DECEPTION (Female Reader) [SAKAMOTO DAYS]

18: "Circular Trial"

Of course, the other participants erupted in panic, confusion, and terror when they realized they were being forced to participate in a killing game. No one knew why they had been brought here, or how they got here in the first place, but their faces were filled with despair as the host of the Circular Trial coldly announced their grim purpose.

It didn’t take long for chaos to settle in. Some cried, others tried to reason with their situation, while a few, like me, observed in silence. The weight of it all was crushing—the idea that, to survive, we’d have to turn on each other.

The first kill, however, wasn't all that difficult to solve. It was clumsy, hastily done—obviously committed by someone who had snapped under pressure. The victim had been poisoned, a method easy to trace once we dug through the evidence. The trial began soon after, and though there were doubts and hesitation, we eventually pieced together the truth.

When the time came to vote, the room was tense. Hands shook, voices cracked, but in the end, the killer was outed. Watching him get dragged away, fear and regret consuming him, was a grim reminder of the stakes we all faced.

And then, the execution began. The once-confident participant was forced into a grotesque spectacle—something straight out of a nightmare. We were made to watch as his life was snuffed out, a cold display of brutality meant to keep the rest of us in line. The room fell silent, the horror sinking deep into everyone's bones.

But for me? I felt nothing. Only the game continued to unfold as I had expected.

Days passed inside this suffocating cage, each one blending into the next. After the second case and trial were wrapped up, I found myself restless, my mind consumed with thoughts of the mission. I needed answers, and I couldn't waste any more time waiting around.

Deciding to break from the group, I set out on my own investigation to find where they were keeping the people inside those capsules—the so-called 'victims' whose lives were hanging by a thread. I had no intention of saving anyone, but the others didn’t need to know that.

Before I could slip away, Rion approached me, her eyes sharp with suspicion. "Where are you going?" she asked, clearly trying to keep tabs on me.

I waved her off, uninterested in her concerns. "Do your own investigation. We'll cover more ground that way."

She narrowed her eyes, clearly frustrated, but I didn't care. She wasn't useful to me right now, and Uzuki was busy keeping the others in line. This was the perfect opportunity to execute the next part of my plan.

As I moved through the corridors, unnoticed by the rest, I overheard whispers among the other participants. They thought me, Rion, and Uzuki were cold-hearted, indifferent to the deaths that had occurred. It was almost laughable. 'Did they really expect me to mourn for people I didn’t know? I couldn't care less about them—they were just pawns in this twisted game.'

With each step, I felt a cold excitement creeping in. This was more than a game for me. It was a mission, and I was getting closer to unraveling the truth behind the Circular Trial. The others could wallow in their fear and grief, but I had no time for such weaknesses.

After hours of combing through the hotel and resort spa area, I found absolutely nothing of use. No hidden passages, no surveillance rooms, no control panels—nothing. Frustrated, I decided to bide my time for now.

As I wandered, my gaze eventually fell upon the main gate. It was the largest, most ominous structure within this place, towering in front of me like some monolith. The wall surrounding us stretched upwards to an intimidating 500 feet, exactly as the host had said during their twisted little introduction.