Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 8 Chapter 5 (section)

== 5.01 Marker-user VS The Annihilators' Shera Part 2 ==
Central Headquarters considered Fusion-Type Mushitsuki dangerous.

They possessed terrifying powers and would never yield to anyone.

The one who stopped the coup d'état incident a few years ago, stopped the rampage of the powerful Mushitsuki Fuyuhotaru and even defeated Lady Bird's Maturation was Kakkou.

As long as this power that could stop even the incidents that made the entire country almost give up was under control, everything was fine.

However, if that power went out of control, it was obvious an unprecedented catastrophe would occur.

Overly strong power was merely dangerous.

And now a new power was born.

What on earth would that Mushitsuki—do against the country?

"Waaah… hick, uuh…"

In the substation hit by the strong rain, Yamamoto Rau faced that Mushitsuki.

The newly born Fusion-Type Mushitsuki—Tanaka Momo—was crying.

On the body of the girl leaking her sobs there was a pattern glowing in rainbow colors. Her clothes were torn and her hair was wet. Having fallen to the ground countless times, her cheeks were covered in dirt.

The tip of the marker she held in one hand was emitting a bright, white light. The glowing pattern passed through her fingers and permeated even that marker.

From the report of Ashimaki, who came in contact with this new Fusion-Type first, she should've had no special abilities. However, seeing that Ashimaki and the rest have been defeated after this report, Momo probably did develop some kind of power.

"A marker, huh… even your ability is Tanaka Momo-like."

Rau muttered in a gloomy voice. Since the black body suit covered her entire body including her face, her voice was low, so Momo didn't notice her.

Tanaka Momo was the student of Rau who infiltrated the school under the guise of a teacher.

"Waaaahhh!"

Swinging up her fist, the girl charged toward Rau with the speed of a bullet.

The student called Tanaka Momo was a problem child.

Yet she had an artistic sense. She was blessed with sensitivity, and she was continuously extending her antenna to create something new—this was the normal high schooler she was.

"No…"

Rau clenched her fist. She closed her eyes and calmed herself.

It didn't matter who her opponent was.

Rau had already killed many boys and girls of Momo's age. This would just increase the number of people she killed by one.

"You—you're simply the dangerous Marker-User."

With her eyes still closed, she moved to the side to dodge Momo's fist.

Although it had speed and overwhelming power, it was still the attack of a normal girl. It would never hit someone like Rau who underwent grueling training and who had experienced being on the verge of death for many years.

"I will erase all dangerous elements. Die."

The moment when she opened both eyes, Rau blew Momo aside with her right fist.

This impact, much like a direct hit from a steel ball, blew the girl's torso away along with a spray of rainwater.

Rotating in air, the girl's body crashed to the ground. Causing it to cave in, she kept rolling backward, crashing into the forest of poles. The steel-made column broke, with ripped power lines dancing in the air.

"…"

While feeling a tremor, Rau let leak a gloomy sigh.

Rau completed her duty.

She would simply confirm Tanaka Momo's corpse and leave town.

She would also finally be released from the annoying days of being manipulated by the kids of the Visual Design course.

However, something happened when she dragged her legs like the usual in order to get to Momo's body.

"…Tch."

A sharp pain ran through her.

Since Momo was much too defenseless, Rau had apparently hurt her fist with using her whole might.

Feeling shame at this silly injury, she looked down her fist.

"…"

Rau furrowed her brows.

She had forgotten which fist she used to hit Momo.

Right? Left? No, was it even a fist?

She felt no pain in either hand. It didn't seem like she hurt herself.

Even so—the pain that nearly caused her to fall wasn't gone.

''—You're a good teacher, yeah.''

''Throb''.

For some reason, when Momo's smile rose to her mind, another pain ran through her.

What hurt was something in the inner depths of her chest.

"…"

Inside the suit, her gloomy face grimaced.

It was just an illusion.

Or perhaps she'd been hurt around her chest in the battle against Hakamori a little while ago without noticing. Either way it should heal soon.

Her fist that could pulverize even an armored vehicle slayed dangerous Mushitsuki.

Now that she accomplished her mission, Rau tried dragging her legs again.

"Coatlll…!"

