The Protagonists Are Murdered by Me - Chapter 207
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The missions Red gave us were not as important as we thought. It was a simple task which anyone could do, like disposing oil waste off, incinerating garbage, turning on all power sources, replacing lights, etc.
[E/N: I miss when Among Us was good. *sigh*]
âPull the lever down and the gate will open. Then you can just throw it out. Itâs something I donât agree on since it will increase the amount of space debris, but in this situation, it canât be helped.â
âWhy do you care about that?â
âIn our homeworld, the space environment is the number one issue. The biggest reason why the negotiations with the fairies of Markan 3rd Green Planet broke down was because our sky was too dirty.â
âWell, itâs because fairies love clean places.â
âWhat bad luck.â
Me and Aracelli laughed as they exchanged jokes. After we completed one mission, we moved to the next destination while looking at the map. But suddenly,
Wiing-!! Wiing-!!
An emergency alarm rang and the lights went out. It didnât hinder me or Aracelli in the slightest since we both had superhuman-level eyesight, but for normal humans, this darkness would render them useless and they wouldnât even be able see what was right in front of them.
âI think the generator has been turned off.â
âIf we go this way, we will find the generator. Red said that the most dangerous situation is when the alarm sounds, so itâs better to be together.â
âLetâs go too.â I spoke. Looking at the map, we quickly ran toward the generator where the alarm sounded, and the three people who had gathered before us turned their heads the moment we arrived. They were Green, Pink and Gray respectively. Then the shipâs lights turn on just in time. Seems like those three had fixed the generator.
âLetâs return to our respective assignment, this one is already fixed.â
âI understand. Thank you for your hard work.â
âWe donât have much time to chat. Letâs go. Iâll go to the captainâs office right away.â Saying that, Gray hurriedly left. If the spacecraft was not repaired quickly, there may be dangers such as trajectory malfunction or engine leak, so there was no time for chatter.
âLet me and Pink go back to the medical room. We need to fix the vital scan device.â
âThen, we are going to go back to Sector 7 and incinerate some garbage.â
âWork hard.â
After exchanging such dry and necessary conversations, we immediately parted and moved to our respective mission sites. Sector 7 was the place where Red and us first met, and it was also the most central area of this spaceship. Originally, the place was crowded with all eight people, but now it was empty. Even though they knew that it was dangerous to scatter, the crew members couldnât help but do so for their survival. Although we were in a position where we would be safe as long as we killed the protagonist, we didnât intend to take the mission assigned to us lightly.
Piip-!! Psshhh-!!
Watching piles of garbage flying into outer space gave me a strange feeling. It was surreal to think that I had just thrown garbage into darkness where thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions or even trillions of stars were twinkling. On top of it, it was mind-boggling to think that the civilization of this world had developed to the level where traveling through those countless stars was as easy as taking an airplane from Seoul to Washington D.C. Perhaps, this world was the most realistic and scientific world I have ever been to.
âProfessor.â Aracelli suddenly called me.
âYeah?â
âWhat kind of person was Reina Ju?â It was such an abrupt question which had absolutely no relation with what we were doing, so my hand stilled in the air for a few seconds.
âWell⊠She was very mature. Not childish at all.â
âIs she older than you, Professor?â
âShe should be. But actually, Iâve never heard about her actual age, so I donât know exactly how old she is. She looked like she was only one or two years older than me, so I guessed that she was around that age.â To be honest, Reina Juâs appearances in my memory had become blurry. I could only recall things I did with her, not her exact face.
âIt seems like she was such a wonderful person because it is not easy to be mature at such a young age.â
âThough, when she became angry, it was very scary.â
It was only once, but there was a time when Reina was really mad at me. It was when I had tried to do something at the risk of my life.
âThis crazy moron!! Are you sane right now!!!â That was the first and last time I ever heard Reina curse. That time I instantly burst into tears because Reina, who was always gentle, got so angry. Then Reina hugged me and cried while muttering, âIâm sorry, Iâm sorryâŠâ.
I cried because I was afraid of Reina, but I still donât know why she cried at the time. And, if I couldnât meet her again even after clearing the Hell Gate, then I would never know why she cried that time, forever.
âIt seems like she cares a lot about you, ProfessorâŠâ
âRight⊠Though, till now, I still feel like her care was burdensome.â
âWhy?â
âItâs because I didnât do anything for Reina. She had only protected me, without me doing anything to pay her back. Always.â
âI see⊠So, sheâs like your parent, huh?â
âRight. Parent. One-sided love for no reason. I felt a parentâs love from Reina even though I have never felt one, since I donât have parents.â
As we carried out our duties while chatting like that, our quota quickly piled up. However suddenly,
Wiing-!! Wiing-!! Wiing-!!
The alarm echoed. However, It was not a system alarm but a different alarm.
â⊠itâs an urgent meeting.â
Someone was calling us all.
* * *
Red had told us that if an emergency meeting was called, it would be held in the captainâs office. So, we hurriedly moved there. And after we arrived,
âTh-this isâŠâ Aracelli covered her mouth and stuttered. In the captainâs room, there was a mutilated body. I donât know if I should even call it a mutilated one, since the only parts of the body which was left was the lower body. The upper body was completely gone.
