"............Give it a fucking rest..."

Keiichi squeezed out those words.

He sounded good.

Like he was about to bite me.

"Awake at last, are we?

I lied before, you know.

...About having wanted to give Shion the most miserable death of all, but locking her up because I hadn't thought of a good way yet.

That was a lie."

I smiled as I laid out the huge nails and hammer specially made for the nail table.

"I'll let her hear the screams of all those people that died because of her, and after they've soaked in to her very soul, then I'll kill her...

...I've got pretty good taste, huh?

Heh heh heh heh!!"

"............Who......

are you?"

"Hah?

I'm Mion.

Mion Sonozaki.

Have you lost your mind from fear?

Heh heh heh!"

".........No, you're not.

...There's... no way you can be Mion Sonozaki...!"

I stopped moving.

.........Kei-chan...?

Shit.

I'd decided the naming game would be over once we reached Shion's cell.

Therefore, even if he guessed this time, it would be too late.

Oh well...

Sure,

I'll listen to you.

This is your last chance.

"...I see.

Then if I'm not Mion, who am I?"

Come on, Kei-chan.

...Guess who I am.

Why don't you try and save Mion, the girl who fell in love with you?

".........

A demon."

"Huh?"

"............You're not Mion.

...Mion was just here. Give her back."

"...Kei-chan, is your brain really doing okay?

You're not going crazy with fear?"

"Don't touch me!!!

...You damn demon...!!!

Give her back!!

Give Mion back!!!

My best friend... Give Mion baaaaaaack!!!"

I listened to him with a blank expression.

"...I know it's nonsense... to demand Mion's return when she's right in front of me.

But... but...!

This person in front of me... can't possibly be Mion!!!

I can't accept that...!!"

Aha, ahahahahahahaha...

That's great, ahahahahahaha!

So I'm not Mion or Shion...

He doesn't even see me as my sister...

No, wait, that's not it.

Keiichi protected the Mion in his heart until the end.

He didn't accept the fact that Mion was a murderer.

And not just that, either.

He protected the Shion in his heart as well.

He didn't conclude that if Mion wasn't a murderer, then it must have been Shion.

To Keiichi, Shion was someone who always made fun of Mion.

But that was it.

It wasn't like they'd known each other for a long time.

But Keiichi protected her.

He protected Shion from being a murderer.

Ahahahahaha... that's why I'm a demon, and not Mion or Shion, huh?

A demon, huh?

A demon... ahahahahaha, that's stupid!

Hahahahaha.

But isn't that just right on the money?

Ahahahahaha, ahahahahahahaha!!

"Wahh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

...Kei-chan... Are you trying to drown me in my own tears...?

Wahhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

However, Keiichi didn't back off.

He kept screaming.

He screamed loudly, so that I could hear his voice even when I was stuck inside of a demon.

"You can do it, Mion...!

Don't... lose to this piece of shit demon...!!!

You're strong... Show me how strong you aaaareee!!!"

"Wa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Wa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

Surely he isn't talking to me knowing that I'm the real Mion, right?

He's just confusing us again.

So there's no reason to let my heart be disturbed by Keiichi's screams toward Mion!

"Come on... Mion...!!!

Mion!!

Why... did you lose to a demon like this?!

You're not that weak, are you?!

Don't give up...

Fight...

Fight!!!"

He's right, I didn't fight back... How did he know?

How did he know I didn't fight back?

I lost to the demon.

After all, I'm weak. I'm not strong enough to defeat the demon!!

Even so, Keiichi continued to talk to Mion.

His voice had become hoarse, and he had begun sobbing.

He kept mumbling,

Mion,

Mion...

".........Kei-chan.

...This may not be... something pleasant to take to the grave with you.

.........But you really seem to want to know, so I'll tell you just one thing.

......A long time ago, the demon came to live inside me.

...It was gnawing at my heart, trying to spur me to violence, but...

I suppressed it with my reason.

...The demon had become quiet... and I got to thinking it had gone away somewhere.

...As it turned out, I was wrong.

......It hadn't left... it was just sleeping inside me."

That was the truth.

When I learned about Satoshi-kun's disappearance, my weak soul couldn't take the sadness, and anger filled me to the brim.

But the insanity had stopped there.

Time had healed me... and embraced me with memories of Satoshi-kun.

"...The demon... woke up again due to a certain, small opportunity.

......What do you think... that opportunity was...?"

It was such a little thing.

".........

This might be strange for me, a demon, to say, but...

...You're the reason that everything got so messed up."

A tear rolled down my cheek.

"............At the time...

if you had given me that doll you got, without hesitation.........

maybe everything wouldn't have gotten so twisted.

