Chapter 5: Saviour of the Damned (Deadly Life #4)
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!
"Psst."
Ina widened her eyes and turned around.
Once her eyes met those of Cassandra Mura, she sighed in relief.
"Oh, it is you," Ina stated.
Hauling the Mukuro Ikusaba Evidence Box in her arms, Ina had promised that she would go and dispose of the bombs. What she hadn't expected was Cassandra popping right behind her and nearly giving her a heart attack. And if she hadn't been carrying a box filled with live bombs, she'd definitely be clutching her heart right about now as well.
"What's that?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow toward the box she was holding. "Another evidence box?"
"As a matter of fact, it is," Ina nodded in confirmation. "Live bombs in fact. However, I was tasked to destroy them, so…"
Live bombs?
That was something that immediately caught Cassandra's attention as she narrowed her eyes, precariously.
"Did you just say live bombs?" Cassandra blinked.
"Yes," Ina nodded her head in confirmation once more. "...By the way, where were you? I expected you to show up at the Afternoon Meeting today."
Cassandra glanced away with a frown.
"Let's just say I had an early dinner," Cassandra stated, rubbing her arms. "Actually, it's kind of why I came to you today…"
Ina raised an eyebrow toward the scam artist.
"I'm taking your offer," Cassandra wasted no time.
Widening her eyes, Ina didn't know how to exactly react at this point of time. She had so many things to worry about that the moment that she dropped this ball on her, Ina had to wonder if this wasn't some kind of scam or lie from her…
Narrowing her eyes, she spoke.
"...Are you?" Ina asked. "I am sorry but I know I came to you first and gave you an offer but how do I know that you are not simply trying to team up with me to take my brother's life?"
"...Because you were right," Cassandra folded her arms. She grimaced. "After Jared… I…"
Ina waited patiently for her to speak. When it came to Cassandra, it was tempting to assume the things she was thinking about. Even now, Ina couldn't really trust that look of sadness in her eyes. When it came to Cassandra Mura, trusting her was impossible.
"Look," Cassandra took a deep breath. "I know it's a tough thing to believe but… If you don't believe me, then at least hear me out."
Cassandra took out a neatly tucked-in piece of paper from her pocket and a pencil and began drawing what seemed to be a really crude drawing of a map. The map with the X and B. At first, Ina didn't really understand what the heck it was but once the scam artist had finished it, she had stood back up and handed it toward Ina.
"...What is this?" Ina raised an eyebrow.
"I saw this back when I had my so-called early dinner," Cassandra folded her arms. "That 'X' you see? I'm… pretty sure that's White Collar's office."
"...He had a map leading to his office just lying around?" Ina blinked.
"More like the snake's fault," Cassandra scoffed. "Monohebi is the one that does the clean-up to his place."
Ina stared at the map. Cassandra could see in the revolutionary's face that she was still unconvinced.
"Look," Cassandra sighed. "You guys wanted proof that I'm really on your side, right? This is it. I just need your help to prove it. That's why I'm accepting your offer…"
Ina deeply considered this.
Cassandra seemed genuine this time.
No insults. No suspicious glances. Just someone who wanted to try to do things right. Ina had to believe that this was a rather insane twist of fate. But at the same time, she came to her first. Ina was the one who knocked on Cassandra's door. Not the other way around.
"...Very well then," Ina began. "I assume you have a plan?"
"...Yeah," Cassandra's eyes trailed toward her box. "And that plan is going to require a bunch of bombs…"
…
…
…
Arthur grasped his head as he reeled himself over the information that he had recently learned. The cruel truth that was proposed to him. That this entire time, the true culprit behind this case was none other than him. The killer of his sister… The killer that he had been hunting down… It was… him?
Arthur felt his eyes shake and his face turn blue as he struggled to make a noise. There was no way he could be the killer. There was something missing. Something so, so missing. It… It just didn't make sense.
But what was it?
He glanced around.
Similarly, his peers couldn't believe it. They couldn't form a response or a counterargument to the truth they had stumbled upon. And neither of them wanted to admit it. Neither of them wanted to admit that this could be the truth.
Could Ina's killer really be…?
…
"...No," Holland shook his head. "Arthur isn't the killer. There's no way he could be. Th-This… This isn't the…"
"...The truth?" White Collar tilted his head with that sinister grin. "Sometimes the truth is hard to accept. But I assure you, Mister Kingston is indeed the true culprit behind this sad turn of events…"
"...No, there's something that proves otherwise!" Holland gritted his teeth. "There's…"
Holland knew that there had to be something that proved that Arthur couldn't have been the true killer! But was there really such a piece of evidence? Or was his hatred of White Collar blinding him? The game designer wasn't sure, but he had a feeling this case wasn't as over as White Collar would have hoped there to be…
"Monohebi," White Collar leaned against his cane.
"M-Maassteerrr?" Monohebi's broken voice box droned.
"...I believe it's time to start the vote," White Collar grinned.
"V-VeRyyy…. Well, I shalllll n0w preparrre the v–" Monohebi dragged on before being rudely interrupted.
"No!" Holland exclaimed. "This isn't over! Arthur isn't the killer! It… It doesn't make any sense!"
White Collar glanced at the game designer with disdain in his eyes. Pointing the sharp end of his cane toward him with glowing jagged red eyes,
"...Contempt of court is still punishable within these halls of justice, Mister Delaney," White Collar threatened. "Or have you forgotten that?"
"I… I don't care!" Holland exclaimed. "There's still something wrong with this Trial. There should be one piece of evidence that proves that Arthur may not be the killer in this case! As the one in charge of this Killing Game, it's your duty to–"
"-to find the truth?" White Collar tilted his head before shaking it. "No, Mister Delaney. That was your job. And I'm afraid you are all out of time."
White Collar extended his arms out.
"Let the Voting commence!" White Collar exclaimed.
"Fuck!" Haruto looked conflicted. "If there's more evidence then I don't even fucking know if it can be Arthur or not…"
"I want to vote White Collar," Abigail bit her finger. "B-But can we even do that?"
"I… I don't think so," Mimi shook her head.
"W-White Collar!" Holland gritted his teeth. "Th-This is unfair! Y-You can't just…"
"Trials are on a time limit, Mister Delaney," White Collar shook his head. "Running out of time and crying about it just makes you a spoiled child, I'm afraid."
White Collar pointed the sharp end of his cane toward the game designer once again.
"Now VOTE!" White Collar's face turned twisted and distorted, his eyes and mouth turning hollow black.
Everyone tensed up.
W-Was this really, right?
White Collar had to be the true culprit to this case. He killed Cassandra and yet, for some fucked up reason, Arthur was the one who ended up killing Ina. That was the conclusion and yet at this point, even the other three felt that something was off…
Everyone stared at their options.
It was just them five.
The option to vote for White Collar wasn't even there.
No matter how much of an ass Arthur Kingston was, this just felt wrong…
…
"...Just do it."
Everyone turned to Arthur Kingston, who had looked up after feeling sick to his stomach over the truth of what he had done. His face was blue. His eyes looked close to tearing up. But overall, the guilt was getting too much for him.
There was no way he could keep going.
Not after…
"A-Arthur," Holland grimaced. "You can't… Y-You're not the…"
"Even if I'm not, I might as well have!" Arthur yelled, tears starting to form on the corners of his eyes. "It was because of me that Ina died! I could have tended to her wounds the moment I found her! But instead, I allowed my pettiness to get the better of me and tried to cover up the crimes of my sister! I tried to… I tried to…"
Arthur slammed his fist onto the podium as he gritted his teeth.
