Chapter 147 |
> The chilling mechanical noise cuts off all at once.
"What did you just say, nephew? Poppies?"
"Y-yes."
"That's poppy scent? It's different from the one I know--why'd you think that?"
"I don't know!"
Do-heon's brow crumpled. An alien, dense smell began spreading thickly through the Central Control Room, potent enough to completely smother the acrid dust and oil.
"I said I don't know...."
> A fishy poppy fragrance encroaches upon the space.
"It's getting worse by the...."
The easygoing smile vanished from Seung-jae's face.
"It found us."
Before the words were out, the Central Control Room's thick shielded door was ripped away like tissue paper.
CRACK--! CRASH!!
"Fuck, actually fucking insane...!!"
"Don't freeze, get your gun out."
"Will a gun even work?!"
"No reason it wouldn't."
Beyond the torn door, pitch-black darkness. From that darkness, the screeching of hundreds of beasts--like nails scraping bone--surged in like a tidal wave.
■■■■--! ■■■--!!
"Birds, birds?!"
"You call those birds?!"
"They've got feathers!!"
"So anything with feathers is a bird?!"
Seung-jae shouted in a horrified voice.
Hundreds of glistening blood-red eyeballs, grotesquely warped beaks and snow-white feathers. Countless albino crows, sparrows, and owls, tangled together with entrails and blood vessels into a single writhing mass, were descending upon them.
He slung Hyeon Si-gyeong over his shoulder.
"I'll carry the Inspector--you provide cover fire and clear the path! We're running to the lobby!!"
"Fuck, nothing ever goes right...!!"
CLICK--!
Do-heon reflexively checked the revolver's cylinder.
***
"That particular guest is impressive every time I see her."
General Manager Lee Yeon-woo remarked.
"She claimed to have settled within the rules, yet the instant Seome stops evading, she tracks down a new target like a bloodhound. A model for all Monster Guests."
"Coco. Admiration."
"But this time, the target isn't Seome."
His gaze found the white owl on Do-heon's shoulder, feathers standing on end. Seome was half his property now--that is, incorporated as hotel-side 'staff.'
As such, the Lover of Dawn's blind obsession naturally shifted to Do-heon. The consequence of the record Rawi had built before this 'event' began.
"This is a good opportunity to gauge Mr. Kwon Do-heon's run-and-gun skills."
He leisurely tapped the panel before the monitor.
"This is my hotel, and they are my precious guests. I can't allow a game over caused by the unfair hard mode that a rude guest like the Lover of Dawn has created."
"Eeing."
"Let's generously calibrate the aim assist and touch up the dangerous parts. Seome is there as the conduit, so it should be feasible. A good game is always kind during the learning curve."
"Kind?"
"......"
The General Manager considered briefly, then nodded.
"Yes, kindly."
Knowledge remained, so it could be reflected adequately.
When the General Manager mechanically rang the Golden Bell, the Central Control Room's systems sprang into motion at the administrator's command.
"Let's start by dialing down the fear-inducing elements."
"...? No?"
"Is this enough?"
"No."
***
At that moment.
The ominous static warning of impending crisis cut off. In its place, a clear, cheery bell rang--jingle--. Before Do-heon could even process the familiar sound, the guide window popped up again.
> Switching BGM.
> [Arcade Run & Gun BGM] ON!
"What the f--?"
Before he could finish, the brain-rending noise was replaced by an upbeat, fast-tempo melody.
"Absolutely insane."
"Nephew, it's not just me hearing this, right?"
"If you mean the music, I hear it too. I think I'm losing it."
"Thought I was the only crazy one. Phew, what a relief."
FLUTTER--!
"HOOOOO--!"
The white owl that had been circling Do-heon's shoulder spread its wings wide and soared into the air. In the owl's wake, something miraculous happened.
"Wh-what??"
Click, click!
The rusted steel floor plates beneath Do-heon's feet flipped like building blocks, rapidly reassembling into ornate black-and-white marble tiles in a checkerboard pattern.
"Whaaat??"
"Hoo-- hoooh--!"
In the upper right of a bewildered Do-heon's vision, where the timer had disappeared, a sparkling gold text window popped up with a cheery notification chime.
> [SYSTEM] Welcome, V.I.P. guests!
> A [trespassing problem guest] is currently causing a disturbance on the guest room floors.
> By special authority of Hotel One's co-owner, a [safe checkout route] will now be provided. Please follow the white owl staff member and enjoy the ride! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Do-heon was speechless. Seung-jae burst into hearty laughter at the new path unfolding before them.
