Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 5: The Jester [4]

Clara whispered to herself, her eyes fixed firmly on the conductor standing at the heart of the stage. His baton cut through the air with precise, graceful sweeps, directing the tune through each of his gestures.

She clenched the walkie-talkie harder. The earpieces muffled the noise but failed to block out the music completely.

Yet somehow, it seeped right into her thoughts.

"Resist... Resist... Resist..."

Her lips parted and shut repeatedly, repeating the same phrase endlessly. What had started as a reminder for her team members had become a mantra to preserve her own mind. She dreaded that the music would overwhelm her completely if she paused, even briefly.

Should she slip for just an instant...

Clara bit down on her lower lip.

The initial hint that things had gone wrong was the . Just its appearance should have served as a warning sign. Such anomalies didn't emerge randomly—they signaled shifts happening inside the Gate.

However, as the leader of an ranked squad, Clara believed she could handle a

Even though Anomalous-Type Gates usually boasted the worst survival odds, she wasn't supposed to face this much trouble. Her preparations had been thorough enough for victory.

From the soundproof gear to lessen the music's effects, to the array of suppression tools they'd carried beforehand.

Nothing.

Nothing functioned.

"Aghhhh—!"

A piercing cry—raw, damp, and fractured—ripped across the orchestral harmony.

Clara jolted.

Her hands shook as she compelled herself to stare forward. The conductor's lips, crudely stitched closed with dark wire, twisted into a repulsive smile.

He relished this.

And for the first time ever, Clara experienced a sensation beyond terror.

Utter powerlessness.

Her team consisted of ten top-tier operatives, all drilled for crises like these. Yet this... this felt entirely different.

Despite being an Anomalous-Type Gate, notorious for the lowest survival chances among Gate varieties, the challenge shouldn't have been so intense.

Something was off.

Terribly off.

This wasn't a

The melody throbbed in the atmosphere, each tone numbing her thoughts, gradually creeping into her consciousness, drawing her into an odd trance that made her fingers jerk.

Clara's thoughts raced, various scenarios flashing through her head.

Time was still on her side.

She had to devise a method to save herself and the team from this mess. Even as the tune eroded her mental strength bit by bit, she managed to stay clear-headed enough to reason.

Overcome it?

Clara lifted her gaze toward the conductor.

She quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. No way. Her instincts screamed it from every fiber of her being. They couldn't take down this entity.

Victory lay only in following the rules.

—H-help. I'm about to...!

Focus,

Hearing the desperate shouts and begs from her team, Clara gnawed her lip. Her gaze swept frantically over the auditorium, searching for an escape from this nightmare, but no matter her efforts, no solution appeared.

This... crisis.

It was in the depths of her despair and futility that an unfamiliar voice murmured over the walkie-talkie.

She didn't know the speaker, and crucially, it held an eerie composure that clashed with the chaos.

A shiver raced along Clara's back. Gradually, she pivoted.

The Jester.

He was gripping a walkie-talkie too.

'How...?'

Trembling, she brought the device to her mouth.

"Who... who are you?"

Silence hung heavy.

Clara's breathing stuttered.

From across the space, the Jester's face shifted—his features hardened, contorting into a displeased scowl.

Then, his voice returned.

—That doesn't matter. Time is running short for you.

Clara chewed her lip, every instinct urging her to demand, 'Why are you here? Are you human? What's your goal?' and more, but aware of her dire straits, she realized she couldn't afford to delay.

Thus, she lifted the walkie-talkie once more to her mouth.

"What do you need us to do?"

A brief silence followed.

The Jester's expression flickered anew, his face puffing slightly as though holding back.

Clara exhaled shakily. Had her response fallen short? Would he abandon them? What if—

Then, the response arrived.

"What?"

But it wasn't what she'd anticipated.

Insult the conductor? Clara's head snapped toward the conductor, her face twisting in confusion. What kind of prank was this?

A deception? Was the Jester just playing with them before the end?

The strained tones of her team crackled through the interference. Some begged. Others cautioned. Yet they all hung on her decision.

The Jester's tone sharpened in the next message.

Clara's grip on the walkie-talkie intensified. Her pulse thundered in her ears. The decision seemed unbearable, yet really, there was only one path.

"Do it..."

"Do it."

The command had scarcely escaped her before she faced the conductor and blurted the first insult that surfaced.

"This... is boring."

Her statement sparked a chain reaction. One after another, the team joined in, their tones quivering but gaining strength. Taunts. Jeers. Derisive chuckles. Some rang empty, others frantic. But every voice rose.

"...I've heard better."

"Can we make this stop?"

"How disgusting."

"I... want to kill myself with how bad this i—!"

A rasping, nauseating noise abruptly flooded the hall.

The conductor froze.

The music ceased as well.

"....."

He remained motionless.

The labored, coarse breaths of everyone there reverberated throughout the venue.

That's when the shift occurred.

Swoosh!

The featureless spectators swiveled as one, their empty 'gazes' pinning on the group.

Clara's frame rigidified, every sinew seizing as a moist, tearing sound resonated through the theater. It originated from the conductor.

"....!?"

In a sudden, brutal twist of its head, the threads binding the conductor's mouth broke. Its lips rent open, the skin parting with a gruesome tear.

Ragged strips of torn flesh dangled as its maw yawned wide.

Then, a raspy, grating voice crawled from its gullet, booming across the theater.

"W...what did... you say?"

Its stare...

Fixed unyieldingly on the impassive Jester.