Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy (SYOC) Chapter 33: House of 1000 Low Spirits (Part 8), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits (Deadly Life #2)

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of OFFENSIVE cursing (thanks Monoyena, you fucking asshole!), character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos, and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there! Right?

With that said, please enjoy!

Static.

...

Lightning crackled in the sky!

Thunder boomed amidst the darkness!

A creaky gate!

And finally...

A scream!

All of those sound effects paved way for the funky familiar pop tune playing throughout the otherwise old vintage tape of what looked to be a music video. Dancing in the shadows and slowly making his way toward the screen was the outline of a familiar three-pronged jester moonwalking to the beat of the music. Moonwalking toward the creaky gate and pulling himself closer and closer towards the screen.

The lightning crackled.

The thunder boomed.

And this time, the outline got closer.

With a flick of a match, the familiar three-pronged jester's face was revealed. However, it showed not the face of the Stanczyk mask everyone knew and love but rather a Halloween rendition of it. With fangs replacing his otherwise straight toothy grins. With his cloak being replaced with something more akin to a vampire's cloak. But his grin and happy smile was ever so cartoonish. And finally, as he raised his hand up toward the screen, there they saw it: a bucket.

A bucket resembling a Jack-O-Lantern.

Stanczyk tilted his head, his grin growing wider as his red eye glinted enthusiastically.

"Trick or Treat!" Stanczyk exclaimed.

Then, the music kicked in:

...

'Cause this is thriller!

Thriller night!

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike!

...

Stanczyk moonwalked back into the middle of the setting he was in, dancing the iconic 'Thriller' dance. If TikTok wasn't getting banned, someone should totally make an animation of this because this is just stupidly hilarious to imagine at 6:42 in the morning.

...

You know it's thriller!

Thriller night!

You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight!

(Yeah)

...

And panning up into the dark yet moonlit night sky, were a set of ghoulish words and a cackle in the night:

'IT'S THRILLER NIGHT'

'ONLY AT PIERO'S PLAYGROUND'S HALLOWEEN EVENT:'

'TRICKS AND TREATS WITH STANCZYK'

Sponsored to you by the Towa Group. Giving children screams and delight but never a sense of fright!

...

Static.

[TRIAL COMMENCE]

"It's time to remind ya wankers on the rules of this Funhouse Trial!" Monoyena declared, bouncing on the soft cushions of his sofa in between Yukihiko's and Aidan's podiums. "Because holy fuck, you wanks are gonna need it!"

Cozying up on that big couch of his without his usual shrimp cocktail drink in his hands, Monoyena seemed pretty ecstatic over the two bodies that they had discovered. Sure, he would love to toast to that but maybe for once he can sober up. Stanczyk on the other hand? The poor jester looked absolutely devastated that something like this happened.

Tears welled up his eyes as he sobbed through his ripped piece of his jabot.

"H-How could this happen?!" Stanczyk wailed. "Two people?! Dead?! Th-That's… That's impossible!"

"Oi, whaddya mean impossible, ya whiny piece of shit?!" Monoyena snapped toward the jester. "We asked for two bodies; we got two bodies! That's fucking great news! Cause now, I can see more of these fuckwads get stoned at the stakes!"

Monoyena took out his Barbie Blade and twirled it around.

"Yea, that's right!" the hyena laughed. "Rules are simple! One of you fucks is the blackened and you gotta figure out who that fucker is! Once ya do, vote for them and hope yer right! If ya are, then only the fucker who did is the blackened. But if yer wrong…"

Monoyena turned to Stanczyk, who was still weeping.

"Oi, ya gonna continue yer line?" the hyena questioned.

"Ugh... gkk... uhh..." Stanczyk was sobbing.

"Fine, guess it's back to the good ol graphic imagery!" Monoyena grumbled, turning back toward everyone else. "If yer wrong, I'll fucking string ya up to the ceiling, cut yer neck with barbed wires, up until yer head comes clean up! Yea, that's right! I'm fucking Hereditary-ing this shit!"

Fun movie.

"But of course!" Stanczyk suddenly stopped crying. "This time… the Trial is a special case!"

"Because it's a Double Murder Trial, right…?" Alisa questioned, glancing away.

"That's right, best friend!" the jester proclaimed, excitedly. "You see, in a Double Murder Trial, the goal is to find out who killed the first victim of this case! The killer of the first victim of this case is our blackened! Finding the killer of the second victim is entirely optional and up to you to solve for funsies!"

"And ze first victim…" Manon looked down, thinking back toward the first thing that was mentioned when it came to this case. "...Zat would be ze first victim zat ze Body Discovery Jingle played for, oui?"

"Yep, that's right!" Monoyena grinned. "Looks like ya might worth somethin after all, eh? Ya fucking frog-kissing cunt!"

Manon was not very happy with what Monoyena said.

Even more so when she was in the process of healing her broken heart.

"So, who is it going to be?!" Stanczyk grinned. "Who was the victim first discovered today?!"

He tilted his head, his red eye glowing and his grin widening. His voice distorted as his gaze pierced into the remaining 10 playmates:

"Is iT KaZuKi nOBuKATsU…?" Stanczyk asked, his red eye glinting. "...oR NaTaSHa ViLLeRaY?"

A relatively easy question.

The choices were between Kazuki Nobukatsu and Beauté- Natasha Villeray. One didn't need to think hard about who the first body was discovered.

In fact, when the jester asked them the question to help them get settled in on their first Double Murder Trial, a lot of playmates seemed to have some sort of idea who exactly of the two they needed to solve for. One of which was a certain child caretaker with a notable person in mind for who this Trial is for.

"So, the first victim that the Body Discovery Jingle played for is the victim whose murder we are trying to solve…" Yukihiko twirled his braids around as a matter-of-factly. "If that is the case, then wouldn't the victim we are trying to solve for be…

…

…Beauté? Or Natasha? Or whatever she went by."

W-Was that… the Body Discovery Jingle?!

Fábio kicked the door to the Bathroom open, and rushed out of it. There he was, heading off to take a bathroom break when all of a sudden the Body Discovery Jingle ended up playing right out of nowhere. Usually, such a Jingle would sound when three or more people found a body right? So if that was the case… where would the body have—

He slowly widened his eyes.

"K-Kikuko," he let out.

"Yeah... I... have to agree with that," Fábio rubbed his arm, still wincing from trying to break the door open.

"Of course," Kikuko tipped her head down, her mind wandering toward any possible theories on how this could've happened. "The first Body Discovery Jingle that played was for Beauté's body. Presumably, Kazuki's played after. Therefore, the murder we should be focused on solving is for her."

"And what about Kazuki?" Alisa glanced away, frowning. "Are we just going to assume he didn't matter? Like we didn't find his body in the same state as Beauté's?"

"It's not that his death doesn't matter," Fábio shook his head. "It's more of a fact that the goal of this Trial is to find out who killed Beauté specifically. Besides, it's as I said during the Investigation…"

The figure skater stuck his hands inside his pockets.

"...Kazuki was found in a similar state as Beauté's body," Fábio said. "It's entirely possible that the killer who killed Beauté may have been the same person who killed Kazuki."

Alisa… seemed okay with that response.

It wasn't like Fábio didn't have a point. Given how they found both bodies, the killer of one of them may be one and the same. The only question now is who amongst them was that killer? Who amongst them… would kill two people in such a grotesque manner? Sure, one of those victims was Beauté, but even she didn't deserve a fate like that…

"Well!" Stanczyk bounced from his couch, excitedly. "That little scary girl was the first body discovered, you say?"

Stanczyk's grin widened, his voice starting to distort as he tilted his head once more.

"In the case..." he giggled as his voice started to distort, his head tilting once more. "BeST fRieNdS... WHo iS iT tHaT kiLLeD NaTaSHa ViLLeRaY…?"

...

"Before we begin, can we just get that little tidbit out of the way?" Mara folded her arms, slightly irritated.

"Tidbit?" Manon asked. "C'est quoi?"

"The whole Beauté/Natasha tidbit," Mara sighed. "Like seriously. If I want to find out who killed our victim, the first thing I want to get down is what we should be calling her from here on out. I'm already annoyed just hearing that jester call her by an entirely different name we've never heard of until now."

"Oh, Marabel," Yukihiko spat. "Of course, your mind wouldn't understand given how preoccupied it is with thoughts of murdering mothers. But I think the answer should be obvious..."

"That the Beauté Morose we've been hanging out with this entire time was a fake?" Aidan suggested. "Geez, no wonder she was also so cryptic with her words. She was probably a spy sent to make sure this Killing Game went according to plan or something."

"Or… Natasha Villeray is her real name," Yukihiko gave Aidan an unamused look.

"Oh, that too, I guess," Aidan chuckled sheepishly.

He never considered that option because he's an idiot.

"Hang on there, Yuki," Yumi tipped her hat. "How can ya be so sure 'bout dat? Maybe Aidan be right for once! Maybe dis Beauté we've been hanging out with might not have been da real Beauté. Maybe dis Beauté is a robot! And da real Beauté be–"

"This is the real Beauté," Yukihiko flatly remarked.

The child caretaker supposed that thanks Marabel's insistence, this was going to have to be the first thing they had to go over: the debacle regarding Beauté's name. Obviously, it meant that Beauté's real name was Natasha Villeray, but there were some people here that just didn't understand it because they were morons. They required proof. And that…

Yukihiko glanced at his nails as he thought about it closely.

There wasn't much evidence they found during the Investigation Period regarding this topic but there was a way to prove it. Yukihiko glanced around the room. It didn't take long for him to sigh. Yes, there was something in the room they were in that could help prove that Beauté's real name was in fact Natasha Villeray…

"What are ya sighin fer," Yumi blinked, before shaking her head. "Y'know dat until ah get proof, ah ain't letting this go. What proves dat really is da black-hearted snake's real name?"

"Simple," Yukihiko couldn't help but roll his eyes. "The proof you are looking for is in this very room. It's…

…

…our assigned podiums."

In terms of the podium arrangement, it looked like this now:

Aidan, a portrait of Alina's face being crossed off by conductor batons forming an 'X', Alisa, a portrait of Daisuke's face being crossed off by chicken drumsticks forming an 'X', a portrait of Emmeline's face being crossed off by a butterfly with an 'X' pattern on it, Fábio, Issac, a portrait of Kazuki's face being crossed off by two arms forming an 'X', Kikuko, Manon, Mara, a portrait of Beauté's face being crossed off by two knives forming an 'X', a portrait of Riku's face being crossed off by syringes forming an 'X', Roderick, Yukihiko, Yumi, and finally the couch in-between Yumi and Aidan.

Geez, that podium arrangement is getting longer by the minute…

"Have any of you ever questioned just how exactly we were assigned into specific podiums?" Yukihiko questioned.

"W-Well, no…" Yumi blinked. "Ah fail to see…"

"Then, look around, you fake Western," Yukihiko scoffed. "And try to see how exactly Monoyena and Stanczyk structured us. Or do you need help with that as well?"

Yumi did as she was told.

The cowgirl was a little confused at first as to why Kikuko was telling her to do this. In fact, it took a bit before there was even a reaction on the girl's face. Once she started listing off names was the moment, she slowly realized…

"Awww, hell naw!" Yumi widened her eyes. "Ya mean…"

"Our podiums were all assigned alphabetically," Issac sighed, running his hand through his hair. "You didn't notice that the first time we came here, Gundo?"

"W-Why in Sam Hill would ah 'ave bothered?!" Yumi argued.

"Fantastic job, Issac, honey," Yukihiko glazed the toymaker in front of everyone. "Glad someone here actually has brains. Our podium placements have always been assigned alphabetically. If you go down the list starting from Aidan down to mine, you will find that all names except one, is in correct alphabetical order."

"Beauté…" Manon realized.

"Huh, now that you mention it," Fábio rubbed his chin. "That's not the only time this alphabetical mishap occurred too. Think back to the results of every Trolley Problem question…"

Aidan: Girl

Alina: Boy

Alisa: Girl

Daisuke: Girl

Emmeline: Boy

Fábio: Boy

Issac: Boy

Kazuki: Boy

Kikuko: Boy

Manon: Girl

Marabel: Boy

Beauté: Girl

Riku: Boy

Roderick: Boy

Yukihiko: Boy

Yumi: Boy

Results:

Boy: 11

Girl: 5

Aidan: Friends

Alisa: Friends

Daisuke: Friends

Fábio: Siblings

Issac: Friends

Kazuki: Siblings

Kikuko: Friends

Manon: Friends

Marabel: Friends

Beauté: Siblings

Riku: Siblings

Roderick: Friends

Yukihiko: Friends

Yumi: Friends

Results:

Friends: 10

Siblings: 4

Aidan: Children

Alisa: Yourself

Fábio: Yourself

Issac: Yourself

Kazuki: Children

Kikuko: Children

Manon: Children

Marabel: Yourself

Beauté: Yourself

Roderick: Yourself

Yukihiko: Children

Yumi: Children

Results:

Friends: 6

Siblings: 6

"Beauté's picture was always placed in between Mara's and Riku's," Fábio pointed out. "And after Riku's death, Roderick. Both of them with names starting with the letter 'R'. And what letter comes between M and R?"

"Well, there's P and Q and O…" Aidan listed.

"N, specifically," Mara added, folding her arms and glancing toward the side. "N for Natasha."

"Congratulations," Yukihiko gave everyone a condescending look. "You now know the alphabet. And that is why, children, it's beyond a shadow of a doubt that Beauté's real name is Natasha Villeray. Stanczyk and Monoyena made painless efforts to allude to this revelation."

"Holy cow…" Yumi lowered her hat. "So, all dis time, dat girl was playing us for a fiddle over her real identity."

"It's Beauté," Kikuko sighed. "I don't think any of us should be surprised at this point."

Kikuko closed her eyes and thought about this outcome.

This may have been the first topic to cover but she was at least glad it came to an easy close. If anyone else still had doubts over Beauté's real name, she wouldn't know what to do. Or rather, she did have an alternative method of proving it, but it wasn't a method she really wanted to jump into unless it was a last resort…

"Hey, sis," Eiji stood next to Kikuko. "I think that weirdo with the caterpillar fetish is staring at you again…"

Kikuko opened her eyes to match Issac's gaze.

He seemed to have given her an amused look to what she had just said. Needless to say, it was… a little creepy. If Fábio gave her it, she'd have accepted it well. But Issac? Goodness, what was his game plan anyway? She could still see the hateful spirit of Isabela hover over him, doing little to ease her concern.

"Now then," Yukihiko scoffed. "With that out of the way, let's just call her Beauté as we usually did, and figure out how she died? Alright, my little munchkins?"

"First off, never call us your little munchkins again," Fábio retorted. "Second off, I guess the best place to start would be the Stanczyk File as always, right?"

Issac swiftly turned back toward Fábio, a crass smile over his face.

"Right," Issac caressed Isolde's chin. "Now then, this time, the Cause of Death is a little unclear for both of them. As it states, both victims suffered severe injuries to their bodies. Specifically, their bones. Meaning, whatever sick person did this sure had a knack for fracturing his victims."

"As always, there's no Time of Death for them either," Mara noted. "So, using that as a reference is totally out of the table as well."

"But if both Beauté and Kazuki were found with similar injuries on dere bodies…" Yumi rubbed the back of her neck. "Then dat means Fábio's right! We might be dealin wit a genuine serial killer around dese parts!"

"Technically, it takes at least three bodies to deem someone as a serial killer," Issac pointed out with a shrug. "Just pointing it out there in case anyone got confused over someone making some remark that means little in the end."

Well, I guess with Beauté/Natasha being a wandering Blue Spirit now, someone had to take her mantle of saying Meta stuff like that publicly.

"Exactly," Fábio had to agree with the cowgirl. "It's the only logical conclusion. The only question is…"

The figure skater thought about this closely.

The fact that both died in similar ways could very well mean that one killer was able to murder two people with the same method. Broken bones and having them look so... mangled was their modus operandi after all. Unfortunately for them, there was only one question that definitely hindered how they should go about this. Especially since they were forced to focus on Beauté's death…

"...What exactly killed Beauté?" Fábio asked.

Good question.

If they wanted to solve this case, they needed to think of a possible murder weapon. That's how they always started a case. Luckily for them, there was a murder weapon that they could easily pinpoint.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Aidan sighed. "I wasn't there at Beauté's crime scene."

"Heh, well if you were there, it should be obvious," Issac shrugged with a chuckle.

