“Ah!”
Fortunately, the first thing I saw when I woke up was my actual hotel room. Groaning, I had a severe headache even before I understood the situation.
“Ugh.” After the regression, I usually felt minor pain, but this time the intensity was severe. With a splitting headache, I was dizzy from the memory I just recalled.
If it was real, Randolph… My husband didn’t betray me.
Tears welled up from my shocking realization. The fact alone seemed to heal all the sadness and pain from the past. If he still loved me, why…
Why didn’t he come back?
What happened to him?
And why was I…
The pain persisted. To die and return to the past endlessly, will I be able to last with this mortal body of mine? How long will I be stuck living with this damn life?
“Help me, Randy…” This was the first time I cried since his funeral; the tears fell. A soft cry became a sad sob.
When my heart, swept by waves of emotions, was about to fall into the abyss of despair, a familiar voice called out to me.
“My apostle, Emily.”
Why, at a time like this…?
I stopped crying, and a golden wave manifested before me.
…
I was flustered by the daydream that started without any context. There was the silhouette of a tall man wearing a fluttering cloak. I was seeing the “king” in person, regardless of my will. A desire for blind loyalty and affection for him rose from my heart, which was immersed in grief.
“Your Majesty.” I reached out without realizing it.
A hesitant voice responded. “Your sorrow… I will try to comfort you.”
At that moment, his cloak wrapped itself around me.
…I fell into a deep slumber.
“…Mm.” I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.
Suddenly, I woke up and was lying on the bed in my room. Not only had the splitting pain in my head disappeared but so did the despair that was so close to washing over me. All that remained was a mournful longing for Randolph and the warmth of my memories with him.
…As if it were all just a summer dream.
Most importantly, Randy didn’t leave me for no reason. Knowing this clearly calmed my mind, and I organized the facts I learned from my recovered memories.
Still, one question lingered in my mind. Why?
There were so many holes in my memories. Was this the price to pay while under the protection of the King in Yellow or… How long have I been losing my memories? I came up with a shocking but logically convincing hypothesis.
Cuckoo, cuckoo.
The clock on the wall signaled the time.
“It’s eight o’clock?” It was when I returned to my room after receiving the telegram and conversing with Mr. Graham. That’s right, the detector had yet to be installed in Room 333, but there was no need. I knew the evil spirits will appear at 3 A.M.
The important thing to figure out was how to fight Edward. He was a much more powerful poltergeist than I thought. I expected flying objects to attack me; I never imagined he would drop a chandelier on top of me. The memory of the huge object being smashed over my head gave me chills.
“…I’d rather not experience that again.”
How could I win in that situation? After much deliberation, I concluded that the only way to neutralize the evil spirits was to destroy the Book of Eibon. Then…
There was only one way. I got up, armed myself, and headed to Room 333. Unlike before, I opted not to enter from the outside. I intended to hide inside the room and wait.
***
Inside the fireplace of Room 333.
How long had it been since I sneaked past the employees and hid before they noticed me? As my whole body was getting stiff, the door burst open and the room brightened.
“Can you find a book for me?”
And everything played out in the same fashion before my return. A strange, terrible language was heard.
“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh…”
Perhaps they were proceeding with a ritual to sacrifice Miss Sally Melbourne. I’d run out if I could right now. But I had to wait. To properly destroy the Book of Eibon, it must be attacked at the right time. With the King in Yellow protecting my spirit, I quietly loaded my gun. Before Miss Melbourne finished the ceremony, I took a shot at Edward.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
The moment the connection between the evil spirit and its host faded with a shrill scream. I ran right out of the fireplace.
“You!”
Just before he lost consciousness, Edward recognized and shouted at me, but I couldn’t afford to respond. Running to Miss Melbourne who had fainted, I picked up the Book of Eibon that was next to her.
“Aaah!”
Separated from Henry Jekyll’s body, the evil spirit rushed toward me. Amid the storm of chaos, I calmly pulled out a dagger I had been carrying. Despite looking very rough and crude, it was called the Dagger of the Ancients. It was a reward for carrying out the previous order of the King in Yellow and an appropriate weapon to hurt beings without a physical form such as demons and spirits.
The mouthless, shadowy form seemed to scream out a “no”.
Slam!
I raised the dagger and stabbed it into the center of the Book of Eibon.
There was a bloodcurdling scream. Blood flowed out from the book and tried to attack me, but it didn’t work.
