The remaining eight students are inside the courtroom by their podiums waiting for the trial to start. The room was uncomfortably silent with eight of them looking around seeing that they are down to half of their original number. Nao turned to his left which was Manon's podium. It has the stand with her picture crossed out. He searched for the room and saw Mako's stand beside Asuka.

It has been so long since we were complete. Everything started with Ayumu's murder. Now, we have to solve Mako's murder. After this trial, only seven of us will be walking away from this alive. Why did they have to kill Mako? What kind of picture did they get?

Nao was visibly troubled. His face painted a bothered expression. Everyone could see the trouble in his eyes. Umeko, who was standing at his right, patted him on his shoulder. This snapped Nao back to reality. He turned to Umeko who was smiling at him.

"We can do this! I know you can solve this." Umeko told him.

This gave Nao the confidence to solve the case. "Thanks…"

"Why are you so troubled?" Umeko asked.

"I just have a lot of questions. Plus, this room only reminded me of the people that we have lost and that we will be losing another one after this." Nao said.

"I have a question." Umeko said.

"What is it?" Nao asked.

"I am just curious. Do you resent our classmates who killed one of us?" Umeko asked.

"Why are you asking?" Nao followed up with another question.

"I don't have a reason. Just curious." Umeko answered.

"Well, it depends on why they did it. I resent Jirou until now because of his narcissistic and shallow excuse to kill Rei but I don't resent Kayle and Manon. Kayle did it for us while Manon did it for her sister. They did it for their loved ones." Nao answered.

Umeko smiled and said, "Do you understand the motive this time?"

"Not really. All we got was a picture of Reyes doing what she does as Sparkling Justice 2.0. I am not sure what Monokuma really wants us to see." Nao answered.

Umeko was about to follow up with another question when Monokuma suddenly appeared on his throne. "Hello, twerps! Sorry for keeping you waiting. Why don't we start this show?" Monokuma eerily grinned at everyone. Monokuma is surely in a good mood. He must be anticipating something to happen in this trial.

Nao looked at his facts for one last time before the trial began.


Fact #1: Autopsy Report #5

The victim is Ichimako Watadzumi. The estimated time of his death was 1:29 pm. The victim died from strangulation.

Fact #2: Mako's Neck

Mako's neck was bruised and had weird markings caused by something being pressed on it. The markings are more concentrated around their adam's apple.

Fact #3: Mako's Back

Mako has green slime on their back.

Fact #4: Secret Note

Samuru received a note telling him to meet Mako at the Eye in the Sky cart #1 at 1 pm and to not talk before Mako did. Another note was found inside the cart with the same message but this one says it came from Samuru. Fact #5: Samuru's Hand

Samuru's right hand has green slime on it.

Fact #6: Samuru's Testimony

Samuru went to The Eye in the Sky with Mako. The two were silent the whole time until smoke enveloped the cart that causes him to fall asleep. He was woken up from the feeling of his hand being pressed on by something. He saw a person running away but could not make out who it was because his vision was still foggy.

Fact #7: Asuka's Testimony

Asuka saw Nao's group enter the Monokumaland first, followed by Mako and Samuru. After that, she entered the cafeteria and stayed there with Norio.

Fact #8: Visitor Counter

According to Asuka and Norio, there were seven students inside Monokumaland before the murder announcement rang.

Fact #9: Sleeping Gas Bomb and Universal Timer

A sleeping gas bomb with a universal timer was found inside the cart where Mako was found.

Fact #10: Sleeping Gas Mask

A sleeping gas mask was found inside a bin near the Eye in the Sky. torn.

Fact #11: Secret Map

A secret map of the Underbelly was found inside a bin near the Eye in the Sky.

Fact #12: Missing Photos

Three sets of photos have been already won. These are "8", "3+5", and "Jackpot".

Fact #13: Monokuma's Interference

Monokuma can help players win the games in the Isle of Games.

Fact #14: The Underbelly

The Underbelly is not a maze. Each of its doors leads a different path. No path is similar.

Fact #15: Secret Exit

Every path in the Underbelly leads to a secret exit.

Fact #16: Trail of Green Slime

The trail of green slime was found at the secret exit of The Underbelly. The trail leads to all of the paths of everyone who entered it.