There was a voice from beneath the metal wreckage.

Rau's face strained.

"—Heaaad!"

A large spear was blown toward her brow.

"Nwoh!"

She felt like she was trying to stop a tank's shot. She barely managed to grasp this object that was apparently part of the steel pole. Just her body suit wasn't enough to stop the projectile's momentum, so Rau's legs sank into the ground. A second later, an explosive wind brought by the pillar blew through the substation.

Yet the unthinkable recoil didn't stop at that.

Part of the stopped pillar had a blue glowing mark on it.

"Coatl Head"—Rau knew the name of that symbol.

The mark's light burst.

"…!"

Rau had her intuition because she'd gone through many battlefields. She immediately threw the blue, glowing pillar away.

However, she wasn't able to fully avoid the effect. The part of the suit covering her right arm that was touched by the light dissolved.

''That ability was the same as Hakamori's—Mushi-killing power…!''

Even if the effect was the same, Shinpu's decaying power felt different.

If she had to classify it, this was "cleansing".

A baby blue glow that inflicted no wounds on humans and merely erased Mushi.

"So that's what defeated Ashimaki and the rest…!"

"UuuUUhhh!"

Her groan mixed with a sob, Tanaka Momo leapt out of the forest of steel.

There were bruises on her temples where she received Rau's blow and one of her eyes was heavily bloodshot. Yet this damage wasn't fatal.

"Y-you—"

Rau again confirmed that the enemy in front of her was a Fusion Type Mushitsuki.

She was different at the root from the other Mushitsuki she'd fought against until now—

"I'll definitely… kill you."

Rau's expression changed.

Momo was probably trying to draw directly on her body suit. She easily evaded Momo's thrust marker, hitting her in the abdomen with a heavy counter.

"Bpeh!"

"Now you'll die."

Producing a quasi-plastic bomb in her open fist, she made it detonate.

The explosive flames swallowed Momo.

She killed countless targets using that bomb.

She killed this and this person using it—these sorts of memories resurfaced.

"…"

Rau grimaced, erasing the people that rose to her mind.

Although Momo hadn't been reduced to smithereens, she fell onto the crushed ground.

There were no enemies who wouldn't collapse after a direct hit from that bomb. Even Shinpu's Church was destroyed.

She felt a small pain in her chest—and just a slight bit of relief.

This should definitely defeat her—

"Co—"

Rau widened her eyes.

Momo's arm moved. Her trembling marker drew something on her forehead.

"Coatl… Head…"

The body of the collapsed girl was enveloped in a glow of vivid orange.

Since Rau was an arts teacher, she knew that color's official name.

Vivid reddish blue—a marigold of healing.

"T-that ability… no way—"

Seeing the girl instantly raise her body, Rau groaned in shock.

She was aware to a painful degree how agitated she was. Even finding out that Hakamori was alive wasn't this much of a shock.

"You were actually listening to my lessons…?"

She realized it in a glance.

Tanaka Momo's ability was obviously influenced by Rau's classes.

When Momo fought against Rau's Annihilators subordinates she hadn't used the marker. Even so, was able to use this to gain further power.

She was evolving—

The new Fusion Type, Tanaka Momo, was rapidly evolving in the midst of battle.

With her flexible thinking.

With her impressionable imagination.

She was blooming with unlimited possibilities.

And the one who made it all possible was her teacher, Yamamoto Rau.

"You liar…"

She had created this dangerous Mushitsuki by her own hands.

She had been putting the cart before the horse; this was an unsalvageable failure.

But even so—

"You were properly listening to my lectures—"

Rau felt happiness unsuitable for this situation.

Rau met with the moment when her student's talent bloomed.

This kind of happiness was probably felt only by very few teachers. Confirming the potential of the next generation from up close with her own eyes was bliss.

She had simply donned the mask of a teacher for her job as an assassin.

Worried by her troublesome students, she only thought of them as annoying.

However, now that she was trying to kill her by those hands, during this very moment—

Her problem student's brush ripped away her mask as an assassin, forcibly making her wear the mask of a teacher—

"Uuuh!"

As she kicked the ground, Momo's wounds were healed. The damage she received from the first attack also healed, but instead her body was swaying with fatigue.

