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.

2. Silence of the Sacrificial Lamb (Part 1)

Chapter 1: Silence of the Sacrificial Lamb (Daily Life #01)

---

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, 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!

---

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac...

---

"Hope's Peak Academy?"

Hope's Peak Academy was one of the most prestigious academies out there. Founded by Jin Kirigiri and backed up by many powerful contributors, the school is renowned for promising success to those who succeed the programs the school offers. It was only three years ago that the school was only accessible to talented students of Japan. Now, they've opened their doors all across the world, establishing many different sectors of the academy, scouting for key members of Hope they can train to establish the New World Order.

Establish a better world. A stronger generation led only by the talented and gifted representations of Hope to the new world.

So, to receive a letter stating that she, Zuri Auraline, had been accepted into the Academy…

"Wow, you're really going to make it big, huh?" Venessa chuckled, leaning against the wall, twirling her drumstick.

"Zuri!" Hana smiled happily. "I'm so happy for you! This is like a dream come true!"

"Yeah, the academy guarantees success when you graduate," Laurel smiled. "Think of how good our band's reputation will be when people find out a Hope's Peak alumni is our bassist!"

Zuri didn't know what to say. She just stared at the letter. Based on all three of her friend's reactions… They were happy for her. She held the paper tightly as she looked at her friends.

"...I'm not going," she stated.

"Huh?" Hana blinked, her smiling dropping slightly.

"Whoa, you serious?" Venessa blinked in shock.

"What?" Laurel was also bewildered by her decision. "Zuri. You do know what you're saying right? You're literally tossing away a lottery ticket offering you a million dollars. Why don't you want to go?"

Zuri tossed her letter away and looked down. She looked toward her friends. They seemed worried. Or maybe they were thinking her to be crazy for throwing an opportunity like this away. She understood regardless. Who wouldn't want to go to Hope's Peak for a chance for success? Normally, she wouldn't but…

"...I don't want to leave you guys," Zuri looked at her friends. "If I go, then what will happen to the band? What will happen to you guys? I just… I just don't want to leave you guys, the only friends I've made in my life…"

Laurel and Venessa were silent. It was Hana who reached out, placing her hand on Zuri's shoulder.

"Hey hey hey," Hana smiled as she pulled Zuri into a tight hug. "Listen Zuri. If… If that's what you want then, that's fine. You don't have to go. Honestly, I wouldn't want to leave you too. Not again… So, it's your choice whether or not you wish to go. Okay?"

Zuri felt Hana's hug. Her face felt warm. She felt the urge to cry. But she didn't. She accepted the hug. And she accepted it. Yeah, this was fine.

"...Yeah, Hana's right," Venessa gave a nod as she joined the hug. "Dream Palm wouldn't be complete without you anyway. So, if you choose to stay, then that's fine with me too."

"Yeah, what was I saying?" Laurel chuckled. "Of course, we can't continue the band without our little Lime Leaf!"

Laurel joined the hug. And as soon as she did, she looked slightly serious.

"No but seriously, you're throwing away something good here," Laurel stated. "You should think about it some more."

"Lyra!" Hana gave a pout toward Laurel, using the nickname she would give her.

"I'm joking!" Laurel giggled.

The four shared a laugh. Zuri moreso than the rest. She couldn't stop laughing. Her eyes released tears. The tears she was holding in. The urge to cry now unleashed.

"Hey hey hey," Hana gasped, seeing Zuri cry. "Lyra! See what you did? You made her cry!"

"I…" Zuri giggled through her tears. "I love you guys. Promise me we'll never be apart?"

"Hell yeah we won't," Venessa grinned as she took Zuri's hand. "Dream Palm forever?"

"Dream Palm forever," Zuri nodded.

Hana and Laurel joined in with grins on their faces.

"Dream Palm Forever."

---

Zuri woke up with a sweat. Was that a bad dream? No. It wasn't. It was a memory. One of the more touching memories she's had. She looked around. She bit her lip.

She was still here.

No matter how hard she tried to cherish her memories, none could be as horrific as the situation they were placed in now. She tried to calm herself. Nothing worked. She prayed. She talked to herself, repeating that everything would be okay. She cuddled herself, trying to make herself more comfortable.

But no matter what she did, she couldn't hold it in.

The urge to cry.

The tears.

The sweat.

The fear.

She wept to herself.

Why was this happening to her?

---

CHAPTER 1: SILENCE OF THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB (DAILY LIFE)

---

Hours Earlier…

---

"Killing Game?!" Haruto clenched his fist. "What the fuck do you mean by a Killing Game?!"

"It's exactly as it sounds…" came the voice of White Collar who stood far from the group of prisoners.

The door closed behind them, sealing itself shut. Whatever they would have lost in the drainage chamber and the main cell/dungeon room, well, it was most likely going to be stuck there forever. The current room they were in however was large and desolate. It was very similar to something of an auditorium if the chairs were all packed away. In fact, it very much was an Auditorium if the chairs were all packed away! The stage where White Collar stood was also relatively empty. In fact, the only thing of note in the room were sixteen buildings that were arranged along the walls. Eight on each side in fact. There was also a paving pathway that led to a larger door by the corner of the stage but it didn't seem to be open at the moment. Also on the ceiling was a security camera.

Nevertheless, the room was quiet, leaving sixteen prisoners trapped with a man wearing a devil mask and his pet talking snake. Speaking of which:

"Allow me to elaborate on the subject matter regarding the Killing Game," Monohebi spoke, forcing some to stare at the snake in bewilderment. "The Killing Game is a game where a group of people must partake in order to gain the privilege of escaping. The sixteen of you are a group of people. And what you are trying to escape is the facility you are being kept prisoner in: The St. Esther Institution for Talented Juveniles."

"The St. Esther Institution used to be home to over 700 ruthless criminals," White Mask explained with a nasty grin. "Child molesters, murderers, terrorists, cannibals, serial killers, the worst of the worst were kept here to live out the rest of their lives. Now, it's home to you, the Talented Juveniles..."

"Okay, but why is there a talking snake in here?" Mayu looked disgusted at how a lowly creature could even speak.

"More importantly, how do we play this Killing Game?" Arthur crossed his arms. Guess the idea of a talking snake didn't really intrigue him in the slightest.

"You aren't the least bit interested in why a snake can talk?" Titus blinked toward Arthur.

"Please, it's obviously a toy," Arthur frowned. "Or at the very least, a robotic accomplice to the man forcing us to play this game."

"Definitely both," Ina glared at White Collar.

"Answer the question Monohebi," Mimi looked at the snake in curiosity. Pulling the topic back to Arthur's question, she repeated it. "How do we play the Killing Game?"

Monohebi didn't say anything for a moment. It remained coiled up before the 16 prisoners, shaking its tail as if it had a rattle. Which Monohebi did not. Instead, Monohebi was more of a boa constrictor, not a rattlesnake.

"...The rules of the Killing Game are as follows," Monohebi began. "Victory is simple. In order to achieve victory and win the Killing Game, you must escape the institute. However, in order to escape, you must kill a prisoner."

"K-Kill?!" Carter looked shocked at the idea. Almost like the name, 'Killing Game', didn't manage to process in his mind.

"Stabbing, strangulation, suffocation, sacrificial ceremonies," Monohebi listed. "You are allowed to use whatever method to commit murder."

"So that's what they mean by 'Killing Game'," Abigail gritted her teeth. "You guys are fucking sick if you think we will be participating in something like this."

"Ah, but you don't really have a choice," White Collar's mask pulled off a sinister grin. "You see. If you do not participate in the game, you will be stuck here. Stuck for your entire life until you finally, finally, cave into the fear and trepidation."

"D-Don't use big words!" Barracuda growled. "Some of us don't know what they mean!"

"He's saying if we don't kill someone, there is no chance to leave, big man," Maggie looked a little nervous.

"And how many people do we kill in order to leave?" Cassandra crossed her arms.

"...Monohebi?" White Collar looked toward the snake.

"Only one will suffice," Monohebi answered. "However, you may kill up to two people. Anymore and your chance to escape will be revoked and you will be severely punished."

"And by severely punished, you mean…" Carter widened his eyes.

"Death," White Collar stood tall, his hands behind his back. "Of any sorts. Of any kind. I often let Monohebi do the dirty work. She is quite unpleasant with her methods…"

"...You do not want to break the rules," Monohebi merely stated. "Next, there is more to the requirements of winning the Killing Game and earning your freedom. After a murder is committed, the murderer becomes dubbed as the blackened and everyone else must investigate and figure out who the blackened could be. You will be given an investigation period to gather clues and knowledge before heading into the Prison Trial. During the Prison Trial, you must argue your case on who you think the identity of the blackened is and vote based on those arguments."

"So it's not as simple as just killing someone and walking out," Kane noted.

"...If you vote correctly, the blackened will be punished and the rest of you can continue your lives here in the Killing Game," Monohebi continued. "However, if you vote incorrectly, the blackened will be able to walk free and the rest of you will be punished."

"And by punished, you mean…" Carter widened his eyes, again.

"Death," White Collar stood tall, his hands behind his back. "You need to keep up Mr. Franklin. My patience is not to be toyed with…"

White Collar's jagged eye glinted, forcing Carter to back away in fear.

"So, if the murderer gets away with it, we all die," Ina looked away before looking back at White Collar. "But we figure out who did it, then the murderer dies. You're a demon to come up with a demented game like this."

"Aren't we all," White Collar chuckled.

"W-Why?!" Zuri cried out, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why are you- Why are you doing this?! Why make us play this horrible game?! I just want to go home! We have lives that we want to get back to! What do you want from us? What do you gain from all this?"

