"Well, well, what have we here?" Monokuma said. "I can't believe it, but you guys got it right yet again! The blackened is indeed Arashi Seiya!"

At this point, Masashi had expected the news not to surprise him, and yet, when he heard those words, he felt a slight pain in his heart. None of the innocents looked at all happy that they had found the culprit and so were allowed to live for another day.

"Why…?" Faye asked, rubbing her watery eyes. "Why, Arashi? Why did you kill Murphy and Sister Hikari?"

"Yeah, why, Arashi?!" Kasumi said, her voice cracking. "Why did you...?"

"It is rather unexpected for two people to be killed by the same person in these circumstances," Tanjiro added. "After all, as per the killing game's rules, one needs to kill only one person to become the blackened."

"At the very least, you planned to kill one of us with the shooter," Maiha said sternly. "I had a feeling that someone like you would eventually succumb to greed."

"Oh, yeah… the motive," Masashi said, feeling a little tired. "It was money… Twenty billion yen, I think."

For a moment, Arashi said nothing, everyone staring at him with confusion and dread.

"Yeah… I won't try to sugarcoat it," he said with a resigned tone. "I wanted the money... I wanted the cash so much that I came up with this whole scheme. The money was my one and only chance!"

"'Chance'? Wh-What are you talking about?" Faye asked.

"W-Well... I had one goal in mind with the money, and it was something that not even Monokuma knew about!"

"Oh? And what's that?" Sorao asked.

"It's very simple!" he answered, his voice shaken for a moment. "I wanted nothing more than revenge!"

The whole class gasped.

"R-Revenge…?" Maiha said, looking confusedly at him. "I must ask that you be more specific."

"Yes, whom exactly was your revenge directed at?" Haruyuki asked.

Even though Arashi had not answered yet, what he had said so far was enough to send a chill down Masashi's bones. Revenge was seldom something that one would lightly talk about, and not until now had he imagined Arashi to have that kind of motivation. Sure, he had his problems with managing his anger, but Masashi did not think that Arashi had ever shown enough contempt toward someone to resort to murder.

Arashi ground his teeth. "Don't get me wrong! It's not a person that I want to wreak my revenge on!"

"Th-Then who?" Hikari said. "Wh-Who was it?"

"It's a group... and it's the very one that's put us all in this situation!" he answered. "Brightmere Research!"

"Wh-What?!" Sorao exclaimed, raising his hands in surprise. "Have I heard you right? You're saying you want to get back at our captors?"

"That's… definitely not what I expected!" Kasumi added.

All in this courtroom, without exception, showed some form of surprise at his answer. Indeed, as Masashi looked around, he glanced toward Monokuma, who too looked bewilderedly at Arashi. However, this time, the bear's shock seemed to be no act at all. It was rather eerie, then, that Monokuma did not seem to be responding; instead, he was staring blankly at him and seemed to want to hear more.

"Arashi… Would you mind explaining yourself?" Mari asked. "For instance, when did your desire for revenge begin?"

Arashi sighed. "It was when I learned they had somehow gotten their hands on my dear old grandma! You know, when we all got those motive videos!"

"Oh... Oh, yeah, we did!" Sorao added. "And Lady Inoshishi decided to break them, and Masashi ended up hiding his from the rest of us!"

Uh, I wish that you hadn't brought that up again... Masashi thought.

"I was so angry…" Arashi continued. "I was so angry that Monokuma had somehow managed to get his hands on her! I wanted to save her somehow… but…!"

"But what?" Faye asked.

"I hesitated!" he answered. "Futaba kept saying that her family would resolve this whole thing, and I wanted to believe her… yet my heart wouldn't make me forget about Grandma! I couldn't decide what to do… and then, on the night when we rode on the Haunted Woods ride..."

"The first murder happened," Maiha finished for him. "And the clown that you had befriended ended up being the killer."

Arashi groaned as the unpleasant occasion seemed to return to his mind. "Yeah… and these feelings of anger… even though I tried not to let them control me, they only grew! Brightmere Research not only had kidnapped Grandma but also had caused Haruka and the others to die… Those people had done all those horrible things, while I could only stand and watch… As long as Brightmere Research was allowed to be, then I'd never find long-lasting peace!"

"So... in other words… you felt a sense of anger growing within you..." Tanjiro said, noticeably shaken.

Arashi nodded reluctantly. "To be truthful… when the idea of wreaking revenge popped in my mind, I felt pretty frightened… Until that moment, I hardly ever thought about revenge… If I felt angry toward others, I usually let out my anger, and then any thoughts of getting back at them disappeared… But this time, I couldn't forget it!"

He clutched the sides of his head, showing a nasty scowl as he ground his teeth.

"I felt as if I were being mocked all the time! The ones behind this kept doing all these horrible things to us!" he said. "The more I tried to forget it, the more it came back to me! I wanted so much to rid myself of this feeling! And once Monokuma showed us the money… I realized!"

It was then that a small smile appeared on his face. It was not a wicked smile that one might expect to see on a villain, but one that might appear on some lost soul's face if he had, after many hours, finally found the way to his destination.

"With twenty billion yen, I wouldn't need to rely on others like the government to punish those bastards!" he said, slight hope in his voice. "I could just do it myself as quickly as possible!

"I could hire all kinds of people… I could buy all kinds of things…

"I could make them pay for what they've done, with anything I desire at my beck and call!"

The others murmured in amazement.

"Th-That's… your reason?" Hikari muttered amazedly.

"Whoa, you wanted the money for that, even though we're all your friends, dude?" Sorao said, gaping as he set his hands on the sides of his head.

Sayua frowned as she crossed her arms. "Not very sympathetic if you ask me!"

Mari sighed as she looked sadly at him. "And that's how… you no longer could ward off the voice that sought revenge."

Maiha grimaced and glared at Arashi as her fist shook. "I understand now… You were already on the verge of killing us, but until you learned of the motive, you were still uncertain."

"I… don't exactly approve of your reasoning," Tanjiro added, sounding the more hesitant of the two. "But… I guess I can see how things turned out the way they did for you."

Masashi could only stand there speechlessly. Having heard the killer's explanation, he understood to some extent why Arashi had felt justified in killing for the money. Brightmere Research had undoubtedly done awful, irredeemable things against them, and that it could do all these misdeeds without being punished would harm the mind of someone like Arashi, who he knew had been struggling with his emotions.

