Chapter 241: Board [4]

—The walkie-talkies are working again!

—It works for me too!

Hearing the voices coming from the walkie-talkies, I didn’t speak.

Something about the situation felt off. This felt like too much of a coincidence.

—...It appears that the suspect is either Joanna or Min.

A voice suddenly spoke through the walkie-talkie. I recognized the voice.

It was Niel’s voice.

The moment after he spoke, the walkie-talkie fell silent. Nobody said a word.

And this alone felt surprising.

’Joanna and Min are not saying anything?’

That was unless..

—The walkie-talkies for the two aren’t working.

Sarah’s voice whispered into the walkie-talkies.

I took a deep breath.

’This makes things quite a bit more difficult.’

I took this chance to speak.

"...There’s no guarantee that they are the culprit. The possessed can lie. This could be a chance to pin the entire situation on either one of the two."

—That is true, but won’t it be easy to tell who is lying if we just have two more people ask the same question?

About that...

I didn’t really know how to answer this.

Realistically speaking, this was the correct route. If two more people asked the same question, we’d all be able to pinpoint the possessed since one of the two was lying. But at the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the ’possessed’ had the ability to lie more than once.

—Should we proceed like this?

Hearing Niel’s words, I still remained uncertain.

All logic said that I was being paranoid; however, my guts were telling me otherwise.

’Even if I’m wrong, it’s never wrong to be cautious. The only issue is whether they’ll choose to trust me.’

No, it didn’t even matter if they didn’t trust me.

I was the Squad Leader.

What I said went.

Picking up the walkie-talkie, I shook my head.

"No, not yet."

—What? But-

"There’s a good chance that this might be a trick. I need more time to analyze the situation."

—What?! But it’s already obvious that one of them has lied. Since it can only lie once, if we-

"But what if it can lie twice?"

The line fell silent after my words.

The silence persisted for several seconds until Mia’s voice echoed.

—Lie... twice? But this has never happened before? Why would...

"This is always something that you need to take into account. We all know that not all gates are the same upon entering. There will be subtle changes that make them a little bit more difficult to clear. In that sense, we need to take into account the possibility that the possessed can lie more than once."

I thought that this was a good explanation.

At the very least, I thought I’d be able to buy myself some time with it.

However...

—That’s ridiculous.

Niel didn’t seem to be on the same page as me.

—I’ve read through all of the backlogs of this gate. There have been over a couple of thousand excursions, and within each excursion, there’s never been a time when the possessed could lie.

With a certain pause, I felt the tone in Niel’s voice change.

—Squad Leader... Do you perhaps have another motive in mind? Or are you the possessed one?

The line paused after that.

Despite being so far apart, I could feel the coldness in his voice. Although the others remained silent, I could also feel that they felt the same way.

I stared at the walkie-talkie in my hand without much of an expression.

’What a troublesome situation.’

At the rate things were progressing, I could see the team ignoring my orders. I couldn’t remain stubborn. Even if I did choose to go the path of the tyrant, they’d most likely ignore me.

’What do I do...?’

I tapped the back of the walkie-talkie a couple of times before eventually relenting.

"Alright. Do as you please."

Although I didn’t want to do this, I knew that my assumptions were groundless. There was a good chance that I was being paranoid and that the possessed really couldn’t lie.

If it ended up being that I was right, it still wouldn’t be too late.

—...We’re proc-

Khhh!

A static sound came out from the walkie-talkie in the midst of Niel’s words.

The shadows danced as the flame of the candle flickered, and I turned my attention towards the board once more.

I pressed my hand over the plachette and waited.

Then—

’Is... the possessed a girl?’

Mia’s voice whispered in the air. Her voice was soft, but the moment it sounded, it almost felt as though a cold wind had blown past my ear.

I then felt a cold touch over my hand as the plachette started moving once again.

It continued to move until it came to a stop.

[Yes]

I silently groaned at the sight.

’Yes...’

In that case, the ’possessed’ was Joanna.

She was the only one who said no, and since the possessed could only lie once, she was the most obvious candidate.

But was that really the case...?

’No, this is far too obvious.’

Khh!

The walkie-talkies worked again.

—It looks like we have our candidate. Let’s vote for Joanna.

Niel’s voice echoed from the walkie-talkie.

—I’m in favor.

—Yes.

There was a pause after that.

’So Mia is not responding.’

Then...

—Squad Leader? What is your decision?

"This is too easy."

I replied.

"...I will vote if you wish me to vote, but this is far too easy. Do you really think the possessed will lie like this?"

—The records show that it has happened a couple of times. This is also a low-ranked gate. You’re thinking too much. I’m casting my vote.

—...Same.

—Me too.

The others all cast their votes, and I secretly shook my head.

’I hope they’re right.’

I really did.

"Alright then."

I decided to vote for Joanna as well.

Reluctantly, I reached forward and placed my hand on the planchette. The board was cold beneath my fingers. I began to guide the pointer, each letter scraping against the wooden surface.

All I had to do was spell her name on the board to eliminate her.

All of us had to vote at the same time in order to cast someone out. However, if someone did manage to catch a glimpse of the possessed, they had the ability to vote them out directly without the need of the others.

But this was only applicable if they actually ’saw’ the possessed, and the possessed ’saw’ them.

J... O... A... N... N... A.

With every push, it felt as though something pushed back. Not violently, but it seemed to resist. Whispers trickled in at the edge of my mind as I pushed the planchette. I clenched my jaw and blocked them out, forcing the planchette to complete the name.

As the last letter clicked into place, the air snapped.

Everything stilled. The temperature dropped sharply, like the room had been plunged into an ice bath. The candle’s flame danced wildly, casting distorted shadows that leapt across the walls and ceiling.

Then—

Rattle! Rattle!

The table shook violently beneath my hands. The board rattled as if it might fling itself into the air. I instinctively grabbed the candle, holding it steady, letting the planchette clatter free.

Clank!

The door behind me burst open with a deafening slam, banging against the wall before slamming shut again with unnatural force. The shadows around the room warped and twisted, stretching like they were being pulled by invisible strings.

The air grew thick.

Thick enough where it felt suffocating.

I stayed still. Eyes wide. Muscles tense.

And then—

Silence.

Everything stopped. The tremors. The voices. Even the pressure in the air seemed to pause.

Only the candle flickered, its once-bright flame now dimmed considerably. It had burned halfway down, wax pooling beneath it like melted time.

I stared at the board, waiting, the silence pressing in from all sides.

And then it moved.

The planchette began to slide, a low scraping sound echoing within the silence.

It glided across the board as though guided by an invisible hand.

Each inch felt like a minute. The weight in the room thickened, clinging to my skin like oil.

And finally...

The planchette stopped.

"No..."

The word escaped before I could stop it.

The cold worsened, slicing into me like needles.

The atmosphere shifted, and my expression tightened.

I was right.

I had been right all along.

The possessed.

It could lie more than once.

If there had been any lingering doubts before, this was no longer the case.

This gate had evolved.