You arrived at the Shrine of Judgment. There was Gonta, Kokichi, Kaito, Kiibo, Maki, Himiko, and Shuichi... Something seemed off. "...Are we missing someone?" It just seemed so...empty.

"Yes... This would be everyone..." Tsumugi looked down and sighed. "This is just half of what we started with..."

"Because we've allowed this game to continue," Kiibo spoke up. "We must stop it somehow—"

"But we can't stop noooooooow!!! We can't let the fun end!" Kokichi chimed.

"C-Cut it out! I'm certain this trial will be the last one!"

"It... Yeah. It has to be..." You could just barely keep your voice from trembling.

"Let's focus on surviving this class trial first," Maki told everyone.

"Y-You're right... If we mess up here, our numbers will go down even quicker..." Tsumugi said, voice barely above a whisper.

"That might be okay," Kokichi spoke up with a smirk on his face. "Maybe that's just another way to stop the killing game. If we all die, then the killing game would end."

"Don't say stupid crap like that! It's pointless if we all die!" Kaito growled.

"Well...we don't have to worry. We've got the Ultimate Detective on our side," Himiko exclaimed.

A small bead of sweat formed on Shuichi's face. "I-I'll do my best..."

You looked at him with a tight smile before looking away. He's always so reliable and trusted...and helpful... You sighed.

"I know what you're thinking. You should really participate more in the trials, y'know?"

You only just then registered Kokichi hugging onto your arm. "(Y/NNNNN), Maki called me annoying!" the boy cried out.

You looked at him with concern, and looked over to the girl who was now standing next to Kaito. You could just barely overhear the male say, "Finally, that pest is gone. Thanks, Maki Roll." A low grumble erupted from you, albeit very quiet.

"Just ignore her."

The boy let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'll try... Hm..." He looked up at you, staring into your eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"

You tilted your head at him. "Um... Sure, go ahead."

"Do you trust me?"

"Kokichi, you keep asking me that question! Is there something wrong...?"

"Answer my question."

You gulped. With how ominous he seemed to be getting, you couldn't help the restless anxiety that started to grow inside you. "Yes," you whispered to him.

Kokichi then put on a mischievous smile. "Mm, that sounds like a bad move right there. But! You already said it, and now you have to stick to your word! Now, would you like for us to spit in our hands and shake them, or would you like for us to pinky promise and have me cut off your pinky?"

"The first one sounds gross, and the other one is just...n-no..."

Kokichi shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

Just at that moment, the Monokuma statue began to move until an all too familiar elevator was visible. You and the others reluctantly stepped inside... The ride to the trial grounds was eerily quiet. No one said a thing. It almost seemed like everyone was also making an effort to not breathe.

The elevator came to a stop after what seemed like an eternity. The doors opened, too slow but also too quick for your liking... Everyone walked out and stepped behind a podium.

"Ahem!" Monokuma announced. "Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation... Eh, screw it. This is tiresome."

"You need more motivation!" Monophanie told her father.

Monokuma had his head tilted down, looking at the floor. "I do...I really, really do. Now then, let's start this class trial."

Kokichi casually placed his hands behind his head with a casual smile. "Before we start, I just wanna ask something since there's not a lot of us left... What happens if the votes result in two first places?"

The black and white bear tilted his head. "Huh? You mean, like...a tie? It means they're both the blackened. As long as one of 'em is correct, it's fine."

"Thaaaanks! Since that's answered, I can start enjoying this life-or-death game now!"

"What game!?" Kaito shouted in frustration. "How long are you gonna keep saying that!?"

"Just ignore Kokichi. The rest of us need to work together to find the truth," Himiko declared.

"Oh my! Himiko has become so determined! It's true. People really do change," Monophanie spoke.

"...But now she's lost what made her so unique," Monokuma retorted nonchalantly.

"That's none of your business!" the redhead cried out.

You cleared your throat a bit before deciding to speak up. "Come on, we need to focus on the class trial."

"Right," Kiibo said with a nod at you. "First we need to clarify—"

"Kaito's the culprit!" Kokichi announced, cutting the robot off.

"What!? Say that to my face!"

"While we were all still logged in, Kaito logged out alone, right?" the boy asked. "You were able to move freely. Doesn't that mean you could've committed the murder?"

