Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 14 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.03 Rina Part 1 ==

Who was she, actually?

Tachibana Rina, who had had her dream eaten by her Mushi and died.

Lady Bird, who was being idolized and admired by many people even now.

Mimic, who had offered both mind and body to call Tachibana Rina back into this world.

As well as—''something'' that got revived alongside her, swarming around like the dead clinging to a spider’s thread.

Right now, her being was a mishmash made from all of those.

“Lady…?”

“Lady Bird…! But she’s dead…!”

“…Lady! Are you really Lady?”

Many Mushitsuki in the dome, especially from Mushibane, started a commotion.

It was natural for them to respond like this, seeing their first leader who’d supposedly died in battle.

However, she—the one who came back to life in the form of “Tachibana Rina”—did not turn her gaze to them.

“I am… not Lady Bird.”

From within the fox-patterned mask, she glared at C’s body double standing next to the generator.

It didn’t matter who she was, right now.

As someone who stood there in the form of Tachibana Rina, there was something she was fully aware of.

The conviction that she’d been called back in order to fight again.

As well as—her strong sense of duty to save as many Mushitsuki as possible.

“I’m Mimic! I’m simply an imitation of Lady’s powers!”

At Rina’s feet, the giant seven-spotted ladybug spread its wings.

The shockwave created by the wings’ vibration blew C and the generator to smithereens.

“Do what Haji Keigo said! Escape and leave this place to me!”

Tachibana Rina and Mimic—Kitazawa Tamaki.

She had the memories and dreams of both inside her.

However, right now she shouldn’t put out her personality as Tachibana Rina.

Kitazawa Tamaki’s memories warned her of this.

Since Lady Bird had so many admirers, if she managed a true “revival” in the face of this adversity—even the faith in her would be revived.

And this despite the fact that her friend, Anmoto Shiika, had finally given them the power to stand up on their own legs.

It would also end up causing the silly split into the SEPB and Mushibane again.

In this situation—this sort of split would lead to the extinction of Mushitsuki.

“No—you are Lady Bird without a doubt.”

This soft voice echoed throughout the dome.

It belonged to Miguruma Yaeko.

“Although you are from the old generation, you are a Rank 1. Because you are Undying… you also embody it, in the form of a revival.”

Why was she speaking unnecessarily—

As Rina glared at her, Miguruma Yaeko narrowed her eyes.

“However, you are incomplete. In this incomplete world, you must be created anew…”

Above Rina and the rest’s heads, she could hear something crackling and bursting.

Golden light gathered near the high ceiling and reformed C again. Sitting on her throne floating midair, C unleashed lines of lightning from her fingertips.

These countless lightning bolts aimed for the Mushitsuki—or so she thought, but was wrong.

“—!”

This impact struck a person other than the Mushitsuki. It hit the suited men including the vice-minister and those who seemed to be his aides, as well as the soldiers restraining Miguruma.

“What are you planning…!”

Rina unleashed yet another shockwave, blowing C’s body double apart along with the lights.

Those struck by electricity, the vice-minister and the rest, fell.

“U-uh—”

They looked like they received quite the shock, but were still apparently conscious. The vice-minister held his head while raising his face, glaring at Rina with demonic eyes.

“Y-you pieces of—so you intend to resist! You terrorists!”

The Mushitsuki were all frozen at this sudden change to the vice-minister, who until then quaked in fear.

“You intend to use Mushitsuki powers to take over the country? Now you’ve shown us your true colors, you monsters!”

“—”

“An order to all forces on standby outside! Immediately enter and purge all Mushitsuki!”

While everyone was shocked, Haji Keigo wore a cynical smile.

“The ability to control electricity running through the brain nerves and thus manipulate memories—this was made possible through the experiments held at Central Headquarters by—”

“C, of course.”

Still bound, Miguruma Yaeko grinned.

Once more golden light was gathering near the ceiling. —Apparently, C’s figure on her throne was nothing more than insubstantial electricity. Although Rina’s shockwave was able to scatter it, it couldn’t completely destroy it.

“Now, Terasu. Retreat while we can.”

“Bu…! But, Branch Head—Director Haji! We’re all completely exhausted… our team wasted every last drop of power on coming back…! —Right, Harukiyo! Since things are like this, you guys also lend us—”

Terasu turned around flustered, then became speechless.

Although the flame of devil was there until that moment, he now completely vanished. The same went for his comrades.

