Mushi Uta:Volume 12 Chapter 2

2.00 OPS1 Part 1

Monma Makoto had encountered that demon only three times.

Kakkou, the Mushitsuki clad in a green, shining pattern. The first time she met that Rank 1, designated as the strongest, was when Makoto was still an elementary schooler.

Since she embraced a boring dream, she became a Mushitsuki.

She was found by the SEPB for a boring reason.

She counterattacked the SEPB’s boring assassins one by one.

And as she got carried away—boringly enough, that demon appeared.

A pitch-dark coat, pitch-dark goggles, hair standing up like horns and a fire-spouting pistol.

No matter how much she hurt him, no matter how much she hid herself, he came after Makoto. He was on an entirely different league from all the assassins thus far. He was so strong she didn’t think he was human.

Although so young, Makoto felt danger to herself. At this rate she’d be killed—she was convinced of this, and lured the demon into her own elementary school.

She opened up all the speakers across her alma mater at night—

Setting up the largest trap, she tried to have the demon buried along with the school.

However, she did feel a touch of uneasiness.

Makoto managed to draw the demon not into the campus but into the gym and made her attack.

“—I wooon!”

Makoto whooped in triumph in front of the tattered demon.

However—the following moment, Makoto’s vision was dyed in purple.

She felt that trap that she set at school vanish instantly. Makoto’s ability never lost to anyone this far, yet it was being completely overwritten by someone.

The entire surroundings were being taken over for a fleeting second—this was what she felt.

The entire gym was ripped into two.

“N-nooo!”

Feeling a chill, she used her ability for defense.

This saved Makoto’s life.

When she came to, a bizarre girl stood in front of her eyes.

She had eyes of differing colors, she wore a large raincoat and had a candy on a stick in her mouth. —She swung a hockey stick which was stopped by Makoto’s ability mere millimeters from her head.

“Do be proud of yourself. —You are the first Minion Type who managed to block my full-powered blow.”

Even after cutting the gym into two the shockwave of purple lightning did not stop, tearing into the floor.

Another abnormal assassin came with the demon.

“Do be proud! Do be proud!”

Even as she kept running away from this exuberant battle-crazed warrior pursuing her, the pitch-dark demon appeared in front of her again to block her way—

And stopped the hockey stick about to inflict the final blow. With his other hand he grabbed Makoto’s throat and held her aloft.

“S-shit… I won when you were alone… you coward…”

As she said this with a grimace, the demon with a bleeding head smiled as if he found it funny.

“Ha. —You went too easy on me. Did you really think that if you brought out your full powers you’d kill me, instead of fainting me like all the other combatants?”

“Uugh…”

“I’ll never lose to someone so soft.”

Saying this, the grip holding Makoto’s throat was being strengthened by the demon. “Do release me! Do release me!” the battle-crazed warrior wailed behind him, grinning and kicking the demon.

This is it for me—

She really thought this. It was obvious at a glance that the berserker at the back was insane, but the demon in front of her certainly did look filled with killer intent as he was trying to murder her.

“I-I’m sorry—”

Since she faced actual danger to her life for the first time ever, Makoto’s heart completely yielded.

“P-please forgive me… don’t kill me, please…”

She did nothing wrong, but she was shaking all over with fear as she apologized and begged.

“I’ll do anything…”

Her face completely wet with tears, she pathetically begged for her life.

Her pleas lacking any shame or honor bore fruit. The demon did not kill her.

“I see. —Anything, you say?”

As the demon said this, he didn’t keep on injuring her.

Apparently the demon and the berserker fought over how to treat her following this. They argued and it became a fight, but Makoto didn’t even have the power to escape.

—I see, so I was weak.

Seeing the demon and the berserker, she noticed her own helpless averageness. At the tender age of 13 she finally realized that humans were inherently separated into the strong and the weak.

As Makoto had sworn that she’d do anything, this was the demon’s first request of her.

That was to join the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau.

Makoto was appraised as an excellent member, but that offered her no salvation. After all, it meant that Kakkou would keep on holding her leash.

In fact, Kakkou treated her like a tool every time they met ever since. Regardless of her own will, she was just ignored if she argued against this. Otherwise, he would say—

—You said you’d do anything, right?

Being told this, Makoto felt so shamed that her face turned red and she squatted down.

Makoto couldn’t go against this blackmailer who grasped her weak past.

That demon, Kakkou, was helpless trash.

As long as Kakkou was alive, Makoto would keep shaking in fear of his threats.

Therefore, she always swore in her heart.

One day, I’ll kill Kakkou and become free.

But if I can’t, at least I’ll live longer than him—

“—I’m Blaze Class Rank 2, Terasu. It’s been decided I’ll serve as the commander of the C annihilation operation.”

Makoto named herself in the center of the dome.

In front of her eyes were the elites of the SEPB. There were also some hindrances forced to be there by their branch heads, but that was a small issue.

They were all meant to die along with Makoto as stepping stones for the Rank 1s, anyway.

“Kasuou, Nene, Yotsuba, Yakugami, Tamamo, Rinrin, Kaguya, Himiko, Kabuto, Maimai, Sakura… and?”

Mixed with the SEPB members was also a boy wielding a hockey stick. He wore not SEPB equipment, but casual wear, and had an amiable smile.

“I’m Shachito. Nice to meetcha!”

“Shachito. All of us thirteen members are to form a team and unleash a preemptive attack on C lying in the deepest layer of the Underground Fort. You are not to retreat even if anyone drops out along the way. For this, I have chosen those who are especially strong even among the SEPB so that you will be able to continue the operation even alone, in the worst case.”

Even if this was her saying that, she felt like spoke well there.

Makoto gathered high-ranked Special Types from Central Headquarters to fulfill “a certain goal”.

As for the East Central Branch, the combined forces had some excellent members. There were Himiko, who was unable to fully recover from the shock of Kakkou’s dropout, as well as those forced to come along with them who looked like they would be of no use and only serve as burden. This was troubling, but there was nothing to do about it. Did they intend to follow Kakkou to the grave?

From West Central Branch came the lone high-ranked fighter, Sakura, and no others.

South Central Branch had zero fighting power. They provided no support.

And for the North Central Branch that Makoto belonged to—there was only her. Anticipating the power struggles that were going to occur after the operation’s end, her branch head Takemi was afraid of them losing their power.

“During the operation, you must all obey my orders. Disobeying me will be regarded as treason against the SEPB, and you will be eliminated as obstacles to the operation.”

While Makoto spoke mechanically, how many people there were seriously listening to her words?

Including Kasuou, those who were close to Kakkou didn’t have their hearts there. Even the others couldn’t hide their anxiety, perhaps feeling the lack in manpower.

Ironically, the only one full of energy was Shachito, who wasn’t even an SEPB member. His form grinning while holding the hockey stick was the exact same as that berserker.

Thinking about it, half of the team were the disciples of that berserker—of Shishidou Inuko.

Noticing this unpleasant fact, Makoto felt further depressed.

“C is a terrible threat, so we must eliminate her as soon as possible. Failure will not be permitted in this mission. If we fail, this country will be destroyed.”

If we.

She felt ridiculous at how vain this word was.

If this was Kakkou leading them instead of Makoto—it probably would’ve been a completely different team. These elites fighting with that demon in the front definitely held the possibility to take on at least one small country or two and making them dysfunctional.

Now however, those in front of Makoto’s eyes—was nothing than a low-morale suicide corps scraped together.

Will any of them manage to survive and return to the surface healthy and sound?

“…”

Makoto glanced at the faraway tent.

Miguruma Yaeko grinned at Makoto.

Makoto always took the safe way out, so it was perhaps about time for her to pay the piper—

In her heart she smiled bitterly, carrying the bag laid at her feet. It was a heavy, rectangular bag. —Inside it was sealed a “certain something” that Miguruma gave her in secret to carry.

“Are you ready, everyone?”

If they retreated, they’d be charged with treason.

Even so, there was no hope for Makoto ahead.

How dangerous was C? How much she defied the imagination?

Excluding Miguruma Yaeko, she knew no other one to ask this but herself.

“Then we shall now infiltrate the Central Headquarters’ Underground Fort.”

Monma Makoto stood at the front of the suicide corps, taking the first step toward death.

2.01 OPS1 Part 2

Led by Makoto, the line of the suicide corps rushed through Akamaki City at full speed.

“Say, where’re we heading? Why not use a car?”

While running, the man called Shachito spoke to Makoto in an overly familiar manner. She strangely noticed that he wasn’t even breaking a sweat; how much stamina did he have?

“Because we want to be as close to C as we can from above before we dive into the Underground Fort.”

“This Fort thingy runs all around beneath Akamaki City’s underground, right? Is there any reason why we can’t just go there after we head down? By the way, you’re cute. Are you popular at school?”

The worn hockey stick leaning on his back, Shachito grinned at her.

He was probably the disciple of this berserker who once cornered Makoto, Shishidou Inuko—Asagi. She knew that because of the hockey stick that was her keepsake as well as his way of fighting that resembled hers.

“…”

“Huh, do you hate me? Then at least tell me about that C’s abilities. Looks like everyone knows, but only I don’t.”

She didn’t want to wear herself out by excessive talking. But for the sake of the mission, she had no choice.

“C’s a Mushitsuki who uses electricity as a medium, and quite powerful. The Central Headquarters secret experiments failed, so she’s gotten out of control.”

To be more precise she hadn’t really lost control, but the particulars of the experiment were top secret. She decided to obfuscate this by giving the absolute minimal information.

“Ooh. —Wait, is that it? Just a single Mushitsuki going on a rampage? Looks like it’s become quite the huge deal, though. After we defeated Shinpu, they’ve been talking something about her absorbing the Original Three or whatever, but I don’t understand that. Oh, and I heard that because I also had some SEPB goggles, okay? At the very least about C being a great danger.”

Ignoring the fool that prattled on and on so casually, Makoto turned back.

“Haaa! Hiii! I-I’d like you to slow down a bit!”

“Wheeze! Wheeze! M-Maimai-chan also supports this requestststs!”

There were members already complaining. They were they boy with chestnut-colored, wavy hair and freckles, called Rinrin, as well as the eyepatch girl called Maimai. They were both small statured and belonged to the logistical support unit called the intelligence division. They probably wouldn’t have come to the frontlines like that if not for C, an ex-member of the intelligence division, becoming their enemy.

Hearing Makoto click her tongue, Shachito went to the back. As he touched Rinrin and Maimai’s shoulders, an orange glow flew from both of them momentarily.

“Here ya go. This should be a little better, right? I wanna preserve my power so it’s only you two since you look like you’re suffering.”

“Woah, my body became really light! I am forever grateful to you, Shacchi!”

“Wow, this is so easy now! Thank you very muchuch!”

Maimai could not produce any voice from her vocal cords. She conversed using the special choker around her neck that digitized and broadcast her words.

“I gotta get along with Inuko’s disciples, after all. Ah but you bastard, if you call me Shacchi again I’ll break your arm, alright?”

Apparently they’d already introduced themselves. The ones not trained by that berserker Shishidou Inuko within the suicide corps were in the minority.

She felt sick seeing how calm and friendly they were, but she was worried about how the others were doing.

Other than Shachito, no one asked Makoto anything.

They probably all had things to think about, and they obeyed Makoto’s orders wordlessly.

They all fully trusted in Makoto—

Makoto wasn’t enough of an idiot to really think that. It was rather the opposite.

All of them were apathetic to Makoto. She could perfectly understand what they thought.

She believed this would be the same no matter who was in command, except for Kakkou.

Originally they all fought in different branches. And normally there would be someone powerful leading every team. Simply gathering all the strong members together didn’t mean that they fully trusted in each other.

It wasn’t simple to unify these lot.

One would need a charisma to draw people—or perhaps an overwhelming power.

Makoto, who simply went with the flow to survive, did not fulfill either condition.

“Helicopters incoming.”

The Mushitsuki called Yotsuba said.

Sure enough, before long they could see helicopters high above. One of them was a small, white one and following it were several military ones.

“What’s going on, Rinrin? Wasn’t this entire area’s airspace restricted?”

As Makoto turned around, the chestnut-hair boy put a hand to his goggles.

“Looks like a news helicopter forcibly invaded this airspace, affiliation unknown. It’s apparently ignoring requests to retreat or land.”

“If it’s ignoring them, it’s just gonna get shot down.”

The Mushitsuki called Yakugami sighed tiredly. Makoto felt the same.

“I’m afraid of it becoming a problem later. In the first place I have no idea if this helicopter’s from our country… well, Vice-Deputy Miguruma will surely do something soon—”

Makoto’s voice was drowned by a roar and an earth tremor.

“—!”

A sound loud enough to be like a giant pounding his hammer caused a tremor powerful enough to stop the suicide corps’ legs.

And there was then a golden flash bright enough to blind them.

The resulting shockwave blew away even the ruins that remained of Akamaki City.

“Wha—”

Seeing that, commander Makoto was the first one to raise a voice of agitation.

A column of light launched from the surface knocked down each and every helicopter in the sky.

She heard of mythological gods smiting their enemies with lightning, but this was the exact opposite—

It was golden lightning rising from the surface to the heavens.

“W-what was that…? That… lightning?”

The oldest Mushitsuki among them, Nene, mumbled in shock.

Far away, behind the surroundings buildings, they could hear the explosion resulting from the helicopters crashing.

“Could it have been…”

“C, most likely.”

Answering Shachito’s answer with a tense voice was Kasuou. While pushing her vivid blond hair behind her ears with a finger, she spoke in a lethargic tone.

“Using lightning’s her special technique. That being said, she used to be able to use it only once a day, though.”

“Meaning that she’s already prepared for battle.”

Kaguya spoke now. It was perhaps natural for his expression to freeze. This was clearly an attack that used vast amounts of energy. If it scored a direct hit on Makoto’s group, there was nothing they could do.

“Tamamo. You are erecting a barrier around us, right?”

“I am…”

Tamamo, who had imp wings on her back, nodded, looking unconfident. She had a sort of a stealth ability that allowed her to dull the consciousness of outside enemies.

“Alright. If so, then let’s keep going full speed ahead.”

Makoto spoke this order, but only few of them started running after her.

“What are you doing! Don’t worry, we’re running without using any vehicles that are electrically conductive to make it harder for C to notice us! We also have Tamamo’s barrier!”

Shachito objected.

“No, I really do think she should get underground as soon as possible. I mean, that attack just now was strong enough to finish us in one hit.”

“I agree. I believe we should avoid such a clear threat.”

Kabuto also offered his opposition. —If she remembered correctly, he was a Rank 5. He was yet another burden forced on her by the East Central Branch in their desire to avenge Kakkou.

Kasuou mumbled vaguely.

“C, huh… I never got along with that brat to the very end. I wonder why things are like this now…”

“That is quite enough! I’m the commander, so—”

She was about to yell, but Makoto noticed a certain change.

The air around seemed to be crackling.

“…?”

People other than Makoto also noticed this. They looked around them, puzzled.

Currently they were along the highway, a bit further from Akamaki City’s center. They were surrounded by crumbled buildings and collapsed power poles from the effects of Shinpu’s raid.

Electric lines exposed from inside buildings.

Severed electrical lines from the fallen power poles.

These emitted a tststs like a bird’s chirp and created golden, stretching lines.

They were gradually gathering toward Makoto’s group—

“RETREAAAT!”

Hearing Makoto’s shout, the suicide corps spread out.

It happened immediately after this.

“—!”

Loud noise and a golden flash pierced through the spot they inhabited just before.

The shockwave blew them away like they were ragdolls. As expected from the experienced combatants, they were able to assume the proper position and reduce the damage, but there were also those among them who didn’t manage that. Rinrin’s back slammed against the debris and Maimai rebounded on top of the cracked road, rolling forward.

“She—she found us…?”

Using the momentum of a somersault to stand up, Makoto raised her face.

If their evasive actions were but an instant too late, they’d have been wiped out by that single blow.

“Tamamo! What’s up with your barrier? Why were we discovered!”

“I-I dunnooo! She might just surpass my ability, or maybe C can’t be easily mentally influenced in her current condition…!”

