"Found one!! I got one!!"
"There's one here too! At this rate, we should be able to find all of them before the day's over!"
The kids who had scattered across the island finally began uncovering the switches in earnest. They were hidden, sure, but not so thoroughly that a determined search couldn't flush them out. One after another, they started turning up.
"Ugh... Monokuma says if you want to go into the movie theater, you have to watch a movie he made... and honestly? I really, really don't want to. But I bet there's a switch in there... Anybody wanna watch the movie for me?"
"Upupupu... come on, just give it a chance! It's a masterpiece I poured my heart and soul into...!"
"The poster already looks like trash! Who'd wanna watch that!?"
Souda's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie we'd brought from the electronics store. Honestly, the fact that he'd modified the things in that tiny span of time so their range covered the entire island, then handed them out to everyone, was kind of incredible.
"There's a switch on the beach house window. So, uh... can somebody give me a boost? I can't reach it by myself..."
"Eheheh... Owari, if you don't mind, I could..."
"Huh? But... Hanamura, you're way too short, aren't you?"
"I-It's still worth trying at least once..."
"Well... okay, let's try it... Wait, why are you bleeding from the nose that much?"
It sounded like Owari and Hanamura had found one at the beach house. And Hanamura, as always, was painfully consistent. Was that a good thing? Or a very, very bad one?
"We found a switch in the live house!! Actually, we found two!! But... they're way up high... I don't know how we're supposed to get them down..."
"Uuugh... there's a switch stuck to a pillar... but it's wrapped up in way too much tape... Please help..."
Looks like Tsumiki and Ibuki found switches in the live house. Two of them, no less. At this rate, we'd gather all the switches even faster than expected.
"There's one at the motel too... I'll take this one..."
"Koizumi, do not worry too much. Saionji is still safe."
"Right... she has to be... She has to be safe... She finally opened up... Now she has to... build better relationships with everyone..."
"....."
Koizumi and Togami had found one at the motel. More importantly, Koizumi's voice was shaking badly. I just prayed the hostages at the hospital, Saionji included, were still unharmed.
"I think there's a switch on the roller coaster... It won't start moving the second we get on, right...?"
"Princess... don't say things that ominous...!"
"Aaaah...! Was that a flag!?"
"...What kind of cruel entity would subject me to such humiliation..."
Tanaka and Sonia had found a switch on the roller coaster. But apparently the moment they boarded to retrieve it, the ride lurched into motion. That bastard Monokuma was really starting to savor tormenting us.
"Hinata-kun, can you hear me...? I'm inside [mouse castle] right now. For starters, the switch is sitting on top of that decorative window way over there. And... as for anything unusual... um, so that's why Monokuma blocked off access to [mouse castle]..."
"Huh? Nanami... what did you say?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I'll grab the switch and head back."
"...Okay."
Nanami had radioed in to say she'd found a switch in [mouse castle]. Still... was it just my imagination, or had she sounded like she wanted to say something else?
"Hmm..."
I was at Monomi House right now. I was searching for a switch, sure, but while I was at it, I figured I'd also look for Monomi, who'd been conspicuously absent lately.
"Monomi...? Are you in there...?"
I called out just in case, but all that came back was an echo. Slightly disappointed, I searched every nook and cranny of Monomi House and eventually found a switch.
"Guys, I found a switch!"
"Ah, then doesn't that mean we've found them all!?"
"It would seem so. Including the ones found earlier, yours makes the twelfth switch."
"Hmm... then we need to regroup... but where should we meet.....?"
After a brief discussion, we decided to gather at Jabberwock Park in the center of the island.
"So... is everyone here...?"
"Nanami-san still hasn't arrived. Let's wait a little longer."
"By the way... these switches... they really are deactivation switches, right...? If they're something weird instead..."
"Please stop saying creepy things like that!!"
Everyone except Nanami had gathered in Jabberwock Park, waiting for her. The others were visibly uneasy about the true nature of the switches, but there was no better option. We'd already agreed that once Nanami arrived, we'd press them all at the same time.
"Souda... this is your specialty, right...? What do you think? Do these really look like switches that disable bombs...?"
"Hard to say... I pried one open a little earlier, and it's built to send a signal somewhere the moment you press it. Of course, I have no clue what kind of signal it's actually sending."
After hearing that, the others started talking.
"Hmm... at least that means they're not fake!!"
"That Komaeda bastard... why the hell would he pull something this absurd...?"
"Hmm... maybe because he was already crazy, and then recently went crazy all over again?"
"Well... Komaeda-san has always been impossible to predict..."
"Well, we've got no choice...! If we don't press them, we're all getting wiped out tomorrow morning, right? So we have to!"
At Owari's bizarrely sunny declaration, everyone nodded. There were too many suspicious details to count, and everybody knew it. But the bone-deep shock of watching the first island get blown to pieces earlier had planted enough terror in all of us to drown out reason.
I could still see that scene flickering in front of my eyes. And because of that, I found myself wanting to press the switch too.
"Ah, I can see Nanami-san over there!!"
"She finally made it. A little late, but... well, given the situation..."
"Hey! Nanami!! Hurry up!! Let's get rid of these damned switches already!!"
Right on cue, Nanami came into view in the distance. There was a switch in her hand.
"After we disable the bombs... what should we do then...?"
"First thing I'm gonna do is storm the hospital and beat Komaeda half to death!!"
"After that... maybe we should build a raft and escape this island..."
"A-A raft...? Th-That sounds kind of dangerous..."
"Then what, are you planning to stay on this island forever? If that's what you want... I won't stop you."
"N-No!! I just meant it sounds dangerous, so I'd help build it too!! Hahaha...!"
