Kei Natsumi – illustratör

Each year, the Ushiromiya family gathers at the secluded mansion of its patriarch, the elderly Kinzo. It has been six years since Battler joined his cousins at the annual event, but their happy reunion is overshadowed by worsening weather and an eerie premonition from his youngest cousin. When their parents' conversation turns to the division of the inheritance upon Kinzo's imminent death, Battler and his cousins reminisce about the stories their parents teased them with as children-tales of the witch, Beatrice, who haunts the island's forest. But when people start dying unnatural deaths, Battler can't help but wonder...

Six people are dead, and Battler and his remaining relatives slowly come around to addressing the terrifying reality of their situation: either one of their number is a murderer, or there is a nineteenthperson on the island who wants the Ushiromiya family dead. Regardless, the killer seems to be following the inscription beneath the portrait of Beatrice, the instructions for finding the elder Ushiromiya's vast treasure of gold. But each line of the inscription calls for more death, more blood . . . and the revival of the witch Beatrice herself . . . Will any remain alive to see the end of this mystery?