Chapter 520 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial: ‘Fallen King’ (6)
– Han Kain
It was just past 2 PM, shortly after lunchtime.
Minah and I had arrived at a quiet café near the Horus church.
For about five minutes, we sat in silence, both seemingly waiting for the other to speak first.
Of course, there’s no such thing as eternal silence in this world.
— Tap!
Minah pulled out her phone from her pocket and placed it on the table.
“What’s that for?”
“It’s a bit noisy around us.”
Even though we found a quiet café, there were still a few other folks in attendance.
“Hmm, then we should lower our voices—”
“No need for that.”
At that moment, I didn’t quite understand what she meant.
Minah confidently tapped the phone screen, which soon displayed a simple message.
“Setting up a Level 3 security space.”
“Level 3 security space?”
“Just watch.”
“The setup will take about three minutes, please be mindful until completion. The security space will last for approximately 15 minutes.”
And then something amazing happened.
The trio sitting behind us suddenly got up, saying it was time to return to the office.
The couple at the third table, who were munching on cake, quickly left, leaving half their sweets uneaten, as if something urgent had come up.
Some students near the kiosk made an excuse to play table tennis and vacated their seats, and an elderly couple in the corner hurried out, claiming they probably hadn’t turned off their gas valve.
And finally, the café worker, despite us being inside, left without any hesitation!
Thanks to all the strange experiences I had at the hotel, I instantly knew what was going on.
Everyone leaving the café surely thought they were doing so voluntarily.
“I have to get back to work, the cake tastes awful, I wanna play table tennis, I forgot to turn off the gas—”
Each of them must have believed those were the reasons, but not a single one of them was the truth.
The real cause was the eerie phenomenon created by Minah’s phone!
“What is this?”
“I got promoted. I’m no longer just a trainee.”
“What?!”
“It’s a tool I received after becoming a full agent. I can use it for various things now.”
“What’s the principle behind it? Did you brainwash everyone in the café?”
“Pfft! It’s not that grand.”
“…”
“Have you heard? Humans are creatures of rationalization.”
“Rationalization?”
“When something happens, people tend to come up with plausible reasons. Ancient humans looked at thunder and imagined a thunder god, and modern people connect unlucky events to conspiracies by secret organizations.”
“…”
“Think of it this way. The thought of ‘leave the café’ got inputted into their minds, and they just conjured up their own reasons for it.”
That explanation tinged with unease made me wonder if the administration in the real world also used similar methods to manipulate things.
With the café now quiet, Minah spoke in a composed manner.
“Let’s be honest here. You have that bizarre book called the ‘Incarnation of the Divine,’ right?”
Since she knew enough to ask this, lying would be a waste of time.
Moreover, it seemed like Minah suspected me of being a ‘wizard’ but hadn’t reported me to the Vatican.
What could this mean?
“Before we talk, just one thing. What are the odds of us talking being reported to the Vatican?”
“I’ll handle that part, so don’t worry.”
— Tap!
Bringing forth the ‘Tome of Incarnation’ and placing it on the table made Minah furrow her brow.
“Don’t open it.”
“Will opening it kill me? Or will my eyes melt and my brain ooze out?”
“…”
For average people, sure, but Ahri wasn’t that susceptible.
What about this girl?
“Listen.”
Soon, Minah started to tell her story.
She became an agent about seven to eight years ago and didn’t remember anything from before that.
She had asked the Vatican multiple times about her former self but never received a proper answer.
So, while living with half-hearted acceptance, the Hotel High incident occurred.
“At first, I didn’t realize, but after reflecting on that day, I concluded, ‘Ah! Cha Eun-ho is the mastermind behind this!’”
I had to quickly correct her on this one.
“I think you’re misinterpreting. The accident that day was mostly Ji-eun’s doing. I was—”
“I get that you probably did the clean-up. But where do you think Ji-eun got that book?”
“…”
In that moment, serious tension filled the air.
Was she suggesting that I handed that grimoire over to Ji-eun, leading to multiple deaths?
That was truly unjust!
“Well, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”
“…?”
“It’s possible that the book itself craved human lives. Demon entities tend to be wild and hard to control.”
“Um—”
“The important thing is what memories of you I recalled while thinking.”
Minah didn’t bring up the Hotel High incident any further.
Instead, she shifted back to discussing the ‘memories of the past.’
“Thinking about you, memories I couldn’t recall on my own kept flooding back.”
In those memories, she had meals in stunning five-star hotels with ‘someone who looks like me’ and had snowball fights in a snow-covered field.
Those were memories associated with the hotel.
‘Someone who looks like me’ was obviously me, just slightly altered in appearance before we entered Room 207.
“I’ve pondered this a lot, and the more I think about it, you seem like the key to my memories. What do you think?”
“… Just one question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why haven’t you reported this to the Vatican?”
At this, she took out a small photograph from her pocket, looking a bit dazed.
“Look.”
The picture featured Minah walking down the street, looking almost identical to now, but the surroundings looked vastly different than today’s.
“It’s from the 1980s. I stumbled upon it while trying to recover my memories.”
“…”
“I didn’t tell the Vatican. I was worried they’d burn the photo and erase my memories.”
At this point, I started piecing things together.
As expected, this girl likely was Ahri with her memory wiped clean.
For some reason, she was captured by the Vatican, which was systematically erasing her memories and utilizing her as an ‘agent.’