"...I… I killed Ina Hamamura," Arthur confessed. "I killed my dearest half-sister. I… killed her…"
The other four glanced at each with uncertainty. Arthur confessed. And one could swear they saw White Collar's grin wider than ever before. In the end, they knew they had no other choice. There was only one person that they could vote for in the end…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Arthur: 5
…
"...With the votes tallied," White Collar took the reins this time, to allow Monohebi's broken state to get a little rest. "I can now formally give the final verdict on the supposed blackened of this case. My final verdict for Arthur Kingston, the Ultimate Snowboarder:
…
…
…
GUILTY
…
…
…
…Keh. Heh. Heh…"
White Collar started to chuckle to himself. His red eyes started to glisten in amusement. The feeling of relief finally seeped through the course of his body. Extending his arms out as if he were bathing in a shower of rain, White Collar's chuckle turned into a cackle.
"Keh… Ke… Kyahahahahahaha!" White Collar laughed boisterously like never before.
He slammed his cane on the ground as he leaned forward, his finger over his masked grin.
"This Prison Trial has officially ended," White Collar announced. "Congratulations sinners! You got it correct! The blackened of this case was indeed Arthur Kingston, the Ultimate Snowboarder! As I have said not too long ago, Mister Kingston…"
White Collar's jagged eye started to glow.
"...Your luck has run out…"
TRIAL END
The five stood in silence as they glanced at the results provided for them.
Arthur Kingston was guilty of killing his own sister.
And yet, none of them could believe it. Especially Holland, who was prevented from saying anything until now. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward with a glare. He felt his body shake as a furious rage started to envelope and take control of his body. He hasn't felt anger like this since Zuri.
And who would've guessed that it would have to be exerted toward the very man that had her executed…
"No, you cheated, White Collar!" Holland accused, pointing his finger toward the man in the Devil's mask. "There is no way Arthur Kingston could be the culprit behind this case and you know all too well, why!"
"Because of the Body Discovery Announcement, right?" Abigail frowned.
...
"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."
…
Abigail stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the announcement. Her eyes widened as she tried to process what she had just heard. It was a declaration she hated to admit that she had grown accustomed to in an environment like this. But to hear it now of all times…
"Haruto!" Abigail called out desperately. "D-Did you hear that?!"
"Sh-Shit..." Haruto was also taken aback by this revelation. "But if that's the case then..."
"Yeah, that's right," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "If Abigail and I were up in Cell Block C at the time, then the three people who could've initiated the Body Discovery criteria would be Holland, Mimi, and Arthur."
"...Exactly," Holland nodded. "Which is why Arthur can't be the killer! Killers can't discover the bodies of people they killed themselves! Wasn't that one of your rules?!"
"Yeah, and Cassandra couldn't have done it either!" Mimi pouted. "She was already dead at the time. That's why Ina would've been the first to initiate her body discovery criteria!"
"...In other words," Holland had to agree with Mimi's point as well. "I don't think any of us can accept your conclusion! You cheated!"
White Collar remained silent for a moment before he started to burst into laughter. His jagged red glowed hideously as his cackles echoed throughout the walls of the Trial Grounds.
"Keh… Ke… Heh… Kyahahahahahaha!" White Collar cackled. "...Does it matter anymore?! The Prison Trial has been over since you all came to the fruitful conclusion that it was Arthur Kingston who had knocked down the very chandelier that took the life of his half-sister! You should've said something sooner!"
White Collar pointed the sharp end of his cane toward the remaining five, soon to be four.
"Besides, Mister Kingston here has already confessed," White Collar stated. "He had chosen to vote for himself. And if he weren't the killer, the rest of you four would be joining him…"
White Collar slowly placed his cane down onto the pavement and leaned against it.
"...But you're not," White Collar's mask grinned. "Be grateful only one is getting executed today…"
Holland frowned.
He knew all too well that this man in the Devil's mask was one big lousy cheater. It prompted the question: Was his hatred for Arthur Kingston so deep that White Collar had to cheat like this? That he had to resort to these means? And if that's the case, then… Why spare the rest of them? Why…?
"This is seriously fucked up," Haruto grumbled. "Arthur may be a fucking scumbag, but if you're going to get him killed over scummy rules, then Holland's right! I can't accept this fucking outcome either!"
"Yeah!" Mimi pouted. "You're just doing this because you hate him! This isn't fair!"
"Enough!"
"E-Eh?" Mimi widened her eyes, turning back to see who had yelled. Of course, it was… "A-Arthur?"
Arthur was definitely not looking when it came to this harsh discussion between White Collar's cheating and rule-breaking just to get him killed. However, if one thing was certain, Arthur knew all too well his own truth on the matter.
"...I told you all already," Arthur grimaced. "No matter what you say… In the end, it was still me that killed Ina…"
"A-Arthur!" Abigail folded her arms. "You can't be serious! Are you seriously going to let the man who really killed your sister get away with this?!"
Arthur said nothing.
Clearly, his mind thought of nothing but his own guilt. No matter how right his peers were, the guilt that he felt that his arrogance was what ended up damning his sister in the end was too much to bear. Too much for him to decline…
"Arthur, listen to yourself!" Abigail glared at him. "This is exactly what he wants! Are you really that selfish that you think you also have to take the burden of everything that happened to her?! I thought you wanted justice for your sister! The shit you're trying to pull… That isn't justice–"
"So, what?!" Arthur yelled back toward the equestrian with shaking eyes. "Are you telling me that I can't blame myself for what happened to my sister?! You all came to that rightful conclusion together! I pushed the trigger! I caused that chandelier to fall! My sister got impaled because of it! What else am I supposed to think here?!"
Arthur tightened his fist as Haruto stepped up to help Abigail. But the equestrian held up a hand, gesturing him to stand back and let the snowboarder vent out his frustrations.
"Everything that happened to her was my fault!" Arthur yelled, tears flowing out of his eyes. "There's no way I can ever deny that! Haven't you all ever felt burdened by the mistakes of your past?! Because if you have, you'd know exactly how I'm feeling right now! I'm the reason Ina isn't here right now! It should've been me that was killed! Not her! I… I even vowed to submit my own life up to Cassandra too… and yet that entire thing was just a ploy to…"
"Arthur, you selfish prick," Abigail cursed. "You and the rest of us aren't so different! You know, the time I felt as burdened as you do now was over my sister's suicide!"
"I carried the burden of Yuumi's death for a long time," Mimi stepped up with a frown. "You aren't alone in this Arthur."
"...I still carry Zuri's spirit with me at all times…" Holland folded his arms. "...Your need to blame yourself for something that was entirely the fault of someone else, isn't helping the spiritual bond you have with Ina…"
Arthur glanced at his peers as they opened up about their own burdens. Once again, Arthur had to admit that Ina was right about the Kingtons. They, including him, were nothing more than selfish pricks that cared only about themselves. And even now, he had the galls to assume that he was the only one carrying these burdens…
Pitiful.
He desperately tried to wipe away his tears.
"Speaking of Ina," Haruto folded his arms before turning to White Collar. "You being a fucking cheat and all aside, why the fuck would Ina bother to team up with Cassandra in the first place? That's been a big fucking question on my mind, and I want answers about that!"
"Yeah… actually, that does seem super weird," Abigail rubbed her chin. "I mean, I knew Ina would be crazy enough to attempt murder but team up with the number one pariah of our group…?"
"Hm, wouldn't you like to know?" White Collar leaned against his cane with a sinister grin.
"Um, yeah, we would," Abigail folded her arms, unimpressed.
White Collar chuckled to himself as he placed a finger over his grinning lips. Then, shrugging, the man in the Devil's mask began.
"Very well then," White Collar began. "I suppose since Miss Hamamura and Miss Mura are now deceased, I should be the one to tell the tale. It all began shortly after Monohebi changed our plans to announce the new motive…"
Cassandra fell back on her bed. Her mind was flooded with all sorts of thoughts. All sorts of solutions that she wasn't even sure was going to work. Could she even talk to White Collar again? Did Monohebi just... win in that regard? She clenched her fist. If only Jared was here...
She grimaced.
...He would know what to do.
