Chapter 660 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘Origin of Species’ (7)
—
– Kim Ahri
The Great Race of Yith – the esteemed species of Is.
The moment I heard that word, I got a strong sense that I had grasped a crucial keyword.
The problem is that none of us here know what that term means.
“Anyone know? Ahri?”
“First time I’ve heard it.”
“Same here.”
“Me too.”
As my teammates shook their heads in confusion, Kain looked disappointed.
“There has to be related information somewhere. What group the Great Race of Is is, their objectives, and why they’re stealing human bodies—this must be the key to Room 301.”
“That sounds about right. Maybe the chairman of Daeyang Group knew something?”
“Sounds plausible. But if we think like Ahri, discovering information about the Great Race of Is falls on the resolution team.”
“That’s true.”
“So, what do we need to do to escape? What’s this flicker of hope that the scenario talks about?”
After a moment of silence, Jinchul mumbled.
“Maybe it’s about taking down the leaders of the Great Race?”
“…”
“Impossible? Considering they’re an alien race that swallowed Earth in an instant…”
“Regardless of possibility, it doesn’t seem to align with that approach.”
As Jinchul tilted his head, Mooksung chimed in with a clarification.
“Think about what happened on Floors 1 and 2. Escaping was more about survival and evasion than fighting. The situation was already a mess; the key was to at least save our lives.”
“Hmmm…”
“The very word escape emphasizes evasion, don’t you think?”
Unexpectedly, Sanghyun backed Jinchul up.
“But agent, with the world already destroyed, where can we evade to?”
“Evading aside, if survival is the goal…”
“Are you saying just staying still counts as escaping?”
“That, that doesn’t seem right.”
“Intuitively, I see merit in Jinchul’s perspective.”
A tiny population of ‘human zoo residents’ has somehow survived for decades, despite the collapse of human civilization.
So, if survival was indeed the core of our escape, just hiding and keeping quiet should qualify us to escape.
Sanghyun doubted this notion.
Finally, Mooksung waved his hand and sighed.
“This is tough. Does anyone have a clue?”
As we all furrowed our brows in silence.
“Hmm?”
Jinchul suddenly looked up and stared at the ceiling.
“What’s that?”
Around this time, I began to hear a strange noise.
— Woooom!
It sounded like some kind of motor, right?
Could it be…?
At that moment, the dialogue box activated.
Han Kain: Keep talking as if nothing’s happening. Miro, summon Eunsol.
Following the instructions, Elena raised her voice.
“The atrocities of the Great Race are worsening! What shall we do to stop them?”
Mooksung seamlessly followed up.
“It’s truly a big concern. The food supply in the sanctuary is decreasing day by day!”
As meaningless voices exchanged words, Eunsol’s summoning body appeared beside Miro.
The timing of Eunsol’s summoning was just before we entered Room 301.
So, although she had a brief startled expression, she instinctively summoned the Flute of Rest.
Not sure what’s going on, but she seems intent on using the flute first.
Just then, the dialogue box flashed again.
Han Kain: Don’t use the flute before the signal. Eunsol, behind me.
Kim Mooksung: What’s that about?
Elena: Huh?
Lee Eunsol: Okay!
So, Kain instructed her not to play the flute right after summoning Eunsol.
The confusion of some teammates and Eunsol, who didn’t quite grasp the situation, obeyed Kain’s orders.
Soon after, the dialogue box activated again.
Han Kain: Everybody, 1.
Kim Mooksung: 1.
Han Kain: 1.
Kim Sanghyun: 1.
…
Everyone entered a “1” without hesitation.
“We need a response. If necessary, let’s complain to the Great Ones!”
“Complain? Like that’ll work! Do you think those damn ghosts will even listen to us?”
“Hey, watch your words! If it wasn’t for the grace of the Great Ones, we would’ve starved long ago!”
Once again, pointless banter batted back and forth, and the dialogue box blinked again.
Kim Mooksung: 2.
Park Seungyub: 2.
Lee Eunsol: 2.
Elena: 2.
As “2” continued to pop up in succession, only one person’s “2” did not.
“Let’s consider something. Maybe the Count sent enough food, but there was an issue during distribution—”
Suddenly, Sanghyun stopped talking, feeling as if he sensed a shift in our atmosphere!
“—This wasn’t what I expected.”
Sanghyun’s strange demeanor as he laughed intrigued everyone around.
The first to react to Sanghyun’s altered expression was Jinchul, who was nearby.
“Yah!”
Jinchul pounced at Sanghyun like a beast, but this time, Seungyub swooped in from behind like lightning!
In a fraction of a second, Seungyub was now involved too!
Mooksung tried to stop Seungyub, but he rolled out of the way.
Invariably, the sudden thrust of power pushed Mooksung back.
“Ugh! What’s with these moves—”
Unable to help it, I let out a laugh.
Why is Seungyub so fast and strong only when being manipulated by someone!
A standoff had begun between Seungyub and Jinchul within moments.
The two kept trading glances and struck formidable poses.
It was a childish thought, but I wondered who would win if Jinchul, the party’s brawny fighter, faced off against self-proclaimed martial arts master Seungyub.
While Jinchul’s physicality surpassed the rest by a mile, Seungyub’s skill-set was—wasn’t it?