White Collar stared at Zuri. He perked his head curiously. Monohebi hissed slightly, her red eyes gleaming toward Zuri.

"You are wasting my Master's time with unimportant questions," Monohebi flicked her tongue. "Show some dignity and embrace the fate that you've been given…"

"...Simmer down Monohebi," White Collar's mask grinned. "The girl is asking questions. Unfortunately, they're ones I've already answered. Don't you remember? I want to see false idols crumble. I want to see the world purged of the gifted. I want to see all of you perish…"

"Then fucking kill us already!" Abigail glared. "Why delay the inevitable?"

"...And not give even one person the chance to live on?" White Collar asked before shaking his head. "How selfish can you be?"

"Fuck you!" Haruto couldn't contain himself as he stepped forward. "I ain't about to play your shitty game! You want us to kill in your game? Then how about this? I'm gonna kill you and your abnormal pet!"

He rushed toward the stage.

"Hey!" Jared exclaimed, widening his eyes. "Don't!"

White Collar stared at Haruto before glancing toward Monohebi. Before Haruto could even step a single foot toward the masked man, the snake moved quickly. The snake coiled herself around Haruto's legs, effectively binding them together and forcing him to trip on the ground. With a thud and a groan, Monohebi slowly moved from his legs and wrapped herself around his chest, tightening her hold on him with each coil. Then she moved to his neck… and then she wrapped her body around it.

Squeeze.

She tightened her grip on his neck. Haruto's face was beginning to turn red. His scowl turned desperate. He was being strangled to death by a giant snake. And with how slowly Monohebi moved as she coiled around his head and neck, it was beyond torture. He was starting to lose air. His face turned purple. He slapped Monohebi on her scaly skin, trying to get her to let go. He couldn't even say anything, let alone breathe.

Haruto tried to stand but any attempt he made worsened the air flow from his nose. Any attempt to wrestle the snake off his head made it feel like his head was slowly going to be crushed.

"Someone get that thing off him!" Mayu exclaimed, horrified.

"I… snakes aren't usually like that…" Mimi also looked horrified.

"You're killing him!" Yuumi cried out. "Please stop!"

"Oh my god, oh my god," Zuri covered her eyes at what the snake was doing to Haruto.

"White Collar, get your snake to stop right now!" Jared ordered, flashing his badge as if that would work.

White Collar glanced toward the horrified faces of the prisoners before glancing toward Monohebi. He gave a nod of his head. The sinister look of his mask was replaced with a small disappointed frown.

"Monohebi," White Collar began. "Release him."

"What?" Monohebi asked, tightening her grip as Haruto began to scream from the snake's body. Though the scream was muffled, anyone could tell he was in a lot of pain.

"You heard me Monohebi," White Collar crossed his arms. "Release him."

"B-But Master!" Monohebi pleaded as she continued to tighten her grip. "He was going to-"

"Now Monohebi!" White Collar banged his cane on the stage floor with a monstrous yell. The loud pound echoed throughout the room. "That's an order!"

Monohebi quickly unwrapped herself from Haruto's face and neck. Red marks on where Monohebi had wrapped herself were visible on his purple face, which was slowly returning to its original color. But even so, Haruto had to cough. He couldn't get up. He looked at Monohebi and White Collar.

Fear.

That was the feeling he had now. White Collar, staring at him with those demonic eyes, and the snake, Monohebi, who had been flicking her tongue at him as if she were getting ready to do it again and this time, not back down.

"I apologize on behalf of my faithful companion, Mr. Walker," White Collar gave a slight bow. "It was never my intention to have you suffer so much at such an early stage in this game…"

Haruto didn't say anything. Instead, Jared and Barracuda had come to him to help him get back up and rejoin the group.

"As for the rest of you," White Collar's mask curled back into its usual grin. "One last thing before I let you do whatever it is you would like to do here in your prison."

White Collar held out what seemed to be tablets of some sort.

"These are your way around this facility," White Collar stated. "We call them eHandbooks. There is enough for all 16 of you. Use them well. For it might give you the information and answers you may be looking for. As for what may come next, well… you'll just have to find out for yourself soon, won't you?"

White Collar chuckled, placing down 16 eHandbooks on the floor of the stage and then along with Monohebi, disappeared. Well, more like he just walked off to who knows where, but that wasn't anyone's concern at the moment. The concern at the moment was:

"What were you thinking?!" Kane looked toward Haruto with a glare. "You could've gotten yourself killed! You're lucky White Collar called off the snake or we would've been dealing with a dead body on our hands, you flipping whippersnapper!"

"W-Whippersnapper?" Mayu looked at Kane in disgust. "Um, how old are you?"

"That doesn't matter," Maggie frowned as she looked at Haruto. "Just… don't ever do anything like that again."

"They're right," Holland looked away, adjusting his hoodie. "You got lucky…"

"Oh fuck off, all of you," Haruto glared. "This wouldn't have happened if you guys just charged forth with me! We could've had him! It was 16 of us against him and one snake!"

"W-Wait, since when was that the plan?" Carter blinked.

"Need I remind you that it was the one snake that nearly killed you?" Arthur deadpanned.

"Shut the fuck up," Haruto growled.

"Hey guys," Mimi called out to her fellow prisoners. She had walked up to the stage while the group surrounded Haruto after his scuffle with Monohebi. She had grabbed the eHandbook that was listed to her and opened it up.

The moment it opened, the screen flashed, revealing her name before showing her information. This included not just her name but also her birthday, her height, her eye colors… mostly personal information that would have been found in some sort of government file. Also most intriguing was the section that government files wouldn't include:

Ultimate Talent.

"...Ultimate Talent," Mimi murmured.

"What?" Kane raised an eyebrow at Mimi. "Hey Dorothy. What did you just say?"

"Dorothy was the little girl, not the witch," Carter pointed out with a slight hesitant look, eyeing Mimi's outfit. The mere mention of 'Ultimate Talent' had him nervous for some reason.

"Ultimate Talent," Mimi stated. "Check your eHandbooks. I have an Ultimate Talent. Maybe the rest of you have one too!"

Arthur was the next to pick up his eHandbook. Like Mimi's, it displayed his name and then later his information. That was when he saw his column for Ultimate Talent.

"...Yes, you are correct," Arthur nodded. "I have an Ultimate Talent."

"T-This can't be a coincidence," Zuri widened her eyes. She was beginning to realize something. "Does everyone…"

At this point, everyone had gotten their eHandbooks. Each one was the same as the last. Name. Personal details.

Ultimate Talent.

"So what if we have an Ultimate Talent," Haruto grumbled. "That doesn't do nothing to help us in our situation!"

"Not true," Ina shook her head. "If we all have Ultimate Talents, then we have an answer to why we're here."

"W-What do you mean?" Carter asked as he twisted a hair strand nervously.

"Back at our cells, White Collar mentioned something," Arthur rubbed his chin as he recalled what White Collar had stated.

---

"...How troublesome, how noisy," the masked man shook his head. "You're trapped in a chamber that could very well be your doom. Yet you fret about as if you have control over the situation you're in. Perhaps that's what you were all raised to believe in. That you have control over your own life just because of your… talents."

---

"I-Is… Is that why we're here?" Zuri asked, looking shocked and nervous. "Because of our Ultimate Talents?"

"But why?" Barracuda crossed his arms.

"Yeah, why us?" Maggie frowned, closing one eye as she spoke. "There are plenty of Ultimate students around the globe. Why us 16 specifically?"

Jared was silent.

"Whatever the case may be, it's clear this is what connects us together," Arthur stated. "Therefore, I think we should exchange names and our talents. That way, we'll be able to group together and figure out the answer to that."

"I see no problems with that!" Titus smiled. "My name is Titus Erskine. It says here I'm the Ultimate Conductor!"

"Like, for trains?" Barracuda blinked.

"What?" Titus blinked back before shaking his head with a laugh. "No no! For music! A music conductor!"

"Wow, really?" Maggie looked at Titus in amazement. "You certainly don't look the part."

"Oh yeah, and what about you?" Titus looked back at Maggie, curiously. Let's forget what she said about looks considering this psychedelic neon colored man is a musical conductor.

"Maggie LaDroubi, Ultimate Supermodel," Maggie smiled.

"Good golly, what kind of jeans do they make you wear nowadays in the modeling industry?" Kane stared at her fancy jeans.

"Oh, just the latest fashion trend," Maggie chuckled.

"I like them!" Yuumi stated, having recovered from her near trauma of drowning back at the cells. "They're so fancy!"

"As they should be," Maggie chuckled toward Yuumi.

"Ahem, not that this might come as a shock to anyone but I'm Jared Caertas, the Ultimate Police Officer," Jared stated.

"I knew it!" Yuumi blinked.

"Yeah, it was obvious, dumbass," Haruto rolled his eyes.

"You've done nothing but run your mouth and nearly get killed all day," Abigail flatly stared at Haruto. "Why don't you go next?"

"Fine, I will," Haruto growled. "Haruto Walker. You can just call me Haru. I'm the Ultimate Basketball Player. Your turn bitch."

"Abigail Ellsworth," Abigail frowned. "Ultimate Equestrian. Meaning I know how to ride bitches like you all the time."

"What the fuck did you say to me?!" Haruto growled.

"She said something kinky," Maggie snickered.

"I'm Zuri Auraline," Zuri twiddled her fingers. "I'm the Ultimate Bassist. The Lime Leaf of the Dream Palms. Um, let's also try to get along, alright?"

Zuri looked nervous upon introducing herself. Rightfully so, because no one knew what the hell she was talking about at the end there. Also, no one knew how the hell she could think to say to get along when two people before her were on the prime definition of not getting along.

