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Episode 790 – Room 302, Cursed Room – ‘Brave New World’ (53)

— Park Seung-yeop

Towards the end of the ‘proper education’, the teacher sighed and said.

“Seung-yeop, what happened to the feather?”

Whether Room 302 will be resolved ultimately depends on the whereabouts of the feather.

If we get rid of it somehow, it’s our victory; if it falls into the hands of the angels, it’s the prisoner’s victory.

“It’s been 25 years, so I should be able to summon it now, right?”

“… No.”

“Are you telling me you still haven’t figured out how to summon the feather?”

Soon, a mysterious light began to radiate from my fingertips.

This was proof that I had become much more accustomed to using the ‘power of the feather’ than before.

It also meant that the 25 years of pain weren’t entirely wasted.

“As you can see, I’m now familiar with harnessing the power of the feather. Even so, I still can’t summon it.”

25 years ago, I was unable to summon the feather.

Back then, I mistakenly thought I couldn’t because I didn’t know how.

That wasn’t the case.

“I couldn’t summon the feather because I didn’t know how, right?”

“Correct.”

“Indeed, unlike Seung-yeop, Soyoun could easily summon the feather in the past.”

Older Sister Yusong nodded.

“True. Soyoun certainly wouldn’t have had prior experience summoning the feather.”

“…”

“Why can’t you summon it? Have you figured out the reason?”

“To be precise, it’s not that I can’t summon it, but rather that I can’t summon it ‘right now’.”

“Right now? So, that means you’ll be able to summon it later?”

“Yes. Please listen to me carefully.”

The reason I couldn’t summon the feather.

And now was the time to explain the plan I had continuously reconsidered in my nightmare.

Suddenly, Older Sister Yusong flicked her hand, and the doctor teacher stepped back a bit.

With that single motion, I felt how long the two had fought together.

Soon, glowing illusionary letters began to appear.

Stop.

“…”

I can tell just by the look on your face.

You’ve come up with a plan, haven’t you?

I’m really glad. I mean it.

Regardless of whether the plan is correct or not, it means you didn’t simply waste 25 years regretting.

However, the Arctic base is not a good place for secret discussions.

Who knows? There might be a listening device hidden somewhere.

My preparations and the teacher’s preparations end here.

Rescuing you was the best we could do, and there’s no next plan.

Even if you want to come up with the next plan, you can’t gather information since you can’t contact someone like you, a prisoner, or the feather.

Also, I mistakenly thought that everything would be resolved once you summoned the feather.

From now on, let’s go with your plan.

Don’t explain any further. Just give orders.

“… Let’s head back toward the screen.”

“Sure.”

“Let’s do that. By the way, where’s Soyoun’s statue?”

“I’ll carry it. Also, what is this beast?”

“…”

“It keeps licking my leg—”

“Seung-yeop, let’s just go.”

— Splash…!

When I touched the screen, illusionary letters began to appear again.

I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but let me give you some advice.

After struggling for a long time in Room 302, I realized.

No matter how great a being is, they cannot account for ‘variables that did not previously exist’.

Humpty Dumpty is proof of that.

I think you are the same.

If you have something prepared, it should be a card that the Son of Dawn does not know about.

If it’s a card that’s already revealed, then the opponent would have prepared a solution.

I’ll trust you.

I realized again how harshly the doctor teacher and Older Sister Yusong had suffered over 25 years.

— Splash…!

*

When we entered and exited the screen, my two colleagues had a dazed expression for a moment.

“This place… at least it’s not the Arctic.”

“What? Doesn’t the surrounding scenery seem somewhat familiar? It’s half ruined, but—oh? It’s Bangbae Middle School!”

“Right.”

For a moment, their gazes turned towards me.

I wonder what they would ask about how I moved from the Arctic to Bangbae Middle School in one go?

The interior of the Arctic base where I was trapped was a place where spatial coordinates constantly fluctuated.

Surely, it was a magical measure to prevent location tracking through blessings or inheritance.

The hotel has quite a few abilities related to tracking locations, like the clairvoyance or location information of the Wisdom colleague, as well as the secret ‘compass’, and the Son of Dawn also knows this fact.

The fact that spatial coordinates are not fixed means that it could connect to anywhere depending on the perspective, doesn’t it?

