Ch.161Act 2: Ch.10 – Long Live the King (13)

“He ‘absolutely’ wants to win. He solidifies what he can control, and either sets aside or changes what he can’t. Look at how he’s even modified the actors into machines. But…”

Crayfield stopped speaking as voices were heard in the corridor. Only when the voices faded did he continue.

“Didn’t Clarice Holmes tell us, even using the alias ‘Irene Adler’? Though I’m not sure if it was intentional, but machines aren’t perfect ‘because’ they’re machines; rather, there are weaknesses ‘due to’ them being machines. Patterns, I mean.”

The actors’ movements were strange. When Clarice Holmes asked the exact same question that the previous reporters had asked, didn’t those things spit out pre-‘programmed’ answers? That’s the pattern. Something that outputs when given a specific input. Crayfield whispered, leaning his ear toward the door.

“I suppose I’ll have to sneak a peek at that final rehearsal.”

“Um, Crayfield. I have something to tell you. Actually, I tried to spy on those actors and got caught. By that Castegne or Castella or whatever, the host with scales on his neck.”

My face burned hot. Crayfield would surely have managed it competently without getting caught. But he didn’t get angry.

“Scales on his neck? That’s an illusionist. One of those magician types who caused a scene at the Southern Cathedral last time. The director’s really going all out—a foreign illusionist, mechanically modified actors, and a rookie actor from a drugstore? This is insane.”

“If it had been you, you wouldn’t have been caught.”

“No, my friend. Why so dejected?”

Crayfield patted my shoulder with a grin.

“Not every game unfolds as you expect. We simply observe the problem, take action, accept the results, and move on to the next action. Didn’t I mention it? Patterns and adaptation. If you hadn’t been caught, how would we have known that the director is a magician?”

“…That’s true.”

“Don’t worry. There’s no place Master Crayfield can’t go, no barrier he can’t break through. Meanwhile, you evacuate as many people as possible. To keep innocent people from getting involved. In any case, we have time until the main performance.”

I nodded. Crayfield paused as he was about to open the door.

“Oh, I should mention this. Just in case. Keep Chekhov as a last resort. It’s the traditional solution, isn’t it? Wait until the doom counter builds up, then shoot the actors.”

“Will it be effective?”

“It’s only ineffective against foreigners, players, and important NPCs. So mechanically modified actors should be easy to subdue. However… remember that the drugstore person is also an actor. Even if you shoot all the other actors with Chekhov, there’s a possibility he might continue the play alone, so it’s not a complete solution.”

“I understand. Anything else I should know?”

“Black Market and Senator Cole aren’t in the casino. They slipped away to the Grand Theater. I left the lobby because there was nothing to see in the casino. Anyway, good luck.”

Crayfield headed to the opposite end of the corridor while I went to the lobby. The magic show in the lobby seemed to have settled in, with children occasionally glancing toward the entrance while becoming absorbed in the performance. I could see older children looking after the younger ones.

I borrowed a pen and notepad from the information desk. I wrote a note explaining that something ominous might happen today and asking for people to be evacuated. I deliberately dropped the note while passing by Abashina, who was looking after some small girls.

After confirming that Abashina quickly picked up the note, I headed toward the casino. I planned to speak with Aurora to clear out the theater.

The casino atmosphere was similar to the lobby’s. People seemed entranced by something and were very excited.

The difference was that while rabbits were pulled from hats in the lobby, in the casino people were walking around dressed as rabbits. The ladies were distracted by gambling tables where dice and chips rolled about, while their husbands were preoccupied with the provocative bunny girls walking around.

“Wow!”

Someone must have hit a big jackpot. Spectators rushed over asking, “Where? Where?” I was momentarily pushed by the crowd but fortunately managed to extract myself.

“Drinks all around! Everyone have one! It’s a ‘medicine’ that invigorates the mind and purifies the soul!”