Rau stuck out her arm, transforming her suit to countless needles and aiming them at Momo.

She also killed many people using this ability.

''—I won.''

That girl, who had been smiling even while being skewered, was called Haemori Ako.

Although only a little, the footage left by Ako had been definitely broadcasted into the world. However, since Rau killed her, it was supposed to be her win.

Or perhaps—whatever Ako had left was still living somewhere?

Had she been unable to win anything?

Seeing the potential of Tanaka Momo, Rau ended up thinking of such things.

All those children possessed a power that not even Mushi could compare to—

"…So stupid."

Momo evaded the launched needles by clumsily rolling on the ground.

If she possessed a power even stronger than Mushi, there was nothing more dangerous than that.

So Rau had no choice but nipping it in the bud.

Watching her growth was absurd.

"Die…!"

As it took Momo everything she had just to rise up again, she couldn't possibly dodge Rau's repeated needle attack. Since her opponent was a civilian it was obvious.

"Coatl Head—"

At the same time as Momo's mumble the area was filled with a pure, white light.

In the center of the light was the ground Momo rolled upon. A mark was being drawn in white ink.

"…!"

Had she drawn it the moment she rolled?

Rau accepted her own miscalculation.

Although her movements were those of a civilian, Tanaka Momo was still a VD1 student. This girl was always drawing something; this was the nature of problem child Tanaka Momo.

It was a neutralizing white—a pure white that painted over anything.

The moment they touched the light, the needles launched by Rau lost their power. They bent down the instant before piercing Momo's head, falling to the ground.

Rau's ability lost its effect and Momo stepped on the needles that now were mere resin.

"So it's ability nullification…!"

"Waaah!"

Leaping forward, Momo thrust out her marker toward Rau.

Yet Rau easily sidestepped the girl's arm, launching a high kick. The girl's thin body sank into the ground along with a roar.

Rau produced a bomb in hands and tried finishing her off. Yet seeing a glow on the ground at her feet, she reflexively leapt backward.

"…!"

The moment after she collapsed, Momo drew a blue mark on the ground.

Although Rau managed to escape the range of baby blue, she dropped the bomb.

There was a large explosion.

Without waiting for the explosive roar to settle, Momo plunged through the wall of smoke to pursue Rau.

"Waah!"

The girl reached out, trying to grab Rau's arm.

Yet Rau slapped the girl's hand aside, repeating the kick.

"Ghi!"

Momo grimaced. Grinding her teeth, she reached again.

"Agh! Ii! Gwah! Uugh!"

Even while directly hit by Rau's attacks, Momo didn't give up. She tried grabbing Rau's body using her left hand but swiped through empty air, extending the marker in her right hand to receive a counter.

"Aaah!"

"…!"

When the girl's fingers finally grazed her shoulders, Rau felt a shiver.

If Momo managed to grab her—would she be able to shake off her superhuman strength?

There was no method to evade Momo's reckless movements. Her ability was powerful, but if an extremely close-range type didn't land her blows it had no meaning. She had the confidence she could keep evading hundreds of attacks.

However, would she be able to keep doing that in the thousands?

Imagining this, she felt a chill.

She knew that starting from the first attack using the steel column, Momo no longer hesitated.

When she'd manage to grab Rau the thousandth time, she would unerringly kill her—

"Coatl—"

"No you're not!"

After collapsing to the ground, she kicked Momo who was trying to draw.

"Ugh!"

She repeated a blade hand toward the chin of the girl facing upward.

However—

"…!"

Rau's attack cut through air.

Momo lowered her head, evading the hand blade.

The tip of the marker glowing in blue touched Rau's arm. The cold sensation of the marker pressing on her ran on her ample chest.

"WOOOOH!"

The mask of a cold assassin vanished from Rau's expression. With the expression not of a kind teacher, either, but of a simple Mushitsuki scared of loss, she detonated the bomb in her hand.

The occurring explosion separated Rau from Momo.

"Guh…!"

Rau also received damage from her bomb, grimacing.

"Coatl Head…!"

While breathing heavily, Momo used the marigold mark on her forehead to heal.

She was strong—

Rau transformed her suit, growing long needles from her whole body.

