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

Chapter 426: The One Who Laughs [2]

Tik, Tik—

[00: 59: 58]

The room was silent.

Neither party moved.

A pair of black eyes fixed on the figure before him, her smile stretching unnaturally across her face as bodies continued to collapse beside them.

Thud! Thud!

Thirteen, twelve, eleven..

The number of cultists in the room started to dwindle with each passing second, the old woman’s smile stretching further and further. The pressure emanating from her body also increased as Seth’s black eyes remained fixed on her.

And eventually—

Thud!

The last cultist fell, their face squirming before fading.

”.....”

A heavy silence pressed across the room, the flames from the candles flickering.

The silence pressed on until the old lady’s lips parted.

”....Oh? What an interesting quest. You’ve got about an hour to escape?”

The voice was hoarse, but the moment the words came out of its mouth, the tension lingering across the room heightened.

”Hmm.”

The smile on the old lady twisted further.

”What a curious construct, this system of yours. It doesn’t appear familiar. So... was this body once D-16’s, I wonder? It also appears that you’re aware of how you’re wearing a shell of a body that doesn’t belong to you. How exquisite... your thoughts.”

Secrets and details that Seth had never spoken about began to spill out from the woman’s mouth.

It was as if she could see right through him.

No...

She could see right through him.

”This... system, as you call it. Curious. You seem as ignorant of its nature as I. How strange... Its essence is unfamiliar even to me. It is not of my design, nor does its power bear my mark. Peculiar... profoundly peculiar.”

Blinking slowly, the old lady’s face warped.

In just the blink of an eye, she turned from an old lady to an old man.

The voice changed alongside the change.

”Hmm... it is true. You are not of this world. And yet... could other worlds truly exist? No. No, that should not be possible. I am certain of it. Which means... There is something I have not seen. Something else

at work here. I am also certain your memories have not been altered or changed.”
As if something suddenly struck his mind, the smile on the old man’s face turned incredibly twisted as he looked at Seth.

”Yes... that is the only explanation. It must be so. There can be no other cause. How else could such a thing occur?”

”.....”

The entire time, Seth remained quiet.

His dark eyes remained still as he listened to the old man.

At the same time, a lot of things started to make sense in his mind as he thought back to all the occurrences in the past. The strange coincidences, the number ’71’, and what had been happening while trying to get into the cult.

All of it was due to ’Dantalion’, the 71st Demon of the Ars Goetia, and one of the Dukes of Hell. The Demon with many faces, and the one whose knowledge surpassed all. It was no wonder it could read Seth’s mind.

There was nothing that one could hide from ’Dantalion’.

”It appears that you know about me.”

”.....”

Seth didn’t react as Dantalion appeared a few inches from his face, studying Seth’s expression carefully.

”Ah... this makes matters most intriguing. Few among mortals are even faintly aware of our kind. We have long veiled our existence beneath shadows and silence, invisible yet ever present. And yet you, standing before me, bear knowledge that should not be yours. How curious... how deliciously interesting.”

Cra Crack!

A cracking sound resounded as the old man’s neck tilted, his eyes still focused on Seth.

A shift began to occur in that moment as the pressure emanating from the old man’s body intensified, causing the surroundings to rattle more than before.

Seth remained standing still.

His mind was calm. Utterly calm.

But at the same time, the entire world felt foreign to him.

He didn’t even know if he was breathing.

All he could feel was an unbelievable amount of power as the insides of his body started to squirm while the Cognitive Shard in his mind grew more and more in size. He could tell that the more it grew, the more dangerous it became for him.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

The surroundings shook, the elderly man’s face changing once more.

At the same time this happened, Seth felt something squirm inside his body. The Cognitive Shard that was expanding in his mind expanded even faster, and the timer before his eyes started ticking down faster.

Tik, Tik—

[00: 49: 31]

Despite this, Seth didn’t show any reaction.

He couldn’t show any reaction.

He was incapable of doing so.

Instead, he looked at the Conductor, Mr. Jingles, Mirelle, and the Realmwalker.

In that moment, it was almost as if he was connected with them.

RATTLE!

The room shook further, the bodies on the floor squirming once more before slowly beginning to stand.

With no faces, they all moved robotically, helping themselves to their feet.

’Stop resisting.’

’Stop... let the Cognitive Shard take over.’

’The moment you let go, you will be able to return to where you belong.’

’There’s no need to fight it.’

Voices continued to whisper in his mind.

They grew in volume with each second that passed, drowning his thoughts away.

Tik, Tik—

[00: 43: 22]

The time flashed down rapidly.

In just half a minute, it had already lost more than five minutes.

’Take the Emblance Shard.’

’...Make the pain stop.’

’Make all of this end. This isn’t your world.’

The voices continued as the time went down, a sharp pain invading Seth’s mind as the Cognitive Shard enlarged further and further.

Blood began to seep from every one of Seth’s orifices, his nose, his ears, the corners of his eyes, trickling down in thin, dark lines. It streaked across the smooth surface of the mask he wore, staining it crimson and giving the blank face an almost grotesque semblance of expression.

Tik, Tik—

[00: 27: 19]

The time was shooting down rapidly.

More than half a minute passed in less than half a minute.

The old man’s face turned into that of a young woman with long black hair and smooth features. Staring at Seth, she smiled.

”You should take the Shard now, before the moment passes. Once the threshold closes, even I may not be able to draw you back. And I would rather not see you lost beyond return. The body still has some uses for me, after all.”

But—

”.....”

Seth remained quiet.

He just stared at the lady in front of him with his dark, stained eyes.

Tik, Tik—

[00: 13: 55]

Time jumped more.

Seth’s features beneath the mask remained the same, albeit the mask was now covered in streaks of red as his body started to tremble.

The power in his body had started to grow erratic.

It had been calm a moment ago, but that was no longer the case.

The power that was enough to make the Conductor feel shivers started to increase once more, causing it to raise its head.

Mirelle, Mr. Jingles, and the Realmwalker did the same.

They all raised their heads to look at Seth.

Even Dantalion could no longer ignore the power that was coming out of Seth’s body, its features contorting into a frown.

But just before it could react—

Tik, Tik—

[00: 01: 07]

Seth raised his hand.

The numerous cultists around him came to a direct stop.

At the same time, their heads slowly turned in Dantalion’s direction.

”You’ve taken control of them...?”

Seth quietly nodded, a faint laugh escaping his lips.

But it wasn’t a laugh out of amusement, nor was it a laugh out of happiness.

It was a laugh that sent chills down one’s body as, not a moment later, a hoarse voice emerged from Seth’s lips, ”I see no reason why no anomaly can’t bind to my command.”

Dantalion’s expression changed, but it was too late.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the surroundings shook.

The Cognitive Shard in Seth’s mind expanded, and soon—

BANG!

An explosion rang out.

The surroundings crumbled.

[00: 00: 00]

On that day, a gate appeared.

The final rank...

[SS]