"Dream Palms?" Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Lime Leaf? What, you smoke crack or something?"

"Such a Gen Z thing to do!" Kane cried out in frustration.

"N-No!" Zuri exclaimed, flustered. "It's, it's, it's… It's a… um…"

"...She's part of a band," Holland spoke up with a small sigh. "She's the Ultimate Bassist. Meaning she's responsible for the rhythm and harmony of the band."

"...Y-Yeah, that's right," this was the last time she was going to introduce herself to the rest of them. Thank God. First she was judged for her name, now her talent. Luckily, she had someone to back her up for the last part though, so she gave Holland a thankful smile.

"...She still looks like a Sarah," Kane grumbled to himself before speaking up. "My name is Kanenoshin Amao. But if you can't pronounce it correctly, just call me Kane! I'm the Ultimate Pawnbroker!"

"Pawnbroker?" Maggie blinked. "Guess that explains your fashion statement."

"Don't judge me based on my looks, you American!" Kane declared.

"Relax," Maggie chuckled. "You're classy. And luckily, I like a man with a little class here or there."

"Oh ah… hmm, thank you?" Kane looked away, biting his lips. He was slightly blushing. That comment really released some sort of emotion.

"You can call me Barracuda!" Barracuda declared with a jolly smile. "I'm the Ultimate Personal Trainer!"

"Seriously, your name is Barracuda?" Mayu asked. "What kind of parents did you have, naming you a revolting fish?"

"R-Revolting?" Barracuda blinked before looking away. "I didn't think barracudas were…"

"Um, don't listen to her big guy," Maggie frowned. "She's just jealous she doesn't have an awesome name like Barracuda."

"Yeah, and barracudas are amazing creatures of the sea as well!" Yuumi smiled.

"Um, I am not jealous!" Mayu pouted. "You can't even eat them! At least, I've never seen anyone eat a barracuda before!"

"There you go again with your talk of food," Cassandra grumbled. "Just give us your name and stop wasting time."

"...Mayu Mashiro," Mayu bowed. "I am the Ultimate Heiress. Which means the rest of you are practically peasants to me."

"...Wow, and we're stuck in this situation with her?" Kane frowned, quietly. "What an insult to the great Empire of Japan."

"Try being locked up in a cell and drowning with her," Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Um, my… my name is Carter Franklin," Carter fixed his glasses. "I'm the Ultimate Opinion Columnist. W-Which means I write for the newspaper regarding specific topics and my thoughts on them."

"Sounds boring," Haruto grumbled. "Next!"

"H-Hey, it really isn't!" Carter cried out. "Writing opinion pieces is a passion of mine! And it's the only thing I'm good at!... Though, not as good as getting an Ultimate Talent out of it I would say…"

He trailed off at the last part. Haruto didn't care. Instead, Mimi took the stage next.

"My name is Mimi Kazoo!" Mimi stated. "I am also a writer! The Ultimate Fairytale Writer! And I write based on my adventures with the wizards, fairies, and witches at my school!"

"What kind of Gen Z name is Mimi Kazoo?" Kane deadpanned.

"I think it's adorable!" Yuumi beamed.

"Oh, and what's your name?" Kane asked Yuumi.

"Yuumi Kizuchi," Yuumi smiled. "My Handbook states that I'm the Ultimate Sailor! And this is my co-captain! Sailor Penguin! The Ultimate Co-Captain of the Ultimate Sailor!"

Yuumi held out her toy penguin with the sailor outfit.

"That's a lot to bold," Mimi stated with a smile.

"Huh?" Yuumi perked her head, confused.

"Nothing!" Mimi smiled at Yuumi.

It was Ina's turn next as she finished reading her information on the eHandbooks.

"My name is Ina Hamamura," Ina stated. "I am the Ultimate Revolutionary."

"Oh, so you revolt against the government and stuff, right?" Carter asked Ina.

"Precisely," Ina nodded. "Those demons will suffer! For the people always get what they want! And they will overthrow the demons of the demon court!"

"...Ah, I'm beginning to understand what you mean by demons now," Carter chuckled sheepishly before looking down. "Or maybe that sort of thinking is wrong and I'm way off…"

"No, I think you might be on the right track," Arthur crossed his arms before looking toward everyone with a stare. "My name is Arthur Kingston. I'm the Ultimate Snowboarder."

"Snowboarder?" Mayu blinked. "But what's with the fancy clothes? You look too rich to be enjoying a peasant sport."

"For your information, snowboarding is no peasant sport," Arthur declared. "It's a thrilling sport that can be dangerous if pulled off incorrectly. Which is why I enjoy it very much."

Arthur gave a small smile at the thought of him snowboarding. Ah, how he would kill to be out on a snowy mountain, riding his way down… Not that he would actually kill. He just wanted to relive that feeling of the cold rushing air blowing on his face as he would slide down a snowy hill.

"So who's next?" Haruto asked, looking impatient with all of these introductions.

"Just those two," Jared pointed toward Holland and Cassandra.

With a sigh, Holland went first.

"...I'm Holland Delaney," Holland said. "I'm the Ultimate Game Designer."

Yeah that was it.

"And you?" Haruto asked Cassandra.

"...Cassandra Mura," Cassandra merely stated.

"What's your talent?" Jared asked.

Cassandra stayed silent for a moment. She glanced back at the fifteen of them… The fifteen idiots. With a hefty sigh, she shook her head. They wanted to share their personal info? Sorry but Cassandra wasn't one of them. She wasn't the type to do something like that.

"...Yeah, what makes you think I'm going to tell any of you guys?" Cassandra crossed her arms.

"Huh?" Jared blinked.

"What are you talking about?" Barracuda frowned toward Cassandra. "We're stating our names and Ultimate Talents so we can work together to fight White Collar and the snake!"

"Uh-huh, and revealing my Ultimate Talent will help with that?" Cassandra asked with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, but I doubt it. I think I'll just keep my Ultimate Talent a secret."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Yuumi exclaimed. "We all revealed our talents! So-"

"And that was a stupid move on your guys' part," Cassandra crossed her arms. "You guys spent all that time thinking about the connections we have to one another and our ties with Ultimate Talent that you forgot exactly what our situation is: A Killing Game."

"Yeah, so?" Ina frowned. "We can fight this demonic game together if we're all united!"

"Alright, that's fine, but you don't need my Ultimate Talent for it," Cassandra merely said. "In fact, none of you had to state any of your Ultimate Talents to begin with. Because once you state it, someone here will ultimately use it to their advantage for the game…"

"Bitch, you better shut the fuck up and tell us your talent right now!" Haruto cracked his knuckles. "I don't care if you're a chick. I'll beat the shit outta you!"

"Shut the fuck up or tell you my talent?" Cassandra frowned. "Which is it?"

"She got you there," Mimi looked toward Haruto.

"Stay out of this!" Haruto yelled.

"Enough!" Kane exclaimed. "All this fighting makes my head hurt! And it doesn't help the situation we're in! If the juvenile punk doesn't want to say her talent then let's leave it and move on! We pretty much know we're all Ultimates. Now what?"

Cassandra looked content that she didn't have to reveal her Ultimate Talent. Haruto glared at her in hatred while Abigail only looked at her in disapproval. Then she turned to Kane. It was time to move on. There was nothing they could get out of her if she was going to refuse like that.

"...Actually, I don't think I'm an official Ultimate," Abigail stated.

"What do you mean?" Titus looked at Abigail.

"I'm remembering it now," Abigail looked at her fellow prisoners. "I'm pretty sure I was offered to go to Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Equestrian."

"And?" Jared asked, expectantly.

"...I rejected the offer," Abigail stated, avoiding eye contact now. "So I didn't go. So technically, I'm not the Ultimate Equestrian."

"But why did your eHandbook list you as such?" Arthur asked.

"...I don't know," Abigail looked away. "I always assumed if you reject your talent, you don't get labeled as such anyway. Don't know why it's being brought back after all this time."

"Actually, now that you mention it," Zuri spoke up. "I also rejected the offer. I didn't want to leave my friends behind, so I just didn't go either."

"I'm sensing a pattern here," Jared crossed his arms. "But what does it mean?"

"The school wants revenge because we didn't go to their school?" Titus pointed out.

"That's bullshit," Haruto grumbled. "If that is the case then fuck…"

"No, I don't think that's it at all," Maggie opened her mouth to speak. "I'm actually a freshman at one of the Hope's Peak establishments right now. If they really were trying to punish us for not attending their school, then realistically, I shouldn't be here."

"Me too!" Mimi looked excited. "I'm an incoming freshman for the wizard school!"

"...Okay, so the pattern I sensed is lost now," Jared sighed.

"And the only connection we have to each other is our connection to Hope's Peak Academy," Arthur deduced. "In that case, who is White Collar to Hope's Peak and why did he capture us specifically?"

There was no answer. It was just dead silence. They were the right questions. But the answers. There was no answer one could come up with. Why them? There were plenty of Hope's Peak students to choose from around the globe but why? Why?

Why them?

---

Sixteen prisoners in one room.

No one knew why they were here. No one knew why they of all people had to be put through something so cruel and terrifying. No one knew what their connection was to the man who had imprisoned them. All they knew was that they were talented, they had connections to Hope's Peak Academy as students, and White Collar seemed to really dislike them.

That was it.

Nowhere near closing in on the truth.

"So… what now?" Yuumi was the first to speak.

"Our first order of business is to probably explore the facility we're in," Kane took the charge of explaining their first move. "Get a better look at what kind of place we're stuck in and hopefully find a way out."

