Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 619: Big Fan [1]

Honestly speaking, I didn't ponder much as I seized the nurse by her neck and yanked her backward. Answers were what I craved, clarity on the madness unfolding, yet the instant I acted, my eyes darted ahead, fixing on two figures standing before me.

"Hm? You guys haven't vanished...?"

Having seen everyone else disappear, I'd assumed they'd be gone too, yet they lingered on.

Strange...

"What are you up to? Why are you...?"

"Oh, this?"

My gaze dropped to the nurse clutched in my hand.

"I figure she understands what's occurring. I'm merely extracting some answers from her. Pay me no heed."

Even as I uttered those words, worry gnawed at me. The woman I held knew far too much. I couldn't risk her revealing anything that might drag me down.

Moreover—

This sent chills down my spine.

"Alright, I'll question her fast since time might be short. What's happening right now? Why has everyone vanished? What's your scheme? Why did you..." My eyes flicked forward as I hushed my tone, "...kill the Matriarch."

"....."

My queries hung in silence, the nurse's head drooping low.

Gripping the nape of her neck tighter, I drew her face nearer, pondering the use of the Conductor’s skill to compel her words. Yet upon glimpsing her features, my face stiffened—they started melting, oozing away from her skull in a grotesque, sluggish manner.

What the...

"Seth?!"

"Seth...!"

Immediately after, Rowan and Zoey's shouts rang from behind, their tones hushed yet pressing as their focus swung beyond me, forms already stirring in response.

Without a second's pause, I hurled the nurse's corpse behind me while a massive shadow engulfed my position.

Then—

BANG!

Blood sprayed wildly everywhere as the nurse's form exploded into pieces, shards flying across the ground. From the carnage emerged a towering silhouette, its shape dominating the faint glow.

’...Shit.’

Enshrouded in the murky light, the beast's contours blurred into obscurity. Nevertheless, its aura screamed raw power, spurring me to scramble for explanations in my mind.

’An anomaly. Undoubtedly an anomaly. With no one around, could this mean I'm trapped in a Gate?’

No, that logic failed.

Inside a Gate, a system alert would have pinged me.

’Regardless, its type eludes me. Smartest play is fleeing to scout more details.’

Currently, it held back from assault. Motionless in the gloom, it appeared to await a trigger. Sound, perhaps? Did noise provoke it? No...

That wasn't the trigger.

Then...?

"Why isn't it striking?"

Suddenly, Zoey and Rowan flanked me, eyes glued to the menacing anomaly, postures coiled for battle.

"I sensed trouble the second everyone vanished, but... No signal at all. Can't reach a soul."

Zoey tapped her phone's rear, glancing my way.

"What in the world is this? Any clue?"

"I don’t..."

At minimum, certainty escaped me.

This tied to some cult business, I suspected, yet doubt lingered. That uncertainty stung.

Still, it paled against the immediate threat.

"Let's handle the anomaly in front first before pondering further."

Zoey and Rowan stiffened more, gazes sharpening on the threat. Though we three poised for its lunge, it stayed frozen, eyeing us afar—its immobility far creepier than motion.

’Why the standstill? Strike preemptively? Nah, I'm not equipped to take it. Escape window? Deploy the Realmwalker as bait? It earned that after screwing me over before. Wait, no... Zoey and Rowan present. Can't risk outing the Realmwalker.’

Hmm.

Quite the sticky mess.

While my thoughts whirled to decode the chaos, a change stirred.

Click! Click!

A faint clicking noise reverberated around us, rippling outward. Instinctively, my head snapped up toward a particular dark box.

The speakers?

—...Ehm.

Soon, a subtle cough resounded, tweaking my features faintly.

—Check one, two. Check... Check.

That gentle voice returned, now amplified, as though the atmosphere itself warped.

—Alright, it looks like everything is working.

The voice brimmed with cheer.

—Frankly... I never thought guests like you would arrive here this evening. My apologies... for failing to greet you properly... but as you can see, that's quite challenging... when our visitors haven't been... particularly cordial.

The voice seemed aimed right at me while I kept staring at its source.

’Is he the cult leader... or another figure? If he’s using the comms to speak, he ought to be in the communication room. Should I go there...? No... I sense the anomaly will stir the instant I move.’

—I’m a pretty forgiving fellow, so I won’t fault you heavily for the trouble so far. Truth be told, I’m thrilled that a notable figure like you has decided to drop by, Mr... Mad Crown, correct?

Whether the speaker could spot us was unclear, yet I could easily envision the look on his face through the comms. Without question, he was grinning.

I nearly grinned myself, yet his upcoming words prevented any such expression.

—Your show was genuinely impressive. Frankly, even I got chills watching your last moments. Only a special sort pulls off feats like that, however...

Silence fell from the voice, thickening the air abruptly.

—Next to what you did in Malovia, though, it still falls short.

"....."

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

A heavy, pulsing beat reverberated inside my chest.

Don’t tell me...

—Ah, to be truthful... That was hands down your finest act yet. It turned me into your biggest admirer!

Near the end, the voice almost squeaked, its tone pitching up with excitement scarcely held back.

I sensed Zoey and Rowan turning their heads my way.

Swallowing softly, I glanced at the comms.

’Likely he means what I did at the close. That marked my rise to fame. That's got to be it...’

—The way you slaughtered so many p-

Flick!

I instantly severed the comms with Mr. Jingles, no delay. My breathing's heaviness only hit me after. Swiveling, I faced Rowan and Zoey, confusion plain on their faces.

Zoey’s mouth parted, "What was he talking about...? Se—"

"Ehm! E-ehm..."

My whole frame stiffened as I whipped around, eyes snapping to the remote anomaly.

Its arm rose awkwardly, joint after joint. Like recalling proper human movement.

Bringing its hand to its mouth, it cleared its throat.

"As... I was saying, ehm..."

Broken and fragile, its voice sounded ready to shatter anytime.

But I heard every bit.

We all did.

As its mouth opened anew, my face shifted.

"I’m a big... fan."

Lips stretched into a smile.

One that finally knotted my stomach after ages.

"M-r... Jester. I’m a big... fan."