Annan could hardly control his expression just now.
Just a little bit...he was about to burst out laughing.
……so similar.
It’s so similar——
The plot of this nightmare is almost like the opening scene of a detective.
If we follow the routine, then the person who committed the murder should be among everyone now...
"——My murderer is among you."
A low voice flowed from the stone statue of an old man sitting in a wheelchair.
As the sound sounded, the surrounding environment changed.
In the originally bright and brilliant hall, low laughter and whispers could be heard faintly from everywhere.
Annan felt that the stone statues surrounding them from all directions seemed to be looking down at them from another world, whispering in voices that they could not hear.
"...Well, cough!"
The next moment, an old man coughed vigorously.
All those whispers disappeared.
At the same time, the quietly burning lights in the entire hall suddenly stretched and stretched. The flames became extremely slender and began to tremble at a high frequency.
The color also changed from warm bright yellow to cold flame with white inside and blue outside.
Those white statues seemed to become gloomy under the reflection of the cold flames.
The atmosphere in the hall changed instantly.
The eight people who were originally in the light happened to be obscured by the shadows around the stone statue after the flames were raised, and their figures were hidden. The ground between them was also divided by the new shadows.
It was as if Master Michelangelo had already anticipated that everyone would stand there when they heard these last words.
The next moment, a somewhat illusory voice of an old man sounded overlapping with the pre-preserved voice in the stone statue:
"From now on, you are all counted as my students. So you can kill the murderer for me. This is an act of revenge promised by the world.
"If one of you succeeds in killing the murderer, then everyone else can get a part of my inheritance... and the person who killed him will inherit the White Tower of Cold Wind.
"But you should also pay attention. I only give you the right to take revenge for killing the murderer. If you accidentally kill someone other than the murderer, there will be no reward or punishment, but you will have to bear the crime of murder yourself.
"
As the old man spoke, his overlapping voice became clearer and louder.
The recordings in the stone statues were synchronized and gradually faded.
Now, it seems as if the old man is sitting there - in a wheelchair, tilting his head and looking at them calmly.
Although he could only hear the sound, Annan seemed to be able to see an old man with calm and distant eyes, looking at him... and at the same time looking behind him.
He suddenly felt like this in his heart.
He believes that other people should feel the same way as he does.
But because the shadows were too thick, he couldn't see other people's expressions at all.
I guess other people can't see my expression either.
But so far, the old man's last words are understandable.
But the words that followed made the eight people a little confused:
"However, I was about to die. The child who killed me was also the successor I was most optimistic about.
"So, I decided to give him a chance.
"If the number of people is reduced by half and the real murderer is still alive...then the murderer will inherit my Howling White Tower."
"In addition, the White Tower of Cold Wind is bound by the curse of the Bone Burial Granny. Everyone in the White Tower is [only allowed to kill one person], no matter how long it has been, as long as they kill the second person, they will be killed by the curse;
This spell is also effective against my murderer.
"My mother-in-law once said that everything dies and everything ends. You don't need to miss me... I have created too many eternal things in my life. But I have never tried to create rituals for gods.
"My curse has entangled the White Tower. You can't escape, and you can't leave... The eight people in this tower will be the first performers of this golden ritual. You will join me in history.
Leave your name."
At the end, the old man's voice became weaker and weaker, and the echo became stronger.
And long before that, the recording in the stone statue had ended.
"You will know the name of the ceremony at the end..."
"My students, use your brains and think about this question. If the future is uncertain, is what has happened inevitable?
"——My students, witness the miracle with me."
Eventually, the overlapping illusory voices of the old man completely dissipated.
The blue flame fell back to its original place again.
Light once again filled the halls of the White Tower.
The shadow recedes.
But the initial atmosphere among the eight people has been changed.
"...This rule is not like restricting murderers."
After a long silence, the first one to speak was still Maria Winter.
Her voice was cold and childish, with some sarcasm hidden in it: "It seems like... rewarding the murderer."
Everyone knew that what she said was right.
This Grand Duke's daughter... always likes to tell the truth that no one else is willing to admit.
Although the murderer was restrained by Michelangelo's curse and could not kill anyone.
But the difficulty of picking out the murderer among the eight people... is completely different from the difficulty of the murderer fishing in troubled waters and surviving until the end of the ceremony.
It would be easy if you could kill people at will.
Everyone immediately starts the battle royale. Kill until only you are left, then naturally the murderer will be killed.
But now as long as half of the people die, the ceremony will end. Then they naturally dare not take action at will. Not to mention that there is a "two kills and you die" curse, which prevents them from even using powerful spells...
——This is simply a confrontation game.
Annan immediately realized the essence of this ceremony.
And it’s an “asymmetric confrontation game”!
But it’s different from what Maria Winter said...
Annan was keenly aware that...in this game, the "murderer" was at a huge disadvantage.
Because of Master Michelangelo's curse, those who have killed cannot kill again.
So in this environment, whoever disagrees with "find the murderer and kill him" is the most suspicious person. "The murderer cannot kill again" is a strong consensus among the eight people, that is, everyone knows
, and know that others also know it.
——This is why the ceremony will be terminated if four people survive.
Because every wrongful killing can at least prove that two people are innocent - the murderer and the murdered.
...Although the person who was killed was speechless.
In other words, if everything goes well, everyone just wants stability. If they are willing to get a quarter of the inheritance, they will stop.
Then when there are five people left, the murderer should be found.
That is to say, two people kill each other.
In the end, the person who is unwilling to take action...or the person who is cursed after killing someone is the murderer.
There is a sure way to win this game.
but……
Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.
The mission he received was to "not fight anyone."
Could he be the one who killed Master Michelangelo?
But this is obviously impossible.
Because Gerald was still alive after this experience ended. And he did not inherit the White Tower...otherwise, it would be impossible for him to remain at the Silver level, let alone be easily killed by Annan in Fort Ross.
So he must not be the murderer.
...then this is strange.
Annan's mission is simply like...
It's like deliberately letting Annan cause trouble in the crowd.
This will definitely attract the attention of others... The further back you go, the more suspicious Annan, who is unwilling to kill, will be.
So, no matter what the reason is.
Annan must prevent this "one-on-one killing" idea from being discovered by others... or implemented.
But he felt that the difficulty should not be too high.
He looked at the other seven people.
"Detective game..."
Annan murmured, with a gentle and friendly smile on his lips.