Chapter 14: The End Of The World, Afterchapter
5 October 1986
"What...happened?" Ushiromiya Battler blinked, his eyes struggling to adjust to the dim lighting of the room. Hm, looks like I'm in the chapel. Across the space, a figure in black slowly walked towards him. He tried to rub his eyes but found that his hands and legs were tied to a chair. "Wha-" "Good morning, Battler-kun. I apologize for hitting you harder than I should have~" The figure in black walked up to him, an insincere look of apology on the person's attractive features. It was none other than Ushiromiya Rosa. "R-Rosa oba-san?! H-how, wh-why-" Battler looked up in shock. "Why, hm?" Rosa smiled at him, only there was no humor or amusement in her expression whatsoever.
"I-it was you?! Y-you k-killed Dad and the others?!" Battler shouted in horror. He felt a dull ache behind his head. "Yes, it was me." Rosa giggled and started to pace around him. "Never would've expected it, hm~? Of course not, to everyone I was just Rosa, their annoying, stupid little baby sister." She continued unhappily. And then, I killed them. "Rudolf nii-san told Krauss nii-san what happened. Eva nee-san knew too, so they all humiliated me for it. I'd had enough. It was just us four siblings together alone at night, having a secret discussion. Natsuhi nee-san, Hideyoshi nii-san and Kyrie nee-san were asleep. We had snuck out to talk about the inheritance. Eva nee-san kept saying how weak I was, and Krauss nii-san was saying how pathetic I was. They did't know. They had no idea. There was a baseball bat, probably Jessica-chan's from her childhood that happened to be there." A deranged smile spread across Rosa's face. And it felt so good to finally murder those three who live to make my existence miserable, didn't it? They definitely got what they deserved.
"Then Kumasawa-san and Shannon?! Why did they have to die?" Battler yelled angrily. "They were on the nightly rounds and happened to walk past the room we were in. It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, really. If I left them the way it was then it'd be too obvious it was me. Then I remembered the witches' epitaph. And so I killed those 6, and blamed it aaaall on the witch." Rosa laughed darkly. "Then next to go was Kyrie nee-san. She kept going on and on about how it must've been one of us adults, and I knew she was on to something. I saw her and Hideyoshi nii-san discussing it together when they went to get some supplies, and there was my chance. I had a gun, remember? I went in the opposite direction, remember? Only I circled back and shot them from afar." Ah, but it wasn't you who pulled the trigger. It was me. I kept your hatred of your siblings safe for you aaaaall these years, didn't I, Rosa? I hid it all safely for it to resurface again, and it's a good thing I did too, because now we can have a happy life without the burden of the inheritance, or your daughter. My daughter- That other voice in her head shut up for a moment. "Then Natsuhi oba-san?! Kanon-kun?! George-aniki?! Jessica?! Gohda-san and Genji-san?! Maria?! Why did they have to die?!" Battler continued.
"Listen to me, Battler-kun. I'm going to...confess to everything. Then, I'll untie you, and you follow everything I tell you, okay?" Rosa softened again, and paced back to face Battler, kneeling to look him in the eye. "I'm not listening to you, murderer." Battler spat. Rosa sighed. "You will listen to me later. It's alright to hate me now. Just allow me to confess to all my crimes." She pleaded. "Whatever." Battler looked away. "Thank you, Battler-kun." She rose to her feet and began pacing again. "After Hideyoshi nii-san and Kyrie nee-san died, I returned to the room as innocently as I could, then casually brought them up after a while. Then, Natsuhi nee-san offered to go look for them with me. While we walked, she told me all about Krauss nii-san's business failures and how he'd stop at nothing to pay off his debts and so on. Then she brought up the...incident a while ago, and started to berate me a little. I couldn't stand it. Who the hell does she think she is?! I am Ushiromiya Rosa, the 4th in line for the title of the family head, and yet she continues to treat me like a child. They all treated me like I was a kid. They always did. I took the stone vase from the mantelpiece and beat her to death with it. Then I disposed of the object. After that, I remembered the epitaph mentioned 'gouging and killing', so I entered Father's study. His corpse was rotting on the bed already. I stole his sacrificial stakes and drove one into Hideyoshi nii-san's head, Kyrie nee-san's chest, and Natsuhi nee-san's stomach."
Rosa stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and realized she'd been grinning insanely while admitting her sins. Who are you?! I am you, Rosa~ I just store your darkest thoughts away for you. It-it wasn't me, was it, who was killing everyone? It was you! My, took you long enough to find out. Yes, it was me. But I am you, and I can only manifest within you. So, really, it wasn't me at all, but you. "Then Gohda-san and Genji-san saw me staking Natsuhi nee-san. So of course, I took the stakes and killed them both. Hahahaha, none of them were expecting Ushiromiya Rosa to do something like that, so imagine the stupid looks of surprise on their face when I drove the stakes into their bodies...! Ha...ha...hahahahhahhahaaa!" Rosa laughed humorlessly, her wide eyes staring straight up at the heavens. "Then Kanon-kun and Jessica-chan had to get involved..." She made a noise of distaste.
