Ōkami no Naku Koro Ni, Ch10
Yukari sighed, they had clearly lost the runaway cook. "Great... now we need to catch him."
Marin stood by her, looking inquisitively at Yukari, "Hey, Yukari-chan... I was wondering, you said Chouri-san was an accomplice, not the actual murderer, how can you be so sure?"
Yukari was taken aback by the question, "Oh... well can you imagine him coming up with half these murders? Also, consider the first two murders. Saban-kun and Karen-san confirmed that Chouri was with them during the interval for murder. Both of them are now dead, and I find it unlikely they were both in on the murders and both wound up dead."
Ange sighed, "Of course, the main reason I know he isn't the killer is Van Dine's 11th: a servant may not be the culprit."
Klein smirked, "Indeed, between that and the fact that Carl Haber, Sharon Haber, Kenji Kurusu and Kaname Kurusu are not the culprit, that doesn't leave many potential culprits."
Ange nodded, "The only people who can be the culprit are Shika Kurusu, Rina Kibou, Kira Satsujin and Mayu Ritsuka. Of course, the last two currently seem rather unlikely, although you haven't confirmed they are dead yet."
Klein smiled, "Well now, why would I just tell you that?"
Ange sighed, "Like drawing blood from a stone..."
"The real question now is, who is the true murderer?" Marin asked, her brow furrowed.
"Yes... while we're on the subject, we do need more information on the suspects, do you two know anything useful?" Yukari asked the other pair.
"Hm... well, I know a little about the family," Sukoshi said. "The bulk of the fortune was owned by Kenji-san. Kaname-san also had a fair amount from his days in business, while Shika-san was the poorest. She came to live here with her daughter mainly because she had too little to keep herself and her daughter... the girl has suffered from a disorder which meant she requires constant attention and care. She's currently in a hospital, where her cousin, Kaname-san's son, visits her regularly for her mother's sake, to make sure she's okay."
"Also, the daughter's condition seems like it might be curable, but the treatment would cost a lot of money..." Sukoshi noticed the look in Yukari's eyes, as she landed upon a potential motive.
"Interesting, and the three other writers? What about them?"
Lana replied, "Mayu-san is a fairly new writer, and it is her first time meeting most of the family, she had only met Kenji-san BEFORE. Kira-san has been here before on occasion, and has met the whole FAMILY. I believe he has also met the Habers on a previous VISIT. Rina-san is an author who was previously published by a company which Kenji-san recently took OVER. She was here to convince him that she is worth keeping on as a WRITER."
Yukari nodded, "Any reason any of them would want to kill the family?"
"Mayu-san has none that I know OF. For both Kira-san and Rina-san, they may have been told they would no longer be PUBLISHED. In Kira's case, his books have recently stopped selling as WELL. As for Rina, after the company she wrote for was taken over, several other authors were FIRED."
Yukari nodded again, but then asked, "But why murder? They may hate Kenji-san, but..."
"In addition, if Kenji-san and Kaname-san were both to die, the company would be forced to shut down, as the two of them run EVERYTHING. This would result in redundancies, and pay-outs to all the authors who are still employed, including both Kira-san and Rina-san."
Sukoshi nodded in agreement, "I have to admit, I'm in a similar position... although that hardly matters now I suppose..."
Yukari sighed, "So basically, we have two people with both motives and the opportunity to murder, and the motives in each case are simply money... just great."
"They say there are just two motives for murder: love and money," Sukoshi said. "We're just dealing with the second."
"Inspector Morse, correct? Hardly a historic great," Yukari said, sighing.
"Oh? Well it may not be aged, but it's still an excellent detective series. Although, it is mostly about the 'why' and not the 'how,' so it hardly has any complex murders which are seemingly impossible."
Yukari sighed, "You really do like your mysteries."
Sukoshi shrugged, "I like to solve them, and give others the puzzle to solve. As long as a mystery has a solution, and someone to solve it, it's fun. Whenever I write a mystery, I want someone to solve it, as it gives me the desire to create a harder mystery."