Fact #17: Time of Travel

A trip from the entrance to any attraction and vice versa takes five minutes. A trip from one attraction to another other than the Isle of Games also takes five minutes. A trip from one attraction to the Isle of Games and vice versa takes two and a half minutes.

Fact #18: Players' Timeframe

Eri got out after 17 minutes

Nao got out after 20 minutes

Takashiro got out after 28 minutes

Hana got out after 33 minutes

Umeko got out after 39 minutes

Fact #19: Norio's Testimony

He was with Asuka the whole afternoon.

Fact #20: The Underbelly Guide

When a student enters The Underbelly and fails to get out under thirty minutes, Monokuma fetches them and guides them to the exit.


"Alright! Let's start the trial! I think I am going to see some tears today! Upupupu!" Monokuma laughed as he started the trial. After that, Norio quickly took over. Everyone expected this and was willing to follow his lead.

"I think we should first discuss our list of suspects since it is the easiest thing to tackle in this case." Norio said.

Nao quickly added, "There are two people who are innocent in this case."

Takashiro was confused by this. "Why are there only two people?"

"It is because they are the only ones who have an alibi." Nao answered.

"What are their alibis?" Takashiro asked.

Umeko quickly added, "They have each other to prove their alibis."

"Who are these two?" Asuka asked.

Norio immediately snickered and rolled his eyes. He turned to his left where Asuka was standing. "They are talking about us, idiot."

"Oh! That is amazing! I don't have to do much to prove my innocence. But… what is exactly my alibi?" Asuka cheered.

"We were with each other when Mako was murdered. Do you not remember falling asleep on my shoulder because of that medicine you took?" Norio answered.

"Oh right! We were together the whole time. By the way, thank you for taking care of me earlier. I know I must have been fucking irritating." Asuka said.

"Wait, you let her sleep on your shoulder?" Hana interjected.

"It is not like I had a choice. She suddenly fell on my shoulder. Don't give it any meaning. Why did I even say that?" Norio quickly answered.

Hana giggled and said, "It looks like I have someone new to tease with after this trial. Hihihihihi!"

Nao was confused about what was happening. I need to steer them back to the topic before Norio loses his cool because of Hana. "Uhmmm… let's go back to narrowing our list of suspects."

Hana quickly shut up while Norio said, "Thank you! Now, where were we?"

"Y-y-you were saying you and R-R-Roxanne are innocent." Eri answered.

"Oh, that is right. Roxanne and I are innocent because we could not have done it since we were together the whole time." Norio said.

"So that leaves us with six." Takashiro said.

"Actually, there is someone else that we need to consider as innocent." Nao added.

Everyone looked at him. I hope Norio agrees with me on this one. Nao cleared his throat and continued. "Samuru is innocent as well."

Immediately, Takashiro reacted. "Huh? How come? Shouldn't he be the prime suspect right now since he is the last one to see Mako alive?" Some immediately agreed with him.

"Takashiro does make sense." Hana agreed.

"We d-d-did catch him beside Mako." Eri added.

"It wasn't me." All of a sudden, Samuru joined the conversation.

"What is your proof?" Takashiro asked.

"I don't have one but I know I am not the killer. I think we should not just focus on only me since we just started the trial." Samuru answered.

"No! Prove to me why it isn't you!" Takashiro stubbornly insisted on accusing Samuru.

Well, I was going to give a piece of evidence but all of you cut me off. Nao cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. "I think I can prove his innocence."

"Go on, tell us why Samuru is innocent." Norio said.

"Well, Samuru and Mako received a note that told them to do the exact same thing. However, what was weird about those notes is that they are from each other. The note Samuru got was from Mako while Mako's came from Samuru. It specifically told the two to shut up until one of them talks." Nao explained.

"What is your point?" Takashiro asked.

"Both of them were set up by the killer." Nao said.

"Oh! I see. I am sorry Samuru for being too harsh on you!" Takashiro apologized.

"It is alright. I understand our situation. We can't trust anyone, even the ones closest to us." Samuru said.

"Do you agree with me?" Nao asked Norio.

"I do but I also have another explanation that I think we should focus on." Norio answered.

"Why? Aren't we doing the right thing which is to narrow down our list?" Asuka asked.

"It is but, with the evidence we got, we can only prove only three people's innocence." Umeko answered.

"Umeko is right. We reached the end of that talk. Let's now talk about the other evidence that could prove Samuru's innocence." Norio said.

"What is it?" Hana asked.