"But you're not going to win against me—"

This Mushitsuki exceeded all of Rau's expectations. She had never met such a strong enemy.

But she knew the effects of blue, white and yellow now.

While she was in the midst of evolving, Rau's advantage shouldn't waver.

"UUUuuuUUh!"

However, seeing the marker of the groaning Momo, she went speechless.

Blue, white, yellow—weren't the only colors.

The color of light on the glowing marker was changing. It was as if—

"She's still searching for more…?"

An unconscious groan leaked from Rau's mouth.

The marker's glow was wrapped in pitch black.

The black that was on the opposite side of pure white—a perfect black that swallowed everything whole. She couldn't even imagine what would happen to her, were she swallowed by this dark domain.

Just when she thought this, it transformed to a vivid reddish purple. —In front of the alluring magenta glow, the resin needles created by Rau grew restive. She wasn't able to control it well and it hurt her body.

Momo had apparently chosen the next color.

She marked her own forehead and shouted.

"Coatl Headdd!!!"

It was a light like the marigold of healing, but different.

Vivid yellow—an invigorating dandelion. The pattern covering Momo's entire body glowed even brighter.

"—"

Rau became speechless and froze.

She possessed physical strength.

Her ample imagination, unbound by any mold, could create various powers.

She was ruthless and merciless.

Furthermore, all of those abilities were born in order to fight.

Was she actually this sort of scary being all along?

The girl that seemed as if she was born to become a Mushitsuki—Tanaka Momo.

Now, right in front of Rau's eyes, was the undisputable strongest Mushitsuki.

"…"

In order to intercept Momo's next attack thrusting at her, she readied her body.

However, the pressure she felt from Momo was unlike before. If she were to further enhance her power, it would already be far beyond anything Rau could do.

The sense of despair started crawling up her legs.

''I'm going to be killed right here and now—''

She had no way to stand against Momo who'd grown this much.

''Is my dream going to end here…?''

She gritted her teeth before this overwhelming enemy.

"—"

The world suddenly froze.

Her limbs stopped in place and even her breathing stopped. She couldn't move even a single finger.

But Tanaka Momo was stopped just the same.

Even the downpour of rain stopped in air.

While even her thinking was grinding to halt, Rau's eyes reflected a shadow wrapped around her arm.

A black miasma that colored her in darkness.

''Diorestoi's Fragment—so something remained after I beat Hakamori…?!''

The astonished Rau was moaning in her heart.

The polluted sound of a bell reverberated from somewhere.

When she came to, she was at an unknown place.

No.

Right now, Rau knew the place she was standing in.

A desolate floor and a broken chair. Broken stained glass and rusted lamps. The place where there should have been a statue was empty, and there was no one other than Rau.

Rau was standing alone inside the church filled with polluted miasma.

She could hear the broken bell sounds from somewhere. Every time she heard them the air grew staler, muddier, and clung around her entire body.

Her body suit was crumbling, and her silver-streaked hair was revealed.

"Why… am I here—"

Being violated by the polluted miasma, her thinking was paralyzed. As Rau started absently gazing around the church, a white caterpillar crawled on her arm.

"Once, thou have embraced thy dream here… A dream that was close to me…"

She heard a hoarse voice from somewhere.

A bell rang again.

"…"

The broken, ear-grating sound dragged out the memories buried inside Rau's inner depths.

Yamamoto Rau had been born in a small, poor country.

Going to a big city there were concrete buildings and cars, but only very few people could live there. Most of the citizens earned their keep as fishermen or farmers, and they'd never be able to live in the big city with such jobs.

Rau was born to that country's royal family.

Although the country had constitutional monarchy, there was nothing such as a queen. The one destined to become the king was the prince, so she was only fated to someday marry someone with influence.

Even her receiving high education was just because she was the royal daughter. She was called a heavenly maiden because she was blessed with intelligence, but because of that she couldn't understand the situation in her own country during her young days.

It was said that they kept their independence only because it was convenient for the neighboring powerful country. In exchange for that, however, they made only disadvantageous treaties with other countries, and the national finances were being sucked dry. As long as they wouldn't be able to break through the status quo in Rau's country, they would never diminish the numbers of families that lived by picking up trash and the children that staved off starvation by eating the worms that latched to trees.

