Chapter 2: A Thunderous Roar (Trial #2)

[Nana]

Ranranru sigh.

"Next night we should tie Jafar up so he doesn't try to blow up stuff again".

"My alibi, I head to the Kitchen with Rudy. Inside, Oracle standing by the Kitchen counter and Rudy was arming himself with a pot and lid as well as a rolling pin, when Oracle screams that she has a knife and isn’t afraid to use it. I and Rudy stared at her dumbfounded".

"I then left the Kitchen with Himari who now has a pan as well and Rudy. Entering the Dining Hall, Junpei and Vael walking out and leaving only Storm there. Once in the Main Hall, I smell a distinct “skunk” smell and the Main Hall seems smokey. Rudy suddenly smacked Junpei with the rolling pin and ran towards the Hall of Four while Oracle and Vael was nowhere to be seen. I check on Junpei to see if his still alive, luckily he is. After a while, a red-haired girl walking down the stairs and walking
away. I begin to feel a little relaxed and happy all of a sudden. I saw Yoshinon and Kyuku walked by to head upstairs too".

"I walk to the Bed Chamber. Once inside Alistar was seen holding things but I can't see them clearly. The smoke.... After a while I decided to hide under the bed then noticed Alistar laid on the couch in the room. Once you hid under the bed you noticed Alistar was missing from the room. During this time I hear a loud boom resonating through the Castle".

"I exited the Bed Chamber and try to figure out where the boom was from. I head into the Main Hall and hear Spelly laughing,
talking about flowers. On your way up Joe comes down and Alistar behind him with a pillow and blanket. Deciding to search from the Hall of Joy area you turn and see Jafar smiling. I then head into the Library. Inside I saw Hisoka walking out, then notice the smell of burning and mess in the Library, Storm looked confused".

"Storm was running around the library calling for help and stopped at one of the tables. I examine the pillars to see the damage but something with great impact which was not much but still dented them. Storm was speaking to Herlock and holding his head. After that an ungodly roar resonating through the Castle".

[Yuri (Silentking)]

"Okay, I think I am ready to share my alibi. For the first hour, I went to the kitchen. Armed myself up in preparation for the night. Ranranru and Oracle were there. Oracle did indeed started claiming she had a knife and was holding it threateningly. But she calmed down when neither of us seemed to even care about it.

"Hour two, all of us left and made our way through the dining hall where we were joined by Junpei and Vael. Storm was there but elected to not join us. We then head into the main hall where there was a lot of smoke. So I took this opportunity to smack Junpei in the face with my rolling pin as revenge for threatening my people. Then I ran to Merchant Room where I met Mydi and Clover with an axe.

"For hour three, I decided to stay and talk to the Duke. Clover got a swimsuit and left while Mydi cowered in the corner. Then Spelly came in and she was acting strangely and talking about flowers. I didn't realize it at the time, but the smoke in the main hall was from a drug that caused those who stay too long to become high as a kite. And Spell was suffering big time.

"On the fourth hour, I left Spell and Mydi alone and went to the Courtyard. I saw Oracle in the Dining Hall and Yoshida with a shotgun going from Opera Hall to there. Nothing else of note. I had planned to investigate the Courtyard but ended up lying on the ground in pain from electrical shocks. ...oh and I heard Jafar blowing up the library.

"Hour five, I felt hungry so I went to the Dining Hall to get something to eat. That is when I saw Junpei entering the courtyard. Joe and Alistair I also saw go into the kitchen with Al holding his pillow and blanket from his attempt to nap the night away. And then I saw Snake enter the Main Hall.

"For the final hour, Spell came and join me for my meal. Hanna, Joe, and Oracle were then spotted leaving the kitchen. Hanna and Joe together and Oracle sometime before them. Then Munin came from the kitchen and handed us bags to try to stop the shocks. It didn't work but it is the thought that counts. Then Clover went from the kitchen to the main hall. Then I saw Mother Satan going from the courtyard to the Main Hall. Spell and I chatted until the night with a loud roar somewhere and us being knocked out by the shocks."

[mao]

The theory that Pogokuma killed Cloak seems to be strong, but are we absolutely sure that’s what happened? According to this theory, Pogokuma was stabbed with a sword by Cloak and managed to barricade the room, place their card in Cloak’s possession and hide the gas mask in one of the drawers after suffering a fatal wound to the chest. They then slit their throat, without getting any of their blood on the sofa, the furniture they moved, the gas mask they placed in the drawer or the cards on Cloak’s person… Given that Pogokuma surprised Cloak, do we think the signs of the struggle may be exaggerated as well?

