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Ha, I have now started Episode 6 and once again all my theories are in disarray. Episode 5 was amazing though, a really clever deconstruction of the existing structure and the very concept of a murder mystery.
CW: Suicide. Domestic violence, kinda?
An unknown girl breaks her grandfather's favorite vase. She realizes the gravity of her mistake and breaks down in tears. Golden butterflies gather and form "the Golden Witch Beatrice", who looks nothing like the Beatrice we know: she has long silver hair, a totally different old fashioned dress, and her eyes are closed in a gentle smile. I'm going to call her Beatrice0 for now.
We see the seven stakes of purgatory as hot mean girls happily torturing Battler to death only for him to be revived by Beatrice. He keeps up a strong front, joke-flirt-insulting them while they jeer at his failure to explain the last game without magic.
Beatrice starts the next game.
Eva hates smoking so Hideyoshi is smoking outside with Rudolph. Hideyoshi says Eva is usually gentle and only gets weirdly short tempered around the time of the family conference.
Something the wiki summary does not mention but which feels very important to me: Rudolph says Eva is just acting the way he's always seen her, since they were kids.
Annoying to know there's probably other important things I have forgotten it's not reminding me of.
Flashback to Eva's childhood. She is proud of the family name and works hard to prove herself despite being a girl. Krauss is less competent and hard working but smugly knows he will be heir. When she is forbidden from going to university Krauss says she should know her place as a woman, and they argue. Kinzo berates Krauss for not acting with dignity but tells Eva her only role is to create a profitable marriage then devote herself to her husband's family.
An adult Eva wonders if it was the wrong approach to try to compete with Krauss. Maybe she should focus on being a proper young woman and bearing a son. A younger version of her appears, reminding her that she promised to become the next head of the Ushiromiya family. This other self had been Eva's only ally during difficult times, but had gradually been forgotten along with her childhood. She had also taught Eva how to turn channel her anger at Krauss towards self-improvement, with the goal of seizing the headship from him.
Young Eva is vicious towards Krauss and Kinzo, wishing they'd just die, but also berates Eva for giving up on her promise. Her catchphrase is "Why don't you/they just die?"
Eva wakes from a nap in the current day and Hideyoshi asks if she was having "that nightmare" again. When she worries that she's been using George as a tool for revenge, Hideyoshi reassures her that George is grateful to her.
As Eva steps off the boat, she hears the voice of her younger self welcoming her back. She questions what she is living for and how she can free herself from this obsession.
I really like how these characters all have layers of depth! Eva is a real dick to a lot of people, but she's got her sympathetic aspects too.
He also notices Jessica's crush on Kanon and thinks about how the parents will not react well to either relationship.
Ronove is a Perfect Butler type, very polite and always offering tea and snacks but it's hard to tell his real feelings or motivations. He shows no deep loyalty to Beatrice, who only hired him temporarily, and is arguably a little flirty with Battler. Battler complains about all these fantasy characters suddenly showing up and Beatrice says he's not a new character because she earlier mentioned having hired 72 demons lol.
It's not explained explicitly at this point, but this is an example of Beatrice satisfying Knox's Ten Rules of Mystery Stories, many of which are about the importance of foreshadowing things.
The closer Battler gets to surrendering, the more fantastical characters will appear. She mocks his past attempt at trying to assert his denial as eternal torture for her, telling him that only Endless Witches have the right to talk about eternity.
Maria reads the letter from Beatrice to the family, saying that whoever solves the epitaph will get the gold. The siblings interrogate her and unsuccessfully demand that Kinzo explain himself. The cousins wonder who tricked Maria: maybe Shannon in a costume? Or some 19th person?
The siblings discuss the old rumour that Kinzo was hiding a mistress in a second mansion somewhere on the island, which they'd all searched for in the forest but never found.
Kyrie is dubious about the logistics of this with servants and food etc, then ponders if this is a ploy by "Beatrice" to become head of the family herself in return for the gold. Young Eva says this is their chance to become head.
I pondered the implications of the weird S&M-ish dynamic with Battler if Beatrice really is Kinzo's 60+ year old mistress. Cos by this point I was pretty sure the game shipped them, even if they weren't necessarily going to outright get together. Which affects my ideas about who she really is as a human, assuming she exists as one and not just an abstract concept.
Meta-layer: Battler realises he can use the possibility of a 19th person existing in this second mansion as a way to have a human culprit he wouldn't feel bad accusing of murder.
Ronove and Beatrice define Hempel's Raven (an effective if long winded proof that all ravens are black is to prove that all non-ravens aren't black,) and the contrapositive (proving "P implies Q" is the same as proving that "not Q implies not P"), subtly screwing up the logic in ways which benefit Beatrice's argument, not sure if that's a Clue/characterisation or just a mistake of the writer's.
Battler realises that saying in red that there's only 18 people on the island would force him to admit that either magic exists or someone he cares about is guilty, but would also limit the arguments Beatrice can make. She refuses to do so.
Rosa is pensive... and then tells her siblings that she killed Beatrice as a child, and has been haunted by it ever since.
I love how this game keeps surprising me.
Flashback to Beatrice in a garden with Kinzo, who she sees as her father and best friend. But she is not allowed to leave the house, and he refuses to answer her questions.
Meta-layer: Beatrice says Kinzo summoned her into a flesh body to make his fortune, fell in love with her, and kept her imprisoned in his second secret mansion, Kuwadorian. She was flattered, but did not return his feelings, and realised the only escape was to kill that body. So he summoned her spirit again into a homunculus he created in a test tube, and raised her from childhood as an amnesiac.
Battler thinks this is all nonsense and Beatrice is upset to have her experiences dismissed. Talking it through with Ronove, Battler wonders if its based on real events, where Kinzo's lover Beatrice died and he raised their daughter as her reincarnation. Ronove confirms in red that the conversation did happen in 1967 between Kinzo and a real human woman.
Rosa's story: When she was in middle school, she felt so miserable and ignored she decided to run away into the forest, to either die or make everyone feel bad. She eventually stumbled across Beatrice in the secret mansion. This Beatrice was childlike and sheltered and very excited at the idea of escaping, but had been told that the forest was full of wolves. Rosa says Japan has no wolves and agrees to lead her out, but they get lost. Beatrice trusts Rosa completely as Rosa tries to lead them down a slippery cliff, but then slips on her long dress and falls to her death.
Meta-layer: "it is dead" is confirmed in red. Beatrice says her soul was released and she regained her memories, living as a cloud of butterflies while she slowly regained her strength. Kinzo repaired the shrine so she'd stay trapped, and she plotted her revenge.
Beatrice confirms that there are no more than 18 people on the island. The possibility that there could be less than 18 does not get mentioned for QUITE SOME TIME.
Kinzo keeps drawing bad tarot readings and redoing it, which he sees as refusing to accept anything but the fate he chooses.
Kanon refuses to accept it and gets into a fight with the seven stakes. He does very well against the first and Ronove remarks that furniture sometimes even become witches that can treat demons as butlers. But ofc he can't defeat all seven. Shannon defends him, and tells Beatrice that if she can see herself reflected in her eyes, she ought to shudder at her own ugliness.
(did not notice the mirror imagery until writing these posts but Hmmm. A Theme??)
Genji gently euthanises them before Beatrice can torture them further, and Ronove does the same to him. Beatrice is disappointed.
Later, the others find Shannon's corpse and various magic circles.
