Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!
Chapter Summary
" A brittle, almost hoarse laugh slipped from my lips as I bit down on them, my eye turning bloodshot from the pain as I forced my voice back. I turned toward Esteban and Drake, finding them staring back at me, their eyes bloodshot, something that looked like fear lingering in their gaze. Drake stepped forward and stopped before the figure, who stood completely still, its expression completely frozen as Drake knelt, raising the head with both hands as if presenting an offering.
Chapter 577: Identity [3] "Hahaha...
Ha!
" I just laughed.
That was all I could do.
I hadn’t gone mad or turned crazy.
No, it was the opposite.
My head was clear.
It was clearer than ever as I stared at the man in front of me.
"HaHaha!
" I burst out laughing even harder.
Staring at the face I still couldn’t memorize, I continued to laugh.
For the first time since I had seen him, he was no longer smiling.
But I wasn’t done.
I was far from done.
"It’s all...
clear to me.
" This place...
It stripped someone of their identity.
It fed them every joy and pleasure they could ever want, making them forget who they were, slowly stripping away their faces, their names, and their very identity.
It broke someone to a fundamental level, turning them into blank puppets that drank, ate, and slept.
I realized this long ago.
From the moment I had ripped my eye, I knew what this was.
What it was trying to do.
That’s why I sacrificed.
I sacrificed everything to preserve what it was trying to take from me.
I sacrificed to observe.
I sacrificed...
to understand.
"H-haha.
With my eye clear, I can see...
through the illusions.
I can see through the fakery of this place.
B-but despite that, I can’t see you.
" I looked at the man in front of me.
Though I was staring straight at him, his face still refused to imprint itself inside my mind.
"I...
can see everything but you.
" He stripped others of their identity, but what about him?
His identity still existed.
He was the only one with an identity.
Hence— "Your name.
" I looked up, my eye stinging from keeping it open for so long.
"I...
know your name.
" Your identity.
"HahahaHa....!
" I laughed once again.
Especially when I took note of the seriousness in the face before me.
After everything, I knew what I needed to do.
To he who stripped identities, I had to be the one to give his one back.
"You are...
Ukh!
" Reaching for my throat, my eyes widened as the words caught somewhere inside my mind.
As if a heavy lump had formed there, blocking every thought before it could escape, I found myself unable to speak at all.
"I think you’ve said enough.
" A cold voice followed.
"You’ve overstepped your boundaries.
" Have I...?
"H-hak...
Haha.
" A brittle, almost hoarse laugh slipped from my lips as I bit down on them, my eye turning bloodshot from the pain as I forced my voice back.
"P—!
" Rattle!
Rattle—!
The surroundings trembled, the paintings on the walls rattling in their frames as the doors slammed shut all at once.
My throat burned again, and my head slowly began to lower on its own, as if some invisible weight forced it down, submitting to the figure before me.
"Know your place.
" "P...!
" RATTLE!
My head was now pressed against the cold floor, the chill seeping into my skin.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t raise it.
But despite this...
"Pa—!
" "Silence!!
" BOOOOOM—!
Doors smashed, and the floor shook further.
I felt something cool slip into my mind as my throat tightened, burning even more fiercely.
The pain made it hard to open my mouth, as if my voice itself were being sealed away.
But I cared nothing for it.
I had already sacrificed everything.
And for this moment, I would sacrifice it all again.
For this moment where I stepped on a King.
I didn’t mind at all!
"Pai—!
" BOOOOOM!
A force blasted me backward, my back slamming into something hard, as the wind was knocked out of me.
Even so, I remained conscious, looking at the figure ahead of me with a faint smile.
The more he acted like this, the more I felt like smiling.
I opened my lips again.
But— "Pai■■■.
" All of a sudden, my surroundings began to change.
The place around me grew luxurious as a soft trumpet sounded through the air, and the once dilapidated hall slowly transformed, becoming grand and opulent once more.
I opened my lips and spoke again.
"■■■■■■.
" "...
Ah.