Doesn’t something about that feel just a little bit strange? It’s as if the crime scene was elaborately set up to think that one of the victims killed the other one…

There’s a chance that a third party is responsible for both of their murders, but the question is: how did they leave the room if it appears to be locked from the inside?

You could use a sheet of cloth to do that. By placing furniture on top of the sheet inside the room and pulling it towards you from under the closed door while standing outside, you would pull the furniture closer and make it appear as if someone had barricaded the room from the inside. Now, all you’d need to do is dispose of the cloth and avoid getting caught in a lie about the missing time you spent inside the Wine Room setting up the crime scene.

This would also explain why the couch is spotless. The sheet of cloth was used to cover it while the murders happened. I saw some sort of cloth was missing from the Armory, in addition to the tarp that I took and left in the Library. Did anyone find a discarded, possibly bloody sheet of cloth? Is there anything else like this missing from anywhere?

[Hoody]

「Umm…regarding the sheet theory, I can say the sheets weren’t from the bedchamber, as that is where these came from.」
Alistar then takes the sheets, blanket off his back and showed the pillow in his hand, fluffing it out.

「I know you may not trust this, but this is all of the bedsheets from the bedchamber.」

[peterparker]

Nov 3, 2021 13:51:58 GMT -6 mao said:

The theory that Pogokuma killed Cloak seems to be strong, but are we absolutely sure that’s what happened? According to this theory, Pogokuma was stabbed with a sword by Cloak and managed to barricade the room, place their card in Cloak’s possession and hide the gas mask in one of the drawers after suffering a fatal wound to the chest. They then slit their throat, without getting any of their blood on the sofa, the furniture they moved, the gas mask they placed in the drawer or the cards on Cloak’s person… Given that Pogokuma surprised Cloak, do we think the signs of the struggle may be exaggerated as well?

Doesn’t something about that feel just a little bit strange? It’s as if the crime scene was elaborately set up to think that one of the victims killed the other one…

There’s a chance that a third party is responsible for both of their murders, but the question is: how did they leave the room if it appears to be locked from the inside?

You could use a sheet of cloth to do that. By placing furniture on top of the sheet inside the room and pulling it towards you from under the closed door while standing outside, you would pull the furniture closer and make it appear as if someone had barricaded the room from the inside. Now, all you’d need to do is dispose of the cloth and avoid getting caught in a lie about the missing time you spent inside the Wine Room setting up the crime scene.

This would also explain why the couch is spotless. The sheet of cloth was used to cover it while the murders happened. I saw some sort of cloth was missing from the Armory, in addition to the tarp that I took and left in the Library. Did anyone find a discarded, possibly bloody sheet of cloth? Is there anything else like this missing from anywhere?

Snake sighs. “Unfortunately, this is a valid theory, which means there really could be a serial killer among us … ahem, I mean in the room. This also makes the case that much harder.

“I have some questions about this theory, though. First, why would the killer put Pogokuma’s card on Cloak’s body? That makes it seem like they wanted to frame Cloak, not Pogokuma. Second, why did the killer decide to cover up the couch, if they wanted us to believe that Pogokuma died on it? We would be far likelier to believe the ruse if the couch had been stained pink.”

[Magnus]

“Even assuming Cloak had been slain by Pogokuma, there would still be a murderer within our midst - Junpei’s killer is still at large.”

”At first, I made a break towards the Opera Hall with a very specific purpose in mind - Satan walked in on me learning to play the piano. The following hour I went upstairs and skipped through the Hall of Joy into the Atelier, where I found Joe.”

Muninn reached into his pocket and withdrew a black book marked with the words DEATH NOTE upon the front cover, dropping it onto the podium in front of him.

“I admit I peeked into the library and noticed both Herlock and Yoshida inside.”

”At the beginning of A3, I pocketed the book and left the Atelier. I passed Kyuku in the Hall of Joy, overhearing a mention of explosives from her as she left the library. I passed Yoshida as I skipped the Opera Hall; I found Oracle and Storm in the courtyard; Junpei was drugged out of his mind in the Dining Hall; I entered the kitchen alone; Hanna followed me and made a sandwich, Clover skipped into the basement wielding an axe, Vael followed her a few moments later.”

For the first time since beginning his monologue, Muninn seemed to hesitate; brushing his fingers against his chin, he nodded fractionally as if coming to a decision.


