### Chapter 503 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (5)
—
– Kim Mooksung
Lately, I’ve been having this recurring thought.
What is youth?
Sure, some people emphasize the differences in life expectancy and wealth, but recently, I’ve been feeling a more profound difference.
Youth is living a life where you can stuff your face with meat without worrying if your stomach can handle it.
Also, it’s about wetting your throat with beer and wine without recalling the doctor’s advice from last month!
What? Just because you love meat and booze when you’re young means you’ll suffer when you’re older?
What does that have to do with me?
My health should be something the hotel takes care of, not something for me to worry about!
“Hey, bring me another beer!”
As I enjoy the smooth foam, I scan the room packed with young students bustling with excitement.
A lot of them, perhaps not knowing their own limits, were already as red as ripe persimmons.
Now it’s 1897, and it’s a rare time indeed where female students and professors are few and far between.
But of course, there are always exceptions, and Miskatonic University’s Department of Mysticism is a prime example.
Could it be that the hotel party, almost otherworldly, attracted the students?
Where there are flowers, bees are sure to gather.
Since there are many girls in the Department of Mysticism, it’s no surprise that students from other departments flock here in droves.
And it seems the mysticism department isn’t particularly keen on keeping those interdepartmental exchanges at bay.
Maybe they think that such natural born male-female interactions will help expand their influence?
“…”
Sure, I said I’d go to the party for gathering intel, but to be honest, I didn’t gather much.
The best I can come up with is that the students of Miskatonic University are doing their best for the future of the New World.
Every time I turned my head, I saw pairs of students mixing together in shadowy spots working hard to boost the birth rate of the New World.
But if a werewolf and a yeti mate, what kind of offspring do they produce?
For the sake of future generations, we must clarify these matters!
Werewolf-yeti hybrids?
“Wow~! I searched everywhere for you and here you are!”
“…”
“Hey, your name is… Mooksung, right?”
Students were crowding around me like over-eager mosquitoes.
Normally, I’d gladly chat for intel, but these guys were so obvious in their intentions that I only sighed.
“So, um, where’s Ari?”
“Sharp friend you are! So, why isn’t the noble vampire lady at the party? My family has, um, traditionally mingled with the European Bloody Nobles—”
“There are plenty of non-mystics around. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Haha, everyone’s tipsy, and this department is full of weirdos anyway, so who cares? Just don’t turn into something.”
“…”
“So, uh, where’s Ari?”
You clueless idiot!
I’ve probably been asked where Ari is a million times today!
And what about your family?
If your father saw you like this, he’d probably write a letter demanding you cut off your allowance and come back home.
“… Was your name Carl?”
“That’s right!”
“So for the party today, is there any special event? Something other than just eating, drinking, and dancing?”
“Huh? Special event? Isn’t the party just about eating, drinking, and dancing?”
“…”
Well, that does make sense.
For these kids, as long as the party involves eating, drinking, and dancing, that’s all they need.
Just then, complaints started echoing from behind.
“Ugh, what the hell!”
“Hey! Watch it!”
“A violin? Did the student council hire some singers?”
People carrying violin cases began to enter the party.
Their movements were quite aggressive, bumping into students who expressed their discontent, but the performers seemed indifferent.
“Wait, what’s up with this?”
The student who was searching for Ari just moments ago now looked flustered.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, uh…”
“What is it?”
“I-I’m part of the student council, and we’ve never called for a performer before.”
The student council hasn’t hired anyone?
Then who—
“Oh no!”
“Uh? Uh? What’s going on—where are you going?”
Decisions should be prompt, actions discreet!
Without a moment’s hesitation, I slipped into the shadows where the light couldn’t reach.
Thankfully, thanks to Miskatonic University’s commitment to boosting the birth rate of the New World, there were plenty of dark, hidden spots to hide in.
“Ah! Eek!”
“What the hell is that?”
Of course, there were still some fellows dreaming of interspecies love lurking about!
