Chapter 527 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial: ‘Fallen King’ (13)
– Han Kain
The leader of the Horus Sect, Pope Sophia.
As Aria and I headed to her hideout, she shared a lot of information.
Apparently, Sophia is the daughter of my sister, Eunsol, who fell into the medieval era.
To us, it’s just another role assigned by the hotel, but Sophia genuinely believes Eunsol is her biological mother.
In the past, Eunsol conveyed information about “us” to Sophia as if she had foreseen the future, and it seems Sophia had been waiting for us to arrive based on that prophecy.
“Her faith in us is truly remarkable. Or maybe it’s more about her faith in the late Eunsol,” I said.
“Really?” Aria replied.
“It was quite extreme. Even when I killed Lucas, her brother-in-law, she didn’t blame me. Of course, that’s because she felt Lucas crossed the line too,” I added.
Hearing that made me feel a bit heavy in my chest. I was grateful for my sister’s preparations for the future, and I found a sort of camaraderie with Sophia.
Then I recalled something Aria mentioned earlier.
“Our relationship with Sophia isn’t one where we spill all secrets,” she said.
“Just what happened to complicate that relationship?” I asked.
“… 120 years isn’t a short time,” Aria replied.
120 years definitely spans countless seasons.
Yet Sophia had unwavering faith in us for hundreds of years, so time alone couldn’t explain the rift between her and Aria.
“There were many incidents. It wasn’t just a sudden fallout; it gradually happened over time. But don’t get me wrong,” Aria said.
“What do you mean by ‘don’t get me wrong’?”
“It’s not like they became enemies or anything. It’s more like they just went their separate ways,” Aria explained.
“….”
“This is old news. Now that you’re back, it’s time to reunite. We’re almost there.”
*
Sophia’s hiding place was a house on the outskirts of Seoul.
You might wonder why a world-famous figure would be hiding in South Korea, but it’s not that strange.
For the upper echelons of the sect, ‘Korea’ must have been a sanctuary.
In Christian terms, it’s like the land where Jesus is foretold to return someday.
The inside of her residence resembled a hospital.
It seemed a small number of doctors and a few staff members lived here full-time.
Interestingly, everyone was so well-armed that the place felt like it could belong anywhere, despite its Korean location.
Fortunately, everyone recognized Aria, so there was no conflict.
“Is the Pope inside?” I asked.
“She’s in the back,” replied the guard.
“Is she awake?”
“She’s mostly been sleeping lately.”
“Wake her up.”
“Yes.”
A little while later, I was guided to the bedroom.
“Hello?”
My first impression of Sophia was ‘wow, she’s beautiful!’
She looked to be in her early twenties, a typical Western beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes.
At a glance, she resembled more of ‘Elena’s daughter’ than Eunsol’s.
But sadly, my description stops here.
“…”
Her bony arms, pale face, and heavy breathing.
Anyone could see she was gravely ill and might not make it. It felt somewhat bitter.
This was in stark contrast to the lively Elena, but of course, Sophia probably wasn’t like this when she was healthy.
“Um…”
“She’s awake,” said Aria.
Gasping for breath, she slowly rose.
Aria stepped closer.
“It’s been a while, Sophia. How have you been?”
“As you can see, I’m heading towards the final milestone of my life.”
“… I’ve brought some good news.”
“You mean the person next to you?”
“Exactly. This person is—”
“Wait. Everyone, please step outside,” Sophia interjected, waving her hand.
The guards and even the doctors promptly exited the mansion.
Then Sophia asked directly.
“Is it the Horus?”
“That’s right. You’ve been waiting for a long time. Kain, step forward.”
Feeling a bit awkward, I approached, and Sophia stared intently at me.
She was undeniably a beautiful girl, reminiscent of Elena, but the pressure was far greater than the excitement of meeting Elena.
Perhaps it was the aura of wisdom accumulated over the long years of upholding the Horus Sect.
“You look a bit different from what Aria drew for me.”
Just like my sister illustrated Aria and Grandpa’s appearances, Aria must have sketched my likeness too.
“It’s not unrecognizable, but well… the real judgment isn’t mine to make,” she said.
“Judgment?”
Suddenly, a warm energy enveloped the area.
“…!”
It felt like burning flames, the sun descended upon the earth.
I had, or rather, I knew of, the most powerful legacy with invincible versatility!
The ‘Sacred Sun’ revealed its brilliance once more.
Before I knew it, I reached out my hand, and the Sacred Sun responded naturally.
The artifact that had long served its master returned to its rightful place.
— Thrum, thrum…!
Feeling the vibration echo lightly throughout the mansion as if expressing joy, Sophia replied,
“Welcome back to this land, Horus.”
*
As the Sacred Sun returned, a peculiar change occurred.
Suddenly, tingles spread throughout my body, and my appearance transformed.
I reverted back from Chan-ho to Han Kain.
Everything from my features to the subtly altered body shape and feather tattoos for teleportation changed.
It felt as though a seal was lifted; it was also like the hotel was communicating with me.
The elaborate illusion cast by the Vatican that kept them from recognizing me was over, and now it was time for open warfare.
“Ugh…!”
While I was in shock, Sophia and Aria seemed to accept it calmly.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Suddenly, my body’s back to how it originally was.”
“Rather than coming back, that body was always Kain’s. It was just a simple illusion that was dispelled,” Aria clarified.
“…”
Aria’s words seemed accurate.
Looking back, not only Aria but even my ‘clone Kain’ had recognized me as Han Kain.
