Memory 64 (trivial positive)

[thinkoutsidethebox]

Arriving late; rescuing Ange [EP8]. Form of a tiny clear bottle. Insert a liquid inside and drink from the bottle. Unlimited uses.

6-year-old Ange is being chased by a giant herd of goat demons, following a black cat. Then, a goat gets a hold of her...

At that moment, I found myself floating in the air.

A massive arm, large enough to crush my entire head, had grabbed my collar from behind.

Before I could even think to cry out, ......I saw, right in front of my face, a pair of strangely glowing red eyes, and a massive mouth with jagged teeth and a foul breath.
The mouth...opened wide...and, as though it was a separate creature, ......a bizarre tongue stuck itself out.

Then, ......it spat words at me.
w.........Rudolf, Kyrie, and Battler are the culprits...... ......Rudolf and Kyrie played dead, and Battler lied when he inspected them...... Then, one of the parents carried out the murders until the second twilight and hid under the bed in Natsuhi's room. ......Battler killed Shannon, and then assisted in the murders in the guesthouse. ......The other parent carried out the guesthouse murders...... This is......the truth.........x
Then, ......that gaping, smelly mouth......slowly began to close over Ange's head......
"Counter. ......It's possible to form a logical theory other than the 'Rudolf's family culprit theory'."

A blue flash......sliced off the top of the mouth that was trying to eat Ange's head, sending it flying.
I fell into a puddle, along with the goat that was still grasping my collar, though there was nothing left of it above its chin.

Without any hesitation, ......the goats stretched out their thick arms, as though this was their chance to snatch this prey for themselves...and they rushed towards me. All of them spoke in unison.
wEverything except the Rudolf's family culprit theory is impossibllle... .....Absolutely impossibllle...!!x

"It's possible to form a logical theory other than the Rudolf's family culprit theory. For example, a theory with George's family as the culprits is possible."
A red flash and a blue line became blades of wind that passed over my head, doubly slicing the arms of a goat that tried to pick me up.

I think the next goats dashed, not towards me, ......but towards the black cat that was protecting me from behind.

As I sat on my butt, staring up at the rainy night's sky, the massive goats were in the air right above me, fighting the black cat...or someone.

wGeorge's family culprit theory is impossiiible! George can't kill Shannnnnnon!! So he can't be a culprit, and he can't faaaake when checking corpses!!!x
"No, it is possible. A 'culprit' is defined as 'one who murders'. It never says that they have to murder someone who appears in the story. ......In other words. If George committed murder outside the island, sometime before this crime, he could be a 'culprit' without killing anyone on the island, and it would be possible for him to lie."
The deep-red curves cut by the swings bit into the goat.
Its massive body was knocked into the air......became a bunch of about seven logs of flesh, and was thrown into the rose bushes.

This time, the terrible force of the attack shocked the goats. They faltered, shook, stepped back.
......Finally, I understood.

That red slice. ......It had come from a weapon that could draw red slashes...no, it also drew blue slashes just a second ago. A massive scythe that could speak both types of truth, red and blue, at will.

I looked up at the sky, ......then let my head hang down backwards.
There was no black cat there.

It was a girl......holding a large scythe......
"How's that? This level of reasoning is possible for Furudo Erika."

When the crowd of goats recognized the girl who called herself Erika, ......a stir passed through it.
It was clear that this person had enough of a reputation to make them tremble.
Erika lifted me up, flew into the air, and landed on top of the arbor.

Then, she let go of me and, still wielding her scythe, made an elegant curtsy to the crowd of goats surrounding us.
"This is probably the first time most of you have met me. Allow me to introduce myself! Pleased to meet you, everyone! I'm Furudo Erika, the detective! ......Let's have the blockheads who can only think of the Rudolf's family culprit theory step down! If anyone thinks they can counter my argument, please feel free! Of course, I won't be holding back either!!"
The goats all howled at once. It seemed to be a cry of shock, of fear, or possibly of wonder.

The goats surrounded the arbor...chattering, but not moving any closer.

None of them had the courage to stand against this detective, this Witch of Truth called Furudo Erika...
"......Good grief. All those thousands, and this is the best you can do? None of you has the courage to fight Furudo Erika in a battle of words? ......Too bad. Let's put an end to this. Then again, I, Furudo Erika, ......don't have enough spare time to counter all you blockheads one by one. I'll let her clean up the rest. ......You're up!!"
When Erika cried out, red cracks opened in the dark night's sky.

It looked like the spiderweb-shaped fissures that appear when a glass window has been struck hard. ......No, it actually was a spiderweb, colored blood-red.
"......*giggle*giggle*, ......kyahahahahahahaha......!"

