A Horror Game Steeped in Immorality - Volume 2 - Part 8
I lifted the lantern higher. The walls were entirely splattered with blood. Closing my eyes briefly against the sight of long blood trails that looked like something had been dragged against the wall, I forced myself to look again.
“It’s okay, it’s just a game… Even though there’s no reset, it hurts when you’re hit, and you get out of breath from running too long.”
The realism made it difficult to acknowledge it as just a game. My body, consumed by fear, instinctively cursed. I should have been suspicious of the alarmingly high level of freedom before downloading the game!
But it was too late for regrets. Even if I could go back in time with these memories, I would have likely been tempted again by the claim that it was a contender for Game of the Year (GOTY).
Pushing back the urge to cry, I forced my frozen feet to move. The thick blood on the floor made a chilling sound as it stuck to the soles of my shoes.
“S-System…”
[Yes, miss.]
“Is…Is the murderer active today?”
[Today the murderer is inactive. You may proceed with your mission comfortably.]
“Like it’s some weather forecast… anyways, thanks.”
I let out a sigh of relief, easing the anxiety that had reached the tip of my hair. But then, a problem arose. The damned lantern’s light began to dim as if it would go out soon—I should have known when I found it in the storeroom.
Creak, creak, creak, creak.
Following the corridor, I turned, navigating through the mansion of the Albert family, which boasted dozens of windows in every building. Usually, curtains were drawn back to let in the moonlight and sunlight, but today, possibly due to the mission, they were all closed. Hoping for even a sliver of moonlight’s assistance, I forcefully opened the curtains that had been shut.
“…Ah, ah!”
Crash! The lamp slipped from my grasp and rolled across the blood-soaked floor as I fell backward, screaming in terror.
Outside the window, a pale man with his throat slit was staring directly at me, his eyes bulging. His pupils were obscured by a white haze, and his severed neck dangled grotesquely.
“AAAAHH…”
An extreme fear wrapped around my entire body. Beeep– A piercing tinnitus drilled into my eardrums, and my vision swayed as if I were drunk. Thick sweat droplets cascaded down from my temples to my chin.
The touch of a sweat droplet on my forearm snapped me back to reality. For a moment, everything felt surreal, as if time had devoured my senses. When I blinked, crimson tears of blood streamed down from the severed head’s eyes. I quickly turned away from the corpse.
“…Sh*t, nearly peed myself!”
To overcome the fear penetrating deep into my bones, I forced myself to speak as if nothing was wrong, though what threat does a cat pose to a tiger, even with its fur bristled?
Crawling on my knees, I reached for the lamp, which fortunately hadn’t gone out. Leaning against the blood-streaked wall, I managed to stand up. Though moonlight faintly seeped through the opened window, it somehow felt more sinister than the darkness, prompting me to step back into the shadows.
I didn’t have the courage to open another curtain. Facing that horrifying visage again felt like it might actually make me lose my composure for real. Reaching up to wipe the sweat streaming down my face, I realized my both hands were covered in blood. I clumsily wiped the sweat off with my shoulder and checked the remaining time.
[Mission Time Remaining: 4 hours 51 minutes 02 seconds]
“…What? How did more than an hour pass already?”
Was I so stunned by what I saw at the window that so much time had slipped away? Suddenly feeling anxious, I hurriedly reached for the nearest doorknob and opened it. The lock clicked open, and an overwhelmingly bright light poured in.
“Ugh…”
Blinking away the discomfort, I slowly adjusted to the light. Once my vision cleared, I took a long, deep breath.
“Maybe darkness is better.”
The entire ceiling was adorned with long iron hooks, and the bodies of maids dressed in neat uniforms were densely impaled on them.
Drip, drip…
Blood droplets soaked the black uniforms, endlessly falling to the floor. The sound of water droplets echoed sporadically. Listening too long would surely drive anyone insane.
I entered the room, clenching my teeth to not succumb to fear. But among these numerous torsos, how was I supposed to identify Selena’s specifically?
“There’s no name tag or anything…”
I navigated between the bodies. Touching one of the hanging torsos on the shoulder, it began to spin rapidly.
“Ah! Uh… sorry, sorry.”
Whether it understood my apology or it was just timely, the rotation of the torso gradually slowed as I finished speaking. I couldn’t bring myself to touch the bodies again, so I just visually inspected them. From the side, the cut surfaces of the arms were gruesomely exposed, with bones embedded in circles and blood and flesh oozing out.
Roaming aimlessly within the room without any progress, one particularly decomposed torso caught my eye. Swarms of white maggots roamed over it, and a paralyzing stench of decay wafted through the air.
That’s when the mission tip from the system crossed my mind.
‘2. Selena’s body has been neglected for a long time.’
“This is it!”
I almost hugged the torso in elation but stopped myself just in time, exerting strength from my toes up. But, as the saying goes, out of the frying pan into the fire… another problem arose. I had to take this torso hanging from the hook with me… Hmm. After some thought, I dragged a table chair in front of Selena’s body and stood on it. I held the hook with one hand, stabilizing it to prevent it from swinging, and with the other, I pushed the torso off. The sound of flesh and muscle tearing from the hook was chilling. But, not wanting to go through this horrific experience again, I exerted all my strength to remove the torso.
