"Kirigiri... but why did you come here?"
"...To save you, obviously."
"Th-Thanks...! Oh, right—what happened after I fell down here?"
"...I'll give you the short version, so listen carefully."
According to Kyoko Kirigiri's rough summary, Mukuro Ikusaba was currently bedridden in the nurse's office. The injuries she'd already sustained had been compounded by the wounds she took fighting Monokuma, and her condition looked serious.
Ikusaba had declared that she would stand on everyone's side now, but the others still couldn't bring themselves to trust her. So she was being kept under strict surveillance in the nurse's office, watched in every little movement she made.
It had to be suffocating, but maybe she was accepting it as penance for everything she'd done up to now. At least, she hadn't complained once.
Meanwhile, after that day, Monokuma had barely shown himself at all, and the motive announcements had stopped too. The others were relieved by the fragile peace that had settled over the academy, but at the same time, they were worried about me... and haunted by the creeping dread that maybe they'd be forced to live here forever.
"...And recently, a few of them decided the Mastermind had to be in the headmaster's office, so they smashed the door down and stormed in."
"Th-The headmaster's office...? Are they okay...?"
"Of course, they couldn't catch Enoshima since she's in the data processing room. After that, breaking down locked doors was added to the school regulations as forbidden, but nothing happened to them."
"...I see. Well, even if we know where Enoshima is hiding, we can't exactly give the others that information directly or indirectly..."
"But it wasn't a total loss. This master key was found then."
Kirigiri said that as she held up a small key. It seemed Monokuma hadn't had time to spirit the master key away before the others' sudden raid. If they hadn't stormed the headmaster's office, I might really have starved to death down here.
"...By the way, did you get your memories back?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I'm asking whether your memories of Hope's Peak Academy have returned."
"I-I told you before... my memories were never erased in the first—"
"Are you still planning to lie to me...?"
Kirigiri started staring at me with glacial eyes. I tried to wriggle out of it somehow, but if I lied here, I had the awful feeling something irreversible would happen. So in the end, I spat out the truth.
"...You're right. The truth is, I don't remember our previous school life either... B-But there was a reason for—"
"Shh."
"...?"
"That's not what's important right now, so I'll let it slide for the moment. Anyway, you're saying you have no memories of school life here at all?"
"...I did get this flash of memory right before I was executed... but it was so brief and vague... I can't really remember it clearly..."
"...Hmm."
Watching Kirigiri fall silent in thought after hearing that, I suddenly remembered something and asked it.
"...B-But how did you know...? Don't tell me your memories of school life came back too—"
"Not completely. They're incomplete, fragmented, broken up in places... but I remembered some of it."
"I-I knew it... C-Congratulations..."
"Yes, I suppose that is something worth congratulating—from your perspective. If my memories hadn't returned, I was planning never to look at you again for the rest of your life."
"Ugh... ngh... I really am sorry, okay...?"
"From now on, don't act on your own. Don't keep wandering off and coming back covered in injuries. And don't show off in front of me. Remember that."
The last part felt a little strange, but every one of those flaws was something I'd already been painfully forced to confront, so I nodded fervently. Even then, Kirigiri still looked at me like she didn't trust me in the slightest.
"...Honestly, I'll believe it when I see it. Anyway, it's about time we got out of here."
At last, I could escape this hellhole of a space. Grinning like an idiot, I pushed myself to my feet—but maybe because my body was already weakened and I'd spent days starving, a wave of dizziness crashed over me, and I dropped right back down.
"Good grief... honestly."
Kirigiri let out a sigh as she looked at me, then held out her hand.
"Your hand."
"Huh...? Ah, no, I'm fine! I'm just a little dizzy. You don't have to help me—"
"Now."
"Yesss..."
I took Kirigiri's hand without another word and stood up, and she helped support me. I was so happy I was practically screaming inside, and I walked as slowly as I possibly could.
We made our way to the door, unlocked it with the master key, and started climbing the ladder inside, back up toward Hope's Peak Academy.
That said... wasn't this ladder way too high?
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"Big Sis Enoshima! The resistance in Towa City is too fierce...! And something feels wrong with the Warriors of Hope too...! At this rate...!"
"This is the representative of the despair forces in the Hope's Peak Academy district. The Future Foundation's assault has reached its peak. At this rate, our defensive line will soon colla—"
"Haha, Enoshima. Been a while since we talked, huh? I've been so busy in Towa City lately. Anyway, the situation outside is a complete mess. The despair side is losing morale because the killings here still haven't happened, and on the hope side, the students of Class 78 are practically being deified. What do you think? Splendid hope blooming in overwhelming despair... isn't it beautiful? Hahahaha..."