"But… why?"

What filled Masashi's mind now was nothing but sheer disappointment.

"Even after the motive was revealed, we came up with the plan to launch your fireworks to reach the outside world!" Masashi said, slightly upset. "If we had launched the fireworks as we planned, then maybe we would've succeeded!"

Arashi grimaced as he gripped the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Masashi… When I first heard of your idea, I actually thought it might work! I was still hesitating about carrying out my revenge, so it even made me think twice about killing for the money!" he replied. "But after the excitement waned… I began to doubt whether it truly worked. And what I heard the next morning only deepened my doubts!"

"If you ask me, though, I don't think it's likely it'll work."

The lone gainsayer, unsurprisingly, was Sorao, who had looked mildly unconvinced the whole time.

"Hmm? What makes you think that?" Mari asked.

Sorao shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back on his seat. "Well, don't get me wrong. I get what you plan to do, but let's face it: the chances that there are nearby ships are pretty low. We don't even know where we are, and the sea's far larger than you may imagine, so for all we know, we're in the middle of nowhere. That certainly would make continuing this killing game easy for Brightmere Research, don't you think?"

"That… That is a pretty good point…!" Arashi mumbled, gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, can't say I'd bet on its success," Sayua replied, among the more skeptical of the group, though it seemed that she showed more apathy than downright dismissal.

"I couldn't stop thinking about what the naysayers were saying!" Arashi continued. "Before I knew it, I no longer believed the plan would work… That's when I came up with the scheme of using the shooter and pretending that my fireworks had gone missing!"

"Oh, my... In the end, you didn't believe in the plan that relied on your craft," Haruyuki said.

"Man, I thought we all ought to be more realistic about it, but I didn't want things to go this way..." Sorao replied.

"Wait… come to think of it..." Masashi said as he recalled that night when Kasumi had given him the bracelet. "That one conversation…"

Arashi sighed as he relaxed his shoulders, and at that moment, Masashi noticed a bit of uncertainty on his face.

"Hey, is there something wrong?" Masashi asked.

"Um, well… Nothing important, really," Arashi said, his tone sounding a little forced. "I'm just thinking about this whole situation… Monokuma trapped us all in here and got four of us killed! I thought that Haruka's death would be the end of that, but… Futaba and Abraham are now dead." He then clenched his fists as he ground his teeth. "It's just so… frustrating that Monokuma's laughing behind our backs! It makes me feel so… helpless! I just want it... to let it out and make this feeling go away."

Masashi said nothing at first, as it was clear that Arashi was beginning to feel doubt about himself and all the progress that he had made to try to overcome his anger. Even though Arashi was aware of the aftermath of his anger, he was liable to forget it, fall back to his old ways, and, worst of all, think about killing.

In that case, he needs some more encouragement, he thought. He needs to be reminded about why he wants to overcome his anger.

"I understand that. In this situation, it's only natural to feel that way. Who wouldn't?" he replied. "But right now, you have to set that aside. Don't forget, Monokuma's given us another motive, and he wants us to forgo our moral standards and kill for the money. And we're liable to do that if we're not thinking clearly. So it's pretty clear that he wants you to feel angry again."

"Yeah, there's no need for anger if you ask me!" Kasumi added, smiling. "Besides, you have your work to focus on! If you put all your work into it, then our chances of being rescued grow higher, so there's no need to think about Monokuma's bait at all!"

"Oh… When you put it that way, that makes sense," Arashi replied, though still looking unsure, but Masashi figured that it would take some time for him to fully accept his reasoning. "I guess it'd be wrong if I got angry right now…. Sorry that I bothered you with my problem."

"To tell you the truth… even near the end, I still felt some doubt about killing for the money," Arashi answered. "Right as it was, I couldn't be happy at what I would do. That's why… I wanted to see whether there was another way to rid myself of this anger."

N-No way…

Masashi tried to hold in his groan as he saw the truth behind Arashi's words. At the time, he had thought that Arashi was simply struggling with trying to hold in his anger at the present situation. But he should have known that it was more than that. It was about his faith in trying to prevail in the feeling of revenge that Monokuma had stricken his heart with.

"I… I tried to do what you said, Masashi!" Arashi said. "You told me to ignore it, and I tried… But in the end, I could reach only one conclusion: I had to get the money. The fireworks weren't going to work, and I was left with this feeling of anger... and it wouldn't go away unless I destroyed Brightmere Research myself!"

"Arashi… is that… truly how you feel?" Faye said quietly. "I… I didn't know… If I had, I definitely would've helped you with your problems! Why didn't you tell us about how you felt?"

"I-I'm sorry, Miss Nirigiri, but...!" Arashi said. "Had I told you, you would've been extra worried about me… and there was a good chance that I couldn't have carried out my scheme! You might've been more watchful over me!"

Sayua raised a hand flippantly. "Hang on, buster! You still haven't explained all that you did! For one, you didn't expect Murphy to unwittingly get in your way, so you had to snuff him out, right? But why did you go on and kill that nun chick as well?"

"Yeah, that's pretty odd…" Tanjiro said. "We only concluded Murphy's and Sister Hikari's killer had to be the same person because of the circumstances, but logically, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You only needed to kill one of them to become the blackened."

Arashi moaned as he raised his head. "Well… if truth be told, I hadn't intended to kill Murphy. When I found the music player in the closet, I'd forgotten that Murphy had a special event tonight. So when he came into the lounge and played his game, I anxiously waited for him to go away.

"But the longer I waited… the more I panicked! I couldn't very well try to openly leave the room! He would've seen me, and I would've been caught later! So… the next thing I knew… I grabbed a nearby bat and…!"

He hung his head down. "As soon as I realized that I had attacked him, I quickly fled with the music player! I didn't take a good look at the scene!"

"So… you still thought Murphy was still alive?!" Sayua said.

Arashi nodded. "I-I thought I'd simply knocked him unconscious! I didn't think my swing had hurt him that much!"

"And that's why you continued through with the second killing…" Masashi said. "You hadn't realized that you had unwittingly led Murphy to his death already."

"Of course, as it turned out, he ended up as the second victim, so his death technically played no role in your becoming the blackened," Maiha added.

"It... was pointless..." Hikari mumbled, looking even gloomier and drearier than usual.

