Dalia was voted out by an overwhelming majority. She and her unit-mates voted for other students, but even if they'd all voted for the same one, it still wouldn't have been enough. It showed a lot about their character, however. While the rest of her unit looked like dams about to burst, Dalia was stoic, arms crossed and face dark and unreadable, eyes closed in defiance, bitterness, and regret.

"You guys are lucky I'm feewing nice today!" Monochio pouted at Saori, Rika, and Marika. "Or else, I'd execute you thwee too for not votin' right! But, as much as I want to, I'm still saving you for some more funsies laterz!"

The three long screens hanging over the students' heads lowered slightly, showing Dalia's Chibi icon surrounded by confetti, and a green checkmark.

"Awright, widdle fwens! It's pwunishment twime! Tee-hee!" Monochio struck its trademark "cutesy kitty paw-er pose" as it happily slapped its tail on the big, glowing EXECUTION button sitting in front of its VR chair.

GAME OVER

Dalia Matsuyama has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!

"I Will Never Die"

And then, the execution music began, remixing hideously with M4's songs. It was time for the Ultimate Dancer's last show, her final curtain call!

ooo

The next time Dalia opened her eyes, she was sitting cross-legged in a dojo in her martial arts uniform, belt tight around her waist. Hmm?

Was she going to be given a fighting chance? Or, even if the game was rigged, what would her execution be? I imagine that I shall be bested in combat, but that isn't as frightening as I th—

The lights in the dojo went out, and a cold wind rushed in. Although she couldn't see it, the dojo walls and doors slid open. The next time the lights came on—though this time it was candlelight—spectral and zombified figures stood waiting. Oh… For a moment, Dalia was paralyzed, but her heartrate skyrocketed. The silence seemed to last for an eternity, then suddenly, the first undead lunged. Its head swung wildly, as if its neck was broken. Dalia was catapulted to her feet, though she didn't know if it was her, or another unseen force.

As the undead creature lumbered forward, the horror in Dalia multiplied when she saw blonde hair in the candlelight. Nagisa! "S-stay back! Stay away!" she cried, but Nagisa continued to stumble forward, twitching and lurching in a wide, uneven gait. Dalia finally struck back, one well-aimed blow from her hand sending Nagisa reeling. But then Nagisa groaned and started shuffling forward again.

Dalia screamed and struck again, and this cycle continued until Nagisa finally collapsed for good. Dalia didn't get any rest before she heard a cackling giggle and turned around to see little, skeletal, pink-stained Miiko sprinting at her almost faster than the eye could see. Dalia screamed in reply, almost as high-pitched as Miiko, but with fear rather than delight.

After kicking and punching her way through Miiko, Dalia was met with Saki's corpse, again charred beyond recognition. Then Kurumi, coughing up burning, acidic poison. Then Haruna, who spider-crawled at Dalia on bent, broken limbs. Dalia finally turned tail and fled, trying to escape the dojo entirely. The hallway stretched out into infinity, so no matter how far or fast she ran, her pursuers were never too far behind, and she could hear their hideous growls and groans as they gained on her, their bodies breaking as they did so.

Dalia was forced to fight them off, lest she be swarmed, but the execution was barely half over. Rei hopped after her on one leg at incredible speeds, outpaced only by the Ultimate Runner, her entire body covered in giant, ugly red sores from the carbon monoxide she spent the last hours of her life inhaling. Then came Noa, hurling her severed head at Dalia, biting at her.

Dalia shrieked again and struggled to bat her away, sending the head flying into Ibuki, slowing both of them down just long enough for her to focus on the Ultimate Pianist. But the moment Dalia attacked Rei, Esora appeared, and even though she was staggering from her spear wound—which was gushing pink, red, and gold—she was hell-bent on making sure Rei didn't face Dalia alone.

Once again, Dalia was forced to flee rather than fight, and finally, she reached the very end of the dojo. All that awaited her was a large, long, lonely, empty grave. Dalia stopped inches away from falling into it, her stomach falling in dread as the entire room went silent. No more groaning and growling undead. No more execution music. No more cold wind. No more sliding dojo doors. Just… eerie, deathly silence… And Dalia foolishly chose to peer over the edge of the empty, awaiting grave.

