The ancient senate room was now filled with overlapping accusations, like a storm drawing closer and impossible to stop. The air felt even more stifling, the dim red light from the eternal torches stretching everyone's shadows across the marble walls, as if ghosts from the past were watching this trial unfold. There was no longer any doubt in most of their eyes—everyone was now pointing at Adi as the culprit.
Zayn stood tall, fists clenched on the podium, his voice firm and filled with long-buried anger.
"I examined the trashed archive room thoroughly. Adi's name appears clearly in several documents, though most are heavily censored. He was involved in countless crimes during his political campaign. He and some of his supporters even backed a separatist group that turned out to be funded by Bima's organization. I never imagined… Adi was the opponent I once fought against when I tried to free a region from its tyrant leader. All those records are in there, even if they're torn to shreds."
Adi immediately defended himself, his voice rising with desperation, his face pale under the red light.
"Those are all old crimes I committed in the past! They have nothing to do with the murder now!"
Zayn struck back, his voice growing louder.
"Of course they do! You didn't want your crimes exposed, so you killed Anya and tried to destroy the archive room to make the evidence disappear! You were afraid your name would be spread to the public, weren't you?! Afraid everyone would learn about your rotten past!"
Dion shook his head slowly, his voice calm but clearly doubtful.
"I can't believe Adi would do something like that… he's always seemed like he was trying to unite us."
Lira chimed in, her gentle voice trembling, hands clutching her bell necklace tightly.
"Adi… turns out he's a dangerous criminal."
Sinta looked down, her voice small and full of regret.
"I didn't want to believe Adi did all that… even though he always seemed to care…"
Zahra accused him fiercely, fists clenched on the podium.
"You've been lying to us this whole time and trying to make us all trust you! Politicians like you are experts at acting! You pretended, pretended you wanted to unite us, but really you were just covering up your own sins!"
Adi kept fighting back, his voice cracking, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
"I had nothing to do with it! I don't care about those old crimes anymore! I'm just a politician. Everyone knows no politician is clean. Even the officials who fled, even the president who abandoned the country when it fell apart—they're the same. I'm no worse than them. And if I really wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't have done it this sloppily! I could have done it much cleaner!"
Bima shot back harshly, his voice dripping with mockery and rage.
"No one's going to believe your sweet talk anymore. Words from a politician. You're good with words, but the evidence can't be covered up by your bullshit!"
Nova spoke up too, her tone flat but cutting.
"I didn't want to believe any of this… but everything points to you, Adi."
Krisna remained completely silent at his podium, his drawn mouth still sealed tight like a locked zipper.
Aulia stood at her podium, her face filled with deep sorrow and confusion. She was thinking so hard, gripping her batik shawl tightly against her chest, as if searching for a middle path in the middle of this storm of accusations.
Something wasn't right, even though all the evidence now pointed at Adi. There were still small pieces that didn't connect. I needed to think again, to truly find the crack in all of this… before we all chose wrong.
Zayn stood straight at his podium, his voice growing firmer and more confident as he pieced together every fragment of evidence. His eyes swept across the entire room, as if he were leading a massive organizational meeting like he used to.
"Listen carefully," he said. "Adi was on the second floor during the incident. He was in the cafeteria, taking the steak knives. He accused someone else of taking them when he was the one who did it. Then the lights went out. He went downstairs, stabbed Anya to death. Then dragged her body through the darkness up to the third floor and threw her down. Before that, Adi had removed all the wood from the window and tried to frame Krisna as the culprit."
Adi defended himself again, voice rising, face deathly pale.
"I didn't have time to do all that! How could I have done everything in total darkness?!"
Bima immediately followed up loudly and roughly.
"All the evidence is here! The bloody steak knife found in the archive room is clear enough. You took it from the cafeteria, you used it to kill Anya."
"And the torn-up documents are obviously Adi's main motive," Dion added with absolute certainty.