"Ah, but it played a key role in uncovering Arashi's culpability," Haruyuki said. "If Murphy hadn't been killed, could we have still figured it out? Perhaps not... In a way, his death led us to a path in which we should survive."

"Then there's Sister Hikari's killing…" Mari said. "From what I can tell… it seems to have been but misfortune that she was led to her death."

"You mean… Sister Hikari's death was unintentional?" Kasumi asked.

"How you misunderstand, wretched thief," Maiha explained, looking unamusedly at her. "To put it simply, he had no certain outcome in mind. He could not have foreseen that it was Sister Hikari who would fall for his trap. The hotheaded killer, in other words, simply needed any one of us to be his victim."

Mari nodded. "Arashi was upstairs with us the whole time, so he couldn't have seen who went into the shooter room."

"Then it could've very well been me that died!" Tanjiro said, his face growing pale. "I ought to thank the gods that I'm still alive..."

"Is… that it?" Hikari said. "Is that all there is to it?"

"Yeah… That's the whole story behind Murphy's and Sister Hikari's deaths," Arashi answered. "And for the record… I didn't plan to frame anyone at all. It was a complete coincidence that Hikari happened to become the main suspect. I'm… sorry that you ended up being suspected for a while."

"O-Oh… Is that so…" she mumbled, looking no less sad than usual, however. "I… suppose I should give you some credit for that, at least…"

"Oh, Arashi!" Faye walked up to him, rubbing his teary eyes. "I… I can't believe it, but I guess we won't be together anymore...!"

"M-Miss Nirigiri…!" Arashi said, who also began to weep. "I… I'm sorry that I've lied to you! I'm sorry that this is how things have to between us!"

"I never imagined… that we should say good-bye so suddenly!" Faye replied, sobbing. "If we must part… I at least wish that I could cook you some treats one last time…!"

Arashi sobbed as he wiped away his tears. "Miss Nirigiri… you never fail in your cooking… you never fail to amaze with your sweet pastry snacks!"

Faye opened up her arms, and Arashi embraced her without hesitation. A few seconds later, they separated. Faye said nothing, but kept on her weeping as she covered her eyes with her hands. Arashi then faced Kasumi, but she too said nothing as she covered her mask with one hand.

"Kasumi…" he said hesitatingly. "I'm… sorry that I ended up betraying you. I understand… if you don't think of me as your friend anymore."

"D-Don't say that…"

Kasumi turned her head toward him. Though her red masquerade mask covered the eyes, she was clearly trying to put up a brave face.

"You… thought of me as a friend till the very end, right?" she said, her voice shaking. "It's as Mari said earlier… You wore my bracelet."

Arashi nodded. "Yeah… To be truthful, I was pretty shocked when you gave me it. But I could tell that you really meant it when you said you were sorry. That's when... I began to think of you as a friend."

"Oh… Arashi…!"

Kasumi said nothing as she faced away from the others, but Masashi had a rather good idea as to what she now felt. It was always tragic for two friends to go their separate ways, but it could not be stopped now. Arashi had made his choice, and now, as decided by the killing game's rules, he must live by it.

"Arashi… do you regret what you've done?" Masashi asked.

"Regret…?" Arashi said with a stern expression. "No… I don't regret trying to kill for the money. I know that what I had to do for the money was terrible… But it was still the right thing to do!"

Nonetheless, he let out a sad sigh. "The only thing that I regret… is that it was Sister Hikari who died. I know she was a kind and wonderful woman, so it's regrettable that she's gone. If I'd known she'd die, then I'd have said goodbye to her... Same for Murphy, too. From my time with playing arcade games with him, I thought he was a pretty upright guy... I wish I hadn't killed him."

"I… see."

Arashi had not singled out Sister Hikari as his victim, as he had left it to chance, and Masashi sensed that his displeasure at how things had turned out was genuine. Though he had not seen Arashi hang out with Sister Hikari a whole lot, he had never gotten the impression that Arashi bore ill will against her. It thus certainly made sense that he took no pleasure from her death.

"You… You lie."

Everyone turned at the one who had spoken those words with a quiet but chilling voice. The voice was Kumi's, who had not spoken at all until now and who, unlike most of the others, showed far less sorrow on his face. Indeed, his eyes dead set on the man to die, and not an ounce of composure seemed to be within him.

"Sister Hikari was always so kind to everyone… She never bore a grudge against anyone! There's no way she wronged you in any way! And yet you were willing to kill her! How could you say you're sorry that you killed her?!"

Arashi looked a bit shaken. "W-Well, I'm not delighted that it was Sister Hikari that ended up dying, but in the end, that was how things turned out—"

"I don't care!"

Kumi pointed at him, every part of him far more wrathful. Nearly everyone gasped, for it was the first time that Masashi had ever seen such a warped expression on the storyteller.

"You were glad that she fell for your scheme!" Kumi said, raising his fists. "And you keep saying you wanted to use the money to avenge all our friends who died in this killing game… but that's a lie! You don't care about Lady Haruka and the others! The only one you truly care about is you and you alone!"

"K-Kumi!" Faye said, gaping. "You mustn't say such a thing—"

"No! I can't stand here while you keep falling for his lie!" Kumi replied. Though his tone still had hints of his usual childish nature, it was warped by his bitter wrath to the point that it sounded nearly unlike him.

"Lie?!" Arashi replied, looking astoundedly at him as he raised a fist. "What I've said is the truth and nothing but the truth!"

"'The truth'... I know what the truth is… You're awful."

Kumi seemed to have lost a bit of confidence by Arashi's response, though much of his wrath still remained.

"The monsters in my tales can't hold a candle to you… You killed Sister Hikari, even though she thought you were her friend… And you killed her because you were too weak to control yourself... She didn't deserve it… She deserved better, you monster!"

Kumi's outburst drew gasps from everyone. Even Haruyuki, who had been silently and calmly watching this whole painful exchange play out, looked greatly astonished as well. Arashi, aghast at his bitter words, could only stutter in response, but a few seconds later, Mari interjected.

"Arashi… Please don't mind what Kumi's saying," Mari said. "He's simply a bit upset right now. I hope you won't feel too bothered by his words…"

"M-Mari..." Arashi said, his voice raspy. "I… I'll keep that in mind."

And yet, in the end, one could tell one thing: any semblance of friendship and goodwill between Kumi and Arashi was gone for good.

