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

Chapter 451: A laugh that terrifies [1]

The words uttered sent a chill down the spines of the many watching.

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One anomaly after another began to appear, their presence looming over the numerous Guild Masters, Paragons, and Guild Members.

This was an unprecedented scene that left everyone stunned. No one could find their voice, no one dared to breathe too loudly, as their minds scrambled to make sense of the impossible sight unfolding before them.

How was this...?

H-how?

Eventually, all eyes fell on the boss again.

The originator of it all.

The sense of horror coming from the figure grew even more pronounced, pressing into the minds of several until their thoughts were practically shouting, ’It can summon anomalies!? What sort of concept is this?!’

Their disbelief mixed with a fear they could no longer rationalize.

An anomaly like this...

They had never seen it before.

But to make matters worse, there seemed to be something deeper to the boss.

Something even more terrifying.

Thankfully, that very essence appeared to be contained at least to some extent. But what no one could tell was that the ’boss’ was barely holding on.

’Ha... Hehe! HE! HE!’

’HA! HaHa!’

’HeHEHa!’

’He... He... HAHE!’

’HeHa...! HaHe!’

Laughter echoed in the Boss’s mind from all directions.

The more anomalies appeared, the stronger the whispers and laughter inside his mind became.

His inner nature...

It was slowly making its way out.

’No, not... yet!’

’HeHEHa!’

’Seth’ could slowly feel his consciousness sinking deeper and deeper into the inner nature contained within his body.

The more it threatened to take over, the more the mist around his face fluctuated, revealing even more hints of what lay beneath.

It was only the sharper-eyed people who caught it.

Gold? Red...?

Smile.

Jingle~

Bells?

A picture began to form in the minds of those who caught it.

But alongside the picture was a quiet sense of dread. One that made their expressions turn grim.

’He...! HeHA!’

Hearing the laugh echo in his mind again, Seth covered his face, looking at the numerous anomalies that were clawing their way towards the top. By now, the elites of the Guilds had all snapped out of their shock.

They didn’t hesitate.

”Before more appear, eliminate them!”

”Follow Containment procedures!”

”Divide into several groups! Forge a path to the boss!”

Despite being from different Guilds, they were all elites. The moment several of the higher-ranked Paragons and Guild Masters issued orders, they all followed them swifly, dividing into multiple groups.

One group handled the anomalies while the other, and more powerful group, handled the Boss.

BANG!

Immediately, both sides began to clash.

Containment procedures for all the numerous anomalies appeared on the screen of their phones, with several Guild Masters designating different groups to fight the approaching anomalies.

Each group contained more experienced ’Containment’ members, with the front being held by those from the ’Hoarding’ and other departments.

Unlike the ’Containment’ members, they were a lot more adept at fighting against monsters and anomalies.

When it came to raw power, they were a league above.

”Hurry!”

”Quick—!”

”Make sure to be as swift as possible! Take the burden from the others!”

BANG! BANG!

Chaos ensued, and the anomalies brainlessly attacked the numerous elites and members around them. Their numbers were endless, but their power was not.

It was to the surprise of everyone present to find that they weren’t as strong as they expected them to be.

Or at least, that was until ’it’ showed up.

WHAM!

With the single stroke of its baton, the music flared.

”——!”

”—!”

The tune was loud and sharp.

The moment it sounded, several of the weaker people froze in place, their faces turning pale as blood leaked from the side of their ears.

For a moment, the entire battlefield quieted down.

For just a moment...

Everyone paused, their gazes fixed on the creature standing not far from them, its hand holding onto a small violin as the stitches on its mouth ripped apart, revealing a cruel and twisted smile.

Behind him were several faceless figures.

They all held onto a different instrument as they looked at the figure before them.

Towards...

The Conductor.

”...Ah.”

The Conductor smiled, feeling the attention of everyone on it, its body giving a faint, twitching shudder, the kind one would make when a deep sense of excitement stirred from within, and soon.... Its hand slowly began to move.

”What an incredible audience.”

WHAM!

The music flared again, the Conductor’s movements sharp and swift.

”Haaaa!”

”H-help!”

Screams filled the surroundings, blood splattering from the faces of many as eardrums ruptured.

”Ah—!”

