Hotel Mortis - Chapter 1 Part 10
Part 10
He didn’t want to die anymore. Truly.
Then it happened.
“Ack!”
Amidst a scream, there was a swift whooshing sound followed by a dull thud. Something had collided with force, interrupting 304, who had been watching 712’s impending death. However, 712 was in a weakened state and couldn’t raise his head to see what had happened. Instinctively, he clung desperately to the bed frame, just trying to stay alive. But he knew this wouldn’t last long. His strength was slowly draining away.
“Just hold on a little longer!”
An unfamiliar voice resounded through the room with urgency. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed, and soon someone grabbed his shoulders and pulled him. He could feel the warmth of a living body. It was a living human.
“Ugh… I-It hurts!”
Whatever was under the bed was now gripping both of his ankles and pulling them. It was excruciatingly painful. Both his ankles felt like they might have been broken. Glancing downward, he noticed that they were bent at an odd angle.
“It’ll hurt but hold on a little longer! You can make it!”
The unfamiliar voice urged him to endure the pain and conveyed hope. 712 bit his lips and endured the agony. The man’s strength was as tremendous as a monster’s, and his lower body that had been completely sucked under the bed was gradually emerging.
-Grrrrr, grrrrr!
Whatever was pulling 712 under the bed seemed extremely agitated, emitting a deeply unsettling and eerie sound as it roared. The sound vibrated in his eardrums and made his head spin, almost causing 712 to lose consciousness.
“You can’t afford to pass out, Se-oh!”
The unknown man whispered to him. In his weakened state, 712 managed to nod his head ever so slightly.
Between the man and the monster, it seemed almost impossible to determine the winner of this tug of war. 712’s knees slipped out from under the bed, partially exposed. With just a little more effort, the man would be able to see 712’s ankle, now contorted and mangled from the struggle. However, the battle of strength was so intense that it was hard for 712, caught in the middle, to endure. Tears streamed down his face as he kept his eyes open.
“Just a little longer, please hold on a bit more.”
The man continued to whisper into his ear. It was a voice that somehow made him trust him.
His ankles were now outside the bed, revealing the wrist of something grotesque and sinister that held onto both his ankles. And then it happened. The man, who had been pulling on 712’s armpits, lunged under the bed.
“Aht…!”
712 screamed, anticipating that he would be dragged under the bed the moment the man let go. However, the man was quicker. With a long, sharp object in his hand, he swiftly stabbed and pressed hard against the protruding wrist.
-Ueeeeeekkkkk!!
A tremendous roar erupted from under the bed. The sound made 712 almost faint, but the man seemed unfazed. He had truly monstrous strength and mental fortitude.
He retrieved a rock-like object from his pocket and, as if wielding a hammer, he struck the elongated object that had pierced the monster’s wrist. With each strike, the grip on 712’s ankles weakened.
‘I can survive!’
Hope flickered in 712’s eyes as he felt this.
The man’s strength was far from ordinary, and after several strikes, the elongated object had completely pierced through the monster’s wrist, anchoring it to the floor.
At the same time, the hand that had been gripping 712’s ankle released completely. 712 used the strength of his hips and arms to push himself backward. He had thought he was completely exhausted, but somehow, an unexpected surge of strength emerged from within him.
After confirming that 712 had completely escaped the monster’s grasp, the man reached for something at his waist. This time, it was possible to identify what the object was. It was a kitchen knife, with a blade slightly longer than a hand’s length. Though it was just a kitchen knife, the blade glinted ominously. The man kicked the bed frame with his foot.
Then, the creature under the bed revealed its true form. It had a human-like shape, yet it was not human. Its arms and legs were unnaturally long, with joints that seemed to have extra segments. Where eyes should have been, there were none; only holes for nostrils and a mouth were present. The teeth visible through the wide-open mouth were sharp and pointed, reminiscent of a shark’s. Blue fungus-like spots spread across its entire body, giving it an appearance of decayed flesh.
“Urk, euph.”
The horrifying sight made 712 gag, and he instinctively covered his mouth. However, the man remained unfazed. With a calm expression, as if accustomed to such scenes, he thrust the blade into the creature’s back.
-Tssk!
A sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking echoed. The force was tremendous. A gooey substance oozed out from the slit where the blade had pierced, accompanied by the monster’s wailing.
