Okay, let's get this started again.
First, an interesting tidbit : we learn that Lambdadelta and Bernkastel are the only Witches known to have ever escaped from a Logic Error. (that's something Lambdadelta chooses to disclose, of course.) Lambda's short panic attack ("Have I really managed to escape it, or is this all a delusion ? Please tell me !") is chilling as hell (not least because Lambda being shown under such a sympathetic light is a clear sign of hell having frozen over). And while Lambda isn't forthcoming about her own circumstances, she has no problem with telling Erika what happened to Bern.
And it's basically a retelling of Higurashi, using Umineko's ground rules. Bernkastel was a piece in a game whose Game Master fell into a Logic Error and basically gave up, relying on her to break out of it. No wonder Bernkastel became the bitter bully we all know and despise ! (And by the way, Bernkastel's not the least bit happy with Erika learning about her past : she wants to put all this behind her, darnit !)
Anyway, back the the wedding ceremony. Now, OF COURSE everyone expects new!Beato to show up at the last minute to try and save the day. But Dlanor has set up dozens of Siestas and hundreds of demons to prevent her from even getting anywhere near the ALTAR. Virgilia is here, but with enough snipers directed towards her that she can't make any MOVE. Gaap has been thrown out of the room on a TECHNICALITY. And it's not as if one would expect Ronove to do ANYTHING. (I must say that this version of Dlanor, with glasses and permanent Cat Smile, is —ing creepy. None of the dignity of the original, having traded it all for smugness and viciousness. Ouch.)
(Note that Gaap did manage to make a small move and defuse a potential trap for Beato : she noted the trick that none of guesthouse rooms' windows were confirmed as sealed, and managed to confirm that the windows of the Cousins' bedroom were kept SEALED. However, Dlanor manage to deport her in the middle of asking the same question for the windows of the other room. Which somehow means that the question, having already been asked, is out of bounds for everyone. Urgh.)
Hey, remember the "love trial" between George/Shannon, Jessica/Kanon and Battler/Beato ? Well, given than Battler is kinda unavailable at this point, one of the pairs is now disqualified. Which simplifies everything into a straight duel, basically. Shannon and Kanon volunteered so that it'll be a one-on-one duel between the two of them. The details don't matter, it's magic, and only one can survive. It doesn't even matter who wins, actually. (It's Shannon, for reference.)
What matters is that we finally get the reason for this duel : Shannon & Kanon (and Beato, while we're at it) are not complete people, and thus the pairs of lovers can't coexist. No, I'm not talking of the old "servants are furniture" bullshit : it's just that the three of them cannot be in love at the same time. Because one cannot be in love with several people at once, lest that love be meaningless. So a choice must be made.
The sound you hear is of my jaw falling to the floor.
Flashbacks !
... In the past, Battler telling the type of girls he's into : crude, a bit like Jessica... If she's a blue-eyed blonde with big boobs like in the movies, all the better !
... Gramps not being so strict when the family's not around, and letting Kanon shoot lots of guns...
... Krauss actually being quite friendly towards Kanon, although the latter kept stoic...
... Genji being the only person fit to call his father... and Kumasawa his mother...
It's finally time for Beato to crash the wedding ceremony. And with help from... nearly everyone (Ronove, Virgilia, Gaap, the Stakes, and even Lambdadelta throwing some popcorn to distract Dlanor), she manages to reach Erika and throw the glove at her. Duel's on, bitch !
[I must point out that the actual narrative so far has been MUCH more fragmented than that, with tons of irritating deviations that made me yell at the VN to Get On With It Already. It's even lampshaded in-story, with Hachijo withholding the last part of the manuscript from Ange in order to make her "think" about the closed room mystery.]
You know what ? Worrying about someone else's puzzle really isn't what a witch like Beato should have been doing, right ? That's just unbecoming of her. What Beato should have been doing is make them wrack their brains over a puzzle of her own. Like, for exemple... Kanon has freed Battler from his prison. (I won't dwelve on the long scene of Kanon doing just that, because it's so muddled between the various levels of story that it's meaningless.)
Now, the obvious answer from Erika is that Kanon was in the next room over. Considering that only Shannon, Kumasawa, Dr Nanjo, Hideyoshi and George are in that room, this must mean that Kanon shares a name with one of those five and was hiding somewhere.
Beato's parade is deadly : there are only those 5 people in the next room over, and one can only use one's own name.
Well, ouch.
But let's even suppose that Erika managed to somehow solve this one. What about the guest room trap ? If Kanon freed Battler and locked the door back... where is he ? Beato gives the coup de grâce : Kanon doesn't exist either in the closet or in the rest of the bedroom !
The sound you hear is Erika collapsing from a brain freeze. And of course, her master Bernkastel has already vacated the premise and won't save her. Erika summons whatever dignity she has left and tries to put a brave face : "Hello, I'm Furudo Erika, the visitor and 18th human on Rokkenjima !"
"Sorry, but even if you do join us, there are 17 people."
Cue "Birth of a New Witch", song version
. It's awesome.
Epilogues tomorrow, if time permits.
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