Kaito balled his hand up into a fist defensively. "Don't screw around! There's no way I'm the culprit!"

"Kaito right! Kaito couldn't have killed Miu!" Gonta spoke up.

Kokichi looked down, studying his fingernails as he spoke, "How long are you gonna keep saying that? Trusted people can still kill, y'know. We already saw that a buncha times! So many times since Kaede. So allow me to explain!"

It's way too early to be pointing fingers at specific people, right? You breathed out, feeling your confidence waver.

"Participate."

"Kaito logged out first, by himself..." Kokichi started. "Miu was still logged in, though... That's when you poisoned her, right Kaito?"

"Wait right there, Kokichi," you spoke up. "Miu couldn't have been killed by poison, and the warning on the label proves it. Drinking the poison would make your eyes bloodshot, and Miu's eyes weren't. You can't tell me that you didn't know. You were with me when we investigated her corpse."

"...Maaaan, you were quick to cut me off. I was having so much fun, too, y'know? I'm disappointed." Kokichi held a blank face for a second, seeming to study your reaction, and then smiled excitedly at you. "Ah-haha, but that's a lie. You already caught onto me, huh? So smart! But what do you think the poison was for now?"

"Probably a diversion," Maki answered him. "The culprit wanted us to think Miu died by poison."

"Hey! I wasn't asking you!"

"Hm..." If the culprit really wanted us to think that she died from poison then...why was it in Kokichi's seat?

"What was her real cause of death?" Himiko asked.

"Miu's cause of death was the killing game simulator itself," Shuichi claimed. "In the Virtual World, if your avatar takes fatal damage, your real body dies of shock. That was made clear in the program's text file."

"Miu received fatal damage in the Virtual World and died from that shock..." Kaito commented.

"In that case, it's fair to say that the cause of death was actually the simulator."

"Ummm... Gonta has question. Where is this 'Ver-chew-ul World' place? What floor is it on?"

"If you don't understand, then don't say anything," Maki told him.

"If Miu was killed in the Virtual World, then the next thing we need to figure out is what caused her to incur fatal damage within the Virtual World," Kiibo stated.

Gonta looked around at everyone. "U-Ummm..."

"Oh, it seems like Gonta is confused, so why don't we review things a bit?" Tsumugi suggested.

"Well, basically, we all split up into two groups to find the secret of the outside world," you spoke up.

"The ones who searched the mansion were me, Shuichi, Tsumugi, Gonta, and...that NPC Kaito!" Kokichi chirped.

"Hey!" the man shouted. "Who you callin' NPC, you A-S-S!?"

Kokichi continued, "And the others who searched the chapel were Kiiboy, Himiko, Maki, dear (Y/N), and...the late Miu."

"How could someone have given her fatal damage in that situation?" Himiko asked. "That's what we gotta think about! Now let's all work together!"

"...Let's begin, then," Kiibo announced.
***

"In that case, her exact cause of death is being strangled in the Virtual World," Tsumugi stated.

"How is that possible, though?" you inquired. "If I'm remembering correctly then all of our avatars had the same strength. It would be hard to strangle a victim who's putting up a fight."

"Then the culprit would need a tool," Maki said. "There are tons of cases where a weaker person would strangle a stronger person with a rope."

"Wow! You know a lot about killing! Nerd!" Kokichi chirped. This only caused the to assassin stare at him with a stone cold expression, red eyes glowing.

"But was there even a rope in that world? I don't remember seeing one," Himiko spoke.

"Then they musta used something else as a rope," Kaito declared.

"During the investigation, we found toilet paper outside the mansion," Shuichi piped up. "I'm guessing that the toilet paper was used to strangle her."

You raised a brow at the detective, feeling a bit bad about finding the statement amusing. You opened up your mouth to speak—

"What you mean, Shuichi?" Gonta suddenly asked.

"Huh? What's wrong...?"

"What wrong!?" His voice grew in agitation. "Shuichi goofing off! Not gentlemanly at all! This no time for nonsense! You no can use toilet paper in place of rope! Would tear too easily! Even Gonta know that, and Gonta not smart!"

"Gonta, calm down!" you spoke up. "Objects can't break in the Virtual World, so the toilet paper wouldn't tear!"

"Can't break...?"

