Danganronpa: Corrupted Hope (SYOC)

by SilverMark16

Sixteen people wake up and find themselves in a large, abandoned prison facility with no answers as to why they're there. Instead, they're forced to play a dangerous game of Life and Death. A game known only as a Killing Game, hosted by a sinister man calling himself White Collar and his pet snake, Monohebi.

36. Sins of the Forsaken (Part 7)

Chapter 4: Sins of the Forsaken (Deadly Life #1)

---

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggi- Wait. You're dead now. Meaning there are no sexual innuendos!... Maybe! Hooray!), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!

With that said, please enjoy!

---

ExtraMeme (10:09 AM)

"Hey guys. Heads up. There's a user named Cam scamming people online. Scammed me out of my birthday money. Really pissed about it… Just be careful, alright?"

CandleFire45 (10:10 AM)

"WHAT?! YOU TOO?! I just got scammed out of 100 bucks!"

Sempi (10:10 AM)

*insert cursed Velma emote*

Theotakureader101 (10:11 AM)

"Damn, same… Who the hell is this piece of shit?"

CandleFire45 (10:11 AM)

"I DON'T KNOW! I'm seriously upset right now!"

Otterplay (10:24 AM)

"You guys are idiots…"

---

Cassandra burst out laughing as she counted the funds on her computer. She had read the log of complaints filed under the Reddit community and couldn't help but smirk at the idiots that fell for her scams. She had to admit, spending some of that pocket money… It was well and worth it now that she was scamming people at a higher degree than she normally did.

She sat back, deleting her most recent account and keeping the money all to herself. She's started something of an internet rumor now. Honestly, she never thought it would get this far but here she was.

She's made people fear the user, Cam.

She's taken money from countless people.

And yet despite all of that…

…she was no step closer to providing enough for her father, Hikaru Mura, to quit at least one job. She tightened her fist. God, her father was stubborn.

…

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang.

Cassandra quickly finished what was left to erase and headed downstairs. Carefully, she glanced through the peephole. Slight paranoia snuck in. She didn't expect much. There was no way it could be the police. She was extremely careful. So… Who would visit the Mura residence, then?

It wasn't a cop.

But it seemed to be a… woman?

A woman that was familiar to her.

She bit her lip and opened the door. If it was secretly the FBI or something, they would have nothing on her. That was the perk of what she had spent her money on… As for the woman herself? She looked…

"Who are you?" Cassandra asked, opening the door carefully.

The woman had a cigarette in her mouth and examined Cassandra with careful eyes. It didn't take her long to remove the cigarette, widen her eyes, and slowly put it on the steps of her door. Rude.

The woman slowly smiled.

"...Is that you?" the woman gave her a smile of assurance. "Cassie?"

Cassandra widened her eyes.

Was she–

"Oh, you do recognize me," the woman smiled. "It's me! Your mother!"

Abagail Veers…

…

This was the first time she's ever seen her mother.

Actually, untrue. The first time she's ever seen her mother was when she was in the process of being a month old. But even so, she couldn't remember squat from then. She didn't know much of her mother. Just the fact that she had one that just wasn't around.

It also didn't take a child prodigy to understand that Abagail Veers had abandoned the family. Abandoned her. So, for her to return…

…It pissed her off.

Cassandra was staring at the reason their entire situation was in shambles. And all she could do was look around with that stupid smile on her face.

"I see this house hasn't changed a bit," Abagail smiled. "I remember when I first met your father. I was working as a waitress, and he just got his citizenship in America. He was a man of ambition and we just ended up together. It was really–"

"Why are you here?" Cassandra folded her arms.

"Eh?" Abagail blinked. "Why do you ask? Should I not be?"

"...Do you even know how long it's been?" Cassandra frowned.

"Cassie, come on-" Abagail was about to say before Cassandra interrupted her.

"16 years!" Cassandra yelled. "It's been fucking 16 years and you suddenly decided to come back now? When you missed out on my entire fucking childhood and left dad to clean up after the mess you threw us in? No, you came back here for a reason. I want to know why."

Abagail opened her mouth to say something. Then, folding her arms, she sat back and sighed. The ol "long-lost mother coming back and wanting to reunite with her family" routine. Cassandra thought that was something only done in bad Netflix shows, but she saw right through the gimmick.

Experience of reading people has taught her greatly.

"Wow, look at you," Abagail gave what looked like a guilt-ridden smile toward her daughter. "I haven't been in your life and you're already taking to skills that I would've taught you in order to survive. Like mother, like daughter I suppose."

"You're not my mom, Abbygail," Cassandra sneered.

"...Where's Hikaru?" Abagail asked, looking away. "Er, where's your father, Cassie? This is a grown-up matter that we need to discuss."

"You don't get to call me that," Cassandra glared coldly at her mother. "And you don't get to see Dad. Not after what you did to him. What you did to us…"

"Sweetie, all I did was just take some cash and left to experience freedom," Abagail folded her arms as she tried to plead her case. "If you were in my shoes, you would understand–"

"Was it worth it then?" Cassandra looked down. "Was leaving Dad, taking his money, and just abandoning me all worth it for your sick fucking 'freedom'? Was it worth betraying your own family over?"

Abagail said nothing to that regard.

"You know I literally had no parents growing up," Cassandra hugged herself. "You left the moment I was born. Dad had to work four to five jobs so that I had a roof to stay under, even if it meant never being able to spend one minute with me. Throughout all of that, no one had the fucking time to just… be with me."

"Cassie, I'm…" Abagail tried to reach out to her daughter.

"Get out," Cassandra immediately said, as she held back tears that were starting to form from the sides of her eyes.

"Cassie?" Abagail blinked.

"Get out!" Cassandra yelled. "I told you! You don't get to call me that! You're not my mom! Dad hates your guts! We don't fucking want you around! So, get the fuck out of our house!"

Abagail was taken aback by her daughter's anger.

She stood up and prepared to leave, but before she could, Cassandra said one last thing that made her own heart shatter.

"If you come back anywhere near us, I'm filing a restraining order," Cassandra glared at Abagail. "We don't need you. Not after all this…"

Abagail blinked before looking away.

"...If that's what you want Cassie," Abagail softly said. She turned to Cassandra with a small smile. "I'll… be going then…"

Abagail left without much of a word.

Cassandra clenched her fist.

It was good fucking riddance, right?

If so, then why did she still feel guilty?

Why did she… still feel so… sad?

To watch her own mother leave at her own demands…

Why would she even still consider the thought to ask her to stay…?

---

CHAPTER 4: SINS OF THE FORSAKEN (DEADLY LIFE)

---

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice once again echoed throughout the facility. "A body has been discovered. After a certain amount of time has passed, the Prison Trial will begin. That is all."

…

Cassandra opened her eyes.

She woke up to the sound of the Body Discovery Announcement. Another one, huh? She expected something like this would happen. It was bound to happen at some point. The only question was when…

She scoffed.

Why should she care?

Jared was right.

She was Cassandra Mura. The survivor. Nothing more than a selfish bitch who cared about saving her own skin… She grimaced. Slowly, she got up from her bed and sighed to herself. What could she do about it now?

Someone was dead and it was time to get the Investigation started.

Maybe…

Maybe… he would be there.

Maybe if she could get the chance to investigate with him together, then…

She smacked herself across the forehead.

What the hell was wrong with her?

How could she even think about teaming with a bastard like that? Someone who dared to be so fucking cold to her of all people! She… She doesn't need to give him the time of day!

She frowned.

So, why did she desperately want to?

She exited her room and slammed her door before attempting to locate the source of panic and cries and despair. That was usually where bodies were usually found…

---

(Mineshaft)

The smell of a rotting, mangled corpse filled the air.

Mimi had fallen backwards, covering her mouth as tears spilled out of her eyes in fear of what she had just discovered. Muffled behind her own hands, she repeated the same words over and over and over again. The trepidation had set in. And somehow… Despite having seen dead bodies and executions firsthand, this was different.

This was no ordinary dead body.

This was a cruel and unusual punishment for someone she once knew as Jared Caertas, the Ultimate Police Officer.

"OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod," Mimi screamed behind her mouth.

"Mimi!" Abigail ran over as soon as soon she had heard her chilling scream.

Behind her, were Haruto, Ina, and Arthur, all of whom had been arguing amongst themselves at the intersection of Cell Block S if you did not remember the final Daily Life chapter. The moment the four stepped in however, they smelled the same foul odor Mimi had smelled when she had first entered.

"B-Big Sis… Abigail," Mimi whimpered behind her tears.

"What on Earth is that foul–" Arthur pinched his nose before his eyes widened. "A-Ah… Is that…?"

"Holy fucking shit," Haruto went pale. "What the fuck?! How the fuck?! Why the fuck?!"

"It is Jared," Ina turned away as soon as she saw what had become of Jared's body.

Not only that, but what made it worse was that his body was still being transported toward the rock pile at the end of the Grinder's conveyor belt. His rotting, mutilated corpse with nothing but pieces of bone and skin all ripped and twisted in ways she couldn't have imagined was possible.

"W-What the hell happened?" Abigail asked. "How did this…? How did he…?"

More footsteps came into the room.

This time, it came from Zuri and Holland, who had reacted accordingly to the Body Discovery Announcement.

"...We heard the Announcement and came as soon as we…" Holland went silent. He stopped talking. How could he even speak after seeing what had become of Jared's body? "I-Is that…"

"It's Jared, yes," Arthur grimaced, folding his arms. "If what remains of his blue hair and clothing is anything to go by, that is the only person it could be."

"As well as his police uniform," Ina snuck a peek, regretted it, and glanced away again.

"I think… I think I'm going to be sick," Zuri covered her mouth. "W-Why does it smell so… bad…?"

"There are many reasons for that," Arthur explained. "But my guess is that the Grinder must've torn his body apart so well that it may have released some unsavory gastric acids into the air."

"...And you know how?" Holland glanced toward him.

"It's basic science," Arthur responded.

"B-But still, no one deserves this," Mimi wailed as she hugged Abigail in fear. "N-Not even Jared! H-How could someone do something like this to him?! H-How could this have…"

Then came the last set of footsteps.

The footsteps that had followed the sound of cries and despair in the air.

Cassandra Mura.

Similarly, as soon as she had stepped in, she found herself experiencing similar reactions to the god awful smell and atmosphere. The Grinder never ceased its loud cranking noise and the smell got putrid the closer Cassandra walked closer to the group.

"Jesus Christ, what the fuck happened here?" Cassandra pinched her nose in disgust. "Why does it smell so fucking–"

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks.

It didn't take long for her to realize.

As if she couldn't see it clearly from the body that was so visible the more she slowly stepped forward… As if she couldn't realize it sooner based on the uniform spattered on the rock piles… As if she couldn't have simply counted just how many people were left alive and how one person was left out of the equation…

Left in a pile of broken bones and bloody mush…

"A-Ah… J-Jared?" Cassandra placed a hand over her mouth.

