Chapter 3: The Manipulator's Malice Part 6 (Deadly Life)

Remaining Citizens: 12

Emma's POV

"If I get blamed for a murder, use this as evidence." - Yu Ishigami

"That… that's it?" Killua was exasperated at the message Ishigami left for us on his laptop.

"Last edit was at 6:40 pm. This was around the time the murder happened! We can rule him out completely then." I tried to improve the mood.

"I mean… it was smart of him to do this, thus ruining the plan of the person who tried to frame him. Still, it is pretty half-assed." He said as he walked out of the door.

"Ishigami's Computer Message" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

"It is helpful though, hm?" I looked to my left and looked at the nameplates. It's like Ishigami said, there's a pixelated image of a guy with weird spiky hair.

"I've seen this guy before, some homeless man on the poster for fortune telling services."

"Fortune… telling?" I asked him.

"Predicting the future, but from how that guy looked, it would probably be a waste of money. The rest of these faces on the other doors though, they've also appeared around the city, almost as if they were celebrities… eh, whatever, let's get going, Emma."

"Alright." Before I moved on however, I quickly looked over the names on the dorm rooms, maybe these can be useful!

"Room Nameplates" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

We then decided to check out the other rooms, however when we took a couple steps forward, I saw Ryuji talking with Alice. The latter was giggling a bit as she patted the back of the former before noticing us and waving.

"Yeesh, oh hey guys, what's up?" Ryuji asks us as Alice walks off towards the restroom.

"We're just busy investigating. What was that all about?" I asked him a question this time.

"Oh that? I was just asking Alice if her throat was feeling sore, you hear that scream of hers? I could hear it all the way from the dining hall, and I rushed all the way over there. Weird, huh?"

Killua then pondered for a bit, "That does sound weird, since the dining hall is so far from the gym, how would her scream even reach you?"

"Beats me. Although, since a couple of people here have super powers or whatever, maybe she can make her voice sound louder!" Ryuji suggested and we shook our heads in response.

"Eh, worth a guess. Let me know if you need anything else, I'm no detective, but I don't want to be useless."

"Ryuji's Account" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

After our conversation we searched the other rooms, one of them looked very fancy and had a stand with glasses on it, another one had a bunch of computers, exercise equipment in yet another. In the last room however…

"Ack, it smells in here!" I held my nose to prevent more of the stench from entering, Killua did the same.

"Jeez! It reeks, like if someone hasn't taken a bath in ages!" Killua was wobbling.

"Let's… go look quickly so we can leave before passing out…" I told him.

As we walked into the smelly room, stacks upon stacks of books were spread throughout the place. There were pieces of paper hanging on the metal plates where windows should be.

"Probably a writer from the way the words are written on these pages…" Killua says.

A writer… must be that girl with the glasses on the nameplate. I browse through the many books before I notice a page sticking out of a trash can. It's crumpled up, but I can tell that it was ripped out of one of the books.

I turned to Killua and ushered him over to me as we thankfully exited the room. After we both breathed fresh air, I read the page aloud.

"Nyohohohoho! To the lucky person who finds this, congratulations! You have found a quick and easy way to become blackened."

"Huh? The hell is this? Instructions for a murder?" Killua was just as confused as I was.

It's telling us to head back to the gym, if this were any other circumstance we would just throw it back into the trash. However, we need to find out what it was that killed Sucy, perhaps this will lead us to the weapon.

"Well it can't hurt to look…" I told Killua as we walked all the way back to the gym, but on the way there…

"Hm, you two have been busy, have you?" Aoba walked out of the school store.

"Yes. We have, now get out of our way, you slimy bastard." Killua looked him dead in the eyes, if looks could kill, Aoba would be dead by now. Although Killua is the Ultimate Assassin after all…

"Huh, 'slimy bastard'. Heh, if you're going to be rude then I won't share one detail that could help in the trial."

I sighed before reluctantly asking, "Fine, what is it? And it better not be a lie!"

Aoba smirked, "The Body Discovery Announcement. Try to focus on who was there by the body when it went off. I won't waste any more of your time, farewell."

Man… I don't know what he's up to. If he did kill her, why would he tell us this information? Or maybe he's lying to us by giving us false evidence so that either he or the real killer will move on. Or maybe—

"Emma!"

