[CHALLENGE 8: CONCLUSION]
The atmosphere in their very own dark carnival since the motive had been revealed had been… Emi could almost say anticipatory. One death would be all it took to save so many lives. The magician was certain that nobody would say so out loud right now, lest they fall under suspicion when the inevitable search for the killer began, but she had the feeling that everybody would be grateful to whoever wasn’t taking the elevator ride back up this time, too.
She didn’t allow herself to dwell on the fact that there’s no guarantee that the culprit won’t be taking that ride. EDO’s last announcement had been angry, and the threat of the mysterious ‘wheel of misfortune’ hung over all of their heads; an ominous, looming thought that she didn’t let herself hold onto for longer than necessary. No, it wouldn’t do! Something to take her mind off things would help.
The idea of something as laughable as ‘stress relief’ in a situation like this was absurd, but Emi would be lying if she said it wasn’t something she — all of them — desperately needed. For most of the day, she had been too wound up and lost in her own thoughts and emotional to leave her room — ever since Yuina’s murder, she had vowed not to let anybody else see her like that again. It’s unbecoming, unflattering, and unprofessional. But as many of her own things as there were in her room, and as pseudo-comforting as the familiarity of it was, it was also far too quiet. If there was one thing the fairground had going for it, it was loud, and loud was exactly what Emi wanted — something to drown out all of the unwelcome thoughts their captivity brought with it.
Well, that, and to hit something really, really hard; and luckily enough, they had just the thing, didn’t they? The image of the test of strength machine in the luck and skill games section came to the front of the magician idol’s mind; and just like that, a decision was made.
As she sweeps out of her room, heels clicking on the ground, she puts murder, motives, everything out of her mind. She enters the auditorium, and thinks instead of flashing lights and the imagined heft of the test of strength hammer in her hands. Maybe she’ll even use the batting cages afterwards, really work up a sweat!
Yes, that would work! A perfect plan, as usual, with a predictable outcome. Absolutely nothing could go wrong.
…Or so she had thought, until she turned right into the luck and skill games area and her thoughts were yanked back to death before she could even blink.
Emi raised shaking hands to her mouth, trying to stifle a scream or a cry or she doesn’t know what, but if she made any sound at all EDO’s voice drowns it, announcing a stay of execution for their loved ones… and a death knell for one of their classmates.