No sooner had the lucky winner shouted than bunny girls appeared with cocktail glasses. They were typical alcoholic drinks, garnished with fruit pieces like orange and grapefruit, and small decorations.

But as the famous Scarface once said, ‘When you sell alcohol, they call it bootlegging, but when you serve it on a silver platter, they call it hospitality.’

People raised their cocktail glasses without hesitation. Among them were many familiar faces frequently featured in the Pollard Times, including so-called “upper class” of Pollard and religious leaders. They all downed their drinks with practiced motions.

“Drink up! Lucky drinks like this bring good fortune when you drink them!”

People with flushed faces shouted. A long-faced lady and a fat man bumped into each other. As the drink spilled from the glass with an “Oh my!”

It sagged. It was more like mucus than liquid. Stickily, it sagged.

“What a waste!”

The lady and the man bent their knees and frantically licked what had fallen to the floor. I barely managed to look away. Similar scenes were happening everywhere. People licking spilled drinks off others’ bodies, people passing around more drinks, people lingering near the entrance unable to wait for bunny girls.

“It’s premium liquor brewed with water from Arkham’s West Reservoir! You won’t taste such a drink anywhere else!”

Someone shouted. A person with bloodshot eyes. They bulged as if about to pop out.

Strange. Aurora wouldn’t have stocked such drinks. She knows what I experienced at Arkham’s West Reservoir and that it’s full of suspicious substances.

Looking closely, the bottles seemed to be coming from a preparation room at the casino’s side door. I walked there with my shoulders squared. My mustache was still firmly attached, and the white gloves on my hands remained clean. Fortunately, the casino was chaotic, and the staff was too busy to pay attention to me.

The small storage room was full of bottles. I picked one up and held it to the white gas lamp. It was full of suspended particles and had an unpleasant texture. It looked closer to the consistency of sticky pudding than water or alcohol.

But that wasn’t all. The suspended particles were moving. It had nothing to do with how I shook the bottle. I tried standing it upright and turning it over, but they gradually took shape.

Somehow the gas lamp’s light seems to be dancing…

* * * * *

Video Clip Playing >

Catherine Scully

This is Federal Security Bureau Special Agent Catherine Scully. State your name.

#gamemode_specter_unknown

Hmm… Dandy? No, that’s not it. Hmm… Ah. How about this? Hydrologist. Someone who studies the water cycle. That would be more appropriate in this situation.

* The door leading to Hyperborea is torn open. The corruption Hyperborea had contained all this time. The beast sealed within. The malice it had devoured since the beginning of time was dissolving into the reservoir water, pouring down.

#gamemode_specter_unknown

These tears must flow. They will attract Hastur from the night sky. It should be quite a spectacle. Crayfield, that fellow, will be getting busier. I don’t know what tricks he’s used to survive until now, but let’s see how well he responds to this variable.”

Catherine Scully

If what you’re saying is true, the water in that reservoir has the power to induce powerful hallucinations and delusions. I need to request a detailed chemical analysis.

Catherine Scully

If the Miskatonic River is contaminated, all the eastern cities that draw drinking water from Arkham are in danger. Not to mention Pollard Island. We can mourn later. First, we need to go down and…

Video Clip End >

* * * * *

SCREEEEEECH!

The sound of nails scratching metal, a sharp noise that brought me back to my senses. I almost dropped the bottle but fortunately managed to set it down gently.

[ Ah, ah! Thank you for waiting! Thank you for waiting! The main performance will begin shortly. Audience members, please take your seats! Once again, the main performance will begin shortly, so those with tickets please take your seats! ]

This doesn’t make sense. The main performance was scheduled for 8 PM. It’s only about 4:30 PM now. Too early!

“Performance! Performance! Performance!”

The casino’s distinguished guests stomped their feet. The creaking of chairs, loud music, footsteps, and noisy chatter all resounded at once.