The stakes find and kill Gohda.
They approach Kumosawa... and she PUTS UP A PURPLE BARRIER!! She greets Beatrice and Ronove in a familiar way and is revealed to be... BEATRICE0, aka predecessor Beatrice!!
She berates current Beatrice for using the power of the Endless witch to toy with people, remarking that she had feared this result. She tells the furniture to step back and vows to rectify the mistake of letting Beatrice inherit her name.
WITCH FIGHT!!!
It's very silly, and ends with Beatrice0 defeating Beatrice's Shoulder War Towers with the Spear Gugnir.
Beatrice0 says she is taking her title back but will restore Beatrice to life and they can go back to their simple life where she baked apple pies.
But there were MORE Shoulder War Towers she didn't notice so actually Beatrice won and Beatrice0 has been dead all along!!! Beatrice0 vanishes while Beatrice gloats and Battler struggles to explain wtf he just saw.
There's a repeated theme of all the siblings agreeing that it would absolutely be in character for Kinzo to coerce the servants to set up a fake murder ritual in order to fuck with his children, then stay in his room the whole time and refuse to talk to anyone.
Meta-layer Battler is too dispirited to fight, wondering if he already lost in the last game and now everything is degenerating into chaos. Beatrice0 appears, explaining that she's like a defeated chess piece loitering next to the board. They talk about how many things which people previously thought were magic had scientific explanations. She gives the example of a television: Battler might say it's powered by Braun tubes, while she says it's powered by little gremlins, but until they open it up to check, there's no way to be sure, and both conflicting theories exist. It's like Shroedinger's cat. Rokkenjima's current state allows for Battler's human claim to exist as truth alongside Beatrice's magical claim.
Battler thanks her and she says that since she is no longer "Beatrice", he can call her Virgilia, the guide who leads to Beatrice (this is a reference to Dante's inferno, where the protagonist is led to his wife Beatrice at the top of mount Purgatory by Virgil)
The next time Battler sees Beatrice, he is calm, saying that since the magic battle left no proof behind, it cannot neither be proven nor disproven. Beatrice realises he's been talking to Virgilia.
The next day people discover the bodies from the first twilight: The servants plus Kinzo. Each has a key next to them that would have been necessary for a different murder, forming a closed circle of closed rooms. All the siblings grab a gun.
Beatrice defines a closed room as one where all types of direct intervention or remote interference between the inside and outside are impossible.
Battler comes up with increasingly implausible ways a human could have done the murders, challenging Beatrice to refute them one by one with red. She does: everyone is really dead, noone crawled to open a door or murder someone else etc after they were mortally wounded, there were no delayed murder traps etc.
But when he asks to confirm that they were all homicides, she says none were suicides. Virgilia pokes him to make sure none were accidents. Just as Beatrice is about to do so Ronove pulls her aside because "a denial of that claim would have placed several large pieces at risk".
The siblings ACTUALLY TRY TO SOLVE THE EPITAPH. They agree that Kinzo didn't love the town where he was born, but did enjoy his youth in... [name avoided by the narrative]
Rosa says that Maria has the character for village in her name, but Kinzo wanted her to use [name avoided by the narrative]
Yes ok author I get that you want us to solve it ourselves but some of us don't know anything about Japanese geography or kanji :(
Kyrie wonders if the "key" is actually meant to be a code or keyword, suggesting that the six sacrifices might allude to some form of wordplay that involves removing characters. Similarly, the "gouge and kill" portions could also be referring to removing letters.
Ben mentions that people complained that Episode 2 was too hard so the author put more Obvious Clues in Episode 3 haha.
Rosa ponders to Eva about subtle Japanese differences between The Golden Land and The Place With Literal Gold, and wonders what "once and for the last time" means.
Beatrice pouts that Virgilia helped Battler, who now knows to stop worrying about Mysterious Extra People, and is all "Teacherrr ;_;" until Virgilia gives her a hint too: The North Wind and the Sun story, aka its easier to get someone to take off a jacket by gently making them warm and comfortable than by trying to drag it away with a strong cold wind. Beatrice's goal is not to make Battler submit to her, but to make him accept her existence.
Young Eva berates Eva for getting sleepy and offers advice on solving the epitaph in the library with an atlas.
Eva creeps through an underground passageway and reaches a metal door, upon which the tenth twilight line is written in old red paint: "at journey's end, you shall attain the power of the Golden Land's treasures, once and for the last time."
Behind it is an ornate room filled with gold bars, bearing worn inscriptions of the One-Winged Eagle family crest.
Eva tells herself that this amount of gold will solve all her problems and grant her eternal happiness. She decides that Beatrice is no more than an illusion, and that young Eva, who gave her this chance, is the true Golden Witch Beatrice.
Eva runs into Rosa, who turns out to have solved the riddle just a little slower. They both point their guns at each other. Rosa tells Eva that she has no interest in the headship, and would gladly acknowledge Eva as the successor as long as she receives her portion of the money. Both of them affirm that they trust each other more than the other siblings.
Rosa suggests that they quickly announce it to the others, but Eva fears that Krauss might try to snatch it away. Rosa says she's only willing to wait a day.
Young Eva declares that as the finder of the gold and the next head, she refuses to hand any of it to anyone else. Beatrice appears and acknowledges her as the true head and new Golden and Endless Witch, handing her the Ushiromiya head's ring.
There is a big fancy magic ceremony and young Eva becomes EVA Beatrice. She gets a fancy witch outfit and the Beatrice portraits now depict her (though noone irl mentions this)
Ronove suggests a confused Battler think of EVA as an entity inside Eva. Beatrice says she'll need a new name name and Battler settles on Beato.
The next day, Eva looks pale and goes to have a nap. Maria is screaming about her rose. Rudolf suggests using a sedative to stop her crying. Rosa remembers that she had brought some, but finds the bottle in her bag empty.
HMM.
Hideyoshi says his magic hand will calm Eva's fever. Eva tells Hideyoshi that she had been able to use magic as a child, and a witch within her had supported her and turned her wishes into success. She worries that the witch inside her is being provoked by Beatrice and will eventually overpower her, and tells Hideyoshi not to take his hand away no matter what.
Rosa gives in and takes Maria to her rose.
As Eva screams in her bed, EVA appears in a cloud of butterflies in front of Rosa and Maria. Rosa calls her Eva and Maria thinks it's Beatrice. EVA responds that she is no longer Eva, and that she has been passed down the name Beatrice from the one Rosa met in the 70s.
Eva "fulfills Rosa's childhood dreams" about swimming in cake etc in ways that kill her, only to revive her and start again. Beato laughs innocently and expects Battler to enjoy it too. He slaps her and storms off, disgusted by her constant unnecessary cruelty.
Beatrice, confused, asks Ronove and Virgilia why it matters what you do to someone who will just be revived. They say she is doing witchhood wrong and leave.
Beato tries to persuade EVA that she's done enough, and EVA expresses confusion since from Ronove's stories, Beato was just as cruel before.
As the bodies are discovered, Eva wakes from her nap, having had a nightmare about a witch. Kyrie thinks they should all stay together in this room even though they're hungry.
Battler says he understands that Beatrice's role seems to require her to murder, but there's no excuse for the cruelty, and he's done playing with her.
EVA admits to the murders, and Eva begs her to stop. EVA says she's going to feed off Eva's vitality until she fully revives, then be free of Eva and fulfil their childhood promise to become a witch. EVA promises to avoid her family for the five remaining sacrifices.
