### Chapter 502 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (4)
—
– Kim Ahri
The place Mooksung discovered was a sort of relic storage.
It was said to be filled with mysterious items that had been collected since before the establishment of Miskatonic University by the headmaster’s faction.
Just hearing about it made me think, “Wow! We definitely have to check it out!” But there was one little issue.
“Can we peek inside for just a moment?”
“No can do.”
“Just a quick look will suffice—”
“No, I said no!”
“… I’ll just look with my eyes.”
“Oh come on! Why are students these days so disrespectful? Did you not hear that? This place is a ‘no student zone’!”
The relic storage could only be accessed by faculty members.
To Mooksung and me, the phrase “no student entry” basically sounded like “Hey, sneak in if you can!” but sneaking in wasn’t easy either.
That’s because Mooksung, who tried to sneak in, got caught by the storage manager.
“Hey, can I take Mooksung with me?”
“Oh my, do you know that rude boy from earlier?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, but that student needs a good talking to! Now you go back to your dorm!”
“… Okay.”
*
In the evening, Mooksung appeared completely soaked.
“That old hag of a manager—”
“Are you living your life recklessly now? Speak with some dignity!”
“… What do you mean by that? Anyone hearing you would think I’ve been living recklessly by default.”
“What got you so drenched?”
“That manager used some weird magic and drenched me with water! She warned me if I ever tried to sneak in again, I’d get expelled!”
“… I see.”
“Ugh! If I try again tonight—”
“Remember, we’re Management Bureau agents.”
“… Yeah.”
“This era doesn’t even have electronic security systems. But you got caught in ten seconds?”
Mooksung is a veteran agent.
For someone like him to get caught trying to sneak in within ten seconds?
That place must be protected by some supernatural force.
“Did that old lady use some detection magic throughout the storage?”
“Well, I don’t think she’s that powerful.”
“Not her?”
“I think the headmaster might have set it up.”
“… If that’s the case, it seems pretty hard to get in.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
Can we just easily break through the security magic of a semi-divine being who has been battling the Vatican for hundreds of years?
If we mess things up and get expelled, then it’ll complicate matters even more.
“What if we try once and if we fail, we use the ‘one more chance’?”
Mooksung seemed unwilling to give up, probably because he was still miffed from getting drenched.
“Did you forget the price of ‘the reversal of fate?’ I don’t know what it is, but if the hotel is warning us, it’s no ordinary price. ‘One more chance’ is a last resort. We should only use it when we think we might die fighting the boss.”
“Phew… You’re right. I guess I’m feeling a bit emotional now that I feel younger.”
“Nope, you’ve always been emotional, young or old.”
“Does that mean you have no emotions since you’re always old?”
“Are you starting a fight? Want to show me your angry side?”
“Hey, Ari, you keep teasing me!—”
“Pfft!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I know this isn’t the time for laughter.
But seeing ‘young Mooksung’ again after so long brought back memories that made it hard to hold back.
“Ah~ It reminds me of old times. There was a time you’d tremble at the sight of ghosts and say, ‘S-senpai!’”
“….”
“Senpai! If I die, please tell my parents back home—”
“Please, stop…”
“Agent Kim Mooksung did his best for the world -”
“Ugh! Senpai, when was that, and why do you still remember it?”
“It’s your last words, how can I forget?”
“I didn’t die!”
“Right. If you had died then, it would’ve been super cool.”
Mooksung ended up burying his face in his hands.
I guess it’s time to get serious here.
“Ahem, let’s get back to serious topics. The experience just now made me more convinced. We absolutely have to check out that relic storage, don’t you think, Mooksung?”
“… Yeah. Keeping it thoroughly hidden is solid proof that something strange is inside.”
“We need to find a way to get in. Let’s head back to the dorm for now. By the way, did you see the notice posted this morning?”
“The semester opening party?”
“Yeah.”
Just like many universities, Miskatonic University also holds a semester opening party at the start of the new school year.
“It’s tomorrow evening. Are you going, Ari?”
“Forget parties! I’m just planning to explore the school more. It’ll be a good opportunity to move around without disturbing others.”
“Hmmm, you’ve got a point there. Let’s divide the roles. You explore the school, and I’ll go to the party to get to know some people.”
That’s a decent idea.
Information can be found in the library, but it can also come from people.
It wouldn’t be bad for one person to build connections at the party.
“Alright.”
*
Time passed quickly.
After failing to gain entry to the relic storage last night, we spent most of the day without any meaningful information.
Though to be fair, I was busy attending lectures as promised with Emily.
As dusk fell, Mooksung hinted that he would head to the party.
Just as expected, the students had vacated the area for the semester opening party, making the department of mysticism become much quieter.
Thanks to that, I could examine the numerous bizarre specimens lying around and even visit the library.
…
This was the story from thirty minutes ago.
Now, however, a rather awkward sentinel had attached itself next to me.
“Ariyaang~! You think this book is that interesting?”
“….”
It was Emily, the girl who had been circling around me subtly since yesterday.
“Emily, isn’t it the middle of the opening party?”
“Right!”
“Then why don’t you go back to the party? I heard they’re taking dance requests.”
“Oh my, that’s what I wanted to say! Ari, you could have become the queen capturing all the boys’ attention at the party!”
What would I do being a queen at a hotel?
“I don’t like parties.”
“I love parties!”
“Then go.”
“But Ari is here!”
“What does that matter?”
“We’re friends after all!”
“….”
This feels oddly like speaking to Miro.
Of course, thanks to my long agent career, I could feel the differences.
Miro’s childish behavior was genuinely juvenile without any malice, while this girl’s awkward ‘childishness’ felt somehow unnatural.
At this point, even a fool should feel the weirdness, and I’m certainly no fool.
