084. Escape from Hell Hotel
084. Escape from Hell Hotel
After the 9th-floor trial.
I emptied my mind of every thought.
Because powering through with brute force suited my temperament better than racking my brain to escape.
Especially today, I'd been thinking so much it felt like my brain was about to overload.
So, partly to clear my head,
I was smashing every obstacle in my path and plowing through the trials.
【Reformed Guburi】─He's refreshingly smashing everything, the madman. lolololol
【Yoho】─Host! Woah, woah! Calm down!
【Drift AI】─I speak. I state that it is frightening.
【Dick Lover】─He just destroys everything in his way. lol
【Bubblegum Collector】─Warkyarpya! The destruction tank is advancing!
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya! So reckless!
【Plum Tree】─Why's Se-hun rampaging?
【Min-ji】─You guys called him stupid earlier and he got mad. -_-
【Hottie Licker】─Fucking terrifying... Schluurp...
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─WTF is he even human? How'd he punch through a wall? Is it a styrofoam wall?
【Qkrnfl892】─Wow. For real, I'd better not mess with Se-hun.
Like that, I relentlessly tore through the 8th, 7th, and 6th floors.
【Reformed Guburi】─Why are you hitting people, you madman!
【Hottie Licker】─He didn't hit them. He just grabbed and threw them. Lick.
【Reformed Guburi】─He palm-slapped one of them. Fuck.
【Yoho】─That person came at him swinging a hammer first. It was self-defense.
【Min-ji】─It was probably a fake hammer.
【Plum Tree】─Was that a person who just went flying? It had a tail and its whole body was red.
【Qkrnfl892】─Must be special effects makeup.
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! Still, go easy on people!
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya! You're holding back your strength well!
Busting through the 5th and 4th floors, I arrived at the 3rd floor.
After running wild like that, I felt like my pent-up frustration had been blown wide open.
"Phew. Finally feel a bit refreshed."
I plopped down right where I was.
I planned to rest here for a moment.
【Yoho】─Looks like you're tired.
【Dick Lover】─But his stamina really has gotten a lot better.
【Qkrnfl892】─Yeah. Before, he'd be panting after a little hike.
【Reformed Guburi】─Those moaning sounds were nice back then. lol
【Plum Tree】─I even have a recording.
【Dick Lover】─Hand it over.
【Hottie Licker】─So many budding criminals here. Lick.
【Min-ji】─Aren't they criminals already?
"These bastards sure typed a lot of chat."
I took a break.
As I slowly read through the backlog of chat on my phone, something happened.
<...The trial begins.>
<Seize the heart from Hell's Watchdog.>
<If you offer the heart on the altar, the path to the next trial will open.>
A staff member's voice came through the speaker.
But I didn't listen closely.
There was no need to follow the staff's words, since I could just smash the obstacles roughly this time too and move on.
Doing so hadn't caused any problems,
because they hadn't stopped me so far.
Anyway,
I decided to lie on the floor and replenish my stamina first.
***
The 3rd floor was even more desolate than the other floors.
It was just an empty space without any special structures.
But red paint covered the floor and wallpaper in a damp, slick layer, creating a terrifying atmosphere as if I'd come to hell.
"Oh... This place actually feels like real hell."
【Reformed Guburi】─You been to hell?
"Think I would have? I'm just saying that's the vibe."
【Yoho】─Guburi, think a little before you ask questions.
【Min-ji】─Yeah.
【Reformed Guburi】─Don't butt in, you bitches.
【Qkrnfl892】─This place is genuinely eerie.
【Hottie Licker】─Lick. There's nothing here, so why is it terrifying?
【Drift AI】─I speak. I state that it is the fear of emptiness.
【Bubblegum Collector】─Warkyarpya! Feels like a void bug's gonna pop out!
【Gyejipsa】─Marzarha!
【Dick Lover】─Be careful, Se-hun. There's something weird up ahead.