Hearing the imp girl’s excuses, Makoto gasped.

“I see, since C no longer has any personality, she became resistant to mental attacks…!”

“Eh?”

Nene looked at Makoto with a surprised faced.

“What do you mean? Wasn’t C-chan going out of control?”

Tstststs, this lingering sound resounded around again.

Golden lines were starting to gather at Makoto’s feet.

“R-retreat!”

Once again, the golden lightning pierced from surface to sky.

Makoto’s group managed to barely evade.

“…! What about Maimai and Rinrin?”

As Makoto looked around, an orange glow cut through her sight.

Having at some point picked them up, Shachito was holding both fainted teens, one under each arm.

“We really should be getting underground as soon as possible, Terasu-chan! I dunno how, but C can see our movements! At this rate she’ll just attack us unilaterally!”

“Why… it was one thing if the barrier wasn’t working, but how can she even see…!”

Makoto soon realized the answer before she finished speaking. She looked up at the sky.

“I see—she’s using the satellite…!”

She was able to stop other countries from monitoring them through artificial satellites. That trick was clearly related to the past C. As she was right now, it wouldn’t be odd if she could use the satellite and surveil their movements.

Kaguya shouted.

“If she can see us through the satellite, then that’s all the more reason to head down! It’s difficult moving on the surface. Let’s head right away to the nearest entrance of the Underground Fort!”

Makoto thought for a moment, but then rejected that suggestion.

“—We can’t! We’ll keep running on the surface and get as close as we can to C’s position from above!”

“But why?!”

Still holding the two Mushitsuki, Shachito shouted angrily.

“You probably know a whole lot about C! But I—”

“Tamamo! If you pour as much power into your barrier as you can, how long will it last, approximately?”

“If I preserved it at full power, I’d exhaust myself by the time we reach our goal!”

“That’s fine! Then do it!”

“W-wait! We still need Tamamo’s power!”

Nene’s objection overlapped with a tstststs sound.

“—R-retreat!”

Once again, as Makoto’s group dispersed, a golden pillar erupted in their middle.

All members looked at her, shouting.

“Stop with this! We’ll never be able to reach our goal in one piece!”

“Terasu…! At this rate we’ll be annihilated before we even do anything!”

“The satellite won’t be able to see us from underground! Let’s go under, quickly!”

Makoto bit her lips. She wanted to shorten the time spent below ground by as much as possible, but it was true that they were about to get annihilated at this rate.

Above all else—none of them were even attempting to obey her orders.

In this state, trying to rush above ground was obviously suicidal.

“I-I’ll revise my orders—”

Makoto rose to her legs, squeezing out her voice.

“We’ll aim for the closest entrance to the underground…! Yotsuba, lead the way!”

“Gotcha. Let’s go!”

With catlike, nimble movements, Yotsuba leapt off the debris.

“Tch, so slow…!”

She could hear Shachito cussing. Makoto clenched her fists.

What do you want, I just wanted it to be the safest path with the lowest risk possible—

They rushed through the ruined streets of Akamaki City in a line.

Perhaps due to Tamamo strengthening her barrier, C’s lightning attacks became sporadic.

Instead, it seemed like the frequency of her attacks increased. She was probably indiscriminately attacking the area where she thought Makoto’s group was at, shooting up lightning one after another.

“Don’t scatter! Move together as much as you can!”

Kabuto interjected Makoto’s orders.

“Isn’t it better to run separately in this state?! We need to keep casualties to a minimum!”

With each member having a retort of their own, Makoto’s anger grew more and more.

“I’m the freaking commander here! Just do what you’re told!”

“Here it is! We can reach the underground from that building!”

Yotsuba shouted. She was pointing at a small, half-ruined building.

Although lightning attacks grazed them many times, everyone managed to reach there alive.

Makoto had a brief moment of relief, but then Yotsuba stood in place.

“What’s wrong, Yotsuba?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

Standing to Kasuou’s side, the head of the Central Headquarters’ kamikaze unit. Although she looked plain at a glance, her intuition was well-known even within the SEPB.

The ground swelled in front of them.

Along with a roar, a conducting wire—electric cable—thick enough to be carried by both hands came flying from the underground. Its insulator made of hardened plastic was torn and the wires inside it became exposed.

Shachito groaned.

“This is bad, it was an ambush—”

She was able to feel this imminent disaster with her entire body even without him telling her this.

Makoto instantly began to follow the line of her throat with her index finger.

Her Mushi—a wasp spider—appeared, wrapping around her thin throat. Long legs grasping her thin throat continued to create a radial pattern behind her. Makoto’s Mushi was an equipment type, rare among Minion-Type Mushi.

The wasp spider’s long legs began emitting light. Makoto’s throat shone with a glowing afterimage.

“—Territory Isolation!!!”

Makoto put her entire strength into this roar.

Loud, ear-grating noise and a golden flash of light covering the entire area clashed directly.

The storm of blowing electricity was split to two sides before hitting Makoto’s group.

However—

“—UWAAAAHHHH!”

Someone probably screamed.

Although Makoto’s ability managed to defend against the direct brunt of the attack, the ground collapsed from the impact.

Including Makoto, all members fell down, unable to do anything.

Large amounts of dirt and asphalt fragments mixed with the surrounding buildings’ debris, were absorbed into a hole made of darkness—and suddenly all slowed down.

At first, she thought it was simply not as deep as she imagined, but that was wrong.

They were simply stopped by a giant rhinoceros beetle.

“How are you, guys?”

Kabuto, grabbing the horn of his rhinoceros beetle, turned to the others.

As a small mercy, every single member of the suicide corps was atop the rhinoceros beetle’s back. Even Rinrin and Maimai who’d been unconscious before were trying to get up, groaning.

Apparently thinking that it wasn’t as deep as she imagined wasn’t a mistake.

The rhinoceros beetle landed in a vast space that was probably just ten-odd meters from the surface in depth. They were buried in lots of debris, but she could tell there were several generators there.

Although light reached them from the hole above, the inside was gloomy.

“Ah, I really thought we were done for. —Where are we?”

Despite his words, Shachito spoke in a casual tone. Nene looked around, then answered.

“The entrance to the Underground Fort works using a self-supporting generator… so I think this is the control room for activating that…”

“—E-everyone, stay alert!”

Makoto called for her relieved teammates to be more wary.

Everyone turned to Makoto, puzzled. Yakugami asked with a relaxed voice.

“Stay alert? Against what, exactly?”

“This is—inside the Underground Fort…!”

Everyone looked like they wanted to say they were aware of that.

However, Makoto felt herself getting drenched in sweat. —They’d infiltrated much further away than she’d assumed. Furthermore, their position was leaked to C.

“We have no idea what’s going to show up here on…!”

“What’s going to show up—meaning C?”

“Terasu-chan, we can’t be alert if you don’t explain.”

Kaguya and Shachito inquired her, easygoing.

However, from behind them—

There was the unpleasant sound of metal rubbing against metal.

As everyone turned to look—they froze.

“—”

A gloomy, automatic door.

The metal-made door that was probably connected to the Fort’s corridors opened on its own.

And not just that.

On its other side they could see a thin arm.

That arm was turned toward Makoto’s group and threw something.

“R-retreat—”

Makoto gave the order too late. They were currently inside a closed room with no escape.

Cornering them in the corner of the control room was—

A small bomb with a metallic tube and fuse.

2.02 OPS1 Part 3

—Makoto had met the demon for the second time when she was twelve.

Working at the North Central Branch after a fashion, Makoto quickly became the leader of a small team. She even gained her comrades’ trust and even enjoyed herself from time to time.

Then, that demon—Kakkou—came to the North Central Branch.

He’d chased after a Mushitsuki that ran from another region into the jurisdiction of the North Central Branch. Makoto didn’t even want to see him, but the Branch Head ordered Makoto’s team to provide support in an attempt to earn some points.

Makoto’s group was treated like slaves by Kakkou. He made then run all over in search of the enemy, let them get injured as scouts, all to set up the table for him to defeat the enemy.

Obviously, her comrades raised voices of displeasure.

As the leader, Makoto did raise some objections to Kakkou—

“If you don’t feel like being useful, I’ll kill you.”

Kakkou really was nothing but scum.

“I just wanna finish this mission already. Depending on how it’s done, my branch head might order me to go to Central Headquarters.”

Saying something trivial like that, Kakkou put his mouth to Makoto’s ears.

“—You said you’d ‘do anything’, right?”

Makoto blushed. Her heartbeat quickened and she fell silent.

Her past self that so pathetically begged for her life.

If she went against Kakkou, he might spread the word of that miserable past.

Not only that, but she might get punished by force, much more horribly than before—

The fear from when she was almost killed resurfaced, so Makoto had no choice but to beg her teammates.

“S-sorry, you guys… listen to Kakkou.”

It ended the same even without her past getting revealed. People whispered behind her back that she was Kakkou’s yes-man, so the trust and pride she’d built came crashing down.

“I can use you. Don’t go and die on me before the next time.”

As the mission ended, Kakkou spoke to Makoto before leaving.

“After all, even ‘don’t die’ is part of ‘I’ll do anything’, right?”

The demon grinned. Behind him, Makoto’s comrades looked at her with eyes full of contempt.

Since the shame and pity made Makoto nearly cry, she couldn’t say anything back.

Although she got stuck in the SEPB, she managed to build rapport with her teammates… and yet that all went to waste.

How much had she toiled since then to regain the position and pride she held within the North Central Branch?

As long as he’s alive, I’ll never be free—

Can he just die already? she prayed every day.

Even so.

Despite him being her very own angel of death, that demon—

Even after becoming a Fallen, he still crushed Makoto’s pride and made her miserable.

Right, it’s always his fault—

They successfully managed to enter the Central Headquarters’ Underground Fort.

However, the suicide corps soon fell into a huge predicament.

Someone appeared on the other side of the door, hurling a small bomb into the control room.

Even if Makoto ordered them to retreat, it was far too late. Even if they tried escaping, there was no space.

She could save at least half of the members—quickly thinking this, Makoto put a hand on her throat. The wasp spider’s legs spread in a radial pattern emitted a halo of light.

“Terri—”

Faster than Makoto could invoke her ability, a jumpsuit-wearing figure blocked her sight.

She moved superhumanly fast. These were natural movements that looked as if they’d been repeated tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of times. Flicked by a finger, a rectangular object bumped against the bomb, and was then struck by a hand-hammer with a long handle.

The small bomb exploded.

A roar echoed.

However, before the impact assaulted Makoto’s group, it converged as if it was footage going in reverse. Along with dark-red heat and a faint vibration, it was being absorbed into the rectangular object that the jumpsuit woman flicked.

“Guh…!”

Only the hammer’s user—Sakura—did not remain unharmed. She was hit by the explosion a moment before it got absorbed and not only was her arm torn, it was also covered in black.

The suicide corps immediately fell into a chaotic state.

“W-what was that! An enemy?”

“There’s an enemy other than C? What does that mean?”

“N-Nene! Heal Sakura! All other members, assume defensive positions!”

“A Mushitsuki? But I never heard of a Mushitsuki using bombs—”

“What are we going to do, should we give chase?”

“No, the enemy’s forcefield is rapidly distancing. Looks like they ran away. This isn’t human speed.”

“I told you to hold your positions! Don’t scatter!”

“I-I really thought I was going to die… I-I’m not trembling of fear, I’m just excitededed!”

They were agitated by this entirely unexpected surprise attack. Everyone started taking their own actions, speaking all over each other.

This problem went beyond just assuming command. Each couldn’t use either their powers or rationality at even half their capacity.

And what angered Makoto especially was the Mushitsuki supposedly feared as a berserker.

“—Kasuou!”

Makoto turned toward the blonde girl.

“What’re you doing! Never mind that collapse before and the surprise attack, aren’t you supposed to act in such times? Why are you just staring at air! We’re in a battlefield!”

“…”

Kasuou, recently promoted to Blaze Class Rank 2, clearly ignored Makoto’s words. —Both her offense and defense were top class among all Mushitsuki. The rumors went that if not for the fact she’d had the tables turned on her by an unranked Mushitsuki in some mission before, she would’ve become a Rank 2 long ago.

“I dunno what you’re thinking about, but I put you into this team! If you don’t act when you need to, we’ll all get easily wiped out!”

“…What I’m thinking, you say? I’m thinking how useless this all is.”

Finally opening her mouth, Kasuou’s mouth had a faint smile on it. Not just that. She even rebelled by sitting down on the spot.

“No matter how you think about it, Operation 2’s the real deal. Harukiyo’s gonna wake that little shit—Sleeping Beauty, right? Once they’re gathered, they’ll get to C even without us opening the way for them.”

Makoto’s face froze.

She’d explained Operation 2 to the other members in broad details. What Kasuou said was just like Makoto’s thoughts hidden in her heart.

We’re nothing more than stepping stones for the Rank 1s anyway—

Could it be that the suicide corps members never obeyed Makoto—because they all saw through her real feelings?

“Kakkou’s a Fallen and even C ended up like that—what face is she going to make when they force her to wake up…”

Kasuou grimaced and hung her head.

Adding her to this team was a mistake—

If she was this apathetic, it was bound to affect the entire unit’s morale. Makoto hesitated whether she should just leave Kasuou there.

“Himiko!”

Makoto turned her focus to the other member who stayed silent all this time. This girl, with her docile face and long hair, twitched and looked to Makoto.

“You have a sensing ability, right? Why didn’t you notice this surprise attack just now! We don’t know what’s going to happen, so you need to stop acting like a spoiled princess! Your sensing ability’s useless if you don’t grasp the initiative!”

Himiko bit her lips at Makoto’s scolding. Unable to reply with anything, she also hung her head.

Shachito cut from the side.

“I also have a sensing ability, but that didn’t mean anything. They probably used only bombs without any Mushitsuki power. Judging from the fact they used their abilities only when running away… I think it’s someone really experienced in battle.”

“You shut up!”

Yelling, Makoto bit her nails.

She knew she had to make a decision. Should she cut off anyone who couldn’t be of use and head further inside with the remaining members? Or should they head back for now, grab her trusted North Central Branch Mushitsuki, even if she had to do it by force, and challenge this place again?

She didn’t want to die in vain.

If she was going to die anyway, she wanted it to be a meaningful death—

“…What?”

As Makoto sank into her thoughts, she noticed her team members glaring at her.

“Should we switch, leader?”

Looking cool and calm, Shachito said something stupid.

“It looks to me like you’re the least calm among us? I didn’t have the time for Inuko to teach me battling as part of a team, but at the very least I’m better than how you’re—”

“Are you stupid? Do you even know what abilities the members here can use? Can you give immediate orders after hearing an explanation?”

Makoto laughed it off, but her comrades’ eyes full of suspicion did not change.

“What? Are all of you Asagi’s disciples plotting an uprising against me?”

Makoto was obviously not calm. She was neither one those monstrous Rank 1s, nor did she have a loose screw in her head like that berserker Shishidou Inuko.

“If you hate Asagi’s disciples, you can let me be the leader.”

This time it was Kaguya. If this was his previous Rank, his assertion would be correct. However—

“This isn’t the time for a softie like you who’s got no leadership experience and leaves all the work to Kakkou. Just stay silent and protect your princess.”

Makoto and Kaguya glared at each other.

“…I also thought this during our fight against Genius, but looks like we really can’t get along.”

“Yeah. You’d better not expect any secret trick this time.”

The remaining leader candidate was Kasuou—but she was clearly out of it. Inevitably only Makoto could take care of the suicide corps. She was the only one, so why didn’t they understand that they had to obey her?

“…”

She decided.

Although the risks were high, they’d continue as is.

Going back and putting her North Branch members in the suicide corps was actually dangerous. She feared that her team might get split up between North Central Branch members and Asagi’s disciples. If the possibility for them to remain together was low, going back now was a waste of time.

“Once you finish treating Sakura, we’ll go ahead. Nene, how long will—“

Turning toward the injured Sakura, Makoto was speechless.

That was because Nene did nothing. Sakura was groaning in pain.

“Wha… what the hell, Nene! If you don’t treat her, Sakura might go into shock and die! You’re not thinking the same as Kasuou, right?!”

