𝓓𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓕𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻

𝟎𝟒𝟑

Bombs

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You were awoken by the sound of maniacal laughter. You glanced around until you found the source of the laughter. It was Nagito. His eyes were wide, and the fire around him made him seem even more creepy. The sight gave you horrible chills even though the fire made your body hot.

"It's amazing! These amazing fireworks surely befit the beginning of the end!" Nagito exclaimed through his laughter, "It's over. This is the end. The killings are done for good! Scapegoating the weak in the name of 'justice,' while fearing when the others will stab you in the back... This game of self-righteous hypocrisy ends now! And to do that... I will destroy Jabberwock Island!"

Your breath was shaky as you struggled to find the right words. Thankfully, Hajime was close to you, and he spoke before you.

"Wh-What do you mean...?" he uttered.

"That was just a little demonstration. That's why it's the beginning of the end... The actual bomb I'm going to use isn't nearly as weak."

"B-Bomb?!" you finally said, your whole body now shaking.

"I've set up a large number of bombs in a certain area of the island. If all those bombs explode... The force will be enough to wipe out this entire island!"

"Wh-What the hell are you saying...!? If you do that...!" Fuyuhuki gasped, his words trailing off.

"Of course, I doubt we'll walk away from this unharmed... But... there's no other way. The actor is expected to leave the stage during the finale."

"I-Is this bastard... serious...!?" Kazuichi said.

"N-Nagito... Please stop...!" Sonia pleaded.

"A-Are you... crazy or somethin'...!?" Akane said.

"Yeah, he must be! Bombs... he's totally off his rocker!" Hiyoko exclaimed, seeming, for the first time ever, concerned, not about Nagito, though.

"... No... that's... not it..." Nagito muttered, "I'm not the crazy one here... The one who's really crazy is-"

"My my, this guys..." Monokuma huffed as he showed up, cutting Nagito off, "I'm totally shocked! Seriously, I'm totally shocked! That's all I can say about this turn of events!"

"The bombs I set are timed! They're set to go off in two days at noon! I've prepared so many powerful bombs that the one that just exploded doesn't even compare... According to my calculations, they're powerful enough to blow up an entire island! Which means in two days at noon, this island is destined to sink into the sea!"

"Y-You can't be serious, Nagito...!" you said, hoping that this was all just one big joke, that Nagito had set it up to scare you all.

"Oh, you sweet, naive little thing... Do you really think I'd go this far for a joke?"

"Wh-Where... where did you set 'em up...?" Akane asked, holding her head.

"Mmmm... I can't tell you... It'd be easy to leave you on your own, but it just wouldn't be fair if I did that! So, how about this? If the traitor comes forward and reveals their identity to me, I'll tell them where I hid the bombs!"

Hajime hummed as you looked around at each other.

"Ha-wa-wa! What in the world is going on!?" Monomi exclaimed as she showed up, "I-Is everyone all right!?"

"C'mon, c'mon! Don't get in the way! Nagito was in the middle of weeding out the traitor!" Monokuma said.

"Ha-wa-wa!? N-Nagito...? What are you planning to do?"

"... Do I really have to say it?" Nagito rhetorically asked in annoyance.

"... I-It's no use... I mean... the traitor shouldn't be able to reveal their identity on their own..."

"... Hm? What does that mean?

"... Do I really have to say it?"

"My, my... You guys are totally eyeing each other and letting sparks fly. I'm gettin' all hot and bothered..." Monokuma said.

"D-Don't just stand there... Why don't you stop him...?" Hajime asked.

"... Huh? Stop him? Why do I have to stop him?"

"The rules, remember? The same blackened can only kill a maximum of two people... If he blows up the entire island... Th-That's going to kill way more than just two people..."

"I see, you sure have a good memory... Like you said, if any student breaks that rule, I have to punish them severely!"

"But that's only when someone breaks that rule, right?" Nagito said, "You can't punish someone for breaking a rule before they've broken it, right?"

"Yep! Saying you're gonna break the rules isn't against the rules! So right now, there's no way I can punish this!"

"Wh-What the hell...!?" Hajime exclaimed.

"Punishment always happens afterward, not before! That's just the rules of society, right!?"

"But even so, there's no need to worry about that in the first place," Nagito said, "As long as the traitor comes forward, this can all be resolved peacefully... It'll all be fine... I'm pretty sure everything will work out in the end... After all the time we've spent together, I believe in you guys. And more than anything... I believe in my Ultimate Luck! So... it's definitely going to be alright..."

With that, Nagito left the burning hotel lobby, leaving you wondering what he meant.

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