Knock knock!
W-Was that a knock?
Cassandra remained still on her bed. She slowly got up. She walked over to her door and peeked through the peephole. Then, suddenly, she widened her eyes. What the hell? Why is-
Slowly, Cassandra opened the door warily.
After all, what did she have left to lose at this point? Monohebi painted a big red target on her back. Arthur is now aware of what hell she had planned to do to him. And now… His half-sister has come in to confront her about this.
She sighed.
Best to get this over with.
At least, that was what she had thought.
Walking in, Ina glanced at her with an unhappy look as the scam artist kept her distance from the female Kingston. The two gave each other a stare down as Cassandra noticed Ina slowly shut the door behind her roughly. Then, leaning against it, Ina glared at the scam artist. The fact that she just walked in, closed the door, and said nothing throughout it all really pissed her off. Pissed her off to the point that she had to ask first…
"Look, I get it!" Cassandra yelled. "You're fucking pissed I want to kill your fucking brother! What are you going to do now? Fucking kill me? Cause go ahead! My time in this game is got shit on thanks to that fucking snake!"
"Half," Ina corrected, simply.
Cassandra blinked before reverting back to that hateful stare.
"Oh, whoops, excuse me," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Like that's any different!"
Cassandra extended her arms, as if baiting Ina to come right at her.
"Look, quit wasting my time and just get it over with!" Cassandra glared at Ina. "I obviously pissed you off to kill me so if you're going to stab me, just do it! I've had enough shit from everyone today so…"
Cassandra felt her eyes swell up.
"So just… end my fucking suffering…" Cassandra bit her lip, trying to fight back tears.
Ina sighed to herself.
"Are you finished?" Ina firmly stated.
Cassandra glanced away.
"I am not here to kill you," Ina revealed, bitterly. "That goes against my repentance after all…"
Cassandra turned back to face the revolutionary.
"T-Then, why the fuck are you here…?" she questioned.
"...Why does Monohebi want to kill my brother?" Ina wasted little time in trying to understand.
Cassandra blinked.
That was why she was here? Just to know about–
"...And why do you want to know?" Cassandra grimaced. "In the end, you're just not going to believe me, so why bother?!"
"I am here listening to your side of the story now, am I not?" Ina frowned. "So, let me ask you again. Why does Monohebi want to kill my brother?"
Cassandra paused and sat back down on her bed. She sighed to herself. She had already gone ahead and told someone, Haruto, today about this. Why not a second person? Maybe then, they could spread the gospel.
"...Because she doesn't," Cassandra revealed. "White Collar does…"
Ina blinked.
This was definitely not an answer she had expected. But thinking about it now, it did make sense for her. Walking closer to the scam artist, Ina hesitantly sat next to her as she listened to Cassandra's story.
"...So, it was Ina who approached Cassandra first," Holland rubbed his chin.
"Yes, it was," White Collar hummed to himself. "Out of all the outcomes I had imagined, I imagined things would go as similar to what Miss Mura would have been thinking about in that situation. Perhaps, Miss Hamamura would go in for the kill to protect her brother. Perhaps, Miss Hamamura just wanted to know why Miss Mura made that so-called deal with Monohebi. But what happened next surprised me…"
After patiently listening to Cassandra's story, Ina sighed to herself.
"So, in the end, you do not know why White Collar wants my brother dead," Ina stated.
"Of course not," Cassandra bitterly muttered. "The guy's a cryptic asshole. Almost like…"
Cassandra thought back to Jared. That was not a person she wanted to think back to in times of distress like this. Curling up on her own bed, she bitterly glanced back toward the revolutionary that had so rudely ruined her alone-stress time.
"...Anyway, I told you what I know," Cassandra frowned. "Now, leave me alone."
Ina rubbed her chin.
"...I am afraid I cannot do that," Ina shook her head. "Now, you are in a vulnerable situation as much as my half-brother has been throughout this Killing Game. I believe that if you still truly wish to survive, the only way to do so may be through me…"
Cassandra blinked before scoffing.
"What the fuck?" Cassandra asked in disbelief. "Like an alliance? With you? An attempted murderer?"
"And you are an actual murderer, so you and I are not so different, now, are we?" Ina frowned. Folding her arms, she continued. "Regardless, what I have in mind is just an offer. Whether you take it or not is entirely up to you."
"Oh, and what exactly is this offer?" Cassandra rolled her eyes.
Ina faced her with a serious expression on her face. The face of a true revolutionary who wanted to break free from the shackles that bound all of them.
"Is it not obvious?" Ina smirked. "Help me defeat White Collar. With you outed as the inside girl, you have everything we need to finally put an end to this Killing Game."
Cassandra remained in disbelief.
"And you just told me your intentions because…?" Cassandra scoffed. "You know as your so-called inside girl, I could just report this to White Collar, right?"
"But you will not," Ina shook her head. "Because as far as I am concerned, your time with White Collar is over now that Monohebi has rendered you vulnerable. And from what I know of demons like White Collar, vulnerable allies make them disposable…"
Ina got off from Cassandra's bed and glanced back down toward the girl who had much to think about.
"Think about my offer," Ina stated. "After all, what other choice do you have?"
With that being the last thing, she had said to her that night, Ina had left Cassandra with a new way to survive. A new route she could take.
But at the time, she wondered…
Would she even take it…?
"As it turned out, Miss Hamamura wished to strike a deal with Miss Mura," White Collar tightened his grip on his cane. "Rightfully so, Miss Mura did not accept the deal immediately. However, I assume she must've accepted it right away shortly after our last supper."
"Last supper?" Mimi blinked. "Deal?"
"Miss Mura and I just had a nice meal together," White Collar shook his head. "It was no big deal. But the deal she made with Miss Hamamura was… In fact, Miss Hamamura wanted her to be the inside girl and to keep track of my every move. Of course, Miss Mura was smart enough to know that I'd be watching."
"And yet, she was definitely smart enough to fool you into thinking that the entire reason she was placing bombs was to kill Arthur," Abigail rolled her eyes. "I'll give her that much at least."
"Yes," White Collar glanced away, disappointed. "And I assumed that the required assistance of Miss Hamamura was simply just a trick of hers. I suppose it was a matter of weakness that forced me to overestimate her loyalty to me…"
"Nah, she was never loyal to you to begin with," Haruto folded his arms. "The moment I came to her about all the shit she was doing behind the scenes, she folded. Someone with loyalty wouldn't do something like that…"
White Collar was silent.
It seemed the more he listened about Cassandra, the more he looked disappointed that her fate was unfortunately sealed. Perhaps deep down, he truly did really enjoy her company…
"Thinking about it now…" White Collar hummed. "...It would make sense why she requested all of those secrets she desired from me."
"...Secrets?" Holland blinked.
"Yes, secrets," White Collar chuckled.
"Wait," she began, turning to White Collar with a cold look. "But if I'm going to do this, I need your help."
White Collar's mask slowly grinned.
"I'm listening…" he mused.
"Killing him isn't going to be easy," Cassandra stated. "Ina tried and failed. You wanted him dead for a while and yet he's still latching on like a cockroach. If I'm going to kill him and make sure he stays dead, I need to know about everything that I can use to do the job. All the secrets to this facility. A way to kill him and avoid anyone else who might stop me…"
White Collar stared at the scam artist. Was she serious about this? Her resolve and will absolutely said so. He picked up his cane and pointed the sharp end of it toward Cassandra's chin.
"Fascinating," White Collar noted, his jagged red eye glinting. "Very well. I will help you, but be warned, I can only help you with so much. So don't let my generosity… go to waste."
"What were those secrets?" Mimi asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" White Collar chuckled. "The existence of the hidden room which can only be accessed by playing Mister Delaney's little game. In fact, I was also the one who provided her with the cheat sheet to beat the game in the first place."
