Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: 10th Rule
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Like a midsummer night's dream.
Or like a mirage in the desert.
The corpses had vanished into thin air just like that.
The Corpse Sorcerer stared blankly at the spot where the bodies had been, her face full of disbelief. She snapped her head up as if coming to her senses.
Crunch!
My hand, reinforced with mana, swiftly seized her slender neck.
"A Necromancer without evil spirits and a Corpse Sorcerer without corpses. It would make for a perfect matchup."
"Keh, kehek!"
She struggled desperately to escape as I dragged her along like she was sliding on ice, but it just looked like the pathetic tap dance of a wretched woman.
She had already dropped the crystal skull, and though she tried stabbing my wrist with her dagger, it lacked any real force and just glanced off.
A woman who had stitched her body back together countless times wouldn't have much strength to begin with, making it far from easy to pierce my reinforced wrist.
"W-Where are you taking me!"
Han So hurriedly chased after me. As I pushed open the door to the first-floor entrance, I replied.
"There's something I need to check."
"Eeeek! Let me gooo!"
Creak!
The entrance door swung open, revealing the outside still shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
There was no need to point out that something lurked in that darkness, watching us.
I'd felt that chilling sensation ever since first entering the Dream Demon Inn. It was time to test it.
-2. Refrain from going out at night. If you do go out, you are responsible for the consequences.
"Don't! I said don't do it!"
It felt like being a lion tamer tossing food into the enclosure. The only flaw was that the food was still alive, but without any hesitation, I hurled her out.
Shadows in the form of monsters immediately flew at her from the darkness, as if they'd been waiting.
At first, screams rang out along with the sound of bones shattering, but soon only sticky, slurping noises echoed from outside.
'Good.'
Rule 2 was the most crucial for determining whether one could leave the Dream Demon Inn right away.
I needed to verify what that vague phrase about personal responsibility meant, and this was the result.
"Disgusting."
Han So turned his head away, unable to watch. But considering how she had murdered other guests and desecrated the dead with their corpses, it didn't feel like an overly harsh execution.
My eyes, however, kept watching the Corpse Sorcerer's death.
'Sure enough.'
She, too, was a being without a soul.
Jortu, who died first.
Then Mule, who killed herself in front of me.
And now this Corpse Sorceress.
None of them had souls, even after death.
The other guests were probably the same.
What this implied was clear.
"Aren't you being too hasty?"
The Black Necromancer, exhausted from the fight with the Corpse Sorcerer, straightened herself and stepped out of the restaurant.
"We need to check what rules the Corpse Sorcerer knew."
"We already know the way to escape anyway."
Rule 30: Only the last one remaining can escape the Dream Demon Inn.
Now that we knew that, nothing else mattered. Most of the rules were just tricks by Learic to make the Dream Demon Inn more entertaining.
"You killed Jortu without hesitation because you knew Rule 30."
When I pressed the Black Necromancer like she was on trial, she abruptly turned her head away, dodging the question.
I'd thought it was oddly ridiculous reason to kill him.
"So what now? The three of us fight it out here and see who wins?"
"Hmph."
At the Black Necromancer's sharp cry, Han So subtly increased the distance between us and raised his Mengcheonmubong.
Even a righteous warrior overflowing with loyalty had no desire to die pointlessly in a place like this.
Ignoring the two of them, I slowly turned my gaze to the clock on the first floor.
A day had passed.
It was now the second day.
Excluding today, only three days remained.
After five days, everyone here would be forcibly evicted, ending up just like the Corpse Sorcerer.
In the midst of their wary standoff, I deliberately darkened the mood by voicing the fundamental question I'd been pondering.
"Why does the Dream Demon Inn exist?"
"It exists because...?"
"That's..."
The two hesitated, unable to give a proper answer. It was as if they'd never really thought about it.
I poured out the questions I'd been mulling over one by one.
"A mansion visited by guests from different eras."
It brimmed with treasures of gold and silver, food was created out of nowhere despite no detectable mana, and cleaning was done impeccably.
Rare items like Remegaton and Mengcheonmubong were handed out effortlessly, as if they were welcome drinks.
"Could something like this really exist?"
Honestly, I shook my head.
"I don't think it's possible."
Neither of them could strongly refute that. It was Learic, after all, the Archdemon.
