Chapter 558 – The Secret of the Esper Ship (3)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 27
Current Location: Esper Ship
Sage’s Advice: 2
—
– Han Kain
Just as I spotted an unexpected notification, I glanced over at Elena.
I had no idea what she was planning, but I had to stop her for now!
High concentration.
In that fleeting moment where everything seemed to freeze.
Elena was walking naturally, as if she were about to say something to the people around her.
Shouting? Sounds unlikely.
Should I run over? A bit too slow for that.
Teleporting? There are too many eyes watching.
Then, how about using the power of the Grimoire?
— Flutter!
As soon as the dark line, visible only to me, stretched from the book and touched Elena, my consciousness was pulled away.
*
I awoke from within Elena’s body.
I, or rather Elena, was about to give instructions to the surrounding people.
The customers cast curious glances my way.
The crew members maintained expressions that hinted at impending action.
“…”
The Grimoire quickly ‘searched’ Elena’s head.
Soon, I realized what Elena had just attempted to do.
A masquerade party?
A cosplay party?
Was she trying to host some sort of role-playing event in amusing outfits?
At that moment, an indescribable chilling pressure gripped my soul.
The Grimoire is a tremendous artifact forged by the offspring of a great deity, and its level of power is extremely rare in this world.
However, the “clarity of mind” trying to drive me away right now is one of those rare forces.
— Whoosh!
Just before I was expelled by the clarity of mind, I desperately spoke, hoping Elena could hear me.
“Elena, stop what you’re doing.”
*
– Han Kain
I returned to my body.
“… Ugh!”
Having hastily possessed her and then returned, my body slid across the floor.
Songee was there, supporting me with a bewildered expression.
And for a moment, Elena seemed stunned into silence.
“Oppa, are you okay? Why did you suddenly—”
“Elena…!”
“Oppa?”
Did she understand what I meant?
Or would I have to possess her again to stop her?
…
Fortunately, I didn’t need to do that.
Elena understood the situation and stood shaking, addressing those around her.
“Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, I believe everyone is eagerly awaiting a fun event. What will happen tonight? The answer is…! It’s still a secret!”
Elena adeptly mixed some humor into the situation she was attempting to manage.
The staff looked flustered, but the guests seemed unconcerned, believing it was part of the event.
*
In the evening, Elena sent a staff member to summon us.
Finally, only the three of us remained without any onlookers.
“Kain, Songee! Long time, no see.”
After a light greeting, she immediately explained what had happened earlier.
That the blessing notified her to stop what she was about to do.
“Hmm… That’s surprising. I wasn’t about to blow anything up or anything.”
“Sister, what were you planning to do?”
“You know? I was just preparing a simple event, as always. I wanted to explain the dinner event to the guests aboard the Esper Ship.”
“A cosplay party, a masquerade. Wasn’t that what you intended?”
Elena nodded lightly.
My advice works without my request; it doesn’t trigger for trivial reasons.
So that earlier situation indicated there was a significant crisis at hand.
Songee and Elena understood that much.
“Are there strange items mixed in with the masks I prepared? Most were store-bought.”
“Sister, maybe you should check the items directly—”
“No way.”
“That’s not happening.”
As Elena and I spoke in unison, Songee quickly nodded along.
“Oh, that’s right. If it’s definitely a dangerous item, we shouldn’t handle it carelessly. You know, back at the hotel, some folks went along that risky route for the ‘next round,’ even knowing full well the dangers.”
The difference between the cursed room and reality is that there are no second chances in reality; you can’t be resurrected.
“…”
The room fell silent.
An unforeseen crisis had approached, and we had addressed it quickly.
But I still didn’t know the identity of the crisis.
It feels like stopping it didn’t mean we really stopped it.
What should we do?
“Ah….”
“Did you think of something?”
“Oppa, I’ve had a headache since earlier.”
A headache?
Songee had mentioned that even before the crisis notification appeared.
“Huh?”
Elena’s voice was slightly surprised.
“Is that feeling like being poked with a needle?”
“Wait, you too, Sister?”
“I had a bit of a headache for about 30 minutes now! I thought it was just motion sickness…”
Songee and Elena were experiencing the same symptoms.
Hearing their explanations, it was too coincidental to merely call it chance; even the timing of the onset was identical.
Did they instinctively sense a nefarious curse or magic?
Both had risen in the so-called ‘soul ranks’ while climbing the hotel, so it wouldn’t be strange for their intuition to sharpen.
Yet, that thought brought up different questions.
“Are you alright, Oppa?”
“… I’m fine.”
Why am I alright?
Not trying to boast, but I should have the highest sensitivity to these sensations.
It’s odd that my companions can feel what I can’t.
I probably don’t need to worry alone, though.
Advice: 2 → 1
“Were there wicked curses or rituals? If so, why only the companions felt it?”
“You’re experiencing a phenomenon created by your wish. You are not a passenger. Think about the implications of this statement.”
“…”
A phenomenon created by my wish?
“Oppa? You just used your advice, right?”
“… Songee.”
“Yes?”
“When you booked for the Esper Ship, did you use my name?”
“No. You know if I used your name, the reservation wouldn’t process properly. I contacted Eunsol unnie to—”
Others, excluding my companions, cannot recognize me normally.
Perhaps as a form of minimal consideration, my fundamental identity, like my resident registration, isn’t completely erased, but it’s about that level.
When making reservations for such things, it’s common to use another person’s identity.
So…
I’m not listed on the passenger list under “Han Kain”!
That means I’m officially not a passenger aboard the Esper Ship!
“I’m not on the passenger list!”
“Huh?”
“Something is happening targeting the guests aboard the Esper Ship!”
As the lightning of realization struck, an urgent voice cut in.
“C-Captain! A m-m-monster has appeared!”
