I Think I’m a Horror Game Villain - Chapter 129

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Chapter 129

“Don’t… go… Rose.”

“Rose… stay… here…”

“Rooooose…”

Shapeless, inky masses surged forward like a tide.

“No! Stay away!” Rose shrieked with each undulation of the shadowy forms. Normally, Dekir would have winced at such a shrill sound, but today, he found himself strangely pleased. He could endure a hundred such screams, maybe more. This shift in his mood had a single, simple cause: Rose, quite unintentionally, had brought him and Heyna closer.

Dekir trusted Heyna. He believed she wouldn’t abandon him for Rose’s nonsensical ramblings. Yet, a sliver of doubt lingered in his heart. Cracks, after all, begin with the smallest of suspicions. Rose had obliterated that doubt in a single stroke.

Of course, this was the furthest thing from Rose’s intention. She had tried to warn Heyna about Dekir, painting him as dangerous. But Rose’s words lacked the finesse to convey the suspicion she felt. She had inadvertently done Dekir a favor.

‘This foolish woman has brought Heyna and me closer.’

A smile tugged at Dekir’s lips, and he bit back the urge to laugh. Laughing while being chased by phantom creatures would make him appear mad, or worse, suspicious.

‘How much longer must we run?’

The nightmare apparitions, born from Rose’s dream, pursued only their creator. They posed no threat to those who had entered the dream. Feigning fear while being chased by these inconsequential specters was becoming tedious.

Heyna, Dekir, and Rose continued to circle the ballroom, unable to find an exit.

“Rose… don’t… go…”

“It’s… dan… ger… ous…”

“Out… side… scary…”

The shadowy figures grew more grotesque with each passing moment. One elongated its neck like a serpent, a forked tongue flicking from its gaping maw. Another dragged an abnormally long, twisted arm across the floor, leaving a trail of an unidentifiable black fluid.

“Heyna, don’t they seem… bigger?” Rose whispered, her voice laced with fear. As if in answer, the shadowy figures began to multiply. This increase was a product of Rose’s imagination. This was her dream, a realm shaped by her thoughts.

The distorted forms of the apparitions stemmed from Rose’s memories of the ghosts she had encountered in Clarence Manor. Her deepest nightmares fueled these phantoms.

“Rose…”

“Rose… Rose… Rose…”

“Rose… Liverton!”

A chorus of voices, each distorted and unsettling, called out to Rose like a broken radio. She covered her ears, her face ashen.

“Stop it! Make it stop!” But her pleas went unanswered. Instead, the chanting intensified.

‘This will never end like this.’ The solution was surprisingly simple: Rose, the dreamer, had to will the apparitions away.

‘I wish Heyna would realize this.’

***

The three of them huddled beneath a tablecloth-draped table, catching their breath after narrowly evading the phantoms. Heyna’s forehead glistened with perspiration. The heavy dress and the frantic run had clearly taken their toll.

‘What should I do?’ Dekir pondered. Should he use his abilities to guide Heyna, or wait for her to discover the solution herself? Both Heyna and Rose were exhausted, unlikely to notice even if he manipulated the system window right in front of them. He could give Heyna the answer at any moment, but…

‘I’ll wait a little longer.’ Heyna would find the answer. He loved her resilience, the way she blossomed even in the harshest conditions. He would give her the time she needed to find her own way.

‘A small hint wouldn’t hurt, though. Just enough to make her rely on me a little more.’

Dekir knew Heyna already relied on him. Knowing he had become her support filled him with a profound sense of satisfaction. Now, when she struggled, he could be there to comfort her.

“Dekir has become someone precious to me, someone I can’t do without,” Heyna’s words echoed in his mind. Someone precious and indispensable. What a beautiful sentiment. But it wasn’t enough.

‘More than this…’ He craved more.

‘Want me more, Heyna.’ He yearned to be even more essential to her.

Just as Dekir was about to offer a subtle hint, Heyna spoke.

“Rose, don’t you think… you can make them disappear?”