Adi shook his head violently, voice breaking.
"I had no intention or reason to kill Anya! I'm not that evil!"
I stood silently at my podium, a thousand thoughts racing through my mind. I realized something was off. I glanced into the pocket of my jacket and felt Anya's farewell letter still tucked inside. The killer's motive was there… but not the way they thought.
I finally spoke up, contradicting him.
"I want to believe Adi too… but the motive does exist."
Adi looked shocked, eyes widening at me with clear disappointment.
"Reno…? You too? Even though I trusted you… I defended you in the last trial…"
I pulled the letter from my jacket pocket and held it up slowly so everyone could see.
"I received this letter. Anya's farewell letter. She knew someone was targeting her beforehand. That's why she gave this to Aulia and me."
Zayn immediately cut in suspiciously.
"That could be a fake letter made to confuse everyone!"
Aulia immediately denied it, her voice polite but firm. She pulled out an identical letter from beneath her batik shawl.
"No. This letter is real. It clearly states that only Reno and Aulia can be trusted to carry on her hope."
Selena asked shakily.
"Why did she only give it to the two of you?"
I explained confidently.
"Anya wanted the truth in that archive room to be revealed. So she stored it in a small box to entrust to Aulia and me later. But unfortunately Anya died first, and now that small box is missing."
Rian immediately accused.
"Maybe Adi has the box now!"
Adi denied it fiercely.
"I don't have any box like that!"
Bima joined the attack.
"Shut up! Let me search Adi right now!"
MonoGaru, who had been watching with a wide smile, finally hopped down from his small seat.
"Let me do it~"
MonoGaru hopped lightly over to Adi and began searching him with his cute little hands. Everyone watched anxiously, breath held. After a moment, MonoGaru stepped back, chuckling softly.
"There's nothing except a pen~"
Zayn immediately grew irritated.
"That was a waste of time. Reno's just trying to divert attention so Adi doesn't get accused—because Adi helped him in the first trial."
I shook my head slowly.
"Wait a second… that's not all. I'm certain there's something else."
Bima snapped angrily.
"Don't waste time and confuse everyone, Reno!"
I took a deep breath, then spoke in a calmer but firmer voice, cutting through the rising commotion.
"Earlier Zayn said Adi killed Anya with a stab wound, right?"
Zayn nodded quickly, voice full of conviction.
"Exactly. That's why the steak knife was there."
I shook my head slowly, my voice rising slightly.
"If Anya had been stabbed quickly, there would be no signs of struggle. But the reality is different."
Rian asked immediately, brow furrowed behind his glasses.
"What kind of signs of struggle?"
"The archive room was in total chaos. Shelves knocked over, documents scattered everywhere. One knife was found on the floor, the other flung quite far against the wall. Meaning, the killer tried to murder Anya quietly but failed. Anya noticed and fought back. That's why the room ended up like that."
Dion stroked his chin, seeming to accept my explanation.
"That actually makes sense too."
Zayn immediately denied it loudly, fist slamming the podium.
"If that happened, everyone would have heard the commotion!"
Aulia immediately countered Zayn.
"Everyone had trouble hearing it because of the loud speaker blasting Lira's singing. The killer took advantage of that to commit the murder quietly. And since the basement is rarely entered, he did it there… because Anya was alone."
Adi immediately replied, voice rising in desperation.
"The file also said Anya died from severe shock, not stab wounds! So it's impossible she died from being stabbed!"
Everyone grew confused again. The tension in the trial room tightened even more. Some people exchanged glances, breathing heavily, wondering silently.
"If Anya really died from shock, then all the evidence in the archive room seems useless," Zahra muttered softly, beginning to waver.
Until I realized something. A sudden flash of memory made my heart beat faster.
"There's something else," I said firmly, my voice cutting through the suffocating silence. "On one of the knives there was a greenish liquid, hidden among the bloodstains. I'm certain it's the poison from the lab."
