Chapter Text
“What do you mean we’ve been locked out of Garret Mach?”
It wasn’t often that Byleth spoke but when he did it was with force and vigor. His navy blue hair waving in the wind as he glared at Seteth.
“It’s simply the truth!” The Wyvern Rider all but snarled “I know that you are worried about your students but you must consider how the rest of us feel as well. Flayn is locked inside there, along with members of all three houses.”
“If this was a political move it was well timed.” Rhea nodded “Even my powers as the Immaculate One cannot get me past that barrier.”
“And if Rhea can’t do it I doubt any of us stand a chance.” Catherine sighed.
“Quiet” Shamir ordered “Something’s happening with the barrier.”
“Ah-Ahem is this thing on?” The voice was jovial yet sickening as if a thousand children sang with sore throats. “Welcome everyone to the fourth season of Danganronpa!”
“Danganronpa?” Sothis questioned “I’m not familiar with that term.”
“Danganronpa…” Jeralt mused “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“The fourth season huh? Must be pretty popular.” Shamir figured.
“I’m your lovely host Monokuma!” The stuffed bear appeared on screen and did an overly dramatic bow. “Now that you’ve all been informed it’s time for the main event to begin. A 25 student large killing game!”
“K-killing game?!” Seteth stuttered “But Flayn’s trapped in there!”
“And so are my students…” Byleth growled.
“As per usual we’ve taken a group of good friends and classmates and wiped their memories clean! To participate in a killing game meant to spread despair worldwide!”
“Despair worldwide?” Hanneman mused “Does that mean that this is being shown all across Fodlan?”
“I’m more concerned about wiping their memories… is such a thing truly possible?”
‘Yes’ Rhea thought idly.
“It’s like this psycho wants to start a war.” Jeralt snarled.
“Oh! Now Blade Breaker while war is quite despairful it’s a bit too cliche for my tastes.” Everyone was shocked as the bear responded to Jeralt “Hopefully you’ll all get to feel true despair in the very… very near future!”
Prologue
Revelations
I awoke in darkness. Nothingness as far as I could see I slowly got up from the ground and took a look around. It looked like she was still in her room but… no it was different. One quick look out the window told her she was at ground level. “Huh? Where am I?”
The girl rubbed her head in confusion and took another look around the room. It was certainly specified to her tastes things she made and the plants she tended to care for. “Wh-where am I? What am I doing here?” Silence was my only answer. And I was determined not to move, at least for now the room seemed safe.
*Knock-knock*
“Aaaaahhh!” The girl fell on the floor as someone started to bang on the door to her room.
“Excuse me!” The voice on the other side was incredibly sweet and patient. A stark contrast to the voice that normally knocked on her door “Is anyone else in there?”
Stealing up all of her courage the girl went and opened the door a crack.
(Most who knew her would find this action strange but she didn’t think anything of it.)
On the other side was a beautiful girl with flowing brown hair and a black hat. “Oh hello there, I’ll be honest I was expecting anyone to answer. I’ve just been checking all the dorms as I went.”
“All the dorms? Wait… who are you and… where am I?”
“Well as for the where I’m not quite sure.” The brown haired girl took off her hat and placed it on her chest “Last thing I remember was falling asleep at home and then all of a sudden I ended up here. As for who…” she gave a grin and plopped the hat back on her head “My name is Dorothea Arnault the Ultimate Songstress.”
“O-oh I’ve heard of you! You ran an opera company back in Enbarr right? Rumor has it that you took center stage and rose in popularity so quickly that the company had no choice but to forgo ownership lest you leave and run them out of business.”
Dorothea laughed “I see my reputation precedes me. What about you? Could I get your name?”
“Oh um…” the girl looked away embarrassed “My name is Bernadetta Varley I’m the uh… Ultimate Shut In… b-but you can call me Bernie if you want.”
“Ultimate Shut In?” Dorothea questioned “What on earth did you do to get a title like that?”
“Um… I don’t remember…” Bernie admitted “I know that I spent a lot of time in my room taking care of plants, and making stuffed toys, and embroidering but… I can’t really remember why I was always up there…”
“Well that’s certainly strange!” Dorothea said shocked “I remember everything about myself so vividly! Well up to being brought here I suppose.”
“I-Is it just us here?” Bernie asked nervously.
“I highly doubt it now that I found you here. I woke up just upstairs and checked every dorm until I got to this one. But due to the size of this place I highly doubt there aren’t at least a few others.”
“W-Well in that case…” Bernie steeled her nerves and left the room “We should go and try to find everyone else right?”
Dorothea smiles “Yes that sounds like a good idea.”
Dorothea Friendship Fragment ⅙
The duo walked down the dorm rooms and to their surprise immediately ran into somebody else. “Oh hello there.” This time they ran into a silver haired boy looking at a building with a white tarp strewn over it.
Dorothea raised an eyebrow “That’s a weird building.”
“It sure is.” The boy sighed “I was hoping to get a look inside but I couldn’t find an entrance anywhere.”
