### Chapter 248 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (26)
—
– Han Kain
Finally, the third attempt began!
This time, the progress was entirely different from the past—there was no movement towards the Sea God Island, nor to the Cheongseong Group. According to Eunsol’s idea laid out late into the night, we didn’t need to go to either place. In fact, dividing our forces could be more dangerous.
Ahri spoke up nervously.
“Even though we’ve already decided on this plan, don’t you think we really need to retrieve the flutes from the daughters of the sea god? And what about unsealing Elena?”
My sister confidently replied.
“We don’t have time to go to Sea God Island. In this plan, we don’t need the original flutes or Elena. You agreed to this yesterday, remember?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Besides, there’s an alternative flute we’ll find at the upcoming location, so it’s fine.”
That’s right. There’s a substitute flute directly created by the Bureau where we’re headed. The limousine was heading straight to the lab.
Meanwhile, Grandfather was on a call with Chief Park Jinchul. By now, we all knew what his deal was; his head was filled with maintaining the ‘project’s’ secrecy.
After spinning a web of questionable talk, Grandfather requested support, saying he would head to Sea God Island. Soon, Chief Park would dispatch a unit to eliminate us, weakening the lab’s defenses.
Of course, we had no intention of going to Sea God Island. We even got rid of our phones to avoid any tracking by the Bureau.
Ahri was still uneasy.
I couldn’t blame her. This plan deviated significantly from our usual strategies, and many of the discussions we had held previously now seemed pointless.
But I decided to drop my preconceived notions and think it through. It felt like breaking a game—moving towards mechanical solutions didn’t seem right anymore. Stepping back, what’s the route to a ‘happy ending’?
Just then, the limousine arrived near the lab.
“Wait, is it okay for a sketchy lab conducting suspicious experiments to be this flashy?”
Jinchul’s reaction was a mixture of disbelief and humor as Grandfather replied easily.
“Are you an idiot? If it has the Bureau’s signs, nobody’s going to enter anyway.”
Realistically, the lab was too vast for them to properly conceal it. We waited inside the limousine, looking out at the lab. After about 20 minutes, multiple vehicles departed from it. Chief Park sent a strike force of ‘advanced humans’ towards the Sea God Island.
But the time wasn’t right yet. Even with the main force gone, this place was, after all, a major facility of the Bureau. Security would surely still be tight. So we waited patiently for a phenomenon to occur that would assist us!
Suddenly, the ground shook and a tsunami surged forth.
As powerful as the Bureau was, this is still Korea. It’s not like Korea is free from quakes, but compared to Japan across the sea, we don’t suffer from regular quakes or tsunamis. There’s no way this highly-secured lab was prepared for a tidal wave.
Predictably, the oncoming tsunami quickly flooded the area around the lab! Panic engulfed employees and researchers alike, and even we could feel the chaos as we observed from our safe spot.
Now, it begins.
“Gulp!”
The tension was palpable. Most of the team was positioned towards the back because I had decided to be the ‘vanguard’ in this plan. Though I wore protective gear, the adrenaline made my skin tingle.
As we approached the lab, a sharp-looking man struggled through the chaos, glancing questioningly at me.
“The lab is in disarray at the moment… are you wearing reinforced suit? If you’re from the Bureau, could you please show your ID?”
Instead of answering, I summoned a book containing ominous symbols into my hands.
“What in the—”
“Your body, I’ll borrow it!”
*
– Lee Eunsol
Kain dashed forward, causing immediate chaos near the lab’s perimeter. The soldiers quickly began firing at each other, fists swinging wildly as pandemonium erupted.
Watching this, our allies exchanged gestures and began to move. Naturally, Ahri waved her hands in the air, and in a flash, over twenty soldiers were neutralized when Songyee’s bracelet sparked to life. With a few shrieks from Pero, the situation was resolved without a hitch.
The lab hadn’t even managed a proper response to this uproar. With the main force led by Chief Park gone and the tsunami’s arrival, they devolved into a scramble.
