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

Chapter 485: Bloodthirst [3]

BANG!

A terrifying explosion ripped through the air.

The surroundings shook, along with the chains that dangled above, as they swayed wildly in all directions.

But nobody paid attention to what was happening around.

In that instant, all eyes fell on the anomaly as hearts stopped at once.

In particular, Catherine’s.

”.....”

”.....”

A heavy silence fell as dust rose up in the air.

Nobody knew what had happened, but in that instant, some felt it more than others...

Death.

For just a fleeting moment, Catherine felt death stare at her right in the face, her face completely white as she stood completely still, her body frozen from the shock as the clones around her started to fade one by one.

Her forehead was now completely soaked in sweat, with her emerald green eyes rattling wildly as she slowly turned her head to see the dust settle, exposing the butcher as it stood before a broken-down area of the room.

”.....”

It stood in silence, not saying a single word.

And yet—

She and the others felt it clearly.

The... twisted and bloodcurdling sense of joy within its gaze.

Almost as if it had found its favorite toy to play with.

Be it Catherine or the others in the room, they all felt it at once. The hair on the backs of their hands stood on end, their skin prickling as their breathing stalled. The pressure bearing down on the room grew even more suffocating, forcing some to clutch their throats as they stumbled back.

”T-that’s...”

”H-how are we... supposed to defeat that?”

”I...”

A heavy sense of crisis fell over the room. Feeling such a suffocating pressure coming from a single anomaly, they all started to despair. How could they defeat this? It was impossible!

Run!

They needed to run!

’S-shit.’

Staring at her team, Catherine could sense that the minds of everyone present had been tainted by the anomaly before them. Its overwhelming bloodlust seeped into their thoughts, planting deep seeds of fear that took root almost instantly. Even she... could feel that same fear beginning to crawl through her own mind. Thankfully, she was just able to hold on to enough clarity to notice something.

”H-hold on.”

Extending her hand to hold the others back, Catherine swallowed nervously while staring at the anomaly. With most of her clones cancelled, she was no longer as tired and worn out as before.

Of course, she was still far from being in optimal condition, but at the very least, she was faring better than before.

Better than those moments when she could barely even bring herself to breathe.

”C-captain?”

Feeling the doubts coming from her group, Catherine swallowed nervously while continuing to stare at the anomaly. The more she looked at it, the greater the sense of despair that she felt, her heart racing faster than ever before as she swallowed her saliva before eventually speaking.

”I... don’t think its here for us.”

Her words made several pause.

Wasn’t here for them?

A few sharper ones immediately understood as they thought back to the interaction from before.

”Thinking about it, the anomaly has never looked at us once...”

”...Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

”Wait...”

All heads turned toward Catherine once more as she pressed her lips together, her gaze fixed on the pig-headed butcher’s side profile. Eventually, as if it could feel her eyes on it, the butcher slowly turned its head, her emerald eyes locking with its sharp, crimson ones.

Time appeared to freeze for her in that moment, the very air getting stripped away from her lungs as those two crimson red eyes remained fixed on her.

In that very moment...

Catherine felt what could only be described as a profound, sinking dread.

But above all...

She sensed it with absolute clarity—

The smile lurking behind those eyes.

A deep and depraved smile that hid nothing but the sense of ecstasy the butcher felt in that very moment as its head slowly turned and it walked past the broken wall, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

And then...

Crunch!

Catherine’s teeth clenched tightly.

So tightly that it almost felt as though they would crack under the pressure.

”Fuck!!!!!”

***

’I am getting closer. I can sense it. I can... feel it better. Yes, I’m almost here. Where are you? Where are you hiding? I’ve been looking for you for quite some time.’

My vision was narrow.

So narrow that I could hardly keep track of what was happening around me.

All I could see was what was ahead of me.

...Or to be more precise, the ’dot’ that was ahead of me. The one I was certain was the boss.

I was drawing closer and closer to it, and with every step I took, the knife in my hand trembled more violently, flooding me with a disturbing, almost intoxicating sense of pleasure.

’A-h, yes...’

I knew that things were starting to become dangerous.

There was a very real possibility that I could lose my sanity, yet I still wanted to push forward. The danger was undeniable, but if I intended to keep moving ahead, I had to follow this path before everything slipped beyond the point of no return.

Thankfully...

I had arrived at my destination.

As my steps slowly started to come to a stop, a distant chopping sound echoed across the surroundings as the dot in my vision started to grow larger and larger. Eventually, it was all I could see as the crimson within my vision faded, and a large room appeared before me.

Tak...!Tak...!Tak...!

The sound grew louder with each step I took, syncing disturbingly well with the rhythm of my heartbeat. As the last traces of crimson bled away from my vision, shapes formed. Dark, hanging shapes that dangled from the ceiling like some sort of ornaments.

The air was thick... as if something wet clung to it.

I took another step.

Squelch.

The floor... yielded beneath my boot.

My steps finally paused as I looked towards the room.

It was long, dim, and bathed in a sickly yellow light that flickered every few seconds, as though they were on the verge of breaking. Rusted metal tables lined the walls, their surfaces scratched and stained in ways that reminded me of the crimson that coated my apron.

Chains hung from above, each one ending in a hook dripping with something dark and sluggish.

And at the far end of the room—

Tak.Tak.Tak.

The source of the sound.

A massive silhouette stood hunched over a blood-soaked slab. Its broad back rose and fell with each slow breath. Something squelched wetly under its blade as it chopped again... and again... and again. Each strike sent droplets flying, splattering faintly against the nearby wall.

My hand trembled faintly.

Not out of fear.

But... something else.

Tak...!

The cold took over the room.

For a moment, I almost thought it hadn’t noticed me. The figure remained focused entirely on whatever lay beneath its blade, carving, slicing, cutting with a twisted sort of rhythm, methodical, patient, almost... tender.

Then—

It stopped.

Putting the knife down, the anomaly slowly reached for the white towel next to it and began to clean its head as it slowly turned its head to face my direction.

As it did, it paused.

Our gazes met, and its lips parted.

”You’re... here.”

I smiled then.

”Hello~”