"So what happens when you create the perfect mystery?" Yukari asked.
"Then I stop writing, it's that simple... but I've yet to write a mystery which Lana here couldn't solve eventually."
Yukari nodded, then took a deep breath, "Right... we'd better try to find that cook now, the question is..."
A loud bang sounded, and by now all four of them knew the sound.
"A gun shot?" Marin exclaimed. The bang came from a fair way off, they could tell that easily, and they began running in the direction of the shot. It came from below them, from the ground floor, but as they hurried around on that floor, they soon realised it had come from outside the mansion.
Stepping out into the garden, they saw a figure on the ground some way off, face down on the lawn. They hurried over, and discovered Suru Chouri, a bullet wound in his back. By his side lay a gun, a pistol, the barrel still a little warm.
"And so the tenth person in this mansion meets their end." Sukoshi frowned, as Yukari knelt down to examine the body.
Chouri was still warm, and aside from the single wound, had no other signs of injury. Yukari judged the wound would not have been immediately fatal, but it was unlikely he could have fought off anyone else, especially if they had a gun. There was one thing she found odd, the wound was angled very slightly upwards. It was only about 15 degrees, but for a person to naturally shoot at that angle, they would have to be extremely tall.
"Hey... what's THIS?" Lana was kneeling a little way from the body, and reached down to pick something up. It was a letter. The envelope was plain, without any name or indication of who it was for.
Yukari stepped over, and took the letter, flipping it over and examining it, then tearing it open.
It contained a very brief message:
'I apologise for the inconvenience, but I raised one of your friends from the dead to serve me. He will serve me only as long as necessary, then I will send the dead back to death.
Lord Klein.'
Yukari stared at the letter. Sukoshi raised a brow, "Klein? Wasn't that the name of this place's previous owner... but he's long-dead..."
"I'm more worried about the fact he's saying that someone who's dead is back from the dead..." Yukari's eyes widened. "We need to go to each crime scene, and check each of the bodies is still there!"
Understanding her meaning, the other three nodded, and they quickly re-entered the house.
"We'll go to check the three servants and Kaname-san and Sharon-san," Sukoshi said, as he took the right keys from Yukari, and took Lana's hand as they rushed away.
"That leaves us with Kenji-san, Carl-san, Mayu-san and Kira-san," Marin said, and the two women hurried to the rooms.
Kenji's body was just as they had left it, the same for Carl's. Yukari had expected it.
"Those two have been confirmed dead in red, so they couldn't have returned to life," Ange said, "The same goes for all the people Sukoshi is checking. Of those who could have moved, only two could still be alive."
Klein smiled as he sat back and watched his opponent's move. His smile widened into a broad grin. She was close, so very close...
Mayu's body was lying just as it was left, and the two turned to the room opposite. The last room left unchecked, and now full of the witch's darkness. Yukari took out the master key again, and put the key in the lock. The question was, would the body be there?
Then Yukari realised something with horror. The door was already unlocked. They had been in that room when they had chased Chouri, and she had not locked it. Such a tiny oversight. She had locked Mayu's room before they chased him, she recalled that, but not this room.
She swung the door open, and saw a carpet stained red, but no body. The two stared at the patch of red on the carpet, and barely registered as Sukoshi and Lana ran towards them.
"We've got a problem," Sukoshi panted as he arrived behind them. "We've found Kira-san's body... and more besides..."
Klein smiled, "Now, Ange-Beatrice, are you prepared, the endgame is here. The last moves will be made now. Everything will be put before you, so are you ready?"
Ange nodded, as her golden staff appeared, ready to fight, "I'm ready, are you?"
Klein stood, his chair vanishing into dust, as his blade appeared in hand, "If so, we should go somewhere else, more fitting of the final fight, where others can watch more easily. There are a fair few witches interested in this battle."
Ange stood, and her chair vanished too, as did the table, and soon the whole room was gone. Mammon and Dlanor bowed, and both disappeared, Mammon into golden butterflies, and Dlanor into purple dust.