“Sakura getting hurt was Kasuou’s fault, right? —Then, if Sakura dies like this, it’s Kasuou’s fault, right…?”

Nene suddenly said something ridiculous. Everyone there shuddered.

“Haa? How come it’s my damn fault! You just gotta heal her!”

“It’s the same… if you become shoddy, more people get hurt. I don’t know how many I can save… but me and Yotsuba have our limits. It’s only a matter of time before people start dying…”

“It’s fine, just heal her! That’s an order!”

Makoto shouted at her, but Nene ignored it.

“Kasuou… Kakkou’s no longer here.”

Hearing the older Mushitsuki speak, the control room sank into heavy silence.

Kasuou was speechless.

It wasn’t just the blonde girl. All of the suicide corps had their face frozen stiff.

“Kakkou’s gone. —Even so, as long as we have that girl… Sleeping Beauty, everything will be fine. You said this before.”

Nene smiled a sad, bitter smile.

“Do you think she could beat C?”

“—”

Kasuou had no words. Nene looked at Makoto.

“Hey, Terasu. Judging from how worded yourself earlier… C can’t be saved anymore?”

Everyone in the suicide corps focused their gazes on Makoto.

Makoto hesitated whether or not to expose the truth, but she resolved herself and spoke.

“Yeah—there wasn’t any option other than annihilation in the first place.”

Kasuou widened her eyes in shock.

“Say, Kasuou… you know what he—Kakkou-kun would do in such a time, right?”

“…”

“But he’s gone. Are you going to let Sleeping Beauty do that right after waking up because of that? You know she can’t… Only us know that she can’t do that.”

Nene spoke to the frozen Kasuou.

“Or maybe—you want her to see Harukiyo burn C to death right in front of her eyes…?”

“…!”

“There’re still things that we have to do.”

Maimai walked closer to Kasuou who was stuck in place as though paralyzed.

“Kasuou-san—Maimai-chan and the rest were all taught something by our teacher—by Wanko-san, who’s gone alreadydy… what to do when you don’t know what to do, when in you’re in pain, when you’re mad.”

Himiko twitched, hearing that.

“’Fight’—”

Starting with Shachito, Shishidou Inuko’s disciples all nodded with a serious expression.

Himiko gasped and raised her face.

“Right, we have to fight… we all have to fight—”

“Sob… Kasuou-san, dis is the time to fight. We definitely have tototototo…”

Maimai called to Kasuou, tearing up.

“Kasuou—”

Nene reached toward the blonde girl.

Then, there was a dry sound.

They could hear the sound of metal hitting metal and something rebounding from the entrance to the control room.

As everyone turned around, they saw—

Three small bombs rolling in front of the door as though calculated to reach there.

“No way, I didn’t feel a thing—”

Shachito’s voice of shock was drowned by the explosion.

Not only the position to throw them in, but even the explosion’s timing was calculated more thoroughly than before.

The loud explosive sound was being written over by even louder roar and vibration.

“—!”

Not only the bomb but even the door and the surrounding walls were caught up in the explosion as an entire part of the facility was gouged into.

What did this—was condensed, black mist.

The thing that crushed the bomb along with the shockwave was Kasuou’s ability.

“Heal Sakura already—”

Her glinting blue eyes glared at Nene. Nene nodded.

“I got it… sorry, Sakura.”

“Good grief, so I did not end up a sacrifice.”

Her voice was calm, but Sakura was gravely wounded. It would probably take some time to fully heal her.

“Terasu.”

Kasuou next glared at Makoto. She sat there, not moving a muscle, but now the girl who retrieved her berserker-like eyes emitted much more murderous intent than necessary.

“Is it true that we can’t save C?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

It really became a huge problem. She’d never heard of Kasuou actually following anyone’s orders faithfully. Even if it was Kakkou—or that Miguruma Yaeko, it was the same with them.

“…I see.”

As Kasuou grimaced, next to her Himiko raised her face.

“The enemy’s flame is distancing… ah, they moved so fast in an instant…”

Shachito exhaled, his shoulders sagging.

“Even without using an ability, to be able to get so close so perfectly concealing their presence… Is our enemy a ninja or something?”

“Obviously not! Got it? Once Sakura’s patched up, we all go together, and—”

Makoto was about to issue orders, but the members all started acting on their own.

“Did my barrier not work…? I won’t let them get here agaiiin!”

“Let ‘em. I’ll just crush ‘em with my claws next.”

“I’ll go and corner them here. I’m the only one able to keep up with that speed.”

“No, they look like they’re luring us. It might be a trap.”

“Who’s that enemy in the first place? I’d like to know if there’s an enemy other than C.”

“If I use my Poison Punch to spread some toxins in the corridor—”

“Don’t do anything on your own! Stop going all over the place!”

Makoto called, but none of them listened to her.

T-these guys…!

Tears of frustration rose to her eyes.

“L-listen to me…!”

The commander must not cry. She averted her face and stealthily wiped off her tears.

“—Honestly! Then just do what you want!”

She ended up shouting.

All the members finally turned to Makoto.

“If you’re that confident, just do whatever you’d like! I’ll give support, but I don’t care if you die!”

In the first place someone like Makoto would never be able to gather all these idiosyncratic people.

What average people could do was always decided.

That was—to clean up after idiots’ messes.

“So you’re telling us to do what we like. Okey dokey. But—you gotta stop hiding things about C, alright, Terasu-chan?”

Shachito grinned at her and she nodded.

“I’ll explain. While we move ahead.”

She was already determined. She didn’t care whether this was top secret or what.

Makoto had enough of shaking in fear all alone. She was going to have everyone suffer with her.

“By the way, you told me I couldn’t be the leader, but is there some reason why you fit the job, then?”

“Obviously there isn’t! If I have to answer at all, it’s the fact that I’m willing to do anything and sacrifice anything in order to survive!”

Makoto stroked her throat with a finger, making the wasp spider wrap around her neck again. If she used just a bit of her power she didn’t need to materialize her Mushi, but it wouldn’t be so easy from now on.

She gave up on conserving her powers. Because she clearly needed to use her full power, were she to support these idiots ahead.

“I did all that—and didn’t let even a single person from my team drop out, so far!”

2.03 OPS1 Part 4

The first one to leap out of the control room was Shachito.

“Awright! First, let’s try figuring out who’s our enemy. I’ll go tell them hi.”

“Wait! You can go ahead and die in a trap if you’d like to, but… Maimai! Give him a communication device!”

“Gwogwa! Gotcha!”

Following her order, Maimai touched Shachito’s neck. A jelly-like mass was attached behind his ear.

“So about this, it’s Maimai’s Mushi, and it can communicate with other members’ gogglesez! I-I didn’t bite my tongue, err!”

“I understand, more or less! I’m heading out, mommy.”

“Who’s your mommy?! I’m still just fifteen!”

“Dunno who that was, but how dare they do whatever they want in my own damn turf? I’ll make ‘em beg.”

“W-wait, Kasuou! If you’re not here, our defenses—eh, et tu, Yakugami?”

“A grim reaper of death should be near the enemy, not his allies.”

Following Kasuou, Sachito and Yakugami also leapt to the corridor.

“Sure! Thanks for lowering our defenses little by little! —We can’t move here, it’s dangerous! We’re going to escape! Heal Sakura while running! Kabuto, you look like you have some stamina, so you’re going to carry Sakura! Rinrin, guide us to the elevator leading further down! Alright you guys, get moving!”

“I do apologize for the trouble. Hmm, I have not met you in a few months, but are you not somewhat changed?”

“Because a lot happened since then.”

The unsociable Kabuto brought Sakura to his back as she spoke to him with a warrior-like tone to express gratitude. This wasn’t planned, but these two old-fashioned people looked to be getting along.

“So we’re going to the nearest elevator? Or should we take the shortest route to C, even if we have to take the long road on this floor?”

Petite and wavy-haired Rinrin reached ahead with both arms. Unfamiliar machines flew out of both sleeves, covered the boy’s arms and changed into chunky gloves.

“Both are just as dangerous! You decide!”

“Me? Even if only provisionally, I can’t thank a leader for leaving work to others.”

“I don’t know about your powers, but I heard the rumors. —Asagi trained you to serve as C’s successor, right? The future head of the Central Headquarters’ intelligence division will not allow us to get lost, right?”

As Makoto glared at him, Rinrin grinned.

“—I sent the route to all your goggles.”

“Let’s go!”

With Makoto spearheading them, the suicide corps left the control room. As if tracing the underground route reflected in her goggles, she rushed through the gloomy pathway.

She could feel explosions and vibrations from afar.

“Shachito! What was that now?”

“Another surprise attack with a bomb hit me! But I somehow dodged it, so it’s fine!”

“I’m not worrying about you! Do you know who the enemy was?”

“Wow, what a shock. I’m going after them now—but this guy’s super fast! I can see them from behind from time to time… is it my eyes playing tricks on me? It looked like they were freely turning sharply in corners while running at above 100 kmh…”

“Running this fast—no way, are they a Fusion Type?”

“Fusion Type, meaning like that Kakkou guy, right? Doesn’t look like it, I didn’t see any glowing pattern or anything—”

Another explosion echoed.

“Shachito!”

“—That was a close one. There was a trap. I was just about to rest in pieces.”

“Get a grip! At least act as a nice decoy until we’re able to get downstairs!”

“Sure. But having a guy who’s able to zip around so freely is a real danger. I think we should finish them off no matter what we do.”

“Try and lure them here!”

“Kasuou?”

“Arschloch! There’s no one fucking here! You hearin’ me, Shachito or whatever your name is? Bring that guy over here! I’ll crush them in an instant!”

“Well, I’d like to try fighting them one against one… but I’ve been taught a lot that obsessing over fighting alone is not being a warrior, but an idiot. —Alright, so let’s have a pincer attack here, Kasuou-chan.”

“Next time you put ‘chan’ after my name I’ll butcher you as well!”

“Himiko, Rinrin! Transmit them each other’s locations to help with the pincer attack!”

“Got it!”

“Gotcha. Also, this is a digression, but a little more running speed would be…”

Kasuou left it unsaid that they saw Shachito’s strength during the fight against Shinpu. Although they didn’t know who the enemy was, there was no way they’d be able to survive an attack by them at the same time.

Sakura’s healing was also apparently over. Including her as she just got off from Kabuto’s back, the suicide corps ran through the corridor in unison.

“Yotsuba, get to the front! Be on guard!”

“Alright! On guard for what, though?”

“Other enemies, or surprise attacks just like before.”

“…!”

All seemed surprised at this. Nene spoke in a low voice.

“You mean that this bomber isn’t our only enemy?”

“Our enemy is only C. That is no mistake. —However, if any enemy other than C comes to block our path, they’re very likely to number more than just one or two.”

For a moment, everyone went silent at Makoto’s words.

Tamamo spoke from behind.

“What do you meaaan? Will someone other than C stand in our way?”

“Guh…!”

Shachito’s groan was heard through the goggles.

“This guy… this time they attacked from completely empty space! —Say, doesn’t anyone know anything about them? Them being here means they’re from the Central Headquarters or whatever, no? I can’t really believe that none of you know about someone this dangerous!”

“I also agree with that! No one has any clue? —Rinrin! As a member of the intelligence division, you should know everyone!”

“Haa, haa… If I knew I would’ve already told you! I don’t want to get targeted by them, either!”

“Kuh… it’s really unexpected that no one knows about this enemy…”

Makoto bit her lips.

“Stop with the bullshit already, Terasu. Didn’t you say you’ll explain earlier?”

Even only through the audio she could clearly hear how angry Kasuou was.

“What the fuck are we fighting against? We can’t even get to C with things being like this.”

“I know that…”

Makoto grimaced, putting a hand to her goggles.

“Vice-Deputy. Can you hear me? I request permission to reveal information to the squad—Vice-Deputy?”

“The moment we entered the underground, it became harder to maintain communication with the outside.”

Rinrin spoke, his breath labored. Even his voice was filled with anger.

“Naturally. It was only yesterday when we were trapped underground like this. Although you’re running with an antenna on you, from here on the signal will remain unstable.”

Makoto clicked her tongue.

In the first place the chances of any enemy other than C appearing was low. If that hadn’t happened, they could just fight against C without her having to reveal top-secret information to the unit.

“…Have you all received an explanation about Shinpu’s main body being hidden by Central Headquarters?”

Resolving herself, Makoto opened her mouth.

She didn’t even know how many of them were going to return alive. Since this was how things were, if she didn’t share at least a little information, that number was going down to zero.

Kaguya snorted.

“Rather than an explanation, it was more like they just dumped it on us before starting this operation. —We of the East Central Branch already realized it, though.”

“I see. Using Shinpu, the Headquarters conducted a certain experiment. The hints for that were in Fuyuhotaru and Shinpu’s ability…”

Another explosion.

“T-this guy’s so strong…! I see, so it’s not an opponent that I can save my stamina against. Alright, I’ll do this. —Hihah.”

“Hey, you Shachi bastard! You gotta be close by, right! Bring ‘em here already!”

“They’re within firing range. You two, if you don’t want to get rusted, protect yourselves. I’m going to ‘touch’ this entire area… because that’ll nullify all the traps around.”

For a moment, the corridor’s emergency lights blinked. It was apparently about the time they settled their fight with that mysterious assailant.

Makoto inquired.

“Say, Kaguya-san. How did your branch know that Shinpu was hiding in Central Headquarters?”

“Our comrade supposedly turned into a Fallen had a Fragment of Shinpu used on her and got in contact with Kakkou—”

While speaking, Kaguya gasped.

Makoto turned around, checking the face of the shocked boy. —When she heard the truth, Makoto surely made the same face as him.

“Kasuou and the rest will soon initiate battle! 3… 2… 1—”

When Himiko’s countdown reached its end, their voices overlapped.

“Ha? They’re nowhere!”

“They are! They can become invisible! Aim at where I’m aiming!”

“Tch! OOORAAAAAAA!”

An earthquake shook the Underground Fort.

This excessive impact made all those running in the corridor fall down.

Even Makoto rolled, soon raising her face and speaking.

“Central Headquarters… used Shinpu to form an experiment of reviving the Fallen.”

Everyone there, groaning as they raised themselves, had their expressions frozen.

Right—Makoto had also been shocked.

This was the truth spoken about in the tent she heard along with the branch heads.

“Ah… ah…?”

Rinrin made a weird voice. She wondered if he received a hard blow when he fell, but he was acting strangely. He held his small, childlike head and started mumbling, numb.

“I know who that is—no, who that was… Because I secretly investigated Miguruma… and the Annihilators… A Mushitsuki that can use bombs and become invisible… apparently turned into a Fallen in some mission… but—”

“Haa! Haa! Where’s the body?! Show yourself!”

“No, you missed! N-no way… In this situation, not only had they managed to protect themselves but even instantly cancelled their ability! All to escape my sensing and throw off my aim—”

“This is… Shera!”

Rinrin screamed.

“Commander of the Annihilators, who was supposedly turned Fallen…! The strongest assassin who managed to survive even the nightmare of Fuyuhotaru!”

“With a fragment, you could apparently create a mock-revival of a Fallen at best…”

Makoto mumbled.

What she spoke of now was the truth revealed to her when she was alone with Miguruma.

It was one of the reasons they had to defeat C as soon as possible.

“But Shinpu himself was different. —He could take over even corpses and control them.”

“—Who are you!”

Yotsubsa, who was the one to rise first, turned toward the darkness ahead, readying her body.

“It’s dangerous, Kasuou-chan!”

“Gwah…! T-this piece of shit—WOOORAAAA!”

“We thought that we finally noticed out enemy… looks like they didn’t come out of this unharmed after all. They’re covered in quite a lot of blood, we can win if we push through by force.”

A series of explosions and vibrations came from ahead.

During this, a figure appeared in front of Makoto’s group.

“—”

Including Yotsuba who was already on guard, everyone there was speechless.

Only one of them instead wore an expression full of hatred—none other than Makoto.

“Central Headquarters collected the bodies of each and every Fallen. Even corpses. —So we considered that this was a definite possibility.”

