Chapter 535 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial ‘Fallen King’ (21)
– Han Kain
We woke up at dawn and arrived at Florida’s famous ‘Kennedy Space Center.’
“… Happy Happy Space Center?”
This isn’t ‘Kennedy.’
Was President Kennedy missing in Room 207?
Even so, there’s no way the name of the active president could be Happy Happy, right?
“What’s weird?”
Ari, completely unfazed by the name ‘Happy Happy.’
It seems like in the reality outside the hotel, something had a name so ridiculous.
“No, let’s hurry.”
The plan is straightforward.
While Fortuna attracts the Guardian’s attention, I’ll move to the moon base where Aedia is located.
After that, my teammates will join via the Dream Kingdom.
It’s a simple plan, but considering we’re on the moon and not Earth, there are many factors to contemplate.
For instance, how will my teammates survive on the moon?
Even Ari’s ancient blood has its limits.
So, we need to acquire various gear from the space center, including spacesuits.
*
After arriving, I waited in a secluded spot where there weren’t many people.
I had to wait until the fight between Fortuna and the Guardian started.
If we caused a ruckus at the space center first, the Guardian might come our way.
On top of that, it’s crucial to keep an eye on Fortuna through Sofia to prevent any weird behavior.
At that moment, an employee from the space center started approaching.
No problems here.
Grandpa and I were bundled up tightly, and all Ari had to do was provide a simple excuse.
In a perfectly normal world, they’d probably be suspicious of us wrapped like this, but in this communist utopia, people don’t suspect each other—
“Hey! Who are you? Do you have any idea what kind of horrid monstrosity you are doing here?”
The furious shout startled everyone, making us look at each other.
In that split second, Miro popped up, taking off her mask!
“…!”
“You…!”
“I-I don’t get this stupid plan!”
Miro’s adorable grin shone brightly before the shocked trio.
“I was just too frustrated… Deheh!”
As the employee shouted and rushed closer, Ari stood up with determination.
“Good morning! Hello.”
Seeing ‘the atrocious’ Miro alongside ‘the adorable’ Ari managed to bring a smile to the employee’s face, albeit briefly.
“Oh my, good morning! Are you a high school student? Do you have a field trip scheduled for today?”
“It’s not a field trip.”
“Kid, what’s that grotesque thing behind you?”
Miro was almost identical to Ari.
Yet, as soon as she revealed her face after removing the mask, the employee called her a ‘monstrosity’ without hesitation.
It was a clear moment showcasing how the 10% of people in this world who weren’t chosen are treated.
Ari’s response was simple.
“She’s my pet! Go ahead, bark!”
Silence fell over the surroundings for a moment.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you barking?”
Ari urged.
Was this creature really a pet? thought the employee.
No matter how cute it is, Miro seemed uninterested in barking.
One last shoulder tap from me.
“Quickly.”
“… M-Mew!”
A bit more pushing.
“Louder!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Ari turned around with a bright smile.
“She can even perform tricks.”
“Tricks?”
“She can roll over!”
Miro froze in silence.
And yes, another hit on the back of her head from me.
“Can’t you roll?”
“…”
Miro rolled lazily on the filthy floor.
“See? Pretty cute, right?”
“Hmm… Kid, it’s good that you find her cute, but she doesn’t seem that safe.”
How does this situation appear to the employee?
Like a high schooler walking around with a net-patterned carpet python as a pet?
Anyway, the crisis passed for the moment.
“Miro.”
“…”
“If you mess up again, you’ll go for a walk in your birthday suit.”
“… Ari is too scary.”
“That’s enough. Fortuna and Sofia have arrived in downtown Jacksonville. It seems they’re starting.”
I observed the situation through Sofia’s eyes.
Creating a clone and letting that clone take over Sofia’s consciousness.
Essentially, it’s a high-level usage of grimoire magic, and it took quite a toll on my stamina.
Soon, an unexpected conversation began.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
Miro had spilled information about the Dream Kingdom to Fortuna.
If I inform Ari, would Miro find herself strolling naked around the space center?
“Nothing serious.”
“…”
An unexpected conversation continued.
Fortuna defined his identity as something other than Park Seungyub.
It was a situation I wanted to prevent, but…
Since he’s decided to help us, I guess it’s fine.
When I relayed Fortuna’s mindset, my teammates showed complicated expressions.
Even Miro wasn’t exempt, nor were the management duo.
“I made a promise with him.”
“A promise?”
“To resurrect Yumi.”
“….”
“When we return to the hotel, there should be a ticket or something in place.”
“… Will you keep it?”
“I want to. Anyway, the Guardian has appeared in Jacksonville, so let’s start.”
*
It took less than five minutes to capture the Kennedy – Happy Happy Space Center and obtain the necessary equipment.
We didn’t need to bother the staff since we weren’t intending to board any spacecraft.
While I fiddled with some strange equipment I had no idea about, Ari and Grandpa were occupied with other things when Miro made an unexpected discovery.
“Look! I found a protective suit!”
After completely forgetting its existence due to its absence, the protective suit was here the whole time?
Grandpa seemed baffled.
“No way! Did the hotel’s crazy folks hide the suits in the space center? What do they expect us to do?”
“Yet we found it.”
“That’s hindsight! Just think about how we crashed into Florida!”
