This article is about a character in Umineko When They Cry. |
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- "Just try and deny me, Battler Ushiromiya!!!"
- — Beatrice against Battler
Beatrice (ベアトリーチェ Beatorīche) is the mysterious Golden Witch and implicitly revered as the other ruler of Rokkenjima. Her origins and existence are mere speculations based mostly on Kinzo Ushiromiya's fantastical accounts of their encounter and the tales of servants on the island.
At the family conference of 1986, Beatrice indirectly reveals her existence to those present. Via letters addressed to the family, she proclaims herself the Alchemic Advisor of the Ushiromiya house and announces her right and intent as per her contract with Kinzo, to collect the gold she had loaned along with everything associated with the Ushiromiya family as interest, lest the epitaph below her portrait is solved by somebody. Soon enough, Beatrice commits a series of bizarre occult murders during the two days of the family conference following the epitaph, in a ceremony to resurrect herself. The incidents she causes in the story seem humanly impossible, leaving those on the island with no choice but to acknowledge Beatrice as a true witch who wielded strange magic.
Much of Umineko When They Cry centers around her clashes with Battler Ushiromiya, who fervently denies her existence as a witch; claiming that all of her murders are possible with human tricks.
Profile[]
The Golden Witch, who has lived a thousand years. She has surpassed the limits of humans and, like demons, will sometimes appear in response to the summons made by humans, to offer her power in exchange for a price. She likes black tea and ice cream. She hates boredom and people who deny her existence. |
Appearance[]
- "If she'd had normal black hair, I might've assumed it was a portrait of my long-deceased Grandmother in her prime. However, she had beautiful blonde hair and didn't look Japanese at all."
- — Battler seeing the portrait of Beatrice for the first time in Legend of the Golden Witch
While most other characters look the way they are for artistic reasons, Beatrice's appearance as a Caucasian woman with ginger-blonde hair and blue eyes is meant to be taken literally. She also wears a bow adorned with a rose in her hair, a choker, and ballgown-like dress. Her dress constantly switches from brown to dark brown across the different adaptations, appearing brown in both the anime and PS3 game, while the dark brown in Ougon Musou Kyoku and the original visual novel. She also wears the successor ring on her left middle finger. She is also sometimes seen holding a gold kiseru. In Ougon Musou Kyoku her outfit has a ribbon added to her lower back. In Pachi-Slot Umineko no Naku Koro ni, she has long nails polished red.
Her human form wears a collared shirt with a cropped jacket and tie, a ruffled miniskirt, striped stockings, and boots and usually holds a cane with an eagle head as the handle. In End of the Golden Witch, she is seen as her witch form, but with her hair down. In Dawn of the Golden Witch, her "chick" form is seen as her witch form, and her "elder sister" counterpart is seen as her human form.
Personality[]
On the front, Beatrice is a very cruel and sadistic person, who loves to torture and kill people just for the sake of fun, a being so terrifying that even in the Meta-World she is feared from heavens to hell as one of the cruelest witches ever. She is at times very composed and majestic, and at other times very disgraceful and insightful with a creepy laughter and a demonic smile.
However, as the saga goes on, more sides of her character are revealed. She proves to have a very joyful attitude and quite a childish side. She is in fact described by her teacher as a naive child who loves to play with toys without the fear to break them and also with a power so big that she hardly realizes she can handle. She shows this side primarily with Virgilia and Ronove which have a very parent-like attitude with her and less with Battler which she'd feel embarrassed with to act so. Quite common is, in fact, to see her sobbing on Virgilia's chest when things don't go her way.
Beatrice has a great fear of spiderwebs due to how it is one of her weaknesses told in the legend of Beatrice.
Abilities[]
As the Endless Witch, Beatrice has the ability to control life and death and can revive and kill people as she pleases using the Endless Magic. She can also repair damaged objects and served as alchemical advisor to the Ushiromiya family, rumored to be the one who gave Kinzo the ten tons of gold. Beatrice is also shown levitating and flying in the air, teleporting, reversing gravity, freezing time when she appears on the gameboard, and turning into a swarm of golden butterflies. In the Alliance of the Golden Witch, she is shown burning Kinzo to death just by thinking about it. She uses her golden pipe as a wand and in Twilight of the Golden Witch can transform it into a golden duel sword, as seen when she fights Erika. With enough preparation, she is also capable of erecting protective barriers which can repel any kind of human or magic attack. Beatrice also has outstanding resilience and defense, as seen during her duel with Virgilia when she gets impaled by several spears only to heal herself soon after. However, Beatrice gets burned when touching spiderwebs and can be harmed by spirit mirrors. In spite of her great power, she is said to be a witch in a beginner class, it is possible that she would be no match for anybody were she fully aware of her powers.
