“Byakuya, you-” stuttered Makoto, shocked by his speech. Byakuya continued.

“I am Byakuya Togami, heir to the Togami corporation! My strategic and tactical guidance will lead you all to victory in this war. So are you willing to listen to my words or are you going to follow Makoto’s cowardly optimistic delusions?“ 

Silence consumed the room for a while. Until Toko jumped in place and rushed to Byakuya’s side.

“Ahh, that was an amazing, outstanding speech by my shining white knight!”

Toko attempted to hug Byakuya but Byakuya quickly put his hand on Toko’s face and pushed her away. 

“If you’re willing to cooperate, that’s commendable. But no hugs.” said Byakuya as quickly as possible.  

“My, Byakuya, you truly are reliable. But even you need counseling from the ultimate gambler.  It will be my pleasure to work with you.” said Celeste as she walked up and arrived next to him. 

“While I admit that you will be a useful asset in our team, don’t forget, I’m calling the shots here.”

“Understood.” said Celestia with a doll-like smile.

“Ahh, shit, don’t forget about me man. I know the murder I committed got found out easily. But I promise, I-I’ll be useful” said Leon. 

“It’s fine. Every chess piece has its use. And you’ve proven your physical skills to be competent.” said Byakuya.

“Thanks for the compliment dude.” said Leon but when his eyes met Sayaka’s stare he quickly started mumbling.

”I mean, I’m not happy about murdering you Sayaka, I just, you were so scary and-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” griped Sayaka. 

“Yeah, right. I’m sorry.” said Leon and arrived next to Byakuya.

“You guys! Are you seriously considering murdering other people? Don’t you regret doing the things you did? We can’t repeat the past.” yelled Makoto. 

The other students only looked at the floor. Byakuya snickered and spoke in a cold manner.

“Can’t you see his manipulative nature? During the killing game he has learned to bark big. All because he was mentored by Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective. He had an unfair advantage in solving the murder mysteries. He did not soak his hands in blood and work hard like you did. And now he is priding himself in being pure. A delusionist who thinks he can solve everything just by talking.” 

“We killed one another in the past because we didn’t talk. I believe in everyone’s will to not fall to despair. We just need to ignite that flame of hope in others' hearts with words. If we start killing other people, we’ll just be falling into Monokuma’s hands.” declared Makoto with fire in his eyes. 

Yasuhiro ran towards them but he wasn’t going towards Makoto, instead towards Byakuya’s group.

“Y-Yasuhiro?!” yelled Makoto. 

“Sorry man. But Byakuya is right. If words alone were able to fix this situation, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.” said Yasuhiro. 

Hifumi grabbed his head in terror and mumbled “Ohh, this is so difficult. I don’t want to kill again but-”

“You have killed before, Hifumi. And you weren’t wrong in doing that. It is a dog eat dog world. And dogs kill to live.” said Byakuya calmly. 

“You fool! I didn’t kill for selfish reasons. I truly believed that Miss Ludenberg had been mocked and threatened by that hallway guard.”

“H-hold on, are you talking about me?” yelled Kiyotaka. 

“But amidst our teamwork Miss Lundenberg betrayed me!” 

“I-I am so terribly sorry” said Celestia. 

“A-are you?” cried Hifumi.

“Hifumi, you don’t understand. Monokuma lied to me. I had asked Monokuma what would happen if someone were to kill another person but did not wish to get out of this school. Monokuma said that a trial will not happen. But he was a rotten liar. I asked the same question again from Monokuma after you killed Kiyotaka. But he said that a trial will happen as usual. I clearly knew you did not intend to kill everyone including me to escape. And I also knew that was the end of the line for you.

And I…I felt so strongly and protective of you…your heroism, your willingness to do whatever it takes to protect my honor. And you’re too pure hearted to lie and win the trial, that will be uncharacteristically selfish for you. I did not want you to be mocked by the others during the trial and executed by Monokuma. There was no way to save your life. So I decided, if I were going to lose you, I would at least take your life by my hands. I am…so sorry.”

“M-Miss Ludenberg sama! I-I did not know. I did not know you were such a refined lady!!! I’m sorry I have doubted you!” yelled Hifumi. His voice boomed across the dining hall. 

“You seriously believe her?” raged Aoi with disappointment.

“You are being manipulated. Celeste is not someone to be taken this lightly. She has admitted to have murdered you for the sole purpose of gaining wealth and accomplishing her selfish desires.”  said Sakura elegantly.   

“Yes, it is true that I said that.” said Celestia somberly.

“R-Really?” gasped Hifumi. 

“But that was a lie. I lied to everyone during the trial. I did not want them to feel the guilt of taking the life of an innocent paranoid woman. I lied to them about wanting that money, wanting to have a castle, and living like a noble. I know how much people hate the rich and the people who have desires to be rich. I simply wanted to play the villain so they would erase any guilt from their conscience to move forward.” said Celeste dramatically.  

“C-Celestia Lunderberg sama. That is…so sad” mumbled Hifumi. 

“You idiot! Celeste is making a fool out of you, snap out of it.” yelled Aoi.