...You probably can't understand.

I wouldn't expect you to.

...But, you see, all sorts of things started falling over like dominoes after that... and soon it was too much for me to control.

...It only makes sense that you wouldn't be aware of knocking over the first one, since it was so small......

but you're the one who set them up."

If Kei-chan hadn't done something so insensitive, Shion wouldn't have cried.

Shion cried

and talked to me about it.

That had reminded me of Satoshi-kun.

I became jealous of her for having someone she loved so close to her.

It was a very small jealousy.

But that little feeling woke up the demon who was sleeping deep inside of me.

After that, I just let the demon take over.

The demon ate up all of the sadness from my loss of Satoshi-kun,

and filled my heart with the notion of revenge, even though I knew that wouldn't make Satoshi-kun happy.

Then, the scary incidents that followed dragged me to Hell, from whence there was no escape.

"...That... that can't... be, can it...?"

".........It only makes sense that you wouldn't be aware of it.

Even so, Kei-chan, you are without a doubt the cause.

.........If you had nonchalantly given me the doll that day...

then I don't think this would have happened."

Was I simply transferring the blame to Keiichi?

Such a tiny thing woke up the demon inside of me...

The demon would have woken up eventually.

I was at fault.

I didn't fight back.

I let the demon live in my soul,

and I let the demon possess me.

"......Ooh...... ooh...!!"

Keiichi didn't hide his tears. They were pouring down his cheeks.

Maybe he was crying in my place, since I'd become a demon and couldn't cry of my own will.

"...Can I start now, then?

This method of torture is very simple.

I'll nail one of these into the first joint of your left pinky finger.

Then, I'll nail each one in order until I get to your thumb, and then I'll go back to your pinky and nail one into the joint in the middle.

...So on and so on, until I hammer fifteen nails into your left hand.

When that's over with, I'll do your right hand next.

...After that...... if you're still conscious, I'll tell you.

There are a lot of nerves bundled in your fingertips, so it hurts far more than you could imagine.

...Some people apparently pass out before you finish hammering thirty nails into their hands, so..."

I put a nail to Keiichi's left pinky.

Once I hit it with the huge hammer,

it would start

and it would be over.

".........I didn't hesitate at all when I was torturing the others,

but somehow I do when it's you."

".........If this will satisfy your demon, Mion...

If it will sate the demon, then do to me what you will..."

I didn't understand what he just said, so I tried to repeat his words in my head.

".........Are... you serious...?"

"...Compared to how much I hurt Mion... this is nothing, right?"

"............"

"...Do as much as you want.

...In exchange... promise me two things.

.........After you're satisfied with causing me pain... forgive Shion.

...She's been punished enough to make up for her crime of sneaking into the storehouse, hasn't she?"

"You... After all this... you still care about Shion more than yourself...?"

I am Mion. Mion Sonozaki.

...So why are my eyes growing so damp when hearing Keiichi show concern for Shion...?

"...The other thing...

is that when you've had your fill... you disappear.

......Give that body...

back to Mion.

......

......That's all."

".........You know, you're...

Are you not even considering possibly begging for your life or anything?"

".........Can I ask you to promise three things instead of two?

...The third is to leave me alive."

"...Ahahahahaha.

You said two in the beginning, didn't you?

...So you can't have any more."

".........That's a shame..."

Even in this situation...

Keiichi and I

joked around and laughed...

Ah... then, I knew.

I knew why Shion fell in love with him.

He's different from Satoshi-kun

but

he's a good guy...

"...I probably won't keep these promises, understand?

I'm a demon, after all."

"I guess there's nothing I can do, then..."

Keiichi smiled and then closed his eyes.

"...Kei-chan.

I'll... agree to just the third thing, okay?"

".........Huh?"

"Your first wish.

To save Shion.

...That's not possible

...The demon will kill her.

...It's already been decided, so I can't stop it.

So please give up on that."

I stroked Keiichi's chin.

"As for your second wish.

To give this body back to Mion.

...That won't happen either.

...After today, Mion will never come back.

......From today on, even if my body remains, it will be just a shell...

...because the demon has taken it over."

".........That isn't true.

...Mion is... Mion...!

Don't say such sad things... like that she won't ever come back...!"

"............

Can you hear it?

That sound."

I'd been hearing a noise.

I knew what it had to be.

......Baang.........

Baang...

A dull sound was repeating in a regular rhythm.

It was accompanied by a light tremor.

People were trying to force open the iron door to the underground storehouse.

"You're late, so Rena probably called Ooishi.