So EVA is confused why Beatrice killed Maria and Rosa in such understated ways.
Kyrie suggests that she and Rudolph go out and get food with Hideyoshi.
EVA sends the stakes to kill them, even though Ronove warns her that guns are strong with anti-magic toxin, and could even injure EVA if furniture doesn't successfully shield her.
There is a big silly guns vs magic stakes fight, Kyrie and Rudolph are moderately badass. Kyrie says "Rudolph will come to rescue her, just as he did when Asumu had been around" and "she can be brutal when her husband is not around" which feel like Clues. Did they kill Asuma??
Leviathan, stake of envy, says she is powered by her envy of her sisters.
Kyrie says Asuma seduced Rudolph and baby trapped him. Kyrie was pregnant with a boy due on the same day, but had a miscarriage. She then cursed Asumu until she died. To this day, her heart continues to be filled with jealousy of Asumu every time she looks at Battler. With the power of 18 years of envy she shoots Leviathan down.
HMM.
Sick of this "second hand furniture" failing, EVA summons the bunnygirl Chiester Sisters 410 and 45, who use homing golden arrows to kill Kyrie and Rudolph. As EVA prepares to start a cycle of torture and resurrection, Beato says this will upset Battler, and EVA mocks her for caring what anyone thinks.
Seeing EVA torture Kyrie and Rudolph, Hideyoshi realises this is the witch Eva spoke of her from her childhood, and he tries to slap some sense into her. Eva shoots him and grumpily tells the stakes to take care of the twilight.
Violence towards EVA is hardly unjustified at this point but did not like the way the slap was framed as Husband Slapping Sense Into Wife. On the other hand, he immediately got shot, lol.
Eva wakes, screaming for Hideyoshi. Noone else wants to risk going out to make sure Hideyoshi and the others are ok but Eva freaks out about witches until they agree.
Ronove has been filling in for Beato but asks Battler to accept her as an opponent again. He refuses until she apologises, and she can't get out the words.
George wanders off alone, consumed by grief for Shannon. He thinks about Kinzo is trying to revive his lost love, and thinks that he would sacrifice his own life for Beatrice to revive Shannon.
The weakened Beato remembers a spell she can do with the help of another, and shows herself, offering to help George. She flies them up to the air but says if he doubts the magic he will fall.
EVA doesn't understand why Eva mourns her husband when she can have gold and power.
EVA gets the Chiester sisters to strangle them with the strings of a golden arrow.
George kneels over Shannon's body. Beato uses his intense sadness, which has weakened his magical resistance and given birth to the magical power of one who understands the value of a life. She recites the restoration incantation, opening the door to the Land of the Dead and calling Shannon's soul back. As Beatrice watches them embrace, she begins to understand what true magic is.
Virgilia observes that Beato has finally remembered how to use magic. Beato wonders why her predecessor is still alive, and she tells her that it is due to Beato allowing her to live.
The Chiester sisters pierce George and Shannon's hearts with a single arrow. Virgilia blocks another arrow from killing Beato, who curses the cruelty of EVA and her past self.
Everyone finds the bodies. Nanjo suggests it was a witch. They find "07151129" written in red on the parlor door. Battler says he was born on July 15 but theres no known people with a November 29 birthday.
Jessica starts angrily accusing Eva while Battler thinks about how all that's left now is him and Ange. Suddenly, there's a gunshot: Eva shot towards Jessica, blinding her with the flash, but says it was in self defence.
Nanjo wraps Jessica's eyes and says she'll be ok but needs to cover her eyes for now. EVA shows up, telling Nanjo that the blind lose their anti-magic resistance. He begs for mercy, saying he has a sick grandchild, but EVA kills him. Jessica tries to escape but can't see where she's going and calls for her parents, Battler, and Kanon for help.
Beato used up much of her remaining magic to help George, but is determined to atone for toying with Jessica and Kanon with her last strength.
Jessica hears Kanon's voice. He says his current existence is so fragile that it will be destroyed if they touch. He asks her to hold back her desire to touch him, just as he is doing for her. He leads her to hide behind the parlour curtains with his voice, using his magic safety barrier to protect her from being seen by EVA. Ronove, working for EVA now, notices them but just silently adds his own barrier. They declare their mutual feelings and regret lacking the courage before.
They thank Beato as she uses her final bit of magic to try and seal the parlour door.
The Chiester sisters detect Beatrice. Realising the parlour has been sealed, EVA orders them to torture Beato instead, trying to understand why she's being kind. As golden threads destroy her body, Beato declares that she has finally become a true witch. Hr heart hangs in the air, pierced but stubbornly beating. Kanon's spirit leaves, thanking Beato as the witch Beatrice, which infuriates EVA. Ronove declares that the title of Beatrice has now passed back onto Beato.
EVA crushes Beato's heart with her foot.
Meta-layer: Beatrice asks if she has earned the right to become his opponent. Battler responds that it is useless, and that Beatrice is not his opponent.
nb "It's all useless" is Battler's catchphrase, which he uses both when he's legitimately feeling stuck, and when he thinks someone else's argument is useless.
Purgatory: EVA appears, and Battler says she is his opponent now. She tries to attack him but he repels with his magic resistance power of "Endless Nine", it's very HIS POWER LEVEL IS OVER 9000 THAT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE!!
Ronove explains the game to EVA and Battler says he is going to unmask her as a fake witch and the true culprit, human Eva.
EVA summons a version of Hideyoshi, who says Eva was with him during the first twilight. Battler explains red text, and EVA says he was in the room the whole time in red. When Battler presses her to say the same about Eva, she is forced to resign for this murder.
She gets frustrated at the way Battler can get away with simply proving that SOME human could THEORETICALLY have done some of the weirder murders, but eventually gets the hang of the rules. She argues that magical influence is the only reason Kyrie would have switched from arguing that leaving for food was a good idea, to suggesting it. After much back and forth, and help from Beato, Battler realises Kyrie was trying to draw out Hideyoshi and get away from Eva, having realised that there were signs of Hideyoshi having smoked while he was in the room where Eva was "napping", even though he'd never smoke next to her when she was sick.
It seems like Eva persuaded Hideyoshi to cover for her while she snuck out and killed Rosa, then had to also kill Maria to cover it up. Kyrie and Rudolph took Hideyoshi outside to question him, and there was a shootout where all three of them ended up killed. Eva probably drugged Natsuhi and Krauss in their coffee then strangled them. George and the servants are more ambiguous but can be explained various ways.
EVA starts to flicker back and forth with Eva. But she asks: what about Nanjo? She says in red that it was not Jessica, Battler, or Eva who killed him, that all the others are now dead, and that Nanjo's death was a homicide committed by someone who openly appeared before him.
My theory is that he got stabbed by Shannon or Krauss etc for Reasons To Do With The Broader Mystery I Don't Understand Yet, but didn't die of his wound until after they were dead. Not sure that totally works but I don't think it's contradicted by any of the red text!
But Battler can't think of anything and tries to accuse her of lying in red. She's backed up by Ronove and Virgilia, who admire the beauty of her checkmate. Doubting the red is doubting Beato's honour.
EVA continues by stating in red that the one who killed Nanjo is a human. She claims however that the human could use magic, making them a witch.
The conclusion to this is so cool I'm just going to quote most of it as is:
I was torn between finding this legitimately affecting... and being sure this was a trick.
