Entry 6: Teatime for a Shipwreck

A lone light illuminated a sole table, upon which sat a single chessboard, with pieces move to and fro.

On one end of the table sat a familiar man with red hair, dressed in an off-white suit and red shirt emblazoned with the crest of the Ushiromiya family, and topped off with a black cloak.

There was no mistaking that this man was Ushiromiya Battler. Or, as he was known here, Endless Sorcerer BATTLER.

"So, what do you think?" he asked the person sitting opposite of him. "This is my new forgery, 'Shipwreck of the Golden Witch'. Is it to your liking?"

The person opposed to him rubbed his chin in thought. "I just have one question, before we continue," he said. "Why me as your opponent?"

"Are you that unimpressed, Will?"

Willard H. Wright shook his head. "I never said that, Battler," he answered. Will was a tall man, dressed in a blue trench coat, with brown hair that had a single red streak through it. He had the sort of face that put people in mind of a delinquent. "Rather, I'm intrigued as to why you picked me as your opponent, and not Beatrice."

"Need to switch things up from time to time, you know? Can't exclusively have my games against Beato, Erika, or Bernkastel." Battler shrugged.

"He has a point, Will," another voice, belonging to a blonde youth in red named Lion said. "Sometimes, the same thing over and over again gets a bit dull, wouldn't you say?"

Will gave a small chuckle. "Very well, I concede that point," he said. "Now, two more questions before we start, if you don't mind."

"About Erika and Virgilius, right?" Battler asked, to which both Will and Lion nodded. "It's simple, really; for this one, I decided to gather up some pieces from the bottom of the box to play some roles.

"So, that explains the more kind version of Furudo Erika," Will noted, "but what about this Virgilius guy? It's the first time I've heard of him."

"Then, allow me to answer that, sir," a voice identifiable as the man in question said, as Virgilius stepped out of the shadows and took a seat next to Battler. Compared to before, it was much easier to take in what he looked like. He had blue hair and eyes that almost perfectly matched those of Erika's, and whore a black suit-coat over a red vest and white shirt, a pair of shorts, and most noticeably, his shirt was emblazoned with the golden eagle of the Ushiromiya family.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Willard, Lion-sama. I am Virgilius," the man said, bowing politely. Curiously, unlike the Virgilius that appeared on the board, this one seemed to be genuinely polite. "Simply put, I am a 'scraped piece'. One who was originally intended for use, but was ultimately thrown to the bottom of the catbox."

"So, literal 'bottom of the barrel', are you?" Will said. "And what, were you originally suppose to be Erika's yandere boyfriend?"

"Not even that, I'm afraid," Virgilius responded. "In fact, my original role was as the rival detective to Battler, which was later taken up by Furudo Erika. No, here I'm just filling in a roll that had no face, because someone decided not to create an OC for it."

"That would have made other people rather pissed, and you know it," Battler retorted. "Besides, why waste a perfectly good character by making my own?"

"A fair point, to be sure," Lion said. "For what it's worth, Mr Virgilius, you did a good job at the role you were given."

"You have my thanks, Lion-sama," Virgilius said with a bow.

"And I'll apologise as well," Battler said. "Sorry for having you get knocked out twice in the span of an hour, and doubly so that the first one was on account of Aunt Eva's kick."

"I think I have a bump forming," Virgilius muttered.

"Don't think about it too much," Will said. "You'll just get a headache."

All three pairs of eyes turned their gazes to Will. "That's... already what it is," Battler said.

Will flinched, not because he realised too late what a stupid comment he made, but because Lion had just pinched him on the rear. "Now, shall we move on?" Lion said. "If I recall correctly, it's now suppose to be Will's turn."

"It is, indeed," Battler responded. "So, how about it, Will? Can the former Chief Inquisitor solve this mystery?"

"Don't hype yourself too much," Will said, rubbing his sore spot. "Otherwise, solving this will end up being disappointing."

"Noted," Battler conceded. "Now, where would you like to start?"

Will pondered for a moment, before speaking. "We'll start with the simple things, I reckon," he said. "State in red who the detective of this story is, if there is one."

"Acknowledged," Battler replied. "The detective of this story is... Ushiromiya Maria."

Lion, who had been taking a sip of tea at the time, spat out their drink. "Maria's the detective?" Lion asked. "But, how? She didn't exactly do a lot of sleuthing on this board."

