Chapter 5: Saviour of the Damned (Deadly Life #3)
Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggi- Wait. You're dead now. Meaning there are no sexual innuendos!... Maybe! Hooray!), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!
With that said, please enjoy!
Arthur opened his eyes.
He held his head with a slight groan. His mind had to readjust itself for a moment. His migraines came back, as if something was in his head and trying to bulge out of his head. Images flashed in his mind but none of them were images he was able to recognize right off the bat. Clearly, that explosion had taken a toll on him.
And…not just him either.
He glanced around, noticing that Monohebi was on the ground. Strangely, for a robotic snake, she was completely knocked out. Her eyes had gone dark. That red glow she often had was nowhere to be seen. And speaking of nowhere to be seen, half of her scaly skin had been blown off, revealing a very grotesque version of the snake he never thought he'd see.
Rubbing his head, he noticed that something else was nowhere to be seen.
No.
Someone.
"I-Ina…?" he glanced around, confused.
…
The moment he stepped out into Cell Block E's absurdly long hallway, it didn't take long for him to notice a chaotic mess directly inside Mayu's Cell. Arthur widened his eyes.
W-What the hell happened there?!
W-Was the bomb really that strong…?
Arthur decided to investigate and ask questions later.
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And the moment he stepped inside, he stopped dead in his tracks. Suddenly, he noticed what exactly was in this messy room. He noticed what exactly made this room so messy to begin with:
Two bodies.
A hidden room.
And the smell of blood, growing grosser than the moment.
And not just any body or blood.
Cassandra's body was located farther near that hidden room.
But collapsed against the dining table in her own blood and tears was Ina. She opened her eyes weakly, coughing up blood.
"I-Ina!" Arthur rushed to her side.
Squatting down, he held her close, his eyes widening as he glanced around. That's when he saw it. The very thing that made his heart sink. It was a wound in her stomach. A devastating fatal puncture wound that caused Ina's face to grow weak and pale and cough an absurd amount of blood.
"N-No… no no no no no," Arthur shook his head. "W-What did you do?! W-What did you–"
"B-Brother…" Ina tried to say, as her eyes fluttered slightly. She pointed her finger toward Cassandra's body. "I… Sh-She… W-Watch…"
"N-No no," Arthur shook his head frantically. "D-Don't speak. Look, listen I'll…"
Arthur turned to Cassandra's corpse.
Then his eyes widened.
No.
C-Could it be…?
D-Did… Did Ina…
"B-Brother…?" Ina started to tear up. "I am… s-sorry…"
Arthur held her tightly for a moment and released her, making sure her blood didn't get on him as he walked over toward Cassandra. He loomed over her body with a dangerous, cold stare. This girl… This… She did this, didn't she? He noticed a handful of things on her:
Bomb #5.
The trigger.
Fate tempted him with candy.
"B-Brother…?" Ina held her stomach, weakly. "W-What are you… N-No d-don't…"
And he was going take what fate was offering him.
Arthur tightened his hands.
He had to do this.
He had to do what he must.
For her.
For his sister…
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TRIAL RECOVENE
Arthur remained silent.
The truth had come out.
In the midst of all the chaos during the bombings, Ina had gone off to the Ultimate Heiress's Cell and found Cassandra. Together, the two fought each other. Ina killed Cassandra but, in the process, she got mortally wounded herself. Arthur woke up shortly after and probably stumbled upon the crime scene, given the pathway of the Cell Block E hallway. Realizing what must've happened, he had gone ahead and moved Cassandra's body in the elevator that had been prepared beforehand, moving her up to the White Room, making sure to take the trigger and the key Once he regrouped with everyone else, Arthur pushed the trigger and blew up Cassandra...
That was everything they had deduced.
That was everything that Arthur had admitted to doing.
And the truth, as always, was foul.
No one had said anything since Arthur's confession and none of them could look at him in the eye. Seriously? Only five of them were left and he goes ahead and does shit like this? Does he never learn? Has he never learned from the previous Trials?
He said it himself.
He was selfish.
And no one would have been more disappointed than Ina, wherever she was now...
...
"So, that's it then, huh?" Abigail sighed. "Is that really the whole truth of the case? Ina comes in. Ina and Cassandra fight it out. Ina kills Cassandra and Cassandra hurts Ina enough for her to bleed to death. Then, Arthur comes in and does his shit..."
Haruto, Holland, and Mimi considered this for a moment.
It seemed pretty clear and cut to at least two of them. If Ina did kill Cassandra, then it only made sense that Cassandra would've killed Ina in retaliation, right? They effectively killed each other. That was the truth? Right?
Holland was the only one who seemed skeptical of this conclusion.
Did Cassandra really kill Ina?
"If you think about it," Abigail continued. "We also still have the motive in play, don't we? If Ina killed Cassandra, the only reason why she didn't get out was probably she was dead anyway, so..."
That's right.
There was still the matter with the motive.
"So, what exactly is the motive this time, then?" Ina turned to Monohebi with a frown.
"Simple," Monohebi flicked her tongue out. "I'll give you the same deal that Miss Mura received, only better. Whoever kills her gets to leave scot-free. That's it."
How did that tie into everything?
"So, based on the lack of discussion, I assume you all have reached a conclusion as to who killed Ina Hamamura, correct?" Monohebi tilted her head. She awaited the inevitable interruption she was going to get as soon as she started up the vote.
No one said anything for a while.
Glancing around and allowing her singular exposed eye to scan the room, she sighed, braced herself, and nodded her head. Then, she began make her brief announcement of starting the Voting Period.
"Very well then, if there are no objections-" Monohebi began.
"This game isn't over," Holland interjected. His eyes remained stoic yet frighteningly cold as he kept his hoodie over his head, holding his super cool interjection pose with both holds. "...I'm sorry Monohebi, but there are still some unanswered questions we need to figure out."
"I figured as much," Monohebi sighed behind her slight robotic overtone.
"W-Well, what else would there be?" Abigail frowned. "I mean, we answered the bombing, Cassandra's death, and what the heck the hidden room was. So, what else do you even have that needs discussing...?"
That's right.
Abigail and Haruto weren't there when they saw it. They were a floor above after all!
"...The fire," Holland pointed out.
"Th-The fire?" Abigail blinked.
"The fire that blocked the entrance to all the Cells," Holland began. "Don't you remember?"
"You and Big Bro Haruto weren't there for it but there was a fire that blocked off the entrance to all of the Cells!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Huh, I see," Abigail began to understand. "And because the fire blocked off the entrance to those Cells, Arthur was forced to take the longer route. It does sound like a risk, but at the same time, it was the only way he could return!"
"I… do," Abigail bit her lip. "But why bring that up now?"
"...Throughout that entire discussion, we talked about how there was a fire that blocked off the entrance," Holland began. "But not once did we ever question who set the entrance on fire."
"And why the question of who?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"...Because the idea that the entrance would be the only part set on fire seems like it was done on intent," Holland explained.
Yes. Someone had to have set the entrance on fire. But who could it be?
"Couldn't the person who set the entrance on fire just be Arthur though?" Mimi pouted.
"H-Huh?" Arthur blinked. "W-Why me?"
"Well, to hide Ina's body, obviously!" Mimi declared.
"...No, that makes no sense," Holland shook his head. "Why would he have hidden Ina's body? It would've been found regardless. Setting the entrance on fire is a waste of time, effort, and would be more of a hindrance to Arthur than really help."
"Eh?" Mimi blinked.
"I see," Haruto had to think about that. "Holland's right, y'know. If Arthur was the one who set the fire ablaze, he'd be sabotaging himself. Remember, what we talked about?"
"Huh, I see," Abigail began to understand. "And because the fire blocked off the entrance to those Cells, Arthur was forced to take the longer route. It does sound like a risk, but at the same time, it was the only way he could return!"
"...That is also why it would have been impossible for Ina to have moved Cassandra's body as well," Holland frowned as he added his tidbit. "Because if there was a fire, there would be no way for her back into Mayu's Ultimate Cell to be killed and the elevator is evidence that she didn't take it back down."
"A-Agh… A-Agh…" Arthur started to sweat. He never sweats. He cold sweats… but he never outright sweats like…
"Oh yeah," Mimi widened her eyes in realization. "Arthur had to take the long route because of the fire. If the fire wasn't there… he would've taken the elevator down and gone through the short route."
"...But he didn't…" Holland noted.
"Then, in order to figure this out, we have to ask when the fire was set off," Abigail noted.
When was the fire set off? That was a good question to ask regarding this conundrum. Arthur was able to arrive and stumble at the crime scene in order to do his deed. After he did it, he was forced to take the longer route. If they thought about it this way, then the answer should be obvious!
"The fire…" Holland began. "I think it was set off…
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…After Arthur moved the body."
"Eh?" Mimi blinked, turning to Holland in surprise. "W-What? Why?"
"...Because Arthur took the long route instead of the shorter route," Holland explained. "We know this because the elevator was left up in the White Room. So, we have to ask, why would Arthur take the long route because of the shorter route?"
"...Because the fire blocked the shorter route," Mimi finally understood.
"After Arthur did whatever the fuck he did to Cassandra, he moved her up to the White Room," Haruto nodded as he took over Holland's explanation. "When he came back down, he was surprised to see that the entrance to Mayu's Cell was blocked with flames. So, he went back up and took the longer route to head back to the Laboratory, effectively leaving the elevator behind for me and Abby to find."
"But if that's the case, then who set the place on fire?" Mimi asked.
Holland thought about this carefully.
His interjection saved them from potentially making the wrong choice here. He couldn't afford to break that streak. He needed to think. Who could've been the only person to set the entrance to Mayu's Cell on fire…
Was it…?
"Who set the place on fire…" Holland began to think. He was serious when he said the game wasn't over. "Could it be…?"
He took off his hoodie and glanced toward his peers.
He had an answer.
"I think it's possible..." Holland began to say. "That the one who set the fire to Mayu's Cell's entrance. It had to have been…
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"A w-what?" Abigail deadpanned. "A f-fourth party?! You can't be serious!"
"...No, I am," Holland nodded. "It's the only way this makes sense."
"No, it's not!" Abigail challenged. "There's another way the fire could have started!"
"...And what's that?" Holland questioned.
"By accident," Abigail answered. "Maybe something similar to our very first Trial happened. Maybe the person who started the fire didn't mean to start it. Like, maybe they just tossed a fire hazard on the floor or something…"
"...No," Holland shook his head. "This fire was done on purpose. Only by intent could only the entrance of the Cell be on fire!"
"Oh really?" Abigail glared. "Then answer me first. What do you think was used to start the fire?"
What could have been used to start the fire? Well, it had to be two items at hand. In no specific order, Holland began to answer.
"There are two items that when combined, could have very well started the fire," Holland began. "The first item is…
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Holland thought back to what he and Mimi had found in the debris of the flames.
"Hey, what is that thing?" Mimi blinked. "And how did none of us slip on it when running past the flames?"
"...From the looks of it," Holland rubbed his chin. "It's a candlestick. Or at least, what used to be one."
"A candlestick!" Mimi gasped. "Candlesticks have fire! Could this have been the result of the fire?!"
"And the second?" Abigail raised an eyebrow, pressing forward.
"The second item…" Holland began to give a long enough pause for the audience to think for themselves. "That would be…
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Holland thought back to the other thing that he and Mimi had found in the debris of the flames.
"Hey, are these glass shards from wine bottles, maybe?" Mimi tilted her head. "I haven't been to Mayu's Cell at all, but based from the wrecked dining table, there did seem to be some wine in some glasses."
"...Glass shards on the floor belonging to wine bottles?" Holland blinked.
Peculiar.
"And there you have it," Abigail folded her arms. "Don't you think it would be possible for the candlestick and the bottle of wine to have fallen at the entrance and just burnt up in flames like that?"
"...What?" Holland blinked.
That seemed really stupid.
"...And how could that have happened?" Holland frowned.
"The chandelier," Abigail deduced. "Remember? It crashed down onto Ina. It could've easily launched the candlestick and the wine bottle at the entrance."
"Er, Abby," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "I care for ya and all, but this is sounding kinda dumb."
"Well, your fishing line contraptions sounded dumb and look how that helped us!" Abigail pouted with a slight blush.
"Oi, those were great ideas!" Haruto tried to defend his own sets of theories.