"That's a good idea," Jared nodded, tipping his police hat. "And we should probably report back here once we've finished exploring the areas. How about within… three hours?"

"Actually, according to the map…" Mayu stated, her face looking a little more positive.

"Map?" Carter blinked. "W-Where's the map?"

"It's in our eHandbooks," Maggie stated as she scrolled through the eHandbook. "There's a separate application that pulls up a map of the facility we're in. Seems to me that there are plenty of places we can explore."

"Which could mean a possibility of escape right?" Zuri looked hopeful.

"That's the hope, yes," Arthur nodded, having closed his eyes in thought.

"Um, as I was saying," Mayu frowned, a little peeved to have been rudely interrupted by her lower-classed peers (except Arthur who looked a little more upper class than anything but she's the powerful according to herself so…). "According to the map, there's a Cafeteria. I think we should meet there after our three hours of investigation!"

"Beats having to walk all the way back here," Abigail noted. "This room is basically a one-way path to the more interesting areas. I second going to the Cafeteria."

"Then that's where we'll meet!" Kane declared. "The Cafeteria after three hours! Synchronize your Rolexes!"

"...Our what?" Yuumi looked confused.

"Oh, I forget," Kane looked disappointed. "You youngins use a fruit-branded phone watch majinger."

"Dude, just call it a watch," Abigail looked at Kane, tiredly. "They literally function the same. Only one has more features than the other. But other than that, the same."

With that said, the group hurried off to different locations on the map, hoping to find something of interest. Some people stayed put to start their investigations at the Auditorium, the large, open and vacant room they were in. And those people were…

---

(Auditorium)

Arthur, Yuumi, and Mimi had stayed behind in this very large and vast room. Mimi could only stare at the ground where Haruto had been struggling for his life. She could still envision the horrific sight: Haruto nearly getting strangled to death by an overgrown talking snake. Such a thing would never happen at her wizard school!

Yuumi also shared a similar distaste for the room. But there was only one reason why she bothered staying in the first place: Arthur. It wasn't like she was attracted to him or anything, regardless of how handsome he looked. In fact, Mimi would be the one to say that he looked like a prince stripped from one of her fairy tales, but that wasn't the reason why Yuumi stayed.

She stayed because she was curious.

"Mr. Kingston?" Yuumi perked her head. "What are you doing?"

"...Yuumi, there's no need to refer to me as Mr. Kingston," Arthur stated, hands in his pockets with a sigh. "I'm around your age. Most definitely not the oldest one of the group. So just refer to me as Arthur and just Arthur."

"Not even King Arthur?" Mimi spoke up with a smile.

Arthur stared at Mimi with slight disdain from what she had called him. Mimi didn't seem to notice. Instead, she continued.

"I'm serious," Mimi giggled. "We don't get many Prince Charmings at the wizard school. And you're like the very definition of a Prince Charming!"

"You're a Prince?!" Yuumi gasped.

"No, no," Arthur sighed, a little irritated by this topic. "I'm no prince. I'm the Ultimate Snowboarder. That is who I wish to be. That is what I am good at. Please leave me out of your nonsensical fairytales."

Mimi stayed silent after he said that. She may have been curious to know more about Arthur, but she could tell that he wasn't too fond about her interest in the topic. With a sigh and a clearing of his throat, Arthur turned to Yuumi.

"Now, about your question Yuumi," Arthur brushed aside his hair like some handsome male model. "I wanted to get a look at these rooms on the side. But there doesn't seem to be a way to open them at the moment."

He gestured to the sixteen rooms that were locked. Each of the room had what seemed to be an electronic identification pad that was grayed out. Perhaps it wasn't working at the moment? Or perhaps it wasn't an electronic identification pad but just a pad with no importance to it. Regardless, Arthur was going to assume it had some relevance and importance.

"Maybe you need a key?" Yuumi suggested.

"No sign of any keyhole in any of these rooms," Arthur stated. "Though, the fact that there are sixteen makes me wonder if they are meant for all of us?"

"Maybe it's part of the game," Mimi raised a point. "Like maybe those are the way to escape and we need to find something to unlock it!"

"...I doubt it," Arthur crossed his arms.

"Huh?" Mimi blinked before slightly frowning. "But why Prince Arthur?"

"Don't call me that either," Arthur frowned. "Just Arthur. And it just seems odd for these rooms to lead to an escape. There has to be another purpose for them…"

"Hey, does anyone wonder where the Devil and his snake went after his scary speech?" Yuumi asked, sitting on the stage.

"Maybe back down the Rabbit Hole," Mimi noted with a hum.

"Or maybe…" Arthur headed on top of the stage. From there, he took the charge of moving forth to the backstage… only to find that this stage did not have a backstage. There was only a wall hidden by blood red curtains and drapery. That just meant White Collar and Monohebi leaving the stage like that was strange. Because he saw that they just went up and disappeared. Yuumi saw it. Mimi probably saw it.

Perhaps…

"Rabbit Hole!" Mimi stated.

"No, no rabbit hole," Arthur shook his head. "There must be a secret passageway of some sort. But where?"

"Are we going to stay here to find it?" Yuumi asked, perking her head.

"We do have three hours," Arthur crossed his arms. "What better way to spend the time than find the secret hideout of our warden?"

"Arthur in Wardenland!" Mimi cheered. "Let's find the rabbit hole!"

"I told you, there is no rabbit hole," Arthur frowned.

"I didn't see a rabbit anywhere," Yuumi noted before smiling. "But if we do see a rabbit, I hope it's a pink one! Those are the cutest!"

"...I won't comment on that," Arthur sighed.

This was going to be the longest three hours of his life. Maybe one if he decides to just give up and leave them be to their wild fantasies.

---

(Main Hallway)

While Arthur, Yuumi, and Mimi had stayed behind, everyone else was now in the Main Hallway: it was a one-way path connecting the Auditorium to the next area up ahead. Oh and there were two public bathrooms on the side: one for males, one for females.

"Okay, so before we move on, do any of you youngins need to pee?" Kane asked everyone. They just looked at him. Some of them especially just looked unamused. "...I take that as a no. Moving on!"

…

Once they entered the door to the next area, the path branched off into three different areas. On the right was a room titled: 'PRISON LOUNGE'. On the left was a room titled: 'CAFETERIA'. And up ahead was an area titled: 'CELL BLOCK A'.

"Now this is where we will split up and look for clues," Kane grinned. "Anyone want a Scooby Snack?"

Everyone stared at him once more. Some especially were not amused. Kane frowned, crossing his arms in disappointment.

"Jeez, you guys never watched Scooby Doo?" Kane asked. "That's a classic! Typical Gen Zers."

"No… I've seen it," Cassandra frowned. "You're just not funny. Now get out of the way."

Cassandra pushed against him and headed straight toward Cell Block A. Similarly, everyone else had done the same. Some didn't push Kane and instead gave him a small smile to tell him they would meet together eventually.

Once Kane was the only one left behind, he too went into a separate direction, joining up with someone…

---

(Prison Lounge)

The Prison Lounge was a large room. Large enough to fit all sixteen prisoners. The Lounge had multiple couches, each of them more rundown than the last. A jukebox sat curiously at one of the corners of the room. Next to it was a gramophone, and beside that was an assortment of different musical CD's. This was of course for the gramophone. Beyond the same corner was just an empty blank space, presumably for anyone who wanted to dance next to the jukebox or gramophone.

In another corner of the room were an array of small tables and chairs. Incorporated in each table was a black and white board. It was a chess board, just without any chess pieces. There was also a bin filled with different board games as well as a bag of intricate looking chess pieces. This connected with the other corner of the room, which also included tables and an assortment of different boards one could play.

At another corner of a room, there was a run-down couch large enough to fit eight people. The couch was facing an old television set that didn't seem to be turned on at the moment. And there was a security camera in the corner. Of course, Kane was excited to see all of this.

"Now how about that!" Kane grinned. "This is a room, huh American boy? A living antiquity! Beautiful! Just beautiful!"

"...You're getting too excited over this," Holland merely stated, looking emotionless. Then he stared at the board games sitting around. "Oh. Chess."

He said that with the blankest look on the face. But even Kane could tell he was a little happy to see the board games lying in those baskets. More specifically, the box of chess pieces that was sitting there with Operation, Monopoly, and Uno: Flip. Holland held out the box and headed toward the chess board to place the pieces on it.

"Heh, you play, American boy?" Kane chuckled.

"...Of course," Holland merely said, without a seemingly care in the world. "Chess is the basis of strategy and hundred percent IQs. I wouldn't call myself a bona fide game designer if I've never played. What about you?"

"Of course!" Kane grinned. "It's the classics of all classics. Along with Chinese checkers. Come on, American boy! I'll show you what this Jap can do!"

"...One game won't hurt," Holland shrugged. "Maybe we can play some music as well."

"I like the way you think!" Kane exclaimed. "Tell ya what. I pick the music. You set the board up."

Holland was already doing that. Go off Kane. And he did. He headed straight for the jukebox and began to flip through many different songs. The jukebox needed coins, and fortunately, Kane had only one.

Not only that, it was three plays for one coin. Perfect!

"So what do you feel like?" Kane grinned. "Love Me With All Your Heart by Engelbert? Diana by Paul Anka? Tom Jone's What's New Pussycat?"

"...I've never heard of any of those," Holland stated before suddenly jolting his hand away from the box. "Ah!"

"Whoa there kiddo," Kane stopped flipping through the jukebox. "Something wrong?"

Holland began to suck his thumb. It was bleeding.

"Yowzers," Kane cringed. "We oughta get you a band-aid for that! What caused it?"