"RAH!" Four hands and two torsos conjoined at the hip sprung out at her, grabbing her.

"AOI! ALTER-EGO?!" Dalia fought desperately to turn around and run back the way she came, but barely a foot away was a wall of people, the very same she'd just conquered in combat. It was as if they'd never battled at all. They stood there with arms crossed and eyes burning. The shock and terror were so immense that Dalia lost her balance as Aoi and ALTER-EGO continued to drag her into their grave.

The execution music started up again, reaching its climax, harmonizing with the wailing ghosts, and Dalia howled right along with it. Some of her nails even ripped out from how desperately she clawed at the wooden floor as it turned into dirt, but Aoi and ALTER-EGO would not let go.

"NOOOOOOOOOO—!" Her scream was cut off midway as she was dragged completely into the grave, the other undead approaching and kicking dirt in after her, burying her alive and sealing her inside so that neither sound nor body nor even soul would ever escape the pit again.

The song ended at the exact same time, the final beat dropping just as the final clump of dirt dropped onto Dalia Matsuyama's grave, burying her right alongside all of her other fallen classmates, each one reluctantly returning to their own final resting place in graves surrounding hers.

ooo

Rika was on her hands and knees staring unseeingly up at the execution screen above. Her eyes were wide and wild, mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out as tears flooded down her face. Marika was right beside her, dry-heaving. Saori knelt beside them as well, completely frozen and expressionless, the pure definition of shellshocked.

Wh-what…? What are we going to do now? What are we going to do without her…? None of it made any sense. Not Matsuyama as a murderer. Not Aoi or ALTER-EGO's vengeful spirits. How did the punishment fit the crime when death was a fear they all had? But wasn't that what Monochio was thinking of earlier? The humanity and relatability of the crime made the punishment that much sweeter and more Despairful!

Rika, though, was taking it hardest of all. Oh, Dalia, no… Oh, God… I was supposed to protect you! I was supposed to… protect all of you… I never wanted for this… I never MEANT for any of this to… happen… You were supposed to stay with me, stay SAFE with me, forever! Oh… God… This was all MY fault…! I… I… I failed you, Dalia Matsuyama, and I am so, so, so sorry… I wish it had been me instead… But she hadn't just failed to protect and save Dalia, but her other unit-mates as well. And Aoi. And Tsubaki. And RONDO.

And everyone else who loved anyone from M4 or RONDO, which meant all of them. They were all connected by something, and today, Rika was the one who shattered that bond, who failed to preserve it. What about Miyu? Who'd idolized Dalia and loved Saori and Tsubaki? What about Kyoko, who had a past with Tsubaki? Or Yuka, who also had a past with Dalia? Or Shinobu, with her connection to RONDO, having had to lose Nagisa twice? And all of them had lost Esora. No one was left untouched by this tragedy. Rika finally managed to turn her head.

Tsubaki's face was much the same as Rika's, wide, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she wore an expression of horror and disbelief. She stared intently at the execution screen, as if she would get another glimpse of Aoi, as horrific as they'd been.

Well, Aoyagi, did you get what you wanted? Did you have your revenge? The Ultimate Vocalist asked herself. Oh… Aoi… What am I supposed to do without you? Is there even a point anymore? In continuing on? What is it for? She'd never even told her DJ that she loved them…

But her family hadn't just shattered because of the loss of Aoi. The moment the Ultimate Vocalist caught sight of the Ultimate Volleyballer staring at her, a fury and hatred the likes of which she'd never felt before seethed and surged through her. But it died as quickly as it had sparked to life. Her bond with M4, all of them, had been forever and irreversibly shattered.