...That spaced-out girl being so quick-thinking was the one thing I didn't anticipate."

".........I'll agree with you there."

Really?

I wonder how much Kei-chan really knows about Rena.

Rena Ryuugu...

I won this time.

Rena couldn't figure out who I was until the end.

........................

Or maybe she did.

Rena didn't seem confused about whether I was Mion or Shion.

Perhaps Rena could tell Mion and Shion apart through her sense of smell.

She was good at that kind of thing.

No way...

...I'm overestimating her.

...........

I brought out my stun gun so Keiichi could see the sparks.

"......You've probably never seen one before, right?

It's a real stun gun.

...It's illegally modified, and its power has been increased quite a bit."

"...Was that what you hit me with before?

...That's not a toy children should be playing with, you know."

"Heh heh heh.

...You're right."

Baang!

They must have broken the first door.

The path was complicated, but there was no other door except for the one to this torture room.

"...I won't kill you, but I will have you go to sleep for a bit, Kei-chan.

Ooishi will be here soon.

This will only hurt a bit."

Keiichi bit down and smiled bitterly.

I paused, hesitating a little.

Keiichi opened his eyes to see what was wrong.

"............I'm sorry...

for disgracing Mion."

"......I made a promise before coming in here.

Whatever happens, the Mion inside my heart won't change."

"............Look, forget about that.

If you ever see me after today...

don't come near me.

...By then, it will be the demon... that inherited my corpse."

Bzzz!!

Keiichi fell unconscious.

I locked the door to the torture room.

I locked the door to the huge cave, too.

That should give me some time.

"Shion,

come on out."

I opened the cell and told Shion to leave it.

She was crying.

"You asked me to let Kei-chan go... so I did.

He's out cold, because of the stun gun.

The police should be here soon, so they'll set him free."

"Thank you...

Thank you...

Oooh..."

"You still have something more to do.

Shion has to escape from here."

I took Shion to the cell with the hidden passage.

"Before that,

I'll give Mion back to you."

"...Eh?"

"Take those clothes off.

We're switching again.

Here, the rubber band for your hair."

Shion had no idea what was going on, but she changed her clothes as I ordered her to.

I gave her the flashlight, and she hung it around her neck.

"You go first.

Find the hidden escape route at the bottom of the well."

The light from the flashlight wasn't enough to entirely illuminate the way down.

Nobody in their right mind would want to descend that well.

But Shion obeyed and timidly climbed down the ladder.

When she had passed entirely below the rim of the well, I brought out my stun gun and put it to Shion's head.

Shion understood the meaning of that.

".........Sis......"

"I didn't kill Kei-chan, just as you wanted.

You told me I could kill you instead, didn't you?

Heh heh heh, I'm going to keep our promise."

Shion's hands and feet were clinging to a very unstable ladder, so there was no way she could protect herself.

She was in a critical situation.

"You, who looks like Mion, need to fall into the bottom of the well and die.

I look like Shion.

Kei-chan will testify that I'm the victim.

I'll wait in the cell for the police to get here.

I'm sure they'll eventually find out the truth from our fingerprints,

but by the time they get that far, I'll be hiding somewhere else.

Pretty good, huh?

Hee hee hee."

"......Are you killing me

out of revenge

for Satoshi?"

"If you know that much, you should have been prepared.

Go apologize to Satoshi-kun at the bottom of the well."

"Sis... Satoshi isn't

at the bottom of the well..."

"Huh?

Didn't you say

the bodies get dumped down here?"

"All I said

was that if he was killed at the Sonozaki house

this is where his body would be..."

"What are you telling me now?

Can't you be a little clearer?"

"I...

also... ...liked

Satoshi..."

"...Yeah, I'm sure.

I liked him, after all."

"I was very sad... ...when Satoshi-kun disappeared

so I

looked into things..."

"..................And?"

"I interrogated Granny.

I even thought about throttling her.

Then she told me...

She said she was only telling me as the successor, so I had to keep it a secret."

What she said was something hard to believe.

The hag said to Shion:

The Sonozaki family had nothing to do with the disappearance of Satoshi-kun.

Shion couldn't understand, so she asked again.

The Sonozaki family held a lot of influence in the underworld because of our dad's connections. In fact, they used such illegal measures during the dam conflict.

Therefore, people just assumed the Sonozaki family had pulled the strings when the dam construction incident took place.

Even the hag laughed meaningfully and said suspicious things, so everyone believed she was the mastermind.

But... it was all a performance.

It was a hoax by the Sonozaki family head...

It was just a bluff. The family took credit for the incidents to make it look like they were pulling the strings.

With the influence they already had, this bluff was very believable.