Despite having these powers, Beatrice typically relies on her Furniture to act for her. She uses the Stakes of Purgatory to carry out the murders on the island, later employing the Chiester Sisters Imperial Guard Corps and in Our Confession, Flauros. She also summons goat attendants to perform basic tasks for her, with Ronove acting as her head butler. During her fight with Virgilia, Beatrice proved capable of summoning giants that use shields of Hephaestus for protection. She also can summon two massive 100 metre tall "Shoulder War Towers of the Gods" with 360 ports each that fired spears of light. She also summoned the Aegis shield in combat as an absolute defense, which essentially defended against Virgilia's own Divine Spear Gungnir by making it avoid the impact, as it is the law of the gods that an absolute spear and an absolute shield must not fight each other.
She owned a butterfly brooch that can guarantee true love, which she gave to Shannon after destroying the spirit mirror.
As the Game Master, Beatrice can use the Red Truth, Blue Truth and most likely Gold Truth.
Background[]
For an anti-fantasy/mystery account of events, see Beatrice Castiglioni, Kuwadorian Beatrice and Yasuda for more information.
Legends[]
Beatrice is first mentioned in the prologue of Legend of the Golden Witch. Her true origins and identity remain unclear, save for the lone portrait of the supposed witch in the entrance hall of the Ushiromiya Family Mansion, until she herself makes her appearance later in the tea party. However, many mythical tales and aspects of her are introduced in Legend of the Golden Witch. Beatrice herself only reveals a few snippets of her past and aspects of herself later in Turn of the Golden Witch
The Witch of the Forest[]
- "There's a terrible witch in the forest, so you must not go in. Thus, Rokkenjima's ghost story was born. That is the legend of the witch of Rokkenjima."
- — The very first account of Beatrice's legend narrated by Battler in Legend of the Golden Witch
To prevent Kinzo's children from entering the uncultivated wilderness in Rokkenjima which surrounded the mansion, Kinzo, his wife, or presumably one of the servants warned them that a terrible witch lived in the forest. This story was passed down from Kinzo's children to his grandchildren leading to the legend of "The Witch of the Forest". Some claimed that Beatrice lived on the other side of Rokkenjima and one would meet misfortune if they happened upon her abode. In Banquet of the Golden Witch, when Rosa narrates how she fled into the forest as a young girl, she mentions how she couldn't shake off the feeling that she may happen upon the witch if she kept running and even feared that she may be turned into a frog by her.
The Spirit of Rokkenjima[]
- "The servants of that time whispered that the mansion had two Masters, one of the Day and one of the Night."
- — Shannon describing the ghost story of Beatrice
Beatrice was often referred to by the servants as "the other ruler" of Rokkenjima, or "the ruler of Rokkenjima's night". It was said that the legend passed was down amongst the servants since the mansion was built, that the ghost of Beatrice often paid the mansion a visit at night and played pranks on unsuspecting humans, which sometimes bordered on dangerous. Stories of many strange events the residents of the mansion experienced are narrated, such as locks found unlocked even after multiple checks, things often going missing, an incident where strange graffiti was found in the kitchen with utensils found piled up in a peculiar manner, to a servant who spoke ill of Beatrice and fell down the stairs, sustaining a major injury which forced her to quit. In Requiem of the Golden Witch, Jessica speaks of a rumor claiming that the unused VIP room in the mansion was reserved for Beatrice and that she appears there at 2AM every night. Battler and Ange were also told by their parents that the witch would often search through windows at night, seeking to kidnap children as sacrifices.
Kinzo's Benefactor and Mistress[]
- "The witch then granted Grandfather 10 tons of gold. Grandfather used this gold as collateral to prepare a vast quantity of funds, and then used that to multiply his wealth by several times and revive the Ushiromiya family..."
- — The story of Kinzo's first encounter with Beatrice passed down in the family
One of the legends which even the adult Ushiromiya siblings strongly believed in was Kinzo's story narrating how he received 10 tons of gold from the witch Beatrice, which enabled him to revive the Ushiromiya family back to its former glory. According to Kinzo, he continued to research alchemy and techniques for summoning demons in order to become a great magician, and summoned the Golden Witch Beatrice in a demonic ceremony on Rokkenjima. Thereafter, he made a contract with her, receiving 10 tons of gold in exchange for his own soul. While the adult Ushiromiya siblings were still young, they often explored the island in search of the gold.
When the witch's portrait and epitaph were placed in the mansion's entrance hall in 1984, they only further cemented her existence. Even in 1986, the adult siblings discuss about how the legend of the gold is plausible, alchemy aside, and claim that the gold existed somewhere on the island in the Family Conference as they attempt to strike a financial deal using its supposed existence as a tool in their quarrel over Kinzo's inheritance. Some believed that Beatrice was in fact Kinzo's beloved mistress who lived on the island in secrecy, considering how fondly he spoke of her.