"Really?" Yumi tilted her head, curiously. "And what was it, cowpoke?"

Issac gave himself a moment to think. It was easy to see where this was going. He did have some trouble verbalizing it. Couldn't blame him. Not only did he have to force himself to think about the grotesque sight of Beauté's body, but he also had to figure out how to describe this murder weapon. Best way he could muster up was this whilst responding to Fábio.

"That murder weapon..." Issac hummed. "It could only have been...

…

…the kanabo."

"Oui," Manon nodded. "I do believe I may have found what ze murder weapon was."

"What… this… metal club?" Issac raised an eyebrow.

"Not just any metal club," Kikuko shook her head. "A kanabo."

"A kanabo?" Fábio blinked. "What the heck is a kanabo?"

"Think of it as a Japanese metal club," Issac nodded. "A club with a bunch of blunt spikes and everything. When Levesque, Yuno, Unmei, Cutler, Isolde, and I discovered Morose's body, it was sitting right next to her. And just based on looks alone, it was definitely capable enough to do the damage sustained to Morose's body."

"Well, den hawt damn!" Yumi grinned. "If it looks capable enough, den dat kanabo dang had to have been da murder weapon!"

"But if zat is ze case," Manon looked confused. "My next question is... where would ze killer have gotten such a grosse arme? Er, big weapon…"

She smiled in embarrassment over slipping into French.

French or not though, that was definitely the next question they had to figure out. Now that they had established a working murder weapon, next was where the killer could've gotten the murder weapon from. Just like the first question, this one was relatively obvious as well. In fact, this was the only place they could've gotten the weapon…

"Aye," Roderick folded his arms. "There be only one place the scoundrel responsible could've gotten the weapon…"

"Ah!" Manon smiled. "Monsieur Cutler! You have ze answer?"

"Aye," Roderick nodded. "It be the only place the kanabo thingie be…

…

…the Armory."

As a reminder, this room was located in the second door on the right, or if you're looking at a map, the top right door. That was where Roderick and Aidan found themselves exploring the Armory, a room dedicated to… quite a lot of traditional Japanese weaponry.

Think of it as a mini-museum type of ordeal.

Directly in the middle was the suit of armor of your typical samurai. Bestowed upon the samurai was a pedestal where a kanabo rested ever so gently. It was big and hulking, maybe not as the one Omen carried around in his spirit form, but a big and hulking kanabo was still a big and hulking kanabo. AKA, it was still scary looking.

"Hey, you're right!" Aidan blinked. "That thing had always been sitting there waiting for someone to grab it! I knew there was something off about the moment I first saw it!"

"D-Did ye?" Roderick looked at Aidan, incredulously.

"W-Well, I was thinking it," Aidan chuckled sheepishly.

"So, let me get this straight," Mara kept her eyes narrowed on Roderick and Aidan. "This kanabo weapon thing was just sitting there in the Armory and anyone could've grabbed it and used it at any time? There wasn't a glass case protecting it or anything like that?"

"Nay," Roderick shook his head.

"Definitely not," Aidan confirmed.

"Well, that doesn't help us one bit," Mara grimaced. "We not only have a murder weapon that was suitable enough to smash someone's bones but it's apparently extremely easy to get too?"

"Not only that, but if we're going by the notion that we're dealing with a serial killer..." Issac started to think ahead. "Then, we know that the Armory was significantly close to where one of our other victim's was found. Poor Nobukatsu in the Theater of Mystery, was it?"

"Yeah, that's right," Fábio nodded. "Therefore, I think we can confidently agree that our murder weapon is definitely the kanabo."

"And if that's the case, then I think I know who did it…"

"Huh?" Fábio blinked.

He glanced toward the source of the voice. That was when his face dropped. He shouldn't be surprised at this point. Three Trials now and it was always this goober that ended up being the first to accuse someone. At this point, Fábio wondered if Aidan Brighton was trying hard to win an award for 'Quickest Accusation' ever.

With a grin, Aidan seemed convinced that he had the culprit down to a tee this time.

Unfortunately, not everyone seemed highly confident in Aidan's skills of accusing people. Two Trials and he's been spot-on wrong. But hey, maybe third time's charm! Go on, Aidan! Say your peace, brother! Tell us, who do you think the killer today is!

"The killer who killed Beauté…" Aidan gave everyone a thumbs-up. "It can only be—"

"Nope, wrong," Yukihiko shook his head.

"I– I didn't even say who it is yet!" Aidan frowned. "You can't just discount my theory! I thought freedom of speech is supposed to be a thing, isn't it?"

"Depends on where yer living in America, buddy," Monoyena remarked, sipping his shrimp cocktail without a care in the world.

"Why bother letting you speak?" Yukihiko looked at Aidan with such distaste. "You always get it wrong."

"B-But I have good reason to believe it's this person!" Aidan exclaimed.

"Um, Monsieur Yuno," Manon tilted her head. "Even zough Monsieur Brighton is usually wrong, I would like to hear who he has in mind."

She tapped the side of her cheeks in thought.

"I do not zink it is entirely fair to not hear everyone's opinions on ze matter, non?" the actress suggested.

"Aye, I be in agreement with the maiden," Roderick folded his arms in agreement. "Let the laddie say his piece."

Yukihiko glanced around, noticing the amount of people who seemed to want to listen to what Aidan had to say anyway.

He didn't get it.

Aidan was a loser who would only waste their time with baseless accusations. Why bother listening to someone like that? He could see that there were some people that did agree that Aidan was always wrong, but he was still… outmatched? There were still those that actually wanted to hear him out?

He sighed.

"Fine," Yukihiko muttered. "Who are you accusing this time?"

"Sweet!" Aidan grinned, giving his two supporters a thumbs-up. "Manon! Roderick! Thank you, guys!"

Then, he chuckled sheepishly.

"So uh, I take it no hard feelings for all the times I accused you two?" Aidan rubbed the back of his neck.

"On second zought, maybe it is fine we don't listen to him," Manon quickly switched, slightly frantic.

"Aye," Roderick lowered his beanie. "I be in agreement with ye once again, maiden."

"W-What was that switch-up?!" Aidan exclaimed.

"Enough," Alisa fixed her glasses, slightly annoyed. "The longer we waste time, the less we'll get done."

"I guess it's a good thing no time limit has been implemented into these, right Monoyena?" Stanczyk turned to Monoyena with an innocent smile.

"There is a time limit," Monoyena muttered before smashing his shrimp cocktail on the ground and taking out his Barbie Blade. "It's called, 'you take too long, you piss me off, therefore, I'll fucking execute everyone in this fucking room!'"

"You heard the hyena, Brighton," Issac ran his hands through his pink hair with a smile. "Get to it. Who were you going to accuse?"

"Kazuki," Aidan said, straight up.

Silence.

Then…

"What?" Issac blinked.

"K-Kazuki?!" Fábio recoiled in shock.

"You zink Monsieur Nobukatsu killed Madame Morose?!" Manon looked at Aidan, shocked.

But compared to the shock of who Aidan was exactly accusing, only one person was actually angry. Alisa slammed her hands against her podium and leaned forward, her eyes flaring up over the thought of Kazuki being accused of murder. She knew Kazuki. He was the person that was closest to her.

And for Aidan to defile his image like that…

"How dare you?!" Alisa glared at Aidan. "You really think Kazuki would stoop so low as to murder?!"

It was… definitely a sight to behold when it came to someone as frail as Alisa.

"Whoa, relax!" Aidan recoiled, holding his hands up defensively. "Look. If you need to cool down, I got water bottles for–"

"I don't want your water bottles!" Alisa shot him a dirty look. "I want you to explain yourself. How could you think someone like Kazuki could even do something like that?"

"That's what I was getting to!" Aidan sighed, shooting her his thumb to the side. "Before you get all pissy with me, at least hear me out!"

Alisa clutched onto the side of her podium, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm down. If Kazuki was here, he'd be sure to tell her to remain composed. He was always looking out for her. That was the kind of person he was. So, to think someone would say otherwise… She can't stand for this.

She couldn't.

Once Aidan states his theory, she was going to be the one to rip it to shreds. That was the least she could do for Kazuki's memory. She opened her eyes, feeling herself cool down just a bit, before watching the track star recite his Testimony with that thumbs-up and overconfident look on his face.

…

"Look, I know it's crazy but believe me, I got my reasons as to why I think Kazuki was Beauté's killer," Aidan explained. "Reason number one, Kazuki is someone with easy access to the murder weapon, that cannibal thing."

"Kanabo," Kikuko corrected, supplying some white noise for someone to shoot down for points or whatever.

"That doesn't prove anything," Alisa argued. "The kanabo was easy access for anyone who wanted to go and get it."

"True, but it was the easiest for Kazuki," Aidan shrugged with a smile. "Why?"

He stuck out his thumb, giving the clockmaker a thumbs-up.

"Because he was rooming with me and Roderick in, that's right, the Armory!" Aidan reminded everyone. "That man not only had easy access to the murder weapon. He had easy access to the murder weapon, 24/7!"

"But if that's the case, wouldn't you and Roderick be on the suspect list as well?" Fábio rubbed his chin.

"I thought someone would say that," Aidan seemed proud of himself for predicting what someone was gonna say. "But unfortunately, it can't be me and Roderick because of the simple fact that it just isn't us!"

"H-How can you say zat with such confidence?" Manon glanced at Aidan, incredulous.

"Because me and Roderick are like bros, man," Aidan gave Manon a thumbs-up. "I know he didn't kill anyone, and he knows I didn't either."

"Er, aye, I guess?" Roderick blinked.

"Since when was the bro code a valid piece of evidence?" Yukihiko stared at Aidan with a blank expression on his face.

"Ha, if we're going by friendship rules, tell that to Kido," Issac threw in there. "Y'know. The culprit from our last Trial?"

"N-Now's not the time to be stirring up bad memories here!" Aidan glanced away, pained. "A-Anyway…"

As Aidan tried to shove the thoughts of what happened between him and Daisuke out of his mind, the track star cleared his throat and continued with his Testimony. He shot everyone another thumbs-up, but this time, it wavered.

"It's easy to see what happened," Aidan continued. "Kazuki took the club thing from the Armory and found his target in the Ballroom: Beauté. Then with it, he beat her to death. It was effortless and brutal."

He folded his arms in thought.

"As for what happened to him after that, I have no idea," Aidan shrugged. "The guy probably got killed by a second killer or something."

"But didn't we establish that the culprit had to have been the same person?" Kikuko frowned. "There can't be a second killer."

"That was before we established what the murder weapon was," Aidan pointed out. "But now that we know it's the cannonball thing–"

"Kanabo," Kikuko corrected once more.

"-It's not hard to imagine anyone else using it and beating Kazuki to death the same way he did to Beauté!" Aidan grinned, before giving the shrine priestess a thumbs-up.

Kikuko had her objections but ultimately, what can really stop Aidan's tangents was evidence. And right now, she needed find which statement was off and use what she knew to counter it. She had to. Especially since this theory was already an assorted mess of nonsense...

"Anyway, this Trial is focused on what happened to Beauté, anyway, right?" Aidan sighed. "As sad as it is, we can't really bother with any stuff about what happened to Kazuki after he killed Beauté."

Aidan took his water bottle and slammed it against his podium.

"But what we can bother with is what he did to Beauté with the murder weapon!" Aidan exclaimed. "Kazuki killed Beauté with the murder weapon! That's the truth behind this case!"

Of course, Aidan would be the type of guy to accuse a dead guy of murdering someone. And despite his attempts of glossing over key information, what did stand out was his main subjective reasoning as to why he thought Kazuki was the culprit.

Kazuki was indeed someone who booked the Armory as his room, meaning he did have the biggest opportunity to use that as a weapon. But was that really the case? Was Kazuki really the person who used the kanabo to kill Beauté? Or better question…

Could Kazuki really use the kanabo to kill Beauté?

Kikuko slammed her hands against her podium.

"Pardon me..." Kikuko spoke with serenity before looking absolutely determined. "But what you have just said was wrong!"

"Huh?!" Aidan widened his eyes. "W-Where did I go wrong this time?!"

"Well, you did purposely gloss over a handful of information to suit your narrative…" Kikuko remarked. "But the most important thing here is that you mentioned that Kazuki killed Beauté, effortlessly. Is that right?"

"Well, yeah, what about it?" Aidan folded his arms. "It's not hard to use a metal club to beat someone to death."

"Unfortunately, it is," Kikuko shook her head. "The reason why Kazuki would not be able to use the kanabo to kill Beauté is because…

…

…it's heavy!"

"W-What?!" Aidan crushed his water bottle so tightly that the cap popped open, smacking him across the forehead. "Ow!"

He was going to be the judge of that. Stepping forward to the kanabo, he kept two hands against the grip of the weapon and prepared to lift it. But it was just like Manon had said. It really was difficult to wield, let alone hold. His smirk faltered. Now, he looked frustrated as he tried his darnedest to try to lift up the weapon properly.

After a few minutes, he finally gave up.

"I suppose you weren't kidding," Yukihiko muttered. "This weapon truly is difficult to carry around, let alone wield."

"You weren't there..." Kikuko recalled. "But based on reports from both Manon and Yukihiko, we can confirm that the kanabo in question was very heavy. In fact, it was so heavy, wielding it for them was nearly impossible."

"Ah, of course," Alisa fixed her glasses, looking thankful that Kikuko was helping to prove Aidan's theory wrong. "And if it was heavy, then that is precisely why Kazuki cannot be the culprit. Kazuki couldn't even lift it to commit murder. Your accusation continues to be baseless!"

"Whoa, hang on!" Aidan argued. "Just because it was heavy doesn't mean he didn't use it! I mean…"

Aidan snapped his fingers.

"I got it!" Aidan declared. "Where's your proof that Kazuki couldn't have wielded anything heavy?! I mean, the guy looked thin, but I've seen the skinniest people hold up 40-pound dumbbells with ease before! And besides, maybe it was just Manon and Yukihiko who couldn't lift it. Who says Kazuki couldn't do it either?"

Alisa and Kikuko were taken aback.

Oh, so he was throwing the 'show your evidence' card at them, huh? Very well, Alisa decided to take this one. For Kazuki's sake. Now, this one was simple if she just thought outside the box for just a moment.

Kikuko said that the kanabo itself was heavy. She'd imagine her Investigation proved that much, especially if she had witnesses to corroborate it. But she needed to prove a shadow of a doubt on why Kazuki, out of everyone, wouldn't be able to lift such a heavy murder weapon. The answer was obvious the more she thought about it. The question at hand: What would prevent Kazuki from lifting the kanabo?

Ah!

Of course!

"Even if Kazuki was like the people you've seen, there would still be no way for him to lift the kanabo," Alisa suddenly had an answer. "Because he was lacking the one thing he would've needed to effectively lift anything!"

"A-And what on Earth is that?!" Aidan tried to fight.

But Alisa had it all figured out.

For the good of Kazuki's name…

"Isn't it obvious?" Alisa fixed her glasses, leaning back and looking much more composed now. "It's…

…

…food."

"A-AH!" Aidan crushed his water bottle, this time allowing the water to blast him in the face. "D-DLBR IBR!"

He probably tried to say, 'Darn it!' amidst the water in his mouth.

"Right, now that I think about it…" Yukihiko rubbed his chin. "Kazuki never really got any food throughout the entirety of the week, now did he? In fact…"

Kazuki and Issac had entered the room, but there was something off.

Kazuki had looked a little paler. Weaker even. Unsurprising considering out of everyone in the cast, it was always him and Alisa that looked the most off-putting health-wise. Today made him look almost as bad as Alisa did yesterday. Those tired eyes with bags underneath. That grim smile he tried hard to maintain. But the wobbly and hazy feeling as the hunger was overtaking him.

Escorting him into the room was Issac, who comparatively, didn't look as bad as Kazuki did. Of course, this piece of shit got food so who cares.

By the way, Issac getting food can only be pinned onto Oddly. Man really came into my DMs and said, "You know what we're going to say? Fuck them kids! Feed my son!" Kindhearted and not psychopathic me suggested the latter but he declined. Man really said nope, eff those kids, feed my son, and fucked off to the Air Force.

Anyway, the first person to notice this change of physique was of course—

"K-Kazuki!" Alisa blinked, standing up and rushing toward him. "Are you—?"