"So, in other words…" Mimi widened her eyes. "Cassandra was the one who knew about the existence of the elevator first…"
"...A poor mistake on my part as the elevator also happened to connect directly toward my room," White Collar sighed. "Which would have been discovered sooner or later but I never thought she'd actually go ahead and be foolish enough to try to bomb her way into my office…"
"But then, why did my sister have that cheat sheet when we found her?" Arthur frowned.
"...I think, the answer to that is simple," Holland grimaced at the possible theory he had thought about. "If Cassandra was the one who prepared the elevator in the first place, she probably knew she was the most at risk of getting caught and dying. So, she must've given it to Ina in preparation."
"You mean to say that Cassandra expected herself to die?" Abigail widened her eyes. "Like a sacrifice? Cassandra? As in, the Cassandra? The one who was bitching about how stupid we all were for caring for each other? That Cassandra?"
"Huh," Haruto was bewildered by this too. "In the end, it seemed like Jared really did get to her… Even if it meant he had to…"
He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
"Perplexing theory," White Collar amusedly stated. "But Miss Mura is no longer with us. So, whatever the answer may be behind that, will forever be lost to the cosmos."
"...So, in the end," Holland sighed to himself. "Both Ina and Cassandra teamed up to try to take White Collar down. Both of them… sacrificed so much just to get us far and in the end…"
"Everything backfired…" Abigail grimly stated, looking down.
"...And now another is going to…" Mimi slowly turned to Arthur, who couldn't believe everything he was hearing.
To think that his own sister teamed up with the one person everyone in this facility hated just to try to stop the mastermind at his own game. To think that he, the bastard that he was, ruined it all. To think that now… all their efforts were wasted…
…
"I doubt I need to really go over the sins of Miss Hamamura and Miss Mura," White Collar chuckled to himself. He stomped his cane onto the ground as his sinister gaze landed directly on Arthur. "One's a member of one of the most feared terrorist organizations in the world. The other, a scam artist who used her Talent to squeeze every last penny from her victim. For them to work together in an effort to stop the Devil that has put them in damnation… Surely, a concept like that can only be dictated in movies!"
White Collar then pointed the sharp end of his murderous cane toward Arthur.
"But the worst of them all…" White Collar chuckled to himself. "Arthur Kingston. Finally, I have you where I want you…"
Arthur tightened his fist.
After listening to every detail that was said about what his sister and even Cassandra had done, Arthur knew all too well how wrong he was. He was wrong about everything. The burden he had to bear. His pettiness toward Cassandra. His arrogance toward what his sister truly wanted. All of it hit him like a bag of bricks…
Only, a little too late.
"Okay, now we can go back to calling this bastard a fucking cheater," Haruto growled. "Because Arthur ain't the killer! You are!"
"And I can go back to saying that this Trial is over," White Collar's grin widened. "You have placed your votes. We have declared a verdict. What you say and will say is nothing more than conjecture and against the will of the Devil himself…"
Arthur glanced down.
This was it for him, was it?
Was it really so?
Could it really be…?
Arthur wasn't sure, but he could see the others trying to argue their case about it. Regardless of how successful or how much sense they made; Arthur knew for sure that there was no escaping his fate. White Collar had locked him in. Arthur was the one who sealed his own fate. That was all there was to it for that conclusion.
Looking back up toward the Devil however, there was still one more question he desperately needed to know.
"...Why?" Arthur shuddered. "...Why me?"
"Hm?" White Collar tilted his head toward the snowboarder.
"...Why me…" Arthur continued before he started outright screaming, his face looking absolutely desperate. "Why me?! Why go so far to make a deal against my life?!"
Arthur stepped forward.
"What did I ever do wrong to you?!" Arthur exclaimed.
White Collar leaned against his cane.
His sinister grin never faded as he began to chuckle behind his mask. That sinister laughter that was beginning to appear from his distorted voice was enough to put shivers on everyone's backs as he continued to laugh boisterously.
"K-Kyahahahahahahaha!" White Collar laughed, his mask's face turning sinister and showcasing only the red demonic irises from his mask's eye sockets. "Kyahahahaha! KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
White Collar pointed his cane toward the surviving Kingston.
"You want to know what you did so wrong to me?!" White Collar laughed. "You want to know?! How about I give you the same answer you gave me all those years ago!"
"W-What?" Mimi turned to Arthur and White Collar. "D-Do you guys… know each other?!"
White Collar placed a finger over his open mask's mouth, revealing nothing but hollow black and a ghastly look on the Devil's face.
"Figure it out yourself!" White Collar laughed. "In Hell! Kyahaha… KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
No one had ever seen White Collar as deranged as he was now. It was freaking everyone out. And no one was more terrified than Arthur, who had no idea what the heck he was talking about. All that was troubling him were the headaches he was having to experience. Gripping his head, he glanced at White Collar one last time as he saw the man point the cane toward him once more.
"Please tell my daughter in Heaven above that her father says hi…" White Collar ordered. "...As you quickly descend down to the fiery pit of Hell itself!"
White Collar flipped his cane around and extended his arms out as if he were on the cross.
"See you there, Mister Kingston!" White Collar exclaimed excitedly. "And goodbye! Kyahahahaha! KYAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I… I…" Arthur clutched his head. "I… I…"
Haruto tried to step up to help but Abigail pulled him back.
Mimi covered her eyes. She couldn't stand to watch this.
And neither could Holland, as he closed his eyes and looked away.
"I… AUGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Arthur screamed as his head felt as if it was going to pop. And throughout his mental breakdown, he felt a cold chain collar attach itself directly around his neck. He widened his eyes as he glanced toward his peers. "N-No… N-No… Please…. Please…. I… I didn't… I… I didn't…."
…
There was nothing else he could say that could change his fate…
With Monohebi currently broken up, White Collar took the initiative to walk up toward that large red button. Slamming down his cane onto it, the button clicked and bursted into stars as a pixelated screen showed White Collar dragging Arthur by the neck.
Below this scenery were the words:
…
ARTHUR KINGSTON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY
COMMENCING PUNISHMENT…
…
Arthur found himself on top of a steep makeshift mountain. The air around him was an air that he was all too familiar with. Cold temperatures that heavily went against his fancy clothing. The winter wind that he once found comfort in now betrays him and has ready itself to end his life. He could see no end goal unlike most areas to snowboard.
Just a steep cliff off into nowhere but his own demise. Strapped to his regular shoes was a snowboard, and yet he had none of that required gear a professional snowboard would need in order to perform this feat of riding off of whatever this mountain was.
Not only that but… he was really cold.
He shivered against the cold, seeing his breath float up toward the ghastly chilly air. His face was blue and as his eyes glanced toward the side, he could see the broken Monohebi, coiled up by the mountaintop, watching him with a glance.
He grimaced.
Was this really how he was going to go out?
The Ride Against Winter's Wind: The Ultimate Snowboarder's Execution
Almost all too soon, Arthur felt the execution begin.
He felt his snowboarder, inch-by-inch, move away from his safe spot toward the edge of the cliff thanks to that winter wind he loved so much. Slowly but surely, he knew that symbol of freedom he enjoyed so much was going to be his doom. And almost all too quickly, no matter how far back he tried to keep himself, his snowboard slipped off the edge and down he tumbled.
Riding down the steep cliff, Arthur tried to maintain balance as he clenched his teeth. He had no snow goggles, so he felt nonstop pieces of snow pelt themselves into his eyes. Squinting hard to try to make sure he avoided any unnecessary obstacles in his way, for a moment, Arthur knew he had the advantage.
His talent was allowing him to maintain balance, as he slid faster and farther down the snowy mountain. That was when he heard a rumbling from behind him. Turning his head carefully, he widened his eyes.
Monohebi had tried to move her head, sparking a pained cry from her broken voice box. Surprisingly, it was loud enough to cause the mountain to shake and tremor. And almost all too quickly, Arthur understood the importance of having Monohebi take charge of this execution. Because that importance had compiled itself into one big snowslide tumbling down toward him much faster than he could ever imagine.