Either case, Holland stood still and thought about this carefully. Abigail's idea was obviously very dumb, but it's not as dumb as sitting around trying to prove someone who was clearly alive was a ghost all this time. Fucking Hagakure. Should have been Chapter 3 vi– Ahem.
Anyway, it was easy to prove that Abigail was hecking wrong. All he had to do was answer the question. Why is Abigail wrong? Why could the fire have not been an accident? What about the evidence he mentioned proves that this was done with intent instead of being knocked there by a falling chandelier?
Holland shook his head.
"I'm sorry Abigail," he stated. "But that can't be right. The fire started on purpose. It didn't start because of some… Rube Goldberg contraption or anything like that."
"Huh?" Abigail frowned. "Then, I assume you can prove it?"
"...I can," Holland nodded his head. "The proof that the fire started on purpose is…
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…where the candlesticks were found."
Now, it was Mimi's turn to recall the things that had already been recalled before.
"I'm thinking that the candlestick was probably knocked over thanks to all the shaking the bombs caused and that's when the candlestick lit itself and the entrance to Mayu's Cell on fire!" Mimi deduced.
"...But for it to roll over outside Mayu's Cell?" Holland couldn't wrap his head around that part. "That's a little bit of a stretch…"
"What?" Mimi pouted. "But candlesticks are normally lit! It's the only thing in this entire facility that can cause a fire at this point!"
"Oh, I see," Mimi understood with a nod of her head. "It was because the candlesticks were found outside of Mayu's Cell! If that's the case, it would be illogical to say that the candlesticks would've launched into the wine puddle… or something like that."
"...You also suggested the same theory," Holland deadpanned.
"Agh!" Nevertheless, Abigail found herself taken aback by this info.
"...Anyway, the fact that the candlesticks were found outside proves that they were used to start the fire from outside of the Cell," Holland surmised with a firm nod. "That's why I think the fire had to have been done by a fourth party member."
"O-Okay, but what about the wine?" Abigail gritted her teeth.
"...W-What about the wine?" Holland blinked.
"I don't know if you know this, but wine isn't flammable," Abigail folded her arms. Spoken like someone who went drunk driving!
"...I-It's not?" Holland widened his eyes.
That came as a shock to him! He may have been smart, but he wasn't a drinker! How the heck was he supposed to know that wine wasn't flammable?! He just assumed every alcoholic beverage was flammable!
"...Abigail has a point," Arthur folded his arms. "Wine isn't flammable because it has a lower alcohol content and higher water properties. If anything, setting wine ablaze with candlesticks would only cause the wine to boil..."
Well. Now what?
"See?" Abigail frowned. "So, you can't really say that a fourth member did anything with the fire with nothing but a candlestick and wine, now can you?"
"However..." Arthur spoke up after Abigail had her moment.
"H-Huh?" the equestrian turned to Arthur in surprise.
First, he sided with her on alcohol facts and now he was getting ready to side with Holland. Abigail knew this was Arthur and all but the more he spoke in these Trials, the more she was getting annoyed.
"There was something my sister noticed when examining the wine..." Arthur folded his arms.
"Well, the food may be fake but from the looks of it," Ina picked up one of the wine glasses with wine already inside. She swirled it around and sniffed it. "The wine is real. A little stronger than I recognize but it is real..."
"I suppose that is the only thing White Collar could afford instead of a big feast awaiting us," Arthur shook his head. "How interesting though. Why would the wine be real yet everything else be fake?"
"The wine itself was a little stronger..." Arthur folded his arms. "So, while it is true that wine is not flammable, perhaps the alcoholic contents in those wine bottles may have been something much more flammable than your typical wine."
"In other words, Holland's fourth party member theory still stands," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think about who this potential fourth party could be.
Similarly, Abigail pondered the same question.
"Okay, but if that's the case, then who the hell is this fourth party member?" Abigail pressed. "And why would they even start the fire?"
"Not only that, but you also have to keep in mind where the fourth party member could've been," Haruto frowned.
"Eh…" Mimi pouted. "Wouldn't it be easier to say that it was Ina all along? I mean, I don't even think there could have been some fourth party member."
"...No," Holland shook his head. "There had to have been a fourth party member. The fire proves it. If the fire was started from the outside, that meant that the fourth party member had to have left the room. But as we all know…"
"...Ina was still dead in the room," Haruto nodded. "And Arthur was moving Cassandra up to the White Room."
"Meaning, someone just walked in, grabbed a wine bottle and a candlestick, walked out, and then dumped them on the entrance for what…?" Abigail still seemed unconvinced. "A couple of laughs?"
Abigail did have the right to remain unconvinced by all of this.
What even was the point of the fire anyway? Just like the very first Trial, the use of fire seemed like an unnecessary thing to do. And this time, the answer wasn't even "the fire was an accident". The fire was on purpose but why?
That was the hard thing to figure out.
For what reason was the fire started?
Holland gave it a thought.
Once again, the fire had to be done on purpose. Why? What reason would the fire have started? Why would someone need to start the fire to block the entrance to the Cell in the first place? Wait…
Holland might have stumbled onto the answer.
Could it be?
"...I doubt it would be for a couple of laughs, but… what if…" Holland began.
"Oh, Holland has the answer!" Mimi beamed.
"...What if the reason the fire was started…" Holland began to think. "...Was just…
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…to slow down Arthur."
"To… slow down Arthur?" Abigail blinked.
"M-Me?" Arthur blinked.
"How'd you come to that conclusion?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"...Just think about it," Holland rubbed his chin. "Think about where the fire was specifically started."
"The entrance to Mayu's Cell, right?" Mimi blinked.
"...Exactly," Holland nodded. "Just the entrance. It's been bugging me for a while, but I think I might finally know why. I mean, isn't it strange that the fire was specifically meant to burn just the entrance? Don't you know what that means…?"
"Does it mean that your supposed fourth party wanted to block the entrance?" Haruto blinked.
"That's exactly it," Holland nodded. "Our fourth party member wanted to specifically block the entrance."
"Ah, I see," Abigail finally understood. "It was because of all the reasons we've mentioned before."
"Mentioned before?" Mimi turned to Abigail with curious eyes.
"Well, if the entrance to Mayu's Cell was blocked…" Abigail began to explain to her. "What would have happened to Arthur?"
"I would've needed to take the longer route," Arthur blinked.
She was asking Mimi, not you, Arthur. Rude ass bitch.
"Exactly…" Holland nodded. "I think that's why the fourth party member started the fire. To prevent Arthur from taking the shorter route."
"I'll dunk on that statement!" Haruto interjected, giving a toothy glare as he let his leather jacket fly off his shoulders for a moment. "Nah. Sorry Holland, but that's bullshit."
"Huh?" Holland blinked. "H-Haruto?"
He didn't expect Haruto of all people to interject with a possible counter to his reasoning. Patiently, he gripped the side of the podium as the former basketball player began to explain.
"You said that the reason the fourth party member started the fire was to make sure Arthur took the long route," Haruto reiterated. "But by saying that, you're also assuming one thing."
"What is it?" Mimi questioned, confused.
"You're assuming that they also saw Arthur move Cassandra's body through the elevator," Haruto explained. "Because in order for the, to make sure Arthur took the longer route, they would've needed to see it for themselves. They would've needed to see him actually take the elevator and leave!"
"I see, so in other words, the fourth party member had to be a witness to Arthur tampering with the crime scene," Abigail nodded.
"Wait, but if they witnessed it…" Mimi began. "Where could they have seen Arthur moving the body?!"
"That's exactly the question I wanted to ask," Haruto nodded his head, furrowing his eyebrow toward Holland, who shrunk back into his thinking corner.
Holland pondered about this question.
Haruto was absolutely correct. If the fourth party member was the one who set the entrance to Mayu's Cell on fire and if they truly did do it to slow Arthur down, they would have to have been a witness to everything that Arthur did.
But where did they see Arthur do it?
Where could they have seen Arthur…?
"...Arthur," Holland turned to the rather quiet Arthur. "Do you know the answer to this? Maybe they saw you from the hallway of Cell Block E? I mean… it's a straight path to Mayu's Cell so…"
"...No," Arthur shook his head. It also seemed like he was troubled by this turn of events as well. "No one was in the hallway. I'm sure of it. In fact, there was no way anyone could have seen me move Cassandra's body. Monohebi was knocked out and I never saw anybody…"
No way anyone could have seen Arthur move the body. But if that was true then…
"Does that mean that Holland really was wrong about the fire?" Mimi perked her head.
"Ha!" Abigail slapped her hand on the podium. "I knew the fire could've only been started accidentally!"
"Er, Abigail," Mimi gave the equestrian a small supportive smile. "I… don't think that's the right answer either."
"Well, if Holland and Abigail are wrong, then we're back to square one about the damn fire!" Haruto growled. "Which is it? Could the fire have been started by a fourth party? Was the fire an accident? Pick one and move on!"
You're the one who's causing this conundrum to be a problem in the first place!
Either case, Holland knew the fire had to have been started by a fourth party. That fact had been proven just moments ago! (Technically five days since I last wrote this part of Trial Part 2). But the problem was figuring out where the the fourth party could've seen Arthur moving the body. Where they would have witnessed everything. Where they … would have remained hidden, undetected from Arthur…
"...No, there's no need to go back to square one," Holland shook his head. "I know where they could've seen Arthur."
"Huh?!" Haruto widened his eyes.
"Y-You do?" Abigail looked surprised.
Arthur also looked surprised as well. Was there a place that he wasn't aware of? Was there a place that he had missed…?
"Yeah, there's really only one place it could be," Holland rubbed his chin. "The place where the fourth party member witnessed Arthur tampering with the crime scene…
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…was inside the suit of armor!"
"Th-The–" Arthur didn't even finish his thought.
"Fucking what?!" Haruto widened his eyes.
"The suit of armor?!" Abigail exclaimed in surprise. "W-What suit of armor?!"
"Ah, of course!" Mimi gasped, remembering the evidence she and Holland had found in the Ultimate Heiress's Cell.
The next thing to catch their attention were the suits of armor. Normally, it'd just be a relatively random thing to investigate but what was most peculiar was the current state of the suits of armor. Three suits of armor stood there on their assorted stands. Or rather, two were standing and one was flopped into different pieces on the ground?
Holland and Mimi may have never been to the Ultimate Heiress's Cell but even they could tell that this was strange.
"Holland and I found one of the suits of armor completely taken apart!" Mimi exclaimed. "Arthur thought it was because of all the bombings or chaos in this room... But maybe it was actually…"
"...A result of the fourth party member taking off the suit after using it as a disguise," Holland deduced. "Which meant that all this time, our fourth party member had been hiding in plain sight! Watching Arthur move Cassandra's body!"
"So then, once Arthur went inside the elevator, the fourth party member removed the suit of armor from their body and left," Holland continued. "Then, knowing that Arthur would take the elevator back down to head back to the Laboratory, the fourth party member made sure to grab a wine bottle and a candlestick and set the entrance of Mayu's Cell on fire to prevent him from doing that."
"But then, what was the point of slowing Arthur down?" Abigail questioned. "I… still don't understand why they needed to do something like that."
"Y-Yes, I wish to know too," Arthur spoke up, after doing hardly anything to contribute to this line of discussion.
"No, I think I get why," Haruto folded his arms. "Everything Holland has said so far makes a lot of fucking sense."
Why did they need to block the entrance to Mayu's Cell? Well, everyone knows it was to slow Arthur down but what was the point of slowing him down? What would that achieve?
"If they knew that Arthur had tampered with the crime scene…" Haruto began. "Then why else would they want to make sure Arthur took the longer route? The answer's obvious. It's because…
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"Frame Arthur?" Mimi blinked. "Frame him for the deaths of Ina and Cassandra?"
"...Yeah, that had to be it," Holland nodded. "Because if Arthur took the longer route, he wouldn't have been able to get back in time for Monohebi to wake up…"
"Which would mean that a lot of suspicion would've gone his way if he wasn't there when Monohebi woke up," Haruto began.
"Or if someone saw him coming from Cell Block C," Mimi realized. "Where Cassandra's body would've been."
"So, the fire was just one convoluted frame-job against Arthur?" Abigail blinked. "Why? Who the hell would want to frame him?!"
"...Er…" Holland glanced around at themselves.
