I'm a Supporting Role in a Horror Game, Don't Kill Me

Although I have been to this place once, it is not easy to get used to the darkness where you cannot see an inch in front of you.

“Luke?”

When I gathered up my courage and called his name again, the sound of distant footsteps suddenly stopped. Then I heard it quickly coming back towards me.

‘…It’s scary to go away, but it’s also scary to come back.’

“Isn’t it too dark? Are you okay?”

“…Oh my. It looks like the light is off. I didn’t know because I was thinking about other things.”

The voice that came right in front of me, speaking as if I had never even thought about it, was so calm.

‘No, there’s something else you don’t know…? Does Luke’s eyes have infrared sensors? If I didn’t come with you, are you saying you would walk around alone without needing light?’

Actually, when I think back, the last time I ran into Luke on these stairs, I was the only one who had their backs.

He would appear in the darkness like a ghost and threaten people.

I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and looked in the direction where he would be, but he held my hand as if to comfort me.

“If you go a little further, there is a lantern.”

The part that touched his skin was strangely itchy.

Even though I knew that it was much better to hold on to something in the dark, I fiddled with my hand several times before finally pulling it away.

“Be careful. Are there any more stairs in front…?”

“…omg.”

I took my steps a beat faster than Luke warned, and stopped in surprise when I saw the floor beneath my feet, thinking there would be stairs on the floor.

‘…My heart is going to drop.’

“It’s the stairs again.”

“…yes. Shit!”

I couldn’t tell where the stairs started from, so I fumbled forward with my feet, but when I stumbled and almost fell, I couldn’t overcome my anxiety and squatted down on the floor.

I again heard the sound of footsteps moving away a little, hurriedly coming back towards me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… I’m okay.”

‘It’s not okay at all. Who walks around in pitch-black darkness like this without any light?’

They say there are places where you can experience darkness, but I was so afraid of complete darkness that I couldn’t understand the feelings of people who paid money to go to places like this.

When I couldn’t get up easily even though I said I was okay, Luke gently squeezed my hand again and placed it on my arm.

“You’d better catch me.”

‘Look at that, you catch me when I say I will catch it.’ 

It was a situation where he could have boasted like this, but he didn’t do that.

I felt the strangest and most uncomfortable when Luke treated me so casually. I wondered if he would really be grateful.

“…I’ll just do that for a moment.”

I muttered in a hushed voice and squeezed his arm.

In a dark and cool space, the warmth of a strong arm in my hand was much more welcome than I expected.

I held his arm and slowly walked down the stairs.

I didn’t know how long we went down in the dark like that.

When I entered the basement in the game, it was a completely charred space, and because the scene changed midway, I didn’t realize how deep I had gone. However, the basement floor seemed to be much deeper than imagined.

Even though the air was getting colder because it was in the basement, my hand holding his arm became moist, and sweat ran down my back again and again.

“Is it still far away?”

“Just go a little further.”

“There’s still a long way to go… Huh?”

“We’re almost there.”

At first, I felt like I was scared to death because I was being controlled by scary imaginations. I imagined that he would lock me in the basement at any moment, and that I would be the one crying out for help. However, as I continued to walk relying on his arm, my mind became strangely calm.

It’s probably because he calmly answers no matter how many times I ask him.

‘This situation is like mountain climbing.’

I thought about that as I stood alone against the dark wall.

‘Why, do we have conversations like this when we go hiking? When you ask how much is left, people who have hiked a lot will lie and tell you that they are almost there to appease beginners and cheer you up.’

A thought without context led to another thought without context.

‘They say that when people before they become lovers go hiking together, they fall in love easily because their heart beats faster. My heart beats faster… I mistakenly thought it was love.’

I quickly shook my head at the thoughts that came to my mind.

‘Those people must have had no reason to fall in love with each other before climbing the mountain. How can my heartbeat increase by someone who looks so mesmerizing just by looking at their face? The problem is that he’s a murderer.’

I clicked my tongue and heard Luke laughing.