"Ah… do not worry about me… Miss Zachary…" Kazuki smiled then let out a sigh. "I fear… The lack of food is getting to me…"

"Kazuki was lacking energy as the days went on," Kikuko continued Yukihiko's train of thought. "He never voted for Himself to receive food. He didn't win the first round of Hide and Seek. I don't even think he got any food after the second round either. So, if he was that malnourished…"

"What hope did he have of carrying a heavy kanabo as his murder weapon?" Alisa nodded. "Indeed. That is why Kazuki cannot be the killer."

Alisa pointed her finger toward Aidan.

"So, once again, I ask," she frowned. "How dare you try to defile his name like that?!"

"WHAH!" Aidan recoiled, taken aback by Alisa's outburst. "C-Calm down! It was just a theory! I'M SORRRRYYYYY–"

And with another squeeze of his water bottle, a flush of water spewed out into his face.

"-YYYYFLTTTTT!"

…

"Kazuki would've never killed anyone. That's not who he was."

Alisa spoke after a long period of silence.

"He was selfless," Alisa fixed her glasses, looking down in anguish and pain. "Amazingly selfless. The type to help others in need and never the type to cast down negativity on those below him. He was a good man. A very good man. He stayed true to his title, as the Man of the People."

Alisa took out her pocket watch, but this time, instead of looking at the time, she simply clutched it with all her might.

"Therefore, I cannot allow his name to be desecrated like that," Alisa bitterly stated. "He is not the killer. Based on his morality and how much he's done for us; it'd be blasphemy to betray his memory like this."

She turned toward Aidan, pocketing her watch and looking at him with slight annoyance.

"Do you understand, Aidan?" Alisa frowned. "There's no way I can accept Kazuki as the killer nor forgive the person who truly killed him. No way…"

"Madame Zachary…" Manon seemed to understand Alisa's feelings.

It was no secret that Alisa was undoubtedly the closest to Kazuki. Everyone had someone like that in this game. But to hear her speak up about Kazuki's character, as if she were reading from an obituary… It truly did make the actress wonder just how deep that closeness between the two really was.

"J-Jeez, I'm sorry," Aidan rubbed the back of his neck, apologetically. "I really thought I was onto something there."

"Well, you weren't," Alisa folded her arms. "In the end, accusing Kazuki was yet another baseless accusation. And one that didn't lead us anywhere."

"O-Ouch!" Aidan recoiled slightly, feeling slightly ashamed.

Compared to his previous failed accusations, this one definitely hurt the most. Everyone else had comical reactions to the earlier Trials, but this one… Nah. This one hit Alisa deep. And she made sure to rebound it back to Aidan, because all the track star could feel right now was guilt. Guilt that he would accuse a good man like that…

Damn.

Now he felt like shit.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Zachary," Issac suddenly spoke up. "Brighton may be cooking up the wrong meal, but an interesting point did get brought from whatever dish he just served."

"W-What do you mean?" Alisa turned to Issac, confused.

"Well, you see," Issac ran his hand through his pink hair with an innocent smile. "We kind of went over the fact on how Nobukatsu couldn't be the killer because the murder weapon was heavy."

"Yes, we did, but what's your point?" Mara narrowed her eyes.

"The point is…" Issac dropped his smile before letting out a smirk. "...If we're going by weight, wouldn't the killer realistically be the only person who can wield the kanabo?"

"Hang on," Yumi blinked. "You mean to say… You dink someone here is strong enough to lift up da murder weapon?"

"I don't have to think about it," Issac shrugged before caressing Isolde's head. "I know it. The people in the Ballroom know it. Although the kanabo is heavy, we still know of someone strong enough to actually wield it."

Issac lowered his gaze, smiling slightly.

"Wanna take a guess as to who that someone is…?" Issac smirked.

The kanabo was a heavy murder weapon. That was a fact that helped disprove Kazuki as a potential suspect. Also to note was that both Kikuko and Issac tried to carry the kanabo as well. And while they were able to hold it in the end, wielding it was an entirely different story. But there was someone that can do both. Why? Because they were the only one with this physical advantage…

"Ah!" Kikuko widened her eyes, understanding where Issac was leading this Trial toward. "So, that's who you think the killer is? Admittedly, it makes sense but…"

"Hold on dere, pardner," Yumi declared. "Befer ya start doubtin, ya gotta fill us in! Who does dis guy dink is da culprit to da murder?"

Kikuko started to hum.

"The person who Issac thinks is the culprit…" Kikuko began. "That would be…

…

…Roderick?"

"N-Nay!" Roderick exclaimed in shock. "Me again?! Is there not one Trial without me being suspected?!"

"Yeah, and it wasn't even me this time!" Aidan pointed out.

Clearly, he was more shocked about that than anything else. And as all eyes turned toward the deep-sea fisherman, Issac rubbed the back of Isolde's body, smiling. That same innocent smile that consistently told others that he wasn't doing anything wrong. If anything, he wasn't. He was just accusing someone who he thought would be the murderer…

"Hang on, Issac," Fábio seemed unconvinced. "How exactly do you know Roderick can actually carry the kanabo?"

"I would've thought it'd be obvious just looking at him," Issac shrugged. "But since you seem to want to know the answer so badly..."

Issac turned to Kikuko and then Manon.

"Yo, Unmei," Issac smiled. "Levesque. You girls remember what happened when Cutler decided to give it a try, right?"

Stepping in front of the kanabo, Roderick spat against the palm of his hands— why do people do that anyway? It's gross and disgusting and leaves germs on whatever they're touching after —and lifted up the kanabo.

"Aye," Roderick had to agree as he lifted it with both hands. "It be a little heavy but… It be not too much of a problem for me."

Compared to Manon and Yukihiko, he was able to do it quite fine. Though there did seem to be something on Roderick's mind, Issac turned to Yukihiko, a sly smile across his face.

"Indeed…" Kikuko nodded, her mind still in thought over this accusation.

"Oui," Manon nodded as well. "Monsieur Cutler was ze only person who was able to wield the kanabo effortlessly. So, knowing that much…"

"Bingo," Issac smiled. "And that's how you get a ticket to the top of the suspect's list."

He shrugged toward Roderick.

"Sorry, buddy," he apologized regardless.

"N-Nay!" Roderick exclaimed. "But it be not me! Just because I be the only strong one here, be not meaning I be the one who killed the lassie! That be mutiny against me morality!"

"And yet, the pieces fit together nicely the more you think about it," Issac shrugged.

"Nay!" Roderick pointed his finger toward Issac. "Lay out yer thoughts! Tell us why ye be thinkin I be the one who murdered Beauté!"

"You're asking me for my Testimony now?" Issac ran his hand through his pink hair, albeit a little more frustrated. "Jeez, the simple fact that you're literally the only person who can wield the murder weapon should be enough."

Issac glanced toward Isolde.

"What's that Isolde?" the toymaker tilted his head. "You want to do it anyway? Just to show these people what we're made of?"

Issac couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Alright, your wish is my command," Issac chuckled. "Don't say I don't do things for you."

"Oh great, he's talking to himself again, like a freak," Yukihiko muttered, scoffing as he twirled his braids around.

Though, freaky behavior or not, at least the accusation on Roderick has more merit as compared to Aidan's Kazuki accusation. Behind that creepy demeanor, Issac has always been one of the smarter members in the cast. Yukihiko couldn't deny that. So, whatever was expected in his Testimony should be nothing but sound logic.

That was what Yukihiko was expecting, as he watched Issac tilt his head innocently.

…

"I think it should be fairly obvious that Cutler is the killer," Issac explained, shaking his head as if it were truly the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, he is the only one here who would be able to wield it as a weapon. Unmei, Yuno, Levesque and I can attest to that much."

"Unfortunately, can't argue with that one," Yukihiko noted, slightly unconvinced. "While the rest of us struggled to hold it, Roderick was able to hold it just fine. I guess even without food, he still had the strength to lift heavy objects like that."

"Nay!" Roderick shook his head. "That can't be the only reason ye be accusin me fer this crime! That be like accusin the gun lassie of killing someone with a gun! Just because she be a gun lassie!"

"Yeah!" Aidan jumped in, ready to defend Roderick's point. "That kind of accusation is like way out of pocket, y'know!"

"Um, Aidan?" Yumi blinked.

Her expression shifted to a blank face.

"You were da person who accused me of killing someone with a gun," Yumi blankly stared at him.

"O-Oh… right…" Aidan blinked, before chuckling sheepishly. "Oops?"

Aidan was really taking some L's and callouts this chapter and yet, Issac seemed to find it all so amusing. He brushed his hair to the side, smiled, and shook his head with disapproval. His signature sprite.

"Lucky for you guys, Cutler's strength is only one reason why I think he's the culprit," Issac smiled.

Slowly, he began to caress Isolde once again, glancing down at her with a small somber smile.

"The second reason why I think Cutler is the culprit," Issac smiled. "Well, it's something from Brighton's original theory that can be applied here. Simply put, Cutler's accessibility to the murder weapon."

"Ah, you are talking about ze fact zat Monsieur Cutler was also a resident within ze Armory," Manon blinked. "Zerefore, just like Monsieur Brighton said about Monsieur Nobukatsu, he too could have 24-hour access to ze murder weapon."

"That's precisely it," Issac cupped Isolde's cheeks. "Great deductions, Levesque."

"O-Oh, oui!" Manon blinked, surprised at being complimented. "O-Of course!"

"N-Nay, even if I be having access to the weapon, I still be not the one who slain either of them!" Roderick exclaimed.

Issac stuck one hand in his pockets and closed his eyes, completely brushing aside Roderick's plea of innocence as he continued.

"Ha, so you say," the toymaker continued. "But we all know what happened next. You wanted to sacrifice two people. So, during the morning, you went ahead and took the kanabo from the Armory."

"Nay?!" Roderick widened his eyes. "Didn't ye hear what I said?!"

"You first found Nobukatsu in the Theater of Mystery," Issac continued, ignoring the deep-sea fisherman. "Bang! You swung down the kanabo, crushing him like the oni of old Japanese folklore."

"N-Nay!" Roderick exclaimed.

"Then, you found Morose in the Ballroom," Issac shrugged. "And just like Nobukatsu, you killed her too."

"N-Nay!" Roderick jabbed a finger in the toymaker's direction. "This be all wrong!"

"And once you had claimed the lives of two people necessary to escape the haunted house and end the Playtime Event, you left the murder weapon with Morose," Issac concluded.

The toymaker smiled.

"See?" Issac began, before pointing his finger toward the deep-sea fisherman. "Now it the narrative makes a little more sense. It was you who killed both Morose and Nobukatsu. Isn't that right... Roderick Cutler?"

"N-NAAAAAY!" Roderick screamed out in anguish.

Even though this accusation had a lot more merit than Aidan's accusation, it still had its problems. While one could acknowledge the sense it made for Roderick to be a suspect because of how easily he can wield the murder weapon and accessibility to it, Issac was still being vague about the other important parts of the murder. Obviously, it had to be because he didn't really know what happened in those specific spots. Didn't blame him. But at the same time...

Did Roderick really do this?

Was there anything in Issac's Testimony that contradicts the facts that he knew?

"No, that can't be right," Mara suddenly spoke up.

Issac tilted his head, curious and yet smiling innocently.

"And why exactly is that?" he questioned. "Isolde loves it when people challenge her."

"Look, I'll give you, or your toy caterpillar, the benefit of the doubt here and say that it's a plausible theory," Mara began. "But the fact is, there's no way Roderick could've killed anyone in the morning."

Mara slammed her fist into the palm of her hand with a fierce stare.

"Because in reality..." Mara began. "Roderick was...

…

…with Aidan!"

"I was with Roderick all morning," Aidan grinned, before allowing his brow to lower. "The moment I woke up, the poor guy was all freaked out over something. So, we were in the Bathroom throughout the entire morning. We did separate shortly before the first Body Discovery Jingle played though."

"With... Brighton?" Issac blinked.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Aidan suddenly remembered. "He was with me all morning! Yeah! We were in the Bathroom! Together! Though, not doing weird stuff, I promise!"

"Ye couldn't have said somethin before?!" Roderick turned to Aidan, incredulous.

"H-Hey man, listen," Aidan chuckled sheepishly. "I didn't think it'd be important enough to exonerate you of double murder!"

"The alibis do hold up," Yukihiko folded his arms. "Roderick also mentioned something similar to me too."

"Well then, how about this?" Issac frowned. "Brighton and Cutler worked together to pull off this crime and killed both Morose and Nobukatsu together!"

"S-Say what now?!" Aidan widened his eyes.

"N-Nay?!" Roderick exclaimed.

"That would still be impossible anyway," Mara shook her head. "No offense to these two, but you really think a bunch of bumbling idiots would successfully murder two people in a haunted house in the morning?"

"Tch!" Issac glanced away, rubbing Isolde's neck for comfort.

"The fact is..." Mara closed her eyes. "...There's literally no way for this crime to have been committed in the morning. Especially since that'd be the riskiest time to do so."

A strong point that Issac was forced to consider.

The fact remained that morning and onward would be the absolute riskiest time to commit the murder of two people. This especially accounted for the fact that the haunted house was a building with very limited rooms at all times, meaning committing a crime during the day was basically just suicide. But what if...?

Issac couldn't help but let out a more confident chuckle.

"Huh, not bad," Issac smiled. "Not bad at all Garcia."

Mara didn't say anything, but she was at least satisfied that she managed to help ease the situation.

"Fine, the crime couldn't have been committed in the daytime," Issac shrugged. "Sure. I'll agree with that much. But what if I fibbed my words a bit? What if instead of the daytime, Roderick Cutler committed this murder...

...

...at night?"

Mara considered that for a moment. Then, folding her arms and simply glancing away, the karate master revealed what she had thought about that conclusion.

"Actually, that would make more sense, yeah," Mara had no arguments there.

"N-Nay!" Roderick exclaimed. "Me thinks you were on me side, lassie!"

"Um, am I still included in that scenario or...?" Aidan raised his hand, confused.

"Pardon me, but I'm a little confused," Kikuko blinked. "If Roderick wanted to kill Kazuki, then wouldn't Aidan have noticed both of his own roommates gone? I mean, he shares the same room with Roderick and Kazuki, doesn't he?"

"Not when it's the middle of the night when Brighton would've undoubtedly been sleeping," Issac pointed out. "All Cutler needed to do was slip out, kill Nobukatsu and Morose, and slip back into the Armory."

"But again, Kazuki was bunking with Roderick and Aidan," Kikuko frowned. "I just... can't see the logic behind Roderick luring out Kazuki and only him for... any logical reason."

Right.

It just didn't make any sense.

"Um, actually, I may have to intervene here for a brief moment," Alisa jumped in, fixing her glasses in concern. "Roderick wouldn't have to lure anyone out last night because... Kazuki didn't actually stay in the Armory like he usually did."

"Huh?" Kikuko blinked.

"Last night he… was with me," Alisa looked down. "At the Photo-Op."

There was a silence as everyone blankly stared at her.

"H-He was with you?" Kikuko was surprised by that information.

"Oh la la~" Manon gasped. "And what were two up to in ze middle of ze night like zat?"

"I-It's not like anything you were thinking of!" Alisa shook her head, frantically. "It was… Kazuki and I… We were just…"

The clockmaker locked eyes with a stern-looking Yukihiko.

Just one look was enough to tell the child caregiver that she had done what she was forced to. That she revealed everything to Kazuki. And even though it went well, in the end, what did it matter. Kazuki was still dead, wasn't he? And there…

There wasn't anything she could do about it.

"I just had some trouble with something, and he came to help me," Alisa looked down, somberly. "The point is, when I woke up, he wasn't there. So, if that was the case…"

"And there you have it!" Issac exclaimed. "That would be the moment Cutler went ahead and killed Nobukatsu!"

"N-Nay!" Roderick groaned. "What did I ever do to ye?!"

"I take it you have another Testimony you would like to supply over how you think Roderick killed Beauté and Kazuki?" Yukihiko raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, absolutely," Issac shrugged with that confident yet innocent smile. "You ready to hear it?"

Roderick definitely was not.

But it wasn't like anyone had a choice. It really seemed like Issac was dead set on trying to control the narrative that Roderick was the killer. Whether he truly believed it or not, was up for interpretation. But what the others did know was that for now, this was the only thing they have going for them.

Issac caressed Isolde, smiling innocently before beginning his second Testimony.

…

"Since we all know how risky it would be for anyone to kill in a limited space like the haunted house…" Issac began his second Testimony. "We can say that Cutler had no way of killing anyone during the daytime."