"They confronted me. So of course, they had to go too~" Rosa giggled. "It was fun, seeing the red bloom out of the backs of their heads. They left roses on the floor, lots and lots of beautiful red roses~! Did you know how pretty the color they left behind was?" Another unhinged giggle. "In the end, it was only you, me, George, Dr Nanjo and Maria... I planned to kill George and Dr Nanjo and let you live, but Eva nee-san appeared out of nowhere~ She screamed about my crimes, about all the blood on my hands~ I took the gun. I was going to kill her properly this time. But first, I had to dispose of the rest of you. George and Nanjo were easy targets~ But Eva nee-san was tough. Finally, I found the perfect opening. I didn't hesitate. I aimed at her carefully." And then, we pulled the trigger, Rosaaaaa~ "...It didn't hit her. Maria tried to protect Eva nee-san, saying how 'Beatrice' was behind the murders, and that that Beatrice person would bring everyone back in the Golden Land~" And then we- "I squeezed the trigger anyway, but... Maria... She..."
"Goodbye, Eva nee-san. Let us meet again in hell." Rosa's lips curved into a twisted smile, and shot her sister. "Uu, Mama, don't! You'll interrupt Beato's ceremony!" Maria jumped out of nowhere, intercepting the bullet. While Eva nee-san was stunned, I killed her and ran to Maria. I killed her. I killed my daughter.
Rosa grimaced and shook her head. "I'm going to cut these ropes now, Battler-kun. After I killed Eva nee-san I knocked you out, then fixed Krauss nii-san's boat while you were unconcious. You can ride it back to Niijima." Rosa produced a small pocketknife from Maria's bag, which she'd brought along as well. She sawed the ropes off, and instantly Battler felt the force around his wrists loosen. "Why me?" He said. Rosa smiled sadly. "You saved me once, Battler-kun. It's only fair that I return the favor." She turned away. "What about you?" Battler couldn't help but ask. He knew he should feel hostile towards her for killing his all his loved ones, but she was still his aunt, and he'd seen that broken, desperate side of her that hid behind a calm facade every day, and he still loved her despite the weight of her many sins. "I'm staying here~ I suggest you leave, Battler-kun. I found Father's secret bomb which detonates at 12 am, and it'll destroy the whole mansion. Turns out he has one here too. I'm sure he thought that his worthless daughter would never discover his last weapon, hm~? I'm looking forward to watching Rokkenjima go down in flames~ Let it burn! Let this cursed place burn! And of course, I will be there too, and it is from there that I shall enter hell~ Kyahahahahahhahha~" Rosa laughed and laughed and laughed. "Dammit, dammit, dammit! You may be a murderer but you're still my relative, dammit! We can still escape!" Battler ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Don't you see, Battler-kun? It's too late for me. I've lost my daughter. I've lost everything. Take care, Battler-kun." Rosa leaned upwards and stood on her tiptoes, softly pressing her lips against his cheek. You're wrong, my dear Battler-kun. That voice? It didn't belong to Eva nee-san at all. It never did. That voice was always mine, whispering my deepest, darkest desires to me, making sure they never died. "Now go." Battler looked back at her once more, and noticed something. All the corpses were seated around a long table, each of their bloody heads fallen into the plate of sweets prepared before them, staining the otherwise cute arrangement of sweets a horrible color of crimson. He supressed a gasp of horror. "You... you..." And then, to Rosa's surprise, he slapped her across the face. "Dammit, Rosa oba-san! Where did that kind, level-headed aunt I had go?! You're just a devil in the form of my aunt!" While Rosa pressed her palm against her cheek, wincing, Battler hugged her smaller frame tightly. "Don't just give up! We can still leave, alter the future! Sure, you killed my old man and Kyrie-san, but I know there's the real Rosa oba-san in there." Battler and his stupid words. Rosa swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
"Goodbye, Battler-kun." A sad smile playing on her lips, she brushed her lips against his cheek gently, one last time. Thank you. It wasn't an incestuous gesture, it was more of a final parting from a frightened child who never truly left the hell she was imprisoned in for 19 long, painful years. "I'm not going, dammit!" Battler yelled stubbornly. He's just as stubborn as Rudolf nii-san... "It's almost 12." She said softly, without moving. Rosa slowly rose to her feet, walking to the edge of the rose garden where the cliff overlooked the sea. Battler followed her, trying to catch a glimpse of her expression, but her face gave nothing away. He moved to stand beside her, and for one horrible moment he thought Rosa would jump off, but it wasn't her who would be launched over the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, Rosa gave Battler a hard shove which sent him plummetting towards the sea.
He yelled in shock, and looked up to see her giving him a sad smile before the mansion exploded, and a wave of fire engulfed Ushiromiya Rosa's slender body, completely disintegrating it. He got onto the boat, swimming back to the dock with much difficulty, and headed back towards Niijima, finally collapsing and nearly drowning before the end of the journey due to fatigue, drifting towards the island without any idea of how fortunate he was to even have escaped the sort of hell Rosa was put through, and without ever having to comprehend it himself firsthand.
End
Escape, escape
from this sorrowful fate.
You are not a flower of hell
in that kind of place.
And thus concludes this short glimpse outside the catbox, and the consequences that that event brought. Though that event occurred outside the catbox, meaning that it did not exist, the chances of it happening was so rare, as in 1 in 2,578,917, to be precise; and it did bring about a rather entertaining chain of events, which did exist. However, even though this is the only world where Ushiromiya Rosa attempts suicide, it is not the only one with her as the human culprit. After all, poor Rosa has suffered for many, many years, so naturally, that would drive a person towards insanity... *giggle*giggle* Later on, Ushiromiya Battler was found by a woman by the name of Hachijo Ikuko on the road, for some debris from the explosion had struck Battler's head, and he had almost drowned. Before I turn the page to the next arc, allow me to apologize sincerely for bringing you through such a dark and twisted tale, my beloved reader~ *giggle*giggle*