Kaito looked at everyone and nodded. "Alright, everyone's here. I hope you're all ready."

Shuichi's gaze landed on the large pile of various weapons. "A-Are those weapons...?"

"So you went to my lab yesterday to find weapons to use against Monokuma. " Maki sighed.

"Yeah, that's right." Kaito grinned. "Anyway, let's get started! You guys better be ready!"

"Ah... you don't mean ready to die, right?" Tsumugi sweated.

"Ready to fight... and win..." Himiko muttered with a determined look.

"Yeah, we challenged him a bunch of times, but it never worked out, right?" Kaito scratched the back of his head. "That's because... we gave up. But this time, we can't give up!" He beamed at everyone, filled with determination. "Cuz this is our final chance! We're gonna beat up Monokuma and end this ridiculous killing ga-"

"What a coinkydink- I was planning on ending this killing game, too." It was a voice the students all knew too well. They all spun on a dime and came face to face with him, sitting on a bunch of hammers.

"Ouma-kun!?" Shuichi spluttered.

"Y'know... I was also thinking about how to end this killing game as soon as possible." Kokichi giggled.

"You little-!" Kaito scowled at the small boy. "What are you-!"

"I wouldn't move if I were you. At least, if you don't wanna become this li'l guy's prey." Kokichi pulled out a pink bomb with a mouse illustration on it.

Ichika tilted her head. "Is that a bomb?"

Himiko flinched. "A b-b-bomb!?"

"Yup, it's exactly that!" Kokichi chirped. "Which means... If you don't wanna be blown to pieces, then you need to listen to what I'm about to tell you..." Kokichi froze for a moment. "...Wait, what was I gonna tell you?"

"Y-You're the one who said it!"

"You little-! What are you gonna do with that bomb!?" Kaito barked, glaring at Kokichi.

"Y'know how it says in the rules that the killing game will continue until there're only two left?" Kokichi explained. "But it never mentioned about how many you can kill, right? So here's a question for everyone... Who wants to survive with me? Just the two of us?" Kokichi grinned one of his malicious grins.

"I-It can't be... you..." Tsumugi stuttered, sweating up a waterfall.

"..." Ichika remained silent and stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Are you planning to kill us all with that bomb!?" Himiko screamed.

Kaito's face went pale. "Then the way you're gonna end the killing game is..."

Kokichi giggled. "I thought maybe I should kill eeeeeeveryone! Except for me and, like, one other person. If I did that, I'd be able to end the killing game and still abide by school rules, right? It's first-come, first-served! On the count of three, first one to raise their hand wins!"

"Q-Quit screwing around! Who'd even agree to that plan!?" Kaito shrieked.

"Even if you threaten to destroy me, I have no intention of being manipulated by you." Kiibo said sharply.

"I-I'm scared of dying... But nothing good will come from surviving with a traitor like you." Himiko grumbled underneath her hat while hiding behind Ichika.

"I also... don't want to survive with someone who'd do such a thing to Gokuhara-kun." Tsumugi glared at Kokichi.

"...I'd rather kill you." Maki snapped.

"..." Ichika stayed silent.

Himiko looked at Ichika nervously. "Hey, Ichika... Why are you silent? Don't tell me you-"

"Oh please. I'd never agree to such a ridiculous plan. Sorry, I just spaced out there for a moment." Ichika explained calmly and gave Himiko a bright smile.

"Phew..." Himiko looked relieved.

Shuichi sighed. "Ouma-kun... you just don't get it. Not after the last trial, and revealing yourself as the traitor. We're not going to do what you want-"

"Woooow, what a surprise." Kokichi placed a finger on his chin. "I didn't think this would go *exactly* as I predicted."

"...What?"

"Ah-haha, I lied about killing everyone! I just wanted to test your determination! I wanted to see if you guys were determined enough to end this killing game. So, let's work together! We can use to Ultimate Anti-Monokuma weapon!"

"The Ultimate Anti-Monokuma weapon...?" Shuichi repeated and pointed at the hammers Kokichi had brought with him. "Are you talking about the hammers?"

"Cut it out!" Kaito barked. "There's no reason to listen to him, guys!"

"C'moooon!" Kokichi whined. "At least hear me ouuut. This is also Iruma-chan's memento."

"Micchan's memento, huh?" Ichika hummed.

Kokichi grinned. "Yeah! They're called Electrohammers, and they're something I asked Iruma-chan to invent... They're a pretty incredible invention that disables any electronic machine on contact."