“The next hour, I made myself a sandwich and followed the pair into the basement, curious and concerned Clover would attack someone with her axe. I was aware Hanna followed me, although we soon lost each other in the darkness of the Chamber of Solace. Vael left the basement, and I remember Snake walking past at some stage.”

“A5: Hanna and I returned to the lit kitchen, and I apparently became dangerously invested in cleaning a non-existent stain from the floor. Vael returned to the basement and Oracle visited the kitchen, later joined by Joe and Alistair. Snake returned to the kitchen from the basement, and whatever happened in the kitchen during that hour is taken to the grave.”

”A6: I stole a dozen plastic bags and handed a few to Alistair in the kitchen; Rudy and Spelly in the Dining Hall; Mydi-Enn in the Hall of Four; Snake, Joe and Hanna in the Merchant’s Room; Yoshinon back in the Hall of Four and Satorae in the hallway leading to the Tower of Worship. The ungodly scream came from the Tower of Worship, which suggested to me that someone had murdered and already gone inside.”

[Nahema (Yasuraka)]

Mipha had been completely absorbed by her own thoughts, till now. She snapped back to reality.

"Oh there's some things I remember about Pogokuma's body!"

She points her finger up while she lists the things she remembered. As if she had a list in her mind of what she needed to share.

"I seemed to have mistaken that he was holding the dagger with both his hands initially. He was holding it in his right hand, his grip being a little tight. The dagger was in his hand facing away from his body."

"As I've said before, the bruises were found on his arms, head and body. And they were caused by punches. He seemed to have... caught a lot of them with his body, arms and his face... It seems that around these bruises, and the wounds there's some discolouration visible. His jaw also started to hang a little bit, but no discolouration there. Indicating the body had been there for a little bit, allowing discolouration to form around the wounds and bruises but not heap up in places like his jaw yet due to gravity doing it's job."

"There was blood on the dagger, mostly pink but there is a little bit of red blood on it as well. It was on the tip and the hilt. The blood on his hands is all over his hand, inside and outside."

"As far as I can tell, it seemed both his wounds were created by this dagger. The chestwound as well as his throat being slit. The cut on his throat was made up to down and done in a way he ended up with a smooth cut going from left to right."

"I've also tried to see what the pink ooze is exactly... by tasting it... But I can't remember... sorry... Seeing how it oozes from his body and the wounds I'm assuming it is indeed his blood."

Edited to include card ability result:

"I've used my card ability to ask him about the last thing he saw. And he told me the following:"

“A vision of the afterlife that I could spend with daddy pogging forever and ever with him.”

"Bless his soul."

She folds her hands and holds them in front of her mouth as she says her blessings.

[Spell Craft]

Spelly turns and whispers to Clover and Hanna.

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

All of a sudden, Spelly uses magic ventriloquism to project her voice into Clover’s ears.

“What— how did you even do that? Anyway, Spelly lost her voice and wants me to explain her investigations.

“She looked at the Chamber of Solace and her findings line up with what’s already been said. She couldn’t tell where the buzzing was coming from in the room. The water was murky and tinged with brown and light red. It tasted like water. Crates, barrels, cupboards are floating around, filled with water.

“Next is the Dining Hall. It’s still filled with food and drinks, and there are empty plates and goblets.there is a missing fork and steak knife, these are the only things missing. There is a plate of unfinished meat and a half drunk water jug too.”

[Nahema (Yasuraka)]

Nov 3, 2021 6:31:10 GMT -6 Nazo S⸸aRo said:

" Also, now that Mr. Excel has complied, I'd like to hear a specific account of Mipha's, Hanna's, Clover's and Yoshida's night." 

Nov 3, 2021 7:23:19 GMT -6 Ame said:

"After the Observer's announcement, Mipha said she wanted to go to the bedroom with me. As we left hand in hand, we saw Vaellin, Junpei and Storm stay in the Dining Hall, with Pogukuma heading into the Main Hall."

"Apparently I had misheard her, because we ended up searching through the books in the Master Chamber along with Kuruguru for the better part of 20 minutes."

Her tone suddenly becomes rather sarcastic

"After a while, the dearest ruler of the Lazy Lowlands, and my absolute favourite person, the King showed up."

"We talked about last night for a while, until the Observer also showed up too."

"I... can't remember the events of what happened after that all too well, but I do remember the King leaving in a fit, while I was on the floor being choked by Mipha, while also it felt like every muscle, bone and organ in my body were screaming with pain."

