Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.03 Shiika The Last ==

“—So in the end I’m back here…”

Anmoto Shiika had disguised herself as the Dove and came back to C.

It was a giant city, studded with twinkling lights.

GARDEN.

“And now—”

Shiika was at the entrance to this reclaimed land called Hashiba City.

Behind her was the giant hanging bridge connected to the mainland. On both sides were the coastal road and high bridge connected from the interchange. And ahead of her—was a swarm of high-rise buildings jutting from the ground.

As Shiika had C’s brainwashing lifted from her, this scene looked like paradise to her.

A sea of blinding neon, as well as the golden fairies and C-butterflies filling the place.

It was heaven, and it was also like a shrine housing a God—

However, it was also a boxed garden without any feeling of life.

Shiika had once lived in this city.

She became a Mushitsuki, got turned to a Fallen by the boy who had the same dream, and lived in this land—a collection facility that existed only to manage and observe the Fallen.

She thought of nothing.

She felt nothing.

For long four years, in this city—

Now she came back to this city, called GARDEN.

“It’s finally time for the final battle…!”

Shiika held both hands aloft, materializing her Mushi.

“…!”

The fairies and C-butterflies who gathered to bless her noticed the abnormality and distanced themselves.

White snow began falling down from above.

At the same time, Shiika touched the tiara on her head.

“Uh…!”

Withstanding the surging electric shock, she forcibly removed the tiara from her head. Unlike back at Aoharima Island, Shiika’s body was free, this time.

A single flake of snow landed on the tiara falling from Shiika’s hand.

Along with loud sounds of destruction, light surged through the entrance of GARDEN. Large fissures ran through the ground and the tiara broke down to smithereens, causing bursts of golden light. Flinching, Shiika gritted her teeth to remain conscious.

“She is not the Dove—regard her as an intruder.”

All of C’s body doubles fairies spoke in unison. The fluttering C-butterflies and fairies on the surface were all linked together through golden electricity.

It was a close shave.

The moment after Shiika defended herself with the pouring snow, her view was dyed with golden light.

A large earthquake shook her footing. For a moment, Shiika’s small body floated in air from the tremor.

A massive lightning strike assaulted Shiika.

“Urkh…!”

She fell down, but soon rose up again.

The curtain of snow protected Shiika from lightning. Touching the snow, it broke down completely, flying to all sides like a living being in agony. It was something physically impossible.

“—She’s, nearby…”

Shiika groaned, heightening her consciousness while raising her Mushi aloft.

She thickened the raging blizzard, using everything she had to protect herself.

“C is somewhere in GARDEN…!”

Even someone as stupid as her could understand this clearly.

The pressure created by the lightning attacking her was something completely different from C’s power that touched her in Akamaki City.

Furthermore—

“She is not the Dove. That is Fuyuhotaru.”

“None of the old generation of Mushitsuki have the right to be invited to the Ark.”

“All intruders—”

“Shall be eliminated from the Ark.”

There were too many fairies and C-butterflies.

Even the number of Revived who were brought there after being guided by the voices of fairies—were already over a hundred.

“—”

With hundreds of guardians facing her, Shiika gulped. She felt cold sweat trickle down her forehead.

C was probably using the independent generators of GARDEN itself. Enough power to make an entire city function became the source for her powers—

“—C’s there…!”

Trying to snap herself from fearful paralysis, Shiika took a single step forward.

The isolated and unassisted Shiika faced hundreds of enemies.

And that very first step—

“—Kyaaah!”

She was repelled back by a golden flash and colorful lights.

She had no idea what was done to her.

No, it was something very simple.

She received a concentrated, simultaneous attack by the fairies, C-butterflies and Revived.

She tried walking forward, but the impact blocked her, pushing her back.

She just barely stepped in place and managed to prevent herself from falling down, recovering her blizzard curtain.

“She’s definitely here—somewhere in GARDEN…!”

Even C couldn’t control this much power from far away.

It was the sensation of the attacks hitting Shiika that told her this truth the most. She knew that she was attacked the most of everyone, ever since becoming a Mushitsuki.

The attacks carried out by the fairies—were for “defense”.

They weren’t meant to defeat Shiika. Obviously their main goal was to eliminate her, but it looked like the fairies and Revived just stayed in place, watching Shiika’s reactions and attacking her by force.

What were they protecting?

It went without saying.

“If C is somewhere here… then I—”

Bending down, she advanced along with the blowing blizzard.

If she just protected herself, she’d be chased out of GARDEN quickly. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I can’t afford to lose… until everyone comes…”

Shiika’s role was to keep remaining near C until her comrades arrived.

In order to approach even a step closer to C, she kept advancing toward where the pressure was the strongest. C was located where the fairies tried to protect.

“Kuh…!”

The attacks aiming for Shiika could only be expressed as “terrific”.

Lights and impacts bursting at the entrance to Hashiba City ripped the night sky and ground haphazardly.

“Until everyone comes—”

Right about now, the Mushitsuki on Aoharima Island should be moving.

They should sense Shiika’s powers during her fight and come rushing there.

Until then, all Shiika had to do was focus on approaching C.

She never thought she’d be able to beat C alone in the first place. Even just defeating the Revived who surrounded Shiika from a distance was probably impossible.

But that was fine.

Shiika was just a lighthouse.

All she had to do was wait for her comrades to come there by relying on the light she emitted—

“—”

She took a step.

And another step.

Being pushed by the impacts, she stood in place for a while.

She took another step, then got pushed back.

“…Hah… hah…”

How long did this fruitless endeavor continued?

After struggling for a what felt like eternity, Shiika glanced behind her with a pale face.

