Entertaining a Small Thought

5th Arc Part 9: Venomous Truth

"R-Rin...? What are you saying?" Tenko muttered in a frightened tone at Rin's sudden change in demeanor.

"Oh do please TRY to keep up, Chabashira. I know class trials take a certain level of intellect that you just aren't capable of producing, but you could at least pay attention so I don't have to repeat myself." Exisal Rin hissed. "I said that it's IMPOSSIBLE for you all to solve this crime! No matter what you try or what logic you come up with, it no longer matters. It will always remain in the realm of speculation and theory! You're all stuck in an unsolvable crime!"

"An unsolvable crime?" Keebo repeated nervously.

"N-No! That's not true! We can solve this puzzle, no problem!" Kaede declared confidently, but her determination immediately faltered as she turned to Shuichi with a desperate look. "R-Right, Shuichi? We can solve this, can't we?"

"...I hate to admit it, but Rin is right." Shuichi painfully admitted. "We have no way to prove the cause of death."

"N-No...!"

"Thank you, Saihara. I knew I could count on you to pummel that truth into the heads of these moronic imbeciles!" Exisal Rin applauded. "You can't check the victim's body, and you don't have any conclusive evidence. To even attempt any more deductions would be to exercise futility. Just accept it already. There's nothing any of you can do. There's no way for any of you to know what happened."

"...But I know. I was actually involved, after all, so it only makes sense that I'm the only one who knows the truth."

"...Ah!" Shuichi gasped suddenly. "So that's what you were trying to do. That's why you did all of this! You used Kirumi's attempted murder to commit an unsolvable murder!"

"He...used my attempted murder plan to do this?" Kirumi muttered in shock.

"Heh heh heh...So you finally understand. That's right. It's just as I've said. That was my plan. A plan I was only able to carry out thanks to Tojo. I really did mean what I said when you handed me that antidote, you know? I really am thankful to you for what you've done." Exisal Rin told the maid in a mocking voice. "The moment I saw the poison and the antidote, my mind went into action, and I came up with this plan. A plan to take advantage of the situation and turn it in my favor. This is how I'm going to win!"

"Win...?" Shuichi repeated.

"That's right. Win. The sole reason I did all of this was for that purpose. I don't care what it takes or what it costs me. No matter what, I will be the one to win and end it all. I will be the victor. I will burn everything if that's what it takes. Even if that makes me the villain...even if I have to trample over all of you to do it, I will do so gladly. There's a high price to pay if you want to overcome the killing game, and I'm finally willing to pay it! After all, I remember now. I remembered that's my only purpose in life. I don't care about any of you or your opinions. It's too late for that, anyway." Exisal Rin declared confidently and with a chilling calmness.

"B-But how could you do something like this!? Th-This is–!" Kaede shouted.

"Oh do come off your high horse, Akamatsu. I would think you would know the hypocrisy of you telling me that." Exisal Rin snarled at the pianist. "Besides, what right do any of you have to judge me for this? Kirumi attempted murder and tried to justify it using feelings she had toward me. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? Knowing someone was willing to kill another and use my name in order to justify it. To have someone kill in the name of love for you? That's not love. That's an atrocity. A vile thing that makes me sick every time I think about it. So don't go off judging me for this when the maid there did something far worse. And you, Tojo, disgust me far more than the rest of these freaks. You can forget getting anything more than this from me in regard to that pitiful confession of yours."