"Huh?"
After checking Dick's chat,
I lifted my head and quietly stared ahead.
［Grrrrr...!］
The low rumbling of a beast growling echoed out, and soon, three wild dogs slowly took shape out of the darkness.
...No, wait.
Looking again, it seemed more correct to say it was one creature,
because it was a grotesque sight of three wild dogs sharing a single body.
The beast's identity was a "Three-Headed Hound."
【Reformed Guburi】─Fuck, what the hell is that now?
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! It's Cerberus!
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya, Meong Meong!
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Is that seriously a son of a bitch with three heads?
【Hottie Licker】─The two on the sides must be fake heads. Lick.
【Yoho】─That's amazingly well-made.
【Qkrnfl892】─Fuck lol I thought they were real heads.
【Plum Tree】─I think that's Hell's Watchdog? Se-hun, catch it and take its heart out to pass the trial.
【Dick Lover】─This one's a bit cruel.
【Min-ji】─Stop animal abuse!
"Take out its heart?"
【Plum Tree】─Yeah, they said the path opens if you offer its heart on the altar.
【Qkrnfl892】─You forgot already? You really are selectively a goldfish.
【Hottie Licker】─He didn't forget, he just wasn't listening. Lick.
【Dick Lover】─He was spacing out earlier.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─We have to take out its heart? Crazy, this trial crossed the line.
【Yoho】─Couldn't it just be a metaphor?
【Min-ji】─It's probably a riddle or something.
While I was checking the chat,
the Three-Headed Hound had already approached right up to me before I knew it.
But something was strange.
When it was far away, it snarled viciously, but once it got close, it became noticeably docile.
［Pant, pant!］
The Three-Headed Hound gently wagged its tail and prowled around me.
Then it suddenly flipped over, exposing its belly, stuck out its tongue, and started acting cute.
It was a slightly bewildering situation.
The viewers' reactions weren't much different from mine.
【Yoho】─?
【Min-ji】─??
【Qkrnfl892】─Why's it acting like that?
【Dick Lover】─It's acting cute to Se-hun.
【Plum Tree】─Must be female. lol
【Reformed Guburi】─Fuck, that horny dog bastard!
【Hottie Licker】─Why's Guburi mad. Lick.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─It's fucking cute. lolol
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! Makes me crave dog soup!
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya! Bestiality!
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─But why'd it roll over and show its belly? Is that a sign of submission?
"I don't think so, it just looks like it's acting spoiled."
【Drift AI】─I speak. I state that it appears to be a display of intention requesting belly rubs.
"Is that so?"
If Drift said so, it had to be true.
Crouching down, I carefully scratched the Three-Headed Hound's belly.
［Kiiiing.］
The Three-Headed Hound savored my touch with an ecstatic expression.
It was even letting out whimpers as if it felt good.
【Qkrnfl892】─It's loving it. lol
【Reformed Guburi】─That horny dog bitch. It's gonna make a mess.
【Hottie Licker】─Guburi, you're jealous of a dog now? I'll give you a kiss. Lick! Smooch smooch! Schluurp!
【Reformed Guburi】─Fuck off before I sue you for communications-based obscenity.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Huh? I think all the heads on the sides are real?
【Yoho】─Yeah. Technology has sure advanced a lot these days.
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! Isn't it a test subject?
【Dick Lover】─Se-hun, don't get attached for nothing. You have to kill it soon.
【Plum Tree】─Seems like you could take out the heart right now?
【Min-ji】─?? Don't say cruel things. -_-
"No, why would I kill a nice dog like this? And I have no intention of taking out its heart, you crazy bitches..."
［Kiiiing...］
I kept scratching the Three-Headed Hound's belly as I continued speaking.
"In the first place, from the 8th floor onwards, I didn't pay attention to the trial content and just ignorantly smashed through everything. So this time too, I can just force a path open with strength."
