Chapter 715 – Conclusion and Choice (2)
—
— Yu Songee
After descending again, the first thing I realized was that three days had passed.
“Wait, I only took a day off at the hotel, but it’s already been three days here?”
“It seems the flow of time is quite erratic here.”
“It’s not erratic; the hotel sent us to Room 301 three days later.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Gains would tell you it’s completely different!”
“Bro, you’re just weird, as always.”
“Hey, hey. Kain can hear you too.”
Hearing my sister’s words made me want to playfully wave at the ceiling.
“Bro, are you watching us closely right now?”
She chuckled and tapped on her phone, probably messaging the contact A had provided.
Soon, a response from the duke came back.
“An alien using a cellphone…?”
“The meeting place and time have been set. We can go right now. Oh!”
“What is it?”
“They said to act secretly.”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
Pointing to the bracelet on my wrist, my sister nodded.
“Seems trustworthy. Alright, let’s get going.”
—
The meeting place was in the basement of a shabby building near Dongdaemun. After waiting for about 30 minutes after our arrival, I sensed a presence approaching.
Soon, a man in his forties, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, appeared.
“You returned earlier than I expected. I thought it would take weeks or even months.”
“… That’s definitely a human body.”
I didn’t expect A to show up in a human form.
My sister seemed surprised too, showing a slight frown.
“After evacuating the princess, I’ve been on the run as well. My main body is at a distance, and I’m managing this body carefully, so don’t worry.”
“I understand. Given that you set up this meeting, you must have a plan in mind, right? I’d like to hear some explanations.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
My sister immediately fired off her most pressing question.
“First, what is Mother planning to do right now? According to you dukes, it seems Mother has a way to recover…”
When Sister was commanding the lower entities, the dukes who barged in claimed the king hadn’t perished but had merely weakened temporarily, able to regain greatness by gathering the clan’s power.
“I took that at face value then, but as time went on, I realized something was off. If Mother had a way to recover, that doesn’t add up. So then, what about the judgment…?”
“Judgment?”
“…”
A, who didn’t know much about the hotel, couldn’t grasp my sister’s statement, but I instantly understood.
Sister’s statement was straightforward.
If there’s a chance for the king of the Wraiths to recover, then the crisis of humanity’s extinction isn’t over yet.
In other words, Room 301 must still be in progress.
The hotel announced a solution to us when the king ascended to the heavens and presumably perished.
From the hotel’s perspective, it implied the king no longer had opportunities.
However, the dukes stated the king could recover, making my sister question things further.
Then A continued explaining.
“Recovery… isn’t a proper method. Circumstances suggest the late king couldn’t foresee a situation like this occurring.”
“That’s plausible.”
I thought so too.
Having sacrificed Sister’s body to ascend, how could the ‘past sister’ die leading to downfall?
No matter how much of a prisoner one is, it’s difficult to predict a situation in a ‘time-lending’ scenario.
“The words from the two dukes were more like lies to calm the chaos.”
“Just as I suspected! There’s no way she could have a recovery method.”
“However, it’s not entirely impossible. The king is attempting to recover by gathering the belief and faith of the clan.”
“Gathering belief and faith to recover…”
Somehow, that sounded familiar.
There’s someone among my comrades who charges their strength in exactly that manner.
Both my sister and I naturally thought of Kain’s divine sun.
At that moment, A’s expression, or rather the expression of the human A was possessing, grew gruesome.
“… If the predictions are correct, it won’t be all about belief and faith.”
“Hmm? What do you—ah.”
My sister sighed, seeming to understand what A was hinting at.
Soon, I realized the truth my sister grasped.
“Are you saying the king intends to devour the souls of the Wraiths?”
The moment I spoke, A gave me a sharp look as if asking how I knew.
It was a given, really, since A only treated my sister respectfully.
Sister immediately reacted.
“Don’t look at him like that; he’s my comrade.”
“… My apologies.”
A bowed slightly toward me, expressing his regrets.
I could bet my whole fortune that he didn’t mean it genuinely.
I voiced several points that came to mind.
“No matter how much he devours the Wraiths’ souls, I don’t think the king can fully recover. There’s too much difference in spiritual mass.”
“You can’t fill a bowl the size of the Pacific Ocean with just the lake’s water.”
“He wouldn’t be able to just swallow them all at once. Devouring the souls of entirely different beings would be difficult; otherwise, he risks splitting his ego.”
Heaving in all the souls carelessly could lead to a fragmented identity.
A problem the moon faced in reality, and a reason why great beings floating in space aren’t in the habit of gluttonously consuming mortals.
According to Kain’s explanations, a process needed to unify the ‘color’ before consuming, like possibly creating a cult or through spiritual torture akin to the moon erasing the former self.
…
I’ve also heard of realizations that transcend such limits.
Kain believed the host of Room 104 was one such being.
I didn’t think the king of Wraiths had powers akin to such entities, not because the Wraith king was weaker and the host stronger.
It’s because the two great beings ascended different mountains.
As I laid that out, A said something intriguing.
“You seem to know a lot about soul devouring. Perhaps more than I do.”
“… Let’s just say I know an expert in that field.”
“A specialist in soul devouring? If such a person truly exists, they’d be a vile being indeed.”
At that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh, looking up at the sky.
My sister also chuckled softly in response.