Battler is in the Golden Land: the mansion, but full of golden butterflies, and everyone is there and happy, even Eva. Here there are no distinctions between furniture, humans, and witches. George/Shannon and Jessica/Kanon can hold hands and their parents accept it. Natsuhi and Eva hug. (I kinda ship it. Anyway.)
Battler takes two oaths to support people the way witches are supposed to, then is asked to sign a document affirming the existence of Beatrice. It was 17 signatures, and is told he was the only hold out from the first game, but forgot.
As he goes to sign, Beatrice and Virgilia wear creepy smiles and start getting weirdly pushy.
And then a TEEN GIRL WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE suddenly CRASHES THROUGH THE WINDOW and shouts at Battler not to stop thinking and give into defeat.
Beatrice's face twists in pain for a moment, but then she mocks Battler, saying she was manipulating him the whole time. He is distraught. Goat demons drag his hands towards signing.
The girl uses magic red power to free him and defend herself from attack. She refuses to give her name but questions how long Battler plans to stay here having fun with Mom and Dad, the cousins, and everyone else.
Beatrice realizes that the visitor is Bernkastel's piece and welcomes her to the game, promising to thoroughly destroy her. The girl responds that it's all useless, vowing to expose the truth of what happened on that day on Rokkenjima in 1986.
Credits roll, now containing the name Ushiromiya Ange!!!! HELL YES.
Also at this point Felix noticed that Genji's given name is Ronove. HMMMM.
...it's only as I write this up that I realise Ange was the person Bernkastl was talking to in earlier teaparties. I think?
Tea Party:
Lambdadelta seems very ditsy/childlike. When Bernkastl leaves Lambdadelta, acting sharper, talks about her being obsessively in love with Bernkastl and wanting to trap her in this game forever. She warns Beatrice that if she continues messing around and loses, Lambdadelta will withdraw her support and reduce Beatrice back to her shabby original human self, sent to a Fragment even more miserable than the one she had come from. Beatrice points out that her gameboard is perfect.
???:
THE YEAR IS 1998!!!
Ange visits the dying Eva, only survivor of the "accident" at Rokkejima. They hate each other: Eva has spent 12 years as Ange's guardian resenting and mistreating her for taking George's "rightful place" as the eventual family heir, and sent her to a strict boarding school where Eva's guards pushed away anyone who got too friendly.
Eva followed Kinzo's lead and was callously ruthless about making money, creating many enemies, and is now paranoid about assassins. There was also ruthless media criticism suspecting her of killing the rest of her family for the money. She decides that the best way to make Ange suffer is to have her inherit the fortune, remaining alone, never knowing who she can trust. The media already suspects Ange of having poisoned Eva into becoming sick.
I haven't bothered describing most characters because thinking about the terrible outfits most female characters wear hurts my brain. But Battler and Ange are both redheads.
Ha, I have now started Episode 6 and once again all my theories are in disarray. Episode 5 was amazing though, a really clever deconstruction of the existing structure and the very concept of a murder mystery.
CW: Suicide. Domestic violence, kinda?
An unknown girl breaks her grandfather's favorite vase. She realizes the gravity of her mistake and breaks down in tears. Golden butterflies gather and form "the Golden Witch Beatrice", who looks nothing like the Beatrice we know: she has long silver hair, a totally different old fashioned dress, and her eyes are closed in a gentle smile. I'm going to call her Beatrice0 for now.
Beatrice0 recites the restoration incantation "Come, try to remember. What form did you have?", restoring the vase to its unbroken form. She tells the girl that returning something to its original form is very difficult, and that her magic could only do so for a short time. They hear a servant's scream and find out that a black cat had knocked over the restored vase. The witch's magic had not changed the vase's fate, but it did prevent the Master from scolding the girl.
Beatrice0 explains that while using magic to destroy is easy, true magic is the power to restore and to create happiness. Weak witches would often give in to temptation and become intoxicated with the former. A witch who gained the ability to restore and revive endlessly is considered an Endless Witch. This title was of great esteem, and witches who have it are released from pain and sadness. The girl tells Beatrice0 that she wants to become like her, and the witch accepts her as a disciple.
In Purgatory, Beatrice awakens from her dream and reflects on the fact that she has attained that title that even her teacher could not reach. She however remarks that eternal bliss also means eternal boredom, a poison that tortured many Great Witches. She hopes to talk to her teacher again.
We see the seven stakes of purgatory as hot mean girls happily torturing Battler to death only for him to be revived by Beatrice. He keeps up a strong front, joke-flirt-insulting them while they jeer at his failure to explain the last game without magic.
Beatrice starts the next game.
Eva hates smoking so Hideyoshi is smoking outside with Rudolph. Hideyoshi says Eva is usually gentle and only gets weirdly short tempered around the time of the family conference.
Something the wiki summary does not mention but which feels very important to me: Rudolph says Eva is just acting the way he's always seen her, since they were kids.
Annoying to know there's probably other important things I have forgotten it's not reminding me of.
Flashback to Eva's childhood. She is proud of the family name and works hard to prove herself despite being a girl. Krauss is less competent and hard working but smugly knows he will be heir. When she is forbidden from going to university Krauss says she should know her place as a woman, and they argue. Kinzo berates Krauss for not acting with dignity but tells Eva her only role is to create a profitable marriage then devote herself to her husband's family.
An adult Eva wonders if it was the wrong approach to try to compete with Krauss. Maybe she should focus on being a proper young woman and bearing a son. A younger version of her appears, reminding her that she promised to become the next head of the Ushiromiya family. This other self had been Eva's only ally during difficult times, but had gradually been forgotten along with her childhood. She had also taught Eva how to turn channel her anger at Krauss towards self-improvement, with the goal of seizing the headship from him.
Young Eva is vicious towards Krauss and Kinzo, wishing they'd just die, but also berates Eva for giving up on her promise. Her catchphrase is "Why don't you/they just die?"
Young Eva tells Eva that Kinzo's attitude can be changed with magic. She berates her for forgetting how to use magic and instead forcing her dreams onto her son. Eva defends George and tries to put Jessica down in comparison to him, but silently admits that young Eva has a point, realizing also that she is attacking Jessica with the same ideas that oppressed her.
Eva tells her younger self of the siblings' extortion plan, but is only met with derision. Young Eva tells her that her magic can certainly grant them a miracle. She recites the words of the epitaph, which if solved can grant her her lifelong goal of the headship.
Eva wakes from a nap in the current day and Hideyoshi asks if she was having "that nightmare" again. When she worries that she's been using George as a tool for revenge, Hideyoshi reassures her that George is grateful to her.
As Eva steps off the boat, she hears the voice of her younger self welcoming her back. She questions what she is living for and how she can free herself from this obsession.
I really like how these characters all have layers of depth! Eva is a real dick to a lot of people, but she's got her sympathetic aspects too.
The cousins and Shannon reminisce about what they were like six years ago. Battler is the main topic of conversation, though his own memories are hazy. Shannon remembers Battler's younger self very well and recounts an incident where he had told her "I'll be back, see you again. I'll surely come for you riding a white horse." Jessica relentlessly mocks his cheesiness and Battler regrets his habit of speaking without thinking. She tries to get more stories out of Shannon, but Shannon decides to say no more out of respect for Battler.
