Youma stepped forward, her blade pointed at Lan’en. She looked ecstatic and determined. She was convinced they had finally found the culprit...all in one single day. She was ready to punish her.
“Guys...are we sure about this?” Shiria muttered weakly, “I mean...Lan’en…”
“Want to go back to when you were suspected, Shiria?” Azrael smiled at the poor girl.
“What?” Lan’en looked at Shiria, “Why were you a suspect?”
“Because I gave you a beer at the arcade...and then you fell asleep.”
“Oh...so it’s a common thing of you all,” Lan’en scoffed, shrugging, “Accusing right away carelessly. I am not any different than Shiria!”
“Oh my god, literally,” Lilin looked suddenly annoyed, “You were found in a LOCKED room with a fucking corpse, a LOCKED room that could have been locked only FROM THE INSIDE.”
“Yes. How is that the same as Shiria’s position? She was accused just because of a mere drink. Who knows what you took to make yourself fall asleep so soundly? Maybe you even faked your sleep,” Azrael said.
“Are you being serious guys?! Why would I put myself in such a dangerous position, if I was the killer?! I would have found another, smarter way to kill her, no?!”
“Well, idiots tend to justify their idiotic behavior only after they make mistakes,” Lilin giggled, shaking her head, “You probably aren’t that good of a murderer after all.”
“Y-You...you fucking brat!” Lan’en stepped forward, and Youma did the same. They both glared at each other suddenly.
“You sure you wanna fuck with me, girl?” Lan’en growled, ready to attack Youma, “I’m a damn warrior.”
“So am I. Have at you.”
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xtctftyr45klg6ltas29f/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-2269273334.png?rlkey=44fgyyd4ld26c2bzf92svn557&st=gjxeuya4&raw=1]
“Wait a second! Don’t fight!”
Shiria suddenly stopped the two.
“What?!” Youma glared at her.
“Can I say something?” Shiria spoke, “Kaeron...you’re trying to accuse Lan’en by saying she caused the faint incident to herself. But...we didn’t even check Lan’en’s medical report. That should tell us if the cause is something she could have caused to herself.”
Kaeron suddenly widened her eyes a nodded, “Right. I totally overlooked Lan’en’s report at the medical bay. My fault.”
“Can we retrieve it, somehow?” Alicia asked, looking over at Lan’en.
Lan’en suddenly put her communication device close to her lips, “Chronos!”
“Model CHRON.05 at your service. Do you require assistance, passenger Lan’en?”
“Can you retrieve my latest medical report?”
“You were accepted at the medical bay for: fainting. Time: 6:26 PM. The report of the Medically Equipped Artificial Intelligence Subordinate states the following…”
----------------------------------------
The patient was exposed to a high-intensity sound wave of an unspecified frequency, resulting in immediate loss of consciousness.
Upon examination, the patient exhibited signs consistent with barotrauma to the auditory system.
The unknown sound wave likely created significant disruption within the cochlea and vestibular apparatus, generating a sudden imbalance in the vestibular nerve’s function.
This disruption is believed to have overwhelmed the central nervous system, contributing to the patient’s rapid loss of consciousness. No other internal or external damage was found.
----------------------------------------
The communication device shut itself.
“A sound wave?” Alicia curiously muttered, “A soundwave could have been caused by many things, such as-”
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nd2lgp4lne4zx5qtjc7gf/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-393135068.png?rlkey=v81ftwpgpp00e953dasf4mz8n&st=pbmu1dy6&raw=1]
“There’s no need to keep talking. I know who the culprit is.”
Tsukasa’s words almost stopped time.
Everyone looked at each other, waiting just for her to reveal the damned name.
“It was Youma. Youma is the culprit.”
“What?!”
The accusation hit everyone like a punch in the guts. Youma’s skin became pale as she looked around, everyone’s eyes glued on her.
“My power sees that you’re only half human. Your other half is a...ghost. When Lan’en said someone could have had phasing powers, you clearly stated that no one could do such a thing. However...you have such a power. It is very suspicious that you lied.”
“A ghost? Interesting…” Azrael narrowed her eyes, her smile grew wider.
Youma didn’t reply to that immediately, She swallowed loudly and took a deep breath, trying to contain the panic, “Yes, Tsukasa. You’re right. I am half human, half spirit. How does that make me the culprit? I don’t have phasing powers.”
“It’s simple,” Tsukasa explained, her cold gaze pierced Youma’s, “Your other half, which is currently swarming around you...is probably able to interact with the environment in a certain way, isn’t it?”
“This means that you could have used your ghost to lock the door from the inside...while your physical remained outside…!” Alicia covered her mouth, deep in thought, “That makes sense...”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“That is a baseless accusation! There’s not enough evidence!"
“There's not. However, you’re also the only person whose alibi can’t be confirmed. After Shiria left, you went untraced,” Kaeron nodded rapidly and glanced at Tsukasa, “Good job, Tsukasa.”
“Good job?! I went to my room! And I am not the only one! What about Azrael and Lilin?” Youma retorted, “Earlier, they diverted the conversation towards Lan’en...but you actually never managed to figure out where they were really!”
----------------------------------------
> “Okay…” Kaeron nodded, “So, Azrael and Lilin...why did you lie?”
>
> “Lie? What do you have on us this time?!” Lilin chuckled and looked over her friend with an amused smile, “Azrael, did we lie?”
>
> “You said you were going to the pub. However, Shiria and Kaeron were there,” Tsukasa chimed in, “Care to explain what changed your minds?”
>
> “Oh...do we really have to waste our time like this? Azrael sighed and shook her head, “Come on. Why don’t you leave us aside? We overheard your conversation inside the medical bay...Alicia and Kaeron. Why don’t you tell everyone who is the true murderer already?”