Childhood[]
- "I want to become a witch. ...I want to find happiness. Beatrice, I want to become your disciple."
- — A young Beatrice aspiring to become a witch
Banquet of the Golden Witch is the first arc which attempts to explain the origins of the Golden Witch.
The prologue for Banquet features a memory supposedly from Beatrice's childhood, where she is a little girl referred to as "princess" (姫様 hime-sama, a.k.a daughter of a nobleman). One fine day, the little girl is captivated by one her grandfather's most treasured vases and breaks it by accident when she tries to touch it. As she cries frightened of how she will be reprimanded, the "Golden Witch, Beatrice" appears before her and fixes the vase with her magic—but only temporarily so that the girl won't be blamed by the "master of the house".
"Beatrice" explains that all she did was revive the memory of the vase but had not prevented its fate of being broken. Hence, the vase is later broken again by a cat. She muses that her mentor may have been able to fix it in the truest sense over and over again and that witches who achieved this level were bestowed the title of "Endless Witch" in praise. Fascinated, the girl asks "Beatrice" to make her her disciple and teach her magic. The witch reveals that she was still pursuing her training so she offered to train with the little girl and become more powerful together.
It is implied that this little girl eventually became the present-day Beatrice who not only inherited the name "Beatrice" and the title of Golden Witch and Endless Witch from her teacher and predecessor (who will later on be referred to as Virgilia), but also amassed a vast amount of power.
Kinzo's Summoning and Imprisonment[]
- "I was a mighty witch, who had lived for one thousand years. But at one point, I was summoned by Kinzo, and by that hidden art, I was bound as his prisoner for eternity."
- — Beatrice narrates her past to Battler
After having lived for a millennia or so, the powerful witch Beatrice was drawn to the island of Akujikijima which had the strange power to attract mystical beings and supernatural creatures.
There, Beatrice whimsically responded to the summons of Kinzo Ushiromiya, who sold his soul to her for 10 tons of gold. However, when the witch attempted to take her leave until their contract period ended, Kinzo took her as his prisoner and bound her to his land. Having fallen in love with Beatrice, much to her displeasure, he refused to release her unless she agreed to become his. While most characters in the story assume Beatrice was Kinzo's mistress, Beatrice herself claims that Kinzo's love for her was one-sided.[2]
Kinzo confined the witch and relentlessly attempted to woo her. Beatrice admits that while such a strong desire did stroke her ego as a woman, she refused his flirtations and desperately sought escape. After various attempts at resistance, Beatrice realized the only way to break through Kinzo's barrier was to discard her physical body, since she was essentially born in a human body of flesh.
- "...Who am I? What am I? How long have I been here, and how long will I have to continue my days here?"
- — A human Beatrice asks Kinzo about her existence
Even after Beatrice left her confines by becoming a soul, Kinzo seizes the soul and entraps it in a physical body again. He strengthens his barrier and seals Beatrice's soul into the seed of a homunculus, birthing her from a test tube and securing her a human body once more as a newborn infant. The reborn Beatrice was brought up on Rokkenjima at the hidden mansion Kuwadorian, and kept under house arrest until she reached the same age as her once lost human body.
Kinzo's efforts to revive Beatrice proved to be inefficient. Despite bearing an identical appearance to the original Beatrice, as a result of being brought up from the stage of a newborn infant, the reborn Beatrice had lost all memories of her previous life and grew up as an ordinary young girl with no magical abilities. And so, this Beatrice was unable to comprehend Kinzo's professions of love and even her very own existence as she was constantly compared to and expected to act like her previous self.
Meeting with Rosa and Liberation[]
- "I...have had enough of Beatrice. I want to know who I am. I want to start out as a new human, not Beatrice. So, I want you to take me away from here. I don't need tea anymore. I don't need this dress. I won't meet with Kinzo again. Please, take me from here, Rosa."
- — Beatrice resolves to leave Kuwadorian
In 1967, Beatrice who was still a human captive in Kuwadorian coincidentally encounters a young Rosa Ushiromiya in the garden—after she had run away from the Ushiromiya Family Mansion. Beatrice welcomes her, having never had any visitors before. They have a pleasant chat over tea as Rosa indulges Beatrice's questions about her and the outside world. When asked about herself, Beatrice grows melancholy, unsure of how to reply. Beatrice realizes that she didn't even know about things such as a "school" or a "zoo", which Rosa considered common knowledge. Taking pity on the crestfallen witch, Rosa impulsively offers to take her outside. Beatrice is fearful at first, but considers her caged life and determinedly takes the offer. Rosa resigns herself to a walk through the forest, wondering how to take responsibility for her actions, as Beatrice gleefully inspects their surroundings; asking Rosa about every small thing they come across.
