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

Chapter 554: Bits and Pieces [3]

My body screamed with pain.

I wasn’t even able to react before I was suddenly thrown to the side of the wall. The impact left my shoulder aching, and for a moment, I lost concentration, resulting in the others similarly falling.

"Ukh... What the hell is happening?"

"...W-what grabbed onto me?"

I could understand their confusion. With the surroundings being dark, they couldn’t see a single thing. They were also not aware of my powers and, as such, were thrown off by how I had grabbed them and made them rush ahead.

To make matters worse, nobody knew exactly what we were dealing with.

"I... don’t know either, but we... have to get out of this place as fast as possible. Indigo."

I forced myself up, palms scraping against the damp floor as I pushed through the ache in my shoulder.

I reached out again, shadows gathering at my fingertips, ready to latch onto the others so we could keep moving.

But I was too late.

Nora’s body jerked upward without warning, as if seized by something. She was ripped off the ground and hurled into the air, slamming hard against the ceiling above. The impact echoed brutally through the corridor before she dropped back down.

BANG!

"Akh!"

Her scream tore through the surroundings as Mia hurriedly rushed in her direction.

"Nora!"

She lunged forward without hesitation, water splashing wildly beneath her boots as she rushed toward her.

But she barely made it halfway.

Something caught onto her mid-stride.

".....!"

Her body snapped backward as if hooked by something invisible. At the same time, another door along the corridor burst open with a brutal crash.

CLANK!

The darkness inside surged outward.

"Hiik! N-no!"

Mia was dragged toward it, boots scraping helplessly against the flooded floor as whatever held her tried to force her into the gaping black.

The situation was dire.

The moment I saw Mia being dragged, I reacted without thinking.

I lunged toward her, arm outstretched, shadows already gathering at my fingertips.

But just as I was about to reach her, something clamped down on my shoulder.

"——!"

The grip was incredibly strong as it yanked me backward. My body jerked violently as I was pulled away from her, boots scraping uselessly across the waterlogged floor as Mia’s body got dragged into the door.

No!

But just as Mia’s body was about to disappear into the doorway, Nora reacted.

With a desperate burst of strength, she twisted mid drag and drove her shoulder hard against the door. The impact echoed sharply through the corridor. The door slammed shut with a violent bang, cutting off the darkness that had been pulling Mia inside.

BANG!

The force holding Mia vanished instantly.

Thud!

Her body dropped to the flooded floor, water splashing outward as she hit.

She lay there for a second, breathing hard, chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to steady herself.

"T-The doors..."

Nora muttered, her voice hoarse as she looked around the darkness, struggling to see properly.

"We... need to close the doors."

CLANK! CLANK—!

Not even a second after she spoke, the muffled sound of doors bursting open echoed from the distance as an invisible pressure seemed to rush towards us.

’Oh, fuck!’

There was no time for me to think.

My body reacted before my thoughts could catch up.

My node churned violently within me as I adjusted my glasses with a quick motion, forcing my focus to sharpen. My gaze locked onto every open doorway lining the corridor.

Then I moved.

Dark wires burst from my hands, snapping outward like living tendrils. They streaked through the air in multiple directions at once, racing toward each door with precision, slicing through the darkness as they shot forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I did not know if the force in each wire would be enough to slam the doors shut.

I did not know if they would even hold.

And I did not care.

There was no time to calculate, no room for doubt. I poured everything I could into them and shouted urgently, my voice cutting through the chaos as my feet started to move.

"Let’s go! The trapdoor is closed! We should be fine once we reach the exit!"

I had already ordered the Realmwalker to open the trapdoor. The only thing that we needed to do was leave this place. As long as we left, I was certain that we’d be safe.

Therefore...

"Run!"

I shouted, my legs moving as I looked behind me, making sure everyone was following my voice.

"Run!"

I shouted again, my voice echoing harshly through the corridor.

Water splashed wildly beneath my boots as I braced myself. My node churned violently as I felt something pull at the wires.

It was overwhelming.

Enough to make my mind go blank for just a moment, only to be brought back by the pain.

The dark threads quivered and strained, pulled tight as a brutal force slammed against them from the other side. I felt the backlash directly, like something massive was trying to tear my control apart piece by piece.

The wires trembled violently, on the verge of snapping, as I forced more power into them and held my ground.

’Not yet. Almost there! Almost there! Almost there!’

Through the blue hue of my vision, the darkness wasn’t a problem as I saw everything clearly. I moved without hesitation, sidestepping debris and the loose metal wires.

Then I saw it.

Metal rungs embedded into the wall, climbing straight toward a trapdoor above.

My eyes lit up instantly.

"We’re here! Hurry! Hurr—Ukeh!"

A sickly sweet sensation rose at the back of my throat the instant the wires snapped.

The recoil hit me violently. But above all, I also heard it. The faint but unmistakable cracking from deep within my node.

’S-shit!’

Pain flared sharply through my chest as I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before falling.

Then the temperature dropped.

The air turned frigid in a heartbeat, and an overwhelming pressure surged from behind us. It barreled down the corridor at terrifying speed, crushing the space in its path as it rushed toward us.

"Squad Leader!"

"...Squad Leader, are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

By now, light poured down from above. The trapdoor had been forced open by the Realmwalker, and pale illumination spilled into the corridor, cutting through the darkness at last.

The others could see clearly now.

"Go!"

I barked, waving them past me.

They did not hesitate. Although their faces were hesitant, they knew me well by now. They understood not to question my orders and just follow. One by one, they rushed toward the ladder as I turned back to face the oncoming pressure.

I forced my node to keep functioning despite the cracks I could feel within it. The strain intensified immediately. A black film spiraled around my arm, thickening as it rotated faster and faster before surging outward.

It expanded in front of us, spreading wide and solidifying into a massive black wall just as the rushing force closed in.

"Quickly go—Ukh!"

BANG!

The wall shook, nearly sending me back as I glanced over my shoulder.

The others were already on the ladder, hands gripping the metal rungs as they climbed quickly toward the open trapdoor above. Light from the surface framed their silhouettes, casting long shadows down the wall.

Thankfully, all three of them moved with no issues, reaching the top rather quickly as they climbed up.

At the same time, they extended a rope down for me to grab.

"Squad Leader!"

"...Okay!"

BANG!

The wall trembled violently.

Then it shattered.

The impact tore through me at the same time. A metallic taste flooded my mouth, and for a split second, I thought I was going to vomit blood. My vision wavered as the backlash rippled through my already fractured node.

But I did not stop.

I forced my legs to move and sprinted forward, reaching for the rope hanging from above.

Behind me, the pressure roared closer, tearing through the corridor with unstoppable momentum. The air screamed in my ears as every hair on my body stood up.

It was right behind me.

My head dashed forward, reaching for the rope.

But just as I was about to grab it, something grabbed onto my shoulder.

"——!"

A voice followed.

"On second thought, I think you should stay here. Don’t blame me. I think it’ll be really interesting."

The force pulled me back as the darkness closed in on me, grabbing me from all directions.

"Squad Leader!"

"Squad Leader...!"

As the muffled screams of my team echoed, the last thing I managed to see was the twisted smile on the Conductor’s face as it waved at me.

This motherfuc—!!!