Antagonist Protection Service

"―If 「Judas」 wishes to remain anonymous, it matters not what identity 'you think' he would choose to disguise himself by. Do you understand? Whatever 'you think' is merely something to be disregarded, so don't bring it up again."

Chastising the young man "John" a final time like so, the Detective then shot me a glance.

"And you. Whether you are 「Judas」 or not, you do not want to act in a way that will bring such suspicion upon yourself, do you? Won't you be a good boy? And for the love of our supposed 'Lord', do not waste my time by holding a grudge."

I couldn't open my mouth against her. Even though I hadn't done anything, I was all of a sudden being blamed for the brutal murder of these two people, at least by that guy, and as much as they were detestable, the Detective's words were right.

If I did or said anything that was even the slightest bit suspicious, right at that moment I'd become a target for lynching... In a sense, this was similar to that sort of social game everyone had played once or twice before, wasn't it?

"Ha. Not a woof? Well, maybe not everyone here is clueless after all. Then, shall we move on proper?"

Maintaining that sarcastic, unnerving smile, the Detective, standing by the raised altar, faced everyone gathered in the nave.

Facing us, who were assembled in a messy circle, she clapped her hands together.

"Ahem. 『Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image』. Need I enlighten you more?"

Covering her mouth with a dainty hand, hiding an expression that I was sure couldn't be anything other than one of vain mocking, she narrowed her eyes into delighted crescents.

Just like someone who was truly, genuinely enjoying themself.

Of course, as she said, there was no need for clarification regarding her words; simply, it was the same situation as yesterday.

Whoever had broken the Second Commandment and committed that sin―must atone.

And now, when the consequences of refusing to do so had been made abundantly clear.

Surely, not everyone would remain quiet.

Right?

"..."

"..."

"..."

'Right...?'

And yet, not a syllable was uttered.

Not before the Detective would continue with levity.

"Huhhhh~? What's the problem, everyone~? Will no one step forward, will no one say anything, nothing at all, not a mutter, not a whisper, not a whimper, not a sigh or a single utterance~? If you don't atone you'll die, you know~? Oh, well, I would presume that the one who brought us here would know what sin you committed, so there's no hiding it even if you try, right? Kihahahaha! And by the way, crying sorry in a corner will certainly be no good, won't it~? If you don't come out, what will happen, don't you knoww~?! If you want to save your pathetic self's hide then you'll need to make that confession public before everyone's eyes and ears, you knowww~!? Kihahahahahaha...!"

Letting words, ornate and rhythmic, flow freely in this silent house of God, echoes of chilling laughter bouncing off every surface, the Detective's teasing mirth rang clear.

Her visage truly was, in that moment, akin to a witch, or spoken theatrically, the Devil itself.

"..."

Glancing around, I looked twice, thrice at everyone in the hall.

No one stepped forth. No one confessed.

However, that didn't mean no one opened their mouth in response to the Detective.

"I'm afraid there is a flaw with your judgement, Miss Lilliana."

"Ahhh...?"

"Simon", the clergyman's retort put an eventual end to that witch-like girl's dominance over the congregation, to which she only looked at him, evidently amused.

"Such retribution is bestowed only by the Lord, and by no other power. No matter if it is this mysterious 「Judas」 figure or anyone else, it is by no divine will that these people may--"

"Oh dear, do you also happen to be rather lacking up there?"

Abruptly cutting off the clergyman's words, the Detective interrupted him rudely, snorting a laugh as she did so. Then, she put her hands on her waist and tilted her head, the misshapen light from the stained glass windows casting disfigured, tinted shadows on her cynical smile.

And, raising a single eyebrow, she asked with feigned innocence.

"How could the culprit be God if He doesn't exist?"

"...! Blasphemy!"

It wasn't just the clergyman―everyone else also appeared shocked that she would just come out and say it, especially after the events of last night, and I was no different.

This chain of events only made me even more confused.

How could she say something like that so boldly and expect no punishment? Two victims laid directly before our eyes, after all. Even if the one behind the murders was this unknown 「Judas」 as she suspects, did she not think this would make her his next target?