Rosa leads them both to the seaside, trying to find a way back to the Ushiromiya mansion. As they try to climb down the cliff towards the beach below, Beatrice loses her footing and plummets into the rocks below. Rosa frantically rushes to her side and finds Beatrice dead, sprawled out on the sand—her head smashed against the sharp rocks on the shore. Beatrice watches as Rosa shook the corpse that was once her and feels her memories and magic returning and recovers her identity as the Golden Witch. Silently thanking a retreating Rosa with a smirk, she realizes how frail her soul was without a physical body. Transforming into a swarm of golden butterflies, Beatrice flees into the forest to take cover from the harsh elements.
Even as Kinzo strengthened the barrier around Rokkenjima by restoring the small shrine which protected the island, Beatrice lay in wait for many years avoiding capture, plotting to regain the full extent of powers. She wandered the Ushiromiya mansion, watching Kinzo and his family from the shadows, spending her time pondering ways to get back at him. As Kinzo repeatedly researched ways to capture Beatrice's soul, he stumbles upon a forbidden ceremony which involved sacrificing thirteen people randomly. He later carves this procedure out as The Witch's Epitaph below a portrait of Beatrice, in order to resurrect her. Beatrice sees this as her chance to regain her lost magic.
Resurrection[]
In 1984, around October[3], a desolate Shannon struggling with her feelings for George, voices her complaints to the witch of the portrait. She laments about how she is merely "furniture" and unworthy of being united with a human. To her surprise, Beatrice appears before her and presents her with a golden butterfly brooch which would ensure a successful relationship with George. In return, she asks Shannon to break the enchanted mirror in the shrine which guarded the island's barrier. When Shannon hesitates, Beatrice taunts her, turning her own insecurities against her—convincing her that the deal was beneficial to them both. She is interrupted by a furious Kanon, who could also see her. Displeased with his foul attitude, Beatrice vanishes, reminding Shannon that the offer was still valid. In December of 1985[3], Shannon is seen breaking the mirror and prays to Beatrice to grant her wish. Later, it was said that a bolt of lightning struck the shrine, destroying it along with the entire reef—signifying that the island's barrier no longer fettered the witch.
Shannon's relationship is successful and she would later often accompany Beatrice to have some tea. Beatrice declines the brooch when Shannon attempts to return it, so she offers it to Kanon instead, who also struggled with his complex of merely being "furniture". Kanon still held animosity towards the witch since their first encounter, yet he takes the brooch upon Shannon's insistence. The brooch works its magic on Kanon. He subconsciously bonds with Jessica, who is secretly in love with him, much to his delight and great displeasure. In an outburst, he cruelly rejects Jessica's feelings, firmly stating that humans and "furniture" are never meant to be together. He insults the witch, calling her a fiend who enjoys toying with people's emotions. When Beatrice admits to this, Kanon steps on the brooch in rage, crushing it under his feet. Afterwards, it is revealed that Shannon and Kanon's memories of encountering Beatrice were vague, almost as if they had been erased.
Beatrice also befriends Maria, after learning of her interest in magic and the girl later becomes her apprentice. Together, they create furniture such as Sakutaro and found the witch alliance—Mariage Sorciere. She would also perform magic for Maria in front of Doctor Nanjo, Kanon, Shannon, Genji and Kumasawa who acknowledge her existence covertly. She gains more magical power as more people begin to acknowledge her existence.
As her powers continue to grow, Beatrice only seems to become crueler. As Kinzo learns he doesn't have much time to live, he schedules the Family Conference of 1986 as the date on which Beatrice's resurrection ceremony will take place in accordance to the epitaph. All the preparations are in order, with enough people gathering on the island as potential sacrifices. Since the sacrifices are chosen at random, there is a high probability that Kinzo himself will fall victim before Beatrice is resurrected. Nevertheless, he bets on the miracle of a reunion, as if it were a game for him. Beatrice finds Kinzo's mad resolve interesting and goes along with his plan, accepting his challenge.
