Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.04 Daisuke Part 2 ==

“Kakkou-kun…!”

Reacting to this voice, Daisuke looked down from the hanging bridge to the surface.

The girl wrapped in a curtain of blizzard stood there.

He never forgot that face. —Ever since he turned her into a Fallen by his own hands five years ago to now.

Anmoto Shiika.

He fought and survived in order to meet her again.

Even so, he gradually got hurt, tired, exhausted himself and was about to sink into the depths of forgetfulness—

But he came back to the battlefield to meet with her.

“…”

However, he still couldn’t fulfill his promise to reunite with “Anmoto Shiika”.

His Mushi the checkered beetle landed on top of the large automatic pistol dangling from one hand. It transformed into tentacles that stabbed into the gun and his body.

The muzzle sprouted sharp fangs, becoming the checkered beetle’s maw. A pattern glowing in green wrapped Daisuke’s entire body, granting him supernatural physical abilities.

Right now, Daisuke was Kakkou.

And the girl beneath his eyes wasn’t Anmoto Shiika—she was Fuyuhotaru.

Before they could meet as Kusuriya Daisuke and Anmoto Shiika, there was something they had to do first.

To end the battles between Mushitsuki—

Daisuke went through countless battles for this sake, finally arriving here.

The Mushitsuki on the surface knew that as well. That was why they all looked up at him, and probably why they weren’t confused about the Mushitsuki called Kakkou being there.

Among the Mushitsuki there were Tachibana Rina, Harukiyo, and even Arisu.

It wasn’t just the five Rank 1s, including him and Fuyuhotaru.

All Mushitsuki there went through their own battles, survived and now stood here—

In GARDEN, the final battlefield.

“…”

Daisuke raised his gun voicelessly. A bullet rotated within the maw of the gun transformed by the checkered beetle, spreading roaring flames.

He aimed this first attack, literally pulling the trigger on this final battle, toward one of fairy C’s body doubles—no, he actually shot it toward a lump of black mist wafting in air.

“…!”

All the Mushitsuki and fairies on the surface turned to look where Kakkou was aiming.

And there was—

“—aaaaAAAAAAAaaaAAAAHH!”

Even while pierced by the bullet, the mist was taking a human shape again.

Shaped like a young girl, it looked like a ghost—no, like an evil spirit raising its eyes. Her wide mouth was a cavern and she was trying to evade the bullets by teleporting from place to place in the blink of an eye.

“Recall…!”

A pained voice came from the ranks of Mushibane.

Daisuke fired mercilessly, piercing through the girl spirit.

“Mushitsuki who are out of time—are nothing but a hindrance to the battle.”

As the evil spirit raised a shout every time it was shot, she transported right in front of Kakkou.

Calmly launching the finishing blow, he pierced the ghost’s chest.

“—”

However, this didn’t fully defeat her.

The girl’s evil spirit weakly yet barely tried taking shape again—

A shockwave grazing Daisuke blew the mist completely away.

“Lady!”

Looking down to the surface, he could see Tachibana Rina was commanding her giant seven-spotted ladybug. Still in the same pose as when she fired that shockwave, she was biting her lips and wearing a harsh expression.

“You were just tormenting her needlessly with your attacks…!”

“…”

Below Daisuke, a small mist was formed on top of the hanging bridge.

It became the petite girl called Recall, who then fell to her knees. Her emotionless, empty expression was proof that she had her Mushi killed and became a Fallen. —Since her Mushi had been killed before it fully ate her dreams and Matured, she remained alive.

Daisuke silently turned the muzzle toward his next target.

“UuuuuuAAaaAAAAH—”

Nearby there was a Mushitsuki with wings growing larger and larger.

Shirakashi Ubuki. Her body already turned black, and something that looked like carapace spreading from her wings at her back was trying to encroach from her shoulders to her neck.

It was too late for her as well.

Daisuke tried pulling the trigger—but after noticing something, he lowered the muzzle.

A small light was fluttering toward Shirakashi Ubuki.

“Ubuki—”

It was white snow.

“Thank you—I’m waiting for you…”

Shiika had her face scrunched up, shedding tears.

While Maturing, Shirakashi Ubuki looked toward Shiika—and smiled.

The snow touched Ubuki’s wings.

The giant black wings burst, twisted and scattered with a high-pitched sound. Even splitting from Shirakashi Ubuki’s body, they were unable to escape the snow’s destructive power that pulverized even the very last fragments.

As her Mushi was killed, Shirakashi Ubuki bent backward—and collapsed soundlessly.

She made no move after that.

“…”

Seeing off both Recall and Ubuki turn into Fallen, Daisuke turned his muzzle toward the last target.

A Mushitsuki who already had the signs of Maturation and could no longer control her own Mushi.

That final person was—

“…Senri.”

Clad in a robe of flares, the girl couldn’t even support her own body.

