Chapter 388: Interference [3]

The cold chill within the room intensified.

Theodore felt the grasp at the back of his neck intensify, his breathing growing heavier with each passing second.

"Y-you..."

His mind raced, all sorts of thoughts crossing his mind.

’What’s going on? What’s happening...? Why is this happening?!’

It felt as though his entire body had been plunged into the depths of the ocean, sinking deeper and deeper as the pressure closed in and the cold gnawed at him from every direction.

"I... I..."

"This was the last thing that I wanted to do."

The cold voice whispered in the air once more, the grip over the CEO’s neck tightening further, almost causing him to squirm in pain.

"I kept telling myself that I could’ve resolved this amicably. That’s so long as my new game comes out, I’d be able to resolve everything. But..."

The voice stopped, and the chill spreading across the room intensified.

But that wasn’t what grabbed the CEO’s attention.

No...

It was his words.

New Game?

His mind reeled, and realization dawned on him.

"It’s... you!"

His gaze fell on the glass plane of his cupboard once more, and it was there that he realized the shadow that had appeared behind him had changed completely, turning into a figure he knew all too well.

The previous fear that he had been experiencing faded.

"What the hell are you doing!? Do you know that this is assault!? I’ve got cameras arranged here! You’re done! I’m telling you that you’re don—"

"Q... quiet."

Seth’s voice came out hoarser.

Something about his tone felt off, and the CEO picked it up immediately.

’Is he sick?’

His voice...

It didn’t sound normal.

It sounded like someone who was sick with a cold.

Whatever the case was, he was no longer scared. This was the pushover, Seth! He knew that this was all just for show. He was probably trying to threaten him with some sort of bullshit ability he had learned at the Guild.

Ha!

As if he’d be scared of something like this.

’Just wait until I report you to the BUA. I’ll make sure to end your career in the Guild industry as well!’

Twitch. Twich.

With a sudden twitch of his head, Seth stared at the CEO.

He could almost sense what the CEO was thinking, and his grip over the back of his neck started to loosen up.

Feeling this, the CEO smirked.

’I knew it! He’s all bark and no bite! A pushover until the end!!’

Seth’s grip over the CEO continued to loosen until he eventually fully let go of the CEO’s neck. He moved away shortly after.

"...It looks like you’ve finally come to your senses."

Feeling the grip disappear completely, the CEO adjusted his clothes and stood up straight once more, his lips pulling into a smirk.

"I’m sure you’ve realized just how badly you fucked up with all of this. How about this...? I’ll make a deal with you. Give me the programs and I won’t report you to the BUA for what you’ve done?"

He only mentioned the BUA because he had already noted in his mind that he was going to make sure that Seth would never step into the gaming industry.

This was the price he had to pay for crossing the line.

’But who am I kidding? I’ll also make sure he gets reported to the BUA.’

The CEO was no kind person.

He wasn’t going to let anyone who had crossed him live. This was so that he could avoid any future trouble.

Adjusting his clothes, he turned around to face Seth.

"Let me make it clear. This is the last chance that I’ll give to someone like yo—"

The moment he turned around, however, the smile wiped off his face and his expression changed.

Greeting him behind him wasn’t anything scary.

No monster, or anything of the sort.

However...

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

Staring into those lifeless, hollow eyes, the CEO felt his heart begin to race. He couldn’t explain why, but the longer he looked, the weaker he felt, his breathing turning shallow and uneven as a creeping dread took hold of him.

"S-so... I..."

He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat.

All he could see were the pair of hollow eyes that were so focused on him.

Something about them made his heart pound, and before he realized it, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he instinctively took a step back.

But...

Thud!

His own desk stopped him from moving further.

"..."

Seth’s gaze remained locked onto the CEO. From start to finish, he didn’t say a single word, but it was that silence that made the CEO feel more and more uncomfortable.

"You.. heard me, right? I wil... make sure that nothing will happen so... long as you hand the programs to me. I c-can have this written on paper. How about it?"

"....."

No response.

The CEO started to sweat bullets.

"I... I can also promise you that I won’t report you to the BUA. I’ll promise you that... D-do you need that written on paper?"

"....."

Yet again, no response.

The CEO’s back was now entirely drenched in sweat.

"O-okay."

He licked his lips, which had grown entirely dry.

"I’ll... forget about this entire accident and even stop Dock from blocking you. T-that should be good enough, right? E-either way, it was never going to be permanent. I could’ve only blocked it for a week at most. Ha... ha."

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

The CEO retreated on his own terms each time he spoke.

Although Seth didn’t do anything at all and just stood in silence, something about his current presence brought chills to the CEO’s body as he swallowed nervously and tried his best to make Seth happy.

At this very moment...

The CEO was keenly aware of one thing.

’If I don’t please him, he’ll kill me! He’ll really kill me!’

Those lifeless and soulless eyes...

Having dealt with horror games his entire life, the CEO was keenly aware of anomalies and what the Guilds had to deal with. He had gone over multiple times in order to do research on the monsters, and... at this very moment, Seth was giving off the very same feeling.

Standing before him wasn’t a human, but an anomaly in itself.

An extremely powerful and eerie one at that.

".....!!"

The chills running down the CEO’s body intensified, and just as his lips parted once more in an attempt to appease the man standing before him, Seth’s lips finally parted open.

"I... am not the one you should apologize to."

His voice was even hoarser than before, grating even.

The CEO felt the air get squeezed out of his lungs as he tried to make sense of the words.

"Not... apologize to you?"

Huh?

But then... Who should he apologize to?

Who did he offend besides Seth?

Who did h—

".....!!!!"

Something brushed against the CEO’s face, making his entire body seize up. If the pressure in the room had felt suffocating before, it now turned icy, sinking into his skin. He couldn’t move, every muscle locked in place, as a thin, cold hand settled on his shoulder.

And then—

Flick!

His computer suddenly turned on.

Da Daaa!

A tune followed right after as a cold and grating voice followed, a head moving next to the CEO’s shoulder.

"Me."