I turned to Sinta, my voice gentler but urgent.
"Sinta, please tell us the effects again."
Sinta swallowed hard, hands trembling. Her voice was small but clear in the silent room.
"The effects are like a sudden heart attack. The victim feels heavy shortness of breath, loses strength in just a few seconds, and then… dies."
I nodded firmly.
"With that information, it's very possible the severe shock was caused by poison entering Anya's body. Meaning, the killer coated the knife with poison and attacked Anya. Because even one non-fatal strike would be enough for the poison to do its job."
I looked at everyone one by one, my voice growing deeper.
"Whoever did this is very skilled at killing. Because they planned everything so meticulously and tried to make all of us choose wrong. And the one who did it had a very strong reason—to erase evidence of their own major crime."
The room fell completely silent again. Only heavy breathing could be heard. Every eye was now filled with even deeper confusion, because this new piece of evidence had once again shaken the theory that had almost been settled.
The tension felt painfully real—like a rope being pulled tighter and tighter until it was about to snap. No one dared speak first. Only sharper suspicious glances and the sound of our own heartbeats growing louder in our ears.
Bima crossed his arms over his chest, his voice relaxed but sharp as a blade.
"If everything really points there, then who is the real killer?"
I looked at everyone one by one before answering.
"I'm quite certain the killer is one of those who were in the Main Building at the time. Someone close enough to the first floor and who knew how to take advantage of the loud speaker and the blackout."
Zayn immediately jumped in.
"The ones on the second floor at the time were only Adi, Nova, Lira, and Bima. So the culprit is among them."
Lira immediately denied it, voice trembling.
"I couldn't have done it! I was singing in the broadcast room the whole time!"
Nova shook her head slowly, voice calm.
"I was also keeping watch near that room. I was afraid MonoGaru would come and punish us for smashing the speaker."
Bima shrugged.
"I was on the second floor, but there's no way I could have done all that."
Adi added nervously.
"I was in the cafeteria like I said earlier. I never left there."
Rian wiped his glasses, voice full of confusion.
"This is pretty difficult. Everyone has their own alibi."
Zayn looked at Krisna.
"Then what about Krisna?"
Krisna only pointed at the zipper drawing sealing his mouth on the podium and remained completely silent, refusing to speak at all.
I thought again, gathering all the evidence in my head. The black-jacketed shadow on the third floor. The forcibly smashed wooden barrier. The poison-coated steak knife. The open control system manual. The sudden blackout. Anya's body dragged from the first floor to the third and thrown down.
The killer must have had tremendous strength, because they did all of that—especially dragging a corpse from the first floor to the third.
"The killer must be a man. Because of the extraordinary strength needed to drag Anya's body from the first floor to the third and throw her down. Plus, Zayn said earlier that someone tried to lock Rian in the basement by sliding the statue." I said with conviction.
Zayn then realized, eyes widening.
"That statue is really heavy. Whoever did it must be incredibly strong."
Aulia spoke with an analytical tone.
"Reno is quite smart using the process of elimination. That leaves only Adi, Nova, and Bima."
Adi immediately defended himself nervously.
"There's no way I could do it—you all know I'm not that strong!"
Bima accused coldly.
"Maybe the culprit is Nova. She's the one who knows the most about sabotage."
Nova shook her head.
"I could have done it, but even Lira knows I never left the area near the broadcast room."
Nova then looked at Bima.
"But Bima did leave the broadcast room for a while. He said he wanted to buy bread at the cafeteria."
Until I realized something. Something so obvious.
Everyone was now confused, exchanging glances full of questions.
"Both of them sound convincing, the evidence is clear," Zahra muttered.
Even MonoGaru commented from his podium in a playful voice.
"Even I don't know who the killer is anymore. The murderer must be really smart~"
I thought extremely hard, searching for any other evidence in my mind. Suddenly something fell from my jacket onto the floor—a small detached zipper pull.
