The first one to snap out of it was Mukuro Ikusaba.
"No... no no no, nooooo!!"
Her face drained of all color, and with a scream, she bolted out of the gym.
"...No way. That can't be right... it can't be. This has to be part of her plan... it has to be..."
After that, Tojo ran out of the gym too, pale as a sheet, and then a long, suffocating silence settled over the room.
"N-no way... right? There has to be some kind of mistake... right, Saihara-kun?"
"A-Akamatsu-san... calm down..."
"First... we should confirm it with our own eyes. It won't be too late to judge after that..."
Once the panicked Akamatsu shattered the silence, Saihara and Amami, standing on either side of her, tried to steady her before leading her out of the gym.
"Heh heh heh... so a murderer has finally appeared. What a splendid chance to observe the innate ugliness of humanity..."
Before long, Shinguji slipped out of the gym with that nauseating little laugh of his, and after that, the rest of the students quietly began filing out one by one.
.
.
.
.
.
"...So you came."
"...Y-you guys..."
The scene inside the [Ultimate Assassin] research lab—the crime scene—was catastrophic.
Beyond Momota, who stood there in a daze, and Hoshi, who had apparently arrived before the others, lay K, cold and still... and beside him, kneeling on the floor, was Harukawa.
"......"
Harukawa had tried to stop the blood with bandages, somehow, desperately, but the moment the body discovery announcement rang through the entire school, she had frozen solid. Even when the others came pouring into her lab, she did nothing but stare blankly down at K.
"Upupupu!! Since everyone's here, I'll hand out [Monokuma File] 1!"
The file the students received contained the following information.
[Victim: K, the [Ultimate Counselor]]
[Body discovered in: the [Ultimate Assassin] research lab]
[Estimated time of death: around 2:00 PM]
[Cause of death: The fatal wound was a stab wound to the side. Aside from that, there are various knife wounds all over the body.]
"W-what is all this...?"
"A wound to the side...? Can we really trust this information?"
As the students frowned at the report, Saihara stepped over to K, lifted his clothes, and examined the wounds for a moment before raising his head.
"It looks like the [Monokuma File] is telling the truth. The information in the file matches the wounds on K's body..."
"W-wait! Ikusaba!!"
"Aaaahhh!!"
Saihara, who had been calmly inspecting K's injuries, jolted in shock and spun around when a scream suddenly tore through the room behind him.
"Die! Just die!!! Die already!!!!"
Mukuro Ikusaba had lunged at Harukawa and was strangling her.
"He wasn't someone who was supposed to die to trash like you...! Not to someone like yooou!!"
"Khk... kgh..."
"Die!! Die die die!! Die, you bitch...!!!"
"Stop her!!"
Just before the completely unhinged Ikusaba could twist Harukawa's neck clean off, Gonta and Chabashira charged in.
"Mukuro-san!! Please stop!! You can't become the blackened too!!"
"H-how... how is she this monstrously strong...?"
"Let me go!! I'm gonna kill that bitch... I'm gonna kill her!!!"
Even with two people of overwhelming physical ability tackling her at once, all they could do was barely keep the berserk Ikusaba from snapping Harukawa's neck.
"K... K..."
Meanwhile, Tojo, who had stood there in a stupor ever since entering and witnessing the carnage, finally sank down beside K and began shaking him.
"Y-you told me, when you saved me... you said we'd put everything back the way it was together... so... you can't do this... please get up... please..."
"T-Tojo..."
"I know you could have seen something like this coming... I'm sure this is part of your plan too, right...? So... please, just like always... get up with that awkward little smile of yours... okay...?"
"....."
"P-please... I haven't even repaid my debt to you yet... there was still so much you had to do for the world...!!"
"Tojo, stop..."
"Why... why did it have to end this pointlessly... hhk... sob..."
Tojo kept shaking K for a long time, but when the others finally couldn't bear to watch anymore and pulled her away, she broke down completely.
"...I'm really selfish, aren't I?"
"...Huh?"
"I was the one who kept shouting that we all needed to work together... and then I pushed the role of uniting everyone onto K-kun, and this is what happened..."
"Akamatsu-san?"
"And on top of that, I even doubted him over some stupid video... It really is all my fault. So... maybe I should've been the one who died instead..."
"A-Akamatsu-san... that's...!"
"I'm sorry, Saihara-kun, but I... I don't think I have the will to endure this killing game anymore..."
"....."
When even Akamatsu—the one who was always so bright, so relentlessly positive—finally plunged into panic, the atmosphere nosedived in an instant.
"Die!!! Die already!!!"
"Everyone, grab her... and pull!!"
"Let me gooooooooo!!"
"Ghk..."