Haji Senri. She was the little sister of Daisuke’s boss Haji Keigo, and since she lived with him once, she was also like a sister to him.

“Thank you—Dai-kun—”

Her unseeing eyes looked to Daisuke. As the girl raised her hands, a sphere of ruby-colored glowing flames emerged above them.

“But—”

The smiling Senri’s gaze moved toward the boy hugging her from behind.

He was Kaguya—Ogata Akastuki. His handsome features distorted, he was already crying. He materialled his Mushi the mayfly.

“Akatsuki-kun—is going to do this for me, so—”

In the state of Semi-Maturation, unique for this mayfly, its tail started glowing. It emitted laser beams from the sharp tip, piercing the Mushi that Senri held up.

“—!”

Akatsuki hugged Senri’s body tightly as she jumped from the impact.

Daisuke naturally understood that the reason these three girls’ Mushi were Maturing before the fight was because they combined their abilities. It was probably thanks to them that he and the many other Mushitsuki could reach this decisive fight.

And not just the three of them.

To challenge C to this final fight, many Mushitsuki became sacrifices.

“This makes it… so that the only classmates who survived from back then… are just us two…!”

Raising his tear-stained face, Akatsuki glared at Daisuke.

Many Mushitsuki collapsed up to this point.

There were also those who finally woke up after reaching here.

“Haha! If you nap like this, you’ll be left wide open!”

Harukiyo leapt down from the street lamp and flung the girl he was carrying to the ground. He also threw the silver rod he found somewhere near the girl.

“Right, Arisu?!”

Standing atop her seven-spotted ladybug, Tachibana Rina also turned toward the sleeping girl.

“Arisu!”

“Arisu… san?”

Wiping her tears, Anmoto Shiika also turned back.

Daisuke also looked down on the girl with her eyes closed down on the surface.

He saw that her familiar features became slightly more mature. Although she had kept sleeping for a while, her appearance grew up from when the time she was with Daisuke.

“Wake up already.”

However, her insides probably didn’t mature.

Since he was convinced of this, Daisuke called the girl’s name for the first time in many long years.

“Idiot Arisu.”

She told him to wake her up one day.

She told him to call her.

As Daisuke fulfilled his promise and looked at her, the girl’s brows twitched.

A blinding light not at all inferior to any of GARDEN’s neon lights emitted from silver scales fluttered down to the girl lying on the road.

It was a silver-colored Morpho butterfly.

The rod rolling on the road extended to several times in length. The Morpho butterfly landed on top of it, transforming its beautiful wings to tentacles.

“—”

The girl’s arm moved and grabbed the rod.

The rod and the girl’s body began being dyed with a silver pattern. The rod’s tip became large, unfolded wings like a blooming flower, closed them again and became a sharp spear.

The girl used the momentum caused by this action to jump to a standing position. She opened her eyes.

Dark pupils that looked like an unblemished abyss of the deepest ocean and long hair. A white coat that belonged to the SEPB equipment. In her hand was a silver spear dyed with such vivid patterns that they looked artistic. —That form covered in silver scales looked as gallant as a knight.

Arisu opened her eyes, but the fairies and Revived all still remained silent.

“Looks like she stopped herself from Maturing, but she’s not fully awake, either.”

“As long as she can differentiate enemies, that’s good enough for now.”

Harukiyo laughed at Daisuke’s reply. Meanwhile, Rina looked at Arisu worriedly, while Shiika, who never knew her, looked puzzled.

Arisu raised her spear.

The glowing spear’s tip was pointing toward the spire at the very center of GARDEN.

“Is C over there?”

Arisu nodded to Daisuke’s question. He asked this because she had sensing abilities.

Now all the Mushitsuki and fairies who were frozen glaring each other became tense.

The enemy Daisuke and others had the defeat, C, was in the center of GARDEN.

All the fairies and Revived that were supposed to protect C were in the center of the Ark.

Everyone used all their strategies already.

All arguments between the two sides had already broken down.

All that was remained—was to start this battle for survival.

Only one side would win and survive, while the loser would perish.

That was all.

“—Fuyuhotaru.”

Daisuke called toward Shiika.

Right now, Daisuke didn’t have the right to use her real name.

“Y-yes.”

Although confused, Shiika raised her face.

Daisuke raised his arms, pointing with his muzzle at the central part of GARDEN.

“Charge.”

Shiika and all other Mushitsuki looked to where the gun was pointing.

“We’ll definitely help you reach there.”

There was no longer any need for tricks or strategies.

With this short order handed by Daisuke—all of them knew what they had to do.

“—Yes.”

Nodding strongly, Shiika wore her curtain of snow.

The enemy also realized what they needed to do. Trying to stop Shiika’s advance, they stood to block the Mushitsuki.

A world where no Mushitsuki were born, or a world filled with Mushitsuki—

The battle to decide this new world—

Began with Shiika taking her first step.