How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 84

Alhulf stared blankly through the window at the gray sky covered in storm clouds.

Then he looked at himself in a broken mirror.

The suit he had excitedly chosen had become rags.

The face everyone used to call cute was smeared with blood.

Scratches covered his body.

And he was still trapped inside the abandoned hotel.

The person reflected in the mirror looked terrified.

Fear soaked his eyes.

Everyone was the same.

Every person trapped here struggled beneath their terror.

But Evelyn was different.

When she was nearby—

it almost felt like the very atmosphere changed.

She suppressed the fear.

Then somehow replaced it with brightness.

It was strange.

In this place—

Evelyn shone more brightly than anyone.

Unlike pathetic him.

Outside, everyone had liked him……

He understood why Evelyn and Cynthia hated him.

He used Moran as bait to escape.

He abandoned Cynthia and ran.

Maybe that was why Evelyn no longer expected anything from him……

“But I was scared……”

What else could he have done?

The tears he had stopped began falling again.

Warm comfort wouldn’t change their situation.

He understood that.

Still—

Alhulf desperately needed someone to comfort him gently.

His mind was becoming weaker.

All he wanted was someone to lean on.

“How long do we have to endure this?”

Could they ever leave this hell?

Alhulf sank to the floor.

Tears fell silently.

BOOOOM!

A violent sound echoed through the corridor.

Alhulf jumped.

Then immediately hid inside a nearby wardrobe.

Trembling violently—

he begged and begged for the sound to disappear.

Covering his ears, Alhulf repeated,

“Endure it……. I can endure it. If I endure…… it’ll be fine. We’ll escape soon. Really……”

―Will you?

Someone slipped between his muttered words.

―Can you really escape? From here? How? You can’t even leave the hotel.

The wardrobe shook violently.

Alhulf shrank deep inside it, terrified.

“Wh-Who……!”

―Should you be shouting? That monster will come.

At the warning whispering beside his ear—

Alhulf immediately covered his mouth.

Heavy monster footsteps slowly moved away.

After some time—

the voice returned.

―See? The monster is gone. You’re safe now. You can trust me.

Trust it……

Alhulf’s voice came out thin.

“A-Aren’t you a monster too……?”

―Have you ever seen any monster here with as much self-awareness as me? They’re all insane! Even those demons!

Alhulf was incredibly gullible.

In Evelyn’s words—

if someone fanned wind into his ears, he’d fly away.

―Look around. Is there a monster near you? No. And earlier, I could’ve easily provoked you until that monster found you. I didn’t.

Alhulf couldn’t argue.

It was true that this thing could’ve revealed his location to the monster.

But it hadn’t.

Of course, if the voice hadn’t spoken to him in the first place, none of this would have happened.

Alhulf wasn’t in a condition to think through details like that.

―I have absolutely no intention of killing you.

Silence filled the wardrobe.

Alhulf was confused.

Not over whether he should trust the monster.

But whether this monster even physically existed.

Even after leaving the wardrobe—

standing near a candle—

checking the mirror—

looking around—

he couldn’t see anything.

It sounded as if the voice existed only inside his head.

Something without a physical form.

―Are you curious what I look like?

“…….”

―I desperately want a body too.

The whispering voice was gentle.

It contained the first kindness Alhulf had received in this place.

Moran had comforted him too.

But even Moran herself was uncertain about everything.

She didn’t feel reliable.

This monster, strangely enough—

did.

Maybe Alhulf simply needed something to depend upon.

And here—

the mere fact it didn’t harm him felt like enough.

‘I want to leave already.’

Watching Alhulf cry, the monster whispered again.

―I survive by feeding on people’s faith. The reason I never had a physical form is because no one believed in me!

“……Why?”

―Why? Even you don’t believe me, although I saved you.

Alhulf shut his mouth.

The monster comforted him gently.

―I’m not blaming you. To humans, I look like a monster. Of course you’d react that way.

“…….”

―Hmm……. How can I prove I’m not bad?

The monster seemed to think.

Somewhere above—

an eye briefly glowed through the darkness.

It disappeared before Alhulf could see.

That gaze remained locked onto him.

―Ah. Want me to tell you how to escape?

“Yes?!”

A little hope.

The monster didn’t miss the tiny opening created by hope and weakening caution.

A satisfied laugh sounded.

Something slid inside Alhulf’s ear.

He scratched it.

It tickled.

―The method is simple. If you believe me, you really can escape.

“Th-The method……”

―Kill every companion who entered with you.

“……What?”

―See? You don’t believe me.

The monster sounded disappointed.

He knew he shouldn’t believe it.

Yet his mind became strangely hazy.

Its words repeated again and again inside his head.

―I’m not telling you to kill them yourself. Just push them toward monsters. The monsters will kill them. Easy.

“B-But how can I……”

―Look at me.

Look……?

Alhulf stared shakily into the empty air.

Without realizing it—

he raised his head.

Darkness withdrew from the ceiling.

Golden eyes appeared.

When their gazes met—

the monster’s eyes curved warmly.

Its gentle voice vibrated through his ears.

―You don’t need to feel guilty. You haven’t done anything wrong. What if they learn this escape method before you do? Then they’ll kill you.

