Banquet of the Golden Witch

Banquet of the Golden Witch
Developer07th Expansion
WriterRyukishi07
Arc TypeQuestion
ReleasedAugust 16, 2008 C74
Word Count151,131 ~503 pages
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chronology
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Alliance of the Golden Witch

Banquet of the Golden Witch is the third arc in Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The story focuses largely on Eva Ushiromiya and her relationship with both herself and her family.

Introduction

Plot

An unnamed female narrator accidentally breaks a vase in the Ushiromiya household. While lamenting their accident, a mysterious witch appears before them. The witch claims she can make the vase "remember its previous form" and demonstrates this with a show of magic. The vase repairs itself and the girl rejoices. However, shortly afterwards, the vase breaks again while a servant cleans nearby. The witch explains that, by having the vase "remember its previous form", she is not repairing it permanently as the vase's transition to a broken form is already determined. Thus, the best the witch can do is delay the time at which it breaks. The girl, enthralled by the show of magic, asks to become the witch's apprentice. The witch agrees to the request.

Beatrice wakes from a dream as the Seven Stakes of Purgatory come to her to complain that their "toy" is broken. They present Beatrice with an unrecognizable pile of gore and viscera. Beatrice uses her magic to have the pile "remember its previous form". Slowly, the pile reforms itself as Battler Ushiromiya. The stakes rejoice as they continue their play by repeatedly impaling Battler's body.

Eva Ushiromiya wakes from a dream wherein she was arguing with a younger version of herself who claimed to be a witch. Shortly afterward, Eva and the rest of the Ushiromiya family arrive on Rokkenjima for the annual conference. While the family is catching up, Beatrice decides to begin her next game with Battler. Beatrice confronts Maria Ushiromiya in the rose garden and, after helping her find a certain rose, provides Maria with a letter to deliver to the family.

After reading Beatrice's letter at dinner, the adults attempt to contact Kinzo to verify the authenticity of the letter. Receiving no response, Eva and Rudolf take this to mean that Kinzo's implicitly condones the content of the letter. However, the family remains suspicious regarding the true identity of the person who handed Maria the letter in the first place. Recognizing that each of the siblings had alibis, several come to the conclusion that a 19th person, a mistress Kinzo had kept, was responsible for the letter. Furthermore, the siblings reach the conclusion that, if Kinzo's mistress really was responsible, then she was already in possession of the gold and planned on exchanging it for headship of the Ushiromiya family.

That night, Beatrice appears before Kinzo and reveals that he was selected as the first sacrifice of the witch's ritual. Genji, Kanon, and Shannon enter Kinzo's chamber and witness Beatrice incinerating Kinzo. Beatrice tells the servants that they too have been selected as part of the first twilight. Kanon resists this fate and Beatrice offers to spare him and his loved ones if he can defeat the Seven Stakes of Purgatory. While he manages to defeat Lucifer in single combat, he is unable to defeat the rest of the sisters. Genji quietly kills both Kanon and Shannon in order to spare them from a painful death at Beatrice's hands. Beatrice's servant Ronove then kills Genji in the same manner.

Annoyed that Genji killed their prey, the Seven Stakes of Purgatory seek out and kill Gohda. They then attempt to kill Kumasawa but learn of Kumasawa's true form: that of Virgilia, the original Beatrice. Virgilia confronts Beatrice in the rose garden and the two fight each other using fantastical weapons. Beatrice easily overcomes Virgilia and kills her, killing Kumasawa in the process. Beatrice then asks Ronove to hide the bodies in preparation for the first twilight.

A diagram of the first twilight

In the Meta-World, Virgilia and Battler discuss how Beatrice intentionally had the most suspicious people die in the first twilight. Each of the dead servants were discovered alongside their master key and an envelope containing a key to a different room with another body. Battler forces Beatrice to reveal that none of the six committed suicide however not all six deaths were homicides. Battler uses this to infer that one of the servants was the culprit and died accidentally at the end of their killing spree. To avoid giving away too much information, Beatrice resigns the fight.

On the island, the adults arm themselves with Kinzo's Winchester rifles and move the family to the guest house to stay safe. To stave off boredom, they attempt to solve the witch's epitaph. While they make some headway, they are ultimately unable to reach an answer and retire to eat. During this time, Eva Ushiromiya sneaks away and uses books from Kinzo's archive to solve the epitaph. Shortly afterwards, Eva discovers Kinzo's gold in an ornate underground room. Soon after, Rosa Ushiromiya solves the epitaph and encounters Eva in the underground room.

