4 First Blood!!!

Just as I finished reading, the paper burst into flames and vanished from existence.

At the same time, all the doors in the room, the ones from which we had entered, locked themselves shut.

Jake immediately reacted.

"What was written in it?"

I looked at Jake but instead of answering, I decided to observe the expressions of the others in the room first.

Steve seemed purely curious.

Mary seemed to be constantly on guard, but she was curious as well.

Jake seemed apprehensive that I was the only one who got to read what was written and was part suspicious in addition to curious.

Hmm.

Yeah, there was no way to tell who was the imposter from just that.

The obvious way to win was to lynch the impostor while the real candidates still had the numerical advantage.

Since I have the initiative right now, I can get one of us here lynched. If I get the wrong person though, I will be the next to go.

Which means a 1 in 3 chance of survival.

Right now, only me and the impostor know exactly what was inside the card. If I can take advantage of this fact… I might just be able to survive.

"Right now, we are in the middle of a deadly social deduction game. We will get to leave once we win."

Steve's eyes immediately lit up with recognition.

"Ooh, you mean like the mafia game, werewolf and amongsus!"

"Exactly! There is 1 killer, 1 detective, 1 villager and 1 joker."

"huh?"

I gave everyone's reactions a look over once again to see whether the imposter would out themselves but it was for naught.

I gave them a conspiratory smile before continuing.

"Yes, the killer's job is to kill the villager and the detective.

The detective's job is to kill the killer, the villager's job is to stay alive,

while the clown thinks he is the detective but is not one."

I paused to let that sink in before continuing.

"This is where things get interesting.

If the killer kills the clown instead of the real detective, then they end up losing and dying as well.

If the detective kills the villager instead of the killer, they die as well.

The clown can kill without consequences while the villager cannot kill anyone at all."

"That sounds complicated."

"It's actually simple. As long as we find out and kill the killer first, the rest of us get to live."

"But how do we know which role we have gotten?"

"According to the letter, the information will just appear in your mind. Unless you are the killer. Then you will not get any information."

"That… doesn't really make sense."

"I am not the one making the rules."

Of course, I WAS the one making the rules here but the only person who knows that is the real imposter, and unless they want to get exposed right off the bat, they will have no choice but to play along.

After all, this psychological web I had weaved was an advantageous hunting ground for them as well.

Now that everyone thinks that they are the killer, everyone has been brought back to the same starting line of wanting to kill everyone else in the room.

But I will never let anyone take away the initiative.

"According to the information I received I am the detective. Which means I am either the real detective or the clown. While there is no way for me to prove that I am not lying, let me disarm myself in order to show my sincerity."

Saying so, I removed the longsword and pistol and placed them next to the sphere in the centre of the room.

"What if you have some hidden weapons on you?" Mary asked while staring at me with narrowed eyes.

I just shot back a good-natured smile. "You can come over and check me if you do not believe me."

"Nice try, not gonna fall for that."

"He has already shown us his sincerity, there is no need to doubt him. Let us all also put down our weapons. This way we can have a discussion without constantly being on guard. While this will be disadvantageous to the killer it's the best choice for the majority."

Jake cut in as he tried to calm the situation down.

What a sly old dog.

"Let me announce my role. I am the villager."

Would you look at that.

One might think that the most logical lie to tell would be that they were the detective as well. But since the villager cannot kill anyone, it's the role that would be the best one to easily get rid of suspicion and play the waiting game. Whether he is the real imposter or just believes that he is the killer, he is a smart cookie either way. In fact, if he thinks that I am lying his choice is indeed the best as it lets him have a passive attitude.

Unfortunately for him, this game was designed in a way that only the person who takes the initiative can win.

Steve went next.

"My role is also that of the detective. I also agree with Jake and Shawn, we should put down our weapons as well."

In his case, he was probably doubtful of his chances of victory in a direct fight and thus wished for a mental playing ground.

Of course, there was a possibility that he was the imposter and his persona was just a façade he put on.

"I got detective too. So, someone here must be lying."

Mary's voice was sharp as a knife as it cut into the atmosphere.

"I for one, do not think that parting with my weapons is a good idea."

I smiled at her. Now that everyone had finished laying their cards out, it was time to start the performance.

I smirked at her.

"That sounds like something the killer would say. Moreover, your guns give you the biggest advantage in this closed space."

"You were the only one who read the paper anyway. What if you are just lying?"

"The only one who should suspect me of lying is the killer, as they did not get any roles and thus have no proof. Jake, Steve, tell me am I lying"

Steve waved his hands around "I just told you my role. You are not lying."

Jake also expressed his agreement "Shawn is telling the truth."

"N-no what I meant is that, you might be lying about the details of the roles. Stuff like how the killer dies on killing the clown, or like the detective dies when killing the villager and…"

I slowly walked towards her and spread out my arms.

"The more you speak, the more suspicious you sound. If you think that I am lying, why don't you test it out yourself."

I stared right into her eyes while grinning crazily.

"Shoot me!"

"That's enough Shawn! We believe you. Mary, back off or I will shoot you before you can shoot him."

So much for putting down weapons. Jake had put his axe on the ground and was pointing his rifle right at Mary. Looks like I was wrong about him favouring the axe over the rifles.

"Aren't you the villager! Won't you die if you killed someone?"

"If the killer wins, none of us is getting out alive anyway!"

I put my arms back to my sides and stepped back before interrupting the two.

"It seems that we can only continue the conversation in a Mexican standoff. It is unnerving to be the only one unarmed here."

"No, it is better for all of us to disarm at the same time. Mary, If you don't get rid of your guns I will also use my throwing axe. I don't think you can kill us all before you die as well."

"F*CK! Alright, alright! I give in. I will play this shitty game of yours."

Seeing that even Steve had joined in, she had no choice but to give up her weapons as well.

There was no other way to it.

In everyone's mind, they either believed they were the killer or thought that I was lying outright, except for the imposter who knew exactly what was going on.

Since there was a decent chance that I was the clown and either way the only person who read the paper, killing me hastily was a bad decision. Not until everyone has discussed the situation and thought about it properly at least.

Moreover, everyone understood that Mary was the most dangerous person in the room right now.

So no matter what was the truth, disarming her was something everyone wanted.

Just like that, I managed to resolve one of the biggest threats to my plan.

All of us approached the centre of the room together.

Mary went ahead and put down one of her guns.

Steve put down his spear and started to remove his throwing axes one by one.

Jake had already removed his battle-axe earlier. He placed his first assault rifle on the ground before reaching for the second one, still strapped onto his back.

Just as Mary was in the middle of placing her second gun on the table and it was pointed away from me, I burst out at lightning speed.

*BANG!*

In the split second before anyone could react. I picked up my pistol from the table and shot a bullet right between the girl's eyes. Gunpowder exploded and a bloody hole was shot right through her head.

All she could do was stare at me in shock before falling backwards from the force, as dead as dead could be.

The ballistics of the scene were oddly reminiscent of the first mannequin I had killed in the third room.

I put my pistol back down and took a step back from the table before anyone could make any rash decisions and shoot me.

I raised my hands up and shouted.

"I CAN EXPLAIN!"