［Kiiiing!］
After I finished talking,
I removed my hand from the Three-Headed Hound's belly and clenched my fist.
And then.
Boom!
I put strength into my arm and struck the floor with all my might.
［Kiing...!］
【Reformed Guburi】─What the fuck, you startled me! What are you doing now?
【Hottie Licker】─Why are you suddenly self-harming? Lick.
"Ah. It's not self-harm, I'm trying to break through the floor and go down this time."
【Reformed Guburi】─?? What are you, some kind of excavator?
【Hottie Licker】─How do you dig through a floor with your fist. Lick.
【Qkrnfl892】─Is that possible?
【Dick Lover】─It is if it's Se-hun.
【Plum Tree】─Yeah, Se-hun once dug through the earth with his fists and crossed over to the opposite side of the planet.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─For real?
【Plum Tree】─Can't believe he bought that.
【Yoho】─Gasp. The floor actually cracked?
【Min-ji】─Heoguhdung...
Once again,
to go down to the 2nd floor, I struck the floor hard.
Boom!
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! The sound of that impact is insane!
【Hottie Licker】─His fist is basically a blunt weapon...
I struck down again.
Boom!
【Reformed Guburi】─Wow. What am I even watching right now.
【Yoho】─The more I see, the more endless the surprises are.
【Min-ji】─I thought I was surprised enough already... But there's no end to it...
I kept striking down without rest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
【Plum Tree】─Looks like it'll collapse soon.
【Qkrnfl892】─Se-hun, are you seriously human? I've been watching this whole time and I still can't believe it. This isn't staged, right?
It didn't even take a full minute to collapse the floor.
***
After Gye Se-hun smashed the floor and went down,
the middle head of the Three-Headed Hound, still on the 3rd floor, cautiously spoke up first.
［...Is it gone?］
［It's gone.］
［Whew. I almost died.］
［That was seriously dangerous. How could a human be that strong...?］
The Three-Headed Hound had one special ability.
It was the ability to measure an opponent's strength.
And naturally, it had used that ability on Gye Se-hun as well.
At first, it was a little ambiguous.
Because the distance was quite far, it couldn't gauge how strong a human he was.
But the moment it observed him up close,
it realized immediately that he was a monster it could absolutely never handle.
That was why the Three-Headed Hound had instinctively submitted.
It had done so to survive.
［I thought something was off from afar... Where on earth did they bring a monster like that from?］
［Those damn Pierrot bastards. What kind of sloppy work is this?］
［I'll have to eat about half of them later.］
The Three-Headed Hound, relieved that it had preserved its life, hid itself back into the deep darkness.
***
After landing on the 2nd floor,
I minimized the impact using a breakfall.
【Reformed Guburi】─Gye Bastard-hun's breakfall is sick.
【Qkrnfl892】─How is he fine after falling from that height?
【Yoho】─Just accept it as normal now.
【Min-ji】─Yeah. Thinking deeply about it just makes you tired.
【Plum Tree】─Se-hun would be fine even if he fell from the 63 Building.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─For real?
【Dick Lover】─Stop believing what that Plum Blossom bastard says.
【Hottie Licker】─Doesn't believe in ghosts but totally buys stuff like that. Lick.
As I was getting up and dusting myself off,
a voice announcing the next trial began to flow from the speaker.
<...The trial begins.>
<You will soon be transported into an illusion of hell. Within the illusion, the violence you have wielded will be turned back upon you.>
<The illusion, Role-Reversal Trial, begins.>
<Endure the violence. Should you lose consciousness, you will fall into the Abyss of Hell.>
The moment the staff member's words ended,
darkness suddenly crept over me, and my vision blacked out in an instant.
And a little while later,
when the light returned and it grew bright again,
I had been moved to a location that wasn't the hotel's 2nd floor.
‘What the...? Was this virtual reality...? No, was it really an illusion?’
This place I was standing in was a school classroom that felt both unfamiliar and somehow familiar.