Music Venue – Main Hall]
The four of you step through the shattered doors into the cavernous room. Moonlight filters through broken stained glass, casting fractured rainbows across the wreckage. Your steps falter as your eyes take in the unthinkable.
Chiaki Nanami (voice trembling, but calm) “I… I don’t understand… Ibuki…?” Her usual soft-spoken tone cracks as she points. On the far stage, Ibuki Mioda’s limp form hangs from the rigging bars. The noose around her neck is taut, her head slumped forward, hair grazing the wooden floor. Chiaki’s gaze flits between the instrument cases and the body—each guitar and drumstick now silent witnesses.
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (stiffening, fists clenching) “She… she hung herself?” Fuyuhiko’s eyes narrow, half in disbelief, half in rage. His voice thunders in the cavernous hall, echoing off the stone walls. “Why would Ibuki do something so—?!”
Mikan Tsumiki (sobbing, voice breaking) “P-Please… someone help her…” Mikan stumbles forward, panic overtaking her. She rushes toward Ibuki, reaching out as though to catch her if she could. But her fingers meet only rope. Tears fall as she curls beside the lifeless idol, cradling Ibuki’s feet, whispering apologies through her sobs.
Hajime Hinata (kneeing beside Chiaki, swallowing hard) “This… this isn’t right… None of this is right.” He kneels, scanning the rest of the hall. His gaze snaps to a massive wooden pillar near the back. There, Hiyoko Saionji is taped against it—duct tape wound mercilessly over her wrists, ankles, and mouth. Her kimono’s hem is torn, and her eyes shut unnaturally still. Blood stains the wood beneath her.
Chiaki (voice flat, distant) “Hiyoko… she’s… taped. She couldn’t move.” Chiaki’s words are quiet, as if the shock has erased the edges of her consciousness.
Fuyuhiko (voice low, furious) “Someone did this… They killed her after Ibuki…” He stalks closer to Hiyoko, inspecting the tape. “Look at this… bound like an animal.”
Mikan (horrified gasp) “S-She didn’t… she didn’t deserve this…” Her hands tremble, wiping tears. She looks between the bodies, then at Hajime. “W-What do we do? How can we…?”
Hajime (steadies himself, voice resolute) “We call everyone. We start an investigation—right now.” He stands, urgency in his posture. “We can’t let whoever did this get away.”
A heavy silence settles as thunder rumbles outside. The four survivors exchange grim looks, the weight of the tragedy binding them tighter than any tape or rope. In that moment, they understand: the killing game has claimed two more lives, and the darkness within the Music Venue has only just begun to play its final, deadly chord.