"Upupupu...! Is everyone here...? You swore you wouldn't kill anymore, and yet you all came running to see the motive... I guess your bodies are more honest than your mouths...!"
"You dragged us here by force, so what the hell are you talking about?!"
"But you still walked here on your own two feet, right? So maybe it wasn't really by force after all...? Upupupupupu..."
"When breakfast ended, a whole commotion broke out. Asahina and several of the others refused to go to the gym, only for Monokuma to overpower them and haul them there anyway."
"Asahina had resisted especially fiercely, so Monokuma, enraged, had twisted her arm badly enough to injure it."
"Well, this time, I was just sooo excited to watch you all sink into despair after seeing the motive, so I let it slide once. But next time... unless one of you wants to become a sacrifice, you'd better obey me quietly... Upupu..."
"...Can you really make us despair?"
"Upupu...?"
"Kyoko Kirigiri glared straight at Monokuma as she spoke."
"You've handed us three separate murder motives already. You even used a spy and another Mastermind on your side to divide us, torment us, and drive us into despair. But in the end, you couldn't make even one of us fall. Forget murder—you couldn't even break a single person."
"....."
"At this point, shouldn't you be getting the picture? You're going to fail. No—you're already failing. If your plan were working, a murder should've happened long ago. But after looking into these students' eyes, do you still think your plan can succeed?"
"Their gazes were a little dimmed by the relentless, forced killing game, yes—but they still held expectation. Hope. The belief that things could still get better."
"No matter what motive you throw at them next, you won't be able to break them."
"Watching that revolting and yet strangely delightful scene, Enoshima leaned toward the microphone in front of her and whispered softly."
"Hope is like a weed. Try to rip it out all at once, and it'll stubbornly grow back. So you have to pull it out with care. Slowly... very, very slowly. And if you do that... eventually, only the faintest little scrap of hope remains."
"Having gotten carried away and slipped back into her original manner of speaking, Enoshima quickly corrected herself and returned to Monokuma's voice."
"And... I just love the moment when even that tiny scrap of hope disappears!!"
"The instant those words ended, a monitor began descending from the gym ceiling."
"Tch, another video...? Fine! Bring it on!"
"What the hell are you trying to show us now?!"
"Should we just... close our eyes and cover our ears entirely...?"
"But... if we don't watch, who knows what that bastard will do, just like with the last motive video... Let's just see it now and forget it cleanly."
"Now then, eyes front, please! I will now present the fourth motive! This time's motive is... drumroll, please... [Heart-Pounding Despair Video Call]!"
"What...? A video call? With who..."
"Hey, I'm not done talking yet! As a side note, last time I thoughtfully let you watch your motive videos one by one, but this time? No such kindness! You'll all be watching together!"
"W-Why...?"
"Because really, how many things in this world are more despair-inducing than watching the suffering of the friends you've grown close to? Upupupu..."
"....."
"Then first up, Naegi! Please step forward!"
"At Monokuma's call, Naegi walked forward with a stiff expression and stood before the screen."
"Then let's begin..!"
Bzzzzzt...
"O-Onii-chan!?"
"Ko... Komaru!!!"
"The figure that appeared on the screen was Naegi's little sister—Naegi Komaru."
"Komaru... are you okay...!?"
"Hic... sob... Onii-chan... I thought... I'd never see you again... I... I... honestly, I'm at my limit now... I can't... I can't live like this anymore... this endless life with no promise of anything...!"
"Enoshima...! What did you do to Komaru?!"
"Oh, come on now, it's Monokuma, not Enoshima..."
"What did you do... to Komaru?!"
"Well, if a girl in her mid-teens is trembling like that and losing her mind... then I guess I probably did exactly the sort of thing you're imagining right now, huh...? Upupupupupupupu!!"
"....!"
"Naegi ground his teeth, fury boiling over, and glared at Monokuma like he wanted to kill him on the spot. Monokuma only threw his head back and roared with laughter."