"The green slime." Norio answered.

Nao immediately understood what he means. "Right! His hand has green slime."

Everyone could not follow the conversation between the two. "Can you please explain to us what you mean by the green slime." Umeko asked.

"Well, Samuru's hand and Mako's back had green slime. But, there is also another place that has green slime." Nao answered.

"The Underbelly…" Eri answered.

"Yes! Exactly!" Nao answered.

"What does that creepy ass place got to do with this?" Asuka asked.

"Well, we found a trail of slime outside The Underbelly. They looked like footprints but I can't really tell what it was since it was mushed. Am I saying the right thing?" Umeko turned to Nao.

"Yes. The trail was obviously left by a foot. That means the killer has slime under their foot, not on there hand, or else we would have seen more trails of green slime on handlebars." Nao added.

"So it means, the killer is one of us people who went inside the Underbelly?" Takashiro asked.

"I hate to admit it but it is one of us five who played." Nao answered.

"But, how can that be? We were all inside that freaking maze? How could the killer get out of that maze, kill someone, go back, and finish the maze?" Hana asked.

"Is it a maze?" Nao asked.

Everyone was stunned by the question.

"Of course, it is a maze. That is what Monokuma told us." Hana answered.

"Are we sure Monokuma is telling us the truth?" Nao asked.

Everyone turned to Monokuma who was attentively listening to the discussion. When everyone's eyes were glued on him, he started feeling awkward. "Oh my, why are you all looking at me? I was only quietly listening here!"

"Monokuma, is The Underbelly really a maze?" Umeko asked.

"I won't say a single word until you prove your claim that it is not a maze!" Monokuma said.

Everyone's attention went back to Nao. Nao took a deep breath and continued, "Umeko and I found a map of the Underbelly and we noticed its structure. It isn't like a garden maze we all thought it would be. Each door leads to a certain path to the exit. It is scary and confusing but you will never be truly lost like in a maze."

"That is true. Now that I think about it, I was never lost. I was just stuck hiding in a closet." Hana said.

"Same goes with me. I could not get out because I was too scared to move. Someone kept on shooting at me. That is why I could not properly move forward." Umeko added.

Norio shouted, "That is our proof of our claim. Time to explain yourself Monokuma!"

Monokuma suddenly giggled. "Upupupu! I was lying! That place was not a maze! Hahahahaha! You all fell for it!"

Samuru was furious to hear this. "You deceived us once again! You demon, tell us the truth about that place!"

Monokuma was wheezing from laughter. Everyone was confused. They don't know why Monokuma was laughing so hard. Samuru had enough of this. He took out his ax and threw it at Monokuma. The ax nearly cut Monokuma's head but it landed on the wall creating a huge crack on it. With this surprise turn of events, Monokuma stopped and grabbed the ax. All of a sudden, Monokuma threw the ax back at Samuru. Samuru calmly stood and caught the ax.

"You shithead! You almost killed me! Do you want to be punished?" Monokuma shouted.

"Answer us!" Samuru responded.

"Fine! That was no fun at all." Monokuma said. He fixed himself on his throne. Then, he continued his explanation. "The Underbelly is not a maze. It has different, straightforward paths that you need to follow to get out. Your paths will never cross because of how each path is designed. I only lied because I thought it would make you more scared when you enter it. All I was doing was harmless advertisement!"

"Is that all? Because if that is it, the most suspicious person is the fastest one to escape the place since they are the one who has the most time to kill someone." Hana said.

Is it really all of it?

With what Hana said, everyone quickly looked at the first person to escape, Eri. Eri suddenly became flustered. "I-I-It's not me! I-I-I didn't kill M-M-Mako!"

"Confess now Eri!" Asuka shouted.

"Don't shout at my friend! She would never kill any of her friends!" Takashiro quickly defended her.

Eri turned to him and said, "Thank you…"

"Stop defending her! She is the only one who could have done it! She finished it quickly to get out of the maze to kill Mako." Hana said.

Is it really the only way to get out?

"Hana, there is another way to get out other than escaping quickly." Norio said.

"Really?" Hana asked.

Norio turned to Nao and said, "Nao, tell them what you saw in the map of the attraction."

Nao nodded and continued, "Umeko and I found out that every path leads to a secret exit. Using the map, you can find your way to that secret exit. We checked it out and it is true. Actually, that is where we found the trail of green slime. It is connected to train tracks so anyone can call for a train there and go wherever they want to and come back."