Battler notices that George seems to be especially friendly to Shannon and asks Jessica if they are going out. Jessica confirms that they have been going out for about a year but remarks that they have had feelings even before that. She tells him to keep this a secret. Battler thinks that they make a good match and recalls that he had also taken notice of her back then. He himself had never committed to a serious relationship. Jessica wishes him luck and tells him to take relationships with his female friends seriously so as not to break girls' hearts by giving them the wrong impression.
He also notices Jessica's crush on Kanon and thinks about how the parents will not react well to either relationship.
Maria stands alone in the rain crying about her missing rose. Beatrice appears holding an umbrella. She expresses concern for Maria's health and offers to lend her power to search for the rose. The witch closes her eyes for a moment and then tells Maria that the rose had been uprooted by the wind. Unsatisfied with this answer, Maria asks Beatrice to teach her how to revive it with magic.
Beatrice tells Maria to close her eyes and recites the restoration incantation. Golden butterflies gather around Beatrice's finger, and transform into a seed that floats to the ground and blooms into a rose once more. She uses magic to mark it with a golden lace. As Maria opens her eyes, Beatrice directs her to the revived rose.
Beatrice hands Maria an envelope. With this, she declares to Kinzo that her preparations are complete. In his study, Kinzo responds likewise and throws the head's ring out of the window. The ring transforms into a golden butterfly and flutters to the rose garden before returning to its original form. As it falls, the ring is stopped in midair, and the person who caught it appears. Beatrice recognizes him as her servant Ronove, who presents the ring to her.
Ronove is a Perfect Butler type, very polite and always offering tea and snacks but it's hard to tell his real feelings or motivations. He shows no deep loyalty to Beatrice, who only hired him temporarily, and is arguably a little flirty with Battler. Battler complains about all these fantasy characters suddenly showing up and Beatrice says he's not a new character because she earlier mentioned having hired 72 demons lol.
It's not explained explicitly at this point, but this is an example of Beatrice satisfying Knox's Ten Rules of Mystery Stories, many of which are about the importance of foreshadowing things.
The closer Battler gets to surrendering, the more fantastical characters will appear. She mocks his past attempt at trying to assert his denial as eternal torture for her, telling him that only Endless Witches have the right to talk about eternity.
Maria reads the letter from Beatrice to the family, saying that whoever solves the epitaph will get the gold. The siblings interrogate her and unsuccessfully demand that Kinzo explain himself. The cousins wonder who tricked Maria: maybe Shannon in a costume? Or some 19th person?
The siblings discuss the old rumour that Kinzo was hiding a mistress in a second mansion somewhere on the island, which they'd all searched for in the forest but never found.
Kyrie is dubious about the logistics of this with servants and food etc, then ponders if this is a ploy by "Beatrice" to become head of the family herself in return for the gold. Young Eva says this is their chance to become head.
I pondered the implications of the weird S&M-ish dynamic with Battler if Beatrice really is Kinzo's 60+ year old mistress. Cos by this point I was pretty sure the game shipped them, even if they weren't necessarily going to outright get together. Which affects my ideas about who she really is as a human, assuming she exists as one and not just an abstract concept.
Meta-layer: Battler realises he can use the possibility of a 19th person existing in this second mansion as a way to have a human culprit he wouldn't feel bad accusing of murder.
Ronove and Beatrice define Hempel's Raven (an effective if long winded proof that all ravens are black is to prove that all non-ravens aren't black,) and the contrapositive (proving "P implies Q" is the same as proving that "not Q implies not P"), subtly screwing up the logic in ways which benefit Beatrice's argument, not sure if that's a Clue/characterisation or just a mistake of the writer's.
Battler realises that saying in red that there's only 18 people on the island would force him to admit that either magic exists or someone he cares about is guilty, but would also limit the arguments Beatrice can make. She refuses to do so.
Rosa is pensive... and then tells her siblings that she killed Beatrice as a child, and has been haunted by it ever since.
I love how this game keeps surprising me.
Flashback to Beatrice in a garden with Kinzo, who she sees as her father and best friend. But she is not allowed to leave the house, and he refuses to answer her questions.
Meta-layer: Beatrice says Kinzo summoned her into a flesh body to make his fortune, fell in love with her, and kept her imprisoned in his second secret mansion, Kuwadorian. She was flattered, but did not return his feelings, and realised the only escape was to kill that body. So he summoned her spirit again into a homunculus he created in a test tube, and raised her from childhood as an amnesiac.
Battler thinks this is all nonsense and Beatrice is upset to have her experiences dismissed. Talking it through with Ronove, Battler wonders if its based on real events, where Kinzo's lover Beatrice died and he raised their daughter as her reincarnation. Ronove confirms in red that the conversation did happen in 1967 between Kinzo and a real human woman.
Rosa's story: When she was in middle school, she felt so miserable and ignored she decided to run away into the forest, to either die or make everyone feel bad. She eventually stumbled across Beatrice in the secret mansion. This Beatrice was childlike and sheltered and very excited at the idea of escaping, but had been told that the forest was full of wolves. Rosa says Japan has no wolves and agrees to lead her out, but they get lost. Beatrice trusts Rosa completely as Rosa tries to lead them down a slippery cliff, but then slips on her long dress and falls to her death.
Meta-layer: "it is dead" is confirmed in red. Beatrice says her soul was released and she regained her memories, living as a cloud of butterflies while she slowly regained her strength. Kinzo repaired the shrine so she'd stay trapped, and she plotted her revenge.
Beatrice confirms that there are no more than 18 people on the island. The possibility that there could be less than 18 does not get mentioned for QUITE SOME TIME.
Kinzo keeps drawing bad tarot readings and redoing it, which he sees as refusing to accept anything but the fate he chooses.
They find Kinzo in a game of chess against Beatrice, with Ronove standing behind her. Ronove greets Genji and Shannon as if they had met before, and notes that it is his first time meeting Kanon. He introduces himself as Beatrice's head furniture and an old friend of Genji's.
Beatrice had told Kinzo that he would be the first sacrifice of her ceremony, as decided by the roulette. She calls checkmate, causing the man to burst into flames and laughter before falling to the ground as a burnt corpse. Kanon reproaches her for it, but is told by the others not to disrespect her.
Kanon realizes that their presence here meant that the servants would probably make up the other five sacrifices of the first twilight. Beatrice asks them to thank her for bringing their suffering as furniture to an end. Genji stoically accepts this fate, and Shannon calmly accepts it too after sealing away her regrets.
Kanon refuses to accept it and gets into a fight with the seven stakes. He does very well against the first and Ronove remarks that furniture sometimes even become witches that can treat demons as butlers. But ofc he can't defeat all seven. Shannon defends him, and tells Beatrice that if she can see herself reflected in her eyes, she ought to shudder at her own ugliness.
(did not notice the mirror imagery until writing these posts but Hmmm. A Theme??)
Genji gently euthanises them before Beatrice can torture them further, and Ronove does the same to him. Beatrice is disappointed.
Later, the others find Shannon's corpse and various magic circles.
The stakes find and kill Gohda.
They approach Kumosawa... and she PUTS UP A PURPLE BARRIER!! She greets Beatrice and Ronove in a familiar way and is revealed to be... BEATRICE0, aka predecessor Beatrice!!
She berates current Beatrice for using the power of the Endless witch to toy with people, remarking that she had feared this result. She tells the furniture to step back and vows to rectify the mistake of letting Beatrice inherit her name.
WITCH FIGHT!!!
It's very silly, and ends with Beatrice0 defeating Beatrice's Shoulder War Towers with the Spear Gugnir.