Technically, they all had a motive against Arthur. To list off, Arthur caused the death of Yuumi and was also slightly responsible for the death of Zuri as well. That's enough to get Holland and Mimi mad at him. Then Arthur also betrayed Abigail that one time too… so that's for Abigail and Haruto. But at the same time, it was hard.
It was hard to imagine any of them would want to frame Arthur after everything. It just didn't make any sense. Didn't make…
"You all had a motive to frame me," Arthur frowned. "But I do not think it could be any of you either…"
The fire had to be used to make sure Arthur was in a position where he could've been found out for murder. The fire had to be used to frame Arthur. But Arthur was right. While the four remaining people here had a motive to frame him, there was no way it could be them.
After all, there was no way they would even kill Ina of all people.
So, who did that leave?
Who else would kill Ina and Cassandra and frame Arthur? Who else but…?
Holland felt time freeze in place.
Who else would kill Ina and Cassandra and frame Arthur? He repeated that question in his mind over and over again. He considered his options here and then he wondered if it was possible. He thought about where everyone was by the time the bombs blew up.
Arthur would've been too busy moving the body.
He and Mimi were stuck at the Fairytale Writer's Cell.
Haruto and Abigail were together.
Holland felt his eyes tremble. He glanced toward his peers before he finally spoke.
"The person who framed Arthur..." Holland began his long tangent. "Our fourth party member... Reasonably, the only reason they would need to hide in the suit of armor in the first place is only if they were the true culprit of possibly both Ina and Cassandra's murder. They had to be the true culprit! They had to know about the hidden elevator beforehand. And they had to have an unaccounted alibi for when Bombs #2 and #3 were set off."
"Wait, unaccounted alibi," Haruto slowly widened his eyes in realization.
"Had to know about the hidden elevator beforehand?" Mimi blinked as she wondered who that could be.
"The true culprit…" Abigail began to say.
"...Wait…" Arthur widened his eyes.
Slowly, everyone understood the gravity of their situation. They understood the answer...
"...The killer of this case," Holland began. "Could it be...
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…White Collar?!"
"N-NO WAY!" Mimi exclaimed in shock.
"W-What did you say?!" Monohebi tensed up, her scarred look glowing a sharp red. "H-How dare you accuse my Master of such a deed?!"
"But it makes sense," Abigail was the one who stepped forward. "Back when the bombs blew up…"
"...I see you're trying to come up with something," White Collar leaned against his cane with a sinister chuckle. "Very well. Please let me know what you come up with by the time I find you."
White Collar prepared to leave the room, before placing a finger over his masked grin once more.
"But don't you worry," White Collar sinisterly said. "The Devil always keeps his word…"
Walking off, the Devil left the equestrian and former basketball player behind in the Opinion Columnist's Cell, ready to head toward his quarters to search for that pesky scam artist on his own personal camera system. And as he did, both Abigail and Haruto felt a sense of uneasiness.
"...White Collar separated from us," Abigail stated. "Haruto can vouch for me. And if Arthur was responsible for moving the body and Holland and Mimi were together, he's the only person that could've reasonably killed Cassandra."
"I will serve my Master!" Monohebi interjected, putting an emphasis on the 's' sounding consonants in the word. "No! You are wrong! Master White Collar cannot be the culprit behind the ska– Miss Mura's demise!"
"Well then," Haruto glared at her. "Who do you propose it could be?"
"Is it not obvious?" Monohebi hissed. "It had to have been Mister Kingston! He murdered the ska– Miss Mura as an act of vengeance for attacking his half-sister!"
"But remember what Arthur testified," Mimi jumped in with a counterargument of her own.
"...It's as you deduced," Arthur softly spoke as he looked down with regret. "I stumbled onto the crime scene. The original crime scene at the Ultimate Heiress's Cell. Cassandra was dead on the floor. And Ina... she was hurt. She had fallen over the dining table and the wound she had... It looked fatal, but she was still alive."
He grimaced to himself.
"Cassandra was dead by the time Arthur found her," Mimi frowned. "Ina wasn't! That had to mean that someone else came by and killed her first! That someone had to have been White Collar!"
"And yet, can you also not say that Mister Kingston is simply lying about what he had discovered?" Monohebi perked her head. "Perhaps he discovered Miss Mura in the middle of the act and killed her to save his half-sister's life. You cannot discount that now, can you?!"
"But there's evidence of a fourth party being there at the scene," Abigail pointed out. "Holland proved that! The fourth party hid in the armored suits and then set the entrance on fire to make sure Arthur fell as the scapegoat of the crime!"
"And yet, did you not consider the fact that perhaps it was Mister Kingston who made the scene to look like that to throw everyone off-course?" Monohebi suggested.
"But the elevator proved he took the longer route!" Haruto glared at her. "Not only that, the candlesticks were found outside of Mayu's Cell! Not inside the Cell!"
"He could've easily taken the long route with the wine bottle and the candlesticks and then burned the entrance," Monohebi exclaimed. "You cannot deny that possibility either!"
"B-But that is idiotic," Arthur gave her a glare. "I wouldn't waste time like that at all! Besides, I took the longer route because there was a fire."
Holland expected that this wouldn't be an easy fight. With his accusation in order, they were no longer trying to accuse each other. They were now accusing the one in charge of this entire game. The mastermind. The Overseer. The head of the operation… Could they really do this…?
"Your arguments against my Master are pointless!" Monohebi felt her robotic nostrils flare in annoyance. "My Master would never stoop so low as to commit murder! That is against the rules after all!"
"Oh really?" Haruto glared. "And yet, your Master stooped low enough to make deals with his own victim! What was that all about, huh?!"
"Yeah, but he should've known I was never going to do it in the first place," Cassandra looked a little somber as she thought about the idiot that was Jared Caertas. "So, I betrayed him. In my selfish attempt to survive, I made a deal with White Collar…"
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"Deal?" he asked. "What deal?"
Cassandra glanced away. She was a little hesitant. Last time she told her deal, Jared went ahead and killed himself. What would happen this time?
"...If I killed Arthur Kingston, I would get to leave the game in a fixed Trial," Cassandra stated. "That was the condition of our deal."
"...What the fuck," Haruto muttered as he glanced up toward the camera that was watching them. He grew a little nervous. Was it really okay for her to just be spilling stuff like this to him?
"Impossible," Monohebi shook her head. "She made a deal with me. She simply said that to drag his name down the mud! Such skankish behavior from her!"
"This isn't fair!" Abigail glared at Monohebi. "We know the truth of this case! And yet you're intentionally hiding it from us! We know it was White Collar who killed Cassandra!"
"Oh really?" Monohebi hissed, her robotic eye glowing brighter. "Then tell me, Miss Ellsworth. If my Master really is the killer, then what is his motive?"
"W-Well, because she was bombing the entire facility, obviously!" Abigail deduced. "That would've been ample enough reason to kill her!"
"And yet, if that was his motive, then that would also mean Miss Mura would have already broken a rule, wouldn't she?" Monohebi feigned what seemed to be her hideous way of smirking.
"Which rule would she be breaking exactly?" Mimi perked her head.
Holland checked the Rules App and narrowed it down to one answer. Then, he glanced up with an answer in mind.
"The rule that Cassandra would've broken…" Holland began. "That rule was…
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…Rule #8."
Rule #8: Violence toward White Collar and Monohebi is strictly prohibited.
"A-Ah, Monohebi…" Mimi glanced toward the exposed robotic ligaments of Monohebi's face.
"Precisely!" Monohebi hissed. "Miss Mura had caused half of my face to become hideously deformed! That was an act of violence that can not be forgiven!"
"And yet, what's your argument here?" Haruto grumbled. "You're proving Abby's point. That gave White Collar reason! He killed Cassandra because she broke the fucking rules!"
"I will obey my Master!" Monohebi interjected with a hiss as both her jagged eye and exposed eye glinted crazily. "I am not done yet! Killing Miss Mura on behalf of what she did to me does sound like quite the dream come true, however! Please recall Rule #12!"
Rule #12?
That was…
Rule #12: Prisoners who violate these rules will be immediately punished by Monohebi.
"Only I can punish those who have broken the rules," Monohebi explained. "Master White Collar cannot. Therefore, Master White Collar cannot be Miss Mura's killer! It is simply unreasonable and untrue because he has no true motive to do so!"
"I…" Abigail tried to argue but Holland stopped her.
"...Monohebi's right," Holland stated.
"W-What?!" Abigail turned to him in shock.
"Bitch, don't tell me you're giving up already!" Haruto glared at Holland.
"...I'm not giving up," Holland shook his head. "White Collar has to be the true culprit behind the murders. But the fact that White Collar killed Cassandra because of the motive is untrue."
"But…" Mimi pouted.
"It is untrue because if that was really his true intention…" Arthur began. "White Collar would've ordered Monohebi to do it anyway. He would've caught her and forced Monohebi to execute her. There would have been no need to get his own hands dirty."
"See?!" Monohebi uncoiled herself and allowed her upper body to extend as an act of intimidation and showcasing her pride. "You understand! If White Collar truly had a motive to kill her, he would've ordered me to do it! It's as simple as that!"
Holland grimaced.
That was a good point.
If White Collar had a motive to kill her, using Monohebi would've been the safer option for him. But now knowing that it had to be him who was the killer, there had to be a reason why he didn't use Monohebi. A reason why he had to kill Cassandra. A reason why he…
Holland looked up determinedly.
No.
This was a moment to think about this one at a time. First off, why didn't White Collar use Monohebi?
"No," Holland shook his head. "There was a reason why White Collar didn't use you for the murder!"
"Oh really?!" Monohebi hissed. "And what would that reason have been?!"
"The reason why White Collar didn't use Monohebi," Holland prepared to battle. Come on Holland! Concentrate! Concentrate! Concentrate! "It was because…
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"No time!" Mimi blinked before realizing what he meant. "Y-You mean! Killing Cassandra was a crime of passion?!"
"Impossible!" Monohebi declared. "The only passion he has is for me!"
"What?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"...We know that White Collar is the only person who could've killed Cassandra," Holland stated. "However, we also know that White Collar's motive to kill her wasn't because of the rules. If he did, he would've simply restrained her and called Monohebi to arrive. But in the end, he still killed her anyway. Why?"
"Because Cassandra was getting ready to kill him and he fought back in self-defense?" Abigail folded her arms with a shrug. "That's what crime of passion means after all."
"Or… she was doing something he didn't like," Arthur realized. "Something that he needed to stop at all costs."
"Something that he needed to stop…" Haruto realized as well. "That something… That something is the motive, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Holland nodded. "The reason Cassandra was killed so suddenly without the need to wait for Monohebi had to have been because she was doing something he didn't want her to do…"
But what could that be?
He needed to think.
Cassandra was killed in the Ultimate Heiress's Cell by the bloody curtains. Now, what was near the bloody curtains? And why would she have been killed there…? Why would she have needed to be killed immediately because of what was there?
This time Haruto widened his eyes in realization.
Yes.
This had to be the motive. But the significance of this would also mean…
"The motive of why White Collar killed Cassandra by his own hands," Haruto began. "It's because he saw her doing something he didn't want her to do. He didn't want her…
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…to attach a bomb!"
"Attach a bomb?" Abigail blinked. "Which bomb are you talking about here?"
"Bomb #5," Haruto answered all too quickly.
"Eh?!" Mimi gasped. "But wasn't that the bomb that was used to blow Cassandra's body up!"
"It was, but I fail to see why that would come up," Arthur folded his arms. "The bomb was found on Cassandra's personage. Where she was trying to set that bomb up is a mystery."
"A mystery that both Abigail and I can solve," Haruto declared.
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"No… cease… cease…" Monohebi slowly began to mutter to herself.
Haruto knew the answer to this. Bomb #5 had an original purpose. And it was time to expose it. He just needed to answer a simple question: Where was Bomb #5 supposed to be placed?
"I think Cassandra had an idea on where she wanted this bomb to be placed," Haruto stated. "And that place was…
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…the elevator's back door!"
"H-H-Hisssssss!" Monohebi felt her tense straight body slowly wobble down like a robot's.
"...The elevator's back door?" Holland blinked. "How do you know she wanted it to be placed there?"
"Oh, I see!" Abigail gasped. "It's because of that!"
"There's also an imprint here on the back door of the room," Abigail revealed as she walked over to the other doors in the back of this square room.
"An imprint?" Haruto blinked, moving over to where she was.
Sure enough, she was right.