Holland didn't say anything. After sucking up the blood and letting more slowly seep out, Holland held up the cause for his injury: a King. The only pieces he had yet to place on the board were the Kings, and boy was the tip of the cross sharp.

"What…" Kane widened his eyes. "Who the hell makes chess pieces like that?"

Holland merely sucked his thumb. If there was some band-aid somewhere, they better find it fast because good lord did that sharp end really puncture his thumb. He had set the box down. Although it looked like it hurt, Holland didn't seem to mind. He didn't look like he minded. He just kept that same emotionless face. And Kane didn't seem to care how odd that was. Holland was hurt.

"We'll have to put our game on hold, American boy," Kane merely said as he led Holland out of the Prison Lounge.

Holland could only agree. All he was going to be thinking about was the pain on his thumb. The stinging, throbbing pain. It was just a small wound but it sure hurt like hell.

At least, that was what Holland could think.

---

(Cafeteria)

If color could be used to describe the cafeteria, then the cafeteria was gray. Yeah, that was it. It was gray, moody, something you would expect to see in a typical prison cafeteria. Only difference was it was currently empty. Normally you would see guards at every corner, watching the prisoners closely but instead you had a security camera at the corner of the ceiling… mentioning the security cameras was getting repetitive…

Zuri couldn't help but feel a little creeped by how empty it felt, even though she was with two other people. It was… scary. Cold. Eerie. Zuri didn't hide her shiver. The more she spent her time here, the more she felt like she was being watched, and not just because of that security camera.

Mayu and Titus shared different opinions compared to her however.

"Man, the color in this room is degrading," Titus sighed, shaking his head.

And Mayu?

"I'm hungry," Mayu stated, rubbing her stomach with a sigh.

Yep. Different opinions.

"Well, I just saw Maggie and Abigail head into the kitchen," Zuri twiddled her fingers nervously. "Maybe they'll prepare something good."

"But isn't prison food usually bad?" Titus blinked.

"Wait, bad food?" Mayu looked crestfallen at this realization. Clearly she's never been to prison. "I- I can't eat bad food! White Collar won't make us eat bad food! Right? Right?"

Mayu looked toward Titus and Zuri expectantly.

"Um… ri-"

"Wrong, White Collar's a dick," Titus crossed his arms, interrupting Zuri.

Mayu's face paled. She headed toward one of the metallic benches and sat down, looking down. The thought that she would no longer eat some of her favorite foods: the richest pasta from Italy, the most exquisite escargot from France, the meatiest steak from America. She will no longer have it all.

"M-Mayu, are you alright?" Zuri looked at Mayu, worriedly.

Mayu didn't say anything. Instead, she placed her hands on the table and began to move them, acting out as if she were eating food. It was kind of like air guitar where people who don't know how to play a guitar pretend to play a fake guitar. Only this was air eating, where people who don't know how to eat pretend to eat.

"Girl, what are you doing?" Titus asked, confused.

"I'm eating," Mayu feigned a slight sob as she ate 'air food'. "If there's no good food, then I shall have the braised lamb liver with mixed vegetables and lemon aioli sauce."

"...There's nothing there," Titus stated.

"Um, I think we should leave her be," Zuri gave a slight chuckle before looking concerned again. "Or at least, let's hope we can get her some food so that she isn't stuck like this forever. Um… C-Can you ask Maggie and Abigail for some food?"

"You got it ma'am!" Titus saluted before hurrying to the cafeteria counter.

The counter had a nice viewpoint for what goes on beyond the kitchen. That being Maggie and Abigail exploring the area before finally noticing Titus waiting for their service.

"Can we help you?" Maggie asked, perking her head toward Titus. "Just so you know, just because I'm sexy and in the kitchen does not give you permission to treat me like a housewife. A lady like myself isn't about to be confined to the living space."

"Oh no, it's nothing like that," Titus assured her. "Mayu is having a crisis and needs food."

"...Well, in that case," Maggie bit her finger. "I might as well cook something up. What's she feeling like?"

"You got lamb?" Titus asked.

"I'll see about that," Maggie tapped her cheek.

"You got vegetables?" Titus asked.

"Oh yeah, they're all over the place here," Maggie nodded.

"You got lemons?" Titus asked.

"Enough to make lemonade," Maggie winked.

"How about a liver?" Titus asked.

"We all have livers," Maggie chuckled.

"Perfect!" Titus grinned. "Mayu wants lamb livers with vegetables and lemon sauce!"

"You got it," Maggie gave a nod before getting to work.

---

(Kitchen)

"How the hell do I make lamb livers?!" Maggie groaned, slapping the side of her forehead.

"Don't ask me," Abigail stated without a care. Her focus was more on the tablets and trying to figure out what other apps were on it. "You're the one who accepted the task."

The kitchen was a larger area than expected. Crates of vegetables and fruits were neatly stacked in the middle of the room. There was a freezer in the back which was where the meats and meat hooks hung. There were an assortment of knives, spoons, spatulas, and forks hanging on the walls like it were a special exhibition. All in all, this was definitely a kitchen alright.

"I know but still, I don't know anything about cooking," Maggie crossed her arms. "I'm a supermodel. I'm all about clothes and sex. Not… working in the kitchen."

"Clothes and what now?" Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"Ah nevermind," Maggie shook her hand at Abigail. "I guess I can try mixing things together and hope it turns out fine."

"...Yeah, you go and do that," Abigail crossed her arm. "I'm going to go check the freezer for some sort of secret passageway or… something."

"You don't think there is an actual secret passageway in the freezer of all places, do you?" Maggie looked at Abigail as she got a random lemon and a knife.

"...No, but it's worth a shot and I have a couple of hours to kill," Abigail shrugged before eyeing the knife.

Maggie looked at the lemon. She placed her knife onto the lemon. Then she realized Abigail had stopped talking and turned back to her.

"Something wrong?" Maggie blinked, holding up the knife. It took her a while before she saw the potential weapon she was holding. She smiled. "Oh! Relax! I wasn't going to use it on you."

Abigail looked toward the freezer.

"Yeah um, how do I trust that?" Abigail asked.

"Excuse me?" Maggie blinked.

"Think about it," Abigail sighed. "You have every weapon you need. You have a good place to hide the body."

Abigail gestured to the freezer room.

"We're in a place where murder is encouraged," Abigail continued. "You can't really blame me for distrusting you."

Maggie was silent. She raised a good point. She just wished it wasn't directed to her of all people. She didn't like how immediately untrustworthy she had been considered by her peers. It brought back a slight pain. A slight memory that she would rather forget. She fidgeted a bit before recomposing herself.

"...Yes I uh, I understand," Maggie slowly cut the tip of the lemon, looking away. Abigail looked away.

"...Another time," Abigail stated before turning to leave to the kitchen. "Meet you at the Cafeteria in three hours."

She can't trust anyone in this game. No one can. Maybe she fibbed a bit with revealing her talent like Cassandra had said but still, she can get through this. Maybe they all could. It just comes down to the matter of trust.

And Maggie wanted to be trusted. She gripped the knife tightly.

She didn't like the feeling to be untrusted.

---

Jared, Ina, Cassandra, and Barracuda found themselves in Cell Block A where they had come across two locked doors, each with probably access to two different rooms. Like the sixteen small rooms in the Auditorium, there was an electronic identification device embedded besides both of the doors. Only difference was that the device was red, meaning two things. One, it was functional. Two, it was locked.

Now how do you unlock it?

"It's locked," Jared had tried prying the door open. It was one of those sliding doors but it didn't seem to want to slide for a while.

"Yeah, we can see that," Cassandra sighed.

"Maybe you need to put a little strength into it," Barracuda suggested.

"Why don't you try then?" Ina perked her head, looking toward Barracuda. "You got the muscles to take down an entire demon army."

"I know nothing about no army but I guess I can give it a shot," Barracuda stated before he tried to pry open the other door.

Nothing.

"Gah, my strength isn't like what it used to be," Barracuda looked down. "Maybe I'm not fit enough?"

"No, I don't think that's it," Jared eyed Barracuda's muscular build and compared it to his more lean build. "Maybe these doors are a lost cause?"

"If I may," a familiar voice interrupted the group. Jared flinched and held out his arms, gesturing to the two girls and Barracuda to get behind him. None of them were fazed in the slightest but that's besides the point.

Monohebi had slowly let herself down the ceiling and coiled herself to one of the locked doors. This act made Barracuda widen his eyes.

"It's the snake!" Barracuda exclaimed.

"What are you doing here, pest?" Ina crossed her arms, glaring at the snake.

"...I would prefer it if you would just call me Monohebi," the snake stated.

"Not after you tried to kill that idiot Haruto," Ina shook her head.

Monohebi didn't respond. She flicked her tongue once. Then twice. Then she finally responded, her armless body raising up to match Ina's height until her eyes were directly in front of Ina's. No one realized it until now but Monohebi was a giant longass snake. She really could've killed Haruto had White Collar not stopped her.

"...That idiot tried to break the rules and hurt my Master," Monohebi stated. "He deserved it."

"Rules?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow at Monohebi. She then scanned through her eHandbook. That was when Jared interjected.

"At the very least, he isn't dead," Jared shook his head. "Now what were you going to say about these doors?"

"...Doors with Handbook readers like these are known as Ultimate Cells," Monohebi explained. "There is one for every participant in the game. A little 'get-to-know-your-roots' kind of room. In order to access them, they must be unlocked with an eHandbook-"

Barracuda tapped the face of his eHandbook to the Handbook Reader. The reader flashed a red X before going back to its original red state.

"Didn't work," Barracuda looked toward the snake.

"You didn't let me finish," Monohebi stated. "They can only be unlocked by the participant whose cell it belongs to. Once they are unlocked, they will remain unlocked and open for the duration of the Killing Game."

