Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 213: Room 104, Cursed Room - Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School Re (7)

Chapter 213: Room 104, Cursed Room - Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School Re (7)

- Lee Eunsol

Once we decided to find Aurelia, the plan moved forward smoothly.

“The Daughter of Heaven has lived her life as a Saintess, serving God deep within the heart of the cult. She’s probably not well-versed in the outside world. I doubt she fled to some random place.”

“I agree with Kain. Given the severity of her injuries, especially the wound in her neck from the Lord, she probably didn’t get far.”

“I have a few places in mind.”

As soon as we reached the Hotel, Grandpa, who had already familiarized himself with the geography around the Hotel using his position as a teacher, began selecting possible hiding spots for the cultists.

Meanwhile, Elena, who had fainted, finally woke up.

“Unni, I’m sorry for earlier—“

“Don’t worry about it. Just join the meeting. You’re okay, right?”

“My body is fine, but I don’t think I’ll be able to use Ominous Imagination for a while.”

“I figured as much.”

“By the way, where’s Sanghyun?”

“I don’t know. He may have died when the ground collapsed during the destruction of the underground city. It’s a shame Kain lost the Status Window. We could’ve used it to check his condition.”

“Even if we still had it, it wouldn’t work. With Wisdom sealed, most of the Status Window functions are blocked anyway. Honestly, it’s a relief.”

“Right, the thought that the Lord could have used the Status Window is terrifying. In any case, Sanghyun is probably dead.”

“…I’ll have to apologize to him when we get out.”

While I briefly explained our earlier discussion to Elena, Grandpa narrowed down the potential locations to four.

We immediately started searching each of them one by one.

By dusk, as we reached the third spot, a small forest near the hotel, we noticed an unusual light.

“That light! What’s that? Could it be someone camping?”

“Light?”

Elena and Grandpa looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“I can’t see anything. It must be far off, visible only to your sharp eye, Unni.”

“It’s not far.”

“Then it must be something supernatural, only visible to your ‘bird’s eye view’. Let’s go check it out.”

“Sure, but what’s with ‘bird’s eye view’?”

“The eye of the One Eyed Bird - Ivlax. So, bird’s eye view in short.”

…Did she pick up that naming sense from Ahri?

I was too tired to argue, so I let it go.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, the light grew stronger.

Soon, we came across a small hut, and we understood the source of the light.

It was emanating softly from inside, shining through the walls of the hut as though they didn’t exist.

“Are we sure?”

Grandpa, our only real fighter at this point, looked tense, gripping his gun tightly, ready to charge in if needed.

- Click!

The door opened, and a beautiful woman appeared.

“Hello~!”

“…”

Aurelia had bandages around her neck, and the light was radiating directly from that spot.

We’d heard that the Lord was no longer supplying her with power, so the light must’ve been from the last remnants of her strength, focused on healing her wound.

“Is it difficult for you to talk? We heard your neck injury was severe.”

“…I can manage.”

Despite saying she could, her voice was completely different from what I remembered—rough, hoarse, and her face contorted in pain with every word.

She was clearly forcing herself to speak, holding onto her pride.

“Let’s relax. I don’t think we have any reason to fight now, do you?”

“Father told me to protect the cult and stop you—“

“Did he? Well, it seems like the cult is already pretty much destroyed.”

“You haven’t seen all of it!”

“Honestly, the cult doesn’t matter to me. What’s important is that the father you love so dearly doesn’t seem to care about you much.”

Aurelia’s expression froze at my remark.

“Father must… have had a greater plan. Don’t speak ill of him.”

Her voice lacked the confidence it once had.

“Sure, there was a plan. But was that plan really for your benefit or the cult’s?”

“I’ve dedicated everything to him. If he needs my life, I shall give it to him willingly.”

Aurelia couldn’t easily let go of her faith.

Denying the Lord meant denying the life she had lived as a Saintess. But her actions already betrayed her inner conflict.

“So, if I understand you correctly, the Lord has some grand plan that we, mere humans, can’t comprehend, and if he asks for your life, you’ll give it willingly?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, why did you run away in the underground city? Why didn’t you offer your neck to him right then? Even if you were startled and ran, why are you here now? Shouldn’t you be rushing back to him, offering your life?”

“…”

“Don’t lie to yourself. ‘the Lord’ is not the kind of being you think he is.”

“You’re saying Father isn’t who I believe him to be?”

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“Exactly. So—“

“Don’t be ridiculous! What do you know about Father to act so high and mighty? I’ll admit, I don’t fully understand his plans. But I know more than you! Do you think I’m too weak to fight? I was just buying time to heal my neck, but—“

Whoa! I think I’ve hit a nerve.

