I Think I’m a Horror Game Villain - Chapter 92

Schedule: Monday and Friday

Chapter 92

Wearing the earplugs as instructed blocked out all sound, which, ironically, made me even more anxious. I kept turning around, imagining I heard footsteps that shouldn’t be there.

‘This is unbearable. The silence is making me more nervous.’

I finally pulled out the earplugs.

Shuffle. Shuffle.

The stillness of the hallway amplified the sound of my own footsteps. Each whisper of my slippers against the floor sent shivers down my spine. A cold sweat slicked my hand, gripping the lantern’s faint light like a lifeline.

My mouth went dry with thirst. I quickened my pace, eager to escape the darkness. Why was the hallway so long, the lantern’s light so small and dim?

‘Calm down. It’s okay. It’s just a dark hallway.’

I tried to soothe my racing heart, practically running now.

A sudden chill swept across the back of my neck. At the same time, something thin, like a thread, landed on my arm.

“Aaagh!”

My already taut nerves snapped, and I jumped.

Clang!

The lantern, which I’d been clutching for dear life, shattered on the floor. Thin shards of glass scattered, and the soft yellow light that had been guiding me vanished in an instant.

‘No!’

I crouched down, fumbling on the floor. Slick oil from the broken lantern coated my hand.

“Ow…!”

A sharp pain followed. I must have cut myself on a shard of glass. The wound throbbed, and I felt blood trickling down my hand.
I cradled my injured hand and sniffled.

‘I should have just waited. I shouldn’t have come out.’

The pain in my hand, the suffocating darkness… it all brought tears to my eyes. The oil on my hands smeared the tears that blurred my vision, and I couldn’t wipe them away. The frustration of not even being able to wipe away my tears overwhelmed me, and I burst into sobs.

“I… I don’t want this anymore…”

The fever seemed to have worsened; my forehead felt hot. Tears streamed down my cold cheeks, but my eyes burned.

[Mental Strength decreased by 5.]

I didn’t need to be told! It was true that when you’re physically hurt, your mental strength weakens. Here I was, crying like a child over a broken lantern.

As I stared blankly at the mental strength notification, something caught my eye. …That was…

In the distance, a will-o’-the-wisp-like blue light flickered.

‘A blue light…?’

Suddenly, something flashed in my mind.

4. Guests’ lanterns are yellow. If you encounter a blue lantern in the hallway, immediately return to your room. ‘They’ cannot enter the rooms.

The burning sensation in my head turned icy cold. The blue light was slowly drifting closer.

‘I have to run!’

The darkness was absolute, disorienting. I groped blindly with my hand until I found the wall.

Thud. Thud.

Heavy footsteps echoed in my ears. The footsteps, along with the blue light, drew steadily nearer.
‘My room! I have to find my room.’

The guidebook said ‘they’ couldn’t enter the rooms.

I scrambled along the wall, one hand outstretched, searching for a door.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The footsteps quickened, matching my pace.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The brisk steps escalated into a full-blown run. Terrified by the rapidly approaching sound, I instinctively glanced back.

“Aaagh!”

The blue light, swaying wildly, was closing in fast. A scream tore from my throat.

“Stay… Stay away!”

Panicked, I stumbled and fell.

Crash! The fall was loud. My ankle twisted painfully, and the cut on my hand, reopened by the impact, burned. But I didn’t have time to worry about the pain. The light had gained significant ground while I was down.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

‘No! I’ll be caught!’

I wanted to get up and run, but fear paralyzed me.

The light was blindingly close now, and I could faintly make out a figure beyond it.

‘A person…?’

I couldn’t see clearly, but it was definitely human-shaped.

“Heyna.”

‘Huh?’

The figure holding the blue lantern spoke my name. A gentle voice, as soothing as soft classical music, calmed my racing heart. The voice, a low murmur in the darkness, was strangely comforting. Just hearing my name eased my fear; I felt certain this unknown being wouldn’t harm me.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”

His voice, soft and soothing as if calming a child, drew closer. Above the blue lamplight, his face, veiled in shadow, gradually emerged.

His hair, a deep black that seemed to devour the surrounding darkness, framed a face with eyes that glowed like blood-red rubies. A sharp, almost vampiric impression emanated from him.

He possessed an unforgettable, sculpted beauty. Yet, strangely, his face wasn’t unfamiliar. It felt as though I’d encountered him somewhere before. He lowered himself before me.

“Hello, Heyna.” His cold smile held an inexplicable sadness.

“Are you alright?” I blurted out, my mouth moving of its own accord.