Day 7
6:52 PM
Once again, here I am in this tragic and filthy theater…
I watch closely as the flames draw nearer, partially consuming the staircase in the lobby.
I press the tip of the machine gun against Miyu's back and return my gaze to my five opponents.
Once more, I've assumed the role of the villain. Thanks to my experience last time, I'd say it was even a bit easier to recreate this scenario. Since I started setting the stage from day one, I had more time to steer this game toward my suicide.
This way, I managed to build the relationship between the two and establish trust without causing as much damage. My new strategy didn't even require Shou and Manabu to betray the student council. I believe I maintained the same hatred from them while avoiding sacrificing my friends—a clearly superior result to the previous one.
However, there are still many things left unexplained. Unlike last time, those damned entities didn't even show up after the game's announcement to explain what had happened or why I needed to do this again. There was no additional information or clarification through my dreams.
The only conclusion I can draw is that I took some action I shouldn't have. So this time, I decided to reduce the number of murders needed to take on this role, though I still had to recreate gruesome deaths like Takashi's.
"Give up, Johann. You have nowhere to run. If you stay there, you will soon be consumed by the flames you caused. Release the hostage, and you will at least have a painless death," says Mikoto.
You won't convince anyone with that authoritarian tone, Mikoto. But that's precisely why I like you two so much.
"Let Miyu-chan go, you bastard!" Shou yells.
"Shut up, traitor," I respond.
"Jocchi, we're only doing this for her safety. You're the one who lost it by taking her hostage," says Manabu.
"There's nothing more I need to discuss with you two," I turn to Ailiss and Mikoto. "But as for you two, you're quite confident you didn't miss anything, right? Now answer me this: what will you do about the bomb?"
"He's bluffing; don't lower your weapon for a second," Ailiss orders the shooter.
"Understood! I have him in my sights," the guy replies.
This situation is all too familiar. Miyu, Shou, Manabu, I'm sorry for what I put you through last time, but I don't plan to hurt you this time.
"Frankly… you really thought we would fall for such a blatant lie? It only proves how desperate you are. Surrender already; the longer you delay, the worse it will be for you."
"All right. I give up. I admit my bluff; this was indeed a checkmate on your part. I couldn't predict you'd clear the block and ambush me on my way out. There's nothing I can do to reverse the situation... the truth is, I never had clairvoyance powers. You were right to assume I was lying."
"As I thought. Now let go of the hostage," Mikoto insists.
"No need to rush. I'll release her soon…"
Then, with a smiling face, I pull the gun from the hostage's back and raise it to my head.
"But I'd rather kill myself than be killed by a worm like this," I say, and then pull the trigger.
The last scene I can glimpse is the look of shock on Ailiss and Mikoto's faces at my suicide.
Day 1
10:27 AM
Again.
I'm once again gazing out the classroom window.
Have I been thrown into another parallel reality again? What the hell is happening here?!
What kind of joke is this? Where are those damned entities? They didn't tell me anything about this… I'm about to explode with rage.
I can't understand what they hope to gain from all this.
I lean against the window and wait a few seconds for my anger to subside so I can reason.
Getting mad at them won't change anything; they're intangible entities. There's no way to demand anything from them.
It seems the method I used, which required fewer sacrifices, didn't help at all. They told me they just wanted to see a new possibility for the future, and I delivered. I clearly remember them saying they were satisfied with the path I took. So what more do they want from me? It could be literally anything; there's no way for me to guess.
Could it be a new outcome? If what they want are new possibilities, do they intend to keep throwing me from one timeline to another for new entertainment? But there can't be anything new; there's an ending with the defeat of each of us three. What are they expecting?
The dizziness comes with some delay, and I steady myself on the window before me.
The flood of information dumped into my brain always seems to cause this terrible side effect. But it's a bit weaker than last time. Slowly, I'm managing to cope better with the déjà vu.
"Johann-kun, are you okay?" Miyu asks the same question as before.