"It's a bit blurry, but I do remember the Observer casting some me."

"After that well... I passed out."

"Ofcourse I can report about my night! I sadly didn't get to see a lot of you guys though."

Mipha says, pouting.

"During the first hour I was among the last people to leave the Dining Hall. I saw Pogokuma heading towards the Main Hall, while Hanna, Kyuku and I left to go to the Master Chamber through the Courtyard. We left Vael, Junpei and Storm behind in the Dining Hall. Very peculiar how Hanna left out some crucial details about what happened while we were in the Master Chamber, but I'll save her the embarrassment if she is so keen on keeping it a secret. I do need to say that even when I let myself go, I did not choke her. I let her know not to mess around with my feelings, but apparently me saying that was a very breathtaking experience for her. The Observer also gave me a hug!!!"

A twinkle appears in Mipha's eyes as she silently starts to fangirl about the Observer.

"During the second hour I figured Hanna was gonna stay asleep. She had been tended by the Observer the hour before, so I figured she'd be safe under his all-seeing eyes. Not only that but I felt giving her some space would be the right thing to do after that first hour. Kyuku had left earler and I headed to the Hall of Ablution. Where I found this very interesting pool full of blood and I even got to experience it up close! I solved it's puzzle and a pathway towards the Entrance Hall had opened."
She opens her coat a bit to reveal the brown stains on her body.

"I walked down the pathway that had opened and found myself in a room filled with coats. Feeling a little chilly, but also afraid someone would see me walking around covered in blood I grabbed one of the coats and left the room. Ending up spending my third hour in the Entrance Hall."

She bows, holding the ends of the coat in her hands. Like a princess, showing off the proof she grabbed a coat from there.

"I wanted to go to the Wine Room during the fourth hour, only maybe to just try to get some other stains on me to distract from the bloody ones... But I got hit by the bad smell and white smoke as soon as I entered the Hall of Four. When I entered the Main Hall I saw Spelly laughing to herself and mumbling something about flowers. I did feel a little lightheaded, I think because of the smoke. But made my way upstairs, when I heard the loud explosion. Sadly, I never got to make it into the Wine Room as it was already blocked. I could only peek inside a little bit, but saw nothing but darkness."

"After miserably failing to enter the Wine Room I headed towards the Hall of Joy during the fifth hour and saw Jafar leaving the Library while I turned into the Atelier. Hisoka and Yoshida joined me there and Excel and Kyuku simply passed by when Yoshida anxiously held Hisoka at gunpoint... They went somewhere in the back of the Atelier I think, I was more invested at the possible bloodbath happening in front of me. I may have misinterpreted the situation at hand and immobilized Hisoka for a little bit by smashing a canvas on his head. But in the end nobody got hurt, aside from my self-esteem... However! I did get this really cool machete that Hisoka dropped and this really special chisel from one of the cabinets in the Atelier!"
Mipha gets both the machete and the chisel from pockets in her coat to show it off to everyone as if she's holding a presentation about it.

"Figuring the sixth hour was gonna be my last one, thinking I'd die because of the upcoming shock. I decided to go up into the Attic, running into Satorae before going into the Rooftops. Hisoka seemed to be following me and Kyuku passed me heading back into the Attic. My initial plan was to go to the Belfrey, but the stairways were blocked by a barrier. Forcing me to turn and head towards the Tower of Rage, once I made it there I heard that ungodly roar resonating through the whole place. Even after that I really enjoyed my time there though, the view was absolutely amazing and the King joined me there. I really enjoyed the conversation we were having and I think I even managed to make him smile!!!"

And now she's standing there, big grin on her face. God-fangirling activated yet again.

[Kuroneko]

Kuruguru pauses from stringing pieces on her board. "Seeing how we are on the topic of our nights... Perhaps I should tell of my own as well."

"For the first hour, I was in the Master Chamber with Hanna and Mipha. The King and Observer decided to drop in for a pillow fight at some point... or fight over a pillow... Along the way there, I saw Pogokuma heading to the main hall. Vael, Junpei, and Storm decide to stay in the dining hall."

"As other have said, we were at the library for the next hour. We passed Storm sitting in the dining hall. Raranru was walking around the main hall with a person in a denim jacket laying around on the floor. In the library we found Herlock, Yoshida, Oracle, and Jafar; the latter of which happened to be setting up explosives."

