Chapter 462: The one to kill the Jester [7] - Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Tzzz—! Tzzz—!

A faint, whispering static murmured through my mind, subtle yet insistent, like an old, worn-down TV.

Accompanying the static were certain voices.

’...What do you make of the situation?’

’I don’t know. He’s still unconscious for now. His condition isn’t very great.’

’But are you certain he had nothing to do with the situation?’

’I don’t know. I really don’t know... The entire situation is fucked up in more ways than you can imagine. Nobody can really tell what the hell is going on. Just let the Bureau sort out the situation. We’re just here to escort him there.’

’Alright.’

They whispered in and out of my consciousness.

I could hear the words, but I couldn’t quite make sense of them. They simply went from one ear to another.

Despite this, I was keenly aware of my surroundings.

From the subtle roar of the engine to the bumps that it would take from time to time. I was currently being brought away somewhere. Most likely by those from the Bureau to question me.

Despite being fairly sure of this, it was all a guess.

After all, I couldn’t see a single thing.

I wasn’t quite in control of my body. My vision was dark, and I could tell that my body was not in the greatest of condition.

I—

DING—!

A familiar notification sounded within the darkness.

Hm?

What followed was a series of notifications.

[Escape!]

[Quest Completed]

[Calculating Rewards...]

Catching sight of them, I felt the darkness recede. But only for a short moment as a series of new notifications appeared.

[Calculation was met with unexpected variables. Re-evaluation Quest completion.]

[Quest requirement... Escape! Avoid the body getting taken over by Demon Dantalion.]

[Task complet—]

[Error!]

[Quest requirement... Escape! Avoid the body getting taken over by Demon Dantalion.]

[Recalculating!]

[Task complet—]

[Error!]

[Quest requirement... Escape! Avoid the body getting taken over by Demon Dantalion.]

[Recalculating!]

[Task complet—]

[Error!]

The notifications were endless.

The moment one notification arrived, a series of new notifications arrived. They were relentless, growing faster and faster with each subsequent notification.

’What’s...?’

I stared at the numerous notifications in confusion, but at the same time, I wasn’t surprised by what was happening. Thinking about what I had done, I could see why there were so many error messages.

The way that I had completed the mission...

It wasn’t quite what the system wanted me to do.

[Error!]

But staring at the numerous error messages, I started to wonder if there was going to be an end to this. After hesitating for a moment, I tried to move towards the notifications, but the moment I attempted to do so, the notifications came to an abrupt stop.

DING!

A loud chime followed shortly after.

And soon, a new notification appeared. One that was different from the [Error] messages from before.

[Why?]

This time, the system was communicating with me directly.

’.....’

Staring at the notification floating before my eyes, I basked in the silence around me. The silence felt nice after all the chaos that had just occurred. At least, that was until a new notification disrupted that very silence.

[...Why?]

Yet again, the same notification.

Knowing that this would repeat over and over again, I decided to speak.

"For a system that has been with me for quite some time, I’m surprised that you don’t know the answer. I thought I had made it clear from the start."

No, not just the start...

"Even towards the end. I’m sure I told you the reason."

I simply didn’t want to be used.

I didn’t like the feeling of getting used. I didn’t like going along with the whims of someone or something that I didn’t know, like some sort of puppet. It was for this reason that I did things my way.

...And thankfully, it all worked out.

"Still, I’ve got to thank you. At the end of the day, it’s still because of you that I managed to succeed."

I had long been aware of the ’doppelgänger’ that the system used on certain occasions. Of course, this wasn’t surprising. The ’doppelgänger’ never tried to hide its existence from me, nor anyone else within the Guild.

That was also how I was certain that it wasn’t an anomaly.

Had the ’doppelgänger’ been an anomaly, it would’ve been found out regardless of how good its disguise was. In that sense, I was certain that it really couldn’t be a proper anomaly.

In that case...?

A copy.

The

doppelgänger

was an exact copy of me.

A copy of me belonging to a certain ’time’.

"There is, after all, no reassurance quite as nice as knowing a flawless duplicate of my own body stands ready at my beck and call, ready for me to take over once my previous body deteriorates beyond any hope of repair. It... made matters considerably easier for me, you see?"

It was also the main reason why I went all out. Why I held no regard for what I did. Why I chose to let cognitive shard take over.

Because I knew that, regardless of what I did, there was a perfect copy of me that I could take over.

The system wanted me to run... Figure things out until later for a new quest.

But I didn’t want to run. I wanted to go to a point beyond that.

I... wanted to eliminate the demon while I had the chance!

"Knowing full well that the demon would come back to bite me later down the road, I chose to end things quickly. Especially since I knew full well that this would be the best chance for me to do so. Am I wrong for doing so?"

The demon needed a proper vessel to use its power.

That was my original body.

Without the vessel, it could hardly display its true abilities. Even when it took Kyle’s body, it needed time to completely take over. Had things gone the way the system had planned, things would’ve progressed to a very annoying degree.

I simply decided to get rid of future trouble in advance.

"...If you ask me, I deserve a better award than what you were originally planning on giving me. I also know that you’ve taken the demon somewhere. I do not know where you’ve taken the demon, but whatever the case is, it’s all my credit."

Staring at the floating notification in the darkness, I watched as the darkness clung to it like some sort of mist.

"Do you not think that’s the case?"

Silence.

My words seemed to drift listlessly in the darkness as the notification remained floating before my very eyes. I waited patiently, expecting some sort of response, but... the response never arrived.

Eventually, the darkness swallowed the notification away.

’We’re here.’

’...Get several agents to wait outside. We don’t know what might happen. Its best to be cautious.’

’Yes, of course.’

Voices drifted from the background as the sound of the engine stopped.

It was in that same moment that I felt the darkness deepen, growing thicker and heavier as it seeped into every corner of my vision, until at last it reached out and settled upon me. I didn’t reject it.

Instead, I let it consume me as my consciousness started to slip.

’He still looks to be unconscious.’

’Let him be. Let’s bring him inside first. We can figure things out later.’

’Yes.’

The voices grew fainter in my head. To the point where they almost felt like whispers as my entire vision turned black.

...Or at least, that was until one more notification arrived.

One that I had been expecting.

Ding—!

: [Basic Node: Containment Vessel Activated!]

<B> Ranked Spirit: Kyle.