Click! Click! Click!
A steady, monotone clicking echoed through the stillness of a dimly lit office.
Behind the desk sat a lone figure, his eyes fixed on the glowing monitor before him.
Click! Click!
His gaze stayed locked on the monitor, his movements mechanical and empty. It was as if he’d become a soulless machine... His empty eyes stared blankly at the screen.
’Are you sure you don’t want me to eliminate him? I can do so if you command it.’
A certain voice whispered across the room.
A tall and lanky figure appeared behind the man sitting by the desk, its hand pressed against its shoulder. Giving it a light squeeze, it turned to the man standing beside it.
’...Just let me know and I’ll—’
’No.’
Seth’s voice remained hoarse.
He stared at the CEO and then the Conductor.
’We’ve done enough.’
He didn’t come here to kill. That would bring too much unnecessary attention to himself. If the BUA were to notice something abnormal, it wouldn’t be too hard for them to link it to him or at least cause him trouble.
Thankfully, Seth wasn’t too worried about this.
’I’ll let the Guild Master handle the trouble if it comes.’
He didn’t reveal his secret to the Guild Master for no reason. He had to serve his uses after learning of such a secret.
Seth knew his worth, and as such, he knew that if the BUA were to find faults with him, they’d take him away.
This would negatively impact the Guild and the Guild Master.
Still, it never hurt to play things safely.
To Tok—!
A certain knocking sound came from the door.
Seth’s body turned black, vanishing into the ground while the Conductor faded alongside him.
A certain figure came in shortly after.
"CEO."
It was Daniel, the CEO’s assistant.
Holding onto several papers, he walked in.
"I’ve done as requested. Is there anything else that you would like me to do?"
The CEO didn’t react immediately.
Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the monitor in front of him.
"CEO...?"
His actions brought confusion to the assistant’s face, prompting him to raise his brow, and just as he began to suspect that something was wrong, the CEO turned his head.
"...I’ve just gotten in contact with the Station Head from Dock. I’ve requested him to retract his actions."
"Huh?"
Daniel blinked his eyes, entirely confused by the situation.
"W-what do you mean by that? Weren’t we supposed to stop him from posting? I’ve already sent the file over to the team. They’re looking to see what they can learn from it. I’m sure—"
"There’s no need."
"What?"
Getting cut off again, Daniel was left confused.
What was going on? Why was the CEO acting like this? Wasn’t he extremely adamant on making sure that the game would never launch?
What about the programs?
"Ah."
A thought occurred to him.
"You’ve gained control over the programs?"
"...That’s correct."
The CEO replied after a brief pause, his face twitching for the briefest of moments. If one looked closely, they’d notice the subtle trembling of his eyes.
"You got it!?"
A look of excitement crossed Daniel’s face.
"Did he finally give in?!"
There weren’t many people who truly understood the effect of the programs that Seth used, but he was one of the few people who did. They were extremely revolutionary concepts, and they were also the key to helping them create their recent success after a series of flops.
"This is great!"
Daniel shouted with joy, unable to hide his joy.
"Haha."
He moved towards the CEO, laughing as he sat down on the seat opposite him.
"I guess you were right. He really was a pushover."
He gloated over the situation, relaxing back.
"...To be honest, I expected him to put up a little bit of a fight, but I guess this is good too. It makes things a lot easier for us. The newest patch of the game is getting released today. I’ll notify them about the programs."
"Yes."
The CEO nodded, pushing a certain USB stick forward.
"Here are the programs. Tell them to install them in the newest update."
"Got it!"
Standing up, Daniel reached for the USB stick.
After which, he headed out of the room.
But just as he was about to leave, he stopped, turning his attention towards the CEO.
"About Seth..."
He mused for a moment before lowering his voice, "I would advise we get rid of him. Given what we’ve done to him, I’m sure he’s holding onto a grudge. Let’s make sure that he doesn’t have any leeway to operate. I’m only advising this so that we can protect ourselves."
"I understand."
The CEO replied, his tone the same as before.
However, the trembling in his eyes only grew stronger. He looked to be desperately trying to say something, but it was unfortunate that Daniel didn’t pick anything up, chuckling as he reached for the handle of the door.
"That’s great! I’ll get to work."
Clank!
The door closed right after, leaving the CEO sitting by himself.
What followed was an unsettling silence, thick enough to make the air feel heavy. Then, from the shadows, a figure emerged, placing a hand on the CEO’s shoulder as he leaned in close and began to whisper into his ear.
"Struggle as you might, the outcome will remain the same. From this point forward, you’ll forget everything that has happened. You’ll watch your newest update completely and utterly destroy the little reputation you’ve built. And..."
Seth paused, pulling his hand away.
The CEO’s eyes shook even more fiercely, his head straining as he tried to shake his head in despair.
No, please...
Such was what his eyes said.
But—
"...You’ll see the Empire that you’ve created burn right before your eyes, and my game take everything that you’ve ever wished to happen to your games. I’m going to make sure that I’ll take everything from you."
Seth took a step back, his eyes indifferent to it all.
Flick!
The monitor of the CEO flickered, a certain clown appearing.
A red ball faded from Seth’s hands, a notification appearing in his vision shortly after. Although the hypnosis needed more time to take effect and more clothes, in the current state of the CEO, this was enough.
DaDaDaDa~
A tune began to play in the air.
"Mr. Jingles says..."
As the tune began to play, Seth’s entire body was surrounded in darkness as he began to disappear from the surroundings.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the room.
This time, however, there was no one else present. It was just him and his anomalies.
He looked around, scanning the place before moving towards the door.
"Let’s go."
In the other realm, no other human was present.
He could move as he wished in such a realm.
However...
The sinister energy that lingered within this world was enough to make the hair on anyone’s skin crawl.
All besides the current Seth.
At this very moment, he felt at peace in this world.
It was almost as if... He was one with the world.
He carried on in the silence, slowly making his way out of the building and walking back towards the Guild, where he appeared right near the entrance. Using Mr. Jingles to deactivate any operating camera, he cancelled his node, appearing in the real world once more.
As he did, his brows twitched.
"...How uncomfortable."