“Argh!”
712 covered his ears in pain from the monstrous roar. In response, the man stood up, stepped on the monster’s head, and pressed down.
“Too noisy. Se-oh is in pain.”
As the monster’s head was driven into the ground, the noise seemed to diminish slightly. However, 712’s endurance had already been worn down, and he couldn’t withstand such a violent situation any longer. In fact, considering he was facing death, he had held on well enough.
He looked at the man, who was trampling over the monster’s head, and then lost consciousness.
Darkness surged before his eyes.
***
His consciousness returned, accompanied by sharp pain.
“Ugh….”
As he groaned softly and shifted his body, he felt a hand pressing down on his shoulder, anchoring him.
“Try to stay asleep a little longer. It’s going to be painful.”
It was a deeply caring voice. 712 was about to naturally slip back into slumber at those words. However, he was soon forced to open his eyes again as the last scene flashed before him. The glinting blade, the piercing scream, and…
“… Where is this?”
712 opened his eyes and looked around. It was a familiar place. This was the dirty motel room where he had encountered the monster.
‘That place in room 402.’
As he recalled the unknown entity that had existed here, his body began to tremble involuntarily. In response, a warm hand gently patted him in his chest.
“Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing here now.”
712 lifted his head to look at the owner of the hand. He was a handsome man with a clean face. He had a strong outline and sharp eyes that made him appear somewhat edgy, but his overall impression was charming, and his face was one that anyone would find likable.
“This place is safe.”
The man had a firm and trustworthy voice. As he spoke, 712 felt his tense muscles relax. He looked up at the man’s kind face and felt a sense of familiarity.
‘A face I’ve seen somewhere before….’
And before long, he was able to fully recall the memory.
‘The person who saved me!’
It was the same man he had seen just before losing consciousness. The contrast in his attitude from when facing the monster had made it hard to immediately recognize him. He asked, his voice shaking as he searched his memory.
“This place… is safe?”
In response, the man simply shrugged his shoulders.
“The creature that was trying to swallow you is dead, which means it’s gone.”
“How?”
“Well, I guess you could say it was stabbed with a kitchen knife?”
The man replied casually, but 712 remembered the monstrous strength that had grabbed his ankle. And the excruciating pain as his ankle was shattered into pieces…
As he recalled that moment, the pain in his ankle became noticeable.
“My ankle…?”
“It’s fractured. It’s swollen quite badly, so I’m applying cold packs. I’ve given you painkillers for now… Is it hurting a lot?”
The man gently patted 712’s cheek and examined his complexion. Due to the awkward touch, 712 instinctively turned his head slightly to the side. In reality, he wanted to lift his hand and push the man’s touch away, but his hands were wrapped in handkerchiefs due to the missing fingernail, making it uncomfortable to move.
The man quickly noticed that 712 was uncomfortable with his touch and awkwardly smiled.
“Would you like to sleep a bit more? You’ve only slept for about three hours. It might be better to rest a few more hours to regain your strength.”
“Well, that’s…”
712 lowered his head. Despite his muscles aching all over, his fingertips tingling, and his legs being almost numb to the point of losing sensation, his eyes were wide awake. He had completely regained consciousness.
“I can’t… sleep1I don’t know what honorifics to add or how to mix polite and casual first. Sorry. Just imagine he said it casually but switched to using honorifics..”
He tried to use casual language like the man did, but he made an effort to use honorifics, acknowledging the fact that he didn’t even know who the man was. The man’s eyes widened.
“Really? Using honorifics? Were you originally such a polite person?”
“‘Originally’?”
At his question, the man chuckled. His youthful face was adorned with a bright smile, making him look quite charming.
But strangely, his laughter seemed a bit sad and lonely…
“So, you felt this way.”
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
712 couldn’t understand the man as he continued to speak. He spoke as if he knew 712 from before.
“I have no memories before three-thirty this morning. Are you someone who knew me before that?”
As 712 cautiously inquired, the man paused for a moment, then nodded and replied.
“… Yeah. We were close and knew each other well, Se-oh.”
712 blinked his eyes as he called him by an unfamiliar name. Come to think of it, when he was fighting the monster, the man also referred to him as ‘Se-oh.’
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