When I realized this, I understood that I could move anywhere from the Arctic base with the power of the feather.

I could have answered if I wanted to.

However, my colleagues didn’t ask, and I didn’t answer.

“… The surroundings are quite desolate.”

“It’s a school and all, but it’s been ruined for a while now.”

The sad fact revealed in the conversation between the teacher and Older Sister Yusong.

The world is already half-destroyed.

Of course, it’s not like humanity was completely wiped out in 25 years…

But it’s certain that there have been tremendous casualties.

If I had made the right choices in the past, would those sacrifices have been avoidable?

As I thought this and my expression darkened, someone tapped my shoulder.

“Seung-yeop.”

“…”

“I just wanted to say, you don’t need to fall into the delusion that you inadvertently caused the world to be destroyed.”

“…”

“Who originally made that damn voice?”

“… The Son of Dawn.”

“It’s clear that the Son of Dawn destroyed the world. You’re just a victim, so there’s no need to feel excessively guilty.”

The advice not to feel excessive guilt.

I could feel the caring intentions of the teacher well…

But for 25 years, I had been trapped in a hellish prison of regret, thinking countless thoughts.

The belief that there must be a path for reversal that can overturn this entire situation!

I couldn’t bear it without that belief.

“Seung-yeop. What are you planning to do?”

“I think we should wait.”

“That means…”

“They’ll be coming soon from over there.”

Right now, I can’t summon the feather.

One condition is still unmet.

The Soyoun from back then was able to meet that condition, but the current me has not.

Just one determination.

…

It’s difficult for now, but one day I’ll be able to summon the feather.

Knowing that, the opponent has no choice but to appear.

Since I escaped from the Arctic base, I need to retrieve the feather as quickly as possible.

Before I summon the feather and Older Brother Sang-hyun destroys it with the Last Flash!

— Burst…!

“I see a flame, a pure white flame!”

“Astaire is coming!”

*

The angel Astaire, surrounded by a pure white flame, said something simple as her first words.

“How did you teleport from the Arctic to Seoul?”

“…”

“Teleporting through Humpty Dumpty is probably limited to two people at a time.”

In fact, I just now learned the name of Older Sister Yusong’s new pet.

That monster has teleportation abilities and can move two people at once, which I also learned just now.

Coming to Seoul had nothing to do with that monster’s capabilities.

So, I boldly spoke up.

“Hah, you thought you could hide the fact that the spatial coordinates of the Arctic base are fluctuating?”

“…”

“I figured it out over 12 years ago. Fluctuating space means it can connect anywhere. This is just basic—”

At that moment, Astaire scoffed and said.

“Kid, do you even know what the term spatial coordinates means while using it?”

“What do you—”

“Your theory is completely flawed from the first to the last. That’s not how it works. But you believed you could do it. You must have believed it was possible.”

Don’t listen.

She’s trying to confuse your mind and limit your abilities.

That’s right!

The theory established by the world’s strongest could never be wrong!

Astaire shook her head and raised her hand, pointing at me.

“Let’s stop the useless tricks here. The plan prepared by your father was originally longer, but since you’ve come out, it’s probably best to end it here.”

At that moment, my heart started to race wildly!

— Thump! Thump! Thump!

Feeling my heartbeat, which was erratic to the point of being uncontrollable, I instinctively realized.

Astaire was forcibly extracting the feather from me.

Even I, the guardian of the feather, cannot summon it at will…!

Is this also a power that Astaire obtained after awakening as a six-winged angel?

Just then, a calm voice came from beside me.

“I am now death—”

Everyone present— even Astaire— knew that line, the activation phrase for the Last Flash.

Could the feather avoid destruction even if hit directly by the Last Flash?

It seemed impossible.

Astaire thought the same.

The forced summoning of the feather was halted, and my wildly beating heart calmed down.

Of course, the Last Flash was not fired either.

“Indeed, I suppose I should clear away the obstacles first. Johnny, your sin cannot be paid with death.”

“What a scary thing to say. So, your god plans to create hell this time?”

“Of course.”

Soon, the temperature began to rise to a point where it was difficult to breathe.

The pure white flames had the momentum to turn the entire city to ashes!