"That means all of you are still suspects." Norio added.

"I am confused!" Asuka shouted out of nowhere.

"Why?" Umeko asked.

"From what I am hearing, the killer is all over the fucking place. One moment, they are here, the next thing they are there. I am sorry but can we focus one place for now and connect everything later?" Asuka answered.

"Sure. It will be more efficient to work that way." Norio answered.

"I think we have talked enough about The Underbelly. I think we should talk about the Eye in the Sky next." Umeko suggested.

"I believe so too." Nao added.

"Very well." Norio answered.

Samuru suddenly asked, "Where should we start?"

"Let's talk about the sleeping gas bomb we found." Hana answered.

"From Samuru's testimony, both you and Mako were knocked out because of that." Norio stated.

"Yes. No one threw it at us. It suddenly exploded. We did not notice anything suspicious when we went inside the cart." Samuru added more details.

"So how was it triggered?" Takashiro asked.

"Was the Ferris wheel already moving when it exploded?" Umeko asked.

"The Ferris wheel was about to start when it exploded. It had just finished loading in every cart. It felt like it was perfectly timed." Samuru answered.

"What if it is?" Nao asked.

"What do you mean? How could it have been timed perfectly?" Asuka asked.

"Well… The bomb had this universal timer attached to it. According to Monokuma, anything it is attached to is triggered to operate at a certain time." Nao answered.

"So all the killer had to do was set the time, place the bomb there, and wait. But, why is the killer so confident that Samuru and Mako will be trapped inside the cart? What if the cart just began loading and it set off? Wouldn't that ruin their plan?" Hana suddenly questioned Nao's theory.

Hana has a point but I think everyone is forgetting how the carnival operates. Nao answered, "The answer is simple. The carnival has a schedule it follows. Every attraction other than the Underbelly operates starting from 1 pm. The wheel loads for five minutes and one ride lasts for ten minutes. If the killer knows that, they will be able to set the time perfectly. If I was the killer, I would have set it for 1:05 pm to explode."

"Now that you explained it, it seems that it was perfectly timed because of the timer." Samuru added.

"I have a question. W-w-when did the killer s-s-set up everything?" Eri asked.

Norio immediately replied, "Most probably last night. They could not have done it the night before because Nao and Umeko's date and it could not have been this morning. After all, it will be suspicious of them to be missing."

"T-t-the killer really wanted t-t-to kill Mako…" Eri said.

"It looks like we have another determined killer like Manon." Norio added.

"It is safe to say this is a premeditated murder." Hana added,

"Let me get this straight. The killer bombed the two, went in there, and killed Mako? How the fuck did they not fall asleep if they are exposed to the smoke as well?" Asuka asked.

"The killer must have used some sort of protection" Umeko answered.

"They definitely did. Do you remember what we saw in the bin other than the map?" Nao asked.

Suddenly, Umeko remembered what Nao was talking about. She answered, "The sleeping gas mask…"

"The killer must have worn that when they were inside the cart. It is the only logical explanation for this." Norio added.

After that, everyone was silent. No one was really sure what to add next. It felt like they were able to discuss everything about the Ferris wheel. Nao was about to move on to another topic when Eri raised a question.

"I am sorry. I-I-I was wondering why t-t-the killer asked Samuru to come. It feels weird… W-w-what was his p-p-purpose?" Eri asked.

I never thought of that. Why did the killer want Samuru there? If their target is Mako, why was Samuru needed by the killer? They could have just asked Mako to come by himself. Everyone was discussing now Samuru's role. Most of them were unsure.

"He must be a scapegoat. They must have planned to pin him for the murder." Takashiro answered.

Immediately, Nao rejected the idea. "It is plausible but why did it have to be Samuru? They could have chosen other people, weaker people. Why did they gather two of the strongest people in the group? If their plan failed, they would have been in big trouble. Why take that big of a risk for just a scapegoat? I do not our killer is like that."

"Why choose Samuru? If I was the killer, I would have chosen Eri or Takashiro as the scapegoat since they are weak and easy to manipulate." Hana added.

"I would never choose Samuru as a target. He is too powerful and unpredictable. I won't have time to deal with him." Norio answered.

What if they chose him because he is him? "I think the killer targeted him because he is Samuru." Nao said.