Makoto spoke in a stifled tone of voice, and in front of her eyes…

Appearing in the corridor lit by emergency lights like some ghost was a single girl.

And she wasn’t just a girl. She wore such a bizarre getup that her sanity might be in doubt.

“…N-no way…”

Maimai was crying.

It wasn’t just her. Seeing that girl—clad in a yellow raincoat and a candy in her mouth—everyone was paralyzed.

The one standing there was the one who taught Maimai and others how to fight, a Mushitsuki who was already dead—

“Shishidou Inuko…!”

Makoto’s second most hated Mushitsuki.

The feared berserker who once thoroughly defeated her, codename Asagi—

This person was Shishidou Inuko.

2.04 OPS1 Part 5

The girl standing in the dark hallway didn’t have the expression of a wax model.

Although the illumination was lacking, her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were cloudy. There was no doubt that this was the same Shishidou Inuko she’d seen before, but the twisted smile and hockey stick which could be called her trademarks were nowhere to be seen.

Seeing her figure, agitation spread throughout the suicide corps.

“Teacher…?”

“Is it really… Teacher…?”

“Wanko-san…”

“T-Teach…”

This is bad—

Most of the people there were Inuko’s disciples. As they’d undergone her harsh training, they’d been made to feel both respect and awe toward her.

The small instant of an opening that Makoto created was not missed by Shishidou Inuko.

“—!”

It was as though the footage was suddenly switched.

Makoto stood in a field of flowers.

Choked by the scent of honey and fluttering butterflies—a swarm of chestnut tiger butterflies.

As Makoto’s group stood completely stunned, the chestnut tiger butterflies filling their sight glowed purple.

“—Gah!”

“Eeek!”

“Kwah!”

Including Makoto, all of them prostrated themselves. As if their head was hit—no, as if they were strongly attracted to the ground, they bumped their heads against the flower field.

We’ve been drawn into an isolated space…! She activated her ability way too fast—

As far as Makoto knew, only a small part of Special Type Mushitsuki could use this ability. Using their ability to its utmost and creating another dimension, as well as drawing people inside.

“Gwah…! The heck’s this!”

“T-this feeling… Inuko…?”

They could hear Kasuou’s and Shachito’s groans from the goggles.

Even those two were brought inside despite their distance…? This is ridiculous range…!

In just an instant, she deployed an isolated space of frighteningly extensive range. Even Shinpu’s main body took some time to activate his ability—

“Kuh…!”

Makoto tried touching her throat, but her body couldn’t move.

Inuko’s ability was the control of magnetism. The entire group was forcibly brought to the ground by a powerful magnetic force, so she couldn’t even raise an arm.

With their movements completely sealed, they were sitting ducks.

If they couldn’t absolve this isolated space this instant, they’d all be annihilated within second.

“A-anyone at all..! Destroy this isolated space, quickly…!”

“Hien—”

At the same time as someone mumbled this, a golden light filled the flower field.

A fan of lasers launched from above ground shot through the transient blue sky. They also aimed for the chestnut tiger butterflies dancing around, as well as at Shishidou Inuko standing in the field.

A rain of golden light, each ray with unparalleled piercing power.

Makoto had once seen that during the battle that occurred in her own jurisdiction.

The blue sky broke audibly, and the flowers quickly wilted.

“I hate that Special Type ability…!”

The world returned its proper form. In the former gloomy underground corridor, Kaguya rose with an angry expression.

Kaguya was a Rank 2 Mushitsuki, the same as Shishidou Inuko at her peak. —She hated his simplistic personality, but it seemed like he was useful as an ally.

“Kaguya… If you can destroy a Special Type’s isolated space despite being a Minion Type, you should’ve said so!”

“You’re also a Minion Type but can do this, right? Then I can do it, too.”

Apparently it was his first time to attempt this. Makoto revised the strategy in her mind.

If this guy can also destroy isolated spaces, that raises the chances of our ‘final method’. Well, this is only if we manage to reach C alive, though—

Makoto turned back to Shishidou Inuko who was in front of them.

“This is different from back then when you could go overboard. There are now many Mushitsuki as strong as you.”

Grimacing, she spoke further.

“Well, it’s also thanks you, at least a little.”

And.

I also grew stronger—

Makoto was different from how she was back then when she got captured by Kakkou and Inuko.

She heightened her abilities, went through many battlefields and now even became a Rank 2. Well, it was just a title, but now she stood shoulder to shoulder with that berserker at her prime.

Not only that, but if she managed to survive by some fluke, she could even rise to—

“…!”

With Makoto glaring ahead, Inuko soundlessly retreated. The berserker vanished into the darkness.

She was certain she’d come to kill her using her famed teleportation, but was caught by surprise.

“Gather, everyone! If you get away you’ll become a target! —Himiko! Watch Asagi’s movements and tell us if she approaches!”

“I-I cannot see her…! The remaining embers of the isolated space are scattered here and there, so I don’t know where teacher’s ‘flame’ is…!”

Makoto gulped.

She created a smokescreen using her ability’s remains.

Shishidou Inuko was experienced even in fighting against sensors—

“So that shitty Wanko came back to life… bring it on! I’ll tidy up things here and settle my years-long grudge! Let’s finish this, stupid Shachi!”

“Ah? Y-yeah… right, let’s finish off our weakened enemy—”

Kasuou was convinced of victory.

Hearing their conversation, it revived Makoto’s past memories like some divine revelation.

—I wooon!

Makoto, elated at her victory over the collapsed Kakkou.

However, the one who attacked her right after that—

“Kasuou! Assume a defensive positioooon!”

Makoto shouted without thinking.

“Asagi’s coming for a sneak attack!”

The same time her warning came, a large vibration assaulted the underground Fort.

About the same as during the attack launched by Kasuou and Shachito before, there was an intense shaking and a loud reverberation.

It went without saying where its origin was.

“Kasuou! You fine?”

Rather than striking Makoto’s group, where most people were, she chose the smaller group that had only three people in it. And she even saw through the timing when their guard would be at its lowest.

It might have been natural, looking at that berserker’s way of fighting.

Makoto’s group had only just gotten into the Underground Fort. But since Kasuou’s group of three people soon dropped out, it might lead directly to the failure of the mission.

“Kasuou!”

“—Your complexion’s lookin’ real bad there, shitty Wanko. Ate some trash off the ground like a stray or something?”

“Inuko…”

“She really does… look like Teacher.”

Hearing the trio’s voices, Makoto relaxed. As expected from the veteran Kasuou. She most likely managed to reflexively defend herself by the time she heard Makoto’s words.

However, leaving Kasuou aside, she felt some anxiety at the men’s responses.

“Kasuou, let’s change our strategy! Come back with Shachito and Yakugami! Ignoring these two and advancing is too dangerous—let’s beat them together!”

These opponents were too bothersome to fight while splitting their forces. And both of them were high-ranked warriors who survived for many years. Now that Kakkou was gone, the experiences they accumulated was in the top class even within the SEPB.

“T-Terasu’s right! Even in my simulations, if we fight in the current state our chances of success are below 10%!”

Although not ordered to, Rinrin went and made his own calculations.

Telling that to Kasuou’s going to have the opposite effect…!

Makoto’s fears were right on the mark.

“C was like that too, but you intelligence division guys sure love your numbers. —Shut up. I’ll butcher the two of them by myself!”

Even at best, you’re going to just agitate Asagi’s disciples and become useless!

Makoto just barely stopped herself from shouting this.

“Fine, then go from here! Rinrin, send us the route to where they are! And hurry!”

Cleaning up the mistakes of the haughty members was all in a day’s work for Makoto.

It was this way from a while back, and it would surely keep on being like that.

“Gwah! Just like always, it’s a hell of an ability to face, no matter if she’s far or close…”

“Territory Isolation!”

Makoto shouted. As long as her voice reached, her ability would work even in distant places.

“Woah. Shitty Wanko’s ability released…?”

“Tell me when you need support!”

Following the route displayed on the goggles, Makoto rushed through the corridors.

“We need to think up of a strategy to beat Asagi and Shera! At the very least we have the people who’re most knowledgeable about Asagi here, right! Anyone know her weakness?”

As she said this and turned around, everyone looked unwell.

Can we really beat that Shishidou Inuko…?”

Their faces made it clear they were thinking this.

Just as she grew angry, she heard Shachito’s voice from the goggles.

“S-say, Terasu-chan—is Inuko really dead?”

Something really snapped inside Makoto.

“Are you actually—“

Forgetting about the situation around, she stopped in place. She raised her voice and screamed.

“Give me a break! Kakkou’s a Fallen! Also—Asagi died! Don’t start getting so sentimental about those guys! What is it, am I the only one here who wants to complete the mission? Am I the only one feeling better that they’re gone? They were nothing but an eyesore!”

She knew that saying this would do nothing but antagonize her comrades. —She knew this in her heart of hearts, but couldn’t stop herself.

Inuko’s disciples and the East Central Branch combatants in fact all looked angry.

Kakkou was hated by plenty of Mushitsuki, but many among the high-ranking understood him. After all, they knew of Kakkou’s strength. Makoto also knew of it well.

Unapproachable, unwavering strength.

And Makoto—loathed it.

“Or are you just going to die here and tell them that in the afterlife? ‘I really couldn’t stand up to you. I did do my best though’— t-this isn’t a joke! It can’t happen! I get a chill just thinking about it!”

As long as they were alive, Makoto couldn’t relax one bit.

Kakkou and Shishidou Inuko captured her, made her into a fool and looked down on her.

Their mere existence made it impossible for her to escape her past self so pathetically begging for her life.

However, they both stepped down from the stage.

She couldn’t compare to them when they were alive, but if they were dead…

Makoto stood side by side with Shishidou Inuko. Because she became Rank 2.

Even if it was merely the title, thinking that she could stand up with them—was it cowardly? Or unfair?

“Isn’t this just perfect! You see Asagi’s corpse right in front of you! Should I tell you this while I can? You can’t stand up to your revered teacher! But don’t drag me into it! I’m going to beat this corpse being controlled by C, and then after finishing this mission, I’ll finally reach that Fallen Kakkou and say—”

I became a Rank 1 just like you!

She was shocked at herself shouting all this.

“—”

Until now she only played it safe, but now she headed out to beat C while resolved for death.

In the end, the reason she could do it was because she wanted the title of a Rank 1.

She had no interest in anything as grand as saving the world or the like.

The one truly obsessed with the dead was perhaps none other than Makoto herself—

“…I’m sick of it all.”

She was flabbergasted at all Mushitsuki there, including herself.

“I’m tired of being played by those who are gone, by dead people… I hate them all. I also hate you, and myself… but—”

She hated the strong. As well as hated herself, since they kept looking down on her.

Now that Shinpu was gone, and Fuyuhotaru’s group was heading to defeat Oogui.

If they defeated C, the world would change.

It would become a world with no new Mushitsuki being born.

“If I survive now, just that’s enough to make me stronger than anyone…”

If the world changed, perhaps she would change as well—

If she changed that much, it should fix even her wishy-washy personality.

She could only wish for it to be so and fight.

“If you want to steal even such a small victory from me, you’re all my enemies… if you don’t wanna fight, it’s the same. Just go home already!”

After spitting this, she ran in the corridor alone.

Makoto would never be able to defeat C on her own. However, if she brought all these nuisances with her, she would die protecting them. —And it would become Makoto’s most hated form of death, dying in vain.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Suddenly this loud voice echoed from her goggles. Makoto’s shoulders twitched.

It was Shachito.

“Don’t misunderstand me, Terasu-chan. No warrior’s ever gonna run away from the battlefield. I was just trying to make sure.”

“…Make sure what?”

“If Inuko’s just being controlled by C, it means that C is playing with our teacher, right?”

He was probably fighting against Shera and Inuko as he was speaking. She could hear the sound of impacts and Kasuou’s shouts of anger.

“If that’s the case—there’s only one thing I can do.”

To fight—

This was the only answer for a hesitating warrior that granted them salvation and fulfillment.

More than fighting techniques, this was the one and only point they learned—

“I’ll think of a simulation to defeat Shera and Teacher.”

At some point Rinrin followed Makoto from behind.

And not just him. All members of the suicide corps ran after Makoto.

“However, to certainly defeat them, we need abilities that our opponents don’t know about. Perhaps even abilities that C doesn’t know… anyone here keeping some secret?”

“It’s probably impossible for those among us who had their abilities developed by Asagi.”

Makoto sighed and spoke.

“Fine, I’ll do it. I wanted to save it for C, if at all possible, but…”

This was a lie.

The opponent she actually wanted to use it on to show them—was already gone.

“If I’m to use it against Asagi, I’ll feel a bit better.”

Rinrin finished his simulation quickly.

This maneuver would never work against someone with the superior battle experience.

Accordingly, the strategy that Makoto’s group attempted—left about half to the power of numbers.

“This is a forced strategy. —But when I consider getting hit by it, it’s the way I’d hate the most.”

The one to say it was Shachito. Even though he had his seemingly inexhaustible stamina, he was starting to lose his breath as expected.

“All members, have you deployed? Then—let’s corner them!”

Standing all alone in an empty corridor, Makoto gave the green light.

The trap had already been set.

All that remained was drawing the enemy into the specified location.

“Terasu! She’s coming to you! Don’t let her pass!”

Kasuou’s voice echoed.

“Coming straight to me…! Do I look that weak? She really pisses me off even after she died!”

Corridors of the Underground Fort were spread like a web.

A lone figure was quickly approaching Makoto who blocked one such path.

It was Shishidou Inuko. Once, she’d swing that hockey stick of hers with a distorted smile, but now she closed the distance to Makoto with a face like a Noh mask.

“Can’t see her, but there’s another person anyway…! Territory Isolation!”

Makoto’s emitted noise tore off the invisible assassin’s cover. In an empty spot, a half-naked beautiful woman appeared. Yet soon something like a thin membrane covered the woman, becoming a suit that covered her from head to toe.

Shera controlled a suit made of resin and fought using a similar method to Fusion Types. According to Rinrin, she could apparently make the coloring match the surrounding, thereby becoming invisible.

On the other hand, Inuko also decelerated. This was her special move—by controlling magnetism, she repelled herself from the surroundings objects to teleport around. Makoto had felt it before firsthand.

“Sense Isolation!”

Makoto’s follow-up attack blew Shera and Inuko away.

It was the power to paralyze the opponents’ body from the noise. However, it affected the two powerful warriors in front of her for no more than a few seconds. Inuko blew away the noise with purple electricity, while Shera moved not her physical body but the resin covering it, so they came to assault Makoto again.

“Sense Isolation! Sense Isolation! Sense Isolation! Eat shit!”

Slowly, the two opponents were forced to go back by the onslaught of noise.

That was fine.

Makoto never thought she’d be able to win alone in the first place. If it became a close-quarters combat, a single punch would shatter her.

Her real aim was to stop them in place.

“Sense Isolation! Sense Isolation! Sense Isolation!”

If she could buy just a little more time—

“Go over there, you sonnuva!”

As Makoto yelled at them, Inuko and Shera turned on their heels. They were distancing themselves with superhuman speed.

That was fine.

Once they realized they couldn’t get passed this corridor, the enemies promptly left.

Because they feared a pincer attack.

“T-they’re coming hererere! Eeeep, Kaguya-san!”

“I can’t see Shera—but I’m gonna shoot all over the place anyway!”

She could see golden light leaking from another corridor.

“Don’t hold back! Don’t let them get through, even if only for some ten seconds or so!”

Makoto heard everyone respond to her orders through the goggles.

While Kasuou and Shachito and the rest were buying time, the other remaining members had scattered among the corridors in advance.

Their aim was to block the corridors and lead Inuko and Shera to a certain direction.

That direction was obviously—where they set up a trap.

“They retreated!”

“—Here! I won’t letcha pass! Poison Punch!”

“I think we’re fine pushing them with numbers… since we can’t win in either speed, technique or experience, it’s the only thing we can do.”

She could feel battles from here and there inside the Fort.

Once they were surrounded by numbers, it was obvious they’d try to escape to empty corridor. Then they would fear surprise attacks, and the process would repeat itself.

