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

Chapter 460: The one to kill the Jester [5]

The air went still.

No breath followed, all eyes lowering to stare at the body on the ground.

”A-ah...”

Zoey froze completely, her lips trembling as she opened and closed her mouth. Clara was no different. Staring at Kyle’s body on the floor, her mouth parted slightly. Even the Paragons in the distance reacted the same way.

But the most shocked of them all was someone different.

It was... Seth.

Staring at Kyle’s limp body, Seth blinked his eyes slowly, unable to understand the situation.

’What... just happened? He shattered his node? This is no different than killing him... But why would he kill him? Weren’t they on the same side? Did he lose all reasoning? Was this why he did this? Did he turn completely useless?’

Questions crowded the doppelgänger’s thoughts as it stared at Kyle’s lifeless body. Even now, watching Kyle lie there, the doppelgänger couldn’t make sense of it. This outcome, this entire situation, had unfolded in a way it had never foreseen.

No...

From the very beginning, everything had slipped beyond its ability to predict or control. In the moment when it felt as though it had finally managed to take control of the situation, something would occur that would shatter that sense of control and predictability it sought.

And it didn’t like that feeling at all.

But above all else, as the doppelgänger stared at Kyle’s body, it felt the changes rippling through the body. Kyle’s shattered nodes churned faster and faster, pushing beyond what was normally possible, and soon enough, his body started to follow along as it started to spasm uncontrollably on the floor.

He was in the process of turning.

”Kyle!! Kyle!”

The brief silence was shattered by Zoey’s scream as the Paragons had already made their way towards the Jester.

”Kyl—”

”Stop, don’t do anything rash!”

Zoey’s words were cut short as she was restrained, her voice lost in the chaos.

”Go!”

”Attack now!”

Everything appeared to move in slow motion in that moment.

Cra Crack!

By now, the cracks across its mask were more noticeable than ever.

Its presence was far weaker than it had been at the start. Any second now... everyone could feel it, hearts racing.

Ba... thump!

It was only a matter of moments before the Jester crumbled.

They just had to hold on.

*

’He must’ve lost his mind. I don’t see any other explanation.’

The doppelgänger’s expression settled back into its usual indifference. With the initial shock gone, his thoughts cleared. Even as he sensed the numerous figures rushing toward him, he showed little reaction.

Even if this body were to crumble, it wouldn’t simply die.

He was no mortal.

His only goal in coming was to ’fix’ the situation. To make sure the scenario proceeded the way that it had planned on going.

But it became clear to the doppelgänger that there was no saving the situation. The ’host’ had given away his body for power and was now on the verge of death. There was no saving the situation.

The ’host’ had already lost all sense of reason.

There was nothing left to salvage, no matter what it tried to do.

And so, when it turned its attention back toward the Jester, the doppelgänger expected to end things, but the moment it turned around, it froze at the sight that greeted it.

”.....”

It had anticipated the vacant, doll-like stare of an anomaly. Instead... Something else met its gaze. Something wholly unexpected, and utterly out of place.

The doppelgänger saw... a pair of clear eyes.

Eyes that seemed to be completely aware of what was going on.

The sight made the doppelganger blink once more.

He’s aware...?

But then...

Swooosh!

The doppelganger’s thoughts shattered as the Jester suddenly moved, its hand reaching toward it. The doppelgänger reacted on instinct alone, gripping the same knife he had used on Kyle and driving it forward, stabbing straight toward the Jester without hesitation.

It was a self-sacrificing move. One where he traded off his own safety to deal a blow.

Although the Jester was much stronger than it was in such a state, its current body was on the verge of destruction.

Having sustained numerous injuries from the Paragons, it could barely move its body. Even a regular person could kill it at this moment.

The doppelgänger half-expected the Jester to stop, but contrary to its expectations...

SPURT!

The knife reached as it stabbed at the Jester’s abdomen, black blood spilling out of its body.

Almost as if it wanted it to happen.

”.....?!”

The doppelgänger’s eyes widened for a brief instant before it forced the blade in deeper, driving it into the Jester’s body without hesitation. He didn’t fully understand what he was trying to accomplish, nor what the outcome would be, but its resolve had already been set long ago.

It was going to get rid of the Jester!

For it... had already turned useless.

”——!”

But at the same moment he drove the blade forward, the Jester’s hand shot out toward the doppelgänger.

Despite its terrible state, the hand moved faster than expected.

Swooosh!

It swallowed the doppelgänger’s vision completely, fingers closing in until everything went black.

As its hand reached the doppelgänger, a faint, hoarse voice echoed through the darkness...

”You’re... the exact copy of me.”

The doppelgänger froze, its mind processing the words.

”The same as me just before turning. Everything is the same.”

The words thundered into the doppelgänger’s mind, its body freezing as the words repeated in its mind.

.

.

.

Exact copy?

Same before turning?

Everything is the same?

.

.

.

Within the darkness, the doppelgänger’s eyes slowly started to widen as a certain thought crossed its mind. But by the time it understood what was happening, it was already too late.

”Perfect.”

The voice whispered into the doppelgänger’s mind once more. Unlike before, however, there was something different about the tone of the voice. It had a certain element of amusement in it, and as the realization finally settled in, and all the pieces fell into place, the doppelgänger could only mutter to itself, ’...I’ve been used.’

The realization came too late.

From the very start, the Jester, or to be more precise, Seth, had never lost control. It had only pretended to do so.

Perhaps... the entire scenario, the chaos, and the outcome had all been exactly what he was aiming for from the very beginning.

Thinking about it, the usually indifferent doppelgänger felt secret shudders run down its body.

Even so, it was all already over. There was no time to be shocked.

It had fallen for his ploys.

”Our dealings end here.”

Seth’s voice whispered into the doppelgänger’s mind. This time, his voice was a lot clearer than it had been before.

”I hope in your last moments, you remember something...”

The Jester’s hand squeezed tighter onto the doppelgänger’s head, rendering its entire body immobile as a strange glow manifested over the Jester’s body.

”...I detest when people try to use me.”

The grip tightened, Seth’s voice growing hoarse.

”The only one that can ever hope to use me is myself. Let this be a warning. There won’t be a next time.”

Swooooosh!

These were the last words the doppelgänger heard before its world turned black.