"Right, because da bodies were found in totally separate rooms dat were subject ta change," Yumi nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, and the only time the rooms would've changed and offered Cutler a time and place to kill them…" Issac ran his hand through his hair with a smile. "...Was at night. Isn't that right, Cutler?"

"Nay!" Roderick exclaimed. "I dare say nay! I dare not even leave me room at night! There be… There be…"

Roderick started to shudder, which caught the interest of some people but none of them really asked any questions.

"So, let's go through this again," Issac completely disregarded the deep-sea fisherman's pleas. "This crime happened at night. And as a resident of the Armory, he had all the chances in the world to grab the murder weapon: the kanabo."

Issac caressed Isolde over her head.

"Noticing Nobukatsu's disappearance, he went to investigate," Issac continued. "Lo and behold, he found him at the Theater of Mystery. That's when he killed him."

Issac chuckled and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, sacrificing the blood of one wasn't enough to get us out of here," Issac decided. "That's why he went looking for another target. This time, it was Morose in the Ballroom. And the rest is history."

Issac shrugged, with that same smile plastered over his face.

"See?" the toymaker tilted his head. "The only problem with my theory before was that it took place at the wrong time. But now we know it took place at night; doesn't it make more sense now? Cutler didn't kill during the daytime; he killed at night!"

Issac's theory didn't really change much.

If anything, the biggest change was that everything took place during the middle of the night instead of during the day. And while that does clear up the conundrum of the rooms not changing during the day until the bodies dropped, someone realized that the same issue with Issac's previous theory was brought back once more.

"Non, I do not zink zat is correct, Monsieur Santiago," Manon jumped in, confused.

"Oh, what now?" Issac furrowed his eyebrows.

"Ah, apologies, but I do zink zat maybe Monsieur Cutler did not kill Madame Morose or Monsieur Nobukatsu," Manon pointed out.

"And why not?" Issac seemed to be getting a little impatient.

"W-Well, parce que…" Manon knew this. "You said zat Monsieur Cutler killed at night, but how could zat be possible when…

…

…ze lights were out!"

"H-Huh?" Issac blinked. "Th-They were what?"

"Mf… Madame Garcia…?" Manon rubbed her eyes. "H-Huh?!"

Just like Mara, she too was taken aback by the darkness she had found herself in. She glanced around frantically, the fear creeping in her system. She grasped onto the closest thing she could feel: Mara. The warm calmness of her body definitely contrasted the cold exterior the karate master often exerted. And if the lights were on, Manon probably would've considered latching onto Mara for comfort.

"W-Where… W-Why is it so dark?!" Manon exclaimed, looking around intensely. "M-Madame Garcia! Is zis still you I am—"

"Yes, it is," Mara grimaced. "Let go. Please."

"C'est vrai," Manon nodded. "Madame Garcia can attest to zis. We were up at night and ze lights were off ze entire time. Zat was when we decided to go and try to turn it back on. Like blind mice might we add!"

"Ah indeed," Kikuko had nearly forgotten about this account. "And if the lights were out, how would you think Roderick would've killed anyone if it was pitch dark in the entire haunted mansion."

"A-Ah!" Issac recoiled, though it was Isolde that showed the most expression. In fact, her antennae had jolted upright over the revelation. "Y-You're kidding me!"

He slammed his fist onto the podium.

"Damn it with the lights!" Issac groaned. "Couldn't he have just gotten a light source and used that to navigate his way through the house? That solves the darkness issue, right?!"

"Maybe, but then, do you really think he'd be able to kill two people while approaching them in the dark…" Mara jumped in with a shrug. "With a light source?"

"Grk!" Issac had to admit that Mara had a point.

"Zat is why zis zeory of yours…" Manon hummed. "It cannot be true. I do not zink Monsieur Culter is ze killer."

"Arrrrgh, thank ye!" Roderick sighed in relief. "It be tirin tryin to convince ye folks that I ain't a bad guy!"

"But…" Issac was trying to wrap his head around this.

He gestured to Isolde for help, but the toy caterpillar didn't respond. Either it wasn't interested, or it was on the same level of confusion as Issac was. Regardless, Issac tightened his fist and gritted his teeth, trying to think of any alternative solutions. He… came up with nothing.

"But… Cutler is the only person who's able to wield the murder weapon," Issac exclaimed. "If it's not him, who else could it be?"

"I'll ye who!" Roderick exclaimed, jabbing his finger in Issac's direction with fury on his face.

"Huh, now Roderick has a suspect?" Yumi blinked. "Golly, we're really going down da suspect list, huh?"

"Aye!" Roderick nodded. "I be telling ye who the real culprit be!"

"Oh, here we go," Yukihiko knew exactly what was coming.

He watched as Roderick lowered his beanie, slowly swallowing as if he were afraid to say it.

"The real culprit behind these murders…" Roderick gritted his teeth. "It be…

…

…the spirit of Omen!"

And… cue the silence.

"D-Dat's not even a suspect!" Yumi exclaimed, incredulous.

"The spirit of Omen…" Fábio furrowed his eyebrows. "Isn't that…?"

"The character from Gold House?" Yukihiko raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid so, honey."

He lowered a gaze toward the deep-sea fisherman.

"Oh, Roderick, sweetie," he simply said. "At this point, you're just making a fool out of yourself. If you're just going to waste our time, might I suggest a time-out in the corner so you can reflect on what you've said?"

Damn. He sounds like Sempi when she puts me in the corner for no reason on Shiro's Twitch streams!

"Nay, I be serious!" Roderick shuddered. "I've seen it! With me own eyes! Right there, in the middle of the night! I saw the spirit, clear as day… Er, night I guess in me case."

"Roderick… saw a spirit?" Kikuko blinked.

"Yep!" Aidan gave a thumbs-up. "That's why we were in the Bathroom together! I had to take care of the dude cause he got freaked out in the morning!"

She wasn't aware Roderick had a connection to the Spirit Realm. And if he did, that would explain a lot about his paranoia. But you can save that headcanon in your Tumblr feed or whatever. Because what Roderick was revealing was both ludicrous… and yet potentially helpful.

"But don't we already know that there weren't any spirits lurking in the haunted house…" Eiji hummed in thought. "Or at least, not until me and the other Red Spirits came in that is! Haha~"

"Yes, which could mean that Roderick had to have mistaken something for a spirit," Kikuko muttered in response to Eiji. "But… what?"

As she muttered, this time, both her and Eiji failed to notice the prying eyes from Issac at his podium. His smile looked half-baked. But after a small sniffle, his smile widened, and his gaze shifted back toward Roderick.

"I don't believe we have to listen to this," Yukihiko scoffed. "It's just another tall tale from a manchild with severe delusions."

"No," Alisa shook her head. "If he saw something, it's our right to listen to what he has to say."

Yukihiko eyed her strangely before twirling his braid.

"Tch, fine," he muttered. "But if we lose the Trial because of this..."

He trailed off, as if he were getting ready to make a threat. The threat never came. Though, the implications were definitely there. Ignoring Yukihiko, Alisa turned toward Roderick, inclined to listen to what the fisherman had to say, no matter how strange it sounded.

"Roderick," Alisa said. "Please tell us what you saw. What exactly was this spirit that you claim to have seen?"

"Aye," Roderick nodded. "I'll recount everything with the keenest of details, mateys!"

A fourth Testimony in a row and this time, it was a Testimony featuring Roderick talking about some ghost he saw. And by God, some people here were hoping this too wasn't yet another Testimony that would lead to some waste-of-time tangent…

…

"There I be in me quarters, the Armory, resting," Roderick began his Testimony. "When I be suddenly hearing a noise."

Roderick lowered his beanie, but with both hands, as if he were a child trying to shield himself from a scary movie.

"A door be opening, and there it be…" Roderick started to shudder. "A spirit, in the form of an orb! A spirit orb! Like a will-o-the-wisp but floating in the darkness. Brimmed with light but surrounded with darkness…"

"A spirit orb?" Alisa blinked. "That… doesn't sound like the spirit of Omen we've seen."

"Told you," Yukihiko scoffed. "You should never listen to the childish squabbling of a man suffering from mental issues…"

"Ignoring that," Alisa sighed. "Roderick. What made you think it was Omen in the first place?"

"Well, that be where it gets interestin," Roderick folded his arms.

Despite folding his arms and trying his best to look tough, his legs were clearly shaking. What he saw definitely messed with that paranoia in his head. He kept his grip over his arms tighter as he recalled everything.

"...The spirit orb… I swear... I saw them take the kanabo and something else from the Armory…" Roderick furrowed his arms. "I be not knowing what but… That was when I be sure it be the spirit of Omen."

"How does a spirit orb taking a kanabo relate to anything about Omen?" Mara raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, Madame Garcia," Manon blinked. "You do not remember? Ze character of Omen…"

"Ah, my friend!" Alexander chuckled, gesturing his hand toward the samurai. "Fashionably late as always I see…"

"That's right!" the samurai held out his hand which seemed to have blood orbs swirling around it. "Name's Omen! The Greatest Warrior and Enforcer this house has ever seen! Do not make me angry! You wouldn't like it when I'm angry! Got it, kiddos?"

When he made his threat, Omen tightened his grip on what seemed to be a large Japanese club: a kanabo.

"He always carries a kanabo as his signature weapon," Manon pointed out.

"Ah, now that you mention it," Alisa recalled. "But the character does have a pension for… crushing people to death with his kanabo."

She specifically recalled…

Kazuki looked at her, curious. For most of today, Alisa had been acting quite strangely. Kazuki wasn't sure why, but he supposed at some point, she would tell him the truth. Nevertheless, moving past the Monoyena painting and onto the next one, they would see a painting of Omen.

In this painting, Omen was standing over what seemed to be a pile of skeletons, roaring into the air as he held his kanabo with furious and bloody intent. Red flames seemed to have erupted from his body as he stood as the clear champion. As the Greatest Warrior and Enforcer this mansion has ever seen.

"Now… this is quite graphic…" Kazuki remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Are those… crushed bones?"

"I see, so the spirit orb bared some resemblance to the fictional Omen," Kikuko remarked. "But that's the key word. Omen is fictional. Meaning whatever this spirit orb had to have been something else."

"Fictional?" Roderick shook his head. "Nay! Unless ye can prove what, that spirit orb be, I be tellin ya! The spirit of Omen is among us! And he has claimed the lives of two!"

A spiritual orb that just waltzed into the Armory and took two items: a kanabo and something else that Roderick wasn't able to see. Obviously, this was no spirit. But in order to put Roderick's mind at ease, they needed evidence to prove what exactly it was that he saw.

A spirit orb brimmed with light…

Wait.

Could it be…?

"Ah, hold on there, Roderick," Kikuko blinked. "I believe I may have discovered the identity of your spirit orb."

"A-Aye?" Roderick blinked. "It be the spirit of Omen, nay?"

"Far from it," Kikuko shook her head. "You said that the spiritual orb was brimming with light, correct? Then, theoretically, could it not simply have been…

…

…a crystal ball?"

"A– A crystal ball?!" Roderick widened his eyes.

All in all, the room was much more mystical compared to the eeriness of the others. At the moment, all focus was on the glowing blue ball sitting directly in the middle of the purple cloth-covered table. Upon closer inspection, both Issac and Kikuko instantly recognized it as a crystal ball. Even closer and they could see a head inside it. The head of the blue-haired woman with those bandages over her eyes:

Empress.

"Correct," Kikuko nodded. "There was a crystal ball located in the Séance Room. Its purpose served as an interactive object for the room. But most importantly, it is the most fitting description of the spirit orb that you may have seen."

"A– A crystal ball be the spirit orb?" Roderick still couldn't wrap his head around it. "B-But… Nay! This don't be making any sense! If ye are saying the spirit be nothing but a crystal ball, how come it be floating?!"

"Were you born stupid?" Yukihiko scoffed, impatiently. "The crystal ball wasn't floating; it was being carried. By whom? Well, that should be obvious too…"

"The killer, right?" Fábio surmised.

"Indeed," Alisa fixed her glasses. "What Roderick actually saw wasn't a spirit of Omen, but rather the killer moving into the Armory to collect the murder weapon."

"Nay!" Roderick shook his head. "B-But why carry the crystal ball? Just to play scrutiny against the mind of a poor sailor?!"

"Far from it," Mara shook her head, understanding where this was going. "There's only one reason why the killer was holding a crystal ball with them."

Right.

This one was an easy one.

"The reason the killer had a crystal ball…" Mara began. "It was because they…

…

…were using it as a light source."

"A light source!" Roderick widened his eyes. "Nay, ye be saying…"

"Yeah," Mara sighed. "The only reason the crystal ball was even used was because it was, as you said, brimming with light. And during the middle of the night when the Lights were turned off, the crystal ball was exactly what they needed to use to navigate through the Armory."

"Unfortunately, I guess they weren't being nearly as discreet when it came to sneaking past the most paranoid person in the group," Issac remarked. "But lucky for them, you were probably too scared out of your mind to engage."

This was what happened when people take Roderick's guns away. He could've stopped the 'ghost' but everyone said naaaah.

"Okay, so we know dat da killer had da crystal ball and dey used it to take two objects from da Armory," Yumi tipped her hat. "In dat case, do we even know who dis mystery person was?"

Yumi shot a finger gun toward three specific boys: Issac, Fábio, and Yukihiko.

"Maybe it was one of you three!" the cowgirl exclaimed. "Y'all were da ones staying in da Séance Room, weren't ya?"

"Well, don't look at me," Yukihiko glanced at his nails, scoffing. "It wasn't me."

"I could say the same for me," Issac chuckled, shaking his hands.

"Honestly, we can all say we didn't do it," Fábio stuffed his hands in his pockets. "But it's not going to get any of us off the hook. Especially if we can't prove that we weren't the ones who took it."

That was the realism talking.

But at the same time, it was a fascinating question for Kikuko to ponder. Who exactly did take the crystal ball? If they had that person, they were sure to have the culprit behind Beauté's murder!... Wait. It didn't take long for her to realize something important. A piece of evidence that could link the culprit of the spirit that Roderick saw…

"Hang on a second," Kikuko spoke in realization. "I think… I think I might know who the person carrying the crystal ball was…"

Yeah, but if this was the case then…

What did this mean?

"Who was it, Kikuko?" Fábio asked, expectantly.

"The culprit of the spirit that Roderick saw," Kikuko slowly realized. "The person who snuck into the Armory with the crystal ball and stole two items from it. Was it…

…

…Beauté?"

"Beauté?!" Fábio exclaimed in surprise.

"W-What?!" Alisa was surprised as well.

"Quoi?!" Manon couldn't believe it. "Mais… Madame Morose was… ze victim was she not?! How could she have gotten ze very murder weapon zat killed her and Monsieur Nobukatsu?!"

Kikuko… had no idea.

What did this even mean for them anyway?

If Beauté was the one who had the murder weapon, then how the hell did things go the way it did? There were more questions than answers that arose from this deduction. But the first question that someone needed more specifying…

"Non!" Manon shook her head. "I cannot accept zis as true! Zis does not make any logical sense! Madame Unmei! Why do you zink it was Madame Morose in ze first place?"

Why did she think it was Beauté in the first place?

Well, that was easy.

There was one piece of evidence that tied Beauté to being the identity of the wielder of the crystal ball. He remembered it well during his Investigation. That piece of evidence. It had to be…

"The reason I thought it was Beauté," Kikuko began. "It's because of this piece of evidence…

…

…the shattered pieces of glass."

Ignoring Yukihiko's attitude and refocusing on the investigation, Manon took note of another key piece of evidence that was left by Beauté's body: a glass object left behind in nothing more than shattered pieces.

"Quoi?" Manon blinked. "Now what is zis?"

She reached down to pick up a piece—

"A-Ah!" Manon widened her eyes. "You mean..."

"Oh, that's right," Issac brushed his hair to the side with a smile. "That fun little jigsaw thing we did. We tried to reassemble it and when we did, whatever it was, we could tell it used to be something spherical."

"Right," Kikuko nodded. "And the only spherical object that's made of glass in this haunted house… was the crystal ball!"

"Nay!" Roderick couldn't believe it. "So that spirit I saw be the foundation that rest beside the fallen sea witch?!"

He gritted his teeth, looking ashamed.

"To have fallen for such a cheap trick," the deep-sea fisherman grumbled. "I'll send meself to Davy Jone's Locker just for that."

"Hey, no need to get all worked up about it," Aidan assured Roderick. "In the end, it actually gave us a new conclusion to work with, right Kikuko?"

