Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume7 Chapter1 (section)

===Part II===

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Fist, light, and flame.

The tri colored lights raged through the hall. The destruction was overwhelmed by more destruction.

"You can’t do this, Madame. You can't just go around killing everyone out of a sudden."

The man said, holding up a white-hot fist.

"Yes. The Fist over there is correct."

The boy who floated in the air amidst the light shrugged.

"……"

Last of all, the noblewoman in a dress of flames glared silently.

<i>"Gaga…gagagagachi…gagagagachigagchi."</i>

Three mere blows. Three personal attacks caused Madame to be completely battered.

Destructive Fist: Maccia Electus.

Dust. Dust Believer.

Third Angel. Noellfaen.

These people who were no less gifted than others, invited to be the jury here, saved, saved Ai and the others in the nick of time.

"You guys!"

<i>Piiuuu. </i>Dee, the first to run off, immediately ran back and started hammering at Maccia’s chest.

"You guys are late! You should have saved us earlier!"

"Don't get us wrong."

Maccia replied, blocking a spinning punch with a right hand.

"We're not on your side at all—it’s just that we’re stepping in as this is overdoing it."

<i>"Gaga…gagaga…why…"</i>

A voice echoed from the burned flesh.

'Why? Ladies and gentlemen? Why…are you doing this to this …?"

Madame had already begun to regenerate. Just as it was impossible to fold sand, and impossible to cut water, no matter how strong their abilities were, it was not easy to destroy Madame’s body that was made of scrap metal, even for the three of them.

"I'm saying that you broke the law, Madame."

"Broke the law…?"

Madame's mailbox face showed a puzzled look.

"That's right. You people make up your own laws and pervert them. You don’t obey the laws you made, and that's too much."

Maccia continued.

<i>"I broke the…law…"</i>

"You dare say you didn’t? How do you explain this situation then? You passed the verdict on Alice, but you never went through the proper judiciary process when the entire town was opposed. Are you intending to destroy a whole town without going through the due process? "

<i>"I…I…broke the law."</i>

One had to wonder if Madame heard those words as she began to mumble only those words with her crushed lips.

Ai had a bad feeling about this.

"Of course. Shouldn’t you stop right now? Since the townspeople are going to obstruct the punishment that is Alice's sealing, they too should be judged on their interference before you process."

<i>"I broke the law…"</i>

"…?"

Ai exchanged glances with Dee, who too showed a similarly perturbed look in her face. What Maccia said was mostly what Dee had been trying to say earlier. This persuasion of reason however was beginning to rot, emitting an extraordinary stench.

"And the people backing you don't want you to do this..."

<i>"How can I possibly…break the law……?"</i>

"—Hmm?"

Finally, Maccia seemed to notice the disturbing signs.

"I am…the keeper of the law…the foundation of justice…and I…I…"

"Hey, Madame?"

The broken scrap metal face formed an expression of anger. The excessive rage caused the giant's body to appear too small, and as the lips pursed, it caused the body to rip apart, the trembling caused the body to disintegrate further.

"How can I…how can I…how can I…how cangagagagagaga—"

"Hey!"

And the giant abruptly collapsed.

Ash to ash, trash to trash, and the ramshackle body crumbled back into junk.

One of the twisted plates rolled away, rolling all the way to Ai before stopping.

The sound died away, and silence fell upon the area.

"…What is this?"

Ai murmured in the painful silence. No one was truly happy about this collapse, and even those of terrible intuition knew firsthand that the current silence was going to be broken badly.

<i> </i>

<i>"Kan ka kan!"</i>

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The silence was broken by the sound of a hammer.

<i>"Judgment …."</i>

<i>Gan gan gan!</i>

The sound of the gavel came out of nowhere.

"To the town of Ostia and the three members of the jury…."

A voice from an unknown source declared.

"You are in contempt of court …for obstructing  justice… breach of trust…and everything else…"

<i>Gan gan gan gan gan gan!</i>

The sound of the gavel no longer produced any dignity as it hammered at everyone's eardrums like an annoying cicada rain.