On the room's back door was a rectangular imprint. Though its mark was faded, it was still noticeable to anyone who had a keen eye for details. Don't know how an equestrian would have a keen eye for details but hey, it's Abigail and she's doing just fine! As for the rectangular imprint…
"Why is it here?" Haruto asked the most obvious question ever.
"Th-That's exactly what I want to know," Abigail furrowed her eyebrows. "But whatever it was, it had to be rectangular and strong enough to leave an imprint of it on the door…"
"There was a rectangular imprint on the elevator's back door," Abigail pointed out. "Haruto and I didn't know what it could've been because we really didn't have anything to compare it to. But thinking about it now, the answer should've been obvious. All the sticky bombs provided were rectangular!"
Arthur had pulled out five small, yet very heavy-duty looking sticky bombs. Each bomb, although they looked exactly the same from each other in terms of their rectangular shape, had only one difference in the form of labels: #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5, respectively.
"But now it makes sense," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "The imprint on the elevator's back door was actually where Bomb #5 was originally placed."
"But that's preposterous," Arthur blinked. "Bomb #5 was on Cassandra's personage when I found her! If that's the case…"
"...That means the series of events played out like this," Holland pointed a stare toward the nervous Monohebi, taking over from Haruto's deductions. "Cassandra attached a bomb to the back of the elevator. But while she did so, she was caught in the act by our culprit, White Collar. I imagine she probably didn't notice and White Collar merely hid out of view from the elevator. Once Cassandra finished attaching the bomb, she left the elevator. That's when White Collar attacked, striking her on the head with the mace and killing her. After that, he took the bomb off of where it was originally placed and handed it to Cassandra's body."
"Yep, makes sense to me," Haruto seemed rather content with Holland's deductions.
"M-Makes sense?!" Monohebi flicked her tongue. "Th-This is preposterous! You are wrong! You are wrong! You are very, very wrong!"
"And why do you say that?" Mimi frowned toward the snake.
"B-Because!" Monohebi hissed. "Y-You still haven't explained anything! Why would Miss Mura wish to attach the bomb to the back of the elevator in the first place?! She was just placing a bomb! Master White Collar wouldn't just kill her over something as trivial as that!"
"Please, she was trying to bomb the place," Abigail frowned. "That's plenty of motive to kill someone over."
"...But Monohebi does have a point," Holland pointed out. "You guys remember how White Collar was acting when Cassandra revealed she was going to bomb the place?"
What has she done?!" Monohebi hissed. "That skank! L-Look at what she has done to the door to the Dungeon! That door was locked for a reason!"
"It seems Miss Mura is putting good use to those bombs," White Collar mused, leaning against his cane.
"Master!" Monohebi turned to White Collar. "How can you remain unfazed by this?!"
"He was unfazed by most of what was happening," Mimi blinked.
"Exactly, meaning killing Cassandra because she was planting a few bombs couldn't be his motive to murder," Holland surmised. "But killing Cassandra as soon as possible because she was placing a bomb somewhere he didn't want her to, makes a lot more sense..."
"And that somewhere was the elevator's backdoor," Haruto nodded his head.
"I see," Arthur hummed in thought. "By killing her immediately, he avoids the risk of her pushing the trigger on the bomb and blowing up the elevator's back door."
"But it's just another bomb!" Monohebi declared. "Th-There's no reason for Master White Collar to kill over that!"
Just another bomb?
Holland wasn't sure about that.
They were on the right track. They just needed to get on with the pursuit. White Collar had to kill Cassandra because she placed the bomb on the elevator's back door. He made a point of taking the bomb off and handing it back to Cassandra after all, if what Arthur had said is to be believed.
So, there had to be a reason for it.
What was that reason?
What did White Collar kill Cassandra over…?
Holland noticed that someone had glanced up with slight determination after considering the facts over. He knew all too well what that face consisted of. Determination. Realization. And commitment to what she understood to be the truth.
She had figured it out.
The motive.
The reason why White Collar had to kill her.
The answer…
"No, it wasn't just another bomb…" Abigail placed her hands on her podium. "Holland's right. This was a bomb that forced White Collar to kill someone on his own accord. And I think this was a bomb that…
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…would reveal White Collar's personal office!"
"A-Agh!" Monohebi felt her visible glowing eye spark.
"No," White Collar shook his head. "Only I can go. All you can do is join the others in searching for those bombs."
"What?" Abigail narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" White Collar fixed his tie. "My own personal security system would be located in my own personal office."
He pointed the sharp end of his cane toward the two.
"And inviting you sinners there is not something I can allow…" White Collar's jagged red eye glinted.
Ignoring the fact that he's constantly invited Cassandra over for dinner for the past few days, White Collar made a solid point. His office was off-limits to them. After all, they were the participants of his little game and whatever he had in his office definitely would give them the advantage for them to leave scot-free.
And as he had said, there was no way, White Collar could allow that…
"P-Personal office?!" Mimi blinked. "Like… his base of operations?! Cassandra knew where it was?! B-But where was it?!"
"...Isn't it obvious?" Holland looked a little more determined now. He had flipped his hoodie over his head, his glazed eyes looking damn serious. "The secret hideout was hidden behind the elevator's back door. Specifically, when the elevator stops directly at Mayu's Cell."
"But how do you know that was where the entrance to White Collar's base of operations would be?" Arthur narrowed his eyes toward Holland.
"Because there was a piece of evidence that explained it all…" Holland revealed.
"A-Ah, are you talking about…?" Mimi slowly reached into her pockets. "Are you talking about…
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The first of the pieces of paper was a neatly tucked piece of paper covered in some blood but not completely drenched. Which was a relief cause that meant Holland and Mimi could easily see what was on it…
…A… drawing of a bunch of shapes, lines, and the only two letters of the alphabet being a B and an X.
More specifically, the entire piece of paper was enlisted with similar shapes. Squares, rectangles and one single hexagon, each of them on different sides. The letter B was placed directly on the end part where the shapes started to overlap and spread off. In fact, the placements of the shapes seemed to be like something from the hands of a clock. The X was located on a square farther than the others and every individual line that they could make out all grew out of this one X, like roots from a tree.
(Please look at image I drew if you're in my Discord server ;-;)
"What about that map proves your point?" Arthur folded his arms. "Unless… You're saying that it shows where the entrance to White Collar's base of operations is…"
"...That's exactly what I'm saying," Holland nodded his head. "On the map, you see a bunch of lines leading up to one point as well as buildings of every kind. But don't these buildings look kind of similar?"
"Hand me that map," Haruto ordered.
With a nod, Mimi passed the map along to the former basketball player. Once he received the map, he had a good time examining it before he also noted just how familiar this is. Just how… Huh. Where had he seen something like this before?
"Where did you find this?" Abigail glanced toward Holland and Mimi.
"It was one of the items found on Ina's personage," Mimi looked down. "We didn't know what this was but I think it's…"
"Holy fuck!" Haruto realized. "This is…
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…literally just the maps of the facility overlapping one another!"
"...that…" Mimi finished her thought.
"Wait, it is?" Abigail blinked. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Let me see!"
Another game of ring-around-the-rosy and finally, Abigail was the next one to receive the map. Then, comparatively, she checked the map on her eHandbook and then the map she was given. Slowly, her eyes widened.
"Y-You're right," she gasped. "B-But what are these letters? 'B' and 'X'?"
"...That's easy," Holland nodded. "'X' has to refer to...
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...White Collar's private office."
"Yeah, that's where the buried treasure would be if this was a treasure map!" Mimi concurred with Holland's deduction.
"A-And 'B'?" Abigail tilted her head.
"'B' is relatively obvious..." Holland began. "...'B' has to stand for...
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"In other words, the Basement floor," Arthur rubbed his chin. "In other words, this is a map depicting an overlay of both the Basement floor and the 1st floor, overlapping one another."
"Okay, but what are these lines leading up to this 'X'?" Abigail glanced at the lines, confusedly.
"...I'm not exactly sure but the lines are what helped me come to my conclusion about everything..." Holland rubbed his chin with uncertainty. "As you can see, all those lines end up in one place. That 'X' is located behind this square room, the elevator, which is connected to The Ultimate Heiress's Cell. In other words, this 'X' has to signify the location of White Collar's hideout!"
"P-Preposterous!" Monohebi declared. "Those lines are just scribbles! They mean nothing! You have no proof that they really are lines that lead to Master White Collar's hideout. In fact, the 'X' could very well mean something else! The fact of the matter is, you don't know what that map actually means! It could really be tree roots for all you know!"
"Or…" Haruto widened his eyes. "No way…"
"Haruto?" Mimi blinked.
"Fuck you Monohebi," the basketball player was hit with sudden realization. "Those aren't tree roots!"
"O-Oh?!" Monohebi shrunk back, nervously. "Th-Then what do you propose they are?!"
"I'll fucking tell ya!" Haruto folded his arms with a smirk. "Those lines on the map? They're actually…
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…tunnel holes!"
"T-Tunnel holes?" Mimi perked her head.
"W-Wait, tunnel holes?!" Abigail realized as well.
"W-What's this about tunnel holes?" Holland blinked.
"Ah that's right," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Holland and Mimi wouldn't know about this. Neither would Arthur. But Abigail would… and she should…"
"...Why?" Holland asked, genuinely confused.
"Because we investigated it one time," Abigail seriously stated after she had her 'ohhh' moment. "Back on the day you attempted your murder."
"W-What?" Holland blinked.
Yes.
She and Haruto both remembered it clearly. It was so long ago but finally, it was coming back. Coming back one last time to unveil its mystery. Coming back in the most unexpected way possible.
"N-No, no wait, Zuri is onto something here," Carter blinked as he examined the hole and the tunnel. "Th-There's two things we can probably theorize about this hole and the small-animal sized tunnel. One, if it was a rodent, it had to have dug in through an opening in order to make this tunnel. A-And if we follow this tunnel, we just might find a weak point in this facility's s-structure."
"If?" Jared blinked.
"Th-The other theory," Carter rubbed his chin. "Th-This was made by Monohebi."
"Oh!" Barracuda blinked. "I get it! Because snakes can dig holes!"
"A-And this tunnel seems to be a perfect size for Monohebi to s-slither through," Carter fixed his glasses. "S-So if M-Monohebi really does travel through this tunnel…"
"Th-Think about it," Carter continued. "Monohebi p-probably travels through these tunnels to get around the f-facility. And no doubt one possible location this tunnel m-may be connected… is…?"
Carter trailed off for the others to finish his thought process. Abigail was the first to respond with the most definite answer.
"...Wherever White Collar is hiding," Abigail narrowed her eyes. "I take back what I said, Zuri. This is definitely something to investigate further."
"Sweet," Haruto grinned as he menacingly cracked his knuckles. "Then that means we have a possible upper hand on that Satanic fucker."
"Ah, so those lines are actually tunnel holes that Monohebi use…" Mimi gasped.
"...To get to White Collar's private office," Arthur declared. "Which means…"
"...That Cassandra knew about this," Holland nodded. "That's why she placed a bomb on the elevator's back door. Because she knew that the elevator's back door was the only place to access White Collar's room!"
"Cease!" Monohebi declared, her eyes sparkling in near flames and oily sweat (no literally, it was oil) dripping from her scaly body. "Th-They are not tunnel holes! Th-There is no room behind that back elevator door! It was just a coincidence! A-After all, if her main goal was to bomb that specific elevator door in the first place, then why put bombs all over the facility?!"
"Well…" Abigail tried to answer.
But instantly she closed her mouth. She had to think about this. Why would Cassandra place the bombs around the facility if her only intention was to bomb the elevator's back door. If, to reiterate, her only intention was to reveal White Collar's secret room…
"...Isn't it obvious?" Arthur spoke up, folding his arms. "The reason Cassandra would bother to put bombs around the facility in the first place was…
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…to create a diversion! A classic in mysteries involving bombs!"
"So, you mean, Bomb #1, #2, #3, and #4…" Mimi blinked. "They were just distractions?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," Haruto nodded. "They had to be. They all had to be distractions from Bomb #4. While we fiddled with disarming the bombs…"
"...Cassandra was free to attach the last bomb to the elevator," Holland nodded.
"But wait, couldn't Cassandra have just prepared the bomb for the elevator late at night?" Abigail questioned. "I mean, she must've done the same for the first three bombs. Why not the elevator?"
