One Week Before Arriving on the Island.
"Aragi... are you sure you're going there alone?" Tsubasa's voice sounded like the last chance to rewrite the script before the final credits rolled. "Better to think about it now than regret it later. You know... eternity is a long time."
"I've already decided," I replied, as if my decision meant anything to the scriptwriter. "I won't deny that I could use your help... However..."
And here I paused to sound a bit more tragic. "I don't want to see your blood spilled before my eyes. Just wait. And hope that I can return from there victorious."
"And still, don't forget who else will be participating besides you. Our main enemy... no, not even an enemy. The enemy of all humanity. This is our last chance to defeat the Creator. It's time, after that first battle, to end this senseless war with meaning."
"Yeah..." I nodded, even though she wasn't looking. "I won't let you down, Tsubasa. After all... this is our last game. How could I possibly allow myself to lose?"
"Did Ougi tell you about his position on the island?"
"Uh-huh. The mistress of the mansion will probably block magic... or something like that."
"So, he'll give up his power... intentionally. What a noble move. What a foolish act. But the witch, she's no fool, you understand? She knows you can't take away what can't be taken. This is already their second game. And if she loses a second time, she'll sooner blow up the mansion than allow that."
"Remember, Aragi. In this game, you can trust only yourself. Only yourself. I know your bad habit of saving everyone and everything, but the stakes are too high."
"Yeah, I understand. The life of my world. And... if I lose, it's scary to imagine what an enraged busty vampiress would do to me. Morally, of course. Or physically. Or both."
"Khh... You just... Did you compare me to her?! To that old hag who sends curses?!"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha... I like it when you get mad over little things."
"I'll come back..." I said with enough pathos for a whole episode. "I promise."
...
"And also... どんな天気でも,君を愛している."
Present Time — The Mansion.
"Did I fall asleep that quickly..." I opened my eyes, as if it was necessary. The sleep felt like an instant, though... no, it doesn't matter.
"Did I wake you, Aragi?"
"No, not at all. Just... a pretty vivid dream. Did I sleep long?"
"About an hour. Not much. Want to sleep more? I'll keep watch at the door for now."
After we split up to our rooms, I suggested a guard system — one stays awake, the others rest. And rotate. Sounds logical. Almost like a school project, only with the risk of dying.
"Nah, I won't fall asleep now. You rest up."
"Where are you headed?" Enua asked, suspiciously calm.
"To the bathroom. Quick there and back."
"Alone? Want me to come with you?"
"Don't worry. I'll be right back."
This could have been a spoiler.
I stepped out. The light in the kitchen... is on? The kitchen was nearby.
"Probably Gerudo hasn't finished cleaning up yet," I thought.
Mistake.
I stepped closer. Mistake #2.
Traces of blood.
A puddle.
Stains.
Inscriptions on the walls. In a language that maybe even Satan himself wouldn't understand. The dishes covered in blood, and nearby... a body. Or rather, what was left of it.
Gerudo.
Torn apart. Dismembered.
Throat slit.
Eyes gouged out.
Guts, well, let's say, too far out.
"What the... hell..." I swallowed, though there was nothing to swallow. I need to tell the others right away!
First murder? The witch? So the game has begun?
I ran. Doesn't matter how many meters. Doesn't matter how many seconds. Door, "bam" into the wall.
"What's wrong, Aragi?! Were you attacked?"
"No. Everything's fine. Call the others! Quick!"
"I'm already calling, but what happened?"
"First murder..."
"Really... a participant?"
"No, it's worse. They killed Gerudo."
After a brief and undramatic retelling of events, everyone gathered in the living room.
"What does this mean?!" Yahweh sounded louder than usual. Probably the shock effect. "He wasn't even a participant!"
"I don't understand either," Hov echoed. "Why him and not one of us?"
"That's not important now," I said. "The main thing is to find the guilty one."
"And how are you going to do that, Sherlock? We're powerless, can't go out, the rain outside is pouring like crazy," Kamiki said.
"Let's start with who found the body first," Hov.
"That was me. I woke up, went out, saw the light in the kitchen... decided to help. And in the end... found a meat puzzle instead of a cook."
"He told me right away," Enua added. "So we both have alibis. We were in the room the whole time."
"I confirm," Aragi nodded. "He didn't go anywhere."
And then, as if on cue, a voice rang out.
"Yeah, yeah, Enua had an alibi... if not for one 'but'..."
Kamiki. With a smirk you'd want to wipe off with a mop. He was clearly waiting for this moment. Prepared for it like a graduation.
"You were sleeping. You said yourself, slept for an hour. So... he could have gone out, killed, hidden, come back, and even cleaned up after himself."
"Exactly. How can he prove an alibi if you were asleep while he was supposedly nearby?" Yahweh.
"Ah, you... I knew in advance they'd make me the scapegoat! But I'll prove it. Oh, I'll prove it."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"Simple. Severed limbs. Kitchen knives aren't capable of that. We have no access to magic, so it couldn't have been me."
"He's right," Yahweh nodded. "I saw the knives. All small, no axes."
"And if there is an axe after all?" Kamiki suddenly interjected, as if waiting for a dramatic pause. "On the second floor, in a glass case. I saw it."
"What?!"
"We checked the house with Tiamut and came across it. Someone could have taken that axe and..."
(That scoundrel... he thought of even that?!)
"Well then... Let's go and check. If the axe's in place, you're saved. If not..."
"Pff. Don't even hope. I'm innocent, hearing about the axe for the first time."