"Upupupupupupu!! What? What were you thinking!? All I did was smash up your house, kidnap your little sister, and lock her away somewhere nice and quiet... Naegi, for such a cute face, you've got a pretty filthy imagination! Upupupupu...!"
"Monokuma laughed so hard he rolled around on the floor, even tumbling off the gym stage in a slapstick heap—but not one of the students could laugh at the sight."
"Next! Leon Kuwata!"
"O-Onii-chan! I still had something to say—"
"K-Komaru...!"
"Without a shred of mercy, Monokuma cut off the call. After that, he connected the students one by one to their hostages."
"L-Leon...! I don't think there's any hope for me anymore, so let me confess at least this much... I love you...!"
".....I love you too."
"L-Leon, o—!"
"Only now, in a situation like this... do I finally have the courage to say what I really feel... That's pathetic."
"S-Sayaka...! You're alive...? I... I...! I thought all the members were dead...!"
"A-Ayaka! The others! What happened to the others?!"
"Th-The others... they're already..."
"A-Ayaka? Answer me! Ayaka!!"
"Oogami... I'm glad you've grown even stronger than before... I'm fine... this kind of trial is nothing... I'll handle this situation somehow... you just do what you have to... cough!"
"Kenichiro...! That blood...!"
"I-I'm... fine... cough... cough... Please... don't go back to living like you used to... starving for blood... Use that strength for everyone..."
"Kenichiro!"
"Yasuhiro, how's your body? You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Anyway, in times like this, you need to keep your wits about you, okay? Don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself."
"M-Mom...?"
"Ishimaru!! In times like this, you must engrave into your heart the indomitable spirit that never gives up and keeps striving—"
"F-Father...! Even in a despairing situation like this, I will gladly burn my life away to protect everyone..."
"B-Big Sis...! Long time no see...! This place is so cramped I could die...! There's nowhere to work out... no sweet bean jelly either...! Do you have a pool and donuts over there...?"
"Y-Yuta...! You're safe...!"
"Meow..."
"Ungh... Grand Bois Chéri Ludenberg... you've gotten so thin... Just how did they take care of you...?"
"Young master... I am ashamed. I failed to protect the Togami family..."
"...Aloysius? What do you mean by that? Answer me!"
"If it is you, young master... you can surely... restore the Togami family... once more..."
"Damn it...! My butler isn't someone who'd go down that easily! Just what did you do, Enoshima...?!"
"H-Hifumi...! This place... it's hell...! There's no anime... no manga... no light novels...! The only books here are literary novels and magazines! If I stay here any longer... I'm going to lose my mind...!"
"Big Sis... what kind of battle are you even fighting over there...?"
"O-Owada-senpai? Damn it, don't tell me they got you too!? Then what about Crazy Diamond now..."
"Yukimaru... if you can get out of there somehow... then I'm leaving Crazy Diamond to you..."
"S-Senpai...? What do you mean by that...? If not you, then who'll lead Crazy Diamond..."
"C-Chihiro...! Thank god...! You were alive...! Don't worry about me...! Soon the Future Fou—"
"Upupu... that's an NG keyword...!"
"D-Dad...!"
"Kirigiri... if it's you... then you know what you have to do... I believe in you..."
".....Grandfather?"
"And... please... your... father..."
".....!"
"Upupupupu... those expressions are absolutely priceless, you know?"
"Naegi swallowed the rage surging up inside him and glared at Monokuma. Of course, it wasn't just Naegi—most of the students were burning with anger. And how could they not be? Who wouldn't be furious after the person most precious to them had been turned into a hostage?"
"Why are you doing this to us...?! Why would you commit something this cruel?!"
"As the students shouted their protests in voices thick with fury, Monokuma only smiled quietly and answered in a loaded, almost playful tone."
"If you're really that curious, why not ask Naegi, or Kirigiri, or Fujisaki? If just one of those three sacrifices their life, everyone can learn the truth, right? Upupupu..."