"Nishishi! You're so dumb, Gonta!" Kokichi chimed in. "You didn't even know that?"

You gave the boy a warning glare before continuing, "So in that case, the toilet paper...actually could be used as a rope."

"Gonta...not really understand, but... Sorry, everyone! Gonta was wrong!"

"You don't have to worry about it," Shuichi told him with a reassuring smile.

"Killed by toilet paper..." Himiko mumbled. "It was...a fitting end for her..."

"A fitting end...? I do not fully understand that logic," Kiibo admitted.

"But if Miu was killed near the chapel, by was the murder weapon by the mansion?" Tsumugi asked.

"Maybe the culprit tried to get rid of it to destroy the evidence," Kaito suggested with a small shrug.

If that's the case then they did a pretty sh*tty job...

"If toilet paper was the murder weapon, then what's the deal with the hammer next to her?" Kokichi asked everyone.

"Perhaps the culprit prepared a backup weapon just in case?" Kiibo wondered.

"No, the culprit didn't bring the hammer," Maki claimed.

"No? But who else but the culprit would bring a hammer?"

"Miu was the one who brought the hammer," Shuichi answered the robot. "Remember what she told us... Miu said that she deleted any objects that could be dangerous. If that were true, she wouldn't have missed something like a hammer. Meaning that Miu must have left it on purpose."

"But...why she do that?" Gonta asked him.

"...That's what we need to make clear."

"Alright then!" Kiibo started. "Let's assume that Miu brought the hammer. What was she planning to do with it?"

"Maybe use it to break down a wall?"

"Uses for a hammer... Gonta know! Miu gonna build stuff with hammer!"

"She probably just brought it for self-defense."

"Or, she secretly met up with someone...and tried to kill them with it!"

"You idiot! She was the victim!"

"But Kokichi is right," you interjected. "Miu was going to meet up with someone in the Virtual World..."

"Mm-hm, with me!" Kokichi announced. "I was supposed to meet up with Miu on the roof of the mansion."

"What?" Gonta had a slightly terrified look on his face. "Is that true!?"

"I overheard them talking about it at the chapel," Kiibo said.

"By the way, Miu asked to meet up with me before we went into the Virtual World... I totally forgot where we were supposed to meet, so good thing Kiiboy spied on us." The boy suddenly smiled excitedly. "If Miu brought the hammer.. I wonder what she was planning to do with it?"

"She was trying to kill Kokichi," Shuichi stated.

"She was what!?" Kaito yelled.

Upon hearing that, you could feel your face go pale.

"Yep. She plotted to meet up with me and then kill me with the hammer... If you want to prove this, you'll need to figure out Miu's plan, okay?"

It took a while. The trial grounds were silent for a few moments with everyone thinking. Then you decided to try and speak up.

"She... She wanted it to look like Kokichi... was killed in the real world," you mumbled.

"She placed the poison on my seat to make us think the murder happened in the real world," Kokichi explained.

"What?" Kaito asked, tilting his head. "Miu was the one who put that poison bottle there? No, that ain't right! Something's definitely weird about that!"
***

"Yup yup! You all got it right!" Kokichi exclaimed with a smile. "It's actually a blessing in disguise that Miu died and not me. She wouldn't have said anything about what really happened in the Virtual World. You guys would've had a way harder time finding the culprit, y'know? She would've been able to lie about the Virtual World's settings as much as she wanted, and you'd never know that the murder actually took place in the Virtual World."

"So that's why she decided to attempt a murder," Maki noted. "Because she had total control."

"So that's why she was so insistent that we all go inside the Virtual World..." you spoke rather quietly. "She wanted us to go there just so that she could kill us..."

Tsumugi looked off to the side. "...I was sad that she was gone, but now I don't know what to think..."

"Nishishi! Niiiiiice! Backstabbed by a trusted friend..." Kokichi said in a teasing tone. "See? That's an ideal fun situation! Now we can start a real class trial!"

"Hey, Kokichi sorta sound like...Monokuma," Gonta pointed out.

"Hm, really? I don't sound anything like him."

"No... You're just like Monokuma," Kaito groaned. "Both of you are cowards. You never speak the truth or show your true face."

'True face'...? You nervously looked back at Kokichi who simply wore a smile on his face.

"Wait, coward? You say some interesting things sometimes, Kaito."