An avalanche!
Arthur turned his head back to the front as he clenched his teeth. He bent his body forward in an attempt to gain more momentum down the mountain but no matter how hard he tried, that rumbling avAlanche was making its way directly toward him, like a while catching a miniscule fish.
No matter How hard he swam, that tHing was going to swallow him whole anyway.
That aValanche was going to Bury hiM alive.
ArthUR trIed to GAin moRE MomentuM buT it waS aLL for NaugHt. ThE aVALancHe Was n0w riGHt bEhiNd hIm. AND the SwArM of SsnOw was GETTING daNgErousLY cloSe. He cLOsed his eYes, fEEling tHe hArD sNOw stAr t tO p3lt hIS bOdY anD laTer hiS LEgS. He fellt hImSelLf tuMBle UnTIL finaLLy–
...
EXECUTION BROADCAST HAS BEEN LOST
...
Arthur stared out miserably at the window as he leaned against his table, brushing aside the book about politics he was supposed to read.
Politics disinterested him to a great degree.
So did the other things he was supposed to read up and study on:
Foreign languages like French, German, and Japanese.
Sciences like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
Even an abundance of Advanced Language Arts type deals.
It was a miserable life. And today was just like any other day. He just couldn't be bothered. Instead, he glanced outside the window, watching the other children do more exciting things with their parents. He could see them walk on the sidewalks and laugh. Watch the children pet the dogs and even some children get some ice cream.
Goddamn.
So that was what freedom probably felt like.
"Arthur."
Arthur felt a newspaper slap against the elbow that he had been leaning against. He widened his eyes and turned back to see the imposing Alexander Kingston walk in with his icy cold eyes directed to his own son. He clearly wasn't happy with his progress.
"Why aren't you reading?" Alexander asked.
"...Father, I need a break," Arthur sighed as he stood up. "I've been reading these books about politics for hours. Can I not just go outside and enjoy myself?"
"Sit back down Arthur," Alexander bitterly stated. "You're not done until I say you're done."
"But Father!" Arthur frowned.
Alexander slammed the palms of his hands onto the table as he glared at his own son.
"My son," Alexander coldly began. "Tell me. What's your name?"
Arthur froze and looked down.
He's been through this interrogation before.
"A-Arthur Kingston," Arthur answered.
"That's right…" Alexander frowned. "Arthur Kingston. Knowing that, do you really think Kingstons like us, one of the most powerful families in the world, can just go ahead and do whatever they want?"
Arthur tensed up.
He was often used to his own father giving him that cold treatment but it never failed to keep him on his toes as he slowly sat back down. He bit his lip.
"The answer is no," Alexander revealed. "Whether you like it or not, Arthur, you're a Kingston. So you better get to the books and start acting like one."
Alexander turned away and was about to leave until Arthur tossed the book toward the wall.
"...Well, what if I don't want to be a Kingston?!" Arthur exclaimed.
Alexander slowly turned back, his gaze getting frostier than the minute.
"Father, please!" Arthur begged. "Just ten minutes! Staying at home with all of this stuff here doing nothing but reading books! It's suffocating! Just give me some fresh air! Please!"
Alexander walked closer to him with a frown.
"You want fresh air?" Alexander leaned closer toward him. "Very well then…"
Arthur blinked.
At first, he seemed bewildered that his begging actually worked. Hope was instilled in his eyes. But the moment his father started to roughly shove him past the maids and butlers directly toward the front door, Arthur realized too late that the Hope he felt wasn't Hope. It was a precursor to fear…
Opening the door and holding his son by his side to take in this supposed 'fresh air', Alexander glanced around with freezing radiance from his sour look.
"Take a good look, son," Alexander gestured toward the fresh air. "Breathe it in if you have to. What can you smell?"
Arthur's nose twitched, forcing him to cough slightly.
"I think… someone's smoking," Arthur pinched his nose.
"Exactly," Alexander's look turned to that of disdain. "What separates Kingston from everyone else is the fact that we have the power to turn a world of corruption into a better world for order. The air that you long for is supposed to be heavenly and sweet. But what you're smelling instead is the putrid breath from these… riff-raffs…"
While Alexander directed his gaze toward the adults that were scrambling by with their tails beneath their legs, Arthur's gaze was directed toward the happiness and joy of the children. Oh, how he longed to be just as free as they were.
"This is what separates these peasants from us, the Kings of our own family name," Alexander lectured. "If you want to be like these creatures, then you are no son of mine. Do you understand?"
Arthur said nothing.
Alexander snapped his gaze back toward his son.
"I asked you a question," Alexander spoke with a harsher tone. "Do you understand…?"
Arthur felt his eyes droop.
"Y-Yes, Father," Arthur frowned to himself.
"...Good," Alexander turned his son away from the fresh air he so deeply desired and brought him back inside their own home.
The moment their family butler shut their doors, Alexander gripped his hand on Arthur's shoulder with that serious yet icy gaze of his.
"One more thing, Arthur," Alexander continued. "Begging like how you did earlier… is unbecoming of a Kingston. You are next in line for our family heritage. Act like it."
Alexander let go of Arthur's shoulder and walked off, but not before adding one more tidbit to the young ice prince.
"Now go back to reading," Alexander added.
And as his Father left, Arthur couldn't help but run his hand through his hair. He glanced toward the blue-dyed window panes that completely covered up his view of the outside world. His body trembled as his teeth clenched themselves together. Being a Kingston was no different than the harsh cold winters of being homeless.
It was a prison that he was born in.
And it was a prison that he wanted out of…
Everyone, including White Collar and Monohebi, were stunned into silence.
The screen from which the four were to watch Arthur's execution had now been replaced with those same five words, bolded in white over static-y black:
EXECUTION BROADCAST HAS BEEN LOST
The execution that had been long overdue for Arthur Kingston had been interrupted. No one knew what had happened next. All they knew was that something had happened and whatever it was, couldn't be good. Could it?
"W-What just happened?" Mimi was the first to speak up.
"I-Is Arthur–?!" Abigail widened her eyes.
"M-Monohebi," White Collar was the most peeved out of everyone. "What on Earth has happened to my monitors?! What has become of Arthur Kingston?! Tell me!"
Monohebi weakly picked up her head.
However, she moved from the top of a mountain back to the Trial Grounds is about as questionable as how the hell they even managed to fit a mountain inside a prison complex. So, it was best not to question it as the only answer she had was a trembling noise of fear behind her broken voice.
"...T-Theeeey areeeee heeere…" Monohebi droned.
White Collar's grip tightened on the cane.
His mask looked serious.
From what the four could see, what was on his face was a mixture of fear and frustration. He had no idea what had become of Arthur Kingston and now he had this to deal with? He began to seethe to himself as he pointed his cane toward Monohebi with fury behind his glowing jagged red eye.
"Y-You told me I had three days," White Collar stated. "Th-They came too early. Th-They were supposed to come t-tomorrow! W-What is the bloody meaning of this?!"
"I… I… I… I… dOn'TTtttt knoooooW M-mAsterrrrrrr…." Monohebi tried to argue behind her broken voice.
"...What's going on?" Holland folded his arms.
"Heh, ain't it obvious?" this time, it was Haruto's turn to smirk as he realized all too well what was happening. "It's them, isn't it? Those outside forces that are really the ones in control of this fucking game."
"H-Huh, bosses?!" Mimi gasped.
Yes.
It had to be!
Haruto remembered all too well his conversation with Cassandra…
"So, you're saying…" Haruto was about to say before Cassandra confirmed it with a nod.
"Yeah, there are outside forces that are in control of this game," Cassandra stated. "Not only that, but apparently White Collar has been breaking a ton of rules for our deal to happen. The bastard really wants Arthur dead for some reason."