<i>Gan gan gan gan gan gan gan gan!</i>

And,

"Capital punishment shall be meted out."

<i>Gachi.</i>

Madame became a huge smile.

<i>Gachigachigachigachigachigachigachigachi!</i>

"Are you serious…"

Alice paled.

"… No way. At this time…?"

Alice, Dee, and the jury all turned pale. Ai had no idea what was going on.

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"Madame has ‘fallen’…"

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The words formed hordes of uneasiness and despair that spread through the evening darkness.

"I can't believe Coven is going to be 'selfish'…negotiations won’t work…the town will be destroyed…"

Dee fell to her knees weakly.

The lights on the walls went out one by one, and the area was engulfed in darkness. Madame’s gnawing sounds intensified in turn, surrounding the crowd from everywhere.

"Circle up!"

Julie shouted, telling off the disheartened people. Everyone straightened their backs and obeyed without complaint.

<i>Gachigachigachigachigachigachi!!</i>

The walls, ceilings, and earth trembled, and the odd but elegant trial hall collapsed, engulfed in a wave of laughter.

The circle was barely afloat in the sea of destruction, like a small boat bobbing on the waves.

"Ai, find Madame! Where is she?"

"I'm on it!"

Ai used her keen hearing to search for the source of the sound. She listened carefully to the sounds coming from all directions, searching for the source of the real voice. However,

"Ai! Hurry up! Where’s Madame? What the hell is this thing!?"

<i>"Gachigachigachigachigachigachigachigachi!!!!"</i>

"Speak up already! Which one's the real one?"

"They're all real!"

Ai shouted.

"We're inside Miss Madame!"

And Madame smirked.

In the midst of her laughter, the humans turned pale.

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Scar wished she had not listened to Julie to begin with.

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The battle had begun once again in front of the main gate.

"Hold the line! Don't let a single one of them get into the town! Fire, fire, fire! "

The citizen soldiers led by the bearded guard captain shouted and shot at the iron bugs that kept assaulting the main gate. The armament ranged from recoilless guns to flintlock rifles of varying standards and ages, as if the exhibits of an entire historical museum was in full display. Some of them brought out full plate iron armors, and for some reason, some of them were even wearing them.

"Erm, I do not have to participate?"

Scar was left behind at the ruin of a café about fifty meters downhill from the main gate, sitting down on the only surviving chair.

"Of course!"

The young soldier, and therefore the one assigned to this location, answered.

"Miss Scar, your work is already done! Please sit there!"

Her job was to basically use her outstanding senses to observe the situation inside the court, and determine the best time for the trial to be overturned. It was a very important job, and only Scar could do it. <i>Please stay outside with Celica</i>—that was what Julie said, but in hindsight, that explanation was basically to keep her away from danger.

"You two, please stay put! I'll protect you!"

<i>Yah! Ta! </i>The boy swung his spear wildly, and was dressed in full plate armor for some reason. It seemed that in this boy's mind, Scar was a ‘weak woman who should be protected’.

In fact, it was the other way around.

"…Haa."

"You've been sighing a lot since a while ago."

"…I guess.  I never used to sigh."

"Are you worried about something?"

"…There is plenty for me to worry about."

Scar whined away at the same angle as she sighed.

"'First of all, I am worried about you, who is before me. I am also worried about the battlefield out there, Julie who is in there, and obviously, the situation of the town too. I have yet to take in the dry laundry, and what about dinner tonight?"

"E-erm, Miss Scar?"

"And—I am also concerned…about the voice."

"The voice?"

The boy asked, but Scar was too pensive to respond.

Yes, ‘that voice’.

The voice that made Scar decide to fight.

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(Aaahhhh!)

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Ai's scream.

It was a voice that sent chills down the spine just by the mere thought. It was the first time Scar had ever heard Ai's voice like that. It was a scream that embodied despair and sorrow.