"Only from what the Game Master has shown us," Will said. "Plus, that truth alone puts some parts into a whole new perspective."

"Oh? You figured something out already?" Battler asked.

"That's right," Will smirked. "Deny this: The Beatrice that Ushiromiya Maria talked to on the eve of the fourth twilight was real."

The power of the Blue Truth washed over the room, and Battler gave a small smile. "I refuse," he said plainly. "No reason to give." Such a statement, in this game, was tantamount to conceding the point.

"So, Beatrice 'exists' in this story, then?" Lion muttered. "Then, counting both Erika and Virgilius, and assuming that grandfather is dead, that means there would be as many as 20 people on Rokkenjima!"

"You're forgetting a few things, Lion," Will said. "Remember, you need to subtract two on account of Shannon and Kanon, remember?"

"Shannon and Ka..?" Lion's voice trailed off a bit, before they finally recalled what Will meant. "Oh, right! It completely slipped my mind that those two and Beatrice are..."

"Easy there, Lion-sama," Virgilius interrupted. "Let us be courteous to those who haven't gone through Episode 8 yet."

"Well, most of these spoilers can be figured out by Episode 7," Will added. "But, that's just coming from one of two people introduced in that same Episode to put those things together."

"And a third person introduced in the literal Last Note," Battler followed up. "So, have you reached a conclusion about the number of people on the island yet?"

"I'd say so," Will answered, "at least, until I need to get proof on something. Now, do us the favour of recreating the first twilight, would you?"

"Jumping right on into it?" Battler asked. "Alright, then. Let's get this party started."

With a snap of his finger, the tearoom wavered in its existence, and before anyone realised it, the four were now standing in the dining hall of the Ushiromiya manor, in the state it was after the first twilight, with the six charred remains strewn across the floor.

"Well, you certainly got the smell right," Will commented.

"I know how to put in actual effort," Battler said defensively. "So, what will your first theory be?"

Will took a close look at each corpse, taking around two to three minutes per body. "Alright, I think I have something to blow this one wide open," Will said. "First, confirm: Before midnight on October 4th, Ushiromiya Battler was in this hall."

"Very well," he responded. "Ushiromiya Battler was in the dining hall on October 4th, minutes before midnight."

"Followup confirmation:" Will continued. "Kanon was with him from the entrance to the dining hall."

A small bead of sweat trickled down Battler's forehead. "I refuse."

Will gave a victorious smirk. "And with that, we can create an alibi for Shannon during this time period," he said. "Disprove this: During the period of time between Battler leaving the guesthouse and midnight, Shannon was with Ushiromiya George at all points."

Battler winced slightly, as if he was struck. "Maybe I should have gotten someone a little less experienced in deduction," he muttered. "At this rate, I won't be able to get one up on you."

"That's just the price you pay," Will retorted. "Of course, that only proves that one corpse is fake. Let's take this a step further."

"A step further?" Lion repeated. "What do you mean?"

"The 'wolves and sheep' puzzle, my dear Watson," Will answered. "Since we can rule out Kanon as one of the people in the dining hall, that leaves only five people there, not counting the others inside the manor. So, if a sixth, different person was added, and at least two of those already present were to be either culprit or accomplices..."

"Then the culprit could overpower them!" Lion finished. "But then, who could those be?"

"Simple, really. We just have to take in what we were shown."

"Oh? You can discern something from the Illusion?" Virgilius asked.

"It's actually quite simple," Will stated. "The presence of Ronove and Virgilia give away the two accomplices; Genji and Kumasawa. Add them to the culprit, and the wolves win this exchange."

Battler paused for a brief moment, before letting out a laugh. "Alright, I'll admit it: Genji and Kumasawa are in on the crime. But, you haven't picked out the culprit yet."

"I know," Will responded. "In fact, I already have a good idea as to who it might be, but we'll get to that later. For now, I'll just break the illusion of the first twilight." The power of the Blue Truth swirled through the air. "Before midnight, Battler arrived at the dining hall alone, where he met Kyrie, Rosa, and Kumasawa. Later, Krauss joined them. When the clock struck midnight, Genji made his appearance, and together with the Kumasawa and their plus one, be it the culprit or another accomplice, 'took care' of the three innocents and faked the crime scene. In short, no one truly died during the first twilight!"

The Blue Truth washed over Battler like a wave, forcing him back a few steps. "Damn it, you got it," he cursed in amusement. "Did I make it too easy?"