"Haha!! First time I've seen a labyrinth's master personally clear a path--now that's hospitality!"
"Is now really the time to laugh?! That emoticon is pissing me off!!"
***
"Did I provoke him instead?"
"Yes."
"I really don't get the sensibilities of kids these days."
"Emoticon?"
"Unfortunately, it's everything, not just the emoticon."
"Act your age...."
"I don't think that's the right expression for this context...."
He was reflecting plenty, so he'd appreciate not being scolded too harshly.
***
Back to Hotel One's Dead Space.
"Save your anger for running, nephew~ They'll catch us!!"
"Ugh, seriously!!"
The pursuing monster's bloodlust was horrifying, but its shrieks were drowned out by the upbeat music, and the white owl was out front, reshaping terrain at the co-owner's will and carving a path.
> [SYSTEM] While fleeing with directional keys, aim at the enemy's [weak point (red poppy eyes)] and fire.
> (*Co-owner's aim assist has been generously applied!)
"Fuck, does this place think it's actually a game...!!"
"From a labyrinth master's perspective, maybe it is--why get angry~"
"Nobody here makes sense!!"
BANG! BANG--!
Do-heon fired wildly at the pursuing monster while running backward.
"What the?"
PING! Pi-pi-ping--!
"Huh?"
Bullets that should have clearly missed bent their trajectories as if drawn by magnets, burying themselves precisely in the feathered mass's core. Where blood should have sprayed, dazzling flower petals exploded upward like fireworks.
"Fuck, never thought I'd use aimbot in real life...."
As Do-heon wore a bewildered expression, dozens of deformed tentacles burst from the giant albino feather mass, trying to seal their escape route from both sides.
"Uwah,"
Ding-- dong-- ♪
> [SYSTEM] Warning! Unnecessary obstructions detected in customer's path.
"Wh-what?"
CHOP-CHOP-CHOP-CHOP-CHOP--!!
In sync with their running speed, dozens of guest room doors lining both sides of the corridor popped open in a cheery rhythm and slammed shut one after another.
The monster's reaching tentacles were crushed by the solid iron doors and severed clean. The white owl flew toward the straight, safe corridor created by the closing doors.
"What is this, automatic doors?"
"This hotel's got performance~"
"Fuck, above! ABOVE!!"
CRACK, CRACKLE--!!
The ceiling melted in red petals and black blood, and a dense, venomous poppy miasma began pouring down toward their heads like a waterfall.
"Is there anywhere to dodge--"
Ding-- dong-- ♪
> [SYSTEM] Falling debris and toxic gas alert! Opening a safe detour.
"...?!"
"Huh."
CLUNK--!
Like a trap, the corridor floor beneath them split open to both sides.
"AAAAAAGH-- FUCK!!!"
The instant Do-heon's group dropped into the gaping void, the cascading toxic mist swept uselessly through the empty corridor above. Then they fell for a long, whooshing moment--
--and the party slid down a plush, soft red-carpet slide pre-laid beneath the opened floor, safely and swiftly deposited in the corridor below.
"Haahh, hkh, haaahh...!!"
"Oh my aching bones...."
The white owl was already perched at the end of the slide, tilting its head.
"Bungee jumping at my age. Must've lived too long."
"Don't... talk like you're about to die."
"Your speech is slowly going back to normal. Makes me oddly happy."
"What's 'back to normal.'"
"Very insolent? Prickly? Feisty?"
"Oh, please."
The instant Do-heon stood up clutching his aching back--
"!!"
"Oho, not over yet?"
A beat behind them, the swarm of warped birds and behind it, a massive, grotesque hallucination began engulfing the entire corridor.
> Something beyond human cognition approaches. The [silhouette of a giant woman in a snow-white shroud] flickers in and out, radiating overwhelming killing intent.
"...In my embrace... there is love...."
> The faint whisper of the witch within the hallucination.
> [SYSTEM] Warning! We recommend not listening!
"I promise you eternal love."
The moment that voice reached him, Do-heon felt the strength drain from his gun hand.
'...Something feels off.'
An inexplicable calm settled over him. A strange, sweet compulsion to walk himself into the belly of that massive monster coiled around his entire body.
At that very moment--
PEEEEEE--!!!!
"?! Hkh, oh."
Hyeon Si-gyeong, slung over Seung-jae's shoulder, blew the whistle clamped in his mouth. The piercing sound jolted Do-heon's fogging mind awake.