Relationships[]
Overview[]
Ushiromiya Family and Ushiromiya Servants
- Kinzo Ushiromiya (contractor, summoner)
- Battler Ushiromiya (rival, opponent, furniture/slave, ally, love interest/husband)
- Ange Ushiromiya (ally, opponent)
- Maria Ushiromiya (student, best friend)
- Rosa Ushiromiya (enemy)
- Shannon (ally, opponent, alternate persona)
- Kanon (ally, opponent, alternate persona)
- Bernkastel (friend, enemy, opponent)
- Lambdadelta (friend, sponsor of, witch guardian, miko of)
- Stakes of Purgatory (furniture, creations)
- Ronove (furniture, butler)
- Gaap (friend, summoner of, ally, prototype)
- Chiester Sisters Imperial Guard Corps (furniture)
- Flauros (furniture, creation, former enemy)
- Virgilia (mentor, predecessor)
- ANGE-Beatrice (successor, ally, opponent)
- EVA-Beatrice (successor, rival, opponent, ally)
- Erika Furudo (enemy, opponent, rival)
- Chick Beato (piece, half of split self, Beatrice who was born to love Battler)
- Beato the Elder (piece, half of split self, Beatrice based on legend Kumasawa told)
- Zepar (friend)
- Furfur (friend)
- Sakutarou (friend)
Spoilers
- Black Battler (possible creation, opponent, rival)
- Clair Vaux Bernardus (prototype, alternate persona)
- Sayo Yasuda (true form/persona, human form/counterpart)
- Lion Ushiromiya (alternate existence from Miracle Fragment, ally)
Battler Ushiromiya[]
Battler is Beatrice's opponent and rival. Beatrice opposes Battler's anti-magic stance and does whatever she can to make him submit and accept magic. She relishes in seeing and tormenting Battler cry and scramble to form theories, even humiliating him at one point by making him into furniture. Battler is often disgusted by Beatrice's cruelty and brutal displays of magic, coming to a head in Banquet of the Golden Witch when he refuses to play against Beato when she sits by and laughs at EVA-Beatrice's torment of Rosa and Maria. Beato starts trying to reform herself and Battler accepts her change, but quickly goes back to fighting her when it's revealed that Beato's reformation was an act.
In End of the Golden Witch, Battler starts to become more understanding of Beatrice, crying in the ??? when he finally reaches the truth too late. He falls in love with Beatrice and tries to recreate her when she dies, initially considering the new Beato to be a failure but comes to accept and finally marry her after her memories return.
Maria Ushiromiya[]
Maria is a vocal believer in Beatrice and enjoys playing with her when she visits the island. Beatrice has taught Maria all sorts of magic, giving her assistance in Alliance of the Golden Witch by enabling Maria's revenge and constant torture against Rosa.
It is also worth noting that Maria is always among the last to die in games where Beatrice is in control. In Banquet of the Golden Witch, when she sees that Maria has actually been suffering from all of Eva-Beatrice's ways of killing her and Rosa, she even gives Maria a quick, painless death after comforting her, which is a contrast to the just as quick but more gruesome way she dispatches of Rosa afterwards.
Shannon[]
Shannon is one of the few people who actively stands up to Beatrice, and so Beato likes to insult her love with George and is always reminding her that she's furniture. Although Shannon was willing to work for Beatrice by destroying the spirit mirror in exchange for a butterfly brooch which can guarantee true love when she started to doubt her relationship with George. Beatrice and Shannon would later often have tea together.
Virgilia[]
Virgilia is Beatrice's teacher and predecessor as the Golden and Endless Witch. Beatrice seems to greatly admire and respect Virgilia, referring to her as "Teacher", and during their fight Beatrice praises Virgilia when she deflects Beatrice's attacks from the "Shoulder Towers". Though Beatrice isn't against insulting and mocking Virgilia when wanting to. Virgilia repeatedly states her disappointment with how Beatrice has chosen to use her powers as Endless Witch. When talking about Beatrice, Virgilia always calls Beatrice "that child/that girl", which somewhat emphasises the latter's childishness and their mother/daughter-like relationship.
Lambdadelta[]
Lambdadelta is Beatrice's Witch Guardian and Beatrice is the Miko of Lambdadelta. During the conversation about witch powers in the ??? of Legend of the Golden Witch, Bernkastel says Lambdadelta might have a good compatibility against Beatrice since she would be able to kill Beatrice's "endless" nature. It is later revealed that Lambda bestowed Beatrice with witch powers when the latter was a lowly human and now acts as her witch guardian. Lambda doesn't really see Beato as a friend however, and won't hesitate to get rid of her if she disappoints. This is exemplified in End of the Golden Witch where, after Beato surrenders and falls comatose, Lambda continuously mocks her by asking her to speak if she has any problems and acting ecstatic when she doesn't.
EVA-Beatrice[]
EVA is a successor to Beatrice because of her role as EVA-Beatrice. EVA initially shows respect towards Beatrice due to the latter being her predecessor, however she starts to resent her when Beato won't allow EVA to be brutal with her endless torture of her victims.
Ange Ushiromiya[]
Ange is a successor to Beatrice because of her role as ANGE-Beatrice, however the two have an antagonistic relationship. Ange wants to defeat Beatrice to free her family from 1986 Rokkenjima no matter what. In Twilight, Ange fights back against Beato and Battler before finally coming to accept her.
Side arcs usually feature the two bickering with one another and fighting over Battler.
