Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 8th Episode 32 (section)

=== Part 1 ===

Family.

Friends.

Memories.

All of her treasures were packed into a single feeling.

As long as she had that feeling, she could do anything. If she lost this feeling, she would lose her very existence.

It was called a dream.

The path she’d taken so far connected here.

With this feeling in her chest, she would keep going on this path.

So she was convinced.

“—AaAAH!”

Arisu’s throat emitted an inhuman howl. She threw the thin spear she was grasping at her enemies.

At the same time, the surrounding sand rose up and transformed into a swarm of butterflies. One after another, spears of light were created and surrounded Arisu in the blink of an eye.

Right, left, right again.

Swinging both arms in speeds beyond human eyes, the silver girl kept launching spears.

“Nuh…!”

Silver lightning pulverized Ichiku Kimitaka’s half body and caused a giant explosion on the other side of the horizon.

“Could you please move, Arisu-chan?”

Oogui kept scattering her purple scales. In the night sky streaming the meteor shower, the scales formed and transformed into Mushi.

“Well, you might not be Arisu-chan anymore—”

Oogui who was trying to laugh suddenly turned back with a start.

“—”

Oogui’s body floating in the night sky scattered. The flash of light flying from afar hit the mark.

Arisu caught the light that pulverized Oogui and came back down to the beach. Shining particles were blown away and her silver hair danced.

Stopping in Arisu’s hand after this impact was the Morpho butterfly’s spear that she first threw at her enemies. The strongest weapon that came back to Arisu’s hands spread its blade-like wings.

“AAaAAAH—”

The war cry emitted from her mouth could be heard in the distance.

She was being eaten away—

The first precious feelings Arisu had since her birth were being eaten by something and erased.

Just like Oogui said.

Right now, the one moving Arisu’s body wasn’t herself.

Stealing Arisu’s heart and her body, and eating her—

Was a Mushi.

It wasn’t painful, yet unbearably painful.

Painful as though her chest was constricted, yet also brought a pleasant drowsiness and sleepiness.

''—Hello.

Her late friend Hanashiro Mari’s smile.

''—Ena Homerun!

''—When he comes back, I will tell him, “welcome back”.

Her memories of her still-living friends, Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako.

''—Geez, why’d I have to…

The days she spent with Daisuke at her side.

''—I wanna get punished.

The flame-like eyes of the worthy rival Harukiyo, who came to look for Mari’s dream.

She was literally being eaten by a Mushi, having a hole open inside and having it be covered fully in black.

All of them were irreplaceable memories.

Everything that made up Arisu.

If they were gone, Arisu would cease being Arisu.

''No, don’t go away—

She wanted to shout this, yet couldn’t shout.

“AaAAaAAH—”

Leaking from Arisu’s mouth was only the cry of the Morpho butterfly raising cheers.

There was no pain.

Even so, she felt extreme pain—in her heart.

This was what dreams being eaten meant.

The identity of the pain that Mushitsuki always faced and fought against.

Arisu couldn’t even struggle against this harsh pain that she’d never experienced before.

With the faces of her important people vanishing, she also started forgetting her own face they were looking at.

She was starting to lose sight of who she was—

“Are you trying to say that if you can’t change this world that has Mushitsuki with it then you might as well destroy the world itself? Ichinokuro Arisu—“

On the sea surface, Ichiku Kimitaka’s ripped mouth was created. Tardigrades gathered to this form, and the face clad in sunglasses with different colored lenses was restored.

Arisu’s body moved on its own and readied the spear.

The sense of duty to defeat the enemies in front of her eyes was just being dyed by a destructive impulse.

The resolution to protect her dream changed into a joy that controlled immense power.

“If this is the ‘saving’ you speak of, I’ll eat even that.”

The tardigrades tsunami pushed to the beach. Ichiku’s upper torso slid on top of the wave as if surfing, assaulting Arisu.

Arisu flashed her Morpho butterfly spear. Silver scales blew away both Ichiku’s body and the swarm of tardigrades.

“…!”

The next moment, an explosion resounded at Arisu’s feet. From within the swarm of tardigrades gushing out from beneath the sand extended two suit-clad arms.

