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  Video: Flight of the One-Winged EagleBGM: Dir  "You'll become... Kinzo-san? Are you saying you'll become Kinzo-san and reenact his disappearance from this room?" "...You couldn't possibly think you can deny my checkmate, right? Fool!!!" "...What is this man SAYING?" "Hey, new girls. This is your first game, correct?" "Sorry, but calling checkmate after something like that is totally useless. Yeah, it's all useless...!!"  "Yeah. I'll reenact it. I'll become Grandfather and disappear from this room." "Y, you can't use the windows or the door, right?! How would you do it...?!" "Did you find a hidden door?!" "I don't have a clue either... yes, not a clue...!!"*rustle*. That sound wasn't just the noise of the onlookers fidgeting. It was a provocative chill that ran up Erika's spine. "...Interesting. I see, you are the Ushiromiya family head, the one who bears the Head's Ring. That should more than qualify you to stand in for Kinzo-san." "Why don't you let us have a look at your theory?!!"Erika's expression was no longer a provocative smile. It was malicious. Extremely displeased. She couldn't conceal her anger at having this very pleasurable time of hers ruined.   "Heh, heheheheh... I've got it. I see, so that move is still available." "So you finally figured it out, you drat geezer. Hidden doors and hiding under the bed... all that stuff is so pitiful it brings tears to the eyes. This is THE Ushiromiya Kinzo we're talking about here. There's got to be a more thrilling and exciting answer." "Exactly. How pitiful that even I couldn't think of it, even though it was about me. And how pitiful that the only one of my relatives to understand me is Battler, the kid who's returned after being gone six years. Battler, take my place. Do not shame me!" "Sure, Gramps!! I'll teach these guests what the dignity of the Ushiromiya family head is all about!!" "What are you planning to do, Father...?!" "Wahhahahahaha!! Natsuhi, Beatrice, watch! We'll show you what being the Ushiromiya family head is all about!" "...That Battler, what is he trying to prove...?" "There's no way he can do anything. This is a perfect closed room!" Battler called Natsuhi over to the window and whispered something to her with his back towards the others... "...<Miss> Dlanor. You're ready for everything, right? It's not possible for Kinzo and the witch to slip out of this room, right?" "Of COURSE. Gertrude, Cornelia. And the palace guards. Double check that the seal of this closed room is PERFECT." "Please, allow me to speak. Our barrier is perfect." "Allow me to speak. There are no hidden doors, and escape will not be granted through either door or window! Palace guards, when Battler hits the barrier, fire your arrows without hesitation!" "C, Chiester Corps, roger. Battler-sama, prepare yourself...!" "Escaping from this room... is impossible...!" "...But he'll do it nyeh." "H, how...?!" "He's certain he can succeed even without any basis. That's what it means to be the Ushiromiya head nyeh...!" "...True. Let's watch." "Yeah. Let's see the majesty of Riiche's opponent...!" BGM: Endless Nine Everyone nodded and watched Battler's every move...  "Grandfather was lying in bed like this grunting his understanding of Aunt Natsuhi's daily report or whatever."Battler laid down on the bed himself. As if it still mattered now, Erika grumbled about disturbing the crime scene, but no one listened to her.  "Then, I stop answering and sleep. Well, realistically speaking, I probably get tired of all that talking and only pretend to be asleep." "Ahahahaha! You really do get it...!" Natsuhi lowered her head to Battler, who was still lying down in the bed, and turned around... Then, she started wandering around, as though doing an inspection of the room.  "...After seeing that Grandfather was asleep, Aunt Natsuhi probably did an inspection of the room before leaving." "Of course, she had Shannon-chan and the others clean it every day, but she still checked it thoroughly herself. Making sure there was no dust piling up. Making sure that he hadn't run out of any consumables." "Y, yes. This is the room of the precious family head, so I check everything carefully myself instead of relying entirely on the servants. I always do that." "...Th, that's true. Madam usually checks things very carefully." "Her inspection is very detailed, and she even checks all of the consumables in the washroom one by one." "In other words, it's not just dust on the windowsill like you see all the time on TV. She checks to see that there's enough soap and toilet paper in the washroom. Though she probably doesn't have to do it each day, she's very devoted." "Th, that is my routine. I mustn't slack off in my inspection of the head's room for even a single day." "...So what's your point? Please keep any showing off to a minimum." "*giggle*. So only the detective is allowed to show off?" "Nn, gah, I, I'm... the... detective..." "Since we're inside the study, you can probably tell, but even though we call it a study, it wouldn't be wrong to call it a second house inside the mansion." "It has a sleeping room, a study, a washroom, and even a toilet and bath. In other words, it isn't a single room. You could call it a full house." "He isn't hiding. However, there has to be several blind spots. For example, if Aunt Natsuhi went into the bathroom to check the amount of toilet paper, most of the study would be out of her sight range." "...In other words, for almost every location in the study, the observer would have disappeared." "Let it be said that the witch's darkness is filling the study." "Good. It's being filled with the power of darkness. Heheheheheheheh!" "And so what if the observer... if Natsuhi left...? What next?!" "When Grandfather noticed that fussy Aunt Natsuhi leaving, he got up." "Why?!" "...Because Aunt Natsuhi was in the blind spot of the bathroom, it becomes possible for Grandfather to walk about the study at will."It was possible for him to move without Natsuhi's knowledge. It was possible for him to move without contradicting what Natsuhi knew! "Warning, Battler is approaching the study door." "Allow me to speak. A noise rings out when the lock on the study door is released. Know that you cannot leave through the door without Natsuhi thinking something was odd."Because Battler had acted as though he was heading for the door, Gertrude, who was sealing the door, immediately sent out a warning. Maybe it was possible for him to leave the study while in Natsuhi's blind spot. However. "That's right, it's the sound!! We know that there's a loud sound when the auto-lock is released! Even if Natsuhi was in a blind spot inside the study, she wouldn't miss hearing the loud sound when the auto-lock is released. Of course she would find that odd...!!" "Allow me to speak. Let it be said that Natsuhi did not hear the sound of the door opening while in the room."The washroom and toilet are very close to the door. Even if they hadn't been, that auto-lock always lets off such a massive sound. She'd be able to hear that sound no matter what. Now that Natsuhi had spoken with Erika and the others about the details of the previous night, she had made it quite clear that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. The argument that Natsuhi would have failed to hear the lock would not work...! "Please, allow me to speak once more. Kinzo entering or exiting through the door will not be permitted." "Let it be said that this is a useless struggle! It is foolish...!!" BGM: Dread of the Grave - More Fear (Remake) "...!"Turning his back to Gertrude, who claimed that leaving through the door was impossible, Battler locked his gaze on Cornelia, who stood in front of the window. "Make sure you hold that barrier of yours up tight. 'Cause you're gonna be... blasted away, got it?"By now, Battler's target was clear. It was Cornelia. And... it was the window. He was going... to smash this closed room from the window. Not expecting to be chosen as the target herself, Cornelia was overawed for just a second, but she quickly regained her composure. It was rare that a struggling, fleeing witch would directly challenge the barriers she set up. Furthermore, such witches were always fighting desperately on the brink of death! "Please, allow me to speak. You are Battler's target, Cornelia. I ask that you be on your guard." "Fool! God, have pity on this foolish lamb...!!" ...Starting from a low posture, both silent and supple, Battler ran forward like a white leopard.  "...Th, this guy... couldn't possibly mean to...!!" "...ah!! Th, this is... agh. A, allow me to speak...! There is no way to defeat my red! Know that your wish will not be granted...!!"Cornelia thrust out both her arms and made a sign. When she did, a red barrier closed in front of Battler. "Know that this is useless, Ushiromiya Battler...! Know that my window is sealed from the inside and Natsuhi did not let Kinzo escape...!!" "Aunt Natsuhi didn't let Grandfather escape. What if Grandfather snuck out, keeping it a secret from Aunt Natsuhi?!" "Wh, why would Kinzo go out the window on his own?!!!" "But this is the third floor, right?! It's impossible!!!" "Even you've jumped down a flight of stairs at least once in your life, right? Three stories is nothing for Kinzo...!" "I wouldn't put it past him." "Wouldn't put it past him." "Th, that's... r, ridiculous...!!!"Blue cracks appeared in Cornelia's red barrier, and it shattered with a crisp sound. It was all far too quick. It looked almost as though she'd gotten out of the way herself in fear of Battler.  "Cornelia-sama, you can't block it, retreat...!"At the same time the barrier shattered, the window behind Cornelia's back was flung open. The curtains fluttered for just an instant. Though it was all filled with rain, the heavens and the courtyard were spread out in front of them... A fitting exit for an eagle leaping from this closed room! "Cornelia, repair the BARRIER!!" "As you wish, Commander Dlanor! Kn, know that you will not be allowed to break this...!!"Cornelia quickly came back to her senses and set up another red barrier. However, this was the last one. "Please, allow me to speak...!! Then let us accept for the time being that Kinzo escaped through the window...! In that case, how did he lock a window which cannot be locked from the outside?! The window was locked from the inside!!"  Kinzo and Battler grinned! She thought this feeble red could block the charge of Battler and Kinzo, the two family heads? "After Grandfather jumped out the window, Aunt Natsuhi probably noticed a slight draft. She then approached the window, realized that it was wide open, and quickly closed and locked it...!!" "Natsuhi probably couldn't even imagine that I had slipped out the window!" "Yeah!! So it's only natural that Aunt Natsuhi thought Kinzo was sleeping in bed!!"Now that Battler had found the answer, the red barrier was more fragile than thin glass. The red magical wall of certainty had been smashed again, so easily that it disgraced the name of certainty itself! Unbelievable, right? That barrier was more firm than any Ronove had ever used against Jessica. And yet it had been... destroyed so easily...! Though Battler was rushing fiercely and had almost reached Cornelia, she didn't step aside. Her steel spirit, worthy of the name Eiserne Jungfrau, didn't allow her to step aside. She took a charm from her pocket, placed it against the thin air, and made a sign. Then, not red, but blue burned there. Though it was far more frail than the red barrier, it was her last method of resistance.  "Just quit your whining and watch!!!"  BGM: Hello Your DreamHe burst through Cornelia and her blue barrier, knocked them away, and his body flew out the window through the darkness of the rainy sky. The fragments of the blue barrier scattered, coloring the air beautifully. The closed room... had been smashed open...!! Battler... flew out of the mansion. He was in the sky above the rainy courtyard. All of the raindrops became small round gems and were scattered through the air. Battler flew through the treasure box world of the beautiful stormy sky, through the countless gems of rain that filled it.  If Battler, who had smashed and flown out the window, was like a knight leaping off a white horse, then Dlanor, who floated in the air waiting for him, was also a knight. In the air above the courtyard surrounded by the Ushiromiya mansion and frozen in time, the true new head of the Ushiromiya family and the disciple of heaven who would test him crossed paths...  "...Well DONE. When you fall into the courtyard, whether you live or die, it won't change the fact that Kinzo could have defeated this closed ROOM...!! You who have thrown away your life and jumped are a MARTYR...!! Well done, you have smashed our closed room BARRIER. Splendid, Ushiromiya Battler!!" "However, I am the Head Inquisitor of Heresy, Dlanor A. Knox!! I cannot allow you to escape out from under my NOSE...! Now, at the end, allow me the honor of crossing swords with YOU!!" "Sure, bring it on. This game is surprisingly unrelenting."In this world where the gems of rain... fell slowly like large snowflakes on a snowy field. Dlanor and Battler slowly... crossed paths. It seemed slow. And yet, it happened in a flash. Their gazes crossed and clashed like lightning. Knight confronted knight head on, and it would all be decided in a single strike...!  "Was it shown beforehand that a blind spot existed within the study for Natsuhi? If it wasn't shown, this theory will not be permitted. Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED...!!"Dlanor's double strike with both the blue and red blades reached out to slice Battler... and missed. Those longswords, which had never lost in a hundred battles, cut through the empty air... "When we entered the study, its structure was clearly referred to. Too bad for you."For the first time, Dlanor showed an expression. It was a sudden smile. She had known since long ago that the study's structure had been referred to. But she couldn't let him escape without making a single strike. As an Inquisitor of Heresy, she could not do that. So though she had known that she wouldn't make it, she had still crossed swords with Battler. "Yes, I KNEW. That answer of yours doesn't violate Knox's 8th." "...Here it comes. Don't regret it." "Yes, COME."In Battler's hand... was a blade that shone red. That blade etched out the red truth...   That has already been shown. And it suggests that there might have been a blind spot somewhere within the room... Without any mercy, no, without any reluctance that would have been dishonorable, the sword of red truth cut into Dlanor. It cut a beautiful hemisphere through the countless gems of rain that filled the sky...  "Well... DONE..." "..."Time... exploded into life. Both of them... fell through the courtyard. One drifted down. The other tumbled through the air. Then, there was a soft sound and a dull thud. The first was the sound of Battler landing gently in the courtyard. The second was the sound of Dlanor crashing down. After crouching down for a while, Battler slowly stood up. Though he had jumped down from the third floor, he had landed as lightly as though he had merely jumped over a fence...  Beato leaned out of the study window, looking to see if the supposedly wingless Battler had landed safely. "Beato!! Come on, jump!!" "Huh...?!" "That window is our way out! So jump!! You aren't the kind of witch who can be locked up inside a closed room, right?!!"The study was no longer a closed room. She could jump from here, escape from here...! By now, the closed room which had threatened to capture the witch and suffocate her had been destroyed.  "Y, yes...!! Y, you too, Kinzo...!" "Go. From the moment Battler showed his answer, my spirit had already escaped from this room."Kinzo's form became a group of gold butterflies and disappeared. The closed room barrier had dissolved, and the power which denies magic had scattered. Beato ran towards the window. That was the only exit from the closed room of this witch hunt. After glancing at the subordinates of the Inquisitor of Heresy and the Chiester Sisters, she readied her wound-covered body and ran towards the window, just like Battler had done. She looked like Cinderella running as she heard the bell toll.  Erika flew at Beato, trying to latch on as Beato dashed, but it was like trying to catch smoke, and she landed face first on the floor. There's no way a human can catch a witch. For one such as her, without love, even touching Beato was impossible...! "Chiester Corps, shoot the witch! Shoot her dead!!" "Alignment conflict. Unable to fire." "Allow me to speak. I have no barrier prepared which can block Battler's blue truth."Both Chiester 00 and Gertrude spoke with unbelievably calm voices.   Erika crouched, screaming and clutching at her head. "The great Golden Witch isn't gonna be defeated by something like that geezer's grubby study!! It's still just the first twilight! I'll teach these newcomers that your game isn't that easy!!"Just like Battler, Beato also... jumped.  ...Battler caught her with both arms as though catching an angel's wings. It was like a knight catching a princess who had been locked up in a tower, like a beautiful picture of a scene in some fairy tale... "...Crap, I think I'm in love. Are all the Ushiromiya family heads guys like this?" "If you were to write down the unprecedented feats of Ushiromiya Kinzo, you would probably have an uproarious tale longer than all the grimoires in the study put together. It seems the tale of the next head will be worth writing down as well." "In fact, it already is being written. It's already a very, very long tale. Pu ku ku ku."The demons giggled on top of the roof, holding umbrellas. Then, they quietly looked down over the two in the courtyard.  "Hah, hahhahhahahahahahaha... You're... not bad at all..." "I guess all your games've toughened me up."In shock, Beato... actually praised Battler as he held her in his arms. Battler laughed in his usual carefree way...  Erika looked down from the window and clenched her teeth, still clutching at her head. Still holding Beato in his arms, Battler grinned back.  "Erika." "...Wh, what is it...?"  "Y, yes...! My riddle is... yo... yo..." "Yo?"When Battler laughed evilly, Beato's face turned uncharacteristically red, but even so, she spoke while laughing loudly. "My riddle is... yo... yours... yours alone...!! Ushiromiya Battler! I won't let anyone else solve it...!!" "Heheh, listen to her, saying something like that...!!"Battler snorted, amused that Beato had said something so unlike her. And, still holding Beato in his arms, he spun around in a kind of waltz. The falling gems of rain celebrated their overcoming of this trial...  If Battler had at least been seriously injured and writhing in the mud, Erika might still have had some ground to stand on. She might have been able to claim that Kinzo couldn't have jumped down with his old body and gotten away unscathed. However, Battler stood calmly in the courtyard, looking up at Erika with the dignity of the victor.   Erika tried to get everyone's agreement and somehow turn things around, but their responses were no different from how they had been a short while ago.   "I wouldn't put it past Father." "This is Father we're talking about..." "There're plenty of crazy stories about that man. Somethin' like this wouldn't surprise me at all." "Wh, what...?!! I, is there something wrong in your heads, in your minds, people?!?!" "At any rate, it looks like your closed room argument wasn't perfect." Not only the servants, but the family members also agreed. They all agreed that there was nothing strange about Kinzo jumping down from a third floor window. J, just who in the world... is this Ushiromiya Kinzo person...?!!  "Well, I'll give you 60 points... Kinzo would have done it with a bit more flash in his younger days. It needs some more tweaking." "Oh, and how much should it be tweaked?" "W, well... Umm, h, he might have jumped down with me in h, his arms!" "Got it. Next time, I'll jump down with you in my arms." "I, if you think you can, just try and do it..."Beato's voice grew very faint, and she gulped. Then, her body suddenly became a group of gold butterflies and crumbled away. It was because many people had rushed up to the window, and she was being bathed with gazes filled with the anti-magic toxin. Beato's body became invisible to them and melted into the air... So to their eyes, it appeared that Battler was standing all alone out in the courtyard...  "Battleeeeeeeeer!! You okaaaaaaaaay?!!" "I, it looks like he's alright...! Thank goodness!" There was no pain in Dlanor's expression. Pleasure and pain never showed up on her face in the first place. However, she used her longsword as a crutch as she painfully rose to her feet, so it was easy to tell that she had taken heavy damage. And despite her lack of an expression, you could tell that this was a loss she could accept. Battler and Dlanor turned to face each other. "Here I go." "Yes, COME."As though readying herself, Dlanor quietly closed her eyes, but she still stood tall and maintained her air of dignity. "This is my blue truth."The blue power gathered. Battler slowly approached Dlanor. Then, he faced the rainy sky and yelled out the blue truth.   The blue wedge flashed through the courtyard along with a blue bolt of lightning, and roared down towards Dlanor's forehead as she stared up at the sky. "...ah." "...Beato's game isn't easy. It's even doubtful whether the fallbacks of the mystery genre even work here. Your swordsmanship isn't bad, but you should be a bit more flexible in your thinking."...A massive blue wedge which looked like a pillar... was above Dlanor's forehead... and had stopped with its tip just slightly touching her. It didn't run her through. It made no mark larger than being poked with a pencil. When Battler snapped his fingers, the blue wedge shattered and became a shower of translucent gems, no, drops of rain that poured down over the courtyard. Dlanor sat down in an absent sort of way... Amidst the thunder and rain, the successor to the Ushiromiya family faced the people staring down from the study and... spread his arms wide...    "<Good>, truly <good>...!! Ahhahhahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahaha...!! I'll chew it to bits, this riddle of the witch...!! All the way deep into its guts while it's still alive!! Ahhahhahhahha hhahahahahehyahhahahahha!!"Battler and Beato both looked calmly up at Erika, who couldn't contain that evil laugh...  BGM: About Face "G... gah... L, Lady Bernkastel... M, my apolo... gies..." "That face of yours. It's so incredibly laughable that I'd like to smash it and put a frame around it." "*giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*, my double is so... pathetic, pathetic, lame, lame, heheheheheheheehehehehihhhihihihihihhihahahyhahahahahahaha!!"Bathed in the sneers of Bernkastel, the being who was like a mother to her, Erika was so ashamed that it looked as though she'd chew her lower lip to pieces...    
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Apr 7, 2017 |
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The TIPS section has been updated.
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 October 5th, 1986, 11:00 AM  BGM: Voiceless In the arbor... sat the sad witch whose eyes had lost their glint... and Battler. Virgilia could also be seen there. She sat next to Beato, knitting quietly. Lambdadelta's game had passed the climax of the first twilight, and they were taking a short break. Gazing out at the golden rose garden soaked with rain, Battler thought back on the present, what was to come, and what had happened so far...  Even with the game stopped and Beato unable to speak, he could still keep on fighting. Virgilia suddenly stopped her knitting. Battler noticed it too. Because, though none should have been able to visit this rose garden, she had noticed a silhouette approaching.  "...That's unusual. Not many people can reach this place." "It's her..."That silhouette, which walked amidst the quietly falling rain without so much as an umbrella, was Dlanor.   "Why... are you here?" "It's been some time, <Mrs> Beatrice. No wait, now it's <Mrs> Virgilia, is it NOT?" "Long time no see, Dlanor. Come over here. We aren't ones to leave a guest out in the rain." "..." "Don't worry. She hasn't come to fight." "...Do you know her?" "She's one of my old friends from heaven. This really takes me back." "That it DOES. <Mrs> Virgilia possesses a deep knowledge in Heavenly STUDIES. I have often argued with her over INTERPRETATIONS." "Ho ho ho... My many intellectual adventures with you were quite enjoyable. I'd like to do it again sometime." "Yes. Let's do it again SOMETIME. I'd love to fight with you AGAIN."They used the word 'fight', but it didn't sound like they meant anything unpleasant by it. It sounded like something old chess rivals would say to each other. Unlike Beato, it seems that Virgilia has always acted properly and courteously, so she had many friends in various other worlds, including both heaven and the demon world. Surprisingly, Dlanor was one of them... Dlanor, who had crossed swords with 'me' just a short while ago, ducked her head as though taking shelter from a sudden rain, and sat in the seat Virgilia pointed out, like a guest. "...Is there any type of black tea you would prefer?" "ANYTHING. Any tea you make is SUPERB." "Then how about some Darjeeling? Battler, Beato, would you like some more?" "...Yeah. Beato and I would like a refill. Right?" "..."As usual, Beato didn't answer, but if you quietly gave her a cup, she would sip it from time to time. There was still some black tea left in that cup, but it had already chilled. So Battler asked for a refill for Beato as well...  "She's no longer participating in the game. Lambdadelta is the one controlling the Beato that's on the game board." "I KNOW. However, she is the original master of this WORLD. And you are the proper guest, invited by that MASTER. That is why I have come to pay my RESPECTS."On the game board, Beato and I met Dlanor. But those were the game pieces of those witches. They weren't Beato and me ourselves. "Is that why you went out of your way to greet Battler-kun and Beato here...? I see you're as conscientious as always." "That is my way of doing THINGS. Greetings, <Mister> Battler. I am Dlanor A. Knox. We play opposing roles, but it is a pleasure to meet YOU." "...Sure. I'm Ushiromiya Battler. Pleased to meet you." "Greetings, <Miss> Beatrice. I am Dlanor A. Knox." "..." "...Beato. She's saying hi. " "..." "...She says 'welcome'." "Thank you very MUCH. <Miss> Beatrice."The witch and the Inquisitor of Heresy whose job it was to hunt witches greeted each other around a tea table surrounded by the aroma of black tea. It was a strange sight.  She was a witch, so it wasn't an incredibly bizarre scene. Though I was a bit concerned about whether Dlanor, an Inquisitor of Heresy, could watch such a spectacle. "...Do not WORRY. I am not so boorish as to complain about how my tea is SERVED." "Even though the tea's being made with magic...?" "...There is a tea set hiding in the shadows, and <Mrs> Virgilia is making us tea with it in SECRET. We interpret and/or judge that it was 'made with MAGIC', and it is written as such in the TALE. That interpretation is allowed by Knox's 9th." "Oh my... I do believe the interpretation of the 9th is such a delicate problem that it's viewed as a taboo, even in the Great Court... Even though it's just a personal opinion, if it became known that the Head Inquisitor of Heresy said such a thing, you might be sacked." "No matter how I might interpret it, there is nothing false about the way your tea TASTES. Therefore, I do not worry about how it was PREPARED." "...Aha..."Though she looked cold, she was a surprisingly tactful person. If Dlanor were to deny that the black tea had been prepared with magic, this magic would surely be crushed in a instant. However, since the possibility had been presented that a tea set existed and had been used to make the tea normally, the fact that Virgilia had made tea was, in the end, undisputed.  "I see. The important thing is that you're being welcomed with some tea, so it's just common courtesy to avoid complaining about how it was made."...That's right. It's common courtesy to be grateful for tea that someone makes for you. There's nothing elegant about pushing your way into the kitchen and poking around through the tea-making process. "You don't invite your guests into the kitchen. And when you set the table, you should adorn it beautifully in the spirit of hospitality. Here you go. It's hot." BGM: In the Sun "*giggle*. You still can't drink it straight?" "I'm a KID. It must be SWEET." "The word 'lie' makes it sound bad. The word 'embellishment' is probably more fitting." "When giving a child candy, you can take a crumpled up one out of your pocket, or use a wonderful bit of sleight of hand to take the candy OUT. The impression you give with each method varies GREATLY." "That's because it's cooler to take it out with a little magic trick." "WRONG. It is significant because it embellishes the result--giving them the candy--by making it even more beautiful and FUN." "...Think of when you give Maria-chan a candy. There's a huge difference between taking it out of your pocket to give to her and slipping it into her pocket saying a fairy gave it to her for being such a good girl." "In my opinion, it would be boorish to then question everyone about their alibis and pinpoint who it was that slipped it into her POCKET. The important thing is the result: that the girl received the candy and REJOICED. And it is significant that it was embellished in a way that made her REJOICE." "...That's surprising. When you showed up, I got the feeling you'd deny anything that went by the name of magic." "That is how I act in my capacity as an Inquisitor of Heresy. It is my JOB. However, when I am away from my job, I don't enjoy being quite so cold-HEARTED." "So, this is what they call leaving your personal feelings aside when on duty? You do it well." "As an Inquisitor of Heresy, hunting witches is my JOB. However, I personally find witches pitiable. Despite this, I carry out judgment mercilessly as an INQUISITOR." "...In the end, that doesn't change the fact that I sentence witches to DEATH. In the end, my pity is nothing more than a useless EMBELLISHMENT. Whether I have it or not, nothing CHANGES. So, it would be better if I DIDN'T..." "...That's not true. Even if the ends are the same, there's a big difference depending on your heart. Your mother's cookies must have been more delicious than those made by a good pastry shop. That's because you know that they were made with heart." "That's right. Even if the result appears to be the same, there's a huge difference between whether or not it had a little thing called sincerity..." "Is that SO...? Whether I have a heart or not is completely MEANINGLESS."Dlanor's gaze fell to her cup, a little sadly...  "..." "After hearing all that, I've changed the way I look at you. So I'm certain your heart isn't something meaningless."Virgilia was a little surprised to hear the words she should have said coming from Battler's mouth. After all, understanding the 'heart' is the first step towards finding the essence of magic. By now, perhaps Battler has unconsciously started to understand, bit by bit, the essence of Beato, the essence of witches... and the very first essence of all, magic. Whether you want to become a witch or vanquish them... The very first step is learning about magic. Virgilia was sure that she felt this faint change within Battler...  "That 'me' wasn't me. Lambdadelta was controlling him."I joined in on the 5th game partway through. I still haven't participated at 'this point in time'. So until I do join in, the piece 'me' is probably being controlled by Bernkastel or Lambdadelta. "...Just what kind of whim are they working off? Trying to make it look all cool... They made me look like some kind of knight coming to save Beato." "Lady Lambdadelta wants both witches and humans to be in balance, resulting in a draw. With Erika's appearance, the scales tipped strongly in the favor of the human side, so she manipulated the tale in a way that supports Beato." "I am aware of that. However, pieces cannot do things that are impossible for THEM. And they specialize in actions appropriate to their original PERSONALITY. Therefore, that was certainly something that you... that Battler was capable OF. That is why I am grateful to YOU." "...It feels a bit weird to be praised when I didn't actually do anything. After the game continues a bit more, I'll probably regain control of my piece. Not sure I'll be able to go easy on you then." "It's the same with ME. The next time we cross swords, I won't hold BACK." "Bring it on. I'll be your opponent. Come at me with all you've got." "I PROMISE. With everything I've GOT."...Dlanor. I'd thought she was an emotionless killer doll without a heart, but maybe she actually is pretty approachable. Though of course, neither of us will show any mercy when fighting over the game board. For a while, we gazed at the rain-drenched rose garden as we quietly enjoyed our tea.  BGM: Witch in Gold (cembalo) With a sudden sigh, Dlanor muttered something. "What is it? If it's about that fight a short while ago, it's already over. We both fought with everything we had. The outcome was just luck of the draw." "No, it wasn't luck of the DRAW. I couldn't just let it be, so I came here to APOLOGIZE." "...What are you talking about...?" Virgilia spoke softly, without hesitating in her knitting. "...YES. <Mister> Battler." "That <Mister> really hurts. Just Battler is fine." "Battler. I APOLOGIZE. We did not give it everything we HAD." "...I know. 'Kinzo is dead at the starting time for all games'. Beato has already spoken that truth. In that battle, Battler-kun could only have achieved a draw at best. He most certainly had no chance at all of winning." "...You're right. If you just say that, the whole fight's already over. Why didn't you use that red? Don't tell me it was because of a stalemate or something like that." "Boom. That's checkmate. Why didn't that girl use that trump card...?" Though she had fought calmly up until that point, she quickly got flustered when I dashed forwards. I'd thought that she had been frightened by my sudden attack, but the truth was different. Even though she held a trump card which could completely repel me, she suddenly became unable to use it, and hesitated. "I don't UNDERSTAND. All of a sudden, in that instant, use of that trump card became FORBIDDEN. Once we lost that, your victory was GUARANTEED." "...The Game Master, Lady Lambdadelta, probably interfered." "That bastard... So in the end, that whole fight was a farce in the palm of Lambdadelta's hand. She made 'us' play out that entire act according to her script." "I do not like IT. However, since you told me to fight with everything I had, I had no choice but to let you KNOW. Please forgive ME." "Still, even though you'd lost your trump card, you kept on fighting all-out with your remaining cards. I don't believe anyone could find fault with what you did." "...That's right. On the contrary, you should be mad at Lambdadelta for butting in." "'Kinzo doesn't exist' should already be an established FACT. Lady Lambdadelta and Lady Bernkastel should know this WELL. And yet, they are both leaving room for Kinzo to exist as they continue in this GAME. It's almost as though the two are conspiring to prevent Kinzo's existence from being DENIED." "YES. They must be after SOMETHING." "...That is a bit odd. Lady Lambdadelta and Lady Bernkastel should always be in opposition unless the witch side is in a superior position. It's hard to imagine that those two are conspiring together at a time like this..." "I can't help but think that they have some sort of wicked GOAL. I came here because I wanted you to know THAT." "...So, you came all the way here to tell us something like that?" "YES. Which means that my business here is FINISHED. I think I will leave NOW. The game will probably resume SHORTLY. I must aid Erika during the rest of this GAME."Dlanor gulped down the last of her black tea and stood up.  "...I understand. If I went easy on you, I'd have my own head smashed in." "On the game board, I am nothing more than Lady Bernkastel's piece and Furudo Erika's SUBORDINATE. In the future, we will probably stand across from each other as opponents many TIMES." "...However, my heart is always NEUTRAL. No, please forget THAT. That has nothing to do with the relationship between the two of us." "It does. There's no doubt you're a fearsome opponent, but you don't piss me off anymore. Though that Erika totally pisses me off." "Heh, hahahahaha."Dlanor's expression finally softened slightly. At the very last moment, it felt as though we finally understood each other. "Furudo Erika is a very evil CREATURE. She's lost face from her recent defeat and is burning with a desire for REVENGE. Even I don't know what she is PLANNING. However, it can't be anything GOOD. Please take CARE." "...Just knowing she's Bernkastel's piece means I can't let my guard down."Dlanor nodded as though satisfied, left the eaves of the arbor and walked out into the rain. "...Who would have thought that I would work as a subordinate to such EVIL... Why was I called to this WORLD?"Dlanor let out a small sigh. 'Pieces' can do nothing except fulfill the function they have been given. And that function is given to them by the one who controls them. She probably can't disobey 'her' own player, Bernkastel.  "..." "...<Miss> Beatrice. What is it that you want from ME? I do hope that I can help you in some way, though I may be a subordinate of EVIL..."She spoke to Beato... but of course, there was no response. After bowing once more in thanks for the black tea, Dlanor disappeared off into the rainy rose garden...  BGM: None "Yes. This child is the one who called Dlanor here." "..." "...So, Beato called her here so I could meet with her..."...However, I know of a person who reached this place despite Beato's wishes.  ...In the last game, Ange reached this place by herself... even though she was an uninvited guest. Was that... also something... Beato wished for...? "I am here, you are here. Beato is here. Dlanor was invited here. All of these things happened because this child wanted them to. Even the bit of time you and Dlanor spent together drinking tea." "..." "...Beato. What was I... supposed to learn from her...? Does it have something to do with finding your heart... and letting you sleep peacefully...?"Dlanor A. Knox. The natural enemy of witches. Inquisitor of Heresy. A vanguard of mystery... who denies fantasy. 