Or, wait! If it’s not Fortuna but Seungyub, Jinchul might even come out on top in technique, right?
As my thoughts veered in that direction, I noticed Jinchul’s expression starting to twist as well.
Right, it doesn’t matter!
In this situation facing the entity that had possessed Sanghyun, whether it’s Jinchul or Seungyub, neither had a chance to resist!
“…”
First Sanghyun, next Seungyub, and now Jinchul.
In the time it takes to drink a sip of water, three people had their control snapped by the Great Race.
Not that I’d say it’s a good thing, but at least it didn’t increase from there.
Is there a limit to how many people they can possess at once?
Soon enough, Sanghyun’s voice echoed throughout the hall.
“It’s a truly incomprehensible situation. Just what are you? Could it be that the pathetic chaos management organization of humanity—”
At that very moment.
Han Kain: Flute!
With a definitive order, Eunsol, who had been held back, quickly grabbed the flute.
— Rooom…!
A mystical melody began to resonate, and Sanghyun and Jinchul began to tremble, their eyes returning to normal.
“What kind of divine object is this—”
Before he could finish, Sanghyun started shaking all over, and soon all the teammates regained their senses.
“Gah! Wh-what happened? What is this situation—?”
Before Sanghyun could finish, Kain yelled out, moving like lightning.
“Maintain the flute!”
In a flash, the transition tattoo and the use of the Divine Sun were almost indistinguishable!
Thanks to that, Kain traveled from one end of the vast conference room to the other in a blink, crashing through the door and dashing outside.
“Whoa! What’s this—?”
“Let’s go! Eunsol, keep playing the flute!”
As we hurried outside, Kain had a shabby-dressed man by the collar.
At this point, everyone had figured out what was going on.
That shabby-dressed man was the first host manipulated by the Great Race!
They likely possessed that body to approach the conference room, subsequently seizing Sanghyun’s body nearby.
The overwhelming might of the Divine Sun, serving as a halo around Kain, radiated power.
Ordinary humans wouldn’t dare to look him in the eye, and within seconds, they’d find themselves on their knees praying without even being told.
However, this entity was different.
Although it bore the appearance of a lowly human, its soul and mind belonged to the Great Race!
The shabby man spoke with curiosity.
“It’s been ages since I encountered a day as fascinating as today. Allow me to ask a third time. What exactly are you?”
The long finger pointed first at Eunsol’s flute.
“That is surely a divine item of the Great Ones.”
Next, it pointed to me.
“You appear to be affiliated with the poor chaos management organization of humanity.”
How did it know I was an agent?
After all, other people would also formally be agents, right?
Finally, it locked eyes with Kain.
“You… I can’t quite tell. Might you be a duke concealing your identity?”
“…”
“Of course, I know there’s no way a duke would be here…”
Kain responded not with words but with summoning his grimoire.
— Crackle!
A strange noise echoed as lightning struck down from the clear sky.
A chaotic duel unfolded in an incomprehensible domain none of us could grasp.
“Ugh…”
The nightmare-like powers of demons clashed within a normal human body serving as a battleground; how could one withstand it!
Soon, the shabby man started spewing bubbling drool, bleeding from every orifice.
“… What.”
Kain frowned as he dropped the corpse to the ground, then suddenly directed his gaze ahead.
As if contemplating something that couldn’t easily be decided.
About ten seconds passed in that state.
The teammates tilted their heads, wondering why Kain was acting this way, and Elena finally spoke up.
“Kain! Is it over?”
“… It’s over.”
Soon, Kain shook his head as if he had given up on something.
“What happened? Considering the dead body, it seems you won?”
“I did win, but there’s not much significance. This body is, after all, just a puppet.”
“The real body—”
“The real body, well… I’ll need to check further, but it seems the opponent transcends the very concept of physicality.”
“What, does that mean?”
“An ethereal spirit, an essence that transcends reality. That is its nature. It has already fled.”
Jinchul shouted out in concern.
“The entire race is composed of ghosts? How do we kill those kinds of beings?”
“There are methods, though.”
Seungyub eagerly asked.
“Really, Kain! How—”
“Provided there are no bodies nearby to possess.”
“Eh? If we’re all within the flute’s range—”
“The range of the flute is limited; that itself isn’t sufficient. We have to dispose of the bodies capable of being possessed.”
“Dispose of bodies?”
“No need to destroy insects or plants; those can’t be possessed. We need to eliminate beings of higher intellect—humans or similar thinking creatures.”
“Can we do that?”
“… Let’s all think it through.”
Watching Kain return silently to the conference room, I realized something.
Just moments ago, Kain had been gazing ahead…
Contemplating whether to annihilate every single survivor of the human sanctuary!
What made him give up, though?
A pang of conscience over excessive slaughter?
Or perhaps the feeling that he couldn’t wipe them all out before they escaped?
Whichever it was, there seemed to be no need to share Kain’s intentions with the other teammates.
But I thought about it too.
“…”
Now remembering that the entity we clashed against had referred to itself as a ‘Duke,’ it meant that among its kind, it wasn’t particularly high up on the food chain.
In other words, the Great Race of Is can be overwhelmingly powerful even among those considered mere commoners or low-ranking nobles!
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