"So, even White Collar has rules to follow," Haruto folded his arms before realizing something. "Wait, but then, if that's the case, we can just expose those rules and then the game should be stopped right?"
"Yeah, right," Cassandra folded her arms. "Even if we could, everything I just said is conjecture. I don't have exact proof of anything. It makes sense that White Collar would have outside forces helping him but do we even know how they operate? Do we even know that they'll just end the Killing Game if White Collar is exposed? For all we know, they might just kill everyone and start over again. There's a lot to gamble with here."
"Oh, I bet they caught wind of you cheating and are fucking mad at you now!" Haruto grinned toward the man in the Devil's mask.
White Collar said nothing.
Instead, he just glanced at nothing in particular as his mind frantically thought of a possible solution. His body shook slightly. Whether it was from fear or desperation at this point, none of them knew. All they knew now was that with what had happened, their chances of surviving the rest of this Killing Game just became much higher.
"Tch, cheating?" White Collar's mask tried its best to grin, but even the remaining four could tell that he was trying hard to force a smile. "I've… done no such thing. Mister Kingston killed Miss Hamamura. That was the correct conclusion that was reached in this Trial. Best you remember that…"
White Collar was still shaking.
For once in their imprisonment, they finally saw the Devil falter. He had lost his imposing presence and was now being reduced to nothing more than a mortal being under the orders of a higher entity. Turning his back from the four, White Collar growled a curse under his breath.
"Monohebi!" White Collar announced. "Come! Let us be off!"
"Y…Yessss M-Asterrrr…" Monohebi hissed through her corrupted voicebox.
Without further ado, the two had moved away from the Trial Grounds without much else to say. But the worry that both of them had was enough to reignite a sense of Hope back into the remaining four.
"...Do you think it's true?" Holland asked Haruto. "Do you really think that…"
"The only thing I know that has the highest chance of freaking out that piece of shit like that has to be the outside forces Cassandra told me about," Haruto folded his arms with a firm nod. "No doubt, we're at the end of this now…"
"Oh, thank God," Abigail sighed in relief. "D-Does that mean we'll be…?"
Haruto folded his arms.
"...I don't know what'll happen next," Haruto stated. "Cassandra made mention that the game might not end after these outside forces come in. So, I guess we're going to need to see…"
"...Here's hoping," Holland firmly nodded his head.
"But I have a question…" Mimi looked down, concerned.
"What is it, Mimi?" Abigail blinked.
Mimi glanced back toward the monitors, with those same words plastered on the screen. Then, opening her mouth, she asked the question that everyone was probably thinking to themselves:
…
…
"...What happened to Arthur?"
(White Collar's Office)
Monohebi didn't know whether it was her broken machinery or what, but to see her Master White Collar at such a loss was enough to bring her much pain. She watched her Master seethe and growl in anger as he aggressively poured himself a glass of wine. Once he got himself a nice generous glass, he took off his mask and chugged it down in one gulp.
"MaaasTerr, plEassse, waaatttcH YouuuRsselff…" Monohebi tried to say but the more she spoke, the more her speech pattern was garbled up thanks to that villainous breakdown she had.
"Why now?!" White Collar slammed his glass of wine onto the table, shattering it. "I was so close! So close to seeing that brat get buried under ten feet of snow!"
"MAsterrr, I geeet IT…." Monohebi tried to assure him. "I kNowww HoW muCH yoUuuu WaNTed tO See HiM Peerrrrrisshhhhh buTTt…"
"How does he keep getting so lucky?!" White Collar yelled.
"RrelaXXx MasSTerrr…" Monohebi tried to say. "No OnE caNN sssssuRvive beiNG buriED alivvvee…"
"No one can," White Collar growled to himself as he leaned against his blood-mahogany desk with a furious tone. "Except Arthur Kingston. Everything went well until they managed to get within the vicinity. Blast it, Monohebi! You said that they were coming in three days! Why are they a day early?!"
"I… I…." Monohebi looked down. "Y...YoU alreaddyyyy asKKed meee tHat..."
White Collar slammed his fist onto the table and sat back. Without his mask, he was able to breathe freely and exert all that frustration he had felt throughout his entire day. Killing Cassandra. Killing Ina. And not even knowing if killing Arthur Kingston ended up working or not…
What a cruel, cruel world.
"MasTERRrrr?" Monohebi droned, trying to move from her spot on the floor.
White Collar glanced up at the ceiling, grimacing to himself.
"...What do I do now, Monohebi?" White Collar muttered.
Monohebi flicked her tongue out as she watched her miserable Master try to figure out a plan for her sake. It really did upset her to see him so worked up like this. She tried her best to slither up toward him, but given the damage all that logic battling did to her was making it quite hard for her. Weakly, she tried to speak through her corrupted voice box.
"D0 noTt fRet…" Monohebi spoke. "THeree issss sssso muCH yoU cAN ssstiLL dooo…"
Monohebi tried her best to slither up toward the top of his desk. After a moment's worth of struggling she finally managed to pull it off, and let the end of her skinless tail touch White Collar's hand.
"Afterrrr aLL…" Monohebi continued to drone. "THeY… arreeee afterrr MEee insTTead of y0u…"
White Collar glanced at Monohebi. Realization was slowly starting to set in for him, and he dared to confirm his suspicions.
"...What exactly are you saying?" White Collar slowly asked.
"...DesssTroYyy… Meee…" Monohebi weakly rasped.
It was exactly as he had suspected.
And it was also something he wasn't entirely happy with. Standing up, White Collar glanced down toward the snake that had been by his side for so long. For her to ask him to do such a thing was something he just wasn't ready to do…
"...Why?" White Collar asked, pointing the sharp end of his cane toward her.
"...I… aM to0 dAmaGEd to C0nTinuE yOuR m1SSSsssssioN, mY MaSter…" Monohebi rasped. "EveNn noW I feeElll mYssseLf fADinG…"
As she said, White Collar noted the glow in her jagged red eyes slowly starting to fade away into darkness. Similarly, Monohebi tried to look at White Collar's eyes, in hopes that he would look just as sad as she was feeling. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell.
"...What about your promise?" White Collar questioned. "I could simply shut you down. Get you fixed at a later date…"
"...UnFOrtunatELY…" Monohebi tried to shake her head. "mY sssUrvivaL rateee issss VerRyYyy unLIKEly… AfTeRRrr t0DaY… ReGarDlessssss…"
Monohebi allowed her jagged red eye to spark silently.
"BuT… to hEarR yOu caRE abOuT mE sssoo…" Monohebi weakly said. "It bRinGssss me j0Y…"
White Collar said nothing as the snake laid her head in obedience, allowing her Master to do whatever he needed to do to her. The man who was not wearing the Devil's mask at the moment could do nothing but stare at the snake offering up her life for him. He knew exactly why this had to be done. And he knew this was the only way to push forward with his mission.
And yet, surprisingly, he never thought he'd hesitate for a creature whose company he thought he would get used to…
"Monohebi," White Collar began as he raised up his cane. "...You have been of considerable use these past few years…"
Monohebi allowed her exposed eye to grow dark, suggesting that she was closing her eyes.
"...Please, do one last thing for me," White Collar continued. "Please…
…
…
…
…
…
…Activate Command #106."
Monohebi glanced up at her Master with intrigue.
It hasn't been a month since she was assigned to him and it hasn't been a week since she had latched onto him either. She was new to this kind of thing. Which made sense compared to the others. Her creation was solely dependent on him. Her Master. Her sweet, sweet Master. And yet, despite that, her Master has not once requested utilizing her services.
The snake was more or less confused on why…
Currently, her Master sat in a messy room surrounded by unclean dishes and plates. He sipped a glass of wine as he said nothing. He was maskless and he allowed time to be wasted. Monohebi flicked her tongue, sadness behind her jagged red eyes.