Story[]
Legend of the Golden Witch[]
Beatrice isn't seen throughout most of the episode, though her presence is felt due to the huge portrait of her in the hall of the Ushiromiya mansion, the rumors surrounding her existence, and the golden butterflies. The anime adaptation has Beatrice appearing in the rain with an umbrella. She gives Maria the umbrella and a letter, using her to announce plans of committing murder if the witch's epitaph is not solved.
Beatrice makes her first proper appearance in the Tea Party, making herself known when Battler claims that she doesn't exist because nobody actually saw her. Even when faced with the Golden Witch herself, Battler still refuses to accept her, and thus Beatrice challenges him to a game to prove that the murders were possible for human beings. The game should continue for all eternity until one side surrenders or gives up.
The ???? has Beatrice inviting Lady Bernkastel to join her game, who decides to become her opponent and help Battler.
Turn of the Golden Witch[]
Before the family conference of 1986, Beatrice helps Shannon and Kanon in their endeavors to obtain true love. Shannon is ordered to destroy a mirror inside a shrine that restricts Beatrice's power, and the servant is given a magical butterfly brooch as a reward, using it to build a relationship with George. Kanon then takes the brooch and uses it when he goes to Jessica's school and pretends to be her boyfriend, later destroying it when Beatrice taunts him about it.
Once the family conference of 1986 starts, Beatrice inserts herself as the 19th guest as a way of disproving Battler's claim that Beatrice doesn't exist because nobody actually saw her.
The mysterious 19th visitor who appeared at the family meeting. She uses the same name as the Golden Witch who gave gold to Kinzo. The reasons and goals for her coming are unknown. She was ushered into the honored guests' room that no one was allowed to use.
Beatrice later gives letters to Maria and Rosa, announcing her plans to commit murders just like the previous game. Inside the chapel at night, Beatrice's existence is acknowledged by the adults of the Ushiromiya family, who become victims for the first twilight.
In the meta-world, Battler and Beatrice debate over the closed-room murder in the chapel. When Battler doesn't make any theories because of a lack of information, Beatrice introduces the Red Truth, where anything spoken in red is the absolute truth. Beatrice lays out several statements that make the chapel murders possible for humans, and Battler pins it all on the 19th person X. As Beatrice continues her murders, she summons The Goat Butlers and theSeven Stakes of Purgatory to kill for her. Beatrice provides more red truths amidst the myriad display of magic, but Battler is unable to come up with any credible theories and gives up in trying to deny the witch. Battler on the gameboard also gives up in trying to find the culprit when Rosa keeps pinning the blame on the servants.
At 24:00, Battler meets Beatrice in the study and submits to her. Beatrice treats Battler like a slave, dragging him around naked and chained like a dog. Beatrice then hosts a grand Halloween party for a crowd of goat demons, who devour Battler and the other survivors.
In the Tea Party, she prepares a special banquet for Rosa, giving her food made out of the blood and flesh of her siblings and Maria's head, trying to make her surrender as well. Battler, disgusted by this scene, regains his will to fight, and he stands up to Beatrice once more.
In the ????, Beatrice also invites to her game Lady Lambdadelta, her protector and ally against Bernkastel. Lambdadelta seems to point out that Beatrice made it so that Battler would regain his will to fight on purpose.
Banquet of the Golden Witch[]
A glimpse into Beatrice's past is seen, where as a little girl, she wished to become after a witch after seeing what her teacher Virgilia was capable of doing.
Beatrice continues her game with Battler and introduces another one of her furniture: Ronove, who acts as Beatrice's butler. On the gameboard, the adults talk about a rumor that Beatrice used to live in a hidden mansion in the forest, and Rosa explains that Beatrice did exist, having killed her long ago. As Rosa tells her story, Beatrice shows the same events to Battler.
Beatrice used to be bound to the island by Kinzo and had killed herself to escape. Kinzo had taken her soul and bound it into a human body, losing her memories and living in the hidden mansion Kuwadorian. 19 years ago, Rosa had met this human Beatrice in Kuwadorian, who had little knowledge of the outside world and believed the forest was dangerous because wolves lived there. Rosa reassures her that wolves don't actually live in the forest, and Beatrice goes with her to see the outside world. They go to a cliff overlooking the ocean, and Beatrice slips and falls to the ground, dying. Beatrice's soul is then released, and she thanks the horrified Rosa for setting her free. In the meta-world, Beatrice confirms with red that she really did exist as a human on Rokkenjima, and that no more than 18 people exist on the island. The events of Requiem of the Golden Witch explain that the human Beatrice who died that day was Kinzo's daughter by Beatrice Castiglioni and the mother of Lion Ushiromiya.
During the first twilight, Beatrice encounters Virgilia, who wants to take back her powers and title because of Beatrice's mishandling of the Endless Magic. However, Virgilia is defeated, and Beatrice continues her murders. Even so, Virgilia arrives in the meta-world and acts as Battler's advisor against Beatrice.