Arisu’s shoulders were restrained by superhuman strength. And further from the tardigrades a ripped mouth flew out.

Although she barely stopped it with her spear, the ripped mouth broke apart into countless tardigrades and slipped away from the spear. Regaining its form again, the mouth stuck sharp fangs into Arisu’s neck.

“AAaAAH!”

A cry of pain leaked from Arisu’s mouth a cry of pain leaked. The strengthened silver body that fused with the Morpho butterfly scattered fresh blood.

“The world of Mushitsuki will not change.”

Ichiku Kimitaka’s dark eyes glared at Arisu. Without moving the biting mouth, he moved the throat behind the hole in his cheek and spoke.

“Under the name of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, Mushitsuki will forever keep living in despair—”

Being crushed by the tardigrades’ overwhelming weight, Arisu was pushed back to the breakwater.

“AaaAAAH—”

Arisu—no, the Morpho butterfly shouted.

Silver scales were spouted from the spear, and the tardigrades eating it were instantly annihilated.

“What’s wrong, Oogui?!”

Ichiku regenerated in another location as if nothing happened, glaring up the sky of streaming stars.

“As long as this woman’s there you can’t eat the dream you’re aiming for!”

“Hehe… looks like it.”

Narrowing her rainbow eyes enchantingly, Oogui produced several more Mushi.

Arisu crushed the pushing swarm of Mushi with a single attack from her spear.

However—

“…!”

A giant shadow fell down from overhead.

She hurriedly swung her spear and emitted scales. However, the half-dome-shaped Mushi alighting down wasn’t fully destroyed by this.

It was Rina’s seven-spotted ladybug. Although half its body was torn off, it bit the spear with its large mouthpart.

“—!”

This shockwave with power off the charts sank Arisu into the ground. On top of sealing the spear with its mouthpart, it continued by shooting a shockwave. Adding to seven-spotted ladybug’s weight, Arisu’s body stabbed even further into the ground.

Dirt was blown and oceanwater flowed in like stormy waves. The seven-spotted ladybug’s shockwave tore the ground asunder, dropping Arisu into the abyss.

Tardigrades spouted from within the torn earth. Ichiku’s arms extending from the surface pinioned Arisu from behind.

“—I will drop you into hell and close the lid, you old relic, Morpho butterfly. So you can never come back to this world again.”

Falling—

Along with the sensation as though she was falling, Arisu’s heart was assaulted by the sensation of being dropped into the deep abyss.

Arisu’s heart was being devoured by the silver spear she was grasping, and her consciousness was swallowed whole by the darkness.

The faces of those important to her.

The memories of the days she spent with her loved ones.

They were all being eaten by the Mushi and losing their form.

“—”

Arisu widened her eyes.

Letting her left hand go of the spear that had its movements restricted, she used her fist clad in a glowing pattern to strike the abdomen of the seven-spotted ladybug. Its body pierced, the seven-spotted ladybug flinched, and in that opening Arisu shot scales from her spear.

Light burst.

Both the seven-spotted ladybug and Ichiku Kimitaka boiled and a huge tremor shook the ground.

The girl leapt up from the depths of the holes created in the ground. Bursting through the waterfall of seawater, she leapt up stairs created by her small silver butterflies and up into the night sky.

Rotating midair, she landed on top of the carpet created by butterflies gathered on the ocean surface.

“Although weakened, you still are the remains of a Rank 1. So you can still crawl up, huh.”

“Hehe—”

Ichiku who emitted white breath from his ripped mouth and Oogui who sneered bewitchingly.

Ichiku said she had crawled.

But that was a mistake.

Even while facing these Undying enemies, Arisu kept falling.

She was desperately struggling inside the sea of darkness that tried dragging her heart and memories inside it.

Precious feelings she should have had.

She was supposed to be fighting in order to fulfill them.

However—

Arisu was starting to forget them.

She should have had people she wished to protect, but couldn’t recall their faces.

She couldn’t recall the name they called her with.

Although it was really said, she couldn’t even remember why it was sad.

Even her reason for fighting, the faces of her important people, was eaten by the Mushi every time she used her power—

The man controlling the tardigrades howled, attacking her.

The woman in control of swarms of Mushi including the seven-spotted ladybug was attacking her.