If so, then they just needed to block all corridors beforehand and narrow their net little by little.

If they thought not of beating them but just focused on blocking their path it was possible.

“Still, if we keep narrowing the net—they might just act recklessly to try and break through somewhere. Because if they end up completely surrounded, it’s the end for them.”

“The enemies’ ‘flames’ are moving again!”

A tie was not something they wished for.

“They’re heading to that corridor!”

Makoto kicked the floor, heading to the trapped corridor.

“It’s an obvious trap, though. But Asagi knows our powers. The only one not fighting here—is Tamamo.”

“Got it. I’ve finished preparing the speakers I received from Terasu-san.”

“So, those conceited bastards will think like this. Even if there’s some risk, they could just force their way through someone like Tamamo—”

Inuko and Shera shouldn’t have been able to spot Tamamo’s figure. Because she’d been using her camouflage ability to its fullest in the narrow range of a radius of several meters.

“Here! They’re approaching—it doesn’t look like they can perceive meee! Only a few more seconds till contact, 3, 2, 1—”

While running, Makoto opened her mouth wide.

But you’re not fighting Tamamo…!

Asserting this in her heart, she unleashed noise from her mouth.

“Territory Isolation!”

Loud volume noise echoed.

However, this sound was heard not from near Makoto.

It was heard from the corridor where Tamamo was hiding.

“Kuh…! It’s a direct hiiit! Shera’s hit confirmed! Teacher’s slowing down too!”

Each member of the suicide corps rushing out from a separate corridor, they met at the crossroads.

All of them looked toward a single corridor.

They confirmed the figures of their enemies inside the gloomy corridor.

The noise emitted by the speakers installed there in advance absolved the ability of all Mushitsuki there.

Tamamo, Shera, and Shishidou Inuko.

Seeing that, Yakugami stepped ahead. He swung his overly long weapon that resembled a scythe.

“I hadn’t managed to ‘touch’ Teacher ever since our training.”

Red-rusty chains flew from the scythe. As they touched the walls, the walls and ceiling all became covered in red rust spreading over them.

“She can no longer use magnetism on the walls and ceiling. You can’t teleport anymore, Teacher.”

“The enemy’s within range! I’m retreatiiing!”

Tamamo threw something she’d been hiding in her coat into the air and stepped back.

Since Inuko and Shera had their abilities nullified by the noise and rust, they couldn’t immediately get away.

“—Eat this.”

Makoto put one hand on her throat, and the other she thrust forward.

What Tamamo scattered around was special speakers given to her by Makoto. These were designed to not only amplify her voice, but even take in sounds from the surrounding, further echo and bounce them off.

“BOUN-DARY ISO-LATIOOON!”

Loaded with Makoto’s full powers, the noise filled the corridor.

This ear-grating sound twisted space itself. The surrounding walls and ceiling were crushed, gathering toward the scattered speakers.

“Don’t think that only Special Types can create isolated spaces…!”

As Makoto shouted this, she felt that this had an effect.

The two enemies were inside the quickly twisting space. Since they had their legs sealed, they had no way to escape that.

However—

“Ah…!”

Who was the one to raise this voice of surprise? Perhaps it was herself.

While Makoto and the rest were watching them, Shishidou Inuko suddenly clung to Shera, perhaps having some idea.

And then she curled her body like a cat—

“…!”

Emitting purple electricity from her body, she kicked Shera. Using recoil, Inuko leapt out of the twisted space.

“Eeek!”

Passing next to Tamamo while spinning, Inuko instantly vanished into the other side of the corridor.

“She made Shera’s body magnetic…!”

Nene’s groan was right.

Seeing she couldn’t use the walls or ceiling, she made Shera and herself magnetic and repelled off of her.

She probably judged the trap to be a threat and so escaped by herself. Shera became her sacrifice and was shoved inside the twisting space, where her figure was still getting compressed.

While everyone was stunned, the trap ended.

A pitch-dark cube rotated in 360 degrees in the center of the speakers scattered to all directions—

Inside the space that couldn’t exist in reality, the figure of Shera looking around was reflected. It was like seeing a fish trapped inside a black water tank.

“Haa, haa… Shera can’t see us from here. We’ve completely isolated her from the world.”

While breathing hard, Makoto watched the footage of the spinning Shera.

Her created space was about several meters square. This was Makoto’s trump card, that she could use only by borrowing the special devices made to echo her own voice.

“We’ve caught Shera—but Asagi got away…! Shit!”

They never expected her to escape like that. They tried to seal both enemies at once, but it backfired on them that way.

“Doesn’t look like she fully escaped it, though.”

Kabuto pointed to a certain spot inside the cube.

A thin right arm cut off from the shoulder was floating there. It even had the familiar yellow sleeve on it.

“What’re we gonna do? Follow Wanko?”

While looking at Inuko’s right arm, Kasuou spoke.

They could perform Shishidou Inuko’s last rites. —She thought it was a very attractive proposal, but in the current situation, she judged it to be a complete waste of time.

Rather than get obsessed over wounded enemy soldiers, they should make up for the lost time.

“No—we have to head down as soon as possible.”

Makoto ordered the suicide corps and stepped ahead toward the elevator.

2.05 OPS1 Part 6

The two-headed centipede tried biting off Makoto’s head.

“Move aside, shit!”

Thrusting Makoto away, Kasuou pushed the centipede back with her mist. Although she tried using her mist claws to rip it apart, the centipede resolutely pushed back with its gigantic jaws.

“Wanna have a contest of strength? Bring it on, piece of shit!”

“Where did Shachito, Yotsuba and Yakugami go to?!”

While colliding with the wall, Makoto shouted.

Rinrin answered from behind her.

“They said some enemies are coming from behind, so they went to beat them!”

“Acting alone again… I’ve had enough of them! Himiko! If more enemies are coming from where Shachito’s group it, let me know immediately!”

“Right!”

As Himiko nodded, the distinct color of fatigue rose to her expression. Makoto heard that she was never healthy in the first place, but she wasn’t the only one who was tired.

Makoto for sure, but even the howling Kasuou and everyone else was exhausted.

Naturally.

Already quite a lot of time passed since Makoto’s group infiltrated the Underground Fort—

“I’ll stop the enemy in place so you back off, Kasuou! Kaguya, I’m counting on you!”

“Can go at any time.”

“Aah? Don’t fuck with me, with this guy even I on my own—”

“Shuddup, just retreat already! I’m going… Sense Isolation!”

Noise echoed throughout the underground corridor. The twin-headed centipede competing against Kasuou stopped moving for a moment as though paralyzed.

“Tch!”

As Kasuou erased her mist, Kaguya launched golden lasers.

Its massive body pierced, the centipede bent backwards, crying.

However—

“…!”

Although it had many holes in its body and one head blown off, it assaulted Makoto’s group again.

“Fire!”

Himiko made a pistol shape with her hand and pointed at the centipede.

The column of flames erupting from the floor swallowed it.

Furthermore, the rhinoceros beetle that was Kabuto’s Mushi tackled it, sending it flying back.

“Kuh… I’ll fire one more time! Move, Kabuto!”

“Is he a zombie or what!”

Kaguya’s new barrage of lasers and Kasuou’s claws managed to rip the centipede’s body apart this time.

The man standing behind the centipede folded his knees, collapsing listlessly.

While breathing hard, Makoto turned to everyone present.

“I told you not to use your powers other than for sensing, Himiko! Also, wasn’t your aim too lacking, Kaguya? Kasuou, don’t lose focus!”

The Mushitsuki who were scolded turned rebellious eyes to Makoto. However, none of them said anything back.

Apparently they lacked the energy to even retort. It was also obvious they weren’t able to concentrate.

“I’m done here too. Coming back now.”

“I’m a bit too tired here.”

Putting a hand to her goggles, Makoto displayed the current time.

“…I don’t want to waste any time, but let’s rest a bit. Sakura, counting on you. You too, Tamamo.”

“Yeah.”

The nodding Sakura was also pale with fatigue. The rainbow scarab beetle which was her Mushi landed atop her long-handled hammer.

She struck the corridor’s wall with her hand hammer at full power.

Instantly there were glowing cracks on the wall. Something warped and creaked.

Several seconds later, a small door appeared in the door where there was nothing before.

“They seem to be back. Come inside, quickly.”

Calling toward the returning Shachito and the rest, Makoto opened the door.

A cave in a radius of a few meters welcomed them.

It was an improvised shelter created by Sakura’s power, which was able to freely manipulate any inorganic matter.

Once she confirmed all members evacuated inside, Makoto turned toward the imp girl.

“Tamamo, have you preserved enough energy? For how long can you employ your barrier?”

“About two hours, I guess?”

Their previous break was for three hours. Although she let her rest without participating in the battle, wishing for a complete recovery in this situation was probably too much to ask.

Sakura struck the door with her hammer. The door cleanly vanished.

“We’re resting for two hours. You should use this time to eat your rations and take a nap. Himiko and Shachito, you are to remain vigilant for things on the outside, taking turns.”

Makoto gave orders, but none responded to her. They all sat down as if saying they could finally take a break.

Makoto also lowered the case she was holding and sat on the floor.

Keeping herself as expressionless as possible, she sucked on some nutritional jelly—but inside she was not calm at all.

“Ah… how much time passed since we came down here?”

Kasuou, who was spreadeagled on the floor, spoke. Makoto answered her.

“A little more than 27 hours.”

“And we’re currently at…”

Nene asked. Makoto answered.

“Layer 12th.”

“And if I recall, C’s at…”

“Layer 30th.”

The time given to them was 48 hours.

Even a simple calculation made it clear that it was difficult for them to reach C within the time limit. Also, the more they exhausted themselves, the slower their pace would be.

That was why Makoto was panicking, but she couldn’t show it outwardly.

“There’s no problem, we’re doing alright. The number of enemies we’ve defeated so far—let’s call them Revived Mushitsuki—was nine. The isolated space we’ve sealed Shera into should keep going for a while, and wherever Asagi is, she’s hurt. C should be running out of cards. Once we get rid of all those Revived in our way, our pace will be quicker.”

Immediately more and more people began to raise questions.

“You said that there were only about ten Revived… right?”

“Shinpu could only control about ten fragments at a time. Although C absorbed that power, it’s unthinkable she’d be able to control more than the Original Three. So we can assume there are only ten Revived. —Since that’s Vice-Deputy Miguruma’s estimation, there’s no way she was completely off the mark.”

“Still, that’s about on par with our fighting forces.”

“As long as they’re not working together there’s nothing to fear. The scariest thing is… if one of us becomes a Fallen or dies. It’s an unlikely case, but if that happens—”

“Then they’ll get Revived by C and become an enemy…”

Yotsuba’s words made the entire suicide corps silent.

Makoto nodded.

“That’s how it is. —It’s fine, I won’t let any of you drop out, and it’s going well right now.”

“Revived, huh… do they really have no memories or emotions?”

Kabuto mumbled. Makoto glared at him.

“No, it’s not like I’m hesitating. It’s just that they’re a bit different from what they’ve told us at the East Central Branch. I heard that the Mushitsuki thought to have been Revived by the Central Headquarters’ experiments… Centipede and Minmin, had feelings.”

“…That was back when Shinpu was still alive and used the fragments, right? Now it’s C controlling it, and since she’s lost her personality and became something like a program, it’s not that odd.”

Makoto quickly explained this, and looked at Rinrin and Maimai to change the subject.

“How about communication with the outside? Did you get anything?”

“Maimai-chan worked hard! I used my Mushi to secure a contact route with the surfaceses! B-but the connection’s still unstable!”

“Operation 2, Operation 3… there are no changes. Our orders are focused on us to just keep going.”

A gloomy air permeated the shelter.

It’s too late—

Never mind Operation 3, but about news from Operation 2—which was led by Harukiyo to wake up Sleeping Beauty? Makoto had never directly met him, but if the rumors about the powerful flame-clad devil were true, he should be able to solve everything quickly.

As everyone stopped talking, the short time of rest was gone in no time.

Two hours passed and the suicide corps stood up.

Although they managed to recover just a little of their fatigue, everyone had bad complexions. On top of there being only very little time left, they couldn’t tell what the other units did. Their morale was obviously low as well.

Makoto couldn’t think of any way to stimulate them in this fierce situation. On the other hand, she also lacked the strength to force them to do this.

“I’m creating the door. Alright, Terasu?”

Sakura was about to swing her hammer toward the wall connected to the corridor.

“Wait, Sakura.”

Makoto stopped Sakura, operating her visor.

This atmosphere was not good at all.

Would they really be able to reach C in this state?

Although she couldn’t bring it out of her mouth, she knew everyone thought this. Above all else Makoto herself felt like this, and she could feel that everyone saw through her.

A unit with low morale was weak.

Although no one dropped out so far, if even the slightest seam opened up, there was a high possibility for them to accrue irreversible damage. In the worst case, even a full party wipe was possible.

Makoto wanted to at least avoid what she hated the most, dying in vain.

“Rinrin. I’ve sent some footage to your goggles just now. Send it to everyone’s goggles. —Shachito, use that.”

Removing her visor, she threw it over to Shachito.

“Footage…? Got it, I just need to send it to everyone.”

“Yes. Look at this, all of you.”

This was a gamble.

They might lose their will to fight after watching the footage. Alternatively, there was also the fear they’d sympathize.

However, there was a need for everyone to reaffirm their goal again. Also, it was better to confirm right here who couldn’t fight, send them away and become lighter as a result.

“It’s footage of the enemy we’re to defeat—of C.”

“…!”

Everyone put hands to the goggles, expressions freezing.

This was the footage of C Makoto had been shown on the surface. An ocean of thick cables, a mountain range of machinery, and the transparent, shining, rectangular bed.

The girl lying there as well as the eyes peeking through the security cameras from afar.

The scenery of C’s bed, where the only possible conclusion was that time and space were distorted.

“Now that she’s absorbed Shinpu hidden by the Central Headquarters, we can’t tell when C—no, the ‘thing’ shown there would come out of the Fort. If she does, there’s no doubt she could create an innumerable number of victims, much more than even Shinpu.”

When Miguruma had shown this footage to Makoto, she thought.

—There’s no way I can beat this monster.

This fear that could be called instinctive had paralyzed her.

“If the others in charge of operations, Harukiyo and Fuyuhotaru and others fail—we’ll be the only ones who must beat her.”

“—”

Everyone looked at Makoto.

“It’s true, right? If the Rank 1s start dropping—all of the members here will actually count as the strongest. And if C becomes freely able to move above ground, we’ll get easily finished by her lightning strike attacks.”

“…”

“Our enemy isn’t the Revived like Shera or Asagi.”

Makoto spoke.

“It’s C, the Rank 1 Super Class Mushitsuki—no, she already went past the framework of a Mushitsuki.”

Everyone fell silent.

Makoto waited for anyone to speak.

Anyone’s fine… just say something—

She groaned in her heart desperately. She wanted to show them C’s footage only when they were closer to her location. If it made them all shrivel up by seeing it, they wouldn’t be able to get to C anyway.

However, in the current state she had no such leisure.

If they couldn’t properly see their goal, their hearts were going to give up by the unceasing chain of Revived—

“C—”

After a long silence, the one to open his mouth was Kaguya.

“C’s… what is she doing?”

What would come out of his mouth in the end? A declaration of new resolve? Or a declaration of surrender—

Makoto resolved herself.

However, what Kaguya spoke of was a question she hadn’t anticipated.

“Is that clear box she’s using as a bed—the Database?”

“…!”

Makoto felt like her heart was squeezed. For a moment, she stopped breathing.

“Wha—how do you…?”

Miguruma had emphasized to her that she was not to reveal this truth to the group members as much as possible.

The basis for why C lost her personality and why the Revived had no emotions.

How did Kaguya know about the object that could be called the core for this—

Instead of the speechless Makoto it was Rinrin who replied.

“Database…? Meaning, meaning, this is a memory device? If this isn’t just a transparent stone, n-no way, is this a Hologram Memory?”

Sakura and Maimai, who also had technical knowledge, paled as well.