"Disables... electronic machines!?" Kiibo exclaimed, clearly terrified.

"Nee-heehee... I bet that includes Kiibo-chan too. They should be helpful against Monokuma, right?"

"Huh? Helpful against Monokuma?" Tsumugi parroted.

"Oh! Well, I just happened to be in the dining hall when I heard you discussing it!"

"The fact that you were hiding there means it wasn't a coincidence!" Himiko retorted.

"But I was so elated when I heard you guys wanted to fight Monokuma. Cuz that was my plan all along... That's how I wanna end this killing game. And that's why I asked Iruma-chan to make this. To defeat Monokuma and the Monokubs."

"...Don't lie." Maki growled. "You've been fixated on this killing game the whole time. You *teamed* up with Monokuma."

"Is that really something Iruma made? Aren't you lying about that, too?" Kaito questioned uncertainly.

"Huuuh? You're gonna doubt that, too?" Kokichi looked at the ground dejectedly.

"Of course... have you forgotten everything you've done to us up till now?" Tsumugi said.

"Yup, I forgot!"

"This doesn't make any sense..." Shuichi muttered. "If Iruma-san made that weapon, why didn't she... Why didn't she use *that* instead of murdering someone?"

"Yeah!" Himiko piped up. "If there were weapons to fight against Monokuma, we should've all fought together!"

"...This is all your fault." Kokichi rose a finger up to his lips.

"Our fault?" Shuichi repeated. Kokichi looked at the ground, a sad expression on his face.

"I told Iruma-chan, too, y'know? Around the time I asked her to invent this. I told her that we should fight against Monokuma. But... 'Someone will still betray us...' That's what she said... Well, the Exisals were still moving at the time so I don't blame her, plus that traitor message Gokuhara-chan found probably didn't help her nerves either... In fact, I think that's what pushed her over the edge! After all..." Kokichi gave an ominous grin. "That message just confirmed her worst fear. So the fear of betrayal overcame her. That's why... she bloodied her hands in this killing game."

"You were the one who left that message." Kaito growled. "It's all your fault!"

"You pushed her over the edge." Maki growled.

"But you guys are different." Kokichi continued, ignoring them. "You guys wouldn't lose to the fear of your friends betraying you, right? You showed your determination to fight together, and you ignored my advice from earlier."

"...And you would lie about killing all of us just to test that theory?" Shuichi questioned.

"Yeah, that's why I want you guys to do your best."

"Quit screwing around!" Kaito clenched his fist. "What are you saying!? You probably just lied about talking to Iruma-"

"Oh, by the way, the Electrohammers weren't the only thing Iruma-chan made... She made this thing too."

Ichika tilted her head. "That bomb, too?"

"Nee-heehee... It's not exactly a bomb, though. Even if it is called an Electrobomb. It jams electronic signals by scattering particles that interfere with electromagnetic waves. For two hours, any and all electronic devices within 50 yards will be completely disabled. It's perfect for any secret activities too, since it doesn't leave any debris behind. This invention is extraordinary! But I only have three of them... So I need to use them carefully. You guys will have to settle for the Eletcrohammers."

"Settle? We have no intention of using such suspicious-looking hammers." Kiibo snapped. "Especially from you."

"But... If those hammers can disable any electronic device it touches then... not only can we defeat Monokuma... But you guys can finally defeat the underground tunnel."

"Huh? Really!?" Tsumugi exclaimed.

Kokichi grinned. "Yeah! You can use the Electrohammers to destroy the electronic traps in that place."

"I-Is that... true!?" Himiko cautiously asked.

"Oh? Are you finally starting to believe me? But, be careful. Electrohammers run out of battery pretty quickly. So if you use it against an Exisal, it'll run out of juice with just one shot, got it? Once the battery depletes, it takes 24 hours to fully charge, so watch out for that. Anywaaaaaay, I'm done explaining so I'll hand the Electrohammers over. I'll let you guys talk it over. I won't interfere anymore, either."

"W-Won't interfere?" Kiibo stuttered.

"I'll be looking from a distance... or something like that. You don't want a traitor around anyway."

"W-Wait before you run off again... There's something I need to ask you." Shuichi spoke up. "What was that writing in the courtyard? That message that Gokuhara-kun found. 'This world is mine' I believe it said. Did you write that? And if you did... why?"

"Hm, what's that? I have no idea."

"D-Don't play dumb!" Himiko yelled. "Your name is on it! You've gotta be the one who did it!"