What’s up with her?
Does she really have some hidden agenda?
“Emily, if you have something to say, just say it.”
As I scrutinized Emily with a sharp gaze, her demeanor began to change slowly.
The playful, childish, or cute facade fell away like a lie.
In its place was a doll-like appearance devoid of emotions.
“….”
“….”
An eerie silence.
I observed Emily, and she observed me back.
Emily suddenly reached into her coat and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
“What’s that?”
“Take a look.”
It was a black-and-white drawing of a girl and an old man.
Was it pencil-drawn?
Honestly, the art skills weren’t great, like it was hard to make out, but upon closer inspection, there was writing in the corner.
“It says, ‘In reality, she’s incredibly pretty! With black hair and red eyes, her appearance is so unreal you can’t take your eyes off her at first glance!’”
Is this about me?
“‘Looks like a 50-year-old man? But stays fit because he’s well taken care of. He must have looked handsome when he was young. His eyes are piercing, and he has a very high nose.’”
The moment I read the description and saw the drawing, my breath caught.
This is how I’ve been observed and described.
But the older Mooksung is a completely different story!
The Mooksung in the third trial is in his twenties!
How would a character from the trial know and describe older Mooksung?
So this drawing must be a remnant left by a comrade from a past era!
“Emily, where did you get this drawing?”
Since the future Mooksung was depicted as a twenty-something, the person must have sketched him as an old man.
“….”
The beautiful girl didn’t answer my question and instead stared at me with a vacant expression.
“Emily! Where did you get it?”
“It’s real…”
“What?”
“It was real.”
“What do you mean—”
In the next moment, her eyes began to glisten with tears.
“Wh-What? Why are you suddenly crying?”
“Mom… Did I really see the future?”
“The future, what are you talking about—”
“No matter how much time passes, I never know… How… How!”
A storm of intense emotions crashed onto the lovely doll-like face of Emily.
“Ah, ah, ah… Mom, Mom, Mom… I’m scared. Why, how, by what means—”
Joy and sorrow, despair and hope, and an indescribable sense of longing.
The colors of emotions that one human can hold at once felt so astonishingly diverse, swirling in an instant.
Thanks to that, I felt suffocated, too.
I wanted to calm her down somehow and ask her about it…!
The ‘mom’ she refers to seems like a comrade from the situation, but who could it be?
Emily is incredibly beautiful with blonde hair, could it be Elena?
Or—
Wait?
Suddenly, Emily’s expression shifted dramatically, and she looked outside.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong? Emily?”
“Wha—what? Aah!”
“What’s happening outside—”
I was interrupted as screams began to reach my ears.
“Gahhh!”
“Help us!”
“What the hell is going on with these crazy people?!”
Screams from students and the sound of cold metal echoed from every direction!
— Bang!
Emily once again donned the mask of a teen girl and dashed outside.
I immediately got up and followed her.
This is bad!
I knew something was amiss outside, but the timing? Seriously?
Emily was about to reveal her important secret!
— Tap, tap!
As we ran frantically out of the library, a chilling fact dawned on me.
Emily had noticed the anomaly outside far more quickly than I did.
“….”
*
When we stepped outside, chaos erupted all around the campus.
Students were running while screaming, and the sound of gunfire rang out ceaselessly.
Understanding the situation was surprisingly easy since the enemies weren’t hiding their intentions at all.
“Cleanse them all! Christ is watching!”
“Amen!”
In black clothing emerged soldiers who shot down every visible student with guns!
— Bang, bang!
Watching the continuous firepower of automatic weapons, I was dumbfounded!
As a Management Bureau agent, don’t I find guns surprising?
Absolutely I do!
It’s 1897!
There’s controversy over what the first personal automatic weapon was, but it didn’t show up until the start of WWI!
Even the proper assault rifles like the ones they’re using would only be around in the 1940s, during WWII!
Thanks to that, identifying the enemy was embarrassingly straightforward.
The only organization that would be using weapons fifty years ahead of their time is the Vatican!
— Click!
Soldiers aimed their guns at me as they recognized my presence.
At this point, I had no time to hold back power and consider my next move.
— Thud!
I drew forth the power of old blood and slammed it into the ground.
The soldiers appeared taken aback by my movements, scattering their gazes everywhere.
Of course, I had no intention of letting the Vatican soldiers get a chance!
“Yahhh!”
I leaped into the air with both hands reaching for ‘space.’
The twist occurring in realms beyond human perception erupted around us in an instant—
— Crunch!
Six? No! Seven!
A bunch of soldiers were all torn apart, their insides splattered everywhere.
“Gahhh!”
The boy who looked like just barely over twenty shed blood tears while clutching the intestines spilling onto the ground—
Just a moment ago, he was pulling triggers without hesitation on the students, now he was in pure chaos.
Ignoring him, I sprinted ahead to think through the situation.
So, am I near the moment right before Emily’s secret identity was revealed?
Did something happen to Mooksung, who went to the party?
Does it mean Mooksung was shot down without even getting to use his ‘one more chance?’
What a ludicrous turn of events—
— Boom!
Nope!
I underestimated veteran agent Kim Mooksung.
A thunderous echo rang from the sky, making everyone look up.
Maybe everyone instinctively felt it.
That everything up till now would be reverting back to nothing!
“….”
Then, a miracle that could very well be crafted by a creator unfolded before my eyes.
The dead rose, and the killers faded into the darkness once more.
For me and Mooksung—another chance was granted.
— Flash!
At the last moment, the only thing I feared was—
“… the cost of reversal.”
*
“The Third Trial – Miskatonic University”
—
– Kim Ahri
“….”
I woke up feeling the light pouring in from the window.
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