The possible culprit

I tried to block out the sight of the body on the floor, focusing instead on Ango. Grabbing his arm, I led him quickly to the living room where we had all woken up earlier. When we got there, the room was completely empty.
“What are we doing?” Natan asked, worry etched across his face.
“Escaping,” I replied, my voice full of determination. I took a deep breath, then shouted with all the strength I could muster:
“Everybody in this mansion, gather up in the living room!!!”
My voice echoed through the mansion, loud enough to reach every corner. Slowly, the 14 remaining people trickled in, gathering in the room. Some looked calm, others angry, terrified, or completely shell-shocked. I cleared my throat, trying to steady my nerves before speaking up.
“I might know who the culprit of this game is,” I announced. The room went silent, all eyes turning to me, confusion spreading across their faces.
“You sure?” Keiko asked, her voice still shaky with fear.
“It’s just a theory,” I clarified. “But I need everyone to help me confirm it. Every female here, say: ‘Looks like he’s not the culprit either.’ And every male, say: ‘Let’s move on then.’”
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, but complied. I listened carefully to the voices, my mind racing as I compared them to what I had overheard earlier. One by one, each person spoke, and I paid close attention to every tone and inflection.
After I had checked everyone, I took a deep breath and got their attention again.
“My theory of who the culprits are… it’s those two,” I said, pointing at a guy and a girl standing near the back.
“What makes you think that?” the girl asked, her expression hardening.
“When Ango and I were hiding in the bathroom, we overheard you two. You said those exact lines right after killing someone,” I explained, keeping my voice steady. The girl’s eyes flared with anger. Before anyone could react, she pulled out a gun and aimed it straight at me.
I tried to dodge, but her bullet found its mark, tearing through my right arm. Pain exploded through me, but before she could fire again, seven people rushed forward, beating both her and the guy until they were dead.
Ango ran up to me, his face pale with fear. He quickly tore off his sleeve and tied it tightly around my arm to slow the bleeding. As he finished, a man who had stayed in the back now stepped forward, getting everyone’s attention.
“Everybody, listen up!” he shouted, his voice filled with fury. “We are not the culprits, but if we’re dying, then we’re taking all of you with us!”
In one terrifying motion, he pulled out a grenade from his pocket and yanked the pin out. Panic exploded in the room. We all ran as fast as we could, but then—BOOM!!! The explosion rocked the room, shattering everything around us.
I staggered to my feet, coughing from the dust and debris, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The walls and windows were still intact, but everything else was in ruins. The others… I wasn’t sure how many were still alive.
“Well, well, well, isn’t this interesting?” The voice from the speakers returned, dripping with amusement. “You found the murderers of a few people, but you didn’t find the true culprit yet.”
“What?” I muttered, my voice barely a whisper.
"Mark, are you an idiot?" The voice echoed through the room again, its tone mocking. "The girl said: 'Looks like he’s not the culprit either.' So it means she definitely wasn’t the true culprit of the crime."
The realization hit me hard. I felt like an absolute fool. My body weakened, and I collapsed onto the floor, shame washing over me.
"Anyway," the voice continued, "there are six remaining survivors. Good luck. Also, one hour left before you all sleep again." With that, the voice disappeared.
“This is the worst day ever,” I mumbled to myself, my voice soft and defeated. “We could’ve just confronted them, tied them up or something... Instead, I called them the culprit. What an idiot I am.” I lay flat on the cold floor, the weight of my failure pressing down on me.
Natan approached, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, but it did little to lift the heavy burden of regret. I was too lost in my self-blame, too consumed by the thought that I had steered us wrong. No one else came to console me either—at least, not until Keiko and Naima emerged from the cloud of dust and smoke.
“Hey, you tried. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Naima said, attempting to cheer me up.
“Yeah, Mark, we can still do this. You promised me, remember?” Keiko added, her voice full of quiet reassurance.
Their words were kind, but they barely registered in my mind. I pulled myself up, my legs unsteady, and started walking away.
“Just give me a little time,” I muttered, my voice hollow. “Also, take care of Ango while I’m gone.” Without waiting for a response, I vanished into the darkness of the hallway, leaving the three of them behind.
I found my way to the bathroom, locked the door behind me, and collapsed onto the floor again. The weight of everything was overwhelming, and my thoughts spiraled into a chaotic mess.
How could I have been so stupid? The game was still going on, which meant the real culprit was still among the remaining five people.
I ran through the list of possible suspects in my head. It couldn’t be Ango—he would never hurt Misaki. But then, could it be Keiko? She seemed so innocent, but what if it was all an act? Then there was Naima. In every detective story, the murderer is always present at the crime scene, making sure no one figures it out. Could she be playing that role here?
And then, there were the two people I barely knew—one of the detectives was gone, but I remembered he was covered in blood. What if he was just a murderer, not the actual mastermind? That left one other person, a stranger to me. Could they be the true culprit?
“This is so annoying,” I muttered, frustration boiling over as exhaustion crept in. My eyes grew heavy, and I nearly succumbed to sleep. But then, in a flash, a thought hit me—a realization that snapped me awake.
I sat upright. The culprit hadn’t attacked Misaki’s body or her head. They had kept her corpse intact, almost as if they wanted to preserve her beauty. That was deliberate. And why would the murderer kill her of all people? It wasn’t random. No, they would only kill someone close to her.
The murderer wasn’t Ango. That much I knew for sure. Which meant the real killer was...

To be continued...