“Don’t be stupid! It’s impossible with present science. And one this large, too…”

“I do know about Databasezzes… but, to think that this is Hologram Memory… judging from the size, it probably contains each and every bit of information that exists on this planet…”

Makoto did not know too many details about the principle behind this. However, as far as she could see from their reactions, just calling it a memory device like what Miguruma told her wasn’t going to cut it.

Even Maimai knew about the Database—about that bed.

Meaning, the East Central Branch knew of its existence.

Kabuto and Kaguya spoke.

“I have once helped in getting the disk we got from Centipede—the first discovered Revived—Kakkou.”

“According to Kakkou, the only one who saw it… inside the footage of C’s experiments, the keyword ‘Database’ appeared several times. So if you’re saying it became like this because of C’s experiments—I thought that this Database or whatever is also related.”

Following them, Himiko also spoke calmly.

“We’ve been thinking a lot about what this might mean… If C-san’s experiment was meant for reviving Mushitsuki—it would require a place where the information of all these Mushitsuki was supervised. A place to keep the memories, as precise and vivid as possible, to allow the Fallen to recall their dreams.”

“…”

Cold sweat began erupting on Makoto’s forehead.

East Central Branch—

They managed to dig out and obtain the truth that even Miguruma Yaeko tried hiding.

It was as different as day and night from the other branches who only followed the Central Headquarters. They were also different from Mushibane, who viewed the SEPB only as an enemy.

“You could call it a place to gather the fragments of Mushitsuki in order to revive them; a depository of dreams.”

Kaguya spoke.

“The key to revival from the Fallen state. —That’s the Database, right?”

East Central Branch, who once had Kakkou as their main fighting force.

What kind of battles had they fought in order to reach this truth?

The average Makoto couldn’t even imagine it.

“It’s a ‘Bed’. …So Vice-Deputy Miguruma called it.”

Makoto grimaced, forcing herself to smile.

“It’s not just C. Sleeping inside that bed are the dreams of both the Fallen and the dead. —It’s amazing that you know about this. But since you knew and yet were unable to do anything, it means nothing.”

“…”

Makoto spoke casually, and the East Central Branch Mushitsuki remained silent. What she said was true, so they probably couldn’t retort.

Still, there was no longer any sense to hide this.

“Yes, it’s just like you said. C’s just the medium connecting the Bed to the Fallen, and with Shinpu’s powers she can even do that to corpses. In the end, though, the digital information she’d stocked up can only create a pseudo-revival, and true revival was impossible—that was the experiment I’ve heard about from Vice-Deputy Miguruma.”

Once she decided on speaking of everything without any concealment, she felt actually refreshed. As if she got a load off her back.

“Well, looks like that memory-thingy is amazing, but… it’s apparently nearly at full capacity. It’d be another thing if she added individual Mushitsuki’s information one by one—but if C absorbs a new Original Three, the function will be lost.”

“…!”

All East Central Branch members were speechless. It really was that unexpected for them.

“That’s why we need to defeat C as soon as possible. That monster who’s taking over the Bed housing Mushitsuki’s hopes or whatever.”

Hearing Makoto’s words, the one whose expression clouded over was Nene.

“Monster… C-chan isn’t C-chan anymore, huh.”

“That Miguruma bitch! Using that brat as a toy…”

Kasuou struck her open palm with a fist.

While this girl was enraged, there was also someone calm. It was Yakugami.

“But Vice-Deputy Miguruma’s also the one who created Mushitsuki’s dreams.”

Right.

Miguruma played with Mushitsuki’s and even Makoto felt the desire to kill her more than once or twice.

But she wouldn’t be able to kill Miguruma. Because no matter how much she hated her, it pained her to admit that Miguruma Yaeko also held in her hands the salvation of Mushitsuki.

“—We can’t keep going like this.”

The one who suddenly said this was Shachito. He threw back Makoto’s visor to her.

“Our mission’s also to clean up the Revived to make it easier for the Rank 1s coming after us. But since we have no tidings from the other operations, we should act in an attempt to try beating C.”

The face of this boy with a hockey stick resting on his shoulder was that of a warrior. Not only was he not intimidated, he looked as though the act of finding a clear goal made him finally serious.

Makoto looked at the other suicide corps members.

All of them had intense expressions, but it didn’t look like they lost their will to fight.

Apparently her gamble was a success.

But the real problem was from here on.

“We need to change our strategy. —Terasu-chan, you also showed us that video because you thought that, right?”

Shachito looked at Makoto and spoke.

“If we continued like this, never mind defeating the Revived, we’d never reach C.”

“…Yes.”

Makoto honestly acknowledged it.

Unable to clear the way for Harukiyo, Fuyuhotaru—and Sleeping Beauty, they’d be unable to reach C. They needed a strategy in order to avoid that worst-case scenario.

“Anyone’s fine. Have any good idea? You especially Rinrin, isn’t there some optimal route?”

The curly-haired boy grimaced his freckled face.

“If there was, I would’ve already said it.”

“What a fucking bother. Let’s just dig down the ground to reach C. —C’mon, even Fuyuhotaru did it to save us. Let’s copy her.”

It was a Kasuou-like opinion. Rinrin shook his head.

“At the time we’ve evacuated into a place as close to the surface as possible. But since C’s in the deepest layer, it’s another league entirely. In the first place, we can’t stay with such a monster that can destroy everything.”

“What if we dig all together? I can also open up holes to an extent.”

Sakura spoke, but Rinrin’s response was unchanged.

“Even if we do this together, we’ll probably be able to get through two, three layers at the most. It’d be much quicker to use the elevator for that. Doesn’t even need a simulation.”

The Underground Fort’s elevator was at a different place for each layer. This was apparently for security purposes, but they didn’t know what they were so cautious about, with the structure as complex as it was.

Everyone fell silent.

While coming there they all wondered whether there was a shortcut.

Although it became even more urgent now, it wasn’t as though any convenient idea suddenly came to mind.

“My barrier’s also at its limiiit.”

Tamamo spoke with a sweat-drenched face. She kept using her ability continuously for more than two hours. If she exhausted herself, they’d probably get sensed by Asagi and attacked immediately.

Should they actually wait for one of the Rank 1s to come?

No, this would make it meaningless for them to come here.

The role of Makoto’s suicide corps was definitely not just cleaning up before the Rank 1s arrived.

“—Your simulation is only about cases where we use the corridors and elevator, right?”

The one who spoke this was someone unexpected.

It was Kabuto.

“What about if you consider places people don’t usually go through… for example, the air vents or the routes used to transport goods?”

“I obviously considered that as well. But the air vents going around each layer are much more of a labyrinth than the corridors, so it’ll be the long way, and as for special transport routes, there aren’t any in the first place…”

He was probably rechecking the structure of the Underground Fort. Rinrin, who controlled his mechanical gloves as though playing a piano, suddenly stopped moving.

“Ah—ahhh—”

“What’s wrong, Rinrin?”

Makoto called to him, but the boy did not immediately answer. He restlessly moved his gloves.

“N-no… I didn’t overlook this. I mean, that’s—it’s not a space meant for something to pass through…”

“Stop with the excuses! What on earth are you mumbling about?”

“T-the Underground Fort’s exact center—"

Rinrin looked up at empty air, speaking.

“The shaft in the center of the Underground Fort. In order to preserve each layer, the electrical cables and water pipes, as well as ventilation ducts, go through each layer’s partition… you could call it the backbone of the Fort. It’s obviously covered in thick walls and partitions, and there are no corridors to move between layers—”

“So we can just smash it open and dig down, then.”

Kasuou grinned.

“Compared to digging through the ground, there will be overwhelmingly less obstacles. If we just keep going through corridors, the possibility we’ll be able to reach the deepest layer within the time limit is less than 3%. But if we destroy the shaft’s partitions and force our way down—”

Rinrin moved his gloves and spoke.

“Our chances to get to the deepest layer—are 40%.”

“Everyone, assume battle position! We’re heading to the center of the Fort! Sakura, create the entrance!”

Makoto ordered the suicide corps members.

It wasn’t a high possibility at all.

However, for Makoto’s group right now, it was a miraculous probability.

“You’ve done well to notice that. A glorious achievement, Kabuto.”

“Just a fluke.”

Hearing Makoto’s compliment, Kabuto’s mouth loosened. —He was a combatant who applied for the team only due to the East Central Branch’s sentimentality. Or so she thought, but since according to rumors he was more of a sturdy and vigorous type rather than quick-witted, she made an unthinkable miscalculation.

“Let’s go!”

Sakura struck the hammer on the wall.

Going through the appearing door, Makoto’s group flew into the corridor. Following the new route appearing on her visor, she rushed through the corridors.

“Until we reach the center, we’ll advance in an assault formation! If an enemy appears alone, we’ll just push through by force!”

In their battles until now, they tried keeping their formations together. With Yostuba at the front, they then put those combatants who specialized in attacking such as Kasuou and Kaguya in a line. The adaptable Shachito was the rear guard.

After advancing a while in the underground corridors, Himiko shouted.

“A single flame appeared ahead! It has a hostile color!”

“Let’s take the initiative and attack! We’re busting through!”

“Poisonous kick!”

Yotsuba unleashed a flying kick against the figure approaching from ahead.

The figure stopped the kick. However, particles colored a venomous color came spurting out from Yotsuba’s legs.

“Sense Isolation!”

Makoto’s noise assaulted the figure.

The enemy was paralyzed helplessly—or not. A fresh smell and a spray of water blew away not only Makoto’s noise, but even Yotsuba’s poisonous gas.

They protected against it? No, this ability’s—

Kasuou followed up with an attack of her own.

“ORAAAAH!”

Claws made of hardened mist assaulted the figure.

They leapt back, dodging the claws by a literal hairsbreadth.

Kaguya came to the front next.

“Stand back, Kasuou!”

Golden lasers were shot toward the figure.

The enemy’s body shook like a willow. Moving with shaky movements, they dodged all the rays of light.

“—Hihah.”

Shachito was at some point standing on the wall near Makoto. Able to standing horizontally due to his control of mass, his body was wrapped in an orange glow, and then suddenly vanished. He apparently intended on joining the attack on his own.

“Wait! She’s—”

Before Makoto could stop him, a roar echoed.

Shachito, who supposedly teleported in an attempt to attack, was blown backwards. He apparently blocked the blow with his hockey stick, but his back was slammed against the corridor’s wall.

“Guh…!”

What made the counterattack on Shachito was the bizarre weapon held by the figure.

It looked like an organ of some creature, a grotesque stick—no, a sword. The blade body had countless holes and water dripped from them.

After countering Shachito, the girl took an Iai stance, the Japanese martial art of quick drawing.

She was Makoto’s past friend.

“Orion…!”

She was an equipment-type Mushitsuki just like Makoto, and also belonged to the same North Central Branch. —Her deathly pale countenance had no traces of her usual disinterested smile.

“Ah, that was a scare. This girl’s really strong. —An acquaintance of yours, Terasu-chan?”

While retreating using his teleport, Shachito asked Makoto.

“Orion. —She’s an expert. By the time she came to the North Central Branch she already became a sloth though… you should just think that any direct attack is going to GET flowed away and give up on it.”

Makoto bit her lips, focusing her mind. She told everyone to not get shaken by these Revived, so she couldn’t hesitate.

“She’s also a comrade of yours. Meaning—she’s Asagi’s disciple.”

“…!”

Several from the suicide corps were shocked. The Central Headquarters members grimaced probably because they knew how strong she was back from when she belonged to the Central Headquarters.

“She supposedly became a Fallen in North Central Branch jurisdiction. Why is she here…”

Kaguya looked at Makoto. —Come to think of it, he was the one who’d discovered her Fallen state when he was dispatched to the North Central Branch.

“Don’t think of us the same as the East Central Branch with their stupid isolation facility GARDEN. Mushitsuki who become Fallen in other branches’ jurisdiction are always sent to Central Headquarters. —Today’s the first time I realized the real reason for it, though…”

The moment she started seeing some hope this powerful enemy arrived to take the wind out of their sails.

But since Makoto knew her ability, she also knew how to deal with it.

“It’ll take time to beat her in a one-way corridor! We’ll need to take a detour! Change to a guarding formation! Rinrin, send us another route!”

A new route was displayed on her goggles.

The suicide corps flew into the neighboring corridor. A bit further ahead of them, Shachito and Yotsuba ran side by side, rushing through the corridor.

The fact that everyone listened to her for a change wasn’t because of any virtue of hers. Everyone simply realized how powerful of an enemy Orion was from how she completely blocked their chain of attacks.

“Orion’s ‘flame’ is pursuing from behind!”

“Don’t fight her! Never mind close-quarters combat, she’s not a big deal in mobility or long-range combat! Kasuou, if she seems like she’ll get close, just parry her!”

“Tch… Orion pampered you so much but you also use her like a tool, you shitty brat?”

Kasuou’s mumble as she protected the rear was transmitted through the visor.

“I told you, C’s personality is gone! Rinrin, does the shaft’s interior has a wide space? We can’t beat Orion easily unless we attack from all around her!”

“Can’t say it’s wide enough… but there’s a space!”

“Alright, once we break into the shaft, we’ll begin attacking Orion! When the battle starts Kasuou will secure the space, Shachito and Yakugami will run toward the enemy’s back! Kaguya, you’ll attack not just from one direction but all sorts of angles! Orion’s partition of water has the same effect as my Territory Isolation! Don’t think you can lower her attack power using abilities!”

“Whoops, another ‘forcefield’ is approaching from another direction. Should we ignore that as well?”

“…Yes, do it! Rinrin, following Shachito’s guidance, give us another route!”

For how long were they running the corridors?

The long-awaited words were shouted by Rinrin.

“From this end of the corridor it’s the center area! The shortest route to the shaft is turning in the right corner there and passing through an equipment storage—”

“I’m sick of running around!”

Kasuou howled. Forming gigantic claws, she blew away the wall at the end.

“Don’t waste your powers before we start digging work…! —Ah, honestly! Rinrin, send Kasuou the direct route to the shaft! All other members, protect her!”

“Oraoraaaa!”

Kasuou attacked haphazardly, destroying all obstacles, be they ceiling, floor or walls. As the partitions were blown away as though they were mere paper, Makoto and the rest followed frantically from behind her.

The Revived Orion was chasing them.

“Sense Isolation!”

Makoto stopped her legs, but soon the spouted water spray from the sword cancelled her noise.

“Poisonous Punch!”

“Fire!”

“Hien…!”

“Hihah!”

Even showered by this succession of attacks, the wavering Orion wasn’t fully caught.

“The shaft’s outer wall is already ahead! It’s quite thick so you can’t destroy it easily!”

“I’ll lower a part of its durability!”

Sakura struck her hand hammer against the floor.

Glowing cracks came to its surface, reaching the wall. They were spreading in all directions.

“GOTCHA!”

Kasuou’s full-powered blow opened a huge hole in the outer wall.

After passing through the wall that was several meters thick—their footing crumbled.

“—”

A divine temple stretching all over the place like a spiderweb—

For Makoto to have this impression upon a single glance perhaps meant that she saw too many movies and read too much manga.

It was a grand space gouged out to be a perfect circle.

In the center towered a gold pipe like a large tree, and steel to support it was spread around in all directions. Pale emergency lights lit the space, and only the loud noises of water and air passing through the metallic pipes echoed there.

“Wawawa!! I-I’m fallinginging!”

Together with Maimai’s scream, the suicide corps members fell into the center of the shaft.

“Hihah.”

Shachito swung his hockey stick. Orange Autumn Darters flew out of the suicide corps members, absorbed inside it.

Their falling speed lowered. All had their weights reduced and air resistance won against them.

As they landed on the ground far below, the Autumn Darters returned to them. Released from this half-weighted condition, they regained the sensation of their body weight.

“Orion’s coming!”

Hearing Kabuto’s voice, all members raised their heads.

Leaping from pipe to pipe, the girl holding the bizarre sword approached. Behind her another Revived could be seen.

“From this shaft’s floor—there are only nine partitions till the lowest layer! And they’re thicker than the outer wall!”