“Why would you need an entrance?” Bernie asked
“Oh I should introduce myself. My name is Ashe Ubert, I’ve put those days behind me but I was once known as the Ultimate Thief”
“Ultimate Thief?!”
He laughed sheepishly “Yeah I stole all sorts of stuff, from all sorts of people, nobles in Leister, merchants of Embarr, once even the very King of Faerghus.”
“That’s… really impressive.” Bernadetta said shocked “But Wait… if you were given an Ultimate title you had to of been caught right?”
“That’s right Lord Lonato caught me in the act but ended up pitying me and allowed me to stay with him.” Ashe explained. He then frowned deep in thought “But then of course I woke up here with no memory of how I arrived. I hope that everyone back home is okay…”
“I think we all hope the same…” Dorothea whispered.
For some reason Bernie did not have the same sentiment.
Ashe Friendship Fragment ⅙
Greenhouse
The Greenhouse was every bit as wonderful as Bernadetta had hoped it would be. With all different types of flowers on display (even carnivorous ones!) It also contained two other people. The first being a man in a blue uniform and blond hair and the second a darker skinned individual with white hair in a small ponytail.
“...”
“Hello there!” Dorothea happily greeted
The blond man jumped at the sudden voice while the other ignored it in favor of caring for the flowers. “Ah hello there! I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone else here.”
“Neither was I!” Bernie responded “But so far y-your the fourth and fifth person we’ve found. A-and we haven’t been looking for long… I’m Bernadetta… b-by the way…”
“My name is Dimitri Blaiddyd.” Dimitri said with a bow “I am known as the Ultimate Prince but personally I don’t think I’m all too deserving of the title.”
“Oh my! The Prince Dimitri?! I cannot even begin to believe how they captured you from the castle.”
“It is most peculiar isn’t it.” The Duscirian man said as he stood to stand next to his liege “That out of all the people in the castle they chose only to take the Ultimate Prince and the Ultimate Servent.”
“So your both Ultimates?” Bernie asked “Does that mean everyone here is?”
“Most likely… my name is Dedue Molinaro, if it wasn’t clear the man I serve is Prince Dimitri.”
“A songstress, a shut-in, a prince, a thief, and a servant, what an interesting group of people that have gathered together…”
“And not by choice either…” Dimitri all but growled “I hope we can get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later.”
Dimitri Friendship Fragment ⅙
Dedue Friendship Fragment ⅙
Fishing Pond
Bernie and Dorothea has gone their separate ways after meeting Dimitri and Dedue, the Songstress wanting to explore the second floor of the dorms.
“Whoa!” Bernie looked off at the wide open pond “All of this space is just for fishing?!”
“It’s wonderful isn’t it?” A green haired girl approached with a fishing rod in her hand. “I had found a rod in that old shack and was hoping to do a spot of fishing myself.”
“Huh? Fishing? Now? Aren’t you more concerned with how we got here.”
“Oh yes of course!” The girl exclaimed “But that’s what you all are for correct? You all can explore while I fish!”
‘Well I guess that’s one way to look at things…’
“Oh how rude of me!” The girl realized “I haven’t introduced myself! My name is Flayn though sadly I can’t seem to remember my Ultimate talent at the moment.”
“You can’t remember your talent?!” Bernie said shocked.
“It’s the truth… I can clearly remember having one, but as for what the talent itself entails I’m afraid I have no clue.” Flayn sulked “But that’s when I thought a bit of fishing might help to jog my memory!”
“That’s so weird…” Bernie mused “Because I can remember my talent but not how I got it…”
It was Flayn’s turn to be surprised “Do you think that maybe our missing memories are connected?”
“Could be…” Though forced memory loss wasn’t the kind of thing Bernie wanted to consider.
“Well that won’t do.” Flayn huffed “I’m going to get to fishing so I can remember enough for the both of us.”
“I- uh don’t think that’s how it works…” Bernie weakly countered. But at that point Flayn has already left for the pier.
Flayn Friendship Fragment ⅙
Dining Hall
When Bernie entered the Dining hall she was not expecting there to be such a commotion. “Agh! What is this?! Such a big building and not a single chef!” A big burly blond haired man was panicking near what seemed to be some sort of kitchen.
“It’ll be fine Rapheal…” a kid with glasses and a bowl cut tried to calm him down… “I’m sure someone will come here eventually.”
“Yes! You must be having patience” The third person was a girl with magenta hair tied into a long ponytail and an eye tattoo.
“U-um hello?”
“Oh greetings! I was unaware anyone else was here!” The girl said excitedly “My name is Petra Macneary, Princess of Brigid. I am also being called the Ultimate Foreigner!”
“Ultimate Foreigner?” Bernie took another look at Petra and realized that she clearly wasn’t from Fodlan. The features were a bit different and the hairstyle was very exotic. All of that considered her understanding of the language was impressive.
“Yes! As the Princess of Brigid I have come to Fodlan to strengthen our relations… however things have not been going well.”
“Why not? You seem likable enough…” Bernie asked.
“And it is giving me great gratitude ah! And I feel a great amount of gratitude for that but it seems that some are unable to let go of the past.” Petra said dourly “Oh! But everyone I’ve met so far has ha- been very kind!”
