e-booksonline Chapter 130: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (21)
Chapter 130: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (21)
Chapter 130: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (21)
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 46
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)
Sage's Advice: 1
- Han Kain
Moving down to the first floor of the Esper Ho wasn't difficult.
We used the ship's floor plans hanging around and simply followed the stairs down, without any interference from the staff.
We walked for a while and then stopped.
According to the memo about the approximate location of the underground prison, it should be somewhere around here.
We arrived between the coffee shop and the swimming pool on the first floor.
If we went straight down from where we were standing, we’d end up in the underground prison.
But how did the past me figure out the path to the underground prison?
Who drilled a hole in the ship?
Ahri spoke up.
“There should be some stairs leading down around here...”
“Is there a secret passage?”
“It’s probably just a normal passage.”
“A normal passage?”
“It’s difficult to modify a ship’s internal structure when it's constructed, so secret passages would have to be planned during the ship’s design. But look at the scale of this ship. It’s too large to have been built secretly. It was probably constructed in a world-renowned shipyard. Building complicated secret passages would have been difficult.”
“Come to think of it, there’s no need for secret passages. Regular passengers wouldn’t be snooping around like us. Just a restricted access sign would keep most people away.”
She pointed to a door on the left wall as she spoke.
Restricted Access
Could it be that?
We nodded at each other.
It was time to start the second part of the “Make a noise in the East, then strike in the West” plan.
- Piyoooo!
At Songee’s command, Perro immediately transformed into his Grotesque form and started wreaking havoc!
Most of the staff had gone upstairs to put out the fire, leaving only a few of them on the first floor. They fled in terror at the sight of Perro’s Grotesque figure.
We took the opportunity to open the door and go down the stairs.
***As we descended the dark staircase, memories flooded back.
The strong smell that pierced our noses.
The stench of bodily fluids and pus mixed with the smell of blood and the rotting flesh of someone dying.
The kind of smell we experienced when entering the security room during the Common Sense Renovating Media incident.
How did I become someone who could recognize these smells?
Ahri, also recognizing the smell, gripped her gun tightly with a tense expression.
After reaching the basement, Songee shone her flashlight around.
“Ugh! What is this?”
Moans of agony filled the space.
There were eight people...
Though still alive, the condition of their body was so severe that they were nearly unrecognizable as a human.
They were dying, rolling around inside rusting iron bars.
It was hard to guess what they had been through.
Songee, unable to move due to the stench, handed me the flashlight.
These guys must be the “reserve sacrifices”.
I shone the light on each one, but they either drooled mindlessly or were unresponsive, likely having lost their minds.
Finally, Ahri shouted loudly.
Ahri tilted her head.
“Sinking the ship?”
“Yes. If we crash the ship into an iceberg or something, sinking it again should end this nightmare.”
Sinking the ship by crashing it into an iceberg.
Will that work?
Songee, who had been standing far away due to the smell, approached and asked.
“Do the people of the Esper Ho obsess over the dinner party because of the contract? Since they promised sacrifices and feasts?”
“You’re well-informed. It’s not strange. Since ancient times, rituals have always involved song and dance.”
“Okay, but why do they ask for age and birthplace?”
“Marcas, the Demon of the Deep Sea, despises everything on the surface. He enjoys us cruelly killing and sacrificing surface dwellers. Like the gods of old who preferred lambs, Marcas prefers young humans.
“But it holds no significance. As long as the sacrifice isn’t about to die of old age, Marcas doesn’t mind. Knowing the age and birthplace of the sacrifice is just a ritualistic formality.”
I have one more question.
“What’s the meaning of the clock at the sacrifice site?”
Harrison’s eyes widened.
“You’ve figured out that much? I don’t know exactly. Only the captain knows. But I heard that if the clock’s hand reaches 3, we’ll be eternally damned.”
We gathered most of the information about the ship.
The next goal was also roughly set.
The idea proposed by Vice Captain Harrison, who participated in the wicked rituals for decades: crashing the ship into an iceberg to sink it.
We nodded at each other.
Shortly after, Ahri walked around and mercifully ended the suffering of the victims.
Finally, she stood before Harrison.
“You probably won’t die even if I kill you. Is there anything you want?”
“Take me with you.”
“Your lower body is fused with the ship. How can we take you with us?”
“Just cut off my upper body. Please.”
“Hmm. That’s a bit much. Sorry, but—”
As Ahri turned to leave, Harrison spoke urgently.
“Do you know how to steer this ship? It’s a 120,000-ton cruise liner, not a small boat. You don’t think you can steer it without professional knowledge, do you?”
“...”
I had to stop too.
Harrison’s point was valid.
Could we steer this massive ship into an iceberg without any relevant knowledge?
Songee gestured, and Perro flew over.
“When did he get in?”
“A while ago.”
Songee seemed to whisper something to Perro, who then transformed into his Grotesque form.
Even in his Grotesque form, Perro didn’t move.
Songee issued another command, “Perro!”
Still, he didn’t move. I sensed Perro’s feelings.
He was probably commanded to tear Harrison’s body apart, but the foul stench was keeping him from getting closer.
After nearly five minutes of persuasion, Perro reluctantly tore Harrison’s body apart.
“...”
About five minutes after tearing him apart, Harrison’s lower body started to regenerate as if “time was reversing”.
It felt like the end of this trial was nearing its conclusion.
If we manage to crash this damned ship into an iceberg with Harrison’s help, we could solve this.