"That's an easy question to answer," Arthur noted. "It must've been because of…
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…White Collar."
"Huh?" Abigail blinked.
"...If Cassandra had attached a bomb to the elevator's back door during the nighttime, she would've been caught in no time," Holland deduced. "After all, that elevator door would've taken her directly to White Collar's office. But by doing it in the middle of all this chaos, White Collar would've been distracted."
"Allowing her to place the bomb, undisturbed," Mimi understood. "I see!"
"But then, when White Collar suggested checking his personal office to look for her..." Haruto rubbed his chin. "That must've been when he discovered what she was doing. And that was when... he killed her!"
"...So how about it, Monohebi," Holland declared. "Does this answer your question? Admit it! White Collar killed Miss Mura and you're just covering for him!"
"N-No…" Monohebi began to sweat more and more. "Th-This is… untrue… S-So very very untrue!"
"I think we have our answer," Arthur sighed to himself. "It seems that my sister was not the true culprit of Cassandra's murder. That… is quite the relief."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we forgive you for that whole cover up shit," Haruto grumbled.
"In any case, where do you go from here?" Abigail frowned. "White Collar killed Cassandra so–"
"I will live for my Master!" Monohebi interjected. "You kids know nothing! Master White Collar is no killer! You say that the bombs were a diversion, but how?"
"What do you mean, how?" Abigail raised an eyebrow, a little unappreciative of how Monohebi had just interrupted her. "Cassandra just pushed the trigger and stuff."
"Impossible," Monohebi shook her head. "It is impossible for her to time everything accordingly, when she wasn't even there!"
"What are you talking about?" Mimi frowned. "She was there! She was on that livestream! The tablet was livestreaming what she was doing!"
"No, it wasn't," Arthur glanced away, sticking his hands in his pockets. "At least... I don't think a livestream was possible..."
"W-Wait, what?!" Mimi widened her eyes.
"...This USB drive came from this video camera," Arthur mumbled to himself, turning his attention to the camera functions. And as far as functions went, there was only one button on it: a red dot.
Record.
"...And all this video camera can do is record," Arthur continued to mumble. He turned his head toward the computer.
"I checked Carter's Cell during the Investigation," Arthur folded his arms this time as his face looked uncertain about what this all really meant. "The camera that Cassandra used to supposedly livestream... all it can really do is record."
"And there you have it!" Monohebi declared, her body getting tenser by the minute. "You all had ample time to check for yourself, did you all not? There is no livestream function on the camera! Therefore, how could Miss Mura have been able to time everything accordingly?! And as far as I know about the bombs... They weren't time bombs either!"
"...Yeah, she's right," Abigail confirmed, biting her lip.
"B-But then, how did Cassandra do it then?!" Mimi frowned. "If it wasn't a livestream then how did she do that?!"
She recalled the moment prior to the first bombing.
Cassandra didn't answer.
Instead, she just waved the trigger around, irresponsibly, looking quite weary, presumably from this onslaught of questions. Then, with a yawn she smirked at her peers through the monitor.
"What's that?" she cupped her ear, acting as if she didn't hear Haruto. "Was I not clear about my demands? How about I show a little demonstration, then?"
"W-Wait–" Abigail widened her eyes.
"A-Ah…" Mimi looked terrified as she watched Ina hold up the monitor with Cassandra's face on it.
Everyone could clearly see that Cassandra was raising up the trigger. Ina quickly turned toward the door with Bomb #1, with heightened emotions now.
"E-Everyone, get to cover!" Ina exclaimed, realizing what she was about to do.
No one needed to tell them twice. Instantly, as each of the six prisoners hid behind the Voting Chambers, they could hear it all too well now. The distant beeping coming from the door to the Dungeon.
"There was no way for her to time that explosion unless she really was there in person!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Precisely!" Monohebi seemed a little more confident now. "You understand the problem here, Miss De La Vega! If the video was not a livestream, then how did Miss Mura time the bombing of Bomb #1 or relatively any bomb, perfectly?!"
That… was a good point.
How on Earth did Cassandra pull that off?!
"Well, there's only one logical explanation to how she did it!" Mimi declared. "It was magic!"
"Fuck no," Haruto shook his head. "If we're assuming the livestream was just some video she prerecorded, then she was probably just hiding somewhere in the Auditorium. Like the Voting Chamber!"
"Incorrect!" Monohebi declared. "The Voting Chamber cannot be opened without clearance from me or Master White Collar!"
"Maybe she was hiding behind the Auditorium's stage curtain?" Abigail suggested.
"White Collar and Monohebi would've seen her," Arthur noted. "That's usually where they appear from anyway…"
"But then there are no other hiding places!" Mimi pouted. "It has to be some sort of magic trick!"
Holland rubbed his chin.
How did Cassandra do it? White Collar, Haruto, and Abigail all had confirmed that there was no livestream function with the Opinion Columnist's Cell. That meant that Cassandra had to be in the room in order to push the trigger… But at the same time…
"As you can see, if you cannot figure this out, then there is no case!" Monohebi declared. "That is just how the Prison Trial works! How dare you even try to consider that my poor Master would go and commit such a heinous act?!"
Think.
Think.
Think.
How did Cassandra do it? How could Cassandra time this correctly? Could she really have just been hiding in the room? Was it even possible for her to do that? Or was it…
Holland widened his eyes.
No…
No way…
This was…
"Fuck!" Haruto gritted his teeth. "At this rate, we're gonna lose this! What the fuck are we going to do?"
"...I don't think there's anything to worry about," Holland suddenly said as he glanced up toward Monohebi. "Because I figured out how Cassandra did it."
"Y-You what?" Monohebi started to hiss, irritated.
"H-How did she do it?!" Mimi gasped. "W-Was it magic?!"
"...No," Holland shook his head before looking rather confident. "It wasn't magic. It was nothing more than a simple misdirection."
"Misdirection?" Abigail blinked. "Come on. Cassandra wasn't some magician. How did she really do it?"
"Well…" Holland closed his eyes.
He was sure about this. This had to be the answer to how Cassandra did it. It had to be. And it was something that could very twist the Trial to its core.
"...The way she did it is simple… as I said," Holland began. "This is how Cassandra did it! She timed the bombing by…
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…using an accomplice!"
"A-Accomplice?!" Mimi widened her eyes.
"W-What?!" Abigail exclaimed.
"A-A-AGHHHHHHH!" Monohebi yelled and felt her exposed eye explode. She lowered her head to reveal that her eye had just taken damage. "N-No… I-Impossible…"
"Wh-Who the hell was the accomplice?!" Arthur widened his eyes. "I… W-Who on Earth would work with Cassandra of all people?!"
"Y-Yeah this doesn't make any damn sense!" Haruto was bewildered. "I mean… Do you even know who the accomplice is?!"
Holland paused for a moment, closing his eyes.
Did he know who it was?
He thought about it carefully.
He thought about the suspects. Thought about everyone it could've been. Thought about everyone's movements on the time prior to the bombing. The accomplice to Cassandra's plot. Could it be…?
He opened his eyes slowly.
There was only one person it could be.
One person that it could be. But if this was the case then… what did… This could change everything… right?
"The accomplice…" Holland sighed. "The accomplice is…
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"I-Ina?" Abigail blinked.
"Huh?" Mimi blinked.
"W-Wait…" Haruto blinked.
"H-Holland!" Arthur slammed his hand on his podium with a shocked expression on his face. "W-What on Earth are you talking about?! You're saying that the victim of this case, my sister, worked with the person who was trying to get me killed?! She would never do that!"
"...True, but when you take into account that Cassandra's real objective was to expose White Collar's secret base…" Holland folded his arms. "Suddenly, it doesn't seem so out there, does it…"
"E-Evidence!" Arthur declared. "Why don't you give me evidence that Ina was working with Cassandra? B-Because if you don't I–"
"...Why don't you think back to what happened when we first found Cassandra's supposed livestream?" Holland frowned.
Wordlessly, Ina stepped up and picked up the eHandbook, curiously. Tapping it, she opened the tablet up to reveal the answer to Abigail's question. Like every eHandbook, it first opened up with the name and personal information of its owner. Firstly:
Name: Cassandra Mura
Next:
Gender: Female
Ultimate Talent: Ultimate Scam Artist
Birth Date: November 2nd
Height: 5'6
Weight: 124 lbs
Blood Type: B
"...This is Cassandra's eHandbook," Ina muttered.
"...Who was it that first had Cassandra's eHandbook?" Holland questioned.
"I-Ina…" Mimi recalled.
"...Who was it that did most of the talking with Cassandra…?" Holland pressed.
"Ina…" Abigail realized.
"...Who had the eHandbook the entire time throughout all of that chaos?" Holland continued.
"Ina…" Arthur tightened his grip on his fist.
"B-But how on Earth does Miss Hamamura working with Miss Mura prove that she could've timed the bomb perfectly?" Monohebi hissed, looking absolutely desperate. "All that means is that she was working with the skank! It doesn't prove that Miss Mura could've blown up the bomb with perfect timing!"
"...No, it does," Holland nodded his head. "You just need a better imagination…"
"H-How dare you?!" Monohebi's eyes glowed bright like the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen.
Yes.
A better imagination is all that is needed to solve this mystery. Ina was Cassandra's accomplice throughout this entire bombing plot. But how did Cassandra and Ina work together? How did they pull off that perfect timing?
"Explain yourself Holland," Abigail frowned. "What should we be imagining? What's the answer?!"
"The answer…" Holland began. "The only way that Cassandra could've timed it perfectly with Ina as an accomplice is if…
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"G-Gahhhhhh!" Monohebi felt her exposed eye blow a fuse once again.
"W-What?!" Abigail widened her eyes as she shrunk back in shock.
"W-What?!" Arthur was taken aback by that revelation. "N-No, that doesn't make any sense! Cassandra should've been the one who had it, shouldn't she?"
"...But it makes more sense if Ina was the one who originally had it," Holland stated. "She was the one who originally made us think Cassandra's video was a livestream. By following along with whatever Cassandra was saying, it would've been easy to simply push the trigger whenever Cassandra said a key word or did it on the video!"
"Which means that Ina was pretty just following whatever the video Cassandra was doing," Haruto hummed in thought. "If anything, we can also assume that Ina might've also helped with the recording process as well."
"What do you mean?" Mimi blinked.
"Well, now that I think about it," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "There was something that hinted to the plot being done by two people since the very beginning."
"T-There was?" Mimi blinked.
"Yeah, don't you guys remember?" Haruto blinked. "It was…
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"Very well then, watch closely," Cassandra leaned back against her chair and pointed directly to the back of the wall.
Much to everyone's surprise, or at least those who were watching, the wall behind her began to change.
No longer was she in the Security Office, now she was in the Ultimate Fairytale Writer's Cell…?
Then her background switched again.
No longer was she in Mimi's Cell, now she was in the Laboratory…?
Then her background switched another time.
No longer was she in the Laboratory, now she was in Mineshaft…?
The background switched one more time.
No longer was she in the Mineshaft, she was in the Ultimate Revolutionary Cell…?
Now that last one was the most peculiar of them all.
"The backgrounds which told us which places had the bombs…" Abigail widened her eyes. "Aw crap. We were even at Carter's Cell. How did we not realize that she couldn't have changed the background if she was still on the screen with the green screen behind her?"
"...S-So..." Arthur gritted his teeth as he thought back to what he had found regarding the green screen functions.
"...Is this the only thing this computer can do?" Arthur questioned no one in particular. "Change what can be shown on the green screen?"
He checked around for the options.
But he found nothing.
In conclusion to his question…
Yes.
"...Everything on that computer had to be manually done," Arthur mumbled to himself. At the moment, he was relatively disturbed by what he was realizing all too quickly. "O-Of... bloody course..."
"...This means that Ina had been aware of Cassandra's plot since the very beginning," Holland deduced. "She was there to help set up the video!"
"Which means her role was to switch the backgrounds of the green screen?" Mimi looked surprised.
"While Cassandra got to chatting about her plan and acting like it was all live streamed," Abigail bit her thumb. "Which also means that during the bombings…"
"Cassandra's role was to place the bomb," Haruto stated. "And Ina's job was to distract all of us to make sure White Collar and Monohebi didn't go near the elevator. In fact, I'm willing to bet that originally, Cassandra had done the attachment job at the White Room and then moved the elevator down to the Ultimate Heiress's Cell."