Soon, Sanghyun and Grandfather moved to gather equipment from the fallen soldiers.
I casually walked over, taking stock of the situation. Everything seemed to be going well. Initially, the chaos would have collapsed over half the facility without us, and now we were just adding extra fuel to the fire!
Ahri conjured the red fog from before and took down more than ten soldiers at once. Meanwhile, Sanghyun, now donned in a bulletproof vest, showcased impressive marksmanship. There was simply no need to mention Grandfather’s or Jinchul’s combat skills.
Add in Pero beside Songyee, and it felt like forming a one-person army!
…
As I looked on in admiration, I realized I felt a bit pathetic. Honestly, I was just tagging along. Luckily, Seungyub didn’t seem to be doing all that much either.
Thinking this way made me feel even more down. I mean, he was just a middle schooler. Then someone approached me, but thankfully it wasn’t a soldier.
“Who the hell are you!? How can you do this—”
As I adjusted my cap and yelled freely, the approaching employee stopped in their tracks and said, “I’m sorry,” before hitting the floor. Seungyub stood beside me, astonished.
“Did they actually just faceplant?”
“Looks like it.”
We learned that to reach the secret chamber where the Conductor was located, we needed to find Imelda or the Deputy Director. Where could they be?
Just then, a notification popped up.
Kim Mooksung: “I think this tubby guy is the Deputy Director. Everyone head toward the entrance.”
—
Navigating through the whirlpool of debris and trash, we sprinted towards the entrance where Grandfather had grabbed hold of a hefty man.
“Hey! Are you the Deputy Director?”
“N-no, I’m just a low-level staff…”
“Right here, you have a nameplate, so you clearly are the Deputy Director. Why lie?”
“Is this punk serious? You wanna drink a bucket full of mud here?”
Why does Grandfather always act like this in tense situations? Sanghyun grinned, holding onto Grandfather’s arm.
“Let’s calm down. No need to resort to such rough methods.”
Not that we’d need them with Kain in the front! True to his role, Kain started taking control of the Deputy Director’s body. Jinchul carried Kain while Ahri wore the protective suit.
“Ugh! This is so cumbersome.”
“Any problems with that?”
“This guy’s in terrible shape, just taking a step leaves him gasping. How’s he even alive?”
“Did you see Imelda?”
Ahri replied, “I saw a car leave earlier. Imelda probably took some close associates and ran off.”
“Guess he’s the type to look after his own neck.”
While we raced through the lab, I reflected on how Elena had described this place as like a twisted magical realm. She must have seen some horrifying sights to arrive at such a conclusion.
Indeed, this was a manifestation of depraved creativity. Even if they weren’t human, treating highly intelligent supernatural creatures like mere lab rats was madness. Moreover, sacrificing many lives for a nonsense concept like a ‘living flute’ exhibited pure insanity.
Let’s reexamine the scenario for Room 202 from last night’s meeting.
Where does the blame lie for all the tragedies contained within? Instead of getting stuck on words like ‘curse’ or ‘opponent,’ stepping back revealed a clear picture: the root of all these issues was the Management Bureau.
What was the Sea God doing all this time? He just had to coax a sea creature rather than getting involved! It wasn’t like he was stealing land but rather bringing forth a new land from the ocean.
He blessed poor fishermen who begged for help from starvation. And yet, he turned a blind eye for 800 long years as they dodged their fate. There were no issues until the Bureau became wrapped up in their mad delusions and started abducting sea deities!
As this revelation hit me, I understood the meaning behind, “Why are you a mermaid?” from the Sea God.
Why did Elena have to adopt the role of ‘mermaid’ here?
What exactly is a mermaid? It’s a being born from the fusion of human and Ruda. They can’t be labeled as purely human, nor entirely another race; they stand at the boundary.
Therefore, they don’t need to be confined by a particular perspective.
We must step outside our human view; we need to look back on the situation from a ‘gray position’ to find a core problem.
In an instant, I thought about our nature.
What beings are we right now? Those around me, as they still haven’t crossed the boundary, what forms do they take in my eyes?