My ally was in the dark, so I wonder what on earth he can laugh at… ? Even though it was a low-pitched, pleasant sound of laughter, it gave me goosebumps.

I asked, shrinking back.

“…Why are you smiling?”

“What are you thinking like that?”

“…yes? Oh, you didn’t think anything?”

“Is that so.”

‘…Mind reader, what is it?’

“I have a habit of doing this whenever I feel deep in thought.”

“…Do I have something like that?”

“No. Rather than that, we’re all there now.”

Without erasing his smile, Luke let go of my hand and walked away somewhere.

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know why I can move so freely in the dark. I think if he wasn’t by my side, I would be suffocated by the darkness and go crazy right now.

“…Don’t go far.”

Tap, tap.

There was the sound of a match being struck several times, and then a small spark flew out in the terrible darkness. And soon a bright lamp illuminated the surroundings.

The flickering orange light wasn’t that bright, but it was dazzlingly bright to eyes accustomed to the pitch-black darkness.

Luke was really close, to the point where the words I just muttered were embarrassing.

He raised the lantern high and smiled.

“I won’t go far. Do not worry.”

He’s just responding to what I’m saying, but I don’t know why it feels like he’s teasing me like this and I feel embarrassed and want to hide.

“This way.”

I followed him, barely able to swallow the sigh that rose from within.

The basement was a very strange space.

It was structured like a prison.

Iron bars separated the space into several spaces, and there were chains or shackles attached to the walls, as if people were trapped in each space.

Each compartment had a vent, which seemed to be connected to a window on the garden side.

In some ways, it looked like a historic site, and in other ways, it looked like a space that was used until recently.

‘Why is there a place like this in the house…? It’s so creepy…’

I looked around all the small rooms divided into compartments, but even with a cursory look, I could quickly see that there was no living creature here.

The only sound I could hear was my footsteps echoing through the cave-like structure.

‘…what’s this?’

When I looked around the entire space and looked back at Luke, he opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“Because they came from a family that contributed to the founding of the country, they seem to have dealt with ambiguous enemies that the king was reluctant to deal with directly. I understand that this space was initially created for that purpose. “It was so long ago, though.”

“…But why did you bother to not let me come down here?”

“This castle has devices to prepare for war. It is designed to be easy to enter the underground, but difficult to get out. It would be difficult if people came in here and couldn’t get out.”

He said it casually, but I couldn’t believe everything he said.

This space explained how the ghost stories came about… I couldn’t explain what I heard.

‘Should I ask or not?’

I hesitated for a moment, but I couldn’t just hesitate after coming this far.

“…Has anyone been trapped here recently?”

“You mean people?”

He seemed lost in thought for a moment, wondering if there was anything worth worrying about in my question, then shook his head.

“No one has ever been trapped here. At least while I am the duke.”

‘…liar.’

I swallowed hard.

I thought my faith in him was slowly growing again, but it felt like that weak and weak faith was being shattered again.

I was at a loss for what to do, feeling as if all the water I had scooped up with both hands was disappearing in an instant, but Luke took the lead and moved to another area underground.

What else is there other than spaces divided by iron bars?

‘…The more I learn about Luke, the more I think his head will explode.’

Coming down here, what did I expect from him?

Yes, I wished I could trust him.

Luke… He wished he could believe, so he could accept his strengths and favors.

‘…’Because he’s been so good to me that I’m tired of continuing to doubt him.’

Luke reached out to me again as I fell to the floor with my legs giving out.

As I was just looking at it without holding it, he spoke as if to comfort me.

“I don’t know why you wanted to come down here, but it’s not good to see the darkness often. It’s best to stay as far away from darkness and shadows as possible.”

I overheard those words.

I couldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t sat down, but I saw light blue hair sticking out from a gap in the floor behind Luke.

It was just one strand, but I definitely recognized it.

‘Among the missing was a servant named Wayne Iss who worked for the royal family, and he had a very unique hair color.’

Inspector Triver’s voice rang loudly in my head.

 

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