"But this also means that all this time…" Mimi realized. "It was Ina who was blowing up the bombs?"
"B-But this doesn't make any sense!" Arthur folded his arms. "This… This doesn't make any sense! When I found Ina and Cassandra, it was Cassandra who had the trigger, not Ina!"
Arthur held her tightly for a moment and released her, making sure her blood didn't get on him as he walked over toward Cassandra. He loomed over her body with a dangerous, cold stare. This girl… This… She did this, didn't she? He noticed a handful of things on her:
Bomb #5.
The trigger.
Fate tempted him with candy.
"But remember who we're accusing here," Haruto seriously stated. "White Collar killed Cassandra. If Ina had walked in to find her body…"
"...White Collar would have also been responsible for Ina's death too," Holland nodded, following Haruto's logic.
"H-He… I-It was him…?" Arthur's expression slowly darkened.
"Impossible!" Monohebi hissed, baring her fangs and having her single exposed eye glowing bright. "If that was the case, then you are also saying that Ina would have also been the first person to discover Cassandra's body! Need I remind you what the criteria for discovery is?!"
"First three people to find the body, excluding the killer, will activate the Body Discovery Announcement," Abigail rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get it. It's been a big deal for the past few Trials now..."
"Exactly!" Monohebi hissed. "Therefore–"
"No, whatever you're going to say, is going to be fucking wrong," Haruto folded his arms. "Because I know for a fact Ina had to have been the first person to discover Cassandra's body..."
He remembered it clearly.
"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice echoed throughout the facility. "A body has been discovered. After a certain amount of time has passed, the Prison Trial will begin. That is all."
…
Time always seemed to freeze whenever this happened.
A body had been discovered.
Or rather, a bunch of body parts had been discovered skewed all across the White Room, staining the room with freshly sizzled and charred blood and corpses. Haruto felt sick to his stomach as he heard Abigail step in. As if she wasn't tired and slightly bruised up enough thanks to all those explosions, she had to follow a limping man and make sure that he didn't–
"Was that a second Body Discovery Announceme–" Abigail was about to say, her eyes looking incredulous. "A-A-Aghhhhh! W-What the fuck?!"
"When I found Cassandra's body," Haruto began. "Abigail hadn't even stepped into the room yet and the Body Discovery Announcement had already played. Meaning, I was the last person to find Cassandra's body."
"I can attest to that," Abigail nodded in confirmation. "But for a limping guy, Haruto does move pretty fast..."
"So that means, before Haruto, two other people discovered Cassandra's body," Mimi tapped her chin. "We know Arthur moved Cassandra's body. Which makes the last one…"
"...Ina," Holland nodded.
Everyone understood where this was going now. And he could see it all too clearly. Monohebi was currently shaking. Her literal oily sweat was seeping from her robotic body as her eyes started glinting out of fear.
"Th-Then…. Then…" Monohebi shook.
"Give it up Monohebi," Abigail folded her arms. "We know who the true culprit of both Ina and Cassandra's death now!"
"N-No…" Monohebi quietly stated.
"...The one who had a motive and the opportunity to kill Cassandra…" Holland nodded.
"And would've killed Ina as soon as she stumbled onto the scene…" Haruto folded his arms as well.
"It had to be him!" Mimi pumped her fists in determination.
"...White Collar," Arthur's eyes turned cold with anger. "...That fiend… It was him! White Collar!"
"G-G-Gaaaaah!" Monohebi yelled, allowing her exposed robotic eye to spark and blow a fuse. She thrusted her head into the air as she remained static for a few moments.
To think that the Trial would come to this.
To think that White Collar would've been the culprit of his own game.
In a way, it felt poetic.
In a way… it felt as if everything that had happened to them had finally paid off. Finally… The man who had imprisoned them in this game was finally going to get what was coming to him. He was finally going to pay for everything that he…
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"Hm…"
Huh?
"Hm… Hm… Hm… HmHmHmHmHm…" Monohebi started to chuckle as she lowered her head. Her face had taken quite the burns and beatings from all of those short circuiting-fuses in her semi-villainous breakdowns. She flicked her tongue with the best smirk she could muster for a snake… er… a scarred snake. "HmHmHmHmHm…"
"W-What… What are you laughing at?" Haruto clenched his fist.
"Yeah, it's… kind of creepy," Mimi stepped back from her podium uneasily.
"HmHmHmHm…" Monohebi continued to chuckle slightly before stopping and sighing to herself. "I apologize. You all seemed quite confident that it was my dear Master White Collar who was the true blackened of this crime. But… you forgot to account for one thing in your series of arguments…"
"...Huh?" Holland blinked. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Suppose Miss Hamamura and Miss Mura truly did work together," Monohebi summarized. "Supposedly their true goal truly was to expose the location of my Master's secret quarters. Supposedly, Master White Collar found out, killed Miss Mura, and when Miss Hamamura showed up, he killed her too…"
"You're just recounting everything that was said,'' Arthur looked at Monohebi with hatred in his eyes. "Where are you going with this?!"
"...Murder weapon, Mister Kingston," Monohebi stuck her tongue out. "Miss Mura was killed with a mace. But if that's the case, what was used to kill Miss Hamamura?"
Wait.
Hold on.
What?!
Holland was taken aback. He had been so caught up with the revelation that Ina and Cassandra had been working together that he had forgotten to consider what the murder weapon was!
"...C-Crap!" Holland realized too late. "W-We forgot to acknowledge the two puncture wounds on Ina's body...!"
"Well, couldn't it have been the mace as well?" Mimi lamely suggested. "I mean, the mace had pointy tips to it so..."
"No, but Ina died from impalement," Haruto shook his head, widening his eyes. "A mace is more for bludgeoning!"
"Then… the chandelier!" Mimi declared. "It was found on top of her after all!"
"...No, that was the thing that caused one of the puncture wounds," Holland shook his head. "We have to figure out what caused the first..."
"Besides..." Arthur shook his head. "When I arrived to do my deed, Ina didn't have the chandelier on top of her. She was already bleeding from a wound, so the deed had to have been done with something else."
"Then… what could the murder weapon have been?!" Abigail widened her eyes. "There's no other sharp things that could've been used!"
What other weapon could've been used to stab Ina? What other weapon could it have been? What else was sharp in the Ultimate Heiress's Cell that they didn't think of? What else was… Then, Holland widened his eyes.
"No… there was…" Holland blinked. "There was something that could've been used."
"Impossible!" Monohebi declared, hissing in frustration. "You heard Miss Ellsworth say it loud and clear! There were no other sharp objects that could have been used! The sword was untouched! The chandelier had yet to fall! What is this murder weapon you speak of…?!"
"You want to know so badly?" Holland narrowed his eyes. "Fine! I'll tell you!"
Monohebi bared her fangs.
Holland clenched his fist.
It came to this. The answer was obvious. He just had to think hard. This had to be the weapon that killed Ina and now, it was going to be the weapon to bring the Devil down to his knees!
"The murder weapon that was used to stab Ina…" Holland began. "It was…
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"W-What?" Abigail turned to Holland in shock.
"Huh?!" Mimi gasped.
"What the fuck?!" Haruto expressed his shock as well.
"A-Ah of bloody course!" Arthur realized it too late.
"G-G-Gaaaaahhh!" Monohebi yelped as she felt her exposed glowing eye blow another fuse.
"...At the scene of the crime, there was only one other sharp object that could've been used to stab Ina," Holland explained. "While there was a sword, there was no evidence of it being used, the chandelier was a one-time deal, and the mace is a bludgeoning weapon. But there was one other weapon that could be considered if we consider White Collar to be the killer of this case."
Holland then pointed his finger toward Monohebi.
"And it has to be White Collar's cane…" Holland declared. "...Because we've seen it countless times!"
"H-How could you?" Zuri turned to White Collar, tears forming in her eyes. "H-How could you do that to someone? H-How could you just kill them like that? H-How could you be so evil?"
"Evil?" White Collar asked, perked his head before leaning over Zuri with a rather intimidating sinister look. His mask wasn't grinning anymore. It was downright serious. "Miss Auraline… Do you truly understand the questions you are asking here?"
Zuri stumbled back at how close he was. Especially with a sharp cane like that, she worried that perhaps he was ready to hurt her.
"...That was a rather entertaining show now, wasn't it?" White Collar turned to the rest of the prisoners, who couldn't be bothered to give him any dirty looks. They were all too distracted with the outcome of Haruto's leg. "But if you're going to give me a show, you must remember the safety precautions…"
White Collar walked over to Haruto as he spat blood on the floor.
"F-Fuck… you…" Haruto tried to glare. But as soon as he did, White Collar pushed his cane directly on the broken tibia protruding from his leg. "A-AGHHHHHHH!"
"Stop that!" Jared was about to push White Collar aside before the man in the devil's mask pointed the sharp end of his cane directly at Jared's chin, forcing the cane to lean at an angle as he planted it firmly on the bone.
"You are certainly a true member of the Mashiro family," White Collar laughed. "How unlike you Miss Mashiro. I mean, to think the great Ultimate Heiress would grovel and beg someone to end the life of her own Grandfather! Doesn't that sound familiar? It should. You were the one who plainly stated that every member of the Mashiro family is a peasant who would grovel and beg to get what they wanted. And yet here you are, doing exactly that."
White Collar glowered over Mayu with a hideous grin. He lifted up her chin with the sharp tip of his cane.
"You know what we call that in this dying world?" White Collar asked Mayu before he started to let out a quiet growly whisper. "A hypocrite."
Arthur widened his eyes.
He knew all too well what Holland was talking about. Because he had experienced that same sprite right during the Investigation as well!
"I didn't think so," White Collar turned back to Arthur and stood tall.
Holding up his cane and placing the sharp end of the cane underneath the snowboarder's chin, his grin shifted into a toothy frown. His voice started to growl, and his eyes glowed a bright burning shade of red.
"Let this be known, Mister Kingston…" White Collar leaned forward, his surging wrath radiating off from his mask. "Throughout this entire Killing Game, you got lucky. But even the luckiest of Lucky Students will run out of luck. And when that happens, I'll be there to watch you perish…"
"White Collar's cane is sharp enough to stab someone with!" Holland explained.
"He also carries that thing around with him all the time!" Haruto grinned.
"And he would've undoubtedly had it with him when he killed Cassandra…" Holland nodded. "He probably dropped the mace once he finished doing the deed but that was when Ina walked in. Once she saw what he had done, he had to kill her too… with the only weapon he could use at the time! His own cane!"
"N-No… No!" Monohebi exclaimed. "You are all wrong! Master White Collar didn't kill anybody! If… If you truly believe that he used his own beloved cane as a murder weapon, then supply me evidence!"
"Evidence?" Holland blinked. "Evidence of what? That he used it?"
"Precisely!" Monohebi flicked her tongue out. "If you recall, Master White Collar had met up with you once you all had discovered Miss Hamamura's corpse! And if you say that he used his own cane as a murder weapon, then surely someone would've noticed it…"
"Noticed what?" Mimi perked her head.
"Blood…" Abigail grimaced. "Monohebi's right. Haruto and I never met up with White Collar afterward but if White Collar did stab Ina, there should've been traces of blood on his cane. But so far, no one's mentioned it..."
"Well, that's because there was no blood on the cane..." Arthur grimaced.
"Exactly!" Monohebi hissed. "Therefore! Master White Collar's cane was not the murder weapon!"
"...No, it had to be," Holland frowned. "White Collar could've easily cleaned it."
"Oh, and do you have evidence of that as well?!" Monohebi stuck her tongue out. "Do you even know what he could've cleaned his cane with?!"
That answer should've been easy as well. They've all seen some hint of it whenever they would look at White Collar. Yes. It had to be!
"I do know…" Holland nodded. "It had to have been…
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"Handkerchief?" Mimi blinked before realizing. "Oh yeah! He does have a handkerchief tucked in his chest pocket, doesn't he?!"
"...Yes, he does, and not only that…" Holland nodded with confidence.
"Dead, apparently."
The three individuals and the snake turned to see White Collar walk in with a less than displeased expression on his face. Tucking his handkerchief into his shirt pocket, White Collar allowed his cane to stabilize his walking speed as he approached the group. Naturally, the moment he walked in, minded his step, and kicked pieces of glass away, Monohebi gasped and turned away from him.
