“What the fuck…?” Lan’en barged inside, “She...did she hang herself?”
“No...look…” Tsukasa’s hand shook as it pointed to Youma’s wound, “She was killed...and then hung…”
“No...no...no...no!!!!” Shiria rushed to the dangling corpse, hugging it and shaking it, “Youma!!! Youma!!!”
Alicia quietly walked inside next, her face showed distress as she turned on the room’s light.
They all finally saw it. They all looked at Kaeron, who was frozen in place. She was shaking with rage as she stared at Youma’s corpse.
“Kaeron…” Tsukasa walked to her, her eyes filled with suspicion, “Do you mind explaining why your blade is below the real killer’s next murder?”
“I don’t know,” She calmly replied, walking to it and picking her sword up, “The killer is trying to frame me.”
“Oh, are you sure about that?” Lan’en blurted out an implication.
“Yes. I am sure.” She muttered, “I should have listened to Azrael...”
“Maybe Azrael and Lilin are the ones who did it,” Tsukasa said.
“What pity. She was a good person, after all,” Alice shook her head, disappointed,
Lan’en crossed her arms, “So? Kaeron? How do you explain that-”
“I don’t know. Let me investigate,” Kaeron stopped her, “We need to find the killer as soon as possible. We can’t make any mistakes this time.”
“What’s there to investigate?” Lan’en retorted.
“She’s right, Lan’en!” Shiria intervened, “It wasn’t her! I’m sure!”
“Fine. But we’ll all stay here with you. Is that good?” Alicia carefully tested the waters. She suspected Kaeron too.
“Of course it is. Just give me some silence. I need to figure this out.”
Kaeron inhaled deeply as she examined the room, her eyes scanning it thoroughly.
Youma was hanging on the ceiling, and the covers of the bed were used as a rope to do the job. She was tied to the ceiling’s ventilation grid, which had enough space between the cracks to let the covers go through.
Her chest has a deep, clean cut that goes from one breast to the other. The blood is not dripping anymore.
Kaeron walked around. She checked the bathroom...nothing worthy. She then checked under Youma’s bed. Among the many things, here katana was there, sheathed.
She didn’t try to protect herself? Weird. Maybe she was attacked while she was sleeping.
She stood back up, looking at how everyone else was investigating on their own.
She approached Youma once more, placing her palm against her back to check her time of death with her power.
“I’m using my power right now. She died yesterday...approximately 11 hours ago,” Kaeron estimated.
“It’s 8:12 AM right now. That means she died around nine?” Tsukasa mused, rubbing her chin.
“Yes, she did.”
Kaeron approached the entrance of her own room, examining the door. The door was intact. No scratches or signs of tampering, unlike the medical bay.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The only way in was sealed. Locked. How could this murder have occurred?
Kaeron’s thoughts raced, but then...something startled her.
“Ahh! What?!”
A loud thump filled the room, she turned around and saw Youma’s body hit the floor hard. Lan’en was the one closest to the body.
“I told you not to bring her down. You’re messing with the crime scene,” Kaeron sighed.
“I didn’t! Look! The damn thing just opened!”
Kaeron’s eyes darted up. The ventilation grid on the ceiling was hanging downwards, open.
“Stupid ship…” Kaeron walked to the body and picked it up gently, “Put her on the bed at least.”
After that event, everyone gathered around in a circle.
“I think we’re missing something. We should split into other rooms and search those as well. My sword was taken from Shiria’s room as we slept together. I’ll keep investigating here while you-”
“Oh, we’re not leaving you alone with Youma,” Lan’en shook her head, “Unless you find a good argument, you’re still the main suspect.”
“I’ll go, okay? Don’t worry,” Tsukasa said, leaving the room.
“I see. Lan’en, I understand you suspect me,” Kaeron calmly replied, “More reason for you to investigate yourself and find the truth, no?”
“I’m...too dumb to investigate stuff,” Lan’en muttered awkwardly, “Whatever...we’ll figure out what the hell happened with the usual debate thing in the lobby.”
“Yes, we certainly will.”
Kaeron kept looking around, Alicia stood at the opposite corner of the room.
Kaeron, meanwhile, was checking the bathroom again, trying to see if she missed anything. However, nothing peculiar could be noticed.
After a while, Tsukasa came back.
“What did you find?” Kaeron asked her.
“Nothing much. Shiria’s room is clean,” Tsukasa replied.
“I guess we checked everything in this room as well…” Alicia sighed, “We didn’t find much.”
“We’ll figure this out, I promise,” Kaeron told everyone, “Let’s go to the lobby.”
----------------------------------------
Everyone gathered together. Azrael and Lilin were missing.
“I wonder where those two are. It’s very suspicious,” Tsukasa sighed.
“Can I start?” Lan’en raised her hand, “I won’t sugarcoat it. I think it was Kaeron. Her weapon was there and the time of death matches with when she was all alone guarding Youma.”
She accused Kaeron with no hesitation. Her eyes pierced Kaeron’s as she kept her arms crossed and a determined expression.
“I think we’re jumping the gun here,” Tsukasa said, “I mentioned it already. Kaeron is the strongest one here. If she was a cold-blooded murderer, she would have done the job in one go.”
“What is this power anyway?” Alicia asked, “You keep saying this, but you never mentioned what she can do really.”
“It’s because I don’t know,” Tsukasa admitted.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/g77b9trr4eiljr12ouwvk/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-1064622586.png?rlkey=s99dbjleno815jj73kzy6pdre&st=p91b2xkn&raw=1]
“When I look at Kaeron...I see a crimson haze. But it doesn’t come within her, unlike any other person that triggers my power. It comes from outside. It’s something around her... that envelops and seals her true self. However...I can still feel it on my skin – no one here is as powerful as her. Only Azrael and Lilin could protect themselves from her...but even they can only do that. Kaeron can’t be defeated. “
“Kaeron…” Shiria muttered, “Can you tell us what is your power, exactly?”
Kaeron looked down and sighed through her nose, clenching her blade.
“It’s not...something I can just describe. I have a curse. My memories...my whole being is sealed into this blade. Every time I unsheathe it...time slows down, almost to a halt. People become a canvas...and my blade craves to paint red ink on them. When I fight with my sword unsheathed, nobody can see me or feel me. They just meet their demise."
“Wait,” Shiria said, her voice trembling. “So you’re saying...you can move so fast that no one even realizes you’re attacking? That’s...terrifying.”
Kaeron chuckled bitterly and looked at her sword.
“It truly is terrifying. Yes.”
“I see,” Lan’en narrows her eyes, “So...Tsukasa, you argue that she's so strong that she wouldn’t have needed all the games and tricks the murderer is playing to kill us...if she were the killer.”
“That’s correct, yes.”
Something unexpected occurs.
A purple smoke appears in the middle of the survivors' circle. Everyone steps back, Kaeron places her hand on the hilt, ready to react.
After the mist is gone, they appear.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iesdk6m7on4qaz14qn1om/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-1307901983.png?rlkey=dqqr9nrg1ee3bqkt38l9402s7&st=ddm9slh4&raw=1]image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vjjswhvpg40h2i67m80iu/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-dark-background-s-1503980685.png?rlkey=yz6wwknbsnflroxnzmg1w1ygl&st=dxo83mfw&raw=1]
"“And this is where the plot twist comes!!!”"