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

Chapter 582: Hunting [2]

’This is really interesting.’

The entire situation was interesting.

Staring at Seraphine and the nine people walking with her, I felt a surge of interest. According to her own words, three of them were impostors, pretending to belong to her group.

And she wanted me to get rid of them.

But—

’Not only did she openly say this out loud, enough for everyone to hear, but she’s also claiming that she doesn’t know how many extras there are.’

I didn’t buy this.

I had experienced this exact situation before. At the time, I hadn’t noticed the extra person, but I had known exactly how many people were supposed to be in my group.

At first, the detail slipped my mind. But when I finally paid closer attention, I realized there truly had been an extra person in my group. I didn’t think that her experience was going to be much different from mine, meaning that she also was likely aware that there were three extra people.

So why?

Why was she being ambiguous about this?

’Is she giving me a sort of hint? Is she testing me? I’m really starting to become curious.’

I paid close attention to the situation while following Seraphine from behind.

At the same time, I reached for my pockets.

’That might work.’

***

The soft crunch of boots echoed faintly through the mist as Seraphine moved forward, her gaze calmly scanning the surroundings. Despite the sound beneath her feet, the rest of her movements were silent as she advanced through the mist.

Tree branches spiked through the thin veil of mist that surrounded them, their twisted shapes cutting through the pale fog. A dim, gray light filtered down from above, barely illuminating the path ahead and making it difficult to see more than a few meters forward.

The air felt cold against the skin, damp and still, while the faint scent of old wood and wet bark lingered heavily in the atmosphere.

Several steps echoed behind her as she continued ahead.

’I wonder if he’s noticed anything.’

From the corner of her eye, Seraphine’s gaze fell on the figure following behind them. His dark eyes were fixed ahead, his steps calm and measured, his expression revealing nothing.

’I’ve only revealed this much to make him trust me.’

Seraphine didn’t have him follow them because she trusted his abilities. In fact, her goal was rather simple.

She wanted to fix the anomaly’s attention on him.

By revealing the information aloud and putting him in charge, she made it seem as though she was pinning her hopes on him. At the same time, she gave the impression that her own perception had been compromised, as if she no longer knew how many people had infiltrated her group.

The reality of the situation was that she was aware all along that there were three extra people.

She even knew who had most likely taken over, although she wasn’t certain.

That was the issue.

In order not to compromise her team members, she had to use someone else.

Her team members’ lives were worth more than others’.

The next step was simple. She just had to wait for the anomaly to target him before finally catching it.

From the information that she knew, the anomaly was important for her to figure out the secret behind Point Z.

’He’s also rather weak, which makes him the best bait. I’m a bit concerned regarding Drake and Esteban from the Melson Sanders Guild, but I can take care of them if needed.’

This was who Seraphine was.

Beneath the coldness in her features lay an even deeper chill, one that was calculating and self-serving. She acted in ways that benefited herself, even if it came at the expense of others. It was through such methods that she had managed to reach where she was now.

’It’ll be good if he survives, but I don’t really care.’

Seraphine felt her plan was solid.

However—

BANG!

Not all plans would go the way one wanted.

Thump!

Hearing a soft ’thump’ from behind her, Seraphine’s entire body paused. A moment later, several startled yelps followed.

She slowly turned her head, her attention settling on the dark barrel of what appeared to be a gun.

No, it didn’t quite look like a gun, but something similar to it.

As her gaze shifted from the gun to the body lying on the ground, her heart tightened slightly when she realized that the one on the floor wasn’t one of the people she had marked in her mind, but someone else entirely.

Her gaze lifted.

”Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?”

”Hm?”

Seth raised his brow, his gun lowering.

”Didn’t you tell me to find the culprit? I gave it a shot.”

The black film around his hand receded, revealing his fingers still shaped like a gun. He flicked them a couple of times, quietly mumbling, ”Bang, bang.”

Seraphine’s face turned extremely cold.

However, before she could say anything else, she saw his lips slowly curl upward as he looked at her.

”I know you know.”

The words that were about to leave her mouth stopped.

Her brows furrowed tightly.

”What are you...”

Once again, her words died in her throat when she noticed the smile resting on his lips.

Her gaze lingered there for a moment before lifting to his dark eyes, which seemed to look straight through her. For the briefest instant, Seraphine’s otherwise unshakable heart trembled slightly.

”I’ll play along, though.”

Seth lowered his hand and looked down at the body on the floor. He slowly crouched, watching the blood seep out from its back. He tapped the back a couple of times, mumbling, ’This feels real.’

Seraphine’s eyes fluttered as she parted her lips to speak. But at that moment, Seth placed his hand on the back of the body’s head, and a dark film spread across his hand once more.

The next instant, it shot straight through the skull, sending blood splattering in every direction.

”You—!”

”What are you doing!?”

Finally snapping out of it, the members of Seraphine’s squad began to move. Yet Seth’s gaze remained playful as he continued staring at the body on the ground.

Just as the others were about to step forward, something strange happened.

The body in front of Seth suddenly began to squirm.

”Huh?”

”What’s happening?”

Sensing that something was wrong, everyone stopped.

At the same time, the body began to squirm more violently under Seth’s gaze. Its form twisted and swelled, growing larger and larger before suddenly bursting apart into the mist.

In the next instant, nothing remained. Its form had vanished completely, blending with the mist around them, as though it had never been there in the first place.

”——!”

”What?!”

The expressions of the group shifted at once, their eyes changing as they processed what they had just seen. Seth, however, paid it no mind. He simply lifted his head and looked toward Seraphine, whose expression remained strangely calm.

However, inwardly, she wasn’t as calm as she looked on the outside.

’I’ve miscalculated. That wasn’t one of the targets that I had chosen. Is it possible that one of my members was taken and replaced, making the number of anomalies in my team four? Or has my perception been altered to the point where I can’t tell who is who anymore?’

No—

Seraphine’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Seth.

Pushing all thoughts aside, she kept her gaze firmly locked on him.

At this moment, it was clear to her.

The entire momentum of the operation had shifted to his side.

He was now the one controlling the situation.