“I thank you for saying that Petra.” The kid with a bowl cut and his burly friend turned around with a look of pure joy on the burly man’s face. “I’m sorry for not introducing myself sooner but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. My name is Ignatz Victor the Ultimate Artist.”
“And I’m Rapheal Kirsten the Ultimate Consumer.”
“Consumer? What’s that mean?”
“Oh it means I can eat a whole lot, real fast.” Rapheal laughed “Back at my home village I was the undefeated champ at any sort of eating contest we could come up with. Be it a festival, fair, carnival, whatever!”
‘Aren’t those all the same thing though…’ Bernie thought.
“I also had surprise!” Petra said “With a build like his I would expect the Ultimate Lifter.”
“Haha! Well I have to keep in shape no point in all that eating if I’m just gonna get fat.” Rapheal explained “But my talent is nothing compared to Ignatz here! You should see some of the things he’s drawn!”
“Rapheal I-“ Ignatz had a heavy blush “It’s not that good I promise you… the talent committee probably chose me on accident.”
“Aww come on Ignatz! Just go and show them!”
“I am very curious as well Ignatz.” Petra joined in “I would be liking to see something from the Ultimate Artist.”
“Fine…” Ignatz relented and handed his sketchbook over to Bernie “Just don’t expect too much alright…”
Bernie opened the sketchbook and gasped at it’s contents. Inside was a beautiful sketch of a woman clad in robes reaching out to the sun. It looked both fantastical and realistic at the same time. “Th-this is incredible!”
“Yes you are having much skill! Er… that is to say you have a lot of skill.”
“Oh your just saying that…”
“No way! You're super talented!” Rapheal encouraged.
Bernie smiled “Well it’s good to see that at least some of us aren’t complete strangers.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ignatz asked.
“It just seems that you and Rapheal were already acquainted.” Petra explained.
“Oh really?” Rapheal laughed “Nah me and Ignatz here actually only met today.”
(For everyone outside that was the first big red flag)
PetraFriendship Fragment ⅙
Ignatz Friendship Fragment ⅙
Rapheal Friendship Fragment ⅙
Entrance Hall
The rest of the inhabitants of this place were quickly proving that the quiet bunch that Bernie met earlier was the exception and not the norm. Because just like the Dining Hall she could hear people talking quite loudly.
“This is just… ridiculous!” Bernie could see an orange haired man complain to his purple haired companion. What was so strange was as annoyed as both parties were they were at the same time properly drinking tea.
“The resources that must be necessary to pull a stunt like this off is simply too large to have been amassed naturally.”
“And the fact that we’re both Ultimates is a bit strange as well…” the orange haired boy agreed.
“Um… sorry for interrupting but…” Bernie said quietly
“Ah!” Both men jumped up out of their seats “My apologizes we should have greeted you sooner.”
“Yes a beauty such as yourself should only receive the most humble of hospitalities.” The purple haired man bowed “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lorenz Glouster the Ultimate Poet.”
“Oh a poet? I’ve written a bit of poetry in my spare time actually…”
“Then I simply must take a look at it!” Lorenz said enthusiastically “For in a cold hallowed hall, I may have dropped the ball, For there is still light, At the end of it all.” He brought a hand to his mouth and chuckled a bit “Please take that as a sample of what I’m capable of. Now Ferdinand I believe this is when you introduce yourself is it not?”
“I’m not an invalid Lorenz.” Ferdinand sighed “Well as you just heard my name is Ferdinand Aegir I am what’s known as the Ultimate Brewer for my tea is known all across Fodlan. Now how about yourself? May you grace us with an introduction?”
“I’m Bernadetta Varley the Ultimate Shut in but please call me Bernie.”
“Ultimate Shut In?” Ferdinand inquired.
“Oh it just means that I prefer to be locked up in my own room…” Bernie frowned “Honestly aside from that I don’t remember all that much about how I got the title.”
“So I suppose we should add memory loss to this growing list of Mysteries. As well as how we got to Hope’s Peak Monastery.”
“Hope’s Peak?! Like the scouting group for Ultimates?” Bernadetta asked.
“The very same, I often had to specially deliver my brews here so I was easily able to recognize it.” Ferdinand answered.
“But even still if they wanted to gather Ultimates together a letter would have sufficed.” Lorenz huffed “This all seems a bit too strange in my opinion… especially with what we found outside.”
“Outside?”
“By the marketplace… though it might be best if you just went and saw it for yourself.” Ferdinand suggested.
Ferdinand Friendship Fragment ⅙
Lorenz Friendship Fragment ⅙
Marketplace
“Oh this is bad! This is so very very very bad!” As Bernadetta stepped outside her main focus wasn’t on the orange haired girl panicking next to her, although she might have joined her if she hadn’t been shocked into silence. Surrounding the entirety of the Monastery was a transparent dome that seemed unwilling to show even the slightest hint of breaking despite the efforts of a pink haired girl down in the market.
“S-so we really are trapped here then…” Bernie shuttered.