"Then let us take the stage, and begin this final battle!" Klein swung his sword, and a purple arc emanated from it. Ange blinked, and then they were on 'that' stage. She looked to the audience, and remembered when she was once chained there, to watch her family being destroyed by those closest to her. Now was her turn to stand on the stage, and reveal the truth.
Witches in the audience, who had been watching the play for some time, cheered when the pair arrived, ready to sink their teeth into the story, and hoping to tear it apart.
Klein smiled wearily. "Ah, I am but a source of entertainment for these witches, oh well, if they would be entertained, then who am I to deny them their enjoyment? Prepare, all of you! Prepare for the final trials, as we draw this tale to a close!"
The four arrived at the room, with Sukoshi in the lead. He pushed open the door, and Yukari stared in, dumbfounded for a moment. Three bodies lay in the room: Shika, Rina and Kira. Now the four who stared on were the only ones left alive within the mansion.
Yukari stepped forwards, and looked around the room. It was a room on the second floor, looking out over the garden where they found Chouri's body. There were two windows, both open wide, and by one was the body of Rina. A table was knocked over, and by it, the fallen corpse of Shika. Kira's body lay in a corner, in much the same state as it had been when they saw it before, face down, the blood on the back of his shirt still clear.
A pistol with a silencer lay just aside from Rina's hand, as she lay there, almost as if she were reaching out for the weapon. A bullet wound was clearly visible, the entry point in her stomach. Shika was wounded in much the same way, a bullet through her chest having ended her life.
"So... three bodies, one already dead, and nobody left alive who could have killed them." Yukari looked around the room once more, then sighed. "Let us begin..."
"One out of Shika and Rina brought Kira's body here, carrying the gun on their person. They ran into the other here, after dropping the body, and fought. The gun went off while they were fighting, and one was injured. The one who was injured however managed to take the gun and shoot the other!"
A simple blue truth, Ange's first attack against the warlock, as the two stood on stage, and the witches looking on gasped at the spectacle. A trail of blue followed Ange's staff, as it swung at the warlock.
"Van Dine's 18th: accidental death is forbidden."
"Rina killed Shika, then, overcome with regret, shot herself."
"Van Dine's 18th: Suicide is forbidden."
The purple sword, trailing red, and the golden staff trailing blue, clashed again and again. A host of suggestions, knocked down by a host of truths. The witches watching were astounded by the spectacle.
"One of the three is actually alive. They are only playing dead."
"The only people still alive in this mansion or its grounds are as follows: Yukari Kotobuki, Marin Yokubari, Lana Yuugaina, Sukoshi Jinchi."
The two leapt back at that point, and Klein pointed his sword at Ange. "That is to say: Carl is dead, Kenji is dead, Kaname is dead, Sharon is dead, Renji is dead, Karen is dead, Saban is dead, Mayu is dead, Kira is dead, Suru is dead, Rina is dead, Shika is dead. No person is allowed to use any of these names other than their rightful owner. Each of these is a separate person. Aside from those I have just named in my last two truths, there is nobody in this mansion or its grounds."
A red prison surrounded the mansion, and red images of each of the fallen appeared on stage, each a servant of Klein's, ready to destroy any theory which suggested they were still alive.
"Then, Shika shot Rina, however, Rina was not killed immediately. She managed to take the gun from Shika, and shoot her."
"Rina's death was instantaneous."
"Then turn it around, Shika was shot first, then managed to wrestle the gun from Rina, and shoot her!"
"Shika did not shoot Rina."
Ange was surprised by this last one. He was basically telling her that she did not have to suspect Shika, but that only left one option.
"Fine, then Kira was really alive after we found him. He was shot by Rina, but managed to shoot her before he died."
"Ah, but remember, I already said in red that Kira died..."
"Not exactly, you said he went unconscious after being shot. That is different from him being dead!"
The exact words used were 'After they were shot, the victims were unable to move. They both went unconscious immediately.' This left an opening for Kira to be alive. Ange would use this to attack with everything she had.
"Kira's body has only one bullet wound." Klein sent forth his counter, "If thing were as you said, he would have two."