She stood against them to protect herself.

The more she fought…

The more she used her power…

The personality known as Ichinokuro Arisu was falling into the depths of the darkness, and—

“—!”

While Arisu fought against the two enemies, a flame ball attacked her from another angle.

She didn’t even need to swing her spear. Arisu easily repelled the fire with her bare hands.

“—Don’t you fuckin’ ignore me.”

The boy standing on the breakwater glared at Arisu.

“You’re ideal as you are right now. Finally feel like fulfilling your promise?”

The boy clad in fire wore a fierce smile. His blazing eyes glared at her.

“C’mon, do it. Fulfill my dream—”

She looked back at the boy with eyes of silver.

She couldn’t—see the boy’s face.

It should have been familiar to her. His voice should have been familiar to her. Although she saw him and heard him—her heart couldn’t recall his face and voice.

“Ha, you idiot,” spat the tardigrade man with a bored-sounding voice.

Arisu kicked the butterfly carpet. She reached the boy in the blink of an eye.

''No…!

While struggling inside the darkness, Arisu shouted.

She couldn’t remember his face, but she did have the impulse that she couldn’t hurt him.

He was one of the people important to Arisu.

She only had this conviction.

''Stop…!

Desperately stopping Arisu’s will, her body didn’t listen. He was acknowledged as an enemy that tried to hurt her, so she obeyed her self-preservation instincts and swung the spear at him.

''That person’s important to me—

Arisu’s personality was sinking.

The power she couldn’t resist was dragging Arisu under the dark ocean abyss, and—

She completely lost sight of the exit.

“—”

Her silver eyes glowing, Arisu’s expression was gone.

She swung down the Morpho butterfly spear at the flame boy with mechanical movements.

However, the moment before the spear tore him apart—

“—WOOooOOOOOooOOOH!”

Grasping and stopping the spear spreading destruction was a boy whose face was hidden by goggles. His black long coat was ripped, and his left arm stopping the spear was covered in splattered blood.

“…!”

Arisu’s vision blurred. Silver and green lights clashed, burst, and both her legs fell on the sand.

The boy struck his forehead against hers.

It was powerful, but this wasn’t enough damage to affect Arisu as she was now. She soon raised her head and glared at the new enemy—

“Come back—”

The headbutt’s impact broke the boy’s goggles. His true face now revealed, his eyes looked back at Arisu.

What powerful eyes.

His entire body dyed in fresh blood, he was supposed to be so exhausted he could fall down at any moment, but there was not even a shred of weakness in the boy’s eyes. His overly powerful sight created ripples in the dark sea isolating Arisu.

“Arisu!”

Thrusting his forehead, the boy shouted.

The silver girl widened her eyes.

Arisu.

Ichinokuro Arisu.

That name—didn’t belong to the Morpho butterfly spreading destruction.

The boy’s call pulled up Arisu’s consciousness from the dark depths.

“What are you gonna do, losing to that Mushi! You’re going to keep living with us!”

The boy called her name.

“ARISU!”

Arisu floated from the sea of trance that the Morpho butterfly enclosed her in.

He called her.

The reliable boy who was always at her side was calling her name.

The silver lance emitted violent light.

However, just before floating from the darkness-colored ocean, a violent power of control pushed Arisu back down. She was trying to wake up and yet she was being dragged back into the dark ocean.

However, someone grabbed her hand.

''—Arisu.

The hand was thin but filled with warmth.

Hanashiro Mari who wore a kind smile grabbed Arisu’s hand.

''—Everyone’s waiting for you, Arisu.

The hand of her friend that was no longer there dragged Arisu’s consciousness out of the darkness—

“Arisu!”

She heard the voice that called her back.

Calling her name was the girl who shed tears far away.

The dream eaten by the Mushi.

The holes in her memories.

These were being restored as though by magic.

Clenching both hands atop her chest and crying was Arisu’s important friend.

Saionji Ena.

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_8th_p233.jpg|thumb]]

“Arisu-san!”

A friend just as precious as Ena, Kujou Takako, also cried.

Arisu’s pupils returned from silver to be black.

In the world that regained its color, the one who waited the closest to her than anyone—

''—If you go overboard, I’ll bring you back.