After seeing the gold and returning to the rose garden, Rosa reveals to Eva that she doesn't want the family headship and will gladly cooperate with Eva as long as she gets her portion of the gold as inheritance. Meanwhile, in the underground room, Beatrice confronts EVA, a manifestation of Eva Ushiromiya's personality. Beatrice concedes the ownership of the gold and the title of family head to EVA by giving her the head ring. Furthermore, Beatrice passes on her magical abilities and the title of Beatrice to EVA.

On the island, Maria Ushiromiya becomes concerned that the rose she marked in the rose garden was becoming damaged. In order to assuage her fears, Rosa takes Maria to the rose garden to check on the flower. While there, the new Beatrice, EVA, confronts the pair and tests her magic by repeatedly killing and reviving Rosa and Maria. In the meta-world, Battler is angered by Beatrice's enjoyment of EVA's actions and refuses to speak with her any further. Annoyed that Battler no longer sees her as his opponent, Beatrice appears before EVA in an attempt to sate her cruelty. In a swift motion, Beatrice kills Rosa and Maria in a painless manner and has Ronove prepare them as sacrifices for the second twilight.

In order to stave off their growing hunger, Rudolf, Kyrie, and Hideyoshi venture to the mansion's kitchen to collect food. While inside the mansion, they fall victim to a trap set by Eva-Beatrice and the Seven Stakes of Purgatory. The three split up to avoid the Stakes. Rudolf and Kyrie are pursued by Belphegor and Leviathan while Hideyoshi is spared. Rudolf and Kyrie manage to gain the upper hand and kill the Stakes pursuing them and confront Eva-Beatrice. Annoyed by the failure of the Stakes, Eva-Beatrice summons Chiester 410 and Chiester 45 and has them kill Rudolf and Kyrie. When Hideyoshi learns of their deaths, he repeatedly slaps Eva-Beatrice in an attempt to get through to a part of Eva inside of her. Eva-Beatrice uses the gun Rudolf had been holding to kill Hideyoshi and has Ronove and the remaining Stakes prepare the three bodies for the fourth, fifth, and sixth twilights.

Thirty minutes after Rudolf, Kyrie, and Hideyoshi had left the guest house, the survivors become worried that the three had been attacked. Eva wakes from a horrid dream and decides to go to the mansion to see what had happened. She is joined by Doctor Nanjo, George, and Battler Ushiromiya. They soon find the bodies of Rudolf, Kyrie, and Hideyoshi.

Despairing from the loss of both his father, Hideyoshi, and his fiancée, Shannon, George breaks down and proclaims how he could understand Kinzo sacrificing his life to revive Beatrice. While he grieves, Beatrice appears before him and claims to have a way to revive Shannon. She uses her magic to allow both herself and George to fly out of the guest house and into the mansion.

Meanwhile, Eva's fever returns and she briefly falls asleep. Upon waking, she tells Krauss and Natsuhi that she'll wash her face and then prepare coffee so they can stay awake. After Eva leaves for the bathroom, Eva-Beatrice uses the Chiester Sisters to kill Krauss and Natsuhi and drag their corpses outside.

In the mansion, George and Beatrice return to Shannon's body. Using George's energy, Beatrice revives Shannon. As Beatrice sits to recover from the energy expended during the revival, the Chiester Sisters kill George and Shannon. Just as they attempt to kill Beatrice, Virgilia appears and sacrifices herself so that Beatrice can escape.

In the guest house, Eva, Battler, Jessica, and Doctor Nanjo realize that Krauss, Natsuhi, and George have disappeared. Fearing for the lives of their families, Eva and Jessica decide the leave the guest house and search for the missing people. Battler and Nanjo follow suit. They find the bodies of Krauss and Natsuhi in the arbor by the rose garden. Eva charges towards the mansion, hoping to find George. The other three follow.

Inside the mansion, the survivors find the numbers "07151129" written above the magic circles on the parlor doors. Inside the parlor, George's dead body lay next to Shannon's. Eva and Jessica begin to fight, each believing that the other is the culprit. As Nanjo tries to intervene, Eva accidentally discharges her rifle and blinds Jessica. Nanjo brings Jessica to the servant room so he can use its first aid kit and Eva runs out of the parlor screaming. Battler follows her.