Her eyes started to shake.

W-Was she… too late?

Was this a sick dream?

W-Was… this…

Her heart started to beat wildly. Her anxiety rose through the roof. Her emotions started to flood. She felt her own eyes trying to release something but no matter how hard they wanted to… no matter how hard she wanted to… she held it back. She couldn't… She couldn't think about that… She couldn't dare be…

She slowly lowered her hand over her mouth and walked closer to Jared. She remained silent for a few moments. Then, her expression darkened. Her light blue eyes glinted as she glanced back toward her peers.

She ignored the smell.

She ignored that tingly feeling she felt on the corner of her eyes.

She ignored everything just for the sake of giving into her darker side.

"...Who did this?" Cassandra asked.

"C-Cassandra?" Zuri blinked.

"Well, that is what we would like to know," Arthur folded his arms with a sigh. "That is the point of–"

"Don't fucking patronize me!" Cassandra stormed up to Arthur. "I want answers and you better give them to me! Who the fuck did this?! Who the fuck did this to him?! Who the fuck–"

"Cassandra, calm down," Zuri tried to reason with her but of course, she wasn't having it.

"D-Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" Cassandra yelled. "I want to know who the hell decided to fucking… fucking… fucking…."

She couldn't even say it.

Even now, she couldn't believe it.

She couldn't believe that…

"So, you did care about him after all, did you?" Arthur scoffed. "Hmph, now I suppose you know how it felt… when you used my own sister for your insane murder plot. I guess that's what we call, karmic retribution… perhaps?"

"H-Half-brother, now is not the–" Ina turned to Arthur, surprised.

"You fucking asshole!" Cassandra charged back toward Arthur and grabbed him by the neck. "Say that again! I fucking dare you!"

"Tch, you're only… proving my… case here…" Arthur spoke out the best he could with her hand on his throat.

"Cassandra, please stop," Zuri ordered immediately. "We don't need another body on our hands and I doubt you want to end up on the chopping block again without even finding who did this to… Jared."

Zuri hesitated for a second.

Like Cassandra, she also couldn't believe that Jared had died as well.

God.

And just when things…

Cassandra, on the other hand, pondered what Zuri had said and let Arthur go. Feeling displeased, the snowboarder had rubbed her neck with a slight cough. If anything, the entitled prick seemed more annoyed than actually intimidated.

"Just to make things clear," Cassandra folded her arms, her eyes glaring heatedly toward her peers. "I… I didn't care about Jared. I never did. He was just some fucking idiot and the only reason why I'm pissed is because someone decided to go and do this to him like a fucking lunatic. Damn sicko."

Didn't take a damn genius to know that she was lying through her teeth.

"Okay, but can we just, y'know, stop the Grinder?" Abigail asked. "The body's close to reaching the pile of rocks."

"Ask and you shall receive."

Almost on cue, the Grinder shut down. And what came from the top of the stairs to the Security Office's balcony was a large black and white snake, slithering down the railings and toward the remaining eight prisoners.

"Given the state of the body, I've decided to shut down the everything in the Security Office for the time being," Monohebi stated. "This includes the Grinder. After all, it would be such a hindrance if… such a sorry state of a corpse moved away from where it was found."

"Gee, thanks," Abigail continued to cover Mimi's eyes as she hugged her, protectively.

Cassandra clenched her fist.

She didn't want to see that damn snake. It was because of her that everything went to shit. It was because of her that she felt this way! That… That fucking snake!

"I suppose you are here to supply us with the Autopsy Reports this time around?" Arthur questioned.

"Right you are Mister Kingston," Monohebi stated, noticing Cassandra's frustration and secretly feeling a great sense of delight. "Given how many of these you have done now, it doesn't hurt to say that I think you all know what to do."

Immediately, everyone's eHandbook pinged, supplying them with the new Autopsy Report for this case.

"Very well then," Monohebi nodded her head. "I merely came here just to stop the Grinder and supply you with an Autopsy Report. Please note that if you want to turn the Grinder on for whatever reason, you will not be able to do so until after the Investigation. Such a shame, because I missed the noise it creates…"

With a sigh, the snake shook her head in slight disappointment before she gave the official announcement. She flicked her tongue:

"Let the Investigation commence. Good luck Prisoners."

---

[INVESTIGATION BEGIN]

---

(Mineshaft)

Once the Investigation officially started, everyone had left to investigate places they wished to investigate. Cassandra most notably left the room, probably because she couldn't stand to see Jared like this. Zuri and Holland had also left. Haruto and Abigail? They took the initiative to escort Mimi away from the crime scene. The poor girl was horrified upon discovering a mangled corpse and honestly, Ina couldn't blame her. Unfortunately, she had hoped that perhaps they would end up investigating together and go through a life-changing experience doing so but that was now out of the question.

Instead, she was stuck with…

"Let us begin the Investigation," Arthur smirked, folding his arms. Though, the smell radiating from Jared's corpse was causing him to waver slightly. "I never thought I would see the day where it would be just us, investigating a crime scene together as brother and sister."

"Half–" Ina corrected before sighing to herself.

She will have to make do with this for the time being. And if it wasn't his constant pestering over how much they were related to one another, it was probably his enjoyment over this murder mystery aspect of the game that was probably going to disturb her in the end.

She shook her head.

The first thing she did was check the new Autopsy Report that Monohebi had supplied them with. What was the information going to be this time?

Victim: Jared Caertas

Cause of Death: Unknown

Time of Death: Unknown

Well, that wasn't very helpful at all.

"We have both an unknown Cause of Death and an unknown Time of Death," Ina grimaced to her half-brother.

"That does check out," Arthur nodded his head. "Jared's body had been grinded up so thoroughly that determining what exactly killed him would be troublesome. Unless, it was literally just the Grinder that killed him, but we have the entire Investigation to figure that out."

"What about the Time of Death?" Ina questioned. "Would mangling a body affect the Time of Death?"

Arthur pondered this for a moment.

"...I doubt it," he shook his head. "Typically, I believe Time of Death can still be determined regardless but the fact that it's unknown this time is quite telling. Perhaps something altered it?"

"A body with both an altered time of death and no clear cause of death?" Ina blinked before sighing and shaking her head. "Killers are becoming more and more advanced each time we do this."

"With each Trial, I grow stronger," Arthur mused. "Some otter said that some time ago…"

Ina blinked toward Arthur.

What the hell was he talking about?

"I… Okay," she shook her head.

She didn't want to know.

…

Now that the Autopsy Report has been determined to be absolutely useless in determining what the hell happened to Jared, the next order of business was to check the actual body. Ina was noticeably hesitant. Couldn't blame her. The state of Jared at the moment was truly grotesque and the smell only got worse the closer she walked toward him.

Arthur on the other hand didn't seem to have much of a trouble with the sight of the body. The smell on the other hand was a different story.

"What a foul odor," Arthur grumbled as he found himself staring at the body. "It smells like… rotten eggs."

"Rotten eggs?" Ina widened her eyes.

She kept her distance. She wasn't sure if she could even handle being near a body like that, so she'll just have to rely on her half-brother to find the necessary clues. But the first clue that Arthur mentioned… rotten eggs. Was that what rotting corpses usually smelled like?

"Yes, rotten eggs," Arthur nodded. "Something of that sort. Just smelling it now is making me feel quite light-headed. Best close your nose on this, dear sister."

"I will settle for keeping my distance, half-brother," Ina assured him.

Aside from the scent of rotten eggs, Arthur decided to examine other parts of his body. Unlike Ina, who probably wouldn't have caught any detail due to how squeamish she would be at seeing how gory and horrific the body looked… 'gorrific', heh…. Arthur was able to ascertain some details about the body.

"Hmph," he smirked to himself.

"What did you find?" Ina blinked.

"I have found that one is unable to find any alternative wounds or injuries inflicted before the grinding process," Arthur smirked. "This machine truly did what it was meant to do."

"Please do not praise the machine," Ina deadpanned. "Anyone could have figured that out just by taking one glance at those… broken bones."

She didn't even have to smell the foul odor to want to puke.

She held it in.

"Please be serious about this, half-brother," Ina begged. "I do not know how long I can even keep being near his body like this…"

"If you insist," Arthur nodded as he continued to Jared's corpse.

He checked out everything. The torn-up flesh. The broken bones. The way the body was just twisted and mangled up and… The Ultimate Snowboarder raised an eyebrow, finding something peculiar.

"Well, hello there," Arthur smirked. "What is this?"

"You have found something?" Ina blinked, hopeful. "Something relevant to the Investigation?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "There are what seems to be brown glass shards lodged in… I assume that used to be Jared's leg…"

"Brown glass shards?" Ina blinked.

"Yes, want to come over and look?" Arthur asked, gesturing to an irregularly bent-up leg. Sure enough, lodged inside and even impaling it were small brown glass shards.

"Absolutely not!" Ina responded.

"Fair enough," Arthur shrugged.

As far as the state that Jared's body was in, that was pretty much all Arthur could find from it. And really, Arthur was getting sick of examining the body in such a close detail. Whether it was the ghastly sight finally settling in for him or the smell of rotten eggs, Arthur took a step back to breathe in fresher air.

…

"So, have you found everything you needed to find from Jared's body?" Ina asked Arthur.

Arthur took a moment to catch his breath. The smell of rotten eggs was already making him feel dizzy. He coughed a bit. He was also beginning to feel a little hot but that was probably the atmosphere of the Mineshaft itself. He took a deep breath and regained his energy and glanced back toward Ina, shaking his head.

"...No, there is one more thing I need to examine," Arthur held his breath and walked back toward the body. He wasn't going to breathe in any more of that scent, so he was going to have to do this quickly.

As soon as he stepped back toward the body, he let his hands hover around Jared's mutilated corpse. Although he was fine looking at it, he didn't seem to be comfortable touching it. Honestly, who would?

He kept his breath held, refusing to breathe in that obnoxious odor and finally found what he was looking for with only a sharp eye at his disposal. Instantly, he swiped it and headed back to a less smelly distance with Ina.

"What were you doing?" Ina blinked.

"I wished to retrieve Jared's eHandbook," Arthur answered his sister. "I wanted to be sure about something after all."

Then, holding out Jared's eHandbook, he prepared to turn it on until…

"N-Nghooooooh!" Arthur yelped.

"W-What is it this time, half-brother?" Ina blinked once again.

"I believe I underestimated the power of the Grinder," Arthur muttered as he showed Ina Jared's eHandbook. Ina widened her eyes. So, that was why he screamed. He had shown her not just Jared's eHandbook but what was left of Jared's eHandbook.

The eHandbook was completely broken.

What was left was now a tablet forever stuck on a black screen. The screen itself was cracked in all sorts of angles and the eHandbook was practically bent at a near 45-degree angle. Truthfully, Arthur should've realized it sooner as soon as he had grabbed it but he had to worry about the grotesque smell.