"Gyah!"

Killua shook his head, "Let's just keep that evidence just in case it is true."

"Body Discovery Announcement" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

We enter the gym, Ishigami waking up as we enter and he walks up to us slowly. I then looked to see that Ai was sleeping next to him, why did they just dump her there?

"You found it, right?" He asked about his computer message.

"Indeed, I commend you for thinking ahead, but it is a pretty blunt message." I said, but he just went "Mhm."

"We're really here to find the murder weapon." Killua explained.

"Eh? But you checked everything out over here, right?"

"Well, allow me to read the paper we found." I cleared my throat before beginning.

"Make sure your target is standing near the stage, and then say the words 'I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!'"

But as soon as I said that…

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Ai cried out.

Killua then grabbed me and Ishigami, dashing over to the far left as metal spears shot out of the floor nearly skewering us.

"Are you all alright?" Ai, awake runs over to the three of us.

"Y-yeah… how about you Ishigami?" I asked him, but he was quivering.

"Just take me to my room, so I can die." He said with a dark expression on his face.

"Not gonna happen, anyways thanks Killua! Whoa!" I turned to him, but his hair was standing up with electricity around him.

"I'll uh, tell you guys about this later, it would take too long to explain. Anyways, it's not all me, Ai was the one who warned us. How did you know what was coming, anyways?" Killua asked her as his electricity went away.

"My eyes and hearing are actually quite better than most people, although it's nowhere near superhuman. I'm just glad you're all safe." She said with a sigh of relief.

I hugged the three of them tight as I had a big smile on my face. I'm so glad that I had met such talented and caring people like them.

"H-hey! Let's try to focus now." Killua blushed a little as I giggled and Ai gave a smile of her own. Ishigami… was still shaken up.

"Ha ha ha, sorry! So we can conclude that those large spears are the murder weapon." I pointed at them as they retracted back into the floor.

"Indeed, and don't worry about trying to catch me up, I overheard who died when everyone took me into the gym. Plus the evidence is added to the handbooks for everyone, so I'll be sure to read over it all before the trial begins." Ai explains as we listen.

"Spears of Gungnir Instructions" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

"Still though, there's still the matter of the two handwritten notes." Killua brought up.

"That's right. We need to find out who wrote them, since they're both left without a signature and they're written differently." I hit the palm of my right hand with the bottom of my left fist.

"C-c-couldn't the killer just write both of them? P-p-plus who's to say they didn't change their handwr-r-riting?" Ishigami was struggling to get out words.

"Hm…" I heard from Ai as she looked at the messages closely, "Excuse me for a moment, I'll be back before the trial begins."

She walked out the gym door, as I wondered what she was planning. Then I heard a growling noise.

"Ugh, we've been here for hours, we definitely need to eat before the trial begins." Killua groaned and I nodded.

The two of us dragged Ishigami out of the school building and breathed in the "outside" air.

An hour later, after a lot of food and water with everyone who was trapped inside the school, I heard my e-Handbook switch on.

"Nom nom nom, you guys all stuffed now? Good! Then let's get things rolling! How about we use the trial room inside the school this time, make your way to the red door on the first floor!" Monokuma devoured a fish on the message he sent us.

I looked to Killua and we both nodded at each other, this is it.

Sucy Manbavaran, we didn't know each other much, she was pretty antisocial the entire time she was around us. Despite that, I wanted to know more about her, maybe even become friends with her. She was lured into that spear trap by the blackened, so now we have to find out who that is.

Everyone made their way into the building and owned the red door, I looked around for a bit before I saw who I was looking for entering late.

"My apologies for the wait, and for my absence during this investigation. I have two more pieces of evidence here with me, so now let's begin." Ai gave me a parcel and gave me a knowing look.

"Ai's Parcel" has been added to the Truth Bullet section of your handbook.

Everyone entered the elevator and made our way down towards the trial room. It's finally time, reveal the truth behind Sucy's death.

Are y'all ready? Next time it all comes together… maybe. Depending on how long the trial may take. Two chapters at most probably. See y'all next time! Reminder that chapters are uploaded at least once a month.