“……N-No.”

The monster was immensely pleased by his reaction.

Normally, people denied it.

‘They would never do that.’

If he reacted that way—

the monster couldn’t have entered his mind in the first place.

Of all the humans here—

Alhulf was the weakest.

The easiest to manipulate through words.

Perfect prey.

―Right. That can’t happen. Correct?

The longer Alhulf stared into those golden eyes—

the more the entire space seemed to rotate.

His body swayed like a reed in the wind.

His eyes became cloudy.

Soon—

the light disappeared from them entirely.

The monster’s laughter spread viciously through the corridor.

***

“Sir, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to the potion Lady Cynthia gave me, the wound has healed considerably.”

“We’ll look for more potions. At least we have those here.”

Cynthia said that.

Then pressed her lips together.

Calling anything fortunate while trapped here felt ridiculous.

Werner stood while holding his aching side.

He had been injured by a monster.

The potion treated part of it.

But before they could find enough to heal him completely—

new injuries kept appearing.

‘I’m going to lose my mind.’

Werner released a heavy sigh.

No one could possibly remain sane inside a place like this.

Honestly—

going mad would be understandable.

He found it amazing that the others were still enduring.

Especially because they were nobles—

people who had never experienced anything close to this outside.

He expected everyone to break.

Maybe the reason they hadn’t—

was Evelyn.

“You were thinking about Evelyn?”

Caught exactly, Werner awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“I do smile whenever I think about her.”

Enough that all this fear and worry felt powerless around Evelyn.

Werner knew how hard she struggled.

The island’s secret.

The perpetrator factions who participated in the human experiments.

The demons’ existence.

Evelyn discovered all of it alone.

She even found their family rings and showed them.

Evelyn clearly knew something.

And she seemed convinced that if she completed it—

they could escape.

Even while hanging from the edge of a cliff—

her strong spirit refused to break.

Her mannerisms and speech were sometimes less than proper.

Ironically—

that made people feel more comfortable around her.

“Evelyn is definitely searching for an escape method. Every piece of information we have came from her too.”

“…….”

“So even if we can’t help, we need to survive. So that after we leave, we can reveal the truth of this island as Evelyn wants and give freedom to the demons.”

Werner hesitated.

Revealing the truth.

Guaranteeing the demons’ freedom.

Those were obviously the correct things to do.

But……

How could he willingly abandon everything he possessed?

He wasn’t sure he could withstand all the condemnation.

They weren’t the perpetrators.

They were descendants.

Of course resentment existed.

Cynthia understood Werner’s hesitation.

He didn’t want to take responsibility for something he hadn’t done.

But now he knew the truth.

If he still concealed it—

he became an accomplice.

“You’re still hesitating?”

“……I apologize.”

“It seems Evelyn and I will have many enemies.”

Cynthia stopped walking.

Then looked arrogantly at him.

Despite Werner being taller—

he felt as though he were the one looking up.

“Remember one thing. I have never lost to anyone.”

“Lady Cynthia……”

“If House Lodriz takes my hand, there is absolutely no possibility of us losing. I’m warning you, Sir Werner. You should change your mind too. I have no intention of helping anyone incapable of remorse.”

Cynthia could be infinitely generous.

And infinitely cruel.

“I’ll remember that. But Lady Cynthia……”

“Wait.”

Cynthia raised one hand.

She stared beyond Werner’s shoulder.

Something approached.

It didn’t possess the massive body of a monster.

Human footsteps.

Unable to confirm yet—

they hid behind a decorative object and waited for someone to emerge into the light.

Soon—

plum-colored hair appeared.

“That is Lord Alhulf.”

As though reacting to Werner’s voice—

Alhulf ran toward them while crying.

“S-Sir Werner! You were here!”

He rushed forward.

Then threw himself into Werner’s arms.

“I missed you so much!”

Despite his affectionate charge—

Alhulf’s eyes looked like someone else’s.

Something sharp flashed from inside his clothes.

The sound of flesh being pierced followed.

STAB.

Alhulf drove a blade into Werner’s abdomen.

Cynthia’s eyes widened behind the decoration.

Werner stumbled backward half a step.

He stared at Alhulf in disbelief.

“……You.”

Alhulf looked deathly pale and terrified.

Yet he didn’t stop.

“……I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

As he raised the blade again—

Cynthia screamed.

She grabbed a huge ceramic vase from the display.

“Stop immediately!”

“L-Lady Cynthia?”

For one brief moment—

light returned to Alhulf’s eyes.

They shook.

Then the light faded again.

His pupils clouded.

When he charged Cynthia—

she ruthlessly smashed the ceramic vase over his head.

CRASH!

***

Hm?

While waiting for Dilaf to finish enjoying his personal thinking time—

I heard a faint scream.

I concentrated.

Nothing followed.

Dilaf didn’t care in the slightest.

I asked,

“Didn’t you hear someone scream?”

Dilaf’s brows furrowed in irritation.

“Is hearing screams unusual here? I’m thinking about something. Don’t disturb me.”

Sure.

Think your fucking heart out.

What an unbelievably rude bastard.