".....You think I can't say it...?"
"Naegi... of course you can't say it. You can babble all you want about cooperation and trust... but in the end, your own life matters most to you, doesn't it...? Isn't that right...? Or maybe you'll tell everyone the truth right now...! Though of course you can't! Upupupu...!"
".....Ugh...!"
"Calm down, Naegi. That's exactly what Enoshima wants. Now that K has been neutralized, the three of us who know the truth behind the killing game have no choice but to lead everyone. Enoshima is provoking us on purpose because she wants to get rid of even one of us as quickly as possible."
"....."
"Just as I thought... you're weak, Naegi! Not the Ultimate Lucky Student—the Ultimate Weakling! Upupupu...!"
"Naegi forced himself to ignore Monokuma's relentless taunts. Then Togami, who had regained more composure than most of the others, hurled a question at Monokuma."
"As I suspected... this is blatantly strange. You've kidnapped that many people, occupied Hope's Peak Academy—the most famous academy in the world, right in the middle of the city—and turned it into this ridiculous spectacle... and yet no rescue has come at all until now..."
"I told you already! The police—"
"I'm not talking about some hollow shell of an organization like that. My family should have begun moving by now without question... and yet even a butler of the Togami family was abducted. And from what Aloysius said just now..."
"Haaah, you really do talk too much... So what exactly are you trying to say...?"
".....It may be that we've been dragged into something even more preposterous than we ever imagined."
"Togami looked as though he had more to say, but with Monokuma standing right in front of him, he seemed to choose his words carefully and hold the rest back."
"What, that's it...? How anticlimactic. I thought you were about to launch into some grand deduction or something... Well then, I guess I should tell you why I let you have those video calls."
"Monokuma cleared his throat, then spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact voice."
"If no murder happens within 24 hours, they'll start a killing game on the other side too."
"The sheer casualness of Monokuma's statement made Naegi's heart plummet. Could Komaru really endure what he himself had gone through? Even he had nearly broken down several times. And Komaru, who already looked like she'd almost lost her sanity...?"
"When he looked around, the others' eyes had changed too. Unlike before, despair was beginning to creep into them, little by little. Naegi tried desperately to steady himself, to tell himself this couldn't continue—but even he couldn't stop the flood of dark emotion rising inside him."
"Well? If you don't kill, then all you have to do is watch the people you care about kill each other. And if you can't bear to watch that, then just pick anyone you like and kill them!"
"Where had it all gone wrong? Had they become too optimistic because no murder had happened—not after the first motive, not the second, not even the third?"
"Haaah... honestly, I really didn't want to use this method unless I absolutely had to... I can't go over there myself right now, so I can't control things directly. But whatever. If I leave it to those kids, I'm sure they'll handle it just fine on their own... right?"
"Was it because K existed—because he knew the truth behind the killing game—and that had made them believe they could keep stopping it so easily from now on? Or was it because they had trusted the plan K had set in motion and thought all they had to do was hold out a little longer?"
"You said earlier that none of you would give up, right? Well, in 24 hours, we'll find out whether that was true!"
"Or had it been a mistake from the very beginning... to believe in hope at all?"
"Upupupupupu... so you're finally all despairing for real? Well, of course. Once even that faint little scrap of hope has been ripped away... all that's left is despair..."
"No, that's..."
"In the end, all of you... one way or another... were destined for despair from the start...!"
"That's..."
"And now, I'll start the countdown!"
"That's wrong..."
"Then I'll see you in 24 hours!! Assuming a murder hasn't happened by then, of course!! Upupupupupupu...!"
"Even the words Naegi barely managed to force out were swallowed whole by Monokuma's booming cry. After Monokuma vanished, silence hung over the gym for a long, long time."
"And just like that, the budding sprout of hope was torn out by the roots, and a despair-filled 24 hours began."