They just speculated that a monster who'd lived for centuries must have made it possible somehow.
"Moreover, the biggest issue with this mansion is the time paradox."
"Time para-what?"
"What are you talking about?"
I'd naturally slipped into an Earth term. Clearing my throat, I rephrased the explanation.
"In my era, Han So was an old man. But if I kill the young Han So here, what happens to the old Han So in my era?"
"Ah, that bothered me too."
Once I explained the concept, the Black Necromancer immediately understood and agreed. Han So, finding it not too difficult, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The time paradox was a massive problem that couldn't be brushed off lightly.
As Heralhazard, Luaneas—who was supposed to invade the Griffin Kingdom—had died. The kingdom's entire future would have to change from the root.
All of history would shift. It was a situation that upended the game's story itself.
Yet here I stood, still in this place.
As the Necromancer Dayus Verdi.
"This mansion allows countless possibilities for interfering with the past, yet it doesn't restrict them."
Han So dying at eighty-five. Me being the Black Necromancer's disciple.
No matter what, the mansion showed no reaction. There were no related rules.
"Indeed."
"Y-Yeah."
There were too many possibilities. It was a place that could drastically alter the continent's history.
It was only natural to have questions.
"If there's a reason, I think there's just one."
Instead, I proposed a simple hypothesis.
"Deaths that occur here, or future knowledge gained here, have no effect on the outside world."
The two fell silent at once.
The Black Necromancer seemed to catch on, twitching her eyebrow, while Han So still looked puzzled, tilting his head.
"No matter what I say about the future, the past won't change."
"Is it because... we lose our memories after five days?"
It could be framed that way. I had initially thought the Black Necromancer lost her memories upon leaving.
That wasn't entirely wrong, but drawing from the absence of souls, I revealed the cruel truth.
"Excluding me, who comes from the farthest future, everyone else might be fakes."
* * *
Doooong!
At the long tolling of the bell, I slowly rose from the bed. I'd only meant to rest my eyes briefly, but I'd ended up staring at the ceiling through the night.
I tucked the Remegaton from the desk into my bosom and headed outside.
We'd agreed to meet in the restaurant, but Han So was already standing blankly in the hallway, waiting for me.
He had leaned Mengcheonmubong against the wall, looking like a sentinel awaiting a desperate last stand.
"Have you sorted out your thoughts?"
"...How could anyone accept being told they're not real, but fake?"
Even as he said it, Han So wore a self-deprecating bitter smile.
"Now that I think about it, the reason you're especially polite only to me is because you've seen me at eighty-five."
It wasn't wrong.
If I'd just met Han So normally, I wouldn't have used such formal speech.
"It's not simply because of your age."
"Hm?"
"Because I believe you're a person worthy of respect."
"..."
Han So's gaze settled calmly. His eyes held a weighty curiosity.
"I wasn't there myself."
To be precise, the real Dayus had been at the banquet hall back then.
"But from what I heard, at eighty-five, Lord Han So represented the Han Empire and fought demons to the very end."
"...Me?"
Han So chewed over my words with a disconcerted expression.
"With a frail body, you stood at the forefront against the demons. You were the Han Empire's martial god until the absolute last moment."
"..."
"Such a figure deserves respect, so I show it to you now as well."
"But I'm not him."
Cutting me off, Han So clenched his fist tightly. I could feel his regret from his trembling, frustrated expression.
"After hearing you out, I've thought about it all day. It's too hard to simply accept. Me, not being the real Han So?"
"..."
"It's so hard to accept that I've decided to kill you and escape."
Against me now, unable to handle any souls, Han So could easily gain the upper hand and claim victory.
As I silently met his declaration with a steady gaze, he sensed something off and lowered his eyes to ask.
"You're not going to resist?"
"It would be pointless. However."
I'd considered this possibility, but there was one thing I needed to clarify first.
"I can't agree that the Han So I know at eighty-five is different from you."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember everything from before coming here?"
"Perfectly clear."
He shouted it firmly, as if desperately denying he was fake.
But hearing that only made me understand why Learic had sent me to the Dream Demon Inn.
"If I'm right, you probably entered the Dream Demon Inn a very long time ago, right at your current age."
"..."
"You would have used Room 110 then. Whether you succeeded or failed in escaping, I don't know."