"So… whose doors are these?" Cassandra asked, crossing her arms.

"Maybe one of them is yours," Ina stated, looking toward Cassandra with slight annoyance. "Then we can figure out what your talent is."

Cassandra didn't respond to that. Instead, Monohebi spoke up.

"Seeing how two of you are already here, I suppose I can reveal it myself," Monohebi stated. "The Ultimate Cells here belong to Jared and Ina."

"My Ultimate Cell?" Jared blinked before tapping his eHandbook onto the reader. This time, the reader switched to a green checkmark and switched from red to green. The door opened up and remained open. "Hey what do you know, it worked!"

Ina did the same thing to the other door. The same result occurred.

"Same here," Ina nodded.

"...Happy exploring," Monohebi stated before slithering off.

"Hey!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Wait a second!"

Monohebi didn't wait. She just slithered off. Cassandra clenched her fist. If these rooms could reveal her Ultimate talent… She shook her and ignored Ina's slight smirk. So much for acting all pompous earlier with that talk about not wanting to reveal her talent. Instead, she walked toward Ina's Ultimate Cell.

"I'll be in there," Ina told Jared and Barracuda with a nod.

"Fair enough," Jared nodded back. "Barracuda and I will check out my cell. See you at the Cafeteria later!"

"Likewise," Ina nodded before entering her Ultimate Cell.

Then Jared and Barracuda did the same.

---

(Ultimate Police Officer's Cell)

The Ultimate Police Officer's Cell was pretty much a large office of sorts. There was a desk waiting to greet anyone who entered the room on the right along with a computer that was strangely missing a keyboard and a mouse. The first thing one would also see upon entering was a SWAT uniform for display and easily accessible. There was also an array of guns, batons, and tasers as well. To the left was a caged off area that also had a Handbook reader on it. And finally, most importantly, there was a large goat mannequin watching them from the corner of the room. The goat itself was wearing a police uniform but its bulging eyes and creepy smile was definitely going to get the creator of this monstrosity sued, defamed, and fired.

In fact, this thing was the first thing Jared and Barracuda noticed upon walking in.

"W-What the hell am I looking at?" Jared widened his eyes at this monstrosity.

Barracuda walked closer, a little hesitantly, but close enough to read the nametag on the goat's uniform. He fixed his glasses before doing so.

"...It says his name is… Lawson the Lamb," Barracuda stated.

"Lamb?!" Jared exclaimed. "That's a goat! Not a lamb! Why is this even here?! In my Ultimate Cell of all places! Who even made this?!"

"Aw, I'm sure it's not all bad," Barracuda chuckled as he patted Lawson the Lamb on the shoulder. Immediately it started moving, contorting its body in ways that are unimaginable.

"I-It m-moves?!" Jared stepped away from it.

"...I… I think… Is it… Is it just me or is his smile getting wider?" Barracuda took back what he said immediately. This thing was bloody goated. And the bad kind too.

"If I had it in me, I would have this thing shot in no time," Jared shivered. "But community comes first so best not to get people riled up over the sound of a gunshot…"

"...Yeah, I think I would've preferred if it were like a blue badger instead," Barracuda stepped away from the moving mannequin.

Trying their best to ignore the gazes of the frightening goat/lamb, Barracuda glanced at the entrance to the caged off area. From the looks of it, this area was a winding small hallway filled with boxes of different sizes. Barracuda noticed the Handbook reader and attempted to scan his eHandbook on the side.

The reader flashed red. It didn't open. A ping came from the computer, alerting Jared to the desk. The police officer took a glance at the screen. On it were the words:

ACCESS DENIED

"Hey, what's this room?" Barracuda asked Jared.

"Huh," Jared blinked, looking back toward Barracuda. "It looks like an… evidence room of some sorts. Yeah, the precinct I work at has something similar to this. I assume it's locked?"

"Yeah, with one of those reader things," Barracuda gave a nod. Jared tried unlocking it with his eHandbook.

The reader flashed green. It opened. The computer made a ping. Immediately, Jared headed back to the desk to see what was on the screen. New words had been prompted on the screen:

ACCESS GRANTED: JARED CAERTAS

"Hey, it worked for you and not for me?" Barracuda looked at Jared in surprise.

"I believe only I can have access to the room," Jared looked at his eHandbook and then the computer screen. "And this computer here seems to be a log of when someone accesses the room. Makes sense that only the Ultimate Police Officer would have access to the Evidence Room. But it's kind of useless considering it should be unlocked forever now so-"

As he said this, the reader turned back to red.

"Wait, what?" Jared blinked. He scanned the reader once more.

It turned green. The computer pinged with the same words as before. Then after a short while, it turned back to red. Jared moved away from the desk and tried tugging on the caged door. It was locked.

"So the Evidence Room is only temporarily unlocked," Jared stated. "Meaning it's not like the Ultimate Cells. In that case…"

"We should check it out then!" Barracuda grinned. "There might be a clue to our escape in one of these boxes!"

"Yeah, let's check it out," Jared gave a nod. He scanned the reader, unlocking the entrance to the Evidence Room and held the door for Barracuda. The computer pinged, now with three instances of access being granted to Jared Caertas.

Then the two walked in and started investigating.

They never did find a clue to their escape...

---

(Ultimate Revolutionary's Cell)

The Ultimate Revolutionary's Cell was of a similar structure to the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell. While it did maintain that office feel, the main difference to this cell was the fact that there was no extra Evidence Room or any of that sort. It was just an office type area decorated to look as if it were some sort of rebel hideaway. In fact, there was a hatch right on the ceiling… not like there was any way to get to it though.

There were also notable banners and graffiti on the wall. The banners included different flags and different symbols of probably popular revolutions in the past. There was also a random flag of France from 1789. Probably for the French Revolution, go figure. Other graffiti on the wall included graphic depictions of heads being chopped off, yet another reference to the French Revolution, and of course smaller words: Free the Soul…

Whatever that means!

Ina didn't care for any of that on the right, instead she directed her attention to the room's left. Right in the center of it all was a costume on display, similar to the SWAT uniform in the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell. The costume was of a bandana and a tactical army uniform spray painted with skull insignias and red X's. Pretty typical of your standard revolution outfit. Also on the left was a cabinet with a lighter and brown wine bottles with pieces of paper stuffed in the tip: molotov bottles.

"Jesus," Cassandra sighed, looking away from the molotovs.

"That demon is trying to make us go all out with the Killing Game," Ina shook her head. "Unfortunately this depiction of my talent is untame and stereotypical. I will not submit to that demon's needs."

"You've been saying things like 'demon' and 'devil' and Satanic shit like nonstop," Cassandra looked annoyed. "Cut it out. It's annoying."

"I'm not wrong though," Ina frowned. "The man dresses like a demon too. And he has a pet snake, a very manipulative figure in the Bible."

"Oh fuck me," Cassandra growled. "What are you now? A religious zealot? Seriously, it's annoying with how many times you mention all this stuff. Can't wait to leave this place and ditch you and the rest of these weirdos."

"...To revolt, everyone has to be in it together," Ina closed her eyes in thought. "You can't possibly think you can escape without the help from the rest of us?"

"Of course I can," Cassandra responded without hesitation. "I've been living for myself since I was born. I don't need anyone's help to escape. Especially not from a preacher like you!"

"I'm not a preacher," Ina frowned. "I'm a revolutionary. I believe in toppling governments from the inside out for the will of my people. And if you aren't going to comply in helping the rest of us, then I wish you luck."

"I don't need luck," Cassandra said, confidently. "I can leave all by myself. Just watch me."

Cassandra left. She didn't need this shit. Not now. They were supposed to all find some way out of this place but all she instead found was that these people were hella annoying. That demon-obsessed preacher especially. She expects her of all people to work together with the rest of these sorry sad blokes? What a laugh!

Cassandra never needed anyone to help her out. She was Cassandra fucking Mura. And she's been working solo all of her life to get what she wanted. That wasn't going to change now that she was in this situation.

That wasn't going to change at all.

Ina knew everyone had a demon inside of them. She felt one too. But Cassandra… Well Ina had to admire her for one thing. Cassandra wasn't afraid to let her demon out, that's for sure. Ina could only shake her head. Instead her attention drifted toward the hatch on the ceiling.

Maybe that was going to be of use at some point…

---

(Prison Confinements)

"No fucking way," Haruto grumbled upon seeing his mugshot on the plaque on the side of an electronic sliding door, a door similar to the doors to the Ultimate Cells. There were a total of 16 rooms. In fact, the entire area was a long hallway that looped around with doors on the walls each with a mugshot of each prisoner in the facility. Under each mugshot was a key inserted into a keyhole. When Haruto twisted the key, he figured he was going to have to flip his shit. "Hell no!"

"Well, at least our rooms look nice," Carter noted, twirling his pen after checking out his room. He had taken his key out of the keyhole and placed it in his pocket.

Relatively, all the rooms looked the same. There was a bed. There was a closet. There was a desk for writing. There was a bathroom with a toilet and a shower. A typical room one would see in a dormitory or a hotel which was a bit odd considering the facility was more prison based. Haruto punched the wall.

"No one asked fucker!" Haruto yelled at Carter. "That White Collar bastard really expects us to spend the night here in this pile of shit? Fuck!"

"Well I don't think we will find an exit any time soon so might as well…" Carter mumbled to himself.

"Hey!" Haruto turned back to Carter. "What did you just say?"

"Uhhh, nothing!" Carter quickly said.