Most Despairful of all, at the end of the day, they hadn't brought a single person back. Instead, they only lost two more. And the one creature that was resurrected… was determined to continue the Killing Game no matter what. The Game would live on, and so would they, to see another Stage. Thus ended Stage IV.

ooo

"MONOCHIO!" MM3 literally kicked in the door to the sixth floor, marching through to the security room, ignoring the warning glares from the other, surviving Masterminds. "What the HELL was that?! That wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Sowwy!" Monochio whimpered piteously. "But you knew the risks when you signed up! Also! It's Monyo—"

"But this! Wasn't! Supposed! To! HAPPEN!" Sparks, little tongues of flame, licked up from MM3's clenched fists.

"Yeowchie!" Monochio shrieked and scampered away, but a second later, its tone became threatening and dangerous. "I'd be careful if I were you, MM3. Watch your tone, mind your manners, know your place, and remember to whom you belong! You play with fire, you get boo-boos! You create hazards, and safety measures will be implemented! I will need to add… Band-Aids…!"

"But this wasn't supposed to happen!" It was all MM3 could say.

"It's a Killing School Transfer! The hell do you expect?" Monochio scoffed. "It's your own damn faults for not actually doing your jobs, you buttheads! Tch! And you have the gall to call yourselves Masterminds!" Its glare was baleful, and it extended its claws, tail lashing and fur prickling. "You should know by now not to trust… her so easily!" it hissed. "Junko cares not for any of you! You're all fodder to her!"

"You're one to talk! You murderous maniac scrap of junk!" MM3 was still seething hot, the flickers still erupting between her clenched fingers.

"Nu! Like I said before! Dats not my job! It's yours!"

MM1, meanwhile, was like ice. She was no less intense and deadly, but rather than running hot with emotion and passion, she was completely still and silent, cold and sharp. Only MM4 didn't seem angry, but that was because all she could express or experience was grief, raw and unfettered. All three of the surviving Masterminds had lost someone important in the latest class trial, but in the end, MM3 was first to snap.

An inhuman, unintelligible scream tore itself from her throat as a blast of flame shot off from her hands.

"Mastermind 3!" The other two cried out, but it was already too late. By the time MM3 finally ceased her inferno attack, Monochio's face had all but melted completely off all over again, leaving it as hideous and deformed as some of the corpses that attacked Dalia in her execution.

It took nearly a week after that to salvage and repair not just Monochio's face, but some of its internal components as well.

"And if that little shit-fucker tries to say or do anything, I don't wanna hear it!" MM3 thundered, flames bursting out of her hands again. "I didn't break any rules! I didn't kill it! I'm a goddamn Mastermind! Junko's fucking favorite! It wouldn't DARE law a CLAW on ME!"

For the first time ever, her two companions were almost a little afraid of her, but they dutifully repaired the giant, robot cat while MM3 stormed off to cool off. The next time she would return to their secret lair, yet another new personality would've taken over the obnoxious Headcatster.

"Ohohoho! What have we here?!" Monochio cried. Its tone was pompous and grandiose as it rose to its paws and shook itself off delicately. It strode with a dignified self-importance, arrogance and exuberance radiating from every inch of it.

"We got another murder to execute," MM3 snarled through a fake smile. That's it. I'M calling all the shots now! And I don't give a FUCK what anyone else says, does, or thinks! OK?! Not the other two. Not even Junko Enoshima could stop me! I don't care if we fucked up her last motive! I was the goddamn hero and savior of Stage IV! Without ME, Izanami would've destroyed EVERYTHING! So, we're gonna finish this goddamn Killing Game if it's the last thing I do, and we're doing it MY WAY!

"Mm-hmm! A fascinating endeavor! We are most pleased!" It purred, sounding as if six voices were speaking as one. The most distinct voice of the six was vaguely feminine and very queenly. No, not a queen, an empress! "Ah, Despair, foolish and pathetic mortals, for it is I! The avatar of Ultimate, divine punishment! Ahahahaha!"

Stage V would soon begin…

Stage IV: Re:mix, Re:ality, Re:surrect, Re:vive. Complete.

Stage V: De5p4ir Jockeys

AN: I imagine this execution music to be Korekiyo's combined with M4's "I Will Never Die". Also, it'll be a bit before Stage V is finalized.