“Oh! I didn’t expect to find anyone else here!” The orange haired girl exclaimed “Though I guess after finding those two proper weirdos and the girl at the stable and Hilda down there I should have figured there would have been people all over. Ah! I completely forgot about my own introduction! I’m Annette Dominic, the Ultimate Lyricist.”
“Oh really!” Bernie said “Well then you should meet Dorothea she’s the Ultimate Songstress so…”
“Oh no I couldn’t!” Annette said embarrassed “I couldn’t possibly hope to write something for the Ultimate Songstress, b-besides she’s an opera singer anyways so she wouldn’t like the stupid little jingles I write.”
“Oh… well if you're sure…”
“Hey Annette you should have told me someone else came by!” The pink haired girl seemed to have forgone trying to break the barrier to the outside to instead go and talk to her and Annette. “My name is Hilda Goneril and I’m the Ultimate Delicate Flower so…”
“She’s lying” Annette interrupted “Her real talent is the Ultimate Artisan she makes all sorts of accessories to sell all across Fodlan.”
“Annette…” Hilda whined “Why did you have to tell her that?”
‘I mean with the way you threw that cart at the barrier there was no way I was going to believe you were just some delicate flower anyways.’
“Awww this is the worst! I bet you Marianne wouldn’t have ruined everything like that…”
“Marianne?”
“Oh she’s the girl I mentioned earlier the one at the stable… you should probably go see her.” Annette pointed to the sulking Hilda “I doubt that she wants to talk much anyways.”
Annette Friendship Fragment ⅙
Hilda Friendship Fragment ⅙
Stable
True to Annette’s word there was a girl at the stables talking to the horses. “Hello there…” Bernie called out “Are you Marianne?”
“Oh um… yes I am…” Marianne turned away from the horse but kept her eyes planted firmly on the ground.
“...”
“...”
Neither one wanted to continue the conversation much, with Marianne not thinking she has anything of interest to say and Bernie just feeling uncomfortable meeting all these new people (For a reason she can’t quite understand. She’s met plenty of people in the past hasn’t she?)
Eventually Marianne decided to break the ice but not by much. “M-my name is Marianne Edmond and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student…”
“Ultimate Lucky Student? Oh! I’ve heard about those! You get chosen to attend Hope’s Peak through some kind of lottery.”
“Yes it was because of my incredible bad luck that we all ended up getting trapped here…” Marianne agreed.
“Huh? Bad luck?” Bernie asked “But I thought you just said you were the Ultimate Lucky Student…”
“And now we’re all trapped here at Hope’s Peak Monastery… my bad luck ended up getting not only myself but the rest of you trapped.”
“That’s an awfully dour way to look at things…” Bernie whispered.
“It’s been that way for almost my whole life…” Marianne muttered “Everything seems to go wrong as long as I’m around so… you should probably just leave me be.”
Bernie tried to get her to open up but she was adamant in her stance and so she had no choice but to leave her be for now.
Marianne Friendship Fragment ⅙
Knight’s Hall
The Knight’s hall much like the rest of the Monastery was in anything but a peaceful state. “Can you both get out of my way?!” A blue haired male with the most antagonistic looking eyes Bernie had ever seen snarled at the two other occupants of the room. The first being a female with golden blond hair who looked almost equally as annoyed with the room’s third occupant. A ginger haired male with a cocky smirk on his face.
“Oh come on what’s just one time out for tea huh? We can even say it was just between friends.”
“And I said to knock it off!” The blond girl sighed “Honestly can’t you just take care of him for me so I can be out of your hair.”
“Do it your own damn self.” The swordsman growled.
“With what weapon?! The blond countered “I can see a blade by his belt and I have nothing! What do you suppose I do now?”
“Now now this doesn’t have to resort to violence.” The ginger assured “See another beauty has arrived to back me up!”
“Er um… please don’t…” Bernie silently pleaded.
“Great more people…” the swordsman growled.
“I don’t really want to waste your time…” Bernie said quietly “I’m just looking around seeing how many people are stuck here… so far I’ve found seventeen.”
“Seventeen?!” The girl gasped “I thought four of us was odd enough.”
“And unless I’m mistaken we all just so happen to be Ultimates.” The ginger concludes.
“Huh your an Ultimate too?”
“Everyone that I’ve met so far has been…” Bernie answered “I-I’m Bernadetta Varley the Ultimate Shut-In…”
“Well good to meet you Bernadetta. I’m Sylvain Gautier, also known as the Ultimate Flirt.”
“That’s not a title you should just be floundering around…” the girl sighed in exasperation “Well whatever just so you know I’m Ingrid Galatea the Ultimate Knight I’ve been in service of prince Dimitri for many years now. Me and my Pegasus make a near unstoppable team.”
“Knight Huh?” The swordsman growled.
“You know I’m quite the fan of those prim and proper types.” Sylvain said suggestively.
“Oh wait did you say Dimitri!” Bernie realized.
“Yes, I swore to serve prince Dimitri until the day I die. It’s my duty as a knight!”
“Really?” Sylvain asked “You aren’t looking for any kind of partner?”
