——Michelangelo, he wasn’t dead at all!
Upon hearing this news, only Captain Karl jolted, looking over in disbelief.
The others all appeared suddenly enlightened.
"I won’t ask when you guessed it."
Giralda... or rather, Michelangelo, wasn’t panicked at all.
He just smiled, his face brimming with interest as he looked at Annan, "But when did you become certain it was me? I believe that so far, I have not exposed my purpose."
——It was a good question.
Annan took a deep breath.
He glanced at Benjamin and slowly said, "The first time I suspected you was when you proposed an alliance of four.
"Indeed, an alliance of four is a surefire strategy. It can ensure the victor is certainly among our allies. But the problem is... why, after only one death, did you become so timid, wanting to give up the struggle and seek only survival?"
"This place is like home field to you. Just as we don’t recognize the rooms or the paths—that’s not only do you know which ways are passable, but even which statues represent which of us. You know this place like the back of your hand, there’s no need to adopt such a defensive stance when there are still seven of us..."
"If you truly wished to form an alliance, the smartest approach would be to ally with every pair of two after one person dies.
"That is to say, forming three teams, each with three members... But because you are alone, no matter when a conflict erupts, you can always outnumber and overcome."
Annan said calmly, "You couldn’t have failed to think of this method. Because the Prophet spell allows you to obtain answers from your future self—that is what you told us."
"So, why didn’t you do it? Because there was something you had to conceal..."
"You just mentioned that this Twin Tower is ’centered around the hall, extending symmetrically to both sides’ and ’what exists on the left, also exists on the right,’ valuing symmetry.
"Much like the connections between the eight of us."
As Annan spoke, he exchanged a glance with Benjamin.
The others understood as well.
"Captain Karl and Mr. Gold knew each other," Maria started slowly, "and I knew Merlin... while Lord Gerald was acquainted with Master Benjamin."
There was one exception.
That was Giralda and Eugene Melvin.
Annan initially didn’t notice this because, after Melvin’s death, Giralda immediately pulled Annan out of the room.
This gave Annan an illusion: perhaps "Gerald" and "Giralda" were the pair.
And Benjamin was the one who had left to become Melvin’s partner.
Why conceal this fact?
"Because Melvin knew Master Michelangelo all too well."
He gazed at Michelangelo, speaking slowly, "He even knew that Master Michelangelo could leave the Wizard’s Tower for a short time, an exception.
"And yet, this wasn’t raised by Master Michelangelo’s disciple? Even after receiving the will five months ago, he didn’t harbor any suspicion? Moreover, five months after sending out the will, knowing he was going to die, Master Michelangelo would leave the tower of his own accord?
"If the master was originally meant to die outside the tower, then why did he mention in the will that ’this Curse Binding is also effective against my murderer’? Was this intentionally misleading us?"
"Moreover, Melvin claimed, ’We might be in a nightmare.’ Was he attempting to hasten this murderous ritual... which means, from the very start, he was in league with Master Michelangelo."
Annan asserted, "And you immediately came over to drag me away. It was to separate Benjamin and me. Others, unfamiliar with us, even realizing the ’symmetry issue’ with the teams, would think that you and I were the allies... After all, to outsiders, Benjamin and I appear as complete strangers."
The key evidence that confirmed Annan’s certainty about who Michelangelo was,
Was precisely the urgent cry for help Benjamin had made to Annan, asking him to take control of Captain Karl.
Annan then came to understand.
Benjamin and Gerald...
——They never were from the start.
That’s why, during the time in the tea room, when Benjamin heard Melvin recount the disgraceful past of "Gerald," his expression was so odd. There was no hint of anger or hatred, just a wry smile as he organized his thoughts.
"And another piece of evidence is the ’serpent’ statue,"
uttered Annan, as he glanced back at the group of statues behind him.
He softly continued, "You yourself have said... ’To change the prophecy obtained from perception, one must introduce a great many variables.’
——Human hearts are variables."
Everyone’s gaze followed his.
Before them, at the very center of all the statues, was the serpent, head raised high into the sky.
"The serpent signifies ’rebirth,’"
Unexpectedly, it was Michelangelo himself who offered the explanation.
He took a step forward.
His entire being rippled like water, emerging from Giralda. The transparent, gleaming gold soul floated steadily in the air.
The original "Giralda" instantaneously turned into an exquisite statue.
Michelangelo looked back at the serpent, his expression complex.
It was as if he were staring intently at something he loved, yet also reminiscing something he had lost.
"But there’s something I still don’t quite understand," Annan suddenly spoke up amidst everyone’s fixed attention, softly inquiring, "Your original plan must have been to kill Melvin first, then form a group of four and instigate discord among the remaining three. After that, you would wait for the second and third victims to emerge.
"Then you would strike a second time, killing the last person outside the group of four... since we had signed a contract, we simply couldn’t stop each other.
"Thus reducing our number to half, the killer undoubtedly would still be alive——because by then, the killer hadn’t even made an appearance yet.
"Later, you would kill the second person and trigger the Curse Binding, then die from the backlash; thus, the murderer of Master Michelangelo would become yourself. That way, you would have met both conditions for victory——the killer lives until there are only four left while you also killed the killer.
"In doing so, you would’ve completed a ’feigned death’ ritual... much like the serpent shedding its skin. That’s what I initially thought."
Annan looked at Michelangelo and slowly continued, "But I rejected this idea for a while.
"Because if we truly needed an act such as ’it was I who killed myself,’ then you could’ve just casually killed two people at the beginning and concluded this ritual. Because you would have died from the backlash and you yourself would have killed the murderer... "
"——That wouldn’t work, as it would satisfy only one condition,"
Michelangelo turned back with a gentle smile, "Because there’s something you all don’t know.
"Frigid Wight Tower... is truly one of the dual towers. To the left and right of the hall, everything is identical. The reason is...
——There are two Wizard’s Towers."
If one were to only obtain one tower, they couldn’t be called the Tower Master.
"What I’m pursuing is not merely to extend my own life,"
Michelangelo sighed, "What I desire... is to ’die once and resurrect twice.’
"If the ritual succeeds, then dying at my own hands and resurrecting at my own hands, I shall henceforth live in the rift between life and death... only then can I achieve the ’Truth.’
"In this world, the amount of Fragments of Truth has been fixed. Without obtaining the Fragments of Truth, no matter how long one lives or how great their talent, they can at best attain the rank of Gold. One can only be imprisoned by this thick fog within these islands, living out their days in the gaps of the barrier.
"What I seek is more than that. This isn’t just some feigned death ritual, but a ceremony to become a god that attempts to skip over the ’Truth’ level. It is the delirium of myself, who has reached the human limit, trying to break free from the shackles of this world...
"——Yes. I wish to become a new god."