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

Chapter 705: Total Chaos [2]

The darkness embraced me.

The bottom half of my face was covered by my hand, elbow propped up on the armrest as I stared into the darkness.

“….”

Within the darkness there was also silence.

A silence I didn’t want interrupted.

‘Heart attack, huh?’

I found that hard to believe. But it wasn’t impossible. Nodes didn’t make a person immune to diseases. One could still suffer from simple things like a heart attack.

But just because it was possible, it didn’t mean that I believed it.

‘He’s either faking it, or someone murdered him.’

In that case, who?

My brow twitched.

Could it be then…?

“….”

The darkness around me seemed to deepen. A certain coldness seeped into my skin as I remained within it.

‘Is this their way of retaliating against me? A way to tell me that just as much as I could send a message, they could do so as well?’

I closed my eyes.

“Right, if that’s the case, this is a pretty good message that they’ve sent.”

But this was only a hypothesis.

Clank!

Light spilled into the room as the door opened, and Kyle’s face appeared. He looked around before finally spotting me.

“I didn’t take you for the brooding type. Did the Guild Master’s death really affect you that much?”

He didn’t let me get a word in.

“…The funeral is about to start. I can see that you’re all dressed up. Everyone is waiting in the lobby, and we’ll be going down soon. The media is already here. When you’re ready, join us in the lobby.”

He closed the door right after.

From the start, he didn’t seem to really want to have a conversation with me.

He just wanted to tell me the situation.

My finger drummed against the table several times.

With the absence of the Guild Master, things had gotten rather complicated for me. To some extent, I no longer felt the leash that was hanging on my neck, but at the same time, I had lost my biggest backer.

Reaching the Sixth Order was going to be much harder now.

“In the end, he was quite useful. It’s really a pity.”

I stood up from my seat, turning to look at the mirror at the end of the room. It was dark, but I could still see as I donned a certain pair of sunglasses.

The suit on my body was still quite loose, but it was the only dark suit that I had. In fact, all of my suits were rather loose. I simply didn’t like tight suits. They made it hard for me to breathe even though I looked less sloppy.

“But since when did I care about such things?”

I smiled to myself whilst heading out of the office and reaching the lobby.

It was as Kyle mentioned.

Everyone was waiting in the lobby, each person dressed in similar dark clothes. From uncertainty regarding the future of the Guild to the sadness of having lost the Guild Leader, the atmosphere was sombre, with hardly anyone saying a word. Leading the group was the Section Chief, and next to him was another person I didn’t know very well, but was familiar with.

Containment Department, Branch Guild Section Chief.

This was probably the first time I’d seen him in person. With long, dark hair that fell around his face and extremely pale skin, he stood out even among the others dressed in dark clothes. There was something almost unnatural about his appearance, making him look like some sort of ghost.

‘From what I’ve been told, he’s been on some sort of important mission, hence why he was never here. I guess the Guild Master’s death finally made him show up here.’

Naturally, even though he was also a Section Chief, being from a branch Guild meant that his position was slightly lower than that of the main Guild’s Section Chief.

“A moment of your attention, everyone.”

Taking a moment to get everyone’s attention, the Section Chief I was used to started giving out instructions.

“All of you should be well aware of the situation around the Guild at the moment. From the uncertainty to the sadness. I’m sure you’re also aware of the numerous reporters outside. If they approach you, please remain quiet and simply follow all instructions. Today is a day for us to mourn someone who has been with us since the beginning. The one who made all of this possible.”

Turning to face the elevator, he continued.

“We’ll be going down in groups. When I call out your name, you are to come forward and head down. The other Section Chiefs and Team Leaders will be waiting down. Like I said, do not talk with the media. Just follow all instructions in silence.

Taking out a clipboard, the Section Chief started calling out names one by one. I thought I’d have to wait a while, but to my surprise, my name was the first one to be called.

“Seth Thorne.”

Numerous eyes fell in my direction.

It was enough to make me feel uncomfortable as I stepped forward, only stopping before the elevator as more names were called.

Zoey, Kyle, Rowan, Catherine, Clara…

The first batch became clear almost immediately.

“You will be the first group to go down. Let me stress this again. Please do not engage with the media and simply follow the instructions. We’re here to mourn the Guild Master.”

He took his gaze away from us, signalling for us to go into the elevator.

The ride down was quiet. Nobody spoke a single word.

Leaning against the back of the elevator, I calmly observed everyone’s expressions. To some extent, I could see that a lot of them were sad. In particular, Zoey. She looked the most depressed out of everyone present.

‘Makes sense considering that he took her in after the incident with her parents.’

Even Kyle looked quite down.

Was I the only one who was indifferent to all of this?

Perhaps.

Ding!

Arriving on the first floor, the elevator doors slid open, and the moment they did, we were greeted by scenes of total chaos.

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!

Shutters that blinded one’s eyes.

“Hey, over here!”

“Look over here! Over here!”

“Quick question! I’m here with Daily News! Give us a moment of your time!”

Voices competing with one another, each trying to be louder and more obnoxious than the last.

The entire place was a mess.

“God damn it! Why are they here? Shouldn’t they be outside?”

Rowan cursed whilst looking at the mess before him.

“It’s hard to walk like this!”

He was right. It truly was hard to walk in these conditions, especially with everyone trying to shove their phones and microphones our way.

There were supposed to be bodyguards who prevented all of this, but where were they?

Where⎯!?

My head flicked back the moment I felt someone reach for my elbow.

I immediately pulled away. Or at least, tried as I turned my head to see a reporter staring at me with a wide smile.

It was a wide and unsettling smile hidden amidst the plain features of hers.

“Did you like it?”

Her voice was quiet, but it reached me clearly.

“…We’re also capable of sending messages, Mr. Thorne.”

Her smile grew more unsettling, her head tilting as her left eye twitched.

“What do you say? Did you like our message?”

Her left eye twitched again. After that, her smile faded into a more natural one as her eyes flickered and her entire demeanour seemed to change.

Then⎯

Her microphone reached for my lips.

“Any comments on that?”