"Jared's eHandbook is broken?" Ina blinked. "So that means…"

"We will not be able to confirm what I have been meaning to confirm," Arthur tossed the eHandbook aside.

"Which was…?" Ina asked.

But before Arthur could supply an answer, the familiar formal and professional voice of a peculiar snake arrived and based on how bright her red jagged eyes were, she was not happy.

"I apologize for intervening on your Investigation, but did you just say Mister Caertas's eHandbook was broken?" Monohebi hissed.

"The Grinder no doubt broke it," Arthur shook his head, gesturing toward the broken eHandbook he had so carelessly tossed to the ground. "Is there any way you can fix it?"

"No, there is no way to fix any eHandbook," Monohebi shook her head. "Which is why there is a rule against breaking them."

She bared her fangs.

"Master White Collar will not be happy about this," she mentioned. "When we find out who broke it…"

"We are on your side on this," Arthur smirked.

"E-Eh?" Ina blinked. "What on Earth are you doing, half-brother? Why would we be on–"

Arthur gestured for her to stop talking.

"We believe that the culprit behind Jared's demise may be the same culprit behind this broken eHandbook mishap," Arthur stated. "I believe we can help each other out here."

"I apologize, but I cannot assist in Investigations," Monohebi shook her head. "Everyone is to do their own investigating. I cannot investigate anything for participants of the Killing Game."

"Oh no, I just wished to ask a question," Arthur shook his head. "The reason why I wanted to dig into Jared's eHandbook was to find out what his Disadvantage was. Due to the fact that the culprit so ruthlessly broke a rule to hide that, don't you think it's fair if you give us at least that piece of information?"

Ina blinked.

So that's why Arthur wanted to check the eHandbook in the first place. He was skeptical about the motive that Jared received. But according to Arthur, he chose the Nighttime Advantage so theoretically, Jared should've received the…

Monohebi pondered Arthur's request before nodding her head.

"You make a compelling argument, Mister Kingston," Monohebi stated. "Very well then, I shall tell you what exactly Mister Caertas received as his Disadvantage. I assume, you wish to know the Disadvantage for the most recent Minigame round, correct?"

"Why does this matter, half-brother?" Ina questioned. "Jared should have received the Hated Ones Disadvantage because we chose the Nighttime Advantage."

"In normal circumstances, yes," Monohebi nodded.

"See?" Ina glanced toward Arthur before doubling back after realizing what Monohebi had just said. "W-Wait. N-Normal circumstances? Th-Then… what did…"

Monohebi paused for a moment.

"...Mister Caertas received the Loved Ones Disadvantage," she merely stated.

"W-What?!" Ina widened her eyes. "H-How is this possible?!"

"Hmph, just as I thought," Arthur folded his arms.

"W-What do you mean?" Ina turned to Arthur. "Half-brother, I thought you said you chose–"

"I did," Arthur nodded. "The evidence is in your own eHandbook. You should have the Nighttime Advantage at your disposal. The only reason why I bothered to look into this in the first place is because none of Jared's actions made sense unless he had the Loved Ones Disadvantage… And now we know."

"M-Monohebi!" Ina turned to the snake, who was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "H-How could this have happened? Why did Jared receive the Loved Ones Disadvantage instead of the Hated Ones Disadvantage like he was supposed to?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Monohebi perked her head. "That's because Mister Caertas already received the Hated Ones Disadvantage."

"H-He already did?" Ina widened her eyes.

"Mister Caertas received the Hated Ones Disadvantage back in the first round of Guess Who," Monohebi recalled.

It didn't take long for Arthur to remember how…

---

"Pair A: Abigail and Mimi [TRUST] vs. Haruto [TRUST]

Pair B: Arthur [TRUST] vs Ina [TRUST]

Pair C: Cassandra [DISTRUST] vs Jared [TRUST]

Pair D: Holland [TRUST] vs Zuri [TRUST]"

---

"When he Trusted against Cassandra's Distrust," Arthur folded his arms.

So that was what she had chosen against him. What a way to spare his life, he presumed.

"The next time he Trusted against a Distrust was against you two," Monohebi explained. "However, both opponents were at a stalemate when it came to the Advantages and Disadvantages."

"A stalemate?" Ina asked.

"Simply put, the only Advantages you two could have selected was the Nighttime Advantage," Monohebi stated. "Both of you already own the eHandbook Advantage and neither of you had any bounties on your heads."

Monohebi flicked her tongue out and continued.

"Similarly, Mister Caertas had already received the Hated Ones Disadvantage thanks to Miss Mura," Monohebi explained. "It was already in effect since the end of the first Round of Guess Who, meaning he can't have another Hated One Disadvantage. That would make no sense. And because you two had no bounty to give him, that only really meant one other Disadvantage he could have received…"

"The Loved Ones Disadvantage," Ina clenched her fist.

She couldn't believe it. She knew it all too well now. Jared's actions… what had happened… This was all… their fault…

"So now we know for sure," Arthur folded his arms. "Jared truly did receive the Loved Ones Disadvantage. That makes his actions all the more believable now. Tch, I suppose he truly did wish to kill an Innocent to leave…"

"Half-brother, what have we done?" Ina grimaced.

Arthur opened his mouth to say that he should be the one to blame but moments ago, Ina had insisted she share the blame with him. He sighed and said nothing in regard to that. All he did was cross his arms.

…

"I hope that clears up everything," Monohebi nodded her head. "As for the perpetrator behind the broken eHandbook, they will have to be dealt with after the Trial, I suppose. After all, if they are the culprit, it would be a shame to punish them before you can corner them like lawyers in a courtroom."

"I just cannot believe that…" Ina closed her eyes in guilt. "We are the reason that Jared…"

"...Either case, I will leave you to the rest of the Investigation," Monohebi stated. "Good luc–"

"Wait just a moment," Arthur interrupted her. "There is still one more thing I wanted to ask you."

"As I said before, I cannot help you with the Investigation much," Monohebi shook her head. "The details regarding Jared's Disadvantage were only a substitution due to the broken eHandbook."

"It has less to do with the case and more to do with the Minigame itself," Arthur pointed his finger toward the snake. "Surely, you can clarify some rules, yes?"

Monohebi pondered this for a moment.

"You aren't wrong about that," Monohebi nodded. "What is it you wished to ask about the Minigame?"

Arthur had only one thing and one thing to ask… and it had to do with…

---

"Huh?" Abigail blinked, slightly confused. "Er… I'm sorry but how exactly would me being your partner not allow Jared to know anything?"

"Oh right, I don't think many of you guys know this," Haruto folded his arms. "But from what I've gathered from the Minigame, for 2v1 situations–"

"I doubt we have enough time for such trivial matters at the moment," Arthur shook his head, impatiently. "After all, I believe you were going to tell us that Jared was seeking to kill someone, an Innocent, and locked you in the Sound Booth. But the question remains, where is he now?"

---

Yeah.

That.

The one thing he interrupted.

Oops.

"In specific 2v1 situations during the Minigame, you mentioned that it could help hide statuses," Arthur questioned. "I just wanted to know how exactly that works…"

"You haven't figured it out?" Monohebi blinked. She sighed, shaking her head, realizing just how much she had underestimated these prisoners' intelligence. "In certain 2v1 situations, it has a rather simple function."

Monohebi flicked her tongue.

"If you are an Innocent paired up with a Traitor, the entire team of 2 will show up as Traitor," Monohebi stated. "Assuming both opponents chose Trust, the only information the single player would get is that at least one of their opponents in that team of 2 is a Traitor. Meanwhile, the team of 2 will both share the knowledge of what their opponent is."

"So, for example's sake, Arthur is a Traitor, and I am an Innocent," Ina reiterated for the readers who may be confused. "Our opponent is Jared, who is a Traitor. If we both choose Trust…"

"Mister Caertas will see one status, Traitor, because Mister Kingston, the Traitor, is paired up with you, the Innocent," Monohebi nodded.

"And both of us should be able to see that Jared is a Traitor," Arthur nodded. "I see."

"That is how 2v1 situations work," Monohebi nodded. "I doubt I have to explain what happens if both parties choose Trust and both parties choose Distrust."

"If both parties choose Trust, they share information and if both parties choose Distrust, they do not," Ina summarized. "Yes, we have it down."

"Whew, thankfully, no pairs received Disadvantages and not many pairs received Advantages like you did," Monohebi sighed in relief. "Otherwise, a lot of thought would have to be put in figuring out which Advantages and Disadvantages you would both need."

Thank God for that.

Otherwise, the writer, SilverMark16, would've tipped a cow over how complicated that would make things!

"Now, is that all you wish to ask me about?" Monohebi questioned.

Arthur, satisfied, smirked and nodded.

"Yes, thank you for your time," Arthur stated.

"No, thank you, Mister Kingston," Monohebi responded. "For bringing to me attention about a broken rule. Now then, if that is all, I wish you good luck with your Investigation…"

Then, tipping her head like a curtsy, Monohebi slithered off.

As soon as she did so however, Arthur felt his head hurt. He winced. Why did that…? His mind trailed off to…

"Half-brother," Ina snapped his minor dazed moment back to reality. "Are you alright?"

Arthur watched in the distance where Monohebi had slithered off to. For some reason, that brought back a sense of deja vu…

"Yes, I am alright," Arthur folded his arms, eyebrows furrowed curiously.

Ina didn't seem too convinced.

…

Back at the Investigation at hand, Arthur and Ina knew there were still some things to check at the crime scene. But what exactly? Well, the first thing that came to mind was the rock pile. Specifically…

Arthur and Ina walked toward the rock pile but kept their distance from Jared's corpse. They didn't want to have that odor waft into their line of thought as they examined the next piece of evidence on the list.

"This is Jared's police hat and uniform," Ina confirmed, glancing at the torn-up hat and uniform resting on the rock pile. Upon closer inspection… "It seems like the uniform is much more torn than the hat itself. Why is that?"

"Perhaps the uniform was used to protect the hat?" Arthur suggested.

Ina hummed in thought as she considered that theory. When they had found these pieces of Jared's clothing, the uniform was almost fully covering the hat… Wait.

"Half-brother, what kind of theory is that?" Ina deadpanned. "Why would the uniform be used to protect a police hat?"

"Well, let's ask the police hat," Arthur smirked before he grabbed the police hat, examining every nook and cranny of it.

Then, he spotted something of interest.

"Ah, here we go," Arthur noted, showing Ina what he had discovered. "Ask and you shall receive."

Despite the hat being somewhat torn but not as torn as the uniform itself, Ina could still see clear as day as to what exactly was inside the hat: a bloodstain.

"A bloodstain, inside Jared's hat?" Ina blinked. "Could this be evidence of blunt force trauma?"