“Hey, hey! You there! You’re the junior, right? An oriental kid who doesn’t know his place—”
“Miss, this dude has two wives back home.”
“What did you just say?”
“This crazy fool—”
“He’s got three kids too. This is my defining punch for the lady.”
With a well-placed hook to the open-mouthed idiot, he fell flat, and the female student scurried away in shock.
“…”
From the darkness, I surveyed the party scene.
Soon, the strange musicians amidst the students began exchanging furtive glances, and then—
— Click!
— Rat-a-tat-tat!
In an instant, they pulled out automatic weapons and began firing indiscriminately!
“Crazy bastards!”
Is this for real, Pope’s soldiers?
What the hell, firing automatic weapons right in the middle of a university?
Even through the eyes of a Management Bureau agent, this was just absurd!
We sometimes pull off crazy stunts… but nothing like this!
— Rat-a-tat-tat! Bang!
“Gahhh!”
“Ugh, uggh—”
“Grrr!”
In no time, numerous students had their heads blown apart, and limbs were flying everywhere.
Many students, mouths agape, trembled in shock before getting slaughtered like sheep.
Maybe up until their last moments, they thought this surreal situation was just a drunken fantasy.
“Gah!”
As I bit down and gripped my fist, something round and hard appeared in my hand.
The power to resolve this entire situation – ‘One More Chance!’
“…”
I barely suppressed the urge to flip the coin right then and there.
Not now, it’s not the time yet.
One More Chance isn’t like the bracelet of Songee or Eunsol’s magical flute, which can be used without risk!
The hotel itself warned us about the ‘price of reversal,’ so there’s a high chance there’s a limit on how many times it can be used.
I’ll wait until the very last moment when I feel the bullet lodged in my gut and can’t breathe anymore!
— Rat-a-tat-tat!
Using trees as shields and even submerging myself in a pond, I did everything I could.
Fortunately or unfortunately, with the bloodthirsty zealots from the Vatican not focusing solely on me, I managed to hold on.
As what felt like a hundred years passed, in reality just four or five minutes, a miracle finally occurred.
— Rumble!
From above, a human-like figure descended like a lightning bolt.
He appeared alongside thunder, an entity beyond human limits.
He was an old man.
The same person who warned me and Ari to steer clear of the relic storage just a few days ago.
Moreover, he was the headmaster.
“The master is away, and the bugs have crawled in!”
As his thunderous voice echoed, tendrils of lightning spread out, and the soldiers who had just been slaughtering students transformed into ash with a single gesture from the headmaster.
“Target! Alpha Team, shoot for the head!”
“Gamma, Gamma! The guns aren’t working! There’s an invisible wall—ahh!”
The Pope’s soldiers, though trained elite, were merely foxes in front of a tiger, standing their ground with no real understanding.
How could human infantry withstand a high-class chaotic being that blocked bullets with transparent barriers while launching lightning?
Soon, the apparent leader of the Pope’s elite squad was captured by the headmaster.
“You little punk…! I’m going to show you the depths of human suffering!”
“Ha, ha! Stupid wizard, nothing’s going to change because of you!”
“…”
“Look around! All these children from this grotesque university have their guts strewn across the floor! Isn’t that beautiful?”
At that moment, the headmaster’s expression was indescribable in mere words.
“Who are you… really?”
“Got something to say?”
“Do you know that most students at Miskatonic University are merely innocent humans uninvolved in our fight?”
“Ha! Did you seriously think building a university would work? Do you think hiding among the civilians of the New World means we can’t take action?”
“…”
The exchange between the Pope’s soldiers and the headmaster contained significant info.
Why did their faction, led by the headmaster, establish the university?
Was it merely to raise young chaos beings and mystic scholars?
It couldn’t be, considering the headmaster said the ‘Department of Mysticism’ was just a small part of the whole university.
In simpler terms, general students majoring in economics, politics, administration, law, etc., are entirely unaware of vampires and werewolves—they’re just innocent civilians!