Souda's horrified yelp was ridiculous enough to make me smile. By the time I looked back, Nanami had crossed the bridge and reached us.
"...I'm here."
"All right, then. Let's get started..."
We each took out the switch we were holding.
"We'll count to three together... and when the count ends, we press them at the same time. Got it? And let me repeat this... if you screw this up, the whole island goes up. Don't forget that."
"How many times are you gonna say that...? My ears are gonna start bleeding."
"Owari, you're the one I'm most worried about."
"Oh, come on...! I may be dumb, but I'm not so dumb I'd mess up a simple count, okay?"
"...Then let's begin."
After one last petty clash with Owari, Togami started the countdown. Tense as drawn wire, we all began counting together.
"Three..."
Click!
".....!!!"
And the instant the count began, Nanami pressed her switch.
"Gyaaaaaaah!! I-It's gonna blow!! The whole island's... gonna be blown away!!!"
"Hiiiiiik!! I don't wanna dieeeee!!"
"Damn it...! There's not enough time to inscribe the ritual that would draw out my power to its utmost limit...! Is this where I fall...!?"
"The ocean! Jump into the ocean!! If we dive deep enough, we might survive!!"
"N-Nanami!!! We were supposed to press it after counting all the way down, not on three!!! Are you an idiot!?"
"D-Damn it... why the hell..."
"N-Nanami... why...?"
Chiaki Nanami looked calmly at the panicking students as they stumbled around in blind terror, then finally spoke.
"Everyone, calm down. The switch I was holding was fake."
"W-What...?"
"But the switches you're all holding are connected to bombs that will kill Komaeda-kun. So put them down. Right now."
At Nanami's cry, the others faltered.
"C-Come to think of it... we didn't all press them at the same time... but the bombs... didn't go off...?"
"W-What the hell... then... was this whole thing a scam?"
"We almost... killed Komaeda with our own hands..."
As the others cautiously began setting their switches down one by one, Nanami sank into thought.
'K... I'm glad I trusted you...'
The moment she'd heard that all twelve switches had to be pressed simultaneously, Nanami had already seen through what Komaeda was trying to do.
Because long ago, when K had told her the truth behind the killing game, he'd also told her about Komaeda.
"If... Komaeda ever tries something... you need to be careful of his absurd luck. You've experienced it yourself once already, right...?"
"Yeah... I definitely should be careful..."
"Not just careful... his luck is practically on the level of reality manipulation..."
"Reality manipulation...?"
When I asked that, K put on a grave expression and started listing, one after another, just how dangerous Komaeda's luck really was.
"Like surviving Russian roulette even after loading five bullets into the gun... or winning a one-in-six gamble and driving someone to their death... or accidentally kicking a stone with your foot, only for it to collide with bigger and bigger rocks until it turns into a massive rockslide that crushes the forces blocking your path... and that's only a tiny fraction of it..."
"Wh-What is that...? He's not some character out of a game..."
I muttered that without thinking, so dumbfounded I could barely process it. Back then, K had broken into a cold sweat and answered me like this:
"Uh... y-yeah, seriously, right...? Ahaha... B-But it's all true... So if Komaeda ever tries anything... it'll definitely be some kind of gamble staked on probability... so be careful..."
At the time, I'd had my doubts. But now, seeing what Komaeda was trying to do, I could be certain.
Komaeda had clearly placed eleven bombs around himself and intended to die by making the others press the bomb switches all at once.
If that happened, every single student would become the blackened who killed Komaeda. Every one of them except me, of course—the one his luck would guide into taking the fake switch.
If K hadn't told me the truth behind the killing game, I never would have reasoned that far. According to K, all the other students besides the observers...
'...I'll think about that later.'
Anyway, Komaeda must have learned the truth. I'd once asked K about the true nature of the Final Dead Room because I was curious, and he'd told me that one of the clear bonuses was the truth about the students' identities.
Of course, it was a reward you could only get by playing Russian roulette with five bullets loaded... but if it was Komaeda-kun, he'd have pulled it off without a hitch.
If that was the case, then his sudden spiral into manic extremity made perfect sense. From his perspective... everyone except me was someone who had to die.
"...Damn it, that Komaeda bastard. He's completely lost his mind. Setting a trap like this... what the hell kind of grudge does he have against us...?"
"Then... does that mean the bombs won't explode even if the time limit runs out...?"
"No idea. The deactivation switches were a trick from the start... If he thought we might figure out what they really were, he could've set the bombs to all go off automatically at tomorrow's deadline no matter what."
"Then... I guess we really have no choice but to beat Komaeda unconscious and force him to disarm them himself?"
"B-But... the hostages are in the hospital..."
"Tch... if it weren't for the hostages, I'd storm the place right now..."
"Is there really... no other way...?"
As the others fell into grim deliberation, trying to figure out how to deal with Komaeda, Nanami smiled brightly and said,
"I have a plan."
At that, everyone's eyes went wide.
"What!? Seriously!?"
"Damn, Nanami... you were actually competent...?"
"So what is this plan, exactly?"
As the others looked at her with naked expectation, Nanami once again recalled her conversation with K.
"If that's true... then if Komaeda-kun ever seriously decides to turn against us, doesn't that mean we can't beat him in the end...?"
"Ah, no, that's not it. His luck has a weakness."
"A weakness...?"
"Yeah... Komaeda's weakness is..."
'I'm glad I remembered what K-kun told me back then...'
Coming out of the memory, Nanami declared with quiet confidence,
"Actually, the plan already started."
""What...?""
"The moment I pressed the switch earlier."
The others could only stare at her, baffled by the apparent non sequitur. Leaving them behind, Nanami turned toward the hospital and smiled.
"Misfortune always follows luck... that's Komaeda-kun's weakness."