I played the next video. The camera was in night mode. A door could be seen on the screen, but it wasn’t the front entrance of the mansion. The door was left open, and it seems the video was being taken from some cover. Ryouma Tanaka, a bearded man, began to speak in a whisper, his own voice hushed by the sound of rain.
“…It’s too dangerous to enter from the front entrance, so it’s good that this was open. Someone must have fled from here. I gotta calm down. Everything will be fine as long as I calm down.”
He encouraged himself, then approached the entrance. As he passed through, he quietly closed the door, then he wiped the water droplets off of the video camera.
On the screen could be seen the kitchen of the first floor. It was dead quiet, and amidst that eerie silence, only Ryouma’s stifled breath could be heard.
The camera swayed as Ryouma searched the place, then before long, It zoomed in on a kitchen knife next to the sink of a kitchen counter.
“…Good, I can use that.”
The camera zoomed out, and Ryouma approached the counter. He took care not to make any sound, and when he was right in front of the sink, Ryouma’s hand appeared from the edge, and he grabbed the kitchen knife.
“Good, I have a weapon.”
Ryouma sounded excited upon acquiring the knife; his breathing grew somewhat violent.
The camera took a peek into the dining room from the kitchen. Zooming in, Ryouma checked if there was anyone hiding somewhere.
“Looks like no one is around.”
Ryouma passed through the dining room and opened the door leading to the hallway. He took a peek and checked both sides. The camera zoomed into the hallway, but there didn’t seem to be anyone.
“Looks clear to me.”
Ryouma made his way down the hallway. He seemed to be jogging, as the pace was quite fast. It appeared he wanted to get through the hallway in one go.
After finding himself in the lounge at the end of the hall, he quickly looked around him with the camera, then zoomed into the front entrance of the mansion. The door had been left half-opened and was swaying. It was curious if it was only because of the wind that it was swaying or if a person had passed through it.
“Is someone outside?”
Ryouma asked, but then thunder struck, and light poured into the half-opened door. It didn’t seem as though there were anyone.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s anyone.”
Ryouma walked to the entrance and closed the half-opened door, then he immediately looked behind him with the camera and checked the lounge. I could feel Ryouma’s tension from how fast he moved.
The camera turned to the stairs to the side of the lounge.
“If I recall correctly, Akira’s room should be in the third floor.”
Ryouma climbed up the stairs. The camera looked down as he did, showing him climbing up one step at a time. He was probably crouching to minimize the odds of him being seen.
Before long, he reached the second floor, and the camera moved to check his surroundings, zooming in on the places where people could hide.
“…Good, it’s clear.”
He made his way for the third floor . As he did, his breathing became more labored. It was easy to imagine how tense he must be.
When he reached the third floor, Ryouma gulped.
“Which room was Akira’s again?”
Ryouma proceeded down the hallway. He moved slowly, as though full of fear, but regardless, he eventually found his way before the door of a room. He turned the knob with the hand holding the knife and peeked inside. No one seemed to be around, so Ryouma opened the door completely and entered. The room didn’t look like it’s ever been used.
“…An empty room, huh.”
He left the room and into the hallway, then opened the next door, but it was empty as well.
“Another empty room.”
He went back out and made his way for the next door. But before he could even reach it, a small sound could be heard from behind the door.
“Is someone in?”
The right hand holding the knife appeared at the edge of the screen. Slowly, he approached the door. Then, after a short hesitation, he quietly opened the door. Peering into the room through the slight opening, the luggage of the room’s owner could be seen. The door gradually opened, and Ryouma entered the room.
“Whose room is this?”
As Ryouma muttered that, he turned the camera to the side, and a person wearing a black raincoat could be seen pointing a gun at him. The hood of the raincoat was pulled down, but it was still easy to notice the nature of that face. With a long protruding jaw and mouth, there was no mistaking it. That was the face of a wolf.
Ryouma cried out in surprise, and the gun fired, then the screen began to rapidly spin. I couldn’t tell anymore what was happening, but an intense sound resounded along with the sound of the knife dropping.
When the shaking of the screen finally subsided, the camera was on the ground, and Ryouma had his back against the wall. Ryouma looked in pain as he held his stomach.
As he groaned from the pain, the right hand holding a gun was caught by the camera. The hand was equipped with a white working glove, most likely to prevent any finger prints from being left behind.
Ryouma lifted his head and looked up at the person that was pointing a gun at him. “You’re… One of us… Aren’t you?”
But the person didn’t say anything. He just quietly pointed his gun at him.
I’ll take that for a… yes,” Ryouma said before breaking out into a violent cough. “When we heard that Hinako and Yui died… Everyone else was sure that someone else had done it… But I knew… That the culprit could have only been… One of us.”
Ryouma started laughing in an eerie manner.
“That’s why I was so insistent in telling everyone to record anything noteworthy with the video camera. So that evidence could be left behind… Because I knew that the criminal must have been one of us.”
Ryouma coughed again.
“I think I know why you would do something like this. It must be the blood thirst compelling you. You and I… We’re the same. We’re killers that want to kill people. I didn’t come back here because of some sense of justice to save people either… Just like that day… I was hoping that… I would have the chance to kill a person in the name of self defense.”
Ryouma grinned.
“Do you remember that incident? I… We killed a person. At that time, I felt something indescribable inside me, something like pleasure.
I still get excited now when I think back to that moment. I know it’s terrible, but there’s no stopping these pent up emotions. I was laughing, you know. When I held the knife and was making my way here. My heart was beating so quickly as I looked for you, my prey. It’s terrifying. I didn’t have the slightest hint of emotion.”
Ryouma coughed.
“Do you remember that incident? Our ever gentle Mother Teacher changed, and she started beating us under the pretense of education. No, that wasn’t discipline, that was just abuse. It was a real bummer. We couldn’t ask for help and could only endure the days. But now, I think I understand how she felt. The way she looked at us… Those eyes… Those were the eyes of someone desperately doing her best to prevent her murderous children from becoming bloodthirsty killers. Yes, people like us… But she overdid it. The stress of the abuse she lashed out accumulated to the point that I gave in to my tendencies, and I resolved myself to kill her.”
The hand holding the gun shook.
“I’ve thought about it a lot in my own way as a child. How could I kill her while making it look like an accident? In the end, I decided to make her fall from the stairs. All that was left was to wait for a chance to carry out my plan. But before I could kill her, she fell to her death.”
The hand holding the gun stopped shaking.
“I was shocked when I heard Mother Teacher died. But then I realized… That someone had beaten me to the punch. When I thought about it… Everyone must have been fed up with her abuse. No one else other than us could have done it. After all, we are the Children of the Devil,” Ryouma paused before continuing. “13 years ago… Was it you? Did you kill Mother Teacher?”
But the person didn’t say anything.
“Silence means yes,” Ryouma laughed, then he struggled to breathe. “I’m going to die soon, so… Can you at least take off that ridiculous mask and show me the face behind it?”
A sound could be heard. The mask seemed to have been taken off.
Ryouma narrowed his eyes. “It’s dark and I can’t see well.”
In the next moment, thunder roared, and the dazzling light spilled through the windows.
“…So it was your doing. “I don’t understand… Why are you crying? It doesn’t make sense,” Ryouma said in a weak voice. “…If you have the kindness to shed tears… Then you might as well… Send me off sooner… And pull that trigger alread——”
Gunfire resounded, and Ryouma’s head fell toward the camera. When his head came into contact with the camera, the video ended.
After watching all the videos recorded in the video camera, I was horrified.
There are ten people in this island and one of them is a bloodthirsty killer!
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