Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 8th Episode 29 (section)

=== Part 5 ===

Star kept streaming endlessly in the night sky studded with purple-colored scales.

Floating in the background of all the comets in the sky was a woman-shaped creator of Mushitsuki.

It was Oogui.

“Arisu!”

While resisting against Yomori Neiko that tried pulling her away from the battlefield, Ena shouted.

Arisu bit her lips.

Ena probably couldn’t understand what was happening.

Until just now, she was supposed to have been having the best time with her three friends.

Even so, the space that was supposedly theirs became a battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Arisu planned it to be so.

She kept preparing for this day in particular. Nanana offered this place to Ena because Arisu directed her to do so.

Although this was done to save Ena, she had deceived her friend.

She thought it was fine if it was to protect her friend, though.

Even so.

“Daisuke…!”

Why had he said something like that?

''—This is the end of my friend act.

There was no way that was true.

When he said he wanted to stay there, those were definitely his true feelings. Daisuke also thought of Ena as his friend, and there was no doubt he stayed there to protect her.

“Don’t move your eyes from Oogui. If you lower your guard even a little, she’ll aim for Ena.”

Daisuke readied himself, but Arisu wouldn’t move her eyes.

“—I can’t make Ena’s dream come true.”

For a moment she saw Daisuke bite his lips.

“No matter how this fight tonight ends, I can’t stop in place yet.”

Arisu felt her chest being constricted.

His fight was not yet over. She just heard the reason for this from his own lips this very afternoon.

The Mushitsuki girl made into a Fallen by his own hands—while waiting for her return, he would keep on fighting.

“But Daisuke… is that fine? You actually want to always—”

“My current feelings don’t matter one bit. Because it’ll pain Ena even more.”

Daisuke put strength in his hand grasping the gun.

“Since I can’t make Ena’s dream come true, what I can do for her—is just protect her here.”

Saying this with a stifled voice, Daisuke raised his face toward Oogui. His profile looked pained to Arisu’s eyes.

“Idiot Daisuke…!”

Harukiyo sat on the spot, hugging his knees.

“Alright, as promised I’m having a first-row seat to this special show! If I feel like it, maybe I’ll follow someone’s lead!”

Acting all self-important to a shameless degree and deciding to watch silently from the frontlines, the flame devil turned to Arisu.

“Right now, there’s about 0% I follow you, though. Since I can’t even see that hottie around here, it’s quite the disappointment. If you wanna make me move, don’t disappoint me anymore, alright?”

Being glared by eyes burning with rage, Arisu couldn’t reply.

Harukiyo was right.

One of the most powerful Mushitsuki who should have come there was nowhere to be found.

“Rina—isn’t coming.”

Appearing instead of her was a long-haired boy, who approached Arisu.

“Just before we came here, we received information that a Mushitsuki child is being pursued by the SEPB. Rina headed to save that child. —I have a message from her.”

Aki, the boy who belonged to the SEPB but defected from it as he shared Rina’s ideals, spoke.

“’I can’t abandon any Mushitsuki in front of my eyes. —I’m sorry’.”

Arisu puckered her lips.

Knowing that one of the best fighting forces she expected would be missing, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried and disappointed.

However—it was very much like Rina.

If she abandoned even a single Mushitsuki, Rina would no longer be Rina. She would lose her strength and pride.

Unrelated to any other circumstances or fetters, she would use her full powers to rescue the Mushitsuki in front of her.

Because she was like that, many Mushitsuki were charmed by her and gathered at her side.

She couldn’t be brought there without distorting her raison d'etre.

Arisu smiled and nodded strongly.

“It’s fine, I understand.”

“Therefore—we came here instead of her.”

The gathering of Mushitsuki appearing one after another from the road or the windbreak were apparently Rina’s comrades.

“Rina hesitated until the very last moment.”

Aki passed his eyes from Arisu to Daisuke next to her. She could see a hint of hesitation in his profile looking his past comrade in arms.

“To be honest, I—no longer know what’s right. I betrayed Kakkou, left the SEPB and was supposed to create a place for Mushitsuki together with Rina. I do believe fighting you at the time was right…”

Daisuke glanced at Aki. However, without saying anything, he returned looking at Oogui.

Being ignored by his former comrade in arms, the boy wore a slightly sad smile.

“Now, though, Kakkou’s with you and even Rina wanted to come here. —You might think this is too late, but… I want to make sure. I want to understand why both Kakkou and Rina would help you.”

Arisu nodded.

“I know that.”

This fight couldn’t be done with the SEPB’s cooperation. According to Daisuke, the organization known as the SEPB was not motivated in fighting Oogui. They wouldn’t dispatch their combatants to a fight with uncertain results.

Therefore, including Aki, the Mushitsuki who did come to them were strong.

Also—she was even more glad at the fact that many Mushitsuki came there.

“Thanks.”

Arisu smiled.

Mari left her dream to Arisu, and Arisu wished to combine her powers with powerful Mushitsuki like Daisuke.

Finally, multitudes of Mushitsuki gathered there, brought by strong Mushitsuki.

They were connected.

The feelings of all these people brought by the Morpho butterfly.

They were definitely connected and kept expanding the ring—

“—”

Arisu looked up the sky dyed in purple scales and readied her silver rod.

Receiving Arisu’s gaze, Oogui moved her red lips with the streaming stars at her back.

“Such obstinate children you are. Really—”

Being looked by rainbow-colored pupils, Arisu felt a chill run up her spine.

The night sky that had comets in it tore into two.

No, that was wrong—

Appearing in the night sky was an outrageously gigantic swallowtail butterfly. It slowly extended its massive wings, spreading around a purple blizzard of scales.

“If you will stand in my way, I will not show mercy.”

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_8th_p063.jpg|thumb]]

“I won’t hand over my friend’s dream to the likes of you.”

The Morpho butterfly that landed on Arisu’s shoulder emitted a bright light.

Its body burst apart, becoming countless tentacles that fused with the rod. It instantly transformed into a spear shining in silver, and the Morpho butterfly’s momentum did not stop there.

“Mari—”

A tentacle extended from the silver spear. It wrapped around Arisu’s body, covering her entire body and permeating it in a silver pattern.

The silver pattern encroached one hand and one leg, as well as one eye through her neck.

The Morpho butterfly’s fusion brought welling power through her body. At the same time Arisu’s consciousness felt as if it was being drawn and crushed by something else.

“—You called me?”

Arisu’s mouth, with half her face covered in silver pattern, moved on its own.

“Arisu.”

A calm voice that was not her own.

That was undoubtably the Morpho butterfly’s true host—the voice of the late Hanashiro Mari.

Unlike the fusion until now, this controlling power violently assaulted Arisu.

The silver radiance emitted by the pattern blew away the purple scales covering the night sky. The Morpho butterfly’s pattern encroached her body even further and increased its glow as the surrounding air seemed to crackle. Sand danced around with Arisu in the center, and waves rippled on the sea surface.

“Mari—”

Grinding her molars, Arisu regained her senses. While grimacing, she glared at the floating Oogui.

“Arisu—”

Mari, who tried forcibly robbing Arisu’s consciousness, smiled using Arisu’s mouth.

The girl raised her spear clad in a silver glow high toward Oogui.

Arisu who was being encroached by the Mushi and Mari who came back to this world in pursuit of the continuation of her dream.

“Let’s compare our answers—”

Underneath the star-streaming night sky, the pair’s voices overlapped.