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Apr 9, 2017 13:52
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  "..."Cornelia slowly got up, and, as she had been ordered, stood on one leg. Her hands were clasped behind her back. Because she had been ordered to do so. Then, with a *thump*, Erika pushed her from behind with both hands. Cornelia landed on the floor face first with a *thud*.  BGM: Black Lilliana  "..."Cornelia rose shakily. Then, once again, she stood on one leg as she had been ordered. She had been ordered not to hold her ground. So she had fallen on her face over and over again. She had barely managed to protect her nose, but after smashing against the floor so many times, her face was bright red. She wasn't shedding any tears. No, she couldn't shed them. Because she was forbidden to do even that...  "..."*thump* *thud*.  *thump* *thud*. *thump* *thud*. *thump* ...*thud*. Erika repeated this falling torture over and over again. At times like this, Erika hated counting things. So she decided that, once she ran out of fingers to count the number of times, she would just repeat it until she lost interest. However, Erika's main redeeming feature was that she never lost interest in anything, so the torture continued on without end... ...Erika didn't know why Cornelia had been unable to fully protect the window. So the whole time since then, she had placed all the blame of their loss on her.   "Oh, is that true? Then please take her place from now on." "G, Gertrude has done nothing wrong..." "Gertrude. Please stand. On one leg. Clasp your hands behind you." "..."Gertrude followed the order... and clasped her hands behind her back, standing on one leg.  "You mustn't resist or hold your ground. You are not permitted to bend your knees. You are not permitted to shed any tears. Got it?" "...As you wish..." "Gertrude..."Erika made a show of walking behind Gertrude. She was even enjoying making her wonder when she'd push... At that time, Gertrude and Cornelia burst in a bright light and disappeared. Because Dlanor, who must have returned at some point, had sent them back to the heavens for the time being. Erika, who'd had her fun spoiled, directed a bluntly malicious expression at Dlanor...  "...<No, thank you>. Punishment only works because it causes pain. There's nothing interesting about an unfeeling doll girl that I can't leave a single injury on."Erika slowly grabbed hold of the back of Dlanor's hair, tugging unrelentingly. Dlanor's neck tilted upwards, creaking. "...You may not cause a physical injury, but you do INJURE." "Hmph. As if you had a heart which could be injured. You lowly witch-hunting murder doll. Are you trying to talk back to me? Me, the envoy and double of the great Lady Bernkastel...?!" "...NO." "I got scolded by Lady Bernkastel because you guys are useless...!! Please, never fail so lamely again...! Un-der-sta-nd...?!"The hair she had grabbed was stretched back as far as it would go, along with more creaking... This didn't cause Dlanor any physical pain, but she could clearly feel Erika's ill will. "...My APOLOGIES. Forgive ME." "Filth."With a sound like a bowstring being cut, several of Dlanor's hairs were pulled out. Then, Erika waved her hand about as though trying to brush off something dirty that had gotten stuck to it.  BGM: Totem Blume "UNDERSTOOD. Gertrude, Cornelia." ""As you wish.""The two of them reappeared behind Dlanor and reconstructed the crime scene for Erika, the one who had just been tormenting them... "...Kinzo disappearing was nothing more than an added bonus for the first twilight. Okay, let's start investigating the first twilight. But before that. Did you realize that we were actually given a riddle before the murder case even occurred?"  "That's right. For that instant, the tale creates the illusion that it was impossible for any human, making it seem like an unknown witch exists." "...Let's start by crushing this Illusion of the Witch. We'll first check the situation in the dining hall last night when the letter was delivered." "UNDERSTOOD. Gertrude, Cornelia. Reconstruct last night's family conference in the dining hall." "As you wish." And partway through, the servants had arrived to serve tea.  "Please, allow me to speak. Before the family conference, Erika, George, Jessica, Maria, Nanjo, Gohda, and Kumasawa left the mansion and moved to the guesthouse." "Please, allow me to speak. Of those who remain, only Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji were in the second floor corridor, while all others were in the dining hall."  "Aha. That would mean no one inside the mansion could have knocked and placed the letter there, right? Eheheheh." "YES. The witch side will probably say that this person is the one who wrote the letter... the witch, Beatrice." "Ridiculous. A stupid trick. There's no guarantee that the letter was placed there at exactly 24:00. It's only sensible to consider that it might have been placed there earlier." "Just a few minutes before the letter was discovered, Shannon and Kanon came in to serve TEA. When they entered, multiple witnesses confirmed that there was nothing suspicious like a letter in the hallway." "Maybe one of those not in the parlor: Krauss, Natsuhi or Genji, simply saw their chance right after that and placed the letter there. No wait, it should be possible for the people who supposedly went to the guesthouse too." "We've heard that the mansion was locked and that no one outside could get in, but if someone pretended to have gone to the guesthouse and instead hid inside the mansion, it's perfectly possible that they could've placed the letter there." "Allow me to speak. Blue truth, effective." "In that case, the problem is the 'KNOCK'. Unlike the letter, someone would have to exist there at the instant of the KNOCK." "I see, so this is the so-called proof that a person who shouldn't be there, a witch, existed? This is completely ridiculous. Do they think I, Furudo Erika, would surrender to something like that? *giggle*giggle*, ahhahaha!" "First off, we can doubt whether the knock was even something hitting the door to the dining hall at all. For example, there may be a certain pillar on the second floor which, because of how the mansion is constructed, makes a noise when struck which is transmitted down the pillar and which sounds just like a knock on the door to people in the dining hall." "Or they could have misheard some random sound to be a knock and all misconstrued it in the same way. Or the recorded sound of a knock could have been stealthily replayed from a tape, which might have been carefully set up to go off at exactly that time." "Either way, I can think of many ways to make them hear a knock even if no one was on the other side of the door...! How is that? My master! How is my reasoning...?!!"  "Well, it looks like your cute piece gave it her all to think up these blue truths, so I guess I'll be nice and give out a few red truths♪ I guess I'll start with the letter. There was a knock when the bell of the large clock rang out 24:00. And when the door was opened, there lay a letter in an envelope bearing the One-winged Eagle. It's so obvious to assume that the people who weren't in the parlor secretly placed the letter there, right?"  "...Oho? Then.. when Shannon and Kanon came in to serve tea, who was the last human to enter the dining hall...? Let's say it was Kanon. Wouldn't it be easy if Kanon, the last person in, secretly dropped the letter there when he closed the door?" "Not a single person in the dining hall... no, there's a simpler way to say it. Among all those inside the mansion at 24:00, not a single person placed that letter in the corridor." "So, you can't say that no one touched it?" "Of course. They 'touched it when they picked it up'. I couldn't say that none of them touched it." "I see. Then let's interpret it this way... Someone who existed outside of the mansion at 24:00 placed a letter somewhere other than the hallway beforehand. Then, it was moved by some means and ended up 'placed in the hallway'." "It was simply glued there in a way that would make it come unstuck after a certain amount of time. When it eventually fell off, it became 'the letter left behind by a witch' who shouldn't have existed. In other words, this is a classic trick where the true sender gives themselves an alibi by making the letter appear at a different time." "Allow me to speak. Blue truth, effective." "In other words, the fact that it landed just outside the dining hall door was just the culprit's good luck. At worst, it might have happened in the kitchen, the corridor, or even inside the dining hall." "...Oh, <good>! If it had happened inside the dining hall, that would have been even more wonderful. Within everyone's sight, a letter would suddenly appear on the floor. And that wouldn't even violate a red truth saying 'no one in the closed room of the dining hall touched the letter unexpectedly'!" "Well DONE. If the letter was stuck to the bottom of the serving cart, then anyone could be the CULPRIT." "That might work okay regarding the letter. However, will that same type of argument apply to the knock as well? Let's try this again, shall we?" "...Please, go ahead."  "This isn't the limited meaning of them knocking on the door, okay? It means they didn't use a pillar to transmit the sound or push the play button on a cassette tape they'd recorded or create that knock sound by any means! Of course, this applies to direct, indirect, intentional, coincidental, and unintentional means!" "This wedge has already been knocked in, but I'll repeat it. Maybe someone other than Krauss, Natsuhi, or Genji made that knock, or else a sound that could be misidentified as a knock." "Please, allow me to speak. Let it be known that at 24:00, except for Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji in the second floor corridor and all of the people in the dining hall, no humans existed inside the mansion." "Please, allow me to speak. Let it be known that in addition to Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji, none of those in the dining hall knocked on that door. In this sense, 'knock' includes all direct, indirect, intentional, unintentional, and coincidental events that could create a knocking sound."A direct knock refers to someone literally hitting a door to make a knocking sound. An intentional knock refers to someone creating a fake knocking sound to try and make it appear that someone knocked. An unintentional knock refers to someone unintentionally creating a fake knocking sound. A coincidental knock refers to some kind of coincidence creating a fake knocking sound.  'Anyone who was in the mansion' would also include any unknown person X who had snuck into the mansion. Therefore, it literally meant 'it was impossible for anyone inside the mansion to knock', with no word play allowed. "...I see. No matter how much I toy with it, it's impossible for anyone except those in the guesthouse group to create the knocking sound, right? Like me, for example. What if I, Furudo Erika, recorded a knocking sound on a cassette tape and used some kind of secret contraption to start it playing at exactly 24:00? Of course, I wasn't in the mansion at 24:00. There aren't any problems with this, are there?" "No PROBLEMS. However, though the knock did serve as a way of informing them about the letter on the other side of the door, I do not think it would have worked if the letter had fallen ELSEWHERE."If the trick in Erika's theory about the letter being stuck to the serving cart was accurate, then the location that the letter fell was a matter of luck. Because it had fortunately fallen near the door, the people in the dining hall noticed it due to the knock. However, if the location it fell was a matter of chance, it might have landed in the far off kitchen or remained stuck even after they entered. If that had happened, the knock would have been ignored as though they'd just imagined it. In other words, the knock by itself wouldn't transmit any message at all. It only made it appear as though someone had been there because it was paired with the letter. In that case, the random location the letter fell to off the bottom of the serving cart couldn't be connected with the knock. For the letter to be found thanks to the knock, it would have to be reliably positioned 'on the other side of the door'. However, it was announced in red that no one in the mansion placed the letter in the hallway.  "...For example, let's assume there was a device on the serving cart that 'drops the letter when it stops moving'. In this case, you'd think they could predict that the cart would probably stop just once when those two knock on the door to the dining hall, and by doing so, they'd be cleverly making it so the letter drops right in front of the door." "But even this doesn't work, okay? The action of 'stopping the serving cart' would indirectly lead to 'placing the letter in the hallway'. That would mean Shannon and Kanon, who were pushing the cart, had 'indirectly and unintentionally' placed the letter there! So even this is no good! Furthermore, setting it up so that the letter peeled off with the passage of time would mean that the people pushing the serving cart had 'coincidentally and unintentionally' placed the letter there. Of course, this is also no good!!" "Repeat it. 'At 24:00, only Erika, George, Jessica, Maria, Nanjo, Gohda, and Kumasawa existed outside the mansion'."Like if someone in the dining hall had slipped out the window just at 24:00... and 'didn't exist in the mansion' at that time... With this wordplay, it might be possible to get around the red truth.  "...Repeat iiiiiit...? Even though I'm nice enough to give you all this red for free? Aren't you being a bit greedy? I'm not an idiot like Beato, so I won't go around saying everything my opponent tells me to repeat..." "...I'll give you a full body massage in a bath with marshmallows and konpeito sometime soon. Enough to rub your skin off." In other words, no matter how much they struggled, those 8 people, including Erika, could not have existed inside the mansion, much less in front of the door. And at the same time, no matter how much they struggled, those inside the mansion could not have existed outside the mansion. "In that case, the letter might have been stuck to the ceiling of the hallway instead of the serving cart. The ceiling of the hallway is surprisingly high, so even if you just stuck it there out in the open, maybe no one would notice it. This way, it would certainly fall in the corridor. And you can slip by the red if someone outside the mansion did this! <Good> job, me...!" "Please, allow me to speak. The letter never existed on the ceiling of the hallway." "Please, allow me to speak. Know that the letter never touched the serving cart." "...Wh, who cares about that?! Anyway, someone outside the mansion used some kind of trick to place the letter there!! If you try to use that letter and the knock to argue that Beatrice exists, it definitely won't work on Furudo Erika." "Please, allow me to speak. It was impossible for anyone outside the mansion to influence anything inside the mansion around the time of the family conference." "Then someone outside the mansion set up some kind of device before the family conference. Something other than the ceiling or the serving cart!" "Allow me to speak. Blue truth, ineffective." "Why...?!! That's the only way, right?! Someone outside the mansion used some kind of device other than the ceiling or the serving cart...!!" "A, allow me to speak. Unless you can specify or theorize what that something might be, the blue truth will not be acknowledged." "Allow me to speak. All of Lady Erika's blue truths regarding the letter have been lost." "They've all been lost, you say...?! Watch your tongues a bit more, useless furniture! If I can just think of that device, it's an instant checkmate...! What do you mean A L L of them?! What do you mean my blue truth is ineffective?!" Erika's face twisted. These words that seemed to deny Erika... no, Erika's reasoning... were the worst form of torture and humiliation for her. "...<Miss> Erika. Why don't we postpone the riddle of the letter for NOW? Your blue stake about 'someone outside the mansion playing it with a cassette tape' is still EFFECTIVE. If it was possible for sound, then perhaps it wasn't impossible for a letter as WELL."As Erika made to grab and pull Gertrude's hair, Dlanor stopped her with those words. "That's right, my blue truth regarding the knock is still effective...! It's not true that everything's been denied...!! My master! I will solve the riddle of the letter without fail. Please allow me to postpone that...!!" "However, I will definitely figure out the riddle of the knock here! I've hit you with the blue stake that 'someone outside the mansion set things up with a cassette tape or something to make a knock sound play'...!" "Eheheheheheheheheheheh...! You really are a cute kid, piece of Bern's. Very lively. Anyway, she's yelling that you forgive her because she's solved one of the two riddles, even though she resigned on the other. So, will you forgive her...?" "...Sure. Normally, I'd never forgive my own piece for the shame of surrendering, but if you've managed to solve one of the riddles, I guess I'll let it slide for now..." "M, my master..."When Bernkastel said she'd let it slide, Erika couldn't hide her relief.   "...Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" "Misidentifying a knocking sound means this: they would not mistake a sound very similar to a knocking sound for a real knocking sound. Hitting a pillar to make something similar to a knocking sound is no good. When you record a knocking sound on a cassette tape and play it back, it becomes 'the sound of the tape with a knocking sound on it', and not a knocking sound. So that's no good either!" "In other words, all of them would correctly distinguish a knocking sound of something truly hitting the door, and they definitely wouldn't mishear it. It's totally impossible that any sounds except hitting that door directly would be misinterpreted as a knock!!" "Wh, what the... But that means... at the time the bell sounding 24:00 went off, no one existed who could have hit the door... Gggh, ggghgghhhhh..." "Yep, they don't exist. After all, the Golden Witch Beatrice hit it. *cackle* *cackle* *cackle* cackle* *cackle*...!!" "...So in other words, there's no way to fake it, and you have to hit the door. So what about this?" "'To knock' means someone hitting a door with their hand, right? I won't accept hitting it with some device, eheheheheheheheheheheh!! They heard a knock at the same time as the 24:00 bell. At that time, everyone inside the dining hall definitely heard it." "And none of them misinterpreted a knocking sound. Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji were not involved with the knock. No one else existed inside the mansion. And that knock refers to the action of standing directly in front of a door and hitting it with a hand." "...Hey, Bern. What do you think of my red? Don't you think this is pretty simple and enjoyable despite being before the first twilight? The Golden Witch descended quietly with a knocking sound. *giggle*giggle*, eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh...!" The two witches doubled over laughing as though this was the most fun thing in the world... "Gah, M, my master... Don't worry. If you just give my little gray cells some time, I will definitely reach an answer to this pitiful red...!" "...You're nothing but a piece. Your absence wouldn't hinder my progress in this game in the slightest. If you can't think of any theories in particular, please just go back to the piece tray and gather dust or something. It's painful to even remember useless pieces." "...After all, Bern is pretty forgetful. If you don't try a little harder, Bern's gonna forget you, okay...? You'll collect dust in that forgotten piece tray, awaiting your turn that will never come. I imagine that'd be pretty harsh, don't you think...?" "D, don't worry, Lady Lambdadelta, and my master...! I promise that I'll keep you entertained and never let you down again...!" "...Oh, how reassuring. I guess you're my double after all. Then make sure you really are giving it your all, in various ways. If you don't make an impact, I might forget all about you..." There was no room for Erika to step in. If she contented herself with that, she would literally have no place to go, and would be buried in an eternal oblivion. Erika endured with a hideous expression, looking with shame at the back of the master who was ignoring her. And with both fists clenched, she thought frantically for some kind of breakthrough. I am the detective, I am Furudo Erika. I am the piece and double and servant of the great Lady Bernkastel...!! I'll definitely make her satisfied... satisfied... definitely, definitely, gah, ggghggghhhhhh, Ushiromiya Battler... how dare you... humiliate me so... As she stood there, ignored by the witches and shrouded in darkness, it looked like someone had told her to go stand all alone in the hallway...  BGM: None Even Gohda-san's wonderful meal, which had supposedly been in the works since yesterday, provided no comfort. The several empty seats quietly burdened us with a pain-filled sadness... Then, in the middle of this meal that felt like a vigil, Erika suddenly stood up. Everyone focused on her to see what was the matter. Her expression was somewhere on the line between relieved and insane, as though she'd made some groundbreaking and strange discovery. "...Hey, what's up? Are you okay...?" BGM: Smile-less Soiree With an ugly expression covered with cold sweat, Erika glared and lashed out at Battler. "...What do you get...?" "There's no way you jumped down from the third floor study...! Not one of us saw you fall down and land in the courtyard...!!" "..." "You didn't jump down! You used a rain gutter or something and clumsily wriggled down the outer wall!! What do you think of my blue truth?!! Come on, what's your counterargument?!" "...My counterargument?" "You don't have a counterargument? Then my truth is effective, right?!" "Hey, did you see that?! Trying to look cool and making it look like you jumped down was all an illusion! You just jumped out and latched onto a rain gutter...!!" "...My argument then was about whether it was possible for Grandfather to escape from the study, right...? And it was possible for Grandfather to escape through the window. All I did was prove that. Whether I jumped down or crawled down, that doesn't change anything, does it?" "Don't try to change the subject!! A mere human can't jump down from the third floor...!!" "Did you see that, did you see that...?!! What do you think of my reasoning, my master...?!!" "...Are you tired or something? Just calm down and eat some food."When he escaped to the courtyard through the window... Battler really did use the rain gutter to crawl down the wall, just like Erika said. His hand had slipped halfway, and he had fallen from a considerable height, but he had managed to land on his feet. No one had witnessed this, but most likely, everyone in the dining hall now except Erika had realized that something like this had happened. Since the very beginning, no one had believed that he'd jumped down from the third floor window. Even if they hadn't witnessed that directly. So they had no clue what Erika was complaining about all of a sudden and started to whisper, staring at her with cold eyes and dubious faces...  "My master, please acknowledge this!! I am not incompetent or a disappointment...! I will match up to your expectations without fail, so please don't abandon me!! My master...!!"Facing someone that might have been somewhere beyond the ceiling, Erika spread her arms and yelled.  It was an incredible sound. They could even feel the earth shake. At the same time as that sound, Erika went limp and fell into her seat like a puppet who'd just had all its strings cut. Then, as the sound of wind and rain slowly filled the room once again, Erika slowly opened her eyes as though recovering from a bout of dizziness. Then, she continued eating in silence as though nothing had happened. As if she had been acting normally the whole time. ...Didn't Erika just stand up suddenly and yell something strange at someone...?  When they saw this ordinary appearance ...everyone convinced themselves that they were totally worn out and that they must have just seen some illusion of Erika suddenly yelling. So Erika's sudden transfiguration of a few seconds ago was treated as a daydream and faded out of everyone's memories... Erika quietly poked at her salad and muttered in a voice no one could hear.   
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Apr 10, 2017 |
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Apr 10, 2017 13:26
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 October 5th, 1986, 12:33 PM   "Yes, that's right. We did get fairly tired. We decided to take a short rest and then start up again."To smoke out the murderer of the first twilight, Erika closely questioned everyone involved to check their alibis and evidence. To confirm these, she went around the mansion with them, and when needed, took several trips out to the guesthouse through all the rain. Her vitality was admirable. Though she was an uninvited guest, everyone had long since stopped feeling anything strange about the way she imitated a detective...  BGM: Organ Short #200 Million in C Minor  "It's useless. Whether alibis exist or not, she can't deny our existence. Kinzo escaped through the window and is now one with the mists of Rokkenjima. She most certainly won't be able to capture or deny him." "When all's said and done, perhaps you could say he's escaped to the underside of the chessboard." "In that case, maybe it would be appropriate to say he's been stowed away." "...Come to think of it, about those corpses from the first twilight. They've been stowed away too, right?" "Yes. They've been put away in my darkness between this world and the next." "...And that detective wannabe won't be able to find them...?" "Of course. It would definitely be impossible for a human. Want to check?" "Just in case. And we also need to reexamine what Lady Bernkastel's goals will be from now on." "If you know your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles." "If you know the truth, you can win a hundred battles without fighting." "Pukkukukukuku. My, my."Gaap opened up a large hole in the sky and had it swallow all of them up. She invited Beato and Ronove to the gap between worlds where she had hidden the corpses...  In other words, it truly and literally was a place not of this world. In this place, questions such as 'Where is this?' and 'What time is it?' have no meaning. Every single place led to here, but no place could be reached from here. Furthermore, all times connected to this place, but no time could be passed to from here. In short, this place was just what they said it was: the underside of the chessboard. No, perhaps it would be most appropriate to call this the captured pile, where pieces that have left the game go...  BGM: Voiceless The five pitiful corpses with their necks sliced open had been arranged neatly. Their eyelids were shut and their hands joined. Apparently, even Gaap had respect for the dead... "Oh my. There are five sacrifices for the first twilight in this game? Not six?" "Oh, it's you, Teacher. I was worried about where you'd gone. The game has already reached the first twilight, and as you see, the first victims have appeared. So, it's finally time. I'm getting all excited...!" "I see. The you that is here looks to be in high spirits. I'm pleased." "?? I've got high spirits and a captivating body! What else to like except a good disposition? Wahaha."For some reason, Virgilia praised Beato for her high spirits. Though Beato was taken aback at such granny-like words coming out of Virgilia's mouth all of a sudden, she pounded her chest and answered. Virgilia had been absent often during this game. She might even have been away from her seat when Battler solved the epitaph and during the uproar that followed. Apparently, she had been absent for so many critical points that she didn't really understand much about what had happened so far in this game... "Right now, five corpses have appeared. As you can see, their necks have been slit."George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, Genji. All five of them had had their necks sliced open by something sharp... The wound opened wider than their mouths, and made it feel as though they would no longer need their mouths to breathe.  "Hmm? Red? Well, there's no point in me holding out against you. That's right, At a glance, anyone could confirm that these corpses are dead, so it is absolutely impossible that they are just people playing dead." "Why did Lia use the red...?" "Who knows. However, she is always thinking of Milady. She's probably thinking of something that will benefit Milady." "...Hmmm."But they had hid the corpses here so that no one could use the red... Despite that, however, Ronove was right. Virgilia always thought of Beatrice first. The way that these corpses, which Gaap had gone to all the trouble of erasing, had now been confirmed with the red made a slightly displeased expression rise to her face. However, in the end she remembered that she was only a guest and shrugged.  BGM: Dead Angle "Hmm. Since the epitaph has already been solved, this game of mine is different from usual. I now have serving and protecting Natsuhi as my goal." "...How would concealing their corpses protect Natsuhi?" "...We've more or less figured out what our opponents' moves will be. This is probably a trap made to corner Natsuhi. Most likely, they'll sort through alibis for the first twilight and find them for everyone except Natsuhi." "Last night, Natsuhi-sama was the first to leave the family conference, and then rested alone in her room. Unfortunately, she has no alibi whatsoever until the next morning." "By this point, it's impossible to deny Kinzo's existence. However, the enemy still has a single move that can cancel that out." "I see. So they'll corner Natsuhi and make her confess that Kinzo doesn't exist." "Yeah. The enemy is probably after something like that. By watching the movements of the pieces involved with the family conference, we quickly realized that Natsuhi was isolated, noticed that trap of theirs, and countered with this move." "The corpses disappear! Everyone has alibis, and no one exists who could have moved them. Not only does this support the claim that a witch exists, it also throws doubt on whether they were actually corpses in the first place and just barely allows Natsuhi to escape being a suspect." "In other words, it's possible for Natsuhi-sama to claim that the sacrifices of the first twilight were only playing dead." "You mean, even though many people certainly confirmed their deaths in the cousins' room...?" "Just confirming their deaths isn't even close to the red truth...! No matter how much everyone claims to have truly witnessed their deaths, the red truth doesn't exist in the human world!" "Because the corpses don't exist, Natsuhi can discount their words as a mistake, a trick, or by saying that all of them were lying, and it's possible for her to do this over and over to buy time for herself." "In the human world, which lacks the red truth, perpetual check is an effective move." "An endless argument with both sides denying the other's claims. Not pretty." "True. However, beauty is something to be found after we win. If someone who cannot achieve victory seeks it, it is nothing but a poison to them." "They do say that might makes right. Wahahahahaha." "And even if I don't think it's beautiful, those Voyager witches will probably like it and say it isn't boring..." "...I see. I've managed to grasp the flow of this game. It seems that it will get quite nasty." "We're fully aware of that. And we already know that Natsuhi is probably about to be lured into yet another trap." "A trap?" "Yeah. Someone Lady Lambdadelta created, who calls himself a man from 19 years ago, has already threatened Natsuhi. She was ordered to go into a closet in a certain guest room in a few minutes, at 1:00 PM, and hide there. Krauss was taken as a hostage, so Natsuhi can't resist." "...I see. How relentless. Can you protect her?" "Of course. After all, Natsuhi isn't the culprit. No matter how much she's treated as the culprit, both the truth and phantoms are on our side. There's no way we'll lose. *cackle* *cackle* *cackle* *cackle*!!" BGM: Golden Sneer  "...Wh, what do you mean by that...?!! A, are you... saying that you suspect me?!!" "You've told me that you left before anyone else, returned to your room, and didn't leave that room until morning. However, if you cannot prove that, it doesn't count as an alibi." "Prove...?! How could I do that...?!!" "It doesn't matter how. Objectively speaking, it'll all be fine as long as you prove that it was impossible for you to commit the crime. Everyone else is cooperating. I want you to stop being so unkind and give me your alibi along with proof too." "...That's right. Almost the whole night is a blank space in time for Natsuhi nee-san. She might have left the conference by saying that she wanted to rest before us, gone to the guesthouse, and attacked George and the others..." "Please don't be a fool!! Why would I kill George-kun, and on top of that, my own daughter, Jessica?!!" "Calm down. We're all equally suspicious. It's sad, but we all have to prove our innocence." "Yeah. We've been thinking frantically about how to prove our alibis for last night so that we could clear up the suspicion against us." "I know you can't like being suspected, Natsuhi-san. If it frustrates you, then shouldn't your first priority be searching for some way to prove your own innocence...?"The relatives spoke as though they were all under equal suspicion, but the mood about the place didn't feel so peaceful. Erika was still in the middle of confirming everything, but except for Natsuhi, who was uncooperative when it came to proving alibis, everyone else had an alibi which was reasonably credible. Only Natsuhi, who claimed that just being suspected was an insult, was uncooperative with Erika, and her position began to grow more and more perilous... This parlor was no longer a place of comfort for Natsuhi. And the sound of the cup smashing had made that decisive.   "Oh, so what are you going to do about it? Show us some kind of alibi that proves your innocence." "As if you could!! Give me George back, murderer!!" "Stop it, Eva...! Natsuhi-san, you're probably a little tired too. Of course, so are we. Why don't we take it easy for a bit...?" "...Seriously. We're a little too high-strung." "Aunt Natsuhi... Where are you going...?" "Searching for alibis or the culprit is truly laughable at this point...! When the typhoon passes and the police come, everything will be exposed to the light of day. There's no reason whatsoever for us to play detectives. Am I wrong, Erika-san?" "Generally speaking, you're right. However, I have the authority to do this."Who gave her that authority? No one asked. It was an authority given by words of power from a higher world, so the pieces weren't even allowed to doubt it... "I'm leaving. I have no intention of going along with your pointless questioning before the police come. If you suspect me, feel free to do so. I'm counting on the police to clear away that suspicion."...It may be a bit late to mention this... but wait, this happens every time. As usual, the phone couldn't connect to the police. Natsuhi said the police would come, but that wasn't exactly true. Strictly speaking, the boat would come tomorrow, and they would use the radio on that boat to contact the police. Well, it's not like I'll let everyone live that long anyway. *giggle*.  "...Natsuhi-san, it's dangerous to be alone... Perhaps it would be better if you..." "Why not let her? That might make for some excellent proof. If Natsuhi nee-san gets killed in her own room, that'll be excellent proof of her innocence." "Quit it, Aneki. It's probably best if we all get a bit of rest. Our bodies won't last until tomorrow." "If we're going to take a break, we still mustn't let our guards down, got it...? We might not make it through the night, much less tomorrow." "...Aunt Natsuhi. If you're returning to your room, make sure you lock it tight. Close the windows and shutters too, and stay safe. I don't want to suspect anyone. And more than that, I don't want there to be any more victims." "...Thank you, Battler-kun. Then I'll return to my room. Gohda, you're in charge now. I know this is a horrible situation, but make sure that the guests have everything they need." "Y, yes, Madam... I shall do so..."With everyone watching her, Natsuhi left the parlor.  BGM: At Death's Door ...Natsuhi... couldn't disobey because of the threat against Krauss, who had been taken as a hostage. Very soon, it would be that promised time, 1:00 PM. She was to hide for an hour in the closet of a specific guest room. It was easy to suspect that this bizarre order was a trap to select her as the next sacrifice. She thought of various ways to resist, but all methods would be useless against a culprit who had a hostage and was observing her from close by... So Natsuhi could do nothing but obediently follow that order and then claim that she had been forced to do this for her husband's safety... When the promised time had drawn near, Natsuhi had intentionally acted annoyed and smashed the cup on the ground to give her an excuse for slipping out of the parlor. At any rate, no matter how cowardly a trap it may be... I cannot disobey now. I am now the one who carries the burden of the One-winged Eagle. Now that my husband, Krauss, has been captured, I must protect that even if I need to eat dirt...  ...Of course, I am prepared to do that. I am Ushiromiya Natsuhi. Even if I am not permitted to bear the One-winged Eagle on my clothes, Father gave me permission to bear it in my heart... "..."...I've managed to get this far by believably dashing away in a rage. So far... everything has gone well.  BGM: None The servants are normally ordered to lock any unused rooms. What will I do if it's locked...? I dashed out pretending that I was returning to my room. Popping back and asking a servant to unlock this guest room would be obviously suspicious... If I can, I'd like to get this eerie hide-and-seek over with without anyone noticing. In that phone call from the one who claimed to be the man from 19 years ago, he said that I would win if no one found out, but lose if anyone did find out. He said that my husband would be released whether I won or lost, but as a person with a hostage taken against me, I'd rather not lose... I don't like it at all, but I have to go along with this game. When I softly gripped the doorknob, I could feel that it was unlocked. Did Shannon or Kumasawa forget to lock it after cleaning? Or did that man unlock it in advance...? That man... couldn't be waiting for me in this room, could he?  All that about hide-and-seek might have been just an excuse. I kept the fact that I was coming here secret, and all of the other people think I'm resting in my room. If I were to be killed in this situation, it might create a new baffling murder case, like an extension of the one which occurred this morning.  "...Th, that's just great. Perhaps this is a good chance to confront the culprit directly..."Natsuhi had some experience with using a naginata, but only casually. Unlike Eva, she couldn't brag about being able to hold off any single ruffian indefinitely. As she was now, she had no realistic chance of challenging a man with malicious intent and winning. "..."She readied herself... and slowly opened the door. She couldn't just stand around in the corridor and risk being seen by someone...  All she could hear were the unsettling sounds of the wind and rain. At first, that seemed to be proof that no one existed to threaten her, but soon, it only made an uneasy feeling rise up inside her even more strongly than before... The closet was just off to the side of anyone entering the room. Lined up inside it was a set of hangers for hanging coats on. This closet, which had nothing hanging in it, was large enough for even an adult to hide in...  She would have to hide quietly in here for an hour. The room had a wood floor, but something like a carpet had been lain in the closet. It seemed that sitting down wouldn't be a problem. She had been sure someone would be waiting for her in this room or that a strange letter would be lying in the closet. In the worst case, she had even imagined that her husband's corpse might be inside there. However, none of these things she imagined turned out to be true. The only thing there was a cold guest room and a lifeless closet which was silently urging her to go inside... "...And he told me... to hide in here for an hour... He's making fun of me."Natsuhi shrugged, turned around, then locked and chained the guest room door.  This surely must be a total victory in the hide-and-seek game against that mystery man. However, it was such an easy victory, it made her feel uneasy. Normally, this would be against the rules of hide-and-seek. Even if she had won, wouldn't this displease the culprit? And now, everyone thought she had returned to her room. If they found a room with a chain set, that would make it an impossible closed room to them. Erika had dashed throughout the mansion to confirm alibis or something. If she noticed that the chain was set on this room, there would probably be an uproar which would end in them cutting the chain and searching the room. If that happened, Natsuhi would be found hiding in the closet right away. It would be easy to honestly confess as to why she had been hiding. However, that man had insisted that she not reveal that. If she did talk, she might be endangering her husband... Thinking of it that way, the chain... no, even setting the lock might be a bad idea. That's right. This room was unlocked when I came here. If it were to suddenly become locked, it's conceivable that it might catch someone's attention. It's better if I don't do anything unnecessary... That man only told me to hide...  I hate doing it, but I can't disobey. I undid those two precious locks, went into the dimly lit closet filled with the smell of old wood, and managed to close the door from the inside. Pitch black. It reminded me of when I was young, when I used to hide somewhere and then surprise my mother, but that peaceful recollection wasn't enough to kill off my anxiety. It really is pitch black. From here, I won't even be able to check my watch to see if an hour has passed. I'll probably need to open the door a crack every once in a while to let in enough light for my watch. For now, I'll crouch down here. I thought about clutching my knees, but it hurt my back when I tried. I'm not as young as I used to be. Even though I was made to do a PE crouch in every PE class as a grade schooler, I now have to struggle just to sit down. Just crouching down here for an hour will probably hurt a lot...  