"Smiling, putting on a mask, never saying what you really think... That kind of cowardice is just like Monokuma!"

"Daddy, they're calling you a coward!" Monophanie cried. "Aren't you gonna do something?"

Monokuma was still looking down at his chair. "Yeah, yeah... I just gotta do my signature laugh, right? Poohoohooo... There, I did it."

Kaito ignored the bears and turned back to Kokichi. "Listen up! To hell with this 'game of suspicion' crap! I will never be okay with it! I'm just gonna believe in everyone! Instead of suspecting my friends, I'm gonna find the truth by believing in them!"

The boy just sighed and looked down at his own hands, a bored expression on his face. "Well, if you think you can win this game like that...then sure, be my guest."

"How long are you guys going to argue?" Maki sighed. "Let's hurry this up and continue. If we don't find the culprit, then we'll all die. You know that?"

"Oh, you're right." Kokichi smiled again. "I'm sorry."

"Let's start with Kokichi's story," you spoke up, voice almost trembling. The little leader tilted his head at you.

"You were meeting with Miu," Maki said, noticing his confusion, "but she ended up as the victim. So it's only natural for us to think you're the killer, right?"

"Here's my answer—I never met up with Miu. I tried to go to the roof to meet up with her, but the door was locked."

"But, Kokichi, whenever we were entering the Ultimate Artist's lab, weren't you able to lockpick the door to get inside?" Shuichi asked.

"I couldn't pick locks with my avatar body. I didn't have the tools for it either," the boy responded. "Also, I never went to the roof, not even for the meeting."

"I remember...you and Gonta went off together when we first started looking," Tsumugi commented.

"But, was the door to the roof actually locked?" Maki wondered. "When I was on the roof before logging out, the door wasn't locked."

"Huuuh? How should I know?"

"He... is probably lying," you mumbled.

"Yeah, he's gotta be lying! When I went up to the roof, the door wasn't locked," Kaito grumbled.

"What good would it be if I lied?" Kokichi asked, face blank. "I don't wanna die either, y'know!"

"Lying would do you a lot of good if you're the culprit," Himiko snapped at him.

"Oh! Mm-hm, I see! I didn't realize that!"

"What kinda response is that!?" Kaito yelled. "That's suspicious as hell!"

"Please back off a bit..." you whispered, but Kokichi didn't seem to hear you. Why does he always dig himself such a deep grave? you mentally groaned.

"Wait, there's no point in arguing about that now. The truth will come out eventually," Shuichi declared. "Before we get to that, we need to discover the truth behind Miu's death. There were mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. We need to make sense of those first."

"So...what is this strange circumstance?" Kiibo inquired.

"Kokichi claims it was Miu who chose the meeting place, but I'm wondering how she got from the chapel to the mansion's roof."

"I see. Miu sent the bridge connecting the mansion and chapel into the river herself..."

"If that's the case, then Miu might not have even gone to the roof..."

Kokichi pouted. "Huuuh? So she stood me up? It's very rude to break a promise! Hmph!"

"I think that we should discuss this some more..." Shuichi mumbled into his hand.

"Alright then, I'll start." Kokichi cleared his a throat before talking again, "Miu was waiting for me to arrive... I'm sure she was waiting on the rooftop of the mansion!"

"No, Miu should've been at the chapel..."

"Yes, she should've been at the chapel, but don't we have someone who believes they saw her outside of the mansion?" you spoke up.

"...Oh, yeah. When I was searching the dining room, I saw Miu pass by the window," Tsumugi said. "S-Sorry for not mentioning this earlier... I thought I was just mistaken at first. But I guess I wasn't mistaken after all. That was definitely Miu."

"Then...how did she get to the mansion from the chapel?" Kiibo questioned.

Kaito shrugged and scratched at his head. "There musta been some special method only Miu knew. Like with that cell phone."

"There's no doubt about that. That's why she dropped the bridge," Shuichi said. "If a murder occurred when it was impossible to cross the river, she wouldn't be implicated. She used a secret method to move from the chapel to the mansion for the murder."

"She dropped the bridge to make a huge scene, just to let everyone know it's no longer there," Kokichi added.

"So...what secret method did she use?" Maki asked.

