Handbeat Clocktower

"What in the world is 'evil'?"

―Kyle Marlon^[src]

Handbeat Clocktower is a song released by Akuno-P on March 23, 2012 in the album Four Melodies of Evil ~The Daughter of Evil Novel Music Collection~. It recieved a PV a week later. It is the seventh song in Story of Evil, following Kyle Marlon as he prepares to confront his mother, Queen Dowager Prim.

Plot

In Castle Hedgehog, Marlon, Kyle Marlon walks to the top of the Heartbeat Clocktower. He questions whether Prim Marlon, sitting and laughing at the top, is a "demon" or his "mother." Walking up the stairs, he speaks of how he once painted a picture of Ney, and how a woman with "evil intentions" created the Seven Deadly Sins, which started everything. Yukina Freezis reminds him that the right path hasn't vanished yet and that the "Story of Evil" has now ended. Kyle claims he will not hesitate to dispense justice, even if he has to turn his blade towards his mother and sister. He then laments how he is tired of despair and that his heart feels empty. Yukina comforts him, saying that they will pray for the "endless rain" to finally stop.

Kyle then encounters Ney at the top of the tower, possessed by the Demon of Gluttony. Although she gains the upper hand, Germaine Avadonia comes to Kyle's rescue. Kyle believes that one day, when he can laugh at his past suffering, he will write the "true story" of what happened. Arriving at the top of the clocktower, he ponders if Prim, now decaying on the chair, was indeed a "demon" or his "mother."

Composition

KAITO's vocals are utilized for the song, with Kaai Yuki, and Kagamine Len and Rin's vocals used as backup. Piano, drums, electric guitar, and a special input from a YAMAHA keyboard to achieve the harp sound are used for the instrumental.

The song begins with the signature lyric, followed by an opening instrumental. At 0.51, the first verse begins, and by 1.13, a variation of the instrumental begins, followed by an instrumental break at 1.24. At 1.36, the second verse begins, and at 1.59, the pre-chorus begins, with vocals from Kaai Yuki. By 2.03, both KAITO and Yuki sing together through the first chorus at 2.21. At 2.44, a brief instrumental break plays until the second verse at 2.55. At 3.18, Yuki joins the song again for the second pre-chorus; by 3.39 the second chorus begins, lasting until 4.02, when another instrumental begins. The "lu li la" melody is sung by Rin and Len in the break until 4.36. The final chorus begins afterwards, sung by KAITO and Yuki until 4.58. The opening instrumental plays until the song's end.

Lyrics

時計塔の頂上椅子に座り微笑んでるあなたは
悪魔かそれとも私の母なのか……

動く秒針揺れる正常な精神
時計塔の上にあるのは大義か毒か
螺旋階段進むたび響く針音
時間と葛藤を心に刻みつける

我欲に溺れて罪に汚れた手
贖罪代わりの剣を
振うべき相手は誰なのだろう？

あの日この手が描いた少女の肖像画
朧げな思い出が狂気の始まりだった
一人の女の生み出した異常な悪意は
七つの悪夢で全てを壊してしまった

だけど正しい道のりは
まだ消えてはいないから
ドラマティックな＜悪ノ＞物語は
今幕を閉じる

もう迷わないたとえ避けられぬ戦いでも
あなたに刃を向けることになっても
時計塔の頂上椅子に座り微笑んでるあなたは
悪魔かそれとも私の母なのか……

誰か誰か教えてよ
『悪』とは一体何なのかを

希望は一つだけ絶望は飽きるほど
ただ虚しい心

できることは少ないけど
この手を握り締めて
降り続いている雨が止むこと
ずっと祈ってる

巨大な針の音よりも響く誰かの嗤い声
もう狂人しかいない針音ノ時計塔
いつか時が経ちこの苦悩を笑える日が来たなら
この手で書こう真実の物語を

もう迷わないたとえ避けられぬ戦いでも
あなたに刃を向けることになっても
時計塔の頂上椅子に座り朽ち果ててるあなたは
悪魔か私の母だった人か……

Tokeitou no choujou isu ni suwari hohoenderu anata wa
Akumaka soretomo watashi no haha na no ka...

Ugoku byoushin yureru seijou na seishin
Tokeitou no ue ni aru no wa taigika dokuka
Rasen kaidan susumu tabi hibiku shinon
Jikan to kattou wo kokoro ni kizamitsukeru

Gayoku ni oborete tsumi ni yogoreta te
Shokuzai kawari no tsurugi wo
Furuubeki aite wa dare na no darou?

Ano hi kono te ga egaita shoujo no shouzou ga
Oboroge na omoide ga kyouki no hajimari datta
Hitori no onna no umidashita ijou na akui wa
Nanatsu no akumu de subete wo kowashite shimatta

Dakedo tadashii michinori wa
Mada kiete wa inai kara
DORAMATIKKU na "Aku no" Monogatari wa
Ima maku wo tojiru

Mou mayowanai tatoe sakerarenu tatakai demo
Anata ni yaiba wo mukeru koto ni natte mo
Tokeitou no choujou isu ni suwari hohoenderu anata wa
Akumaka soretomo watashi no haha na no ka...