“I will protect your body…”
It was the King in Yellow. This was caused by his will. In some cases, when unexplainable, mysterious forces that cannot be understood by human reason attacked me, a special kind of shield was automatically activated. Whatever the price was, as long as it worked, I was invincible when facing supernatural creatures.
There was an exception.
Physical attacks couldn’t be stopped. For example, when the evil spirit Edward used his powers as a poltergeist to drop the chandelier. Moving the chandelier was using an unknown power, but because it fell on me due to gravity, the shield was not activated and my life was taken.
…When that happened, I could only die and go back in time.
Done.
When I took back my hand, the Book of Eibon stopped. It had been “struggling” while on the floor, yet it slowly turned to dust and disappeared. Watching it dissipate, I sat on the floor. Finally…
I had destroyed the book and defeated Eddie. Maybe I was able to relax because I recognized my accomplishment. Fatigue began to wash over me.
“Oh, damn it,” I murmured.
A grim whisper rang in my head to congratulate me on my hard work.
“My true apostle, Emily Carter. I admire your bravery.”
Was it just me? I somehow sensed a hint of amusement in that voice unlike before.
“Thanks to your service, the end of the world has been delayed for seven days.”
That’s…
It was a cheap reward. If the King in Yellow noticed how I felt, I’ll end up with an unfortunate thought.
I fell unconscious.
***
An unknown amount of time passed.
“Nngh…”
When I managed to open and rub my eyes, a familiar ceiling came to view. It was the hotel room I was staying in.
“Are you all right?”
I turned my head. Henry Jekyll, who looked like he was about to burst into tears, sat in a chair next to the bed. I thought he’d been here for a few hours.
I deliberately opened my mouth and jokingly said, “You weren’t waiting for me, were you?”
Henry Jekyll lowered his head with a sad expression. “I am truly sorry for getting you involved, Miss Emily.”
“What do you mean?”
“I… didn’t know. Truly.”
I noticed the tear stains on his cheek as he continued speaking.
“I didn’t think I… would go around and do terrible things under the influence of the evil spirit Eddie.”
“Henry.”
“And I never thought that evil being would use my body to attack you.” He seemed to have received some sort of explanation from his uncle, Mr. Graham. Henry was aware of the evil spirits since he was a child, but he didn’t expect them to go that far. “I am… ashamed of myself.”
Apparently, Mr. Graham had yet to reveal the terrible fact that the evil spirit was Henry’s biological father. Was it because of the shame?
When Henry removed the hands which covered his face, there were tears in his eyes. “I was so worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
“…”
“If you got hurt because of my stupid, hasty judgment…”
“Henry.”
He, who was about to cry, looked up as I called his name.
“I’m fine.”
“…But—”
“Really, I’m fine. Calm down…”
Henry obediently listened to my words and took a deep breath. When it seemed that he regained his composure, I asked what happened after I fainted. The young man opened his mouth.
“Jimmy Barry, a boy who worked here, treated you since you had lost consciousness.”
Mr. Henry woke up at around 6 A.M., and thanks to Jimmy’s first aid, he was fine. He tried to compensate him as a form of gratitude, but after learning more about the boy’s situation, Jimmy had already quit his job at the hotel.
“The address and personal information he gave were fake.”
Jimmy Barry was a mysterious boy with excellent first aid skills. If my guess was correct, it was no wonder he ran away as soon as he revealed his medical skills.
With a serious expression, Mr. Henry continued, “Miss Melbourne is still asleep. She also received medical attention, and the doctor said she would wake up in a few hours.”
I was also worried about her. Sally had been exposed to the magic of the Book of Eibon. Even if there were no physical injuries or abnormalities, the psychological trauma would be enormous. Most humans exposed to this forbidden book had their hair become gray and experienced periodic seizures. In more severe cases, individuals ended up in a mental hospital after suffering from madness and delusions.
“Jimmy said that while I was possessed by Eddie, I flirted with several of the hotel guests.”
Edward Hyde remained a good man. It was a relief he had stopped at that point.
“It’s not your fault, Henry.”
“No, I don’t qualify to hear such kind words.”
…Qualify? What qualifications was he referring to? I began to ponder on what he said.
“I’m an ugly person who doesn’t even deserve to discuss love with a wonderful woman like you.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Mr. Henry’s eyes, which were full of tears. I guess he was referring to that?
The belated guilt weighed on my chest. After all, he didn’t know anything.
…A dark secret hidden in my own veins. Mr. Graham Langham asked not to speak about it, but I thought I should confess to that myself.
The truth was in my throat; I barely swallowed it back down and confessed another truth. “I should be the one to apologize, Mr. Henry.”
