Previously on Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!...
Osvald faces off against a powerful pig-like entity whose strength seems to be growing. The entity throws a knife, but it veers off course, injuring the Team Leader instead. While Osvald is distracted by a mysterious violinist, the pig gains the upper hand and attacks the Team Leader. Osvald attempts to regain control, using his nodes to slow the pig while instructing the Team Leader to deal with the unseen musicians.
The predicament was tricky, yet it held a peculiar fascination for Osvald. In his extensive career, he had never encountered an individual as deranged as the one confronting him. Not even the higher-ups within his organization exhibited such extreme madness.
He was a class apart.
However, sheer lunacy alone wasn't sufficient.
It merely rendered them somewhat more unpredictable.
"...How do I deal with you?"
He repeated the question aloud, standing directly before the pig. The creature remained motionless, mirroring his gaze with fluctuating, blood-red eyes. The ensuing silence felt drawn out, yet it dissipated in less than a heartbeat. The pig's eyes deepened to an even darker crimson, and its entire form began to crack once more.
Its neck twisted at an unnatural angle, and before Osvald's astonished eyes, its body commenced to expand.
'Is he still getting stronger?'
A potent aura of bloodlust permeated the air, causing Osvald to knit his brows.
He had previously surmised that the blade had reached its ultimate capacity. After all, it was merely an object. Furthermore, the human body itself possessed inherent limitations, particularly for someone like Seth, who was only at the Fourth Order.
Yet⎯
Cra Crack! Cra Crack!
Accompanied by the sharp cracking sounds, Osvald realized he had gravely underestimated the gravity of the situation.
Cra Crack!
Once again, loud cracking reverberated from the pig, and its movements accelerated despite the restraints binding it. Osvald observed the spectacle before casting a glance over his shoulder to gauge the Team Leader's progress. Satisfied that his colleague was fulfilling his duty, he refocused his attention on the pig, retrieving several flags from his pocket and positioning them around the creature.
Cra Crack! Cra Crack!
The cracking intensified, yet Osvald maintained his composure, undisturbed by the escalating situation as he meticulously planted the set of flags encircling the pig.
'I never anticipated needing to employ these, but it seems I have no other recourse. Given the nature of what I'm facing, this is the absolute minimum required. Moreover, successfully apprehending him will undoubtedly make a favorable impression. In essence, it's a sound strategic investment.'
Despite the outward tranquility with which he managed the circumstances, Osvald was compelled to remain calm, as his mental faculties were rapidly becoming depleted. He was simultaneously engaging multiple nodes, and the immense strain was palpable.
He also maintained a vigilant defense, as an eye materialized directly behind his head, intently observing every action of the Team Leader. This added a further, significant burden to his already taxed mind.
But it was a necessary measure.
Cra Crack!
Taking heed of the increasingly resonant cracking sounds, he completed the arrangement of the flags around the pig, forming a precise square. Upon concluding his task, he gazed back at the pig before inhaling deeply. Beads of sweat traced paths down his temple as he reached up to wipe them away.
"Well, that should suffice."
He then deliberately stepped forward.
Instantly, the flags began to flutter, and multiple triangular formations materialized on the ground where the pig stood. The entire process unfolded with astonishing speed. As the triangles formed, they merged and overlapped, coalescing into a colossal, opaque cube that enveloped the area occupied by the pig. Within a mere fraction of a second, the creature was completely encased within the imposing walls of the cube, demarcated by the flags. The previously intense cracking sounds ceased abruptly, and Osvald observed the scene, his breaths short and measured.
"....."
For a fleeting moment, an profound silence descended upon the surroundings.
Osvald regarded the monumental cube, then clasped his hands together. The cube immediately began to contract. Concurrently, his nodes churned with even greater intensity, and his complexion grew pale. He was employing every available method to contain the entity.
'If I don't exert my utmost effort, I doubt I'll be able to keep him confined.'
Gritting his teeth, Osvald disregarded the escalating strain on his nodes as the numerous eyes encircling the cube enlarged, with several more appearing. The sounds of cracking from within the cube diminished further in that instant, as if the eyes were proving exceptionally effective in their containment duties.
As an adherent of the Warden Decree, he possessed exceptional proficiency in restraining entities. It was for this very reason that he functioned as a sort of 'enforcer'. However, even his capabilities were subject to limitations.
