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

Chapter 293: The cycle of perfection [2]

The curtain drew.

Flick! Flick!

The lights began to fade.

What followed was a tense and unsettling silence.

Everyone sat in their seat, eyes fixed on the stage. Ready to react at any given moment to the unexpected.

The gate...

It had increased a rank.

Everyone in that moment understood the meaning behind such a revelation.

The tensions were at an all-time high. Be it the Section Chief, Hermes, or the Section Chiefs of the other Guilds.

Everyone was tense.

But...

The unexpected never came.

Shortly after the silence that followed, the darkness in their vision faded, replaced by a bright light as they basked in the glow of the sun.

”Wha...”

”Are... are we out?”

”What just...?”

The confusion merely lasted a few seconds.

Click! Click! Click!

Immediately, they were engulfed in bright lights as the reporters rushed in their direction from all sides.

”Can you tell us about the gate? What are the casualties?”

”...What happened? Is this the end of the gate? Is it possible that you’ve all managed to clear an ranked gate?”

”How do you feel after coming out?”

”Over here! Over here!”

It was a mess. There was hardly any semblance of order, and given how everyone was exhausted and barely keeping on their feet, they found themselves unable to react in time.

Thankfully, the bureau had expected such a situation to occur.

Shortly after the chaos began, men in black began to appear. They hurriedly pushed the reporters aside and created a path for the members to leave.

”Hey! Wait—!”

”Don’t push!”

”I still have a question! Just one!”

”Will the island standing rise now that they’ve cleared an ranked gate without the help from the central island? Is there truly a difference between the two?”

A sudden question caused a few to pause.

However, before they even had the time to answer, they were pushed forward.

In the end, those from each respective Guild entered their own bus, which quickly sped off amidst the crowd. At the same time, those who needed medical attention were quickly brought to the Guild using a faster vehicle.

There were a lot of people who had been injured, some more seriously than others, while the death count was also large. It had all been livestreamed to the world, and so most were aware of the number of casualties.

It was unfortunate that a lot of the bodies couldn’t be brought back.

”.....”

A tense silence lingered in the bus as everyone sat down in silence.

The Section Chief sat at the front, his hair damp from the sweat and his expression complicated.

He looked at the fragments in his hand. It was completely transparent, and with just one look, he could tell that the purity was extremely high. Most likely the purest he had ever seen in his life.

But that wasn’t all.

On his other hand, he held a small crystal bottle. Within it was a pure liquid.

’Essence.’

And quite an abundant amount.

Outside of fragments, there were other things that the gate offered. It was Essence. An extremely pure liquid that could only be found from ranked gates and above, and the only way for someone to develop an Advanced Node.

Without essence, it was practically impossible to advance to the Fifth Order.

It was also why most people were stuck in the Fifth Order. In order for one to collect Essence, they needed to have a high clear rate in the gate, alongside collecting the right Essence.

Just like fragments, Essences had attributes.

Looking at the essence in his hand and seeing its lack of color, the Section Chief frowned. This was the first time he had ever seen something like this.

’Maybe it’s because it’s extremely pure. I’ll go and check the attribute later.’

In all honesty, he was exhausted.

He could feel his eyelids starting to droop.

But despite all of this, he maintained his composure as he looked behind him. Everyone had practically passed out. His gaze hovered over to Clara for a brief moment before he shook his head.

It was a mistake bringing her.

Despite how great she usually was, today she was more of a burden than anything else.

Of course, this was due to the unfortunate situation.

But... looking at her, the Section Chief understood that she needed a long leave of absence before returning.

Her trauma had only gotten worse.

”...Hm?”

Suddenly, the bus came to a sudden stop.

The Section Chief raised his head and looked to his right. A small house amid the greenery greeted his sight, and his heart sank.

’The time has come, I guess.’

He quietly stood up from his seat as the bus doors opened.

Without waking up the others, he walked up towards the house while fixing his clothes.

Eventually, he rang the doorbell as a woman appeared shortly after.

Her face was red, and her makeup was completely smudged across her face.

The Section Chief lowered his head.

”I am sorry. I tried my best, but in the end, I wasn’t competent enough to save your son. You have my sincerest apology.”

In this business, indifference was a must.

One mustn’t get attached to anyone, as anyone could die at any given moment.

But as the Section Chief, this was the least he could do.

Even if he himself felt nothing.

***

”Cough...! Cough!”

I was in pieces. My mind churned with something unknown as my fingers shook. There seemed to be more than two hands in front of me, and I could hardly determine which one was my real one.

No, but that didn’t matter...

’I-I... did it.’

I had somehow managed to pass the trial.

I felt exhausted, but at the same time, extremely relieved. This had been one of the things that had been pressing in my mind for as long as I could remember.

Every day, I’d constantly feel the pressure and stress from the quest weighing down on me.

But now...?

Done.

I was finally done.

”Hmm.”

Groaning, my eyes squinted as my head wobbled forward.

I was completely drained, just barely keeping myself from passing out. There was still something that I needed to do, and as my head wobbled forward again, a voice echoed in the background.

”...That was impressive.”

I froze upon hearing the voice.

But soon, turning my head, my gaze fell on the distant conductor.

It stood beneath the lights of the stage, its gaze directed at me. I couldn’t tell its emotion, but I could tell that its praise was real.

I smiled beneath the mask.

”I... tried my best.”

”It was good.”

The conductor wasn’t shy with its praise. At this very moment, the conductor wasn’t the same creepy anomaly that I knew.

No, it was something else.

It was...

An artist.

The human version of itself that thoroughly enjoyed music.

I was curious to know how it had ended up as an anomaly, but I couldn’t for the life of me formulate proper thoughts. My eyelids continued to droop as I took a couple of unsteady breaths.

Eventually, my eyelids closed and darkness took over my consciousness.

”Congratulations.”

But before I could completely pass out, the conductor’s voice reached my ears once more.

”You’ve won the bet. My soul is now yours.”