----------------------------------------
“That’s true. I’m sorry,” Kaeron looked at the two girls and sighed, “You two are suspects as well. I demand an explanation.”
“Ugh, fine,” Azrael rolled her eyes, “We were interested in Shiria, since she was being suspected. We followed her.”
“You followed me?” Shiria was suddenly taken aback, holding her hands to her chest.
“Yes. We followed you, Shiria,” Azrael’s smile was wide and evil, “you met with Alice, and then with Kaeron...and there, you both talked about Kaeron’s deceased lover.”
Kaeron looked at the ground and crossed her arms, “Yes. Alibi...confirmed.”
“Who was the first person that found the body anyway?” Shiria asked.
“Technically, Youma. She called everyone to the door because it was locked,” Tsukasa replied, “It’s clear as day.”
“Yes. It is,” Kaeron concluded.
“Then what about Lan’en’s fainting? How could I have caused those...sound waves!?”
“How do we know you little ghost friend isn’t able to whisper sleeping spells to people? That seems pretty much believable as soon as you put it beside the way you locked the medical bay’s door,” Tsukasa said, “Give up, Youma.”
"You can't just let Lan'en off the hook like that!" She groaned, "You all turned around just like that? Lan'en is suddenly clean?"
“Youma. During your first murder, you claimed that you couldn’t see in the dark...so you just went idle and hid like Tsukasa. However, you could have killed her as well. It all ties together with today’s and last night’s events. While Lan'en is the next possible answer...I am more inclined to believe that...”
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qmqigu0bborwwqcwqngfv/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-1868894474.png?rlkey=yruw85wqr5nv4t2qyn8tjd772&st=tduhzn27&raw=1]
“You are the culprit.”
“No! I’m not! You’re all making a big mistake!!!”
Youma suddenly sprinted toward Lan’en, swinging at her, “You’re not framing me, you murderer!”
“Woah! Woah!”
Lan’en dodged her slash, grabbing her wrist swiftly. She shoved her knee into Youma’s stomach, making her stumble backwards. The kick was strong, blood seeped out of Youma’s mouth as she coughed.
She tried to retaliate, but as soon as she raised her sword against her, Kaeron was behind her with her own sword, sheathed.
“We finally caught you.”
Kaeron’s scabbard hit the back of her head hard. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
Shiria was...shaken. She covered her mouth and shivered at such violence. Was Youma the culprit, after all? How could she not notice her, after all this time?
Her breathing quickened, Tsukasa held her shoulders and rubbed them gently as Lan’en and Kaeron carried Youma towards the dorms slowly.
“It’s okay Shiria. It’s okay. We’re safe now.”
Alicia stood there, sighing and shaking her head...disappointed, “A hunter shouldn’t kill the innocents. This reaction just now sold me. It's Youma, not Lan'en."
“What a pity. I thought this murder mystery was going to last a little longer…” Azrael muttered. Lilin giggled and nodded with her.
And so, the murderer was caught.
----------------------------------------
It was past nine. Everyone was gathered in front of Kaeron’s bedroom. Youma was locked up inside, still unconscious.”
“Why do we need to use your bedroom?” Shiria asked her.
“Because Youma doesn’t have access to the lock. I will sleep outside somewhere, it’s not a problem. The pub has good couches, as Azrael and Lilin said.”
“What about the emergency button?” Tsukasa asked.
“I broke it. I stabbed it and made sure it doesn’t work,” Kaeron replied, “We’ll take turns, one of us will stand in front of the door and make sure nothing weird happens. Even if the door is locked, we can’t be too sure.”
“Alright. But what if Youma tried that...you know, sound wave thing again?” Lan’en asked.
“Her ghost was able to make someone faint and to tear a simple cable...” Alicia said, “So we should be safe. It’s not like there is any better alternative. These dorm rooms are the only ‘prison’ we can have. If any of you feels that something is off, call for help immediately."
The passengers looked at each other with tired and wary faces.
“It’s been a long day of fighting, stressing out, and investigating,” Tsukasa yawned and stretched, “Last night I didn’t sleep much either because I was hiding. I really need to rest, girls.”
“Same here! The pub’s couch wasn’t that comfortable last night, right Azrael?” Lilin nudged at Azrael, smiling.
“I wasn’t going to give you the pleasure to guard Youma anyway. You both are out of this. You can leave,” Kaeron chased the two girls off, “I’ll be first, until 1:00 AM. Then…”
They all planned their turns, and then they parted ways.
----------------------------------------
Shiria fell on her bed, sinking as hard as a rock in the ocean. Her vision was dazed as she reminisced everything that happened during that long day.
Even if it was all over in one day, which was a very good thing on its own, Shiria had a lot of questions in her rattled mind. Why did Youma kill the two poor girls?
During her few days at the Elysium, she managed to befriend Youma. She was a zealous, yet laid back girl. She had a good heart...she was generous. Her vocation was a noble one: help others at the cost of extreme measures.
Shiria didn’t understand it. She didn’t understand anything at all.
This new world she was put in after losing her memories was already so bleak and scary that she broke into tears. She clenched her pillow and cried, trying to unwind her stress.
Noir was a troubled, yet gentle soul. She wanted the destruction of others...yet she looked so scared of those ‘others’ that it looked like she was trying to merely survive in a world that gave her no powers.
Shiria always wanted to talk to her...and she wished she could have helped her when she was praying for her life. Maybe, if she was there, Noir wouldn’t have died.
Servalia was a bright woman, with a bright future. Her career as a singer and musician brought happiness into a lot of lives, Shiria’s past one included. She was friendly to everyone...so friendly that she ended up dying while taking care of others.
Shiria’s cries grew louder until she fell asleep.
She could only hope that the rest of her vacation at the Elysium would be brighter.