I quickly picked it up. The tiny piece felt cold in my palm.
Why had Nova given me something so useless?
Until I realized.
This zipper pull was from a jacket. Found near Anya's body.
Meaning, Anya might have fought back and torn it from the killer, clutching it until she fell.
And someone who wore a jacket…
I looked toward the person who had been the most relaxed the whole time, the one who most often wore a leather jacket, and the one closest to the second floor during the incident.
All the pieces finally connected.
And the truth that had been hidden began to reveal itself before my eyes.
I cleared my throat softly, then smiled quite widely—a smile that even confused Dion, who stood right beside me.
Dion frowned, his voice low but full of question.
"Reno… why are you smiling like that?"
Zayn immediately stared at me sharply from his podium.
"That's creepy. Why are you smiling, Reno? Did you find something?"
I gave a slow nod, my smile still lingering even as my chest began pounding hard.
"I'm very grateful to Nova. Because of her, I'm certain that something as small and seemingly trivial as this… can destroy a huge lie."
I showed the thing that had fallen and held it high so everyone could see.
A small detached zipper pull—faded silver metal teeth with a broken end.
Everyone immediately looked confused. Some frowned, others exchanged puzzled glances.
MonoGaru even gaped at his podium, red eyes widening.
"Eh? Something that small… does it have anything to do with the murder? It's just an ordinary zipper piece!"
"Nova found this near Anya's body. Meaning, Anya tore it off while trying to fight the killer, even though she failed and was killed." I explained to MonoGaru.
Zayn immediately asked suspiciously.
"What does it have to do with anything?"
I looked at everyone one by one.
"Out of all of us… who wears a jacket?"
Everyone immediately looked around and began observing each other's clothing.
Adi said quickly.
"Zayn wears a leather jacket."
Dion added.
"Bima wears a jacket with a zipper too."
Selena spoke softly.
"Reno also wears a safety vest with a zipper."
I nodded.
"According to my earlier statement, I saw a fleeting shadow on the third floor wearing black clothing. Out of all of us, only Zayn and Bima wear black jackets."
Everyone was shocked. Murmurs and whispers immediately broke out in the room.
Zayn immediately denied it loudly.
"There's no way I did it!"
Bima also denied it immediately.
"Me too! My jacket was already damaged from the start!"
Adi was now angry, voice rising.
"Zayn tried to divert everyone's attention to me so he could kill everyone here! Zayn is the real traitor!"
Everyone was getting angry too, accusations growing louder.
I tried to calm them all by raising my hand.
"Wait! Look closer. Between the two of them, who is missing a zipper pull?"
Everyone looked more carefully. Slowly, realization began to dawn on their faces.
I then pointed with the zipper pull directly at Bima.
"Only Bima is missing the zipper pull from his jacket."
Bima looked shocked, eyes widening. He denied it loudly.
"My jacket was already damaged from the beginning! That unclear evidence can't make me the culprit!"
I smiled faintly, my voice remaining calm.
"That's true, it doesn't explain everything by itself. But when all the evidence is put together properly… I can prove it."
Bima stared at me with an angry, defiant gaze.
"Then do it. Because I'm certain the culprit is among Nova, Zayn, and Adi. Not me."
The room fell silent again, but the tension had reached its peak. All eyes were now on me—waiting for the explanation that would shatter this enormous lie.
I gripped the zipper pull tightly in my hand.
It was time to reveal the truth.
"I'll go back to a few days earlier… when the basement was discovered."
All eyes immediately turned to me. The room that had been noisy with accusations fell silent instantly.
"With Anya discovering the archive room containing crimes, secret documents, and history that had been hidden all this time. She found facts involving the names of several people—us, the Ultimate students—who were involved in various crimes. The killer didn't believe he himself was also involved in those crimes, especially the organization he had always believed was clean. He then planned the murder because Anya was too stubborn to stop digging everything up."