“…”
Taking a flight from Texas to Spain and then getting exposed to ‘the light that calls doom.’
Then holding on with death’s hourglass and falling, and upon regaining consciousness, finding myself in Florida.
It was basically a series of coincidences leading us here.
Did the hotel actually foresee all these possibilities and stash a protective suit here?
“This is the first thought I’ve had…”
“What is it?”
“I wonder if this protective suit was just ‘created’ here a moment ago?”
As in, it could’ve been placed here when they figured we needed it while monitoring us?
Who knows!
“Everything’s prepped. Kain, you’re set to go—”
Right at that moment.
“Ahhh!”
“Waaaah!”
“The sky is falling!”
An overwhelming pressure that could make your skin prickle wrapped around us all.
Overcome in an instant, everyone stared blankly at the split sky.
The heavens opened.
Brilliant starlight from the high world descended into one sword and finally broke the boundary between earth and space.
It was utterly mystical.
Also, my heart began racing uncontrollably without my consent.
At that moment, it felt as if the true protagonist of the world was Fortuna.
Could Miro have felt the same thing?
Suddenly clasping her hands, she gestured for us.
“Hurry!”
“Why are you suddenly praying—”
“It’s not prayer; it’s pow— po….”
Grandpa chuckled lightly.
“Power? Kid, if you want to do that, you should clench a fist with one hand.”
“Like this?”
“Right.”
With that, the two who were supposed to focus on power naturally formed their stances.
Finally, Ari and I followed suit.
“Uhm… Kain, say something cool! Quickly!”
“…”
After a brief silence, a reasonable line sprang to mind.
“Fortuna, the world’s greatest master of martial arts, receiving teachings from the unrivaled swordsman, surpassing limitations after thousands of years within a dream.”
Ari picked up on the next line.
“… Will forever remain in our memories.”
“Pfft!”
“Don’t laugh! Your line was similar!”
Honestly, it felt childish.
But hasn’t Songyi told me before?
That childishness is just another expression of the purity that remains in adulthood.
I think this was the best farewell we could muster.
Now, it’s time to head to the final stage.
— Rumble!
*
Upon arriving on the moon, I momentarily closed my eyes.
This is also one of the powers granted to me by the sacred sun.
“The ability to fall asleep whenever I want.”
What kind of superpower is this?
Ordinary humans can’t fall asleep in just a second on the moon, so it’s a formidable superpower for sure.
…
Ari and Miro soon joined me.
Miro wore the protective suit, while Ari donned the spacesuit she obtained from the space center.
I was curious if the spacesuit was functioning properly, but I’m sure Ari handled it.
Ari handed me something resembling a helmet.
— Zzzzztt!
“Can you hear me?”
“I can.”
Even simple conversations aren’t feasible without special equipment in space.
“If we move north for 400km, there will be a moon base. Aedia is probably there.”
“Did you find it with something like GPS?”
“It’s completely different, but I guess you could say it’s similar.”
“Okay.”
“Look!”
In the meantime, Miro jumped high and started floating, marveling at herself.
Just watching that scene made it feel like we weren’t going to fight Aedia but rather going on a trip to the moon.
Ari suddenly wore a skeptical expression.
“Should we have brought her along… What if we left Mooksung and brought Sofia instead?”
“Think of the midnight Miro.”
As we moved towards the moon base, I conveyed the advice ‘Fortuna’ gave me.
“What do you think?”
“It sounds like we can’t overcome certain walls with two or three tries, and we can only surpass them the first time…”
“It means don’t rely on one more chance.”
“Kain, in the final moments, Fortuna certainly reached a great height, but he was a martial artist. He wasn’t a sage who foresaw the future.”
“True.”
“It’s intriguing and sounds plausible, but there’s no logic in it. You’re supposed to pour everything into ONE shot? When you could have one more chance, why should you?”
“…”
“To begin with, the hotel was the one who said we needed one more chance in Room 207, right?”
The hotel claimed that the legacy of room 206 and the ‘hourglass’ were treasures meant to save reality.
Not Room 207!
“Never did they state it was required in room 207. It was about ‘reality.’”
“What do you mean—”
“Think! Did you think the hourglass was necessary to withstand the light that calls doom? It wasn’t true. Sofia was fine without the hourglass protection.”
“…”
“Aedia wouldn’t have twisted us even without the hourglass.”
Thus, in Room 207, the hourglass wasn’t essential.
That means, the one more chance might not be mandatory either.
Ari presented a different logic.
“Our true goal isn’t to awaken as the universe’s greatest master and obliterate the Evil God with the Chaos Destruction Technique.”
“Chaos Destruction Technique! I want to learn that!”
“Miro, shut it. We just need to resolve Room 207. And then, further from there…”
“…”
It seems certain phrases sometimes carry more meaning in the listener’s interpretation than in the speaker’s intention.
Listening to Fortuna’s advice, I found my resolution.
“Perhaps…”
“Perhaps what?”
“Our real enemy might make the one more chance meaningless.”
“What?”
“I see it! I see it!”
Now, taking a deep breath, I noticed Miro starting to feel the tension rise.
Ahead loomed the gigantic moon base.
And….
A gigantic mirror that could illuminate the entire Earth in one go!
Finally, I ponder.
What could the ultimate resolution of Room 207 be?
Aedia’s death?
Destruction of the mirror?
If not that…
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