Beatrice0 says she is taking her title back but will restore Beatrice to life and they can go back to their simple life where she baked apple pies.
But there were MORE Shoulder War Towers she didn't notice so actually Beatrice won and Beatrice0 has been dead all along!!! Beatrice0 vanishes while Beatrice gloats and Battler struggles to explain wtf he just saw.
There's a repeated theme of all the siblings agreeing that it would absolutely be in character for Kinzo to coerce the servants to set up a fake murder ritual in order to fuck with his children, then stay in his room the whole time and refuse to talk to anyone.
Meta-layer Battler is too dispirited to fight, wondering if he already lost in the last game and now everything is degenerating into chaos. Beatrice0 appears, explaining that she's like a defeated chess piece loitering next to the board. They talk about how many things which people previously thought were magic had scientific explanations. She gives the example of a television: Battler might say it's powered by Braun tubes, while she says it's powered by little gremlins, but until they open it up to check, there's no way to be sure, and both conflicting theories exist. It's like Shroedinger's cat. Rokkenjima's current state allows for Battler's human claim to exist as truth alongside Beatrice's magical claim.
Battler thanks her and she says that since she is no longer "Beatrice", he can call her Virgilia, the guide who leads to Beatrice (this is a reference to Dante's inferno, where the protagonist is led to his wife Beatrice at the top of mount Purgatory by Virgil)
The next time Battler sees Beatrice, he is calm, saying that since the magic battle left no proof behind, it cannot neither be proven nor disproven. Beatrice realises he's been talking to Virgilia.
The next day people discover the bodies from the first twilight: The servants plus Kinzo. Each has a key next to them that would have been necessary for a different murder, forming a closed circle of closed rooms. All the siblings grab a gun.
Beatrice defines a closed room as one where all types of direct intervention or remote interference between the inside and outside are impossible.
Battler comes up with increasingly implausible ways a human could have done the murders, challenging Beatrice to refute them one by one with red. She does: everyone is really dead, noone crawled to open a door or murder someone else etc after they were mortally wounded, there were no delayed murder traps etc.
But when he asks to confirm that they were all homicides, she says none were suicides. Virgilia pokes him to make sure none were accidents. Just as Beatrice is about to do so Ronove pulls her aside because "a denial of that claim would have placed several large pieces at risk".
The siblings ACTUALLY TRY TO SOLVE THE EPITAPH. They agree that Kinzo didn't love the town where he was born, but did enjoy his youth in... [name avoided by the narrative]
Rosa says that Maria has the character for village in her name, but Kinzo wanted her to use [name avoided by the narrative]
Yes ok author I get that you want us to solve it ourselves but some of us don't know anything about Japanese geography or kanji :(
Kyrie wonders if the "key" is actually meant to be a code or keyword, suggesting that the six sacrifices might allude to some form of wordplay that involves removing characters. Similarly, the "gouge and kill" portions could also be referring to removing letters.
Ben mentions that people complained that Episode 2 was too hard so the author put more Obvious Clues in Episode 3 haha.
Rosa ponders to Eva about subtle Japanese differences between The Golden Land and The Place With Literal Gold, and wonders what "once and for the last time" means.
Beatrice pouts that Virgilia helped Battler, who now knows to stop worrying about Mysterious Extra People, and is all "Teacherrr ;_;" until Virgilia gives her a hint too: The North Wind and the Sun story, aka its easier to get someone to take off a jacket by gently making them warm and comfortable than by trying to drag it away with a strong cold wind. Beatrice's goal is not to make Battler submit to her, but to make him accept her existence.
Young Eva berates Eva for getting sleepy and offers advice on solving the epitaph in the library with an atlas.
Eva creeps through an underground passageway and reaches a metal door, upon which the tenth twilight line is written in old red paint: "at journey's end, you shall attain the power of the Golden Land's treasures, once and for the last time."
Behind it is an ornate room filled with gold bars, bearing worn inscriptions of the One-Winged Eagle family crest.
Eva tells herself that this amount of gold will solve all her problems and grant her eternal happiness. She decides that Beatrice is no more than an illusion, and that young Eva, who gave her this chance, is the true Golden Witch Beatrice.
Eva runs into Rosa, who turns out to have solved the riddle just a little slower. They both point their guns at each other. Rosa tells Eva that she has no interest in the headship, and would gladly acknowledge Eva as the successor as long as she receives her portion of the money. Both of them affirm that they trust each other more than the other siblings.
Rosa suggests that they quickly announce it to the others, but Eva fears that Krauss might try to snatch it away. Rosa says she's only willing to wait a day.
Young Eva declares that as the finder of the gold and the next head, she refuses to hand any of it to anyone else. Beatrice appears and acknowledges her as the true head and new Golden and Endless Witch, handing her the Ushiromiya head's ring.
There is a big fancy magic ceremony and young Eva becomes EVA Beatrice. She gets a fancy witch outfit and the Beatrice portraits now depict her (though noone irl mentions this)
Ronove suggests a confused Battler think of EVA as an entity inside Eva. Beatrice says she'll need a new name name and Battler settles on Beato.
The next day, Eva looks pale and goes to have a nap. Maria is screaming about her rose. Rudolf suggests using a sedative to stop her crying. Rosa remembers that she had brought some, but finds the bottle in her bag empty.
HMM.
Hideyoshi says his magic hand will calm Eva's fever. Eva tells Hideyoshi that she had been able to use magic as a child, and a witch within her had supported her and turned her wishes into success. She worries that the witch inside her is being provoked by Beatrice and will eventually overpower her, and tells Hideyoshi not to take his hand away no matter what.
Rosa gives in and takes Maria to her rose.
As Eva screams in her bed, EVA appears in a cloud of butterflies in front of Rosa and Maria. Rosa calls her Eva and Maria thinks it's Beatrice. EVA responds that she is no longer Eva, and that she has been passed down the name Beatrice from the one Rosa met in the 70s.
Eva "fulfills Rosa's childhood dreams" about swimming in cake etc in ways that kill her, only to revive her and start again. Beato laughs innocently and expects Battler to enjoy it too. He slaps her and storms off, disgusted by her constant unnecessary cruelty.
Beatrice, confused, asks Ronove and Virgilia why it matters what you do to someone who will just be revived. They say she is doing witchhood wrong and leave.
Beato tries to persuade EVA that she's done enough, and EVA expresses confusion since from Ronove's stories, Beato was just as cruel before.
Beato awkwardly tries to argue that she had gone too far in the past, and ought to show more elegance. She revives Rosa and Maria. Beato apologizes to Maria for being unable to keep her promise to take her to the Golden Land. She then embraces Maria and leaves a red bruise on her neck, causing her to peacefully pass away. After this, she sends Rosa into the air and makes her fall onto the spiked fence, causing her to die instantly.
As the bodies are discovered, Eva wakes from her nap, having had a nightmare about a witch. Kyrie thinks they should all stay together in this room even though they're hungry.
Battler says he understands that Beatrice's role seems to require her to murder, but there's no excuse for the cruelty, and he's done playing with her.
EVA admits to the murders, and Eva begs her to stop. EVA says she's going to feed off Eva's vitality until she fully revives, then be free of Eva and fulfil their childhood promise to become a witch. EVA promises to avoid her family for the five remaining sacrifices.
She explains that humans in modern times possess an anti-magic toxin in their bodies, the result of the increasing disbelief in the sacred. This magic resistance increases with the number of humans together. Only in places with small populations like Rokkenjima could a witch even exist.