Kumi. now glancing away as if ignoring him, was clearly in no mood to try to reconnect with him or end things off respectfully. Instead, there was nothing but bitterness and hatred oozing from him, as if he had just seen Arashi kill his own mother right before him.

Is there… anything I can say?

Unfortunately, Masashi could only stand there speechlessly.

There was one unshakable truth: Arashi had been willing to kill Sister Hikari, and everything that he had done had led to Sister Hikari's death.

And that was enough for Kumi to condemn him.

Even if Arashi had killed Sister Hikari for the noblest reason, he would not forgive him at all. It was no surprise, then, that Kumi had chosen the worst interpretation of his words. Only a monster would kill Sister Hikari, and so Arashi Seiya must be a monster. It was as simple as that in the distraught boy's mind. Perhaps Kumi would think differently with a cooler mind, but in his current state, that was the conclusion that he was drawn to.

"Hey, now, don't you keep me waiting now!"

At long last, Monokuma had spoken. He had been awfully silent, just like Kumi, but unlike him, he looked not at all distraught at these events.

"We can't very well stand here forever! We have schedules to follow!" Monokuma added. "Now say your last words and whatever!"

"All right, now… I guess my time's nearly up," Arashi said. "Is there... anything else you guys want to say to me?"

"Two things, actually," Mari said. "As for my first question… something has bothered me ever since your scheme was revealed."

"Hmm? What do you wish to ask him?" Haruyuki asked.

"I can see how Arashi managed to kill Sister Hikari… but nevertheless, for the plan to be a success," Mari answered, "Arashi needed to make sure that everyone should split off into two groups, and that someone would go into the shooter room. That everything went so smoothly for him is surprising enough to make me wonder…"

"W-Wonder what?" Hikari asked.

"Arashi… did you perhaps have an accomplice to aid you?"

"A-An accomplice?!" Arashi said, eyes widened. "No, you're mistaken! I planned out everything by myself! I wasn't working with anyone, honest!"

"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma chimed in. "I can assure you that Arashi never asked anyone to be his accomplice, and he never talked about his plan with anyone! And this is coming from me, so you know it's true!"

"Then we can rest assured that Arashi had no accomplice!" Sorao quickly added.

"Hmm… I suppose so," Mari said, though still looking uncertain. "And as for my other question… where did you put the fireworks?"

"Huh? Fireworks?" Tanjiro said.

"Arashi lied about the theft of his fireworks, but that doesn't mean he had faked making them," she explained. "I checked up on Arashi's progress on the fireworks, and so I'm certain that he wasn't simply pretending to make them. So, Arashi, where are they now?"

Arashi let out a sigh. "Well… I guess there's no harm in telling you now. The fireworks… they're in the kitchen in the very first ship."

"You mean… they were on the woodland kingdom all along?!" Faye said.

Arashi nodded. "Before I headed down to the lower decks to open the window as part of my plan, I rushed over to the kitchen with my fireworks. I locked them up in a cabinet that required this key."

He then took out from his pocket a small black key, which he then handed over to Masashi.

"Th-That's the same key that I used to unlock the cabinet where the sugar was…" Hikari said.

"I figured that you guys wouldn't think to search the kitchen during the investigation," Arashi answered. "So there you have it! You can do whatever you want with the fireworks now… but since you asked me, are you… going to use them?"

"We will," Masashi answered as he put away the key in his pocket. "Even with how low the chance may be… the chance to escape isn't gone. I want to reach out to the outside world… I have hope that our voice may be found."

"You… You believe that they'll work?"

Masashi nodded. "I believed in you… and even now, I still do. You're the Ultimate Pyrotechnician, right? I don't think your fireworks will disappoint at all!"

"M-Masashi..." Arashi said. "I... I can't believe it... Even now, you..."

Before Arashi could say any more, however, a certain laugh came from someone. It was none other than Monokuma.

"I must say, I certainly didn't expect that you'd use the money for that purpose!" the bear said. "When you asked me for the employee ID last night, you were quite mum about your motive. I thought you had some kind of special twisted motive in mind. And boy, oh, boy, was I right!"

Huh? Why is he commenting on Arashi's scheme only now? Masashi thought as he looked askance at the bear. What is he up to?

Monokuma then feigned sobbing as he rubbed his forehead. "I mean, you were going to destroy the place where I work! That's one messed-up motive!"

"Y-You…!" Arashi said as he eyed him angrily. "I-I swear… even after my death, you won't get away with this! Someday, you'll get your comeuppance!"

"Oh no, my comeuppance! I'm so, so scared!" Monokuma said as he waved his paw dismissively. "Well, I don't care, really. It's almost cute that you're that clueless."

"Wh-What? What are you saying?"

"You truly thought that you could stop us with twenty billion yen…" Monokuma replied merrily. "But you did all that under the assumption that you could even catch us."

"What? Are you saying you're invincible or something?!"

Monokuma scoffed. "Well, has it ever occurred to you how we even managed to get twenty billion yen in the first place?"

"Oh!" Kasumi gasped. "Th-That's... something I haven't thought about!"

"Neither have I," Maiha added, grimacing. "Are you saying... you have far more than that which you offered us?!"

"That's right! Twenty billion yen is a mere pittance to us!" Monokuma said, his smile widening. "Let's just say that we have... special connections."

"Are you referring to... the elite?" Mari asked, looking at him concernedly.

"Well, that part was supposed to be revealed later on, but since I feel generous right now... yep, you're right on that!" Monokuma said. "Our organization is connected to a few special individuals, to put it lightly."

Everyone cried out in shock.

"Wait... is this whole thing some sick aristocrats' game, then?" Tanjiro said, sounding somewhat in denial.

"Certainly sounds like what some rich guys off their rocker would come up with, now that I think about it!" Sayua responded.

Haruyuki rubbed his chin. "Hmm... It certainly is not unheard of. With enough means, some men can realize what were formerly mere flights of fancy. Yes, to hold such sick fantasies and realize them like this... It's interesting, to say the least."

"Wh-Why did I have to get involved in all this...?" Hikari mumbled grumpily.

But the most shocked of them all was Arashi, who had frozen at Monokuma's revelation.

"I-Impossible...!" he whimpered, his voice losing its defiance. "Y-You… You seriously can't be that powerful!"

"Oh, but you greatly underestimate our power level!" Monokuma said, raising a paw. "If you don't believe me, then not even five trillion yen will, I suppose."