I continued, my voice growing deeper, each word feeling like an irreversible verdict.
"And that was when the opportunity came. When Anya was alone in the basement and the killer was on the second floor. The killer deliberately turned the speaker volume to maximum, letting Lira's singing echo loudly through the entire hallway, disturbing everyone's concentration. Then he carried out his plan. The killer went to the cafeteria on the pretext of buying bread, and there he took the steak knives. Then he went downstairs and read the mysteriously found control system manual. The killer wanted to make sure Anya was truly dead, so he coated one of the knives with poison from the laboratory. His intention was clear: if the stab failed, the poison would finish the job."
The room grew even quieter. Only the creak of shoes on marble and ragged breathing could be heard.
"Then the plan was executed. He stabbed Anya in the archive room. The automatic door locked, making it easier for him. But Anya fought back. A fierce struggle broke out inside the sealed room—shelves fell, documents scattered, blood splattered everywhere. Anya managed to disarm the killer and knock the weapon away. But one strike from the poison-coated knife hit Anya. The poison worked immediately, killing her instantly with symptoms of severe shock. The killer tried to take the secrets Anya had gathered. And to hide all his crimes, he created the perfect scenario: making it look like Anya committed suicide."
I looked at everyone one by one, my voice growing colder.
"He went to the control room and turned off the lights and electricity throughout the entire Main Building. In the pitch darkness, using his strong body, the killer dragged Anya's corpse up to the third floor. He had already removed the wooden barrier from the window beforehand. Then he threw the body down, trying to frame Krisna who was on the third floor. Even though when the killer came down, Nova caught a glimpse of his shadow. Aulia and I also saw that shadow. That was when the body was discovered."
I glanced briefly at Rian.
"The killer also trapped Rian, who was trying to turn the lights back on, by sliding the statue so Rian would be considered a suspect too. The killer thought his plan was perfectly executed. He could frame many people so everyone would choose wrong, allowing him to escape and erase all the evidence."
I let out a long sigh, then concluded in a low but bone-chilling voice.
"But the killer didn't realize that Anya had managed to obtain one strong piece of evidence of his crime—the jacket zipper pull that was torn off during the struggle, damaging the killer's jacket."
I stared directly at one person among us, my voice finally coming out cold and merciless.
"The culprit is none other than… Bima Hartono Saputra, the Ultimate Dealer."
The air seemed to freeze in a chilling silence.
The air seemed to freeze in a chilling silence. My words still echoed off the walls. No one dared breathe too loudly; everything slowed down. All that remained was the sound of heartbeats growing louder in each of our ears.
Bima stood at his podium, his usually relaxed body now tense. The easygoing smile that always adorned his face slowly faded, replaced by an expression that was hard to read—a mixture of shock, anger, and something darker.
He laughed softly, but the laugh sounded forced, rough, and cracked.
"Hah… Reno, you're joking, right?" His voice still tried to sound casual, but there was an undeniable tremor. "You're accusing me? Me? The Ultimate Dealer, who helped so many people during the disaster? You think I had time to drag a corpse, coat a knife with poison, smash a window, and stage a suicide? Crazy! I'm not that evil!"
He shook his head, his leather jacket swaying. But his hands gripping the podium had gone white at the knuckles.
"Everything you said… it does sound neat. But you're just connecting facts to make it seem logical. Where's the real proof? That tiny zipper pull? It could have fallen off anyone! My jacket was already damaged from the start—lots of people know that!"
Everyone in the room began reacting in their own ways.
Zahra stared at Bima with narrowed, furious eyes.
"All the evidence points to you, Bima. You were closest to the second floor. You left the area. You had the strongest motive because your name was in the archives. Don't even try to deny it!"
Lira clutched her necklace tightly, voice trembling.
"I… I can't believe it. Bima, who always helped me, who cried over Yusuf's death… now he killed someone?"
Selena shook her head slowly, her beautiful face turning pale.