“Absolutely not from the likes of you!” Ingrid spat.
“Well I was about to say… that I met with Dimitri and Dedue over at the greenhouse if you're looking for them.”
“Ugh Dedue…” Ingrid growled “Fine, I’ll have to consult with his highness about the situation anyway.”
“Oh hey Ingrid! Wait up!” Sylvain called out.
Ingrid Friendship Fragment ⅙
Sylvain Friendship Fragment ⅙
“Those two are… a bit much…” Bernie sighed.
“Thanks for that.” The swordsmen gruffed.
“Huh?”
“Getting rid of them I mean. It was getting hard to focus. My name is Felix Fraldarius the Ultimate Swordsman. Even men such as the legendary Roanoa have fallen to my prowess.”
“Th-that’s incredibly impressive! Roanoa was the Ultimate Swordsman before you wasn’t he?”
Felix let out a fond grin at the memory “He was a worthy adversary. And one I hope to face again. Which is why I need to train if you don’t mind.”
“Oh right I’ll let you get to it then…”
Felix Friendship Fragment ⅙
Reception Hall
“Halt who goes there!” This time Bernie was assaulted right when she entered the Reception hall and didn’t have to start the conversation for once either. Of course being provoked by a black haired man with a scary looking face wasn’t the best way to start either.
“Hubert back away from her right now.” His white haired companion sighed “She clearly isn’t the one who placed us here so there’s no reason to act so hostile.”
“My apologies your majesty.” Hubert bowed “I won’t let it happen again.”
“Your majesty?” Bernie asked “So there are two members of royalty trapped here?”
“Two members of royalty? And what do you mean trapped?” The royal asked.
“There’s a barrier surrounding all of Hope’s Peak.” Bernie explained “And nothing seems to be able to break through it. As for the other royal I believe he’s the Ultimate Prince. Dimitri.”
“Ah a school of Ultimates I see… though the captive part has me concerned I think I’m starting to piece together this little mystery.”
“Oh! Um… that’s good…”
“Please ignore Hubert he gets a rise out of scaring people.” The white haired woman explained “My name is Edelgard Hresveld and I’m know as the Ultimate Experiment as for why… I’d rather not get into the details.”
‘An experiment? With a title and expression like that I don’t think I want to know.’
“Her majesty has endured a great deal of hardships so if you could stop with the inquiries it would be appreciated.”
“Hubert it’s fine.” Edelgard scolded “More importantly you said something about Dimitri being here as well?”
“That’s right… Prince Dimitri, his servant Dedue, and his knight Ingrid…”
“Only the Ultimates then…” Hubert mused “Whoever orchestrated this mass kidnapping sure thought it through. To infiltrate two of the royal capitals and gather Ultimates from all across Fodlan in the span of a single night…”
“It really does seem impossible for just one person…” Bernie agreed.
“Then it’s most likely the work of some powerful agency. Perhaps a group that wishes to dispose of anyone who could be considered a threat.”
“Well I don’t see what they’d want with the Ultimate Shut In… or the Ultimate Flirt, or even the Ultimate Lyricist or Songstress in that case.”
“Hmm curious indeed…” Hubert let out a chuckle “As for myself I can quite clearly see why they would want to be rid of the Ultimate Serpent.”
“Serpent?!” Bernie took a few steps back.
“They wanted to give him the title of the Ultimate Schemer but Hubert all but demanded to be given a more sinister title.” Edelgard explained.
“Personally I find it much more fitting.”
Edelgard Friendship Fragment ⅙
Hubert Friendship Fragment ⅙
Cathedral
“I suppose I should have expected the Hope’s Peak Monastery to have an impressive Cathedral…” impressive may have been an understatement for the monster of a building that lay before her. Though she didn’t remember the goddess looking like a Monochrome stuffed bear…
“I can’t believe Hope’s Peak would allow such vandalism to go unpunished!”
Bernie jumped as a white haired girl walked up next to her and started complaining. “I-it is a bit strange… when would anyone have the time to do all of this though?”
“The windows aren’t the only thing to worry about you know. That barrier would have taken forever to invoke and the Monastery staff must have been removed with mass teleportation. Maybe in the future you could stand to look at the bigger picture.”
“S-sorry about that…” ‘She doesn’t need to act so hostile…’
“Ugh whatever…” the white haired girl sighed “My name is Lysithea Ordelia the Ultimate Study I get top marks in every class every time. Most college professors are jealous of my wealth of knowledge.”
“You're in college?!” She wasn’t even in college and she was much older than her.
“Don’t you give me that face! I’m not just some child you know!” Lysithea spat “Honestly I give you all of my achievements and all anyone cares about is my age.”
“Sorry…”
“No it’s fine…” Lysithea said calming down “Yes you probably are older than me. But my intelligence isn’t yours to suspect.”
“Sorry I guess that was a bit rude of me…” Bernie admitted.
“I accept your apology.” Lysithea said “Just be more careful in the future.”