"So this is the 'despair' you claimed you would show us? As I thought... you were nothing more than a disappointment yourself..."
Junko Enoshima listened to all the incoming transmissions at once, her face utterly expressionless.
"I'm sick of all of it..."
She was sick of everything. Sick of the killing game refusing to unfold the way she wanted. Sick of hope clawing its way back up no matter how many times she crushed it underfoot. She was even starting to grow sick of despair itself.
"Should I just kill them all already...?"
If the ending of this worldwide broadcast—this tale of heroes of hope resisting despair—was that the Mastermind suddenly changed her mind and slaughtered them all without warning... wouldn't that be despair too?
Still expressionless, Enoshima turned the monitor feed and found her regrettable sister in the nurse's office.
Even lying there with her whole body covered in wounds, she was still taut with vigilance, as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. It was almost pathetic.
'Maybe I should've killed her back then...'
She had thought that if she locked her disappointing sister in the gym and showed her, on the giant screen, K being executed as the one who had murdered her, then her sister would finally recover her memories, sink into despair, and die. And if that happened... maybe Enoshima would feel the greatest despair and ecstasy of her life.
To watch the disgusting hope she had taken such a liking to and her disappointing sister both die in despair at the same time—what a rapturous experience that would've been.
But the instant the vote was finalized, her disappointing sister regained her memories. Had he really meant that much to her, despite what a hopelessly broken relationship they'd had?
Enoshima had sent every Monokuma she could activate to stop her berserk sister, but with combat ability no injured human should have possessed, she forced her way into the trial grounds anyway.
Honestly, Enoshima was sick of both hope and despair now. Just thinking about either one made her weary. But if she had to choose, despair was still marginally less tiresome than hope, so she began preparing an appropriately despair-soaked finale.
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"K-K! You're safe!!"
"You idiot! You absolute moron! What, you thought a weakling like you could run off on his own and play the hero? So how'd it feel getting smashed to pieces for it!? Seriously... what a dumbass..."
"K!! We all believe in you!! So next time, do not act alone—trust everyone! I, too, will devote all my strength to—"
"...Hmph. What an idiot."
"I-I... when you trusted my Alter Ego... I thought you were really going to die because of it..."
"Uwahahahahaha! So while I was laid up after getting stabbed, you were out there pulling all kinds of crazy stunts!? Uheeheehee!!"
"...You will soon pay dearly for making a wish like that to me."
"See? Told ya my fortune was right again! You ain't got the fate to die yet!"
When I entered the dining hall, everyone was there. Seeing all their faces again after so long made tears surge up before I could stop them.
"E-Everyone... I'm sorry... I was... so stupid... I had friends as dependable as all of you... so why did I..."
"No crying."
"Hic... sob... sniff..."
"Good."
"...Hey, sorry, but could you go back to the trash heap?"
"The second he gets here... he's flirting..."
For a while, I laughed and cried with my friends, talking like we'd finally clawed our way back from the brink. Then someone entered the dining hall.
"...Hello?"
It was Mukuro Ikusaba, with Sakura Oogami accompanying her as a guard. For a moment, silence fell over the room.
"Ah... hello...?"
And with my awkward reply, the atmosphere somehow became even more awkward.
"...Ahem. So what do we do now? There are no more motives, no immediate threat, but we can't just keep drifting like this forever..."
"...I have an idea."
The instant Kirigiri spoke in that cold, decisive tone, everyone's attention snapped toward her.
"...I know you're watching, so why don't you come out? I have a proposal for you."
"Upupupu...? A proposal for me...?"
The moment she finished, Monokuma popped up from the center of the dining table. He looked at the students with eager eyes, but all they did was glare back at him.
"Y-You're not even surprised anymore... Well... I guess it was too obvious, huh?"
"This bastard... he's gone right back to his usual disgusting self..."
"Upupupu... I got sick of being sick of doing my Monokuma act...! More importantly, I'm the mascot of the killing game! I can't stay all mopey forever!"
"Speaking of the killing game... you're going to reopen the Class Trial."
"Upupupu...?"
"K-Kirigiri... what are you...?"
The others jolted in shock and stared at Kirigiri, but she continued in an unwavering voice.
"It's in the school regulations, isn't it? When a murder occurs, a Class Trial attended by all students will be held."
"Upupupu? Did a murder happen while I was away? But all of you are still ali—"
"Not one of us. Yours. The murder you committed, Junko Enoshima."