"This… this is too terrifying. If Bima really did it… that means he planned everything so coldly. He wanted to kill all of us!"
Zayn clenched his fists, voice blazing but full of shock.
"You monster! You tried to kill us all by framing the wrong people?!"
Sinta covered her mouth with her hand, eyes glistening with tears.
"Even… he… he used that poison to kill Anya…"
Adi, who had almost been accused earlier, now stared at Bima with a mix of anger and relief.
"So… you were the one trying to frame me? You wanted to throw your dirt onto someone else to keep your secrets safe?"
Dion stayed silent, but his gaze toward Bima had turned ice-cold.
Krisna still wore his faint smile, but his eyes had narrowed sharply, as if enjoying the drama unfolding.
Aulia looked at Bima with her large eyes full of sorrow and disappointment. Her voice remained polite, but it trembled.
"Bima… if everything is true… why? Why did you have to do something so cruel? Anya only wanted to reveal the truth…"
Bima laughed again, louder this time, but the laugh sounded even more forced.
"You're all crazy! Reno is just stringing together a story to look smart! There's no solid proof that I did it! You want to accuse me just because of a broken zipper?!"
He pointed at me with a finger trembling with rage.
"You just want to save face because you almost wrongly accused Adi earlier! Now you're turning around and accusing me?! You coward! Bastard!"
Dion stood at his podium, face deathly pale, his usually sharp captain's eyes now filled with profound despair. He shook his head slowly, voice trembling as he spoke.
"I… I can't believe it. I thought Bima would never do something like this. Because we… we mourned Yusuf's death together. We even promised to survive until the end without killing or being killed. How could you… break that promise, Bima?"
Bima looked at Dion with a faint, cracked smile, still trying to sound casual even though his voice had grown fragile.
"I didn't break anyone's promise. I didn't do it."
MonoGaru, who had been watching with a wide smile, finally spoke up, his voice playful but irritated.
"Fuhahaha! The debate is clear enough, right? Anyone who wants to go straight to voting, raise your hand now!"
The senate room fell silent for a moment. Everyone exchanged glances full of doubt, fear, and unbearable exhaustion.
Out of the 13 people left, 10 hands slowly rose—including Aulia, Zahra, Sinta, Lira, Adi, Rian, Selena, and mine. Only Bima, Krisna, and Dion did not raise their hands.
MonoGaru chuckled softly, his torn wings creaking lightly.
"The majority has decided. Now it's time for voting."
Everyone then pressed the buttons on their podiums. The small screens in front of us lit up, and one by one the names appeared.
BIMA.
BIMA.
BIMA.
The voting was entirely for Bima. Almost everyone chose him without hesitation.
Before MonoGaru could announce the result and take Bima to his execution, he was given time for his final words.
"Wah wah wah! For the accused, Bima, I'll give you time to say your goodbyes!"
Bima stood at his podium, smiling faintly, but the smile was no longer relaxed—only bitter and tired.
"I did all this because I couldn't hold back my own doubts," he said softly, his voice no longer casual. "The group I trusted to save so many people… turned out to be nothing but a lie. The crimes they committed were too horrible. And I, as the Ultimate Dealer, was the one in charge of collecting funds for that group. In other words… I was the one financing those crimes."
He stared at the floor for a moment, then continued in a heavier voice.
"And not just that. I asked Anya to stop investigating everything because every Ultimate here had crimes too. Anya told me all of it. She said she would reveal everything to the public, no matter the risk. So I couldn't take it anymore… and I killed Anya."
Bima lifted his face.
"I wanted to prevent everyone from going crazy like me because of a truth that was too bitter. Lies are necessary to keep everyone sane."
MonoGaru chuckled softly, his voice playful but cold.
"Those are touching words, Bima. But you still brutally murdered Anya and tried to get everyone killed. And it almost worked… if not for that tiny piece of evidence."
Dion couldn't believe it, his voice breaking.
