“I did not kill Paul.”
The room stopped. Some of the standing players like Ksenia, Sun-young, and Detective Matasaburō were bewildered.
“What…?” Ksenia did a double-take. “That’s all you have to say for yourself? That you didn’t kill him?”
“I knew it,” Kazi said, to everyone’s surprise. “So it’s true?”
John crossed his arms and met Kazi’s gaze head-on. “You’re quite the detective. I couldn’t figure out what you were trying to do until a few minutes ago.”
“I don’t get it,” William said, looking between them. Something happened, something that snapped John and Kazi into the same conclusion. A conclusion that nobody understood.
Like an old man educating the youth on matters of health, John kindly turned to William and asked, “Tell me, who went to the bathroom first: Tony or Paul?”
“Well…” William didn’t have an answer. “We agreed about the same time, right? And since he’s dead, they probably died at the same time…”
“It seems nobody except Kazi noted what a strange coincidence that was,” John said. “Tony ate his dinner and oddly went to the back bathroom at the same time as Paul. We chalked it up to food waste. A silly presumption, if I'm being frank. Ask yourselves again with a modicum of foresight: why did Tony go to the bathroom?”
There was a silent why at the end. Why did Tony go? Why? From the sound of it, it was an obvious answer.
“You're saying Tony went there…” Nash trailed off. He blinked twice and stared at John.
“Wait a minute…” Detective Matasaburō looked down at the floor. He was catching on. William wasn’t. He felt like an idiot trying to keep up with an advanced functions lesson.
“John, let me give you my theory. Tell me how accurate it is.” John gave him a nod and Kazi began his explanation, “You were given an objective. Kill a player and receive points. If you get away with it, you get even more points.”
John let out a small hum.
Kazi continued, “However, you weren’t the only one given that objective. There wasn’t one assigned killer, there were two. Two killers essentially competing for one objective. An extra hindrance for a man of your calibre.”
“We were both given an outfit and a mask,” John interjected. William whipped at him.
‘What did he say!?’
“So the mask really was given to you by the System.” Kazi narrowed his eyes. “Two black dots as eyes, right?”
“Yes. I suppose William told you,” John surmised.
‘Huh? What is he talking about?’
What was he talking about? William and Noor had told everyone about the masked man they encountered. They mentioned the white mask but…two black dots? That was a specific detail he did not recall whatsoever.
A detail that was familiar to not only Kazi but Sun-young too. Her eyes went wide, then hardened.
“Something like that,” Kazi dismissed. “Tony is not like you. He’s inexperienced, but he also noticed you drugging Paul. He assumed it would be easy pickings. He got a kitchen knife from the back and tried to kill Paul. Unfortunately, he was not a trained spy that could kill with a single thrust. Under levelled and clumsy, the wound didn’t go deep enough to pierce Paul’s heart. That’s when the tunnel goes dark. That’s when you put on the mask and—if my deduction is correct—gives you night vision.”
“Correct. It’s how I navigated through the chaos,” John said. “Continue.”
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“You go to the bathroom, thinking that Paul has collapsed from what you gave him. That was what you assumed he went there for—he wasn’t feeling well. You go in…and see Paul already dead.”
“Tony killed Paul?” Nash ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t—what…? This isn’t—this doesn’t make sense.”
Kazi sent Nash a small, comforting smile. “Don’t worry, that’s not the case.”
Nash was utterly lost. So was William.
Kazi gestured at John, “You didn’t kill Paul. Tony didn’t kill Paul either. I checked the body. Yes, the heart was carved but it was like it burst from the inside. It was an injury like nothing I've seen before and I've read a lot of autopsies in my life.”
“So what?” Ksenia said. “Who killed Paul?”
“I don’t know,” Kazi admitted.
“You don’t know?” Ksenia repeated. “Then who knows?”
“Nobody, I suspect,” John said. “When I came in, his heart was…floating. Beating. That heart in the treasure chest? That heart belongs to Paul. I didn't know what to do with it, so I put it there.”
