It was a dark but spacious room.
The only thing illuminating the room was the sound of clink-clink—a dangerous, sparking short circuit warning.
“Damn it. I know supplies are running low, but to send us out with this level of manpower and equipment is nearly suicide—I told you so!”
The man let out a heavy sigh.
He understood better than anyone the value of his existence, and surely, everyone who had survived knew it too.
Spark!
Suddenly, a spark flew beside the man.
Thanks to that, the area around him became brighter.
“…Disgusting.”
Numerous corpses were sprawled around.
Those were his companions who had come out of the facility with him.
Well, actually, they might not be termed companions.
To put it accurately, they were surveillance agents sent by the facility to keep an eye on him.
“…Well, you should blame your fate for being born into this world, right?”
Thinking it was unavoidable, the man rationalized himself and slowly bowed his head.
“This might still be usable.”
Then, he rummaged through the corpses of his former companions to gather supplies.
Water, medicine, food, knives, and bullets.
He discarded the dog tags immediately, as he had to keep his load as light as possible to survive.
Someone might have condemned him for desecrating the deceased.
However, the man felt no hesitation in his actions.
If anyone dared to pop up and chastise him, he would rather raise a finger and ask,
“Should I stress over you lot while sacrificing myself? Trash?”
And that statement would leave no room for rebuttal.
If the man were gone, humanity would certainly perish.
“Haah.”
Having gathered all the necessary supplies, the man let out one last heavy sigh and gripped the knife tightly in his hand.
Though he had repeated this action numerous times, he still could not grow accustomed to it.
Nonetheless, after closing his eyes and praying to the gods, he swung the knife down fiercely.
With a swish sound, the arm of one of his former comrades was severed.
He held onto it and, at the bloody stump,
“Ugh.”
Slowly, he brought his mouth closer.
Anyone who saw this would likely rage and point fingers, claiming he was unworthy of being human.
But if such a person appeared,
“What of it, damn it? So what, can I die too?”
The man would definitely respond that way.
★
“Just die! J-just die and turn off the game, okay?!”
– LOL!
– You can really feel the sincerity, lol!
– I think I’m about to cry here.
[This feels terrible.]
The protagonist, a middle-aged man with gray hair, threw his arms to the ground saying, “T-this is what I want to say!”
“Calm down, Izumi.”
“B-but if I don’t shout out, I, I’m really scared and feel like I’m going to cry….”
Why did they have to include the setting that zombies require human blood to use their powers?
And why create such detailed, gruesome scenes?
It feels like the developers have malicious intent…
“Well, if you cry, I’m happy that I don’t have to broadcast.”
“W-what kind of thing are you saying? Is Koga an evil person?”
“What are you talking about? I’m Koga Suzuha, an angel wanting praise from everyone!”
Oh, I see. Koga is indeed evil…
“B-but Koga, aren’t you scared?”
“Hmm.”
Koga pondered my question for a moment before quietly nodding.
“Well, I did say I didn’t particularly like or dislike it, right? In the end, I know it’s a game, so I’m not scared. I prefer to watch the play of others with good reactions rather than doing it myself.”
– Good reactions? That sounds just like Mei-chan!
“I’ve watched several play videos of ‘Dawn,’ but I don’t think anyone has reacted as entertainingly as Izumi.”
“I-I’m not funny!”
I responded while trying to move my fingers on the keypad as quickly as possible to finish this game.
And then.
[GRRRRAAAAHHHH!]
[What the hell!]
“Uwaaaaah!!!”
– The screams of a living JK echoing across the void.
As I turned around, I saw a zombie’s arm shoot up towards the protagonist from under a corpse.
Still, with whatever rationality I had left, I quickly drew my gun and spammed the A button.
[GRRRRAAAAHHHH!]
[Damn it….]
Was my reaction too slow? The protagonist had already been bitten, and his HP dropped below half.
“Eeeeek!”
But that face! The zombie’s face is too close! Gross! No way!
[UUUUUAAAHHHHHH!]
The sight of a zombie biting down on an arm that was exposed and bloodied made me want to shut my eyes tight just from watching.
However, the chatroom was enjoying this reaction of mine—truly celebrating the experience.
– It’s scary for sure, but Mei-chan’s reaction is hilarious, lol!
– How about a regular horror game stream from now on?
– A planning stream that doesn’t stop until every horror game is conquered…
“Izumi. Instead of spamming the gun there, first roll back to create some distance and then proceed to attack.”
Koga even chimed in with advice from beside me.
What is this? Is this hell?
[Haah, these rotten zombie bastards.]
[GRRRRRRAAAAHHHHH!]
“Gah, gah, gah…”
I felt my breath getting heavier, and if I didn’t distract myself with unnecessary thoughts, tears might burst forth at any moment.
But for now, I followed Koga’s advice and rolled back to create distance from the zombie.
Let’s take a break. Right. After I handle this terrifying creature, I’ll take a little rest.
Nobody is going to object to that, right?
It’s absurd to think of going non-stop until I clear this dumb game.
[Just die already.]
[UUUAAAHHHH!]
Having finally drained the zombie’s HP, the protagonist spat this line as he plunged a knife into the zombie’s jaw.
Then, without hesitation, he twisted the knife and severed the zombie’s neck in one swift motion.