How much misfortune had befallen her? How much despair had tormented her heart?

What was Ai doing at this moment?

Scar was troubled.

(Is she crying? Or is she unable to cry? Is there nobody with her? Why am I not with her)

Scar regretted deeply, thinking that she should not have listened to Julie at all.

"Daw!"

A hand kept tapping her cheek.

"…Celica?"

"Uuu~"

One had to wonder when she woke up. The Great Goddess of Hunger and Fullness. The unrivaled baby Celica Hecmatika reached out and patted Scar's cheek.

"…Are you hungry?"

"Uu!"

<i>No!</i> The baby made such a noise. Scar ignored the baby's insistence, "Yes yes" and checked the diaper and skin.

But it seemed neither was the right answer, for Celica's squeamishness did not abate.

<i>She's a child who rarely squirms, and yet…</i>Scar tried all means, but Celica kept pouting, and Scar was at her wit's end,

"I guess she’s saying ‘don’t worry’ or something?."

The boy echoed Celica's sentiments.

The boy gently stroked the baby's head, his full plate armor clanking. Instantly, Celica seemed content and stroked Scar in the same way.

This time, the feelings were conveyed to Scar.

"…Yes, I am sure of it."

As if to express her gratitude, Scar hugged Celica gently.

"I am certain, certain that Ai will be fine. I am sure everyone will be safe."

It was then that Scar decided to wait, believing that,

<i>"Gyyyaaaaa!"</i>

A tremendous scream erupted from the entrance to the courthouse.

"What happened!?"

It was a scene where one had to doubt the eyes. The courthouse, which had been a perfectly decent, if oddly shaped building, was slithering like a snake.

"Back off, both of you!"

The snake writhe about, closing the entrance as if it were trying to hold back vomit. One could see tremendous light and destruction rampaging there.

The court exploded as though it took a bite of gunpowder.

"Gyyyaaaaa!"

There were people spilling out of the battered and open entrance. The court vomited like a frog that had swallowed a bee. This time, humans were ejected.

The entrance then rose up high like a sickle head, and threw the two of them into the air as if to fling out its broken teeth.

"Ai!"

Scar immediately began to run.

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"Kyyyyyyaaaaaaaa!"

"Woaaahhhhhhhh!"

Thinking that she had managed to escape, Ai jumped out and found herself in the sky. From about 15 meters in the air, she looked at the ground to see the familiar main gate, the unfamiliar iron bugs, people wielding guns and the security captain frantically shouting "Stop shooting!" Dee and Julie were further downhill, looking at her worriedly. Ai just felt everyone was so small, like miniatures.

Before her was the town of Ostia that was dyed red.

She could see the ripples of the glistening lake. She saw a flock of crows returning to their nests, their shadows casted over a hundred meters on the ground. At a camp downtown, there was someone looking at her in shock.

<i>I'm home.</i>

That was what Ai felt like saying to that person for some reason.

The fall was about to end.

She braced herself for the full impact of eight meters, while her body was trapped by gravity.

"Ai!"

For some reason, Scar was there at the landing point of the fall.

"M-Miss Scar? Why?"

As a Gravekeeper herself, Scar would have known that Ai was in no danger at this height. And yet, Scar held Celica in her left hand and stretched her right hand fully up into the sky.

"Alright! Ai~! Alice~! Come here! A little to the right, Maccia!"

"Don't order me around!"

And then, there were others who joined in.

"E-Everyone, move back! Please move back!"

"Come now, girl! Come to papa!"

"Please listen to me!"

"It's all right!"

The large man who had a communication issue spread his arms wide.

"I’ll definitely catch you!"

<i>You can't say no to me!</i> Julie laughed out loud.

"…!"

Ai had nothing more to say, nor did she have the time to as she landed into the crowd. The impact that she was supposed to feel reached many hands, leaving her completely unscathed.

"———~!"

