Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 12 Chapter 2 (section)

== 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.