"FIVE TRILLION?!" Kasumi cried out, gaping. "You've got to be joking! I doubt all the things I've stolen are worth that much altogether!"

"No, I jest not, I'm afraid," Monokuma answered. "But, hey, if you make it out of here alive, you have a new target to reach for your phantom thieving! Isn't that cool?"

"I... I... I refuse to believe it!"

Arashi fell on his knees as if stricken by the unbelievability of how much money that was.

"I refuse to believe it…! I refuse to believe that I couldn't have gotten my revenge on you...!"

Whether or not Monokuma were telling the truth, neither Arashi nor anyone else could gainsay him. No other plausible explanation could be thought up of as to how Brightmere Research could have so much money at its disposal. And if it were truly backed up by those of the elite, then Arashi's plan to stop it had been nothing but a pipe dream from the very beginning.

"Now, even if what I said were wrong, that wouldn't matter for you," Monokuma continued, ignoring Arashi's increasing shock. "After all, in the end, you were caught! You killed two people all for nothing, and that's the truth and nothing but the truth, sonny!"

Arashi continued to look down at the floor, his voice full of hopelessness. "What I killed for... What I have been fighting for... It was all... a fantasy...?"

No... So that's why... Monokuma's saying all this now.

Upon seeing Monokuma's true intentions, Masashi grimaced, and pain smote his heart once more. This time, the blackened had tried to go against Brightmere Research by using its own money. Though Arashi seemed to be but an ant to the evildoers, he had still become their foe.

And as part of the cost of his foolish quest for revenge, his very spirit must be crushed.

"Now then, I've prepared a special punishment for Arashi Seiya, the Ultimate Pyrotechnician!" Monokuma announced. "Let's give it everything we've got! It's… PUNISHMENT TIME!"

"This can't... be... true..."

As Arashi let out one last pitiful whimper, Monokuma took out his red button and slammed down on it with his yellow mallet, whereafter the monitors showed Monokuma's sprite dragging Arashi's to the right.

"GAME OVER," the screen showed. "ARASHI HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!"

Having been brought to his death site, Arashi could not move, for he was strapped to a great pole by a long chain.

The scene was a tall building, Arashi and the rocket set right on the rooftop and surrounded by several smaller rockets. All around the building stood a throng of Monokumas in sundry outfits, glancing upwards with utmost glee, and there were many rockets that were set nearer the building and were aimed right at Arashi.

The screen then showed a red background bedecked with blossoms, and it said:

Three Cheers and a Thousand Flares!

Ultimate Pyrotechnician Arashi Seiya's Execution: Executed

The Monokumas began to throw such things as matches and flares at the rockets, lighting their fuses. The small flames ran through the fuses in no time, after which the rockets shot up at once and flew toward Arashi as if they were projectiles launched from a submarine. As they reached the skyscraper, they exploded, painting the starry heavens with fireworks. They all narrowly missed Arashi, however, and he knew full well what would happen if they struck him.

Arashi squirmed as hard as he could. But once the Monokumas saw this, they booed, and some of them brought out new fireworks to launch. Once the fireworks were set, the beholders launched their projectiles at once, as if they were part of a firing squad, and more fireworks flew at Arashi. Most of the projectiles missed and exploded at different areas up high, but this time, one of them exploded right as it neared Arashi's chest, who let out a painful scream, but nonetheless kept trying to escape his chains.

The scream did not deter the executioners, as it would not deter a machine's inner workings. Once again, the Monokumas reloaded their fireworks, which were now greater in number, and the beholders threw their flares. There was hardly an inch of the heavens that was not bedecked with fiery blossoms, and Arashi underwent even more attacks by these decorative missiles. This went on for about half a minute, and the more time passed, the greater the number of fireworks grew, and so many fireworks were launched that it looked as if the whole scene were on fire.

After one more round of fireworks, Arashi still stood, looking barely alive, nearly every part of his clothes singed off, his skin covered with horrible scars. He cared not a bit about that, however, as all the damage that had been done to him had also damaged his chains, and now, he stood freely.

But just as he enjoyed his freedom, he glanced at the street below and gasped at the sight of one last firework. This one was special, however, for it was much larger. The Monokumas below counted down from three, and as soon as they reached "one", the fuse was lit, and the great firework was launched into the air.

Arashi wondered at the very sight before him, unable to move.

Whatever he might do, it was all over.

The firework struck him, and in an instant, the roof went up in flames. As more fireworks were fired off and brightened the night sky once more, all the Monokumas beheld the fiery site with awe. They were so gripped by the sight that they paid no heed to the man falling from the rooftop, and so there was no one who bothered to catch him as he landed right onto the street, blood coming out of his body upon the landing.

And thus, the fiery show came to an end.

"Puuhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma said as he lay back on his throne. "Now that was a blast, in more ways than one!"

"Holy mother of God!" Sorao muttered, gaping at the screen. "That… was far more brutal than I'd have ever expected."

Maiha deepened her frown. "What a hideous sight we have been forced to watch…"

Tanjiro shuddered. "I thought last time would be just enough for me to bear… but I should've figured Monokuma would find new ways to surprise me."

"Holy crap, he got roasted!" Sayua said.

"Monokuma definitely went out of his way to make it as flashy as possible," Haruyuki said disapprovingly, slight dread in his voice. "It… certainly left quite an impression on me, however sickening it may be. If I hadn't watched such dreadful executions twice beforehand, I would be much more aghast."

Mari sighed as she began to walk back and forth. "And yet again, another one of us is gone…"

"A-And the sad thing is, it's not going to end…" Hikari murmured. "I-If the previous executions weren't enough to deter Arashi, I doubt this'll stop the next killer."

"Arashi…" Faye murmured as tears streamed down from her eyes. "Why…? Why didn't you… tell me…?"

Kasumi said nothing, facing away from the others, but Masashi had a good idea as to what she now felt, given that he could have sworn that he had heard a stifled sob from her.

Kumi only glanced at the screen with a greatly startled expression. Shock was written all over his pale face, and he was fully frozen as if bereft of his power of movement, but this time, no one would calm him down. Everyone was busy with staring at the screen with awe, and Masashi felt too shocked to even move, still taking in the sight of Arashi's death.

Monokuma chortled as he leaned back on his throne. "If you ask me… even if Arashi had managed to fulfill his revenge, in the end, he would've still lost."