Minah herself had started to faintly realize this.
While suspecting the Vatican, she met me and began to regain fragments of her memory, leading her to trust me over the Vatican.
That would explain why she hadn’t reported anything to the Vatican or pressed the issue regarding our school.
“Ah, looking at this makes me remember again. You preferred Zero Cola over coffee, right?”
“… Yeah.”
It was bizarre.
The more we talked, the more it seemed Minah was recalling ‘Ahri’s memories’ little by little in real-time.
While it didn’t feel bad to know she was already confident she saw me as an ally…
I, on the other hand, was becoming more and more confused.
‘Almost’ all the signs pointed to Minah being Ahri who lost her memory.
Similar appearance, being used by the Vatican, the recollection of Ahri’s memories in recovery.
Only one element remained – the soul was the problem.
“…”
Once again, I summoned the power of the grimoire and took a look at her.
A faint, hovering white line gently caressed Minah’s essence, conveying information I had received several times before.
‘This one is not Ahri.’
“Why so serious?”
“… Nothing.”
There are two possibilities.
First, Minah is not Ahri but someone who acquired Ahri’s memories.
If the real Ahri were captured by the Vatican, approaching Minah could simply be a trap set by them!
Second, Minah could very well be Ahri, but her soul is warped.
If this is true, what kind of being twisted her soul enough for the Tome of Incarnation to deem her ‘not that person’?
It must be a being of such high power that mere mortals can’t even fathom.
“Just to check, have you ever summoned a mysterious object?”
“What?”
“A red glowing polyhedron.”
“I don’t think I have.”
“Or does the blood in your veins hold any mysterious power?”
“Umm… my regenerative ability is better than an average person’s. My athleticism is also good.”
“…”
So she can’t use the inheritance because she isn’t Ahri?
Or, she may be Ahri but forgot how to use it due to memory loss?
My head was beginning to throb!
Regardless, I could not wallow in this confusion forever; I had to make a decision.
“Minah, I have something I need to do from now on. Perhaps, through that process, you could also find some answers…”
“What is it?”
*
Regardless of what Minah’s identity is, one thing was certain.
She was of great help to me.
“So you didn’t come to the Horus church looking for me?”
“I was only here on a simple mission. Meeting you was by chance.”
The Vatican had been monitoring the Horus sect, and Minah’s posting was part of that.
Whether meeting me in church was mere happenstance or some undiscovered harmony, at least Minah’s intention hadn’t been behind it.
“The Horus sect began to really emerge in the 1900s. While they’ve been around for a while, compared to religions like Christianity, they’re nothing. Yet, they expanded their influence at an astonishing pace.”
“Is that expansion backed by ‘miracles’?”
“The Vatican thinks so. They have some reasons for it. As you know, in this world, ‘miracles’ are usually synonymous with demons or magic.”
The Vatican was convinced that some unidentified miracle was involved in the Horus sect’s influence expansion.
Hearing the word miracle sparked thoughts of the Divine Sun.
The Divine Sun had enabled me, an unremarkable mine worker – in 206, to become a cult leader shaking the city.
What’s more, a well-resourced organization like this would definitely have the Divine Sun!
It wouldn’t be surprising if they became a global religion shaking the entire Earth in a short time.
“The Vatican got some evidence regarding the miracles of the Horus sect?”
“Our undercover agents secured some photos and testimonials.”
“Did anyone see a flaming orb floating in the air?”
“A flaming orb?”
Seeing her tilt her head, I realized no agents had seen the Divine Sun.
It should be there within the Horus sect.
Were they using it discreetly?
“I haven’t seen a flaming orb, but I’ve seen something like this.”
Minah quickly took out a pen and sketched a simple drawing on a napkin.
It seemed she couldn’t show direct photos due to security reasons.
Yet the drawing was enough.
I discovered the ‘Kingdom of Dreams!’
“Ah…!”
“Do you know it? I heard it’s a painting hanging on the outer wall of the secret room in the Korean diocese.”
As soon as I saw it, I gasped in admiration.
So, the Kingdom of Dreams was hidden somewhere in the Korean diocese!
If I could retrieve this painting, I could surely contact my allies, who must be alive somewhere in the world.
And…
“What’s up? Why are you staring at me all of a sudden?”
This girl might be able to confirm whether she’s truly Ahri through the Kingdom of Dreams.
I quickly adjusted my short-term goals.
For now, let’s secure the Kingdom of Dreams first rather than pursuing the Divine Sun, the location of which was still unknown.
“I need this painting. Where exactly is it hidden?”
“I can tell you the location. I have a rough idea of the access method as I’ve tried it before, but…”
Minah wore a somewhat nuanced expression.
It was a blend of apprehension and curiosity.
“The question is… can we go in and get out in one piece?”
“…”
“The higher-ups of the Horus sect are ‘strange beings.’”
“Strange? Are they superhumans? Or is it magic? Isn’t it more or less the same—”
“No, I’m not talking about their abilities.”
“Then?”
“I’m not sure if they’re even human.”
“Wasn’t that old guy I met yesterday named Hong Gohak? What about him?”
“Who knows?”
It seemed that an organization that viewed me as a deity was not just a regular religion; their leaders might not even be human.
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at how bizarre the situation felt.
The next day, Minah and I formally infiltrated the sect.
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