"Bima… you really did it? Even though we… we promised…"
Bima looked at Dion with a faint, regretful smile.
"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise."
MonoGaru stood up from his throne-like seat, his torn wings fluttering lightly under the dim red light. His crooked smile widened, his eyes glowing brighter than before, as if savoring every second of the newly revealed suffering.
"Fufufu~ Exactly right, my students. The culprit is indeed Bima Hartono Saputra, the Ultimate Dealer."
Bima stood at his podium, his face now deathly pale. His faint smile remained, but his eyes no longer sparkled as they once had. He offered no resistance as MonoGaru hopped closer and mechanical iron shackles emerged from the floor, locking both his hands behind his back with a cold, inevitable click.
Bima only smiled bitterly, offering no fight at all. He walked after MonoGaru toward the execution door that had just opened in the back wall, his steps heavy but steady.
None of us could speak. Our podiums began moving on their own with the soft creak of gears, carrying us to the hidden observation room behind thick, one-way glass. We stood there like spectators in a theater of hell, watching from behind the cold, merciless glass.
Inside the execution room, Bima was already seated in a large iron chair. His legs were tightly shackled to the floor, his body bound firmly to the seat, leaving only his hands completely free on the small table in front of him. Thick red light illuminated the room, making everything feel like a hell that had long been waiting.
A large screen above Bima's head lit up with fiery letters:
THE INFERNO DEAL
MonoGaru appeared from a side door, wearing a ridiculous yet terrifying formal black suit, carrying a stack of documents. He placed the first document in front of Bima with a wide smile.
"Sign it~ This is the first agreement. If you refuse… well, you know the consequences."
Bima stared at the document with empty eyes. He didn't move.
Suddenly, the shackles on his hands and feet glowed red-hot. The metal burned, searing his skin. Bima bit his lip, his body convulsing violently, but he remained silent.
Small flames began to appear beneath his chair—slow but steady blue-green fire rising from tiny holes in the floor.
Bima finally signed with trembling hands. Black ink dripped onto the paper.
DEAL
The fire beneath the chair grew a little larger.
MonoGaru laughed playfully and left the room, only for others to bring the next document. Then the next. Then the next.
Every time Bima hesitated or stayed silent too long, the shackles burned again, scorching his flesh until the smell of burning began to drift faintly even through the thick glass. Every time he signed, the fire beneath the chair grew bigger, higher, hungrier.
Bima began sweating profusely. His breathing grew ragged. His eyes, usually full of jokes, were now filled with real despair.
The fire grew larger. Flames began licking the legs of the chair, then his shoes, then his leather jacket. Bima tried to pull his hands away, but the burning shackles held him fast, scorching his palms every time he stopped signing.
The documents kept coming. MonoGaru changed outfits each time—business suit, judge's robe, lawyer, important official—as if mocking every role Bima had ever played in his life as a dealer.
The fire had now reached Bima's waist. His leather jacket began to melt, his skin blistering and charring. The smell of burning flesh started seeping even into our observation room. Bima screamed softly, his body convulsing violently, but his hands were still forced to sign document after document.
DEAL
DEAL
DEAL
Finally, the fire engulfed Bima's entire body. His silhouette was clearly visible through the greedy flames—the body that had once been relaxed and full of laughter now arched in agony, his hands still trying to sign until the very end.
The pen fell from his charred hand.
MonoGaru finally returned with the last document, looking disappointed. He tossed it high into the air.
The large screen above flared with blazing red letters:
NOT DEAL
The fire burned Bima Hartono Saputra completely until nothing remained but black ash and a piercing smell of scorched flesh.
The execution room fell silent.
We all stood behind the thick glass, unable to say a word.
Only a thin wisp of smoke still rose slowly from the charred iron chair.
And behind it all, MonoGaru chuckled softly, his playful and cruel voice as usual.
"Yah, too bad~ Not deal~"