I can't believe... I'll be hiding in the darkness for a full hour, with nothing to hear except the wind and rain. Ironically, Natsuhi had made Jessica do the exact same thing in the past. She had done it to scold Jessica's persistent bad habits and teach her a lesson when she was a little girl. She had thought that making Jessica stay put in the darkness would sprout a desire to reflect on her mistakes and that, this way, she would understand what she had done wrong. ...It almost... feels like I'm being made to do the same thing. If that's the true purpose of this hide-and-seek... "...How naive of me."This must be my naivety, the thought that if their goal is to make me repent, nothing will happen here during this hour... Uncertainty and fear of that man's shadow are not what I need right now. Will someone suddenly come to this room, open this closet, and do something horrible to me now that I've come here in total secrecy as promised? That's what I should be worrying about. The culprit, or one of his accomplices, is very close by. If they weren't, they wouldn't be able to observe me so thoroughly.  BGM: Minute Darkness The culprit hid an eerie card with Fall written on it in my room. My personal room is always locked. That trick wouldn't have been possible without a key. Instead of believing that they obtained the key when the servants weren't looking, it's much more realistic to assume that one of the servants lent the culprit a hand... "But, wh, why... did they know that Fall is my favorite season...? It's creepy..."The thought that this mystery man might be peeking into my heart sent goosebumps running across my whole body... It's true that I like Fall, but I don't say that out loud. I don't think anyone's ever heard me say it. If I asked even my husband what my favorite season is, he would probably be stuck for an answer. ...N, no. Just once, I told it to a single person... That's right. Shannon...  ...So, the culprit, or one of their accomplices, has to be Shannon...! "The fact that I like Fall can only be known by Shannon... In that case, this is clear proof that Shannon is involved...! That card with Fall on it is proof...! Incredible... Even though she's served the family for 10 years..."I trembled and shook with rage. Didn't Kinzo once say that anger is the fastest sedative to cure fear and uncertainty? It's easy to tell the most fearful humans from within a crowd. They're always the first to get angry. I remember him telling me that. So I realized that this anger was a sign that I was actually frightened, and I tried my best to remain calm... ...However, this is a vital clue for turning things around. Shannon may not be reliable as a servant, but if she's an accomplice used by that mystery man, this might actually be convenient. A weak-willed girl. If I threaten her, she'll probably spill the name of the mastermind in an instant. I'll secretly tell the police about this. It might become a big clue towards arresting the culprit. "...That card was probably meant to surprise me and control me, but he's actually dug his own grave." This is unshakable proof that she's working with the culprit... Though I'd thought this time in the closet would crush me with uncertainty and uneasiness, it's actually given me the start of a counterattack. If I wasn't given this time in the darkness, I probably wouldn't have noticed this. I'm almost grateful to the culprit for making up this foolish game. My mood brightened. I still can't guarantee that my husband is safe, but I'll definitely take him back and force the culprit to face judgment... I gripped my fists tightly, and further strengthened my resolve to avoid losing this fight at any cost...  BGM: Dead Angle At that time, I heard the sudden sound of someone trying to force the locked door open, and my heart leapt.  The voice was Hideyoshi's. I heard a quiet voice, as though he was talking to himself, coming from what was probably the hallway. Apparently, he had thought it was locked and tried to unlock it, but had ended up locking the unlocked door instead. Once again, there was the sound of the lock turning, and now, the door opened with a faint sound... ...Why... is Hideyoshi-san in this room...?!  Then came what seemed to be the sound of him setting the chain. Don't tell me... Hideyoshi-san... is the mastermind...?! Or else, an accomplice...?! Is he planning to do something to me in this room...? It would take some time to unlock the door from this side, much less to remove the chain. If Hideyoshi-san doesn't intend to let me escape from here, he won't give me enough time to undo the chain... In that case, if he opens the closet door... and sees me crouching here pathetically... just what kind of fearsome words will he say...? I don't want to be found, I don't want to be found... I beg you, pass right on by the closet door... Please keep going into the center of the room...! My head was so filled with a throbbing sound that it felt like it was about to explode, and I almost missed hearing his noisy footsteps. So when I heard a clunking sound coming from the center of the room, I finally realized that he'd passed by the closet, and was deeply relieved.  As he whispered, he did something that made a clunking sound. He was probably closing the shutters on the windows. Just in case? In case I try to escape out the window...? No, that can't be it. That's right. When I left the parlor, everyone was talking about possibly taking a break. After all, several murders had occurred. And the weather was bad. There would be nothing abnormal about resting in a guest room here instead of returning to the guesthouse. In that case, locking up and closing the shutters to guarantee safety was the proper course of action to take. When he finished closing the shutters, there was a *thunk* as though he had flopped over on the bed. It was surprising how much of the situation could be grasped just by the sound. ...What's going on here...?  BGM: None No, that probably... isn't true. He probably planned on me hiding here, but Hideyoshi-san coming to take a rest here must have been outside the scope of his plan. Thinking about it that way, having him in the room might be odd, but it also might guarantee my own safety. Unlike his wife, Hideyoshi-san is the kind of person I can talk to. If Eva-san comes, things will probably get complicated. Maybe I should slip out of this closet now while he's still alone, reveal everything to just him, and ask for help... But if I do that, my husband might be killed... Until my husband is released, I shouldn't do anything rash... Should I go out and talk, or hide in here? Moaning from my headache and biting my lower lip, I resisted the urge to crawl out of here... Even if I talk with Hideyoshi-san, I don't know where my husband is being held. I'm sure the traitor who's observing me is nearby. Just talking to him won't solve everything. I suspect that Shannon is the traitor, but that's no proof that Gohda and the others aren't. It's all useless... I guess... leaving here and confessing is too dangerous after all... Eventually, I heard a strange, sobbing voice. Whose voice was it...?  BGM: Spiral Hideyoshi, who had lost his only son, was finally able to shed tears and cry... now that he was all alone like this... ...Thinking that he needed to support Eva in her distress, he had acted as though he alone was standing firm. However, he had as good a right as anyone to cry. And now that he had found a place where no one could see his tears, he finally let himself do that... And I've... lost my daughter. I haven't seen her corpse with my own eyes, so it still doesn't really feel like she's dead. But if the one who carried her off was the culprit and he had some repulsive motive for doing it... just thinking about it makes it feel as though my chest will tear itself apart... The reason I'm hiding in here now is that I'm thinking more about my still living husband than my dead daughter. But if I were given the chance, I'd be wailing at the top of my lungs too. However, I still can't let myself do that. It isn't because the man from 19 years ago told me to hide. It's because... I'm the final... head of the Ushiromiya family...  ...At the very, very end, when it's all over... I probably won't be able to prevent his ascension as the head. And when everything regarding the distribution of the inheritance is revealed, the Ushiromiya family honor and glory passed down from Father... will plummet to the earth. So, I am the final head. Battler-kun will probably inherit the remaining wealth of the Ushiromiya family. However, its history and honor... will all end with my generation... Therefore, I am the final head. I must not cry. Not yet. Until I get my husband back... and avenge my daughter, I will not be allowed to shed tears... In the closet, I silently hung my head as I listened to Hideyoshi-san's sobs...  BGM: Play Huh?! My heart leapt. Hideyoshi-san, who must have been lying prostrate on the bed, made a sound as though he had bounded to his feet. D, did he notice me...?  "How did you get in here...? Wh, what's that...? W, wait a second...! Wai... ngahh, mmpph-"He was clearly in a struggle with someone. Who could it be?! No, it doesn't matter who it is. It's probably the culprit, and they're probably trying to take Hideyoshi-san's life...! Shouldn't I jump out of here and help him...? If I can't help him, shouldn't I call for help...? No, but... if I do something like that, I'll be questioned about why I was hiding here...! However, if Hideyoshi-san gets killed like this... No, now isn't the time to be saying that... At this rate, he'll certainly be killed...! I'll jump out of here and help him right now...! Aaah, but if I do that, even if I can save Hideyoshi-san, I might be abandoning my husband's life. Hideyoshi-san's life and my husband's life. How sinful it would be to try and weigh those against each other...!! At that time, there was a loud sound of the door opening and the chain being pulled tight. Someone was trying to open the door despite the chain being set.  "...Eva, aah, gwaaaaaaggghhhh...!!" "Dear? What?! What's happening?! Dear?! Open up!!" "Ggh, gggh... ggh..." "Open up! Open up, dear!! S, someooooooooooone!!"She opened and closed the door over and over again with all her might, but of course, she couldn't snap the chain. Eva-san called for help in a loud voice and raced through the hallway... By this time, the room had settled back into silence, and that earlier feeling of Hideyoshi being in a noisy struggle had disappeared completely. What's... going on here...?! So, right now, I'm in the same room as the murderer who killed Hideyoshi-san...?! In that case, the culprit should try to escape from the room as soon as possible, so why are they hiding in here...?! I haven't heard anything... nothing that might have been the culprit who attacked Hideyoshi-san rushing away. No matter how much I strain my ears, I can't sense anyone in the room. In fact, it's so silent that it makes what happened just a second ago feel like an illusion.  I don't even know what I'm scared of anymore. If only I could just melt away into the darkness of this closet...! I mustn't remain in this room any longer. I get the feeling I have more to worry about than just my personal safety... But what should I do?! I don't even know if it's a good idea to leave this closet...!! Eventually, the clamber of many rushing footsteps approached. 
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Apr 12, 2017 |
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Apr 11, 2017 13:26
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BurningStone posted:By the way, has anybody speculated on the name Lamdbadelta? I'm sure if I start googling I'll be spoiled instantly. The delta symbol is usually used as change or difference, while lambda gets used for, well, too many things. Any ideas? Higurashi spoilers: The culprit of Higurashi, Takano Miyo, writes her name as 鷹野 三四, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Lambdadelta. 三四 is the kanji for the numbers 3 and 4.
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Apr 11, 2017 18:48
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 BGM: Closed my Heart Gohda was gripping some wire cutters to cut the chain with. After trying to open the door again and confirming that the chain was still set, she yelled through the crack in the door.  "Dear!! We're going to open this up...!! Cut it right now!!" "Y, yes...!"Gohda stuck the large wire cutter, which looked like it could slice off a whole finger, and easily severed the chain. "Dear!!"As soon as it was severed, Eva pushed Gohda aside and dashed in. The others tried to follow her, but they bumped into Eva, who had fallen to her knees, moaning. So even though they couldn't tell much of what was going on inside the room, they could tell by Eva's moans that they were too late...   "Dear...!! Deeeeeeeeeeeear!! Doctor Nanjo!! Look at my husband...! Quickly!!" "I, I'll do it right now..." "You've got to be kidding me... It's only been about ten minutes since Uncle Hideyoshi went out saying he wanted to rest..." "...Is there anyone in the bathroom?" "N, no...! There's no one here!" "What could have happened, aaaaaahhhh..." "Dear!! Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeear...!!" "...I'm afraid to say... that there's nothing I can do..."Nanjo stood up, hanging his head sadly. It was only natural. Because anyone, even if they weren't a doctor, would think that at a glance.  When Eva pulled it out with all her might, they could tell that it wasn't a blade, but some kind of stake. And its sharp tip had penetrated nearly 15 centimeters in. It had probably dug deep into the lungs. If it had been stuck in any harder, the tip might even have pierced all the way through to the surface of his chest... "Didn't I tell you to wait for me?!!Why did you go on alone...?!! Stupid, stupid, stupiiiiiiiiid!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"  "...The culprit probably waited for us to get careless and split up..." "That bastard... So he still hasn't had enough blood...?!" "So he really is... hiding somewhere in this mansion... and coming after us...?" "But there's something strange here. The doors and windows to this room are completely sealed." "...ah. Th, that's right. The shutters are all shut, and the chain was on the door until a second ago..." "Huh?! Isn't that bizarre...?! In that case, how did the culprit attack Hideyoshi-san in this room...?!" "Perhaps they threw this stake through the crack in the door...!" "Hideyoshi-san's bed is in a total blind spot from this crack. You couldn't even kill him with a gun. This really is strange. It's a closed room murder." "A, a closed room murder..." "...It's a bit too early to be sure about that. Maybe he removed the ceiling in the bathroom and escaped to the space above it, or maybe you can close the shutters from outside." BGM: Smile-less Soiree  "...Erika..."It's no wonder everything felt so quiet and relaxed. At some point, Erika had split from the group. Just now, she had finally arrived and poked her face in from the hallway. When she heard that a crime had occurred in this room, she had watched everyone rush towards the room, but circled around to the outer wall herself. And she had gone all by herself to check that the shutter was down on the window, that you couldn't do anything with it from the outside, and that there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Is the inside of the room just like usual...?" "...There's no need to say it like that." "My deepest condolences. So? What's the situation inside the room?" "..." "...The chain was set on the door, so we cut it and entered." "And all the windows have the shutters down. They're locked tight from the inside." "...What are they bickering about in there?"Eva was arguing with Nanjo about something. Apparently, she wanted to carry the corpse to the parlor. Nanjo tried to calm her, saying that they should leave the crime scene as untouched as possible until the police came.  "What happened to the other corpses?! The culprit carried them off somewhere, right?! It may be that the culprit isn't satisfied with just killing, but intends to do something with the corpses...!! So no way! No way we're leaving my husband all alone here!!"Eva does have a point. After all, the victims before now have all been carried away after we were shown their terrible wounds. "...Erika-chan. You'd probably like to preserve the crime scene, but could you just let this one slide...?" "...Do whatever you want. All I'm interested in is the fact that a closed room has appeared that's much more serious than Kinzo-san's study. I have no interest in corpses, so do as you please." "..."Battler's expression was clearly unhappy, but she ignored him completely.  Erika backed away from the door to open a path. There was no trace of any sadness for the dead. Her eyes simply blazed at the thought of this closed room murder that had appeared. In any event, the great detective had given her permission. Eva and some others wrapped Hideyoshi up in the sheets, and Gohda and Rudolf carried him out... The sheets were quickly stained red. It was so painful to see that Shannon and Kumasawa stripped the blanket off the bed to further cover the corpse... "...Hey, out of the way." "Yes, I am out of the way." "Let's go to the parlor." "Y, yes...!" "Dear, deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear, awaaaaaaaahhhhh...!!" "...Listen up, everyone. From now on, we'll always move as a group. You must not let yourself be isolated." "When the culprit attacked Genji, he probably got a master key. It's clear that even locking up will no longer make you safe." "B, but... even the chain was set. How did they do it...?!" "...It's impossible... The shutters and the chain were firmly set. Even with a master key, it's impossible to force your way into that room...!" "It must have been Beatrice-sama's doing, oooohhhhh..." "...Th, there's no way Beatrice-sama did this... The epitaph has been solved, so there shouldn't be any more reason to hold the ceremony..." "How could we understand it...? This is impossible for anyone except a witch...!" "...Impossible for anyone except a witch... you say? <Good>! Has a nice ring to it." "Erika-chan, are you listening? We've decided to stick together from now on. First, we're carrying Hideyoshi-san's corpse to the parlor. Can you hold off playing detective until we get there?" "..."When she heard the words 'playing detective', Erika grimaced visibly. Then, everyone stumbled out, and she took a single step into the now empty guest room, looked around, and burned that scene into her eyes. Erika claimed to have a photographic memory. If that was true, those few seconds were more than enough for her. Later on, she could sip black tea in the parlor while perusing the photograph of the scene inside her memory, playing the part of an armchair detective...  ...A closet for hanging overcoats. If it was large enough to fit a coat on a hanger, a person should be able to hide in it... Slowly, Erika... stretched her hand out towards the closet... "...ah-"Erika's shoulder was grabbed roughly from behind.  "Well, whenever I go traveling, someone always dies." "Hey, what do you think you're doing, brats?! Come quickly...!!"Rudolf told them to hurry. After clicking her tongue and glaring at the closet, Erika followed Battler back to the parlor for the time being...  BGM: None That time of terror, when I feared that even the dripping of the cold sweat that covered my cheeks might be noticed, had finally... ended. With my hand that still couldn't stop trembling, I slowly opened the closet door and dashed out into the hallway. It's alright, no one's found me... Still, it's a good thing they didn't lock the door... If they had, I wouldn't be able to lock behind me after I left, and they'd find that suspicious... Anyway, I should leave this place. Then I'll return to my room and pretend that I was sleeping the whole time... Yes, if I don't get back soon... A new murder has occurred. They'll probably try to tell me about it. And they'll probably do it shortly after they carry Hideyoshi-san's corpse back to the parlor. I can get around a phone call by saying I was asleep and didn't notice, but if they come knocking directly, that'll be bad... I have to get back quickly, before they try to force their way in...  BGM: Stupefaction At the very least, it'll be bad if I bump into them on their way back to the parlor. Anyway, I'll head to my room... at a quick pace, without being noticed by anyone...! I passed through the hall... to the lobby. If I go up the big staircase in the lobby, my room is just a little bit...  BGM: Fishy Aroma "Hya-...ah...!!"Just as she was about to go up the large staircase, Natsuhi heard Erika call out to her, and was so surprised that she visibly jumped.  "Th, thank you very much. Did something happen...?" "...Just now, Natsuhi-san. You were climbing the stairs, right...? Your room is upstairs, isn't it...?"Erika coldly pointed out this strange fact. Natsuhi cursed her bad luck. "I, I couldn't sleep, so I was going to return to the parlor, b, but I wasn't sure whether I had locked my room or not, so I was about to head back. I'm a worrier, so this sort of thing happens a lot. Don't worry about it..." "Yeah, this sort of thing does happen a lot. It's a common quirk among people who aren't confident in their ability to remember things."Normally, she would have realized that Erika was clearly making fun of her, and might have put on an annoyed expression. However, right now, Natsuhi was extremely relieved to hear Erika admit that this sort of thing happened a lot... "Why are you by yourself, Erika-san...?" "I thought I'd investigate that guest room." "Guest room...?" "Yep. It's gotten pretty serious, hasn't it? And investigating the scene of the crime is my right."...Erika's probing gaze peered deep into Natsuhi's eyes. She could tell. Erika was already suspecting Natsuhi. Judging by the subtle nuance in her words, she must be planning to make me slip up and reveal that I know about the crime with Hideyoshi when I supposedly haven't been told about it yet. Natsuhi played dumb and asked what had happened again. "..." "...I, is something wrong...?" "No. It's nothing. This is just a repeat of the first crime, isn't it?" "What do you mean...?" "Again, you were in your room. And again, you can't prove your alibi, can you?" "...I don't know what you mean. To turn it around, how can you prove that I wasn't in my room...?" "Ah, that. Then let's take this one step at a time. Please worry about your lock later. I have something vitally important to discuss with everyone." "I'll come back after I check my lock. Please get started without me." "...Hideyoshi-san has been killed. We'll be talking about that." "Wh, what...?!" However, now that she had been informed of Hideyoshi's murder... It would be clearly suspicious to postpone that and escape to her room. She was already under suspicion just because she had been seen heading up the stairs to the second floor. She couldn't afford to do anything else suspicious... Natsuhi gave up and headed for the parlor as Erika had urged her to do...  And everyone glanced at Natsuhi with grave faces. Those gazes almost made it look... as though they suspected Natsuhi. It was now painfully apparent to Natsuhi. This must have been what that man was after. It was a trap to create a baffling closed room mystery... and try to frame her for it. However, she couldn't have resisted. She couldn't sacrifice her husband's life...! And while it's true that I hid in the closet, that's all. I definitely haven't committed murder! I might be extremely suspicious, but I'm not the culprit. And most importantly, I'm not under suspicion yet. I'll tell the police everything. I'll have to endure until then. I'm sure one of the servants is the traitor. Even in a situation like this, if I talk about my husband being a hostage, the culprit will hear, and it might be used as an excuse to kill him...   "...Something very important...?" "Yes, it's very important. I'd like to lay out everything in front of you all, starting with the first crime." "Then please do that with just the others. I think we should leave that sort of thing to the police. I'm not interested." "Since I have it all laid out, this is a very important thing to discuss. Neither you nor anyone else has the right to refuse." "Wha..."Erika used her detective's authority to proclaim the start of an assembly. None of the pieces could disobey. Praying that she wouldn't become the topic of conversation, Natsuhi reluctantly sat on the sofa as she'd been urged to. "...Oh, sorry. Could you close that door for me?" ""Y, yes...""Shannon and Kanon closed the door. Since they had just now decided to lock all doors and windows carefully, Kanon locked it. The lock which existed to protect the safety of this room... felt like a lock on a prison cell to Natsuhi... one that would hold her there and prevent any escape... ...Natsuhi still hadn't noticed. Though Erika had gone into the corridor to check the crime scene in Hideyoshi's room... her goal had changed. In other words, from Erika's point of view, the sound of that lock was truly... "Checkmate."  "Oh, fast! Wow, so you've figured out the culprit already? We've barely gotten to any of the crimes, right? You could've just let me kill a few more and gathered a few clues yourse~lf." "...Alright, Lambda, gather all of the pieces. Now we're getting to the most interesting part. Let's both enjoy it to the fullest." "Well, let's see... Why don't you show me what you've got? *giggle*giggle*...!!" "To think that she'd lay down the challenge without waiting for game set at 24:00...! What a hasty person, that Lady Bernkastel...!" "It is quite an early challenge. To think that she's already managed to get a winning hand at this stage..." "...Normally, you can win by just claiming that a witch exists, but with Natsuhi and Kinzo, we've got a lot we need to protect this time. Sounds like this fight'll be a pain." "That's no problem at all! I won't let them do as they please with my golden island any more...!!" "Bring it on, Lady Bernkastel! Furudo Erika!" BGM: None Battler was nowhere to be seen. It would very soon reach the time that Battler had joined in on the 5th game, and control of the pieces would be passed on to Battler. In other words, he would only be officially added to the game now, in this final stage, where Bernkastel had pinpointed the culprit. So, he had left the arbor a short while ago. Now, the only ones in sight were Virgilia, who continued to knit silently, and Beato, who just sat there blankly amidst the smell of her black tea, not even putting the cup to her lips... Virgilia stopped knitting for a moment... and looked out across the vast golden rose garden that extended as far as the eye could see. "...I think we can say that Battler-kun has gained the power to never again surrender... in the game about who the culprit is." "..." "By the 4th game, you sent him all the messages. In other words, at this time, Battler-kun is capable of realizing the truth at any moment. However, he is naive. Therefore. Even if the games continue at this rate a hundred times, he won't solve it for all eternity. He'll just wander forever like someone trying to find the blue bird." BGM: Voiceless It's the same for you. Even if this game continues hundreds more times. You will never reach the answer you seek... for all eternity. Bernkastel will abuse this game without a doubt. Lambdadelta will also churn this game about with the utmost arrogance. At a glance, that may be humiliating and appear to you and Battler as though the game had been stolen from you. ...However. That is something the two of you need right now. To end Battler's naivety. To end your hesitation.  "..." "Those two will bring you either victory or defeat. But no matter how it goes, that result has already been filled with compassion. You should understand that as well by now."Virgilia faced Beato, whom she had come to adore as a daughter, with cold eyes that she must not have shown often. It was like the gaze of a mother who, instead of scolding, silently urges their child to recognize their mistake.   "..." "I am Virgilia. I have guided him through Purgatory and brought him to you at its peak. And you are Beatrice. You must choose whether to take his hand and rise up to heaven or grab him and fall into hell."Did you know that the discord called Purgatory, which lies in the gap between heaven and hell, is sometimes more torturous than even hell itself...? On the gates of hell, it is written that you must abandon all hope. A human without hope can accept their suffering and give up. However, the residents of Purgatory have hope. A hope of possibly reaching heaven, a hope that cannot be abandoned. And that tortures them. Even in the depths of hell, no greater torture device exists than the single pin known as hope...  Beato was silent, but with a single tear, she nodded slightly. "Is the cat in the box alive or dead? The time has now come... to check. If the cat is dead, quickly hold a funeral for it and have it rise to heaven. If the cat is alive, quickly feed it and give it all of your affection. Whether it is alive or dead, your cat box eternally desecrates the cat. The key to the box which you were afraid to open... has been brought to you by those two people."  
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Apr 12, 2017 13:29
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  BGM: Kuina All of the humans, furniture, witches, and the witches on an even higher level... had gathered in one place. That place was like a solemn cathedral, with an unbelievably high ceiling. White stonework. Golden ornaments. Though there were windows, there were no entrances or exits. It was a strange, strange place. But for some reason, no one wondered where this strange place was. Because they were not given the right to think of this place as strange.   "Yes, they have." "Well done. What a spectacle. I wonder just how many people there are here." "...No matter how many we see, every being outside the 18 people is a phantom." "Making you acknowledge them is what my game's all about. *cackle*cackle*!"The three witches were seated on special thrones set upon a very high balcony. In the center sat the Game Master, Lambdadelta, and on either side of the semicircular balcony sat Bernkastel and Beatrice, facing each other. Below them, Erika ran forward, lifted the corners of her skirt and bowed respectfully.  "Yes, I am looking forward to it. I'd expect no less from my double, my piece."Erika and Bernkastel exchanged cruel smiles that'd make anyone want to look the other way.  The commander of the game spoke with words of power. Though her words were spoken inside such a vast space, they rang out with the force of a bell in a bell tower... "Your lives and roles as they correspond to this game are over! The 5th game is now closed, and the 24:00 answer session shall begin! Well, I'd like to get started quickly, but why don't we have everyone quickly introduce themselves first? After all, there are so many people here." "Eheheheheh! I am Lambdadelta! The Witch of Certainty and the new commander of this game!" "...Bernkastel. Witch of Miracles. My goal is to penetrate Beatrice's Illusion of the Witch." "I am the Endless Witch, Beatrice. My goals are to claim my own existence and to protect Natsuhi and Kinzo." "..." "...Battler-sama. You come next in rank." "As I believe you know, you joined in on this game partway through. At the time this assembly of witches opens, you have yet to participate. Do you understand...?" "I get it. You probably mean I don't have the right to speak for a while, right?" "Thank you for understanding."Even though Battler held a rank near that of witches, he sat on the foremost of the benches shared with the other relatives, all by himself at one end. He met the gaze of Beato, who was up on the balcony. "You could have said you were my arch-enemy." "...Well, you aren't necessarily my only enemy." "Hmph... Let's take this game back.It belongs to us." "...Yeah."I almost said that I was fighting against Beato's Illusion of the Witch. Since the beginning, Beato has been my only enemy. But... right now, Erika and those witches who started toying around with Beato's tale... are also my enemies. Who should I fight and how? Maybe it's a good thing I don't have the right to speak for a while. I'll calm down and coolly watch over everything...  Erika greeted the witches above her and the humans behind her once again. "I'm also looking forward to it. Okay, remaining pieces, introduce yourselves in whatever order." "Humans! Introduce yourselves, all of you...!"When 45 urged him to introduce himself, Kinzo stood up.   "Ushiromiya Krauss. Currently, I have been captured and am being confined somewhere." "I'm Ushiromiya Eva. I'm alive." "I'm Rudolf. The rest of us are all Ushiromiya too, so I'll leave off the family name." "I'm Ushiro-, Rosa. I was killed on the first twilight." "Jessica. I also died on the first twilight." "I'm George. I also died on the first twilight." "Maria. I died, but look, I'm here talking. See? Dying isn't a big deal, right? Kihihihihihihi hihihihihihihi..." "I'm Ushiromiya Natsuhi. I am alive." "...Gah..." "Hideyoshi here. I was killed just a short while ago." "Kyrie. I'm still alive." "Nanjo... I am also hanging in there..." "My name is Genji. I died on the first twilight." "I'm Shannon. I'm still alive." "I'm Kanon. I'm also alive." "I, I'm Gohda. Pleased to meet you, everyone..." "I am Kumasawa... Pleased to meet you..." "Now, on to the witches! Everyone, introduce yourselves!"Virgilia's group could also be seen. Unlike the floor Beato's group was on, the second floor had a balcony which looked like a raised audience seating, and they sat there, looking down as though they were at a theater...  "I'm Gaap. Making corpses disappear is my job." "Ronove. I'm in charge of making black tea. Pu ku ku..." "I greet you in the name of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory. I served in the murder of Hideyoshi on the second twilight." "Let us then have Lady Erika's furniture introduce themselves." "Gertrude. I am an Assistant Inquisitor of Heresy." "Cornelia. I am an Assistant Inquisitor of Heresy."The two of them could also be seen on the second-floor audience seating. They sat apart from Virgilia's group. Then, Dlanor, who was seated between the two, slowly stood up. She had a presence and dignity about her, as though she was overseeing everything from that place.   "..." "Battler. I'm expecting a lot of YOU. Please don't disappoint ME." "...Let's just both give it all we've got." "Most of the time, there will be no need for Dlanor to step forward. However, when the witch side plays around with ugly word games, I'll need to have Dlanor convict them. A miracle like the one in the study won't happen again." "..."  "H, hello everyone...!!" "Nyeh nyeh♪" "This ends the introductions of all pieces. A total of 38 people are present here!"There are 38 characters in the 5th game, but if you added all the pieces from previous games too, it would probably rise even higher. This game, which has so often been likened to chess, now has far more pieces than a chessboard. "Very well. Then I guess we'll get started. Let the person who called this meeting begin! Oh, excuse me, Mr. Goat. Refill my drink." "...And some popcorn for me." "Yeah, that's right. The one who decided demons ought to eat popcorn when watching a play was you, after all." "Yes, I intend to enjoy this. And could I get some black tea and mustard miso? Erika, begin. I'm already starting to get bored." "Yes, my master, leave it to me...!! Order!! Silence!" BGM: None It became a low, deep rumble in the ground, all chatter in the cathedral disappeared instantly, and their eyes and expressions became even more hollow and empty. The room fell back into silence, almost as though they were a collection of wax models... Amidst this heavy silence, there was the sound of footsteps as Erika walked out into the center, where she could catch everyone's attention. When she signaled with her chin, a goat attendant appeared from behind a pillar, and carried a single, plain chair out into the front and center of the room. It must have been... the defendant's chair. "I, Furudo Erika, will make an accusation. The murderer of the 5th game is..." BGM: Solitary Deep Sea Fish Erika pointed at Natsuhi and spoke... The Natsuhi wax doll alone... shook and regained its expression. It was an expression of panic. "Chiester Sisters. Please take the defendant to her chair." "Understood." "Wait, what are you doing?!! Let go of me!!"45 and 410 pinned Natsuhi's arms behind her back and led her to the chair in the center. Natsuhi resisted, but the Chiester Sisters were surprisingly strong, and she couldn't do anything. She turned to the relatives for help, but they just remained silent like wax models... "I, Furudo Erika, will now reconstruct why the crime was only possible for Ushiromiya Natsuhi." "...Beato. Of course, you'll be challenging this, right?" "B, Beatrice...!" "Fear not, Natsuhi. You are my master. And you are the true head, with the One-winged Eagle engraved in your heart. Do not fear a crime you have not committed."At those words, Natsuhi jerked back, and gulped. Her panic finally disappeared, and she stood up straight. "...Th, that's true...! I am Ushiromiya Natsuhi! I will confront any challenge that would disgrace the Ushiromiya family!" "...*giggle*. How can you try a bluff like that in a situation like this? You really are the bullied kid in every single Fragment." "So, Bern. Make your claims." "And you too Beato, okay?" "I, Beatrice, claim that the culprit in this game is not human! I am the culprit!"Bernkastel, who smiled daringly, and Beatrice, who smiled firmly, crossed gazes.  "If the witch wins, the truth about the 5th game will disappear into darkness. If Erika wins, the Illusion of the Witch will be wiped from the game board. In other words, for Beato alone, this is a battle which must not be lost. Are you prepared?" "And what am I supposed be preparing myself for? This has always been just what I wanted...!"...If Erika wins, the Illusion of the Witch will be destroyed. That means the existence of the witch will be denied. Beato was fighting for her life. However, this wasn't the only time she had been fighting for her life. It had always been a life-or-death struggle, even when she fought with Battler. Because if Battler had won and destroyed the Illusion of the Witch in the previous games, Beato would have been destroyed. "...That's dirty. Erika alone has nothing to lose if she fails." "I wonder. Lady Bernkastel is not a compassionate person. I can't imagine she'd give any warm treatment to a piece that didn't perform as she had hoped..."It was inconceivable that the ruthless Bernkastel would place no blame at all on a piece who had suffered defeat. Erika was probably fighting for her life just the same. The two claims would clash, and one would be weeded out. One would fall... and would not leave this place alive... The only ones who truly had nothing to lose... were those witches. "OK, no problems! Get started!!" BGM: Smile-less Soiree It really was simple. Except for Natsuhi, everyone had been inside the parlor. And because it was so simple, it was decisive... "...No matter how you look at it, the one who killed Hideyoshi was Natsuhi. No, it's the other way around. No matter how you look at it, no one except for Natsuhi could have killed Hideyoshi. There's no room for discussion or debate." "I, I'm telling you, that's a mistake...!! Maybe I don't have an alibi. However, I don't believe a lack of an alibi proves that one is the culprit...!" "Hmph, we know that Natsuhi is the only one without an alibi." "But wait. The scene of the murder was a closed room. It should have been impossible for anyone, including Natsuhi, to have committed the crime in that room. Except for me, since I could have done it with magic." "I'll explain the closed room trick--the 'how dunnit'--later. For the time being, I'll start with the 'who dunnit'. Because of this, it's impossible to suspect any character except Natsuhi-san regarding the murder of Hideyoshi-san." "...Milady. It may be dangerous to press any further on this." "I agree. It's a fact that Natsuhi was hiding in the closet of Hideyoshi's room. When it comes to repeating things in red, they'll check to see who's in the room and you'll be cornered." "...Probably. Lady Lambdadelta is the commander of this game. If it suits her fancy, she'll set up Natsuhi as the culprit regardless of the facts." However, in this closed-off Rokkenjima, the police will not arrive for all eternity. In other words, the real truth will not be revealed. Inside this cat box that will never be opened, false charges that everyone accepts are worth no more or less than the truth. "Their aim is most likely to use the simple murder of Hideyoshi to give the impression that Natsuhi-sama is the culprit... before moving on to the first twilight's reconstruction, which has more uncertain elements." "It's not good at all to proceed while under the Game Master's suspicion. We should take the initiative." "Sure. Lady Lambdadelta! As you are well aware, a fair number of murders were committed during the 5th game, and we are skipping the rather lengthy chunk of time from midnight until the early morning." "Skipping to Hideyoshi's murder , and stepping backwards and forwards in time will only lead to confusion. It is my belief that we should follow events chronologically and in order, though the decision is yours, of course." "Objection. In the process of prosecuting the culprit, chronological order has no significance." "Objection. Furudo Erika is trying to mix up the chronological sequence in order to create a false impression of the events." "Well, I'm not a fan of confusing things myself. I accept Beato's claim. Erika, start with the first twilight instead of jumping to the second." "...Sheesh."I definitely saw Erika click her tongue.  I was guided by Virgilia, met Beatrice, reached the peak from which you can see everything below you, and finally understood the truth of this world. "This is... that thing you were talking about earlier, Virgilia." "...Yes, that's right. Truth is very fragile in this place." "As long as each side makes its own claim, different truths can exist at the same time..."Yes. This really is a trial. Both sides put forth their own truths. 