Lysithea Friendship Fragment ⅙
“Of course…” Bernie slowly skunk away from the prodigious girl and went further into the chapel to find another girl with light hair praying. Bernie decided not to interrupt her and instead sat next to her on the pew. The two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments until the girl stopped praying.
“Thank you very much for waiting.” The girl smiled “I couldn’t stop mid prayer but I also didn’t want to ignore you so I shortened it.”
‘I was here for a half an hour… how in the world is that the shortened version?’
“I should probably introduce myself. I’m Mercedes Martritz, the Ultimate Priestess.”
“Well I guess that’s to be expected…” Bernie joked.
Mercedes laughed “Yes I’m often told that I tend to get a bit out of hand. But I feel that the goddess deserves every bit of my gratitude.”
“O-of course!” ‘Even though I never go to sermons… or mass… or even pray…’
“I’m glad you agree! The church has taken care of me ever since I was a child. So I very much believe that the goddess is watching over me.”
“That’s the only reason?”
“Of course not! The church always gives to those in times of need. It’s because the goddess always gives to her believers. Any strife you face is just a test for you to gain more faith! And overcoming any challenge is due to the goddess granting you the strength and will to push onwards!”
‘Your making it sound like a cult!’ Bernie shuddered at the uncomfortable nature of the conversation.
“Ah I'm getting carried away again…” Mercedes sighed “If this is truly the Hope’s Peak Monastery I’ll have to do better at making people believe… Perhaps some sweets will help me change your mind!”
‘Sweets do sound tempting… ah Bernie what are you saying?! You have to keep searching the school!’ “M-maybe later.”
“Oh of course!” Mercedes said kindly “After all it’s not true faith unless you choose to believe. Forcing you would achieve nothing.”
Mercedes Friendship Fragment ⅙
Second Floor
When Bernadetta reaches the second floor the first thing she noticed was a tan skinned man leaning against the wall deep in thought. “U-umm hello!”
“Hey there” he said charismatically “I was kind of hoping that it was just the four of us trapped here.”
“It seems like you and everyone else…” Bernie jokes.
“By the way just how many people have you found already?”
“Huh? Well there’s me, Dorothea, Ashe, Dimitri, Dedue, Petra, Ignatz, Rapheal, Edelgard, Hubert, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Flayn, Ferdinand, Lorenz, Marianne, Hilda, Annette, Lysithea, and Mercedes, so when you include the two of us that makes…”
“Twenty two… and then there’s three more up here so that makes twenty five. The standard size for a class here at the monastery.”
“So you think that Hope’s Peak gathered us here? But then why bother trapping us?” Bernie asked.
“I’m not saying that Hope’s Peak did this.” The Almyran man explained “But it’s something to keep in mind. “Also in case you're wondering my name is Claude Riegan the Ultimate Tactician.”
“A tactician Huh? Then you’ll find a way out for sure!”
“Heh… that’s what I was thinking about now actually. This barrier has to have some kind of source. Most likely the mastermind behind this whole situation. We take them out, we can take out the barrier.”
“That’s a good point!” Bernie smiled “Were already one step closer to escape!”
“Heh I wish…” Claude sighed “That was the easy part…”
Claude Friendship Fragment ⅙
Faculty Office
Following Claude’s directions Bernie entered the faculty office to find a girl with orange hair complaining loudly. “I can’t believe this! I’m kidnapped and taken to Captain Jersalt’s workplace and the man is nowhere to be seen! Argh! This is the worst!”
“Captain Jeralt…” Bernie whispered… the name sounded familiar.
“What in the? Oh hey!” Leonie’s grouchy mood from before seemed to completely vanish “You didn’t see any of that did you?”
Bernie shook her head no but the look on her face must have betrayed her because Leonie sighed miserably. “Damn it I wanted to make a good first impression on everyone…” she took a deep breath “Sorry about that, my name’s Leonie Pinelli the Ultimate Mercenary. Need anything done or anyone killed and I’ll take care of it. For an ample fee of course.”
“A mercenary huh.... oh! Is that why you were looking for Jeralt?”
“Jeralt the Blade Breaker he was the Ultimate Mercenary before becoming captain of the Hope’s Defenders, the knighting regime here at Hope's Peak. I was hoping to get a chance to meet him.”
“Huh? You’ve never met him before?”
“I wish…” Leonie sighed wistfully “Meeting him in person has always been a dream of mine… er! There I go running my mouth again… this is why people always call me the Ultimate Fan girl.”
Leonie Friendship Fragment ⅙
Library
“Ugh! Linhardt we’re freakin trapped here and all you're concerned about is taking a nap?!” A man with short blue hair was yelling at his green haired companion.
“I don’t see why you’re so concerned about the dealings of a stranger.” The green haired man grumbled sleepily.
“Agh! Because you're smarter than me and I already tried punching through that barrier thing!”
“You tried to punch it?” Bernadetta asked as she approached.
“Huh? Yeah! I mean I’m Caspar Bergliez the Ultimate Wrestler I figured if anyone here could brute force their way through that wall it would be me.
“That makes sense…” Bernie nodded “Wait the Caspar Bergliez?! You're pretty much a legend back where I’m from!”
