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

Chapter 683: Walking Disasters [3]

While she and Seth were changing, Soran had been given general information on who to watch out for and who seemed to be the most dangerous within the laboratory. From what she understood, the person she was most likely to encounter in Sector 3 was the security captain, who appeared to be rather strong.

Seeing him standing before her, completely unaffected by the ‘Time Freeze,’ Soran couldn’t help herself.

She started to smile.

This…

‘I really am rusty. I don’t know how to feel about this. Oh, dear~’

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Soran remained largely unconcerned, even going so far as to make small talk.

“You’re right on time.”

She tapped the glass separating her from Rowan’s sister.

“Be a dear and open this door for me. I’m only going to grab her real quick and leave.”

“…..”

The captain didn’t say much else, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her intently. Feeling his intense gaze, Soran’s brows furrowed in response. For a brief moment, a trace of disgust flashed across her features.

“I’ve made a commitment to someone else. No other man will enter my⎯”

She was never able to finish her words. Halfway through her sentence, the security captain moved. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what appeared to be a gun and immediately fired several shots in her direction.

BANG! BANG!

The sound exploded in all directions as Soran remained where she stood. Reaching forward, she lightly tapped the air, causing the bullets to freeze in place before her.

Her head tilted.

“Sentinel? Hunter? Hmm.”

She began to muse, trying to figure out the security captain’s decree as his body disappeared from her sight.

Soran blinked as she looked around, unable to spot any trace of him anywhere.

That quickly changed a moment later as he appeared to her right, gun pointed right at her waist.

BANG!

Soran raised her hand to block the bullet, but to her surprise, it came from the opposite direction.

“…Oh.”

Realizing that she had been tricked, Soran didn’t panic.

Time froze between the two of them as she stepped forward, barely dodging the bullet. She attempted to follow up with an attack of her own, but the captain seemed capable of moving through her time freeze.

In the next instant, he raised his gun and pointed it directly at her face.

“Wow!”

Soran exclaimed in surprise, but since the start, her eyes were always focused on the security captain. Never once did she pay particular attention to the bullet or gun. It was almost as if the captain was all she could see.

BANG!

The bullet shot forward, racing toward Soran’s forehead as she found herself unable to move in time.

Everything moved so fast that it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to stop the bullet even with her abilities.

But just as the bullet was about to reach her forehead, she snapped her fingers, causing it to freeze in midair.

Though somewhat surprised, the captain was quick to react, repositioning himself once more to shoot at her.

Or at least, he tried to.

To his utter shock, his body moved on its own, retreating alongside the bullet as it traveled backward through the air, all the way back into the barrel of his gun.

Shortly after, the captain’s gun lowered as his body moved backward. He repeated the same motions he had taken to reach that point, his eyes widening in shock before he nearly screamed, “Time Reversal?!”

“Bingo!”

Soran smiled as her hand reached toward him. Already aware of where he was going to move, she grabbed him by the neck and winked at him.

“You didn’t say it, but you didn’t have to~”

Soran teased as her lips pulled into a gentle smile.

“Like this skill of mine?”

***

Tik! Tik!

Time ticked like usual.

I tossed the vial in my hand and got out of the room.

Entering the familiar corridor, I counted each step in my mind, taking note of the time while keeping my thoughts clear of any distractions.

‘One, two, three, four, five, six…’

Once I reached a certain count, I came to a complete stop as the sound of numerous footsteps echoed ahead. The corridor opened into a T-junction, with the main corridor stretching beyond it.

That was where I needed to go, but it was currently filled with people.

Their footsteps overlapped into a constant stream of noise, making it clear that crossing now would be impossible without being noticed.

But I already understood this.

A dark figure appeared right before me.

“…..”

The Realmwalker didn’t say anything as it stared at me, but I could practically feel its death glare.

I dismissively waved my hand.

‘Come on, just die a few more times. I’ll pay you back later.’

The Realmwalker’s hand shot forward, reaching for my neck, but I swatted it away before pointing toward the distant corridor. It paused for a moment, its attention shifting in the direction I indicated and then back to me.

It really did seem like it wanted to strangle me. So much that its entire body started to shake.

But eventually, it did as I asked.

That’s right, run.

Run like the meat shield that you⎯

Ehm.

After a brief look my way, it turned and began running in the opposite direction at full speed, its footsteps rapidly fading into the distance.

Its actions immediately grabbed the guards’ attention, prompting a series of shouts from down the corridor. Their voices rang through the corridor as they dashed in the direction of the Realmwalker.

“It’s headed down Corridor 117 and is moving straight toward the end of Sector 2! Guards stationed in Corridors 118 and 119, block all possible retreat routes!”