Even after Gonta and Chabashira intervened, Ikusaba kept choking Harukawa. It was only when most of the others, unable to watch that desperate spectacle any longer, rushed in and dragged her back together that she was finally torn away.
"Why... are you stopping me...?"
Even after being pulled off, Ikusaba kept thrashing and glaring at Harukawa for a long time. Then she turned toward the students restraining her and spoke in a voice gone glacial.
"If you get in my way... I'll kill you too..."
"No! Mukuro-san!"
".....!"
At the exact moment Ikusaba began radiating that murderous aura, Chabashira wrapped her arms around her from behind.
"Please... stop now."
"The living have to keep living... and I'm sure K wouldn't have wanted this either... He wouldn't have wanted you to become the blackened like this..."
Only after hearing that did Ikusaba finally stop resisting. She sank to the floor and began muttering under her breath.
"Six years... I've loved him for six years..."
"...W-wha...?"
"But now there was even a child involved... so I decided I'd finally give up and, just like I promised, protect him for the rest of my life instead..."
"I-Ikusaba-san..."
"K, you selfish bastard... I love you... I love you, damn it... you piece of shit... The truth is... I still love you..."
"........"
"Please... get up..."
But no miracle came. No matter how desperately Ikusaba pleaded, K remained cold and silent.
"Khk... hhk... ngh... kgh..."
Meanwhile, Harukawa, who had only just been released from Ikusaba's grip after being strangled for so long, coughed violently for a moment before finally speaking.
"...She's right, Chabashira. Mukuro doesn't need to kill me."
"W-what... what do you mean...?"
"The one who should kill me... is me."
With that, Harukawa walked over to the weapon display case.
"I'll atone for this sin with my death."
She reached for a handgun, but—
"Now, now, we can't have that..."
"S-so the voice inside me was telling me to stop Harukawa-san after all!"
Hoshi swiftly snatched the handgun away, and for some reason Kiibo had already thrown himself at Harukawa to knock her down, so her suicide attempt ended in failure.
'As I thought... humans truly are beautiful.'
Shinguji watched the whole thing in silence.
'And among them, the one most suited for Sister is...'
"Mukuro-san... for now, it's time to investigate... the rest can wait... until the Class Trial..."
'Chabashira-san, who steps in to care for others even when it has nothing to do with her...'
Just as he was quietly sorting through candidates fit for his sister—
"Hey... why are you all so sad?"
"That's right~! Did you already forget what Monokuma and the Monokubs said~?"
The leaders of the student council and the anti-student council faction spoke up at the same time.
.
.
.
.
.
"W-what are you talking about...?"
"Huh? What do you mean, what am I talking about?"
"You bastard!! Quit screwing around and spit it out already!!"
"Nishishi... did everybody catch amnesia at once?"
When the others snapped at Oma for making jokes in a moment like this, he only smiled slyly.
"Nyahaha~! Looks like Oma-kun is talking about the [Book of the Dead]~!"
At Angie's words, everyone froze all over again, while Oma raised his voice with gleeful mischief.
"Heeey~! Monokuma~!"
"Upupupu? You called?"
"Is it okay if we use the [Book of the Dead] right now?"
"Eh? You're using it already?"
"Yep! I'm gonna use it right now!"
At that, Monokuma scratched his head.
"You guys... are all of you in agreement that the target of the [Book of the Dead] should be K?"
At those words, the students hurriedly nodded.
"W-we can save K!?"
"...If it means I can save him, I'll do anything."
"I'll pay for my sins, so please... please..."
Ikusaba, Tojo, and Harukawa had all gone blank for a moment after hearing that, but then they rushed to agree too, and the room united in a single desperate consensus.
"Upupupu... well, if that's how it is... Monokubs!!"
"Huh? Dad?"
"What's up?"
"......."
Smiling at the students' reactions, Monokuma called over the Monokubs and gave them an order.
"Pick up that nice cold corpse over there and carry it away!!"
"Huh? Why...?"
"Well, these fearless little brats say they're going to use the [Book of the Dead]."
"Eek. No way. That's impossible."
"Monodam! I told you not to do reactions!! It's painfully awkward...!!"
"Hup... what the heck? Why's he so light? Is it because his soul already left?"
And just like that, the Monokubs lifted K's body and disappeared with it.
"Now then, since you've officially declared your intention to use the [Book of the Dead]... I guess I need to add a few rules!"
The instant he said that, everyone's E-Handbook began to chime.
"This is...?"
When the students opened their E-Handbooks, they found a new rule added inside.
[School Regulation 15]
[If a murder occurs and the [Book of the Dead] is used on the victim of that murder, then no Class Trial will be held, and the murder itself will be treated as though it never happened. However, in that case, the [Book of the Dead] may only be used starting 24 hours after the time the murder occurred.]
