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

Chapter 424: The one they worship [2]

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

The voices thundered through the air, echoing off every wall.

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

Their cries multiplied, overlapping until the sound filled every corner of the room, an endless chant that seemed to crawl beneath Seth’s skin, vibrating through his bones and thoughts.

Seth watched all of this in a daze, his thoughts sluggish.

But amidst the sluggishness, certain images continued to resurface in his mind.

’Ars Goetia?’

That was the name of the book in the memories.

But he had never read such a book in the past. In fact, he couldn’t recall any of the things that he saw in the memories.

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

With the thunder of the voices, Seth’s face started to distort.

Parts of his body began to tremble uncontrollably, a cold shudder running through his limbs as his thoughts grew dull and heavy. His mind felt thick and slow, as if it were being dragged down into something deep and suffocating.

The nodes in his mind started to churn, and something deep within them also started to turn.

Seth realized it rather quickly what it was.

His Cognitive Shard.

Something... was trying to take over.

His heart raced, but his thoughts were dull.

He could only stand in a daze, watching as the cultists continued to chant the same things, the frames on the walls rattling with their voices.

Amidst all of this, even more images began to appear.

A mirror.

A reflection stared back.

But with each blink, a new face would appear.

This persisted for a while, new faces showing up with each blink.

But eventually, the images ended.

Seth’s breathing grew even more sluggish, his breath so heavy that he started to pant.

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

As the chants echoed on, the candle flames wavered violently, their light twisting across the walls. The air rippled, and the presence that lurked in the depths of the room swelled until it felt as though something vast was leaning closer, breathing just beyond the veil of sight.

Seth’s heart started to beat faster, his face growing paler as his eyes focused on the old lady before him, as she slowly took out a mirror to show his face.

His heart sank the moment he looked.

His face...

It was gone.

There was nothing.

At least, for just a moment.

The moment he blinked, his face returned.

New images appeared in his mind.

Rattle! Rattle!

The room in the vision shook.

The pages of the book started to flip once more, turning faster by the second as though an invisible hand was rushing through the pages.

And then—

Fwap!

It stopped at a certain page.

[9 Kings]

[23 Dukes]

[7 Princes]

[21 Marquis]

[10 Earl]

[13 President]

[1 Knight]

The Unholy Trinity Rules above all.

The words written in the book glowed for a faint second, and for a moment, something resonated with Seth’s mind.

In that moment, something became clear in his mind.

Information that he struggled to process moments prior suddenly became clear.

’D-16...’

That was the last and final project designed for the cult.

The perfect host, one of... 72 demons of the Ars Goetia. The 71st, to be exact.

And...

’Me’

No, to be more precise, the Seth of this world.

He was originally D-16.

The host of the one they worship.

Dantalion.

Ding!

A sudden notification flashed across Seth’s vision.

[Who they worship!]

[Quest Completed]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Rewards calculated]

Ding—!

[Emblance Shard]

: Reverses the physiological impact of Cognitive Shard buildup in the host. Under specific conditions, the process may also regress the Shard into a fractured node.

The world appeared to come to a sudden standstill.

In that moment, Seth’s eyes locked onto the description in front of him.

His previously dazed eyes regained some clarity as his gaze remained fixed on the description.

’Emblance Shard...? This is what an Emblance Shard does...?’

Suddenly, another thought came to his mind.

This Shard...

It was extremely ’convenient’ for his current situation.

So convenient that he suddenly started to question the system again. For a moment, he had almost believed that the system was closely tied to the cult, but looking at the reward he had received, he started to doubt this.

Why would he get something like this if the system was related to the cult?

’But if it’s not, then...?’

Seth’s eyes squinted, and his breathing started to grow rougher.

Who did this system belong to?

Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!

Shaking Seth out of his thoughts was the loud shaking of the room.

His expression changed as he looked around.

”Hail Dantalion!!”

”Hail Dantalion!!!”

”Hail Dantalion!!”

”Hail Dantalion!!!”

The cultists continued to change, their voices rising. Louder this time, desperate and hoarse. One by one, their tones began to merge, forming a single, dreadful harmony that pulsed through the room.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

The rattling deepened, shaking the walls as if something monstrous was trying to force its way through.

Suddenly—

Cra Crack!

One of the cultists’ heads snapped, their bodies falling limply onto the floor.

Thud!

”Hail Dantalion!!”

”Hail Dantalion!!!”

Nobody stopped; all eyes focused on Seth.

A tremor ran through the corpse. Then, slowly, its face began to cave in, twisting and shrinking until it vanished entirely, leaving behind only the pale blankness of skin.

That was also the moment the body stopped moving.

”Hail Dantalion!!”

”Hail Dantalion!!!”

The voices grew more rushed.

Faster!

”Hail Dantalion!”

Louder!

”Hail Dantalion!!”

Hoarser!

”Hail Dantalion!!”

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

Seth’s heart beat in rhythm with the chants.

Cra Crack!

Necks snapping, and bodies falling onto the floor.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In a similar fashion to the first body, their bodies squirmed on the ground before their faces started to shrink, before disappearing.

Seth looked around, the scene leaving him breathless.

That was also the moment he started counting.

’One, two, three...’

He started to count the number of cultists in the room.

”Hail Dantalion!!”

’...Nine, ten, eleven.’

”Hail Dantalion!”

Their voices grew louder, but the number grew smaller.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

The room rattled more fiercely, and the heavy sense of dread only grew.

Something was coming.

It was approaching.

’...Seventeen, eighteen, twenty.”

Thud!

As another body fell, he stopped counting.

He didn’t need to count.

He already knew the answer.

There were still twenty people left in the room. Twenty of Seventy.

Seventy-one... If they included him.

He understood everything in that moment, the air fading out of his lungs.

But despite this, a sudden calm took over his body.

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

The chants grew louder, rising into shrill screams as the number of cultists began to dwindle. The rattling intensified with every cry, bodies collapsing one after another. Through it all, Seth watched in silence.

He did not speak.

He did not move.

”Hail Dantalion!”

RATTLE! RATTLE!

The presence in the room grew heavier, spreading like a suffocating weight that pressed from every direction. The air itself seemed to tremble beneath it. As the pressure deepened, the cultists began to shake, their bodies quivering with a dreadful, feverish excitement.

It was... almost here.

Twitch!

Seth’s head twitched.

He could feel the Shard in his head pulsing like a heartbeat.

Twitch! Twitch!

Something was trying to invade his mind.

’Dantalion! Dantalion! Dantalion! Dantalion! Dantalion!’

Voices.

Whispers.

They invaded his mind in droves.

’Who are you...?’

’Dantalion! Dantalion! Dantalion!’

But it was also in that moment that he felt his nodes again.

Seth’s mind cleared in that moment.

...And soon, a black shadow appeared next to him.

The Realmwalker held its hands forward, exposing several fragments.

Forty in total.

For this moment, Seth had prepared.

In case the situation turned for the worse, he was prepared.

He didn’t hide them in his back, but had his anomalies keep the fragments.

’Are you sure about this...?’

A voice whispered in his head, louder than the constant whispers within it.

’...The moment you take them, you’ll turn. There’s no way back.’

The voice continued to whisper.

”Hail Dantalion!”

”Hail Dantalion!”

But staring around him, Seth understood he didn’t have any other options.

And so—

”Yes.”

Seth reached for the fragments, his actions causing the cultists to raise their heads, finally.

”Hail—What are you doing? How is...!?”

”Hail Dan...Ah?!”

”What’s this?!”

But it was too late.

[Forty fragments have been located!]

[You have met the criteria to advance]

[The purity level is 82.3%]

[Do you wish to advance?]

▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]