Some smash concrete with a light jab, enduring a bullet to the waist without complaint. Others can whip the senses of countless people with a single gesture and command beasts that could rival monsters with mere words. Some take down dozens with just a cup of blood, while others toy with mortal bodies with a single book.
Indeed, haven’t we too started breaking out of our human shells?
That led me to wonder: isn’t it that the hotel and the sea god are urging us to transcend our ‘human perspective’?
With this thought, I reached a conclusion.
I will— we will, in this room—
Crush the twisted ambitions of the Management Bureau!
*
– Han Kain
With confidence, our footsteps finally halted at the most dangerous place. We reached the location where the most vital aspect of our plan was contained. Upon seeing Ruda, the ‘Conductor’ that Elena spoke of, I sensed it immediately—primarily because of the size difference. It was overwhelmingly larger than any snail I had seen before.
Ahri scratched her head and muttered.
“Isn’t it a bit suicidal to implant something like that? Wouldn’t it have been easier if we had Elena come and summon a moth?”
I thought differently.
“Summoning it would be challenging. I know a bit about ominous imaginings, and that ability is quite erratic; it heavily depends on the user’s mental state.”
“So, you’re saying you really need to be engulfed in despair and madness for a truly formidable monster to appear?”
“Exactly. While the first creation, the caterpillar, seems easy enough to make, the stronger moth wouldn’t have been within Elena’s grasp here, even by her side.”
With plenty of allies now and the lab already in ruins, we still had a considerable amount of time before the Sea God descended. In short, we weren’t easily driven to despair or insanity.
Of course, we anticipated this situation. Moreover, we were prepared with a solution. Jinchul approached, looking tense, with a doctor following closely.
“Cha Jinchul, if things feel odd, I’ll take action immediately.”
“I’m fine; my only asset is my sturdy constitution! If it fails…”
Ahri grinned.
“Then you’ll need to run to Sea God Island, grab Elena, and summon a moth!”
“Ugh! Pff! Focus of the spirit signifying consciousness!”
What’s that? Some sort of battle cry?
The doctor was deep in thought while holding a snail and finally implanted it slowly inside Jinchul’s body.
…
My heart skipped a beat. Was this really the right choice?
Last night, the plan devised by Eunsol was straightforward: rather than stopping the Sea God’s descent from the viewpoint of humans or the Bureau, we aimed to eliminate the reason for the Sea God to descend from the perspective of the ‘victim’!
To put it bluntly, we were saying we’d seek revenge instead of the Sea God. If we took down most of the targets, the Sea God’s fury would undoubtedly lessen!
This was genuinely our plan!
“Ugh… This is a bit painful.”
Moments after Jinchul began to foam at the mouth, he opened his mouth wide. All eyes were on him as silence filled the air. Slowly, Jinchul’s massive frame began to rise.
Was it just my imagination? His size appeared to have grown.
“I finally understand what Rilinganor meant.”
“Huh?”
“I can hear the screams.”
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“I feel assured that this is the right direction. We must stop the cries of Ruda that fill this world…. Let’s move.”
Despite our earlier resolve to enter the room with a firm heart, some people hesitated. Now, we were set to fight the Bureau’s Korean branch. Strangely, I didn’t feel scared of the upcoming battle.
The Bureau was scary, but it posed no greater threat than the chaotic entities we had faced before. Yet why did our steps feel heavy?
It’s probably because the opponents were an organization intended to protect humanity. As they cast a glance back at us, Hyung smiled faintly.
“Tonight, the order established by the Bureau will fall apart!”
His encouraging words made my sister chuckle softly.
“Jinchul, that’s a bit…”
“It’s about embracing confidence!”
Strange energy began to ooze from Jinchul’s body. The once-chaotic lab started to come under control as the living flutes followed his lead.
At this moment—the Bureau’s dream army, made up of the ‘Leaped Ones’, began clutching their heads in confusion.
They wouldn’t last much longer. Ruda was a collective creature serving those stronger, and in this place, the strongest was Jinchul!
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