"......"
The students stared blankly at the new rule, and Monokuma gave an awkward little laugh.
"Upupupu... see, I've pulled a lot of underhanded crap up till now... so this time, I decided I'd try not to do that as much as possible! A fair and impartial killing game, overflowing with truth, and... every now and then, a chance for a dramatic comeback like this too..."
"If we really use the [Book of the Dead]... can we really bring K back to life?"
"Good grief! Have you lived your whole life getting duped...? Ah, right. You actually have, haven't you?"
When Ikusaba cut him off, Monokuma cheerfully mocked her before continuing.
"...Anyway, thank you all so very much for making unanimous use of this motive! Upupupupu!"
With that, Monokuma vanished, and for a moment, silence swallowed the research lab again.
"All riiight~! Everybody walked right into Monokuma's trap so beautifully! If I were the Mastermind, I'd be scared by how perfectly everything was going!"
The first one to break that silence was Oma, who for some reason looked downright thrilled.
"But be careful, okay? If you keep strutting around all full of yourselves like that... someday it's gonna blow up in your faces. Nishishi...!"
Leaving those words behind, Oma walked out of the lab without caring in the slightest about the stares boring into his back.
"Student council, everyone follow Angie~! We need to make proper preparations to use the [Book of the Dead] starting now~!"
Before long, Angie led the hesitant student council members out with her usual bright energy. As the remaining students stood around in a daze or stumbled about in confusion, Akamatsu and Saihara began talking through the situation.
"S-Saihara-kun... do you really think any of this makes sense...?"
"...When I checked K-kun's pulse earlier, even if it was only for a moment, there definitely wasn't a heartbeat. And judging from how much blood he lost... I really do think he was dead. So honestly, I don't understand how they could bring him back either..."
"Exactly... I don't know as much about this stuff as you do, Saihara-kun, but... when I looked at K-kun... that cold feeling... it really felt like I was looking at a corpse..."
"...Speaking of the blood he lost, there's something strange about it."
"Huh? Amami-kun?"
When Amami suddenly cut into their conversation, Saihara turned to him with a grave expression.
"...Amami-kun, you noticed it too?"
"I did... If a trial had actually happened, this would've been a real headache."
"Um... what are you talking about?"
When Akamatsu asked, completely lost, Amami began to explain.
"Not exactly the same, but... I was once injured about as badly as K-kun while I was out exploring. And that was in the middle of nowhere."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. But back then, I tore up my clothes and used them as bandages to stop the bleeding... then held out for two or three days before I got lucky and was rescued."
"Th-that's a relief... but what does that have to do with this?"
"What I'm saying is... there's no way blood would gush out that much from a wound like that. Especially not if it had been bandaged like that."
"Amami-kun's right. A wound of that severity, with proper first aid already applied, shouldn't have bled that much."
At that, Akamatsu's eyes widened.
"Then... why did it...?"
"Simple. There had to be a third factor that made the blood spurt like that."
"The [Monokuma File] doesn't mention the murder weapon. Usually, a report like that would include it. If it doesn't... then that probably means the weapon itself is the key point of this case."
"T-then..."
"It means Harukawa-san might not be the one who killed K-kun."
Thud!!
"Ghk...!"
The instant Amami finished speaking, a blunt impact and a strangled cry rang out from behind them.
"Since I can't judge you in the Class Trial anymore... guess I've got no choice. I'll pass judgment on you myself."
"M-Mukuro-san! Calm—"
"Shut up. Anyone who tries to stop me gets wrecked too."
"......"
"Don't worry. K's gonna come back anyway... so I'll only beat you hard enough that you die for a little while and survive. Sound fair?"
"Do whatever you want..."
Wham!!
"...Ugh."
Seeing what was happening behind them, Akamatsu's face darkened, and beside her, Saihara and Amami spoke with bitter expressions.
"...Of course, she still tortured K-kun all day... and set the stage for his death. So her sin is still incredibly heavy."
"Right. What she did comes close to murder itself. That's... something she'll have to carry from here on out."
"......."
"Well then, we should go do what we need to do."
"Yeah. I agree."
"W-what are you going to do? You're not planning anything dangerous, are you?"
Akamatsu had been hanging her head for a while, but when the two of them spoke with such grim resolve, anxiety finally got the better of her.
"Well, it is dangerous... but it's something that has to be done."
"W-what is it...?"
"We're going to find the real person who killed K-kun... and maybe..."
Saihara swept his gaze across everyone in the research lab, his eyes sharp with suspicion.
"...the person who might even be the Mastermind behind this killing game."