As she sank into the soft hands, Ai felt something escape her mind and something enter her heart.

"Ai!"

Scar hugged Ai together with Celica.

"Ai, are you fine? Are you hurt? Are you in pain? Do you feel unbearable?"

Scar was surprisingly worried.

"I'm fine, Miss Scar."

Ai hugged Scar and Celica back with as much strength as Scar did.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

Scar blinked.

"…Well, that is weird. You certainly look fine. "

<i>Daw!</i> <i>"I told you so!"</i> Celica seemingly boasted.

"I'll tell you about what happened later. But for now...Mr. Alice!"

"Okay—so, old man. How about you drop me off?"

"How about you get off me, you bastard!!"

For some reason, Alice landed on Julie, and then he unwillingly hopped off, looking at everyone.

"Everyone, get out of here right now."

He pointed behind.

"Get as far away from the town as you can."

Over there, Madame was devouring herself.

The courthouse was completely disfigured and no longer a building at all. A fungus-like fluid made of junk was swallowing the walls and pillars from the inside, and the iron worms that had been guarding the building squealed away as they were swallowed one after another.

Madame was about to be reborn as something else. The pie of flesh that filled the fence of the school looked like an overgrown egg or a cocoon—or a rotting pus, or a tumor.

At the moment, Madame was still too busy remaking herself to approach them. Needless for Alice to say, it was obvious to everyone.

There's no way they could fight this thing.

"No way."

But there was a spirit that put such fear to rest.

"I'm staying."

Dee walked in, carrying an old assault rifle. Everyone was shocked. It was no longer a matter of whether it suited her at all. The sight of a girl and a gun combination just felt so painful.

But Dee herself did not seem to have any feelings about it; she just propped her gun and sai,

"If we run away here, we'll be running away forever. I don't want that."

"Are you stupid!? You'll die!"

The ‘Dandy Mayor’ Bendo Gram, the leader of Ostia Town, shouted to the point where his face was flushed right..

"It’s just dying."

Dee, who had loaded the first round of ammunition through unaccustomed hands, lifted the gun with some difficulty.

"People will die someday. I don't care if I die today."

"Don't be stupid!"

"Those who don’t want to die can run. I'll protect you."

She gave a taunting smile.

"—By the way, does this gun fire when I pull the trigger? I don't get this."

"…The safety is still on, Dee Ensy."

The bearded security captain immediately stepped forward and inspected Dee's gun.

"…We'll stay. With you."

The captain's men followed one after the other. They accepted Dee's words as though they were disciples who were struck by an oracle.

But Dee remained aloof the entire time, "I see" and merely nodded curtly.

"Wait! Wait a minute! Is that the only way?"

"There’s no other way. There’s no way for Ostia to recover again if we don’t do this."

The simple declaration of their future sent chills down everyone's spine. However, they had no better option aside from what Dee had told them.

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"Then I'll do it."

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Alice said.

"I'll stop Madame."

"… How?"

Dee asked, giving the look of someone who had just chewed a thousand bitter bugs.

"With my ability, of course…it’s hard to explain, but anyway, everyone, please believe me and run to the town."

"! You’re doing that again…wait, hold up, let go of me, Bendo!"

<i>Wah wah! </i>Bendo held down a yapping Dee.

"Brat, I’ll listen to whatever you say…if you say there’s a way, I’ll believe there is. But I want you to answer one question."

The man who had known Alice since his birth grabbed the latter’s shoulders firmly.

"—You're coming back alive, aren't you?"

"……"

"You're not going to give up your own life to get everyone else to escape, are you?"

"…Yeah."

Alice responded.

"I'm not planning to do that. Also, I want these guys to stay."

Saying that, Alice patted Ai’s head. Ai was a little surprised, for she thought she was going to be told to run away.

Alice looked a little angry and said, "What is it? Ai laughed and said, "It's nothing."

Julie and Scar nodded in agreement, while Dee hurriedly added, "I'm staying too!"