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Apr 13, 2017 13:41
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 BGM: Smile-less Soiree "Following a short break in the family conference, Natsuhi left on her own, saying that she was going to bed early. Therefore, her alibi is completely lost from that time until the next morning." "Oh, is that so? I believe there are several people besides Natsuhi who have dubious alibis. Unless you can clear suspicion from all of them, I cannot allow you to call Natsuhi the culprit."  "True. If Erika wants to claim that Natsuhi is suspicious, she should first show that everyone besides Natsuhi has an alibi. Right, Bern?" "...Yes, of course. Erika will explain that perfectly." "Of course, my master...! In that case, I would like to explain things in order. Let's forget about Genji's murder for now and focus on the crime in the guesthouse. For this case, you'd like to suspect the servants who were in the guesthouse, right? On that night, Gohda-san and Kumasawa-san were in the guesthouse. Isn't that right, you two?"When she turned to face the direction where those two people were seated, just those two wax models came back to life. They probably weren't even granted a soul when they weren't allowed to speak. In that case, it would be even better if Natsuhi's soul could've disappeared as well... Natsuhi, who was in the defendant's chair, kept her soul the whole time, and was constantly hanging her head, looking nervous... Gohda hurried to his feet and answered Erika's question.  "Well, look at my age. Staying up the night would be a heavy burden, so I returned to the waiting room in the guesthouse and went to bed right away on my own, yes, yes...!" "...Doesn't that mean Gohda and Kumasawa have lost their alibis?!! Kumasawa claims that she was sleeping alone in the waiting room. Gohda claims he was alone in the servant room. Either of them should have had enough time to go to the cousins' room and commit murder!!" "N, n, nonsense...! Why would we do something like that...?!" "That's right, that's right...! How could we ever kill another person...?!" "Natsuhi said it all. Both Kumasawa, who was sleeping alone in the waiting room, and Gohda, who was alone in the servant room, are in the exact same situation as Natsuhi in her room. Both of them have lost their alibis." "Have no fear. I guarantee that neither of these two are murderers. First off, following dinner, Kumasawa-san left the mansion with me and the others and went to the guesthouse, entered the waiting room, and slept until morning." "It's the same for Gohda-san. Once he finished with his job, he chatted with us in the lounge and went to sleep afterwards. Neither of them had the opportunity to commit murder." "Hmph. So, we're finally here." BGM: Organ Short #600 Million in C Minor Beato glanced at where Dlanor sat on the second-floor audience seating. However, Dlanor just stared back with those usual expressionless eyes. "Repeat it. 'We have absolute proof of Gohda and Kumasawa's alibis'." "We refuse. Why give a hint to an enemy? There's no way we'd answer." "Aha. Did you hear that, Lady Lambdadelta? They say they have no proof! How could they claim that Gohda and Kumasawa have alibis without proof?!" "Good point. What do you say, Bern, Erika? Why can you claim that Gohda and Kumasawa have alibis?" "Fall back, Erika. My opponent is Dlanor over there. A mere human like you can be no match for a witch!" "..." "No. There's no need for Dlanor to step forward. In fact, it is because, as you say, a mere human will defeat a witch that the Illusion of the Witch will now be denied. So go ahead. Use the red and blue as much as you like. I'm ready for it, okay?"In response to Erika's challenge, Beato smiled boldly yet gracefully and slowly stood up. And they glared at each other between the floor and the balcony...  BGM: The Girls' Witch Hunt Beato's blue truth struck out rapidly. The curtain had finally dropped, and the battle had begun... "...A human like Erika can't use any red. How could she turn this around without calling Dlanor?" "Though Erika cannot use it, her master, Lady Bernkastel, can. We mustn't let our guards down." "Blue truth, effective. What'll you do, Bern? Will you or Dlanor step in instead?" "It is still not my TURN. And it is not Lady Bernkastel's turn EITHER." "...Yes, that's right. There's no need for us to show up for something like this. This is important precisely because a mere human like Furudo Erika will defeat you, Beato." "...Because you'll be defeated by a human, we'll know. We'll all know that the fake witch who calls herself 'Beatrice the Golden' is nothing more than a sub-human phantom." "*giggle*giggle*... If you really could do that, it'd be seriously interesting... Very well, Erika. Let's see what you've got...!" "Explaining it for the first person, Kumasawa-san, is extremely simple. Kumasawa-san, stand." "Y, yes...!" "No! I was sound asleep until morning, I really was!!" "The truth is... after dinner last night, I had a chat with Eva-san, and she told me something very interesting. I tried that out myself." "What do you mean, 'that'...? You don't mean..." "That's right. It's what cornered and sealed Kinzo in the study. I learned that you can create a seal by putting something between a door and the frame." "...Are you kidding...? Did she actually... do that to Kumasawa-san's waiting room?!" "Erika was in the guesthouse, so there's no obstacle to her having been capable of that." "After all, it was an unsettling night, and a massive amount of gold had just been discovered. Many sorts of crimes might have occurred." Erika held a small, folded piece of brown paper high in the air. "After I watched Kumasawa-san, who returned to the guesthouse with me, say goodnight and enter the waiting room, I used this to seal the door. Then, in the morning, when the crime was discovered and caused a big uproar, I immediately went to check Kumasawa-san's waiting room, where I confirmed that the seal was still set. Therefore, I can prove Kumasawa-san's alibi!"  "...<Good>. A wonderful alibi. Not a single gap. Kumasawa returned to the guesthouse with Erika, went to the waiting room to sleep, and never left the room until morning." "In other words, after Kumasawa returned to the guesthouse, she never went to the second floor until morning."The proof Erika had shown was elevated by Bernkastel and became red truth. This truth, which had become red, could no longer be covered up, even by Beato... In other words, in that instant, Kumasawa's perfect alibi had been absolutely guaranteed. "Hohoh! Then what about Gohda?!" "Gohda-san holed up in the servant room right after reaching the guesthouse. I sealed him up in the same way. Then, when Rosa-san returned at 1:00 AM, I happened to notice her when I stepped out into the corridor. I let Gohda-san, who was still in the servant room, know this." "At that moment, the seal was doing just fine, so from the time we arrived at the guesthouse until 1:00 AM, Gohda-san never left the servant room. And afterwards, he was with me in the lounge until 3:00 AM. And after 3:00 AM, I was on the second floor, so I can guarantee that Gohda-san didn't come up to the second floor." "...Erika's seal proves that Gohda was holed up in the servant room until 1:00 AM. And Erika has proven his alibi from 12:00 AM because she was passing the time in the lounge with him. And Erika has also proven that he never set foot on the ssecond floor until the morning after."   "Red truth, effective. Well done, Erika. The alibi due to your seal on that door has been acknowledged by Bern and elevated to the status of red truth." "Thank you very much, my master. I am the detective! I may be human, but I can use the red truth despite that and surpass humans!" "You claim to have surpassed humans... It's a thousand years too early for you to talk like that, you conceited brat!" "It'll be a pain to have you try anything funny, so I'll make this clear now. In fact, I should have done this in the beginning. I apologize for being so roundabout. This is the situation around the guesthouse at 24:00." "...The gold was found, an emergency family meeting called for, and Battler-san went to the mansion with the relatives. I, the three cousins, Doctor Nanjo, Gohda-san, and Kumasawa-san remained in the guesthouse." "I have already explained Gohda-san and Kumasawa-san's alibis. George-san, Jessica-san, and Maria-san were playing trump in the cousins' room. I actually joined in for a little bit, and I clearly witnessed that they were alive at that time." "My master, I ask that you repeat this!!" BGM: Totem Blume "And, since there's no need to hold off on it anymore, I'll confirm that all the victims so far are dead. George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, and Genji really are dead. How could they be playing dead with their necks sliced open like that?"   "Thanks for repeating that, my master...! If we hadn't made these things clear, you might have started going on about how they were already dead before I guaranteed everyone's alibis, or that they weren't actually dead at all." "...Gah..."Unsurprisingly, Beato's side couldn't get away with the simple plan of claiming that the victims were only playing dead. But in order to overcome Gohda and Kumasawa's alibis, it should have been possible to suppose that the crime occurred before those doors were sealed. However, the opponent had predicted this move perfectly. It had been shown in red that the crime did not occur before the time period covered by Erika's alibis. "Got it. That's the last time the victims were confirmed to be alive. I wish you'd said that in the beginning. This means we can ignore everything that happened before 24:00." "...To go even further, at 24:00, Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji were in a corridor on the second floor of the mansion. All the remaining people were at the family conference in the dining hall. Of course, at that point in time, no murder had occurred. Genji was also alive." "This isn't something that Erika observed, but we can't move the game forward without settling it. Very well, I'll acknowledge that red truth." "Thank you very much for that red truth, my master!"Since Erika had been in the guesthouse, it was only natural that she could explain the situation there. However, since she hadn't been in the mansion at the time, explaining the situation over there would have been extremely difficult for her. Beato would normally have attacked there with the blue truth, saying that the people in the dining hall had all agreed to keep to the same story, that someone had snuck out of the dining hall, and that they might have committed murder in the guesthouse. However, because Bern had instantly settled that matter with the red text, Beato had completely lost her chance to strike back... "Dammit..." "...Very troublesome. To think we would be put at such a disadvantage..." "This is almost the exact opposite of Riiche's fights with Battler..." "...In fact, the situation might be even worse than it was back then." BGM: Deep Blue Jeer However, there were some vital differences. The first was whether or not Beato was the Game Master. The Beato who fought against me was the Game Master. So she knew all the truth. That's why she was able to use the red text at will. However, the current Beato isn't the Game Master. She's just a single piece on the game board. In other words, even Beato doesn't know the truth. So you could say that Beato is now in the same position I once was. Also, though Erika may seem to be in the same position I once was, the situation for her is totally different. She's connected to the witch called Bernkastel. Even though she isn't the Game Master, she's capable of elevating Erika's statements to become red truth. Because of this, Erika can use the red truth even though she's neither a witch nor the Game Master. Beato, who's supposed to be the witch, possesses no truth nor red she can use. And yet the detective, Erika, can use the red truth. The advantage has completely flipped over to the other side. Perhaps you could say that the current Beato is in a much worse position than I was when I fought with her. After I got used to the game, Beato stopped responding to my demands that she use the red, but in the beginning, she had responded to almost all of them, giving me quite a few hints. That's why we were able to fight on par. However, Bernkastel is different. She fully understands the rules of this game, and is prepared to corner Beato without even a hint of restraint. And because of this, I knew. In the past, Beato went easy on me so that we could fight on par with each other...  "...Beato..." "In the past, I've insulted you and called you incompetent. I can handle much, much worse than this. *cackle*cackle*!" "It's now impossible to suspect Gohda and Kumasawa. You can't win by arguing that point any longer." "Yep. Let's switch to a different approach." "The next in line would probably be Nanjo. He was also in the guesthouse." "Nanjo was in the lounge with Erika. However, I believe the time periods before and after that have been left open." "That's right, I'll strike there. Nanjo. You were relaxing in the first floor lounge of the guesthouse with Erika and Gohda, correct?"  "Yes... I was with Erika-san the whole time..." "And during what time was this?" "F, from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM." "Yes, that's right. It was the period between 1:00 and 3:00. Doctor Nanjo, Gohda-san, and I were relaxing in the lounge." "...Repeat it, my master!" "I'll respond. From 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM, Erika, Nanjo, and Gohda spent their time in the lounge on the first floor of the guesthouse."...Though she had flat out refused to repeat what Beato told her to, she responded to Erika's demand immediately. The red truth... was starting to corner Beato. Beato grimaced as though in pain, but she still struck back with the blue truth. No, perhaps she really was in pain. Now that the characters apart from Natsuhi have had their alibis established, the Illusion of the Witch is also being denied. Beato perceived the denial of her existence as pain... "Even so, he shouldn't have an alibi for the time period before and after you were in the lounge! It was possible for Nanjo to commit the crime too!" "That's right. I get that Nanjo was in the lounge with Erika from 1:00 to 3:00, but what about before and after that? What about that? Erika?" "Yes. First, the alibi for before 1:00 AM. This is no problem at all." "I played cards with the cousins in their room until 24:00, and then went downstairs to the lounge, where I met Doctor Nanjo." "That's right... At 24:00, I met Erika-san as she was coming down the stairs, and spoke with her, learning that she was quite the connoisseur of the mystery genre. I realized that I'd found a kindred spirit..." "When I went into the archive to solve the epitaph's riddle, I noticed that there were several original copies of famous foreign mystery novels stored there. So, I wanted to discuss them with the actual books in hand. We moved to the archive and were talking the whole time. Constantly, until we moved to the lounge." In it were several famous foreign mystery novels that Kinzo had once taken a liking to. Of course, they were all originals and in English, but English was no problem for both Erika and Nanjo. For this occasion, they had borrowed the key to the archive one more time from Gohda in the servant room. At that point, Erika checked the seal again, and, of course, reset it. drat her. Even though she keeps it sealed for anyone else to enter or leave, she alone enters and leaves whenever she wants. "I see. So, from 24:00 until 3:00 AM when you went to sleep, you were with Nanjo the whole time? That means Nanjo's alibi is the most rock solid of them all." "Yes, that's it exactly! My master, repeat it...!" At 24:00, the crime in the cousins' room still hadn't occurred. So this way, an alibi had been established for the period before the time they had spent in the lounge. "After that, we walked out of the archive and into the hallway at 1:00 AM. When we did, we just happened to bump into Rosa-san as she returned. I then told Gohda-san about that. I figured it was probably a servant's responsibility to welcome in a guest." She quickly headed up to the second floor. At this point, Erika, Gohda, and Nanjo gathered together and decided to have a drink... Their alibis in the lounge up until 3:00 AM have already been proclaimed in red, so there are no problems there. "Let's continue on to after 3:00 AM. This is Doctor Nanjo's alibi after we split up. At 3:00 AM, Battler-san returned and the people in the lounge went their separate ways. Doctor Nanjo, Battler-san and I went up to the second floor." "I then said good night to Doctor Nanjo. At this time, of course, I put a seal on the door to the doctor's room as well." "And it went unchanged until the crime was discovered. I flew out of my room at the same time as Battler-san's scream and checked to see that the door to Doctor Nanjo's room was still sealed. Therefore, Doctor Nanjo's alibi is perfect both before 1:00 and after 3:00...!"  BGM: Smile-less Soiree "Splendid, Erika. Both your seal and your red truth are perfect. Nanjo had the alibi of being with Erika until 3:00 AM. And he didn't leave his room after 3:00 AM until morning."Erika made use of the seals on the doors and was granted red truths from Bernkastel one after another... For me, demanding that Beato repeat something had been about maneuvering and tactics, but it's totally different for Erika. For her, it's like having a trump card which can make red whenever she wants...   "I, I do have a problem...!! And that problem is, umm..."Beato racked her brains to find some point to latch onto, but Erika's red had been ruthlessly perfect. There was no point she could take issue with... Beato kept thinking hard, trying to fault Erika on something, but her expression was so wrought with desperation that anyone could tell by looking... "Beato's complaint is rejected. I can't sense any problems at all. It's totally <pop>, <cute>, and <perfect>! The alibis for all humans in the guesthouse have now been proven." "...Wait a sec, Erika. Are you trying to leave me out of this? I believe Ushiromiya Battler also had a chance to commit the crime. After all, I was in the same room as the victims all night. There's no way I'll let you carry on this discussion while ignoring me. ...?!" It didn't pierce through me, but it slapped me hard on the cheek like a whip. "Battler-sama, your right to speak has not yet been recognized. Be warned." "...Oooww... dammit..." "Yeah, I understand, Battler. And my apologies. Forgive me." "...Erika! You still haven't shown an alibi for Battler! Battler is the man who was sleeping alongside the victims. Shouldn't he be placed under suspicion more than anyone else?!" "Beato's right. You can't go skipping Battler like that." "My apologies. I had completely forgotten." "After Battler returned at 3:00 AM, you went up to the second floor with him. And I believe you also went to your own room and slept. You may have gone to the cousins' room at 24:00, but I don't think you went there after 3:00 AM." "...Will you now claim that you went to crawl into Battler's bed later on? *cackle*cackle*! Well, if you say you were looking at Battler's sleeping face all night long to confirm his alibi in the cousins' room, then I'd accept it, riiight?" BGM: Kuina "...What...?!" "I, Furudo Erika, can prove that Battler-san returned to the cousins' room at 3:00 AM, that he went straight to bed afterwards, and that he went straight to sleep. And I can prove that until he woke up, noticed the gruesome situation the room was in, and let out a scream, nothing happened in that room." "So you have no need to worry. Battler-san isn't the culprit. He's just the charming first discoverer who entered the murder scene without realizing it was one and slept until morning." "That's insane... It shouldn't be possible for you to prove that with those seals you love so much...! How can you prove this?!!" "...That's ridiculous. At that time, I entered the room alone. Erika probably went into her room too. How can she say something like that, as though she saw the whole thing...?!" "She never said that she saw it. The room Erika was assigned to. Where was it located?" "Erika, please tell me. How can you prove so much about Battler?" "...*giggle*giggle*. I'd expect no less from a true detective..." "My room was right next to the cousins' room. There was only a single thin wall between them." "Y, you don't mean... You... put your ear against the wall... to check what was happening in the cousins' room...?" "...You said you could prove that nothing happened until Battler let out a scream the next morning... You don't mean..." "Yes. I put my ear against the wall and listened in on that room until morning, without sleeping a wink."...Everyone... was stunned into silence... She put her ear against the wall... and for the entire time until morning... she listened to what was going on in Battler's room... Just what would that have looked like... Until dawn, she had killed her breathing in a pitch black room, clinging to the wall shared with the cousins' room... Like some kind of creepy venomous spider clinging to the wall of a darkened room... Bernkastel alone was grinning in triumph. "...Due to the progression of the game, I realized that Battler, the one who had received the Head's Ring, would be a key player. I was sure that Battler would be a victim of the first twilight." "Yes. So, just as my master told me to do, I put my ear against the wall until morning without a wink of sleep, checking to make sure nothing unusual happened...!" "Erika has a photographic memory. And her hearing ability is on par with a tape recorder. It was impossible for him to deceive Erika's ears, kill George and the others and slit their throats."  "...It's an accepted power of the detective's authority. I have no choice but to acknowledge it. I'll confirm it in red...! Ushiromiya Battler returned to the cousins' room at 3:00 AM and fell asleep. After that, until the discovery of the crime, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened in the room!" "In other words, it was impossible for Battler to commit murder or damage the corpses." "...Nn, ggghh..."The red from the two of them forced Beato to show an expression of considerable anguish... It was only natural. The red truth they had spoken not only guaranteed Battler's alibi, but a number of other things as well. First off, it meant the murder was impossible for anyone after 3:00 AM. And since the cousins were confirmed to be alive as late as 24:00, the time period of the crime automatically became 'between 24:00 and 3:00'. That meant the alibis for all people who weren't in the guesthouse before 3:00 AM had also been guaranteed automatically.   "...That one hurts... a lot..." "After 24:00, Erika was in the guesthouse the whole time. So, it should have been difficult for her to prove alibis for all of the people in the mansion..." "It should have been almost impossible to prove alibis for Eva and the others. But now, all she has to do is prove that they never visited the guesthouse between 24:00 and 3:00 and she can prove those alibis..." "...Anyway, we'll have to construct it so that the murders were possible before 3:00 AM. And we have to prove that it was possible for one of the people in the mansion to do it...!"The people who had been in the guesthouse all had alibis. The crime didn't occur before 24:00. The crime couldn't have occurred after 3:00.  
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Apr 14, 2017 13:45
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grandalt posted:I know the answer and you don't so here's some free clues I can feel smart for sprinkling in Please stop giving hints and alluding to spoilers.
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Apr 14, 2017 17:34
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Three comments to a new page.
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Apr 15, 2017 14:35
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 BGM: Solitary Deep Sea Fish Ironically, the witch had to prove that a human had committed the crime... "...Still, this is getting pretty difficult. Until 3:00, Erika was in the lounge. And you have to pass through there to reach the second floor. In other words, she's practically like a manager for the guesthouse's second floor." "...This may be trivial, but if it was possible for someone to go up to the second floor without Erika noticing, we should be able to prove that the crime was possible for anyone." "It's probably possible for a human to climb up to the second story window if they really wanted to." Of course, Beato had also thought of striking back that way. And Bernkastel must have thought this as well.  "Battler, Nanjo, Gohda, Kumasawa. We realize that the crime was impossible for all these people in the guesthouse. However, what about the people in the mansion?!" "As I have already said, and as my master has even proclaimed with the red truth, I was in the lounge on the first floor of the guesthouse. And to reach the second floor, one must pass through the lounge. In other words, it was impossible to reach the second floor without me seeing it." "And what if that wasn't impossible? For example, what if someone placed a ladder against the outer wall of the guesthouse and snuck in through the second story window?! There must be a way to reach the second floor without passing through the lounge! This way, it was possible to reach the crime scene without you seeing it...!"Beato finally struck back. Before now, she had let Erika take total control and attack her with the red over and over. During that time, Beato's counterattacks with the blue truth had been few in number, even including this one... "Of course, I knew you'd try saying that. I couldn't have my lookout in the lounge become meaningless. So first, I must prove that my lookout was perfect." "...First off, because of how the guesthouse is constructed, it is impossible to reach the second floor without me seeing it from the lounge. There are no places under cover, and neither are there any physical or mental blind spots. My master, repeat it!" "<Good>, my master! So, next is Lady Beatrice's theory that there might be a way to reach the second floor from the outside. This really is a problem. After all, there are trees that could probably be climbed, and someone could have used a ladder. We also can't be certain that crawling up the rain gutter would be impossible. But I can't let you do that." "Hoh, you won't let me...? And how's that? Did you stay up all night circling the guesthouse?" "No, you couldn't do that. You were in the lounge...! From the lounge, you can only see a small part of the outer perimeter through the window!" "That's true. I couldn't prevent all methods of climbing up to the second floor from the outside. However, I was able to prevent all entry from the second floor." "Prevent... entry...?!" "...I had already foreseen this move. Frightening... and so persistent...!" "Because of how the guesthouse is constructed, the only method of entry from the second floor is the windows. The locks? Not important at all. I only had to prove that none of the windows or shutters were opened even once." "After I witnessed the location of the hidden gold, I returned to the guesthouse and immediately began severing all methods of entry to the second floor of the guesthouse that didn't pass through the lounge. Yes, it's exactly the same. No different from the rest...!" "Well, I did have my swimsuit from when I drifted here." "...You're insane... At a house where you were welcomed as a guest, you did something like that in the middle of the rain even though nothing had happened yet...?" "For a normal human, it would certainly be an impossibly dubious action. However, she is the witch's piece."In the middle of all that rain, Erika sealed all the windows from the outside... to create an alibi showing that no one could have snuck into the guesthouse from the outside. She climbed up the wall herself, and did that to all the windows on the first and second floor. No, to all things which could possibly have permitted entry. After hearing that she'd listened to the cousins' room all night long without sleeping a wink, even this new bizarre action didn't seem quite so impossible... That had probably also... looked like a venomous spider. A disgusting spider crawling over the outside guesthouse wall during a storm... "...You, just what do you... think of this Ushiromiya family...? Is this how you repay us for welcoming you as a guest...?!" "To a detective, the Ushiromiya family is nothing more or less than the stage upon which the crime occurs. Before the outbreak of the crime, it was important for me to memorize the names of the characters, memorize the layout of the land, and prepare for the upcoming crime by devoting my time towards collecting and creating all possible alibis." "From my perspective, detectives who don't prepare anything before the outbreak of the crime are pretty third-rate. After all, we all know that someone will die wherever we spend the night." "...Furthermore, when the crime was discovered, Erika confirmed that none of those seals had been broken. That's why Erika wasn't the first one to reach the cousins' room when the corpses were discovered." "Even without inspecting the corpses, she could be certain of several things thanks to the red truth. It was more important to check the seals and construct alibis." "My master is perfect. All I did was prove everything perfectly by following my master's orders...!" "Well done, Erika. My double, my piece...! What do you think, Lambda? Doesn't this prove that Erika's lookout in the lounge contains absolute reliability as far as constructing alibis...?"  BGM: Smile-less Soiree  "...Yeah, I acknowledge it. Erika, your seal is perfect. I'll acknowledge it in red. It was impossible to reach the second floor of the guesthouse without passing through the lounge, and impossible to reach it at all without Erika, who was in the lounge, knowing about it!" "Thank you very much, Lady Lambdadelta...!" "So, you know what's coming next, great Lady Beatrice! Therefore, the time of the crime is limited to the single hour between 24:00, when they were confirmed to be alive, and 1:00 AM, when our party in the lounge started!" "Uu, gah... ah..." "I've already said it, but at 24:00, I went down to the lounge, hit it off with Doctor Nanjo, and was engrossed by a discussion of the mystery genre in the archive until 1:00 AM." "...It's a bit embarrassing, but I grew so engrossed with this discussion... that I wouldn't have noticed if anyone had passed through the corridor during that period. Quite a regretful mistake for a detective."After doing all that maneuvering and setting up seals to guarantee a perfect alibi, she became too engrossed in a mystery discussion and left an opening...? Her relaxed smile was completely shameless, the total opposite of her words. It almost seems like it's the other way around. It's enough to make you think that this was an intentional trap... to make it clear to all that only Natsuhi didn't have an alibi between 24:00 and 1:00...  Her eyes clearly hinted that Natsuhi was the only one who fit this description...   It should have been a crime whose time and location were completely unknown during that long night. But because of the alibis Erika had constructed, it had been limited to the time period between 24:00 and 1:00. Erika left the cousins' room at 24:00. This is the last confirmation that George and the others were alive. And after the party in the lounge started at 1:00. it was impossible to reach the cousins' room by any method. "...drat her, and from a mere human..." "This is quite bad... The night has been sealed up into an hour, and at this rate, there won't be many suspect pieces left..." "...drat it, Lady Bernkastel... Not bad at all..." "Unlike Battler, I'm not an idiot. After this game's repeated five times, I have more than enough cards in my hand. *giggle* *giggle* *giggle* *giggle*!!" "Then let us continue. Let's examine the alibis of the remaining suspects, the people in the mansion. After all, we only have to worry about the single hour between 24:00 and 1:00. That shouldn't be difficult at all." "First, at 24:00. At this time, Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji are in the second floor corridor, and all of the others are in the first floor dining hall. This has already been shown by my master's red!" "Yeah, that's right. At 24:00, Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji were in the corridor on the second floor of the mansion. The rest of them were in the dining hall on the first floor. And as you know, there was a mysterious knock, and a letter with the One Wing seal on it appeared. The discussion surrounding that continued on until 1:00. I will say it with the red truth. Of all the people in the dining hall, not one of them left the dining hall until 1:00 AM...!"  Since the time that the crime was possible had been limited to between 24:00 and 1:00... The adults in the family conference, who, as had been guaranteed, hadn't left the mansion between 24:00 to 1:00, all had proven alibis. "...A, and how do you intend to prove that?! Erika's in the guesthouse! Did someone prove it by using one of your favorite seals on the dining hall door?! You have no convincing evidence or proof...!!" This overbearing red truth hadn't only given alibis to the adults in the dining hall. It also gave alibis to Shannon and Kanon, who had come to serve tea, and even guaranteed that they never left the dining hall. In other words, the only ones who didn't have proven alibis... were three people: Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji... No, there were only two left. If Krauss and Genji had their alibis proven, it proves that no one but Natsuhi could have been the culprit...! "Let's do Genji next. He's a victim, but you can't deny the possibility that he committed the crime in the cousins' room and then was killed himself." "And furthermore, while he was in the second floor corridor at 24:00, he then returned to the servant room to transfer the phone call for Natsuhi and was completely isolated." "Which means that it was possible for Genji to commit the crime-" "I'll say it in red. When Genji finished transferring the call, he immediately returned to the waiting room. That's just a cold, hard truth, without any evidence, proof, seals or alibis, got it?" "Then, at 1:00 AM, there was another break in the family conference, and Rosa returned to the guesthouse. At that time... I'm truly thankful for your cooperation, Ushiromiya Eva-san. Please rise...!" BG: Deep Blue Jeer "She's the person who taught me how to make those seals. And she helped me to check the alibis of those people under suspicion...!" "During the break at 1:00 AM, I went to Genji-san's waiting room and used the same seal as Erika-chan...! In other words, if this wasn't broken, it would mean that no one entered or left that room between 1:00 AM and the next morning...!!" "Now, Kanon-san and Kumasawa-san. Please rise."Kanon rose expressionlessly, and Kumasawa got to her feet timidly. "In the morning, you two went to wake Genji-san because he had slept in, right? And at that time, you noticed that the door was sealed, broke the seal, and opened the door, correct?" "...Y, yes. I thought it was some kind of prank." "I didn't think deeply about it at the time." "I'm not asking for your opinions. Just give us the facts. Did you break the seal and enter the room?" ""Y, yes..."" "During the short break at 1:00 AM, the first two to leave the dining hall were Rosa and Eva. Until Eva returned, everyone in the dining hall remained there. After seeing Rosa off, Eva went to the waiting room and sealed it. Of course, she did not enter the room at all at this time." "This is all information gathered from the people involved. It isn't a red truth without a basis. It's a truth due to proper reasoning constructed from testimony. Not only testimony, but the limits of scientific investigations such as collecting fingerprints were used here." "After all, Kinzo-san's study is a treasure vault with all kinds of chemicals! I obtained all sorts of results to create an ultimate truth, infinitely close to a red truth. This isn't a science mystery, so I'll spare you the details."As Erika swaggered around the cathedral, she arrogantly touted her scientific knowledge. She had thorough knowledge of all the chemicals in Kinzo's study and had used them to conduct a scientific investigation, which had now been acknowledged and made into a red truth by Bernkastel. She didn't explain the details, but she had obtained results that were convincing even without the red truth. Collecting fingerprints with aluminum powder. Component analysis of the mud under someone's shoe and various chemical reactions from the clinging rain water. Erika just walked into someone else's study several times and used several chemicals however she pleased, all without asking the family's permission. However, no one could fault her for this. The pieces couldn't hinder any action the detective might take for the investigation. That's the power of the detective's authority. "...You act like you own the place... From now on, I'll tell everyone I meet. If someone claims to be a detective, never welcome them into your house as a guest." "That's probably a good idea. Giving shelter to a detective is just about the worst omen of misfortune out there." "...Because of this, it has been proven that it was only possible to reach Genji's waiting room and commit the crime between 24:00 and 1:00 AM. And furthermore, by Erika's investigation, it has been proven that it was impossible for Genji to reach the cousins' room."It had already been made clear in red that, after transferring the phone call to Natsuhi, Genji had gone straight back to the waiting room. And because of Erika's scientific investigation, further red had been added, saying Genji never left the mansion after 24:00... Because of this, it's been made clear that Genji couldn't have reached the guesthouse, much less the cousins' room...    BGM: Patchwork Chimera "...I... impossible... ahhh."Natsuhi's mouth flapped open and shut like a suffocating goldfish. And that's an accurate analogy. Natsuhi's mind was blank and spinning out of control, and she felt as though she really would suffocate.  "F, fool!! Do I look like the kind of woman who would falsely accuse her husband?!!" "...Beato. Natsuhi's denied it. I'll give you the same chance." "...You understand, right? Or wait, don't tell me... You aren't going to take advantage of the fact that Krauss is missing to try and pull a Devil's Proof on me, are you...?" "...Gah, ghh..."Beato realized that they were rapidly approaching the end of this battle. Normally, these alibis of Erika's would still have many places that Beato could argue against using the blue truth. However, all of those alibis had been accepted by Bernkastel and Lambdadelta as red truth, and Beato no longer had any room to argue...  "...It's like... those witches are distorting things so that they match with an outline Erika's drawn up..." "That's right. If the Game Master, Lady Lambdadelta, accepts a truth, its authenticity will not be questioned. The world that comes after will be formed based on the final remaining truth... This happens no matter how far this final truth is from the real truth." "There's no way Uncle Krauss is the culprit. He's being held prisoner somewhere." "...W, wait, we can't deny the possibility that Aunt Natsuhi was skillfully tricked into believing that during the phone call..." "Do you suspect Natsuhi and Krauss, Battler-kun?" "Well..." "Erika's truth has been constructed in a cowardly fashion, but it is a proper truth. Though the witches did conspire with her, it has still been acknowledged as a red truth. In other words, it cannot be a fake truth built only on lies. This means that even Erika's truth makes sense. The truth about Natsuhi and Krauss being the culprits is also very possible. Though it is a mixture of truth and lies, it 'makes sense'." "...No. I'll... trust Aunt Natsuhi... and Uncle Krauss. I realize that they're in some money trouble." "But even so, I don't want to believe that they're the culprits. No, I can't believe it...!" "On this game board, where the red is steadily cornering Natsuhi, how do you intend to let her escape?" "I, I don't know... However, I seriously don't want to give up...! Aunt Natsuhi was just caught in a cowardly trap. Erika's reasoning has fallen for that trap completely...! So whether it's intentional or she's being manipulated, Erika is aiding the true culprit." "...Erika has accused Aunt Natsuhi of being the culprit, but even if everyone here believes that, in fact, for that very reason, I want to be the one person who trusts Aunt Natsuhi...!"If everyone believes it's her, will that become the truth? If everyone accepts a lie, will that become the truth? Must an honest person be dragged up to the guillotine, all alone and taunted by the liars? "I... don't like it. If no one will believe Aunt Natsuhi, then I will...!! The real truth isn't something that's determined when everyone accepts it! It's something you find after thoroughly investigating both possibilities...! So this trial is a downright lie! This trial exists for no reason other than to set Aunt Natsuhi up as the culprit!!" "...Beato is doing all she can to plead Natsuhi's case, right?" "Wrong. Beato is trying to refute Erika's argument. She's just defending! You can't fight in this trial by simply resisting all of your opponent's claims. This is why Beato always cornered me in the past...!" "She isn't going to beat Erika by finding flaws in her reasoning! She has to find a different truth and show Lambdadelta, the commander of this game... that her truth is more correct than Erika's...!!" "Can anyone create a truth where Natsuhi isn't the culprit without violating the red truths that Lady Bernkastel has shown...?" "...I, I don't know... But, as long as I don't believe that Aunt Natsuhi is the culprit, there's got to be a different truth!" "It's even alright if the culprit for the crime was a witch. That's better than having Natsuhi be framed by an incorrect truth...!!" "...So, no matter how much red truth you are shown, you won't believe that Natsuhi is the culprit, correct?" "Yeah...! For everything, there should always be some people who believe and some who don't...! No matter how much evidence is stacked up against her, someone has to believe that she's innocent!" "There must be several truths in the world that cannot be proven with evidence. I don't ever want to accept that something's true just because everyone says it is!!" Is there some reason that you have to believe it?! Until you see the back of the moon with your own eyes, you can't deny either the possibility that nothing is there or the possibility of a thriving culture of space bunnies...! You should never assume something is the truth until you actually check it. This court is a malicious thing, trying to force a single interpretation on a truth that cannot be checked. I believed there was a society on the back side of the moon!! But that was in elementary school, and I was made fun of and laughed at. So I thought it was embarrassing to think that a society lived on the moon... and I threw away that 'belief'. I'd been told by a book my mom read me that rabbits lived on the back side of the moon, so I'd believed that for a long, long time. But when everyone said that was wrong, I abandoned that truth without even trying to check it! Even without evidence, I abandoned the truth I believed in...! And now, everyone is starting to believe that Aunt Natsuhi is the culprit. Even though no decisive evidence has been shown...! Even without evidence, Erika's words sound reasonable, so they're probably the truth...? And that's why you're throwing away your 'belief' that Aunt Natsuhi is innocent despite a lack of proof?!  "...Understood. Then I will give you just a single red truth. This is the single bit of power I will give you, now that you hold the will to fight in the truest sense." "Power...?" "By the name of the Finite Witch Virgilia. No, as the former witch Beatrice, I will grant you this red truth."
