Chapter 529 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial: ‘Fallen King’ (15)
– Han Kain
Looking at the unfolding chaos, I wondered.
Is this truly the ultimate question we must block, a light that heralds the end?
The light that calls forth the end isn’t just about the trials in Room 207; it’s a reality we’ll inevitably confront someday. It’s also a massive challenge that Aria, Grandpa, and even the Administration Bureau aim to solve.
It might be something waiting at the end of the long journey we experienced at the hotel.
…
No, that doesn’t seem right.
I once witnessed the light heralding the end during a dinner party, and this was nothing like that. There were no dramatic signs like the sky opening up back then.
What on Earth is going on?
Just then, the world answered my question.
Raindrops started pouring down from the sky.
But these were drops made of sharp metal spikes!
“Yikes!”
The first victim, skewered by the nails, drew a reaction from Aria in the back.
“Whoa!”
As she reached up to the sky, a sudden intangible wall began blocking the sharp objects.
— Clink! Thwomp! Ting!
A heap of nails stacked up quickly in the air!
Soon, the terrified followers began rushing toward me in panic.
“H-Horus!”
“Ahh!”
“Please save us!”
In a flash, the order among the crowd disintegrated, and if this continued, they’d trample each other before the nails even fell.
“What are you so afraid of? With me here, maintain some order!”
As I radiated the supernatural presence of the sun, the frightened people began obeying again.
But this was just the beginning of the crisis.
Suddenly, the ground started to writhe, and out came a centipede as big as a car!
I blasted it with heat rays like lightning, only for a three-headed eagle to swoop down and peck at the heads of the people.
The crowd was half panicking, while my comrades were caught in just as much confusion!
“K-Kain! What are we going to do? Monsters keep coming out!”
Miro clinging to Aria was already calling for time, but the pocket watch could do nothing to calm her fears.
“…”
Aria was already sweating bullets. It seemed she was struggling to fend off the falling nails from the sky.
Grandpa instinctively called for One More Chance, but that wouldn’t matter since it was still set to the moment right after waking up.
How much of a difference would returning to ten minutes ago make?
Then Sophia had a determined look.
“You need to get out of here!”
“… Sophia.”
“This phenomenon is happening only in a 30 km radius around us, not across the whole USA.”
“…”
“If you leave, that’s it. Are you going to fight an endless wave of monsters here? If you keep this up—”
The power of the divine sun is consumable.
Sophia knew this too, hence her words.
But all I could see were the thousands trembling on the other side of Sophia.
I honestly didn’t have any noble thoughts about sacrificing myself for them.
But, many were already filming, hoping to get “Horus selfies” or “Horus live streams” to post online.
What would happen if the God left his followers behind to escape?
It would essentially mean the collapse of the sect, and I’d have to give up charging that divine sun!
“I’ve made my decision.”
“I’ll issue the retreat order right away—”
I said calmly while looking down at the 8,000 trembling followers.
It felt like I was just talking to myself, but since I borrowed the power of the divine sun, I knew everyone would hear me.
“The land touched by the sun’s rays is our paradise, so why would I flee? I shall embrace the coming sunrise along with my followers. This is a great destiny foretold since the dawn of time…”
I tried to sound as heroic as possible while saying I wouldn’t run from my followers.
What do you think, Sophia? Pretty cool, right?
Gods should be able to stretch out a phrase that could just end with “I won’t run,” into a mesmerizing sermon.
As my noble decision was made, Sophia frowned hard.
“No, Horus—Hey! Are you out of your mind?!”
“Sophia, that’s not how a pontiff talks to a god.”
“Are you insane, you fool?!”
This time I leaned in to whisper so only Sophia could hear.
“Do we have a car? Let’s quickly bail together.”
“… Huh?”
Sophia, suddenly polite again, looked confused.
First, she said she’d stay until the end with the believers, and then she wanted to dash off together?
It was a bizarre command that I couldn’t comprehend either.
But it was doable for me.
*
— Vroom!
A huge off-roader SUV sped through the damp marsh like it was a solid road.
After an hour of driving, the clear sky began to come into view.
“… Looks like we escaped.”
“No more nail rain here. No three-headed birds or monkeys tearing flesh either.”
We had all managed to escape from the cursed land full of monsters, curses, and tragedies!
Of course, “all” here only referred to the hotel party survivors and a handful of us, including Sophia.
Thousands of people had gathered in a forest teeming with horror movie creatures, and we had to drive for ages to reach a safe spot.
How in the world would we get thousands of ordinary people out?
If I freely used the power of the divine sun, it wouldn’t be impossible; I mean…
I thought a “better solution” was available.
Unable to bear the somber atmosphere, Miro cautiously asked.
“Kain?”
“Yeah?”
“What about… um, your ‘doppelganger’? Is it still protecting the believers?”
“Soon, everyone will be with me.”
“…”
Miro, looking unusually frightened, hid behind Aria.
In a calm tone, Aria questioned, “So you’re controlling two bodies at the same time? Your real body is escaping in the car—”
“It’s not escape; it’s tactical retreat.”
“… So you tactically retreated, and the doppelganger using the divine sun is still in the forest?”
“Exactly.”
“Is that doppelganger and your current self perceptive of both at the same time? Isn’t that giving you a headache or something?”
“I’m fine.”
“When are you planning to recall that one?”
“Soon—Wait! Ah! Car, stop!”
— Screech!
Grandpa panicked and slammed the brakes, looking over at me.
At the same time, Aria, Miro, and even the silent Sophia widened their eyes like rabbits.
“What’s going on?”
“…”
“Horus?”
“Kain?”
“Dude! You just scared me while I was driving!”
I revealed the shocking revelation to everyone.