It was a scene that left many holding their breath, their eyes glued on the stream as they froze on the spot, unable to turn away from it.

But soon, the Guild Members reacted.

Their reactions were swift.

A figure with short black hair stepped forward, her hand swiping in the air as several barriers began to form around the air, blocking all the noise from entering. Her reaction was quick, preventing anyone from sustaining severe damage.

She stood with her back straight, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the Conductor.

But before the people could rejoice...

”Hehehe.”

A soft giggle echoed, and the barriers shuddered.

It was only for a moment, but that was enough to make the noise enter.

And thus—

”Haaaa!”

Chaos erupted from within the barriers.

”Haa!”

Screams filled the air once more, but as if that wasn’t enough, several phones began to flicker at the same time, a figure appearing within them as several people froze at once, their eyes turning slack.

And soon—

”W-wait! What are you doing!?”

”Why are you attacking?!”

”Traitor! There’s a traitor!!”

It was chaos.

It was utter chaos.

If not for the swift reaction from the Paragons and Guild Masters, the damage would’ve been immense.

Catching a glimpse of the unfolding situation, the doppleganger didn’t show much of a reaction. He stood amidst the chaos, observing everything as he stared at the anomalies under Seth’s employment, serving their uses.

They had grown quite strong under his rise.

But it wasn’t enough.

Far from enough.

And sure enough—

Snap!

A loud snap echoed in the air.

In an instant, all sound ceased. The Conductor, who had been smiling a moment prior, suddenly stopped, the smile slowly receding as it stared toward the source of the noise, the stitches in its eyes snapping as a group of people appeared in the distance.

They didn’t appear at all flustered by what was happening.

Rather, they appeared relatively calm as they scanned the surroundings, their gazes falling on a girl sitting on top of one of the lamps, her feet dangling as she popped the gum in her mouth.

”...Who’s going to take care of her?”

A quiet voice whispered, causing a woman with long brown hair to step forward, her hand covering her mouth as she yawned.

”Warden Decree, right?”

”Most likely.”

”Alright, I’ll do it.”

Not even a second after the words left her mouth, her figure blurred with the surroundings. In the next moment, she was already next to the girl, a thin dagger appearing in her hand as she slashed at the girl.

*Pop*

The gum popped, and Mirelle’s body fell back, her legs still hooked around the lamp as she dodged the attack.

”Hehehe.”

She started giggling again, but it was simply not enough.

Sasha’s face paled for just a moment as she maneuvered her body around the lamp, her movements fluid like water as she stabbed toward Mirelle’s exposed head. Her actions were incredibly swift, all happening in a fraction of a second.

Not even Mirelle could do anything about Sasha’s actions.

Thankfully, she wasn’t alone.

From the gleam of Sasha’s dagger, a face appeared, and not a moment later, a voice followed, ”Mr Jingl—”

”Nope.”

From below, Hugo shook his head, his nodes churning as the dagger on Sasha’s hand hardened, blocking the anomaly from appearing.

To make matters even worse, Emma, the Sonorous Paragon, waved her hand, casting a large bubble over the two.

WHAM!

The Conductor’s music flared a moment later, but the bubble absorbed all of the music, allowing for Sasha’s dagger to cleave down on the little girl.

”——!”

She didn’t miss.

The dagger stabbed right at the back of Mirelle’s head.

*Pop*

The gum popped once more, and not a second later, Mirelle’s body faded.

Thud!

Sasha landed on the ground a second later, her hand holding onto her neck as she looked towards the others.

”That was quite a bit of an effort for just an anomaly.”

”...Yeah, not bad. From what I know, she should’ve been one of the ’supervisors’. It’s only normal for it to be hard.”

”A bit troublesome, but don’t get distracted.

The others focused on the Conductor a moment later.

The smile from the Conductor had long faded, replaced by a gloomy expression.

This was the first time that anyone had seen such an expression from the Conductor. Not even Seth was familiar with this expression, having only seen it once before.

For the usually smiling Conductor...

This was very rare.

”I guess things are getting a little bit more serious.”

The Paragons remained calm, looking at the Conductor. Their goal was clear. They had to take care of the ’supervisors’.

Regarding the boss...?

One of the Paragons smiled.

’I can only hope they leave some for us.’

An even more terrifying group was taking care of him.