Chapter 2: The Trial

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Pierrick: "Haha! That is true! Caster camps like I cartwheel! All the time!"

-Pierrick does a casual backflip-

Pierrick: "Soooo.....why are we thinking the magic doorway of magic has anything to do with this case?"

-Pierrick points at the ceiling-

Pierrick: "Not all the holes from the 1st case were used even though they seemed suspicious!"

[Exusiai]

Nanashi fumbles with a polaroid camera. He holds it up against the lights emanating from the ceiling.
"This is just my own opinion, but even if Mr. Cree- Caster didn't follow Owen after breakfast, we don't know if anyone talked to Owen during breakfast either.
With so many of us there, we were probably too busy to notice who talked to who during that time.
The culprit could have known that Owen went to Iron Stars from a conversation then.
It doesn't really matter how long you can stay in the Iron Stars' locker room.
S-Saying that you can stake out a portal for a long period of time isn't much of a counter-argument either.
That would be asking us to only judge your behavior as a suspect then.
. . .
There is something that bothers me about the err- witness' statement, though.
Presenting some photographic evidence, here's a scarecrow!
To be more exact, it's a picture of an extra set of Itriot's robes and mask.  Several PVC pipes and duct tape were used as some sort of skeleton for this apparel.
This might not have anything to do with the murder, but I found this on the fourth floor.
I'm not sure if anyone else noticed while investigating, but the fourth floor is currently not accessible... or at least, the button to the fourth floor was broken during my investigation.
Exhibit B: A photo of the panel in the elevator during investigation!
The wire to the fourth floor has clearly been severed.
At the very least, this would have occurred after the trial that Yoff was found guilty in.
The pipes and duct tape found in the copy of Itriot's outfit can't be found in the storage rooms of the fourth floor.
They do supply them at the Lord's Blessing, though, and as participants, we were only able to access that store after the first trial.

It wouldn't make sense that someone tried to close off the fourth floor outside of Owen's death.
M-Maybe this is a similar incident to when Satone was captured, but according to Satone, she was ambushed again."

Clearly unsettled by the repeated kidnapping attempt, Nanashi's eyes fall to the floor as he jests.

"Actually, if the witness did go into the elevator right after breakfast, then how did someone cut off access to the fourth floor?
I can only think of three opportunities that someone snuck into the elevator without being noticed:
1. If Ryo and I managed to get to the sixth floor before the elevator couldn't open, then the witness didn't arrive to the elevator immediately after breakfast.  Other people probably entered the elevator before 
2. After the body announcement was made, the elevator was functioning normally.  I don't know what times everyone arrived to the crime scene at, but someone could have cut off the wire to the fourth floor afterwards.
3. This happened some time between the end of the first trial and the morning of Owen's death.

This is under the assumption that one of us broke it.  If it were a mysterious person, though, then this incident could have occurred during breakfast!"

"Maybe...
Even if the witness prevented the elevator doors from opening, the elevator should still be able to go up and down.
I think the witness did this on her own volition, so if this all happened so on the same morning as Owen's death, then the person would have experienced the same surprise as the rest of us stuck on the sixth floor did.
I-I'm not sure what else to call you, but did you notice if the elevator ever went to the fourth floor?
I'm still not sure if this is important to Owen's death or not.  Based on his wounds and the position he was found in, the mock Itriot doesn't seem relevant."

[Chatt]

To add on to that, I'm quite curious as to what compelled you to go into an elevator and hold the "close" button for two hours ... And to answer your questions ... "witness", the murderer could have forced caster to open the portal simply to put suspicion on him. They might have forced you to lock up the elevator to make sure that no one could leave the 6th floor to cut down on the number of witnesses. Perhaps the fourth floor has something to do with this murder and the murderer wanted no one to go there, hence why the wire is cut now too. These are all possibilities, hence why this murder isn't open and shut like it should be. I suggest you wait for more alibis to come in so we may play alibi roulette. 

[King V]

"Let's make a few assumptions before this witness lays out another theory. Firstly, the culprit was involved with something on the 4th floor. We don't know what this is, but from what was found, it can be assumed that the culprit did something there."

"Secondly, I did see that the button to the 4th floor was unlit and inaccessible at 9am when I entered the elevator. This means that the culprit most likely interfered with the elevator and set something up on the 4th floor before 9am and was planning on using it for their murder."