"I wouldn't say that," Will said. "It's all a matter of looking at what was shown in a different light, and taking in what was glossed over."

Battler chuckled. "Well, you weren't head inquisitor for nothing, and you haven't pulled out Van Dine's Commandments yet, either."

"The first and seventh could very well break this story in two," Will admitted, "but then again, even I can't be 100% sure they could. Although, the main focus of this story barely stands up to Knox's Decalogue."

"I'm aware of that," Battler admitted. "But, if it couldn't stand against them, it'd be a logic error all over again."

"The fact that one hasn't happened over the course of building this forgery is testament to that fact," Virgilius stated. "Trust me on this, I've been bombarding Battler with both the Decalogue and Commandments while he was forging this."

"Glad to know someone's looking out for him," Will stated. "Now, let's move on to the second, third, and fourth twilights."

"All three at once? Alright then."

With another snap, the world once again changed.

The scene became the hall just outside the dining area, with Shannon and George standing in the middle. The gunshot was heard, and in accordance to the 'illusion' version of events, Bael dropped from the ceiling, killing the two.

"First, let's get one thing clear," Will stated. "Bael was not what got Shannon and George."

"Going right for the throat, are you?" Battler responded. "Then, what did get them? Unless you can provide an alternative, that Blue won't be valid."

"Now, that'll actually be a tough one," Will admitted. "At least, it would be, if the hidden accomplice from the first twilight wasn't it's own unique factor. Genji is ruled out, because he is presently in the guesthouse, and Kumasawa wouldn't have been able to take both George and Shannon, nor could she take Rudolf, who had been separated from them and Erika. Plus, given what was shown to have happened to Rudolf, it would have taken someone that 'should be dead' to freak him out. Therefore, the accomplice absconded Rudolf, while the true culprit attacked Shannon and George."

"Yet, you still haven't said who you believe the culprit is," Battler said. "What, are you planning that to be the big reveal?"

"Naturally."

"Then, how about Bael, then?" Battler continued. "Are you going to suggest that it doesn't actually exist? That would mean you suspect Erika of being an accomplice at least. Or, are you saying she's the culprit?"

"But that couldn't be, right?" Lion asked. "There's no motive! Her whydunit is basically none-existent!"

Will gave his partner a fond smirk. "You've learnt well, Lion," he said. "That's exactly right; Erika can't be the culprit. In fact, her amnesia gives her the perfect cover to be excluded from even being an accomplice. Without the whydunit, a mystery has no heart. Were that the case, I would have broken this story over my knee."

Battler shivered slightly. "Ooh, chilly," he said. "I think I know better than to disregard motive when dealing with you. So, since you seem to have this part all figured out, can you explain what Rudolf shot? Or the Bael that Erika saw?"

"The gun was loaded with a blank," Will stated. "You proved that when Eva shot Virgilius."

"He has you there," Virgilius admitted.

"And, as for Bael," Will continued, "all we need to do to discern its existence is look across the pond to California, America. Nine years prior to the Rokkenjima incident, in 1977, a brand was created that featured a unique idea; animatronics. That is how I'll answer the existence of Bael: The monster that Erika sees, same as the one that she, Eva, Jessica, Maria, Natsuhi, and Beatrice fought, is an animatronic!"

Battler staggered backwards, as if struck once more. "Really wishing I got Lambdadelta in to test this," he muttered. "You're just tearing this a new one."

"Maybe, but I really doubt the Witch of Certainty would show this forgery the respect it deserves," Will stated.

"But I have to ask," Lion said. "Would animatronics fall under Knox's 4th? 'It is forbidden for unknown drugs or hard to understand scientific devices to be used'?"

"I'll repeat. Animatronics such as this were first made public in '77. More than enough time to allow the public to accept their existence into common knowledge," Will answered. "And in case anyone was wondering, Knox's 8th is dangerously close to being broken, but a story that adheres to the Decalogue and Commandments entirely is less a story and more a checklist of trope."

"After all, if all of the Decalogue and Commandments were used, the catbox wouldn't hold," Battler stated. "So, on to the last few twilights, then?"

"By all means."

The scene changed once more, this time, to the blood-spattered main lobby of the guesthouse.

"I'll make this quick, then," Will said. "With Genji accounted for as an accomplice, and everyone save for Nanjo, Hideyoshi, and Gohda being away, the culprit could have easily snuck in, and together, the two would have taken down the three, on account of Gohda being a coward and Nanjo being a none-combatant. Is that good enough for you?"