Therefore, people thought of the Sonozaki family as one that had deep connections in the underworld, and that they were capable of producing any sort of conspiracy.

People have believed that since the dam conflict.

Oryou just smiled at things she had nothing to do with,

as if she was pulling the strings.

When the relatives saw that, they became fearful of Oryou's power.

When the dam construction site manager was killed...

Oryou smiled meaningfully.

When the relatives saw that, they assumed Oryou was behind it.

When the Houjou couple fell off the cliff...

When the Furude couple died violently...

When Satoshi-kun's aunt died and Satoshi-kun disappeared... the hag just smiled meaningfully.

Everyone believed the Sonozaki family was behind all those incidents.

"That... That's a lie!!

Are you trying to tell me the Sonozaki family had nothing to do with any of it?!

How can I believe that?"

"I don't think... Granny would lie...

Especially about Satoshi-kun's disappearance, since she said she knew nothing about it.

Because, Granny approved of the relationship between Satoshi-kun and you, remember?

You ripped your nails off so she would forgive everything."

"No, that's a lie!!

Don't try to fool me!!

Then who made Satoshi-kun disappear?!

Who?!!"

"That...... I don't know.

But it wasn't the Sonozaki family.

It wasn't Granny..."

"You know the curse system, right?

The hag didn't need to give the command for Satoshi-kun to be attacked. All she had to do was look concerned... and then someone else would take care of it.

That was the system!!"

"....................."

Shion couldn't say anything in response.

Even if the hag had forgiven him personally, as long as he was the object of the curse, the executioner would follow him forever.

"Granny told me that

she had tried to find out

who was actually behind this curse of Oyashiro-sama for a long time.

...But she couldn't.

Everyone believed it was someone in the village, but she couldn't find out who it was."

"She couldn't find out?

Then why did the curse take place every year?"

"Isn't it weird?!

But... there wasn't anyone!

There really wasn't!"

"I told you that Rika Furude tried to attack me earlier with a syringe, didn't I?

How do you explain that?

She wasn't just acting out of desperation, like a cornered rat.

She came over to my house and attacked me with a bottle of pepper spray and a syringe.

I bet Tomitake-san was killed with that same stuff."

"......That... I don't know.

I can't believe Rika-chan would do

something like that..."

"I'm the one who saw how she died, and I still can't believe it.

What a completely abnormal way to go."

I don't think Shion and the hag are lying.

That would mean the hag wasn't in as much control as we thought she was, though.

She didn't know anything about that scary drug

or if the Furude family was the one executing the curse.

If the Sonozaki family had nothing to do with it, then who made the series of mysterious deaths possible?

Was it just a coincidence that something happened five years in a row on the night of Watanagashi?

That's impossible.

A human must have made it happen!

And it was all decided somewhere the Sonozaki family wasn't aware of.

The Kimiyoshi family didn't know anything.

Kimiyoshi believed the Sonozaki family was behind it.

Was it the Furude family?

With Rika's behavior, and the elderly people who believed in her so blindly...

Did some kind of power exist around the Furude family that created the curse?

No way.

The Furude couple themselves were victims of it.

How could a little girl like Rika possess a power stronger than that of the Sonozaki family?

No way, it's just impossible.

In other words, I had killed the heads of all the Three Families and was trying to bring an end to the whole thing, all as a result of a misunderstanding about the dark secret of Hinamizawa.

Then what about my revenge?

Did I kill all the wrong people, people who had nothing to do with Satoshi-kun's disappearance at all?

"Ha ha ha, that's good, Shion.

You're still trying to turn the tables on me, huh?"

"Sis, please... believe me...

I'm not... your enemy.

I really am not.

Please... believe me, Sis..."

Shion begged with tears in her eyes.

That would have affected me if I was still Shion's sister...

But I don't feel anything anymore

because I'm a demon.

I'll be done once I kill Shion.

I've already decided that.

If I don't finish it up, what would my existence be for?

What about the life I devoted to revenge for Satoshi-kun?

How dare she tell me all this nonsense to confuse me at the very end...

If what she said was the truth, then what I'd done wasn't revenge.

It was just the curse of the fifth year...

"...Shion.

If you are truly innocent, you can go to Heaven.

Apologize to Satoshi-kun for me..."

"Si-........."

A bluish-white spark lit up the darkness, and Shion disappeared into the well.

"Please apologize to Satoshi-kun in Heaven.

I can't, since I won't be going there..."

Instead, I'm going deep into Hell.

Jumping into this well would be too simple an atonement for what I've done.

Until I find a perfect way to end my life, I'm going to live

as best I can...