"Not really, but don't worry. I occasionally suffer from dizziness and headaches; it should pass soon," I try to reassure her.
"If you say so... but are you sure you don't want me to take you to the infirmary? Maybe some medication could help."
"That's not necessary; I just need to rest a little. If I need to go to the infirmary, I'll go alone. Actually, I'm already feeling better… now, if you'll excuse me," I pass by her.
"All right… but don't push yourself too hard."
Leaving the classroom, I run into Manabu and Shou. I'm not in the mood to deal with these two right now. Even though I didn't kill them last time, it's still difficult to talk to them. I'd rather avoid them for now, or my head will feel even more muddled.
"Hey, Johann! Where are you going?" Shou asks excitedly.
I just keep walking with my head down, passing by them without saying a word. I need to save energy to avoid fainting like before.
"Huh? What's gotten into him?" Shou comments.
"Leaving just before class starts... that's pretty strange," Manabu replies.
"Man, weird… Do you think he got dumped or something? Should we try talking to him to see what happened?"
"Leave him alone; he's not feeling well. He's probably heading to the infirmary," Miyu stops Shou and Manabu from following me.
I walk down the school corridors without any idea of what to do or where to go.
I'm completely lost; I don't know what to make of all this. The only way to understand what's happening would be to talk to those strange Laplace demons in the form of children, but how can I contact them?
Through my dreams? They didn't manifest in any of my dreams during the last attempt. If they were interested in talking to me, they would have reached out by now.
The bell for the following class rings, and I sit on one of the staircases to catch my breath.
I feel like I could faint at any moment, but I need to stay awake and try to understand what's happening before the game is announced. When that happens, both Ailiss and Mikoto will start acting, and I'll need to move faster than them to once again end the game with my suicide.
Regardless, there's no point in planning a perfect ending without figuring out what's affecting this game; it would just be another waste of energy and more pointless killings. But what exactly should I discover? What can I do to stop jumping to another timeline?
Am I being punished or something? I don't know... the only thing I'm sure of is that I need to save Mikoto and Ailiss again. I need to save them as many times as necessary. No matter how many times they throw me into this game, I won't allow it to end with one of them dying.
So, this time won't be any different. Until I find a clue about what's happening or the Laplace demons contact me, I'll implement variations of my plan, doing the same as last time...
"Hey, you. You're not allowed to be in the corridors during class time," a lower-ranking student council member reprimands me.
"Sorry, I'm heading back to class now."
...
It's time. I managed to skip afternoon class to try to find them. The speakers are already screeching that strange way; maybe I can use this occasion to contact the entities.
"Hello, everyone! From now on, we're going to play a game!"
I burst into the sound room, but upon opening the door, I see it's empty.
Damn it, where are those bastards? Is the sound being transmitted to the speakers from somewhere else? No... there's no other way to access the speakers besides this room, so their connection to this world isn't physical.
Since I couldn't find them, the best thing to do is try to stop the announcement. Maybe that's the action I must take to end the game once and for all.
I try to cut the transmission through the computer, but the announcement continues. This aberration would probably persist even if I cut off the school's electricity.
It seems there's no other way.
...
And so here I am again.
The smell of death is once again impregnated on my hands.
I look around at the pile of bodies and the red snow that completely covers the schoolyard.
Reducing the number of victims didn't work last time, so it doesn't seem like a solution. Ultimately, following this approach is more foolproof, making Mikoto and Ailiss hate me more easily. I must continue with this procedure until I have another idea.
...
I sincerely hope this time I've managed to end this madness.
"Congratulations to both of you. I didn't think you could defeat me this way. I suppose I have no choice but to..."
Before their widened eyes, I raise my hand to my head and pull the trigger of the revolver.
Day 1
10:27 AM
Again, again, and again!
How many times have I tried to end this damn game?!
Two hundred times?! Three hundred times?! I've lost count after entering the hundreds of repetitions...