"Wh-What?" Masashi said. "I don't understand…"

"Come on, Masashi boy, surely you've heard all those tales about revenge!" Monokuma answered cheekily. "You know the old saw: revenge is a bad thing. Sure, the hero gets what he wants, but he feels completely empty. In his journey of vengeance, he became focused on the past, and he didn't look forward to the future at all."

"True… It's commonly said that revenge makes one feel empty," Tanjiro said tentatively.

"Exactly! After destroying us, Arashi wouldn't have known what to do with himself," Monokuma said as he clasped his paws together. "But then again… maybe it would've been better for him. Maybe he would've liked to become an empty shell of a man, as long as he could return to his boring, pathetic life. Don't you think that sounds about right for him?"

"That's… That's ridiculous!" Faye said. "How could you say something like that?!"

"Hey, now, don't get angry at me! I was only offering a guess at what would've happened had he succeeded!" Monokuma replied.

Masashi could only look at Monokuma with nothing but disgust. What he had said was nothing more than a guess, but he could not gainsay his words. To do so would mean that he could confidently say how Arashi would have ended up, but there was an obvious retort: how could he say that, when he had failed to foresee Arashi's betrayal?

"I doubt that any of us could answer," Haruyuki said. "It's sadly clear that we didn't know the man well enough."

"To feel so angry that one would do something so drastic as to kill… None of us have ever thought of doing something like that," Tanjiro said.

Monokuma covered his mouth with his paws. "Puhuhu… I wonder..."

"Wh-What are you mumbling about?" Hikari said.

"Oh, nothing," Monokuma replied coyly. "Anyway… now that you've seen the execution, there's nothing else left for you. You're all free to do whatever you want."

"Really? You're not planning to stop us from launching the fireworks?" Sorao asked.

Monokuma chuckled. "As I said before, I'm not worried at all. You're all free to try to find a way to escape this place… but let me assure you, it's all a waste of time. You oughta stay here at Brightmere Mirthyard and enjoy the ride!"

Then Monokuma disappeared, leaving the eleven students behind. Once again, for a while, no one said a word, taking in the fact that their numbers had dwindled yet again. Last time, there had been fourteen people left alive, and in one fell swoop, there were now only eleven.

"I believe it's time that we left this wretched place."

It was Maiha, who seemed to have recovered from watching the harrowing ordeal.

"There's no point for us to linger here," she said with her sharp, matter-of-factly tone. "I would rather that we went back to our rooms."

"Yeah, I agree," Sorao said, sounding a bit tired. "It sucks that we ended up doing this a third time, but hey, we're still alive, right?"

"Th-That's one way to look at it," Hikari said gloomily as she glanced down. "B-But Murphy's gone… and so are the nun and the hothead."

"I have to admit, it doesn't look too bright for us..." Tanjiro said as he sighed. "And with what Monokuma showed us... is it even possible to escape this killing game?"

No one answered at first. Though Monokuma had not shown any proof behind his words, his explanation certainly made a whole lot of sense. Brightmere Research, the mysterious research company, must be making sure that no one might interfere with this killing game, whether it were the government or rescue forces employed by Futaba's family. And with all this information about Brightmere Research, they now knew that their captors were connected to some of the most powerful people in society. He had no idea as to what they wanted, nor did he ever want to know, but the unshakeable truth was that the situation looked even worse than before now.

"Still, we mustn't give up now."

The silence was broken by Mari, who too seemed to have recovered from the shock of these events.

"Yes, it's tragic that more of us are now gone," she said, raising an index finger. "And I can't deny that our situation seems hopeless... But that doesn't mean we can't fight back. There may still be some way out, something that Brightmere Research has overlooked."

"Mari…" Masashi muttered, briefly taken aback by her words. "Yes, yes, you're right… We can't give up here. Otherwise, we'll all end up like Arashi, and then we'll have to go through this awful thing once again..."

"Then what do you suggest that we do?" Sorao asked.

"We at least should launch the fireworks that Arashi bestowed us," Mari answered before Masashi could respond.

"Hey, come on, you've gotta admit, that looks pretty damn unlikely now," Sayua replied. "After hearing what that bear said, don't you think it'll be nothing but a waste of time?"

"But Mari's right…"

This time, it was Faye.

"It's all that's left of Arashi… He made his fireworks with care and love," she said. "And I don't think he'd want us to let the fireworks go to waste!"

"I suppose that a miracle may still happen," Haruyuki said coolly. "We may never reach the outside world with the fireworks, but our chances will be greater than they would be if we never used them."

"I think so as well!" Kasumi said, who looked as she usually did, but there was still a slight hint of sorrow in her voice. "The chances are small, but as Haruyuki said, doing nothing definitely won't help!"

Sayua clicked her tongue. "If that's what you want, then fine. Just don't get your hopes up, that's all I'm saying."

Masashi glanced toward Kumi, who had not said anything for a while, but he remained quiet, saying nothing as he kept his moody disposition. He did not seem to disagree with their current plans, but Masashi could have sworn that he saw a hint of anger in his eyes.

Given how he now feels about Arashi, I guess that's to be expected... he thought.

Not wishing to stay here any longer, the eleven students then went to the elevator and headed back up to the surface. Thankfully, the winds were calm enough for launching the fireworks, but there was no excitement in the air at all. Notwithstanding Mari's attempt to cheer the group up with the plan, it was now something that they would do only because they could. Monokuma, detestable as he was, had sounded all too confident about their chances of their plan's failure, and Masashi had no doubt that his words now echoed in everyone's mind.

Once they crossed the gangway back to the pirates' cove, the ship in which three lives had been taken so far sailed off into the distance. As the group watched the ship disappear, Masashi asked Mari to get the fireworks that Arashi had hidden in the kitchen. She agreed to it without saying a word, and not long after, she came back with a box of fireworks.

At long last, we can launch the fireworks now… Masashi thought. It shouldn't have been this hard to reach this point, but…

"We should launch only some of the fireworks," Mari said. "It'd be risky to use them all in one day."

"Indeed," Haruyuki added. "It'd be most unfortunate if some ship were to come near us tomorrow, but we had no way to reach out to it."