EVA realizes that the occult and seemingly impossible presentations of the murder scenes, particularly in the first twilight, are important to eroding the anti-magic toxin by creating the fear of the witch.
So EVA is confused why Beatrice killed Maria and Rosa in such understated ways.
Kyrie suggests that she and Rudolph go out and get food with Hideyoshi.
EVA sends the stakes to kill them, even though Ronove warns her that guns are strong with anti-magic toxin, and could even injure EVA if furniture doesn't successfully shield her.
There is a big silly guns vs magic stakes fight, Kyrie and Rudolph are moderately badass. Kyrie says "Rudolph will come to rescue her, just as he did when Asumu had been around" and "she can be brutal when her husband is not around" which feel like Clues. Did they kill Asuma??
Leviathan, stake of envy, says she is powered by her envy of her sisters.
Kyrie says Asuma seduced Rudolph and baby trapped him. Kyrie was pregnant with a boy due on the same day, but had a miscarriage. She then cursed Asumu until she died. To this day, her heart continues to be filled with jealousy of Asumu every time she looks at Battler. With the power of 18 years of envy she shoots Leviathan down.
HMM.
Sick of this "second hand furniture" failing, EVA summons the bunnygirl Chiester Sisters 410 and 45, who use homing golden arrows to kill Kyrie and Rudolph. As EVA prepares to start a cycle of torture and resurrection, Beato says this will upset Battler, and EVA mocks her for caring what anyone thinks.
Seeing EVA torture Kyrie and Rudolph, Hideyoshi realises this is the witch Eva spoke of her from her childhood, and he tries to slap some sense into her. Eva shoots him and grumpily tells the stakes to take care of the twilight.
Violence towards EVA is hardly unjustified at this point but did not like the way the slap was framed as Husband Slapping Sense Into Wife. On the other hand, he immediately got shot, lol.
Eva wakes, screaming for Hideyoshi. Noone else wants to risk going out to make sure Hideyoshi and the others are ok but Eva freaks out about witches until they agree.
Ronove has been filling in for Beato but asks Battler to accept her as an opponent again. He refuses until she apologises, and she can't get out the words.
Virgilia describes the Endless Magic as a black art that causes witches to lose their concept of the finite and tempts them into cruelty. She tells Battler that all magic exists to bring happiness to the human world. With that, Battler tells Beato that she has failed as an Endless Witch.
Battler wonders if the purpose of their game is really a test for Beato to be accepted as an Endless Witch in the truest sense. She denies any ulterior motives behind the game. Battler tells Beato that if she is only an apprentice and not a witch, she is not qualified to be his opponent. He tells her to think for herself what she must do to earn his forgiveness. Battler tells Virgilia he will suspend the game until Beato has earned those qualifications, but will patiently wait for her until then.
George wanders off alone, consumed by grief for Shannon. He thinks about Kinzo is trying to revive his lost love, and thinks that he would sacrifice his own life for Beatrice to revive Shannon.
The weakened Beato remembers a spell she can do with the help of another, and shows herself, offering to help George. She flies them up to the air but says if he doubts the magic he will fall.
EVA doesn't understand why Eva mourns her husband when she can have gold and power.
Eva wonders to herself if she had been the one to kill Hideyoshi. She awakens and excuses herself to wash her face, deciding to make coffee for the others when she gets back.
Natsuhi observes that Krauss does sometimes show that he cares for Eva. Krauss regrets arrogantly bullying his siblings in an attempt to be like Kinzo, as well as bullying them to make up for his inferiority complex. He realizes that even if he apologizes to Eva now, it will not heal those wounds. Natsuhi comforts him.
EVA gets the Chiester sisters to strangle them with the strings of a golden arrow.
George kneels over Shannon's body. Beato uses his intense sadness, which has weakened his magical resistance and given birth to the magical power of one who understands the value of a life. She recites the restoration incantation, opening the door to the Land of the Dead and calling Shannon's soul back. As Beatrice watches them embrace, she begins to understand what true magic is.
Virgilia observes that Beato has finally remembered how to use magic. Beato wonders why her predecessor is still alive, and she tells her that it is due to Beato allowing her to live.
The Chiester sisters pierce George and Shannon's hearts with a single arrow. Virgilia blocks another arrow from killing Beato, who curses the cruelty of EVA and her past self.
Everyone finds the bodies. Nanjo suggests it was a witch. They find "07151129" written in red on the parlor door. Battler says he was born on July 15 but theres no known people with a November 29 birthday.
Jessica starts angrily accusing Eva while Battler thinks about how all that's left now is him and Ange. Suddenly, there's a gunshot: Eva shot towards Jessica, blinding her with the flash, but says it was in self defence.
Nanjo wraps Jessica's eyes and says she'll be ok but needs to cover her eyes for now. EVA shows up, telling Nanjo that the blind lose their anti-magic resistance. He begs for mercy, saying he has a sick grandchild, but EVA kills him. Jessica tries to escape but can't see where she's going and calls for her parents, Battler, and Kanon for help.
Beato used up much of her remaining magic to help George, but is determined to atone for toying with Jessica and Kanon with her last strength.
Beato decides that she must take this step to becoming a true witch, in the hopes of one day being acknowledged by Battler. She sees this is a necessary step for her atonement, to save at least one life to make up for those that she had taken away. With that, Beato tells Ronove to observe her final bit of magic, and perhaps write down the story of her foolish life as a lesson to others.
Jessica hears Kanon's voice. He says his current existence is so fragile that it will be destroyed if they touch. He asks her to hold back her desire to touch him, just as he is doing for her. He leads her to hide behind the parlour curtains with his voice, using his magic safety barrier to protect her from being seen by EVA. Ronove, working for EVA now, notices them but just silently adds his own barrier. They declare their mutual feelings and regret lacking the courage before.
They thank Beato as she uses her final bit of magic to try and seal the parlour door.
The Chiester sisters detect Beatrice. Realising the parlour has been sealed, EVA orders them to torture Beato instead, trying to understand why she's being kind. As golden threads destroy her body, Beato declares that she has finally become a true witch. Hr heart hangs in the air, pierced but stubbornly beating. Kanon's spirit leaves, thanking Beato as the witch Beatrice, which infuriates EVA. Ronove declares that the title of Beatrice has now passed back onto Beato.
EVA crushes Beato's heart with her foot.
Meta-layer: Beatrice asks if she has earned the right to become his opponent. Battler responds that it is useless, and that Beatrice is not his opponent.
nb "It's all useless" is Battler's catchphrase, which he uses both when he's legitimately feeling stuck, and when he thinks someone else's argument is useless.
Purgatory: EVA appears, and Battler says she is his opponent now. She tries to attack him but he repels with his magic resistance power of "Endless Nine", it's very HIS POWER LEVEL IS OVER 9000 THAT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE!!
Ronove explains the game to EVA and Battler says he is going to unmask her as a fake witch and the true culprit, human Eva.
EVA summons a version of Hideyoshi, who says Eva was with him during the first twilight. Battler explains red text, and EVA says he was in the room the whole time in red. When Battler presses her to say the same about Eva, she is forced to resign for this murder.