[ Ah, ah! Thhhank yyyou forrr waitttting! Thhhank yyyou forrr waitttting! Theee mainnn perrrformmmance willll beggggin shhhortly. Auuudience memmmbers, pleeeease taaake yourrr seeeats ]

The announcement sounded again. Unlike before, the voice was extremely distorted. People were all leaving in an orderly fashion with bright smiles. Customers and bartenders, bunny girls with charming eye-smiles, even dealers shuffling cards at tables.

[ 7JWJ7JWE7JWJ7JWE7JWJ7JWE7JW ]

Now it sounds like an electronic tone. No pitch, no intonation. Without any articulation, it’s pure white noise.

I drew my revolver. I spun the drum and checked if the bullets were properly loaded. I dashed to the opposite side of the hall.

I need to find Aurora. If she were in control, these things wouldn’t be happening. That means there might be a problem with her safety.

As I ran through the hall, I didn’t encounter any security. Impossible. She always posted at least two fixed guards. Those guards would never let me in easily, even if it was me.

Knock. Knock.

I heard knocking on a door. It was coming from Aurora’s office. The door was firmly closed, with two subordinates in black suits and white gloves standing in front of it.

Knock. Knock.

Their behavior was strange. They were trying to walk forward. Despite being blocked by the door, they kept trying to walk forward as if it wasn’t there. The man on the right was repeatedly banging his head against the door.

“Stand back!”

I shouted. The men turned their heads toward me. Their facial skin had been torn off! Where the black and white skin had been torn away, there was only bleeding flesh!

They walk toward me. The untorn skin dangles below their chins. The drink that the casino people had consumed drips like saliva from the corners of their mouths.

“Hot. Hot. Hot.”

Suddenly they stop.

“Hot. Hot. Hot.”

They put their hands to their faces.

“Burning. Burning. Burning. Suffocating. Suffocating. Suffocating. Suffocating. Suffocating.”

And they tear off their facial skin. Only then did I realize where their faces were.

On their hands. Stuck to their hands like leather gloves.

“You. Look. Suffocated. Too.”

Their eyeballs moved strangely. They stretched their arms forward and ran toward me. I fired without hesitation. I blew out one’s knee, and as I stepped aside, I shot the other in the chest.

“Hot. Suffocating. Hot. Suffocating. Hot. Suffocating. Hot. Suffocating. Hot. Suffocating.”

“Take it off. Take it off. Take it off. Take it off. Take it off. Take it off.”

They crawled toward me. The one with the blown-out knee fell forward but still wriggled toward me. The one shot in the chest swayed his upper body forward, backward, forward backward forward backward forward backward as he approached!

“Duck!”

As I reflexively lowered my body, a loud bang rang out.

It was Aurora. She had kicked open her office door and fired a shotgun. With a thud, one creature’s head flew off. The headless thing bent over as if trying to pick up a fallen ball, then collapsed with a thump.

Aurora quickly reloaded and fired again. The swaying creature’s upper body was completely blown away. The legs, having lost half their body, seemed to take another step or two before finally dropping to their knees.

“Aurora. Are you okay?”

I thought it was a stupid question, but I couldn’t help asking. Aurora roughly wiped her forehead.

“I opened the panic room. Get in there, grab weapons, and come out quickly. Some fucked-up shit is happening. Get more ammunition and dynamite too.”

I grabbed a Thompson submachine gun and spare ammunition. I also took some dynamite and more shotgun shells. Aurora was still standing firmly.

“Damn it, I was prepared because you warned me something bad would happen, but I didn’t expect this kind of fucked-up situation.”

Aurora was deliberately speaking roughly. These were once her subordinates. She would never have imagined they would become such… monsters.

“Fuck, suddenly they started tearing off their facial skin and coming at me. I locked the door first, opened the panic room, and then you came and shot them. Fuck… really… what the hell is going on?”

Click.

All the lights went out. The casino, Aurora’s office, the corridors—everything was plunged into darkness. I could only utter one sentence.

“It has begun.”

Click.

<Awakening 4/12 / Doom 4/12>