"If no one has an answer then why don't we all just talk about this together?" the boy cooed. "Let the debate...begin!"
***

"So...Miu tampered with the program to make a wall that only she could go through..." you concluded.

"Then her secret route was through that wall?" Himiko asked.

"Oh! Like using a glitch in a game to walk outside the map!" Tsumugi spoke up. "I bet Miu had a hidden passage like that in the back of the chapel!"

"But...even if she could walk through walls, was there really a hidden passage?" Kaito wondered. "'Cause Miu said that nothing exists behind the wall, it's the end of the world. Everything ends there."

"She probably lied. There would be no point in going if there was nothing on the other side... Not to mention that she's already kept a lot of other things secret from us," you told him.

"Miu lied... Huh..." Kokichi mumbled. "That cum-soaked urinal cake was totally lying about there being nothing past the wall. She lived a life of pride, vulgarity, and secrets! Lying would be a piece of cake for her!"

"Kokichi! You no have to go that far!" Gonta exclaimed.

"Stop it! Don't badmouth Mommy!" Monotaro quickly interjected. "Listen to you... Talking about Mommy...like she was a terrible, lying wh*re... But Mommy wasn't lying! There was no hidden route in that Virtual World!"

"Oooh... There wasn't, huuuh?"

"Hey! You can't tell them such an important hint!" Monophanie scolded her brother.

Kokichi looked up at the bears with stars in his eyes, fists drawn up excitedly near his face. "Oh! If you say that hint is important, then I guess it must be true!"

"Oh, shoot!"

Did... Did he do that on purpose? You glanced and tilted your head at the boy. He got a bit extreme...but still, smart...

He noticed you looking at him. For a split second, he offered you a small smile before looking away again.

"Ah, geez... You're lucky you're cute," Monokuma spoke up. "Anyway, continue." He motioned everyone with his paw.

"So...now that we know there's no hidden route, why did she manipulate the program?" Kokichi asked with his finger poking into his cheek. "If there's actually nothing past the wall, then that setting was meaningless."

"Miu wouldn't have done something meaningless. She would've had a plan," Maki stated.

"Yes, Miu definitely wanted to be able to go through that wall for a reason," Shuichi spoke. "We aren't sure why yet, but once we solve the mystery of the Virtual World..."

"Mystery of 'Ver-chew-ul World'...?" Gonta repeated questioningly.

I wonder why he always acts so confused about that...

"There have been a lot of strange occurrences in the Virtual World..." the detective continued. "If we can determine why, we will also determine what Miu was up to. We'll know why she wanted to pass through the wall."

"Alright! Let's clear up those strange occurrences!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah! Gonta will help, even thought Gonta not know what you're talking about!"

"Speaking of strange occurrences, I'm just plain worried about that one thing..." Tsumugi spoke up. "Remember? That thing that made us notice all the strange occurrences?"

"You mean the loud sound that you and I heard in the kitchen?" Shuichi asked.

"You two heard that as well?" you inquired while tilting your head.

"Yes, in the mansion's kitchen," the girl answered.

"But that sound occurred near the chapel... How could you have heard that if you were all the way over at the mansion?"

"First off, sound can't go past the map loading point," Kokichi spoke up. "Did that sound really come from the chapel?"

"Th...The sound was something hitting the chapel wall. It was real loud and everyone inside felt it," you stammered the reply.

"And we definitely heard it," Shuichi interjected. "We heard Kiibo's voice as well."

"You heard my voice, too?" Kiibo asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"That has to be some kind of clue to the mystery of the Virtual World."

"Okay, well, let's check the answers later and try to find all the other clues first," Kokichi told everyone. "There was another phenomenon in the Virtual World, wasn't there?"

"Kokichi talk like he notice something... Pretending not to know?" Gonta asked.

The small boy looked down, forcing his lip to tremble as if he were about to cry. "Even Gonta is suspicious of me...? I always thought you would be the one to trust me!"

What about me...?? You sent him a slightly hurt and betrayed look.

"S-Sorry! Gonta not mean it like that!"

"There's no need to apologize to him," Kaito grumbled. "He's probably just lying again."

"Well, anyway, what was the other strange occurrence? Did you see it, Shuichi?" Himiko questioned.