The six-winged angel— the Guardian of the Sacred Fire, Astaire, began to show her full power.

— Burst…!

Feeling the painful heat, I watched the clash between Astaire and my colleagues.

If I think of the might displayed by the guardians of paradise in the past…

Older Sister Yusong and Older Brother Sang-hyun should not be able to handle the six-winged angel no matter what they do.

However, surprisingly, some semblance of a fight was going on.

First of all, that ‘Humpty Dumpty’ monster was extremely powerful.

It was not enough to disregard the flames emitted by the archangel, but even as its body melted, it could instantly regenerate.

Also, Older Sister Yusong appeared here having burned and Older Brother Sang-hyun swallowed, moving around in a manner that was very hard to manage.

Of course, their abilities alone wouldn’t mean much more than stalling for time.

Without a spear that could threaten Astaire, they would eventually be swept away by the pure white flames filling the area.

The doctor teacher was fulfilling that role of spear.

To be precise, he was acting as if he could shoot a spear at any moment.

“I am now death—!”

He boldly shouted the activation phrase, extending his hand exaggeratedly.

No matter how powerful a six-winged angel is, they cannot withstand the Last Flash with their body, so Astaire had no choice but to repeat evasive maneuvers each time.

The flash was not fired.

I also came to realize that the activation phrase and the firing of the flash were not necessarily linked.

It is true that you must say the activation phrase to shoot the flash, but just because you’ve said the activation phrase doesn’t mean you have to shoot the flash.

In a way, it’s like threatening, ‘I’m going to shoot the flash!’ to force Astaire into inefficient movements, establishing the framework of the fight.

I again realized how much those two had fought angels over the past 25 years.

However, just their strength alone would never be enough to defeat Astaire.

Stalling for just a few minutes was all they could manage.

…

Then, what was I doing right now?

When the fight started, I had tried to step in by transforming into Fortuna, perhaps as a last resort.

Naturally, I failed.

I had accepted ‘one more time’ in exchange for saving Soyoun’s soul.

From the perspective of the contract, it meant that Astaire had come to demand the fulfillment of the contract from me.

Would attacking Astaire to help my colleagues be a clear violation of that contract?

This was an inescapable situation that shackles me like an unbreakable chain.

I expected this much.

If I had thought about it for 25 years and hadn’t considered this, I would have been truly foolish.

I slowly lowered my gaze.

The place I was in was the rooftop of Bangbae Middle School, and below was the splendid new world where I had been trapped for years.

I emerged from the outside, but the splendid new world remains untouched.

To begin with, it’s not a facility that could disappear in just 25 years.

“Hah…”

As mysterious light began to radiate from my fingertips, a transformation began.

Jet-black armor and a sword wrapped around my body.

In that moment, Astaire’s gaze shot towards me like lightning.

This suggested that even while fighting my two colleagues, Astaire still had the leisure to pay attention to me.

A gaze mixed with doubt about how I could transform.

Right now, I could do it.

It wasn’t a transformation to fight Astaire; it wasn’t an action meant to break the contract.

Rather, it’s closer to an action that ‘tries to uphold’ the contract!

Just then, the weight of that distant gaze hit me.

The one lurking behind Astaire— the Son of Dawn looked at me.

“Are you having fun? Do you think victory is within reach?”

I have given you everything.

“Ha! What about the decades of suffering we’ve endured?”

I merely did as promised. Did you not agree to proceed to the next round?

“Yeah, you did. That was your trick. You suggested we move to the next round, but you never mentioned ‘when’.”

On a day when I regretted in despair and sorrow.

I realized something astonishing.

“However, think about it. We never even mentioned ‘how’ we’d go, right?”

A contract without any mention of when to go.

Upon reconsideration, a contract without any mention of how to go, either.

I grasped the pitch-black sword.

Eventually, a blue flash began to flicker within the sword, and the great being displayed his first doubts.

… What are you trying to do?

Also, I heard Astaire’s scream.

“What the hell! What’s the point of pulling such a stunt?”

At this moment, I could joyfully say.

“The world your god has half-destroyed! I’m fucking putting a period on it!”

— Boom!

A crack formed in the small door of hell that had sealed the demons for 25 years.

This signals the start of another form of the end.

Thus, I fulfilled the contract.

 

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