After tending to Jessica's wounds, Nanjo looks in the hallway for signs of Eva or Battler. He is confronted by Eva-Beatrice who quickly kills him with her staff. In order to protect Jessica, Beatrice summons a faint incarnation of Kanon and has him lead Jessica to the parlor. Beatrice stands in front of the parlor and applies a magic barrier so that the two cannot be killed as George and Shannon were. Eva-Beatrice notices Jessica's absence and uses the Chiester Sisters to kill Beatrice. However, Beatrice's newly found knowledge of the limits of life allowed her to regain the powers of the Endless Witch. Thus Beatrice remained alive until Kanon's form faded.

When Beatrice begins to die, the Battler of the Meta-World summons Eva-Beatrice as his opponent in Beatrice's place. Battler attempts to solve each murder by claiming that Eva was responsible. Eva-Beatrice then uses the Red Truth to create a near-impossible scenario for Battler to solve. In order to defeat her, Beatrice has Battler cover his ears and then uses the Red Truth herself to disprove Eva-Beatrice's scenario. In the mansion, Battler comes to the realization that Eva was the culprit. Eva then shoots and kills him.

Battler and Beatrice appear in the Ushiromiya Main Building. Inside, they are greeted by everyone who had died along with the Seven Stakes of Purgatory and the Chiester Sisters. Virgilia reveals that they had reached the Golden Land. While everyone celebrates, Kinzo Ushiromiya ushers Battler and Beatrice to a ledger and asks that they sign it to welcome everyone to the Golden Land. Just before Battler can sign, a redheaded girl appears and stops him. The redheaded girl then challenges Beatrice and declares that she will reveal the truth.

Characters

The Ushiromiya Family

Kinzo Ushiromiya

Servants

Genji Ronoue

  • The most senior butler of the Ushiromiya family
  • Kinzo's oldest friend
Toshiro Gohda

  • The Ushiromiya family's chef
  • The most recent hire of all the servants
Chiyo Kumasawa

  • One of the Ushiromiya family's longest serving servants
Shannon

  • A relatively new servant who is prone to making mistakes
Kanon

  • A dedicated and quiet servant

Witches and Demons

Virgilia

Beatrice

  • A powerful and cruel witch
Lucifer

  • The eldest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents pride
Leviathan

  • The second oldest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents envy
Satan

  • The third oldest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents wrath
Belphegor

  • The middle sister of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents sloth
Mammon

  • The third youngest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents greed
Beelzebub

  • The second youngest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents gluttony
Asmodeus

  • The youngest of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory
  • Represents lust
EVA-Beatrice

Ronove

Other

Terumasa Nanjo

  • Kinzo's personal physician and longtime friend

Deaths and Disappearances

All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in Banquet of the Golden Witch and apply only for the individual arc, not the overall series.

Deaths

  • Kinzo Ushiromiya, incinerated on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Shannon, pierced by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Kanon, pierced by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Genji Ronue, pierced by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Toshiro Gohda, pierced by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Chiyo Kumasawa, pierced by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the first twilight.
  • Rosa Ushiromiya, impaled by a fence on October 5, 1986 as part of the second twilight.
  • Maria Ushiromiya, strangled to death on October 5, 1986 as part of the second twilight.
  • Rudolf Ushiromiya, pierced in the head by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the fourth twilight.
  • Hideyoshi Ushiromiya, pierced in the chest by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the fifth twilight.
  • Kyrie Ushiromiya, pierced in the stomach by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the sixth twilight.
  • Krauss Ushiromiya, strangled to death and pierced in the thigh by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the seventh twilight.
  • Natsuhi Ushiromiya, strangled to death and pierced in the calf by a stake on October 5, 1986 as part of the eighth twilight.
  • George Ushiromiya, had his neck gouged on October 5, 1986 as part of the ninth twilight.
  • Terumasa Nanjo, killed with a blow to the head on October 5, 1986 as part of the ninth twilight.
  • Battler Ushiromiya, shot in the heart by Eva Ushiromiya on October 5, 1986 as part of the ninth twilight.

Disappearances

  • Jessica Ushiromiya, disappeared on October 5, 1986 as part of the tenth twilight.

Endroll

And the Golden Land once again crumbled away into the darkness...
However, a winner finally emerged in the Golden Witch's game.

The winner is the new Golden Witch, Eva Beatrice.
Because she solved the riddle of the gold in time.

All seventeen died

When the seagulls cried, just one person was left alive.

Media

Chapters

Volumes

Episodes

Notes

  1. ^ Listed word count does not include TIPS.

See also

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