Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! - Chapter 550: Temptation [2]

Chapter 550: Temptation [2]

The hum of the flashlight reverberated through the narrow tunnel, every hair on my body standing on end as the darkness around us seemed to shift.

Once again, I counted the number of people in my team in my mind.

’There’s Nora. There’s Niel, and there’s… Mia.’

Then—!

My head snapped back, the torch beam swinging toward the others in a sharp arc. Light washed over their faces one by one as I scanned them quickly, searching for anything out of place.

But…

“…”

I looked around carefully.

There were only three people.

Mia stood off to the side, with Niel and Nora close beside her. The beam of my flashlight moved across their faces one at a time, lingering just long enough to confirm what I was seeing. Their expressions were tense and confused, but it was no doubt them.

I shifted the light behind them, sweeping it across the damp walls and the empty stretch of tunnel beyond.

I swallowed slowly, my mouth dry as unease settled deeper in my chest.

Was I seeing this?

“…Squad Leader.”

Niel’s voice echoed a moment later, his expression tense.

“You… did you…”

“I did.”

I answered before he could finish speaking, cutting in as my expression tightened.

My eyes never stopped moving, continuing to sweep across the narrow tunnel we were trapped in.

Broken wires dangled from the ceiling and along the walls, their ends looping down like snakes. Moisture clung to the concrete, the damp surface catching the light and reflecting it in uneven patches.

The beam traced every crack, every shadow, every place something could be hiding, while the weight of the silence pressed in around us.

Taking a deep breath, I muttered, “I don’t know why I said that… I thought there were four people, but that can’t be possible. There are only three of us; four if you count me.”

Why did I even say four in the first place?

It was maybe in the moment I turned back to check on them and gave them a quick look that I thought there were four of us. Even as I held onto the knife in my pocket, I didn’t feel any sign of life.

In that case… was I imagining things?

“Maybe you’re tired.” Nora suddenly suggested, looking surprisingly calm as she looked around.

“You didn’t get much sleep today, so you might be more sensitive to things.”

“Maybe.”

This much was true. I hadn’t slept at all, but I doubted this was the truth. This wasn’t the first time I had gone without sleep. Hell, even recently, I had given up on sleep for a couple of days in order to finish the update of the game.

I could still function without sleep.

“…I doubt it’s sleep.”

Mia suddenly spoke, her hands reaching for her arms as she rubbed them.

“After what I saw, I doubt it was just an illusion. I think… I think that someone was really with us.”

My arms tingled the moment she spoke, my lips parting to say otherwise, but after everything that had happened, there was no denying it.

There really…

“But how did it suddenly disappear?”

Nora asked, looking around as her brows furrowed tightly. She then went on to say, “Taking into account that not everyone can see it, can we say that it only targets one person at a time?”

“Yes, that seems to be it.”

Niel agreed on the side, taking off his glasses and wiping the again.

“…I think whatever is here is trying to haunt us one at a time. It also looks like it’s hard to detect. But since it’s being so sneaky, it’s likely that it’s not very strong.”

“Don’t take that for granted.”

Nora rebuked.

“Just because it hasn’t attacked it doesn’t mean that it’s weak. We’re not in a gate where we know the level of the entities that we’re dealing with. We could very well be dealing with a high-class anomaly.”

High class…

For some reason, I had the sudden urge to lick my lips at the mention of the possibility of there being a high-class anomaly.

The Conductor’s words reverberated in my mind once more as I tightened my grip on the flashlight.

’No, don’t let your thoughts wander. Focus on the task at hand.’

Taking a deep breath, I looked at the others. This time, there truly were only three.

“Since everyone is aware of the situation, I need you all to pay extreme attention to the surroundings. We’ve already trained for this as well. Always make sure to use the methods that we practiced if you’re unsure of the identity of the person before you.”

I secretly patted myself on the back while speaking.

’I’m glad we thought of this scenario beforehand and trained around it.’

I knew that something like this was bound to come. Of course, all of the other Guilds were no different. They probably had their own means.

But that wasn’t important.

What was important was getting to the bottom of this situation and also learn more about this place.

“Let’s not waste any more time.”

Tightening my grip over the flashlight, I continued to move head deeper into the tunnel. At the same time, I took out the familiar compass while mumbling inside of my mind, ’Lead me to the path where I can find clues about this place.’

The compass spun rapidly.

It continued to spin for a few seconds before eventually settling ahead.

The tunnel stretched for what felt like an eternity, but eventually, I found myself standing before a metallic door. Its surface was dull and worn, faint scratches and rust lining its edges as it loomed quietly in front of me.

’The compass is leading here.’

I reached for the handle and pulled.

The metal groaned under the strain, the sound grating in the silence. Rust cracked and flaked away from the hinges, sprinkling down onto the floor as the door slowly gave in.

Beyond it was a dim stairwell.

A narrow flight of spiraling stairs curved downward into darkness, the steps faintly illuminated by the edge of my torchlight.

“This should lead to the lower floor.”

I turned to look behind me.

The beam of my torch swept across their faces, catching in their eyes and making them gleam faintly in the dimness. They stood close together, waiting for a decision.

“I’ll check out the lower floor first,” I said quietly, keeping my voice steady. “Once it’s clear, you come down. Make sure nothing gets past you, alright?”

My gaze lingered on each of them for a second longer, making sure they understood. Then I tightened my grip on the torch and turned back toward the spiraling stairs.

Step. Step—

Moving down the stairs, the darkness embraced me from all directions as the sound of my steps bounced off from all sides, echoing loudly as I continued to move down in silence.

I kept going until the faint glow from above disappeared completely, and the others were no longer visible.

Only then did I stop.

I pressed my foot firmly against the step beneath me, the dull clang resounding through the hollow space.

Tilting my head slightly, I tapped on the camera in my chest before speaking.

“Come out.”

A long shadow stretched out beside me, cast against the curved wall of the stairwell.

Its presence pressed in immediately, the air shifting under its appearance. Slowly, it shifted closer, and under the faint beam of my torch, I caught the outline of a face.

Its lips curled upward in quiet amusement.

Thin stitches lined the corners of its mouth, barely visible in the dim light, tugging at the skin as it smiled wider.

“What do you think?”

I spoke, my expression calm as I quietly took out a white mask and stared at it.

“…From the start, it’s like it’s been toying with me. It’s like I’m making every decision it wants while I can’t do anything about it, left only to helplessly hope that it’s weak. I… don’t really like this. No, I don’t.”

Something tingled in my chest as I stared at it.

’Ha… HaHAhaHA.’

A quiet laughter rang inside my ears.

My head twitched slightly as my vision started to turn red at the same time.

Spurt—

The sound of blood spilling echoed inside my mind.

“If I turn, I can go all out. I can hunt it down. But there will be consequences.”

Holding the mask, I looked at the Conductor and muttered, “It’s already started…”

I clenched my teeth.

“The temptation.”

It was gnawing at my chest.

“What should I do?”

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