"Yeah…" Kikuko lowered her head as if she were praying. "A new conclusion. All this time, Beauté was the one who prepared the murder weapon. But what does that—"

"Ze show is not over yet!" Manon interjected.

With a dazzling gleam, Manon's sprite flushed across the screen, her hands extended like she was on stage in front of an audience. A dazzling gleam so bright that it nearly blinded Kikuko. The shrine priestess recoiled, widening her eyes in shock.

"W-What the– Manon?!" she exclaimed.

"Non, zere is still a lot of questions zat needs to be answered," Manon dictated. "You say Madame Morose was ze one who took ze murder weapon! But have you forgotten what we had went over about it?"

"You weren't there..." Kikuko recalled. "But based on reports from both Manon and Yukihiko, we can confirm that the kanabo in question was very heavy. In fact, it was so heavy, wielding it for them was nearly impossible."

"Ah, of course," Alisa fixed her glasses, looking thankful that Kikuko was helping to prove Aidan's theory wrong. "And if it was heavy, then that is precisely why Kazuki cannot be the culprit. Kazuki couldn't even lift it to commit murder. Your accusation continues to be baseless!"

"A-Ah!" Kikuko realized.

"C'est juste!" Manon declared, proudly. "Ze murder weapon was heavy! If Monsieur Yuno and I could not wield it, how could a petite woman like her do so aussi?"

"Yes, but…" Kikuko was about to say before Manon cut her off.

"Mais, also remember where we found Madame Morose?" Manon questioned.

"In the Ballroom– AGH!" Kikuko realized where exactly Manon's argument was leading toward.

"Oui!" Manon dazzled Kikuko with her logic. "Madame Morose was found killed in ze Ballroom. A room one floor below ze Armory! Which means by saying zat she is ze culprit who took ze murder weapon in ze first place…"

Manon shook her head.

"Zat cannot be true!" the actress declared. "She would have a hard time carrying ze murder weapon one floor down to where she had died. So, what do you have to say about zat, Madame Unmei?"

Kikuko took the time to think.

Behind Manon's thick French accent, she made a strong point. The murder weapon was already established to be quite heavy. Someone like Beauté would've clearly struggled on trying to bring the weapon down to the Ballroom where she would eventually meet her demise. Actually, she would've definitely struggled if she was carrying a crystal ball and another unknown weapon as wel! There had to be another way.

"...I think Beauté found an alternative path to get to the Ballroom," Kikuko said.

"You zink?" Manon remained unconvinced. "And… what was zis path per chance, Madame?"

Kikuko said nothing.

She was still thinking about the answer but truthfully, nothing came to mind. Nothing that could really prove that such an alternative path actually existed.

"See?" Manon huffed. "You do not have ze answer for such a simple question. Madame Morose was not ze culprit with ze crystal ball who stole ze murder weapon. Zat had to have been someone else. Someone who planted ze crystal ball and ze weapon to make it look like it was her–"

"Allow me to give you a hand!" Alisa intervened.

Alisa came in holding out a pocket watch in one hand and fixing her glasses in the other. She gave a look toward Kikuko, promising her that she was here to help her in supplying information that she herself was unable to provide. Something that could prove the alternative path does, in fact, exist!

"No Manon, I do believe that Kikuko may be onto something," Alisa fixed her glasses. "There is in fact an alternative path to reach the Ballroom."

"C'est quoi?!" Manon looked surprised. "A-And where would zis path be?!"

"The alternative path to the Ballroom…" Alisa knew full well where it could've been. "The only place that can be is here…

…

…the Art Gallery!"

"Ze Art Gallery?!" Manon looked surprised. "I haven't seen zat room… ever!"

"Then, let me tell everyone what exactly was in that room," Alisa fixed her glasses once more. "Because if you guys don't remember, when Kazuki and I investigated it…"

Passing by the open double doors, the two found themselves in what seemed to be a large circular room, much like the Ballroom. The general structure of the room was… to put it simply, much like a donut. There was an outer ring that Kazuki and Alisa were able to explore. But in the middle securely protected with wooden fences, was a hole.

Peering over this hole, they could easily confirm that it was not a bottomless pit. In fact, it seemed that straight down was what seemed to be the wooden floorboards of another large circular room.

"Could that be the first floor?" Alisa suggested.

"Could be…" Kazuki remarked.

He held out his hand to make sure Alisa didn't peer over the edge a little too far. For all he knew, these wooden fences wouldn't be much support for anyone exploring this little room.

"Careful…" Kazuki told Alisa. "... Judging by the distance… falling from this height does not look appealing at all…"

"No need to tell me twice," Alisa shuddered.

"There was a hole in the middle of the Art Gallery," Alisa revealed. "A hole that led directly down toward the first floor. And if you haven't realized it. What would be resting underneath the Art Gallery at that time was…"

"...Ze Ballroom," Manon widened her eyes in shock. "Mais… just how high was zis hole from ze Art Gallery to ze Ballroom, anyway?"

"U-Urgh, uh… p-pretty high," Alisa shuddered at the thought. "So…"

"Zen…" Manon smiled, a dazzling gleam on her face once more. "You have run into another problem with your logique!"

Jesus, where were these sprites before? It was almost like Manon was getting too involved in a romantic affair that wasn't happening for her.

"If ze height from ze hole in ze Art Gallery was very high, zen zere is no way Madame Morose could've gotten down safely!" Manon declared. "Zerefore, zat cannot be ze way Madame Morose made it to ze Ballroom with ze weapon to be murdered!"

Right.

That was another problem that needed to be solved. The height from the Art Gallery to the Ballroom was significant. No one was going to jump into that hole and land in the Ballroom unscathed. So, the only question is, how exactly did Beauté get down into the Ballroom unharmed?

…Wait…

As Alisa had supplied him with valuable assistance during this Clash, Kikuko widened her eyes, her mind coming to a realization. What did Manon just say? That if the height between the Art Gallery and the Ballroom was significant… then there was no way for Beauté to get down into the Ballroom without hurting herself? Whatever theory just popped into his head blew his mind. She glanced down…

"Oh, my Seiryuu…" she muttered in realization.

"Kikuko?" Alisa blinked. "Is everything alright?"

"I…" Kikuko couldn't believe that this was the conclusion that was reached.

But this was the answer to their conundrum. This was the answer that made the most sense. Her eyes flared blue as the shrine priestess took charge and slammed her hand against the podium, looking dead set on sharing what she had just figured out. Something that definitely caused the actress to shiver.

"Ooooh, Madame, zat cold look is giving me ze shivers!" Manon declared.

"Good, because I think I have answer to your little conundrum," Kikuko determined.

"Q-Quoi?!" Manon exclaimed. "Y-You do?!"

"You're asking that if the height between the Art Gallery and the Ballroom was significant, then how did Beauté get down into the Ballroom unscathed, right?" Kikuko asked.

"U-Um, oui?" Manon blinked.

"Well," Kikuko slammed his hand against the podium once again. "Here's my answer…

…

…she didn't!"

"...Quoi?" Manon did the meme.

"What?" Alisa blinked. "Kikuko. What are you saying? That Beauté jumped down and actually got hurt? I mean, I guess Beauté would be that crazy but…"

"There is no 'but' Alisa," Kikuko shook her head. "That is exactly what Beauté did. She jumped into the Art Gallery's hole and landed in the Ballroom!"

"M-Mais, did you not hear what I said?" Manon was still confused. "Zat would've hurt her, non?"

"Of course it would've," Kikuko nodded. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that the fall did more than just hurt her…

…

…it killed her!"

"Q-QUOI!?" Manon exclaimed in shock, a flash of light blinding her from out of nowhere. "A-AGH!"

"W-What?!" Alisa turned to Kikuko, shocked. "Hang on! Are you saying that… Beauté didn't die from being smashed to death from a kanabo?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kikuko nodded. "Beauté's real Cause of Death wasn't from the killer beating her to death with an iron club! It was from falling! Falling from the Art Gallery and down into the Ballroom where we found her!"

"N-N-No wayyyyyyy!" Alisa clutched her heart like she was going to die at any moment.

Oh wait. That's in poor taste.

"But ze Stanczyk File!" Manon exclaimed. "It said she–"

"I'm sorry Manon, but let me ask you this," Kikuko leaned against the podium. "If you fell from a great height, what would happen to all the bones in your body?"

"Zey would… break?" Manon blinked, before covering her mouth. "A-AGH!"

"And that's exactly the truth to what happened to Beauté!" Kikuko declared. "The real way she died was by falling and by falling from a great height, she ended up breaking nearly every bone in her body!"

"But zen, what was ze point of getting ze kanabo?!" Manon exclaimed. "Why go so far to prepare such a heavy object if she wasn't even going to use it?!"

Kikuko considered that question.

It was a good question. If Beauté's true Cause of Death was by falling, then, why the heck did she have a kanabo to begin with? Was she really out to kill someone with it, even if she couldn't wield it? Huh. Now that he thought about it, Beauté would've never been able to use it to kill anybody so why bring it…?

"Oh, of course," Alisa sighed to herself. "This is so like Beauté…"

"Alisa?" Kikuko blinked. "You have the answer?"

"Indeed," Alisa nodded. "The answer as to why Beauté went through the hassle of bringing such a heavy weapon. It can only be because…

…

…she wanted to hide her true Cause of Death."

"Quoi?" Manon blinked.

"Wait…" Kikuko realized. "That… makes a lot of sense. Beauté would've never been able to use such an object for anything given that she was too weak to wield it. But if she dropped down with it…"

"Ah…" Manon suddenly understood. "Zen she could make it look like her death was caused by someone who beat her with ze kanabo."

"Indeed, and that is the truth behind her role as the crystal ball spirit," Alisa nodded. "The real reason she went so far for all of it…

…

…was to disguise her suicide."

Manon couldn't believe it.

Her insistence that Kikuko was wrong led to a conclusion that even she didn't see coming. She wavered on her podium before another dazzling flash of light burst from where she was. It came out of nowhere and every time, it completely caught her off guard.

"A-AGH!" the actress covered her eyes. "Z-Zat… Zat can't be trueeeeeeeeeeee!"

…

"S-So, this is the conclusion we've reached?" Issac raised an eyebrow, surprised at how quickly they found out. "That Morose's death was a suicide? And she just what? Jumped off with a kanabo and a crystal ball and fell straight down into the Ballroom?"

The toymaker took a while to consider this. Although it was a wild and yet very logical conclusion to come to, for some reason, it just didn't seem right.

"Come on, if this is something plotted by Morose, then we all know there has to be more to this than some simple, 'jump off into a hole and die' moment," Issac remarked.

"Issac is right," Fábio noted. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions here. Pun not intended. While her true Cause of Death being falling sounds plausible, there's still a lot of stuff to figure out here. Like, what on Earth was Beauté actually plotting here?"

"Okay, so then, to the people that actually investigated Beauté's corpse," Aidan spoke up. "Was there anything else about her body that you might've missed?"

"Well, there's still the matter of the chain…" Issac muttered.

"Ah, right, the chain," Kikuko blinked, slowly remembering the chain.

Shrinking back out of embarrassment, Manon decided to scan Beauté's body for any more peculiar things. Luckily for her, there was one thing that stood out: a chain of some sort wrapped around the body's waist. And as she placed her hands over the chain, she slowly examined each ends of it, noting its peculiar characteristics:

On one end of the chain was some sort of iron weight. Not like it was heavy, especially not compared to the kanabo. But on the other end was where things truly got strange. On the other end of the chain was what seemed to be a broken chain link.

Broken.

As in bent and as if it had been snapped off or something. However else I'm supposed to describe a broken chain link.

"Indeed, there was a chain wrapped around Morose's waist," Kikuko pointed out. "We… didn't exactly know why but if it had anything to do with her falling to her death, I'm not entirely sure."

"Hey, could ya tell us more 'bout dat chain?" Yumi asked.

"Course!" Issac smiled with a shrug. "The chain wrapped around Morose was pretty long. On one end, there was an iron weight. Didn't seem to do much though. But on the other end, it was… well, cut off."

"Cut off?" Aidan blinked. "How do you cut a chain?"

"With a chain cutter?" Mara retorted. "What else?"

"W-Was there even a chain cutter anywhere here?" Aidan pondered.

"Cut, broken off," Issac shrugged. "Whatever the case was, something caused significant damage to the end of the chain. Don't know what though."

"Pardon me, but I suppose the better question to ask is…" Kikuko narrowed her eyes. "Where on Earth did Beauté get a chain like that in the first place?"

Now that was another amazing question.

Jeez.

These people were asking one great question after another! The chain was the last thing of importance to Beauté's crime scene. They solved all the other things. The kanabo she had. The shattered glass which turned out to be the crystal ball. All that really left was the chain. Where did the chain come from and… what was it used for?

"Aye!" Roderick suddenly yelped. "I be having the answer, laddies! I believe I be knowin where the chain be coming from!"

"You do?" Kikuko tilted her head. "Where?"

There was really only one place it could be. A place that Roderick knew well. And if you think outside of the box a little, it would quite literally just be here…

"Argh, I'll tell ye," Roderick nodded. "The place where the sea witch got the chain be…

…

…the Armory!"

"The Armory again?" Aidan groaned. "And that's where we've been sleeping too! Creepy!"

"Nay, that be not all, matey," Roderick shook his head. "I be thinkin the chain be the second thing the sea witch grabbed when she visited the Armory with that deceiving spirit ball!"

"Crystal ball," Fábio corrected. "But yeah, that's a fair assumption. I mean, Roderick testified to seeing Beauté grab two objects. We know the first object was the kanabo. But the second being the chain…"

"Probably wasn't just a chain in the first place," Mara pointed out. "Remember that the end of it was broken right? Meaning it had to have been broken from something…"

"Pardon me, but Roderick and Aidan," Kikuko glanced toward the two boys. "You two should be the ones most accustomed to the items inside the Armory. Was there anything that had a chain attached to it or…?"

Roderick and Aidan thought back to the question.

An item in the Armory that had a chain attached to it. There were loads of items in the Armory, but something that specific… it had to be… That was when Roderick's face lit up in realization. He ground his fist onto the podium, looking determined.

"Arrrgh, I believe I be havin it, shrine maiden!" Roderick declared. "The weapon that the chain be originally attached to!"

"Hang on, I'm still thinking!" Aidan tapped his lower lip.

No one was going to wait for Aidan anyway, so Roderick just continued.

"The weapon in the Armory…" Roderick began. "The chain belonged to…

…

…the sickle!"

"Oh, well that's a relief," Aidan rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that mean everything in this room is fake and non-lethal?"

He watched as Roderick walked over to the other shelf. Easily, he grabbed the kusari-gama off of the display. For you uncultured Americans, imagine a kusari-gama to be a sickle with a long chain protruding out of it. At least in this case, the chain could be extended, something that Roderick ended up finding out himself.

"Nay, I wouldn't be putting it that way, laddie," Roderick mumbled. "Some of these weapons, if used right, could send someone straight to Davy Jone's Locker."

"A sickle?" Kikuko blinked. "As in a chain attached to a sickle? Do you mean the kusari-gama?"

"Lassie, I be not knowing these Oriental names!" Roderick grimaced. "But yea, it be that! The kura… kusa… Ah! I be just calling it the sickle! It be easier!"

"What is da kusari-gama anyway?" Yumi blinked.

"Glad you asked," Kikuko smiled, always delighted to spread her culture to those willing to learn it. "It's a kind of weapon developed sometime during the Muromachi Period in Japan. It consists of three components. The sickle, the chain, and the heavy iron weight at the end. Most kusari-gamas are developed with smaller length chains, but from the looks of it, this one seems to be advantageous in utilizing a longer length."

"Fucking nerd!" Monoyena yelled out from the sidelines. "Actually, that's way too tame, even for me. How about, fucking no-life Oriental cooch-eating know-it-all with–"

"M-Monoyena!" Stanczyk giggled sheepishly. "L-Let's not interrupt them! They're solving a mystery... I think?"

"Yes, well, anyway, if the chain wrapped around Beauté's body originally belonged to the kusari-gama, then it only stands to reason that the chain had to have been broken off from the sickle part of it," Kikuko hummed.

"Do we even know where the sickle part is?" Yukihiko asked, furrowing his eyebrow.

No answer.

"Great," Yukihiko sighed. "So, one of the more important parts of the weapon has gone missing. Now what?"