…
The headmaster thought if he mixed regular humans with students, the Pope would uphold at least some standards!
Did he think that sending assassins would stop at pinpointing mysticism professors and their students?
Maybe they weren’t familiar with personal automatics after all.
Cough cough … Nonsense.
“Cough cough! You foolish monster only aging without wisdom! Listen closely.”
“…”
“You’ve seen moldy bread before, haven’t you?”
“…”
“What do you do? You slice out the moldy parts and eat the rest? Haha! You think bread grows on trees? How could you even hope to deal with that?”
“…”
“And hey, you really think the supposedly good parts from bread with mold are genuinely pristine? Of course, you burn it all down!”
I gasped.
Because I realized I myself found the Pope’s soldier’s logic—’logically sound.’
In an ever-expansive world, with a population surging to 8 billion even now.
The Bureau of Administration’s power is truly astonishing, but the Earth is much larger, and its population is massive.
When chaos disasters arise, you expect to check each and every human in that area to confirm their innocence?
In a country as small as South Korea, the population nears 300,000 or 400,000!
Moreover, how could one be sure that civilians in cities crawling with demon worshippers are truly innocent?
They must be killed.
Not because we are cruel and malicious.
Not because we take the weight of 100,000 lives lightly—but to prevent plagues from spreading to 10 million citizens in Seoul, 52 million South Koreans, or the 8 billion of humanity!
“…”
In the next moment, my eyes fell on the university’s blood-soaked grounds.
Students lying dead with holes drilled through their bodies sprawled across the floor.
Most of them probably have no idea what the headmaster even is.
I also witnessed the headmaster exhibiting emotions closer to nihilism than mere anger or sorrow.
One undeniable realization hit me.
Whether the Pope’s logic or the Bureau’s logic is right or wrong…
The ones suffering can never accept it forever!
“Alright, if you dare to cross the line thinking you’re doing this for humanity, then I will also have no choice but to cross that line!”
— Crackle!
An indescribable tangible pressure surged from the headmaster.
Was he about to reveal his trump card?
What on Earth is he planning—
Just then, a sharp voice rang out from the void.
“Lucas!”
Descending from the sky was a girl whose striking golden hair shone even in darkness.
Her conspicuous beauty let me recognize her immediately.
Isn’t she Emily, the one who had been clinging to Ari since yesterday?
“Lucas, please calm down! Are you planning to forget the master’s teachings? Yaldabaoth isn’t the being you think it is—”
“Sophia.”
Sophia? Not Emily?
“Sophia, I’ve pondered enough already. Plus, I know exactly what Yaldabaoth is.”
“Lucas! The master—”
“Master! That fucking master! Sophia, does this idiot still seem admirable to you, searching for Horus until the moment he dies?”
“… Lucas. The master isn’t dead yet—”
“I don’t believe it. Not in the master, not in Horus, not in anything!”
Information poured down like a rainstorm, and I focused all my mental energy to avoid missing a single word.
Emily’s real name is Sophia.
The headmaster’s name is Lucas, and he is Sophia’s sworn brother.
Their master sought Horus up to his dying breath.
Horus was Han Kain, right?
If so, that master is highly likely to be the hotel party—
— Rumble!
Once again, lightning struck.
“Gyaah!”
Sophia, caught off guard, screamed as she fell.
“Behold! This is my one and only answer! Ah…”
Incomprehensible magic twisted the area around us as strange incantations began pouring from the headmaster’s lips.
“To the truly great ones, there is no distinction between beginning and end. Verily, the true creator shall rise to alter this false world… May you be our salvation. If that’s impossible, then be the end of all pain.”
Finally, as an alien door shone with an ominous light began to appear, and beyond it, an unfathomable being I feared to look at could be felt…
I knew this was the exact moment to ‘restart.’
— Tink!
The golden coin spun around.
…
In that final moment, I had two lingering questions.
First, can Ari retain her memories through the regression of One More Chance?
Second, what is the price of reversal that the hotel warned about?
— Kaboom!
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