Eva eventually solves the epitaph, and Beatrice takes Eva's younger self and passes on the headship and her titles of Golden and Endless Witch, christening her as EVA-Beatrice. EVA commits murders in Beatrice's stead, and Beatrice takes on the nickname Beato since she passed on her name.
When EVA uses her newfound powers to murder Rosa and Maria over and over, Beato laughs at their deaths with glee and Battler slaps her. He's unwilling to continue with the game if Beato is going to be laughing at the murders of his family like that, so Beato gives merciful deaths to Rosa and Maria while telling EVA to ease up on her cruelty. Battler still doesn't find it enough, so Beato has Ronove take her place as she leaves the meta-world, aiming to make herself into a good witch.
Beato then revives Shannon and reunites her with George, but they're both killed by EVA and her own furniture. Beato then revives Kanon as a ghost and sends him to guide the blinded Jessica to the parlor, and EVA tries to kill them both. Beato defends the parlor with all her might, enduring the Chiester Sisters' golden bow, and is reduced to just a beating heart. EVA is then dragged into the meta-world by Battler, who commends Beato for holding out and proving that she's a good witch after all.
Beato assists Battler in finding evidence to use against EVA, and after a fierce debate, Battler is pinned down by EVA's web of red truth and is unable to come up with theories. Beato sacrifices herself by denying witches in red, and Battler covers his ears while the meta-world disappears. Battler and Beato then reunite in the Golden Land, where the Ushiromiya family and all the furniture are awaiting them. Battler is asked to sign a document recognizing Beato as a true witch, and he realizes that Beato had tricked him the entire time. Dropping her facade, Beato reveals that she truly was pretending to be a good witch to make Battler believe in her. Their discussion is cut short when Ange suddenly invades the meta-world, aiming to deny Beatrice as well.
Alliance of the Golden Witch[]
During this fourth game, Beato makes Kinzo exit his study to commit murders, trying to dissuade Battler's claim that Kinzo is dead all along and an 18th person X is taking his place. She also grants Battler the use of Blue Truth, allowing him to make proper theories. During the game, Kinzo gives tests to the four cousins, and Beatrice is revived by Kinzo's ceremony. Beato then shows up in person to give Battler his test, asking that he choose between his life, _____'s life, or everyone else's lives. Battler doesn't take it seriously and puts Beatrice's name into the blank space, and Beato instead asks that Battler remember his sin; his sin is what caused everyone on Rokkenjima to die. Battler is unable to remember, and Beatrice leaves, disappointed. Beatrice then kills Kinzo by burning him alive, leaving Battler alone as the last survivor on the island.
In the meta-world, Beatrice asks that Battler think about his sin one more time, asking that he repeat "Battler Ushiromiya was born from Asumu Ushiromiya" in red. Battler is unable to, and Beatrice suggests that Battler may not actually be Kinzo's grandson, as she had opened the game to fight said person. Battler is unable to accept that Asumu isn't his biological mother, and he disappears from the meta-world. Beatrice also disappears from the meta-world, going to the Golden Land and planning to stay there forever with MARIA.
Ange goes to the Golden Land and tries to make Beato leave and resume her game with Battler. She revives Sakutaro, which Beato was unable to do, and MARIA reunites with her beloved lion, leaving the Golden Land and forcing Beato to return to the meta-world. Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, who were acting as spectators for the game, bring Battler back from despair and Ange sacrifices herself to tell him that he's still Rudolf's son, therefore making Battler Kinzo's grandson and eligible to fight Beatrice. Ange is ripped to shreds, and Battler swears to engage Beatrice in one last debate.
In the Tea Party, Battler and Beatrice engage in a debate spanning the mysteries throughout the first four games. Battler still believes that Kinzo was dead all along and that an 18th person X is taking his place. Beato initially shows weak opposition to Battler's blue truth stakes, and when Battler asks her to fight with her full power, Beatrice uses red to confirm that Kinzo really is dead and there are no more than 17 people on Rokkenjima, thereby nullifying all of Battler's theories.
After another fierce exchange of red and blue, Beatrice becomes impaled on a massive stake, unable to destroy Battler's blue truths. She uses the last of her power to present Battler with one final riddle, saying that Battler is all alone on the island and yet Beato will kill him: "who am I?"
Beato's spirit embraces Battler as he swears that he will solve that riddle and kill her.
End of the Golden Witch[]
Beatrice is rendered comatose, having used up all of her spirit in fighting Battler. Battler seeks to find a peaceful way to kill her, and with her absence Lambda takes over as Game Master. During the game, Natsuhi is at risk of the family members discovering that she and Krauss had been hiding Kinzo's death, and a piece version of Beatrice appears to help her. Piece-Beatrice duels with Erika Furudo and Eiserne Jungfrau, trying to prevent them from destroying Kinzo's spirit when they attack the study. Piece-Beatrice and her furniture also try to help Natsuhi by hiding the corpses of the victims of the first twilight.