"To get away from said explosives, we went to the attic. We walked past Munnin at the hall of joy. There were signs of others having been in the attic prior to our arrival. Satan came up the ladder later and continued past the attic. A pillow fort was erected as there was nothing to find here."

"With little else of interest, we went to the armory to see if we could find the secret passage. Satorae and Alistar were in the atelier at this point. A firefighter was outside the dressing room with a rolled carpet, as mentioned prior. At this point, we hear the explosion we presume is from the library. Yoshinon was staring at the statue in the hall of pleasure. The secret passage only led to the afterlife, so that wasn't particularly interesting. However, the Observer did have some choice words about my testing of the barrier around the castle."

"Our next destination was the tower of rage. We seem to have caught the attention of Yoshinon, as she came in as we left. Jafar was sitting around the hall of joy. The atelier was crowded with Mipha and Yoshida with a shotgun facing off with Hisoka."

"Hoping for a better secret passage, we searched the hall of ablution. We passed Hisoka and Mipha on the roof as we headed to the attic. Yoshida remained inside the atelier. While passing the library, we heard Storm calling for help and Ranraru examining the remains of the pillar. In the hall of ablution, we probably found the same as Mipha... considering her state. The room connected to the entrance hall, where we found two sets of brownish red footprints."

[Magnus]

Muninn loudly clapped his hands together.

“We know Junpei remained in the Dining Hall at the beginning of the night.

“During the second hour, Junpei and Vael left the Dining Hall together into the Main Hall. Junpei’s bruise was accounted for; Rudy had assaulted Junpei by whacking him on the head with a rolling pin.”

“I had personally seen Junpei within the Dining Hall during the third hour, drugged out of his mind as previously mentioned.”

“As far as I’m aware, Junpei’s whereabouts for A4 aren’t accounted for; filling in the blanks, it’s plausible he must have visited the kitchen, as Rudy had seen him the next hour and he would’ve been heard passing me in the basement.”

“Rudy mentioned seeing Junpei during the fifth hour, leaving the kitchen into the courtyard. It’s implausible Junpei had the opportunity to murder Cloak or Pogokuma, so we can assume he went to the Chamber of Solace next hour willingly, although he still could have been coerced or manipulated in some way.”

[༺☆Venelop3☆༻]

"So um... hey?"

"What's up Yoshinon?"

"Isn't it weird that they both haven't given an alibi?"

"Oh them?"

"Yes them!"

"Hey... Clover? Vael? What the hell went down A3 and A4?"

[Dr. Grownup]

Behind his sunglasses, Joe sheds a solemn, contemplative tear. He glances over at Yoshida.


"...I just wanted to show you something cool..."

[zantz]

Storm adjusts his attire, leans forward and speaks.


"So while we're discussing how it happened, I might be able to offer some assistance;

A1: Junpei, Vael, and I were in Dining Hall as she performed a meoldy.

A2: I asked them if anyone would die, Vael excitedly said she hoped so, that way she can record it and Junpei just shrugged. Then saw Oracle, Ranranru and Rudy exiting the Kitchen. Rudy had a pot on his head and a lid on one hand and a rolling pin on the other. Then I smelled a “skunk”like smell coming from the Main Hall. Probably the marijuana, you see Yoshinon exiting the Kitchen and out to the Main Hall and Kyuku coming in from the Kitchen

A3: As I left, I saw an assortment of colors. Once outside the Courtyard, my mind went back to normal, then saw Oracle leave from around Opera Hall and went to the Courtyard to look around. Later saw Munnin leave the Opera Hall and then enter the Dining Hall door, then saw Hanna coming from south of the Courtyard and enter the Dining Hall.

A4: After I left the Courtyard to the Opera Hall, saw Oracle go to Dining Hall. Then in the Opera Hall, you noticed Yoshida coming down the stairs holding a shotgun and exiting the place. I started playing the Gramophone to calm myself. Then I heard a loud boom coming from upstairs.

A5: I immediately ran upstairs passing Satan on the way. Once inside the Library, I notice the mess and the smell of burning flesh then I saw Ranranru enter from the Hall of Joy and saw the door open and close.

A6: As I ran around to call for help I heard a groan under one of the tables and saw a tarp with Herlock inside. I then saw Ranranru examining the pillars. That's when I heard that monstrous roar throughout the Castle.

"This has been my night, and might I add further as I believed mentioned, that Herlock was transported which maybe is the mystery surrounding this, "murder-suicide".