"But I wouldn't gain anything from writing a message like that, unlike that traitor message, would I? That would make you guys suspect I'm the mastermind."

"Mastermind, huh?" Ichika repeated.

"Yeah... 'This world is mine. Ouma Kokichi' would make me seem like that mastermind. Oh, I know! This is all Monokuma's doing. He's trying to get us to suspect each other! But, don't worry. I truly wanna end his killing-"

Before Kokichi could finish, a dark shadow slid between the students, quick as a flash. The next thing they knew... Maki had her hand around Kokichi's throat.

"...Gh!"

"Tell us the truth." Maki demanded, her voice cold and threatening. "What are you scheming, you traitor?"

"L-Like I said, I just wanna end this killing game, that's all..."

"Liar. You joined forces with Monokuma. If you don't tell us the truth then I'll break you."

"Hey, let him go! You aren't helping anyone by attacking him!" Ichika shouted.

"Harumaki, cut it out! You'll get killed if you don't!" Kaito yelled. "I told you we can't play this killing game! That's just what Monokuma wants!"

"..." Maki paused for a moment before throwing Kokichi, and he fell into a heap on the floor.

"Geez..." Kokichi shakily got to his feet. "Y-You're such a meanie. How could you do something like this to a friend?"

"...Friend? As if." Maki glared at Kokichi.

"Y-You guys may not think that way, but I... see all of you as my friends... Th-That's why... I'll be back. I won't interfere anymore... So please... continue to walk the path you believe in." Kokichi then staggered his way towards the exit and left behind the Electrohammers.

Ichika rolled her eyes. "Harukawa-san, I get that you hate Ouma-san, but you should at least have the common sense to know that you should never choke someone like that."

Maki scoffed. "The brat deserved it. He was getting on my nerves."

"That does not give you a free pass to choking him. You stoop to a lower level than him by doing that crap."

"...Excuse me?" Maki sent a dangerous glare at Ichika.

Ichika sighed and then snatched up one of the Electrohammers. "I'm going to the underground passage. If you guys decided to use the hammers, I'll be waiting."

"W-Wait! We don't know if those hammers are safe yet!" Tsumugi cried out.

"No they are." Ichika sighed.

"Huh?"

"I saw them in Micchan's lab earlier. She definitely made them, so I doubt they're rigged." Ichika explained.

"Ah! I remember! When we went to play chess, I thought I saw a box that had a bunch of pink parts!" Himiko added.

"So they are safe then...?" Maki questioned.

Ichika shrugged. "Up to you if you want to use them. Anyway, leaving now. Maybe I'll see you guys in the tunnel.

"Ichika! Come back here!" Himiko yelled as Ichika shut the gym door behind her.

"...Wh-What should we do?" Kiibo asked.

"I think we should use them." Kaito sighed. "If her and Yumeno saw them in Iruma's lab, then they're probably safe. Also if what Ouma said wasn't a lie, then this could be our once chance at escape."

Shuichi blinked. "What?"

"If we use these Electrohammers, maybe we can get through the underground passage..."

"You mean... actually do what Ouma-kun is suggesting?" Kiibo asked skeptically.

"No matter what we do, it'll be dangerous. But are you really going to believe Ouma-kun?" Tsumugi questioned.

"I'm not believing him, I'm believing Yumeno and Aki. Our goal is to escape with everyone, right? If there's a chance we can do it, then we should take it. We don't... have enough time..." Kaito trailed off.

"...Time?" Maki repeated.

"Y-Yeah... with Monokuma. Like, he's gonna get in our way soon."

Kiibo hummed. "True, this is our best chance now that he's not making any obvious movements..."

"So let's try the underground passage with these hammers. We'll get to the outside world!" Kaito grinned.

Himiko nodded. "You're right... if we can escape, we'll find out the secret of the outside world for ourselves."

"We do not know if that is a lie or the truth, though." Kiibo said.

"You're right. We have to try." Shuichi agreed.

"Well, the secret of the outside world might just be a lie anyway!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Either way, we should at least try. So we won't have any regrets." Kiibo smiled.

Tsumugi looked over at Maki. "What do you want to do, Harukawa-san?"

"..." Maki sighed. "If that hammer is a trap, then I'll really kill that assh-"

"You can't kill him. Just punch him." Kaito interrupted.

"...I know. I'm just going to beat him to a bloody pulp."

"I-I see. If everyone else is gonna do it... I understand." Tsumugi gave the other students a look of determination. "Then, I'll prepare myself for the underground passage again!"