A laugh rang out through the spiderweb-covered world. ......A witch's laugh.
It sounded somehow familiar to Ange...
And there, ......standing on the spiderweb and gazing down on the goats who must have looked like bugs caught in, was the witch.
"You forget me, ......and you call HIM the ruler of Rokkenjima......? You forget me, and you think Rudolf is the culpriiiit...? Kyahhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

It was the witch who had hidden inside of Eva. The witch of the future, who would one day call herself the Endless Witch after the cat box closed over this world.
"Who forgets EVA Beatrice and calls themselves the murderer of Rokkenjima?! How impertinent! On this island, who lives and who dies is totally up to me!! All the wealth and gold is mine!! Everything about October 4th and 5th in 1986 is mine to do with as I please! It all belongs to me, EVA Beatrice!!"
EVA swung her One-winged staff at the crowd of foolish goats beneath her, proclaiming their deaths.
The spiderwebs which formed a ceiling that covered the heavens plummeted...and more spiderwebs seeped out of the ground at the goats' feet.

Then, the webs from above and below met, and thousands upon thousands of goats were caught in their grasp.
Then, as EVA swung her staff, it swirled. Around and around, like egg yolk being mixed in a bowl.

Eventually, it was all packed to a massive, blood-red goo.
The moans of goats drifted out from inside.
That entire crowd had been compressed into a meatball a few meters across.
"So, you morons doubt that I'm the culprit?!!"
"Reaching the Eva culprit theory and giving up there is good enough for the likes of you."
"Why don't you just get crushed and disappeeeeeear?!?!"
*squelch*.

No other word could do that sound justice.

After sucking in all of those goats, the spider web ball vanished into thin air with a squelch.
After that, there wasn't even a trace left.
The dark rose garden lay there without any sound but that of the falling rain......
EVA drifted down from the sky.
"Your aunt will always be on your side, Ange-chan. ......I'll never let anyone insult your family."
"E, ......Eva oba-san......"
I knew I should be grateful.
And yet, ......it really wasn't easy for me to believe that Eva oba-san was my ally.

EVA realized that too.
"Don't worry. I'm not doing this because I want to be thanked. But I'll always be on your side. ......See you later."

She giggled, spun around, and vanished...
Now that she had already left, I started to regret not saying even a thank you...

So, ......I figured I should at least thank the other person who had saved me.
"......Thanks......for saving me... Who......are you...?"

I already knew her name.
What I was really asking......was why she had saved me.
"I'm Furudo Erika, the detective. ......And I'm also a witch."
"......A witch...?"
"The Witch of Truth. ......The one who searches for the Single Truth. And......you're the same, aren't you?"
Those two days... October 4th and 5th, 1986.

I've been so desperate to know what happened...that I took a step off the roof of that skyscraper, ......drifted through several witch games and Fragment worlds, and abandoned myself to this long journey with no rewards.
All I want......is to know what happened that day.

All I want......is the Single Truth of that day.
"Looking for something like that is what makes someone a Witch of Truth. So, you're just the same as me. ......That's why I came to save you."
"......I...want to know. ......Just what happened on that day? No one will tell me! No one knows...! But I know something happened that day! I'd give up anything to learn what that was...! That's the one thing I need to know no matter what, even if it kills me...! So tell me! You know, don't you?! You know what happened on this island, right?!"
"......Does a Witch of Truth expect to be given the truth? If I told you that so-and-so was the truth, would you really just accept whatever I said...?"
"No, ......I wouldn't........."
"What did Battler-san show you today?"
......Today, ......Onii-chan showed me a bizarre Halloween party.
It may have been heart-warming and a lot of fun, but......

It definitely......wasn't the truth.
"Didn't Battler-san show you that and say it was the truth?"
"No way. ......That couldn't......be the truth!"
"Sometimes, other people will try to mislead us by claiming they know the truth. ......But a real Witch of Truth must continue to pursue the Single Truth without being led astray. That's why you can't accept the fake truth that Battler-san's trying to force on you. ......You care about finding the one real truth more than anything."
"............Yeah..."

Onii-chan......is trying to confuse me.
I've felt that this whole time.

Even though he knows everything about what happened that day, ......he won't tell me anything at all.
How is he any different from Eva oba-san, who mocked me and refused to tell me anything, even until the very moment of her death?

...Why won't Onii-chan tell me?
............
"......Why...?"
"............"
"Why......won't he tell me?!"

The dam inside my heart burst.
"Why won't Onii-chan...tell me what really happened?!! Why? Why...?!! I'm the only one who doesn't know!! No one's telling me the truth!! Tell me!! Tell me what happened that day, Onii-chan!! Onii-chaaaaaaaan!!!"
I cried out at the rainy night sky.

Hot tears poured from my eyes, but they were covered by the cold rain that beat against me, so no one other than me would know that they were tears.

......No one would know my pain and sadness.
I'm......always the only one alone......all alone...
"Someone, tell me!!! Tell me what happened that day!!!"
"......No one can tell you. ......After all, you can only find the truth if you do it yourself."
"Where is the truth?! How can I find it?! Everyone's hiding it! They won't tell me! I'll find it myself...! So please, just tell me where the truth is hidden...!"

[Then Bernkastel whisks Ange away.]