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

Chapter 269: Despair in perfection [4]

”Huaaap!”

I drew in a sharp gulp of air, as though I had been starved of it for far too long, the ceiling lights slowly sharpening back into view. My chest rose and fell with heavy, uneven breaths, while beads of sweat slid down my skin, soaking into the fabric of my shirt until it clung tightly to my back.

It took several seconds for me to regain my bearings as I pressed my hand against my temple.

’...Hopefully, I won’t have to do that again.’

A lot of things started to make sense to me all of a sudden.

Mainly, why the door was no longer locked.

”It looks like those from the First Squad have arrived. This is a lot earlier than I previously predicted.”

Whatever entity was locking the door had most likely been scared of, or had gone to them.

This seemed to be the best explanation.

Either way, I had expected them to come much later than this.

However, this was good.

I was on the verge of going mad.

Thinking back to the last moment I met Clara, when our eyes locked, I could still recall the suffocating pressure that gripped me while staring at her. For an instant, my body refused to move, frozen in place by the fear that she might suddenly lunge forward and tear away the mask.

Thankfully, I was quick to react and killed myself before she had the chance to.

Thinking about the pain and sensation, I pressed my hand against my stomach and almost felt the sudden urge to puke.

’...It’s been a while. I miss this feeling.’

The feeling was also accompanied by a subtle headache. One that nagged the back of my head, but wasn’t exactly making it impossible for me to think properly.

”Right, it’s about time I take my medicine.”

Rubbing my face, I walked towards my bag and took out my medicine. As I did, I grabbed a bottle of water and downed the medicine in one go.

The headache subsided a little.

However, there was still a lingering ache that I couldn’t quite get rid of.

”.....”

Staring at the pills in front of me, I sighed.

”It looks like the effects are slowly starting to diminish.”

I had been noticing this more as I took the medicine. These weren’t even the same pills that I bought in the shop at first. They were the better version that could only be found in the Second Order shop.

The fact that the effects were running out indicated that I had to quickly reach the Third Order before it was too late.

’I really don’t have much time.’

There were so many things that I needed to do. In particular, my main focus at the moment was clearing the Conductor trial. The entire reason why I had taken up this gate was precisely because of the conductor trial.

The system never gave me a useless mission.

It was always tied to something important. I hoped that by taking this gate, I’d be able to find the answer to clearing the quest, but... so far, I had only made minimal improvements.

I bit my lips while looking around the room and setting my gaze on the keyboard.

’It’s not just the conductor that I need to take care of. I also need to learn more about the strange cult that seems to be somehow tied to the secrets behind my appearance in this world, and also my disease.’

Every step and action that I took was towards these goals.

To become stronger and learn more about the truth. To find a cure for my disease.

Slap—

Slapping the side of my face, I shook myself out of my thoughts and walked towards the nearby keyboard.

I then took a couple of deep breaths before putting on my mask.

Just as I got ready to leave, however, I stopped.

I turned back to look at my office and came to a realization.

’Right, I can’t keep things like this.’

Now that Clara and the First Squad were here, I couldn’t allow them to see the room like this. While they hadn’t entered my office, I knew Clara had caught a small glimpse of it. She would definitely notice something amiss.

I scratched the back of my head while looking around.

In the end, I did the only thing that I thought was fair to do.

Bang—!

I started to destroy everything.

Calling out the Dreamwalker, I had it help me destroy everything in the room. Mirelle did protest about the painting, but I explained to her that it was just temporary.

After that, I tossed everything outside the room, in an inconspicuous place, before setting up my keyboard right outside the door.

”.....”

I sat down on the stool and pressed my fingers over the keys.

I didn’t play right away. The darkness pressing in from all sides made it difficult to see clearly, and the silence carried an unsettling weight. Somewhere within it, I could feel a lingering stare fixed on me from the shadows.

It was enough to make my skin crawl, but I remained focused.

I held my phone next to me.

At the same time, a notification appeared.

[Seth Thorne: 98%]

[Do you wish to send Mr. Jingles?]

▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]

I paused for a moment while staring at the notification.

Although I didn’t know what the results would bring, I knew that this was probably the last thing I could do before the end of the mission.

I could feel it.

...This mission was about to reach its climax.

For that, I knew the real struggles were about to begin.

But I was ready for them.

I couldn’t wait for this hell to end.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I opened them up again before raising my finger and pressing [Yes].

Flick!

My phone turned on, and a certain melody played in the air.

Da da Da—!

What followed was an all too familiar voice.

”Mr. Jingles says~”

***

”...He’s here.”

The moment Clara regained her bearings, the weight of the situation settled upon her. As her eyes darted around, the darkness enclosing her seemed to deepen, and the silence pressing against her ears grew all the more unbearable.

She thought back to those last moments.

To the haunting figure that she recalled back in her memories of ’that’ gate.

A pit formed around her stomach as she looked around.

In that moment, the weight of the invisible stare lingering across the warehouse seemed to intensify, and she felt control slipping from her grasp, little by little.

’There’s a high chance that this might no longer be the same rank as the time that we entered.’

The gate...

It could’ve possibly have increased to rank.

Her breath sped up momentarily. Thankfully, she was quick to calm herself down. She had already experienced a shock like this in the past. She had trained herself to better deal with situations like this.

The Jester’s words lingered in her mind once more.

’...Bring everyone to me if you wish to escape.’

Clara bit her lips.

Based on the information that she had received and from what she had experienced, she felt that he was the key to clearing this scenario.

But...

’I can’t trust it. What if this is a trap...? No, what even is its goal?’

Clara felt a sharp sting at her lips. Before she realized it, she had been biting down so hard that a thin line of blood began to seep through.

She quickly wiped it with her sleeve before looking towards the darkness.

She could tell that the path had changed.

However—

Da, Da—

Within the quietness.

Just faintly.

She could hear it.

A hauntingly beautiful tune.