"I'm just an innocent bear who would never commit murder—"
"...Then what about that corpse?"
"..."
"You explicitly declared that a 'murder' had taken place. Which means there must be someone in this academy who killed that body."
"..."
"And the last Class Trial was a trap designed to kill K. You felt threatened by him—by the one person who united everyone and took the lead in preventing murders. Isn't that right?"
"Upupupupu..."
"In other words, you committed a 'murder' and fabricated the entire case in order to frame K. Well? Am I wrong?"
"Do you... have any proof of that...? Upupupu..."
"...No. I don't have proof."
"See!? Anyone can make wild guesses—"
"...But what do you think the people watching this will think?"
"...!"
At those words, Monokuma's easygoing expression froze solid.
"...You do realize what you just said is a violation of the school regulations... right?"
"Yes. But if you kill me here for that, you'll be in trouble too, won't you? If you want to watch your entire plan shatter into pieces, then go ahead."
Kirigiri wore a composed, almost fearless smile. Monokuma's face stiffened even further, but then he relaxed, smiled meaningfully, and spoke.
"...Upupupu. Well, we're at the climax anyway... and I was planning to reveal it soon enough... so I'll let it slide this one last time. Anyway, you're saying you want to reopen the Class Trial, right?"
"Yes. If you want to plunge us into despair 'fair and square,' then you'll have to accept my proposal..."
"Upupupu... 'fair and square,' huh..."
As Monokuma muttered to himself, Kirigiri made her declaration.
"That's right. This time, we'll hold a fair trial in accordance with the school regulations... and settle this once and for all there. The final showdown, with 'hope' and 'despair' on the line!"
"..."
"...Well? Isn't that a development worthy of the climax?"
Hearing that, Monokuma burst into laughter and addressed everyone.
"Fine...! Very fine...! You're right, that is a development worthy of the climax...! Okay then—let's have ourselves one final showdown!"
Monokuma slowly swept his gaze over all of them, smiling as he continued.
"But... to make it worthy of the final battle, you won't just have to identify the culprit. You'll have to explain every mystery hidden within this academy too...! If I'm making concessions, the least you can do is that much, right?"
Then Monokuma looked at me and Kirigiri before adding,
"Of course, K, Naegi, Kirigiri, and Fujisaki won't be allowed to help the others, in accordance with the school regulations...!"
"...Hmph. I don't need their help. I can find the truth with my own power alone."
"That's the spirit...! Anyway, if you can uncover the identity of the corpse, the culprit who killed it... and solve every mystery in the academy, then I'll acknowledge your victory! But..."
Monokuma's face twisted with eerie menace as he made his declaration.
"If you fail..."
"I know. We'll all be executed, right?"
"Upupupu... you catch on quick, don't you...? Well then, I'll open up every area in the academy... so do your best...!"
With that, Monokuma vanished.
"Kirigiri, what was that thing you said earlier? 'The people watching this'...?"
"I-If we fail, everyone gets executed...? We've come this far—I don't wanna die now...!"
"You idiot! Sea-urchin-head bastard! If that's how it is, then all we gotta do is beat the Mastermind!"
"That's right, everyone. This is our final battle against the Mastermind. We'll win, and then all of us will leave this place together...!"
At Makoto Naegi's spirited words, the others finally seemed to realize that they could end this loathsome killing game with their own hands. Hope began to kindle in their eyes.
"...There were rooms that remained unopened until now. We should focus our search there. K, Naegi, Kirigiri, and Fujisaki can stay here or investigate the truth behind the murder case. The rest of you can follow me—or don't. Decide for yourselves."
"Byakuyaaa-sama!!! Let's go togetherrrr!!"
"E-Everyone...! Then we'll be off...!"
"You bastard...! Just trust your big bro...! I'll dig up the truth of this academy no matter what...!"
"Naegi, I'll definitely uncover the truth, and then we'll leave this place together and—"
"Yeah, sure."
"W-Wha...? I-I hadn't even finished saying it yet—"
"Actually, I'm an esper too."
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At last... the moment had come.
Looking back, it really had been one upheaval after another.
There had been far more sorrow than joy, far more reasons for despair than hope. Every day had been a struggle, hounded by the ever-present threat of murder and one crisis after another. And yet, somehow, we had made it this far without losing a single one of us.
Now, the decisive moment was here. The time had come for the sixteen of us to show Enoshima—and the entire world—the bonds we had forged in the despair of this so-called killing game, the unshakable will we had preserved, and the hope we had refused to abandon.
"Then let's get moving too."
And with those words, we stepped onto the stage of the opening act of the final battle that would decide everything.