"Is that so…"

Bendo laughed and seemed to accept this.

"We’ve decided! Alice and a few others will stall Madame here! The rest of you, retreat to the town as fast as you can! Help with the evacuation!"

"But, Mayor!"

"Captain! I’m the mayor, and I have the authority to make decisions here! You will obey me!"

"~! No choice now! Hurry up!"

<i>"Righto!"</i>

The group then moved quickly. People rushed out like spiders and jumped into the nearby parked cars. Weapons, armor, people, and everything else was stuffed in at random, and the engines were revved.

<i>"Gachigachigachigachi."</i>

While the people evacuated, the surface of Madame began to bubble. The pie made of junk was bursting as though it was fermentation, and children no one wanted to see were being born from the bubbles. There were rhinoceros made of empty candy boxes, dogs made of boats and cars, wedding dresses made out of newspapers. Madame's creations were akin to toys made by children, and most of them rolled away, being completely useless.

But some of them did work.

<i>"Gachigachigachigachi!"</i>

Infantrymen made of pistols, mantises made of saws, wasps made of choppers. They ranged from being as small as bugs to large as ancient dragons, none of which were the same, and they spilled out of the bubbles, running out.

"Move move move!"

The cars that had finished stuffing the bare minimum items raced down the hill, one after another, away from the main gate.

"What are you doing? Move out right now!"

Among them, there was one car that was having trouble starting its engine.

"Wait! Don't rush me! Okay, here we go!"

Five winged creatures charged forth and descended  upon the plaza at bullet-like speed. Ai parried off one, Alice deflected another, and the remaining three were taken care of by Deformed.

That was when the sixth wasp attacked the car.

"Whoa!"

Alice had a great reaction. He fended off one of them before him, and with an assault rifle he somehow procured, he shot out the eyes and wings of the iron bug that attacked the car.

However...

<i>"What?"</i>

The driver and Alice showed shocked faces. The iron worm was no longer a soft existence that could ‘be destroyed if needed’.

<i>"Gachigachigachigachi!"</i>

The shattered eyeballs functioned even after being shattered, and the broken wings regenerated as they were broken.

All the iron bugs had become part of Madame herself.

Just as one could not cut water, or break sand.

Nobody could break something that was already broken.

<i>"Woaaaaaahhh!!"</i>

The regenerating iron bug climbed onto the car. Alice fired more shots, and the iron bug was destroyed again.

<i>"Gachigachigachigachi!"</i>

But there was no way to kill something that was dead.

"I-It’s hopeless——~!!"

The only ones that could do so—

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"Do not say it is hopeless."

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There was a flash.

A silver blade flashed in the corner of the battlefield, and dirt clods were flung. The clods slowly unraveled and flew ten meters away, bursting when it hit the back of the iron bug.

That mere touch alone,

Caused the immortal monster to return to the earth.

"Please get a grip. Are humans not greedier for life than that?"

The silver blade was a dull shovel,  and there was a shining baby on its owner's chest.

It was a Gravekeeper with a scar on her right eyebrow.

"Celica, it is dangerous. Do stay put."

[[Image:Kamisama v07 Illustration 02.jpg|thumb]]

<i>Daw!</i> Celica gave a very energetic reply, and curled up in the safest place in the world.

Scar tied the hugging cloth tightly onto herself, and took the shovel in her other hand as well.

"Ai!"

She swung her left hand, and Ai instinctively reached out to grab the object before her.

It was Ai's shovel.

"It does appear our technique works here!"

Scar kept moving while she spoke. She kept swinging her shovel so quickly that the eyes could not catch up, eradicating the iron bugs one by one.

"Ai!"

Ai heard the voice urging her, but allowed herself three seconds of hesitation.

The shovel had been by Ai's side since her mother's death. The shovel that always supported Ai's pretensions, was a symbol of dreams and hopes, and had helped her so many times.

But it never saved her.

"Nn…"

Ai brought her forehead to the cold blade, and broke away from it.