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Apr 15, 2017 15:06
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 BGM: Patchwork Chimera "What'll you do, Beato? At this rate, Natsuhi's in serious trouble, right? Will you accept the plea bargain? If you're willing to abandon this Ushiromiya family honor thing, Bern'll be kind enough to let you get off with a draw, okay...?"Krauss is currently missing, and it is unknown whether he is alive or dead. Like Kinzo, he is no different than a 'cat in a box' that has disappeared into the mists of the island. A cat inside a box is unfixed, and no interpretation of it can be denied. It is the root of endless interpretations. The true source of the Endless Witch's power. In other words, no matter how much Bernkastel claims that Krauss is the culprit, she can't make that the sole truth. In other words, the Krauss culprit theory and the witch theory can be in almost perfect balance. It would mean making the game a draw. This was cajolery... offering her a second chance if she abandons the honor of the family she swore to protect... and consents to a Fragment that stomps all over that honor. There's no room for false confidence. For Beato, to lose is to die. In this game, she should always choose a draw unless she has an overwhelming advantage. "...Mu, uu..." "I won't allow you to treat my husband like the culprit!! My husband is the next head of the Ushiromiya family!! The only person who will inherit the glory of the Ushiromiya family! I will never let you treat him like a criminal...!!" "...Are you sure, Natsuhi...? If you refuse to suspect Krauss, then... you'll be the only one left. Alibis have been proven for everyone else, in other words, Hempel's Raven...! Even without any evidence, it will be determined that you are the culprit...!" "And so what if I'm the only one left?! I am Ushiromiya Natsuhi!! I will not run or hide! I am innocent!! And I am the representative of the noble head, with the One-winged Eagle engraved into my heart!! If you wish to insult me, go ahead! If you wish to ridicule me, do as you please!! No one can damage my honor with a mixture of truth and lies!!"With a dignified voice, Natsuhi stated her case openly before the witches above her. However, this response of hers might have been exactly what Bernkastel had intended... "...Natsuhi refuses the deal. And you, Beato?" "...You understand, right? The instant Natsuhi is specified as the culprit, Lambda will make her verdict. As soon as that happens, the Illusion of the Witch will be denied, and you'll disappear into the mist. Do you plan to let Natsuhi's foolish bragging drag you down to the depths of hell...?" "...Nn... gah..." BGM: Kuina "Both Lady Lambdadelta and Lady Bernkastel have boredom, not you, as their true enemy. They probably want to have this game repeat and play some more. If they see that you're willing to make a concession, they will most likely accept it gladly and move on to the next game." "If we move on to the next game, then what will happen to the Natsuhi of this game... the Natsuhi of this Fragment...?" "Now isn't the time to be worrying about that, right?! Natsuhi is just a piece! Even if she gets removed from this game, she'll show up again in the next one!" "But you will not let that happen, Milady... I believe you know what Lady Bernkastel plans for this game. It's a more realistic goal to make use of that and aim for victory in the next game instead. Accepting Lady Bernkastel's deal might be our one and only good option right now...!" "Throw away that useless pride of yours!! Neither Kasparov nor Deep Blue won every game! The person that wins more games wins in the end, right?! If a witch gets too attached to a single match, a single life, a single piece, that witch dies!!" "I will not abandon Natsuhi! Why? Because if everyone else suspects Natsuhi, then someone has to believe in her! Because truth can only be found in the gap between those who doubt and those who believe...!!" "I won't abandon her! Even if everyone believes that Natsuhi is the culprit, I will still claim that I, the witch, am the culprit...!! If I can't even make that claim, my existence isn't worth anything...!!" "...I can't lose. The truth isn't something anyone gets to deny. When you doubt and abandon it yourself, it disappeeeeeeears!!" "Is that your answer, Beato...?" "Yeah, of course I refuse!! Ushiromiya Krauss is not the culprit!!"  "...Fool. I won't let you take that back, okay...? Here's what you get for being a quick-tempered moron. By the name of Bernkastel, Witch of Miracles, I speak with the red truth."  "N, no... D, dear, aaah... aaagghhhaaaaaaaaahhhh..."Bernkastel's cruel and ruthless red blade gouged Natsuhi... It was... totally merciless... Natsuhi had been crushed with uncertainty, not knowing whether Krauss was alive or dead... but she had still been capable of believing that he was alive... And now, that hope ...that expectation... had been crushed... without any chance for a miracle...!! She had thrown herself into this trap out of concern for her husband's safety. She had now lost her daughter and husband... and everything she had gained since marrying into the Ushiromiya family. No, even after all this, one thing still remains. If her husband has been lost, then right now, she is the last person who can protect the honor of the Ushiromiya family. She still... couldn't let it end here... Even wrapped up in so much sadness, Natsuhi would do all she could to protect that honor... with this final bit of strength...    BGM: Patchwork Chimera "...Well done, Erika and Bernkastel! You've fully proven that the crime was impossible for everyone except Ushiromiya Natsuhi! Why don't I start reading aloud from the verdict." "...At 24:00 on October 4th, 1986, the defendant, Ushiromiya Natsuhi, left before the others while pretending to return to her room to sleep, and murdered George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, and Genji one after another during the one hour period before 1:00 AM!" "Let me add something on. Due to circumstantial evidence, include the murder of Krauss." "Yeah, that's right. In this situation, it's unthinkable that anyone except Natsuhi could kill Krauss!!" "A revision to the verdict! During the hour before 1:00 AM, Krauss, George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, and Genji were killed one after another! It's only possible for any of these murders to have taken place between 24:00 and 1:00! The only person without an alibi during this time was Ushiromiya Natsuhi...! From this point forward, the defendant will be treated as the true culprit." "Furthermore, because it has been fully proven that the crime was possible for humans... Beatrice, the Endless Witch...!! This Court of Illusions hereby denies your existence!! You'll be given a chance to plead your case, but can you prove an alibi for Natsuhi? Or can you prove that it was possible for someone other than Natsuhi? If you can do that, Natsuhi will stop at being one shade short of absolutely guilty, and the denial of your existence will be put on hold for this game..."If Natsuhi had an alibi, Beato would have shown it long ago. In fact, wasn't the whole point of that trap to make her lose her alibi...?   "...The truth is known only by the master of the night on this island, Beatrice the Golden. I am Ushiromiya Natsuhi! Now that my husband has passed away, I am the head of the Ushiromiya family!! My determination will not bend no matter how you try and humiliate me!" "Why, you ask? It is because Father gave me permission to engrave the family crest of the One-winged Eagle into my heart...!! How do you intend to disprove the existence of this honor with your evidence and your alibis? You cannot!! The Ushiromiya family crest engraved into my heart is immortal!!"...Now that Natsuhi and Beatrice had practically been placed on the guillotine, they cried out with all the strength of their determination... However, that did nothing except bring a cold smile to Lambdadelta's face. Erika had constructed a truth that Lambdadelta could accept. And no one could construct a more convincing truth to deny Erika's. In that case, the most convincing truth would swallow up everything else... and become the one and only 'truth'. Even if it happened to be different from the real truth. The truth of those in the past is swallowed up by the truth of those in the future. This can happen even for a mixture of truth and lies. As long as everyone acknowledges it as true...! "...Sheesh, stop howling already. I like it best when witches sob and beg for their lives when they're about to be burned at the stake." "Wh, what do you mean...?" "...S, stop it, Lady Bernkastel... Hasn't it already been overwritten with the truth you wished for...? That truth and Natsuhi's should be able to coexist... Please don't defile it, please..."  BGM: Spiral When that heartless announcement was made... Kinzo stood up.  "Natsuhi!! You need not listen to this!! No one can defile the crest engraved in your heart!! That is yours alone!! Don't let your pride as the final family head be forgotten forever! Natsuhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!" "Just shut up and disappear. You miserable delusion of Natsuhi's." "Nngggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!! You can't erase me! You can't erase my soul!! Not as long as the crest is engraved into Natsuhi's heart!!" "Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhaaaaaaaahhhh, Na... tsuhi... nnggwoooooooooooohhhhhhh...!!!"A bright red flash of lightning smashed Kinzo over and over again as he screamed. Then, he crumpled like a doll... and sat back down in his chair as though nothing had happened. The fierce emotion had left Kinzo's face. He had truly... become like a wax model. And so, he would never again share kind words with Natsuhi... ...That's right. The true Kinzo... never once trusted Natsuhi during his entire life. The true Kinzo... never once thought about allowing Natsuhi to bear the One-winged Eagle. Because, of course... Kinzo had already vanished before the start of the game. The Kinzo that appears in this game... is nothing more than Natsuhi's... delusion... Everything about this Kinzo, who believed in Natsuhi and entrusted her with protecting the family honor... was a phantom... created by Natsuhi...  "Wah... waaah..." "...Natsuhi, don't cry. Kinzo... entrusted the Ushiromiya family... to you, right...?"...No, he didn't. Not only did he not entrust her with that, he never said hello... or met her gaze even once...  Natsuhi's cry was a mixture of sadness and many other emotions... and it echoed throughout the cathedral... Natsuhi could no longer stop her tears. Some last, faint element that had cheered her up until today, that had allowed her to endure as an Ushiromiya, as the wife to the head's representative, and as the final family head... had been torn to bits... Natsuhi no longer... had anything left. Natsuhi could no longer allow herself to even call herself an Ushiromiya... Those difficult days, those painful days. Those days where she still gave everything she could for the family she'd married into despite it all. The very few happy days among these. All of these flitted through her mind, one after another... and disappeared. All of those once beautiful memories... were then... crushed by Bernkastel's red truth, smashed to bits and scattered, plunged deep into her hands, and smeared red with sad blood... ...It was... the red of sadness and truth.  Lambdadelta... clapped. Then, a bit later, Bernkastel also clapped, looking pleased. The expressionless, wax figure-like audience followed suit, and the unshakable verdict was welcomed with a great applause... And so, the 'truth' of this tale... was decided...  BGM: Discolor And, with one exception, it has been shown that none of them have committed murder. And, the culprit is among these people. "...Whoa, whoa. In that case, it's conclusive, isn't it...?" "Unless the culprit is a witch who committed murder with magic, that is..." "...It was you?! You killed George, killed my husband?! Why?!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!!" "..."In a panic, and with a voice that really couldn't be called flowing, in a manner that was, to put it coldly, unsightly... Aunt Natsuhi denied the suspicion placed upon her... However, there was no longer any way around it...  Red-faced and tear-streaked, Eva walked up to Natsuhi... and grabbed her by the collar. Then, wordlessly, she slapped Natsuhi's cheek. Natsuhi, who had never been slapped in her life, was shocked by the taste of iron, which she was feeling for the first time. It turned into a scuffle between Eva and Natsuhi. Battler immediately tried to stop them, but Eva planted a sharp knee into Battler's gut and he doubled over. "Give them back, give back George and my husband!! Why did you kill them?! You murderer, murdereeeeeeeer!!"Sobbing, Eva kicked Natsuhi, who had fallen to the ground, over and over. Battler tried once more to cut in and stop them, but he was brushed aside, and after that, no one tried to stop them. Repeating her son and husband's names over and over, Eva kicked Natsuhi. And kicked her. Then she started grabbing whatever her eyes fell upon and throwing it. Natsuhi was hit with a steaming teacup, hit by a can of black tea, whose tea leaves fell out all over her. She was kicked, her hair pulled and dragged up, her cheek slapped so many times that it started to swell. No one tried to stop it. It wasn't because they were worried about Eva kicking them too. It was because they thought it an appropriate act of retribution for a person who had lost her beloved son and husband. A proper... retribution. A proper... truth. Everyone in the parlor accepted that Natsuhi was the culprit... They accepted the truth Erika claimed. So it became a proper truth, and Natsuhi was designated as the proper culprit. She had already lost the husband and daughter who might have protected her, and even Kinzo, who should have given her a final bit of strength, had already vanished like a bubble in the ocean of illusions... No longer... would anyone protect her. No longer... would anyone believe her.  Eva's shoulders heaved with her heavy breathing. Apparently, her anger still hadn't abated. Erika patted her shoulder and made Eva take a step back. Of course, this wasn't to protect Natsuhi from violence. It was to further humiliate Natsuhi, now that she had been branded as the culprit.  The 'why dunnit'...refers to the motive. "If this was a third-rate mystery, Natsuhi-san would let out a high-pitched laugh about now, confess to the crime, and start telling the story of her sad past. Don't tell me you intend to make me explain that part as well?" "...I am not the culprit!! Someone, believe me!! I just had my husband taken hostage, was threatened, and fell into a trap...!!"Natsuhi, with her hair a mess and her face red and tear-streaked... protested to everyone, but no one met her gaze. Because it has already been resolved that Natsuhi was the culprit. Because Lambdadelta had acknowledged that the culprit of the tale was Natsuhi and woven it that way, none of the pieces would pay any heed to Natsuhi's... to 'the culprit's' words...  "Why can't you just call it my sin? Why must you suspect Natsuhi?!! Acknowledge me!! I committed all the crimes!! There's no way a human is the culpriiiiiiiiiit!!"The Illusion of the Witch had already been crushed, and Beato's voice didn't reach anyone. The verdict had already been made. Everything had been decided. "No one can hear you. You're a phantom, a mere illusion!" "Go back to being a simple portrait! You're a faint phantom of a witch, born when Kinzo shared his illusion with his relatives!! That is the truth chosen by this world!!" "So, great Lady Lambdadelta!! Now is the time for you to bury the ridiculous and foolish illusion that this witch claims is the truth...!!" BGM: Kuina "...I... am a witch... Even if Lady Lambdadelta doesn't acknowledge it... I'm a witch..." "Oh, sure, but you wouldn't even be capable of believing that if I hadn't become your guardian in the first place...!! Yep, this is 'game over' for you. You will be buried in accordance with the rules of your game board. What happens to the losers in your game, again...?" "Beato has already shown that clearly in a previous game. You get made into a mound of living flesh before being tossed into the goats' dinner party and getting chewed to bits." "Now there's a fitting end for you, Beatrice. And I did come all the way here just to hear the death cries of one as haughty as you...!!"One by one, a massive number of goat attendants slipped out from the shadows of the pillars and began to fill the cathedral. The goats paid no attention to Natsuhi, who was seated in the center, but the crowd completely enveloped her. From Beato's point of view up on the balcony, it probably looked like a huge boiling pot of goats.  "Yep. Our contract said that whenever you stopped entertaining me, you would relieve me of my boredom with your life!" "Come, strip the title of witch from this woman and throw her into the pot of goats!!"Suddenly, there were goats standing right behind Beato. They lifted her up roughly. "Let me hear some nice screams. It's the wine you've been fermenting all this time." "...Then perhaps refusing your request will be my final strike back at you..." "Yeah! I made her say it! Uhihihahaaah!! The best screams always come from a girl who's just said some tired line like that." "Fall! Beatriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiceeee...!!!"The goats carrying Beato no longer viewed her as their master. After holding her above the pot of clambering goats, which were snorting heavily in anticipation... They threw Beato's slender body into the air. All at once, the squirming goats faced the heavens and raised their arms. It was almost as though they would be able to forget their pain for just a short while by devouring her flesh. As she flew through the air, Beato tried to smile boldly, but it was so stiff that it seemed even more pathetic, greatly pleasing Bernkastel. When Beato fell into the pot, the goats caught her. Of course, they didn't do it gently. The arms of countless goats pulled at her flesh to keep it for themselves. They tried to tear her to bits. It didn't have to be flesh. Hair, fingernails, shoes, even bits of her dress worked just fine. The mouths of those goats were the gateway into hell. However, Beato was too big to enter into that gateway. So they had to chew and tear her into bits small enough to fit into it...! ...Beato let out a bold laugh. She laughed from inside the pot of goats. However, her expression was very different from the one she had wanted. It was an expression not of a witch, but of a single human yelling in her death throes.  BGM: None Dlanor leapt forward, slicing all the goats in her path with a single flash of her longsword. It was a thin slice, like cutting through butter. The goats were surprised by Dlanor's sudden appearance and stepped back. In the center, Beatrice cowered in tatters, sobbing... "What's this supposed to be? Dlanor, Inquisitor of Heresy."
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Apr 16, 2017 14:29
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ZiegeDame posted:Aww poo poo someone's about to throw down Rule 1 The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow. It is forbidden to use Red in this thread that has not already been stated in the text of the game. The above was not declared in red at any point.
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Apr 16, 2017 18:13
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 Video: Battler VS DlanorBGM: Resurrected Replayer "What is unsatisfactory about the court's RULING...? Do you possess any new evidence or truth sufficient to request a RETRIAL...?" "...Gah..."I get it. Dlanor is offering me a helping hand. If she hadn't jumped in here, it'd all be over. And now, I fully understand how I'm supposed to fight. But because I understand how, I am unable to fight right now. After all, I can't win by simply countering Erika's truth. If I want to deny her truth, I'll need to present a different one... And I still don't have a clue what that truth is...! "There is nothing that is not healed with TIME. And there is no truth that cannot be reached if you spend enough time SEARCHING." "...However, all trials have a limited time in which the truth must be DECIDED. Therefore, a truth that cannot be reached within that limited time cannot become TRUTH."...Yeah, I know that...!! By now, everyone is certain that Aunt Natsuhi is the culprit. It might be too late now, even for the real truth...! Aunt Eva's violence will probably go unstopped, and no one is even thinking about protecting Aunt Natsuhi. It's no longer a situation where we can say 'oh, the truth will eventually be found'. And in this world, the time remaining to expose the truth... is very short. It's already 24:00, at the game's end. The police won't come. The truth won't be revealed! Only the truth decided upon here and now will remain...!  I slowly stood up, walked in front of Beato, and faced Dlanor. I have no plan. I don't know the truth. However, if I don't jump in now, I won't get another chance to fight... The red used by Erika's group is mercilessly strict. I seriously doubt that I can put together a truth where Aunt Natsuhi isn't the culprit without violating that red... "...Why the uncertain FACE? How PATHETIC." "D, dammit..." "I'll be the one to kill you. I want to keep that promise. And yet, right now, I don't have any plan at all..." "...That's okay... In this world, there is no truth. The truth is made later on and overwrites what comes before it. Real truth... doesn't exist anywhere..." "Now this is a splendid scenario, Dlanor. It just wouldn't be interesting unless a knight appears before the princess's execution." "...And there's nothing better than watching heads roll before your very eyes! Erase the old piece and the unneeded player all in one go!!" "D, dammit, I've got nothing more to lose... If you wanna see me struggle, here you goooooooooooo!!"The only reason Erika's theory is so strong is because of those seals. She was given red so quickly just because Lambdadelta easily bought the alibis created by those seals. But the seals aren't red truth! Just sticking paper in a door crack is far from perfect. There's no way something like that can prove anything with 'certainty'...!  BGM: Final Answer "Oh, and I'll mix the leftovers from your precious sister into that pile. Wouldn't that make for a wonderful stack of meat? Then we can wrap it up in a dumpling, steam it and maybe add some soy sauce!!" "No, the best way would be to fry them in a pan with some eggs and ketchup!!"  "D, dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittt!! Can't we doubt the reliability of these seals of Erika's?! Something like wedging some paper in a door can't create a perfect alibi! It might be that someone noticed by chance and happened to put it back in the same place...!!"The blade of my blue truth should have slashed diagonally through Dlanor's chest. However, Dlanor's expression didn't budge in the slightest, and there wasn't a single wound on her chest. "I was wondering what you'd throw out there, but this is ridiculous..." "...Allow me to explain. This is what I sealed the doors with. Did you think this was paper, Battler-san?"Erika once again held up the thing that looked like brown paper.  "Furthermore, I wrote my signature, which cannot be reproduced, across the entire tape, as well as the door and the frame on either side. Therefore, it's impossible to tear it off without leaving a mark, and it's impossible to reattach too...!" "Permission to unsheathe the 'Red Key'." "Granted." "I'll acknowledge Erika's seals...! However, Aunt Eva's seal on Genji-san's room should be different!!" "Eva's seal was of the same type as <Miss> Erika's. That is because this method of sealing was one that <Miss> Erika and Eva conceived of together after DINNER." "Erika said something about a scientific investigation and fished through the chemicals in Grandfather's room, right?! There might have been some kind of solvent in there!! If you used that, you might be able to tear off the duct tape without leaving fingernail marks!!" "Please, allow me to speak. It is impossible to tear off any of the seals by any method without leaving marks." "Please, allow me to speak. There were no suspicious marks on any of the seals...!" "Therefore, it's been proven that nothing was done to any of the seals. Repeat it!!" "Yes, gladly. All of Erika and Eva's seals were not tampered with in any way that hindered their ability to act as seals, such as being scraped off." "...Dammiiiiiiit, drat you, leaving duct tape that leaves marks all over the place...!"Dlanor isn't my only enemy. There's also her subordinates, Gertrude and Cornelia. And also Erika and her master Bernkastel. And even Lambdadelta, the one who hijacked Beato's game! Everyone in this cathedral is an enemy. That fierce rush of red immediately repelled my feeble truth. It's obvious why. I don't have any alternate truth. Even at this final stage, I have nothing...  BGM: Patchwork Chimera "...Gah..."If I only knew a truth that could prove Aunt Natsuhi's innocence... If I could only make a theory that weaves its way through Erika's red... Dammit, I don't know anything!!  "...Do you have any chance of winning...?" "...I left it at home. Mind if I go back and get it?" "I have already lost. I am prepared for my fate." "...I promised that I'd kill you. So I won't let anyone else do it. I'll definitely keep that promise...!!" "Liar. I'll never trust your promises again." "Huh? When did I ever make a promise to you and lie about it...?" Beato let out a shrill cry, overcome with laughter. It was a broken laugh, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Battler's words would no longer reach her ears. She kept on laughing insanely, like a broken record... "Is it OVER? PITIFUL. I truly am DISAPPOINTED, Ushiromiya Battler...!!" "Hyahhahahahahahahahaha, hiihhahahahahaha haahahahahhyahahahahahaaaaaahh!! Kill me, Dlanor!! Slice me in half with that red longsword of yours!! Hyahhahahahahahahahahaahhaaaaaaahhh!!" "Nn, nngaaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhhh!!"  "Knox's 3rd. It is forbidden for hidden passages to EXIST! As the detective, <Miss> Erika sealed all ENTRANCES. Passages that the detective cannot find are hidden PASSAGES. Therefore, there are no entrances that <Miss> Erika cannot find!!" "I present the possibility that Erika's lookout in the lounge wasn't perfect!! During the two hours Erika spent there, she really observed everything without looking away for a second?! It might be possible for someone to have passed through the lounge during a small gap without at least Erika seeing them!!" "Please, allow me to speak. Lady Erika's lookout in the lounge was perfect. There were no small gaps or carelessness or times when she looked away for even a second." "Please, allow me to speak. Therefore, during their entire meeting in the lounge, only Rosa went up to the second floor!" "But was that really Aunt Rosa herself?! There's a possibility that someone disguised themselves as Aunt Rosa!! Or maybe she was actually holding a large suitcase with someone hiding inside it!" "Knox's 10th, it is forbidden for a character to disguise themselves as another without any CLUES! There have been no hints suggesting that someone had disguised themselves as Rosa! Furthermore, Erika has confirmed that she wasn't carrying any luggage large enough to hide a human IN!" "Aunt Natsuhi was being threatened by someone!! The uninvited, unknown guest X is the true culprit!! How can you be sure that we are the only ones on this island?! The true culprit is someone else!" "Maybe they were killed with poison in a remote murder!! Umm, with a strange drug that can make a cut appear in someone's neck when they die...!! That type of murder has a delayed effect, so even with an alibi-" "Knox's 4th. It is forbidden for unknown drugs or hard to understand scientific devices to be USED!!" "There's a chance that there existed a murder device X in the cousins' room and Genji-san's waiting room that made a remote murder possible...!! It had some secret mechanism that still hasn't been discovered, and-" "Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED!!" "Anyway, there exists a culprit other than Aunt Natsuhi!! If you want to deny that, try and repeat in red that 'none of the characters shown were the culprit'!!" "Knox's 6th. It is forbidden for accident or intuition to be employed as a detective TECHNIQUE!!" "You say that everyone except Aunt Natsuhi has an alibi?! You're forgetting one person!! Who's gonna prove that Erika herself has an alibi?!!" "Knox's 7th. It is forbidden for the detective to be the CULPRIT!!" "Unless she's caught red-handed, you should never be able to deny the possibility that Aunt Natsuhi is innocent!! Can you even deny future possibilities, like if a piece of evidence X that Erika hasn't discovered proves Natsuhi's innocence?!" "Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED!!" "Th, this tale is filled with malicious lies!! The tale itself has become a trap to capture Natsuhi! The tale should be constructed only from impartial truths!!" "Knox's 9th. It is permitted for observers to let their own conclusions and interpretations be heard!"  "Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED!!" "Everyone committed suicide...!! So there is no culprit!!" "Please, allow me to speak. All deaths were homicides." "Erika didn't personally examine the corpses, right?! It should be possible for people who aren't the detective to make a mistake when examining the corpses!!" "Please, allow me to speak. Know that no examination of the corpses could have been mistaken!" "Then maybe there were body double corpses!! They prepared corpses beforehand that closely resembled the victims...!!" "Know that no corpses exist except those of characters who have appeared in the story." "Th, then why can you claim that Uncle Krauss is dead without his corpse?!! Doesn't that violate Knox's somethingth or whatever?!!" "Know that the red truth is simply truth, and there is no need to provide evidence or proof!!" BGM: Hikari In the face of these insane arguments, any attempts to overturn the truth where Aunt Natsuhi is treated as the culprit are completely meaningless. Each time I brandished my desperate blue truths, Dlanor and the others' red truths knocked me down to the floor. It was getting hard to even stand back up again. Does that mean... my body is telling me that I'm about to surrender... to the truth where Aunt Natsuhi is the culprit...? Their red truth is getting more and more perfect... Each time I think I can slip through a chink in their armor, Dlanor smacks me down with the red longsword of Knox...  "...Beato..." "That's enough, Battleer... Now, the endless torture that torments me... no, us... will finally end. Let us fall together into the depths..." "...Gah..."I don't... want to see Beato like this... Her majesty as the ruler of the Golden Land... her enthusiasm as my rival... are completely gone. She's just a pitiful woman who's been trampled over and who has lost all hope, with tears streaming down her face and a tragic smile that I can't bear to look at... "Does your truth no longer EXIST?" "...And that is a different truth, where Natsuhi isn't the CULPRIT?"...That's not it. All I can do is prove that Aunt Natsuhi isn't the culprit. After that, I can't show what the real truth is at all... "...But even so, maybe at least you'll be saved that way." "Why...?" "...I can show without a doubt that Aunt Natsuhi isn't the culprit. However, I cannot show a different truth. If Erika's truth is dispersed, the crime will return to darkness, and there might still be room for you to exist." "Yeah, if you can do it. But if you can't show a new truth, that means you're incompetent and useless as a player. I'll have you vanish from this game board for all eternity."At this point, the Game Master is Lambdadelta, and she's there too. This probably doesn't mean losing a single game, but being banished from this game for all eternity for losing. From what the witches have said in the past, I can faintly imagine the place 'pieces' are sent when they're banished. It's known as the depths of oblivion, an eternal darkness that lies on the far side of an eternal oblivion and where there is no concept of life or death... I'm going to disappear, aren't I... However, Beato will remain. As long as Beato remains, no matter how suspicious Aunt Natsuhi is, there will always remain space for the witch to be the culprit... in other words, room for Aunt Natsuhi to not be the culprit. As long as that space exists, someone will eventually expose the truth. It doesn't have to be me. Anyway, eventually, someone will smash this fake truth to pieces...! I understood that this was the time for me to abandon myself for the sake of this other person who would eventually appear, for the sake of the real truth... "...Well, it looks like I'll have to break my promise to kill you after all." "Don't. Don't leave me as the only one alive. I'll disappear with you. Let that be your final tribute to me. I beg you, if you just do this one thing, I don't need anything else..." BGM: None "Quickly, perform his requiem. That way, I'll have an open field in which to expose Natsuhi-san's sin." "These guys really are interesting. Beatrice. Ushiromiya Battler." "...But I've gotten tired of this. You aren't needed in 'our game'." "*giggle* *giggle* *giggle*, ehehehehahahahahahahahahahah!! Do it, Dlanor!!" "This is the END. If you still have one last bit of power, let me see you muster it now, in your last MOMENTS...!" "Nn, nnnggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagghhhhh!!!"It's small, but it's a sparkling red truth. The last trump card that Virgilia gave me...!! Erika... this takes your theory back to square one...!! "If you can, why not go ahead?"Take thiiiiiiiiiiis!!!  The red truth is simply truth, with no evidence or proof needed...!! This will make Dlanor stagger...!! Even if that's all it does, it's the first and last strike I can make...!!  ...Huh...? My... red truth... was blown away by Dlanor's red longsword... "...In this court, if anyone other than witches is going to speak the red truth, they'll have to construct an appropriate proof for it. Erika has been following this procedure, right...?"True, Erika hadn't used the red herself even once so far. She always told Bernkastel, who is a witch, to repeat her statements... "Your red truth isn't something you obtained for yourself. It's a supernatural truth given by a paranormal being. In other words, it isn't reasoning. It's no better than a random thought..."I, in that case, if I have Virgilia... say the same red truth... Where is... Virgilia...?  BGM: String Trio #600 Million in F Sharp Minor No, it's impossible... I just have the truth that Aunt Natsuhi isn't the culprit... without any basis or evidence. "...See...? Real truth... is a very fragile thing. Does real truth exist...? And is it necessary...? Even without it, the tale will continue on... Battleeer..." "Come on, Battler. Prove the red you have SHOWN. If you cannot, this is GOODBYE." "...Then, goodbye. Sorry, Beato." BGM: None    The detective, Furudo Erika, accused the culprit, Ushiromiya Natsuhi. There are three riddles that the detective must explain. The first is the 'who dunnit'. Who is the culprit? As previously stated, it is Ushiromiya Natsuhi. The second is the 'how dunnit'. How did they carry out the crime? During the hour between 24:00 on October 4th, 1986 and 1:00 the next day, Ushiromiya Natsuhi went to the cousins' room on the second floor of the guesthouse and the servant waiting room on the first floor of the mansion. There, she carried out the murders. It is only possible for the crime to have taken place during that hour, and for that one hour, alibis have been proven for all characters except Natsuhi.  In that instant, Beatrice became a golden splash and faded away, and her former minions disappeared as well. As the heartless witches looked down at the cathedral's center, laughing coldly, all that remained was Battler, with the red longsword sticking through him, and Dlanor.  BGM: Spiral "...Rest in PEACE, Ushiromiya Battler. What a SHAME. I thought you were a more capable person than THIS." "...Guh..."Battler blew bubbles of blood, closed his eyes slowly, and expired... Dlanor stared on in silence, then turned on her heels when she saw his life leave him.   