"If we put these together, it means that the culprit intended on traveling to and from the 4th floor in order to commit their crime, but could not execute their plans due to this witness blocking the elevator. In their haste, the culprit then decided to execute a much simpler plan instead."

"Well, all of this assumes that Caster is not the culprit, as he could have easily opened a portal to the 4th floor and proceeded from there. This witness is still not convinced on Caster being innocent. Circumstantial evidence and suspicion points too strongly in his direction."

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Pierrick: "Haha! Boy that sounds complicated. Define 'simpler'"

[Ryo Asuka]

Ryo thought about the Caster allegation some.

"I mean, true. If the wire for the fourth floor was cut before you pulled your elevator shenanigans, it would make sense that one of us that went up to the 6th floor cut it on our way up. If that was the case, then Caster could have used a portal to go to Owen, commit the murder, and entered back through the portal. However, there is another plausible option as well. The culprit could have cut it on their way to breakfast. The culprit then could have went outside, followed Owen into the gym, and murdered him. If that is the case, they could have hidden out in the locker room until the announcement and used the confusion to go through the portal once Caster had left. Then, the culprit could have used the sixth floor laundry chute to drop the Itriot scarecrow down the chute and into the maid's office. Afterwards, they could have went back through the portal to the gym, where they blended in with everyone else going in to see Owen's body. So, I don't see why we should just limit the suspect pool to Caster when anybody who was outside could have committed the crime as well."

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Pierrick: "Wahoo! Yahoo! Anybody Listening? Why do we care so much about a silly portal? I can play this game too!"

-Pierrick does a flamboyant bow-

Pierrick: "Because Owen passed through the front door of the crime scene, Iron Stars, he has to be the culprit!"

-Pierrick bows again to non-existent cheering-

Pierrick: "Any objections?"

[Ryo Asuka]

Ryo thought about it some more.

"In fact, this theory makes more sense. The culprit might have seen the portal when Owen and them walked through the locker room. Then, after killing Owen, they could have tried using the elevator, but realized that the elevator wasn't working and had to change their plans. 
They remembered the portal in the locker room. Knowing from last trial that Caster was probably waiting on the other side, they waited for the announcement to go off so they could sneak through the portal. I saw Caster in the hallway two times, the hallway which is not where the portal is located, meaning he was not near any portal during those two times: when he came out to check the elevator at 11am and when he came out to go to Owen's body at 11:20am. This gives anybody who was outside at the time two opportunities to sneak in and out of the 6th floor during that time period."

He then realized the waste of space Pierrick was speaking.

"Yes. Owen couldn't have killed himself. He was clearly struggling due to the look of agony on his face and his death grip on the bar. Meaning, whether the culprit used the portal or the front door, there was definitely another person there keeping Owen from lifting up the bar."

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

-Pierrick does a cartwheel-

Pierrick: "Haha! Not all of us are like me and can fight against gravity! Can you prove he wasn't struggling against gravity and losing?"

[Ryo Asuka]

"Owen may have been old and not the brightest tool in the shed, but I'm pretty sure he would be smart enough to know how much he could lift and would not try lifting too much without somebody there to help him. When we first arrived, Owen managed to help me tear down the door to the maid's room, meaning he is a very strong individual. If he was lifting the 245 pounds to begin with, the only reason that he would suddenly stop being able to lift it would be if more weight was added to it, aka somebody pressing down on the bar."

[Chatt]

"What in the world is happening? Are we seriously arguing whether this was suicide are not? Seriously, how did you people solve my murder?

Owen's hands were clamped on the bar in a death grip, as well as marks on the ground near his feet. Do you understand what this means? He was struggling. His feet were scraping on the ground, and he was doing his hardest. to lift it. And let's be honest, HAVE YOU SEEN HIS PHYSIQUE?"

Also, you, faceless one. You haven't responded to my question: What compelled you to go into an elevator for two hours and hold it shut?

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Pierrick: "Haha, I could have sworn you thought he was an idiot Ryo, but maybe that's just how you look at everyone. I thought he might have pushed himself too far after SOMEONE insulted his physical abilities. Alas truly, I bet Owen's vengeful ghost will do in that person next! Haha!"

[King V]

"As this witness recalls, you have already deceased, mister... red hair. Nevertheless, this witness will acquiesce your inquiry."