"Even if the sickle was missing, I still think we should be able to figure out where it probably was placed in relation to the chain attached to Beauté…" Issac remarked.

He chuckled, brushed his hair to the side, and shook his head.

"...So, anyone got any ideas?" he asked.

There was silence.

Expected.

But it does give one a good chance to think about it. The sickle is the important part of the kusari-gama and yet, it's the only piece that seems to be missing. The chain and iron weight were found wrapped around Beauté. But the sickle. Where was the sickle? In hindsight, it's possible someone took it and has no intention of ever revealing where it was, however, there should still be a clue that hints to where the sickle would've been before it broke off from Beauté…

"Ah!" Yumi exclaimed. "Ah dink ah know de answer!"

"You figured out where ze sickle was broken?" Manon blinked before smiling. "Ah! F-Fantastique Madame Gundo!"

Yumi beamed. She envisioned the map of the haunted house. Just the specific name of the location would do, no need for anything else. At least not yet.

"It was here!" Yumi declared. "Da...

…

…Hallway!"

"The Hallway?" Kikuko tilted her head. "And what might your evidence be?"

"Easy!" Yumi tipped her white Stetson hat. "Da evidence is simple. It would have to be…

…

…da torn carpet!"

In the top-right corner of the blood-red carpet (top being the part closest to the Theater of Mystery), it looked as if a piece of it had been torn. What was most peculiar were the small droplets of blood that surrounded it. Small droplets of dried blood that really did resemble the dried wine stains on Mara's feet.

"A torn carpet that's torn and has some red liquid, most likely blood, surrounding it," Fábio noted.

"Well, ah'll be damned," Yumi had to say. "Ya really found da jackpot of clues, bambina."

"Ah, right," Mara nodded. "That's what she's getting at. I think we all know that the Hallway has like this big blood-red carpet, right? But Alisa noticed the corner of the carpet was torn. And guess what? It was located right near the end of the Hallway, right where the entrance to the Art Gallery would've been."

"Indeed," Alisa nodded. "Then, that had to be the location where the sickle was initially placed."

"Okay, hold on," Aidan shook his head. "I'm still trying to think but what the heck is going on? Like, hooking a sickle and attaching the chain end of it to your waist. What exactly was Beauté plotting?"

"That is what we're trying to figure out, Brighton," Issac shrugged.

"Yeah, but didn't we already establish that Beauté jumped off the hole and fell to her death?" Aidan groaned. "What's with all of these extra steps? I mean, this was clearly a suicide so…"

"Anything with Beauté can't be clear," Fábio admitted. "The fact of the matter is that she had a chain tied to her waist that was originally attached to a sickle. There had to be something she was planning. But what?"

"All I see is her making her suicide a lot more complicated," Aidan sighed bitterly to himself. "That's so like her."

"My only question at the moment is how did the chain break off from the sickle?" Alisa asked. "Chains aren't exactly the easiest material to break through."

"And there was no chain cutter that exists in this house," Yukihiko pointed out. "At least, that we know of."

"Which is why we need to find something that would be capable of cutting off the chain…" Kikuko surmised. "Something that could've used enough force to…"

Kikuko closed her eyes and bowed her head.

She thought to herself about any possible method of how the chain was cut. This was going to be their trickiest yet. At least in this Trial Part. She thought back to the overall structure of how things would've looked. The sickle placed outside in the Hallway. The chain wrapped around Beauté. And something in between… something that could've cut the chain no problem…

What was it…?

"Man, this chick was always super crazy with her methods," Eiji muttered, ruining Kikuko's train of thought. "I mean, remember when she used that show to make it look like that butterfly girl hung herself? Jeez Louise, glad she's out of the game."

"Eiji, please, can you not speak when I'm–" Kikuko suddenly paused.

She thought back to the last thing Eiji had briefly mentioned. When Beauté used that show to make it look like that butterfly girl hung herself. When she used the show... to make it look like someone had committed suicide...

An idea popped into her head. And it was all thanks to–

"Eiji, you're a genius!" Kikuko exclaimed, happily.

"Huh?" Eiji blinked. "I am? I mean, yes! I am!"

And he did the ::PaimonProud:: emote. Get to it, Sempi.

Kikuko took out an ofuda and slapped it across the podium, looking much more determined and surer of herself than before. She had an idea and this was an idea that was most certainly plausible. Because Beauté always loved using the environment around her for her misdeeds. So, couldn't it stand to reason…

"Everyone, I think I know how Beauté did it!" Kikuko exclaimed. "I think I know how the chain was cut from the sickle!"

"You do?" Fábio smiled. "What was it?"

"It was much simpler than we had thought," Kikuko began. "What if the method Beauté used to cut the chain was through…

…

…the room change!"

"Th-The room change?!" Fábio's smile dropped, trying to grasp what she meant. "W-Wait, you're saying–"

"That's right!" Kikuko nodded. "Remember that the Art Gallery is one of the many rooms that actually changes. So, tell me this…"

Kikuko started to break it down one-by-one for everyone to easily follow.

"...What would happen if you tied a chain around your waist," she listed. "Placed a sickle outside of the Hallway. Placed yourself inside the Art Gallery. And simply, waited for the room to change?"

"A-Ah!" Fábio realized. "Wait! That's actually ingenious! Was that really all Beauté had to do?!"

"I believe so," Kikuko nodded. "Now, I'm not exactly sure how the room changed, but I'm sure that however it did, it would've created enough pressure to break the chain link from the sickle."

"But wait, how does this tie into her suicide?" Aidan asked, confused.

"Simple," Kikuko closed her eyes with a nod. "Just imagine Beauté doing all of that, but instead of her just being inside the Art Gallery, imagine her doing one last thing to complete the picture!"

"Complete the picture...?" Aidan blinked.

Kikuko noted the track star's confused look.

Beauté set this up from the very beginning. She placed the sickle outside the Hallway and made sure to attach the chain to her body whilst being inside the Art Gallery. Knowing that, what was the last thing she needed to do to make her suicide work...?

"Simply put," Kikuko began. "The final thing and simplest thing Beauté needed to do was...

...

…

...dangle herself over the hole."

"D-Dangle..." Aidan exclaimed, shocked. "O-Over the hole?!"

"With the sickle hooked in the Hallway and having herself dangle over the Art Gallery's hole…" Kikuko deduced. "What do you think would happen once the chain is cut?"

"A-Ah… Beauté would… Beauté would…" Aidan realized. "Oh, come on! Why on Earth did she have to make her own suicide so complicated?!"

"It's Beauté," Kikuko sighed, shaking her head. "What did you expect? She's not the type to make anything simple! She placed the sickle in the Hallway. Dangled herself over the Art Gallery's hole. And finally, waited till the room change to cut the only thing keeping her alive. This was her plan from the beginning! I'm sure this is the answer-"

"Careful not to choke on those words," Issac interjected.

As he kept his arms up, he allowed Isolde to pose for the obligatory Interjection sprite as well. Both Issac and Isolde shared what seemed to be a sly smile directed toward Kikuko, but even within it, Issac could help but caress Isolde's chin.

"Didn't your parents ever warn you about choking hazards?" Issac smiled. "They're everywhere. Even in the words you speak."

"Do you not agree with everything I've said, Issac?" Kikuko narrowed her eyes.

"I have my doubts about a lot of this stuff," Issac hummed. "And surprisingly, Brighton has my thanks for most of it. I mean, for starters, what was the point of Morose doing all of this? Setting up a sickle in the Hallway. Tying herself to it. What was she thinking in all of that?"

"That is information that is unclear to me as well," Kikuko admitted. "However, we do know that this is exactly how she set it up. It's how she meant to set it up."

"Really now?" Issac didn't believe it. "And why is that? If she wanted to kill herself so badly, she could've skipped all of that kusari-gama stuff and went straight for the jump. What was her plan?"

It's the same questions just worded differently every time.

What was Beauté's plan anyway?

What did she hope to gain from having all those extra steps…

Kikuko hated to admit it, but Issac was right. No, Issac and Aidan were right. Beauté's suicide was a lot more complicated than it needed to be. It really put into the perspective of whether or not Beauté's purpose really was to just kill herself? She thought about this carefully. What exactly was her plan…

"Well, we know that her plan involved the room change," Kikuko deduced. "By having the sickle placed in the Hallway and herself over the hole, we know for a fact the moment she was waiting for was the moment the room change happened."

"Right, because according to you, the room change would be the one to cut the chain for her," Issac nodded. "But here's the problem. Remember what Stanczyk said about the room changing...?"

"First thing's first!" the jester smiled. "As you may know, some of the rooms in this haunted house can change from time to time!"

"Of course," Kikuko simply nodded. "It's been the bane of mysteries since being here."

"But what you probably didn't know is that the rooms change automatically every morning at 7 AM!" Stanczyk revealed.

Kikuko blinked.

Issac seemed intrigued.

"Really now?" the toymaker asked. "And is that a consistent thing everyday?"

"Of course!" Stanczyk proudly admitted. "Everyday 7 AM is the general rule!"

"The rooms change automatically every day in the morning at 7 AM," Issac reminded. "So, knowing that, do you really think Morose would waste her time, hanging around like that all night... with the risk that someone might stumble on her?"

"A-Agh!" Kikuko recoiled when he mentioned this.

Issac was right.

She didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

The rooms only change every morning at 7 AM. That's what Stanczyk had said. And if she put that into perspective, then all Beauté would be doing in her plot is wasting her time instead hanging about instead of falling to her death. It's a fair point and Kikuko couldn't deny. But, at the same time, the truth of the matter was that Beauté did die from falling. She was sure of it. So, what exactly was going on here...?

Could there have been another way for Beauté to cut the chain?

Or was the room change the only method of cutting it...?

"Face it, Unmei," Issac shrugged. "You were wrong. The room change wasn't the way Morose had her chain cut. It had to have been some other shoddy way she used. So, how about you take a backseat and let the rest of us take it from here?"

That just fueled the fire.

Kikuko thought back to everything.

She thought about what Stanczyk said over and over again, whilst asking herself an important question: why did Beauté want to have her fate left in the hands of the rooms changing? She knew that this incident had to have happened at night. And due to nighttime protocol, the rooms wouldn't change till the morning. So, was waiting for her death really just part of her plan or...

...Did she know something else about the changing rooms?

Kikuko slowly widened her eyes in realization.

"No," Kikuko frowned. "I'm certain Beauté used the room change to cut her chain. The problem here is that we're assuming a detail that Stanczyk told us. We know that rooms can't automatically change at night as during nighttime, many things in the park shut down. But what if the rooms...

...

...can be manually changed?"

"What?" Issac blinked before chuckling. "Like manually? What good will that do?"

What good will that do indeed?

Issac seemed to find her answer adorable and hilarious, but the truth of the matter was that Kikuko knew she was onto something. The room change can be manipulated manually. That had to be the special thing about the room change. If it happened automatically, what good was that for whatever Beauté was planning. But if it can happen manually…

Kikuko widened her eyes.

No…

"The good it will do…" Kikuko muttered. "Is to achieve Beauté's true plan in the matter."

"True plan?" Issac raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid… I made a slight error in judgement," Kikuko grimaced. "This was no ordinary suicide."

"What?" Issac was now confused. "Isolde, do you understand what this girl is saying? If this was no suicide, then that would make it a murder. And based on the evidence we have, that doesn't seem likely."

"Because I said this was no ordinary suicide," Kikuko specified. "Beauté's plan still involved her dying, yes. But I believe she wanted it to come at a cost. That cost being…

…

...

…a blackened."

"Hang on, what?" Issac blinked. "So, you're saying Morose wanted there to be a blackened in this case?! How is that not a murder?"

"Because technically, it's still a suicide," Kikuko explained. "But more specifically, it's referred to as…

…

...

…an assisted suicide."

"W-What?!" Issac widened his eyes.

"Doesn't it make sense now?" Kikuko frowned. "The way Beauté set up everything. The reason why she banked on having the room change cut the chains that would lead her to her death? All of it was so she can have a blackened in her case! A blackened that would manually change the room in order to cut her chains!"

"Th-That's Morose's true plan?!" Issac questioned, incredulous.

"It has to be," Kikuko nodded. "It's the only reasoning that makes sense!"

"Alright then, explain to me one last thing," the toymaker was still unconvinced. "How does the room change exactly?"

Kikuko blinked.

She… She had no idea.

"I… I don't know," Kikuko shook her head.

"Okay, cool," Issac folded his arms with a sigh. "Now, if you didn't know, how on Earth would Morose have known?! Because as far as I'm concerned, I don't think anyone else in this room knows how it works either! So, knowing that, how could Morose know?"

Damn it.

This room change thing relied heavily on Beauté knowing exactly how it worked. She is smart and cunning enough to figure it out, but no one else has. Kikuko also knew that a long thinking session wasn't going to help either. But if she could figure out how exactly Beauté knew, perhaps she might have a clue on how the room change actually operated.

How did Beauté know?

Come on, Kikuko.

Think! Think! Think!

Alright, let's calm down and think. For Beauté to figure out a secret like this was no surprise. We just need to follow her thought process and figure out how exactly she figured out the room change mechanism.

Kikuko closed her eyes and calmed her breathing, thinking of the first question at hand.

First question: Yes or no? Did she figure it out by accident? I'm thinking…

…

…No.

We know that the room change can be manipulated. It's more likely for her to have found out via her testing it out herself. But if that's the case…

Kikuko paused and furrowed her eyebrows.

Yes or no? Did Beauté have any time to manually change the rooms? The answer…

…

…Yes.

Of course! There were multiple times in which she would've been able to figure out how the room change mechanism worked. The only question is when…

She felt a chill in the air as she got her brain to work her magic. She knew she had this. She was smarter than others would theoretically let on.

…When was Beauté able to manipulate the room change for herself? Could it be during…

…

…the Hide and Seek rounds?

Of course! The Hide and Seek rounds were only times that we were able to separate ourselves from one another in this cramped house. This would've been the only time Beauté could have free time to manipulate the room change undetected.

Kikuko didn't seem entirely convinced yet.

But… is there any evidence of that? Evidence that Beauté utilized the Hide and Seek rounds to mess with the room change?

She paused, slowly realizing something.

Now that I think about it, the evidence that Beauté did do that. Wasn't it…

…

…her win from round 1?

"She won the Hide and Seek round yesterday," Mara interjected with a sigh.

She could make the excuse that maybe Roderick was just feeling the aftereffects of hanging out with Aidan but even then, someone like him who believes in sea monsters probably lacked a few brain cells of their own to begin with. The karate master turned toward Beauté, who simply giggled in response.

"Ah heh heh," Beauté smiled. "Thank you. At least someone gets it."

"Which brings me to a whole other question…" Mara narrowed her eyes. "Just how exactly did you win the Hide and Seek round? There were barely any rooms to hide in."

Of course. Beauté was the only one to win the first Hide and Seek round! Which means, if she was manually changing rooms, there's a high chance that might be the reason Stanczyk never found her! But in that case, what now?

Kikuko furrowed her eyebrow, unsure on where this line of thinking was taking her.

Beauté used the Hide and Seek rounds to figure out how the room change mechanism worked, but how? What exactly told her how it worked?

This might be a hard one, but the answer was definitely broad.

What could've clued her in onto the secret of the room change? Was it just…

…

…the haunted house?

I suppose it could. After all, that's the deal with most of these Attractions. They always had a secret to them that ultimately changed everything about the case.

Kikuko paused, thinking back to what she had just said.

Wait! No! Are you–

She couldn't believe it. All this time, the answer was staring right at them, and none of them could even see it.

The truth behind how Beauté truly figured it out. Could it simply be that easy?!

Kikuko took a deep breath.

Okay. Calm down Kikuko. You got this. Let's ask ourselves this now. Now that we know what all this might be hinting toward…

Kikuko felt another chill grow down her spine.

What was this haunted house in terms of the Killing Game? It was…

…

…an Ultimate Attraction.

I always felt like there was something off about the newest location we got, but if this was an Ultimate Attraction, suddenly everything makes sense. But at the same time, wouldn't we have known if it was someone's Ultimate Attraction to begin–

Kikuko blinked.

Perhaps it was the trees that surrounded this mansion. The trees that, even though it was a relatively sunny day, casted enough shade to make the manor feel darker and more sinister. The fact that it was able to remain hidden in this twisted forest also made things feel eerie and strange.

The pathway the 12 playmates followed passed by a stone sign that read:

'THE GRANDVIEW MANSION'

Underneath this sign was another part of the sign completely covered in mud and vines, adding more to the feelings of abandonment.

