Blades of Despair

-Chapter Eighty-Six-

New Decisions

I could scarcely believe that the King of Leonis was in our presence. Just how many powerful people were involved in this struggle between the Blades and this nameless organisation for which Lioness and the king worked? Were other world leaders involved? Why was the leader of Leonis wasting his time with students like us? Suddenly, a most unsettling question wormed its way into my mind, and I looked directly into the icy eyes of Arthur Lionheart.

Does he know what happened to his son? Is that why he's here?

I began to sweat a little and I closed my hands, awash with my newfound anxiety. Is he here to interrogate us on what happened? If he does know Edward's fate, and if so does he blame us for his death?

"Gawa, is everything okay?" Ori asked, concerned, beside me. I turned to her and nodded meekly.

"Yes, I'm just shocked to see His Majesty here." It was only a partial lie. Everything was not okay, but I was undoubtedly in a state of shock.

"If you don't mind my asking," Nishi inquired hesitantly, "why are you here, Your Majesty?"

"I did explain that he was my boss, and the leader of this organisation," Lioness reminded him coldly. "He is here because-" Sapphire raised his hand and Lioness immediately closed her mouth. Wow, to subdue Lioness so easily... She must have a lot of respect for him.

"That will do, Lioness," Sapphire commanded. "While it is true I am the leader of the organisation responsible for rescuing you from the clutches of the Blades of Despair, there are some additional points I wish to discuss with you all. I am principally anxious to know exactly what happened during your time at Seiko Academy. As you may be aware, we've never been able to recover living participants before. There are also some... personal matters I wish to address as well." When he said that, he looked directly at me, and I knew that he was referring to the now-deceased prince of Leonis.

"Well, where would you like us to start, Your Majesty?" Mina asked. Sapphire nodded at Lioness, who stood and retrieved one of the files from a large bookcase behind her.

"What's that?" Ori questioned when Lioness sat down and opened the folder on its first page.

"This folder contains all the information we have about the students who participated in your killing game," Lioness said, and I felt my heart drop.

"You know who took part?" I exclaimed, and Sapphire gave me a knowing look.

"We thought we did," Lioness replied, picking up a pen and turning to a blank page. "However, we need some clarification on a few points, and that is where you four are needed. We need to know everything that transpired at Seiko Academy. From start to finish."

"Everything?" Mina's shoulder sagged. "Do we really have to remember everything that happened?" Sapphire and Lioness nodded.

"I cannot stress the importance of the information that you can give us," Sapphire urged, his chilling glare returning. "This is less of a request and more of an order."

"That's okay, we'll tell you what we endured," I agreed, "but on one condition. I have some questions of my own, and they have so far gone unanswered. Can I count on you to answer them in exchange for our version of events?" Lioness looked at Sapphire, whose stare bore down on me like a predator hunting its prey, but I steeled myself and kept my gaze fixed on his. After a few seconds, Sapphire harrumphed and nodded, seemingly satisfied with something.

"Very well, I don't think that will be an issue," he said. "Now, please tell us what happened."

Thus I, along with Ori, Nishi and Mina's input, began retelling the events that led to the killing game of Seiko Academy. We told them about how we had all grown up knowing of the prestigious Seiko Academy, and we each told the stories of how we obtained our Ultimate Talents (a very difficult endeavour for Ori, who had learned that her talent had been orchestrated by her bastard father). We recounted our joy at receiving our invitations to attend, invitations which had been signed by Kinji Ishotaru. However, when we arrived, we had quickly realised that something was amiss; the robotic voice on the screen that had descended from the ceiling; the lack of other students and teachers inside the academy; the strange instructions to gather inside the cafeteria. We recalled the first time that we encountered both Monomenon and Monoworth, two robotic bears who claimed to be the headmaster and chief executioner at the academy (I was surprised that neither Sapphire nor Lioness flinched when we described the bears, but then again, they both seemed to be people whom it would prove difficult to shock). The bears were the ones who informed us that we were trapped inside Seiko Academy for the rest of our lives unless we followed one rule that would enable us to leave: murder another student and survive a class trial.