" At once, the rattling stopped, and everything regained its calm as ■■■■■■ stared back at me.
His smile returned.
"Time is up.
" ".....
" "Your mind can no longer keep up.
There’s nothing else that you can sacrifice.
This is your absolute limit.
Now, it is time for you to finally embrace what has been provided to you by me.
" He took a step forward, his calm gaze fixed on me.
But right as he took a step, he stopped.
I laughed.
At the same time, several steps echoed in the distance as two figures approached me.
Although I couldn’t see them from where I was, I knew their bodies were badly mutilated.
I had been the one to reduce them to such a state.
And I knew that ■■■■■■ was aware of what I had done to them.
"I’m lost.
" ■■■■■■ alternated his gaze between what remained of Esteban and Drake.
"I knew you were doing something to them, and I let it go because I was curious to see what you would do.
But I’m at a loss.
What exactly are you planning?
Perhaps you want them to buy some time for you?
But it’s too late.
You’ve...
" Suddenly, he stopped.
As if finally realizing, his expression changed.
I turned toward Esteban and Drake, finding them staring back at me, their eyes bloodshot, something that looked like fear lingering in their gaze.
I merely laughed.
...
I had seen this coming.
I had prepared.
"D-do it.
" The two didn’t hesitate, pulling out knives with their only remaining arm as they stabbed both of my legs.
SPURT!
Blood spurted in every direction as pain engulfed my mind.
However, rather than screaming, I laughed.
"Stop!
" ■■■■■■’s voice boomed throughout the surroundings as the luxurious surroundings faded once more.
I didn’t even open my lips.
I didn’t need to open my lips since he could still hear my thoughts.
’I know.
I know...!
I know your name!
’ "I SAID STOP IT!
" RATTLE!
RATTLE—!
The surroundings shook once more as his voice twisted into something demonic.
Yet Esteban and Drake paid it no mind.
They cut off my legs, blood spurting across the ground.
They weren’t done yet.
Drake soon turned toward my remaining arm, his hand shaking slightly as he looked at me.
But the moment he noticed my gaze on him, he forced himself to reach for it anyway.
As the pain invaded my mind, I continued to stare at the figure before me.
That was also the moment I was reminded of something the Conductor had once said to me.
’Hell rejects the living.
’ Looking back, it was clear.
Even a king could not touch the living in hell.
That was why everyone here had to kill themselves first before he could do anything to them.
He had no authority over the living, which was why he struggled to stop me physically.
The only thing it could do was play games in order to trick people into killing themselves.
For so long, I thought I had died.
But that wasn’t the case.
I was still alive.
But not for long— "You do not understand what you are doing.
Stop this at once!
" BOOOM!
Cracks spread across the surroundings as the castle shook violently, but I didn’t care.
I simply stared at Drake and Esteban.
Their mutilated faces stared back at me, the fear in their bloodshot eyes now unmistakable.
But that fear wasn’t directed at ■■■■■■.
It was directed at me.
I just smiled twistedly.
Do it!
DO IT!
"STOP!
" Drake’s eye trembled, but only for a moment, before he brought his knife to my throat and cleanly sliced my head off.
Swooosh!
*** All noise ceased in that moment.
The rattling stopped.
The shaking ended.
Everything fell into a perfect, unnatural stillness.
Then Drake reached down and picked up the head.
He began to walk toward the figure.
Drip.
Blood fell to the floor, slowly spreading across the stone in a dark, widening stain.
Even now, the severed head continued to stare in the figure’s direction.
A human could remain conscious for only a few seconds after decapitation.
And in that moment— Seth was still conscious.
There was no sound.
No voice.
His vision dimmed at the edges.
Yet he understood everything.
Drake stepped forward and stopped before the figure, who stood completely still, its expression completely frozen as Drake knelt, raising the head with both hands as if presenting an offering.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood continued to fall.
Nothing was spoken aloud.
But Seth heard the words clearly within his mind.
I...
offer you my everything.
My eyes.
My arms.
My legs.
My heart.
My body.
And finally— My head.
To you, who is King Paimon.