Blades of Despair

-Chapter Eight-

The Crimson Trail

The elevator stopped and the metal doors slowly opened to reveal a blinding light. Once my eyes had accustomed, I stepped out of the elevator cautiously, wary of what was awaiting us. But I could never have predicted the room that I had walked into. It was like another world, or at least that's what I thought at first. The room itself was a large circle and was impossibly high. The interior of the room was equally startling; stain-glass windows of the headmaster decorated large portions of the walls. The fact that Monoworth had turned a sordid occasion into a vanity project greatly unsettled me, as well as intensify my hatred of him. Large, violet drapes cascaded from the tops of the glass mosaics to the floor, which itself was a dull, grey parquet. Golden pillars stretched from the floor to the ceiling; the interior of the room made no sense. The grandiosity and ostentatiousness of the walls against the dreariness of the floor and ceiling created a confused and broken setting. Despite its baffling design, the room's center was where my attention was immediately drawn. Several wooden podiums that resembled witness stands stood in a circular formation, and behind them were two tall thrones, upon which Monoworth and Monomenon were already sat.

"Ah, students! Welcome to Seiko Academy's very own trial hall. Please, look for the podium inscribed with your name and stand upon it. Then, we can begin proceedings," instructed Monoworth gleefully. We circled the podiums like curious vultures around a carcass until we found the one assigned to us. I found myself stood between Uehara and Mina, and opposite Miyagawa.

"Thank you for finding your places so quickly, you guys must be eager to hunt the killer! Before I give an explanation of the class trial, please put you Seiko-pad on your podium. This will share any data you have collected with your classmates, as well as with myself and Monoworth," Monomenon's joyful tone only amplified the already incomprehensible mood of the room. Not daring to defy the bears, I laid my Seiko-pad down in front of me and the floor underneath me lit up. One by one, the others' platforms lit up.

"Oh, I love it when they're obedient," cooed Monomenon."

"Okay, now that we're all ready," began Monoworth, "I shall explain the process of the class trial. This will essentially function like a debate; students will present ideas, arguments and pieces of evidence to try and pinpoint the culprit behind the murder of one of their beloved classmates. Once the students have come to some sort of conclusion as to who the killer is, a vote will be cast, and the majority wins. Remember, diplomacy is the best policy!"

"I thought honesty was the best one?" interrupted Monomenon stupidly.

"Well I don't care about that. It's diplomacy now. Once the vote has been cast, I will reveal if the correct verdict was reached, as both Monomenon and I already know who the killer is. If the students vote correctly, then Monomenon will punish the perpetrator. If not, then he gets to execute everyone besides the culprit, who then gets to walk away from the academy. So, my dear students, who murdered Sanda Heikichi, the Ultimate Vlogger?"

"I d-don't want to d-do this," wept Mitsumi, "t-to think one of u-us k-killed Sanda is t-too much to think a-about..."

"Tell me, Monoworth," said Tokunaga, "why is there an empty podium there?" He pointed to the space between Hatanaka and Yoneda, to a podium where no one was standing.

"Oh that? That's where Sanda would have stood if she were still alive, and someone else had been the victim. Would you like us to erect a portrait of her there, as a reminder that one of you betrayed the group?" Monoworth started to laugh, and I don't believe I could have hated him more than I did right then.

"We can't let that person get away with what they've done," maintained Nishi through gritted teeth. "We had all made a promise to see the three days through together. Why did Sanda have to die?"