"No no, say that again you little shit," Haruto growled. "You don't think we'll find a goddamn exit? Don't fucking jinx us idiot! We're gonna find an exit. And if not those other fuckers then I'll be the one to do it! Because hell like I'm staying here to play this stupid game!"

"Y-You… You sound confident," Carter looked slightly nervous as he twirled his pen around.

"Fuck yeah I am!" Haruto yelled.

As much of a pottymouth and hothead Haruto was, Carter was just glad that the basketball player hadn't even tried to beat him up or relatively threatened to beat him up. His attitude was also relatively nasty, but Carter wasn't going to say that to his face. They have a good thing going here. Carter would just be there and Haruto would yell at him and call him a 'fucker' or a 'shithead' but at the very least, he wouldn't try to make his life a living hell. That would remind Haruto too much of…

Carter didn't say anything. He didn't want to think of what he was about to think. Instead he entered Haruto's room. He had a thought.

"Hey, c-can you close the door?" Carter asked.

"What?" Haruto raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed. "Dude. This is my fucking room. Get out."

"J-Just close the door and press your ear against it," Carter shuddered a bit. "I- I want to test an experiment out."

"Fucking do your science experiment in your own room!" Haruto glared.

"Do it!" Carter quickly yelled before shyly shrinking. He didn't mean to yell. Oh god. Did he ruin that good thing they got?

Haruto didn't even do anything. Instead he just grumbled obscenities to himself and did as Carter had instructed him to do. He closed the door and pressed his ear against it. This was stupid. What the hell was this little piece of shit planning? There were so many things that could be happening…

"Oi!" Haruto yelled. "If you're doing some nasty shit in my room, I'll beat your ass!"

Carter didn't respond. Instead, a timid knock forced Haruto to raise an eyebrow. He opened the door slowly. Carter walked out. He didn't seem all that different a few minutes ago. Guess Haruto can at least be glad that Carter didn't mess his room up or anything.

"D-Did you hear what I did?" Carter asked Haruto, playing with a strand of his hair a bit.

"...What?" Haruto blinked.

"D-Did you hear what I did in your room?" Carter asked.

"Look man, I didn't hear shit," Haruto frowned. "Nor do I want to know what you did in my roo- You did do something! You motherfucker!"

"I just yelled!" Carter held his hands up in defense when he saw Haruto clench his fist and lean forward. So much for not threatening to beat him up… "I yelled when I was in your room! Y-You didn't hear that?"

"What?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. He lowered his fist. "What does that mean then?"

"...The rooms are soundproof," Carter timidly answered. "So… you can't hear what happens in these rooms."

"...Fucking course it is," Haruto sighed bitterly. "Fuck that White Collar guy!"

Soundproof rooms. Of course White Collar would implement something like that in a Killing Game. Of course! Haruto clenched his fist. This was a big promotion to off someone and Haruto wasn't having it. He was going to find a way out of here. And once he did, he was going to fuck White Collar up…

Carter on the other hand was just glad his face was intact. There was no sign of an exit with the rooms so they were going to have to hope that someone else may have found a clue of interest…

---

(Cafeteria)

"Three hours have passed," Kane declared as he took charge at the center bench of the Cafeteria. "Glad to see we're all back!"

"Um dude?" Abigail had glanced around with that unbothered look on her face. "There's only 14 of us here."

The majority of the prisoners had arrived at the Cafeteria within three hours as promised. Based on the looks of most of the faces, no one had found a possible way of escape. Based on the look of others, they didn't really care or weren't too interested in finding an escape but instead more answers as to why they were here. Based on the look of Mayu, she was still 'air eating'. Maggie had completely given up on making food for her.

As for the missing two prisoners, Kane had to do a headcount. Two people were missing and yet he didn't know who. He had only met these people by name like three hours ago so it wasn't a big shock that he wouldn't have recognized who was missing.

"Who are we missing?" Kane asked, looking worried.

"The big guy, Barracuda, isn't here," Maggie noted.

"You don't get to speak after failing to give me what I so adore!" Mayu declared with a slight weep as she pretended to shove an imaginary piece of steak into her mouth.

"I said I was sorry," Maggie crossed her arms. "I'm a fashion model. Not a chef. My hands are for posing and other illicit means, not for the kitchen."

"Okay, and who else?" Kane chose to ignore whatever Maggie and Mayu were talking about.

"The police officer isn't here!" Yuumi raised her hand, hugging the penguin sailor tightly.

"The police officer?" Arthur blinked, crossing his arms. "You would think a person of his caliber would be here on time."

"Did something… happen to them?" Zuri looked worried.

"If something did happen to them, the last I saw them was at their Ultimate Cells," Cassandra stated with a roll of her eyes. She couldn't care less if something did happen to them. If they've been decimated already, then she was right to put any faith in these losers.

"What's an Ultimate Cell?" Mimi asked, curiously.

"It's a Cell that requires access using the Handbook of the corresponding Ultimate," Ina explained. "I had an Ultimate Cell too. Cassandra and I investigated it."

"That's fine and all but we should really try to find those two," Maggie bit her thumb. "Because if something did happen to them…"

"Oh no..." Carter looked anxious at the thought.

"Right!" Kane nodded toward Maggie. He stepped forward and prepared to go find this so-called Ultimate Cell that Jared and Barracuda were in. "Let's move out and-"

"Agh!" a voice interrupted Kane's orders.

Jared and Barracuda had rushed in, looking a bit tired from having to run from Cell Block A to the Cafeteria… which wasn't that far actually. It was probably the fact that they got spooked by that damn lamb mannequin. Either case, once the two had arrived, Jared immediately saluted Kane and took a deep breath.

"S-Sorry we're late!" Jared apologized.

"Yeah, you should be sorry!" Haruto glared at Jared. "Everyone was flipping out that something might've happened to the two of you dumbasses!"

"Yeah, what took you guys so long?" Zuri frowned. She was a little disappointed that they had gotten here late and caused everyone to worry, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel relieved that at least they were safe.

"Jared and I were checking out the Evidence Room… and uh, well, there were just a lot of boxes to check and put back…" Barracuda rubbed the back of his neck.

"We did in fact lose track of time doing all of that," Jared tapped his fingers together with a slight chuckle.

"And pray tell, did you two find anything in this Evidence Room?" Arthur asked the boys.

"Jared found a bunch of different weapons from old cases!" Barracuda grinned.

"...In other words, useless things," Arthur sighed.

"Gosh, the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell sounds like a really dangerous place," Titus noted.

"Well you can rest assured that those weapons won't be getting out of the Evidence Room any time soon," Jared tipped his hat with a smile. "Only I have access to the Evidence Room. So the only things we need to worry about are the guns."

"G-Guns?!" Carter looked terrified at the mention of the guns.

"Relax," Jared smiled. "I'm going to get rid of the ammunition first chance I get! After that, the only thing you guys can do with those guns is whack someone with it!... Which is not an invitation to do so. You will be arrested if you do."

"Great, getting arrested within a prison," Abigail sighed. "Doubt anyone here wants to become double the prisoner."

"Anything else to report Officer?" Kane asked Jared before looking toward Barracuda. "Or uh… GI Joe?"

"My name is Barracuda," Barracuda said, seriously.

"W-Well there is one thing…" Jared scratched the side of his cheek nervously. "There's this lamb thing… And it's not for the faint of heart."

"Sounds equally useless," Arthur shook his head before standing up.

"Oh yeah, and what did you find, Your Majesty?" Ina frowned, looking toward the rather handsomely dressed snowboarder.

"Your what?" Mayu broke out of her 'air eating' phase.

"Sorry, I meant Your Other Majesty," Ina corrected herself. Mayu went back to 'air eating'.

"He found nothing of importance!" Yuumi declared with a smile. "So we wasted three hours doing nothing!"

"...Why are you smiling when you say that?" Carter asked Yuumi, slightly bewildered.

"Guess who's useless now?" Cassandra gave a sly smirk toward Arthur.

Arthur didn't say anything. Instead, he just placed his hands in his pockets and listened to what the rest of the group had to report. It was the only thing keeping him here. Any information could be important, which was why it was better to stay.

"American boy and I checked out the Prison's Lounge!" Kane took charge and smiled.

"Um, I… didn't go with you," Carter blinked.

"No no, the other American boy!" Kane frowned.

"I'm Canadian actually," Jared pointed out.

"Bitch, you talking about me?" Titus raised an eyebrow.

"He means me," Holland spoke, having been focusing on his no longer bleeding thumb for the last few minutes. Though you probably already know that he looked as if he didn't mind in the slightest. "...The Lounge is pretty big. Lots of board games. That's pretty much it."

"And a jukebox!" Kane grinned. "With old nostalgic music from the 1900s!"

"Oi, a jukebox isn't gonna help us get out of this place dipshit," Haruto looked rather annoyed. "Keep your head in the game man."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Kane apologized. He was still smiling though. That jukebox really was the greatest thing this place could ever have. "Anyway. Anyone else?"

There was silence among the group. That's when Kane dropped the smile and looked around.

"Wait seriously?" Kane blinked. "That's it? There are some groups we still haven't heard from!"

"Yeah well, the only thing the nerd and I found was that our living spaces are soundproof," Haruto crossed his arms with a gruff scowl. "Meaning someone could scream bloody murder and no one would be able to hear it. That bastard White Collar probably made it that way just for that sole purpose!"

"Yeah… no exit either," Carter looked down with a sigh.

"The freezer might have something," Abigail shrugged. "Like a secret passageway or something."

"That's just speculation though isn't it?" Ina looked toward Abigail.

"Yeah it is," Abigail played with her hair in an uncaring manner. "I don't know for sure. That's what I think though. Couldn't hurt to try."

"Anyone else?" Kane looked around.