Kaito punched his fists together. "Alright! Let's get going! We're gonna escape from that underground passage for sure this time!" Every student grabbed an Electrohammer each.

"Yes, let's go! I believe Aki-san is waiting for us." Kiibo said.

"I'll be cheering for you..."

"Yumeno-san, you need to come, too!" Tsumugi exclaimed.

The students all proceeded to head to the underground passage.

***

The students all climbed down into the underground passage again and saw Ichika waiting for them.

"Oh-!" Ichika's eyes widened and then she smiled brightly at them. "So you guys did come after all!"

Kaito nodded. "Of course we did. we're not gonna let this opportunity pass by. Now, let's get started."

"Wh-Wh-What are you afraid of? Of course it's gonna be okay... right?" Himiko was shaking violently.

"Heh, there's no need to worry! Of course it's gonna be a little dangerous, but... We've got all these Ultimates here! If we all work together, everything will be alright!"

"...Those words..." Shuichi spoke up quietly.

"Yeah... We can finally fulfil Akamatsu's wish. Our promise to work together to get out of here... and become friends..."

"Now is the time to fulfil that promise," Tsumugi said.

"I'll cheer for you guys!" Himiko piped up.

"You need to do it, too." Maki sighed.

The seven remaining students all turned towards the tunnel, ready to face it head-on, once again. They all ran into it and using the hammers, were able to disable most, if not all of the traps and obstacles in the way. Finally, they made their way to the end of the tunnel. They made their way into a chamber with a giant door, protected by a forcefield and a silver garage to the left, that was closed.

"Is this... the exit?" Maki asked uncertainly.

"It seems like it. Look there." Kaito pointed to the door in front of us.

Himiko's eyes lit up. "Oh! It's a door! On the other side of that door..."

"Yeah! It's probably the outside world!"

"Nyeeeeeh! We diiid iiit! We can finally escape!"

Ichika hummed. "Don't get too excited now. You guys don't know if there actually is an outside world."

"Y-You're right... We don't know what the outside world looks like now." Himiko mumbled.

Kaito beamed. "Heh, it's fine! Monokuma was probably just lying to us! The skies over the academy are normal, so the meteorites are probably gone. Everything's fine out there."

"Anyway, let's open that door. We'll have plenty of time for talk afterwards. That looks similar to the electric barrier in front of the Exisal hangar... Unless we disable that, we won't be able to use that door." Kiibo said.

"...Even though we've come this far, Monokuma hasn't appeared yet. How strange." Maki spoke up.

"He thought we couldn't get through the underground passage, so he wasn't worried." Kaito grinned. "But now, he's probably freaking out! I bet his face is blue!"

"If so, then he wouldn't be Monokuma anymore. He'd be a bluebeary."

"Ha! Nice one, Yucchan. He'd find that pun quite un-bear-able." Ichika giggled.

"Or... maybe Ouma-kun is distracting?" Tsumugi suggested.

"There's no way Ouma would do that," Maki responded instantly. "He's a traitor on Monokuma's side."

"I can't believe he'd do that either... But the hammers were just like he said, so maybe..."

"If Iruma made these a while ago, we should've all teamed up then..." Himiko said slowly.

"Yeah, but Micchan was far too scared of betrayal to work with you guys." Ichika sighed with a small smile. "That fear overcame her, so that's why she did what she did."

"That punk was brainwashed by the killing game." Maki muttered.

"Well, there were still two Exisals then, and we weren't as rebellious as we are now. Maybe... It was unavoidable." Himiko responded.

Shuichi made his way to the control panel. "This is... a control panel for the barrier." He said. "If it's like the one in the Exisal hangar, I should be able to disable the barrier with the passcode."

"Heh, we don't need that!" Kaito piped up. "If it's electronic, we just gotta destroy it with these hammers!"

Maki stared at the panel for a bit. "It seems this lock is controlled electronically, so we can use the Electrohammer to open it."

"Alright!" Kaito punched his fists together. "Let's destroy this control panel with the hammers and open this big dumb gate. Then everything will be over! We can say goodbye to this academy and killing game!"

"Finally... this death game is going to end." Maki sighed in relief.

"Yes, at last we can return to our normal lives." Kiibo smiled.

"Let's go! It's finally time to graduate from this academy of lies!" With that, Kaito brought the hammer over his head and brought it down on the control panel. A loud smash echoed throughout the chamber. It started to spaz out, when an announcement played.

"Yay! The door's unlocked!" Himiko cheered.