Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 672: Walking Disaster [2]

Setting up a portal wasn’t quite easy.

It wasn’t something that I could just magically call forth as I wished. It took a bit of time to properly set up. In fact, for a moment, I almost thought it wouldn’t appear on time, but thankfully, just before he moved to me, I felt the ring stir, and I was quick to take action.

I wasn’t particularly surprised by his suspicion of me. Maybe a lot of it had been lifted due to the video, but as I recalled the doctor from before, I couldn’t help but feel that it had something to do with him.

‘…Maybe I’m just being paranoid.’

Not that it mattered.

He needed to be pushed away.

“⎯⎯!”

All of a sudden, my head felt as though it was being split in half as I winced under the pain, a white-hot pressure driving straight through the center of my skull before fading into a dull, throbbing ache.

‘Ah, it looks like the Realmwalker has passed.’

I silently mourned for the Realmwalker who had sacrificed itself to catch the Enforcer off-guard and push him into the portal.

At the thought of the surprise the Enforcer was going to be met with, I pursed my lips.

‘I mean, I did say I was going to show ‘him’ something amusing. I’m sure he’s going to forgive me for this.’

Either way, I planned on setting up another one later.

Standing up quickly, a figure appeared on the bed, legs crossed, while its usual smile was gone.

With his hand under his chin, the Conductor stared at me in silence. This was one of the rare few times I had seen the Conductor wear such an expression.

It was just unfortunate that we didn’t have any time to talk as I walked up to the Conductor and pressed my hand against its shoulder, its figure changing to Osvald as mine changed to that of the Enforcer.

Mirelle’s laugh stopped at the same time as I opened my lips to speak.

“…You should get some rest.”

I tried my best to imitate his tone and voice.

It wasn’t perfect at first, but with each passing word that came out of my mouth, my tone, sound, and pitch started to become the exact same as that of the Enforcer.

“I’ll have the information relayed to the ones above. Considering what you’ve shown me, you will likely only face minor repercussions.”

Without further ado, I adjusted my clothes while moving towards the door.

It was also in that moment that I heard the shuffling of footsteps coming from behind as I paused, my hand resting directly on the knob.

Eventually, I pulled the door open and found myself facing a crowd of people in black, fitted, high-collared uniforms, every crease perfectly pressed. Their expressions were blank, their hands clasped or resting rigidly at their sides. They looked like well-trained soldiers ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

They stood in a loose arc just beyond the threshold, all staring in my direction as my entire body inadvertently tensed.

‘…Did I get caught?’

My mind scrambled in that moment, trying to assess what was going on, but right in that moment, a figure stepped forward, their eyes sharp and gaze intense. He was lean and precise-looking, with close-cropped hair and a thin scar that cut through the corner of his left brow.

“There was a situation, sir.”

His tone was firm, but it carried a certain politeness as he addressed me. I tilted my head, not saying anything.

He continued.

“We experienced a brief interruption in connectivity with the database monitoring infrastructure lasting only a few seconds. We responded immediately to verify that all systems and data flows were operating within normal parameters. Have there been any anomalies or operational issues observed during that interval?”

“Such a situation occurred?”

I feigned surprise, though subtly. Thinking about the Enforcer, I knew that he wasn’t someone who showed much emotion on his face. This made things a lot easier for me as I looked back into the room.

“…I’ve just received relatively important information from Osvald. However, we didn’t experience anything that was out of the norm.” Pausing, I looked back at the man who had addressed me. He was most likely the man in charge of security. “For how long did this temporary outage last?”

“Just a few seconds.”

“Hmm.”

My eyes narrowed for a short moment as I maintained my gaze on him. I didn’t bother looking away, making sure that I was making full eye contact, and as time passed, I could feel a certain discomfort growing from his gaze. The men behind him remained motionless, but the air between us had shifted, thinned, almost, like the moment before a held breath was finally released.

That was also the moment I spoke.

“It might not be something important, but we can’t dismiss something like this. Lead me to the monitoring room. Let me get a look at the situation. In the meantime, keep him locked inside the room and make sure that he doesn’t get out.”

“Understood!”

The tension eased in that moment, some scrambling away in near relief while others lingered by the door. I didn’t bother looking their way; my attention fixed on the man standing before me as he turned to the side and extended his hand.

“Please, sir.”

I nodded, not saying anything as I started walking ahead.

However, this was a bit of a problem. I didn’t know the way. To make matters worse, if I took the wrong turn, then I was almost certain that I’d give myself away.

‘Just when one problem disappears, another one appears.’

I wanted to bash my head against the wall, but I maintained my demeanour as I walked ahead.

Thankfully, the path ahead was entirely straight.

The corridor stretched for quite a bit, the floor a pale, scuffed linoleum that caught the overhead fluorescent light in dull, uneven patches. The air carried a particular sterile bite that reminded me of the hospital I had been in not long ago.

‘Ah, I don’t think I’ll go to a hospital anytime soon…’

Glass windows lined all sides, offering an unobstructed view on either end.

Past the glass doors were several people dressed in white, their movements unhurried, clipboards tucked under arms or fingers tapping at monitors placed by the sides.

Patients sat at long tables, each one slumped or upright in their own private beds, sleeves rolled back to reveal the soft crook of their arms where tubes connected to them.

The sight made my steps pause as I took in the scene around me, and the more we walked, the more gruesome the sights I was exposed to became, with several of the ‘patients’ sitting with their craniums open, the sight reminding me of one of the procedures I had undergone a while back, as the back of my scalp tingled.

I tried not to let the sight get to me, but not even a few steps ahead, I found myself stopping as my attention fell on a glass window. Or to be precise, one of the patients behind the glass, as my lips pursed together.

That’s…

‘Rowan’s sister.’

I closed my eyes and drew a small breath.