Cra CRACK!
The cracking sounds, which had momentarily subsided, surged with renewed vigor. The shadow of the figure within the cube writhed and contorted at unnatural angles. Despite the physical restraints, the oppressive aura emanating from the pig continued its relentless ascent.
In a matter of seconds, the cube itself began to vibrate under the immense pressure.
Rattle! Rattle!
Osvald's expression shifted drastically as he compelled his nodes to operate at an even higher frequency. All the eyes surrounding the box flushed a deep shade of crimson as the figure within the cube writhed with increased intensity.
'Ah, this is truly becoming a vexing problem. What manner of artifact is this!?'
This turn of events...
It had deviated entirely beyond his initial projections.
Simultaneously, Osvald utilized his other eye, focusing on the Team Leader's progress. His utmost concern was ensuring the situation on that front remained stable; any deviation would spell significant trouble.
To his surprise, the Team Leader was managing the anomalies with competence. Though the creature resembling a conductor persisted in its aerial symphony, its movements were effectively hindered by the Team Leader, who appeared to have gained control over the teenage girl.
Despite her struggles against his influence, he successfully employed her to impede the Conductor. It also seemed that several other anomalies were active. He wondered just how many were under his command.
Nevertheless, the immediate crisis seemed contained.
’Hmm, perhaps he isn’t entirely useless.’
A fleeting thought crossed Osvald's mind, considering the Team Leader might possess some utility. However, this notion vanished in an instant as his focus returned to the cube. The distinct rattling had ceased entirely, plunging the surroundings into an profound silence. For a brief moment, Osvald entertained the possibility that the pig had exhausted its efforts.
...Or perhaps, his meticulously placed nodes and restraints had proven effective.
But⎯
CRA CRACK! CRA CRACK! CRA CRACK!
What followed transpired in less than a second. The entity trapped within the cube contorted violently, its body snapping and resisting itself repeatedly. Only the ominous cracking sounds broke the stillness, yet Osvald could vividly feel the agony accompanying each twist. Then, a soft 'thump' resonated from deep within as the pig pressed its hand against the cube's surface, an unmistakable gesture of desperation, as if pleading for release.
Tok...
To Tok...
To Tok To Tok...
To...
Silence descended as the knocking abruptly stopped, mirroring the cessation of the cracking. The pig became utterly motionless. Even the noises behind him vanished, leaving him in complete quiet.
Yet, Osvald possessed no liberty to glance back, nor even to utilize his secondary eye for such a purpose.
"...."
Instinctively, he retreated a single step.
Step!
And then, he took another.
Step! Step!
Followed by two more measured paces.
Step! Step! Step!
Before conscious thought could intervene, he found himself compelled to take more and more steps back, his gaze locked onto the figure imprisoned within the container.
Why...?
’Why am I even doing this? Why...?’
He reached the opposite end of the corridor before he could fully process it. Throughout this entire ordeal, his eyes had remained fixed on the confining box.
Yet, an inexplicable force propelled him backward, an internal mechanism preventing him from halting his retreat as he continued to advance one step after another.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
A resonant, almost inescapable drumming sound pounded against his senses with each passing moment, intensifying with alarming rapidity. He yearned for it to cease, but it was an exercise in futility. As his gaze remained fixated on the distant box, Osvald could feel the rhythm quickening.
Louder!
And then⎯
CRA CRACK!
The sound registered.
The all-too-familiar cracking noise.
But this time, the sound originated not from the captive within the enclosure.
Cracks began to snake across the surface, multiplying relentlessly, spreading like an intricate web. Osvald’s face drained of color, overwhelmed by the immense strain exerted upon his nodes. He desperately attempted to resist! Purging all extraneous thoughts, he channeled energy through all six of his nodes simultaneously. Despite this immense effort...
Cra Crack!
He found himself utterly powerless as the myriad eyes encircling the box turned a violent shade of bloodshot, their surrounding veins visibly pulsing.
More fissures webbed outward across the box’s structure, and before Osvald could muster any reaction or take any action whatsoever, the inevitable occurred...
BANG!
The box detonated, unleashing a terrifying wave of pressure.
A force so potent it caused the entire space to shudder violently as a pair of bloodshot eyes locked onto his.
Osvald’s next breath would never come.
"...Maniac."
His entire being vibrated with a primal dread at the horrifying spectacle before him.