She gets frustrated at the way Battler can get away with simply proving that SOME human could THEORETICALLY have done some of the weirder murders, but eventually gets the hang of the rules. She argues that magical influence is the only reason Kyrie would have switched from arguing that leaving for food was a good idea, to suggesting it. After much back and forth, and help from Beato, Battler realises Kyrie was trying to draw out Hideyoshi and get away from Eva, having realised that there were signs of Hideyoshi having smoked while he was in the room where Eva was "napping", even though he'd never smoke next to her when she was sick.
It seems like Eva persuaded Hideyoshi to cover for her while she snuck out and killed Rosa, then had to also kill Maria to cover it up. Kyrie and Rudolph took Hideyoshi outside to question him, and there was a shootout where all three of them ended up killed. Eva probably drugged Natsuhi and Krauss in their coffee then strangled them. George and the servants are more ambiguous but can be explained various ways.
EVA starts to flicker back and forth with Eva. But she asks: what about Nanjo? She says in red that it was not Jessica, Battler, or Eva who killed him, that all the others are now dead, and that Nanjo's death was a homicide committed by someone who openly appeared before him.
My theory is that he got stabbed by Shannon or Krauss etc for Reasons To Do With The Broader Mystery I Don't Understand Yet, but didn't die of his wound until after they were dead. Not sure that totally works but I don't think it's contradicted by any of the red text!
But Battler can't think of anything and tries to accuse her of lying in red. She's backed up by Ronove and Virgilia, who admire the beauty of her checkmate. Doubting the red is doubting Beato's honour.
EVA continues by stating in red that the one who killed Nanjo is a human. She claims however that the human could use magic, making them a witch.
The conclusion to this is so cool I'm just going to quote most of it as is:
Beatrice tells Battler not to lose heart, hoping that he can find a way out, but he tells her that he has reached his limit. She then declares that she will make a move to counter EVA: denying witches in red. EVA reminds Beatrice that she will not escape unscathed, but she responds that neither of them are real witches, and that she will strip this deception away herself.
Battler tries to stop Beatrice from sacrificing herself, but she tells him that her move is necessary to prevent EVA from bringing the whole island under her nightmare for eternity. She makes a final request that Battler cover his ears, wanting to at least remain a witch in his eyes.
Beatrice flashes a final smile at Battler, who covers his ears and howls to block her words. Beatrice begins to speak with the red truth, explaining away all the difficult problems. If Battler had listened to them, he would have understood Beatrice's true form, all of the magic and tricks, and this entire tale of anger and sadness. But he had decided that he would only learn that when he had reached the truth by himself, just as Beatrice had wished for him to. The world is enveloped in a brilliant white light, exposing all of the illusions.
Eva stands before Battler, her gun pointed at him. Battler declares her to be the culprit but it is too late. She pulls the trigger, shooting him through the heart. In Battler's last moments, he realizes that Beatrice's move has given him a vital piece of information: that it is possible to deny all magic. If he had been able to find a counter to EVA's final move, Beatrice's sacrifice would not have been necessary.
In a pitch-black world, Battler senses Beatrice's presence next to him. She tells him that she is no longer a witch, but will definitely become one again so that she can be his opponent. Battler affirms her as a witch, declaring her final actions to be magic.
With his acceptance, a small grain of gold shines in the darkness, illuminating their forms. For a moment, Beatrice is surprised by her form. The grain shines brighter and gets sucked into Beatrice's chest, causing the world to become bathed in light. The two find themselves over a deep blue ocean, as Rokkenjima and the mansion gradually begin to form around them.
I was torn between finding this legitimately affecting... and being sure this was a trick.
Battler is in the Golden Land: the mansion, but full of golden butterflies, and everyone is there and happy, even Eva. Here there are no distinctions between furniture, humans, and witches. George/Shannon and Jessica/Kanon can hold hands and their parents accept it. Natsuhi and Eva hug. (I kinda ship it. Anyway.)
Battler takes two oaths to support people the way witches are supposed to, then is asked to sign a document affirming the existence of Beatrice. It was 17 signatures, and is told he was the only hold out from the first game, but forgot.
As he goes to sign, Beatrice and Virgilia wear creepy smiles and start getting weirdly pushy.
And then a TEEN GIRL WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE suddenly CRASHES THROUGH THE WINDOW and shouts at Battler not to stop thinking and give into defeat.
Beatrice's face twists in pain for a moment, but then she mocks Battler, saying she was manipulating him the whole time. He is distraught. Goat demons drag his hands towards signing.
The girl uses magic red power to free him and defend herself from attack. She refuses to give her name but questions how long Battler plans to stay here having fun with Mom and Dad, the cousins, and everyone else.
Beatrice realizes that the visitor is Bernkastel's piece and welcomes her to the game, promising to thoroughly destroy her. The girl responds that it's all useless, vowing to expose the truth of what happened on that day on Rokkenjima in 1986.
Credits roll, now containing the name Ushiromiya Ange!!!! HELL YES.
Also at this point Felix noticed that Genji's given name is Ronove. HMMMM.
...it's only as I write this up that I realise Ange was the person Bernkastl was talking to in earlier teaparties. I think?
Tea Party:
Lambdadelta seems very ditsy/childlike. When Bernkastl leaves Lambdadelta, acting sharper, talks about her being obsessively in love with Bernkastl and wanting to trap her in this game forever. She warns Beatrice that if she continues messing around and loses, Lambdadelta will withdraw her support and reduce Beatrice back to her shabby original human self, sent to a Fragment even more miserable than the one she had come from. Beatrice points out that her gameboard is perfect.
???:
THE YEAR IS 1998!!!
Ange visits the dying Eva, only survivor of the "accident" at Rokkejima. They hate each other: Eva has spent 12 years as Ange's guardian resenting and mistreating her for taking George's "rightful place" as the eventual family heir, and sent her to a strict boarding school where Eva's guards pushed away anyone who got too friendly.
Eva followed Kinzo's lead and was callously ruthless about making money, creating many enemies, and is now paranoid about assassins. There was also ruthless media criticism suspecting her of killing the rest of her family for the money. She decides that the best way to make Ange suffer is to have her inherit the fortune, remaining alone, never knowing who she can trust. The media already suspects Ange of having poisoned Eva into becoming sick.
Eva breaks into a cough and a guard rushes in to give her water. She tells Ange to enjoy the cursed gold and inheritance of the family, as well as the name of the Golden Witch Beatrice. Ange replies that she does not care about that, and only wants to know the truth of what happened on the day of her family's death. Eva laughs and decides to take the truth with her to the grave as a final way of tormenting Ange.
Ange stands at the outer edge of the fence on the roof of a skyscraper. She had often dreamed of the family she had lost, wondering if finding out the truth would allow at least one of them to come back. She decides to go home to where her family is, and prepares to take a step off the edge.
Bernkastel, a girl who Ange recognizes from her dreams, speaks to her. She requests Ange's assistance to help her family, who has been imprisoned on Rokkenjima in the span of those two days in 1986. In exchange for her help, she will search for the ideal fragment where Ange's family comes home. She cannot promise that it will be found, having been unable to find it thus far, and even a miracle would only bring one person back at most. Nevertheless, she offers Ange the change for revenge. Ange agrees to her proposal, and Bernkastel recognizes her the final Golden Witch, ANGE Beatrice.
Eva's guards open the door and try to persuade Ange not to jump. Bernkastel tells her that they should go, and Ange follows her by jumping off the skyscraper.
I haven't bothered describing most characters because thinking about the terrible outfits most female characters wear hurts my brain. But Battler and Ange are both redheads.