Did I push too hard?

Aurelia was genuinely furious now, and her hands began to glow again.

At the same time, the bandages around her neck turned red.

Is she really planning to use her remaining strength to fight us?

Suddenly, a voice echoed, calming the tension in the air.

“I ask thee, why is the world full of pain? Evil fills the heavens and earth. Why is this so? The answer? A false creator created this world. Therefore, the Lord has promised paradise.”

Aurelia’s expression changed to one of shock.

“Let it go. Leave behind everything that weighs thou down as thou prepares to depart for paradise. What value is there in the false world’s possessions? The corrupt flesh is the greatest obstacle to paradise’s train, so cast it aside first.”

“What…?”

“Art thou so surprised? Doth it shock thee that the secret doctrine thy cult has kept hidden is coming from my mouth? Or art thou more shocked that a mere animal is speaking human words?”

“…”

When did Kain learn their doctrine?

Was it during the first attempt?

Even if he had learned it then, had he really memorized it all this time?

Is this what it takes to get into K University?

“Be not shocked. the Lord hast been plotting on this earth for eons… and the time of judgment dawns upon us.”

What’s with this atmosphere all of a sudden?

As if on cue, Elena raised Perro Kain onto her wrist, lifted her arm toward the sky, and her eyes glowed gold, possibly using her lie detection powers.

She took a few steps forward, positioning herself elegantly with the sun at her back.

“Thee, Aurelia. Art thou truly convinced that thy faith in the Lord hast not been betrayed? If thy god truly came for thee and thy followers, why did he not extend a hand in thy moment of despair?”

Aurelia began trembling.

Her reaction was completely different from when I had spoken to her.

Is she overwhelmed by hearing her secret doctrine spoken by an enemy?

“Are you… the apostle of the Newly Risen One?”

“Poor child. How long have thou spent alone, crumbling in a cold hut? How many times did thou call out to thy god while sitting on that rotten chair?”

“How… how did you know that?”

How did we know?

It’s obvious.

After being attacked by the god you’ve served all your life, you ran and hid in a hut.

What else would you think about besides your god?

Elena: What is Kain even doing?

Lee Eunsol: Kain can’t see the chat.

Elena didn’t know what Kain was doing either but somehow managed to play along with the flow!

Impressive.

I glanced back slightly. Grandpa, with the most solemn expression in the world, was kneeling in front of the parrot like it was a divine being.

Ah! I’m the problem.

I quietly folded my hands and started thinking sad thoughts.

Sad thoughts Eunsol! Come on! Give your best performance yet!

“Child, the firm faith thou hath upheld all thy life. It cannot be given up in an instant. Therefore, I shall grant thee a chance.”

“A chance…?”

“Follow me. At the moment of judgment, thou shall be able to ask thy father.”

“…”

Is it over?

I glanced up just in time to see Perro Kain tapping Elena on the head with his wing.

Finally, Elena turned and began to walk gracefully, as if performing ballet, and Aurelia, seemingly entranced, followed her in a daze.

Now I get it. Aurelia is extremely susceptible to mysterious, spiritual shows!

She’s similar to Elena in that way.

While keeping my thoughts solemn to avoid breaking the atmosphere, I reflected on the conversation that had just taken place.

What was left in the heart of a Saintess who was betrayed by the god she devoted her entire life to?

Revenge?

No, not immediately.

It’s too soon for her to feel vengeful toward a god she so reverently serves.

Her greatest longing must be the question: “Why?”

Why did the god forsake the cult?

Why did he forsake her, the Saintess?

If there was some grand plan, a noble cause, she might still offer her life.

Her faith is strong enough for that—after all, she was a Saintess.

But the Lord made no explanation before sacrificing her and the cult.

The only emotion left in her mind was confusion.

Yet, she couldn’t find the answer alone.

If she were to seek answers by herself, she’d be killed by the Lord.

Kain offered her the chance to find that answer.

Looking at it this way, she didn’t just accept Kain’s offer because of the show’s pressure.

She saw that we had supernatural powers and that Kain pinpointed exactly what she wanted most.

“…”

Did Kain figure all this out in the brief moment he met Aurelia, or did he just instinctively hit the mark?

I don’t know. But at this point, it feels like this parrot could genuinely claim to be an apostle of a God.

That night, contrary to our expectation that he had died during the underground city’s collapse, Kim Sanghyun showed up completely /genesisforsaken