Protecting the promise they made once, the one who called her back into this world was that boy.

“Whether or not I’ll come back quietly is another matter, I’ve said—”

When her body was paralyzed with fear and doubts, he always protected her.

Arisu who retrieved her ago called his name.

“Daisuke.”

“…I’m already used to you not being silent.”

Arisu who regained her black eyes as well as Daisuke who was bleeding from his head smiled at each other from up close.

Seeing Arisu’s survival, Daisuke let go of the spear. Then he buckled down on the beach.

“—Harukiyo.”

Behind Daisuke as he groaned painfully and finally exhausted himself, was a boy with eyes wide open.

“This isn’t like you. Weren’t you always trying to live seriously?”

“…!”

“Letting go at this stage makes you a failure of a Mushitsuki.”

Narrowing her eyes as though in teasing, Arisu spun her body. Her silver hair drew a shining arc.

“—So it’s not only Hanashiro Mari and the Morpho butterfly who are obstinate.”

Ichiku Kimitaka grimaced. He emitted white breath from his mouth open wide in hatred.

Oogui sneered derisively.

“It doesn’t look like you’ve come back to yourself, though?”

Arisu grasped the Morpho butterfly spear.

Oogui was right. Although she regained her ego, the Morpho butterfly was still eating Arisu’s dream, trying to erase her consciousness and encroach her body and mind. Only her pupils regained their previous color, and her long hair stayed colored a vivid silver.

“…”

Arisu’s arm grasping the spear slightly shook. Although she showed a smile to Daisuke and the others, her body clearly felt the frightening destructive impulse.

Just a bit more—and she would’ve tried to kill Harukiyo.

Maturation.

Only once, Arisu had seen a Mushitsuki about to Mature. Back then, in order to protect the host’s life, Daisuke killed the rampaging Mushi. By doing that the host became Fallen, but victims were kept to a minimum.

“—”

Arisu bit her lips.

Even now the Morpho butterfly was trying to Mature. The more they kept fighting the power of control strengthened, and it was trying to take over Arisu’s mind and body.

If it managed to achieve full Maturation, there was no doubt a tragedy beyond any imagination would happen.

Arisu would, most likely—die. Although she wasn’t a Mushitsuki in the strictest sense, if the Morpho butterfly fully ate her dream, she would undoubtably be unable to escape this fate.

And the Morpho butterfly would Mature.

Destructive impulse and the self-preservation instincts would give birth to a monster spreading all manners of disasters in the world. Not just Arisu’s precious friends, but many other unrelated people would get involved.

They had to avoid that.

Even if it managed to destroy Ichiku or Oogui, if the Matured Morpho butterfly remained, that tragedy would be unavoidable.

Without saving Mushitsuki—the hope connecting many Mushitsuki would be cut there.

Seeing Arisu stand in place, immobile, Ichiku smiled scornfully.

“What’s wrong, Ichinokuro Arisu? Are you finally getting scared?”

If she fought, the Morpho butterfly would give birth to a tragedy.

If she didn’t fight, the Original Three would keep giving birth to Mushitsuki.

Although she had the power to overwhelm her enemy—

Just from adding the danger of the Morpho butterfly’s Maturation to the equation, the road letting everyone keep living in the future—

There wasn’t even one.

The dream’s continuation would reach a standstill—

“—”

No.

There was a way.

Just one way remained for Arisu to make the dream she thought of come true.

The one and only way she had right now.

The single path that only she could do.

As Arisu managed to reach this path—she felt proud.

“Daisuke.”

She turned around and spoke.

“—Keep Ena safe, please.”

“Arisu…?”

As the boy raised his face in puzzlement, Arisu smiled.

She could smile.

For real.

She had no doubts at all.

Until now she was plenty scared and hesitant. She was saved by Daisuke countless times and by meeting many Mushitsuki, she became just a bit stronger.

If it was Arisu alone, it would have ended long ago.

The people she met due to Mari’s dream called Arisu back.

They were still connected.

The dream that began from a lone sickroom bed was still connected to the future.

Therefore, Arisu could head down that path with a smile—

“I love you, everyone…”

The hope passed from Mari to Arisu.

Now, it was going to connect to the future—

Arisu kicked the ground.