I refuse to believe this.
This could be her trap. The kind capable of using magic during the game. Did she orchestrate everything again?
She could have clouded his mind. Or maybe it's just an illusion of the senses?.. There's no time to speculate. I must check the library as soon as possible.
The young man rushed to the second floor. Toward the library. The door was open — just like last time. No one had closed it.
I want to believe he's innocent. That he — is not the killer. But can I truly think that way?
Faith alone won't solve anything. Faith — is hope, not fact. And her game requires only facts. Only they decide everything.
She used facts against me.
And me? I only had faith. And I lost. Without a chance. She didn't even leave me an attempt. And I know for sure...
— I don't want to experience that pain again!
When I arrived, everything was exactly like last time.
Bloodied bodies. Shattered heads. Chest wounds. All identical. Absolutely nothing had changed.
As if I'd been thrown back into that same moment, that same day. Like a broken record.
Why?
Why am I always too late?
Even if I had made it... what would that have changed? I have no power. No means. I couldn't have helped them...
Had I been slightly slower — I'd have become one of them. A corpse. In my own pool of blood.
I even considered laughing. Just spitting on everything. But... I couldn't.
I looked around. All dead. No doubt.
And I left the room. I don't know why.
What was I hoping for? Those wounds weren't survivable.
Perhaps I just wanted to comfort my ego.
But he wasn't among them.
He was exactly who I'd come for.
I went down to the first floor. Headed toward the parlor.
Empty.
None of the participants were waiting for me.
The girl who had been beside me — she was gone too.
Alone again. In this enormous yet empty mansion. Alone with myself.
My faith led me back to where it all began.
I don't know what to do...
I was wrong. Completely.
I just didn't want to see you suffer because of me.
It's not your first time...
But I lied. To myself. To you.
I need you. More than ever before.
Only together...
Only together could we have won.
Forgive me.
I don't know how to defeat the witch. It always ends with her victory.
And me — only losing.
Bang.
The sound of a gunshot.
Aragi, who had already completely despaired, suddenly heard it — coming from another room.
This wasn't an auditory illusion. This sound was real.
From the bathroom.
He jumped up from the couch and rushed there.
What he saw stunned him.
A corpse.
The one everyone thought was the killer.
Head blown open. No signs of struggle. Everything pointed to suicide.
— N-no way...
Aghah-hah-gha-ha!
That laugh — feminine. Unmistakable.
Like nothing and no one else.
— You must be very surprised, but discard those thoughts! Our game begins anew, Aragi-i!
After her words, the world cracked.
Shattered. Distorted. Like glass thrown against stone.
I found myself in her chains again.
But I don't want to. Don't want to fight. Don't want to continue.
— Stop. I lost. I admit it.
My voice — like a dead man's whisper.
— Aragi, surely you...
A soft, almost tender voice. She approached me and... embraced me.
What?..
Why?
Wasn't she the one who thirsted for blood and spectacle?
But her embrace — didn't feel cruel.
She almost seemed sympathetic...
— I told you — discard those pathetic thoughts!
Suddenly her face changed.
And now she was grabbing my hair, throwing me to the floor.
Placing her foot on my face.
— We've only just begun, and you're already ruining everything with this display?
— Pathetic. If you don't want to play — then be a dog. Mine. On a leash.
How could I ever think her capable of compassion?
In her eyes — only excitement. In her voice — joy at others' suffering.
— Get up. While I'm allowing it. Don't disappoint me further. You're disgusting to look at.
— You're right. Sorry for letting myself break.
"He recovered this quickly?.."
— Begin. This time I'll tear all your claims to shreds!
— That's how you should have started.
Let's continue. I'll destroy you — just like in the first game.
If I remain like this, I'll lose.
It doesn't matter if I have proof or not.
I must see this through.
Before us — fragments of the world. They showed everything that had happened.
Around her — those same blades. Just like last time.
She smiles.
Confidently.
And me? I have nothing.
But I must think of something. Anything.
— Results of the second night: all participants were shot in the library. The killer — Enua. Anything to say?
As before — everything comes back to him. His alibi still unproven.
— What about Morgana and Sheryl? They followed me. But no one saw them after that.
— I expected you'd notice. Yes, they followed you, but you were too fast. By the time they came down — you'd already entered.
— They decided not to interfere. To wait.
I remembered. I didn't even know where they were at that moment.
— Then where did they go? Enua should have come out. They would have seen him. Or at least come in to ask what happened.
— They were killed! While you were lost in thought, he seized the moment. Killed them first. Then — everyone in the library.
— But there were no corpses anywhere. No blood. How did he kill them?
— With a knife. Came up from behind — that's all. The weapon could have been under a blanket. Or somewhere nearby.
— Simply put, Aragi... they died because of you.
Had you not hesitated — you could have stopped him. Learned everything.
I stayed silent. She was right. I hesitated. Remembered the past. Missed the moment.
But I can't leave it at this.
— That's not all. Your arguments are too weak. Where are the bodies? Why no traces?
— He hid them. In one of the spare bedrooms. Wiped the traces — with a kitchen rag, for example.
Finally. The moment I'd been waiting for.
— Except — it's a five-minute walk from the parlor to the kitchen! In that time I'd already reached the library.
— And that's not all. He'd have had to make the trip twice: first hide the bodies, then clean up. That's too long.
She tensed.
My move worked.
— You've prepared well... But the rag could have been in the parlor. Napkins! They're always kept there.
— Contradicting yourself. Those napkins weren't used. The first thing I did when I came down — they were still in place.
This is my chance.
— Ehehe...
Suddenly a sphere appeared. It showed the events — without distortion.
Real footage. Not under her control.
My arguments crumbled. In an instant.
— How did he manage all this?.. I was...
— You can't defeat someone who lives for this game.
You're incapable of understanding its essence. That's why — you lose.
— What are you talking about?
I interrupted. Just said it. She looked surprised.
And then — laughed. Joyfully. Genuinely.
— We're only just beginning! You think I'll give up?
— Don't even think about it! — Mariana said with delight.
Very well.
Let's begin this cursed witch's game.