Later on, Lambda holds a court session in the meta-world, trying to pin Natsuhi as the culprit. Piece-Beatrice tries her best to defend Natsuhi, but she fails and is torn apart by goats. Battler also tries to defend Natsuhi, but he is impaled by Dlanor's red longsword. After court has ended and everyone has cleared out, the real Beatrice walks up to Battler, thanking him for trying to save the integrity of her game and disappears.
Dawn of the Golden Witch[]
Battler has discovered the truth and become Game Master, using his powers to try and revive Beatrice. However, she instead is revived as Chick Beato, acting very kind and innocent with none of the haughty personality that the original Beatrice had. Chick Beato assists Battler in his game against Erika, later witnessing him getting trapped in a logic error. In the midst of the game, Chick Beato tries to discover how to be just like the real Beatrice, eventually meeting Beato the Elder. The two Beatos try to learn how to become just like the original Beatrice, and they get involved with a love trial held by Zepar and Furfur.
At the end of the love trial, the two Beatos fuse and Beatrice fully revives, heading to the meta-world to interrupt Erika's wedding to the comatose Battler. Beatrice finds a way for Battler to escape his logic error, and the two of them engage Erika in a final debate where, even if Erika were to join the humans on the island, there are only 17 humans on Rokkenjima.
In the Tea Party, Battler and Beatrice are finally able to get married.
Requiem of the Golden Witch[]
The true origins of Beatrice are revealed in this episode. After her death in End of the Golden Witch, Beatrice returns in the body of Clair Vaux Bernardus to confess her crimes to Willard and Lion. She tells her story that she was once a young servant named Yasu and the struggles she went through after falling in love and waiting 6 years for Battler. Afterward, she goes into her final battle with Willard who tears apart her mysteries and answers her question of "Who am I?". With this, Beatrice is finally able to die and be put to rest.
In the Tea Party, Beatrice attempts to bring about the Rokkenjima Massacre she depicted in her message bottles. She gives Maria a letter and challenges the family to solve her riddle. The siblings solve the epitaph and go to the gold room, where Beatrice reveals her plans and surrenders to them. However, a scuffle arises between the adults, ending with them killing each other save for Rudolf and Kyrie. Beatrice is then seemingly shot and killed by Kyrie, who goes with Rudolf to kill the remaining family members.
Twilight of the Golden Witch[]
In this arc, the Beatrice from Dawn of the Golden Witch appears as the 19th person on Rokkenjima once more, as part of Battler's game for Ange.
The aftermath of the Rokkenjima Incident is shown, where on October 6, 1986, Beatrice had survived getting shot by Kyrie and guides Battler through Kuwadorian's underground passage and towards a speedboat. Beato gives Battler a gold bar she took from the gold room and wants Battler to leave her behind, but he takes her into the boat so they can explore the world together. As they drive towards a nearby island, Beato distracts Battler by giving him a kiss, soon jumping into the ocean and using the gold bar to weigh herself down. Beato wishes to drown herself, believing that she is unfit to live in the human world after committing so many sins, but Battler dives after her, not wanting to leave her alone. They embrace and float towards the bottom of the ocean.
Trivia[]
- Beatrice's original name is uncertain, given Virgilia's former name was Beatrice as well and the name was passed down to Beatrice along with the title of Endless Witch. When Beatrice was young, Virgilia called her Princess, though it is unconfirmed if that was a title or a nickname. When Beatrice passes her name and titles to EVA-Beatrice, Battler continues to call to her as "Beato", the nickname that both he and Maria previously referred to her as, when she demands that he give her a new name. However, it was confirmed in Clair 's narration of her life till 1984 that her actual name is in fact, Lion.
- Her nickname of "Beato" is actually an Italian male name and can be translated as "blessed".
- Unlike other witches, the name Beatrice is actually part of her title.
- Beatrice's name is pronounced the Italian way, as "Be-a-tr-ice" (Be-a-to-ri-che [ベアトリーチェ] in Japanese phonetics) rather than the English way, as "Be-a-triss". In early stages of the story, Beatrice's name was written in Japanese as ベアトリース and would've been pronounced the English way.[4]
- Beatrice, out of eight characters, has had two portraits of her featured in it.
- The embodiment of Beatrice as Battler's ideal woman is most likely a reference from La Divina Commedia in which Beatrice Potinari is also Dante's ideal woman.
- She and Battler appear in a cameo in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni, being painted by Yuuki Sonozaki on tapestries.
References[]
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