Others saw her Master as a serious man who was fading from his glory days, but Monohebi saw something different. She saw a man who had lost so much and on the brink of disaster. A man that needed someone, anyone, by her side.
That was her.
That was supposed to be her.
Monohebi.
The creation meant to serve. To obey every command. To live for her Master. To never leave his side until he has no more use for him…
"...Master, you have not requested my services for a bit," Monohebi carefully said. "Could I be of assistance to you in any way?"
She failed to notice her Master's body tense.
"...You know," Monohebi began, her eyes glistening. "I was made for many different functions. I could help you clean this place. I could help you make you food. Anything you wish for, Master, and I will do so."
Once again, she failed to notice her Master start to shake the glass of wine.
"M-Master?" Monohebi slithered up to him. "You know I do not like to see you like this–"
Her Master stood up and smashed the glass of wine on the floor. Monohebi gasped and shrunk back in surprise. Human emotions were of the many things that her creators' had gifted her with and at the moment, she felt the classic emotion of fear. It was enough for her to make her jagged red eyes glow faintly.
"M-Master…?" Monohebi asked.
"Stop calling me that!" her Master yelled, glowering over her. "Stop calling me Master! You don't get to call me that with that voice of yours!"
"M-Master I–" Monohebi felt hurt upon hearing him say such a thing.
"Look, I'm not your Master," her Master begged, the tone of his voice growing. "I never asked for you! I never asked for a servant! And I never asked for some snake with the voice of my dead daughter!"
Monohebi went silent upon hearing this.
She watched her Master's eyes swell with tears. She witnessed the birth of the evidence of what she had already long known about her Master. That behind his serious and cold demeanor, was a broken man who had lost everything he loved most to the shackles of society. She slithered up to him and placed the side of her head on his leg as her Master let his tears fall on top of the red wine that was seeping through the floorboards of his home.
"Grk…" her Master felt tears stream down his cheek. "I… I…"
"...Master," Monohebi glanced up toward him. "Activate it."
Her Master stared at her, body shaking.
"...I think you need it right now," Monohebi told him.
She watched her Master grimace as he placed a hand over his own eyes to wipe his tears. He tried to gain control of his voice as he breathed a bitter sigh.
"...I… Monohebi," her Master began. "A-Activate…"
Monohebi waited patiently for the command.
"...A-Activate Command #106," her Master ordered.
…
The maskless White Collar watched as Monohebi's jagged red eyes grew dark, shutting herself off as an old recording began to play through her voice box. White Collar pulled up a chair and then carefully placed Monohebi onto his coffee table as he listened closely. And there he heard it…
…a recording of his fondest memory…
"Hahaha! Daddy! You caught me! Hahahaha!"
"Haha, okay come on! Don't squirm around so much! Up you go!"
"Daddy! Daddy! Look at me! I'm flying!"
"Right? Now let's get you back inside, you little rascal!"
"Hahaha! Can we come back outside and play later?"
"Haha, why not? Of course you can!"
"Yay! I love you Daddy!"
The recording ended with the very line that never failed to make White Collar cry. Gritting his teeth, White Collar stooped down to the floor and felt the tears that he had tried so hard to wipe away slowly seep down his eyes once more.
"I… love you too," White Collar softly stated, never noticing Monohebi regaining that glow in her jagged eyes.
She watched him, curious and confused at first. But the moment she heard him, she knew that he had listened to the tape.
She slithered up to him, wrapping herself over his neck in an attempt to hug him.
And this time, White Collar allowed her to do so.
"...Thank you," White Collar softly told her.
Monohebi flicked out her tongue and felt a glisten of satisfaction.
"...Of course," Monohebi merely stated.
This was why she was created after all.
To serve. To obey every command. To live for her Master. To never leave his side until he has no more use for him…
When the garbled recording ended in real time, White Collar swung down his cane against Monohebi's head. With each hit, he realized just how durable the technology used to create Monohebi truly was. But he repeatedly smashed his cane against her head, creating larger dents and peeling off more of that skin on her body.
He could see sparks fly. He could see the oil squirting and seeping out of the unconscious robot. Tears swelled in his eyes, soon flowing with every swing as he noticed that the head of his scaly ally was close to being severed off. Her jagged eyes had gone black and had been shattered. And with one final swing…
…
Monohebi's head came right off, disconnecting his ties to the snake that shared the voice of his daughter. White Collar panted, noting the oily spill on his blood-mahogany table. His own cane was covered in oil. Feeling himself sweat and wiping away stray tears, he sat back against his chair and violently poured himself another glass of wine.
Once he did, he downed it all in one gulp.
He sighed to himself as he took out his handkerchief, still stained with Ina's blood, and began to wipe his oil-stained cane.
Monohebi was gone.
And it was just him now.
Just him against those left remaining.
…
"...Thank you for everything, Monohebi," White Collar said to the decommissioned body of Monohebi. "...And goodbye…"
White Collar stood up from his chair, allowing his cane to assist him in walking off and fixing his tie as he walked toward the door that would allow him to leave his office. All the while, he never turned back and faced forward…
…and allowed his jagged red eye to glow immensely…
(Auditorium)
Their Hope was a conflicting one.
When the four ascended up to the Auditorium via Voting Chambers, that was all they could think of. Arthur's status was practically unknown but they also had to note that no one could realistically survive an avalanche or, you know, be buried under what looked to be ten feet of snow.
Which meant that at the moment, this was it.
Abigail, Haruto, Holland and Mimi.
They were the only ones left. In the end, only 1/4th of what they originally had consisted of were left standing.
And to come to that conclusion just made things much more bleaker than it should've been.
"So, what do we do now?" Mimi asked, looking down.
"I don't know," Haruto sighed. "I kind of expected a full-on rescue squad but…"
"From the people who were actually in charge of this game?" Abigail deadpanned.
"W-Well, hey, you never know!" Haruto held up his hands in defense. "They could be pitying us for all we know!"
"...Regardless, I think we can't rely on help any time soon," Holland folded his arms, looking serious. "In the end, the only way to beat a game like this, is to take down the one in charge…"
"You mean, White Collar?" Mimi blinked. "But isn't he already going to be taken care of by the ones in charge of this game? Or do you mean the ones in charge of this game? I mean, do you think we can even take them?"
"...I… don't know," Holland folded his arms. "But I think what's happened now is that we have time to prepare ourselves…"
He glanced away.
"...for the final boss," he finished his sentence.
"Alright, then where do we start?" Abigail was the first to accept his assessment of their situation.
Holland thought closely about where they could start.
…
There was only one location that stuck out to him…
(Laboratory)
"The… Laboratory?" Mimi blinked.
The place that Holland had thought would be beneficial for them in the long run was the Laboratory. This didn't need much explaining. Compared to everywhere else, this location was the location that still had more mysteries left to solve. And it seemed that Haruto understood exactly why.
"Oh yeah," Haruto recalled. "Monohebi mentioned that this happened…"
"...Next, the #3 Bomb," Holland continued.
"The #3 Bomb…" Arthur was next to speak, folding his arms uncomfortably. "That was located in the Laboratory."
"Indeed, it was attached to the left window of the Testing Grounds," Monohebi added, looking pissed. "It was the very bomb that blew half of my face off… Ohhh, my poor Master. He will have to live with this ungodly sight of me until I get a new facejob…"
Monohebi sounded sad but due to that 'ungodly sight of her', she failed to express such an emotion.
In fact, we didn't really need a flashback, now that I think about it.
The evidence was in plain sight. The left window of the Testing Ground had been completely blown away, creating a path for them to enter the room without the need for that mega advanced eHandbook reader. Slight problem was the glass shards on the ground but besides that, it seemed that entering and exiting was going to be relatively easy.
"Ah, I see," Mimi gasped. "So that means… we can check out the Testing Ground! Alright! Let's do it!"
