I refuse to believe it.
This could be her bait. One that is capable of using magic during the game. Could she have set everything up again?
She could have easily clouded his mind. Or maybe it's just a deception of the senses? There's no time to guess now. I must check the library as soon as possible.
The young man rushed to the second floor. Towards the library. The door was open, just like last time. No one had closed it.
I want to believe he is not guilty. That he is not the killer. But can I truly think that?
Faith alone will decide nothing. Faith is hope, but not a fact. And in her game, only facts are needed. Only they decide everything.
She used facts against me.
And me? I only have faith. And I lost. Without a chance. She didn't even leave me an attempt. And I know for sure…
I don't want to experience that pain again!
When I got there, everything was like last time.
The bloodied bodies. The shot-through head. The chest. All the same. Absolutely nothing had changed.
As if I was back in the same moment, the same day. Like in a stuck cycle.
Why? Why do I never make it in time?
Even if I had… what would it have changed? I have no power. No means. I couldn't have helped them in any way…
If I had been a bit faster, I would have become one of them. A corpse. In my own pool of blood. I even had a thought to laugh. Just to spit on everything. But… I couldn't.
I looked around. All dead. No doubts. And I left the room. I don't know why.
What was I hoping for? Those injuries are not something you can survive.
Probably, I just wanted to comfort my ego.
But he wasn't among them. It was for him that I came.
I went down to the first floor. Headed towards the living room.
Empty.
None of the participants were waiting for me. The girl who was nearby, she wasn't there either.
Alone again. In this huge, but empty mansion. Alone with myself.
My faith led me to where it all began.
I don't know what to do… I was wrong. Completely.
I just didn't want to see you suffer because of me. It's not the first time for you, after all… but I lied. To myself. To you.
I need you. Like never before.
It's together… it's together that we could win.
Forgive me…
I don't know how to defeat the witch. It always ends with her victory. And I only lose.
"Bang" — The sound of a gunshot.
Aragi, who had completely despaired, suddenly heard it, coming from another room.
It wasn't an auditory illusion. That sound was real.
From the bathroom.
He jumped up from the sofa and rushed there. What he saw stunned him.
A corpse. The one everyone considered the killer.
Head shot through. No signs of a struggle. Everything pointed to suicide.
— I-it can't be…
Aghah-hah-gha-hah!
That laugh, feminine. Unmistakable.
With no one. With nothing.
— You must be very surprised, but discard those thoughts! Our game begins again, Aragi-i!
After her words, the world cracked.
Shattered. Distorted. Like glass thrown against a stone.
I found myself in her chains again.
But I don't want to. I don't want to fight. I don't want to continue.
— Stop. I lost. I admit it.
A voice like the exhale of a dead man.
— Aragi, could it be that you…
A soft, almost gentle voice. She approached me and… hugged me.
What? Why?
Wasn't she the one who craved blood and spectacle?
But her hug doesn't feel like cruelty. It's as if she sympathizes…
— I told you, discard those pathetic thoughts!
Suddenly her face changes.
And now she grabs my hair, throws me to the floor.
Puts her foot on my face.
— We've only just started, and you're already going to ruin everything with your look?
— Pathetic. If you don't want to play, then be a dog. Mine. On a chain.
How could I even think she was capable of compassion? In her eyes, only excitement. In her voice, joy from others' suffering.
— Get up. While I allow it. Don't disappoint me even more. It's disgusting to look at you.
— You're right. Sorry I allowed myself to break.
«Did he recover so quickly?»
— Begin. This time I will tear all your assertions to shreds!
— That's how it should have started. Let's continue. I will destroy you, like back then, in the first game.
If I remain as I am now, I will lose. It doesn't matter if I have proof or not. I must go to the end.
Before us are the fragments of the world. They showed everything that happened.
Around her are those very blades. Like last time.
She smiles. Confidently.
And me? I have nothing. But I must think of something. Anything.
— Results of the second night. All participants were shot in the library. The killer is Enua. Anything to say?
As before, everything comes down to him. His alibi is still not proven.
— What about Morgana and Cheryl? They followed me. But after that, no one saw them.
— I expected you to notice. Yes, they followed you, but you were too fast. When they came down, you had already entered.
— They decided not to interfere. To wait.
I remembered. I myself didn't know where they were at that moment.
— Then where did they go? Enua should have come out. They would have seen him. Or at least come in to ask what happened.
— They were killed! While you were lost in thought, he seized the moment. Killed them first. Then everyone in the library.
— But there were no corpses anywhere. No blood. How did he kill them?
— With a knife. Came from behind and that's it. The weapon could have been under a blanket. Or somewhere nearby.
— Simply put, Aragi… they died because of you. If you hadn't been lost in thought, you could have stopped him.
I remained silent. She is right. I was lost in thought. Remembered the past. Lost the moment. But I can't leave it at that.
— That's not all. Your arguments are too weak. Where are the bodies? Why are there no traces?
— He hid them. In one of the empty bedrooms. Wiped the traces. With a kitchen rag, for example.
Finally. The moment I was waiting for.
— Only it's a five-minute walk from the living room to the kitchen! In that time, I had already reached the library.
— And that's not all. He would have had to make the trip twice, first to hide the bodies, then to clean the traces. That's too long.
She tensed up. My move worked.
— You prepared well… But the rag could have been in the living room. Napkins! They are always there.
— You're contradicting yourself. Those napkins weren't used. The first thing I did when I came down was check, and they were in place.
This is my chance.
— Yk-khy-khy…
Suddenly a sphere appeared. It showed the events, without distortions. Real footage. Not under her control. My arguments crumbled in an instant.
— How did he manage all that? I…
— You cannot defeat someone who lives for this game. You are incapable of understanding the taste of its essence. That's why you lose.
— What are you talking about?
I interrupted, just said it. She was surprised. And then suddenly laughed, joyfully, genuinely.
— We are only just beginning! Do you think I will give up?
— Don't even think about it! — said Mariana with delight.
Come on then. Let's begin this cursed witch's game!