"N-No!" Monohebi gasped. "D-Don't look at me, Master! I'm… I'm hideous!"
"He tucked his handkerchief in front of us," Holland declared.
"A-Ah!" Monohebi felt her eyes start to glow and spark.
"Which means that if we're not mistaken…" Haruto grinned. "White Collar should have a blood-stained handkerchief right in his chest pocket!"
"N-No!" Monohebi exclaimed. "H-He… would've disposed of it somewhere! H-He would've…"
"How could he?" Arthur folded his arms. "He was present throughout the investigation. And as far as I'm concerned, we don't really have a trash disposal unit in this prison. So, there is quite literally no place for him to throw it anywhere without it being found."
"H-How about the fire?!" Monohebi desperately pointed out.
"The fire was long put out by the time he arrived," Abigail shook her head, looking at her with a smirk. "Give it up Monohebi! Bring out White Collar right now! He killed both Cassandra and Ina! It's over!"
"N-No… N-No… N-No…." Monohebi started to shake as more of her literal oily sweat started to seep off of her robotic body. "N-No… NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo!"
Monohebi shook her head until finally her eyes started to catch on fire.
"A-Agh… a-agh… my eyes!" Monohebi screamed. "MyY... EyES! M-Master White Collar! It's n-OT TrUE! H-He's n-OT the k-killer! H-He's… He's… A-A-A-A-AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The little bursts of flames shot out of her eyes and mouth as her entire body started to twitch and malfunction. Electric sparks could be seen flying out of her visible robotic armor. Her entire body started to spasm as her screams started to switch back and forth from robotic to human and then into a mashup of both. Smoke also came out of some parts of her torn body as well.
And then finally, the fire stopped. The small smokescreen cleared. The electrical wiring in her stopped spewing out sparks. And her eyes, at first remained gray for a few minutes, before reverting back to their usual reddish glow. But her body was weak. She couldn't raise her body anymore until finally she slowly rested her body onto her belly.
"H-He… M-Master… W-WhItE… CoLLar..rrr…." Monohebi's voice had now become that blend of robot and human.
And yet, even with all the damage she sustained, the only thing she could think about was him:
"...M-My… MAstEr…rr…" Monohebi's body spasmed slightly.
…
"Poor sweet Monohebi…"
The remaining five prisoners froze.
That voice.
For the first time ever, he was here. For the first time ever, he appeared right in the middle of a Trial. His voice never seemed to disappoint just how intimidated the prisoners often felt at his presence. Listening for the taps of his shoes and the clank of his cane, for the first time, they saw him.
White Collar slowly approached the throne that Monohebi had been seated on and stood right next to her with that sinister-looking grin of his. The snake herself tried to look at him but was too damaged to even pick her head up.
"M-MaSTerrrrr… m-my b-boDY…." Monohebi's glitching voice stated.
"Shhh… allow me to take it from here," White Collar placed a finger over his masked grin.
"B-BuT… th-theeeyyy… arrre acccussING you of…" Monohebi tried to muster out but the man in the Devil's mask placed a finger over her lips.
"I know they are," White Collar chuckled sinisterly. "And you've done wonderful so far. But please, allow me to take it from here."
"I don't think you should be laughing now, Chuckles," Haruto grinned, cracking his knuckles. "We got you! You're the one who killed Cassandra and Ina! Just admit it!"
White Collar perked his head with a never-changing grin.
He stood by his throne, never moving Monohebi from it, knowing full-well she needed it more than he did. Nevertheless, he rested his elbow on his cane and rubbed his mask's chin as he hummed in thought.
"Hmm, very well then," White Collar considered his options for a moment before nodding. "I will admit it. Yes. It was me. I killed Miss Mura."
"M-MASteeeeRR…!" Monohebi spoke out in shock but was unable to pick up her head.
"Yeah, fuck you, we got evide– Wait what?" Haruto was surprised by what White Collar had stated.
"Y-You're… admitting it?" Abigail blinked.
"Huh, but then…" Mimi was surprised as well.
"Why are you surprised?" White Collar seemed amused before extending his arms out as if he were on the cross. "Just because I'm the Devil doesn't mean I can't play fair. Yes! You were all correct! I was the one who killed Miss Mura! Congratulations! You got that all figured out!"
"...So, does that mean…" Holland began.
"Precisely," White Collar nodded. "Your deductions were spot on, Mister Delaney. When I had left to go to my private office, I caught Miss Mura in the act. Almost all too quickly, I knew exactly what she had really planned to do. I should've expected it. After all, our last supper hinted that sooner or later, someone was going to betray someone... But after she had planted the bomb, I supposed she was supposed to meet up with Miss Hamamura at the Ultimate Heiress's Cell. Just to make sure Miss Hamamura didn't… you know, blow Miss Mura up before she could even attach it."
"But change of plans," Abigail frowned. "You took a mace and as soon as she left the elevator, you struck her on the head!"
"Precisely," White Collar nodded. "I hid to the side of the elevator's entrance and prepared to strike as soon as she left. Once she did, well… you know the rest."
"But then my sister came in and then you had no choice but to stab her with your cane!" Arthur glared at him.
"Yes, that was unfortunate," White Collar sighed. "I had removed the bomb from the elevator's back door, but she stumbled onto the scene. I had to stab her with my cane and retrieve the trigger from her at all costs. It was my life at stake."
"And then once you did…" Holland began. "You simply planted the trigger onto Cassandra and hid in the suit of armor? Why?"
"Well, why else?" White Collar shrugged before grinning. "Because the bombs exploded! And given Cell Block E's hallway is a straight line toward the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, I had to hide regardless! It would've been chaos! And within the chaos, I didn't want to have to force myself to kill a third person…"
"Then Arthur came in and then you knew what exactly you had to do next," Abigail frowned.
"Precisely," White Collar chuckled. "Once Mister Kingston arrived, he moved the body and took the bomb and trigger with him. I didn't know what he was planning to do at the time but it sure helped hide my crime…"
"So, that's when you decided to pin the crime on him instead!" Haruto glared at him. "And you did it by starting the fire at the entrance of Mayu's Cell! In an effort to try to get some people to catch him leaving Cell Block C."
"But... it didn't work," Abigail deadpanned.
"It was worth a shot," White Collar hummed, shrugging. "Although I do run a Killing Game, it is harder than it looks to do the actual killing. So I commend you all for your participation in this Killing Game. Only sinners like you could do something so hard and yet so thrilling for you at the same time!"
"E-Er… was that an insult or a compliment?" Mimi was having trouble determining that question.
"Who cares!" Haruto glared. "This bastard admitted to killing Cassandra and Ina! Let's vote his ass and end this fucking Killing Game! Monohebi's all fucked up and now, he's fucked too!"
"...Hold on, Haruto," Holland frowned. "There's… more to this…"
"H-Huh?" Haruto blinked.
"What are you talking about?" Mimi blinked. "He confessed–"
"To Miss Mura's murder," White Collar chuckled. "How attentive you are, Mister Delaney. As expected of the Ultimate Game Designer. But… remember the rules of a Double Murder Trial?"
"That is correct," Monohebi nodded her head. "As such, it is also important for me to go over the rules regarding Double Murder Trials before we begin with the usual questions. The rules of the Double Murder Case are as follows: Your goal is to figure out who killed the first victim of this case. The second victim is entirely optional and up to you to solve if you feel like it. But please, don't waste too much time figuring out who the killer for the second victim is. Killers of any secondary victim will not be executed in these Trials."
"And only the victim who was discovered first, matters, right?" Mimi questioned.
"Yeah yeah, victim who was discovered first matters," Abigail rolled her eyes. "We discovered Ina first. But you killed her, so what's the point?"
"...The point is, White Collar is saying he didn't kill her," Holland grimaced.
"W-What?" Abigail blinked.
"Huh?" Haruto clenched his fist.
"But that's obviously a lie!" Mimi pouted. "White Collar stabbed her with his cane! He said so himself! In fact, he should even have the handkerchief with the blood to prove it!"
"Hmph," White Collar chuckled. "I do."
White Collar took out the handkerchief in question, revealing the smear of blood that had been wiped onto it. Pointing to it excitedly, Mimi gave a small smirk.
"See!" Mimi declared. "That's evidence that he killed Ina!"
"But do remember what Mister Kingston said after he confessed his little tampering with the evidence deed," White Collar placed a finger over his mouth.
"...It's as you deduced," Arthur softly spoke as he looked down with regret. "I stumbled onto the crime scene. The original crime scene at the Ultimate Heiress's Cell. Cassandra was dead on the floor. And Ina... she was hurt. She had fallen over the dining table and the wound she had... It looked fatal, but she was still alive."
He grimaced to himself.
"Miss Hamamura was still alive," White Collar stated.
"Ha," Abigail scoffed. "Is that really your argument? Ina could've bled to death. That would still make you the killer!"
"And yet, remember the Autopsy Report as well?" White Collar perked his head with a grin.
"Well, the Autopsy Report said that Ina died of an impalement– Wait," Mimi had taken out her eHandbook to read it but was caught off guard by the information she had just read out loud.
"Precisely," White Collar grinned. "But it never said anything about dying from a stab wound, now did it?"
"...No, it mentioned two puncture wounds," Holland muttered. "One would've been from…"
"My cane yes," White Collar nodded. "And the other…?"
"…the chandelier," Holland frowned.
"Good deduction," White Collar pointed the sharp end of his murder weapon toward the prisoners. "In other words…"
"The real murder weapon that killed Ina was… the chandelier?" Mimi blinked. "But I thought..."
"Well, remember what Mister Kingston also said…" White Collar continued.
"Then… the chandelier!" Mimi declared. "It was found on top of her after all!"
"...No, that was the thing that caused one of the puncture wounds," Holland shook his head. "We have to figure out what caused the first..."
"Besides..." Arthur shook his head. "When I arrived to do my deed, Ina didn't have the chandelier on top of her. She was already bleeding from a wound, so the deed had to have been done with something else."
"The chandelier wasn't on top of her at the time," Abigail blinked. "Which means that…"
"Whoever caused the chandelier to fall, is the true blackened of this case!" White Collar extended his arms as he so graciously gave them assistance in their Trial.
"Bitch!" Haruto glared at the masked man. "It would have still been you! Once you got out of your fucking knight cosplay, all you had to do was knock down the chandelier and shit!"
"And why would I do that?" White Collar rubbed his chin. "Bothering to secure a second death and painting myself as the culprit would be too much effort if I was trying too hard to make sure Mister Kingston had to take the longer route, yes?"
"...He's right," Holland frowned. "There's no reason for White Collar to secure a kill like that. And even if he wanted to, he could've just stabbed her again or something."
"But he didn't," Abigail shook his head. "There were only two puncture wounds. One from his cane and the other from the chandelier."
"Shit, so we seriously have to figure out who knocked the chandelier down?!" Haruto widened his eyes. "How the fuck are we supposed to know that?!"
"I… I… don't know!" Mimi pouted as she tried to think.
How on Earth were they supposed to solve this now? There was no way it could've been White Collar. There was no evidence pointing to him being the one who dropped the chandelier on Ina's body. There was no reason, there was no evidence… there was no way it…
Holland's heart slowly sank.
No.
There was a way.
"Was there any way the chandelier could've been knocked down?" Abigail questioned. "I mean, if he didn't do it manually then how did…"
"...I know how the chandelier was knocked down," Holland grimaced.
"Holland?" Mimi blinked before noticing his expression. "W-What's wrong?"
Holland looked down.
After all their hard work, it came to this, did it?
"...I think I figured out the truth behind this case," Holland said. "I think I know… who the true culprit of Ina's murder is."
"And it's not White Collar?" Haruto looked worried for a moment.
"H-How could it not be?!" Arthur exclaimed. "He stabbed my sister!"
Holland remained silent.
He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't believe the conclusion he had reached.
The answer…
The answer at hand…
"Look, Holland, whatever it is, please tell us," Abigail frowned. "How was the chandelier knocked down?"
"...The chandelier was knocked down…" Holland began, as he stuttered slightly. "It was knocked down…
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…by accident."
"By accident?" Abigail looked a little bewildered. "So, the fire wasn't an accident, but the chandelier was?"
"How did it fall?!" Haruto exclaimed. "What even caused it to fall anyway?!"
