Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

68) Queen of Diamonds [4]

"In a way, his ideals clashed directly with mine, which is why I went to such lengths to eliminate him. Many people have said that I bring forth a blind sense of justice, only thinking my own morals superior. But if it's for the sake of protecting my friends, that's not a moral code, is it? It's simply me preserving the lives of those I love."

===Chihaya Korinsu===

I turned away, but stopped, not averting my gaze. It would be a disservice to someone who sacrificed their life, so I saluted her. A pulse of power ran through us, my vision blinding for a moment, before I squeezed my eyes shut, stumbling to the ground.

As soon as it happened, it was over. With each blink, flashes of colors and floaters obscured my sight, and I staggered through the haze towards Hanako's body, which sizzled.

Kazetani, who had covered his eyes with his hand, moved Hanako's body beneath the trees, within a bed of flowers.

"No..." Tori murmured, unflinching. "She died for us. We should've known."

"Who's next?" Koharu asked. "It's one life taken, but think of it as also one step closer. Overcome your fear, and please, step up to the microphone!"

"Maybe it's just hindsight bias," Shirai said, her hands behind her back as she stood in front of Hanako's charred body, "but I think the entire player base is too vague, in retrospect."

"Okay... So thinking about this..." I murmured. "She lost her family, so what would she value if not them?"

"She would value the people who meet her ideals the most closely." Tori said. "But, taking into consideration what she said, who values things like that? You don't just value anything that ticks every one of your personal ideals. So it's unlikely to be 'every player who meets your ideals' or something similar to that."

We remained silent for another minute, before I spoke again. "If she has nothing else to value, she would simply value whoever stuck closest to her own personal ideals. And those memorialized players... They're who were the closest to her ideals, and influence the group the most, as a result. Their bodies were hidden as a hint... A hint."

"So... She values those who align closest to her ideals. So... The players she hid as a hint..."

"Must be the players who at one point were closest to her ideals!" I said. "So... Logically, at one point, they must've been who she valued most!"

We perked our heads, all turning towards the Queen, leaning forward and listening as intently as we were focusing. Me and Tori broke off from the rest of the crowd, taking slow, cautious steps forward.

My mind raced, all the new ideas clashing together like a rough sea, my thoughts flashing like thunder and melting into each other. And, again, the past tumbled like a howling wind, interfering with my processing, as if a locked memory begged to be remembered, on the tip of my consciousness.

I hissed, putting my hands to my eyes, attempting to filter my thoughts. Erina, in a yellow dress walking down the pool. Gabura, popping open a bottle of champagne beneath my DJ booth on the dance floor, showering people with alcohol. Niko, hauling a crate of scavenged food from an old venue.

The old venue. The restaurant Tori had played her Five of Diamonds. That's the thing that doesn't belong–the vending machine.

"That's the thing that doesn't belong..." I whispered. "The... It's the vending machine!"

My voice had raised, and at the same time, Tori had come to their own revelation, and bursted into laughter. "You've really said it, didn't you? It really was this obvious after all this time.