Part 148: [continued]
999 OST: [Trepidation]
The first thing I saw when I stepped through the door was the blossom of red on her chest.
It felt as if I'd walked straight into a brick wall.
I stopped short, my body refusing to move.
No...
Why did this happen...?
I forced one shaking foot forward, then the next.
My legs began to buckle, and I put a hand against the wall to steady myself as my heart thundered in my chest.
(Calm down... Calm down...)
(This looks pretty bad, but you don't actually know anything yet...)
(Yeah, that's right...)
(Maybe it's not too late!)
(Maybe we can still save her!)
Then at last I pressed my fingers to her neck, and those hopes were dashed.
...
...
No pulse. Clearly she wasn't breathing either.
Her pupils had dilated hideously, making her face seem somehow inhuman.
No... No, it's not true...
Why...?
Then I noticed it. All the blood must have distracted me, but now I saw that there was a scalpel buried in her chest. Judging by the position of its handle, she had been stabbed through the heart.
I felt a sympathetic twinge of pain in my own chest, and my stomach lurched. Bile and hopelessness rose up in my throat.
I stood, hands balled tightly into white-knuckled fists, and took a deep breath.
All around the room were the rest of the Nonary Game's participants, except, of course, for Quark.
I wanted to ask which one of them had killed her. Even if it had been one of them, though, there was no way they'd answer.
All I could do was stare at each one of them in turn, asking myself, "Is this person a murderer?"
The looks they traded with one another suggested that I wasn't the only person wondering if they were standing next to a killer.
An unsettling silence filled the room.
Clover was the first to speak.
Listen in: [English/Japanese]
...
...
...
...
...
...
Say something! Answer me!
P-Please Clover, calm down!
We don't even know if she was killed...
Then what happened?!
An accident!? You think a scalpel just dropped from the ceiling and stabbed her?!
Cool it, kid...
You did it, didn't you!
Are you nuts?
Then who did it?! Who killed her!?
Clover, even if we assume that she was murdered, that doesn't necessarily mean the killer was one of us, does it?
Something happened in there, didn't it?
No, nothing happened...
Don't lie to me!
There's no way Alice would just run off like that! She wouldn't leave me! Something happened!
If she was going to leave she'd tell me!
She...she...
...
...
Hey, Clover...
Don't you think just assuming Alice was murdered is jumping the gun a little bit?
Scalpels don't just stab people all by themselves!
...
...
You're all in on it, aren't you?
It wasn't just one killer...it was six!
No wonder you're so anxious to say this wasn't a murder!
Clover, please, just settle down.
Hmph. Fine.
Show me some proof, then.
Prove to me in 10 seconds that you didn't murder my friend—
You're all going to die just like she did!
H-Hey, hold on a minute!
Nine! Eight! Seven!
Clover!
Six! Five! Four!
Clover!
Three! Two! One...!
[Music fades out]
"Those infected by Radical-6 eventually develop a powerful urge to commit suicide."
Suddenly, Clover moved.
I leapt forward and clamped my hand around her wrist.
Listen in: [English/Japanese]
Clover, listen to me! Alice wasn't killed!
Nobody murdered her!
She...she took her own life.
999 OST: [Chill and Rigor]
No, there's no way she'd do that!
It's true! She stabbed herself in the heart with the scalpel!
All right, where'd she get the scalpel then?!
Well...
Was that before I showed up?
Yes.
I got up to see who it was, but they were already gone.
It could have been Alice...
So she could have taken the scalpel then.
Yes, I think so.
It's not.
It's the truth.
Then why did she do it? Why would Alice kill herself?!
She...she probably didn't have a reason.
Wh-What...?
She'd been infected with Radical-6.
That's what killed her.
But you just said she killed herself! Just tell me the truth!
I am!
Then prove it!
Your ten seconds ran out a long time ago, so if you don't have any proof—!
I do!
...?
I have proof.
...
...
A...journal?
It would have been in the safe.
Ah, well, Alice would have it then.
Phi, can you...? I don't feel right touching a dead woman's body. Could you take a look?
Sure.
Her hands barely shook as she quickly searched through Alice's clothing.
It was only seconds before she stopped. Slowly and carefully she drew something out.
There it was. The journal.
Phi turned to hand it to me, but I shook my head.
You read it.
It's in Latin. I can't make heads or tails of it.
She cocked an eyebrow at me and flipped the small book open.
When she looked back up at me it was with both suspicion and surprise.
Listen in: [English/Japanese]
Yeah, it is Latin.
But translating this is impossible.
It's full of words I've never heard before, I can barely understand any of this...
Page 216.
Huh?
Turn to page 216.
You should be able to read that one.
Phi's frown deepened, but she did as I'd suggested.
I watched her eyes quickly scan the page before looking up at me with renewed suspicion.
...
No, wait, how did you even know there was a journal in the lab?
...
...
...
...
I just...knew...
You "just knew"? C'mon—
Look, just read it, okay?!
Clover wants to hear what it has to say! Right?!
U-Uh, yeah...
...
...
Right.
Give me a moment to look it over.
After a few moments of whispering to herself in Latin, Phi began to translate, paraphrasing the contents of the journal.
Phi shut the journal with a soft slap.
A sickly silence drifted through the room.
The newspaper article, the recording, the conversation with Tenmyouji...and now this journal entry...
There was no more hiding from the truth.
The pandemic had already happened.
All of Clover's rage suddenly dissipated, and she collapsed to the floor, tears pouring down her face.
None of us had the heart to say anything, and for several long moments the only sound in the room was Clover's sobs.
[Music fades out]
VLR OST: [Divulgation]
Listen in: [English/Japanese]
It's almost time for the primary doors to open.
Sorry, but I'll be taking Alice's bracelet.
So she was a magenta pair, just like me.
Just now noticed that, did you?
As he spoke, Dio grabbed the bracelet off the floor and dropped it into his pocket.
I'm a cyan pair.
You are part of Clover's pair, then.
That means the two of you will need to come with me.
I guess so.
Come on now, Clover. We need to go...
...
...
Alice would want you to survive, wouldn't she?
You'll never be able to figure out why all this happened if you stay here.
Please...
...
...
You're right...
I'll figure out who Zero really is.
I mean, if you'd never been locked up in here, you never would have... This never would have happened.
So...so it's like Zero killed you.
I... I promise...
...
...
I'll avenge you.
Clover stood up and rubbed her hands roughly over her eyes, smearing tears across her cheeks. Then, with a determined frown, she strode out of the room.
You guys head on down to the floor B warehouse.
We'll catch up with you later.
Oh, right. Quark's got the yellow bracelet, which makes him your partner, right?
Yeah. Can't exactly leave him behind.
Without him, we'd end up stuck in the AB Room...
Uh huh.
Okay, let's go.
We'll see the rest of you once we've picked up Quark.
Very well. Until we meet again.