Battler paused for a moment, before letting out a resigned sigh. "More than good enough," he said sadly. "You've quite literally torn this story apart without even trying."

"As far as mysteries go, I'd rate this one average," Will said. "As for just a general story, though, I'd go a bit higher."

"And I assume the last part of this story is 'exactly as shown'?" Virgilius asked. "Even my kick to the head?"

"Ushiromiya Eva is known to partake in martial arts. I'd have had problems only if it was Natsuhi doing it," Will stated.

There was a brief pause, before all four laughed. "Now I can't get the image out of my head of aunt Natsuhi drop-kicking someone," Battler said. "That'd be a sight."

"I'd pay to see it," Will added.

"Well, you've basically torn this forgery apart," Battler continued, "but you still haven't stated who the culprit is. This could all fall apart if you built your theory around one person."

"Very well then. I'll give you my answer," Will said, facing Battler dramatically. "I proclaim that the culprit is... Ushiromiya Krauss!"

The first twilight: How it actually happened.

Battler entered the manor alone. He was not greeted by anyone, which he found to be rather curious. Then again, maybe the servants were standing by the adults at attention.

Logically, the adults would be in one of two places; the dining room, or the parlour. Weighing his options with a mental coin flip, Battler decided to check the dining room first.

Walking down the halls this late at night reminded him of six years prior, when he had last been here. Memories of the stories he had been told of the witch Beatrice surfaced in his mind, and he allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Honestly. Believing things like witches," he muttered to himself. "I guess kids are just that impressionable, huh?"

Of course, he wouldn't say that sort of thing in front of Maria. Battler was many things, but a breaker of childhood dreams was not one of them.

Arriving at his destination, Battler opened the door, as the sound of the clock striking midnight echoed through the house.

What he saw, though, was something that seemed to defy all logic.

On the ground, he saw the unconscious figures of both Kyrie and Rosa, and standing above them were three people; Genji, Kumasawa, and shockingly enough, Krauss.

"Wha..." Battler barely managed to squeak out. A poor decision, really, given that, if the door opening didn't alert them, that did.

"Oh? This is certainly a predicament," Krauss said calmly. "Battler, what are you doing all the way out here?"

Battler struggled to find the words to say. The look in Krauss' eyes, it wasn't normal.

"Well, I can't have you reveal this too early. I hope you understand that," Krauss continued, as if he were talking to another employee. "Genji, I'll leave him to you."

"Understood, Krauss-sama," Genji bowed, before turning to face Battler. "I do apologise for this, Battler-sama. It is nothing personal."

Battler stepped back in fear. He didn't know how good Genji was in a fight, but he had the very solid assumption that Genji was going to be fundamentally better than he was.

In the corner of his vision, he noticed Kyrie stir, not enough for Krauss to notice, but enough for her and Battler to make eye contact.

Then, she mouthed one word: Run.

Giving a small, unnoticeable nod, Battler took the instruction, and fled as quickly as he could.

Of course, he didn't doubt that Genji would give chase. What he didn't expect, upon reaching the foyer, was for a knife to fly past his head at shocking speed. Doing his damnedest to keep a level head, Battler quickly ran up the stairs, and upon reaching the top, noticed that Genji wasn't in much of a rush to catch up. Not even a slow jog; Genji kept a slow, almost robotic walk as he pursued Battler, like some kind of Terminator.

So, Battler continued to run. He had to find some way out of this dire situation.

And, as if answering his prayer, a door on the third floor unlocked. Deciding it was best to take his chances up there rather than with Genji, Battler ran up the stairs as quickly as his legs allowed, flew through the door, and shut it behind him.

Unbeknown to all save the one who unlocked the door, that room Battler entered... was the room that belonged to Ushiromiya Kinzo.

The second twilight: How it actually happened.

Shannon deeply regretted having to choose this path. However, she had to act fast, lest Krauss come to finish the last part of his plan.

With as much haste as she could muster, she carried the unconscious form of George to the dumbwaiter that was located in the kitchen, and made sure it got up to the third floor. From there, she gathered up all the minced meat and bones that was kept in the fridge, and set out creating the crime scene.

"Ah, Shannon." Speak of the devil, and there he is. Krauss walked up to her casually, as if it wasn't weird for a maid to be making a bloody mess. "I trust things are going smoothly?"