After Mari finished setting up the fireworks, she took out a box of matches and lit the fuses. All watched the fire run through the fuse with bated breath, and a few seconds later, they flew up into the heavens. This time, however, there was no slaughter going on. The sky was painted with sundry colors, and many of the others cried out in marvel at the sight.

"Amazing!" Sorao said, his mouth agape. "No wonder Arashi was called the Ultimate Pyrotechnician!"

"He certainly lived up to his name," Haruyuki said, who too looked moved.

"It's… beautiful!" Kasumi said. "It's much more beautiful than the fireworks I've seen before!"

"Hopefully, there are others nearby who can witness this marvelous sight as well," Tanjiro added.

"I've gotta admit, they're much better than I expected," Sayua remarked, failing to hide her amazement.

"L-Likewise..." Hikari said, her usual gloom replaced with awe.

"Arashi…" Faye mumbled as she wiped away some of her tears. "I wish… I could watch this with you…"

Setting aside whether their attempt to contact the outside world would succeed, Masashi felt overjoyed that everyone seemed to be glad now. Even Kumi, who had not shown an ounce of happiness since Sister Hikari's death, looked awed at the fireworks. Though his lack of sorrow might only be fleeting, Masashi nonetheless was relieved that the storyteller did not feel troubled now.

And yet…

It was a beautiful sight, but there was no smile on Masashi's face.

The fireworks soon died out, and all stared at the empty space in the heavens for a while, as if seeing whether anything else would appear. After they got back their bearings, one by one, the others began to leave, saying that they wished to go to bed. Though Kumi said nothing, Faye volunteered to take him to his room and help him go to bed. Eventually, only Mari remained by his side.

"What's wrong, Masashi?" she asked. "You look a bit troubled."

"Oh... Sorry, Mari," he replied. "It's just that... I can't stop thinking about what my conversation with Arashi last night."

"Hmm? Why that conversation in particular?"

"Well, apparently, Arashi still felt doubt about going through with his scheme," Masashi explained. "That's why… he came to me and asked me for advice. And I… I gave a stupid answer."

"You did? In what way?"

"I… I told him to set his anger aside and ignore it!" Masashi replied. "I essentially told him to ignore the problem… but I should have known. I should've known that he was already on the verge of yielding to his anger!"

He set his hand on the nearby railing.

"Everything that happened tonight… it was all my fault!" he said, water welling in his eyes. "I promised him that I would help him overcome my anger… And yet, I didn't truly know what he was going through. And now, because of me, three more people are now dead!"

"Is that… what you think?"

"Mari… please tell me... what do you think about all this?" Masashi said.

Mari stared at him with slightly widened eyes.

"Are you sure... that you want to hear my thoughts?"

"Yes... Feel free to say them."

For some reason, amid her concern, Masashi felt a bit of foreboding, as if she were about to say some dark secret. But at this point, he wanted to know how he could have prevented this failure. He was supposed to be the leader, and he had promised that no one else would be a victim to the killing game, and yet, here he stood as a survivor of the third class trial.

Many seconds later, she opened her mouth.

"Well… perhaps you could've thought of a way to help him manage his anger. Perhaps he would've been able to stave off his temptations longer."

He nodded along. There was no arguing that he had utterly missed the point of Arashi's plea to him. If he had delved into the issue, then he could've worked out a solution for Arashi to overcome his emotional problems.

"But in the end… it wouldn't have mattered. He would've died, anyway."

"Wait… what?"

It was that very moment that made Masashi forget all his troubles, as he looked at Mari with great confusion.

"What do you mean, 'he would've died, anyway'?" Masashi said incredulously. "You say that as if his death had been planned beforehand..."

Mari stared blankly at him for a few seconds before answering.

"I… wouldn't put it that way, exactly," she answered, sounding as calm as always. "It's more like… nothing you could've done would've changed how he ended up. Even if you had helped him some more, he would've chosen to kill, anyway. Or maybe he would've lived a bit longer… but I think he still wouldn't have made it out of this killing game alive."

Masashi widened his eyes upon realizing what she was saying. Nothing about her words suggested that someone had manipulated him to die. No, she was attributing his death to some outside force, a force far greater than Masashi would dare to fight.

"Are you saying… he was destined to die?"

She said nothing for a few seconds. Some doubt seemed to enter her mind, from the slight change in her eyes, but in the end, she answered him.

"That's what I believe."

"Then... you... believe in destiny?"

She nodded softly. "Yes... I follow that line of thinking. But I won't be surprised if you don't."

"If truth be told, I've never thought too much about that kind of thing..."

When he had asked her for what she had thought, he had admittedly expected her to say some usual words of encouragement. Even if he had foreseen her response, then he would have been reassured that someone felt that he was not at fault here. But never had he expected that she would attribute tonight's events to fate of all things.

"Masashi… you should understand that it's not your fault," she added, looking concernedly at him. "What I mean to say is that... the circumstances had already decided that Arashi must die. Even if you hadn't answered him the way you did when he besought you to help him, he would've fallen to his temptations, anyway. You tried your best, but this was how things were meant to end."

"Then he was always destined to die like that?"

Maybe she was right: it had not been Masashi's fault at all. Maybe it had been preordained that Arashi Seiya should die, whether as a killer or a victim of the killing game. Still, if it were the truth, he found it hard to accept.

"I... understand why you say that," he added half-heartedly. "Um... Thank you, Mari. I'll think about what you said."

"Masashi..." she said, her tone remaining calm. "We should talk more about this tomorrow. A good night's rest can do wonders for you."

He nodded with the same middling enthusiasm. "Yeah... all right..."

And so he followed Mari back to the participants' quarters, carrying Arashi's remaining fireworks.

"Man... what a disappointment that was."

Sorao trod through the quiet woodland kingdom. All the others were either asleep or trying to accept what had happened. It was not a feeling that he scoffed at; after all, it had taken him a while to accept that his beloved Lady Inoshishi was gone. He truly had thought that they would have a future together. He had not been particularly interested in her money, though it certainly had helped. No, she had loved him, and in return, he had loved her back.

Now that was undoubtedly the best kind of relationship.

"It's such a shame… that things didn't work out tonight."

He had done his best to make things go his way, but in the end, the gods had willed that things end with Sister Hikari's death. Much as he wished that things had ended differently, it could not be helped. He simply needed to wait for another opportunity to pop up.

"Anyway, I hope it's still there."

