Chapter 542 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial ‘Fallen King’ (28)
– ???
I discovered the maze about three months ago.
One early morning, I woke up in bed and found her sleeping softly next to me.
In that moment, I thought an angel had descended from the heavens.
She didn’t have a clue what had happened after summoning the ‘Midnight Maze.’
According to the maze, after using midnight’s time, she had closed her eyes and when she opened them, poof! There I was.
So, she had completely lost the memory of almost five years.
All the time from the ‘time-splitter’ had vanished.
Now ‘Mother’ has disappeared from the world without a trace – impossible!
Are you kidding me?
No way she would vanish so easily and just call it a day!
Mother’s clear goal was to recover her adult form.
I was curious about what methods she might employ in the process, but it seems she achieved her goal about halfway in a bizarre manner.
Anyway, the maze has reunited with us.
In other words, the ‘time-splitter’ has returned!
*
Under extreme tension, I glanced at Jin Mookgyeong and Serena, who were glaring at me.
I spoke up.
“Let’s call it a day.”
“… What do you mean?”
Jin Mookgyeong seemed to have many misconceptions about me; there were no cunning schemes or devious plots here.
‘Let’s call it a day’ is really all I’m aiming for.
“Maze!”
Barely finishing my sentence, I heard the distinctive ‘clink!’ signaling the activation of the time-splitter.
Soon, ‘Noon Kain’ appeared.
The first words spoken by this nostalgia-inducing fellow after five years were,
“What? Why earth?”
Wasn’t that summon body supposed to take off for the moon?
Despite Kain’s confusion, the reactions from Jin Mookgyeong and Serena were intense.
“Damn it!”
In an instant, they lunged at Kain with wide eyes.
Though I haven’t experienced it myself, there’s a hypothesis that when an original and its summon meet, they feel animosity toward each other.
It seems this feeling affects the shards as well.
I rose into the sky holding onto the maze.
“Hey! Shouldn’t Kain help?!”
“He’ll manage.”
“W-What if he’s okay?”
Having watched Jin Mookgyeong for years, I knew him well.
Those two had gathered countless shards over the years, securing incredible power, but…
They were still only a substandard version of the Divine Sun, a mere shadow of its true form.
No matter how many shattered pieces they collected, they could never be compared to the original vessel.
“I thought it would be best to leave Kain alone since he might have a painting to think about….”
“Talk of a truce? Those horror tales! We need to flip the world upside down until the very end!”
“Ahri… you sure sounded like a witch just now.”
“Isn’t it fine for someone to finish what they initiated?”
*
At the moment when the Maze returned with the ‘before-splitting Kain,’ I realized the calamity could end at any time.
However, since the summon body Kain had a time limit, pieces needed to be gathered in one place and since it was Kain’s plan, I didn’t want to meddle clumsily, so I left him to it.
The moment they gathered together to confront Kain, the match was settled.
…
The real-time devastation was wreaking havoc on Moscow.
A massive shockwave crushed buildings and uprooted the ground in an instant.
For a moment, I contemplated how many Moscow citizens would die and then decided to let that thought go.
After all, those aren’t the kinds of ‘trivial’ matters that people like us should fuss over.
“Let’s head higher.”
With heat rays that felt like they could vaporize me in a single strike and enormous shockwaves incessantly surging, things were getting way too dangerous.
There was no choice; we had to fly high enough until Maze began to shiver from the cold.
The battle was way fiercer than I had imagined!
It seemed hard to gauge the bloodbath happening below with my own eyes.
“I never knew Jin Mookgyeong would fight so well against Kain. Is Serena excelling?”
“I’m freezing!”
“Or maybe Kain is taking it easy on them? Isn’t he capable of moving much faster than that?”
“Ahri! I’m so cold!”
“Just hang in there a bit longer. It’ll be over soon.”
— Rumble!
As I felt the vibrations and waves weighing down on my skin, I realized the battle had come to an end.
“Let’s go down.”
*
As soon as we came down, I shielded Maze’s eyes.
The problem wasn’t just the bodies of Moscow citizens lying around, but Jin Mookgyeong’s state was absolutely horrendous.
Severed limbs, a plucked eye, and a smashed skull—it was a wonder he was still alive.
“How… Daring!”
Former secretary Jin Mookgyeong seemed fueled by ‘hatred’ to still be hanging on.
He was clearly suffering tremendous pain, yet witnessing his fierce rage sparked a certain respect.
What could be the source of such intense emotions?
Anger towards the culprit who toyed with their fates?
Or the animosity arising when time-splitter summons meet the original?
It could just be both.
In any case, one thing was certain.
“… Nice work.”
Kain seemed unaffected by that emotion.
There was a bittersweet look in his eyes, with just a hint of regret.
Kain didn’t seem to care much about the ‘meaningless NPCs’ perishing around him, as he didn’t spare a glance at the corpses of Moscow citizens strewn about…
Yet Jin Mookgyeong was definitely not just some trivial NPC to Kain.
“Devil! What, what are you thinking to do to this world -!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll let you rest now.”