“Though not before doing one last thing.” The accusatory tone in Kazi’s voice creeped up again. “You might not have killed Paul but you did kill Tony, right? I can already read your logic: killing another killer must be the special objective. He’s already ruined my plans, so might as well use him. With your level of power, you had no problem stabbing him into the wall and keeping him there. You used Mana Flow, right? It’s how players can hide their level from other players: the greater your Mana Flow, the better the chances of hiding it.”
An acknowledging nod from John, who silently urged Kazi to continue.
“Everything after that was simple. Tony was nailed to the wall so you left him there. Paul was a little trickier. The heart was beating and even though he should be dead you remembered you were in a world of magic. Maybe this was a part of the Gate. Maybe this was some sort of trick. Regardless, tensions were high and you eventually decided to move him. You went to the storage area, grabbed the rope there, and with Paul in tow you went to the other side. I suspect all the chaos we experienced in our compartment was because of you.”
Ksenia's face seemed to shatter. “You’re telling me Paul’s body was right there and we just…missed it?”
“No blood, no scent, nothing,” John said. “He was still breathing too, it was very strange. I will emphasize on this: I have no real idea what happened to Paul. Whatever it was, I didn’t want it to risk my objective, so I decided to strap him to the front of the train.”
“What…?” Ksenia’s eyes shifted to a mixture of fear and horror. “What…what’s wrong with you!? He was your friend, wasn’t he!?”
No response. William couldn’t believe it. If John felt guilty about it, he didn’t show it.
“So that’s why there was no blood to follow,” Detective Matasaburō muttered. “The body was in some sort of magical condition.”
Silence followed. John sat there, all eyes locked on him. His hands shifted.
“Starfall Fist!”
The world went white. William let out a cry of pain as his eyes were burned with a sudden white glow.
The light eventually died down. John, who hadn't so much as twitched, had a fist an inch away from his face. Hugo Sánchez, the Amateur Martial Artists, had made his move. The light hadn’t struck just William, every other player was the same. Disoriented and groaning in pain from the strike to the eyes.
However, there was someone one step faster. Someone who went from one end of the room to the other at the same time as Hugo, while also managing to bring out their weapon.
Booker Davis Jr had a pistol pointed at John’s temple.
“My former friends are now the first to cage me,” said John, unfazed. “What an interesting turn of events.”
BANG!
William flinched. Booker had shot at the ceiling, smoke peltering from the nuzzle of his gun. “This isn’t a joke,” Booker said. “You did your part, now we’re doing ours. No hard feelings.”
“Does anybody have rope?” Hugo asked, his fist deathly still. In an instant, he could blind John. In an instant, Booker could blow his brains out. It was an impossible situation even for the almighty Spy of the Cold War.
“I’ve got some,” said Ksenia, taking the thick brown pile of rope on the evidence table. “Let’s tie this guy down.”
Scowling, her words were unexpectedly stable and calm. John didn’t kill Paul but he was responsible for strapping him in front of the train. There was resentment, but not bloodlust. William himself had mixed feelings. He knew John. He was an elderly friend that was surprisingly up to date with modern sensibilities. It didn’t feel like he was talking to grandpa but a guy with genuine wisdom.
He wished he wasn’t so wrong. He wished he didn’t have to see John get tied to a chair, a gun still pointed at him. Booker seemed to be extra cautious and said he would keep watch.
“The trial is over,” Danzaburou declared. “Asher has been found innocent! The true mastermind behind the killings of Tony and Paul was John Smith!”
“Huh.” Kazi blinked, eyes angled at something that wasn’t there. William did the same.
[ Congratulations! Gate 8 : Nisekisha
Main Objective: A player has been murdered! Figure out who the killer is before you arrive at Sapporo Station — Complete!
Receive:
285,714 PP ]
[ Congratulations! Gate 8 : Nisekisha
SPECIAL OBJECTIVE : Figure out the identities of the two killers regardless of whether they have killed or not — Complete!
Receive:
50,000 XP
571,428 PP ]
[ Level up! ]