Dareka dareka oshiete yo
"Aku" to wa ittai nan na no ka wo

Kibou wa hitotsu dake zetsubou wa akiru hodo
Tada munashii kokoro

Dekiru koto wa sukunai kedo
Kono te wo nigirishimete
Furi tsudzuite iru ame ga yamu koto
Zutto inotteru

Kyodai na hari no oto yori mo hibiku dareka no warai goe
Mou kyoujin shika inai shinon no tokeitou
Itsuka toki ga tachi kono kunou wo waraeru hi ga kita nara
Kono te de kakou shinjitsu no monogatari wo

Mou mayowanai tatoe sakerarenu tatakai demo
Anata ni yaiba wo mukeru koto ni natte mo
Tokeitou no choujou isu ni suwari kuchihateteru anata wa
Akumaka watashi no haha datta hito ka...

Smiling and sitting in a chair at the top of the clock tower,
Are you a demon, or are you my mother...?

The moving second hand sways
A normal spirit
Above the clock tower is
Justice or poison?
Each time I advance up the spiral staircase
A handbeat reverberates
Time and conflict, they strongly etch onto my heart

Hands that wallowed in greed and were sullied in sin
Who is the companion who should wield
The sword in the place of atonement?

A portrait of a girl
That my hands drew that day
That faint memory was
The beginning of madness
With seven nightmares,
An abnormal evil that was
Brought forth by a lone woman destroyed everything

But because the correct way
Still hasn’t vanished
A dramatic Story <of Evil>
Is now drawing to a close

I won’t hesitate anymore, even if this is an unavoidable fight
Even if it comes to turning my sword on you
Smiling and sitting in a chair at the top of the clocktower,
Are you a demon, or are you my mother...?

Someone, someone tell me
What in the world is “evil”?
I have just one hope; my heart is so empty
That I’ve grown sick of despair

There isn’t much I can do, but
I tightly grasp my hands
And am always praying
For an end to this falling rain

Someone’s laughing voice resounds louder than the long hand’s sound
Now there’s only madmen in the Handbeat Clocktower
Someday time will pass, if the day we can laugh at this suffering comes

With my own hands I will write the true story

I won’t hesitate anymore, even if this is an unavoidable fight
Even if it comes to turning my sword on you
Rotting and sitting in a chair at the top of the clocktower,
Are you a demon, or a person who was my mother...?

English translation by Pricechecktranslations

Related Songs

Heartbeat Clocktower

Heartbeat Clocktower shares a similar melody and arrangement with Handbeat Clocktower, as well as containing similar imagery.

Albums

Four Melodies of Evil ~The Daughter of Evil Novel Music Collection~

Appearances

Abyss I.R. (appears in PV)
Aile Freezis (appears in PV)
Allen Avadonia
Anne Lucifen d'Autriche (appears in PV)
Chartette Langley (appears in PV)
Clarith (appears in PV)
Demon of Gluttony
Elluka Clockworker (appears in PV)
Eve Moonlit (mentioned only)
Germaine Avadonia (appears in PV)
Gumillia (appears in PV)
Keel Freezis (appears in PV)
Kyle Marlon
Leonhart Avadonia (appears in PV)
Michaela (appears in PV)
Mikina Freezis (appears in PV)
Ney Phutapie
Prim Marlon
Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche
Riliane Mouchet (appears in PV)
Shaw Freezis (appears in PV)
Yukina Freezis

Battle of Castle Hedgehog
Conspiracy of Evil
War of 505 (appears in flashback(s))

Avadonia Family
Beelzenian Imperial Family (appears in PV)
Clockworker Family (appears in PV)
Espionage Task Force
Freezis Family
Phutapie Family
Levin (appears in PV)
Lucifenian Royal Family
Ma (Mem Aleph) (appears in PV)
Marlon Royal Family
Moonlit Family (mentioned only)
Netsuma Clan (appears in PV)
Rogzé Family
Venomania Bloodline (appears in PV)

Clockwork Lullaby
Clockworker's Doll (appears in PV)
Demons of Sin (mentioned only)
Four Mirrors of Lucifenia (appears in PV)
Glass of Conchita (appears in PV)
Gumillia's Glasses (appears in PV)
Hereditary Evil Raiser Syndrome
Humans
Kayo's Scissors (appears in PV)
Magic
Marlon Spoon (appears in PV)
Possession (appears in PV)
Reanimation (appears in PV)
Soul (appears in PV)
Spell Songs
Transformation Magic (appears in PV)
Venom Sword (appears in PV)
Vessels of Sin (appears in PV)

Trivia

Conceptualization and Origin

The song's title references the clocktower Kyle ascends as he prepares to confront his mother.
The song is a rearrangement of Heartbeat Clocktower, created for the promotion of The Daughter of Evil: Praefacio of Blue and included in Four Melodies of Evil ~The Daughter of Evil Novel Music Collection~.

Curiosities

The song PV is mostly composed of images from The Daughter of Evil novels.
Interestingly, both songs maintain a gray gear in their song PV with Heartbeat Clocktower's gear turning blue, representing Gear, and the final silhouette seen with the gear in Handbeat Clocktower being Kyle.
When Ney reveals herself in the attire of Banica Conchita, her pose is reminiscent of her concept art.
During the song PV, the reflections of Ney and Germaine are seen on the Glass of Conchita, referencing their connection to Banica; similarly, the reflections of Kyle and Prim are seen on the Marlon Spoon, referencing their lineage to Gallerian.
In the beginning, four spinning images can be seen: a yellow staircase, a green gear, a red flower, and a blue doll; their order matches the order in which the The Daughter of Evil light novels were released.