With that, a firm hand quickly cut off Jin Mookgyeong’s breath.
The pathetic demise of someone who ruled a third of the world.
Soon, Kain extracted a ‘shard’ from his head.
“This one, huh…”
At the moment things started to settle, when I approached Kain, he looked at me.
“Let’s hear a simple explanation.”
Being a summon with memories from before heading to the moon, he seemed a tad confused by the current situation regardless of the fight’s outcome.
I quickly summarized the events of the last five years for him.
Suddenly, Kain had been split, and the shards scattered across the universe.
After brawling among themselves, only a few powerful shards remained.
While explaining for about two minutes, I noticed someone was missing.
“Where’s Serena?”
“….”
“Did you miss her? Or did you just let her go?”
I think it’s the latter.
Given Jin Mookgyeong’s strength and the level Serena is at, the answer would be clear.
Neither should be able to hold out long against the before-splitting Kain.
The actual battle was more fierce than I’d imagined.
There’s the implication that the stronger party went a bit easy on the weaker one.
“… I didn’t want to put a period here.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know what happened on the moon. But the future me who made that decision—”
“Future? Oh, that would be future for you.”
“The future me thinks this isn’t the end. Surely, future me has a separate ‘game-ending event’ prepared.”
That actually makes sense.
Kain split about five years ago.
Maze returned to me about three months ago.
In other words, the return of the Maze isn’t tied to Kain’s arrangement; it’s likely Kain’s summon isn’t the one to end the game according to the original Kain’s wishes.
As our conversation drew to a close, the summon Kain asked.
“And Sophia?”
“Probably trapped in a soul vessel. She’s likely outside.”
Of course, we can only confirm that by going out.
“And Aidia?”
“No clue. She may be observing from the moon regarding the state of the earth.”
And then the final chat.
“… There’s something terrible around the Maze.”
“Please refrain from using the term dreadful.”
“There’s something grotesque.”
“Don’t use harsher words. Is that my mother?”
“Midnight Maze—”
“That term is no longer correct. She no longer relies on the time-splitter.”
“Then let’s just call it ‘Terror Maze.’ Is that creature really your mother?”
“Hmm.”
In the mystical moon.
That’s where ‘Mother’ has finally discovered a way to survive without relying on the time-splitter.
The price, however, was quite a harsh one.
*
– Kim Mooksung
A cold atmosphere filled the early morning.
The person who had been with me for the last five years asked me for a favor.
“Grandpa, could you make that bouillabaisse again?”
“It’s not bouillabaisse, it’s seafood stew. And it’s morning, isn’t it?”
“I want to eat it now. I’ve prepared all the ingredients.”
“…”
Prepping seafood and chopping veggies took about an hour.
For that long hour, the young man didn’t help me at all.
In the past, I would’ve scolded him for being rude or lazy, but today, I just couldn’t bring myself to.
Luckily, I completed the dish just in time for breakfast.
The seafood stew, with fresh octopus and shrimp plus some hefty fish, smelled fantastic.
Not the kind of food for morning, but honestly, who cares?
As we finished the same plate, the young man asked.
“By the way, you said you had family, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve heard about it from time to time, but it seemed uncomfortable to ask for details.”
“I figured as much.”
“Can I hear about it today?”
“…”
Love and marriage.
A son who seemed like he’d never bring pain.
A happiness that felt never-ending.
And…
A horrific end.
“Ugh…”
“What? Don’t tell me you’re crying? Isn’t that a bit silly for a grown man to do?”
“It’s a sad story; I should cry. Do the others know?”
“None of my colleagues know this story. Only Ahri knew, and now you’re the second.”
“I consider it an honor.”
“An honor, huh….”
There was a gloomy atmosphere.
As I was pondering whether to have a drink in the early morning breeze, the young man suddenly stood up.
“I will take my leave now.”
I felt like I needed to say something, but words escaped me.
“W-What? Why are you acting like it’s a farewell? You’ll still change a bit with time. If you keep doing that, you might embarrass yourself later!”
“You can think that way if you want.”
“…”
That’s a lie.
I never thought of that kid as Kain.
As he was about to step outside, he suddenly turned back.
“I’ve experienced this moment several times.”
“What?”
“This moment of farewell. I’ve seen it over ten times.”
“…”
“I always thought, what should the final meal be? And by the way, I love burgers the most.”
“Then why not ask for that—”
“Grandpa doesn’t seem to like that. So I settled for the bouillabaisse. I like that too.”
“…”
“Having seen it over ten times, I figured it wouldn’t feel like that big of a deal during the actual moment… but it really doesn’t feel like it.”
“…”
“I appreciate everything you’ve done. Thank you.”
“You… you!”
“Please, speak your mind.”
“What on earth were you? Why did Kain—”
“I am the ‘ending’ prepared by your comrade.”
With those words, he left.
Very soon, I found myself all alone in the desolate mansion in Florida.
Moreover, I sensed that the long journey of Room 207 was nearing its end.
It should be a moment filled with joy and fulfillment.
Yet…
I wanted to drown myself in alcohol.
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