The shovel, as usual, made no reply.

<i>Swoosh. </i>The silver blade thrust into the earth, and Ai grabbed the shovel like a drowning person clinging onto a floating log, her head lowered as she watched for the irong bugs to swarm over. The wingless ones were already crawling towards her. A sludge elephant raised its leg, and a jeweled scarecrow raised its emerald hand.

A silver light flashed.

<i>Splash. </i>The sound of splashing water echoed everywhere. This movement alone immobilized the iron bugs, and they could no longer move. It was a simple burial of tossing the soil, a method that the Ai of old would never have chosen.

"Now then!"

Ai declared, raising her a shovel.

"Leave this place to us, everyone, please run!"

"! Got it!"

The last of the cars disappeared down the hill.

For a brief moment, Ai's consciousness faded as she threw herself into the battle.

And when she came to, she found himself standing in the wreckage.

"My bad my bad, you saved us here. I didn’t think the iron bugs could be immortal."

After scavenging the weapons that were left behind, Alice came over like a platoon of one.

"Mr. Alice, are you sure your ‘plan’ will work?"

Ai's face winced with anxiety, Alice said that they could stop the iron bugs before knowing of the enemy's immortality. It might not work anymore.

"No problem." But Alice just nodded,

"That aside, did the townspeople evacuate? What about Dee?"

"Mr. Maccia took her away."

"Took her away?"

"Yes, Miss Dee was shouting, ‘I'm staying here—————~!’ but Mr. Maccia didn’t care and carried her off like a sack of wheat."

"Nice going Maccia...so it's the three of us left?"

"No way!"

The voice echoed.

"You think! I’ll leave! My daughter and everyone! Behind in a dangerous place! And run?"

"Ah!"

From afar, a familiar blue car arrived.

"Oohh, old man, over here, over here...wait, too close! Old man! Brake! Brake!"

The car came to a stop right before it was about to run over Alice.

"… Ahh, yeah. Of course. I can't leave my daughter near this dangerous thing…it should be removed ASAP…"

"Old man! Old man! Why are you looking at me!? The dangerous thing is over there, alright!? Ai! Say something already!?"

"It’s the car!"

Ai said, and patted the blue car that arrived before her.

It was that blue car that assisted Ai in her journey. The color of the car was much hazier and deeper than what she remembered.

"Enough fooling, the three of you. The third and fourth waves are coming at once."

At that moment, the three of them, who had been cooing, choking, and being choked, came to their senses. iron bugs had somehow stopped simply charging and had begun to surround them. Also, everything beyond the fourth wave began to dodge the clods that Scar released.

The iron bugs had evolved.

"Everybody get in! Old man, move out!"

"Alrighty!"

Julie stomped on the pedal.

The blue car consumed the gasoline energetically, and accelerated out of the siege amazingly.

"Whoooa!"

The three legged bugs that were faster were already before them. Alice shot through the wings of these iron bugs, while Ai leaned out the window and let her shovel graze the ground, tossing clods of dirt flying.

"Yeah, we’re out! Take it!"

The swollen tires kicked up all the junk and sped down the slope of Ostia.

<i>Pak.</i>

And five five meters before arrival.

"Huh?"

The blue car made a sound resembling a defeatning fart, and stopped accelerating.

"Eh? Wh-What's going on?"

"Probably a lack of maintenance. It's been sitting there for half a year, after all."

Julie said, giving an 'understandable' reaction. The voice was uncomfortable to the others.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what do we do now?"

"Get out there and push! Anyway, just doin the slope! —No, forget it! Everyone, don’t move!"

"What now?"

"Don’t move! Everyone brace for impact!"

Ai twisted around and stared at the rear glass.

Waves of iron bugs were swarming from behind.

"Keep your mouth shut!"

Ai did as told.

Two seconds later, the car was in the blender.

Ai thought that she was going to turn into strawberry gelato when she died.

She did not know what that meant though.

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