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

Chapter 667: The identity of the Butcher [2]

How do I send a message?

From the start, my goal was simple.

I wanted to send a message. I wanted to let those eyeing me know that coming after me wasn’t the smartest idea.

At the start, my target had been the Team Leader of the Cloud Reverence Guild. He was the one who had caused the entire mess back at the hospital. I wanted to use him to set an example for everyone who was closely monitoring me.

This was the initial plan.

But…

I realized rather quickly that I had been too naive.

A few days prior to the incident.

Flip! Flip! Flip!

Casually flipping through the documents Paimon handed me, I came to a sudden stop as I put the files down. Right after, a chuckle followed as a figure appeared in the corner of the room.

“Looks like you’ve found some intriguing information.”

“Hahaha.”

Even I couldn’t help but laugh while flipping through the documents.

“I’m sure that just targeting him will be enough to send a message. That’ll be enough to give you peace of mind for a while. That’s good enough, right?”

Hearing the words, I raised my head to stare at the Conductor.

In particular, I stared at its smile.

It was wide.

So wide that it almost felt as though its lips were about to leave its face.

Normally, I’d be disturbed by the sight.

And yet⎯

I found myself smiling alongside the Conductor.

“Ah, no… this is bad.”

I put the files down, scratching the side of my face.

“I shouldn’t do this. I should just be satisfied with him. There’s no need for me to go the extra mile. That’ll be overkill. If anything, it can backfire. This is not good. I should stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Sto…”

I stopped speaking before I knew it, my eyes once again drawn to the documents presented right before my very eyes.

Reaching for them, I casually flipped through the documents again while muttering, “Cedrick. Real name: Osvald Marlon. Affiliated with the organization known as ‘The Hand.’ Current intelligence suggests he’s been maintaining close surveillance on the Team Leader, identified with the real name of Johnattan Banker, currently going by Eugene Kinmen.”

I took a deep breath while putting the files back down.

But even as I did, my mouth didn’t stop.

“The disappearances occurring throughout Malia are believed to be tied to an elaborate operation orchestrated by the Team Leader, Johnattan Banker. Current movement indicates that Banker has been selecting and sacrificing individuals based on specific zodiac alignments and positional criteria. These rituals allegedly generate highly unstable anomalies…”

My eyes flashed as I came to a sudden stop. Lifting my head again, I stared at the Conductor as it moved closer to me, its lips somehow even wider than before as it seemed to read my thoughts.

I didn’t say anything, nor did I have to say anything as I closed the files and closed my eyes, trying my best to curb the trembling of my hand.

‘He’s creating powerful anomalies using real people. His plan is to use them to end me, and he’s also creating a situation that will force me to come to him. He also has managed to incapacitate the anomalies for when he takes control of them.’

The trembling of my hand didn’t stop.

No…

Instead, it only increased as I felt my hand grow heavier. When I looked down, a certain knife appeared in my hand.

One I was all too familiar with, as the information settled into place inside my mind.

My eyes closed once more.

A voice followed.

“…There will be no coming back from this.”

I kept my eyes closed.

“But you’ll certainly send a message. I’m sure nobody will bother you after this.”

“…..”

Silence followed.

One that was broken by a subtle laugh.

This time, I wasn’t sure to whom it belonged.

The files contained everything. Every condition the Team Leader suffered from, detailed logs of the times he had spied on me, and even the location of his so-called ‘hideout.’

I knew everything.

Thus, it was all easy.

Finding the exact location where he kept his ‘anomalies’ wasn’t difficult. Infiltrating the place wasn’t particularly hard either, not when I had a detailed layout of the entire facility.

SPURT!

Killing one anomaly after another, I felt the tremendous power that slowly built up within the knife. In order not to let myself get corrupted by the knife, the moment I killed an anomaly, I’d quickly give it back to the Realmwalker who brought it into the ‘anomaly world’.

That seemed to be able to stop the knife’s growth until it was brought back out.

This cycle repeated over and over and over, until I nearly killed all of the anomalies that the Team Leader had set up.

I didn’t kill them all, though.

I still left a few.

…Just a few.

SPURT!

Handing the knife back to the Realmwalker, I looked around me.

“I should get back soon.”

The next part still didn’t involve me. In fact, it involved the ‘uninvited guest’. Aware of the Team Leader’s scheme, he had purposely chosen to take over as ‘Cedrick’ since that seemed to fit the Team Leader’s criteria. His plan was probably to have a nice chat with him.

“…A pity I won’t allow that.”

It was just as I was about to go back that a figure appeared before me again. The Conductor was smiling, but there was a certain glint in its gaze as it looked at me.

“Are you sure you’re going ahead with this? There’s no coming back the moment you use the knife.”

For a moment, I paused.

I didn’t say anything while staring at the Conductor.

But soon, a smile graced my lips as I laughed.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something.” My laughter faded as I looked up at the Conductor, eyes opening. “The Butcher is coming, but who said that I’ll be the one acting as the Butcher?”

“Huh?”

I could still remember the Conductor’s surprised sound as I left the place. How could I not?

This was one of the rare times I had ever seen the Conductor be taken by surprise.