She was the Protagonist, wasn't she? Then, how did she plan on surviving?

Or, perhaps more precisely, what would save her?

If she died, of course it'd be a good thing, but I didn't understand how that could even happen if--

"Aw, isn't that cute~? Bowing at the waist before a mere figment of the imagination, aren't you just adorable! Well, shall we wait until dawn to see the result...?"

The irreverent Detective's voice interrupted my thoughts.

'...I guess I don't need to think too deeply about it.'

There really wasn't anything I could do in this situation with lacking information. The best thing to do, I suppose, was wait, as she said, until tomorrow.

The answer would inevitably reveal itself with time.

'If she dies, good. If she doesn't, I'll find a way to make it happen... I'll have to.'

Doubt had already infiltrated deep into my heart, but there was nothing that could be done about it, at least not until the next day arrived.

In an effort to pass the time, everybody naturally gravitated towards the same groups as yesterday for more placid, unimportant talk. It wasn't particularly important, but the groups were:

Myself and "Thaddeus", the teal-haired girl, alongside "Thomas" and "Matthew", the highschooler duo, forming one group.

Forming another was "John", the man who shoved me against the wall earlier, and "Peter", the mother, as well as "James" and "Andrew", their respective little sister and son.

Lastly, "Simon", the clergyman, as well as the Detective, were each alone, with the former silently praying on one of the empty pews and the latter passively reading the food labels of various items taken from the kitchen. With a blank face, refusing to even acknowledge any of the other souls in the church, she was acting as if her entire performance in the morning was no more than an illusion or a dream. As if it never occurred in the first place.

At some point, I wondered if everyone here had committed a sin that went against the Ten Commandments, and as such conjecture floated around in my mind, my gaze subconsciously wandered.

To the Protagonist. To the teal-haired girl. To the two highschoolers, to the other group with the young man and the mother, and specifically their young family members.

Did those children, too, sin? If so, I wondered just what kind of sin they committed.

I suppose, if they had the face to confess, we would all find out the answer to that eventually. If not... well, we might find out even then, right?

At the same time, the twelve people gathered here―I suppose it was ten now, but the original twelve―Wasn't it really the same number as the number of apostles in the bible?

The inscription also had a line that mentioned "the Congregation of Apostles". Of course, this had already been pointed out as evident, but with the spare time on my hands, I at some point delved a bit deeper than just that surface level fact.

And it didn't take me long to realise something that, in hindsight, should have been obvious.

The inscription references twelve apostles, and there were indeed twelve people here.

However, I wasn't supposed to be here.

I wasn't someone naturally existing in this Illusory World, so even though the inscription mentions twelve, the real number of people that should be here was eleven.

'That's weird... though, I guess that's because the final, missing apostle is 「Judas」, right?'

Eleven days for eleven apostles made more sense than twelve, but that was only a lesser reason; in the original, there must have been a spot left open by the mastermind for this final 「Judas」. That was the only conclusion I could come to. Either way, I didn't suppose it mattered much, so I left it at that.

The rest of the day passed without incident, and before long, night again arrived.

No disturbances or altercations were caused and, although the young man "John" was still evidently sceptical of me, I didn't think I did anything to warrant such a severe level of mistrust.

Not only did I make sure of it, there were plenty of others who also had me in their sights for the remainder of the day, so something would have absolutely been brought up.

Perhaps, by the time it came for us all to head for bed, he was simply too tired to care; in the end, we were each able to rest in the same room without too much worry.

It was, indeed, the very same room in which two people had passed away the previous night.

It also wasn't like we had much choice, however.

'What a fucked up place... Maybe the Beast Tamer was the right Contract to take after all...'

As I got into bed, closing my eyes and preparing myself for the dreamscape to take me into slumber, I frowned as a sudden urge to use the bathroom struck me.

Thankfully, all the facilities were adjacent to each other, so I only needed to go into the next room. Everyone else was already fast asleep, so I made sure not to make any noise.

I exited the bed and, ensuring the door to our North Transept was properly locked, headed to the bathroom.

Not two minutes later, I returned to the stench of blood.