“We can fight here! Everyone, let’s fight in the formation I said before!”

“—No! We can’t beat Orion-chan in a straightforward manner! It’s better for Kasuou-chan and the rest to start digging!”

Makoto glared at Shachito.

No matter how far they came, apparently they didn’t intend to follow her orders obediently.

However, there was some truth to what he said.

“…Changing my orders! Kasuou and Sakura will open up holes down! Rinrin, Maimai will evacuate to the walls! All others are to annihilate the Revived! —You participate in the attack too, Himiko!”

“Yup, those’re the appropriate orders.”

She was angry at Shachito nodding so smugly, but dark mist passed through where his face was.

One of the ducts connecting top and bottom had a large hole opened up in it along with a roar.

“I fucking told you not to call me ‘chan’!”

Glaring at Shachito who teleported away to dodge the claw, Kasuou yelled.

“…!”

The entire shaft was blown away by fiery wind.

Apparently Kasuou had destroyed an air vent. The amount of air going all around the vast Underground Fort was enormous. So much air blew inside the shaft that they could barely stand up straight.

“This is no time to argue…! —Begin all movements!”

From Makoto’s command, the Mushitsuki all moved to battle.

They tried circling Orion who was leaping down from pipe to pipe from all possible sides. Even she couldn’t possibly evade a chain of attacks continually launched at her from all around. Shachito’s hockey stick and Kaguya’s lasers grazed her body.

“I’m tired of digging already, though!”

Although complaining, Kasuou kept working hard along with Sakura on digging work.

Makoto looked high above.

The other Revived looked down at Orion fighting everyone. At their feet were the glowing wings of a butterfly—no, these were rose-like buds growing there.

“Shachito! Once more, please!”

Shachito managed to surmise her intent from this short order. Swinging the hockey stick, he robbed her mass in the form of orange Autumn Darters.

Makoto kicked the floor, leaping high in the air. Although in her half-weighted state she was pelted by the gale, she somehow preserved her position and rushed up from pipe to pipe.

“Will you be fine alone, Terasu-chan?”

“Yeah! I’m leaving Orion to you!”

As they spoke while passing next to each other, Makoto faced against the host of the rose-like Mushi.

“Seeing that none of us seems to know you, you’re probably part of the Annihilators like Shera.”

She knew from intuition that this opponent was at least as dangerous as Orion.

At the same time her intuition also told her—that Terasu had a good compatibility against her. At the very least, leaving aside a close-range type like Orion, Makoto had never lost in midrange when she fought one on one.

“As if I’ll lose to y’all sneaky assassin types!”

Asserting this, Makoto put a hand to her throat.

2.06 OPS1 Part 7

Kasuou yelled for the third time.

“I opened it, dammit! Come over already!”

Three caves were gouged into the shaft partitions.

“Haa! Haa! —All members, go down a layer!”

With Makoto’s order, all members of the suicide squad turned on their heels toward the hole opened in the floor.

Shachito used his ability to lower their falling speed and they landed in the fourth partition.

“…This time we’ll beat ‘em properly!”

And once again the suicide corps members headed to Orion and the rose-user.

Quite a lot of time passed since they started fighting.

Although they put up a good fight against the two Revived, they still couldn’t beat them. They both had exceedingly high defensive capabilities. None of their comrades received heavy damage, but they were getting fatigued.

Someone seemed to have destroyed an air vent again. Following the sound of impact, a fierce wind blew.

“Please just give up already…”

Pursuing Makoto, the rose-user also landed on top of a pipe. At her feet grew rose-like butterflies, producing huge amounts of scales—no, spreading pollen.

The pollen condensed, becoming spiky vines that assaulted Makoto.

“Kuh!”

Immediately leaping to another pipe, Makoto evaded.

Destroying the pipe, the vine expanded. It returned being pollen and tried enveloping Makoto.

“Territory Isolation!”

Makoto’s noise blew off the pollen trying to cover her.

“Honestly… It feels like fighting Kasuou!”

The rose-user’s ability was of the same kind of Kasuou’s. Pollen that could protect against physical abilities was able to freely change its shape to attack the enemy. Moreover, since most of it constantly guarded the host, almost any and all physical attacks were negated.

On top of that, apparently the pollen also had a mental pollution effect. Just approaching it dimmed one’s consciousness. It lacked the stupidly powerful offense of Kasuou, but it was a tough opponent in general offense and defense.

“Territory Isolation!”

Makoto’s noise gouged into the pollens protecting the rose-user.

After fighting her, she soon realized that it was rather Kaguya and not her who would be better suited for this. However, he was doing his best protecting Himiko. Orion judged Himiko as a problem, since one couldn’t predict the angles of the flame pillars she was controlling, and was constantly gunning for her.

“Haa…! Hah…!”

Makoto’s fatigue also reached the peak. But the enemy wasn’t unaffected, either.

“Are the pollen also part of your Mushi? You should be at your limit too, already.”

Seeing that the pollen was at half its density when compared to the start, Makoto smiled boldly. Looking closely, the rose petals—the wing parts—were wilting.

The spiked vine yet again assaulted Makoto.

“Ugh—”

Although she dodged by leaping to another pipe, Makoto ended up tumbling, perhaps out of fatigue.

It was probably seen as an opportunity. The rose-user added three vines and assaulted her from above and both sides.

“—I bet you’ve never played with your enemy, with you being an assassin.”

Makoto grinned, turning her body toward the one and only escape. Leaping down from the steel pipe, she fell down headlong. The pipe was mercilessly destroyed by the vines.

“You used all your remaining pollen on attacks so your defense’s thin!”

Shouting this, she pulled out a small speaker from her pocket, aimed at the rose-user and threw it.

“Territory Isolation!”

The noise emitted at the same time tore through the wall of pollen.

Even the hole opened momentarily was being closed again by the surrounding pollen.

However, the speaker Makoto threw already slipped inside.

“Eat this—Sense Isolatioooon!”

Inside the wall of pollen, violent noise reverberated.

The rose-user bent backwards, raising a voiceless dying throe. Collapsing listlessly on top of the steel pipe, the rose-shaped butterflies appearing next to their host withered and vanished.

“Phew…”

Makoto was falling headlong. She could also see the fight against Orion coming to a close.

Yotsuba finally managed to land a hit on Orion’s chest. At last unable to handle all of the suicide corps’ attacks, Orion grimaced and tried slashing at Yotsuba.

“Just a Punch!”

Yotsuba’s attack was faster. She’d end up purified anyway if her opponent used her ability. Her right hook with all of her power behind it stabbed into Orion’s flank.

“And another one! And one final one!”

A thrusting technique and a roundhouse kick. Whether it was the Japanese martial arts of kenpou or kickboxing, her follow-up attacks hit squarely.

Along with a nasty voice of ribs breaking, Orion’s movements stopped. Even so, she still immediately tried to swing her sword down at Yotsuba—

“Hihah.”

Approaching with a teleport, Shachito’s hockey stick struck and broke Orion’s arm.

“And we’re finished with this!”

Then Kaguya’s lasers pierced the strangely-shaped sword.

Her Mushi burnt to a crisp, Orion collapsed on the steel pipe.

And that—was it.

“…That’s what you get for being weirdly hardworking.”

Seeing her past friend collapse again, Makoto mumbled this. She spun her body, landing on top of the partition wall.

“Oraaah! It’s opeeen!”

Sounding half-desperate, Kasuou’s shouting voice.

“Just five more…!”

With Makoto at their front, the suicide corps fell down toward the next partition.

“For now we’ve gotten rid of all these revived. I’m a bit worried about no one new appearing, thooough.”

“In the first place only very few Mushitsuki can break through the outer wall and reach here.”

“I just thought about somethin’, though. Can’t we go through these air vents? Aren’t they connected to the lowest layer as well?”

“You’d end up sucked in and turned into minced meat…”

“Continue your digging work, Kasuou and Sakura. Other members focus on recovering, but keep your guard up. Of our time limit of 48 hours, the remaining time is…”

“About three hoursezez.”

As she spoke to everyone, the suicide corps landed atop the fifth partition.

Watching Kasuou and Sakura immediately begin digging work, Makoto inquired Rinrin.

“What about the other operations? Any change?”

“…Nothing. The signal’s as bad as always, but we’re only getting messages of no changes.”

Makoto puckered her lips.

Did the lack of news mean that the other operations failed, then?

It looked like there was a need to reach a decision soon.

“Once we reach the lowest layer, we’ll just keep going toward C’s Bed. Sorry to you two, but all of us need to recover our stamina—”

Makoto’s words were cut off by the sound of something rupturing.

As well as something large twisting, and the sound of breaking.

“W-what was that sound just now…?”

Makoto and the others grew alert.

Next, a sound like an earth tremor could be heard from afar.

“Something’s heading here—is that… water?”

As Makoto turned toward Kaguya who was speaking, she could see that water was flowing from the other side of the circular outer wall in the depths of several centimeters.

Soon the water reached their location.

Rinrin gasped.

“—A certain water pipe was destroyed on the other side.”

If what he said was true, the earthquake-like sound was likely the vast amounts of water overflowing from the partition.

“…A flame! An enemy! Above at 3 o’clock!”

Himiko suddenly shouted.

Makoto and the rest reflexively turned there—and raised their brows.

What they could see there was a metallic pipe as large as a column. They couldn’t see anything like an enemy.

“An enemy… where?”

It happened right after Makoto muttered this.

The steel pipe burst from the inside. It wasn’t an air duct or a water pipe. The things inside, made of several joined narrow pipes—were electrical cables.

As the cables burst, a golden flash was unleashed from their cut portion.

“—”

The next moment, what appeared to them—

Was a nude, beautiful girl whose silhouette was made of electrical discharge.

Not just one. Three.

Each of them controlled butterflies glowing in gold.

These were C-butterflies, with a pattern resembling the English letter C on their wings.

“No way—this is C…?”

Mumbling this in spite of her herself, Makoto gasped.

They were soaked by the water gushing out from the water pipe at their feet—

“Oh no—Territory Isolation!”

Not only Makoto sensed this danger.

Her emitted noise. Yotsuba’s repeated kicks after leaping. Shachito’s teleport followed by a swing of his hockey stick. Yakugami’s thrown chained sickles.

The beautiful girl glowed—looking like a fairy from children’s tales—and blew them all.

However—

“Gwah!”

“Waaah!”

“Eeek!”

“Ugh!”

One of the C butterflies launched by the fairy touched the water at their feet.

An immediate storm electrocuted the suicide corps members. They had no way to defend against the electricity running through the water, and especially those members that had no physical resilience collapsed on the spot.

“Are Ne…Nene and Yotsuba safe…?”

Makoto also managed to barely preserve her consciousness somehow despite having her entire body struck by electricity. However, she couldn’t move her body as though paralyzed.

“If you’re safe, then heal us…!”

“H-Healing Punch…!”

Yotsuba’s voice was followed by Nene’s singing voice, echoing.

“Y-you guys… are you fine…?”

Her body retrieving its freedom due to the song, Makoto raised her face.

And, seeing the state of the suicide corps members, was speechless.

The only ones standing were Makoto, Shachito, Yotsuba and Kaguya. All others fell to their knees, and some like Rinrin and Maimai fully lost consciousness and were sinking inside the water.

“This thing now… was the ability of that girl called C, then.”

Shachito said, groaning.

And, following this.

Another rupturing sound echoed.

As they raised their faces overhead, they saw—

“—”

Five fairies.

It definitely wasn’t just Makoto who could feel it coming.

The mission’s failure.

And not only that—but a vision of their death.

In the moment her life ended Makoto stood up and turned her sight—

“…”

High above where these fairies floated. Makoto and the rest looked toward the hole in the ceiling.

As for why they looked there—

Because they all thought—what if Fuyuhotaru finally came?

What if there being no change in the other operations was a misunderstanding? In these dire straits, perhaps Fuyuhotaru would come running to them.

Harukiyo and Sleeping Beauty might also make an awesome entrance now.

If it was those Rank 1 bastards, they would have a way to rescue them that an average person like Makoto could never think of. She—wished for it.

“…!”

Makoto gritted her teeth. Since it was a happening of only a second, she didn’t know if she actually did this.

Makoto wished.

However, reality—was obviously not this convenient.

“Territory—Isolatiooooon!”

Including her anger at being so weak, she raised a scream with all of her powers.

To hell with preserving her stamina. Since she found herself wishing for something so stupid, she might as well vanish right here and then—

This strike really held this much emotion.

The five fairies burst into smithereens along with their C-butterflies.

“—”

Assaulted by a violent sensation of loss, Makoto felt her body fluttering.

What stopped her from collapsing was a boy’s strong arms.

That face, which became a shade in the gloomy space—

—I’ll never lose to someone so soft.

Was the face of the demon that she definitely didn’t want to recall.

—Her third meeting with the demon was about a year before the present.

Makoto managed to climb to the top, being called the ace of the North Central Branch. Prioritizing her mission completion rate, she was criticized behind her back that she fought in a way that didn’t take risks, but she didn’t care. Compared to wiping off the rumors that she was Kakkou’s yes-man, it was like being praised.

This undeserved evaluation made Makoto get carried away.

Thinking too much of her mission completion rate, she acted rashly in a certain mission. She went alone to face a troublesome Mushitsuki, and although she cornered them in an empty building, she launched a reckless attack.

As a result, half the building crumbled down and Makoto became pinned under the debris. As a bonus, the Mushitsuki she was supposed to capture even got away.

Makoto thought she was dead.

However, as she regained her consciousness, what she saw through the vivid morning sunlight—

Was a demon clad in black coat, Kakkou.

“…”

Makoto was at a hotel resort that used to serve as a summer retreat. It became a vacant lot covered with sand, and now that it was half-collapsed, sunlight came pouring from the ruined wall.

The lower half of Makoto’s body was trapped under the broken debris.

Meanwhile, Kakkou stood on top of the piles of concrete wreckage. Leaning against a thick pillar, he glared at Makoto, not hiding his displeased mood in the least.

“—What a letdown.”

His very first words were just like the trash he was.

Although she regained consciousness, Makoto’s mind was still hazy. She was probably bleeding from somewhere on her body, as the place was filled with the metallic scent of blood.

“Uh… Uuhh…”

“I told you not to go and die on me like that.”

She could somewhat estimate why the demon was here. Afraid of losing points due to the failed mission, the North Central Branch Head probably requested assistance from other branches. And the one who came was Kakkou, quickly finding poor Makoto.

“I honestly thought they wouldn’t bother me again to help the North Central Branch while you’re alive.”

“…”

Was this the demon actually praising her?

This misunderstanding was denied by his annoyed tone of voice.

“If you die here, someone new will get dispatched from Central Headquarters. If it’s someone like Yotsuba I’ll be relieved in many senses, but who knows…”

Makoto was going to die here?

Her body certainly wasn’t moving, and the scent of blood was horrible as well. Even during his speech, she could feel the premonition of death assaulting her.

Even so, the demon was just standing there, not moving a muscle. Never mind not pulling Makoto out, he didn’t look like he was going to get any help for her.

“Got any last words?”

Now that the demon said this to her, she really thought she was finished.

There were plenty of things she wanted to say. Especially coming to mind was curses about the son of a bitch standing in front of her. How pathetic had Makoto’s life turned out, and all thanks to him?

However, as Makoto faced death, what came from her mouth were not curses.

“S-save me…”

Makoto cried and sobbed.

She couldn’t understand what the demon standing nearby was thinking about at all. How could he be so calm in front of a dying human? How could he be so foul-mouthed? That wasn’t something a human being could do.

“Help…”

Saying she changed was a lie.

People could not change so easily. No matter how strong she became, how smart she became, Makoto’s essence of weakness changed not a bit—

And the demon also remained the same.

“—”

A grin.

Seeing Makoto afraid of death, his mouth was loosened.

Seeing a person cast aside all pride and beg for their life, this demon sneered—

No one could blame Makoto for feeling a murderous impulse that nearly overrode her fear.

“I-I’ll kill you—”

While bloody bubbles foamed at her mouth, she glared at Kakkou with her full powered curse.