"Solid theory," Arthur nodded. "But we won't know for sure. I suppose it is something to keep a mental note of, however."

Mental note, Ina did keep!

However, in doing so, she started to summarize the facts of this one simple piece of evidence.

"...So, the police hat and uniform were found at the rock pile," Ina reiterated. "And this rock pile is where everything that the Grinder grinds up leads to?"

"That seems to be the case," Arthur nodded.

"The police hat was noticeably less torn than the uniform itself," Ina continued. "And we found it nearly covered up by what remains of the uniform. Not only that, but there is a bloodstain inside the hat as well…"

Ina rubbed her chin.

"That seems to be everything we know of this," Arthur stated. He noticed Ina was slightly hesitant on that conclusion. "What is it, dear sister?"

"...Why does something still feel off about this?" Ina questioned.

"What exactly about it is off?" Arthur asked.

Good question.

Ina didn't know the answer to that, but she knew that something was wrong with the picture at hand. Something about this just didn't make any sense. And of course, she couldn't put her finger on what exactly that was…

…

Arthur sighed in relief as he stepped away from the end of the conveyor belt with his sister. Folding his arms, he seemed content with the information they had currently gathered at the moment. Investigating the crime scene truly had their perks!

"I believe that should be all that is left to investigate in the crime scene," Arthur declared.

"No, there is one more thing I want to check," Ina shook her head.

She walked toward the stairs and tried to climb up the Grinder. Arthur, being the overprotective brother he was, walked up to her hurriedly.

"Ina, what do you think you're doing?" Arthur frowned. "Get down from there. You might hurt yourself!"

Ina didn't need to be told twice.

She jumped back down and sighed.

"I apologize, half-brother," she shook her head. "I only meant to try to climb up the Grinder. I wanted to test how exactly Jared could have gotten into the Grinder."

"Well, you won't find out when you're grounded up into flesh and meat like Jared," Arthur berated.

"...But Monohebi stated that the Grinder is currently turned off," Ina blinked.

"Yes, but do you think I would trust the word of a snake over my own sister's life?" Arthur folded his arms. "Unlikely. That fiend might just turn it on as soon as you make it down the chute…"

"...If you believe so," Ina rubbed her arms.

"Anyway, let's go to the Security Office," Arthur stated. "I believe there is much we may be able to find in there than out here."

Ina nodded begrudgingly.

She supposed he was right. Climbing into the Grinder was probably a death sentence, investigation or no investigation. As the two made their way up the stairs, Ina took note of what she was able to see over the railings of the stairs. From the stairs that made its way to the balcony of the Security Office, she had a perfect view of what was inside the Grinder.

And at the moment, it was nothing but rocks and pebbles and bloodstained gears. And were those… still pieces of Jared still attached to—

Ina wished she never saw it.

She tried to forget what she had tried to examine and followed Arthur inside the Security Office.

---

(Security Office)

Ina had just realized.

She had never actually been in the Security Office before. She wasn't the only one who thought of that. Arthur seemed to be examining everything as if this was his first time at the Security Office as well. She supposed that all of that sibling bonding time and his enjoyment of his Ultimate Cell kinda distracted him from a really important room like this.

"So, this is the Security Office," Arthur noted. "It is quite the room. And there is even a window to oversee everything."

Arthur stood by the window, rubbing his chin precariously before a clue caught his interest. Wait, this was no clue! It was…

…

"A note left by Zuri," Arthur rubbed his chin.

"What does it say?" Ina asked.

"'To Jared,'" Arthur read out loud. "'Holland and I decided to switch shifts. Just a heads up for you if you end up seeing me instead of Holland. From Zuri.'"

"Shifts?" Ina blinked. "Ah, I suppose I understand why."

"Really?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"It was a big contention back when Jared and Zuri often argued over their positions as leader," Ina explained.

---

At least you got something right," Jared sighed, tipping his hat down. "You know, you're kind of bad at this leadership surveillance duty. Should've just left everything to me. I mean, you missed both of your shifts?"

"I– I– I'm sorry," Zuri looked ashamed. "I didn't mean to! I just found myself so much more tired than usual!"

"Do we really have to start out every Morning with some sort of disagreement between you two?" Ina asked from the sideline, folding her arms to express just how tired she was.

---

Arthur listened to Ina closely as he glanced at the note. After hearing her recount their feud, he was able to piece together the missing puzzles.

"So, I assume that Jared, Zuri, and apparently Holland had assigned shifts," Arthur noted. "The only problem is, we aren't exactly sure what shifts they took but I suppose we can ask them if we bump into them during the Investigation or during the Trial."

He shrugged.

"Main point here, however, is that Zuri and Holland had switched shifts," Arthur stated. "Whether it was today or last night, I don't know but it's best we keep this in mind."

"Agreed," Ina nodded.

"Also, I must say," Arthur folded his arms with a small smile. "Zuri's handwriting is quite soothing to look at."

"I do not think we need to keep that in mind," Ina deadpanned.

…

The next thing to note was the control board for both the Mineshaft Functions and the Security Cameras. However, it seemed like both were out of order at the moment. How did they know this? Well, Arthur had taken the initiative to monkey brain and press one of the lit-up GC buttons, GC 1 to be exact, and of course, nothing happened.

No timer.

Didn't light up.

Nothing.

Similarly, both the Grinder and Mineshaft Control Board all were switched to On but as we all know, nothing in the Mineshaft was actually moving. Why was that again?

"Hm, did someone break the Mineshaft controls?" Ina blinked.

"Dear sister, did you already forget?" Arthur smirked.

---

"Given the state of the body, I've decided to shut down the everything in the Security Office for the time being," Monohebi stated. "This includes the Grinder. After all, it would be such a hindrance if… such a sorry state of a corpse moved away from where it was found."

---

"Monohebi stated that everything in the Security Office would be stopped for the sake of the Investigation," Arthur folded his arms. "What really caught me off guard is the fact that whatever Monohebi did, seems to have affected the Security Camera side too…"

"Huh, why is that?" Ina blinked.

"I can answer that for you," came the return of the snake, who so graciously was actually helping them with this Investigation. Arthur narrowed his eyes toward the oblivious snake. "As you know, everything in the Security Office has been shut down for Investigation's sake. But the buttons are left in the way they were last in before I had to manually shut everything down."

"So that means, that before you shut down the functions, both the Grinder and the Minecart System were turned On, correct?" Ina asked. "As… the Control Board detail?"

"Correct," Monohebi nodded. "So, if I hadn't shut them down from my end, the Grinder and the Minecart System would be moving according to how they were planned."

"I see," Arthur smirked. "So, just to repeat. Prior to the shutdown, both the Grinder and the Minecart System were turned On… Interesting."

"Then what about the Security Cameras?" Ina asked. "I can see the Mineshaft functions potentially destroying evidence but why the Security Cameras?"

Monohebi flicked her tongue.

"Oh, that was at the request of White Collar," Monohebi stated. "He instructed me to turn those off as well. I believe his reasoning was… it would make the investigation much more difficult than it needed to be… Or something along the lines of that."

"So, in other words, we don't get to review the footage ourselves," Arthur blankly stared at Monohebi. "That's… stupid."

Monohebi shook her head.

"Whatever my Master dictates is not stupid," Monohebi simply stated. "Please do not insult my Master."

"At the very least, we know what everything looked like prior to the shut down," Ina stated. "From the looks of it, two doors are still open and two doors are closed. And everything was turned on…"

"Exactly how things were when this room was first discovered," Monohebi nodded.

"Wait, so, what are the other doors that are closed?" Arthur blinked. "There are two currently closed doors are there not? That is what the unlit buttons mean, correct?"

"...Well, no," Monohebi shook her head. "It doesn't necessarily mean the door is closed. It could just mean the door is currently not functioning correctly. Just like the doors to GC 2 and GC 4."

"I see," Arthur rubbed his chin.

Monohebi slithered up to the desk of the Mineshaft's control systems and sighed. She realized she was also talking to two Security Office noobs so…

"I suppose I have to explain everything regarding Cell Block S to you two?" Monohebi asked. "It is tiring work after all…"

"I believe we understand the gist of how the door functions," Arthur folded his arms. "According to Holland, if we close a door, a five-minute timer begins. If we press the button corresponding to that door within the five-minute timer, the door opens. But if we leave the button pressed for more than five minutes, then we would have to manually open it. Once we do, we have to wait an extra five minutes for the door to reboot."

"That is very complicated," Ina sighed. "Why do the doors function like that?"

Monohebi flicked out her tongue.

"...It seems you are well-versed on the door functions," Monohebi nodded. "Then I suppose I can skip over that part."

"W-Was I just ignored?" Ina blinked.

"Now, about the Security Cameras," Arthur folded his arms. "Is there anything we should know about them? Any… unique functions?"

"Well, yes," Monohebi nodded. "The Security Monitors themselves act as livestreams. As you noticed, you are able to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and play whenever you like. They do not affect the cameras. But they do affect what you see on the monitor."

"Hmph, interesting," Arthur smirked to himself. This was most interesting indeed! "I think I understand the gist of it. No need to explain further."

Monohebi nodded her head.

"Very well then," Monohebi stated. "I suppose that is it with your questions?"

"Not yet," Ina raised her voice. She supposed if Monohebi wasn't going to answer the why, she best move on to a different topic. "I had a question about how exactly the Mineshaft functions. I mean, that has to be important to the case, yes?"

"The Mineshaft?" Monohebi blinked her jagged eyes. "What is there to know? Grinder grinds rocks (and bodies apparently). Minecarts move on the rails."

"Er… how… is the Minecart rails structured perhaps?" Ina blinked. She was nowhere near as good at asking questions as her half-brother apparently…

"Well, all I can say is that the Minecart railway system always loops around," Monohebi shrugged. "There's also usually just one Minecart so… I don't really know what else I can tell you."

"I… see," Ina looked down slightly.

"Thank you for your time, Monohebi," Arthur placed a hand over Ina. "I believe we are done here now."

Monohebi nodded her head.

"Very well, if that is all you wished to be caught up on for the Mineshaft, then there you have it," Monohebi stated. "I wish you luck for the rest of the Investigation."

Then, without any other words, Monohebi left the Kingston siblings in the Security Office to consider what they had just learned. Crossing his arms with a satisfied look, Arthur began.

"Well, I believe we have learned much about this place," Arthur smirked. "So much so that I think I may have an idea on how this crime may have taken place."

"Well, although I was not able to gather much information from the questions I have asked, I think I might have similar theories as well," Ina sighed, folding her arms. "Perhaps we could… share?"

"Why certainly," Arthur looked content about that. "I thought you would never ask!"

With knowledge of the Mineshaft and Cell Block S's functions at their disposal, they were now able to come up with a decent theory of the events at hand. Now, all that was left to do was wait for the Trial to officially begin…

---

(Ultimate Supermodel's Cell)

Mimi found herself being escorted by Abigail and Haruto toward the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. Despite having just seen the most horrific body discovery to ever occur in this story, Mimi insisted on continuing the Investigation. She specifically wanted to check out the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell.