She ended up smiling.

Shiika hadn’t taken even twenty steps from where she started.

There were too many enemies.

Perhaps still cautious at being unable to beat Shiika at one go, the fairies and Revived kept taking their distance from her.

“You are advised to surrender.”

Not lessening the attackers, a fairy spoke.

“Secret Class Rank 1, Fuyuhotaru. I do not understand your reason to oppose C. The possibility of you beating C with your full powers is close to zero.”

Shiika couldn’t beat C. Shiika alone couldn’t even approach any of the Revived blocking her path.

However, it was a different story if her comrades were there.

If all these reliable Mushitsuki were there with her, Shiika would be able to reach C—

“The Mushitsuki of the old generation will not appear here.”

The fairy asserted this resolutely.

“I copied the same wavelength of the battle occurring here and started transmitting it all over the country. A sensor that can differentiate them doesn’t exist.”

Shiika put strength into her two legs, advancing further.

“You are all alone—and powerless.”

No one would appear next to Shiika.

If this was the past Shiika, she would definitely be shaken by C’s words.

But Shiika knew.

She hesitated, worried, and even started doubting the boy Kusuriya Daisuke with whom she promised to reunite, and escaped to the peace given to her by C.

And while that happened, Shiika came to know a certain fact.

Compared to doubting or running away—

“They’ll definitely come—”

She felt the happiest when she believed.

Belief could make you stronger.

Even now that she was a moment away from collapsing, just by waiting for those precious to her—

Shiika could keep walking ahead.

“Definitely…!”

Announcing this, she took yet another step forward.

Narrowing the span of the blizzard, she also increased its richness to protect herself. She was bad at controlling the snow and it took a lot out of her, but it should help her move further.

She wanted to approach C’s main body as much as possible before her comrades came—

She was resolved to do this.

“…!”

At that moment, Shiika felt wind.

It was a refreshing sea breeze.

Since she was protecting her body with the blizzard and was exposed to so many violent attacks, it should have been impossible for her to feel something like that.

However, she did feel it.

This familiar presence—right, that air mixed with the smell of grass on that island.

The wind of freedom.

“…!”

As if noticing something, the fairies all raised their faces.

They stopped their attacks and fell back, cautious.

Shiika heard the sound of cutting wind from behind her.

“—”

As she turned around, what jumped into her sight was a black bird appearing from the sky—

No, it was a human figure with large black wings sprouting from its back.

It leapt over the hanging bridge, crashing down on the entrance to Hashiba City. Rolling atop the asphalts devastated by the fight between Shiika and C, she crashed against a building and stopped.

This sight of her entire body dyed in black and her gnarled wings crumbling was abnormal.

However, Shiika realized at a glance who she was.

“Ubuki…!”

Shirakashi Ubuki.

Ubuki was the Mushitsuki who saved her when she’d been captured by the SEPB in the past. After that, they met with the companion called Ebina Yuu and had a short escape journey.

Why did this precious friend of hers appear here?

Why had she been reduced to a shadow of herself like that?

Before she could think of answers to those questions, she tried rushing to Ubuki—

“Transfer location—”

Seeing what rolled away from the chest of the unmoving Ubuki, she froze.

It was a girl’s head.

All body under her neck became mist. Shiika knew that face well.

“—Here.”

“Recall-chan…!”

She was a Mushibane member and Shiika’s comrade—Recall.

This young girl’s expression changed. The moment her widened eyes were dyed in black, even her remaining head dispersed to mist.

Then, great lumps of mist appeared at the entrance to Hashiba City.

As the fairies and Revived distanced themselves even further—

“…!”

People’s figures began appearing one after another from the mist covering the interchange.

She could see more and more people around the coastal road and surrounding buildings, on rooftops and such.

All of them facing the fairies and Revived in GARDEN, they were—

“This is—GARDEN!”

“Haji you bastard, your own turf got taken over by C!”

Including Terasu and Kasuou, they were the elites of the SEPB.

“GARDEN… is the Ark—”

“Who cares as long as C’s there.”

The forces of Mushibane led by the confused Namie and cool Aijisupa were also there.

“Shiika…! Are you fine?”

On the roof of a low building there was also the worried-looking Tachibana Rina.

Standing on top of a street light was also a figure carrying a sleeping girl on his shoulders.

“Haha, what a fitting place for zombies.”

They were the flame devil Harukiyo, as well as Sleeping Beauty, Arisu.

“You guys…”

Her comrades from Aoharima Island finally came.

She was not surprised.

Because Shiika had believe they were coming.

Therefore—she wasn’t surprised.

Even when another small mist appeared on top of the hanging bridge.

“…!”

Everyone was the same as Shiika.

As they looked at the black figure that appeared on the pillar supporting the hanging bridge’s wires, none were surprised—but seeing that stance, they probably all felt something well up inside them.

It was that Mushitsuki with hair standing up like the horns of a demon, with a black coat fanned behind him like demon wings, with his goggles’ lens appearing like red, demonic eyes.

He was someone supposed to be there.

However, even so Shiika felt tears rising to her eyes—

She couldn’t help but name him.

“Kakkou-kun…!”

Fuyuhotaru—Anmoto Shiika.

Lady Bird—Tachibana Rina.

The flame devil—Harukiyo.

Sleeping Beauty—Arisu.

As well as Kakkou—Kusuriya Daisuke.

[[File:Mushi Uta 15 p261.png|thumb]]

“—Daisuke-kun.”

Shiika mumbled that name only to herself.

In the paradise of the Fallen, in the land of genesis for a new world.

All five Rank 1s assembled for the decisive battle in GARDEN.