"Yes, Krauss-sama," she replied, bowing as she did. "I have made sure to 'store' George-sama away, as well."

"Good. It would be a problem if the 'dead' were to walk around," Krauss said amiably. "I take it you're wondering how we're going to explain this part?" Shannon nodded hesitantly. "Well, allow me to introduce you to one of my newest ventures."

The sound of something large and heavy crawling on the floor was heard down the hall. From around the corner, a beast of indescribable monstrosity reared its head, and Shannon could not help but recoil.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Krauss said, somewhat amused. "I funded this animatronic after seeing success from such things over in America. I've decided that the most fitting name for this thing is 'Bael'."

"Bael?" Shannon repeated. As she recalled, that was the name of the highest ranking demon of hell, according to the Goetia. "If you do not mind me asking, how did you get this thing built?"

"Believe it or not, but father actually had it mostly completed," Krauss answered. "Then again, I imagine he had planned to use it to create something akin to a giant wolf, rather than... what we've done."

Shannon bit back a 'no shit' comment. For now, though, she had more things to worry about.

The fifth twilight onwards: How it actually happened.

Genji stood over the now unconscious forms of the three other men in the guesthouse. Knocking them out had been a very simple task, considering he had been the one to hand out the drinks, and had ample opportunity to pilfer some of Nanjo's medication from time to time.

Krauss entered the room casually, looking mildly impressed by Genji's work. "Very nicely done," he said. "I can see why father considers you his number one servant."

"I thank you for your kind words, Krauss-sama," Genji said, bowing as he did.

"Now, let us set out creating this 'scene'," Krauss continued. "Do you have any suggestions, Genji?"

"Perhaps painting the windows red?" Genji offered. "The ladies have gone out to investigate the strange sound at the pier, after all."

"Ah! A splendid idea!" Krauss exclaimed. "It will certainly give the air of mystery." Then, Krauss' face contorted into one of puzzlement. "By the way, have you seen Shannon recently? I haven't seen her since this morning."

"My apologies, Krauss-sama, but I have not."

"I see," Krauss mused. "Well, I'm sure she'll turn up at some point. For now, I'll set about hiding these three away. I leave the painting job to you."

Ushiromiya Battler laughed heartedly. "Well done, Will!" he said, clapping as he did. "Yeah, you've broken those illusions wide open!"

"You're certainly taking it well," Will commented. "I seem to recall illusion-breaking having a sense of 'this can't be' to it in the past."

"Well, there were stakes at that time," Battler replied. "But, you still haven't broken the fourth twilight, and if this scenario is true, then it couldn't have been Krauss that he encountered.

"Not necessarily," Will said. "Remember, Shannon was the one to 'eliminate' George. By all accounts, Krauss could have gotten Rudolf. But, I'll redirect you back to what happened to the Battler piece; he entered through the locked door to Kinzo's study."

"You're point?"

Will smirked, as if he were holding the last ace in the deck. "Repeat it in red: Ushiromiya Kinzo is alive in this game."

A simple request. One that seemed almost obvious to answer. In just about every past game, Kinzo, head of the Ushiromiya family, had never been alive.

In response, Battler laughed. "Very well! I'll blow the lid off this last mystery for you! Ushiromiya Kinzo is alive!"

Lion reacted in surprise. "Grandfather is?! But then, the amount of people on the island is..."

"When accounting for Erika and Virgilius, and subtracting one for the Shannon-Kanon item, we have a total of 19 people on the island," Will stated. "And, on top of all that, not a single one of those 19 people die over the course of this mystery."

"Oh?" Battler questioned. "And what makes you say that?"

"Simple: This is a story concocted by Ushiromiya Battler," Will answered plainly. "Like with Dawn of the Golden Witch, this game-board is not one of 'murder', but one of 'unusual crime'. Allow me to present my theory on the whydunit: This is a revenge prank, orchestrated by Ushiromiya Krauss as a means of getting back at Eva, Rudolf, and Rosa, after they backed him against the metaphorical wall demanding money during the family conference."

After the first twilight: Addendum.

Battler took several deep breaths, as he listened to Genji's footsteps go further and further away.

"Quite the strange situation going on," Battler's grandfather, Ushiromiya Kinzo, spoke evenly. "To think that Krauss would be going so far for such petty revenge."