The hotel merely tricked me temporarily; my body had belonged to me from the start.
If so, what did it mean that the last power I hadn’t recovered—the ‘Blessing of Wisdom’—was hidden in ‘Han Kain’?
I had thought my true body was lying unconscious somewhere in Room 207.
I figured that reclaiming that body would naturally lead to recovering the blessing.
But that wasn’t the case.
“What’s the state of the Sacred Sun? Is it filled to capacity?”
“Yeah. We can fight adequately at any moment,” Sophia replied.
Because Sophia had spread the ‘Horus Faith’ alongside the Sacred Sun, its power was already sufficient.
The Horus Sect was a religious entity of light, so human sacrifices were out of the question, but in terms of scale, it vastly surpassed the cult I established in Room 206.
Thanks to that, the qualitative deficiencies were filled by quantity.
Soon enough, Sophia weakly smiled and asked,
“What’s the next plan, Horus?”
“I need to wake up the other companions. If possible, I also need to recover some rewards.”
I needed to revive Grandpa Mookseong and Miro.
And no matter what, I had to find the ‘Hourglass’.
Aria added, “Mookseong and Miro are both in America. I’d like to keep them in Korea, but it’s hard to move them.”
I had heard roughly on the way here.
Grandpa and Miro slumber in the grand ‘Sleeping Maze’ created by Yumi, so relocating them wouldn’t be easy.
Sophia replied,
“Then you’ll need to make a quick stop to the diocesan headquarters in America?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll prepare a plane. Please get it ready by tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks.”
After a quick trip to America, the final stage is undoubtedly…
“It will be Europe, right? Aedia is rumored to be in Spain, after all.”
“Who knows…?”
“I’m sure everyone has had a tough time, but from now on, let’s all be careful!”
Once Mina reclaimed her fragment, the Vatican must have noticed the anomaly.
As I was about to tighten our plans, Sophia spoke carefully.
“Horus.”
“Hmm?”
“Can we have a moment alone? I’ve really waited so long for you. I just want to savor this divine moment even if just for a while.”
What a pure and sincere figure of a priest.
Aria nodded slightly and simply answered.
“Can it be just 3 minutes?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll step outside.”
Soon, only Sophia and I remained in the room.
“… Aria left.”
“Seems so.”
Being alone felt quite awkward. Moreover, the act Sophia displayed earlier felt a little off.
“That act was kind of strange.”
“… Was it? I usually pride myself on my composed demeanor in front of others.”
“I’m confident, too. Especially since you see me as….”
Somehow, I’ve unexpectedly acted as a leader too many times.
Thanks to that, I could easily differentiate between real believers and pretenders.
Just because someone goes to church doesn’t mean they’re a devout believer. There’s a clear difference between those who treat me like a ‘god’ and those who see me as a powerful wizard or lord.
Not that I’m one to speak, especially to the head of a religious organization, but Sophia definitely falls into the latter category.
“It feels like you think of me more as a great magician than a god.”
“Is that so?”
“….”
“….”
“Aria will come back in 2 minutes.”
“It’s okay. I can say what I need to in 10 seconds.”
Sophia continued to gaze at me silently.
“….”
“….”
It seems that her desire for ‘a moment to savor alone’ wasn’t entirely a lie.
“Horus.”
“Speak.”
“Given who you are, we didn’t show it, but my relationship with Aria hasn’t been comfortable either.”
I had already heard this from Aria.
“Can I ask why?”
“Aria….”
“….”
“She’s been drifting away.”
“What?”
“I sometimes think that Aria feels closer to ‘the other side’ than this side. Like Fortuna, who crossed the boundaries.”
“….”
Then it struck me.
The Virgin Aedia isn’t on the hotel party’s side, but she’s definitely on the human side.
So if there’s a being opposing that…
That night, a news article appeared in the corner of Seoul, overflowing with disaster: ‘Missing Pope Sophia Has Been Found.’
*
The next morning.
I packed my things and rushed to the location Sophia indicated.
The preparations for the flight were nearly complete.
With Sophia’s urgent instructions, a small plane took off from a tiny runway.
I briefly wondered if this was ‘legally’ possible, or if we could reach America on such a small plane, but…
It would be silly to question now.
I had to believe Sophia handled it well.
Considering it, Aria and I didn’t even have passports.
Once the plane took off, Aria suddenly asked,
“Sophia, what was that news article from yesterday?”
“Hmm?”
“The sudden news of your discovery?”
“It means the Vatican sensed something suspicious brewing. Isn’t that why we’re in such a hurry? The longer we wait, the less we know what they’ll pull.”
At that moment, I stared blankly out the window.
“Horus, is this your first time on a plane?”
“She acts all-knowing but is actually a bit of an airhead—”
“Aria…”
“Yeah?”
“Look over there.”
High up in the sky.
So far away that only someone with extraordinary eyesight might spot it now.
I caught sight of a few tiny dots.
“Oh.”
They were Vatican drones.
— Whoosh!
Drones that shoot missiles!
“Oh my!”
Wait, what the hell? Can they just shoot missiles in South Korea’s airspace?
I yelled at Sophia!
“Ahhh! What’s going on? You have a plan, right?”
Indeed, as expected from the head of the Horus sect, Sophia didn’t seem the least bit scared.
Of course! Sophia!
If she fought the Vatican for decades, this level of anticipation must be?
“The great father from above.”
“Hmm?”
“You are my solution.”
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