet smile.
“Aha! So there’s a fragment left in America? How fascinating. I didn’t expect to find any remaining pieces!”
“No way, you didn’t think there would be remnants left, did you?”
“You must’ve destroyed Yumi’s mirror when you killed her, right?”
“I thought that was the case, but turns out, a small piece is still floating around.”
An unexplainable, bizarre atmosphere settled in.
Clearly, our conversation and the situation should have positioned us as enemies…
But it wasn’t that simple.
I felt an inexplicable sense of kinship toward her, and she felt the same.
“Care for a coffee?”
“I’ll have an iced Americano, please.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
Oops! I almost forgot—Iced Americano didn’t even exist before World War II, right?
“Just grab whatever you’re drinking.”
After I ordered a hot coffee, the Virgin spoke first.
“I’ll ask the first question since it’s on your tab. Do you have the remaining mirror shard?”
Skipping my identity and purpose for the visit, she jumped right to where the mirror shard is.
This was a clue to understand exactly what her main interest is.
“Yeah.”
“Can I have it back?”
“Have it back? That’s a weird way to put it.”
“The mirror was originally mine.”
“No way! The mirror was buried underground in Spain, wasn’t it?”
“How could you—? Fine! I found something buried, so I have ownership, right?”
“Simply finding it makes it yours? By that logic, I found the mirror shard in Lucas’s corpse!”
Fortuna, who had been lurking behind, chimed in.
“Well, not that you just found it. You killed him and then rifled through the corpse—”
“Yeah! I rifled through the corpse and found it.”
The Virgin chuckled in disbelief before questioning again.
“Do you even know what the mirror is to be so eager for it? Just some unidentified divine artifact associated with a mysterious deity?”
“…”
“If you want a powerful magical tool, I can open the Vatican treasure vault for you. Take whatever you want! There are plenty of items that are much safer and easier to use than the mirror.”
“Let me ask you one. What’s your actual goal with the mirror?”
What did the Virgin realize when she discovered the mirror in the Iberian Peninsula?
As soon as she heard my question, the Virgin firmly declared without hesitation.
“To save the world.”
“Ah?”
Her eyes and tone shifted dramatically.
“Child, you truly know nothing.”
“…”
“You probably think of me as a crazed killer. But this world is a far more terrible place than you can imagine.”
“…”
“I have fought against the demons that emerge from the ends of nightmares.
I have seen the madness beyond the hell that appears in reality.
I have given rest to victims suffering eternally in worlds distorted by the passage of time.
I have banished beings whose mere presence could melt brains.
I have burned the very devils that release poisons that rot the lungs with just a breath.”
I was at a loss for words.
At that moment, she appeared more like a great hero who had sustained human history for five millennia rather than a foe threatening us in Room 207.
“But all of this effort has not been enough. Because the situations we are given are simply too irrational!”
“Irrational…”
“The very exams are horrific; what good does it do to toil over them? The answer is simple—change the questions! Seeing it this way, I think I’ve made my case for why I should obtain the mirror. Let’s cut the nonsense here.”
I had plenty of rebuttals flash through my mind.
I wasn’t some ‘lucky girl who obtained the mirror’ but rather a veteran agent of the Administration Bureau.
A fragile world that could shatter like glass in an instant.
People struggling to hold up a delicate model garden through pain.
I know these facts all too well.
However, could I measure up to Eidia’s experiences?
Recognizing this, I chose not to counter her and instead took a humble approach.
“Virgin. No, it’s more appropriate to call you ‘senior.’”
“Hmm?”
I stood up from my seat and bowed my head.
“… What kind of joke is this—”
“Thank you. This is the minimum courtesy I can show you as a junior.”
This wasn’t a lie, but pure sincerity.
“I think that’s enough.”
Reflecting on our earlier conversation, the Virgin’s final words echoed with clarity.
“The only answer is to change the exam questions!”
I too had arrived at a decision.
“What?”
As I felt a significant weight in my grasp—I shouted the ‘signal’ we had previously agreed upon.
“Seungyub!”
The boy who had until now been acting like a loyal Fortuna suddenly had his eyes gleam terrifyingly, and a sharp blade pierced the air.
At that moment, the power of the irregular polyhedron descended upon the Virgin!
“Fortuna…!”
Ignoring her scream, the black knight lunged with his sword.
In this moment, even the Virgin couldn’t conceal her astonishment.
But she too was an entity that had conserved her power through unthinkable times.
The adornments covering her body began to glow brightly!
—Boom!
…
…
…
At the end of the bloodbath where everything crumbled…
I lost much but also gained an equivalent.
—
“Miskatonic University, Fin”
—
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: —Day 18
Current Location: Room 207, The Gate Room
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
— Han Kain
— Clatter! Clatter!
When was the last time we passed the third station?
It feels like it’s about time to arrive at the next stop.
— Clatter! Clatter!
Think. Think. Think.
I was filled with so many thoughts that my mind felt hazy.
I had worked hard to change a harsh future.
I was seated quietly there, trying to orchestrate the future as if I were Zhuge Liang.
I don’t know, maybe I seem like an incomprehensible being to someone.
But there is one truth I know better than anyone else.
Omnipotent, omniscient—I am definitely not that kind of existence.
As far as I know, even the hotel, closest to omniscience and omnipotence, occasionally admits when the unexpected happens.
So how could someone like me possibly design all the infinite possibilities that change so rapidly?
Surely, a good portion of my predictions must have been wrong.
Plans likely crumbled, and the circumstances twisted bizarrely.
That’s okay.
I can just fix it from now on.
— Squeak!
“I will now commence the fourth trial! Participant Han Kain, please prepare yourself.”
It’s time to reap the seeds we’ve sown.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.