After all, her biggest mystery of concern occurred in that very Cell.

…

And once they were inside, Mimi took a deep breath as she looked at Abigail and Haruto appreciatively.

"T-Thank you two," Mimi looked down. "I… I got so scared. It was…"

"Yo, Mimi, don't sweat it," Haruto folded his arms, looking uncomfortable as he was reminded of what had happened to Jared's body. "What came out of that Grinder even scared me so, you don't gotta worry about seeming weak or anything."

"Yeah, we're going to be by your side, alright?" Abigail rubbed her hands on her back in comfort. "So… don't worry about anything."

Abigail glanced away slightly as she took a look at the mess that was the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell.

"But… if you're fine with it, could you tell Haruto and I what exactly you saw on the Security Footage?" she asked her. "You said something about seeing Jared fighting someone here right?"

"Yeah," Mimi looked down, sadly. "Those Kingstons didn't believe me though."

"Well, we aren't the fucking Kingstons," Haruto gave her a thumbs-up. "So, you can count on us to believe you!"

Mimi blinked before giving the two a grateful smile.

She nodded and looked a little more determined now.

This was the kind of energy she needed. Enough so that it could easily distract from the horrific body she saw and remember the… well the important facts before she saw the horrifying image– She shook her head. She began to recount her tale…

…

"So, to summarize," Haruto placed his hands over his hips. "You went to the Security Office while Abigail and I had our chat. There, you saw Jared fighting with someone in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. By the time you got there, the door was already closed. You then used Ina's eHandbook to open the door and once the door opened, Jared and whoever the fuck he was fighting disappeared…"

"Y-Yes, that's it," Mimi nodded.

"Okay, good," Haruto sighed. "Now, did you really have to tell us like it was a fucking bedtime story? Why did you describe Jared as the Pig and possible killer as the Wolf?"

"I-It seemed fitting to tell a tale in fairytale mode!" Mimi pouted. "Plus, every Wolf in fairy tales is evil! So I just thought…"

"Regardless, Ina and Arthur… or I guess the Trolls in your story… didn't believe you because no one was found inside the Cell," Abigail tapped her chin in thought. "They also checked everywhere in the Cell right?"

"Yeah!" Mimi nodded her head. "Well… Only Ina did. But I did too! They weren't hiding anywhere from what we could tell so I don't know how they could've left!"

"Maybe… is there an alternative exit to the Cell?" Abigail blinked.

"Well, let's check it out then," Haruto cracked his knuckles.

…

It didn't take long for the trio to check out the entirety of the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell in hopes of finding an alternative route.

They checked for a secret trap door on the fashion runway.

There was no secret trap door.

They checked the Dressing Room for hidden walls.

There were no hidden walls.

They checked the ventilations on the ceiling.

They didn't come off at all so that was out of the question.

By the end of it, the trio were looking ready to give up. Haruto was especially looking a little irritated that they couldn't find a secret exit or anything like that.

"So there really is no alternative escape routes in the fucking Ultimate Supermodel's Cell," Haruto noted. "Great. Now we have a new mystery on our hands. How the fuck did Jared escape with his attacker out of a Cell that was fucking closed…?"

"It sounds like one of those… Locked Room Mysteries from those mystery books," Mimi gasped.

"Locked Room Mystery, huh?" Abigail blinked before groaning. "Great, just what we need. Something to make our job even more complicated."

Why oh why did it have to be a Locked Room Mystery?

…

With a shake of his head, Haruto placed a hand over his hips.

"Well, if we can't find out where the hell Jared and friend went to, we might as well search the Cell for some clues that might lead us to the damn killer," Haruto stated.

"Yeah!" Mimi nodded, enthusiastically.

Abigail nodded as well, though not as enthusiastic as Mimi was.

Mimi took note of the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. Since she was one of the people who has been here before, she would 100% say that nothing changed since the last time she was here. Which meant that the evidence of Jared fighting against his possible killer could very still be here…

She glanced toward the leftmost corner of the room. That was where most of the struggling had occurred. She noted the Security Camera on the left corner of the room as well. That was where she had seen the struggling but unfortunately, it also looked like most of the fight had taken place underneath the camera as well.

There were chairs staggered everywhere. A mannequin laid pathetically on the ground. Speaking of the ground, it also looked pretty spotless. No blood or anything like that.

"So, the fighting just so happened to take place… mostly underneath the camera, huh?" Abigail stood underneath the camera. "Which means the camera itself wouldn't have captured the entire fight."

"Eh, why not?" Mimi blinked.

"Blind spots," Haruto sighed. "From the looks of it, the majority of the fight took place in the camera's blind spot. Which pretty much sucks since Mimi probably didn't get to see who he was fighting at all."

"That and I was too busy trying to hurry to stop it," Mimi looked down.

"Don't beat yourself over it," Haruto shook his head. "Whoever Jared was fighting probably knew about that and used it to their advantage."

"Ah, I see," Mimi glanced at Haruto before nodding her head. "Which could mean that maybe it really is the killer?"

Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"...Hmm, maybe…" Haruto mumbled.

Abigail, meanwhile, walked toward the mannequin on the floor. She picked it up, but the moment she did, the mannequin unnaturally bent backwards. In surprise, Abigail yelped and quickly tossed the mannequin aside.

"W-What the–" she widened her eyes.

"Oi, what the hell happened?" Haruto rushed to Abigail, holding her by the arms. "Abby! You alright?"

"Y-Yeah," Abigail sighed in relief. "I'm just fine…"

Abigail and Haruto stared at each other for a moment.

"Um… y-you can let go of my arms now," Abigail cleared her throat, her face turning pink.

"H-Huh?" Haruto blinked, his face similarly changing colors. "O-Oh, you're right…"

Mimi smiled at this exchange and went to examine the mannequin herself. When she picked it up, the mannequin's back continued to bend backwards. No matter how much she tried to straighten it, the mannequin's back continued to bend.

"It's alright Big Sis Abby," Mimi giggled. "This mannequin's just broken."

"O-Oh, thank God," she sighed in relief. "I thought it was possessed by the ghost of some kid who got stuffed in it."

Haruto blankly stared at her.

"...You're kidding right?" Haruto asked.

"Ahem, so why is it broken?" Abigail asked.

"Y-You're kidding, right?!" Haruto tried to ask again.

Mimi tapped the bottom of her lip as she tried to examine the mannequin. But unfortunately, she couldn't tell why. She shook her head.

"I don't know," Mimi said. "Maybe it was always like this. Or maybe the fight between Jared and his killer ended up crashing into it and broke it."

"...That could explain all the chairs here too," Haruto hummed in thought. "It's a fucking mess."

"Well, that's what happens when two people fight to the death or something," Abigail noted. "It always leaves a mess…"

…

That seemed to be everything of note within the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. The trio tried to look for more clues, but nothing stood out. All they had was evidence that a fight did indeed take place here, that there were no alternative means of escape once the door was closed… and the fact that most of the fight took place right at the camera's blind spot.

Truly, they felt like they hadn't found much evidence at all…

"Guess, we should look elsewhere now," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I think we spent enough time in this place," Mimi nodded her head with a sigh.

Abigail folded her arms for a bit. She had to think about all the evidence they were able to collect. But… without more pieces, she couldn't piece anything together.

"...Yeah, let's go," Abigail nodded.

Hopefully the others found what they needed…

---

(Ultimate Bassist's Cell)

Holland and Zuri were in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell for their Investigation.

Of course they would be here! For many reasons actually! This was Zuri's Cell after all! Not only that, but this was definitely an area they needed to check out for sure! This was one of the places Jared had been in. Haruto was locked up here too. All in all, a place like this should have evidence, right?

That was what Holland liked to believe but at the moment, Zuri seemed to be a little distracted by something. He could tell that she was unfocused. Her eyes were staring off into the distance… as if she were deep in thought about something.

"Er, Zuri?" Holland placed a hand on her shoulder.

"A-Ah, Holland!" Zuri gasped, jumping slightly.

Holland blinked.

What was that reaction?!

"A-Are you okay?" Holland asked.

"E-Er yeah, of course I am," Zuri rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "W-Why wouldn't I be?"

"...You seem a little jumpy," Holland looked down. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No, no no, not at all, I was just…" Zuri hugged herself.

Holland examined her closely. She was definitely nervous about something. Damn. Has she always been nervous all this time? Shame on him for not noticing sooner. He was her boyfriend after all! He had to look out for stuff like that!

"Th-This is about Jared, isn't it?" Holland looked at her.

Zuri widened her eyes.

She hugged herself tightly.

"...Hey, don't be scared," Holland hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. He felt her heart skip a beat. He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. "Look. We'll solve this case alright? I… I know what happened to Jared was…"

Even he didn't want to say it.

Jared came out of that Grinder looking…

"...But you can't blame yourself for that, alright?" Holland told her. "I'm going to be with you, okay?"

Zuri held onto Holland's arms tightly. She took a deep breath and gave him a small smile.

"Th-Thank you Holland," Zuri slightly blushed. "I… I needed that…"

Holland knew that she was still a little scared but at least he seemed to be doing a good job at his boyfriend duties. So good in fact that she quickly pecked him on the cheek.

"A-Anyway," Zuri slapped her pouty cheeks in order to look determined. "L-Let's start looking for clues!"

"R-Right," Holland placed a hand over the cheek she kissed.

His face turned bright red as well…

…

The first thing they checked was the first thing they stumbled across on the floor. The chair that had locked Haruto in the Sound Booth.

"This is the chair…" Zuri began.

"...That locked Haruto into the Sound Booth," Holland nodded.

That's… literally what I just said.

"It does seem pretty heavy," Zuri tried to pick up the chair. "I can see why Haruto would have trouble trying to get out of the Sound Booth."

"...Do you know where this chair was originally?" Holland asked Zuri. "You come to this Cell just to practice a lot so…"

"Yeah, I think I recognized where it used to be," Zuri nodded before stopping herself. "H-Hey wait a minute. Does that mean…"

Crap.

"...Um, theoretically speaking," Holland cleared his throat, his face flushing. "Of course… I assume you come here to practice all the time because you said you would… Yeah…"

Zuri eyed him suspiciously.

"Okay… I'll believe you this time," Zuri squinted her eyes. "But if I catch you again, no more kisses for… a week!"

Holland looked absolutely crestfallen.

"Anyway, this chair used to be here!" Zuri giggled as she dragged the chair to where it originally was.

Holland couldn't believe she was giggling at his possible misfortune. How could such a cute, innocent girl be so… so… evil?! He continued to blush in embarrassment as he kept a mental note for himself to not be stupid and let something like that slip.

