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

Chapter 584: Hunting [4]

Though the giggle was soft and audible only to me, it had a profound effect on the surroundings. Several figures flickered right before our eyes. In that instant, Seraphine’s expression changed.

However, despite the confusion, she still reacted.

In an instant, dark tendrils burst from the ground beneath them, surging toward the flickering figures and binding them completely.

Her reaction was instant.

Right then, her gaze shifted, meeting mine for just half-a-second before she eventually turned her attention towards the bound figures.

”Three.”

Her words were soft, but I could feel the heaviness in them.

Indeed, she had bound three figures.

Meaning—

’Two of her teammates are gone.’

Without realizing it, her group had been infiltrated by five anomalies.

Seraphine’s expression remained cold despite the situation as she turned towards one of her team members.

”Paul, find where they’re hiding.”

”Understood.”

The man named Paul, a tall man who looked no older than me, stepped forward. His shoulder-length brown hair parted in the middle as his gaze moved between the three bound anomalies. After a moment, he closed his eyes and began to do something.

I was just starting to wonder what he was doing when Seraphine’s voice echoed through the surroundings.

”He’s of the [Hunter] Decree. Although he couldn’t find the anomalies while they were hiding in our group, he can track them down if bound. I’m planning to go directly to their nest. I believe that’s where the missing members are likely located.”

”Perhaps.”

Honestly, I was curious.

Would we really find where they were hiding, or would we be led straight to hell as I had been before?

’It’s clear that this anomaly is the one responsible for sending me there. I’m still rather curious to see, though. How can an anomaly send someone to hell? Is hell a place that is accessible just like this?’

I had a feeling that wasn’t the case. As I waited in silence for Paul to finish, something in the air seemed to shift, and the surroundings rustled faintly. The mist around us appeared to thicken at the same time as cold air washed over us.

”We’ve been noticed.”

Seraphine’s voice whispered in the mist.

”...They’ll be coming for us soon.”

She looked at Paul, who opened his eyes.

”I’ve found it.”

”Good.”

She clenched her hand, shattering the anomalies at once as they exploded and turned into parts of the mist. At the same time, Paul stepped forward and began walking ahead.

”Follow along. Don’t get too far. Make sure to keep track of who you’re next to.”

I followed along in silence, my steps measured.

Following them from behind, I couldn’t help but think, ’Wouldn’t all of this have been a lot easier if they used keywords as I did with the others? Not only would they be able to find the anomalies, but they’d also save a lot of trouble.’

Did they just not think about it?

No, that was probably not it.

’Likely, they’ve done it on purpose. Could it be that she wanted her team members to be captured?’

The idea lingered inside my mind for a moment, growing stronger and stronger as we marched ahead.

At the same time, however, I struggled to understand why she’d do this.

There didn’t seem to be any direct benefit to doing this. If anything, it only put her own teammates in danger. But then again, she was a Paragon. She must have had her own considerations.

’There’s no point in thinking about this now. For now, I’ll just follow her and see where the situation will lead.’

*

Rustle~ Rustle~

Moving past the fog, we brushed against the numerous thin branches that pierced through the mist, their brittle limbs scraping softly against our clothes. Each step we took crunched faintly against the uneven ground beneath us, the sound strangely loud in the otherwise silent forest.

The deeper we went, the denser the fog became. It coiled around the trees and crept along the ground, swallowing shapes and blurring distances until everything beyond a few meters faded into pale gray.

No one spoke.

The only sounds were our quiet footsteps and the faint rustle of branches shifting in the mist.

I observed everything in silence, a certain heaviness slowly pressing against my chest the deeper we went. At the same time, I checked behind me, giggling softly under my breath to make sure there were no extra people.

’...Nothing.’

There was no extra person.

But it was this lack of action that made everything feel more suffocating.

’There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re being watched, but why aren’t they making a move? Is it because they realized that they can’t hide among us? Or am I missing something?’

The thoughts just left my mind when Paul suddenly stopped.

With him leading the group, everyone followed close behind. The moment he stopped, the rest of them came to a halt as well.

A thick silence followed after he stopped.

”.....”

The silence stretched thin, only to be broken by Seraphine as she moved closer to him.

”Why did you stop? Did you...”

Her words stopped halfway.

At the same time—

Thump!

Paul’s body suddenly collapsed backward, startling everyone.

All eyes immediately fell on him, and the moment they did, I heard a collective hiss as everyone drew in a sharp, cold breath. I was no different, my eyes locking onto his wide-open sockets.

Sockets, yes.

There existed no eyes.

They had both gone missing as Seraphine examined the body. Despite the sudden situation, she remained calm as she eventually lowered Paul’s lids.

”We’ve arrived.”

Turning around, her attention was fixed elsewhere. She didn’t say anything about Paul’s death or even seem to regard it.

I felt this to be strange as I continued to stare at the body.

’How did he lose his sight? I didn’t even notice a single thing.’

I frowned, looking around me. I was even more surprised to see the lack of surprise coming from Seraphine’s team members. Although they did seem a little bit saddened by the sudden death, they were still rather composed and didn’t ask anything.

This felt somewhat strange to me, especially since they treated this death as normal, but after a little bit of thought, I realized, ’They’re from one of the best Guilds in the world. They should be used to death. They probably treat this as a normal thing.’

Eventually, following her line of sight, I caught sight of a large silhouette hidden within the fog, its shape resembling that of a two-story house. From somewhere within the mist, a faint creaking sound slowly echoed through the air.

One that sounded eerily similar to the slow creak of a rocking chair.

The closer we drew, the more pronounced the sound became. The slow creaking echoed through the fog, like something gently swaying in the stillness.

Eventually, the shape of the house became clearer through the mist. On the wooden patio at the front stood a rocking chair, moving back and forth on its own.

No one sat on it.

Yet it continued to rock in the heavy silence.

My body tensed at the sight, a strange heaviness settling against my chest as I watched the rocking chair sway back and forth. Something about it felt wrong, as though someone was sitting on it, watching us.

I tried giggling, but nothing.

Nothing was sitting on the chair.

At the same time, my gaze drifted past the chair and toward the house itself, taking in its details. It was a two-story building, its wooden frame worn by age. The windows were old and clouded with dust, their glass dull and opaque as if they had not been cleaned in years.

Some of the shutters hung slightly crooked, creaking faintly whenever the wind brushed past them.

The entire house stood there in the fog, its very presence giving a sense of desolation.

Despite every part of me telling me to stay away from the place, Seraphine began moving.

Her steps were neither hurried nor slow as she walked toward the house, her posture calm.

Taken aback, I could only watch as she approached the front door. Without the slightest hesitation, she reached for the handle, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

Not a moment after, her group members followed.

I watched in silence as the rest of her team entered the house, their silhouettes briefly appearing behind the dull, dusty windows.

Glancing back at Drake and Esteban, I paused for a moment before eventually turning and moving toward the house as well. The wooden patio creaked beneath my steps as I approached and entered the house.

The moment I did, it was as if all sound faded from the surroundings.

”Hm?”

Taking note of the situation, I looked around and noticed that the place was completely empty. When I turned back, I realized that Drake and Esteban were no longer there, and the door behind me had already closed.

My eyes jumped up.

But before I could react—

Trrrr! Trrrr—!

A loud ringing echoed throughout the room.