âG-gray is deadâŠ.â
âOh My God⊠W-who wore gray today? Come on, answer me! Red!â
âI canât disclose that. Or else, the murderer would know our identity.â
âDamn it! Marisa, as long as Marisa isnât deadâŠâ
âBlue you stupid bastard! Donât mention her real name! Marisa is an important person, so she has a high chance of being targeted! If Marisa reacted just now, you would have killed your lover!â
ââŠKeuk.â
Gray is dead. Therefore, there were only seven crew remaining. Even though everyone else was crestfallen and angry, Red as the leader had to keep his cool.
âTell me all of your destinations.â Red spoke in a calm tone. Hearing his words, starting from Pink, each and everyone of us told him our destination. A total of three people passed through the captainâs office. It was Blue, Red, and Green. However, they said that all of them stopped by just for a short amount of time at the beginning and then left. They also did not meet anyone along the way. But Gray met us in the generator room earlier. In other words, it means that he was the last one who went to the captainâs room.
âArenât there other personnel in this spaceship?â
âThereâs none. The shipâs vital signs could even capture microbes. There were obviously only ten people on this ship.â Red said. In other words, the murderer was disguising themselves as an astronaut. Which means, some of these people were lying.
âIâm suspicious of those two. How could they suddenly appear in this spaceship? They must have been hiding while killing our crew until now, and then lied that they crash-landed here because they got discovered!â
âRight! Iâve never heard of an extraterrestrial race that manipulates light! Those guys are the most suspicious!â
âCalm down, Pink, Green. I witnessed with my own eyes that both of them came from Hangar 3, an impossible route for anyone else. What if I kick them out and the murders happen again? Are you guys going to take responsibility then?â
âIs responsibility the problem now? We were all going to die!â
The astronautsâ emotions intensified. Their suspicion towards us was justified, so we had no option but to keep our mouths shut.
âBlue, Red, Green. The three visited the captainâs office. Gray also visitedâŠ. But heâs dead nowâŠâ I already confirmed that Blue and Green went to the captainâs office. But I donât know when Red went there.
âFirst, letâs calm down, and letâs end todayâs mission here.â
More and more, the case fell into a labyrinth, and thus our first day on the spaceship came to an end.
* * *
It was now our second day on the ship. The 7 astronauts who had gathered in Sector 7 got up from their seats helplessly. They were livid since they were haunted with the fear of their comrade dying every night. However, they couldnât be together every time, because they needed to repair the ship. If they didnât do that, they would all end up dying after all.
âEveryone, please once again work hard on todayâs mission.â Just like yesterday, Red gave Aracelli and I a simple task.
âAracelli. Who do you think is the murderer?â I said as we left the captainâs room.
âIâm not sure, Professor. If I could look into the personâs eyes, I can tell what they were thinking. but since they are wearing a helmetâŠâ Aracelli said.
Until now, I still hadnât found anyone suspicious yet. So, I think I had to change our approach. âLetâs set aside todayâs mission a little and change our destination.â
âYes? Why?â
âJust becauseâŠ.â Then, the alarm echoed through the corridor. At the same time our body started to float.
Whiing-!! Whiing-!!
It seems that thereâs a problem with the gravity machine. If it wasnât repaired right away, it would hinder our movement more and more since we had to float now instead of walking. Therefore, it would have been the best decision to repair it right away.
âProfessor. We have to go through North Gate 17 if we want to go to the Gravity Chamber.â
âIs that so? Then, letâs go in the opposite direction.â
âYes.â We moved right away as Aracelli accepted my words without questioning even further.
The gravitational chamber was located on the right side of the ship, so, as we deliberately went in the opposite direction rather than going there, we went to the left side of the shipâthe furthest place from the gravity chamber. The reason for doing this was simple. It was to check whoever was there and not go into the gravity chamber.
âWhy are you guys here?â While moving in the opposite direction, we suddenly ran into Red.
âAh, itâs because we left something behind. How about you Red?â
âIt was because I had an unfinished mission.â
ââŠis that more important than the gravitational chamber?â
âIt is.â
âHmmâŠâ I hummed. I found him suspicious. This place was far away from the gravity chamber, a place which if it wasnât your mission, you wouldnât come here. And since thereâs damage in the gravity chamber, the fact that heâs here was really suspicious. Perhaps, he was intervening in someone elseâs mission or trying to kill someone.
âWell then⊠Excuse me, I have to go to my assigned mission.â Red said so before disappearing. We also went our way without tailing him. My suspicion to Red was only a baseless conjecture with no facts whatsoever currently. Therefore, thereâs no reason to tail him. Rather, if Redâthe leader of the astronautâcalled us suspicious, we would be at the disadvantage.
âI have to pinpoint his weaknesses. Even if someone becomes a victimâŠ.â
Soon, the alarm stopped ringing. It seems like some crew had repaired the damage on the gravity chamber. Aracelli and I also moved to another place to do our mission.
However,
Whiing-!! Whiing-!! Whiing-!!
Someoneâs distress signal suddenly rings. Aracelli and I used our magic and hurriedly ran towards the place where the alarm sounded. The location was the medical room. A place where you can check the crewâs vital signs.
However, the moment we opened the medical roomâs door, our eyes instantly opened wide.
âWhat the hell is this?â
It was because, with the upper body missing, Redâs corpse lay flat on the floor.
âJust howâŠ?â
However, no matter how many questions I asked, the dead wouldnât answer. After all, dead men tell no tales.