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Apr 17, 2017 13:30
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Goodness, I see the thread's been lively today. It's worth keeping in mind that mysteries are much easier to solve in four weeks as a 20-person team than they are to solve in four hours as a solitary dude whose family is being murdered in front of him repeatedly.
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Apr 17, 2017 18:49
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Knox's 5th is not used in Umineko, as it's mainly a reaction to social norms from 1930s Britain. Since this has happened twice in the last day or two already, have a new rule to add to your lists: Prof's 1st: It is forbidden for players to use Red Truth which has not been presented in the STORY. If you base an argument off of the red truth, and that red truth has not appeared in an update in the LP, your argument will not be ACCEPTED.
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Apr 17, 2017 22:42
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 BGM: Discolor The final riddle... the 'why dunnit'. Why did they commit the crime? The motive. In third-rate mysteries, there's no need to uncover this. After all, even if you don't expose the motive, the culprit will just confess it when all's said and done. However, Furudo Erika was first-rate, so she would expose even this. Natsuhi was being confined in the parlor, under everyone's watchful gazes. Then, Erika made use of everyone to diligently and persistently search all places, even Natsuhi's room, for clues about her motive.  Everyone remained silent, urging her to continue... Erika tossed some of Natsuhi's possessions that had been 'confiscated' onto the table... "First, these are past diaries that were discovered in Natsuhi-san's room. They have barely been used at all in recent years, but they describe in detail the period shortly after she became a part of the Ushiromiya family." "Most of them were locked, but in order to find the full truth behind this crime, I used my authority, which everyone has acknowledged, to destroy the locks on all of them." "...H, how barbaric... Reading... another person's diary..." "If we're barbaric, what does that make you, murderer?!! A criminal like you has no right to privacy!!" "And this is what I found from these diaries. Natsuhi-san ended up married to Krauss-san due to special circumstances. I imagine that all of you here know much more about this than I do. Natsuhi-san and Krauss-san were not married because of love or as a normal arranged marriage. If anything, it was more like taking a hostage." "Th, that is not true!!" "Natsuhi-san. Right here, you've already acknowledged that you were a hostage. Kumasawa-san, you have served Natsuhi-san since the time she first came here, right? Could you tell me about what it was like at the time?" "...Y, yes, that's correct. I did catch wind of something similar to what you describe... I think that by now, only Doctor Nanjo and I know of the details regarding Madam's marriage..." "Very true... That was during Kinzo-san's golden era, when he did whatever he pleased... He defeated all of his enemies and expanded his financial power. Natsuhi-san's family was one of those enemies."As though the time to talk had suddenly come at hand, Kumasawa and Nanjo openly delved into territory that should never have been touched upon again... This was concerning the period during which Kinzo was most feared for his ferocity. It has been said that, though Kinzo had many assets and connections, he held a grudge after being looked down upon by members in the elite as being an upstart. Because of this, apparently, Kinzo wanted to find Krauss a wife from a noble family and use this to raise the Ushiromiya family's status... Then, he overcame Natsuhi's family in a financial struggle, and proposed that a marriage be performed as a method of reconciliation. And the person he picked... was Natsuhi. Natsuhi had been raised to be clean and pure in a family of Shinto priests--making her a true noble lady. By choosing her, not only did Kinzo cause them the worst possible humiliation, he also won what he considered to be a nice trophy. So that marriage proposal was humiliating to Natsuhi from the very beginning...  "Therefore, since the time Natsuhi-san first took the name Ushiromiya Natsuhi, she has held a strong resentment against the Ushiromiya family. What do you have to say, Natsuhi-san? Do you, acknowledge this?"All of the cold gazes turned to face Natsuhi... "Y, yes, it's true that I thought that at first... I thought I was being forced into a marriage without love, a hostage under the guise of a bride..." "However, my husband... never viewed me as a mere hostage... He understood what I had gone through and gave me compassion and affection... My husband... was the only person who could understand me...!" "...I see. That makes sense. And there are many scenes in your diaries showing that Krauss-san knew of your difficulties and showed consideration." "However, on page 47 of this diary, you describe these moments as being unpleasant, correct?" "Let me read aloud. 'When Krauss tries to show consideration, it only makes me feel more wretched. Sometimes, I think he might even be trying to humiliate me further'. Therefore, we can tell that Natsuhi-san , repaid her husband's consideration with contempt." "W, wait...! Yes, I may have thought that at the beginning...! Back when I was still overwhelmed with unease, I couldn't accept his consideration and wrote of my distrust from time to time...! But I eventually realized he was sincere and grew to accept his feelings...!" "Well, nothing like that appears in any of these diaries." "I, I never even wrote it down, those feelings were so secret...!" "Judging by many diverse bits of evidence and testimony, it's clear that you despised your husband. And there exists no evidence that you eventually accepted his feelings, as you claim." "...I, I loved my husband...!!" "You can't find any testimony or evidence that can be used to elevate that statement to the level of red truth, right?" "D, does anyone need evidence to say they're in love...?!" "You can't trust anything besides the red truth...! Statements that aren't red don't count as evidence at all, and they can't be trusted at all! All non-red letters are falsehoods that exist to deceive me! 'I love him'? Who would believe that when spoken with the white text? No non-red words can ever be trusted!! All I can trust in this world are the red truth and the pieces of evidence I offer to my master to gain it!!"  "...What a pitiful person... I see that you've never truly loved someone..." "Romance is unnecessary for a detective. I don't think I've ever used the word romance except to explain the motive for murder." "No matter what you say, we loved each other...!! I should be apologizing to my husband for always writing down my complaints and nothing else...! But I have devoted my heart to him...!! Even if I can't prove it, that is the truth!!" "That's right!! I can't even count the number of times I've heard you complain...!!" "Oh, and you've never talked behind Hideyoshi-san's back...?!" "Dammit, you killed my husband!! How dare you say that?!! Die! Die and apologize to my husband!!" "Please cease your violence, Eva-san. This is now the precious moment where I question and convict the culprit. It's not yours, okay?" "Well then. Over the next several years, she appeared to have gotten used to her new way of life, but in actuality, an intense hatred still lurked in her heart. Taking that into consideration, there would be nothing odd at all about her deciding to take revenge." "D, don't act like you know what I'm thinking...!!"Each time Erika read Natsuhi's diaries, one after another, she exposed more of Natsuhi's emotions during those painful days. Natsuhi hadn't written them to leave those words behind. She had written to forget those memories and seal them away. That's why she had written down her feelings during those painful days, locked them up, and sealed them away for all eternity. However, Erika claimed that these were Natsuhi's true, hidden feelings that had been locked away and concealed. Since it had already been 'concluded' that Natsuhi was a murderer, everyone accepted Erika's claim. By this point, the red truth wasn't even necessary to establish Natsuhi's motive. As long as the reason seemed plausible, everyone would believe it. No matter how much Natsuhi might object, no one would believe her. No one could accept the truth Natsuhi spoke of, about the days she had spent loving her husband. That had been painted over by a false truth, in which she hated her husband and swore revenge against him... The pen of the gods that composes the truth had been given to Erika. "And so what?! Who gives a drat about your past?!! Murderer, murdereeeeeer!!" "S, stop that...! I can understand how Natsuhi-san felt...!" "I always thought this day would come, eventually... Poor thing, poor thing..." "I think she's just one of the pitiable victims of Father's wild life." "I knew of the pain in Madam's heart... I always tried to support her... but I failed, and look what has happened..." "...I don't... even understand... the emotions of love and hate." "...You will, someday. It can become a reason to live... and also a reason to kill." "..." "...I, is Aunt Natsuhi... really the culprit...?" BGM: None  "Wh, what? Hey, are you serious...?! Why didn't you say something that important sooner?!!" "Natsuhi-san. The truth is, there is one person besides you for whom the crime was possible. If you truly claim that you aren't the culprit, it means that person must be the culprit." "...Huh...?" "Who is it...?! Who...?!" BGM: Bread of Life "...Ah..." "Early this morning, Kinzo-san went outside through the window of the third floor study, and his location is unknown. Isn't that right, Battler-san?" "...Gah..." "Just like Natsuhi-san, Kinzo-san has no alibi whatsoever. The truth is, for this crime, it was possible for Kinzo-san to be the culprit as well." "I just assumed that he never existed in the first place, so I totally forgot about him until just now. Allow me to apologize."She didn't look shy or apologetic in the slightest. Erika bowed in as unpleasant a manner as ever... She had held a grudge ever since her defeat in the study battle... "Natsuhi-san, you gained Kinzo-san's trust and are the person who served closest to him, right? So, shouldn't you know better than anyone else? This incident is actually the crime of the family head, carried out by Ushiromiya Kinzo-san." "Y, you dare... call Father... a criminal...?" "Don't worry. I have prepared more than enough evidence and testimony to explain the 'why dunnit' if Kinzo-san was actually the culprit. If you say, for example, that you have put yourself on the line to cover for Kinzo's crime, I am more than capable of supporting you." "Ever since the late period of the author Ellery Queen, even the theory created by the detective can sometimes change the plot itself. You really can't afford to be careless in this day and age." "...I won't let you... treat Father like the culprit!!" "Natsuhi-san. Calm down, place your hand on your chest, and think carefully. If you accuse Kinzo-san of being the culprit, this entire case will be resolved. You will no longer be held accountable for another person's actions, and your honor will be restored."In other words, by pushing the crime onto Kinzo, Natsuhi would be saved... However...  Of course, Natsuhi knew that she wasn't the culprit. And she also knew that Kinzo wasn't. So being framed herself and pushing the blame onto Kinzo were both unacceptable, unbearable outcomes. "Are you sure? As I have already established quite thoroughly, alibis have been proven for everyone except you. If you will not accuse Kinzo-san, then this time, it really will be clear that you are the culprit, and that will become the truth, right...?" "If you intend to label me as the culprit and call that your own personal truth, then do whatever you like...! I am sure that God knows of my innocence...! Eventually, he will prove it!!"If it came to a choice between her and Kinzo being framed... Natsuhi would sacrifice herself. Perhaps... that was her way... of protecting the Ushiromiya family honor. "...Aunt... Natsuhi..." "And I even gave you a chance..." This future where your name will eventually be cleared... doesn't exist for any of you... not for any of the pieces on this board. Natsuhi... had made her decision. If they were going to call her the culprit, she would let them. She boldly rejected the thought of selling Kinzo's honor to gain a momentary truth where she wasn't the culprit... And, therefore... The tale was woven with her as the culprit. In the future, if the accusations against her are proven false. This tale will probably be rewritten... However, that future will never come.  Even if I am a good person until my death... If some heartless person after my death overwrites the records and says that I wasn't a good person, and if that is shared with everyone else... Then even all the goodness in which I lived my life will be overwritten easily. And so, I think... I must live as a good person for all eternity... "...If you claim that Kinzo-san was not the culprit, he will need an alibi which proves that the crime was impossible for him. Otherwise, we cannot truly be certain that you are the culprit, Natsuhi-san."Erika has probably known for a long time. Kinzo is nothing more than an illusion to make the inheritance problem more uncertain. However, it would be very hard to prove that he was an illusion. The only way to do this would be to confirm Kinzo's death, but as has been made known by the red truth in previous games, Kinzo died a long time ago. And in this 5th game, his corpse hasn't even appeared. In a situation like this, it wouldn't be easy to absolutely prove his death... If Kinzo's death was confirmed, it would practically erase that defeat in the study. It was the only way Erika had of removing the humiliation of that loss. And there was something that could confirm Kinzo's death almost as certainly as real proof. And that was...'the confession of the culprit'. It would mean having Natsuhi herself acknowledge that Kinzo no longer existed in this world. That way, it would be acknowledged that Erika's reasoning in the study was correct, that loss would be painted over, and it would be rewritten as Erika's victory...  BGM: Hikari Beato had disappeared by having her existence denied, and her minions had gone too. In this cathedral that they had disappeared from, only Natsuhi and the witches convicting her remained. "So, you still claim that Kinzo is alive and remains somewhere on this island...?" "That's correct...! Father is in good health...! No matter what anyone says, I will not change my statement...!" "The red truth from the previous games says that Kinzo is already dead. But that's not enough to satisfy you, right, Bern?" "...Yeah, that's right. I'm after a perfect victory. So there's nothing interesting about getting a checkmate just because Kinzo's death has been confirmed by the red. I want to win by forcing Natsuhi to say that she's resigned. *giggle*giggle*giggle*!" "Then why don't you try it? Show us what you've got." "My master, let us now achieve a perfect victory...!!" "Of course. Natsuhi. You say that Kinzo is certainly alive, but you don't know where he is, correct?" "Yes, that's right...! Father left through the window and his location is unknown...! He is so troublesome sometimes...!" "...? Well, that's true... he was a corpse after all. " "...No, I'm sorry. That's right, totally right. I won't butt in. It sounds interesting, so keep going." "Y, yes, my master...!! I searched for Kinzo all over the premises outside the mansion...! However, I was unable to find him...!"Because of the detective's authority, Erika could 'find all clues'. Therefore, if Erika was unable to find 'a hint that Kinzo existed outside the mansion', it was the same as proving that Kinzo didn't exist outside the mansion. Therefore, Bernkastel repeated that truth of Erika's...  "H, how could I know...?! After all, think of the weather. There would be nothing strange about him leaving the courtyard to hide somewhere in the mansion and dry the rain off...!" "Pfft, *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*. From this point forwards, I will repeat the same thing several times. I'll give you many chances for an honorable surrender. If you're too stubborn, you'll lose even your true honor." "...N, no matter how you threaten me, I will not give in...!!" "*giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*. I just love teasing pieces like you. Then, let us continue." "However, there was nowhere he could have been hiding. We didn't catch any trace of Dad on the third floor." "So then, where is he, Natsuhi-san?" "I, I don't know...! If he isn't on the third floor, what if he's hiding in the basement...?" "Ah, yes, the basement. We searched all of that suspicious basement, including the boiler room and the underground storeroom." "Yes, I searched too...! I didn't see Father anywhere...!" "I'll say it again. Where is Kinzo-san, Natsuhi-san?" "I, in that case, he was probably on the first floor or the second floor...!!" "I see, process of elimination does tell us that, doesn't it? We then thoroughly searched the first floor. And the result?" "...Nope. We were unable to find Father." "I'll say it again. Where was Kinzo-san, Natsuhi-san?" "Th, then he was probably hiding on the second floor...!! How should I know where Father was hiding?!" "Are you sure about that...? Do you really not know where Kinzo-san was hiding...?" "M, Madam knows... where Kinzo was hiding...?!" "...That's... insane..." "That... can't be true..."Both Shannon and Kanon knew that Kinzo was already dead. So they didn't have a clue how Erika would use a phantom of a person who didn't exist to corner Natsuhi...  "I accept that red truth." "...Natsuhi. Kinzo should be somewhere on the second floor. Will you still not tell us where he's hiding...?" "N, no matter how many times you ask, it won't change the fact that I don't know!" "Erika. Start from the beginning and go in order, investigating the entire second floor. Use the detective's authority to avoid missing a single clue and to see through all types of hidden doors and hidden rooms...!" "Yes, my master...!! That Natsuhi-san's pretty dumb, isn't she...? She still can't see where we're going with this." "*giggle*. No need to talk more than is necessary. Come on, Erika. Take everyone with you and begin the investigation...!" BGM: Smile-less Soiree Even for rooms that were thought to have nothing at all to do with the crime, Erika did not relax her search in the slightest. Her search was thorough in every single room as they moved through them all... "So, you still won't tell us where Kinzo-san is hiding?" "Stop saying that! How many times do I have to say that I don't know...?!" "Natsuhi-san. Even if we keep searching, at this rate, we won't ever be able to find Kinzo-san, correct?" "...?!"Of course. Kinzo doesn't exist. No matter how long this search continues, it's just a waste of time. This was known by Erika, the witch's piece, and Natsuhi, the one who knew the truth... "In that case, this search will end at the room on the far end of that corridor. In other words, it will have been proven that Kinzo wasn't in any of the rooms except that one. What do you think about that?"He isn't on the third floor or the first floor or the basement, and he isn't in any of the rooms on the second floor except the one at the end. So if he really did exist inside the mansion, it had been proven that he could only exist in that room at the end. In other words, this was Hempel's Raven. Because it had been established that a 'living Kinzo' couldn't exist anywhere except the final room at the end of the corridor, that automatically meant that a 'living Kinzo' existed in that final room... And that room at the end of the corridor was...  "Which room was at the end of the corridor, again?"Lambdadelta was munching on some popcorn. "That's Natsuhi's room, Lady Lambdadelta...!!" "...In other words, Kinzo had no place to hide except inside Natsuhi's room. *giggle* *giggle* *giggle*! Do I need to say it in red?" "Of course...!"  "I, isn't this my room?!! And where exactly in my room do you claim Father is hiding...?!"In a rage, Natsuhi unlocked the door to her room and pointed inside. Of course, Kinzo was nowhere to be seen. "Do you see Father anywhere in here?! Look!!" "...I see, looks like he isn't there. Did he realize we were coming and escape out the window?"If Kinzo wasn't in this last room, it meant that he didn't exist anywhere. 'There was no living Kinzo outside the mansion'. 'There was no living Kinzo inside the mansion'. Therefore... 'No living Kinzo existed'. However, Erika didn't make that argument. She had made that move herself, but she didn't make it checkmate... It was because Bernkastel didn't want to win by cornering Natsuhi with the red truth... she wanted to force Natsuhi to admit to a humiliating resignation... "I have not only been searching for Kinzo-san himself all this time. I have been looking for signs that Kinzo-san hid somewhere between 24:00 and the morning. And no such signs have existed." "It means the checkmate of red truth has finally cornered the piece known as, Kinzo's phantom inside Natsuhi's room." "Hey, Natsuhi-san. This means you were with Kinzo in this room until morning. Do you still claim that you didn't know where he was?" "I'll acknowledge it with the red truth...!! During the night, between 24:00 and morning, a living Kinzo could not have existed anywhere outside Natsuhi's room!! I permit you to use this truth to advance your argument about how he could only have existed in Natsuhi's room!" "A plea bargain. Hey, Natsuhi. Even someone as stupid as you must have realized the fix you're in now. This is your last chance. Make Kinzo the culprit. Call the Ushiromiya family head a criminal and crush the head's honor to protect yourself. If you show that you have the guts to do that, I'll change the plot into one of a tragic heroine taking the blame to protect the family head." "Father is innocent! I cannot call Father a criminal!!" "...She's refused the deal! Ehehehehehehehe, okay, Bern. Do it...!" BGM: Kuina  "After conducting a thorough search of this room, and a detailed scientific examination, I discovered that Kinzo did not exist anywhere in this room between 24:00 and morning. However, your bed is the only exception."A shocked silence dominated the room... Natsuhi completely forgot to close her open mouth... "Last night, around the time the gold was discovered, so probably at about 23:00, Kinzo-san escaped from the window on the third floor and snuck into the bed in your room. And, as an even more unfortunate result from my investigation, it has been proven that you were also sleeping in that bed." "Wow, look how close they were. So, you two were so close to each other, you slept sharing the same pillow?" "H, how rude!!! T, t, to think that I would... d, do such a thing... with the Father I respected so much... I won't allow you to say such things!!" "Natsuhi. Use the red truth to counter this blue truth. Of course, since you aren't a witch, there's no red that you can use. So I'll speak with the red truth in your place. At least, I will if you can show me convincing proof...!!" Natsuhi tried to attack Erika, but Eva pinned her arms behind her back, so she couldn't do anything. "How unsightly. In order to take revenge against the Ushiromiya family, you first schemed to take control of everything the family owned. For that reason, you used your body as a weapon and ensnared Kinzo-san." "I never did anything of the sort!! I have never given my body to anyone except my husband!!" "I understand why you want to deny it, but the testimony from several witnesses makes it clear that you have had repeated secret meetings with Kinzo-san." "After all, last night, you went to 'say goodnight' to Kinzo-san, with just the two of you alone in his study, right? Not only that, I have collected multiple bits of testimony claiming that there were clear traces of sexual relations." "Are you insane?!?! Who was it?! Who said something so ridiculous?! G, Gohda?! Shannon?! Was it Eva-san?! Yes, you must be behind something this ludicrous!! "Who was it?! Whooooo?! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!" "Hey, Natsuhi. Looks like you don't even have a scrap of honor left now. I'll give you one, final chance before I build you the worst of all possible Fragments. Could you try saying that Kinzo wasn't there?" "That's right, you sure are stubborn, Natsuhi. The Ushiromiya family has already been torn to ribbons, right? Are you really that desperate to confuse the inheritance problem by pretending Kinzo exists?" "This is my final challenge... in protecting the honor of the Ushiromiya family, which Father entrusted me with...!! My husband's business will definitely... definitely succeed!! Until we can use that to repay our debts, I cannot hand over the inheritance of the Ushiromiya family!!" "I will protect Father and my husband's honor!! That is... my mission!!!" "...Wanting to protect the honor of the dead is an admirable trait."  As Natsuhi screamed, she fell down to her hands and knees... She no longer had any way to reject the fake truth that Bernkastel and Erika had weaved...  ...Of course there were none. All of those who might have objected had been erased... "No objections! Bern, this is your victory, and a wonderful victory it is! Now you must weave up the Fragment of the truth!!" "Sure. I'll go weave up the truth. This is the truth of this sad, pathetic tale. Though I did want Natsuhi to acknowledge her crime while half-laughing, half-crying. After all, that's standard in the genre, right? *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*!!"
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Apr 18, 2017 |
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Apr 18, 2017 13:42
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I made a small but notably edit to the update, if you've already read it, check the bit after "does anyone need evidence to say they're in love". I changed the pacing of what is captured in screencaps and what isn't.
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Apr 18, 2017 14:17
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Far be it from me to tell other people to not get emotionally invested in stories - that ability is what gives them power, after all. This is one of the most painful and brutal scenes in Umineko, so I can understand how difficult it can be to get through. On a savage, visceral level, Bernkastel is one of my most despised villains in all of fiction, and this trial is why. Please look forward to the remaining scenes of Episode 5.
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Apr 18, 2017 14:38
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I guess this is what you get when the judge is the prosecution's girlfriend.
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Apr 18, 2017 17:45
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Ostensibly, the reason Erika's faction can dole out unfair truths to suit their purposes whenever they want is because the player, Bernkastel, has the rank of Witch. Witches can provide red for free, humans can't do it without proof.