"What? You lost me." Hana added.

"What if the killer was not just planning on killing Mako but also him?" Nao answered.

Everyone thought about it. Nao continued explaining, "Think about it! None of us would choose Samuru as a scapegoat, let alone as our random victim. The killer must have had their reasons to want to kill Mako and Samuru at the same time."

"It seems it is the only explanation I could think of as well." Norio said.

Everyone looked at Samuru. However, Samuru was not bothered by this. "I was supposed to die?"

"Yes." Nao calmly answered.

Eri was worried. She immediately asked, "Why are you calm about th-th-this?"

"I have so many enemies. My life is under threat every day. I am used to this all the time." Samuru explained.

"But why did the killer did not kill you?" Umeko asked.

"I don't know. Something must have happened." Samuru answered.

Nao looked at Samuru's testimony and tried to think of what happened. The killer wanted to kill him but did not proceed to do it. Something unplanned happened. What did happen? Nao continued thinking until he finally had an answer. "You woke up too early."

Everyone looked at Nao. "He woke up too early?" Asuka asked.

"Put yourself in the shoes of the killer. If you plan to kill Samuru, would you want to do it when he is awake?" Nao asked,

"No! That would be ridiculous. That is a suicide mission." Hana answered.

"Exactly! The killer must have seen that Samuru was waking up so they immediately ran as soon as the cart opened. They were just lucky enough to get out before Samuru have fully woken up." Nao explained to everyone.

After that, another question was formed. "Why did Samuru woke up too early?" Takashiro asked.

"What would wake you up?" Norio asked.

"Sunlight…" Hana answered.

"Too much noise wakes me up." Asuka answered.

"I wake up when I'm…in pain." Eri answered.

Suddenly, Nao had an answer. "That's right!" Nao shouted.

"Who is right?" Hana asked.

"Eri… Samuru, what did you feel before you woke up?" Nao answered.

"I felt like something hard pressed on my hand." Samuru shared.

"What if it was not pressed on but stepped on?'" Umeko added.

"That would also explain the slime on his hand. We have established the killer had slime on their shoe. The foot that stepped on him was the foot that had slime." Norio said.

"The killer wanted to kill Samuru but they woke him up by stepping too hard on his hand. Did I get that right?" Takashiro asked.

"Yes!" Nao answered.

"It feels like the killer needed a lot of things but none of us really brought anything when we went to The Underbelly. Where did they hide everything?" Hana asked.

"It is true that the killer needed a lot of things but it does not mean they brought it with them all at once." Nao answered. Nao turned to Norio who seemed pleased with his answer.

"Do you guys remember the policy for the Isle of Games?" Norio asked.

"What was their policy again?" Hana asked.

"If you win an item you can claim it anytime you want. That is what the killer did. They only needed to bring one thing." Norio answered.

"The secret map…" Umeko answered.

"Umeko is right. If they get out of that maze or whatever it is easily, they will be able to pick up the gas mask they needed." Norio explained.

"Wait a minute! Hold up! The killer went to another place?" Asuka asked.

"Yes! Keep up!" Hana shouted.

"When did they go to the Isle of Games?" Asuka asked.

"After they got out of The Underbelly through the secret exit…" Nao answered.

"I don't get it. The timing is so confusing! The killer is going everywhere but I am not sure how long it took the killer get out and come back!" Asuka added.

"I know. It looks like timing will be the key important factor to solve this but we have not even scratched that part yet." Nao commented.

Suddenly, Monokuma giggled. Everyone looked at him. Monokuma gave them a big smile and said. "It is so funny! You guys are talking about time while you are running out of time! Hahahahaha!"

Nao became more worried. He looked around. If it takes this long for this to happen and that long to get there, then this could happen. This is tricky. This is too hard. I can't! "This is so confusing. I don't even have a concrete idea who the killer is."

Suddenly, Norio snickered. Everyone turned to him. Norio immediately said, "You really are underestimating my ability to detect that you are hiding something, Nao. We both know you have an idea who it is. I already know who it is. It is simple math. Didn't I tell you to have no mercy?"


That is it for this update!

What do you think of what is happening so far? Did your guess change? Who killed Mako? Tell me by voting on a poll on my profile.

If you want to talk about this story and other stuff, join the discord server for this story. The link is on my profile!

Anyway, that is for now! I hope you guys enjoyed reading!

Good luck to all of us!