Entertaining a Small Thought

4th Arc Part 2: The Game is Afoot

"Why does this place have so many stairs?" I groaned as I finally made it to the creepy 4th floor.

I was all by myself now, with the others having gone ahead of me. I was still taking a few deep breaths, and my legs still hurt a little from the trek back down the hellish spiral staircase. At least coming up to the 4th floor wasn't so bad. Either way, I was here, and I could see that Shuichi had already taken care of the hanging scrolls since they were now replaced with a new staircase.

The 5th floor. From the map on Rantaro's Survivor Perk, this is the last floor to explore now that the 6th floor is opened up. I wonder what's up there. So, after having caught my breath, I walked up the stairs, and once again, I was greeted with a completely different atmosphere compared to every other floor.

"Is this supposed to be...a chapel of some kind? I guess 'cathedral' would be the better description." I noted as I looked around.

The entire floor was large and designed like the inside of a massive church, with a stained glass window greeting me the moment I arrived. Further adding to the church theme were two statues of Monokuma, one with 6 angel wings that moved slightly like he was a Seraph, and one with demon wings.

"...The realm of demons and angels, was it?" I muttered as I stared at the statues. Another nod to the secret message. What could it all mean?

"Hey, Rin. Did you just arrive?" Keebo asked me as he walked over to me.

"Yeah. Just got here from the 6th floor that we opened up. Kaito's lab was up there." I told him.

"Really? Interesting." Keebo nodded. "A few areas are on this floor, as well. However, we can only access one of them."

"One of them? What do you mean?" I asked him. He only frowned in response to the question.

"Well, one of the doors is locked for some reason, and the other one...well..." He then pointed to a door that had mannequins, sewing kits, and clothing painted on the door.

I felt my heart sink the moment I saw it, and I understood exactly what Keebo was telling me.

"Oh..." I managed to say as I stared at the door. "I see... So that's where Tsumugi's lab was."

"Yes. And just like Kirumi's lab before, it is locked. We cannot enter." Keebo sighed sadly. "It is unfortunate. We might have found more clues about the killing game and our situation, or even about Tsumugi herself within her lab."

"Yeah... It's a shame, but we can't do anything about it." I grimaced, finally pulling my eyes off the door. "So what else is here?"

"Shuichi and Kaede went to investigate the other room that's over there," Keebo replied as he motioned to an opening that was on the floor. "However, Gonta and Rantaro seem to be investigating something else on this floor."

"Really? Maybe I'll go check up on them before I go see Shuichi and Kaede. What about you?"

"I was examining this area." He replied. "Those statues are strange, as well as the large stained glass window here. And with the atmosphere of this floor, it makes it all the more suspicious."

"That's what I was thinking." I nodded as I looked back at the statues. "Tell me if you find anything strange. This place is getting weirder and weirder, so who knows what to expect? Keep your eyes peeled."

"Indeed. I will do just that." Keebo told me as I walked off to where I saw Rantaro and Gonta.

"Hey, Rin." Rantaro greeted me.

"Yo, Rantaro," I replied as I raised my hand. "What are you two doing over here?"

"Gonta said he saw something, and I'm helping him look," Rantaro explained.