"...The sign that we were using as a bridge was odd to me. We mentioned it before, but Miu dropped the sign in the river... We found it later, but there was something unnatural about it. It appeared as though the sign was carried against the river's current.

"We all saw Miu drop the sign and watched the river carry it downstream. The river was wide there. The sign should have traveled downriver toward the chapel, correct? It should have hit the wall on the far side of the chapel and stopped there, but that's not where we found it... Instead, we found it near the mansion, nestled in some rocks."

"So you're saying that when the signboard was dropped into the river, the current was supposed to carry it to the chapel...but instead, we found on the completely opposite side to the chapel," you repeated quietly. He nodded at you.

"Hold up. Didn't Miu stay on the chapel side?" Kaito asked. "She probably grabbed the signboard from the chapel wall to cross the river. Then left it on the boulders near the mansion so she could get back."

"Why would she leave the signboard where it could get swept away and leave her stranded?" Kiibo countered.

"Also, this has nothing to do with walking through the wall, right?" Kokichi piped up. "We're getting off-topic. We're so close to the truth. We just have to connect the 'how' and 'what.' All the mysterious things that happened have to connect with each other somehow..."

"Connect how...?" Gonta asked quietly.

"A wall only objects can pass through... Sounds that shouldn't be heard... A signboard going against the river current... How are they all connected?" Maki wondered."

"Ah-haha! I dunno," the boy admitted with a cheerful smile. "But Shuichi might know! He should be the one to solve this case and save us all! But...if he doesn't then I'll be disappointed, and I'll have to revert to my secret weapon."

"...Secret weapon...?" you asked slowly.

"Don't worry about it for now, (Y/N). Right now, we need to see if Shuichi knows anything before we all get killed!"

You swore that the detective mumbled some question asking himself why all of the pressure was put onto him before speaking, "Ah, well...what we know so far is that the unnatural way the sign was carried is possibly related to the wall. It might have to do with the wall that only objects can pass through."

"Oh, perhaps the wall that the signboard was supposed to hit was the one that Miu set to allow objects through...?" you piped up. "So only non-humans...would be able to pass through..."

"That means the signboard can pass through the wall, right?" Maki asked.

"Even if it could pass through the chapel wall, how'd it end up by the mansion?" Kaito inquired.

"The only way it could do that is if the wall was a Warp Zone, but it's not, right?" Himiko questioned.

Sh*t, I wasn't expecting this many questions... you mentally groaned while biting on your nail. They're right though. How could the signboard pass through the wall but end up on the mansion side? Ugh, why did I speak up when I only had a half-baked claim?

"You look so cute when you blush! But I hate to see you all embarrassed in a situation like this!" Kokichi suddenly exclaimed. "Let me give you a hint in this time of trouble, because I love you so much." The boy smirked upon seeing your blush grow a bit darker before he continued. "This is the Virtual World. We should throw away all of our common sense, okaaay?"

"Huh? The hell does that even mean?" Kaito questioned him.

Kokichi ignored him and just stared at you, waiting for you to answer. It took you a while to think about it (and to gather up what little confidence that you could find), but you eventually had an idea. "...Maybe both ends of the river were connected."

The boy nodded at you eagerly, encouraging for you to continue. "...And what I mean is that the river isn't cut off at the wall near the chapel. The upstream part of the river is connected to it, so it's all one big loop."

Kaito looked at you as if you were some sort of alien. "Look... I respect you and all, but there's no way that the ends of the river can—"

"Again, throw out all common sense from your head," Kokichi snapped. "We're talking about the Virtual World."

Did he...jump to my defense? you wondered. Your heart fluttered at the thought before you attempted to smother it. I'm just looking too into it. And besides, should I really be asking and thinking about these things while I'm trying to help in a murder case—

"Then what about the wall? There was only one wall that could be passed through," Maki spoke.

"Right. Even if the river's connected and it goes through the chapel wall, it wouldn't have been able to go through the mansion wall too!" Kaito exclaimed.

You gasped in sudden realization. "Guys! The reason as to why Miu only set up one wall was because the walls by the chapel and mansion aren't separate! They're the same wall!"

"The...same wall?" Kiibo wondered.

"I get it," Shuichi chimed in. "It's not just the river, the walls themselves are connected. Don't think of it as two separate walls, but a single wall parallel to the Y-axis."