Yes. That was the question. Holland had a good feeling on what the answer to that question was. But despite having that good feeling, it didn't mean he was all happy about what he was about to say.
"There's only one way it could've fallen," Holland began. "It could've fallen…
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…because of the explosion."
"The explosion?" Mimi blinked.
"W-What are you talking about?" Arthur widened his eyes.
"You know who the culprit behind this case is, Mister Delaney," White Collar grinned. "No need to hesitate. Just say it…"
"...The true culprit behind Ina's murder," Holland gritted his teeth. He hated that White Collar was right. He hated that he was pretty much doing this under his orders. He hated the conclusion he was about to reach. "It was…
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…you, Arthur."
"W-WHAT?!" Abigail turned to Arthur in shock.
"Hold the fuck on, what the hell are you talking about?!" Haruto widened his eyes.
"A-Arthur killed his own half-sister?!" Mimi exclaimed.
"N-No…" Arthur looked lost. "W-What… This has to be a joke, right? I… I didn't kill Ina. I had no motive to kill Ina! What kind of game are you trying to pull here Holland?!"
"...It's not a game," Holland sighed bitterly. "Arthur. Remember. The true murder weapon wasn't White Collar's cane, it was the chandelier. And as you said it yourself during the Investigation, the chandelier was…"
"...Although I wouldn't conclude anything just yet until during the Trial, I think it's very possible," Holland responded to the former witch girl. "Given with… y'know…"
He gestured to Ina's corpse being buried underneath the chandelier.
"...Ina did mention something about the chandelier's unstable…" Arthur spoke up glumly after not speaking for a while. Keeping his hands inside his pockets as he closed his eyes in anguish, he tried hard not to let anymore tears spill from his eyes as he remembered that small little tidbit.
"...It wasn't stable," Abigail recalled before turning to Arthur. "So, in other words…"
"N-No…" Arthur couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"It just snapped off…" Haruto deduced.
"N-No…" Arthur started to shake.
"W-Which explosion did it?" Mimi blinked. "Which explosion caused the chandelier to fall on…"
"The only one it could be…" Holland turned to Arthur. "It was the explosion that belonged to…
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…Bomb #5."
The room went dead silent.
The conclusion that they had reached. They were so close. Abigail, Mimi, Haruto, and Holland all looked crestfallen with the conclusion at hand. But no one was more dead quiet and silent than Arthur Kingston. He said nothing as his expression darkened. He said nothing. Or rather, nothing came out of his open mouth.
Nothing.
Not even a single word to counter the amused look on White Collar's face regarding this turn of events.
Not a word…
Until…
"...I'm sorry Arthur," Holland apologized. "You had the trigger at the time. When you blew up Bomb #5 to cover up what really caused Cassandra's death… you unknowingly also caused Ina's death too. Because if you remember…"
"A-Ah, I see!" Mimi widened her eyes. "Cell Block E and Cell Block C… The White Room and… Mayu's Ultimate Cell… they're directly on top of each other! That's how the elevator connects to the White Room and Mayu's Cell!"
"...Meaning, Ina had a much shorter route to go and kill Cassandra," Holland concluded. "Because all Ina had to do was go through the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, find the elevator, and go directly up toward the White Room!"
"...The White Room and Ultimate Heiress's Cell are directly on top of each other," Haruto concluded. "And the bombs blast radius is damn fucking big too."
…
BOOM!
…
With its signature bright light and destructive noise and power, Haruto and Abigail felt the entirety of Cell Block S shake and tremble. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling as small pebbles aggressively flutter down to the ground. The harsh blast wind knocked the two onto the ground of the hallway of Cell Block S.
And seeing cracks start to form from the ceiling… both Haruto and Abigail knew they were about to be royally fucked…
"...So, because Arthur pressed the trigger to Bomb #5," Abigail frowned. "The bomb blew up as expected and caused the Ultimate Heiress's Cell to shake."
It didn't take long for the sprinklers to start activating, effectively yet slowly putting out the fire. And just like Abigail and Haruto, they too heard that loud noise and even noticed the tremors on the ceiling. For a moment, everyone had tensed up, fearful that the entire ceiling was going to cave away and crush them all.
"W-What was that?" Mimi asked precariously.
"I… I don't know," Arthur took out his hands from his pants pockets and rubbed the side of his chest. He turned to Monohebi. "H-How much longer till…"
"Do you think I can control the water pressure of sprinklers, Mister Kingston?" Monohebi sighed, her single exposed eye flashing. "Putting out a fire takes time. And you need to wait for the carbon dioxide to evaporate in the air–"
…
CRASH!
…
"W-What was that?!" Mimi asked, this time with more fear.
"...Which then caused the chandelier to snap and fall…" Mimi covered her mouth. "And kill Ina…?"
Everyone turned to Arthur.
This was the conclusion that they had reached. The snowboarder himself hadn't said a word after they had come this far. And clearly, no one was really happy with what they were saying. No one except a man in a Devil's mask, who felt it funny to taunt him.
"...What do you have to say about that?" White Collar placed a finger over his masked grin. "...Mister Arthur Kingston…"
"A…A…" Arthur tried to form something.
Anything.
But he felt his body tense up. His headaches returned. And suddenly, he started to hold onto his head as his mind wallowed with every sign of grief imaginable. But nothing was more apparent than the number one type of grief in his expression right now: Despair.
"A… A…" Arthur tried to say.
Then, he let it out.
...
"A-A-A-AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
Act 1: The case began in the early morning of the day of the crime. Cassandra and Ina had banded together with an insane plan: to expose White Collar's secret private offices in order to take down White Collar and his Killing Game.
Act 2: To do so, they needed to prepare. So together, Cassandra and Ina had taken the five bombs from the Mukuro Ikusaba Evidence Box and planted them all around the facility.
Act 3: Bomb #1 was planted on the door to the Dungeon. Bomb #2 was planted on the tree in the Ultimate Fairytale Writer's Cell. Bomb #3 was planted on the window to the Laboratory's Testing Grounds. Bomb #4 was planted on the Grinder to the Mineshaft. Bomb #5 however, was kept by Cassandra.
Act 4: But for the bombs that were planted... they were meant to be used as a distraction from Cassandra and Ina's true plan. So, in order to make sure their plan continued to remain a secret, Cassandra made sure to pre-record herself declaring that she was going to hold the entire facility hostage, using the motive to kill our culprit as her cover story, in the Ultimate Opinion Columnist's Cell.
Act 5: While Cassandra would've been the star of the video, Ina would've been by the computer, switching the green screen's backgrounds to showcase where the five bombs had been placed. For extra effect, Cassandra showcased the trigger every once in a while, and Bomb #5 was falsely showcased to be in Ina's Ultimate Cell.
Act 6: Once they had the USB stick prepared, all that was needed was for the USB stick to be placed into Cassandra's eHandbook and left at the Auditorium's stage to be picked up and found. Planting the eHandbook was definitely Cassandra's job and meant for Ina to specifically find herself.
Act 7: The next trick at hand was to play off the video that Cassandra had pre-recorded as a livestream. In order to do this, Ina was given the trigger and was supposed to activate the bombs whenever Cassandra in the video declared she was going to do so. Ina was in charge of instilling the ploy that this was all a livestream by being the one to answer the questions and speak to Cassandra in the video.
Act 8: And as expected, once Bomb #1 was set off, White Collar and Monohebi, or rather just Monohebi, went into a frenzy, ordering everyone to separate and deactivate the bombs. And while they did that…
Act 9: Cassandra would've been at the location where Bomb #5 was intended to be placed: the hidden elevator. The hidden elevator could only be accessed once someone beat the TreasureHunter game in the Ultimate Game Designer's Cell. The one who had to have played the game was Cassandra, meaning she was the original owner of the cheat sheet.
Act 10: The reason the elevator was chosen was because Cassandra knew that the elevator had another door that led straight to White Collar's room. However, as she was unable to access it freely, she needed a bomb to blow the door wide open. That was where Bomb #5 was supposed to come in.
Act 11: However, White Collar had separated from Haruto and Abigail with the intention of going to his private quarters to search for Cassandra via the security camera. As Cassandra had attached the bomb to the elevator and moved the elevator to the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, White Collar, caught her and armed with the mace, attacked, striking Cassandra on the head and killing her.
Act 12: While this happened, Ina continued to blow up both Bombs #2, #3, and #4 according to Cassandra's command. And once our culprit and Monohebi were effectively knocked out by the Laboratory's Bomb #3, that was how Ina was able to go to the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, semi-undetected.
Act 13: However, once Ina walked into the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, she was taken aback by what she had found: Cassandra's body, making her the first person to discover Cassandra's body. This gave White Collar the perfect opportunity to sneak up behind her and… stab her with the sharp end of his cane.
Act 14: Once, he had stabbed her, White Collar made sure to give the trigger that Ina had and the previously attached Bomb #5 to the deceased Cassandra. Knowing that people would arrive, he also hid himself inside the suit of armors. That was when the culprit arrived.
Act 15: Having woken up from the shock of the blast, the culprit had arrived at the scene of the crime in shock. However, they also discovered that his sister was still alive. Noticing Cassandra's dead body, the culprit came to the conclusion that their half-sister was the true culprit behind the case. And they knew that if Ina survived, she would be executed, so they took it upon himself to alter the crime scene to save her.
Act 16: With the elevator still in Mayu's Cell, the blackened carried Cassandra's corpse up to the White Room and placed her there. They had also taken the trigger and Bomb #5 with him too. Once they successfully moved the body, they headed back down. However, unbeknownst to them, once they had ascended up to the White Room...
Act 17: White Collar had taken this chance to leave the scene of the crime, taking off the suit of armor and preparing his grand exit. He took a bottle of wine and candlestick and once he left the room, he set the intersection leading to all of the other Cells on fire. The reason he did this was to force the culprit to go the alternative longer route at Cell Block C with the hopes that someone would see them.
Act 18: …While no one actually did, going the alternative longer route is exactly what the culprit did. However, before the culprit had left, he had taken the trigger and the key with him and planted Bomb #5 onto Cassandra's body.
Act 19: Once the culprit left, all that was left to do was hide the evidence of what they thought was Ina's crime. Once they regrouped with Holland, Mimi, and Monohebi... with Bomb #5 on Cassandra's body and trigger in hand, they pushed the button as everyone was distracted by the fire that had previously blocked their escape route, effectively blowing Cassandra's body up and hiding her Cause of Death.
Act 20: However, this act was what caused the culprit's downfall. Because the White Room was directly above the Ultimate Heiress's Cell, the vibration of the explosion caused the unstable chandelier to fall and impale Ina. This was what really killed Ina
In the end, White Collar had played all of us. Ina and Cassandra tried to beat him at his own game and failed and as a result, two more lives, soon three, have been lost. The killer of the first one discovered, Ina Hamamura, was shockingly her own half-brother, Arthur Kingston, the Ultimate Snowboarder!
And here we go! The conclusion and answers to Chapter 5's crazy and relatively messy Trial! While editing this wasn't as aggravatingly horrible as Trial Part 1, it feels a little messy but at the same time, hey, there should be fun and great moments to make up for everything right?! Jesus Christ, Chapter 5 Trials be difficult! I hate to see how Chapter 6 goes hahahaa XD
Either case, I have to say, a lot of you guys figured out the main meat of the case :0 Which was very great to hear and also very scary. Cause instead of, "Oh man, is my Trial too hard and doesn't make sense?" it became "Oh man, is my Trial too easy?!" Well, no one caught the subtle detail that Arthur could have been responsible for moving the body so that's a plus. But seriously, everyone's theories were really spot on and I was definitely pleased that y'all were able to solve some parts of this case! :D
Regardless, I doubt Chapter 5 Trial is as good as Chapter 3 or 4's hahahaha XD But if you guys liked it, do let me know :D
I wouldn't even say this Trial had a big, big twist like the others as I focused more on the narrative aspect of it? Definitely a highlight for this case for me is the Monohebi showdown to which she gets her own Trial battle theme :DD
Hope you guys enjoyed this Trial!
We still have one more chapter before Chapter 5 inevitably ends and I get one step closer to finishing this damn story XE Did you guys like the Trial? Did you guys like this chapter? Let me know! I always love hearing your opinions about everything! :D
Until then, the Epilogue is coming soon :D
Prisoners Remaining: 5
Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [1,000,000]
Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [0]
Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101) [0]
Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi) [1,000,000]
Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]