“W-what’s so funny—only you—I’ll definitely—with my own hands—”

“You’ll never win against me. I told you that before.”

“T-then—”

Grinding her teeth, Makoto barely preserved her consciousness.

“I-I’ll live—even a second longer than you—”

If it was about staying alive, she was confident she’d lose not even against that demon.

She already threw away her shame and self-pride anyway, and didn’t begrudge even begging for her life from a demon.

If she was going to have a pathetic life anyway, she wanted to live even a second longer than Kakkou—

“Yes, I agree. Mushitsuki should prioritize their own survival alone.”

Kakkou smiled. Unexpectedly, that smile was no longer as demonic as before—but looked like the smile of an ordinary boy.

“—Or so I thought.”

Mumbling this, Kakkou raised his face.

Where his gaze led there was a small shadow visible in the sky above the summer retreat seen through the wall.

It was a flying-type Mushi. Makoto knew it as one of the North Central Branch Mushitsuki.

Apparently Kakkou had already sent a request for a rescue long ago.

“Terasu. If someday I say that I’ll defeat the Original Three, will you help me?”

The demon suddenly said this.

People didn’t change so easily.

So it was supposed to be, yet the demon looking at Makoto—somewhat looked as if something changed in him ever since he told her to get out of Central Headquarters and they parted.

“…Don’t be an idiot…”

Makoto groaned, exposing her hatred.

“If it’s like this… then after the Original Three… I’ll kill you—”

“Probably. Then I can only use force to make you listen.”

The demon recovered his demonic smile.

“You told me that you’d ‘do anything’, after all. So you’re not allowed to die until then.”

Makoto was rescued from the debris by her comrades and managed to escape the ruined building.

After this, the building fully collapsed.

Because it lost the final support of its fulcrum—the pillar that Kakkou held with his back.

When the earth tremor died down and the dust also settled.

And when she saw Kakkou, who was bleeding from his head, survive from within the mountain of debris—

Makoto was fed up with everything.

She knew that for a while she’d have to continue of life of following that demon’s instructions.

“—chan! Terasu-chan!”

She had apparently exhausted her powers and fainted.

Makoto opened narrow eyes inside the shaft of the Underground Fort.

The boy’s face that gradually retrieved its silhouette didn’t belong to the demon that Makoto hated the most in the world—but to Shachito. He shook her body violently.

“Get a grip! Terasu-chan!”

“…A-as if I’d die here…”

Makoto grimaced and leaked sobs.

She ended up knowing the emotions lying in the very depths of her heart that she didn’t want to notice.

She ended up discovering her true feelings despite not wanting to.

“…I’m gonna… survive… and become Rank 1…”

She wanted to be a Rank 1, the same as that demon—Kakkou.

She wanted to become someone with the kind of absurd strength able to overwhelm anyone and that indomitable spirit.

This was why Makoto hated the Rank 1s so much.

It was simply a reversal of her feelings—the flip side of her admiration.

“And then I’ll… finally… be like him…”

While mumbling this unconsciously to herself, her reason finally returned.

Noticing her comrades looking worriedly at her, she wiped her teary eyes. Shaking off Shachito’s arms, she stood up without giving any thanks.

“W-what are you doing…! Fix your formation already! We can’t tell when C’s coming to attack again!”

Even while saying this, a dizziness from standing up too fast assaulted Makoto. As she staggered, Nene supported her.

“Don’t mind me! Just start moving already! Sakura, you need to block the holes created in the water pipes and the electric cables!”

“Did it already.”

“T-then, dig already! Never mind preserving energy anymore! We’ll all dig together to reach the last layer as soon as possible!”

“…”

Even though worried faces still looked at her, everyone prepared to work.

What are all of you silent for…!

Although she was unconscious, she ended up saying something unbelievably embarrassing.

Although they seemed to be caring for her, they definitely laughed at her in their hearts.

All of them are making a fool out of me…!

Makoto becoming Rank 1 wasn’t funny even as a joke. The one who knew best she wasn’t qualified for this was Makoto herself.

“Thanks, Terasu-chan.”

Shachito turned around and smiled.

Makoto widened her eyes at words that she’d never dare to imagine.

“It was really bad just now. You’ve saved all of us, Terasu-chan.”

For a moment she couldn’t understand what she was being told and her thinking stopped. But she soon came back to her senses.

“T-that doesn’t matter in the least! Go help with the digging already!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Looking closely, all members of the suicide corps wore smiles.

“…!”

She felt her face getting hotter. She scooped up some water from the still-increasing flow and splashed it at her face, pretending to just freshen herself up.

As she groaned in her heart, her throat pricked with pain. She coughed and a small red spot landed in the water.

She’d apparently hurt her throat as she used her power recklessly. The violent sensation of loss still assaulting her body was probably recoil at using her Mushi’s ability like that so suddenly.

“At this rate I might Mature soon…”

She mumbled to herself so softly no one could hear.

It was silly to think about it. Who could even spare the time to think about Maturation? This was a situation where if she let her guard down even for an instant she was going to die. If she managed to survive for just a few more hours, that was fine.

“Even if we retreated here, we’d be struck down and killed anyway…!”

Makoto spun her body, appealing to the suicide corps she herself led.

“For us to survive, we must defeat C as soon as possible!”

They could no longer go back—

Makoto’s declaration was one she already came to know firsthand.

Piercing through the fifth partition, the squad went down a level and there they saw—

The figures of fairies lying in wait for them.

“Tamamo! Come contain these fairies with me! Sakura, you work on digging and blocking the fairies at the same time! Yakugami! Bring the territory around us under your control as much as you can!”

Other than Makoto’s orders there wasn’t even a single humanlike voice.

She could only hear sounds of battle and the cries of the suicide corps members.

Every time an electric attack tore through and impacted, someone turned a somersault and collapsed. And then Yotsuba, who was wounded herself, would heal them. —This process repeated itself.

“Shachito, I’ll cover for people so you go and defeat even a single fairy! Nene, expand the range of your singing! Rinrin, Maimai, at least try to protect yourselves!”

By the time they broke through the sixth layer, everyone had at least some part of their skin fried by electricity.

The suicide corps desperately attacked the fairies and attacked the partition.

“I know I’m being unreasonable! But—Territory Isolation!”

Makoto’s noise struck down a C-butterfly that was about to attack Maimai.

However, the C-butterfly that used this opening to approach was right in her face.

A golden flash filled Makoto’s sight.

“—Terasu-chan’s woke up…! Who’s next in line…!”

Makoto woke up when Kasuou and the rest were in the midst of destroying the seventh partition wall.

Jumping to her feet, she gave orders to the suicide corps while spitting blood.

“Kaguya, Kabuto! I’ll protect Himiko, so focus on attacking! There’re too many of C’s body doubles! Yotsuba! You need to prioritize healing Sakura more than Yakugami! It’s meaningless if we don’t block the fairies from coming!”

Destroying the partition wall, the corps managed to reach the eighth partition wall.

“A bit more…! Just a little bit more, so hang on…!”

She no longer had many orders to issue. Everyone went past their limits.

Just two more layers…!

Covered in blood, everyone was panting hard. It was obvious their stamina wasn’t going to last.

“—No good… Even if we break through, we’re not going to have enough power to keep fighting while going through the next layer…”

Makoto’s unconsciously leaked mumble caused the members to turn to her.

“You guys, resolve yourselves—”

While fighting the fairies, Makoto had tears rising to the sides of her eyes, and she gritted her teeth. —She couldn’t even hide that she was a crybaby anymore.

“Once we break through this eighth layer, we’ll keep falling—and break through the ninth.”

“—”

The entire members of the suicide corps looked at Makoto with faces of astonishment.

“Any attack’s fine, so use your full powers—if we can’t break through the ninth layer in one go, we’re all gonna die. So do it like your life depends on it—no, it actually does depend on it…!”

This was no longer any order or anything.

It was a wish.

To be perfectly clear, her giving these orders that she thought were impossible—made her unfit to be a leader.

However, this was the only way the suicide corps had left.

“Oraaah…! It’s open!”

Kasuou howled, her face pale with fatigue.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Shachito howled as well. Orange Autumn Darters robbed the members’ mass.

“We’re going!”

As Makoto’s group headed to the final partition wall, a large swarm of fairies welcomed them as expected.

However, ignoring them completely, they leapt down steel pipes and toward the partition wall.

The Mushitsuki’s howls overlapped.

They had no tactics or strategy.

As they wrung out their remaining powers and struck the partition wall with their full power at the same time, at that moment—

“Eh…”

Makoto clearly saw it.

The moment before everyone attacked the wall in unison.

A person who definitely couldn’t be there swung down their fist along with them.

A pitch-black long coat flapping in the wind and hair that stood up like horns. Although his face was hidden by goggles, he wore a bold smile.

And on his whole body—was a green pattern glowing vividly.

The person Makoto hated the most in this world.

Despite this, he was also the Mushitsuki who was the most needed here, more than anyone—

“Kakkou…?”

Makoto’s small mumble was drowned by the huge sounds of destruction.

An overwhelming impact that could even shake Gods themselves.

This blow made by the Mushitsuki that might burn themselves out at any moment—

Reached the bottom of the shaft.

“Haa…! Haa…!”

“Wheeze! Wheeze!”

“Ha…! Ha…!”

Even while gasping for breath, everyone shot their heads up.

Makoto’s group found itself inside a huge hole with strewn debris.

Meaning, the bottom layer—

“W-we’re here—”

Someone cheered.

That was the truth, unbelievably enough.

They thought it was impossible to pierce through, but the suicide corps managed it.

“Haa…! Haa…!”

Panting, Makoto looked around.

There were no dropouts among the suicide corps. Not a single one of them could stand upright, but all managed to miraculously reach this bottom layer without dying.

However, Makoto did not have the leisure to feel moved at this.

All of the suicide corps members were there—but Kakkou was not.

Makoto had definitely seen his figure at that moment, though.

“What does this mean…”

She bit her lips.

Had she hallucinated in this stressful situation? No, such sentimentality wouldn’t work here. It was fine because they succeeded, but she thought their feat of destroying the partition wall with a single strike was impossible for them after they exhausted themselves so.

However, Kakkou was gone. That was the unmistakable reality.

It was probably just that the final partition wall was slightly thinner than expected. She decided to think this.

Still, to think I’ve seen such a realistic illusion of him…!

Makoto groaned in her heart. Feeling pathetic and angry at herself, she blushed again. Pretending she was shaking off soot and rubbing her cheeks, she managed to feign she was simply dizzy.

“Fairies are comiiing!”

Tamamo looked up at the hole above and shouted.

The swarm of fairies passed through the hole, assaulting them.

“We don’t have enough power to fight such numbers…! We’ll just keep heading to C’s Bed!”

Coming back to herself, Makoto started running.

As everyone stumbled but rushed ahead, Kabuto alone went down on his knees, unmoving.

“S-sorry… I must’ve used more power than I estimated.”

“Everything’s way beyond our estimations already! Someone lend him a hand…!”

“I’ll help.”

Borrowing Kaguya’s shoulder, Kabuto somehow managed to run.

The deepest layer shaft had no partition wall. Also, there was no floor.

Going out of the leading pipe extending from the shaft, it was a narrow space containing many split cables. They were all running on top of them.

“By the way, Terasu-chan… what about a strategy to defeat C?”

While rushing through the corridor divided by slightly dirty walls, Shachito asked.

Everyone in the suicide corps had the same expression as him.

Meaning—they were resolved.

Both heart and mind were in this extreme state, and they had only little remaining power.

Everyone knew what it meant to face a Super Class Rank 1 monster like that.

“The moment we burst into C’s Bed, Kasuou needs to use her defenses and protect everyone.”

Makoto too was resolved.

But it was a bit different from how they were all ready to throw themselves in self-abandonment.

She wasn’t intending in the least to just throw herself into a reckless battle and die in vain.

“The others are to prevent C from escaping into an isolated space somehow. Because of that, I need those with abilities that can break through isolated spaces at the front.”

“But who’s going to attack C, then…?”

Nene mouthed the most important question.

Makoto smiled.

It was a harsh battle, but in the end, it developed just like Makoto thought.

Makoto was convinced she was going to die in this mission from the very beginning.

Her only humble, small wish was to preserve her dignity. No matter what sacrifices it took, she had the pride to never let anyone from her team drop out.

“About that, I don’t know the full details, but—”

Pointing at the case she was carrying with her thumb, she spoke.

“It’s apparently an amazing bomb.”

“—”

Everyone gulped.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to isolate the Database—the Bed—using my ability and somehow protect it from the blast.”

“You can’t be—”

She thought someone would try to stop her.

However, the fact that the first one was Kaguya made Makoto cringe. He really was a soft Mushitsuki through and through.

“You can’t be serious! Using something like this it means getting close to C, right? And to isolate the Bed you also need to set up your speakers from up close, right? Since we’ll be protected by Kasuou, then it means that you—”

“Right now we have no other way, right?”

Makoto wore as bold a smile as she could manage.

No one had any reply.

Even so—it didn’t look like a single one of them accepted this.

“I don’t intend to die in vain. I’ll escape into the isolated space with the Bed.”

If she relaxed her guard, anxiety and fear would make her voice tremble.

Makoto herself would also escape into her space. —She’d never been able to do this. If push came to shove, if she had to use it in this situation, she knew the chances.

“…”

This stifling silence was proof no one could accept Makoto’s words.

However—she wanted them to pretend that they did.

Because they had no other way to beat C.

“…C’s Bed is on the other side of that door.”

Rinrin spoke.

Ahead of them in the corridor they could see a tattered, worn door.

Swarms of fairies were coming from behind.

“Are you all ready, guys?”

No one answered Makoto’s question.

All of them were bastards who weren’t going to actually follow Makoto’s orders even at the very end.

At first they’d probably move according to her orders. But at the last moment, one of them might try to rescue her in vain.

Despite them knowing it was useless.

“Let’s go—”

Speaking frankly, Makoto herself had no regrets.

What she was about to do wasn’t a senseless death.

In the unlikely chance she died here, it was fine she didn’t become Rank 1.

Tying with a Rank 1… that’s enough for me to become like a Rank 1—

By doing this, Makoto’s revenge was already complete.

And as a bonus, she’d end up saving the world, so she didn’t feel sorry.

Wearing a self-deprecating smile in her heart, she opened the door vigorously.

“Kasuou! Deploy your—”

The suicide corps flew into C’s Bed.

However, everyone just stood in place as though frozen.

Not only did Kasuou not deploy her mist, she was paralyzed in shock.

“—”

What waited for them there was the same as the footage showed by Miguruma Yaeko.

Inside an ocean of cables was a nude girl lying on a transparent bed.

She was C.

This girl, ephemeral and yet bringing up fear from the depths of one’s heart, looked much more beautiful than in the footage. Although she was young, it was like looking at a painting of a goddess swaying to and fro in the ocean.

However—C was not alone.

“The—”

In this state where no one could utter a word, Makoto unconsciously leaked a soft mumble.

In the footage C was all alone.

So what was the meaning of what she saw there?

“There’s no way…”

Standing on the piles of machinery was a raincoat-wearing, one-armed person.

Shishidou Inuko.

Also, there were other Mushitsuki with the same sort of complexion as her.

They numbered—over a hundred.

Just like the audience of horse races, these Revived all looked down at Makoto’s team.

And despair did not end there.

“Eh.”

Who made this foolish sound?

It could be anyone. Probably Makoto.

But it was unavoidable.

It was because the form of C before them blurred, became hazy, then vanished.

The next instant, however, the form of the sleeping C reappeared along with static.

“—”

Seeing this, Makoto understood.

That was awful.

Despite them so desperately reaching here, this was too cruel—

“C’s real body is—no longer here…?”

Makoto’s resolve for death was completely meaningless.

Shishidou Inuko swung her lone remaining arm horizontally.

With that as a signal, the swarm of Revived all headed for Makoto’s group.

And from behind she could also feel the fairies.

“Op—”

Tears gushed out of Makoto’s eyes. With shaking hands, she pressed the contact switch on her visor.

“Operation 1… has f-failed…”

And thus.

The Revived led by C began their rampage.

Notes

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