“Aedia has just appeared in front of my doppelganger.”
*
– Han Kain
If there’s a hell that sinners fall into after death, it would be a place like this.
A forest filled with demons born loathing life right from the start.
In that place, I embraced the weak and pitiful.
I think not everybody here is my devout follower.
Some are just foolish boys hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity.
Others are personal broadcasters wanting to shoot ‘Horus’ live vlogs for a quick profit.
Some are clergymen here to exorcise demons.
What a diverse human tapestry!
However, when the inevitable doom approached them, they all became one.
“Children, come to me. I have prepared a paradise for you.”
At first, many shrank back, feeling like I genuinely appeared as a demon.
I didn’t stop them.
After all, if they step out of the sacred zone I created, it’s hell all around.
There’s nowhere they can run if they leave me behind.
“Come here. I truly wish to lead you to the Pure Land.”
“Ahh…!”
Eventually, both the faithful and the indifferent accepted their fate and gathered around me.
One, two, three.
Before long, about 8,000 people converged into one vessel.
Suddenly, I grew curious about how the current scene cast on the ‘camera’ would look to the world.
If it appears like the believers are heading to heaven, that would be splendid.
I rescued them from the demon’s grasp.
Good deeds bring rewards in this world’s principle.
And my power from the sun grows more abundant.
At that moment, a hazy figure appeared before me.
“How unfortunate. Is this all the answer you have?”
Though it was obviously our first meeting, I knew right away.
It was the Virgin Aedia!
“Who are you?”
“I am Aedia. But you’ve already figured that out, haven’t you?”
“…”
“I had hoped to find something to end this torment by lifting the veil. But that was in vain. If you had expelled the demons and saved the people with endless power, I could at least recognize the strength you wielded.”
“…”
“Is this what you mean? Are you consuming the souls of the believers? Well, I suppose it’s slightly better than dying torn apart by demons, huh?”
“…”
“If treated well, a comfortable euthanasia may be in order. Just about that degree.”
It wasn’t a false statement, so I didn’t bother to argue.
The endless death of believers at the hands of the chaos entity occurs throughout the world.
I couldn’t recklessly expend the consumable divine sun power to save everyone, so all I had was this “euthanasia” option.
Besides, I could also strengthen the power of my legacy, so in many ways, this was wise.
Of course, I’d question whether the souls that entered the divine sun were genuinely in a “comfortable” state…
“Did you come here to mock me? If so, I really have nothing to say. This is my limit right now, as you said.”
“Right now? What about later?”
Could there have been another way?
I couldn’t be certain, but I vaguely thought about it.
If I had wisdom now, if I could read fate through insight, maybe I could have chosen a different path.
“Things might be different after I recover my ‘wisdom.’”
It was an answer without much significance.
After all, Aedia wouldn’t comprehend what the term ‘wisdom’ means since it isn’t part of the hotel party.
“Wisdom? Are you saying you can’t see the future right now?”
I sensed a hint of curiosity.
Aedia’s manner didn’t seem like someone here to ridicule my situation or laugh at me.
“Who knows.”
“It’s an important question, so please answer it.”
“…”
In some sense, Aedia was even being polite.
Suddenly, I recalled the memories of Yumi related to Aedia, as told by Aria.
“Our world is so strange.”
“Five must be sacrificed to save a hundred, twenty drowned, and thirty hung on a pole.”
“When you come to, there wasn’t an entity that killed more people than I.”
“What should I do?”
She had held up humanity for eons, all while drowning her hands in endless blood along the way.
No one should be pointing fingers at me for having swallowed the souls of just 8,000 here.
“The right answer is to break free from the fork that leads to hell. Create a brand-new board entirely.”
“Behold! This is the answer to all of the world’s problems!”
As I reached this thought, I finally understood the reason Aedia had come to me.
“You are trying to reshape the world’s board with certain powers. Believing that is the salvation of the world.”
Aedia smiled brightly.
“But you’re unsure whether that task will succeed or fail. That’s why you’ve come to ask me. Since I can see the future and possibilities.”
“Then please provide me with an answer.”
I didn’t know exactly what sort of tricks she was pulling.
But I did know the outcome.
I had already confirmed the presence of the ‘light that calls for the end’ waiting at the end of Room 207 and reality!
“Aedia.”
“I am listening.”
“The end that awaits at the conclusion of your choices is tragedy. The ‘light that calls for the end’ awaits you.”
“… Horus, will there be any other path for us?”
I didn’t want to lie, nor did I believe it would be effective.
Though I might not be able to reach full insight, Aedia had a bit of power to read fate, too.
“I don’t know.”
In an instant, despair filled her pupils.
“If that’s the case, I will take a step forward. Even if the end of my choices is largely heading toward ruin! Because—because—”
I could sense it.
I felt what Aedia was considering right now.
“If I just sit still, I believe this world is 100% doomed. So even if the failure rate of your plan is over 90%, it must be done.”
“…”
“Even if I, Horus, warn of failure, it’s useless. You don’t believe that Horus can read the future perfectly. Instead, you’re thinking there’s a possibility of success that I missed, right?”
The Virgin responded to my words with a smile.
Within the slowly fading mirage, she said one last thing.
“You said you haven’t regained your ‘wisdom’? Yet, you are already wise.”
Alone in the hellish forest, I remained.
Looking out at the bright universe visible through the writhing monsters around, I pondered.
…
The great Virgin, Aedia, who had upheld the civilization of humanity for thousands of years.
What exactly is the ‘salvation of humanity’ that she discovered?
I know it relates to mirrors, but beyond that, I’m uncertain.
Even if that attempt ends in failure, even if the ‘light that calls for the end’ lurks at the end of every effort…
I still wanted to glimpse the answers that she found.
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