"That single wall divides the entire Virtual World. So the idea is that you pass through the wall by the chapel...and then you come out by the mansion," you explained.

"Nishishi... Everything is starting to connect," Kokichi chirped. "See, didn't I tell you? Everything is connected."

"Dammit, Kokichi!" Kaito growled. "Just tell us—"

"Shhhhh, it's okay! More importantly, this is the final stretch! If both the river and wall are connected, then you can find the secret..."

You slammed your hand down on your podium with newly found confidence. "The Virtual World is a loop," you declared boldly.

"Just like in old games, right!?" Tsumugi inquired. "Like, for example... When a character goes off the left side of the screen and reappears on the right."

"Yes, that should be correct," Shuichi spoke. "The edges of the Virtual World are linked together in a continuous loop."

"The Virtual World...loops?" Maki repeated in a questioning tone.

"Wh-What in the world!?" Kaito stammered.

"If that's true, it would explain the way the signboard was swept away," Kiibo noted. "It vanished into the wall downstream of the river, came out of that same wall upstream, and floated with the current until it got caught on the rocks."

"What was the world like before Miu added the wall...?" Maki wondered.

"Actually, there wasn't a wall on the Y-axis at all, and the X-axis was set to loop," Shuichi told her.

"A-Are you serious? Even if it is a computer program, isn't that too crazy?" Kaito questioned.

"A looping world..." Himiko mumbled. "That's more extraordinary than even magic..."

"But, at least it's not a boring answer," Kokichi chimed while placing his hands behind his head. "It also explains all the things that happened." He glanced over at you. "Nice work," he whispered.

You looked down. "Th-Thanks...?" You pulled your scarf up to hide more of your face.

"Huh? But it doesn't explain everything, does it?" Tsumugi asked. "'Cause we still don't know why we heard that one sound or Kiibo's voice."

"Yeah, sound doesn't go past the map loading point," Kaito commented.

"Actually," Shuichi piped up, "if we know that the world is a loop, we can explain that as well."

"Huh? Really?" Gonta questioned.

"Yes, but first we need to be clear where the loop starts."

"Where the loop starts..." Kiibo repeated. "Doesn't it loop at the walls next to the mansion and chapel...?"

"Not necessarily. If we heard a noise at the chapel from inside the mansion, then... The map loading point was where the Virtual World looped. We thought the loading point was in the middle of the map, but the loading point was actually at the edges."

"...Ah, so Miu's wall wasn't at the edges of the world, but rather at the center of the world," you spoke quietly. "In that case, the mansion and the chapel were closer than we thought, just with a wall between them. Any sound emitted near the chapel would also reach the mansion."

"The wall only allows non-humans to pass through, so sound should be able to pass through easily," Kiibo added.

"That's right. That's how the Virtual World works!" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Mwa-hahahahaha!!! Impressive, you two!" Kokichi suddenly shouted. "For you all to get this far! Shuichi, useful as always! (Y/N), you really have stepped up your game!"

"'For you to get this far'? What are you, some villain pulling the strings?" Kaito asked.

"Nope! Miu pulled the strings here, not me. Remember?" The boy's smile was quickly wiped off, leaving his face expressionless. "Miu also set this trap. It all began when Miu showed us the map. Because of the map, we mistakenly thought the loading point was at the center. Which, in turn, made the mansion and chapel seem farther away from each other."

"But the structure of the world wasn't actually like that," Maki recollected. "There was a wall along the Y-axis, and the X-axis came around in a loop."

"She cut off the loop by putting the wall in the center," you added.

"So," Kokichi continued, "ever since Miu showed us that map, we were caught in her trap. But now we solved this mystery! Thanks, to the people who helped out the most... Oh, but just because we found out the Virtual World's secret doesn't mean we can take it easy yet. Actually...this culprit hunt just got to the exciting part! Even if we know all the tricks, it's pretty meaningless if we don't find the culprit. That's how a class trial works, after all!"

"Kokichi talking like Monokuma again..." Gonta commented.

Kaito rubbed the back of his head, exasperated. "Tch... No matter what you say, I'm not gonna believe your lies. I'm gonna believe in everyone! That's how I'm gonna reach the truth!"

Kokichi just gave the boy a cheeky smile. "Nishishi... I can't wait to see what happens next."

Word Count: 5756