### Chapter 418 – Room 104, The Curse Room – ‘The Preparatory Elite Hotel High School’ Re (17)
—
— Cha Jinchul
To meet Aurelia without killing the cultists, specific conditions are needed, and I can’t meet them.
So I guess I’ll just have to wait in the underground.
“When will it be?”
“…”
After about half a day, the chat window finally blinked.
Lee Eunsol: Cha Jinchul, start!
“I’ve been waiting forever!”
— Paaah!
“Ahh! Help! Someone save me!”
I summoned a piece of stellar Rock from another world and rolled it toward the center of the prison, screaming like a little kid.
As if that horrifying thing had nothing to do with me.
“What’s that? What is that?”
“It’s a weird rock statue! Let’s check it out—”
“Can’t you see the prison is turning weird? Everyone, step back!”
As I smoothly slipped out of the half-collapsed underground prison, dozens of cult members gathered, murmuring in confusion.
“What the heck is that?”
“The ground is about to collapse!”
The interdimensional rock was impressively conspicuous.
Naturally, the cultists didn’t dare approach the rock lying on the floor, avoiding casualties.
However, while people can avoid danger, the terrain can’t.
Before everyone’s eyes, the rock slowly began to crumble the ground.
“Fetch the Saint!”
Voices frantically began calling for the saint.
“Which saint are you talking about?”
“Whoever it is, bring her here immediately!”
“Miro is currently out!”
This is it!
Taking advantage of Miro’s absence as an excuse to track down the demon, I waited for this moment.
Now, there’s only one saint left in the cult.
“Bring Aurelia!”
Despite Aurelia’s mental breakdown, she has to show up in this situation.
If she doesn’t show up when the cult is about to go down, then she should just retire as a saint.
“Hey, it’s your turn now. Got it?”
[Feeling a bit tense.]
“Aurelia! This way!”
Finally, that lady I hadn’t seen for ages appeared.
“… Is it toward the prison?”
Aurelia, walking with the cultists, was indeed a stunning beauty; Arima would definitely envy her—
Ugh! Why do I keep trying to understand a witch’s mindset?
Get it together, Cha Jinchul!
“Yes! This strange rock—wait, it suddenly disappeared?”
I sent the stellar piece back.
I never intended to wreck the real underground city.
— Bang!
With a sound like concrete exploding, my whole body jolted like a lightning bolt.
At the same time, the power of ‘instant’ manifested, and the world’s clock began to tick slowly.
Ahh!
A thrill unlike anything I can quite express boiled up inside me.
Just by jumping, the concrete shatters, and my body flies like a missile.
When you add the power of ‘instant’ to it, even a gorilla would be amazed at this incredible strength I can control delicately.
Explosive power combined with the finesse of slicing feathers with a knife.
All this power condensed within me, ‘Cha Jinchul.’
What an amazing strength!
If it weren’t for this hotel, what would my life have been like?
A failed aspiring fighter, aging without any impressive background—stuck in a lousy 30-something life.
Just that level of messed-up existence, and yet the hotel gave me a shot at becoming a hero.
Somewhere along the line, I stopped resenting the hotel.
Maybe it’s time to ditch delusions!
As the ‘instant’ slowed everything down, I unwittingly relaxed.
The guy gaping at me in surprise was trying to tackle me!
I shoved him aside with my shoulder, springing back like a spring.
Next, a soldier in full gear sluggishly raised his rifle.
No matter how much the blessings of courage speed me up, I’m no Superman; I can’t outpace the bullet.
But I don’t need to be faster than a bullet to dodge it.
I immediately threw myself to the ground and rolled forward to evade the aim.
Before I knew it, Aurelia was right in front of me.
She didn’t seem to flinch, looking more perplexed.
Is she confident enough to think she can win against me?
If she thinks that, she’s mistaken.
I didn’t come to kill Aurelia.
— Grab!
I took Aurelia’s hand.
And then—
“…”
“…”
A brief silence followed.
The sensation I felt was impossible to articulate with words.
If I had to clumsily put it, it felt like something that had long been crushing my body and mind was finally lifted.
It was like an invisible ghost had vanished from my back.
In simpler terms, it was a feeling of liberation.
Ariama finally departed from my body.
*
— Lee Eunsol
Let’s summarize the situation.
As we re-enter Room 104, our objective is simple.
Before acquiring the inheritance, the Sacred Sun, we need to figure out what it is.
Ideally, we’d also weaken or eliminate any traps set by the owner.
So here we are, diving into the secrets of Room 104 while possessing the cult.
Gai said we need to check out the sanctuary in the underground city, but only the saint can enter the sanctuary.
Yet, the situation concerning that saint is quite ambiguous.
“Things seem to be getting more tangled on Jinchul’s side.”
“Really?”
“…”
Miro had pushed three desks together and was sitting in a ‘cat loaf’ position.
We’re having a serious talk here!
“Could you be a bit serious?”
“I’m totally serious!”
“What’s with that position?”
“Hey, just listen! Wow, Eunsol, you sound like a teacher right now!”
If I were a teacher, I would’ve smacked her five times over!
Miro already had a childlike personality, but hearing “Saint! Saint!” lately had made her quite puffed up.
— Bang! Bang!
“Eep!”
— Bang! Bang!
“Oh, Ari! This, this is a crime of blasphemy against the saint!”
“I’m playing the role of a devil, so it’s fine.”
With Ari by my side, I felt comforted as I gave Miro a few well-deserved whacks.
Miro tended to freeze up in front of Ari.
“I talked with Grandpa by the prison, and Jinchul said Arima entered Aurelia’s body?”
Ari’s expression grew a bit complicated.