“Wait really?!” Caspar seemed super excited.
“Yeah I don’t live too far away from the city you’re from. So I heard all about your accomplishments.”
“Wow it’s the same with Linhardt here!” Caspar pointed but noticed that he was asleep. “Ack come on!”
Bernie laughed despite herself.
“Ugh… well anyways he’s Linhardt Herving the Ultimate Scholar. Not that he seems willing to do anything too scholarly.
“Yeah I can see that…”
Caspar Friendship Fragment ⅙
Linhardt Friendship Fragment ⅙
Bing Bong Ding Dong
Bernadetta, Caspar, and even Linhardt took a look at their surroundings after the announcement.
“Upupupupupu!” The nauseatingly cheery voice came from all around them. “Sorry to keep you all waiting! I’m sure you all must be very confused about what’s going on! Please head to the cathedral at your earliest convenience. That is to say… immediately.”
“I- don’t like the sound of that…” Caspar said nervously.
“And you shouldn’t.” Linhardt got up more attentive than ever.
“Y-yeah we should go…” Bernie left the library down to the cathedral. Unaware that no answers would await her there.
Only Despair
Cathedral
“22, 23, 24, and you make 25.” Hubert said referring to Bernadetta who was the last to enter the cathedral. “I wonder what could be the purpose of gathering all of us.”
“Seeing 25 Ultimates in one place truly is an extraordinary experience!” Flayn said cheerfully.
“I highly doubt we’ll get to revel in this moment for long.” Dimitri said seriously.
“Maybe it’s best not to think about it?” Sylvain winked “Go out for some tea instead?”
“I’d really rather not…” Dorothea sighed.
“I wouldn’t even give my tea to a man like you.” Ferdinand declared.
“Oh how noble of you.” Dorothea said sarcastically.
“Can you children calm down?” Ingrid said annoyed “Don’t we have more important things to worry about?”
“Yes like the reason we’ve all been summoned here.” Lysithea agreed.
“I’m more worried about the barrier!” Hilda whined “Nothing’s ever going to break that!”
“For real…” Caspar muttered “No matter what I did I couldn’t even put a dent in it.”
“Did you really think you could break that barrier with just your fists?” Linhardt sighed drowsily.
“Well no but…”
“Will you idiots stop bickering?” Felix growled “Don’t you see that there’s a bigger issue here?”
“Yeah! Like where’s all the people!” Annette agreed.
“How did they find twenty five Ultimates from all across Fodlan and why us twenty five in particular…” Claude continued.
“Why is all the food in the dining hall left out when the chefs are all gone...” Rapheal muttered.
“Er… I think the fact that all the merchant stalls are left unattended is the more pressing issue Rapheal…” Ignatz said.
“Also where did that voice come from?” Edelgard asked “We all heard it but the Monastery is so large. It couldn’t possibly have come from a single source.”
“Everyone I have confidence that everything will be explained soon.” Petra tried to reassure them.
“I-I’m sorry everyone I’m sure this is somehow my fault…” Marianne apologized.
“No your just as much of a victim as us Marianne.” Ashe reassured “No need to be so down on yourself.”
“Yes I don’t think that’s healthy behavior.” Dedue agreed.
“A-alright…” Marianne muttered.
“I think you two just made things worse…” Lorenz sighed.
“Everyone shut up!” Leonie yelled.
“Huh? What’s the matter?” Mercedes asked.
“Look up there!”
“Well then you lot are more attentive then I expected.”
“Huh?”
At that moment all the lights went off and we all stared at the front of the cathedral. When the glass portrait of the Monochrome bear shattered to reveal… Well the same Monochrome bear. “Upupupupu! I thought I was hidden pretty well behind the glass there. But you still found me!”
“What in the world…” Bernie whispered.
“I am the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Monastery and the one in charge of your Killing School Life. Monokuma!”
“What the hell is this?” Felix growled
“A freakin teddy bear really? And it wants us to believe it’s the headmaster?” Caspar asked dumbfounded.
“It really is an absurd world we live in.” Hubert mused “Though this has to be one of the weirder things in it.”
“I’m more concerned about the other thing it said…” Annette muttered.
“What’s this Killing School Life you mentioned? I think we deserve to know that much.” Claude said.
“Nah” Monokuma said bored.
“Nah?!” Sylvain stuttered “You’re the one who brought it up what do you mean nah?!”
“For once I agree with him. You can’t lead with such an absurd statement and then not follow up on it!” Ingrid yelled.
“What a pain this is all turning out to be…” Linhardt yawned
“A-are you really not going to elaborate?” Bernie stuttered.
“Puhu-puhuhuhuhu!”
“Great now it’s laughin at us!” Leonie growled.
“Oh it’s not because of you.” Monokuma sighed wistfully “I just can’t believe I messed up the big reveal like that. Let me amend that now. I want you 25 Ultimate students to participate in the largest killing game I’ve ever had the pleasure of hosting!”
“K-killing game…” Bernie said again shakily.
“Why the hell would we ever agree to that?!” Rapheal roared.