“Ugh, g-gross….”
The scene of a neckless zombie swaying before collapsing and spraying blood was not something that could be beautified in my imagination at all.
[…This is truly hellish.]
That’s exactly what I want to say…
“Let’s save for now, and I’ll take a break.”
– LOL!
First, I need to consume a potion, not blood, since my HP is depleted.
– LOL!
Yet, something felt off in the chatroom.
I was just about to drink a potion, but the scenery on the ground was turning wildly overgrown.
Did I look that ridiculous?
Well, I suppose people watch horror game streams for reactions like that.
Koga also mentioned my reaction was incredibly entertaining, so perhaps it’s not an unexpected response.
Actually, Koga was next to me, covering her mouth while laughing.
[When on earth will this hell end?]
“…Huh?”
As the protagonist drank the potion, was there some sort of dialogue?
As that thought crossed my mind, a huge rumble resonated from the ground as the dark room was illuminated by a massive electrical spark.
Naturally, there were countless bodies lying around.
Wait. I’m sure I’ve seen this scene somewhere…
[Ugh!]
Without any command, the protagonist’s character looked down.
And what he saw there was…
“Hyaaaaaah?!!”
A giant hand of a zombie, with red veins all over it, gripping his leg.
“Ah….”
I definitely saw this in the teaser…
The floor crumbled in an instant.
In a moment, the game’s protagonist was pulled beneath the collapsed floor by that zombie’s hand.
[OOOOGGGHHHH!]
What appeared there was a zombie that was on a whole other dimension of size and grotesqueness compared to all that had been seen so far.
“Hyaaaaaah!”
From its long, torn mouth, a slimy tongue filled my, no, the protagonist’s entire field of vision.
How could I even describe this horrible sight?
I can’t do it with my head.
“Izumi, this is the first stage’s final boss.”
This creature is the final boss of the first stage?
I don’t want this.
I absolutely hate horror games.
And as the slimy saliva dripped down over my character’s head, it was a scene that could’ve easily resulted in fainting.
“Hyaaaaaaa!!!!”
– Finally arrived!
– A scream well appreciated.
“Haa, haah, I d-don’t want this anymore… I w-want to stop. Huh, I want to stop…”
Eventually, I lost my grasp on reality.
★
“Ugh.”
In the end, I cried two times in one day.
But what about the second time? It was a horror game designed to scare people, so doesn’t that make it null and void?
“Are you calmed down now?”
“Yes….”
As expected, Koga wrapped up the broadcast for me.
I couldn’t either look at the chatroom or end the stream myself.
Thankfully, they said nothing went wrong.
In fact, everyone seemed to enjoy watching me cry…
“Now that you’re calm, do you want to see what you looked like earlier?”
“…Huh?”
Koga grinned broadly as she took her phone out of her pocket.
Then she unlocked it and entered the gallery, showing a video of me captured on camera.
[Hyaaaaaa!!!!]
“Here, wait! K-Koga? Why…?!”
[Haa, haah, I-I don’t want this anymore… I want to stop… Huh, I want to stop….]
On the phone screen, I was curled up in a chair, covering my head with both hands, while avoiding the camera’s gaze.
[It’s scary… I don’t want it… Huh, huh, haah….]
“How about it? Isn’t it super cute?”
“A-actually, it’s not cute, so quickly turn it off, please! A, no! Please delete it!”
“Come on, I’ll just watch it myself, so let me have it.”
I could feel the heat rising on my face.
If I looked in a mirror, I’d surely see a face as red as an apple.
“I-I don’t want to?!”
“That’s too much.”
★
Eventually, I had no choice but to allow Koga to keep the video on the condition that she would never show it to anyone else.
Could it be that Koga is a fallen angel…?
“Then I’ll start getting up. Don’t worry about picking me up.”
In the end, I couldn’t make eye contact with Koga until the very end, but I figured there was no helping it, considering I gathered every ounce of courage for this off-collab.
“I’ll contact you once I get home later. You need to hold up well even if you’re lonely?”
“…I’m not lonely at all.”
Koga said that, stretching and standing up, while I waved my hand toward her with my head lowered…
…Huh?
“Hold up well even if you’re lonely?”
Lonely?
Thinking back, Mom is also on a business trip again, so she won’t be home for a while.
And I don’t even need to mention my older sister.
Well, I’m used to staying at home alone, but being by myself at home today…?
[OOOOGGGHHHH!]
What flashed through my mind was the image of that giant zombie with its tongue hanging out, featured in “Dawn Doesn’t Break.”
“I-I don’t want this….”
“Hmm?”
At my mumble, Koga momentarily turned her head to look at me.
“Did you call?”
I know.
This is an incredibly selfish request.
But if I let Koga go as she is, I won’t be able to sleep at all tonight.
No, I won’t just be unable to sleep; I’ll probably be trembling alone the whole night.
If it gets worse, I might even cry again.
But it’s so scary.
I’m sure that monster will appear in my dreams…
It’s enough of a trauma to say it’s not an overstatement.
Just thinking about it is enough to mist my eyes.
“K-Koga.”
“Yeah?”
“Um, um, um, can I, uh, can you please stay here and sleep over today?”
The pitch-black eyes that I finally looked at Koga with had a hint of surprise colored within them.
“…Huh?”
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