Chapter 121: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (12)

Chapter 121: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (12)

- Han Kain

The target Hyde chose for execution in the first and second rounds was “Kain”.

While I was momentarily speechless, my teammates began to speak quickly.

“Why is Kain the top target? Even if you’re not sure, just say something. That way, the Doctor can participate in the meeting naturally.”

Under Eunsol-noona’s urging, Seungyub, who was usually quiet, spoke up.

“Maybe it’s because he always thinks a lot?”

“Thinking a lot? That could be, but...”

Songee had a different idea.

“Isn’t there a more concrete reason? Like, because he has an Inheritance?”

I joined the conversation around that point.

“I’m not the only one with an Inheritance. You have one too, Songee, and so does Ahri. There are three of us with an Inheritance here.”

Ahri gave her opinion.

“Perhaps your Inheritance is particularly lethal to Hyde? Like, it can kill Hyde?”

“They said we can’t find Hyde with Inheritances.”

“True, but it never said anything about killing, right?”

Can’t find it, but can kill it?

It seemed plausible but also confusing.

Why did Hyde prioritize me as a target?

Is it because I'm the smartest?

Honestly, no.

I’m not the only one with an Inheritance.

Maybe the abilities of the Grimoire pose a threat to Hyde?

That seemed plausible.

But in what way is it a threat? Can it kill it?

I don’t know.

It was hard to grasp.

Since the start of the Jekyll and Hyde game, the Moderator has always shown us the time.

Two minutes left.

With that thought, the third round ended.

n n

The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde’s time has come.

nn

My consciousness faded...

***

- 4th Round, Han Kain.

I quickly opened my eyes and looked around.

“...!”

One person is missing.

The response was immediate.

“Songee?”

“Songee-noona!”

The Moderator descended.

n n

Regrettably, Hyde’s third execution was successful. The Doctor failed to protect the correct target.

The Hyde of the third round was “Han Kain”. Now Hyde will move to another person.

nn

With the first casualty, the atmosphere drastically changed.

But it was still manageable. One person wasn’t an issue; we could revive them.

The Hyde of the third round possessed me.

The execution target shifted from me to Songee.

Why didn’t Hyde execute me while possessing me?

Is it impossible for Hyde to execute its own host?

I asked directly.

“Moderator, can Hyde not execute his host? Would Hyde die if that happened?”

n n

It is possible to execute.

nn

“Possible” to execute?

The word choice felt like the host was hiding something.

Ahri immediately pointed it out.

“What happens if Hyde executes its own host?”

The Moderator did not answer.

But the Moderator's silence told us everything.

Ahri spoke confidently.

“If the host dies, Hyde dies too! The method to eliminate Hyde is to execute the host, right?”

“So, Hyde executes the host only when there's one survivor left?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s why Hyde changed his target from me to Songee. The game would have ended if he executed me while I was his host.”

Eunsol-noona had a slightly different perspective.

“There’s another interpretation. The Doctor protected you twice in a row, right? Maybe Hyde concluded he couldn’t kill you because the Doctor would keep protecting you.”

It didn’t matter.

Just before returning to my body, I used Elena’s pen to write a small note on her hand.

n n

Ahri

nn

Elena would make her own decision on who to protect, but I left my opinion and returned.

Elena’s eyes widened slightly but showed no other reaction.

The 15 minutes were almost up.

n n

The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde’s time has come.

nn

My consciousness faded...

***

- 5th Round, Han Kain.

I opened my eyes in tension.

“Ah...!”

A gasp escaped my companions.

Our luckiest member, Seungyub, didn’t make it this time.

The Moderator descended.

nn

Regrettably, Hyde’s fourth execution was successful. The Doctor failed to protect the correct target.

The Hyde of the fourth round was “Kim Ahri”. Now Hyde will move to another person.

nn

In a defeated voice, Eunsol-noona spoke.

“It’s been about an hour since this game started? We’ve already lost two people... Even if we can revive one.”

Elena, the Doctor, buried her face in her hands, likely from failing to protect twice in a row.

I was also mentally exhausted.

I expected the next target after Songee and I would be Ahri, but it wasn’t.

Instead, Hyde possessed Ahri to execute Seungyub.

...Incredible.

Since entering the hotel, I’ve faced various trials, but this one felt particularly insurmountable.

With no visible enemy, we were losing teammates to the rules without being able to do anything.

Even Eunsol-noona looked defeated, and the others seemed on the verge of breaking down.

Focus.

One person needed to stay sharp in times like these.

My previous assumptions were based on one premise.

Hyde never acts randomly.

There was no solid proof for this.

But I believe the hotel wouldn’t kill us meaninglessly, and the game’s progression wouldn’t be purely luck-based.

If Hyde didn’t act randomly, there must be a criterion for determining the execution order.

This criterion should rank all seven participants.

Thinking differently, I considered the possession order: Yu Songee → Park Seungyub → Han Kain → Kim Ahri.

If there was a criterion for the execution order, there must be one for the possession order too.

The execution targets were Han Kain → Han Kain → Yu Songee → Park Seungyub.

The possession targets were Yu Songee → Park Seungyub → Han Kain → Kim Ahri.

A commonality emerged.

In both orders, Yu Songee was followed by Park Seungyub.

When I realized this, a revelation struck like lightning!

The criterion for choosing execution and possession targets was the same!

Hyde ranked us by a single criterion.

The order revealed so far was:

Han Kain → Yu Songee → Park Seungyub → Kim Ahri.

Let’s summarize.

Firstly, Hyde ranked us by a specific criterion. The order seems to be Han Kain → Yu Songee → Park Seungyub → Kim Ahri.

Secondly, if Hyde executes his host, he also dies.

Considering this, I analyzed the game’s progress so far.

Hyde’s top execution target was me.

To execute me, it possessed Yu Songee and Park Seungyub to target me.

The Doctor protected me twice in the 1st round and 2nd round.

Hyde decided he couldn’t execute me and changed the target to Yu Songee.

Since the target changed, Hyde possessed me and targeted Yu Songee in the 3rd round.

With the Doctor still alive, Hyde decided it still couldn’t execute me and targeted Park Seungyub.

Having possessed Han Kain, Yu Songee, and Park Seungyub, the next host was Kim Ahri, who then targeted Park Seungyub in the 4th round.

If my theory was correct, the next target would be Kim Ahri.

But who would be the next host?

I still lacked evidence.

Hyde could still possess Elena, Mooksung, or Eunsol.

To find Hyde, I needed to understand his exact ranking criterion to determine the order among Elena, Mooksung, and Eunsol.

What’s the criterion?

What could make me and Songee first and second, but rank Seungyub higher than /genesisforsaken