Snapping out of that mental note, he glanced at where Zuri had placed the chair. From the looks of it, it was originally close to the door to the Sound Booth.

"Well, does this tell you anything?" Zuri asked with a smile.

She let go of the chair which prompted the chair to tilt slightly to its left.

"Ah, wow, this must be a very insecure chair," Zuri blinked.

"...One of the legs is broken," Holland noticed. "So while the chair is heavy, I think it's pretty easy for it to just tip over with a tap of your finger…"

"Huh, I guess that's why I use these other chairs…" Zuri noted.

"...You never noticed this one specific chair before?" Holland blinked.

"How could I when I focus on nothing but practicing in here," Zuri beamed.

Holland rubbed his chin.

He supposed she had a point.

…

The investigation continued with Holland checking out the chair and Zuri checking out the–

"AGHHHHHHH!" Zuri screamed.

"H-Huh?!" Holland was taken by surprise by her sudden scream.

He rushed over to his girlfriend's side. Was it another dead body?! A dead rat?! A… It was just her holding her bass guitar? He blinked before placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked pretty sad as she hugged her bass guitar tightly.

"E-Er… Zuri is everything?" Holland blinked.

"N-No!" Zuri's lips quivered slightly. "My bass guitar! It has… a mark on it!"

Wut.

"...Your bass guitar has… a mark on it…" Holland blankly stared at her. "Oh… I'm sorry to ask but is that a… bad thing?"

"Of course it's a bad thing, Holland!" Zuri pouted. "Every musician's heart and soul is tied to the instrument they play! If you break your instrument, the musician dies! If you hurt it in any way, you get hurt! It's like if you published a game and suddenly, it gets canceled! How would you feel in that case?"

"...Pretty bad," Holland seemed to understand where Zuri was going with this comparison.

"Exactly!" Zuri exclaimed before reverting back to her sad look as she showed Holland her bass guitar. "So, look at the damage that's been done!"

Wasn't just any bass guitar.

It was her bass guitar.

The green one.

Specifically for Zuri.

But as far as Holland could see, the guitar didn't look as bad as Zuri made it out to be. It still looked like it could still be played. Maybe it was different– Oh…

On the side of the bass guitar's body was a line mark trailing down. Whatever happened to it looked deep enough that it was able to expose the wood behind the green plastic decorations.

"...Huh, I wonder what happened to it," Holland blinked. "Could this be a result of…"

"There's another mark?!" Zuri gasped as she stared at the other side of the instrument.

"...A-Another one?" Holland blankly stared at Zuri.

He examined where Zuri had seen the mark. This was… literally on the opposite side of the previous mark. The previous mark was on the left side of the guitar's body. Now this was on the right side.

It was the same kind of mark as well. A line that trailed down that was carved in big enough to expose the wood components of the guitar and completely remove the green plastic decor of the instrument.

Holland checked both line marks curiously.

"...Well, what's strange about these line marks is that they seem to match up symmetrically…" Holland noted.

"Symmetrically?" Zuri blinked.

"...Yeah," Holland nodded. "If you trail your finger from one side of the line mark to the other, your finger should move in a straight line to directly match… Er… Zuri?"

Zuri didn't even dare try it.

She couldn't believe how badly her baby got her.

Instead, she hugged her guitar tightly.

"...You… really like that guitar, don't you?" Holland blinked.

Zuri merely nodded, closing her eyes and holding it tightly.

"...Look, Zuri, we'll figure out what happened to it okay?" Holland told her. "My guess… it might have something to do with what happened between Haruto and Jared but… that's just a working theory."

"I didn't realize Jared hated me so much to hurt my guitar like this…" Zuri frowned, looking away.

"...What if it was Haruto?" Holland blinked. "Not that I'm saying it was but what if…"

"Then, he will regret ever hurting my baby like that," Zuri coldly stated.

"...E-Eh… okay, um, moving on…" Holland definitely did not want to see Zuri like that at all.

He didn't even realize she could act cold like that…

Yikes…

...

The next order of business was checking out the Sound Booth. At least, that was what Holland had initially planned. Instead, he had watched Zuri carefully place her guitar back onto its stand. She sighed to herself and tugged on Holland's sleeve.

"Um, where are we investigating next?" she asked.

"The Sound Booth," Holland nodded. "It's where Haruto was locked in so maybe there might be some evidence lying around somewhere."

"Um, before we do that, could I check something first?" Zuri asked.

"...S-Sure thing," Holland blinked. "What is it?"

Zuri didn't say anything for a while.

She began to check every corner of her own Cell. From the left corner… to the right corner… to where the guitars were… to where the seats and chairs were… to where the actual recording material was… Then, after she finished, she sighed to herself.

"Just as I thought," Zuri folded her arms.

"...What exactly were you looking for?" Holland asked.

"Well, both you and Haruto said that Jared was in this Cell," Zuri said. "You closed the door and should've locked both Jared and Haruto in. But only Haruto was locked in and Jared was nowhere to be found. So I was wondering if there were any alternative escape routes in my Cell."

"...Was there?" Holland asked.

Zuri shook her head.

"No, there wasn't," Zuri stated. "I've been in this Cell a lot so I should know. And I even double-checked just now, just in case… There shouldn't have been any way for him to get out, right?"

"...Unless he got out before I closed the door?" Holland surmised. "But… doors should close immediately… so…"

How did Jared get out so quick anyway?

That was a question that was left on his mind. He shook his head. This kind of thinking was probably going to be made easier at the Trial once everyone shared what they had found. Though, he did nod at Zuri.

"Nice thinking, looking out for that by the way," Holland complimented. "...Didn't even cross my mind."

Zuri lightly blushed.

"Of course," she smiled at her boyfriend.

...

With Zuri's testament that there were no alternative escape routes out of the way, Holland Zuri finally entered the Sound Booth to look for a clue. And from the looks of it, there wasn't much to find. It was almost exactly as they had last left the Sound Booth.

But there were slight differences here or there.

Holland closed the door and opened the door again. Nothing suspicious about the door for sure, but it did lack creases underneath unlike most doors. Heh. What a way to make the Sound Booth truly soundproof.

"Hey, I found something," Zuri blinked as she inched close to the ground.

She specifically looked at the ground at the far right of the room. It was… a small bloodstain?

"Is this blood?" Zuri blinked. "Where would it have come from?"

"...Ah, don't you remember?" Holland asked.

---

He was banging on the soundproof glass, which seemed to be a lot more durable than expected. Guess that's to be expected from soundproof glass!

But other than that, Haruto looked absolutely terrible. And by terrible, it seemed that he was suffering a nosebleed that he was trying hard to keep contained. At the glass, he pointed directly toward the door to the Sound Booth and that it was clear he had tried to open it several times. He was also clearly talking but no one could hear a damn thing. Again, that's to be expected from soundproof glass!

From the looks of it, he was locked inside.

---

"Oh, that's right," Zuri slapped herself on the forehead for forgetting that basic fact. "Haruto's nose was bleeding! That must be where the blood came from! Jeez, but from the looks of it, I'm glad it didn't bleed as much as it did, otherwise it would truly ruin how white this Sound Booth looks."

"...Is that… really the only reason why you're glad Haruto's broken nose wasn't that broken?" Holland stoically asked.

"Well, this is my Ultimate Cell, after all," Zuri pouted. "I don't want people to make a mess out of it!"

"...I… have no idea what having an Ultimate Cell feels like but if it makes you really want to take care of it then…" Holland rubbed his chin.

Man….

When was he going to get his Ultimate Cell?

...

The only thing that seemed to be of note was the bloodstain in the Sound Booth. Other than that, Holland and Zuri couldn't find much of anything inside. Which only left one more place to check…

Holland moved over to the recording booth, but before he could do anything with it…

"W-Wait!" Zuri gasped, rushing over to Holland.

"...H-Huh?!" Holland blinked. "W-What is it this time?"

Zuri instantly hovered herself over the soundboard. She made sure that Holland wouldn't be able to press anything on it.

"Uhhh… why are you…?" Holland blinked.

"I-It's not ready yet!" Zuri exclaimed. "Y-You can't listen!"

"...W-What?" Holland looked surprised. "B-But it could be evidence!"

"Y-You're just saying that so you can listen to my music!" Zuri pouted, folding her arms. "Nope! You can't listen! Not until it's finished!"

Holland blankly stared at his girlfriend.

"Th…Then maybe I… step out of the room and you listen to it?" Holland suggested. "That should help–"

"Well, if you can get the headphones from the Security Office, then yeah, sure thing," Zuri sighed in relief. It seems like she was glad that he didn't get to listen. At least, not yet anyway.

"...Alright," Holland sighed. "Give me a moment."

…

It took approximately 2-3 minutes for Holland to retrieve the headphones. Of course, he had to pass by and ignore the Kingston siblings who were still discussing their theories, one of whom, Ina, was eyeing him strangely…

But nevertheless, he had the headphones.

Bringing them back to Zuri, he sighed slightly. In order to progress the Investigation, he had to be an errand boy. Such is the life of a boyfriend to a girlfriend.

"Thank you," Zuri smiled as she plugged in the headphones and listened to the recording.

Holland couldn't hear anything but judging from her smile, it seemed like she was enjoying the music she had made. She sighed in relief and placed her headphones down.

"Nothing suspicious with the recording!" Zuri smiled.

"...Are you sure I can't listen to it my–" Holland stopped what he was about to say and noticed Zuri's pout.

She mouthed the words: 'for a week'.

Holland clenched his fist and looked away, shamefully.

If that is what his girlfriend wants, then so be it. It'll be worth it in the end, right? Right? Right? Right?

…

"So, that's pretty much everything here, right?" Zuri blinked. "We found plenty of things, but I don't think we're any closer to solving who killed Jared…"

"...I guess we'll have to rely on everyone else's Investigation," Holland sighed. "For all we know, the Investigation period might be over really soon."

"Yeah…" Zuri nodded.

That nervous feeling crept back into her again. Instinctively, she held onto Holland's hands and tightened them. She blushed but she also looked a little sad. Holland couldn't even blush at that. He looked at her worriedly.

She was scared again.

So, this time, he gave her a peck on her head.

She gasped, matching his eyes.

He gave her a look of assurance.

They were going to get through this.

They had to.

---

(Auditorium)

Cassandra couldn't be bothered to investigate. How could she be? She was stuck. Stuck trying to figure out a bigger mystery at hand here. Why the hell was she feeling like shit? Why did she feel so unmotivated? Like she just wanted to end things right then and there… All because of what? Of Jared?

She's seen dead bodies in this damn Killing Game.

She felt nothing.

No sense of sympathy for the victims or the executed blackeneds.

So why was Jared any different?

Was it because of the last thing he said to her that really…?

---

"...Cassandra," Jared coldly stated. "What did I tell you last night?"

Cassandra paused. Her eyes shook.