“Alright, I get it now. Mother plans to recover by devouring the Wraiths, but it will take an extraordinarily long time, and even then, it’s an unstable method. So—”
So the hotel declared a solution to us.
They believed the Wraith king wouldn’t be able to recover in the hundreds or thousands of years to come.
“- My next question: how do we take down Mother?”
A calmly replied.
“Allow me to rephrase the question.”
“What?”
“Princess, if it’s just the late king alone, I could eliminate him by myself.”
“…”
The notion that A’s power alone could uproot the Wraith king was rather shocking but, changing the perspective, it meant the Wraith king had lost that much power.
He’s not strong enough to take on a being that’s just a smidge stronger than his own creations.
“The problem lies with the two other dukes who’re trying to help the late king’s recovery. I can’t handle all of them by myself.”
“I got it.”
“Therefore, I need a strong weapon. A tool that can shatter both the late king’s and the dukes’ spirits.”
“A weapon?”
“Princess, do you know about the forces that originally governed this star?”
“I know about the Administration Bureau well. Very… well.”
A briefly explained the conflict between the Wraiths and the Administration Bureau that occurred on Earth.
Rather than a loud clash that destroyed cities and caused mass slaughter, it was a struggle involving entities trying to seize bodies and the Administration Bureau trying to resist.
The Wraiths were victorious.
Up to this point, we were already familiar with the story.
It had been evident that details reported to the Administration Bureau had leaked to the Wraiths, or that the Wraiths came to punish after reports were made.
The next part was something I’d never heard before.
“When the tide began to turn, something curious happened.”
“What curious thing?”
“The upper echelons of the Administration Bureau seemed to determine they couldn’t win, and suddenly vanished collectively.”
“…?”
“They went somewhere else to escape, that’s what I concluded.”
Facing defeat, the top brass of the Administration Bureau made the choice to flee.
In the past, I wouldn’t have known where they would run off to abandon Earth, but…
“Could it be…?”
“Ah~! They must’ve escaped to a very safe place.”
The high-ups of the Administration Bureau retreated to the ‘next loop.’
Perhaps they created a smaller ark than usual to flee?
“But how does their escape connect to a weapon that could threaten the two dukes?”
“There is a connection. During the final conflict, two dukes were eliminated.”
“… Two dukes died?”
“The Administration Bureau employed a special weapon. It was a weapon that held an incomprehensible power. I’d wager it’s not a creation of humanity.”
Honestly, I was a bit taken aback.
Also, a pure sense of curiosity emerged.
From the few clashes, it had become clear.
Dukes and prisoners are competitors, but dukes are still at demi-god levels.
Who among mortals could compare to the Wraith duke?
While searching, a few names popped into my head.
First, the former Wisdom during the convergence with the ark.
This monster could likely overwhelm a duke, surpassing the level of a regular duke.
But after consuming the ark, the former Wisdom might not be able to replicate that power.
Secondly, Adia.
This refers to both the Holy Mother of the Holy See, the Adia of Room 207, and the earthly Adia of the Moon.
Whichever it is, both have had overwhelming clashes against entities of the hotel party, including Fortuna.
However, I feel this one might fall slightly short compared to dukes.
Most importantly, I’m not sure if the blessings of justice would effectively work against the Wraith dukes.
Thirdly, Kain, who makes all the necessary preparations.
He fell behind when he fought A during the first attempt at Room 301, but that was an ambush attack where A beheaded Kain to start.
To put it metaphorically, it’s akin to a doctor using the Last Light strike to half-kill an unsuspecting A and then start the fight.
What if both parties are on high alert?
Hmm… I’m not quite sure.
Just then, my sister lightly tapped my shoulder as if telling me to focus.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing.”
A, nonchalantly, continued his explanation.
“When the conflict concluded, we secured some of the unidentified weapons used by the Administration Bureau. It was an extremely difficult weapon to control, and suggestions arose about discarding it. However…”
“But?”
A shrugged.
“Some was secretly siphoned off.”
“…?”
“It is merely a weapon, but I believe there’s enough value to at least research it. I didn’t predict a scenario like the current one.”
This duke is rather peculiar in many ways.
Anyway, the main point remains that the Wraiths are incredibly formidable foes.
What kind of ridiculous weapon could slay not one, but two dukes without resistance?
At that moment, my sister’s expression scrunched up, revealing that ‘oh no’ look.
“So, the Administration Bureau used a powerful weapon to slay two dukes just before their escape, and you managed to retain part of that weapon?”
“Correct.”
“Are you suggesting we reclaim that weapon, head to Gangwon Province’s underground, and finish off Mother and the two dukes?”
“Exactly.”
“Could you show us what that weapon looks like?”
“Of course.”
As a misty projection appeared from A’s fingertips.
“Oh…”
“Wow.”
My sister and I sighed in unison.
The secret weapon of the Administration Bureau that had reached the limit of mortal capabilities to slay two dukes.
Upon revealing its identity, we realized we were all too familiar with it.
“Not again, not again, not again?!”
“Seriously, we’re still entangled with that creepy object?”
A gazed at us in surprise.
“Do you know what that is?”
“We know it too well. Way, way too well.”
In a sense, it’s practically the source of all evil.
“The Mirror of Nitochris…”
A mimicked a smile that was close to a laugh for the first time.
“Indeed, you are the princess and her companions. You seem to know everything. If you know about that, then I assume you also know how to use it.”
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