“Huh? You don’t wanna do it?” Monokuma asked.
“What do you mean by that?!” Ferdinand stuttered “Of course we don’t want to do it!”
“But you already know there’s no way out of here right?” Monokuma said “And seeing as I’m the only one who can take down the barrier…”
“All we have to do is kill you.” Felix said confidently.
“Oh sure… just kill the 123,110,378 Monokuma’s I’ve got stashed away in the school I’m sure that will work out for you. All of which are willing and able to explode and kill you on sight.”
“Th-that many?” Lysithea said shakily.
“That’s impossible…” but even the mighty Dedue seemed shaken by the declaration.
“Of course you don’t HAVE to kill…” Monokuma said offhandedly “Forcing you would take the fun out of it.”
“Fun?” Dimitri said lifelessly.
“Yeah of course! I want to give you all a chance. True despair can only be felt when hope is crushed to pieces. And in order for there to be hope I have to give you a chance.” Monokuma explained.
“B-but how are we even supposed to do this?” Ignatz asked “We don’t have any weapons and most of us don’t have much skill with fighting at all.”
“None of us can even use magic…” Lysithea sighed.
“Don’t tell me your all considering killing!” Petra gasped.
“N-no of course not!” Ignatz defended.
“We need information.” Edelgard explained “What do you say bear?”
“Huh?” Monokuma asked “Of course you won’t get weapons! This is a sophisticated killing game! Punctuated by the Class Trial system!”
“Class trials?” Claude asked.
“The main premise is quite simple. If someone ends up dead, in anyway except from sickness, a class trial will be held. In the trial the blackened will have a battle of wits against the spotless classmates. After the evidence has been presented and a verdict has been met. It’ll be voting time. If the majority is correct I’m guessing who dunnit. Only the blackened student will be punished but if you get it wrong… I’ll punish all the spotless students instead! And the blackened gets to leave the monastery.”
“So the point isn’t just to kill we have to then convince the others of our innocence.” Hubert mused.
“Just one question…” Flayn said weakly “What do you mean by punishment?”
“Oh it’s just execution.” Monokuma said nonchalantly.
“Execution?!” Hilda gasped.
“If you commit a crime you are punished for it. That’s the most basic rule of society.” Monokuma explained “But because this is a killing game the punishment for murder is a bit more… permanent.”
“This is so… messed up…” Caspar growled.
“Oh and don’t you worry about the method. Bludgeoning, stabbing, poison, drowning, burning, electrocution, whatever you want! Even accidents are murder in this killing game. So don’t get caught.”
“This is absurd!” Lorenz yelled
“We’re not going to kill based on your whims!” Leonie agreed.
“I’d like to think of myself as a better man than that.” Ashe agreed.
“This really is just my luck…” Marianne said dourly “I’m sorry if you weren’t trapped here with me this wouldn’t be happening…”
“This is… even the most heartbreaking tragedies don’t start off this cruel…” Dorothea said
“I-I’m sure this is all a lie…” Sylvain laughed “A terrible terrible joke.”
A joke… I wish this was a joke. But the looks on everyone’s faces proved me wrong. This was no joke. This was real. And all we had to fear
Was each other
Outside the Monastery
Everyone outside was left speechless by the display.
“They all acted so… different.” Catherine said finally breaking the ever present silence.
“I’ve never seen Bernadetta so sociable.” Byleth agreed.
“They all seemed to embrace this idea that they’re these Ultimates Monokuma was looking for.” Jeralt grumbled.
“And what was with Lysithea saying there was no magic.” Manuela asked “I mean Lysithea of all people said that.”
“Then there’s Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid acting like they were strangers, Caspar and Linhardt, and Rapheal and Ignatz as well.” Hanneman mumbled.
Then Alois said the thing that was secretly on everyone’s minds.
“And when did Bernadetta get an ahoge?”
Prologue
Revelations END
Surviving students 25/25
Bernadetta Varley: Ultimate Shut In
Edelgard Hresvelg: Ultimate Experiment
Hubert Vestra: Ultimate Serpent
Caspar Bergliez: Ultimate Wrestler
Linhardt Herving: Ultimate Scholer
Petra Macneary: Ultimate Foreigner
Dorothea Arnault: Ultimate Songstress
Ferdinand Aegir: Ultimate Brewer
Dimitri Blaiddyd: Ultimate Prince
Dedue Morinaro: Ultimate Servent
Mercedes Martritz: Ultimate Priestess
Annette Dominic: Ultimate Lyricist
Ashe Ubert: Ultimate Thief
Felix Fraldarius: Ultimate Swordsman
Sylvain Gautier: Ultimate Flirt
Ingrid Galatea: Ultimate Knight
Claude Riegan: Ultimate Tactician
Hilda Goneril: Ultimate Artisan
Marianne Edmund: Ultimate Lucky Student
Ignatz Victor: Ultimate Artist
Rapheal Kirsten: Ultimate Consumer
Leonie Pinelli: Ultimate Mercenary
Lorenz Glouster: Ultimate Poet
Lysithea Ordelia: Ultimate Study
Flayn: Ultimate ???