“Then why is she hiding again?”
“Who knows…?”
“Could it be that the body snatch failed? Aurelia isn’t an ordinary human, after all.”
“If that were the case, wouldn’t Jinchul be dead?”
— Bang!
“Why did you hit me again?”
“Where did you find that cigarette?”
“I picked it up at school?”
“Why the heck would you pick that up? And why would you want to smoke it?”
“Think about it! Once we leave the Curse Room, we’d be back to full condition, right? So—”
“So if you say something like wanting to smoke here, that’s five extra hits.”
“…”
While Ari and Miro were filming a sitcom with deep sighs, I looked at Seungyub.
“In the end, you know the soul needs to be contained, right?”
“Yes.”
“Have you talked to Sanghyun?”
Seungyub’s job is to help him meet Aurelia, keeping an eye as the school’s security guard.
“What if, after all this, it turns out to be Aurelia and not Arima?”
“… That’s a good point.”
As I pondered the complicated possibilities, a shriek suddenly rang out from next to me.
“Why are you always targeting me! Eunsol smoked earlier!”
“Why are you and Eunsol being compared— Huh? Eunsol, you smoked?”
Miro, why are you throwing nonsense around again?
“Being around Ari’s mom makes you reach for cigarettes.”
“I didn’t know!”
“I quit more than ten years ago.”
“Then why smoke now?”
“Think about it! Once we leave the Curse Room, we’ll be back to full condition—”
Suddenly, Ari looked fatigued and shook her head.
“Don’t teach Miro anything weird. Anyway, I’ll go to the sanctuary with Miro.”
Together with Miro?
Ah, I see the plan to use the girl who has no presence.
“Hmmm… You may not have heard, but the sanctuary access issue for Miro has reached a tiresome conclusion.”
The sanctuary is originally a place only the saint can enter.
Can Miro really be called a saint?
Quite a fierce debate is going on within the cult about this matter.
“Miro can’t go in alone; she should go in with Aurelia.”
Interestingly, Aurelia agreed.
She said she’d go to the sanctuary together if she wanted to.
Just then, Miro stood up with confidence.
“I’m going!”
“…”
“Fufu! Aurelia, you shameless one. If you think you can do anything to me—”
— Bang!
“Why, why did you hit me again!”
“Sorry. Your wording made my hand move without realizing it.”
Miro walked off with a slightly sulky expression as she exited the classroom.
Ari watched Miro leave with a worried look.
“Strangely, Miro can be fascinating at times.”
“…”
“Still, we’re in the Curse Room. How can she be this fearless, even on the first floor? Is this—”
Ari answered in a firm voice.
“That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
“It often appears in war movies, right? People making silly jokes while bullets and missiles fly overhead, and their comrades’ heads burst next to them.”
“… I’ve seen it sometimes.”
“Such behavior doesn’t stem from strong mentality; when one thinks deeply, it becomes terrifying.”
As those words left Ari, she too stepped out of the classroom.
“…”
“…”
As I turned to look at Seungyub, I found he was watching me too.
It was like a strange sense of solidarity amongst two people observing the situation from a relatively safe position.
Ari’s analysis suggested that Miro had begun showing escapist childishness.
Ari, who loves and pities her, is still taking her to dangerous places.
This hotel can be really a cruel place.
What will we all become when this harsh journey ends?
My mind became complicated.
Seungyub was undoubtedly having similar thoughts.
Even if he’s a middle school student, he has quite a deep mind—
“N-Noona!”
“Yeah?”
“I really think both Ari and Miro are super pretty!”
“…”
“When they’re wearing their school uniforms, I can barely look up at them—”
— Bang!
“Ahh!”
*
— Miro
— Tap tap!
“… How do you feel?”
“…”
— Tap tap!
“Doesn’t it feel weird? Like forgotten memories are suddenly popping out in your mind!”
“…”
— Tap tap!
What’s with this atmosphere?
Aurelia silently led me and Ari to a secret place in the underground city.
“…”
A somewhat creepy thought crossed my mind.
What if Arima ate Aurelia?
Then Ari and I would have to fight against an Aurelia who understands all our weaknesses.
Can we win?
And even if we do, isn’t it a problem?
If Aurelia gets severely hurt, the owner might intervene.
What would happen then?
What if…
It’s unlikely! But what if…
The owner thought, “This hotel party is really something”—?
— Gulp!
Let’s stop thinking like that.
“Heh! Aurelia, do you think ‘Father’ still sees you as his daughter?”
“…”
“Maybe that man’s heart has already swayed toward me! Look at me! So cute, talented, smart, and even younger than you! You can’t compare to me—”
— Clonk!
As Aurelia touched the wall, stairs leading down to the underground appeared.
“Go.”
“…”
“You came to solve the mystery, didn’t you? The answers you seek are down there.”
“… Alright, then—”
“Only you are allowed.”
“…”
‘Only you are allowed.’
That implies there’s someone else here besides me.
In the end, Ari dropped her disguise.
“You knew, huh? Well, you’re no ordinary person.”
“…”
“But why should I listen to you? I’m not planning to send Miro into a dangerous place by herself.”
Aurelia looked at Ari with calm eyes.
“Trust my words. You can’t withstand that man’s radiance.”
“On what grounds—”
“My father said that only Han Kain and Kim Miro can endure his radiance…”
“Then how am I to believe you?!”
“Kim Ahri. Trust my words. Aren’t you planning to accept me as your ally? To contain me in the soul vessel? But you’ll disregard my advice?”
In that moment, both Ari and I fell silent together.
This woman gained information about us from Arima!
“Miro, go down. Go down and uncover all the mysteries. My father has prepared a stage for everyone.”
—
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