Once he reached the merry-go-round room, he looked around for a few seconds before continuing his way. As he passed by the Haunted Woods ride, he recalled how Haruka had killed Atsushi for knowledge of her mother's whereabouts. Easy as it was to berate her for falling for Monokuma's trap, Sorao could not say that she was mad to do such a thing. He himself was fond of his mother, and it would be a shame if something bad were to befall her. Why, he might even have the mind to rescue her if he were willing to stoop so low as to kill for something like that.

Sorao stepped into the library, the dim lights giving the place an eerier vibe than he would like. He gave the books by the entrance a brief glance, but what he sought was not among them. He continued to scan the titles of the books on the shelves as he headed to the center of the library. By the time he reached it, he still had not found it.

"Hey, it's you!"

A familiar figure popped up near him. It was Monokuma, who looked mildly shocked at his presence.

"Hey, now, don't look so alarmed," Sorao replied coolly. "I'm simply here to look for a book. Isn't that why people go to libraries?"

"Well, I go there for the magazines, but I guess I can't argue with that," Monokuma answered. "You certainly aren't the one whom I expected to come here."

Sorao raised his brow. "From the way you said it, it sounds like you were expecting a certain person to come here."

"Did I really say that?" Monokuma said as he turned around. "I... was referring to my Monokuma helpers, that's all. This place is to be cleaned tonight. You know how dusty libraries can get."

It was obviously a lie, but Sorao knew better than to point that out. He had something else to take care of.

"Oh, I'd better not get in the way, then," Sorao replied. "Let me get the book I've come here for. I'll read it in my room."

Monokuma tilted his head. "Mind if I ask why?"

"It's no secret to you," Sorao answered. "You have surveillance cameras all over the place, so you must know what I was doing before Arashi began the blackout."

"Oh, yes… You were talking to that nun, weren't you?" A few seconds later, Monokuma widened his grin. "Ah… So that's what you're getting at."

Sorao let out a short laugh. "Yep. We were chatting, and she happened to mention something that intrigued me. I want to look into it, that's all."

Though Monokuma's expression did not change, Sorao sensed a hint of glee and interest rising within him.

"I see… And what do you plan to do with that information?"

Sorao smirked as he fiddled with a fringe of his red hair. "It depends, really. I may use it, or I may end up doing nothing at all. Either way, it's better to have this information at hand if need be… and with it, I can make things more interesting, you know."

Monokuma snorted. "Oh, when you put it that way… go on and read your book to your heart's content."

Sorao began to look through the shelves. "By the way… Don't you think it's a shame?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"The fact that Sister Hikari's gone. I didn't know her all too well, but I could tell that she truly trusted every last one of us. She believed in the goodness of our hearts... and she went out of her way to help others and make them happy. Now that was a good woman."

"You sound awfully sorry for her."

"Why wouldn't I? She loved to help others, and so do I. You can ask my classmates back in my school. They'll say nothing but glowing things about me, you know. I love helping them a lot. In fact, every now and then, I go out of my way to help others without letting them know."

Monokuma did not react, but Sorao knew that he understood what he was referring to.

Much as he would rather that Monokuma did not know, given how things worked around here, he had to accept that Monokuma and, by extension, Brightmere Research, were aware of all his secrets. If he was involved in all this, then there was no reason to think that Brightmere Research had not delved into his past. He had reached that conclusion a long while ago, but with tonight's revelation that Brightmere Research was connected to some elites, then he was certain that there was nothing left to hide.

Unfortunately, there was no way to stop them. It was as Monokuma had said: Arashi had never had a chance to even stop Brightmere Research, with the amount of wealth backing it. Still, he suspected that the higher-ups had no personal interest in him. No, their interest lay in how the killing game played out. Hence, he decided that if no one else knew the less favorable parts of his past, then he would be content.

But his desire was still unfulfilled.

It was such a shame that things had not worked out tonight.

"Ah, there it is."

Sorao found his book at last. He had remembered seeing it there before, so he was thankful that no one had thought to take it.

"All right, all right, be gone already, will you?" Monokuma said.

"Sure thing, man. Good night."

Holding the Dictionary of Clinical Disorders firmly, he trod quietly back to his room.

Chapter 3 - Thwarted by the Masked Player - END

Surviving Students: 11

1. Masashi Kousaki - Ultimate Lucky Student

2. Atsushi Morokuzu - Ultimate Archaeologist (DEAD)

3. Faye Nirigiri - Ultimate Patissier

4. Maiha Hanazawa - Ultimate Competitive Ballroom Dancer

5. Takumi Takamitsu - Ultimate Storyteller

6. Kasumi Ayukawa - Ultimate Phantom Thief

7. Abraham Zargari - Ultimate Waiter (DEAD)

8. Futaba Inoshishi - Ultimate Figure Skater (DEAD)

9. Arashi Seiya - Ultimate Pyrotechnician (DEAD)

10. Hikari Fey - Ultimate Spirit Channeler

11. Sayua Tomi - Ultimate Cheerleader

12. Tanjiro Urata - Ultimate Historical Novelist

13. Hikari Shinto - Ultimate Nun (DEAD)

14. Haruka Minami - Ultimate Clown (DEAD)

15. Murphy O'Hagan - Ultimate Potato Farmer (DEAD)

16. Haruyuki Kanagawa - Ultimate Art Critic

17. Sorao Mineta - Ultimate Celesta Player

18. Mari Anzai - Ultimate Phenologist

And so ends the third chapter!

Sad as it is, we must bid Arashi farewell. Arashi definitely had his problems, as shown in his very first appearance, and he made a noble attempt in trying to overcome them. Sadly enough, he succumbed to his desires and ended up killing two people in his attempt to win the killing game and a lot of money. It's pretty sad to see him go, since it'd be swell to see him overcome his emotional problems and become an adjusted man in the end. But as we all know, not all people who undergo change succeed, and I decided that it was best that Arashi be one of those people. And moreover, let Arashi show you that even if a character undergoes character development, it doesn't guarantee the character's survival!

Now, I would like to thank aidanator800 for sending me Murphy O'Hagan, TigerWarrior1998 for Hikari Shinto, and mandipokemon for Arashi Seiya. They were all interesting characters to work with, and I'm sad that our journey will continue without them, but I hope that you'll stick around!

Next time, Chapter 4 begins! As usual, what do you think will happen? How do you think the characters will change? Who do you think will be survivors, killers, or victims?