When she'd come to this country as an exchange student, her thoughts changed to conviction.

For Rau, the height of this country's culture and its abundance were abnormal. Even excluding the fact it was one of the top three major nations in the world, it was more than enough for her to despair.

In order to compare to this world power, she had to acquire power like this country.

Rau couldn't even imagine a way of making this dream come true. And since she was convinced it couldn't be done, hatred rose inside her.

Her country was poor, but such big, plentiful countries also existed. This meant that one of them stole from another.

''I'll steal it all back one day—''

The hatred kept swelling inside young Rau.

''I'll find some way to take control of this country—''

Wishing for this, Rau became a Mushitsuki.

"A dream much too large for the royalty of such a miniscule country like thee…"

Becoming a Mushitsuki, Rau thought to herself.

''—This is my chance.''

No other country had the power called Mushi.

If she was able to decipher this power, she would be able to strengthen her own country.

"And yet thy feelings are strong… Thou, too, shalt try to attain the qualifications of the King…"

The runway student Rau was already treated as missing by her country.

And Rau had been caught by the SEPB. She said she was an illegal alien and kept living as a Mushitsuki. As a combatant of the SEPB, she kept waiting for someone to reveal the power of Mushi.

Until then, she needed this country to keep being big.

If some kind of danger weakened this country, it would create an opening for other countries. And if that happened, other countries might obtain the power of Mushi before her.

One day, Rau would steal the power of Mushi from this country, as long as it continued being a large power.

She'd take over this country.

That was what royal-born Rau thought of as her job.

"If thou swear to become the King and release me from my fetters, I shall grant thee power…"

The hoarse voice whispered to Rau standing in place.

"Right… To save my country I thought of taking control of this land…"

She remembered.

She recalled the hatred she'd felt about this country that was plentiful unlike her own.

The rage she felt toward this environment that was ridiculously different than hers.

"This is why… I protected this country, so that it would not be invaded by any country other than my own…"

And she had taken the life of many people.

She spent her days in infiltration and fighting behind the scenes as an assassin.

"I shalt give my power to thee, royal of a humble country…"

She was born as royalty, and became a Mushitsuki.

Ever since then, she kept living as an assassin.

And at some point she even obtained the mask of a teacher.

"Gaining power, will I… become a living corpse? Just like Hakamori."

The moment her memory was reborn, Rau recalled the power she'd gained through training. Strengthening her resistance to mental attacks, she distanced herself from Shinpu's miasma attempting to permeate her.

Rau had told Hakamori the following.

''—You… who were you?''

And he gave her an answer.

In this town that man was Kusuriya Daisuke—and he was also another Rau at the same time.

He was probably a soldier sent from somewhere abroad, planning to take control of this bountiful country.

Rau clenched her teeth.

Even if Rau and Hakamori were similar, he didn't reach the same path as her.

Only her own power would grant her dream.

She lived through countless battles for that.

And—she didn't make a mistake like Hakamori's.

She hadn't prioritized her feelings and stood in place.

She was decidedly emotionless.

She ignored anything other than her job, trying to take hold of her dream.

"A royalty of some remote region dares stand against me? I shalt—"

"Begone, trash."

Resolutely asserting this, Rau grabbed the caterpillar clinging to her arm.

"Although you'd made me a Mushitsuki, I will not succumb to you."

She had no reason to plead for help from Shinpu.

Rau would keep pressing ahead on her own blood-stained path.

All of it was the path she'd chosen.

No matter what ending waited for her, begging for her life was the only thing she couldn't do.

"You can gnash your teeth however much you'd like. —One day, I'll get everything from you."

She crushed the caterpillar.

The bell sounds stopped.

Inside the crumbling church, Rau faced forward.

On the other side of the collapsing space.

The one there—was none other than her strongest enemy.



Having denied Shinpu's whispers, Rau's consciousness was brought back to the real world.

As time resumed in the world, the grim reaper in front of her pressed forward.

"WAAAaaaAA!"

Tanaka Momo, the pattern on her body glowing, threw an unsophisticated punch at Rau.