"No kidding," Battler replied. "Still, I'm glad he's not going too far with all this."

"Yet he shall still be making it look as though you and the others were killed, I bet," Kinzo said. "Krauss can be rather crafty when he puts his mind to it."

"That could be said about any of us, really," Battler retorted. "But, what now? How can we stop him from doing any more damage?"

Kinzo smirked. To anyone looking at the two from the outside, and knew Battler well, they'd call Kinzo's smirk reminiscent of the younger man. "Worry not, eager grandson of mine," he said. "I happen to have my own moles in the mix."

After the second twilight: Addendum.

George slowly regained consciousness. What had happened to him? Last he could recall was a gunshot, and then... nothing.

"Ah, you've come to, then?" a familiar, aged voice said.

"Gr... grandfather?" George asked. "What... what happened?"

"Ya got save, is what happened," another voice, equally as familiar, added. "Good thing we've got someone down there workin' with us, eh?"

"Wait... Battler?!" George shouted. "How are you... didn't you die?"

"Imagine my surprise, would ya?" one last voice, belonging to Rudolf, followed up. "Hell, if that gun I was given hadn't been loaded with a blank, I might have accidentally killed him."

"Wha... the gun had a blank, too?" George asked. "What is going on any more?"

"A great big prank, that's what," Rudolf answered. "Set out by that idiot brother of mine. Gotta say, he's really pulled out all the stops for this."

"All the stops?" George repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Probably better we just show you what we mean," Battler stated. "Have a look out the window, but try not to scream too much, yeah?"

George hesitantly walked over to the window, looked outside, and while he didn't scream, he did pull back in horror. "What... what was that?"

"An old project of mine that Krauss pulled out of the warehouse," Kinzo answered. "Originally, I had scrapped it for thinking it would not have worked, but it seems that son of mine decided to dust that old thing off for his little joke."

"So, what's the plan, old man?" Rudolf asked. "We just gonna bum-rush Krauss or something?"

"Do not be impatient, Rudolf," Kinzo said. "I think the best way to one up that ego-fuelled brother of yours would be to spring a trap of our own. For this, I want Battler to come with me. Rudolf and George, you two will stake out the guesthouse for a chase to catch Krauss off guard, understood?"

While George and Rudolf broke off from them, Battler followed Kinzo out the back door of the manor, and before long, down a winding path off the side of the chapel.

"Hey, gramps?" Battler called out. "Mind telling me where we're going? This doesn't look like the sort of place that could help anyone."

"I am taking you to meet someone of importance," Kinzo answered, "and to take care of another vital part of this plan. After all, Krauss has to be keeping the others somewhere."

That made all sorts of sense, but Battler still had one burning question. "And who is this 'someone of importance'?" he asked. "You've been awfully cryptic on the subject."

"It is only natural," Kinzo said. "After all, she..." he paused both in word and stride, as he looked off to the side. "Well, perhaps you should see for yourself."

Battler followed Kinzo's gaze, and froze in shock. After all, this was the equivalent to looking down a dark alley and seeing the real-life Easter Bunny.

Because, just beyond the tree-line, stood the Golden Witch Beatrice.

"Are you not going to say hello?" the Witch spoke. "Rather rude of you, Ushiromiya Battler."

"Well, I mean..." Battler stumbled out. "You're real?"

"There are many things to explain, but in due course," Kinzo said. "Beatrice, what of where Krauss is hiding the two?"

"The exact place you'd expect them to be," Beatrice answered. "In the underground prison, close to Kuwadorian."

"Of course it would be there," Kinzo muttered. "Might I ask you one last thing, then?"

"The ladies that remain are investigating a sound by the pier," Beatrice interrupted. "I shall head there to guide them."

"Then you have my thanks for this final boon," Kinzo said with a soft smile that betrayed his rough features.

The fifth twilight onwards; Addendum.

Krauss felt something metal push against the back of his head. It would have taken an idiot to not realise that it was a gun.

"Gotta say, bro, this is some nice work you've done," the voice of Rudolf said. "This place now looks like a right massacre."

"Rudolf," Krauss said, mildly surprised. "I would have thought Shannon had you tied up somewhere."

"Unfortunately for you, bro, you don't quite instil the right sense of loyalty in people," Rudolf answered. "In fact, right now, George would have gotten the drop on Genji by now."

"George, too? Then I guess this is my loss," Krauss tisked in irritation. "So much for getting back at you and Eva."