"We recommend not listening."
"What?"
Ding-- dong-- ♪
> [SYSTEM] Blocking unpleasant noise. V.I.P. guest protection protocol engaged.
"Let's move while the administrator is helping."
"Good lord, you're finally awake. My back's about to give out, man~"
"Let's go."
"He's really not even pretending to listen."
The white owl, ahead of the party, circled in the air as if to hurry them along. At that instant, a jackpot-style fanfare blasted through the entire corridor.
Click-- click--
WHOOOOSH!
"I hear money falling somewhere."
"No."
"Aw, shame."
The surrounding derelict engine room and mechanical walls twisted geometrically like a Rubik's Cube being solved and began rearranging in an instant.
The space that had been infinite just moments ago literally shattered the monster's powerful hallucination and transformed into a straight path.
"HOOO--!!"
The owl shot toward the end of the rearranged path like a bullet. Do-heon let out a hollow laugh, steeled himself, and sprinted after the white owl's tail feathers at full speed.
At the end of the path the owl had guided them down, beyond the geometrically shifting space, an elevator door in familiar colors stood wide open, waiting.
"That's the elevator, fuck, the elevator!!"
"Please board."
"Come with us at least~"
The owl was the first to dart inside. Then, THUD!!
"Oof, my back...."
"Move over!!"
Do-heon practically tumbled into the elevator and hammered the close button--ta-ta-ta-ta-tak!--in a frenzy. The doors tried to shut abnormally fast, but--
At that moment, KA-BOOOM--!!
"! Gkh,"
"My, it's really angry."
"Yes, it is."
The doggedly pursuing giant albino feather mass had forced its grotesque beak and dozens of bloody talons through the door gap.
Hundreds of cloudy red eyeballs glared murderously at Do-heon through the narrow opening.
"Looks like my nephew's been marked, huh?"
"Yes, so it seems."
SCREEEAK--!
Sharp talons scraped the iron door, sending a spine-chilling metallic vibration through the elevator.
"How dare they do this to the precious nephew of the Kwon family."
CLICK, BANG!!!
Seung-jae planted a bullet precisely into a red eyeball wedged through the gap.
"■■■■■■■■--!!!"
"What a set of pipes."
Seung-jae's face lit up with excitement and glee behind a grinning mask.
With a grotesque, agonized shriek, the feathered mass flinched back, and the owl on his shoulder gave a light hoo--. The iron doors slammed shut with overwhelming force--CLANG.
The elevator descended as the monstrous shrieks faded into the distance.
"......"
"Raise your hand if you're dead~"
"Me."
"Better start building a coffin when we get back."
"If you actually build one, I'll haunt you."
Inside the elevator, perfectly sealed from the hellish din and Black Magic stench of the guest floors, gentle classical jazz flowed soothingly.
Do-heon, legs giving out, slid down the elevator wall and gasped for belated breaths. His sweaty, dust-caked hand gripping the red-hot revolver trembled.
"...Haahh, hh...."
"Everyone's alive, at least. That's a miracle."
Peeee--
Hyeon Si-gyeong answered with a whistle in lieu of words.
"Is... is this what labyrinths are always like? Like this?"
"There's so much to unpack with 'like this' that I'm not sure what you're pointing at, but a labyrinth this entertaining is a first for me too."
"Fuck, what part of this is entertaining...."
Do-heon muttered, his face somewhere between horror and exhaustion.
"VIP treatment my ass. I'm getting out of this insane hotel the second we hit the first-floor lobby. The moment we reach the front door, I'm kicking it open and leaving."
"That was my plan coming in, too~"
Ding--
The elevator chimed its arrival at the first floor.
> [SYSTEM] Run & Gun pursuit: Survival successful!
> The co-owner's special escort has concluded.
> You have been safely guided to the 1st-floor lobby.
"Obnoxious to the very end...."
With Do-heon's hollow laugh, the elevator doors slid open.
The peaceful, dazzlingly golden lighting of the first-floor lobby--feeling like a lie compared to the hellish pandemonium of the guest floors--filled their vision once more.
***
And there, at its center, the General Manager was waiting for them.
"Uh...."
Wearing a smile like a fox.
"He's not actually a fox, is he?"
"What kind of insane thing are you saying, old man?"
"Gapyeong is nothing but Fox Dens."
"What?"
"Hmm."
Seung-jae stroked his chin.
'Never heard of it, though.'
Did indigenous Dokkaebi also harbor labyrinths?