"Yeah, agreed," Haruto nodded in agreement. "Let's fucking end this."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Abigail smiled in relief.
Their time in this hellhole was soon to be over.
And yet, Holland had a horrible feeling that despite how resigned they felt, there was still more that was going to happen.
That was how this place worked after all, right?
(Testing Ground)
When they walked over the makeshift entrance to the Testing Grounds, the crinkling of glass was all they could hear with each careful step they made. Glancing around, they now got a clearer look of what the Testing Grounds actually looked like.
There was that human-sized pod that emitted a glowing green light, equipped with wires and tubes popping out of the top of it. Science equipment had long been strewn across the floor, likely due to the blast of Bomb #3 but thankfully, the files sitting on one of the tables seemed relatively intact.
"So," Haruto rubbed his chin. "This is the machine that #66 was supposedly put into."
"...The Kamukura Project," Holland recalled.
"But how exactly does this work?" Abigail examined the machine closely.
As the three checked out the machine, Mimi decided to take a good glance at one of the files. Instantly, the red bolded text of:
CONFIDENTIAL
…was enough to warrant curiosity.
Opening up the file, she hummed in thought. From the looks of it, what was already on the first page was a profile of some student. Given the format, it was similar to how their eHandbooks would format their profiles as well. Only this time, the information gathered had slight tweaks:
Patient #1
Name: XXXXXX
Gender: Male
Birth Date: January 1
Height: 5'8
Weight: 147 lbs
Blood Type: A
Results: DECEASED
Mimi blinked.
The name was crossed off so she couldn't really tell who it was, but curiosity was getting the better of her. She flipped through page after page, reading the names and information of Patient #2, then Patient #3, then Patient #4, so on and so forth. They all had names to them but none of the names meant anything to her. If anything, each name became more and more unrecognizable, but they all had a chilling pattern associated with each information she received: each of them ended up dead…
…until finally she reached one whose results were labeled as ALIVE with a circle wrapped around it.
She trailed her eyes toward the top of the page.
Her eyes widened.
She dropped the file and yelped in surprise, alerting the other three.
"M-Mimi?" Abigail widened her eyes. "W-What's wrong?"
Mimi said nothing as her wavering finger pointed directly toward the file that had fallen to the ground, conveniently on the page she was just looking at. Holland hurried over and picked up the file with intrigue, glossing over it. Similarly, his eyes widened too.
"...No way…" Holland muttered to himself, slightly horrified.
"Oi, what's going on–" Haruto glanced over the game designer's shoulder before reacting similarly. "H-Hold up, what the fuck?!"
"H-Huh?!" Abigail reacted the same way when she glanced over the game designer's shoulder as well.
Because what they saw on that file… They had no idea what it meant but what they saw on that file was something so shocking and crazy that they just…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Patient #66
Name: Titus Erskine
Gender: Male
Birth Date: August 1
Height: 6'0
Weight: 195 lbs
Blood Type: A+
Results: ALIVE
…
…
…
…
…
…
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
And that is the end of Chapter 5: Saviour of the Damned!
And we end off on a big reveal that I've been waiting to reveal for a long, long, long time now ;-; And a lot of you actually managed to figure it out thanks to all the wonderful hints I have supplied for you all :D Yes! Titus Erskine is the revolutionary Prisoner #66 or rather... Patient #66. And what does this mean? You'll find out in the thrilling final Chapter of Chapter 6 :D Man, did not think I would make it this far! I know I keep saying this but seriously! Man! This feels great!
Anyway, Corrupted Hope break time.
But first things first, the title: Saviour of the Damned! As you could see, I pulled the story of Moses who famously led the Jews out of Egypt. But while no one actually led any Jew out of St. Esther's, Saviour of the Damned was more so in relation to Ina and Cassandra's actions throughout this Chapter. They did everything they could to help the others but, in the end, they died to their own insane plan. Guess you can also call the bombs the plagues or you can also call Monohebi, the true saviour of the damned, White Collar. The meaning is endless but that's just my two cents on things!
Now that Ina and Cassandra's full plan has been officially revealed, I think I can also finally reveal that in my original plans, Chapter 5 Victim and Killer was very... undetermined. It was a hard conflicting choice between Ina as the victim and Cassandra being the killer... or Cassandra being the victim and Ina being the killer. It was a lot of back and forth for a while and everyone was pretty damn sure that Ina and Cassandra were dying so just like Carter and Maggie, I said screw it, and made both of them the victims. And then somehow, White Collar became a killer and Arthur became a quote-on-quote "killer" as well.
In terms of Trials goes, this was definitely a really hard Trial to write. For a while, I thought it was kind of messy, but people still liked it and I really think the Trial works the best narratively. Chapter 3 had the best functioning Trial. Chapter 4 had a great twist. But Chapter 5 was definitely more narrative as you had the whole battle against Monohebi and it was so flubbing cool. Special shoutout to Otterplay who helped me fix a big plot hole in the Trial so all the more reason to check out his soon-to-be-released fic:
Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alteration!
It's Danganronpa! But in SPAAAAAAACE!
Oh, and also, now that Chapter 5 is done, I'll be directing some attention to working on Twisted Tragedy's Chapter 1. So do check out that fic too!
Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy!
It's Danganronpa! But with CLOWWWWWNS!
Also, unfortunately, we also got to see the end of Monohebi D: First off, thank you so much to SilverMark16 for allowing me to write her! In the original Beta version of Corrupted Hope, there was no Monohebi so her being created out of nowhere was a major surprise for me. Her entire relationship with White Collar is meant to be seen as hilarious at first but as time goes on and the more you learn about her, the weirder her relationship with him gets. And then over time, it becomes... somewhat sweet? Monohebi and White Collar's relationship has always been planned to be a secretary and CEO type relationship and she was definitely really fun to write. But unfortunately, her time ends here D:
Also, to anyone who shipped Monohebi and White Collar together, shame on you!
And finally, one last thing to say: Arthur Kingston. Similarly, thank you so much to SinWriter7 for allowing me to write him! He was definitely someone with the biggest plot out of everyone! I do have some regrets, but I also have mostly positive things to say about writing him. He was really fun to write! I loved giving him that chance to explore his secret sibling drama! And overall, I think he was a fantastic character. While he was basically a Byakuya-type deal, Arthur Kingston was a little more than that. He was basically Byakuya but if he actually had a little more humanity than the Togami we had to see in the show. And while for the most part, he was a total scumbag, he was definitely a to- Hey, wait a minute...
…
…
…
An accumulation of snow had stacked itself one after the other.
It was cold. With the temperatures dropping and the weight being equivalent to 66 mattresses, Arthur Kingston found it most certainly difficult to try to scurry his way back to the surface. The grotesque abundance of snow was suffocating him. He tried to breathe, but all he felt was the wet snow latch itself onto his skin, adding more to the apparent frostbite he was starting to get.
He scratched and dug his way out. His heart beat louder than before as he failed to recall what exactly had happened. The avalanche had gotten closer that he had tumbled and began to roll down the steep cliff. After that, it was blank.
Almost as if the execution itself had been shut off right before the avalanche had enveloped him and buried him alive in snow.
But still, he continued to dig his way out.
No matter how much he wanted to die, the suffocating feeling of snow was bothering him. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to die like this. If he was going to pay for what he had done to his sister, it wasn't going to be like this. That was the resolve now as he felt his body heat drop down to an abnormal degree.
He panted.
He tried to keep what little breath he could maintain as he tried to dig his way out. He widened his eyes. The more he dug, the more hope was instilled inside of him. Hope in the form of light. Fresh air.
A wind that felt much warmer than the bodies of snow that was hugging him.
He shot his arm out.
…
And gasped for fresh air.
...
...
...
...Anyway, if you liked the Chapter. Let me know your thoughts. Subscribe to my channel. Yadda yadda.
Until then, Chapter 6 is a go!
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]