"I am sick of these games. Everything has been made so pointless, so trivial, that it disgusts me. For what reason do these entities lose their lives? For what reason are we participating in this game? None of it makes any sense. It is the opposite of what my creator wished for. He wished only for nothingness, not purposelessness. And so, this witness shall make it so. Nobody will be allowed to accomplish anything more in this game. It has become the goal of this witness to stop the pointless actions of these so-called participants, and reduce everything back to nothingness, as it should be."

"As for the actions of the perpetrator, it can be boiled down into essentially two scenarios."

"Before I entered the elevator and held it shut, the culprit set something up on the 4th floor and cut the wire to prevent anyone from accessing the floor and discovering their plans. The culprit proceeded to attack Owen while he was lifting weights, and killed him. However, when they returned to grab something from the 4th floor, they found that the elevator was "malfunctioning" and couldn't reach it. With escape to the upper floors blocked off, the culprit was left on the 1st floor, which leaves Mishy, Days, Shinka, Rikka, Satone, and Yuuta as the main suspects. Of these, this witness believes Rikka is most suspicious, as they are the only one during Satone's testimony who was left alone for some time. All other people were described as traveling together."

"The second scenario is one this witness has described before. Caster is the culprit. He arrived on the 6th floor after breakfast to retrieve something and prepared to commit a crime. However, he found the elevator blocked and so he was forced to open a portal to the locker room, and simply killed the first person he saw, that being Owen in the iron stars. Caster returned to the 6th floor afterwards to get away from the crime scene and stayed there until the body announcement."

"This witness finds Caster being the culprit is stranger and stranger, as many logical errors come up, such as why he didn't close the portal afterwards, or why he didn't open a portal to the 4th floor if that floor is involved at all. However, Caster has been particularly suspicious and no evidence, testimony or otherwise, has been brought up against anyone else. This witness stands by the accusation against Caster."

[Chatt]

I will not pretend to understand ... but at least you gave reasoning for it.

As for your list of suspects ... I find Days the most suspicious personally. As we've established, the culprit is most likely someone Owen would trust as a spotter and logically, the strongest out of that group would be Days. We haven't heard his alibi yet either. 

Also, Nanashi, how exactly did you get to the fourth floor with the elevator not working on that floor? And can you describe what you found there with a little more clarity?

[John Dark Souls]

Suddenly you hear Mishy mumble in a scared voice.

"N-no Mische... Please... not the bees... anything but... Hmmm..?"

Suddenly Mishy starts moving as if only just woke up.

"This is... Casino? When did Mishy get here... Mishy remembers dancing for whole hour to get to investigate 3rd area of the arcade and then go back to investigate rooms and then... Investigate..? Oh no! The murder! Mishy got so tired he fell asleep and forgot! Oh no! Oh no! What did everyone talk about? Huh? How strange... Mishy remembers exactly what everyone talked about..."

"Oh well, uhm, I think Mishy should first make it clear what Mishy was doing most of the day. After breakfast, Mishy went outside to clean the streets, because they seemed kinda dusty, and we will still live here for a while. Mishy started from southern part, and while cleaning saw Mr. Owen enter Iron Stars and start working out as well as the 4 friends enter Arcade and start playing. Mishy continued cleaning the streets going counter-clockwise and saw nobody around western part of the streets. By the time Mishy reached and started cleaning northern parts, it seemed that the friends were done playing in arcade and started playing around abandoned houses, although Satone was strangely missing. The 3 of them went separate way before Mishy finished cleaning and moved on to east part. While cleaning last eastern part of the city, Mishy saw Days poking things in Lord's Blessing shop. Afterwards, Mishy realized it was almost 11am and went to go to commons, where he met up with 4 friends all present and Days. We waited for a while with nothing happening and then all went to elevator to try to use it only to find out it didn't work. But strange... Mishy remembers Itriot being just there in commons with us, thus elevator shouldn't have been broken like last time when he went to fix it. Maybe this supports that elevator wasn't working cause off miss witness holding button and not same reason as last time? Ah, yes, after that, we decided to look around streets again, and Mishy and Days went to Lord's Blessing while 4 friends went somewhere else, but before we reached the place, announcement rang. Mishy thinks that maybe 4 friends are the ones that found the body and made announcement go off..."