Chapter 2: Duel Noir 1, part 4
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Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1
Chapter 2: Duel Noir 1, part 4
"What happens if I lose?"
"You should not worry yourself with what might happen if you lose. However—I would be remiss not to tell you the answer. I could hardly call that fair, after all. That said, it is roughly as you might a.s.sume. First, the condition for your defeat is ending up in the situation where the detective indicts you as the criminal within the 168 hours after opening the envelope. At that moment, you will lose instantly, and you may consider us as having completely broken ties with you. You will be apprehended by the police as a mere criminal, but you will receive no further support from us. And no matter how many times you try to turn us into the police, it will do you no good. Please know this."
"No use for losers, huh?"
"We are people who bring about Catharsis. Our Catharsis is perfect; however, unfortunately, there are those who cannot achieve it. Often, those people were not adequately prepared to accept Catharsis."
"What other penalties are there?"
"You will need to pay us for the cost of the Deck you were using."
"Hahaa, so that"s how it is. But that"d be useless. No matter where you try to extort it out of me, the money just ain"t there."
"In that case, we will have you enroll in various insurance policies in advance. The recipients will be people that we have prepared."
"You"re saying if I fail, I should just die before the police come arrest me?"
"Indeed. Although this only applies in the event that you are unable to repay the fees yourself."
"You already know I"m not gonna be able to."
"We will retrieve the cost you expended by any means necessary." The old man"s expression did not change. "In order to avoid this, you ought to win against the detective."
"Any other big rules that I should know about?"
"This one is of extreme importance... You will not be permitted to kill the detective. You"re free to kill as many other people as you like, in addition to the target, but please be very sure to allow the detective we have selected to live. If the detective dies within the provided 168 hours, it will be counted as your immediate defeat."
"Even if they just die in an accident or something?"
"Indeed. You are also forbidden from causing any significant harm to the detective."
"Harsh."
"A match with no opponent isn"t worth watching at all, don"t you think?"
Guess it"s not gonna fly if I try to b.u.mp off the detective in my way first thing. Apparently this organization is dead-set on having a showdown with a detective.
"I will convey the finer details of the rules to you as soon as your challenge is set in stone." The old man turned to face him again. "A sublime duel to take back one"s life—we call this the Duel Noir. If only you can win against the detective, a new future will open up to you. Now, how does that sound to you?"
The answer to that question was more-or-less decided. But he couldn"t answer right away. What the old man said was so far removed from reality, it sounded preposterous. It was peppered with all these ridiculous words about the Whatever Committee and perfect crimes and whatnot. He was still cautious about maybe being swindled, even. But he couldn"t just laugh it off—not when it had all been prefaced with the promise to "tell him the true culprit".
If the person who put him in such a miserable state was still out there taking it easy, he could never forgive them. They would have to pay with their life.
"If I don"t say I"ll do it, you won"t tell me the truth behind the arson five years ago?"
"Indeed."
It was bait.
It was probably just bait to get him involved in this game. But it was such attractive bait. It was the kind of bait that could mean salvation for someone like him, who had lost everything, who had become empty inside. If he refused it now, he"d probably regret it for the rest of his life. No doubt he would keep blaming himself through the rest of his unfulfilling days, asking himself why he didn"t accept the duel.
Instead... Shouldn"t I fight? It"s better than living like I"m dead.
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"I like that look in your eyes." The old man"s shoulders shook as he laughed, gently. "One thing... I do not know if this will influence your decision, but allow me to share with you some facts from our data. In all of the Duels Noirs that have occurred until now... the detective side has a victory rate of 28%. Just 28%. That means that over 70% of the time, those who use our Techniques to exact revenge are able to successfully carry out a perfect crime."
"Are those the real numbers?"
"When we speak of detectives, we are speaking of all of them, from the best to the worst in the business. There are even those who receive the written challenge and yet don"t realize anything will come of it, sleeping through the entire incident. Well, those are just the most especially fortunate cases..."
I have about a 30% chance of losing? There"s no way, right? I"m going to win this for sure.
"It seems you"ve made your decision. But we will wait on it for the night. Let the moonlight cool your head, and if you have still not lost your drive to duel in the morning, then come here tomorrow at 10 AM. Is that all right with you?"
He nodded at the old man"s question.
"I believe you already understand this, but nothing will come of you going and telling anyone else about this. In the event that you talk to anyone—not just the police, but even one of your acquaintances—we will not appear before you again."
"I understand."
"Then, until we meet again."
This project will be going on hiatus. Chapter 3 will begin Sunday, November 22nd. I apologize for the inconvenience.