Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 5th Episode 18 (section)

=== Part 3 ===
It was already late night by the time they found the elementary school given to them in the game arcade.

As if protecting this classical campus, a large Mushi raised a howl.

Close-range fighter Daisuke leapt back, taking his distance from the Mushi.

"It's a tough Mushi. The host's probably hiding around here somewhere, but if that Erii person runs away while we're looking it'd be bad. You two go ahead."

Daisuke readied his pistol. Its muzzle—the checkered beetle's maw—spat fire as it launched a bullet.

It scored a hit on the large Mushi. However, never mind that fact that it didn't even cause the Mushi to collapse, it was only knocked back a bit.

"Got it. —You mustn't kill the Mushi, Daisuke. Because these people aren't our enemies."

"Be careful…"

Using the opening caused by the Mushi flinching, Arisu and Neiko kicked the ground. They ran toward the school building.

The Mushi fixed its posture, swinging down its sharp claws toward the pair trying to rush by it.

Silver light flashed.

The silver lance thrust upward by Arisu repelled the Mushi's leg. Its large body was blown away, thrown on the ground with an explosive roar.

Along with Daisuke's covering fire, Arisu and Neiko rushed past the monster screaming in pain.

The Morpho butterfly could sense another Mushi. It pulled Arisu toward the school.

"Neiko-san, this way!"

Leaping into the building from the open front game, they ran toward the end of the corridor.

The lighting on the ceiling was blinking violently. Blue static electricity was crackling all over the corridor.

"…!"

Unlike its classic appearance, the building apparently made use of an advanced security system. The fire shutters for emergency use slowly started blocking the corridor.

Arisu swung her spear, slashing ahead.

Silver-colored scales blew wildly. The shockwave pulverized the shutters one after another.

When she successfully rushed through the corridor at full speed, she saw a metallic door in front of her. The Morpho butterfly emitted a strong light the likes of which she'd never seen before.

Arisu thrust her spear toward the electrified door.

The surge of scales pierced through it.

Arisu and Neiko leapt beyond the door. And then—

"Ugh…!"

After her vision was filled with pallid light, Neiko was blown backwards.

"Neiko-san!"

Arisu also was engulfed by the light.

The Morpho butterfly sent out large amounts of scales. These scales stormed around Arisu, dispersing the light closing in on her.

While being protected by the scales, Arisu finally looked around her.

She had stepped into a courtyard between the two school buildings. —No, perhaps it would be better to call it a garden.

The garden had a few fruit trees planted in it and had a network of waterways running through it.

In the center of this space enclosed in grass there was a small spring. In the center of the spring were several statues and a small dais with a clock on it.

"Is this… the Center of Hearts?"

She stared at this phantasmagorical scene without thinking.

Pallid butterflies danced around the garden.

Perhaps ethereal, they seemed to be connected to the waterways and the trees through threads of static electricity. The surface of their wings had the English letter "C" on them.

In the center of this fantastical and marvelous scene was a fairy.

Leaning on the brass statue, she sat in the shallow water. The surface of her clothes with heart marks drawn on them was covered by pale blue light. Her fingers spread lazily and were connected to the mechanical components of the clock by what seemed to be electrode cords.

"Are you Erii?"

It was an unconscious question. Perhaps she was trying to ascertain that the girl in front of her eyes was neither a fairy nor an illusion.

The eyes of the girl gazing at Arisu became fiercer. The pallid insects resembling comma butterflies came to attack her all at once.

Yet the Morpho butterfly spat out scales, pushing back the swarms of butterflies.

"…So you're using electricity… as a medium…"

Neiko, collapsed on the grass, grimaced. Perhaps her limbs were numb, so she couldn't move the way she wanted to. If she hadn't been wearing an insulating coat perhaps the effects would have been harsher.

Arisu realized that it was this ability that allowed the girl to grasp each and every one of their moves.

There were practically no places without any electricity in a city. There were electric lines, obviously, but other than that there were plenty of water, metals and other conductive materials.

"Hey, Erii. We are not your enemies, so please listen to me."

This time a battle wasn't their goal. Arisu lowered her spear, trying to approach Ellie.

However—

"Don't come any closer…!"

The girl wrung out a hoarse voice. She appeared to be considerably tired.

As Arisu tried to approach, the comma butterflies raised sparks to deter her.

"Wait! We haven't come here to capture you! We did want you to help us first, but—"

"You came to save me, right…?"

Arisu widened her eyes.

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_5th_p125.jpg|thumb]]

"H-how did you know?"

"There's nothing I don't know… Since my Mushi gathers information from everywhere… cellphone conversations, hard disk memory, the footage from all cameras… no matter who speaks in town, as long as there's a transmitter nearby, it can be converted to electrical information and be brought to me…"

The fairy-like girl grimaced.

"Everything's flowing here… even unpleasant scenes I don't want to see, as well as dirty secrets… my head… it's going to explode…"

Perhaps lacking even the energy to hold her head, Erii made no move. Feeling anxiety at the girl's behavior, Arisu took a step closer.

"Cancel your ability right now! You're going to use up all your powers!"

"I don't want to…!"

Erii raised her face. She gazed at Arisu with a demonic expression.

"If I do that I'll stop understanding…! I knew everything so far, but if I became alone… I can't do something so scary…!"

The girl shouted contradictory words.

She said that there was nothing she didn't know. Therefore, not knowing something even for a second was perhaps like becoming blind. It was the biggest fear for this young girl.