"Mmm, there is a hatch in my Ultimate Cell," Ina crossed her arms. "Reaching it is no problem given how tall some of you possible demons are. Unfortunately, the only problem will be opening it."

"Maybe that could be our escape," Mimi looked hopeful.

"Seems too easy," Maggie stated. "I doubt White Collar would just spoon feed us an exit as simple as that."

"As I said, the real challenge is opening it," Ina stated. "It could offer us something good if we manage to get it open though."

"Then you can leave it to me!" Barracuda grinned. "I can get that opened up no problem!"

"Not to be rude, big guy but… your strength hasn't been exactly helpful when we were locked in a cell together," Maggie looked at the muscular man. She gave him a sly look. "But, it could be very useful in… other things."

"Like what?" Barracuda blinked.

"I don't like where this conversation is headed," Carter gave a groan.

The prisoner's conversation among themselves was interrupted by Monohebi's voice. It came from the intercom that had echoed throughout the prison they were in, meaning there was an intercom somewhere in the rooms that they just hadn't noticed or found. Nevertheless, the listened closely to what Monohebi had to say:

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi announced. "It is now midnight. Curfew hour begins now. As such, all prisoners must report to their confinements. Anyone who is caught outside of their confinements will be punished accordingly. Fortunately, since it is your first day here, we'll give tonight a slide. Be sure to review the rules on the Rules App of your Handbook. That is all."

"What the fuck did it just say?" Haruto growled.

"Wow, it really is starting to sound like an actual prison," Titus scratched the back of his neck.

"You mean, we can't leave our dorm rooms after midnight?" Mayu gasped, phasing out of her 'air eating' session. "But but, what about a midnight snack?!"

"I think this is great," Jared gave a nod.

"Pourquoi?!" Mayu exclaimed.

"Well, think about it," Jared smiled. "This figuratively lowers our chances of actually murdering one another now that the entirety of midnight to morning is off limits. Therefore…"

"We will be able to keep track of everyone's whereabouts if someone decides to off someone during the daytime," Kane grinned. "Excellent! Things are looking to us yet!"

Most people liked the idea of keeping track of everyone's movements. For a Killing Game, this extra rule practically limited killing in general. As for Cassandra, she could only shake her head. What a joke of a game this was for such a restriction to be placed. It made everyone feel so much safer, but she knew there had to be more as to why this rule was implemented. There had to be… otherwise this rule would desecrate the mere idea of a Killing Game.

"Though, what about the rules Monohebi mentioned?" Mimi asked, curiously. "Maybe we should take a look at them."

Without much hesitation, everyone had flipped open their eHandbooks and opened up the rule apps. That was where they were hit with a list of specific rules:

Rule #1: Prisoners must live at the facility for the remainder of their pitiful lives.

Rule #2: Once a murder takes place, all surviving prisoners must participate in a Prison Trial.

Rule #3: If the blackened is exposed during the Prison Trial, they alone will be executed.

Rule #4: If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining prisoners will be executed.

Rule #5: If the blackened survives the Prison Trial, they will be granted freedom and re-enter the outside world.

Rule #6: The blackened is only allowed to kill a max of two people. Any more will result in immediate punishment.

Rule #7: "Nighttime" is from 12 AM to 7 AM. Leaving the Confinements is off-limits at this time with some exceptions.

Rule #8: Violence toward White Collar and Monohebi is strictly prohibited.

Rule #9: Please do not damage the eHandbooks.

Rule #10: The "Body Discovery Announcement" will play when three or more prisoners discover a body.

Rule #11: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the facility at your discretion.

Rule #12: Prisoners who violate these rules will be immediately punished by Monohebi.

Rule #13: There may be new additions to the rules according to White Collar's command.

"Golly, these are a lot of rules," Zuri noted.

"What's important is that we head back to our Prison Rooms as soon as possible then," Arthur noted, lowering his eHandbook. "The snake may have said that whatever happens today will be a slide but let's not risk the chance of getting brutally punished."

"You're right," Kane nodded. "We'll reconvene tomorrow. As of tonight, let's stay safe and try to get some sleep. By tomorrow, the early bird will get the worm!"

"...Seriously, how old are you?" Mayu asked, having snapped out of her phase for the fourth time.

"Let's just meet tomorrow at 8 in the morning so we can talk about a plan to get out of here," Jared nodded. "Catch you guys tomorrow."

"So early," Abigail sighed.

Once that was settled, everyone had ended up returning back to their dorms, one by one. Today was a long stressful day. Tomorrow might be even worse if they don't find a way out soon. Some of them might even need a prayer that this was just one big horrible dream…

---

At least for Zuri, she hoped she could return back to that memory.

Return to her life.

Return to her best friends who were waiting for her.

What will happen to Dream Palm now that she was stuck here?...

---

White Collar sipped his red wine.

It was fitting for the aesthetic of the room he was in. Blood red drapery. Blood red carpet. There was a fireplace, burning intensely and an array of suits of armor standing firm beside the fireplace, one on each side specifically. There was a gramophone that sat curtly beside one of the suits and a large bookshelf with an array of philosophical books and files. There was a television set on a cart as well, left on the right side of his desk. Within the carts were numerous video tapes. As much as the man loved looking polished and fancy, that cart and its video tapes were in disarray.

And there he was, sitting on his blood red, throne-like chair, turned away from his bloodwood desk. He held his glass with one hand, listening intently on his phone with the other. His devilish mask was left on the edge of his desk, somewhere easy for him to pick it up should the time arise.

That time was soon.

Monohebi slithered down the blood-red carpet, carrying a tablet. She flicked her tongue, sidewinding till she reached her master. Using her tail, she handed White Collar the tablet. In an instant, the man set aside his phone and took the tablet. Then he set both items aside onto the desk and placed on his mask.

He did all of this without turning.

Monohebi was used to it. She awaited a response. Then White Collar spoke, finally turning to face her. His sinister mask remained neutral, ready to listen to Monohebi's imperative words.

"Update Monohebi," White Collar ordered.

"Yes Master," Monohebi bowed her head slightly. She flicked her tongue. "The prisoners seem to have decided to find an exit. Such efforts will be futile of course."

White Collar was silent. His mask wasn't grinning as it normally was. Instead it looked slightly disappointed.

"But do not worry Master," Monohebi flicked her tongue once more. "They may not have given into the game yet, but they will. I can assure you of that."

"...Yes, of course they will," White Collar noted to himself quietly. He spoke up loudly for Monohebi to hear and turned his seat back around. "I will need you to go on a mission for me. It is a matter of utmost importance to the game. Codename: Mission A."

"...Of course Master," Monohebi stated before slithering off. White Collar had remained silent. He seemed disappointed. His mask wasn't grinning as it usually was. Such a thing made her worry. She stopped before turning back to the devilish man. "...Um, Master. About earlier today…"

White Collar didn't say anything, so Monohebi continued.

"I apologize for losing control like that," Monohebi stated. "I promise you, it will never happen again Master."

It took a moment for White Collar to respond. And even then, he had to start out with a sigh. A sigh behind that distorted British voice meant Monohebi's fears had slightly come to light. He really was disappointed. And she hated to disappoint her master of all else…

"...Monohebi," White Collar began, not bothering to turn his chair around. "Need I remind you to stop calling me Master?"

"O-Oh," Monohebi stuttered. That was why he was disappointed? He never brought up the incident itself. In fact, he didn't bother berating her for her poor performance today at the Killing Game announcement. Perhaps that was a good sign? No. She shouldn't think about that. She should think about the reminder. She gave a slight tip of her head. "Y-Yes. Of course. I'm sorry."

White Collar remained silent. Monohebi turned back and slithered away to the exit.

"I will be on my way to complete Mission A," Monohebi stated before leaving.

Mission A. It had to be done for the Killing Game to start. White Collar turned back to his desk, took off his mask, and grabbed the tablet and his glass of red wine. Then turning back, he watched the tablet, sipping his wine as he tapped on the videos that were playing: security footage in real time.

More specifically, he directed his gaze toward the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell…

---

Lawson the Lamb started moving...

One leg at a time...

The bulging eyes and the smile widening...

And his contorting body moved wildly as he shifted closer and closer to the exit…

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

Here is the next chapter and the start of the official first chapter to Corrupted Hope: The Silence of the Sacrificial Lamb!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as before, please let me know if there's anything I have to spruce up in terms of how I write your characters in PMs please! And as before as well, please leave a review to also let me know how I'm doing! I feel pretty accomplished finishing this chapter but also hoping whatever I have planned will come together nicely later on!

Speaking of which, do note that I have a tendency to edit in a few slight extra things after I have already published the chapter just for flavor and to fix simple mistakes. As you noticed, I got rid of the Application that the story was originally published with and added a few biblical texts just for an added touch. Be sure to keep an eye out because I feel like this is something I might often do because I tend to forget adding important details (oh how I dread this might end up happening during Investigations D:)

Either case, hope you look forward what I have planned for this Chapter and what else to come!

---

Prisoners Remaining: 16

---

Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular)

Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7)

Barracuda - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro)

Carter Franklin - The Ultimate Opinion Columnist (armadas)

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme)

Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Basketball Player (theotakureader101)

Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi)

Ina Hamamura - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping)

Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay)

Kanenoshin Amao - The Ultimate Pawnbroker (benkj6)

Maggie LaDroubi - The Ultimate Supermodel (Project Drama)

Mayu Mashiro - The Ultimate Heiress (zetsunaflame)

Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan)

Titus Erskine - The Ultimate Conductor (Lidamek)

Yuumi Kizuchi - The Ultimate Sailor (Shamelles410)

Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45)