"Then he was not shot, but simply succumbed to his earlier injuries."
Ange's strike hit hard, as Klein failed to block it. His truths thus far had failed to prevent this, he had nothing up to block with, the blue truth made this murder all too possible. It answered every question, for example: 'why was the body in this room, instead of in his bedroom?' The current explanation had no flaw.
So he had to give it one.
"You think that such a weak argument will stop me?" Klein stood tall, then raised his blade.
"KIRA WAS DEAD WHEN YOU FOUND HIM IN HIS ROOM!"
The slash of Klein's sword cut straight through the argument that Kira had killed Rina. It left the problem in tact, while removing the hole.
Ange stared at him, and collapsed to her knees. This was impossible. Only one person could physically have killed Rina, and they had been expressly forbidden from doing so. Shika had to have killed her, but the red truth forbade it. The only other potential killer was dead long before Rina was shot. There was no solution... except.
"I'll turn this around... with one person... no two. Sukoshi, Lana, tell me... you've told me the truth, right?"
Sukoshi and Lana rose from the floor of the stage, and nodded. "We cannot lie about the case," Sukoshi confirmed in red.
"But... you haven't told me the whole truth!" Ange stood, and raised her staff, "Sukoshi is the murderer, and Lana his accomplice. During the time we were separated, they killed Rina and Shika. Sukoshi also had the opportunity to kill both Carl Haber and Kenji Kurusu. They had Suru assist them with the other murders, and had Shika dispose of Suru and move Kira's body to make him seem to be still alive."
Around the golden staff, seven blue stakes appeared, poised to strike. As Ange swung the staff down, the stake flew at Sukoshi, ready to skewer him...
...and Sukoshi sneered.
"You would attack the vessel of the eternal warlock? You have no idea..."
The blue stakes froze in mid-air, as they struck a purple barrier.
"But... but..." Ange stared, as her grip tightened on her staff.
Sukoshi laughed, and replied, "Recall, one of the first truths of this game: This is the eternal truth: the following are not culprits or accomplices: Ange, Marin, Lana, Sukoshi."
Ange's knees buckled, and she fell to the floor again, as Sukoshi and Klein both sneered down on her.
"This... is truly impossible..." Ange's eyes began to tear up, but she pulled herself up, and readied her staff once again. "No... I know it is solvable, and I will beat you, WAAARLOOOOCK!"
Klein smiled, grinned, and raised his sword, "Then come, attack me! Defeat my red and eternal truths! Come, AAANGEEE-BEATORICHE!"
Game Result:
Carl Haber: Died in the First Trial, the subtle knife plunged through his back.
Kenji Kurusu, Died in the Second Trial, as he was bound by the eternal truth, the Warlock let his prisoner find peace.
Kaname Kurusu: Died in the Third Trial, the eternal truth pierced through all protection.
Sharon Haber: Died in the Fourth Trial, the Warlock slipped the knife through the bars of her cage.
Renji Torei, Died in the Fifth Trial, which gun was it which took his life?
Karen Suwa, Died in the Sixth Trial, which gun was it which took her life?
Saban Toru, Died in the Seventh Trial, which gun was it which took his life?
Mayu Ritsuka, Died in the Eighth Trial, locked in her cage, only the Warlock visited her.
Kira Satsujin, Died in the Ninth Trial, locked in his cage, turn the dead back to death.
Suru Chori, Died in the Tenth Trial, the Warlock did not care for those who fled.
Shika Kurusu, Died in the Eleventh Trial, the Warlock held no respect for the coward, and slew her.
Rina Kibou, Died in the Twelfth Trial, the Warlock respected her courage in the face of death, and offered her a duel.
...and then there were none.
Sukoshi Jinchi, survived the trials, and told the tale of the Warlock.
Lana Yuugaina, survived the trials, and assured that the truth could be reached.
Marin Yokubari, survived the trials, but could do naught but accept the Warlock.
Ange Ushiromiya, survived the trials, she would never accept the Warlock, no matter what he did.
Ōkami no Naku Koro Ni
Fin
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