“W-why you… pervert without any sense of cooperation! Uuh… If the soldiers out there are already our enemies, we’re completely surrounded… there’s not even space enough for us to go outside—”

“Lady will somehow handle that part. Am I wrong?”

Without even looking at Haji turning his gaze to her, Rina looked up the ceiling again.

C already reformed her lower torso, gathering a golden light in her raised arms. If she struck them with lightning, the number of victims would go beyond a few for sure.

As Rina dropped her gaze, she saw a Mushitsuki placing a hockey stick on his shoulder.

“…If the ceiling falls, I’ll leave it to you. You should be able to stop it.”

“Me? I don’t really get it, but can I expect something in return?”

This Mushitsuki, Shiohara Shachito, wore a flippant smile. He was somewhat suspicious, but they could rely on his powerful ability to control mass—thus told Rina the Mimic inside her.

“I can’t give you anything in return, but—”

Rina leaned forward on her own Mushi.

Her giant seven-spotted ladybug flew. With the shockwaves caused by its wings, she incidentally also pulverized the materializing C to smithereens, landing in front of the dome’s wall.

While the vibrations caused by landing had yet to settle down, the seven-spotted ladybug spread its wings again.

“If you refuse, I’ll do this.”

As Rina widened her eyes, she could see thousands, tens of thousands of thin fragments filling her eyesight.

The noiseless impact of destruction shook the entire dome.

“—”

Rina could feel something small deplete from somewhere within her chest.

It was a fragment of the feeling called a dream.

She never thought she’d once again experience this feeling of shaving part of her dream and using it. It even felt nostalgic to her, and it brought back Tachibana Rina’s memories from when she was alive.

Most of the time, she would direct her powers against a certain individual—the Mushitsuki who belonged to the SEPB’s East Central Branch, Blaze Class Rank 1 Kakkou.

During her battle with Kakkou, she also made her first friend, Anmoto Shiika.

According to Mimic’s memories, both Kakkou and Shiika continued their own fights even after Rina’s death.

However, in the end Kakkou became a Fallen and Shiika vanished—

Rina held the duty to save Mushitsuki.

However—there were definitely also an indescribable sensation of emptiness, as well as a sense of loss that felt like it would turn her to reckless abandon.

“—I was already gone, and yet…”

All Rina did was move a few dozen meters away from right next to the dome’s wall.

However, advancing while clad in this shockwave—she created a huge depression.

Neither thick wall nor asphalt, iron beams nor support pillars that held up the dome could stand up to her. Everything in Rina’s path was simply destroyed. She created a tunnel connecting the interior of the dome with the outside world.

Turning back, she could see all the shocked Mushitsuki standing there.

Apparently her worries about causing the ceiling to collapse were needless.

“L-let us retreat! Let the Mushitsuki that Kabuto took with him to Operation 3 lead the charge! Kasuou, can you carry the wounded? Tamamo, you protect the Branch Heads!”

Coming back to her senses, Terasu hurriedly issued orders.

Wind was blowing outside the dome, causing Rina’s hair to flutter. Beneath her rushed many groups of soldiers.  They were all carrying small firearms.

The seven-spotted ladybug flapped its wings once, causing the soldiers to get blown away and collapse.

“I’ll secure the path of retreat! You must all get away as quickly—”

While the Mushitsuki started escaping in droves, Rina’s shoulders twitched in shock as they passed next to her.

She felt for a moment that her weight increased.

However, that was wrong.

What became heavier—was Rina’s heart.

In her sight through the fox mask, she could now see people who weren’t supposed to be there.

Some crawled up from inside the ground. Others tried embracing Rina from behind. One after another, arms reached out for her and clung to her.

Formless people only visible to Rina.

She knew their identity.

“—Ah, it really was awfully convenient for me to go and die on you after promising so much.”

They were past Mushitsuki.

The fragments of dreams of the Fallen sealed inside the Central Headquarters’ Database.

They were the dreams that sought salvation, clinging tight to Rina as she just came back to life on her own. Rina would never have been able to denying them who couldn’t give up on their dreams even after becoming Fallen.

“It’s fine. I’ll create a place for all of you… because that’s my dream…”

All the Mushitsuki were running away, leaving Rina behind.

She was Tachibana Rina—or at least had her form.

By sacrificing Kitazawa Tamaki, she came back to life along with many dreams.

“Because I have nothing left anymore…”

In this world where none of those she loved existed anymore—she mumbled in an exhausted voice.