One of the guards shouted, his voice echoing through the corridor as the alarm was quickly relayed to the others.

“Hurry!”

They didn’t waste a second and organized themselves quickly.

I pressed my back against the wall and waited patiently as the guards rushed past the main corridor before turning right. They completely missed me as I remained where I was, my gaze never leaving the watch on my wrist.

Even as their footsteps faded into the distance, I kept my eyes fixed on it, calmly counting down the seconds.

‘Ten more seconds.’

One, two, three…

I counted quietly in my mind. Eventually, another series of footsteps echoed through the corridors, moving past the main corridor before turning right in pursuit of the Realmwalker and the other groups.

The sound gradually faded into the distance, leaving the area far quieter than before. Only then did I step around the corner and make my way toward the main corridor.

‘Should I call them careless, or is this all because of Luck Halo?’

It wasn’t like I was hiding all that well, but with everyone’s attention fixed on the Realmwalker, nobody thought of looking my way.

‘Probably the Luck Halo~’

I counted each step carefully in my mind, matching the count to the time displayed on my watch.

Every second accounted for as I made my way down the corridor. Eventually, I reached the room I had been aiming for. Without hesitation, I reached for the handle, opened the door just enough to slip through, and quietly stepped inside before easing it shut behind me.

Not long after, more footsteps followed as several figures moved past where I was.

“Over here! Cut through this section! Make sure to trap it completely!”

I waited for the sounds to fade completely, listening until the last traces of footsteps and distant voices disappeared into silence.

Only then did I leave the room and continue on my way. Moving at the same pace as before, I made my way toward Sector 1, passing through the corridors without drawing any attention.

A short while later, I finally crossed into the sector and stepped inside.

Sector 1 wasn’t much different from the other sectors, but if I had to make one observation, it was that it felt far more deserted. There were noticeably fewer rooms compared to the other sectors, and the corridors themselves seemed quieter.

‘Then again, a lot of the guards did move away to chase after the Realm⎯’

Ah.

I reached for my head, feeling a sudden sharp pain.

‘…It’s dead.’

My left eye twitched as I continued ahead.

Various signs and terminals lined the halls, giving the impression that this was a place where information was gathered, stored, and managed rather than where active operations were carried out.

“This should be the place.”

I stopped before a certain door, with a metal plaque by the side that read [Dr. Veyra]

I immediately reached for the handle.

But⎯

Click!

It was locked.

“…..”

I wasn’t surprised by this. This much was within my expectations as I closed my eyes and thought about my next steps.

“Okay, I can do this. Right, I should be able to.’

This was more out of encouragement than anything else.

I brought my hand toward the keylock, my second node churning as I activated [Trait Transfer]. A dark film immediately spread across my entire hand, coating it in a thin, shifting layer of black.

“⎯⎯!”

The moment it appeared, a sharp wave of pain surged through my body.

My knees nearly gave out beneath me, and for an instant, I felt as though I might collapse right there in front of the door. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to endure it, refusing to let the pain interrupt what I was doing.

The dark film slowly extended from my fingertips and slipped into the keyhole.

Like a living substance, it flowed through the mechanism and spread across the components hidden inside, coating every part of the lock’s interior as it worked its way deeper.

The entire process took less than a second as I turned the key and the door unlocked.

Click!

“Ukhe…!”

I canceled the skill almost immediately, but the damage had already been done.

The backlash hit me instantly, sending violent spasms through my entire body. Pain tore through every nerve, and warm blood began to trickle from my nostrils and ears.

Drip! Drip!

Fighting to stay conscious, I forced myself to reach for the handle and push the door open.

My vision blurred, and every movement felt heavier than the last, but I staggered inside nonetheless.

With the last of my strength, I pulled the door shut behind me.

Clank!

The moment it clicked closed, whatever was keeping me upright gave way. My legs buckled beneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor in a heap, blood staining the ground as my head continued to feel as though it was being split open.

It had never been this bad.

For several moments, all I could do was lie there, struggling to endure the aftermath.

“….!!”

The pain was so sharp that I didn’t even have it within me to scream or say anything. The only thing I could do was lie on the floor, spasming endlessly.

And to make matters even worse⎯

Clank!

The door opened again only moments later, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Through my blurred vision, I saw a figure step inside.

The hem of a white robe fluttered gently as he moved.

I couldn’t make out the details of his face in my current state, but I knew exactly who he was as he paused just beyond the doorway, looking down at me where I lay sprawled across the floor, blood still seeping from my nose and ears.

“Well.”

His smile still reached me despite the blurry mess that was my vision.

“…Looks like I’ve found the rat.”