I couldn't be certain yet, not knowing exactly what happens after five days.
"Even if the real Han So left, the memories and experiences of Han So from that time remain here."
Otherwise, how could such a perfect fake exist?
Not just Han So and the Black Necromancer—all the others acted and moved as if they were truly real.
"So the Dream Demon Inn... remembers me and recreated me."
Like the shattered Remegaton.
Or the supposedly lost Mengcheonmubong.
My guess was that the Dream Demon Inn even recreated people from that era who no longer existed.
"What about the Black Necromancer, the uninvited guest?"
"She's the same in the end. An intentional device created by Learic to keep the tension high."
Otherwise, there'd be no need to make Rule 27 specifically about her.
It seemed like a warning due to the phrasing and the term "uninvited guest," but ultimately, she was under the Dream Demon Inn's rules just like the rest.
"So I'm real, but fake?"
Two words that didn't mesh.
But that's what made her perfectly suited to this Dream Demon Inn.
"I don't know."
Han So sighed deeply, hanging his head in complaint. But unnoticed, the Mengcheonmubong he held had fallen to the floor.
"I won't define whether I'm real or fake. Talking with you, it feels like it doesn't even matter. I'm simply Han So, martial god of the Han Empire."
He cast aside the complicated worries.
Following what his convictions demanded.
"A martial god's end should be in battle against great evil, just as you said."
"..."
"Martial god Han So stands with you."
Laughing heartily, he lightly tapped my chest with his fist. I slowly bowed my head to him.
To the man before me, whether he was fake or real no longer mattered.
I only hoped that, living as the one existence called Han So, his end would be fittingly so as well.
"Thank you."
The Han So at eighty-five.
The Han So now.
In the end, both chose to fight the Archdemon with unwavering conviction.
What a steadfast man.
"Now that I think about it, maybe I was waiting for you to convince me."
Smiling self-deprecatingly, he gave my back a gentle push.
"Let's head to the restaurant. She's waiting."
He already knew I was the Black Necromancer's disciple, so he winked and stepped aside.
As we headed to the restaurant, I slowly stopped and turned back to Han So.
He tilted his head, wondering if something was wrong.
Composing myself with proper courtesy, I spoke again.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't properly introduced myself."
"Dayus Verdi of Northsweden. That's all I know."
Shrugging, Han So watched as I placed a hand over my heart and bowed slowly.
"Necromancer who consoles the dead souls. The overly generous name bestowed upon me by His Majesty King Orpheus of Griffin is Necromancer."
"Necromancer... Necromancer Dayus Verdi. Consoles the dead souls..."
He repeated it like he was savoring the words, then realized why I'd said it and let out a gasp of hollow laughter.
"Ha! So you're the expert at handling guys like me."
I just gave a faint smile without a word, and he nodded several times before turning sharply.
"Fine then. If this life is heading toward departure anyway, I entrust my send-off to you."
Han So had no soul now.
But I believed what I'd done so far could help him.
Leaving Han So to return to his room, I headed back to the restaurant.
On the way, I noticed new text on the wall listing the Dream Demon Inn's ten rules.
-10. Among the guests, only one is alive.
The latter half of the torn Rule 10 had now revealed itself.
"So figuring it out ourselves was the condition to view the rules."
Not just written plainly, but locked away like riddles.
Seeing Rule 10 made me realize Rule 30 was a trap of sorts too.
"So that's what Rule 30 really meant."
-30. Only the last remaining one can escape the Dream Demon Inn.
It was the final rule inciting a brutal slaughter.
But its true meaning wasn't to kill everyone else besides me.
Because the only truly living person was me.
In the end, no one but me could escape this Dream Demon Inn.
"Pathetic."
Sneering that I wouldn't be swayed by such things anymore, I entered the restaurant.
There sat the eighteen-year-old Black Necromancer, waiting for me.
"You're late. And we're short on time."
She looked full of complaints, but I smiled reassuringly.
"Three days left now."
Until we were chased out of the Dream Demon Inn, three days remained.
"Plenty of time for three people to fight to the death, but quite tight for unraveling the secrets of a place like this."
I slowly sat in the seat next to her.
"But."
A faint smile formed on my lips, anticipating the time ahead.
"It seems just the right amount for us to talk."