"...I can't be around you anymore," Jared told her, with clenched fists. "So, leave me alone… Or I'll… I'll fucking kill you."

Cassandra widened her eyes.

"Y-You don't… mean that…" Cassandra tried to say but Jared had already stormed off. He seemed dead serious. And suddenly, her heart started to hurt from the pain of it all. "No…"

---

He didn't mean that…

He couldn't have meant that…

Guh…

Why was this so hard? He meant nothing to her right? So why did she care about what he said? Why did she care about how he felt? Why did it hurt so much to have those be the final words he's ever said to her…?

Currently, Cassandra found herself curled up against the Voting Chambers in the Auditorium. She couldn't be bothered to move. Instead, she just stayed there, waiting for the Investigation period to be over so that all of this chaos… all of this… could end and she could just… stay in her room.

God.

She felt the need to…

"Miss Mura?"

Cassandra held it back.

No.

Not now.

Why of all places… of all time?

"Go away," Cassandra bitterly stated. "Can't you see I'm busy with something? I don't want you shitting on my seriously bad mood right now."

The person she was talking to was White Collar himself. He leaned on his cane as he perked down at the Ultimate Scam Artist with curiosity.

"...So, I assume you're just investigating the floor?" White Collar asked. "I normally don't do this, but I will have to let you know that the Investigation should be occurring at the crime scene: the Mineshaft. That is where Mister Caertas was found, was it not?"

"Yeah well, you won't understand what I'm doing anyway, so leave me alone," Cassandra bit back as she glanced away.

White Collar glanced down toward Cassandra. He was really unconvinced by her insistence of him leaving. It didn't take a genius to wonder why. He chuckled slightly.

"You're right," White Collar stifled his chuckle. "I wouldn't understand why the heartless Cassandra Mura would be in mourning right now…"

Cassandra tensed up.

"I'm not fucking mourning," Cassandra growled. "I… I don't give a shit about Jared. He was just… another fucking moron in this game that died… That's it…"

White Collar tapped his mask's chin with the sharp protruding end of his cane.

"Well then, if that's all there is, then I suppose going back to the Mineshaft to investigate should be no trouble," White Collar's mask gave off its sinister grin.

"What the fuck do you want from me, huh?" Cassandra turned to White Collar. She stood up and glared at him. "Are you just saying this because Arthur is there? Are you pretty much telling me to just go do it right now? Because I think I had enough of you being super fucking impatient–"

"Miss Mura, relax," White Collar placed a finger over the mouth of his mask. "You wouldn't want someone to overhear, would you?"

Cassandra clenched her fist.

Even now…

"Come with me," White Collar opened up the Voting Chamber, allowing her to go first. "I have something for you."

Cassandra honestly didn't want to do shit. But because this was White Collar insisting, she did it anyway. Curiosity had piqued her interest. What exactly did he have for her?

---

(Trial Grounds)

As if being around White Collar in a demonic looking office/dining room wasn't enough, Cassandra had found herself descending down to the Trial Grounds in an elevator with the Devil himself.

By the time they had made it to the Trial Grounds, Cassandra was more than happy to leave his intimidating presence.

But the moment she did, she found herself walking into what seemed to be a room decorated with graffiti that one would often see in their local sewers. In fact, this entire room had that sewer-like feel to it. Paintings of Monohebi sprouted on the wall as well as a... black and white alligator looking thing? Was that a hint to something? Nah. Probably not. Also, to note was a graffiti painting of a skeleton driving a soul on a riverbank. Probably some metaphor to the River Styx...

But enough with the decor. Folding her arms, slightly annoyed that she didn't even get that time to herself, she turned to the man in the Devil's mask.

"So, why are we here and what is it you wanted to give me?" Cassandra asked right off the bat.

White Collar instantly held out four different USB drives.

"USB drives?" Cassandra blinked before glaring at him. "What? You couldn't have just given me those back on the surface?"

"Unfortunately, no," White Collar shook his head. "Too much of a risk."

"Why, what's on them?" Cassandra asked, slowly taking one of the USB drives. She assumed these were for her eHandbook. So, without much of a word, she took out her eHandbook, plugged in the USB drive she took and much to her surprise…

---

It was the Ultimate Snowboarder's Cell Security Footage!

The Ultimate Snowboarder's Cell Security Footage started out with a viable view of the overall Ultimate Snowboarder's Cell itself. Based on the angle, it looked like it was directly above where the decorative winter trees would be. It was able to see the back of the snowmen gathered together, the chair lift which didn't seem move, the large snow hill which covered the view to the castle, the snow machine by the entrance of the Cell and by default, the entrance of the Cell.

The footage played for about a minute with no visible audio and an unchanging image on the monitor.

Seriously?

Nothing fun happened in the Ultimate Snowboarder's Cell?

Boring!

The footage fast-forwarded for a bit. Then it ended the same way the Mineshaft's Security Footage did: with a replay button for anyone examining it to replay and pause at their discretion. But that was pretty much all that was recorded and edited for Investigations sake on the Ultimate Snowboarder's Cell Security Footage.

---

Cassandra was shocked.

She didn't expect to be given this of all things. She had expected a weapon or something. But it seemed like… White Collar was… helping her with the Investigation?

"Th-This is…" Cassandra widened her eyes. "Security Footage from those security cameras?"

"In other words, evidence," White Collar gave a sinister grin. "All of them that I have in my hand edited accordingly for Investigation purposes. I had the Security Cameras get shut down in the Security Office because I just knew rewinding footage to find these specific sections would be such a tedious workload. So, I simplified it… just for you."

"Is that why there's a moment where the footage fast-forwards?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"Why yes," White Collar nodded. "It's only there when nothing interesting really occurs. It'd be a bore to watch you rewind five minutes of nothingness. Sometimes, I also fast-forward if the information makes things a little... too easy... Can't have the Trial being too easy after all!"

White Collar chuckled before pointing the sharp end of his cane toward Cassandra's eHandbook.

"But as you can see, the Security Footage of the Mister Kingston's Ultimate Cell showcases what exactly occurred shortly before Mister Caertas's body was found," White Collar explained. "Though, I doubt you'd be able to tell much thanks to the… circumstances the camera is in."

"Yeah, there's snow and nothing happens in the video," Cassandra rolled her eyes before sneaking a glance at the other three that White Collar had been holding. "So, the reason you needed me here was to give me evidence in secret? Why?"

"Because Miss Mura," White Collar sighed, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, it's against the rules for Overseers such as myself to supply participants of Killing Games with evidence like this. I only supplied you with this out of good will. After all, if Cassandra Mura died due to voting for an incorrect blackened, that would be very unfortunate… for you."

"What, you can't fake an execution for me when everyone else dies?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "You'd be killing Arthur regardless. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Need I remind you of the conditions of our deal, Miss Mura?" White Collar shifted his cane's point up to Cassandra. "You have to kill Arthur Kingston with your own hands. That is the only way you get to leave the Killing Game. Plus, setting a fake execution along with other real executions is… tiring work. There is also a high chance that Monohebi might give you a real execution instead. And then I would have to go to sleep with your blood on my hands."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

He… Did he really… care about her? Why? Of all people, why her?

"As if you don't have blood on your hands already," Cassandra scoffed. "Why is mine any special?"

White Collar said nothing to that regard.

Awkwardly, Cassandra cleared her throat and retrieved the next USB drive from White Collar's hands.

"Ahem, anyway…" Cassandra said as she plugged in the second USB drive.

This one was…

---

It was the Mineshaft Security Footage!

The Mineshaft Security Footage started out with a unique angle of the Mineshaft. For starters, the camera was pointed directly toward the end of the grinder. On the screen, what anyone could make out was just the last part of the grinder where the rocks would have already been grinded up, the rock piles that the conveyor belt would lead to, and the bottom half of the Security Office including the bottom half of the window.

Although nothing was moving at the moment, upon closer inspection, one could see that there was a shadowy figure inside the Security Office's window. Because the camera could only see the bottom half of the Security Office's window and because of the grainy visuals, identification of this figure could not be made. But it was still clear that there was in fact a shadowy figure standing in the Security Office.

That's when the grinder turned on. The pebbles on the conveyor belt slowly moved and the sound the grinder would usually make could be audibly heard as well. Then, the shadowy figure left in a hurry.

The next few moments would be straight moments of nothingness except for the loud cranky sound of the grinder.

Then, there was something. And the first thing to note was what remained of Jared's police hat and uniform being transported directly to the rock pile. Then, Mimi walked into the frame toward the end of the Grinder. It seemed like she was pretty curious about what was going on. However, the next moment, Jared's body slowly came out of the grinder in his terrible mangled state.

Mimi instantly screamed, which was also caught on the camera's audio and jumped back in fright. Soon after…

The Body Discovery Announcement sounded.

The footage ended with a replay button for anyone examining it to press in case they wanted to watch it again. But that was pretty much all that was recorded and edited for Investigations sake on the Mineshaft Security Footage.

---

She grimaced slightly. It didn't help that the very body she didn't want to see was shown on the Footage as well. That wasn't something she needed to see.

"For this Security Footage, it shows all the events leading up to the discovery of Mister Caertas' body," White Collar explained. "Well, some of the events. I had so little time to edit them, so this was the best I could come up with. I sure hope it does help you with your Investigation."

"You know what doesn't help?" Cassandra frowned. "The fucking blind spots and this shit camera quality. I saw someone on it and I can't even see who they were!"

She referred to the shadowy figure by the Security Office's window.

"That is what happens when you use security cameras that are quite outdated by today's standards," White Collar nodded his head. "Some image qualities just don't turn out quite right. How about another one?"

White Collar handed her the third USB drive.

What was on this one she had to wonder…?

---

It was the Ultimate Supermodel Cell's Security Footage!

The Ultimate Supermodel Cell's Security Footage started out with a peculiar angle of the Main Stage of the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. It was important to note that the only thing the camera was able to see was the door on the right that led to the Dressing Room, most of the fashion runway, although the door on the left as well as some parts of the runway were cut off by the camera's blind spot. In short, the camera angle was pretty much directed toward the right side of the room rather than the left.

Not much happened in the first two minutes until the sounds of a struggle was heard. There was grunting and what seemed to be chairs being tossed around off-screen. That was when Jared in his police hat and uniform, was thrown into the frame. It definitely seemed like he was fighting an unknown assailant because the moment he caught his breath, he charged back into the camera's blind spot.

Then, there was a sudden silence. Nothing much happened for a while, but the footage also didn't fast-forward either, meaning, according to White Collar, something was going to pop out soon.

Then a loud sound of a slam could be heard.

Moments later, a loud hissing noise could be heard as well.

The footage ended with a replay button for anyone examining it to press in case they wanted to watch it again. But that was pretty much all that was recorded and edited for Investigations sake on the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell Security Footage.

---

Cassandra remained speechless.

So… was this footage of Jared… fighting her killer?