"B-but, if you keep using your powers, you will…"

"…I shouldn't have thought about trying to peek at all the secrets in the world… everything hidden in the world is dirty… I don't want to see this anymore…"

Erii didn't seem to even hear Arisu's voice anymore.

Finding out secrets you didn't want to know about was painful. Yet she also couldn't endure the worries and fear at not knowing anything. Arisu became speechless at Erii's information addiction.

"—So it really was a kid."

A voice came from behind.

Daisuke, with his pitch-black coat flapping, appeared in the garden. Perhaps having struggled in his battle against the monster, his head was bleeding.

"It's fine gathering up people like you, but you weren't able to save them, right?  Even though you don't want anyone to get close, you also want someone to save you and give you hints… and that way is role playing. I thought you were a brat."

"Daisuke…"

"You're Kakkou—"

Erii responded to Daisuke's voice. Raising her face, she wore a derisive smile.

"I knew about you ever since peeking into the SEPB's database… you are the absolute worst demon, having turned even Mushitsuki sharing the same dream to Fallen… Unlike this woman, you probably do want to make me a Fallen…"

"Turned Mushitsuki with the same dream to Fallen, huh… that's what it would look like after just seeing the database."

Ignoring Erii’s contempt, Daisuke walked to the center of the garden.

The comma butterflies immediately surrounded him. Pallid electric shocks engulfed the boy.

"…!"

Instantly, Daisuke's body collapsed.

Yet immediately after, a calm song echoed in the garden.

It was Neiko.

Only rousing her torso, the girl with a healing ability sang a gentle melody. Unlike when she fixed the monorail, it was obvious she put her deep feelings into it.

The serene singing voice seemed to grab even Erii's heart for a second. The comma butterflies filling the garden were pushed back by the figure of the cricket emerging in empty air.

Daisuke's wounds were being healed by Neiko's song.

"Some people, even when losing to their own Mushi, wanted to leave their dreams and lives behind."

Daisuke's glanced at Arisu. He looked at the silver lance in her hands.

Was he speaking about Arisu's friend, Hanashiro Mari? After death, Mari had left her Morpho butterfly behind, bequeathing her dream to Arisu. —Perhaps he was equating Mari to someone from his past.

The pitch-dark demon took another step toward Ellie.

"Uh—"

Erii's expression showed fear.

"D-don't come any closer…!"

The comma butterflies gathered, transforming to a mass of electromagnetism. As if invited by this mighty electrical charge, lightning came from the cloudy skies.

The lightning attack pierced Daisuke.

Its roar and vibration shook the entire elementary school.

"Daisuke!"

Grass was scorched and trees were set ablaze.

The water running through the channel boiled, and a cloud of steam covered the surroundings.

"Ee…"

Erii froze.

When the steam cleared, Daisuke's figure extending a hand toward the girl appeared. His long coat was crackling and his cracked goggles fell onto the grass. His exposed cheeks were also covered in burns.

"S-stop, Daisuke…!"

Wanting to suppress him, Arisu kicked the ground.

"But there's no need to turn you into a Fallen."

Daisuke's hand rested on the scared and shocked Erii's head. He sank his own fingers into the girl's hair.

"You can probably still control your Mushi—"

The wounded boy's profile was calm. Neiko's singing voice was fixing him.

"Seeing only the surface and getting scared is just what kids do. I don't even need to fight you."

"I-I'm… not a child! I know everything…!"

With a face about to cry, she tried escaping Daisuke's hand. However, perhaps as a result of a lack of power, she couldn't even shake off his hand.

"You wanted to know things just because you have a somewhat strong power. I don't know why there are dirty things in the world or why it has to be dirty…"

"I-I don't—"

As if her throat was blocked, Ellie's words were cut. She was unable to form any sentence and went silent.

"Cancel your ability. You don't even know what you want to do right now. Even if you start knowing just a little bit less now, nothing's going to really change."

Daisuke's tone that was calm turned lower.

"If you don't, then I'll let you know by force you're nothing but a brat—"

"Stop. Why do you always have to be like that?"

Arisu gave a chop to the back of Daisuke's head.

Erii started sobbing, looking frustrated. Without the pale blue light covering her body, she looked like an ordinary elementary schooler.

"Then let's do this."

Going on her knees, she grabbed Erii's listless hand.

"Whatever you don't know, I and the rest will teach you."

The girl stopped sobbing, surprised.

"Then you won't feel anxious anymore, right?"

The comma butterflies flying around the garden started disappearing one after another.

"Uuh…"

Erii grimaced. She killed her voice and started sobbing again as the pallid light vanished from her.

"Uuuuuhhh…!"

With her hand held by Arisu, Erii was crying.

"Are you even capable of teaching anything…?"

Daisuke, having lost his edge of anger, sighed in a resigned way.

Arisu and Neiko exchanged glances.

"Of course. I'll teach her about love matters and stuff."

"About singing…"

"…"

"What's with that look? You should teach her as well. You were the one who said that there's plenty of things Erii doesn't know."

"As if I'd waste my energy on that. She can just look for what to learn by herself."

Erii's crying turned to wails. Arisu's fist and Neiko's kick hit Daisuke.

"Tch… then I'll at least help her a bit. If I feel like it."

Daisuke's mumbles as he rubbed his cheeks overlapped with the voice of Erii crying.