Ah! That's right! How did I miss that?! The decor completely covered the part of the sign that would usually say whose Ultimate Attraction it belonged to! I bet that was intentional on Stanczyk and Monoyena's part.

Kikuko frowned.

Yep. There's no denying it, now. This haunted house is an Ultimate Attraction. So, it's time to ask myself: Whose Ultimate Attraction is this? It's…

…

…Beauté's!

That was why Beauté was able to figure out everything so well. This place was practically designed just for her to use! But at the same time, we've never really found out what her Ultimate was, didn't we?

Kikuko pondered this for a moment.

But I think, now that we know this Attraction belonged to her, we can figure that out as well. Now… was there anything related to the haunted house that hinted toward Beauté's Talent?

Kikuko came to a realization.

Yes, there absolutely was. It had to be that. The hint toward Beauté's Talent that was given to us was…

…

…the flyers.

Anyway, on the flyer specifically were the words:

'PIERO'S PLAYGROUND PRESENTS:'

'THE GRANDVIEW MANSION'

'A NEW MURDER MYSTERY EVENT INSPIRED BY THE HIT SHOW "GOLD HOUSE"'

'ONLY DURING PIERO'S PLAYGROUND'S HALLOWEEN EVENT:'

'TRICKS AND TREATS WITH STANCZYK!'

'Sponsored to you by the Towa Group. Giving children screams and delight but never a sense of fright!"

The playmates blinked.

What… exactly were the festivities Monoyena was referring to here?

Stanczyk sent those flyers out to invite us for a ballroom dance. But what we should've looked into more wasn't the invitations itself, but the flyers right behind it.

Kikuko folded her arms.

If we compare that to the things that Beauté did… or rather... said.

The shrine priestess thought back to every action Beauté had done.

What was something Beauté loved to talk about? She kept mentioning…

…

…mysteries, didn't she?

"Pardon me, Beauté, but if it isn't something Alisa wishes to pursue any further, then the only thing we can do is respect her wishes," Kikuko frowned.

"And where's the fun in that?" Beauté asked, folding her arms.

"F-Fun?" Kikuko sputtered out, frowning. "Nothing about this is fun."

"The mystery of what could be troubling Alisa sure is," Beauté pointed out.

"A piano that plays by itself," Beauté looked intrigued. "Oh, how fun! The spirits in this joint truly know how to have a good time!"

"It's probably a player piano," Issac shrugged. "A piano designed to play by itself. A simple toy you can find in street performances."

Beauté looked at him, disappointed.

"Ugh, you really suck the fun out of the mystery, don't you?" Beauté pouted.

"Oh, how sweet…" Yukihiko tilted his head with a slightly taunting look. "Anyways, ignoring the children… Does anyone else have an idea on where we might be?"

"Well, that is the mystery, isn't it?" Beauté gave a slow laugh.

"In other words, you don't have an idea either," Fábio closed his eyes in response to the new possible Ultimate Bitch.

"Oh of course I don't," Beauté giggled creepily. "But this is part of the fun. We're locked in a place with no idea where and why. It just sounds like an elegant and grand start to a bigger mystery all together…"

"Ah heh heh heh…" Beauté cackled softly. "That's the point…"

"W-What?" Kikuko blinked, slightly taken aback by her response.

Beauté took out her hand fan, covering the lower half of her face as her eyes did most of the talking. Wild with all of this adrenaline pumping, her eyes had glazed over to her peers, clearly excited to share her reasoning.

"Making everyone's job harder was precisely my motivation!" Beauté exclaimed, removing her hand fan to show her crazy smile. "After all, what good is a murder mystery if it ends up being too easy? That would just be boring… don't you think?"

Kikuko felt her head blow a fuse as she opened her eyes in shock. As she still continued her mindscaping adventures, she suddenly came into a realization.

So, this was it. This was what tied everything together. The fact that the haunted house is her Ultimate Attraction. The flyers stating how the haunted house was meant for murder mystery events. Her obsessions. It all led up to this answer…

Kikuko tightened her grip.

Final question: What was Beauté's Ultimate Talent? It was...

…

Kikuko suddenly gasped as she brought herself back into the real world.

The answer to her question. Her Think! Think! Think! Segment led her to one conclusion, and no one knew what that conclusion was or what she had just figured out. Issac glanced at her, confused yet curious.

"Yo, Unmei, you good?" he asked.

"I… I understand now…" Kikuko grimaced. "The real method on how Beauté figured out the room change mechanism. She had all the time in the world to do it but at the same time, she had an advantage."

"Advantage?" Issac asked. "What advantage?"

"Namely put…" Kikuko's eyes flared blue. "...This entire haunted house that we've been stuck in. All of it. It was…

…

…one big Ultimate Attraction!"

"A-An Ultimate Attraction?!" Yumi reacted on the side.

There was a slam against the podium, but this time, it came from Yukihiko. He looked completely taken aback by that fact. In fact, it now looked like he was demanding answers if anything.

"Who's?!" Yukihiko gritted his teeth. "Whose Ultimate Attraction is this?!"

"The only person it could be," Kikuko frowned. "Our victim of interest's…

…

…Beauté Morose. It was her Ultimate Attraction!"

"It was her Ultimate Attraction?" Manon blinked. "But zen, does zat mean zat you have figured it out? What her Ultimate Talent was?!"

"H-Hey, we never did figure that out, did we?!" Aidan widened his eyes.

"We did not," Kikuko shook her head. "But fortunately, I think I may have the answer here…"

She noticed the anticipated look on everyone's faces. But most importantly, she noticed that Issac had reclined himself, pondering over the facts that she had given… as well as the facts that she was about to give.

"Beauté's Ultimate Talent…" Kikuko began to say. "Based on her comments throughout the Killing Game and her Ultimate Attraction, I think it has to be this. She was…

…

…the Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess!"

"That's… That's… so specific!" Aidan couldn't believe it.

"Why don't you take a guess?" Beauté leaned forward, smiling to herself. "Given how much I've hinted toward it, surely you should be able to come up with an answer."

Kazuki… didn't have an answer.

Here she was, practically begging him to come up with an answer and yet he didn't have anything on his mind at the moment. And noticing his silence, Beauté sighed for a brief moment before giving the philanthropist a frustrated look. She placed a finger over her lips as she leaned forward.

"How about I give you a hint?" Beauté smirked. "It's… very specific."

"But it makes sense, doesn't it?" Kikuko frowned. "The number of times she would talk about mysteries. The number of times she would make us guess and work for the answers. The way she isn't bothered by death and murder. That's the only Talent she could be!"

"Perhaps you may be onto something with the 'murder' and the 'mystery' portion, but someone who actually hosts murder mysteries?" Yukihiko scoffed as he twirled his braids around. "Come on. Do you have any evidence of anything you just said?"

Yukihiko was always the biggest doubter here, so if she had evidence, she needed to use it right away.

"I'm waiting, sweetie," Yukihiko condescendingly said. "What's your evidence that this Ultimate Attraction even belonged to her. And no. You can't use the process of elimination method or anything like that. I want something conclusive. Something that tells me without a shadow of a doubt that this haunted house was her Ultimate Attraction."

Something that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this haunted house was her Ultimate Attraction. If she thought back to all the evidence that lined up for her to this conclusion, then it had to be this. It had to be.

"Alright, I'll give you evidence," Kikuko spoke. "The proof that you are looking for is on…

…

…the sign outside!"

"W-What?!" Yukihiko blinked. "What sign outside?!"

"Remember when we first arrived at the Grandview Mansion?" Kikuko smiled, determinedly. "Remember what was actually outside of the Grandview Mansion?! The sign that welcomed us there!"

The pathway the 12 playmates followed passed by a stone sign that read:

'THE GRANDVIEW MANSION'

Underneath this sign was another part of the sign completely covered in mud and vines, adding more to the feelings of abandonment.

"Underneath the sign was another part of the sign that was covered up!" Kikuko explained. "And since we know now that the Grandview Mansion was actually an Ultimate Attraction, I'm willing to bet that what we'll find underneath all that mud and vines are six simple words..."

She pointed her finger toward Yukihiko.

"'THE ULTIMATE MURDER MYSTERY HOSTESS'S ATTRACTION'!" Kikuko read out loud. "Because that's what this Ultimate Attraction really was! One big haunted house to simulate the workings of a murder mystery event!"

It took Yukihiko a second before he recoiled.

"G-Gah!" the child caretaker exclaimed. "W-Which is why...?"

"Absolutely," Kikuko smirked. "That's why I'm confident everything I've said has to be true."

Kikuko slammed her ofuda against her podium.

"Natasha Villeray, AKA Beauté Morose was the Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess!" Kikuko exclaimed. "With her Ultimate Talent, she would've easily figured out that the haunted house we've been staying in was an Ultimate Attraction. Her Ultimate Attraction. And as the Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess, she also would've had no problem figuring out how to manually change the rooms!"

Kikuko pointed her finger toward Yukihiko, Ace Attorney-style!

"And that is why Beauté would've easily known to use the mechanisms of her own Ultimate Attraction to turn someone here into the blackened!" Kikuko declared.

There was silence.

Everyone had to give themselves a moment over what had just been revealed. All this time, Beauté Morose was the Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess. And the plan she had attempted was no ordinary suicide. It was an assisted suicide that utilized the haunted house to kill her. Beauté had much of this thought out… but…

Why?

Why do this? Kill herself and get someone else killed? It just…

"Beauté was the Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess, got herself killed, and tried to turn someone into the blackened," Aidan summarized briefly. "But then, do we even know how she manually changed rooms?"

Aidan glanced around.

"Does anyone know how to manually change the rooms?" he asked.

No answer.

"I'm afraid, the only person who knows is Beauté," Kikuko frowned. "And unfortunately, she decided to take that with her to the grave."

"D-Damn it," Aidan groaned.

Damn!

Beauté Morose had the answer to their current problem: the mechanism of the room change. Only problem was that she was dead and no one else really understood or knew how it worked. No one but her. The Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess. The one whose Ultimate Attraction this belonged to.

Was this really it?

Was this really how they were going to lose?

Because the one person that had the answers was dead?

No.

It can't…

It can't end this way…

…

"...What if we just asked her?"

A chill ran through Kikuko's spine.

She really hoped she heard that wrong. She really did. But the moment she turned toward the owner of the voice, she could see him staring back at her. Smiling innocently. Like he wasn't about to do the cruddiest thing anyone could do to her in this game. She felt herself grow tense. Her heart started to pound, anxiously.

"Ah, I see," Yukihiko couldn't help but laugh. "Now that we have nothing else, we can just start suggesting idiotic things."

"No, not idiotic," Issac smiled. "I'm dead serious. Pun intended."

"W-What are ye talking about, Issac?" Roderick asked, blinking. "Are ye hinting at something like... talking to the dead? Ye really think someone here can do that?"

"Yeah, like come on," Fábio stepped forward, having a really bad feeling over what was about to happen. "I think you've been hanging around Isolde too much."

If only he knew…

"I agree with Fábio," Yukihiko was not happy. "If this is your idea of a childish joke, then I suggest you stop. You're a grown man and believing in something like ghosts is childish and absolutely unprofessional."

"Then I'm glad we have a professional right here that can totally talk to ghosts," Issac smiled, directing his gaze toward Kikuko. "Or, sorry, 'spirits' is the preferred term, right?"

The color drained from Kikuko's face.

"W-What the?!" Eiji hid behind Kikuko as if the toymaker could see him. "H-How the heck did he find out?!"

"I…" Kikuko bit her lip. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, lay off her man," Fábio continued. "Now's not the time to mess with her. We're in a Trial–"

"Barbosa…" Issac smiled for a second before completely dropping that innocent demeanor. His eyes grew cold and for a second, Fábio swore Isolde was even giving him an equally cold look as well. "We're gonna need you to stop protecting your little girlfriend and shut the fuck up. It's Unmei's time to shine."

Issac turned back toward Kikuko, bringing back his innocent smile.

"Isn't that right, Ultimate Shrine Priestess?" he smiled.

There was no use denying it now.

He knew.

Somehow, Issac found out. She wanted to ask 'how'. She wanted to ask 'what'. But most of all, she wanted to ask 'why'. Why did he think this was a good idea bringing it up during the Trial of all places. Why did he think it was going to be a good idea to expose her abilities to everyone else like that? How did he find out? And–

"Oh, you're wondering how I knew?" Issac blinked, before folding his arms. "Come on, Unmei. I'm not an idiot. The signs were all there. The way you look at people. The way your blue eyes flare every so often. Hell, even the times you look like you're talking to yourself but in reality… you're talking to a bunch spirits. And double the fact that you're literally the Ultimate Shrine Priestess. How could I not piece it together?"

Issac couldn't help but brush his hair to the side and shake it his head, satisfied with what he was doing.

"I had my suspicions for a long while," Issac shrugged. "I just needed a couple moments with you to make sure, though…"

Kikuko widened her eyes.

"You mean the real reason you keep-" the shrine priestess couldn't believe this was happening.

"You have a gift, Unmei," Issac chuckled, interrupting Kikuko. "You can talk to spirits. And for the past two Trials, you just decided to hide that from everyone? Well, everyone except Barbosa I suppose, because I imagine he was a special case for some reason."

"I…" Fábio had no response to that.

He couldn't believe this was happening, either. He wanted to rush to Kikuko's defense. Try to argue some more, but the more he opened his mouth, the quicker Issac was to shut him down and respond with words of his own.

"I… If you knew, then you should've also known the risks that came with–" Kikuko looked extremely miffed.

"Right, the risks of having a target put on your back," Issac shrugged, uncaringly. "How about a little perspective, huh?"

Issac slammed a fist onto his podium, his cold eyes replacing his innocent tone as both he and Isolde gazed at Kikuko with intimidating stares.

"If you don't do this, we all die," Issac told her. "Is that worth keeping your little secret for?"

Kikuko widened her eyes, then lowered her head. Her expression darkened. She didn't want to meet anyone's eyes at the moment. Because now, she was in the spotlight. Her and the power she possessed. She could hear the different tones from her peers. The only one who was even willing to protect her…

"Kikuko," Fábio stepped up. "Don't listen to him. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"And here comes the boyfriend," Issac sighed. "You two wish you can be Isolde and me."

"Yeah, like I want to be compared to a guy who fucks a toy caterpillar," Fábio glared at the toymaker.

"You wanna say that again to our faces, Barbosa?" Issac couldn't help but laugh. "Go on. I dare you. Isolde has some choice words for you."

"Boys, enough!" Yukihiko snapped before turning toward the shrine priestess. "Is this true?! All this time, you had a powerful ability, and you never bothered to do anything with it?!"

"Damn," Mara gritted her teeth. "So, a lot of our Trial time could've been saved if…?"

"Madame Unmei!" Manon looked surprised. "Just how long were you planning on keeping zis a secret?!"

"Is it be like anything like the Mermaids from Yore?" Roderick asked, irrelevantly.

"C-Can ya really talk ta ghosts of any kind?!" Yumi exclaimed, surprised.

"Hey, hey, guys let's not bombard her with any questions alright?" Aidan rushed to Kikuko's defense as well. "Can't you guys see you're putting a ton of stress over the poor girl?"

Despite everyone not moving from their podiums, Kikuko felt like they were surrounding her, burying her alive with curiosity after curiosity. But she didn't see the sympathetic expression Alisa shot her way over how her secret was being handled. And she didn't see Fábio, trying to give her the look of comfort she deserved in this moment.

"Hey, Kikuko," Fábio spoke from his podium. "Focus on my voice. It's going to be okay, alright? Don't listen to these people. They don't understand what you had to go through. You don't have to do any of this…"

"I… I…" Kikuko wanted to respond but what was the point?

The discordant questions overlapping one another was just as bad as listening to Red Spirits repeating their haunting phrases over and over again. It was so loud. So loud. She covered her ears and closed her eyes. For once, she just wanted to be alone. Alone from everyone.

Fábio tightened his fist and slammed it against his podium.

"What do you guys even want from her, huh?!" the figure skater exclaimed, his face growing angry. "You really want her to play Telephone with Beauté's spirit or something?! Do you know how much stress that'll put her in, having to relay that woman's bullshit back and forth?!"

Right… the anger.

"Whoa, chill out, Barbosa," Issac chuckled. "You're gonna pop a vein with an attitude like that."

He brushed his hair to the side and shook his head.