"—"

Rau opened her mouth wide and shouted.

Had she ever let out such a loud voice in her entire life?

The scream flowing out of her throat was in her mother tongue that she hadn't used in many years. If she translated the words to Japanese—she couldn't think of any good words to represent it.

"WOOOH!"

Rau received Momo's attack with all of her might.

However, having been reinforced by the ability of dandelion, that blow was too heavy. Rau's arm was blown away and the girl's fist pierced her stomach.

"…!"

Even the body suit was unable to absorb the impact. Hearing her elbows break, Rau didn't lower her face. She knew the real attack would come next.

Just like she thought.

Next Momo stuck out the marker in her right arm.

Having anticipated the attack, Rau barely grabbed the hand of the girl grasping the marker.

Yet the gap in their strength was large. The glowing tip was slowly approaching Rau.

"Woooh!"

Rau howled again.

Still grasping the girl's arm, she created a quasi-plastic bomb in her arms and detonated it.

"AaaAAh!"

"GuuUUUh!"

It was probably the difference in their endurance. There was a huge difference in the damage they received.

Momo bore heavy burns on her arm holding the marker—while Rau had one hand blown off without a trace.

Yet this was according to Rau's plan.

Succeeding in sealing Momo's marker, Rau hit her remaining arm.

"Uuugh!"

Even her reflexes seemed to have been invigorated. Momo used her unhurt left arm to block Rau.

Yet the next moment Momo's eyes flew open.

"Gbfh…"

A mass of blood spurt from the girl's mouth.

Rau's supposedly lost arm regenerated from shoulder, burying itself in Momo's stomach.

Using her ability to control resin, she sealed the wound using plastic. Immediately after she created a prosthetic using resin and attacked Momo with it.

"I was the one who taught you to break the mold, Tanaka Momo…!"

She couldn't lose to her student in her way of using her ability.

"…"

Momo glared at Rau.

With an incredibly cold gaze.

These were the eyes of a demon, viewing Rau as nothing but a mere worm.

The girl spat her blood on Rau.

"…?"

Was this a symbol of her defiance?

Thinking this, Rau saw Momo's blood sticking to her chest.

A moment later, a glow was born on her chest.

"…!"

The blood spat by Momo moved slowly.

Moving like a living being, it slowly drew a small, red mark.

The glowing color was a vivid red—a burning signal red carmine.

"What… the—"

Surging warmth burst out of Rau's frozen chest.

Resin was weak to fire. Her defensive capabilities against the scorching mark were basically nonexistent.

The body suit enveloping Rau started melting from her chest.

Momo smiled.

Seeing her happy at burning her enemy—a mad smile.

"Co."

Momo's lips moved slowly.

"Ah."

As if tormenting Rau, the scorching heat slightly singed her body.

"Te."

While her body suit was melting, Rau waited for the right time.

She was going to die.

There was no doubt.

However—this wasn't the end.

"El."

She glared at Momo who was reciting this enjoyably.

Rau would use her final ability.

The moment of her death, instead of her burnt body she would supplement all of her bodily functions with resin.

She would recreate her entire body using resin.

Obviously, she had never used this ability. But she'd been able to produce a new arm for herself. Theoretically it was possible.

Meaning Rau could die once—

And after dying, she would cause the body made of plastic to attack the enemy.

Even if her opponent was a Rank 1 Mushitsuki, they would lower their guards after killing their enemy. There she would be able to land a killing blow.

"He."

''Now then, kill me, Tanaka Momo—''

Rau was an assassin, targeting this country as part of her ambition.

A cold assassin that had killed more people than she could count.

She had no need to hold back.

The waiting Rau's eyes reflected Momo wearing an astonished expression.

"…!"

For some reason.

Momo reached out toward the burning Rau.

With her hand covered in burns.

"Uh…AAAH!"

Her arm becoming wrapped in flames, Momo screamed.

"Wha—"

Rau could only stand frozen.

Momo desperately moved her wounded hand, using the marker to paint over the scorching signal red carmine.

"What are you doing, Tanaka Momooo!"

"WAAAAH!"

"If you do that—you'll never be able to hold a brush again!"

Shouting, she pushed Momo away.