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Apr 18, 2017 18:44
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 BGM: Spiral Natsuhi, also hoping to take revenge for the financial submission her parents' family had been forced into by the Ushiromiya family, schemed to capture the Ushiromiya family's wealth. (*From the Trial Synopsis: Page 4)  To curry favor with Kinzo, Natsuhi repeatedly disguised herself as Beatrice, the witch of Kinzo's delusions, and engaged in sexual acts. Kinzo saw Natsuhi dressed as the mistress from his past and was easily ensnared. Furthermore, by accident, she was sometimes witnessed in this outfit by the servants, and this became part of the foundation for the legend of the witch. (*From the Trial Synopsis: Page 8) (*From presented evidence #17) (*From the Bernkastel Documents: Page 802)  Furthermore, Genji was murdered because he was opposed to this scheme. Later on, Hideyoshi was also murdered. From this point on, she displayed the strong intent to indiscriminately murder all those involved. (*From the Trial Synopsis: Page 27) (*From Supplemental Materials B: Page 61) (*From the Bernkastel Documents: Page 1103) The following outlines the details of the crime. 24:00, October 4th, 1986. Natsuhi decided to commit the crime. Because Genji refused to assist her when she asked, she murdered him.  Afterwards, she went to the so-called 'cousin room' on the second floor of the guesthouse, waited for Rosa to join the rest, and killed George, Jessica, Maria, and Rosa. She damaged the necks of those corpses. Afterwards, because there were people in the lounge on the first floor, she waited in an empty room on the second floor.  The people in the lounge dispersed just after 3:00 AM. Natsuhi left the empty room and escaped from the guesthouse. She returned to her personal room, where she met up with Kinzo, who had been hiding there. She stayed there until morning.    Predicting that one of those present would eventually want to take a rest in a private room, Natsuhi concealed herself inside a closet in one of the guest rooms.  From the time the others became aware of the incident to the time that they carried Hideyoshi's corpse out, Natsuhi once again concealed herself in the closet. Furthermore, as proof of this, a button from Natsuhi's clothes was found in the closet. Afterwards, she exited the closet and tried to return to her own room.    BGM: Voiceless As though she had given up and decided that it would be useless to try and talk her way out of this any longer, Aunt Natsuhi said that and screamed. It was a sad incident. I wanted to believe that, despite the pitiable circumstances which led to her marriage into the Ushiromiya family, Natsuhi just might have been able to grasp a sliver of happiness together with Uncle Krauss and Jessica. However, by Aunt Natsuhi's own doing, Uncle Krauss, and even her beloved daughter Jessica, had been heartlessly killed... It was even harder to believe that Grandfather had been an accomplice and hid the corpses... However, judging by the clear testimony given by several people who knew him, Grandfather's mental state for these last few years has been far from what anyone would consider normal. Perhaps, possessed by a mad devotion to the mistress he had lost long ago, Grandfather might truly have believed that Aunt Natsuhi was a reincarnation of Beatrice. Where is Grandfather now? Like Erika had theorized, did he really believe that he could revive Beatrice by carrying out murders following the epitaph, and succumb to Natsuhi's cajolery? Right now, is he holding some kind of disturbing ceremony with the bodies he carried away...?  Aunt Natsuhi sobbed as she spoke. "...This is... your revenge, isn't it...? You, the man from 19 years ago...!!"This 'man from 19 years ago' that Aunt Natsuhi kept mentioning was supposedly someone who had caught her in some sort of trap. However, she had only mentioned that this man from 19 years ago existed, and she most certainly hadn't tried to explain what had happened 19 years ago... "I'm sure, that man's underling is one among us here. I'm sure that right now, that man is ridiculing me through one of you..." "...Then tell me...! Are you happy now? Has a bit of that pain and suffering you've endured for 19 years gone away...?! I finally understand. The reason you've cornered me so far, is because, you wanted to make me acknowledge that, right...?" "...Natsuhi-san. Other than us, there's absolutely no one here. Please stop this insanely desperate charade and quit pretending that someone who doesn't exist actually does."Erika laughed mockingly, but, as Aunt Natsuhi looked at us... No, as she looked at some being behind us, she hung her head and shook. Then, she confessed to her sin.  Video: Natsuhi's Confession "So, you've finally acknowledged your crime directly." BGM: Discolor The adults all whispered together, wondering what this was about. Because they had never heard about a murder case 19 years ago. "N, 19 years ago, I, committed a sin. I couldn't forgive it. That, baby...!!" "Baby? Now what are you talking about?" "...On that day 19 years ago, Father entrusted me with a baby. Since I still couldn't bear a successor on my own, Father told me to adopt a child, and he made me hold a baby which he said had been brought here from an orphanage..." "Do you have any idea, how humiliating that was to me as a woman...?!"With a mix of conflicting emotions, of anger, sadness, regret and possibly defiance, Aunt Natsuhi confessed. The humiliation as a woman that she was no longer expected to bear a child. And also, the indescribably unpleasant feeling of being made to hold an unfamiliar baby. It caused her great sadness and rage, and before very many nights passed, it ate a hole into her heart...  ...It happened when I went on a walk through the rose garden to the harbor, along with a servant holding the baby... I wanted to be alone, but that female servant holding the baby faithfully followed me everywhere. I was unable even to tell her to stop following me, and therefore unable to escape from the child's crying... ...That day... marked the beginning of 19 long, headache-filled years...  If by taking that baby, and throwing it down onto the rocky beach far below me... I could undo it all... I really did listen to that demon's temptation.  The servant holding the baby stepped on a large rock, twisted her ankle, and staggered... She leaned against the rough fence, and at that time, I thought I heard the fence creak loudly. I told her to look out and tried to grab her shoulder.  The rough fence snapped from the base, and the servant, along with the baby held in her arms, fell down towards the rocky beach below... Even though... I remember that moment vividly, for some reason I recall a vague... and very strange feeling. It almost felt as though instead of falling, the two of them were silently swallowed up into empty space. So I didn't even hear the sound of them crashing to the rocky beach. No, I'm sure I heard it. But because I wanted to think that they'd disappeared, I must have erased that sound from my memory...  "For an instant, I thought it was a dream. It was high enough that I couldn't see the two of them below me just by leaning over. So I didn't know whether them falling... or the few seconds before that... had actually happened or not..."I must have been wishing that the child would fall from here so much that I just had a daydream... Trying to make myself believe this, I hurried back to the rose garden. Then I decided to let the servant take care of the baby, choosing to take a rest alone in the garden... ...Then, Father asked what had happened to the baby, And an uproar began over the disappearance of the servant who had been in charge of the baby... Eventually, the broken fence was discovered, and the two corpses were found at the bottom of the cliff... The child had been here for reasons that couldn't become known, so its existence was hushed up, and the official story was that the servant had had an accident on her own and died. That's right. I... stole away two innocent lives in one go... As for the poor servant... her family was graciously compensated. Her aged husband, who didn't know the truth, accepted this even though he grieved over the unfortunate accident. Then, just a few years ago, he died of old age, and I confessed the truth over his grave, apologizing.  "So right here, right now, I'll confess to my crime! I, Ushiromiya Natsuhi, did 19 years ago... push you off a cliff... and try to kill you..."...But... you didn't die, did you... You're still alive... and you still call me 'Mother'... ...You came to this island, and took your revenge on me, didn't you... For these 19 years... You knew that the one you should have called your mother pushed you off a cliff, and you must have lived a very hate-filled life... "...And now, you've taken everything I've gained since pushing you off that cliff, 18 years of my life, and smashed it all to pieces... I no longer have my beloved husband and daughter. And I've lost even my honor, and am being called a murderer... No, I really am a murderer, aren't I... Yes, that's right. It all went according to your plans. I'm now regarded as a killer..." "...How's that...? Is this enough... for your revenge...? My husband and daughter have been killed!! I've been made to look like a murderer... like an adulteress even... After seeing me living in disgrace like this. Are you satisfied...?! Yes, I'll bet you're quite satisfied... Because my family... my honor... everything... has been stolen from me... Ooohh, *hic* gaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!" "...After all this, do you still claim that you were framed? Seriously, you just don't know when to give up." "Can you hear me?! You, the cursed child from 19 years ago...!! Are you satisfied now?! You've stolen everything from me now!! What else could you want?! Please... just... forgive me..." BGM: None "Huh...?" "...Battler-san, did you say something?" "...B, Battler... ku... n...?" BGM: Solitary Deep Sea Fish    
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Apr 19, 2017 13:43
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 BGM: Bread of Life "Yes, my master." "You CALLED?" "...I want you two to stay in this Fragment and explain everything in the remaining 1st through 4th games. That pitiful transient witch who claims the Illusion of the Witch is true no longer exists herself. Expose the frank truth thoroughly." "*giggle*! Leave it to me, my master. There is no riddle that I, Furudo Erika, cannot solve." "...Of course. That's why you're my piece, my double. *giggle*giggle*giggle*!"Bernkastel wore a massive... and horrible smile, which Erika shared. Beatrice's Illusion of the Witch would disappear, and the results in all of the previous games would be painted over. It had been crushed in every way possible, and only the frank truth remained. Such a weak truth was no better than fish on the chopping board for Erika...  "*giggle*... You mustn't leave even a single Fragment of Beato's Legend of the Witch behind." "The rumors among the servants, the way people talked about unexplained events as though that legend was the cause, the Illusion of the Witch that worked alongside the illusion of Kinzo. Deal with all of them completely." "Of course. I'll get to it right away. We now have the furniture in custody. We're hurrying to identify their vessels."The Seven Sisters of Purgatory had already been taken into custody. Those noisy sisters who had served Beato now faced nothing but denial. What sort of illusion were they based upon which allowed them to 'manifest'? ...Everything would be exposed... and denied.  "The 1960's? The Seven Sisters of Purgatory are <Made in USA>? Pfft, *giggle*giggle*giggle*... Even though they bragged about being furniture connected with King Solomon and serving a thousand year old witch, they're a total sham. Who was it...?" "According to the report, there's this group of big-time swindlers who make money by selling fakes to rich fans of the occult." "Because the deceived millionaires try to resell the fakes as though they were real, there's a chance that they've been falsely deified by enthusiasts in the FIELD. We are rushing to find confirmation and further DETAILS." "So Ushiromiya Kinzo was a sucker who'd pay big bucks for any fake occult object." "...*giggle*giggle*, ahahahahahahahaha...!! And that's what the Seven Sisters of Purgatory really are...? That's so weird, ahahahahahhhahahahahhahahahha!! A total sham, just like Beato's Illusion of the Witch." "Though they call themselves the seven deadly sins, they're actually cheap, fake souvenirs. Well, from the very beginning, I figured they were nothing more than paperweights sold at some shady souvenir shop." "*giggle*giggle*!! Paperweights...! Ahhahhahhahahahahahahahahahaha!! Have you confronted the Seven Sisters with that truth yet?" "No, not YET." "They still seriously believe that they were created by a great sorcerer over a thousand years ago. I'd like to confront them with perfect evidence and the truth right away and let them know that they're mere paperweights, worth less than 30 US dollars." "When you do, I wonder what their faces will look like... as they lose all hope. *giggle*, I can't wait. Call for me when that happens. I'll come to watch, with some of the best black tea and dried plums."Beato's Illusion of the Witch had already been penetrated, and it was proven that everything was simply the result of human delusions. What kind of delusions created them, and what caused these in the first place? When that was proven perfectly and shoved in the faces of those concerned... The illusion would vanish and be completely annihilated. This is what they meant... by 'execution'. "...An execution is not a SHOW. As a general rule, it is not made PUBLIC." "This is an inspection by the Great Lady Bernkastel, member of the senate, so she can observe that the Great Court is performing its duties satisfactorily. Do you, as a mere Inquisitor of Heresy, wish to block this...?" "Yeah, that's right. I'm just observing as a representative of the senate to make sure you observe the proper procedures when you carry out your work. *giggle*giggle*giggle*." "We are currently preparing to take Virgilia, Ronove, and Gaap into custody as well. The Chiester Sisters Imperial Guards are conducting that investigation. Of course, we will then detain and execute those three connected to Beatrice." "Dlanor. What is the true nature of the Chiester Sisters?" "...We believe there is a high likelihood that their vessels are weapons used in the CRIME. For this purpose, Senior Aide Gertrude has formed a special TEAM. We are currently investigating all CASES." "I'm looking forward to the Chiester Sisters' execution too...! One at a time? Or all of them at once?" "No one's stupid enough to put an entire can of tea leaves in a pot at once. You've got to enjoy it slowly, one spoonful at a time." "*giggle*giggle*! Exactly. Let's have their executions on consecutive days. For the furniture and the witches, one by one. I'll send you an execution show every day." "...Maybe we can let them decide which ones to execute first. Heheheheheheheheh! Make sure you think up something great for the execution concept. I'd like to enjoy executions both old and new, from east and west every day." "...The rules state that the method of execution is to follow Great Court REGULATIONS." "Leave it to me, my master. I will most certainly prepare you a fascinating execution show!" "At the very least, you've got to quarter one of them." "Of course. I shall make a list of the best forms of execution from all countries, from Europe to Asia, which were used by kingdoms east and west for nothing less than treason against the king!" "...I'd like to think of some execution methods myself. Pondering that will be the perfect way to relax on those sleepless nights. *giggle*. I'll iron out my ideas and send you a letter soon." "Certainly, my master. Then we'll have the Bernkastel-style one as the grand finale." "...At the very, very end, when all of the illusions are broken and Beato's magical compendium has been completely crushed, I shall present my master with the finest execution she desires... the execution of Beatrice...!" "Y, your words are too good for me...! My master...!!" "Erika, I will give you honor and a reward. It's the greatest symbol of Beatrice, the portrait from the reception hall. Take that off, smash it to make firewood, bake a cake with that and eat it. After that, I'll allow you to put your portrait up in the remaining frame." BGM: Happiness of Marionette - Omake "...Th, thank you very much...! It is a great honor...!" "...You will eradicate and erase Beatrice's name and all traces of her. Until that is all finished, I will order that you be made the master of this sealed-off Rokkenjima." "...By the name of the Witch of Miracles, Bernkastel, I proclaim that you will be given the rank of witch until that day. From now on, you will call yourself Erika, the Witch of Truth." Even though she was nothing more than a piece, she was being granted the honor of calling herself a witch like her master, if only for a brief stretch of time... Erika was so moved that her actions had been acknowledged in this greatest form that she trembled... "Dlanor, continue to aid Erika and report on her progress to me." "...As you WISH." "...By the way, where's Lambda?" "She is over THERE."From the guest seating on the second floor, she pointed downwards. Lambdadelta... could be seen beneath Battler, who hung there, dead and pierced by the red longsword.  BGM: About Face "What a wonderful way to die. Erika! You can hang Battler's corpse in the mansion's reception hall. The next time I come to visit this Fragment, welcome me in front of it." "Certainly, my master. I'll make that foolish man an eternal monument to my master's victory!" "*giggle*, that sounds wonderful. Really tasteful. Maybe you can coat him with plaster and make a beautiful white statue. And it'd be wonderful if you decorated him all cute!" "Yes, Lady Lambdadelta. I will strive to answer to your expectations...!" "Congratulations on becoming a witch. Though it will just be for a while, I'll welcome you as a friend."Erika was so overcome with emotion that tears came to her eyes. Because for a piece, no greater pleasure exists than having your work acknowledged by your master.  "Galaxy Express?" "The one that isn't 'Night on the-'." "...You know, I read that back when I wasn't a witch. I always thought it strange that humans who obtained eternal life would become so cruel. At the time, I honestly couldn't relate." "...After becoming a witch and living a thousand years, I fully understand it. That writer could understand our cruelty really well, in the truest sense. *giggle*giggle*!" "...Where will you go next? I'll bet we say farewell with our backs turned, right?" "That's because I don't want to let you get bored." "Thanks, Bern. But you can be sure that I'll count to a hundred and then start searching for you again." "You really don't let a person get bored. That's why I like you, love you. Let's meet again somewhere. However, we may not be reunited for another hundred or thousand years... if ever." "That's alright. The sea of Fragments is tiny to a pair who love each other." "The Third Man?" "No, Children of Paradise of course." "...If each time you smashed one of those countless Fragments that glitter like a starry night, you could escape the poison of just a single evening's worth of boredom, even you would want to count the stars in the sky." "Ooh, not bad... pfft, *giggle*giggle*...!" The tiny, tiny Fragment created by the human known as Beatrice... had now been gobbled up by the two witches... and had lost its glitter. The two who had earlier called themselves rivals in front of Beato... now stopped that charade and laughed together playfully.  "Yes, it's the 6th game." "Decide the title for Episode 6 yourself. After all, you're already the spinner of this tale, as well as the Master." "Thank you very much. Actually, I've already decided on one." "...Oh, already? Then let me hear it. What kind of title is it?" "Yes. Episode 6, Heheheheh, I'd really like to tease you a bit, but I'll tell you." "*giggle*! Come on, stop being a smartass and tell us. A newbie witch like you shouldn't be teasing your seniors!" 
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Apr 20, 2017 13:34
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 Video: Goodbye...Ironically, it looked just like what he had done to Beato with blue wedges in the 4th game... Battler had died quite some time ago. No, in this place, the concept of death means nothing except that one has stopped thinking. Therefore, in a sense, Battler was not dead. After being defeated in a fight over the truth and surrendering, he no longer had the strength to think of a way to resist. That's... what made him dead. Dlanor's massive longsword, which had been left in place of a tombstone, fastened Battler to the spot even after his death... This was being lit by a faint light seeping out of a high, high skylight. Quiet footsteps rang out across this still cathedral... From the darkness behind a pillar, a woman slowly stepped forwards.  BGM: Worldend (solo) Just like they had been the whole time in the Golden Land, her eyes had no light in them, and were still muddied over with gray. This person was once unable to even drink black tea to her satisfaction by her own will, but though it was slow, and though there was no life in her eyes, she was, surprisingly, walking. Then, with slow, deliberate steps... she reached Battler, who was still dead and pierced... Then, she slowly... touched Battler. She tugged... on his sleeve. However, Battler showed no reaction... ...When she realized that it wasn't sleep... but death... The witch with the hopeless gaze... let her head hang even lower... Then... she quietly... whispered...  Beato... softly touched Battler... Then, she pressed her forehead against Battler's chest. There was no longer... any heartbeat. It wasn't just because he had surrendered. It was because the witches had chased him from the game board. So from now on... Battler would never... return... So from now on... The Golden Witch Beatrice... had lost her reason... to exist...   Then, the Golden Witch... completed... her task... and scattered... as a spray of gold.  BGM: None ...There was a faint aroma of good black tea. Beato stared blankly at the surface of the tea. There was Virgilia, continuing her knitting, along with me and... Dlanor, talking to each other.  BGM: Voiceless A recollection of Battler's memory, which Dlanor's sword must have given him as it pierced him... A recollection of that time Dlanor had come to visit the tea party in the Golden Land...  "Bring it on. I'll be your opponent. Come at me with all you've got." "I PROMISE. With everything I've GOT."...Dlanor. I'd thought she was an ruthless killer doll without a heart, but maybe she actually is pretty approachable. Though of course, neither of us will show any mercy when fighting over the game board. For a while, we gazed at the rain-drenched rose garden as we quietly enjoyed our tea.  "YES. They are commandments conceived by my FATHER." "Hidden doors must not exist. That's Knox's 3rd, right? That means there's no need for detectives to even look for hidden doors. Sounds pretty ridiculous."Bernkastel said it herself. She said that, because they were forbidden by Knox's 3rd, even searching for hidden doors was a waste of time. I'd like to counter that by saying it isn't so uncommon for a rich family's mansion to have a hidden door or two built into it. But apparently, that sort of rule works perfectly well in the mystery genre. By the way, there exist many wonderful mysteries in which hidden doors appear, and where hidden doors are the theme. Of course, this is limited to novels which have the 'premise' that hidden doors exist. If that 'premise' doesn't exist, hidden doors must not exist. So because that 'premise' doesn't exist, there is no need to search for hidden doors. I think that's probably the essence of her ridiculous argument. I get the feeling that the detective trying to expose the truth and the illusion trying to confuse it with a mixture of truth and lies... are getting blended together, leading to a bizarre form of argument similar to a Devil's Proof. Making a closed room murder seem to be accomplished by a witch with magic is fantasy. Exposing that it was a human's crime done with tricks is anti-fantasy. Considering all possibilities to expose those tricks is mystery.  Let's say a hidden door is hidden in a way that there would be no clues. Would claiming that a hidden door therefore exists even though a detective couldn't find it... be anti-mystery? ...That's enough of that. This argument is too far of a digression from the riddles I'm actually supposed to be solving. My fight is very simple. I'm only fighting to explain how it was possible for a human to carry out these crimes which were supposedly carried out by a witch. This whole discussion about 'mystery' and 'anti' doesn't serve any purpose. That's why I didn't have any particular interest regarding these rules known as the Knox Decalogue...  "It doesn't work for me. There's something strange about making it possible to deny the existence of all hidden doors without investigating. It's about as dubious as a Devil's Proof. Even though it's supposed to be the exact opposite of fantasy, it somehow feels like it's the same kind of argument." "..." "...Ah, I shouldn't have said that. Your dad was the one who made them, after all." "Do not WORRY. After all, there are some who say it is nothing more than a GAME." "...To be honest, yes. If there was ever a detective who said he didn't need to look for hidden doors because they must not exist, everyone should start looking around on the floor to see if some of his screws had come loose..." "In that case, Battler, let us say that the 3rd Commandment doesn't exist. In that case, what would happen to closed room mysteries...?"...What if Knox's 3rd, 'hidden doors are forbidden', didn't exist...? "...In other words, hidden doors would always work just fine as the standard trick for closed rooms." "This does not refer to hidden doors with hints or FORESHADOWING. It refers only to doors that even the detective cannot find because, of course, they are HIDDEN." "Battler-kun, you often fight by using a Devil's Proof to assume an undiscoverable element X. That's what this is about." "That'd be horrible. The closed room mystery genre wouldn't be worth reading at all." No one would want to try solving the riddle from the beginning if they knew the answer might just be an unforeseeable hidden door. "...If you don't have some guarantee that no hidden doors exist, you don't really feel like trying to reason it out. I see. Knox's 3rd is necessary. Without that, it wouldn't be worth reading closed room mysteries." "If you don't feel like trying to reason it out... what does that mean...?" "It means you don't even feel like reading it." "That's IT. Humans are weak creatures, who can't even think unless they have proof that reasoning is POSSIBLE." "...That reasoning is possible. In other words, they need encouragement that they can solve it if they do their best."That... might be true. It's the same with exercising. If you're told to run around the campus ten times, you can tough it out. However, if you don't know how many times you're supposed to run around it, you'd probably get tired out before you made it around three times. The same thing goes for thinking and reasoning. Humans view a problem differently depending on whether or not it's guaranteed to be solvable...   "...Ah. I always thought it was just a classic line, but it did also have that effect." "To put it harshly, as long as the detective doesn't say that, readers won't feel like trying to solve it no matter how much they love solving mysteries." "...Weren't you like that yourself in the previous GAMES...?" "..."Now that I hear it, maybe that really was the case. Maybe my fight against Beato really began in the 2nd game. At first, I didn't seriously try to tackle the closed room riddles Beato threw at me. After all, I knew nothing except that people had died in a closed room, and the windows and doors were all locked from the inside. I had basically no hints. So I refused to argue on the grounds that I couldn't fight because the lack of clues made reasoning impossible. ...After that, Beato sneered at me, didn't she... asking whether I would repeat that over and over forever in an endless repetition of moves... At that time, Beato said this:   Then, she said she'd give me certain information that couldn't be denied, and created the rule called the red truth. Once we reached that point, the curtain finally rose on my battle with Beato...  "Beatrice. She's a strange PERSON. Though riddles are the only holes witches can live within, she began to give you the red truth, a method by which those riddles could be SOLVED."You could say that the red truth is a hint Beato gives me so that I can compete in this war of reasoning. Like candy. Because I've been given hints, it's like she's saying... try and solve it... ...it can be solved. A enigma which is guaranteed to be solvable... can't be called a true 'enigma'.  "My, my. That does seem logical. She truly is a strange child." "..."Beato gave no answer. With gray eyes, she did nothing but blankly gaze at the steam rising from her black tea... "My father created the Decalogue to act as a crutch for the power of THINKING. It most certainly wasn't made as a way to arrogantly decide things." "...A crutch... for the power of thinking..." "That's RIGHT. By Knox's 8th, it is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED. This does not only mean that one is forced to avoid making theories that are not supported by CLUES." "If you turn it around, it means that the one proposing the riddles is forced to display clues which lead to the solution." "...So, in other words, if you follow the Decalogue, all riddles must have hints, and therefore, it's guaranteed that finding the solution is possible."I see... so this is what they mean by a crutch for the power of thinking. If you can believe that it's solvable, you start feeling the desire to have a go at those riddles. If you're capable of believing that hints do exist, you get fired up about rereading the story to search for them...  "You seem to think that the Knox Decalogue is a series of restrictions imposed by the one who made the MYSTERY, but it is also vital for the READERS." "...By using the Decalogue as a crutch, we are given the courage needed to use reasoning, as well as the willpower to reread the tale several times in search of the clues we know must be hidden THERE." "...It's like the lid of a jar of jam which is too tight and won't open. Like Mom always used to say, if you think you can't open it, then it really won't open no matter how hard you try." "...The same thing happens in sports. They say that whether or not you have a strong image of yourself and believe you can win no matter what has a large impact on the records."In that case. The Knox Decalogue isn't really a set of arrogant and strict restrictions. You can also see it as a way to encourage readers, who are trying to solve the mystery, by telling them to give it their all since it's definitely solvable... "...That's an interesting way to interpret it. However, I've heard that not all of the detective novels around the world follow the Decalogue all the time, right? When you bump into one of those, won't you feel tricked...?" "Even the Decalogue is nothing more than a single INTERPRETATION, and it does not apply to all mystery STORIES. Though among fundamentalists of my father's work, it seems there are those who harshly criticize works which violate the Decalogue and call them HERESY..."There's no end of arguments like this in the mystery world. Was this or that famous detective novel really a fair mystery--in other words, one that followed Knox's Decalogue? That sort of argument is already an eternal theme of the mystery world. In fact, in mystery discussions, arguments like these sometimes become more heated than talk about the actual tricks...  That's right. When fighting with the Decalogue, there's just one thing you want guaranteed from the beginning. In other words, you want a guarantee that this detective novel will adhere to the Decalogue. If a work labels itself as an orthodox mystery, then you have nothing to worry about. However, the mystery genre contains many unorthodox sub-genres within it. Does that mean that trying to use reasoning in an unorthodox detective novel is a complete waste of time...? "...Looking at it that way, it really does feel arrogant." "YES. I also find it extremely sad that my father's Decalogue has been used as such an arrogant weapon." "...Though you just fought with Beato using the Decalogue as a weapon. Can I take that as proof that this game world of Beato's follows the Knox Decalogue...?" "..."When I asked that, there was a strange silence. Virgilia, Dlanor, and of course, Beato... all remained silent for a while... Almost as though my question had touched at the core of something...  "Why...?" "This is a game that this child made. A game to decide which of the two of you will win. This child has called it a confrontation between mystery and fantasy. But unfortunately, she has never called it an orthodox mystery. That means you have no guarantee that it follows the Decalogue." "...But at the same time, <Miss> Beatrice has said that this game is a contest between you and HER. In other words, there is a chance that you could win." "In other words, you're trying to say that reasoning is possible?" "..." "...If you asked this child, she would probably say that reasoning is possible." "...However, just as she is the challenger and you are the challenged, the two of you are different creatures. Something Beato might have proposed thinking it is solvable... may or may not be something that is solvable for you as well."For example, let's say we propose a simple riddle that any Japanese person would know. However, if the person we're telling this riddle to is a foreigner with a Japanese-English dictionary in their hand, it might be almost impossible to solve. In other words, it's possible to have a one-sided 'solvable problem' which might be easy for the questioner but extremely difficult for the person trying to solve it... By the way, do you know of the foreign riddle: 'Why do dragons sleep all day?' The answer is 'Because they fight knights'. It's a riddle from the English realm, so it might be a little tough for a Japanese person. "For that reason, I cannot promise that this tale is something you will absolutely be able to solve. However, I can promise you one thing. I will guarantee it with the red truth." "...What?" It was... the one guarantee... that all those who try to use reasoning desire. "I don't know whether my father's Decalogue will apply to that answer or lead you to IT." "...However, when you run into a tight spot and want a compass for your reasoning, please try using my Decalogue if you REMEMBER. It might give you renewed courage and possibly even some new DISCOVERY..." "Thank you. If I'm truly stuck, I'll think about your fighting style. Are you sure it's alright to help out an enemy like this?" "Pay that no MIND. I came to this tea party without a GIFT. I hope you enjoy this in place of a SNACK. And... if you come face to face with me AGAIN, there probably won't be time to speak of something so CASUALLY."...Knox's Decalogue... and Virgilia's red truth.  In other words, Beato wants me to be capable of solving it. Isn't that... proof that reasoning is possible...? Of course, that's from Beato's point of view, and it doesn't necessarily mean that reasoning is possible for me... Compared to before now, when I didn't even know whether reasoning was possible or impossible, that one line might give me a great deal of courage... At least it has the power to silence any negative thoughts about it just being useless anyway... "...Unless the other party assures you that reasoning is possible, you won't do it. It's almost like love between shy, young people." "Love?" "Yes. Unless you have proof that the other person loves you first, you don't want to love them back. Right?"Both boys and girls... want to hear someone else say they love them first. That's their dream. If they're in love, they don't want to love the other person until they're sure this person loves them back. After all, there's nothing as painful as a one-sided love, and the scars of the heart that leaves behind last a long time. Because they are afraid of that pain, they want proof that the other person loves them first more than anything else... "I SEE, that's an interesting way to explain the relationship between writer and reader in a detective NOVEL."Yes, maybe you could liken detective novels to that. Both the writer and the reader... first want the other party to say they will solve it (that it can be solved). Until the writer is assured that the reader will certainly have a go at the riddle if they propose it, they don't want to write their story. The same goes for the readers. Until they are assured that they will certainly be able to solve the riddle if they try, they don't want to read the story. Because they don't want to write what they consider a masterpiece and be hurt when no one reads it. Because they don't want to reason about what they consider a masterpiece and be hurt when they realize it was all useless.  "...Even though they really do want it, they don't have the courage to reveal their feelings, so they wait uncomfortably for the other person to confess... and by the time summer ends, nothing's happened. Heheh, sometimes they'll even go out with a different person. That's what my first love was like, ihihi."Along with these one-sided feelings they can't express, they lament the passage of a summer which will never come again, and the days of their youth end. The writer who wouldn't write until he gained the support of readers... goes for all eternity without releasing his maiden work. The reader who waited for the writer's rise to fame... goes their whole life without knowing the joy of the mystery genre. "...Battler-kun. When does this 'the chicken or the egg' type of shy love, reach the level where it progresses into mutual love...?" "Well, that's probably when things start to pile up. It starts as a relationship between friends, they communicate with each other more, and when the two both reach the level where they're sure... They'll think 'I like this person and they surely like me', well, then they probably just naturally become a pair of lovers." "My impression up until now is that relationships which start with a sudden confession of love tend to break up more often, whereas pairs who never actually confess to each other but realize that they've always been together usually stay together for a surprisingly long time." "In other words, this happens after the two of them trust each other and a relationship of trust is BORN, is what you're SAYING." "...Maybe. It's a bit odd. I've always thought the mystery genre was a battle between the writer and the reader, but maybe it actually isn't." "Yes. It's something which can't go on without a relation built on mutual trust, a relationship with love." "..." "..." "...*giggle*. Though it doesn't look like anything more than a pair of elementary schoolers bullying each other to me... Heheheheh."Virgilia joked at us in a middle-aged woman sort of way. Still, though I'm not expecting friendship or a trusting relationship, I can accept her as a rival. Beato is fighting at full force, trying to make me acknowledge that she's a witch. So I'll respond to that and go all out trying to deny that witches exist. "How do you know that, <Miss> Beato is fighting at full FORCE?" "I can tell by looking." "It isn't as though she has proclaimed in red that she was fighting you at full FORCE. And yet, you still have no DOUBTS? You are the one who said you wouldn't believe anything except the red TRUTH." "...Nn..." "*giggle*. I'm sure this is the stage where communication increases and you learn not to doubt your relationship which Battler-kun was mentioning earlier."Virgilia and Dlanor giggled together. One guy, multiple women. The topic is love. Wait a sec, isn't this the worst formation for getting made fun of? When I tried to change the subject and bring back a proper mood for a tea party in the rainy Golden Land by clumsily searching for a more noble subject, Virgilia saw right through me and laughed at me...  BGM: None ...Yeah, that's right... Virgilia and Dlanor... have given me so many hints... And yet, I barely thought about it at all... By now, it's all too late... ...'Let me think'. Now that everything is too late already and I have an endless amount of time on my hands, let me think.  With the red truth, Virgilia guaranteed that at the very least, Beato left enough room in this tale for me to achieve victory. That red truth guarantee will once again... give me the power to start my heart beating... And... there's the crutch of the Decalogue, which Dlanor lent me. Dlanor herself warned me in the beginning that the Decalogue isn't so almighty that it can solve all riddles. However, she had said something about how it could be used as a method to solve... no, to take on riddles. ...Let me try it. 
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Apr 22, 2017 |
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Apr 21, 2017 12:26
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We are, for the record, still in Episode 5. The ???? is quite long this time.
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Apr 21, 2017 13:09
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There are two more updates in this episode. As to Erika's rear end-kicking, don't be ridiculous - how could anyone defeat the Witch of Truth at a game of uncovering the truth?
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Apr 21, 2017 13:46
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I'll video it if someone seconds the request. e: As an aside, you may notice that the backlog length has cut in half from where I had it 2 weeks ago. My life has been fraught with unpleasant medical adventures and it's been very draining. I'm gonna keep chugging daily updates until EP5 is over, but I'd expect a pretty substantial gap before EP6 starts.
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Apr 22, 2017 01:54
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To clarify, which part of this update do you want a video of? The whole thing?
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Apr 22, 2017 02:05
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All right, I'll get it up when I can.