"Besides, playing Telephone isn't going to make this Trial any easier y'know," Issac shrugged. "That's not the technique I'm focused on."

"What do you mean?" Fábio narrowed his eyes.

"There's one more technique that a highly skilled shrine priestess should know how to do," Issac revealed. "Especially, an Ultimate Shrine Priestess. Wanna take a guess? I imagine she's already mentioned it to you…"

He was right.

Kikuko did mention it once.

But…

"Issac, what technique are you referring to?" Alisa spoke up for the first time amidst the chaos over this reveal.

"Isn't it obvious?" Issac smiled. "If Unmei can talk to spirits and relay messages back and forth, there should be one other thing she can do as well. That's right, I'm talking about…

…

…spirit channeling."

Both Kikuko and Fábio's face paled once more, as if their secret that was only shared between the two of them was being completely unraveled before their very eyes…

"But still, you dabble with gh- spirits, huh?" Fábio cleared his throat. "So, like… You can… You can actually talk to the dead, pass on messages, spirit channeling… all that stuff?"

Kikuko tapped her chin for a moment.

"...Spirit channeling is a far more complex task and a pain in the butt…" Kikuko told him. "Please forgive me for my profanity. But what I mean to say is that spirit channeling isn't a technique I have exactly mastered quite yet. But it is a skill shrine priestesses are instructed to have…"

"Oh, I see…" Fábio noted.

"Holy fuck!" even Monoyena was surprised. "There's gonna be a spirit channeling… in a Killing Game I'm running?! Fucking diabolical, mate! Now this is what I call entertainment!"

Monoyena started to gnaw on his Barbie Blade as drool seeped from his jaw.

"I can't wait to see a Jap's head turn 180 and spew vomit all over the fucking place," the hyena started to cackle. "Bwa… Bwahahahahahaha!"

"H-Hey hey!" Stanczyk looked more confused than anything. "What's spirit channeling?! Is it like a magic show?! Oooh! I love magic shows! I hope there'll be bunnies!"

The jester clapped his hands excitedly.

At this point, the Trial was in complete chaos.

Fábio had tightened his fist.

"You can't force her to do something like that," the figure skater argued. "You just can't. Kikuko said she hasn't mastered it yet. You force her to do this, she might strain herself."

"Oh really?" Issac tilted his head before looking at Kikuko. "Alright then. If she can't do it…"

Issac lowered his gaze, his cold yet uncaring eyes directed right at her. And even though Kikuko wasn't looking, she could feel the chill run down her spine, as if Issac's gaze was conjoined with the wide-eyed stare of Isolde and the Red Spirit of Isabela hovering right behind him.

"Then, what kind of an Ultimate Shrine Priestess is she?" Issac coldly remarked.

That forced Kikuko's eyes open.

"That's not fair," Fábio frowned. "You know it, Issac. None of what is happening to her right now, is fair! Kikuko kept this secret for a reason. If she had reasons not to share it, then she has every right to not share it! Outing her like that was such a low blow, I expected it from Yukihiko!"

"I… will not take offense to that," Yukihiko simply responded.

"I won't have you guys gang up on her like that!" Fábio continued. "If Kikuko doesn't want to do it, then she doesn't have to do it! So everyone, lay off her and just–"

"I'll do it."

"H-Huh?" Fábio turned to Kikuko, surprised.

When he locked eyes with her, he saw just how miserable she looked. Her secret had been revealed in the worst way possible and for the first time, it felt like everyone was out to get her. The only person who really stood by her side was Fábio and, if she counted spirits, Eiji… But even then…

"...I said, I'll do it," Kikuko bowed her head, her gaze never meeting anyone else's. "If this is what needs to be done to solve this Trial, then… I will spirit channel Beauté's spirit. Are there any objections?"

"K-Kikuko…" Fábio blinked. "Y-You don't…"

But the look in her eyes told Fábio not to start. In a way, she kind of figured this was going to happen. It just… wasn't supposed to happen like this.

...

It took a while for the chaos to simmer down.

Stanczyk was bouncing up and down in his seat on the sofa, ecstatic to see his first live and genuine spirit channeling.

Monoyena on the other hand took the charge of picking his teeth with his Barbie Blade before finally speaking amidst the murmurs and looks of surprise on everyone's faces.

"Well, then, since yer really goin fer this, best I tell ya that if yer gonna commit to this spirit channeling, let there be known that there are risks when it comes to this sort of thing in a Killing Game!" Monoyena declared. "Normally, I wouldn't give a shit and kept quiet about this but, since we don't get spirit mediums in these games very much, best I let ya know such things exists!"

"I understand..." Kikuko simply nodded.

After Monoyena said his piece of what he thought about this 'spirit channeling' thing they were going to do... Kikuko had opened her eyes, her expression lost but serious. She never expected anyone else to find out about her powers this way. To be outed in front of everyone by Issac no less. She got careless. She got way too careless with him. She knew she should've watched herself when talking to Issac about Isabela but…

She grimaced.

This was her own damn fault for having her powers be announced to everyone else like this. She could see Fábio's face, regretful and shocked that this was happening to her. She saw Issac's face, smiling innocently like he always did. She shot him a dirty look, but all it really did was brighten his smile. This was a low blow, even for someone like him…

Tragic backstory or not, this was wrong…

She took a deep breath and sighed.

Now wasn't the time to think about how angry she was at Issac for putting the spotlight on her abilities. Now was the time to get to work. If this was going to help get them out of the Trial, then so be it. She looked around, making sure everyone was paying attention before she spoke once again.

"In order for the spirit channeling ritual to succeed, I will need three things of the spirit-in-question," Kikuko began. "First, I will need the name of the spirit. The name that the spirit was assigned at birth."

"The name?" Aidan blinked. "Well, that's easy. It's Beauté Morose, right?"

"Dude, the name given to them when they were born," Mara reiterated, folding her arms and glancing away. "It's not Beauté Morose. It's…

…

…Natasha Villeray."

"Correct," Kikuko nodded. "Thanks to the Stanczyk File, we have confirmation of what Beauté's true name was spelled out in perfect lettering."

She shifted in her podium toward the next important thing.

"Second, I will need a possession of the spirit," Kikuko continued. "An item the spirit had when they were alive. Something that had significant meaning to them."

"Ah, so, an item of significant importance?" Fábio blinked.

There was really only one thing that came to mind. Perhaps it was the only thing he was grateful for during his Free-Time Events with Beauté. Because without them, how else would they know what this was. He glanced at Kikuko, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"If I recall…" the figure skater began. "It would be…

…

…her engagement ring."

"And why would you ever come to a conclusion like that?" Fábio frowned. "It's not like you're a love expert."

Wrong words.

Beauté raised up her hand, showing off the engagement ring on her ring finger with a foul smirk. She made damn sure that Fábio would be able to see the Black Dahlia engraving on it. And all too quickly, with her free hand, she pulled the figure skater closer toward her, her smirk turning almost lustful.

"It's funny that you would mention the 'L' word," Beauté whispered.

"Oh, nice one, Barbosa," Issac smiled, folding his arms. "She always did like to brandish that ring around. That should be the perfect item for this ritual."

Neither Kikuko nor Fábio were happy with Issac's input.

He was the reason Kikuko was forced to do this after all. Nevertheless, it seemed like Kikuko was taking this pressure like a champ. Fábio recognized that this wasn't something new for her. This was stuff she's probably done quite a lot back at home.

"But…" Issac frowned. "Did anyone manage to snag that ring from her corpse yet or… is it still there?"

Everyone's silence spoke volumes.

"Jeez, glad to see everyone hasn't felt the need to rob the girl," the toymaker couldn't help but chuckle.

"Then, allow me to get it for this ritual!" Stanczyk waved his hand, excitedly. "I've always wanted to see a magic show! Ooooh! This is going to be so much fun!"

The jester popped up from the couch and sprinted off toward the elevators.

As he did, he never noticed the look of disapproval that came from Kikuko, definitely over that 'magic show' comment. Nevertheless, the shrine priestess maintained a serene calm composer before continuing toward the last item.

"Lastly, I will need the image of the spirit," Kikuko concluded. "A face to put to the name and their item of significance."

"So, like, a picture?" Yumi questioned, confused. "Where in Sam Hill are we gonna git dat?"

Everyone looked at Yumi like she was Aidan. There was really only one place that they could get a picture of Beauté and it was something that had been established at the start of the Trial. As soon as everyone was done looking at Yumi like she was a moron, all eyes went to where they could find Beauté's face.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yukihiko rolled his eyes, still finding this segment of the Trial childish and ridiculous. "Her picture is right there…

…

…on her podium."

Indeed.

The picture of Beauté on her own podium, with the knives over her face in the shape of an 'X'. Although that was the decor covering Beauté's face, there was still some visibility. Only one person really doubted whether this would suffice. Of course, it was Fábio, who looked at Kikuko curiously.

The shrine priestess simply nodded.

"It will do," Kikuko said. "Let's get started…"

"What's this?"

Fábio glanced at what seemed to be some sort of Japanese charm of some sort. With mostly everything prepared, Kikuko had walked up toward the figure skater and simply handed him the charm. And since it had Japanese symbols of some kind, the figure skater was rightfully confused.

"It's a precaution," Kikuko simply told him, looking down. "Just in case something goes wrong."

Fábio's face shifted to concern.

"Which it won't," Kikuko backpedaled, giving him a look of assurance. "I promise."

"Yeah, but didn't you say you haven't mastered this technique yet?" Fábio asked. "And that it was a pain in the butt? I mean…"

"Hey," Kikuko smiled, secretly enjoying the concern he had for her. She placed her hand over his hand, specifically the one with the charm. "It's going to be alright. Channeling the spirit will be easy, given how recent the spirit is."

"Then…?" Fábio gestured toward the charm.

"That's for getting her out," Kikuko told him. "Knowing Beauté, she'll definitely make your lives a hassle. So, if she does anything rash, I want you to smack that ofuda across my forehead. Within moments, she'll be exorcized from my body… and from this world."

Fábio gripped the charm tightly.

"...You know, you still don't have to do this," the figure skater pointed out.

"Perhaps, but what other choice do we have?" Kikuko smiled softly. "This is the only way we'll get answers."

"But trusting me to exorcize Beauté's spirit?" Fábio blinked. "How would–"

Kikuko tightened her grip on Fábio's hands, yet another expression assuring him that he'll do fine. She kept herself serene and calm. Something that Fábio had to admire about her. Because while he was here worrying, she was here, just… letting this happen. Like this didn't bother her. Her expression softened.

"...I wouldn't trust anyone else but you," she told him.

Fábio's eyes widened.

So did Kikuko's.

And before long, their faces flushed red. They locked eyes for a split second but glanced away. And yet, neither of them noticed that they were holding hands… significantly longer than they needed to. As if they weren't going to see each other for a while. Perhaps…

Perhaps now would be the time to–

"Here you go best friend!"

Stancuck popped out of nowhere, an engagement ring on the tips of his finger as he cluelessly interrupted the moment Kikuko and Fábio were having.

"One engagement ring, fresh from the body of a best friend!" Stanczyk's eyes started to tear up. "Ohhh boohoo boohoo! How it was so sad that I had to take it from her! Th-This… It was so… WAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Kikuko and Fábio let go of each other's hands, both of them disappointed. The shrine priestess gave one last look at the figure skater, however. One last smile.

"Well, here goes," was all she said.

Then, snatching the ring out of the bawling Stanczyk's hands with clear annoyance, the shrine priestess examined it closely. She took note of the blood on it. She also took note that while some parts of the petals on that Black Dahlia insignia had cracked slightly, the ring was still in good condition to be worn. She sighed and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

Then, situating herself right in the middle of the Trial podiums, Kikuko bowed her head down and placed her hands together, as if giving a small prayer. She made sure to do this in front of Beauté's podium, specifically looking at the image of Beauté herself. Then, with a deep breath, she closed her eyes, glanced up into the air, and began to recite some words.

"O Seiryuu! By the powers of your Scales, by the powers of your Might, and by the powers of your Eastern Spring, I, your humble servant, call upon your power to establish a connection with the Gods once more!"

Her eyes opened, but this time, it was replaced with a bright bluish glow. It was nothing like anyone of these normies have seen before. For Fábio, he watched in amazement. Not over how powerful she looked, but how confident and professional she was about all of it. But for everyone else, this was their first step into anything supernatural.

Stanczyk and Monoyena watched on the side.

Monoyena was slowly munching on his shrimp, for once, not even spouting anything to interrupt this ritual. Turns out, he was interested in seeing this play out.

Stanczyk… Well, we already know he looked like a child in awe at a magic show.

But most importantly, Issac watched with an impressed look on his face. He held onto Isolde, tightly. There was something in his eyes as he watched Kikuko do her thing. Something that idolized just how powerful she was. How Talented this girl truly was at being the Ultimate Shrine Priestess.

"Well, would you look at that, Isolde?" Issac spoke quietly with a smile. "That's some power…"

Kikuko continued.

"O Natasha Villeray! Your item of significance is your home! Your face is your vessel! And your name is my mind! I call forth the spirit of Natasha Villeray! And invite you back into the world of the living!"

Everything went quiet for a moment.

Then, a gasp.

The light in Kikuko's blue eyes flickered and suddenly, the light was gone. Kikuko's eyes closed and she slumped toward the ground. And while everyone glanced at each other over what had happened, it was Fábio that rushed to her side.

"K-Kikuko!" the figure skater exclaimed, running up toward Kikuko's body. "Kikuko! A-Are you—"

Kikuko groaned.

She slowly got up from the ground, confused and dazed.

Fábio sighed in relief.

"Oh, Kikuko," the figure skater sighed. "Thank God, I thought you were—"

He cut himself off.

Because as soon as Kikuko turned to face Fábio, his face dropped. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what had happened. No one could. Everyone had that same shocked expression. And no one could even make any noise or any comment whatsoever. What they had witnessed was just…

"What's wrong?" Kikuko spoke.

Except, it wasn't Kikuko's voice anymore nor did Kikuko have her face. In fact, it wasn't even Kikuko. And what especially gave it away was how her lips had widened into a grin and how her hair had dropped down into that wavy long hair that she used to wear when she was alive. The remaining 10 playmates instinctively backed away.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," she continued.

Because they were no longer looking at Kikuko…

They were looking at the spirit inhabiting her body.

...

The Spirit of Natasha Villeray.

...

Also known as Beauté Morose.

...

The Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess.

DANGANRONPA: TWISTED TRAGEDY

FINALLY! It's FINALLY here!

The long-awaited Trial Part 1 for Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits is finally here, and I can finally do the one thing I was planning to do the very moment I got Beauté and Kikuko! This spirit-channeling mumbo jumbo was the one thing I was very much looking forward to when reaching Chapter 3 and it's finally here! Ugh! Yes :D Which means Trial Part 2 is only going to get crazier :D

Thank you Otterplay for Beta reading this 25K-26K word chapter :D The next is roughly 30K D:

Today's shoutout goes to Sempi's Cold-Blooded Revenge! It's a wonderful story that I'm not allowed to read! Also, I'm shouting her out because I told her she was making a big mistake getting all mad at me for killing Beauté :fingerwaggle: This was always all part of the plan :D

Since this Chapter is already long enough, I'm just gonna cut right to the chase :0 Let me know what you thought about this first Trial part! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Was it elegant? :D I always like to hear what you guys have to say!

And while you're at it...

Final predictions: Who do it? Who killed Beauté- I mean Natasha and Kazuki?

Trial Part 2 will come out... tomorrow or Monday :0 Depends on what happens!

(I am also sick! I'm putting these out while SICK DX Goal is to finish this entire chapter before the end of the month so DX)

Playmates Remaining: 10

Aidan Brighton - The Ultimate Track Star [Omakin]

Alisa Zachary - The Ultimate Clockmaker [ExtraMeme]

Fábio Barbosa - The Ultimate Figure Skater [Rayy12]

Issac Santiago - The Ultimate Toymaker [oddlyillregular]

Manon Vivienne Levesque - The Ultimate Actress [Sempi]

Marabel "Mara" Garcia - The Ultimate Karate Master [Epifanio Therion]

Natasha Villeray - The Ultimate Murder Mystery Hostess [Grandma Sue]

Roderick Cutler - The Ultimate Deep Sea Fisherman [Orlando Butler]

Yukihiko Yuno - The Ultimate Child Caregiver [Weekaro]

Yumi Gundo - Ultimate Gunslinger [MrUtenaHolic]