"For what it's worth, you did a pretty nice job planning this out."

Battler looked around the gilded room in awe, particularly in the several boxes of gold bars that had been stacked onto trolleys for quick moving.

"So, the gold was real all along?" he asked.

"Indeed it is," Kinzo answered. "But again, stories for another time. Now, aid me in moving these. We have but a few hours before Beatrice leads the others down this way."

"Move all this? To where?"

"Where else, you fool? A side room," Kinzo stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The last thing I need in my household is for my children to be killing each other over this damn stuff."

Battler had to admit, it was a pretty damn good point. Plus, the nearest 'side room' wasn't actually that far. Given that he'd assume each ingot weighed roughly 10 kilograms each, that meant that, to reach the rumoured 10 tonne limit, there were at least 1000 of them, which could have been evenly split up into the eight large boxes present into batches of 125 ingots each. Though, that did mean that each box weighed about 1250kg each.

Thus, that meant those trolleys they were on were made of some very sturdy metal.

Remarkably, it only took the two of them a half an hour to move all that gold. It was remarkable on account of 1: there only being two of them, and 2: one of them was a very old man.

Battler let out a breath of exhaustion. "That was... exhausting," he muttered. "So, what now?"

Kinzo, strangely not out of breath, pointed down the long hall. "Two kilometres down this hall, you will come out at Kuwadorian, the hidden mansion. I want you there to greet the party Beatrice will lead."

"And you, gramps?"

"I shall explore the catacombs of these tunnels, in search of both your mother and Rosa," he answered dramatically. "After all, I know these tunnels like the back of my hand."

"Right," Battler responded drily. "Just don't keel over and die, yeah?"

Battler opened the door that led him back to the surface. He honestly never thought he'd feel glad to have rain pelting his face, but that's just the wonders of moving ten literal tonnes of gold for you.

As far as mansions went, Kuwadorian looked very nice. About as nice as the main manor did, really.

It really made Battler wounder if Kinzo did keep a mistress here.

Sure, he had literally just met the Golden Witch in person, but she was way too young to even be Kinzo's illegitimate child. Illegitimate grandchild, maybe, but that raised several more questions.

Putting the thought aside for a while, Battler approached the mansion slowly. He couldn't say why, but there was a strange sense of mystery that made it hard to approach. Perhaps it was the sense of history that made it that way.

As he opened the door, air that smelt of age and refinery washed over him. That, and more unpleasantly, the smell of something wet.

As quietly as he could, Battler closed the door behind him, and moves slowly through the halls.

Somewhere in the house, he could faintly make out an extra set of footsteps.

Minutes before midnight.

The sound of fighting had died down. Battler, who had kept himself hidden in the kitchen this whole time, wasn't sure if now was a good time to come out or not.

There were a lot of gunshots. And that's not counting the one from when Eva had gone against that guy who had been snooping around. Virgilius, was it?

That guy certainly got off lucky, what with the old man's toy not taking the front door.

Then, unsurprisingly, there was the sound of someone falling a small distance, followed by a bit of running towards this particular room.

The door opened, and the blue-purple haired young man, Virgilius, ducked in, seeming not to notice Battler. For what it was worth, Eva did a real number on his face.

"Those... those women are insane!" Virgilius stuttered. "Was all that sound... just to scare me? Or... what the hell is wrong with this island?!"

"Hey, those ladies happen to be my family," Battler called out as he approached. "I won't have you badmouthing them, got that, bud?"

Virgilius pivoted in shock, before getting suckerpunched in the face, and was knocked out almost immediately.

"Wow," Battler muttered, shaking his hand to numb the slight pain. "That guy was kinda a chump."

Taking a length of rope from one of the cupboards, Battler tied Virgilius to a chair, and stood by the window.

Then, just as the clock struck midnight, the door opened again.

"No... it can't be," the familiar voice of Erika spoke first, despite the shock everyone save for Beatrice had. "But you... you died!"

In response, Battler decided it was best to be rather dramatic, and gave a low laugh.

"Well, let's just say my death was... exaggerated."

A/N:

Welp, here we are. The answers. I'm pretty certain these will come across as... less than satisfactory for some. At the very least, I hope I was able to connect things cohesively.

Also, pour one out for our boy Virgilius. That lad just can't catch a break on this game board.

Well, I'd say there's one last chapter to round this off.