She gripped onto her eHandbook tightly. Whoever he was fighting… they were going to…

"Oh my," White Collar chuckled. "It seems you found the one where Mister Caertas was fighting an unknown assailant. I can tell. Your eyebrows are more furrowed. Your grip on that eHandbook is tightening. And now you look like you wish to throw it at my face. Perhaps I should… stop speaking…"

"Yeah, no shit," Cassandra mumbled, unamused. "When was this recorded, anyway? Shortly before the body was found too?"

"Well, instead of sulking around in bed all day, perhaps you should've been there to listen to Miss de la Vega," White Collar scoffed. "She would've answered your question throughout her hysteria."

"So, you're not going to tell me," Cassandra frowned.

"Why tell you something your peers already know?" White Collar deadpanned. "If I told you and they somehow found out you know something without actually being there, a lot of suspicion will come your way… And we wouldn't want that…"

Cassandra pondered this for a moment.

He was right.

If she knew when this was taken beforehand, she might get questioned by Mimi and… whoever else she told. Which, given how late she was to finding the body, could very well mean everyone. She nodded with a sigh before taking the last USB drive.

"So, this last USB drive," Cassandra sighed.

She wondered what she would find on this one…

---

It was the Ultimate Bassist's Security Footage!

Unlike the previous three footages, the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Footage started out with a black screen with white words on the bottom declaring: "Audio Recording Only". As such, visuals were useless and the only thing they could really hear from the video was just the audio itself. As if that wasn't obvious from "Audio Recording Only".

The audio began with a voice that was most clearly Jared himself:

"I… I hate to do this. But someone has to die. If it means that I can protect her, then I have no choice. This is what I have to do. I'm sorry…"

A loud slam could be heard.

Then, Haruto's voice came in.

"W-What the–"

A loud pounding could be heard.

Then the footage fast forwarded. Though there were some sped up voices in between the fast forwarding, but because it was sped up, no one would be able to tell who was speaking. After five minutes, the footage resumed at its normal speed as Haruto's voice came through...

"Shit, the door can only be-"

A loud hissing noise followed after.

The sound of an ensuing scuffle occurred. A cough could be audibly heard and suddenly the room went quiet. There wasn't a notable sound to be heard shortly after.

Then, just like its predecessors, the security footage ended with a replay button for anyone examining it to press in case they wanted to watch it again. But that was pretty much all that was recorded and edited for Investigations sake in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Footage.

---

Cassandra blinked.

What was…

Huh…?

What the hell was this?

She looked up, expectantly for White Collar to explain when this was recorded but he shook his head.

"Again, this is footage your peers already know about," White Collar stated. "I can't tell you anything. And besides… it is time for you to return to the surface…"

"What?" Cassandra blinked.

"Attention all prisoners," came Monohebi's voice. "It is time for the Prison Trial. Please cease all investigations and report to the Auditorium immediately. Attendance is mandatory. That is all."

Oh fuck.

The Investigation had ended.

"Well then, I hope these four pieces of evidence were of some use to you," White Collar bowed politely. "I wish you luck during the Trial. And remember, it would be an awful shame for you to fail… After all, I won't be able to save you if you lose."

White Collar chuckled sinisterly as Cassandra turned back to the Voting Chamber.

She needed to move quickly.

If people found her at the Trial Grounds, she's gonna have some questions to answer.

Without much hesitation, she headed toward the Voting Chamber…

---

(Auditorium)

Once the Voting Chamber reached the surface, Cassandra exited quickly and quietly. Thankfully, no one had arrived yet. At least, not until a minute later, which was a big relief since if she had been a minute slower, she would've definitely been caught. She kept the four USB drives containing the Security Footages deep inside her pocket.

Those were her new trump cards.

Only she got to see them so it was best to use them whenever it was the best time to use them. She held her arms and leaned against the Voting Chamber she had just exited from. After that talk with White Collar, those pieces of evidence were exactly what she needed…

Those pieces of evidence rejuvenated her spirit.

Now… she was ready to find out what happened. Find out who killed…

She clenched her fist.

She still couldn't believe it.

But she had to.

Jared Caertas was dead.

And now she had to find out who killed him…

…

"Oi, were you here the whole fucking time?" Haruto arrived with Abigail and Mimi, glaring at Cassandra in displeasure. "Didn't even fucking help with the Investigation, huh?"

"...Whatever I did during my Investigation time is none of your business," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "So take your harem and leave me the fuck alone."

"My what now?" Haruto glanced at Cassandra in bewilderment.

Abigail flushed, embarrassedly.

"Please, Haruto's no anime protagonist!" Mimi exclaimed. "He's more of the… protagonist's rival that gets no one in the end!"

"...H-Hey, wait a minute," Haruto turned to Mimi. "W-What do you mean I ain't a—"

Before he could continue, Zuri and Holland had arrived along with Arthur and Ina. Arthur, out of three, seemed content with the evidence that they had gathered. Zuri on the other hand, was not content in the slightest.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to do another one of these," Zuri looked down, slightly nervous.

Holland instinctively held her hand to calm those nerves.

In return, Zuri shared a small smile of appreciation toward him. But her hand was slightly fidgeting. Was she really that nervous about the Trial?

"I suppose it is time for us to enter these Voting Chambers, yes?" Arthur asked, with a confident smirk. "I think we have to discuss."

"Plausible theories and the like but nothing definitive just yet," Ina clarified with a shrug.

"Then I can't wait to hear what they will be," came the voice of the snake that had been much help to the Kingstons' specific investigation.

Monohebi had coiled herself up on the stage of the Prison's Auditorium.

"I take it you're all ready then?" she presumed. "Then, I suppose it is time. Please, enter a Voting Chamber and prepare for the descent down to the Trial Grounds…"

Like the good students they were, everyone did as they were told and entered corresponding Voting Chambers. All eight of them.

Eight.

To think that was how many that were left.

Monohebi flicked out her tongue.

"Now then, please stay inside the Voting Chambers until the Chamber doors open. That is all."

---

The descent was never easy.

Especially when it was leading up to their fourth Prison Trial.

Jared Caertas was the next on the list of victims to this terrible Killing Game. As they descended further and further down into what would await them at the Trial Grounds, all of them had to wonder just how much longer…

How much longer did they have to do this?

How many more had to die?

And if someone like Jared could die…

Then who was next…?

…

The doors opened up.

…

To a room that Cassandra had already seen before. The sewer-like design of the Trial Grounds was enough to make anyone want to feel grossed out, but she supposed everyone already felt disgusted enough after seeing what had become of Jared's body. Besides, just because it looked like a sewer didn't mean it smelled like one!

"Huh, this isn't as bad as the other few times we've been here," Mimi noted.

"...Is that a red balloon floating in the distance?" Holland narrowed his eyes.

"Nevermind," Mimi shivered.

Only giga chads understood that reference.

Cassandra, meanwhile, remained unfazed by the room. Of course, part of it was that she had already seen this room, but the other part was because there was another part that she just skipped out on noticing… and that was the now updated podiums.

They were in their usual order of:

Abigail, Arthur, a portrait of Barracuda, a portrait of Carter, Cassandra, Haruto, Holland, Ina, a portrait of Jared, a portrait of Kane, a portrait of Maggie, a portrait Mayu, Mimi, a portrait of Titus, a portrait of Yuumi, Zuri, and the throne seated by Monohebi between Zuri and Abigail.

She felt her hands tighten when she saw Jared's portrait.

That X of his face…

She couldn't believe he was truly gone.

"Now then, everyone please situate themselves on their assigned podiums," Monohebi announced.

Everyone didn't need to be told twice.

It was their fourth Prison Trial.

They knew what to do.

…

Or do they?

…

Abigail, who had been looking exhausted these past few days, now looked a little more determined to get this Trial over with.

Arthur looked much more confident than he usually was. Perhaps this was the Trial that he was going to carry everyone in?

Barracuda had no physical body to express anything. That's what happens when you get too shredded after exercising!

Carter suffered brain damage to the side of his head. So of course, the only expression he made was his dead face.

Cassandra definitely looked vengeful. The more she waited around, the angrier and heated she got. She was definitely going to give it everything she got to figure out what happened…

Haruto looked determined as well. He had a score to settle. Well, he had a score to settle with Jared but now that he was dead, that score would have to carry on to the perp who killed him…

Holland flipped his hoodie over his head. He tried to think about how this would all lead but most of all, he thought of Zuri. They needed to survive. For his and her sake.

Ina looked a little nervous. This was unlike her. She wasn't sure where this Trial would lead but what she knew for sure was that she was going to have to carry her weight. Her track record in these Trials… yeah, they weren't exactly good.

Jared's body was mangled up and smelly. So, even if he was expressing something, it'd probably be agonizing pain. Too bad no one could tell thanks to how grinded up his face was.

Kane didn't even have a head so we don't get an expression from him.

Maggie had head trauma so she couldn't express anything either.

Mayu also lost her head. Monohebi misplaced it somewhere so we can't get an expression from her.

Mimi took a deep breath. She knew what she saw was scary but she was going to have to be a big girl now and do this. She was sure of what she had seen on the Security Footage and despite being terrified before, she was getting ready to help solve this mystery!

Titus's face was pale. Probably because he died. Also because he lost a lot of blood. Oh yeah, he was definitely not ready to give an expression anyway. Let's leave him be.

Yuumi had head trauma so she couldn't express– How the hell does everyone lose their goddamn heads in this damn Killing Game?!

Zuri was noticeably nervous. Much more nervous than she was in the previous Trials. Now that Jared was dead, that meant she was the leader. No rivals to try to take her role. The stress and pressure were on…

The pressure to do this yet again.

Their fourth Prison Trial.

Eight prisoners remain.

They had to do it.

They had to!

It was a game of Life and Death!

…

"Let the Prison Trial commence..." Monohebi flicked her tongue.

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

And here we go! The Investigation chapter for Chapter 4! Wow! I really cooked up 12K words at 4 in the morning! My sleep schedule is forever ruined :D Yayyy ;-;

But that also means the Trial parts are underway and I really hope they turn out good ;-; They are more or less done but I have to make sure everything makes sense and matches up to the evidence at hand. Speaking of evidence, there is so much evidence XE But I also think this might be one of the best Investigations I've written :D So... good luck solving this one ;D

At this rate, Chapter 4 is going to finish before my deadline of December 23! So excited :D

As always, please let me know your thoughts, opinions, and theories. Who killed Jared? And how exactly did everything play out? No special prizes for anyone who gets things right!

As Monohebi has said, "Let the Prison Trial commence!"

---

Prisoners Remaining: 8

---

Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [1,000,000]

Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [0]

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate Scam Artist (ExtraMeme) [500,000]

Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101) [0]

Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi) [1,000,000]

Ina (Hamamura) Kingston - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping) [0]

Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]

Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45) [1,000,000]