I sprang to my feet, thinking it through.
An unknown evil attack, and the target is the passengers aboard the Esper Ship.
Since I’m not on the guest list, there shouldn’t be a direct attack aimed at me.
But what does it mean that the crisis notification activated?
It signifies a significant threat to me!
*
The first thing I discovered was a wolf.
With its thick fur sprouting everywhere and drooling jaws, I knew it was confirmed.
“AAAH! S-Seok-hyun!”
“Dad!”
Seeing the young woman screaming beside a boy who seemed to be her son made it clear.
A passenger had turned into a monster!
“Grrr…!”
Not just its head turned into a wolf; it seemed to have lost its humanity altogether.
As I initiated my plan to subdue it, Elena shouted in shock.
“Wolf Mask!”
“… Mask?”
“What is happening here! Those masks were supposed to be stored in the warehouse—!”
Is it the cursed mask Elena purchased for the masquerade party?
Did some malevolent spirit within that mask twist the people wearing it?
How did the masks, supposedly stored in the warehouse, suddenly end up in the hands of the passengers?
A betrayal among the crew of the Esper Ship?
Countless thoughts crossed my mind.
But it was hardly the time to be mulling things over.
“AAAH!”
Having seemingly lost its mind, the creature was about to bite its wife and child.
Without hesitation, I unleashed the Grimoire’s power.
“Hyah!”
I instantly threw it to the floor –
“….”
Its resistance was formidable.
A normal human would typically be unable to resist the Grimoire’s power, but this ‘werewolf’ was already half a chaotic entity.
That said, it wasn’t impossible to subdue.
— Crash!
After pinning the werewolf to the ground, I rushed over and grabbed its face.
“Oppa! I-I think it’s coming off!”
“… Thank goodness.”
In the worst-case scenario, I prepared to kill a victim, but it seemed unnecessary.
“Hack! Huh! Cough!”
After removing the mask, I saw the man foaming at the mouth, convulsing.
The aftereffects seemed pretty serious, but he shouldn’t be dead.
At least I hoped so.
More than that—
“AAAH!”
“It’s a monster!”
“AHHH!”
Screams and wails from supernatural entities echoed around us.
Feeling my hair stand on end, I asked Elena.
“How many are there? The masks, I mean.”
“… Over a hundred.”
The expressions of the three of us turned pale in unison.
If this were the average werewolf I just subdued, it wouldn’t be nothing particularly fearsome by our standards.
Yet, a three-digit number is a huge problem!
Soon, we three shared determined looks and dashed off in all directions.
At all costs, we had to prevent Elena’s amusement park from filling with corpses!
…
The sacred sun still had a flicker of power remaining.
If I used this, I had the confidence to quickly clean up the chaos aboard the Esper Ship.
“…”
It’s a difficult choice.
Outside of setting up a religious order, recharging the sacred sun is truly not easy at all.
I can’t waste the power of the sacred sun on such a ‘trivial event.’
*
Scattering in all directions, we began to subdue the frenzied passengers one by one.
Unfortunately, the intact crew or passengers were too busy howling in fear to be of any help.
“Yo-ho-ho~! Set sail! Glory of the Esper Ship—”
I slammed the head of a crazed skeleton crew member against the table.
“…”
Argh! The skull shattered, but how the heck am I supposed to remove that mask?
Did I just accidentally kill someone with that?
Whatever!
Next opponent is—
“Everyone! Finally, the moment of doom has come!”
What’s that idiot on about now?
“The Father in Heaven hath proclaimed that this age is an unprecedented age of chaos in the history of mankind.”
What kind of mask has him acting like some cult leader?
I approach, utterly baffled at seeing an absurd scene.
At least 50 people were gathered in a small theatre-like area.
In the center was a man apparently reveling in the role of a cult leader, wearing a thorny crown.
No way, even if it’s a cosplay event, can you bring something like that?!
“Do you hear me, everyone? Can you hear the noble voice rising from beyond the waves? The whispers of angels from the other side of the sky—”
What a ridiculous end-times sermon.
I’m an industry expert, and I know that his preaching does nothing to soothe the pain of the believers; it’s just empty words.
Yet, the audience and even the passengers turned supernatural were bowing their heads politely.
“…”
Is that crown giving him some kind of power?
If that’s the case…!
I rushed up to the stage.
“Father!”
“Hmm? Haha! Student, I’m not a father—”
“By the name of the Buddha in the heavens, I pray! Allahu Akbar! Inshallah! Something’s gotta connect here, right?”
I hoped he could grasp even a fraction of what I was saying!
“I, in this chaotic world, the message—”
“Messiah! I knew you looked like you could kick a soccer ball well!”
“No, it’s not Messi, it’s Messiah—”
“Lord! This is not the time to stand idly and spout meaningless sermons in this tiny theatre!”
“W-what do you mean, meaningless—”
“Get your butt up and round everyone to the whole ship!”
If you don’t gather the crazed passengers in one place, this chaos won’t end!
“W-wait, the Lord hasn’t given me a vision yet!”
“Why the hell do you need a vision, you idiot?”
“Father’s words—”
A little bit of solar power, just a tiny bit!
I mean, only a tiny amount!
— Whoom!
At that moment, flames blazed, and all the patrons in the theater wore blank expressions.
Even the guy with the thorny crown was no exception.
“Uh, you—”
What’s his name again?
“…Faithful servant Messiah. I give you a single command, quell the suffering aboard the Esper Ship. Walk around the ship and gather the faithful sheep.”
As soon as that, the man playing Jesus knelt down.
“Ah…! Father, can someone like me bear such a heavy commission? If there are better people than I—cough!”
I smacked him on the head.
“Move it, you idiot—Messiah. Am I gonna have to rip your limbs off to double your count before you even think about moving?”
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