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Apr 22, 2017 03:02
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 BGM: One ...Of course, Beato was nowhere to be found. It was just me... isolated and alone. That's alright. Even so, I won't stop thinking. Okay then. What were Knox's Commandments again...? I'm sure Dlanor explained most of them when slamming me with them. Of course, even I recall them vaguely. What was... the first one, again...?  When I muttered about what the first one was... As if answering my question, Dlanor's subordinate appeared. Without bothering with an unnecessary 'hello', she told me nothing more or less than what I wanted to know. "...Yeah, that's it. The 1st. The culprit has to be one of the people mentioned in the early part of the story."In other words, does that mean the culprit must have appeared already... by the first game...? True, that is the most basic of basics in the mystery genre. A given. ...A given...? Have I really... kept that as a basic assumption...? With each new game, the number of people in this tale keeps increasing. That violates the closed circle rule. By that point, everything gets screwed up. Did I give up on the inside, thinking that the true culprit or mastermind must not have shown up yet and that reasoning was therefore useless...? If I read this tale as a fantasy, new characters keep showing up to the point where even having demon kings or gods or creators appear wouldn't be strange at all. Even if the true mastermind first appears in one of the last Episodes, I'd have to accept it. However, if I read it as a mystery and stick with that conviction... Then there's no need to worry at all about anyone who shows up later. Because Knox's 1st clearly states that it's impossible for the culprit to be anyone who appears later on in the story.  However, this is one way of thinking. This time... I'll forget about the Devil's Proof completely... and try to borrow the power of the Decalogue in my thinking. After all, I've already said myself that I won't be able to reach the truth without a multi-angled outlook.  ...Even the first of Knox's commandments... denies the existence of an unknown person known as the witch from the very start. If I had followed that in the truest sense... I might not have suffered so miserably in the 2nd game. "...Knox's 2nd?" "Allow me to speak. Knox's 2nd. It is forbidden for supernatural agencies to be employed as a detective technique."Dlanor's other subordinate appeared without a sound... and gave me an answer to my question. That's right. A detective can't go around using magic. "So, if this is a fair battle... does that mean that, like the detective, the culprit also isn't allowed to use magic...?" "Allow me to speak. Know that the interpretation is up to you." "Yeah, that. Sure. I'll interpret it my way."If this game is a battle between me and Beato... Then because this tale is solvable, no elements will appear which make it impossible to solve. In other words, things like magic mustn't appear. When they do appear, I shouldn't suspect that the mystery element is breaking down, but I should instead question why it was shown and suspect the witnesses and observers.  BGM: F Style Depictions of magic, which couldn't exist in a mystery. By showing me that, she forced me to think that this tale wasn't a mystery, and therefore, that reasoning was impossible... and I surrendered... However, if I had believed unshakably that it was a mystery... It would have been completely obvious to doubt the witnesses who claimed to have seen it. Also, at the end of the 1st game, it was revealed that this tale was passed on to people in the future by that message bottle. Someone had written about this crime... this tale. In other words, this tale is all part of a world which includes the personal opinions of an observer, namely, the person who wrote that message in a bottle. In other words, the observer isn't God. It's a human. Therefore, there's no guarantee that this description is truly impartial. By the end of the 1st game, it had already been made clear that we've broken the constant premise of the mystery genre: that the story itself must be seen through the eyes of God. For that reason, it's possible to doubt even the observer, as well as the witnesses. If I could've doubted this much, then no matter how many seemingly unsolvable displays of magic appeared, I wouldn't have had to blindly accept them and give up...  ...If I get obsessed with this, all of my reasoning will end here. However, I had to believe. I had to believe... that Beato was trying to fight me through this tale. Because it's a fight, that means I've been given a chance of winning. By giving me that... doesn't that mean... that reasoning is possible? ...This part... is tough. Unless I believe that the cruel witch took on the risk of losing to try and have a fair fight with me, I can't get past this part. Just like Virgilia said, it's just like love. If I can't believe that Beato is fighting me head on with everything she's got, I won't be able to reason any further than this. ...Sure, I'll acknowledge it. Unless we acknowledge that we 'love each other', we won't be able to get any further. When Virgilia ran out of patience with the two of us, shy and incapable as we were of acknowledging that out loud, she gave me that red truth instead.  ...What the hell. It's like 'Satou-san in class A says he likes you~'. Like hearing a love confession via a friend... ...I really am... pitiful. Reasoning... is love. If we don't love each other, the reasoning won't start. In that case, how can we say that we love each other? 'If you think you can solve it, just you try.' 'You're incompetent, like hell you can solve it.' Yeah, according to George-aniki, you call that sort of thing 'tsundora'. Heheh, that brutal witch is finally starting to look a bit cute. ...If I meet her again, I wanna try saying 'You're such a tsundora'. If I meet her again, somewhere...  "Allow me to speak. Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not presented." "Allow me to speak. Knox's 6th. It is forbidden for accident or intuition to be employed as a detective technique."It must not be solved with clues that aren't presented. And, it must not be solved by relying on accident. If this tale is made in a way that it can be solved... We can read this the opposite way. In other words, clues must be prepared so that the case can be solved. And, it has to be made in a way that it can be solved without relying on an accident. If I can believe that Beato is challenging me to a fair game where reasoning is possible... I can be sure of that. In other words, Beato has already left me clues, hints, and messages in this tale. ...It isn't from the Decalogue, but Erika or someone said this: There are three riddles to be exposed in a mystery.  All of this means that clues related to these three riddles are already present inside this tale. No, strictly speaking, it's like this: Because she wanted me to solve these three riddles, Beato scattered hints about. Though whether I'm capable of catching those or not is another matter... Even if you think a riddle you propose is easy... it might be difficult for the person trying to solve it. In that case, it's only natural that there will be a difference in how difficult it is for either person. Therefore. As Beato goes through each successive game, she watches me closely... and tweaks the game as needed to get a good arrangement.  If I surrendered and lost the will to fight, the game would no longer remain on an even footing. Therefore, in order to make me regain my will to fight, from the 3rd game onwards, she set things up in a way that made it easier for me, giving me tips on how to fight and a few hints. Virgilia and Ronove obviously appeared so that they could help me. Also, though we still had the usual crazy magic shows, she gave me the metaphor of the Braun tube trial, as well as tips on how to fight back. I finally understood how to fight, and most likely, at the end of the 4th game... Beato managed to have the all-out showdown with me that she had probably wanted. ...Then, Beato acknowledged that my abilities had become full-fledged, and entrusted me with her heart... entrusted me with explaining this tale, didn't she... In that case, it was really dumb of me to boycott most of the 5th game just because I was so disgusted with those two witches...  BGM: None All I need is to search for the truth in Beato's game. On the contrary, I should probably... thank those two witches just a little for continuing the game in Beato's place, now that she's gone and left everything to me. Of course, I doubt those evil witches were trying to do anything of the sort... Culprit. Crime. Motive. The answers to those three ultimate riddles... the hints... must be scattered throughout the previously shown tales. It's probably a very faint light, like trying to find beads that have fallen onto a sandy beach. They're definitely there. However, they're so faint that unless I believe strongly, there's no way I'll be able to find them. "Please. Allow me to speak." "...What is it...?" Video: And Then I KnewBGM: Dir "...Right now... through this tale..." "Know that for reasoning to be possible, a trusting relationship is required." "...Yeah, I know. In fact, ..maybe I finally noticed just now."It's something that has been repeated over and over again throughout the tale... persistently so.  Slowly, the tea room dissolved into darkness... Then, as though I was slowly sinking into a pitch black sea, I passed through the crevice of the long journey I'd taken with Beato... and kept on falling and falling... It was a bizarre experience... like crossing over the boundary of sleep while still conscious. The several tales before became faint bubbles... no, were they small shining Fragments? And were scattered like stars amidst a pitch black sky. I kept sinking on and on... into that sea...   The tales up until now... one after another... after another... Vergilius guided Dante to Mount Purgatory, and brought him below the feet of the eternal lady who waited at the top, Beatrice. Therefore, the innermost depths lay not at the bottom, but at the peak of Mount Purgatory. The eternal lady... had been waiting there for Dante... the whole time...  BGM: Promise ...To the depths, no... to the peak... of Mount Purgatory... ...Idiot... You... really are... an idiot...  He woke from the sleep of death, and bit by bit... his sense of pain came back to him... On Battler's face, which still looked up at the heavens as he hung there pierced by the longsword, a suffering and alive expression gradually returned...  Battler... noticed. The whole time, Beato had been snuggling up against him... sleeping. And when he held her, he knew... that it was not Beato... but her crumbling... remains.  So, when Battler just tried to hold that form as fragile as ash, just like a sand castle made on a beach... which has been washed away by a small wave... it fell apart and lost its form... At Battler's feet... lay nothing but the ragged remnants of Beato's dress... and a pile of ash. No, on top of that pile of ash... he could see something sparkling gold. It was... the husk... of a single gold butterfly... which had been torn to bits... And so, Battler... knew... I've... definitely reached the truth... However, I wasn't able to do it... while Beato still remained in this world...  I've finally... reached the truth of this crazy riddle you've created... Just... like you wanted...! I didn't lose heart... and I finally... made it there in the end... So why... did you lose heart... without waiting for me...? You believed so strongly, didn't you...? That I'd... definitely reach the truth... So, why...? Why... couldn't you believe with me... and wait...? You aren't the one who's been forcing an endless torture on someone else. It's me...! I've been the one putting you through a cruel torture...! You resisted until the very end and kept on protesting to me... And even though... I've now finally... reached that truth... To think that you... couldn't wait any longer... and that it's all too late...  It's my... fault... I forced her to endure this torture. In fact, she's been doing a wonderful job sticking through it for so long... Over and over and over again, you kept on protesting to me, and because I was so incompetent... it was as though I couldn't understand the truth.  His scream of pain... filled the sad cathedral... The sad witch who wasn't able to let Battler know of the truth. The sad man who wasn't able to understand the witch's truth. Battler's howl of anger and sadness rang out for that pair... The clock hung in the cathedral showed that it was 24:00 on October 5th, 1986. Time was up... for everything... You're kidding me... don't set something like a time limit on this difficult riddle you're so proud of...  You prayed for and bet on the power of a miracle... one so unlikely that it was totally impossible, less likely than finding a bead you've dropped on a sandy beach... And that means I've now truly arrived at that miracle. However, your time... didn't last long enough... If I had reached this point even a little sooner... If I could have seen the truth...!! Even if it had been right before time was up, I might... have been able to save you...!! But right now, I've been run through pathetically. I can't... even hold what remains of you...! As I attempted to pull the longsword out, I tried stretching out my arms and kicking my feet, struggling to at least touch her remains... but nothing worked. "...Shiiiiiit... dammiiiiiiiiiittt...!!!"...At that time, I noticed a golden glint on the palm of my hand.  That small Fragment of gold... was the only piece of Beato... that I was permitted to touch... I cried with all my strength, gripped that Fragment... and pressed it against my head, apologizing. Why couldn't I reach the truth earlier...? Then I pressed it to my chest, promising that even now, I would never again lose... the truth... When I pressed my hand against my chest, the sword piercing my chest cut my wrist, and blood dribbled out. That blood spread throughout my fist... and it must have... soaked that gold Fragment with my red blood. It must have been... the only way of telling her... that I'd found the truth she had wanted me to know about... I clutched the wing of the gold butterfly... with my freshly bleeding hand... and pressed it against the red sword which pierced me... At this point, Ushiromiya Battler... knows. And he understands. He's found... this tale's... everything... At that time, it seemed as though... a faint golden light leaked out of the gaps in his clenched fist. The two witches had their backs turned, and Erika was laughing at Battler's corpse.  BGM: Justice At that time, Battler's chest... no, the red longsword that pierced Battler... began to sparkle gold from deep within his chest...   "...What's going on...?" "B, Battler is... what... is this...?!" "...ah." Battler coughed up blood and groaned. His consciousness... came back. His will to live, his will to fight... came back... The red longsword which pierced Battler... could no longer be described as such. By now, it had become a golden longsword. Then... slowly... slowly... it pulled itself out of Battler's chest... It finally pulled itself out of Battler and started dancing through the air... then stood up in front of Battler's eyes as though it knew who its master was. Battler, crawling on the floor and moaning, grabbed the golden longsword... and though it looked painful, he slowly... rose to his feet once again.  "Th, that glow... i, it couldn't be..."Lambda stared wide-eyed at that bright golden glow in awe... When she noticed that Battler's resurrection wasn't part of a script Lambda had thought up, Bern also frowned slightly... "...Sorry. Retrials will not be permitted. Chiester Sisters, eliminate this resurrection illusion..." "Understood. 45, 410, firing permission granted."  "...Eeek." "...999, you say... impossible...!"The Chiester Sisters hesitated, unable to carry out Bernkastel's orders...  "Lambda. What kind of farce is this? The Illusion of the Witch has been completely destroyed, and the trial ended with our victory." "...Sorry, Bern. You'll have to stick around a bit longer." "Isn't that right, Ushiromiya Battler...?" "Request for a retrial accepted. The assembly of witches retracts the adjournment of the Court of Illusions!!" "O, objection. The trial has already been concluded and the results have even been announced...!" "Objection overruled...!! All verdicts are overshadowed by new truths!!" "Objection!! Not only has Battler been banished as a player, he also doesn't hold the rank of witch...! He isn't qualified to call for an appeal...!" "...Wh, what did you say...? B, Battler got... the rank of a witch...?!"The rank of a witch, which she had desired for so long, had been granted to Battler so quickly. And on top of that, this wasn't anything temporary. This was an official, proper authorization by Lambdadelta. Erika couldn't accept it, and her face turned bright red... "...Hmph, hehehehehhahaahahahahahahaaah!! Looks like that kid's game really will keep us entertained until the very end...! Sure, I'll play along...!" "O, of course, my master...!! There's no need to worry at all!" "Anyway, Chiester Sisters, my master ordered you to fire, right?! How long is it gonna take you to carry that order out?!" "E, error code 999! A, an access code is required to target the territory lord...!" "...Nyeh. I told you he'd do it nyeh." "Territory lord...?! Who is?! Who controls this Fragment?! I do...!!" "...Territory lord... You don't mean... Battler is...?" "Yes. Ushiromiya Battler has been authorized as the official territory lord of this Fragment...!" "..." "That means Battler's understood everything about this world, this tale, this game." "...In other words, he's reached the position of the game's master. *giggle*, I'll bet you don't want to believe it, right, Bern?!" "...Heh, *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*!!" "Yeah, I don't want to believe it...!! Okay, I'll test Battler to see whether he really understands everything...!! Erika!" "Too bad, Erika. Just when you were finally appointed as the territory lord of this Fragment, you've been deprived of that title." "The new territory lord of this Fragment is Ushiromiya Battler. *giggle*, is it awful? Hey, hey, don't you feel just awful?! How's it feel to be deprived of that title just when you'd finally gotten it?! How's it feel?!" "Ahh... waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhggh!!"   Battler spoke with the red truth allowed him by his status as a sorcerer. 
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Apr 22, 2017 12:41
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Tender Child Loins posted:I'm on the edge of my seat, hoping that at least some of my reasoning is on point and that Battler is gonna drop that knowledge with a vengeance. More importantly, why doesn't he get a cool costume change a la EVA? A cute dress? At least a staff or something, geez. From the manga version of this scene: 
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Apr 22, 2017 16:23
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Video added to LP: Goodbye
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Apr 22, 2017 19:41
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 Video: Opposing TruthsBGM: Hello Your Dream In her hand... was the red longsword of the Decalogue. She also had a blue short sword. In Battler's hand... was a golden longsword. The two rivals once again... No, for the first time... they truly confronted each other.  "Sorry to keep you." "You did NOT. Your return was sooner than I ANTICIPATED." Dlanor's form disappeared in an instant. As though her slow, dignified movements from before were only a lie...! The curve drawn by the longsword of red truth burned itself into the retinas of those who saw it. Before anyone had enough time to follow that curve, it was already approaching Battler's chest...!  "It's possible to show a different truth by using a different interpretation!! When multiple truths exist in parallel, the authenticity of both is questioned!!"In this closed off world, it's possible for differing truths to exist at the same time. Furthermore, as long as multiple truths exist, it's impossible to claim that any of the truths are the single truth. In other words, even if I can't overturn Erika's reasoning, by questioning its credibility... and conquering it, I can defeat it...! "Bern's reasoning is perfect. You won't be able to overturn it easily. But still." "If you can present a theory on par with Bern's, the fight will come down to a verdict. That means it's possible that either one of the truths will be defeated and denied!" "...This plot twist is truly laughable...!! I'd expect nothing less from a plot twist by a demon!!" "Then let me ASK!! What is this theory with someone other than Natsuhi as the CULPRIT?!!"Battler's golden longsword drew both red and blue curves at will. "It's possible to construct it using the revenge of the baby from 19 years ago, which Aunt Natsuhi confessed about." "Knox's 1st. It is forbidden for the culprit to be anyone not mentioned in the early part of the story! A person first introduced in the 5th game cannot be named as the CULPRIT...!!"  "Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not presented! Was there ever any foreshadowing showing that you might be the baby from 19 years ago?!!" "The red truth from the 4th game that I am not the son of my mother Asumu. The feeling that Dad was hiding something in both the first game and this game. In particular, in this game, it was made clear that there were some special circumstances having to do with my birth."Battler proposed that he might be the baby from 19 years ago, and announced that he would reconstruct the crime with himself as the culprit. As Dlanor cautiously held her sword at the ready, she gauged the distance between them... Now that Battler had inherited the position of this world's territory lord and attained the rank of Endless Sorceror, his movements surpassed human understanding. By now, the physical distance between them probably counted for nothing. Because their extremely agile battle was surpassing the point where the concept of distance made any difference.  "...A good START. Let us hear... your theory with Battler as the culprit...!" "Yeah, I'll let you hear it. I'll prove that this explanation also works, and that you can't be certain Aunt Natsuhi is the culprit...!"  BGM: Final AnswerThis time, Erika stepped forward. In her hand, there appeared a scythe like one a grim reaper might hold. A ruthless scythe for reaping everything that threatened her theory...!   "It has not been specified that the time of death was between 24:00 and 1:00. Therefore, it's possible that the crime didn't occur between 24:00 and 1:00...!" "There's a restriction on any murders in the cousins' room! From 1:00 AM until the discovery of the crime, it was impossible for the crime to occur in the cousins' room!!" "Dlanor, now!!!" "Knox's 8th. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED. If the crime actually was carried out in the cousins' room, clues must have been SHOWN. Because clues were not given to the detective, Lady Erika, who was on the watch for any abnormalities inside that room until morning, such a crime is IMPOSSIBLE...!!" "By the time of the crime's discovery, you mean the point at which I let out a scream and everyone gathered there. Even if it was impossible to kill them before that point, it was possible to kill them afterwards...!!"Battler used a blue flash to deflect both of the red truths that Erika and Dlanor had flung at him...! Erika's eyes went wide. After all, what he had said was completely absurd. ...At that time, they still hadn't been killed...?! Even though corpses with their necks sliced open were laying there?!  "I see, since you believe they were dead by that point, it probably looks as though the dead have been brought back to life to you...! So this might look like magic in your eyes." "...In that case, I won't be the one to take the next shot at you!" "Fool!! How often do I have to say it?!!" "The deaths of the four people in the cousins' room have been proclaimed with the red truth!! Furthermore, those corpses were witnessed by a large number of people!!"   BGM: Dreamenddischarger The fierce shower of red was blocked by a magical barrier set up by Ronove, who suddenly appeared right in front of Battler. Now that Beato was gone, the demons shouldn't have been able to manifest themselves in the real world... However, he 'existed' here, and calmly dealt with Erika's attack. "Y, you, Ronove!! H, how did you get here...?!" "Well, who cares, this all works out nicely. Now there's no need to go looking for you. I'll capture you here and deny your existence too!!" "...I'll leave it to you. Teach her that you can't control everything with a single, arrogant truth." "<Yes, your majesty>."" "...Well then, allow me to be your opponent for a bit. What do you say, Miss?" "In that case, when do you claim the red truth death proclamation happened?! Are you saying you can pinpoint that?! You can't pinpoint it, so you can't deny that the death proclamation was made at the time of the crime's discovery!!" "That does not deny the possibility that the murder occurred after the morning of the second day, after the so-called 'discovery of the crime'...!" "Then, you're saying... that the victims were alive at that time?! Even though their necks were sliced open?!" "Did you see that yourself, Miss Detective...? It may be true that all corpses would not lead to a mistaken examination, no matter who it was that checked to see whether they were alive, but it has never been said that there was a rule against something other than a corpse being called a corpse."Erika swung her scythe recklessly, but Ronove blocked everything with elegant gestures made with the shield on one of his hands. "S, so, at that point in time, no one was dead?! There weren't even wounds on their necks?! In that case, why did Battler scream?!" "Huh?! Ah-"A pitch black hole opened beneath Erika's feet and swallowed her up. She could probably see through to the other side of the hole. It was the same thing you'd see if you looked down out of the skylight on the ceiling of this cathedral. "Lia!!" "Yes."Virgilia could already be seen in midair inside the cathedral. As Erika fell from the heavens, Virgilia was right below her and caught her on the end of a divine spear which sparkled blue!  "CORRECT. Unless someone other than Kinzo makes the corpses disappear, your theory FAILS." "Geh, gah, gammiiiiiiit, this is nothing... graggh... gah...!!"Virgilia's blue divine spear skewered and pinned Erika in midair. Erika struggled, filled with hatred, but she couldn't get it out easily. Then, all around her, several small, fast things clanged off the walls and enveloped her. Then seven people manifested themselves at once.  "...You... lowly paperweights...!!" "After George's death, his corpse was never moved!" "After Jessica's death, her corpse was never moved!" "After Maria's death, her corpse was never moved!" "After Rosa's death, her corpse was never moved!" "After Genji's death, his corpse was never moved!" "After Krauss's death, his corpse was never moved!" "Therefore, the corpses couldn't have vanished after being discovered!! Your theory about Kinzo carrying the corpses away fails!"  ...Erika was probably capable of escaping this even with Kinzo's existence denied by making only a small revision to her theory. However, to her, having to revise a theory she had already created... was extremely humiliating! "Looks like you toyed around with your plan too much in order to corner Natsuhi like that." "You played around too much with your reasoning. At this point, your master isn't the only one who can speak of Kinzo's death with the red truth." "This is what you get for playing around in the witches' darkness. Know that, Furudo Erika...!" "Nngh, gggh, ggh...!!"Of course, even Erika had doubted Kinzo's existence from the beginning. However, it had previously been impossible for anyone to deny his existence in that trial except for Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, who had sided with each other. And because of the willful silence of those two, the truth about Kinzo had truly been unfixed. And yet, to think that Battler... had become a witch... a sorcerer, and capable of using red without proof!! However, she had her own Inquisitor of Heresy who could also use red without proof to counter!! "D, Dlanoooooooooooorrrr!!!!" "...Forgive me, drat geezer." "Overcome it, Battler. Don't let my corpse stop you...!!" "Presentation of evidence. I'll present a corpse which could possibly be identified as Ushiromiya Kinzo's...!!" "Can you prove that this corpse is Ushiromiya Kinzo's?! No matter how much it resembles him, unless you can prove that it is him." BGM: None "...Ooh. Any counter with the red truth will be ineffective? I guess that works." "It may be true that the existence of third-party corpses has already been denied with the red. However, if saying that with the red is forbidden, *giggle*, Battler has nowhere to run to. Heheheheheheheheheh!" "That's right... In this closed-off Rokkenjima, there is no objective way to show that this corpse is Grandfather's." "And that itself suggests the possibility that this corpse is a body double! This unidentifiable corpse cannot serve as proof of Kinzo's death...!!" "...Checkmate...!! My theory does not waver!!"Dlanor had sealed off the red truth as a means of proving that Kinzo's corpse had been shown. Even with the power of witches, Battler couldn't argue back...! "...How are you gonna prove that the corpse was Kinzo's if the red truth is sealed? It's impossible. It can't be done...!" "...With red or blue, right...?" BGM: Justice Then, when Dlanor... met with Battler's golden flash, she was unable to fully block it with either her red longsword or her blue short sword, and she was blown backwards into empty space...! It was a direct hit... without any miscalculation. Though she had always seemed as firm as a small giant before now, she was finally blasted away and slammed against the wall as though she was the slender girl she appeared to be...! "D, Dlanor?! Wh, what are you..." "...G, gold truth...?!"The golden longsword, which had been drawing red and blue trails before now, finally drew a curve which retained its divine golden color. The truth it showed... was neither red nor blue. It was gold... truth...!!! "Wh, what is that...? Lambda, does this follow the rules?!" "...Yes. Gold truth, effective. The gold truth... can only be used by the territory lord of this world... no, only by the Game Master himself!!" "Wh, what did you say...?" "...Gold TRUTH. A divine truth woven in a different fashion than the red TRUTH. Its strength is on par with the red TRUTH. It may sometimes be INFERIOR. But it is sometimes SUPERIOR!!" "That glitter... is proof that Battler-kun truly understands Beato." "...I've shown it. Shown that the corpse is Grandfather's." "YES. Gold truth, ACCEPTED. Unless Lady Erika's theory undergoes some revision, it will be DESTROYED...!" Erika cried out in pain. It wasn't the pain of her body being pierced. It was the pain of her own theory being defiled...!   "Battler, it would be excessively unrefined to say any more." "Even without saying another word, you've fully made your truth about the corpses' disappearance 'understood'! I see, 'that thing' you're thinking of doesn't conflict with any of the red in this trial so far!" "Wha. What the...?! Why is that, great Lady Lambdadelta?!! He still hasn't explained everything...!! I still have many ways to argue back, like Hideyoshi's closed room, the seal on Natsuhi's personal room and the button in the closet!" "...So. You still intend to argue back against Battler...?" "Ggah, gwwaagghgghggghhh...!!!!"Only Erika, the one who was supposedly so intelligent, couldn't understand. She couldn't understand that Battler had already found the real truth. "Because of this, Grandfather's absence has been verified, and the dishonorable relationship between Aunt Natsuhi and Grandfather has been removed from consideration!!" "...B, Battler-kun...!!" "Furthermore. Because we have raised doubts about the time of death for all who have died so far, the alibis for everyone besides Aunt Natsuhi go back to square one...!!" "If you try to argue that the crime was impossible for everyone except Aunt Natsuhi, it won't work!!"Dlanor, who must have risen to her knees at some point, slowly stood up... The flash from the golden longsword was still buried deep into her chest. Though pain didn't show in her expression, her awkward movements clearly showed how serious the damage she had taken was. Even though she herself knew that the match was long over by now... Dlanor didn't abandon her duty...!  "...Knox's 7th, it is forbidden for the detective to be the CULPRIT!! The detective is obligated to have an objective point of VIEW. Your theory violates this OBLIGATION!!" "Furudo Erika is the detective in this game, not me!! And by Knox's 9th, it is permitted for observers to let their own conclusions and interpretations be heard...!!" "Knox's 8th, it is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not PRESENTED! Until now, you have been the DETECTIVE! Was it ever shown that you were not the detective this time, and that you were an observer with a subjective VIEWPOINT?!! Unless it was, you do not have the right to falsify your point of VIEW!!" "In this game! When I figured out the device of the epitaph's riddle, I witnessed Grandfather. As has already been shown in red, Grandfather doesn't exist. It was impossible for me to witness him! Therefore, it has already been shown that my viewpoint wasn't objective!!" "It is possible that it was just a sheet or something fluttering in the wind and rain which you mistook for Kinzo. It cannot be used as foreshadowing to form a basis for Knox's 9th...!! Mistaking things for something else is a right permitted to all observers!!" It's the red truth Beato used to counter my blue truth claim that 'someone disguised themselves as Kinzo' to make it seem as though Grandfather had appeared. In other words, on this island, all illusions which might lead someone to mistake something for Grandfather, including someone else pretending to be Grandfather, 'most certainly cannot work'. All of Aunt Natsuhi's schemes to make it seem that Grandfather existed were hidden in the relatives' blind spots, all of them clever tricks like 'he was here just a second ago' or 'he's in his study alone now'. They never tried to make anyone mistake something they saw for Grandfather himself, so there are no contradictions. If they had tried to dress one of the servants in Grandfather's robe... it would probably have been seen through in an instant... It has been guaranteed that none of the characters in this tale would 'mistake something for Grandfather by sight'...! If someone still claims to have seen Grandfather, it becomes a 'falsehood'. Allowing falsehoods to be contained within their observations is a right granted to everyone... except for just one person. And that person is 'the detective'...!! "Because of the right granted by Knox's 9th, people are allowed to mistake a sheet in the wind for anything else and tell about it. However! Mistaking it for Grandfather in particular is not permitted in this game due to the red truth!!" "...So, once you claimed to have seen Kinzo, it was no longer misrecognition... but INTENTIONAL. In other words, this proves that the observer wasn't objective... is what you are SAYING...?"In this case, unintentional 'misrecognition' is not permitted by the rules of this game. However, it is possible to intentionally 'lie about seeing' something you never saw...!! And that is an action not permitted to a 'detective' burdened with the responsibility of an impartial perspective...  "Forgive my crazy argument... It's all finished now." "No, it's ALRIGHT." You will surely protect the real truth from the tyranny of any plausible truth... that might claim to exist as the sole truth and try to exterminate all fragile TRUTHS...!! Battler's golden longsword... drew a massive blue arc as though splitting the heavens. "I'm glad I could fight with YOU...!!" "Therefore, my perspective in this game is based upon the 9th, not the 7th...!! The fact that I claimed to have seen Grandfather is proooooooooooofff!!!"...The noise which rang out across the cathedral... was the sound of Dlanor's longsword clattering to the floor. Simply letting go of that was the same as resigning to the proud Dlanor. Though the blue trail Battler had drawn was aiming right for the top of Dlanor's head, it stopped a hair's breadth away... If it hadn't, Dlanor would probably have been annihilated without leaving a single scrap of flesh behind.  BGM: Hello Your Dream "I've paid my debt. Let honor be to your father. The Decalogue was neither arrogant nor judgmental...!" "H, honor to... my FATHER..."Dlanor... sat down on the floor... and completely abandoned her will to fight. "Wh, what are you doing, Dlanor?!! Lame, pathetic!! You stupid half-wit murder doll!!" "You've tainted the honor of your own father, shame on you!! You still call yourself mystery's wedges?! Will you surrender to magic?! The history of the mystery genre won't allow that!!" "...You're the one... that doesn't understand what mystery is all about. If you see mystery as nothing more than a weapon with which to sneer at your opponent intellectually," "...I won't let you ever say so again!!" "...B, Battleeeeeeeeee... eeer...!!!" "His goal was to make Aunt Natsuhi look like a murderer...!! From the beginning, this has all been a drama of revenge intent on framing Aunt Natsuhi...!!" "...You still can't pull out the blue spear that's sticking through you, right?" "Yeah, that's right. From Erika, I haven't heard of a single way for the corpses to disappear that doesn't involve Kinzo. Looks like your theory is about to be denied, doesn't it?!" "Th, this spear is just... ugh, gaaaaahh...!! You paperweights... get out of my way...!"...The deeply piercing blue spear and the seven red stakes tormented her theory. They won't come out... they won't come out...!! "...I acknowledge the mistake in Erika's reasoning and the need for revision." "Wh, what the... my master?!?!"Watching Erika's face contort with pain as she struggled to escape from the spear, Bernkastel spoke this with a disgusted expression. Faced with the facts, Bernkastel had acknowledged Erika's loss herself. Erika gazed at her master, who was no longer confident about Erika's own victory, with a mixture of shock and despair...     "Ooh, agh... hh... y, yes, my master...!! I'll revise it... I'll revise my theory...!! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhh...!!"As Erika's face twisted in humiliation and tears streamed from her eyes, she withdrew and revised her own theory in accordance with her master's order... Mumbling quietly, she made various revisions with the blue truth, had them acknowledged by Lambdadelta, and finally had the blue spear smashed and was freed... Though that blue truth did indeed explain how the corpses had disappeared, it couldn't conceal its desperation and was a bit of truly shabby reasoning. "...My master... I, I've taken it out... My theory... is perfect..." "Are you kidding me? It's horribly pathetic. But I'll forgive you. Because your face and your theory are so lame it's funny! *giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*giggle*!!!"Erika was taunted by her master, who wore an ugly expression. She thrashed about on the floor, crying bitter tears. The wounded Dlanor stepped out before her, as though shielding her, and she spoke to Bernkastel, as well as Battler.  "Yeah, that's right. Regardless of my truth, yours can exist at the same time. That's what this world is like. No one can disprove them, so even if there are various truths and even if they contradict each other wildly, they can exist at the same time. Here, as many truths exist as you can imagine. No one can just deny that all on their own...!" "YES, that is TRUE. I won't let anyone deny Lady Erika's TRUTH." "D, Dlanor..." "As long as I'm here, I will protect that TRUTH. No matter how pathetic it is, I will not laugh at that TRUTH." "Aah, waaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"...The words of Dlanor, whom Erika had previously looked down upon, led Erika to once again thrash about on the floor, sobbing. "And. Because no unique truth exists, everything is covered in darkness. Therefore. While both my theory and Erika's theory are impossible to deny, neither is a unique truth. They are vague, and while neither can be denied, neither is certain...!!" "Because there has been no decision, the Illusion of the Witch still exists. The only one who will be permitted to expose that is neither Erika nor the rest of you." "...It's me alone! I won't let anyone expose Beatrice's illusion except me!!!" "The verdict is revised...!! Because of the truth presented by Ushiromiya Battler, Erika's truth is no longer unique! However, Erika's truth is impossible to disprove! Therefore, both of their truths exist together! The conclusion of the 5th game is rescinded!" "The game goes back to being even!! And I transfer the position of Game Master from myself to the Golden Sorcerer, Ushiromiya Battler!!" "Yeah!! I'm the new Game Master!! I'll weave the 6th game...!!" "Erika, let's settle things for good this time!! Stand up!!" "...Y, yes, I will stand... I'll make you regret... giving me a chance to clear away this shame...!!! My master, please give me an opportunity to fight with Battler again in the 6th game!!" BGM: Hikari  "Wow, incredible. She said 'I'll give you a chance'." "Isn't this a miracle? The Witch of Miracles, Bernkastel." "Y, yes, my master...!!!" "...Dl, Dlanor..." "Of COURSE. I will give it my all in the next game as WELL." "Heh, heheheheheheh!! I won't pretend to be a guest any longer. Together with Dlanor, I'll tear your game to bits!!" "Sure. I'll invite you to my 6th game...!! Sorry, but that title of yours...<Checkmate of the>... isn't cutting it." "It's your game. You can decide the name yourself! Just bring it on...!! I, Furudo Erika, am a detective before I am a witch!!"  Just watch, Beato. I'll take charge of your game!!  BGM: Tsubasa  TO BE CONTINUED Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Sep 17, 2017 |
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Apr 23, 2017 12:59
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And with that, Episode 5 draws to a close! I am now taking a brief health-related hiatus. EP6 will begin... when I feel confident that I can get a backlog moving again.
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Apr 23, 2017 13:00
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The TIPS section has been updated.
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Apr 23, 2017 13:43
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Let's leave the Gold Truth discussion to the newbies for now.
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Apr 23, 2017 16:18
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It's manga time! Episode 5 is illustrated by someone named Akitaka, who barely has any other credits to their name. The art's a bit rough in places, but it really comes together by the end of the Episode. Highlights follow! Natsuhi and Beatrice:  The Man from 19 Years Ago:  CHOPSTICKS:  Erika has a good personality:  How I'd react to ten tons of gold:  Krauss:  I read books:  Challenge Accepted:  Motherfuckin Dlanor:    Battler Flies:  Invitation to the Game Board:  Erika's deductions go well:  Endgame:  Erika's seals look kinda cool:  A spider on the window:  Kinzo is Dead:  Battler is Deader:  Battler comes to the truth:  He gets a sweet cape: Dreamenddischarger intensifies:  Erika gets stabbed a bunch:  The Golden Truth:  Round Six:  Omake: 
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Apr 24, 2017 13:56
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 Good morning. Now, the curtain will finally rise on Battler's game. Can Battler skillfully fulfill his big role as the Game Master? Let's take a look at the light from the opposite side of the chessboard. There is no longer any difficulty level. By now, this is not a hint, but a confession.  BGM: Grey Empty Smile The place was somehow different from the way it had been during the witches' trial. The decorations had changed. The several pleasantly sparkling white ribbons were paper-thin, but they hung beautifully in the air. Flowers were arranged all over in a way that would make any place look cheerful. It was like how a single drop of impure water could spoil an entire cask of wine. Just the presence of the flowers, the ribbons, and the red carpet that ran down the center of the room... made it hard to believe that this was the same place Ushiromiya Natsuhi had been falsely accused of a crime... It had truly become... a wedding chapel.   These words, spoken by two demons who seemed to be in charge of this gathering, were part of a ceremony for making an oath of love before the eyes of God. Of course, in this wedding celebrated by demons, there was no priest in sight. Instead, there stood the witch who controls miracles. "In sickness and in health. Yeah, a wife's true job is to be supportive in times of sickness. Isn't that right, Erika?" "That looks good on you. What a fitting outfit for the one who has conquered the bridegroom. *giggle*giggle*giggle*." "Ehehehehehehehehehe. I'm honored, my master." The bride's outfit was, without a doubt, a pure-white wedding dress. The bride's veil represented both the white of God's blessings... and the white of the demons' cruelty. A great many goat nobles, witches, and demons were gathered for this wedding. If only their heads hadn't been those of goats, it would probably have seemed to be a very refined crowd worthy of this great cathedral... "...I'd expect no less of you, Bern. Every single thing you come up with is always so screwed up." "A wife to support her ailing husband. Isn't that wonderful? It suits you, Erika." "...And... congratulations to you too, Mr. Groom."At that point, Bernkastel stared straight into the groom's eyes. The groom... didn't answer. His eyes were gray. His lips would mutter something from time to time, but no one could tell if the words meant anything.  She spoke to the groom in the plural. Of course, there was only one groom. And, of course, the gray-eyed groom didn't answer...  "*giggle*giggle*giggle*. He might be able to hear you, but he can't answer, right? Don't worry, okay, Battler-san?" "...Nn... gah..." "I'll take everything of yours, and trample all over it... *giggle*giggle*giggle*!!" The Witch of Miracles sneered with an evil smile that would make even demons want to avert their gaze. Even that sneer... provoked no response... from Battler's dim eyes.   "...Just give it a rest already, you demons. What comes next?" "The couple will now make an oath of eternal love." "After that, they will exchange rings...!"On Battler's hand... was a ring bearing the seal of the One-winged Eagle, proof that he was the territory lord of this world. And on Erika's finger was a diamond ring that could not be shattered by any miracle. Diamonds signify an 'eternal bond'. However, in Greek, the word diamond simply means 'unbreakable'. Erika wasn't vowing to love Battler forever. She just wanted to take Battler as her property for all eternity. This wedding was being performed... for the sole purpose of humiliating Battler.  "...Your heart will be shut inside an inescapable closed room forever... where I, Furudo Erika, the detective and the Witch of Truth, will command it. Your position as territory lord and your ring will become mine..." "...Can't... get..." "...Hmm? What was that?" "...Nn... gah... Can't... get out..."   Video: Opening LET'S PLAY UMINEKO CHIRU, EPISODE 6: DAWN OF THE GOLDEN WITCH
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Apr 28, 2017 16:45
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 17:57 |
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MonsterEnvy posted:Also I lost myself to impluse control and am now one of the people who knows the answers. So no more speculation from me. (Not that I did too much.) You should join us in the Discord!
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Apr 28, 2017 18:56
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