"Augh!"

Thrown on the asphalt, Momo raised a tear-stained face.

"Yamamoto-sensei…"

Rau raised her face with a start.

Her body suit melted and revealed her face.

Also, the flames on her chest were cancelled—and instead a pure blue mark was glowing.

The vivid baby blue light enveloped Rau.

"Senseiii…"

Momo looked at Rau's face, having apparently changed the color of the mark. The skin of the hand grasping the marker was festering and covered in horrible burns.

Rau absently gazed at the blue mark on her chest.

"Kh—"

What welled out of her was a pathetic laugh.

"'You'll never be able to hold a brush again', huh… Not something you say to your enemy…"

At some point it became her habit. She leaked a gloomy sigh.

She actually understood it.

Even if she used her ability at the very end, it was only theoretical.

Also, even if she used it, she wouldn't have used it to take Momo's life.

She was supposed to have thrown away her mask as a teacher.

She was supposed to have even thrown her mask as an assassin.

She was supposed to have exposed her true face to challenge Marker-User.

Even so—the mask that stuck to her face even more stubbornly than any other was confusing and annoying.

The teacher, Yamamoto Rau.

That mask was too heavy… at some point it had apparently fused with her face.

Even if she could kill anyone else—

She was unable to kill only her own "students"—

"Sorry, Tanaka Momo…"

While her body suit was being erased, Rau smiled.

While smiling, she shed tears.

"I wasn't able to save you… even though I'm your teacher."

The moment she saw the signal red carmine mark, she understood everything.

Momo's symbol produced all possible effects.

The energy source for that wasn't anything like ink.

It was said that Fusion Type Mushitsuki fused with their own Mushi to remake their bodies. In Momo's case, it transformed the thing flowing in her body.

So the source of the amazing energy wielded by Momo—

It was the blood coursing through her veins.

She didn't think even Momo herself could control energy capable of this many effects.

"UUUuuUUh!"

Momo groaned. The pattern glowing on her body raised white smoke.

The plain Momo had no power to control her Mushitsuki ability.

—Rau thought it was strange.

When she first became Mushitsuki, Momo shouldn't have known to use the abilities of the marker. Even so, a large crater was created in the substation.

That wasn't her marking ability.

Most likely—just by shedding blood, Momo had enough power to destroy the earth.

The one who knew this cast the suggestion on her.

The marking ability was nothing more than a medium for the awesome power she held—

"Are you sad, Tanaka Momo…?"

Rau kept shedding tears.

Momo was too weak to control the power of a Fusion Type.

Because of that, just hiding Momo as a Mushitsuki was wrong.

Momo herself needed to forget that she was a Mushitsuki.

Coatl Head.

A charm that could make anything come true.

Its identity was the suggestion made to seal the Mushi inside Momo.

A mark that existed to let a Mushitsuki ''that was sure to rampage'' go to sleep.

"Obviously this is not good at all…"

Within her thinning consciousness, Rau's powerlessness made her sad.

Never mind not saving her country.

The power she had tempered by fighting and killing was unable to save even a single, weak student of hers.

"There's no way that ''a Mushitsuki with a fate of self-destruction'' should be born…"

Literal self-destruction.

Or perhaps it would be "suicide bombing".

In this state where she had too much energy, if she exploded—how many victims would she claim? She didn't even know if it wouldn't go beyond this one town.

It wasn't at a level of being merely "dangerous".

She felt as if she finally understood why Central Headquarters were so afraid of Fusion Types.

In all senses.

Including anything and everything.

Momo was a Mushitsuki who should've never been born—

"WAAAAaaaaAAAAAH!"

Rau could only watch the howling Momo while crying.

Perhaps if she got the girl to bring out her full power and exhaust it then she could be saved. She thought so, but Rau already had no power.

She couldn't stop Momo anymore.

No-one could stop her.

There no longer remained anyone who ''could'' stop her.

"No—you were supposedly here in town…"

The moment before she closed her eyelids, Rau saw a single boy.

Perhaps it was a new source of despair.

However, Rau—

"Kakkou… Please save Tanaka Momo…"

''Please save my student—''

Leaving her final hope to him, she collapsed.