Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 9 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.01 Nanana Part 9 ==
Kneeling on the ground, Nanana screamed.

“AAAaaahhhh!!!”

She was dragged down from her position as the Akasegawa Foundation Chairman.

And not only that.

She lost her entire assets—down to the very last yen. All of Nanana’s money was deposited in the bank related to the Foundation. All of those were taken by the Foundation.

The thirteenth Round Table member, Munakata Kaiji—

She had completely let this man slip from her thoughts.

The Round Table member that should have not existed.

The invisible other bidder.

The person whose presence wasn’t even felt was this close to Nanana.

She didn’t think that she was careless. Did everything go according to Munakata Kaiji’s plan? To escape Nanana’s sight, he’d planted all sorts of traps.

Probably his disappearance itself was also a farce. Nanana was artfully invited by him, made to get deep into the group called the Round Table, and made to believe there were only twelve members. Also, by giving Nanana the rights to participate as the bidder, he made her think he was her ally.

She didn’t lower her guard. —It was her utter and complete loss.

From start to finish, she danced on the top of Munakata Kaiji’s palm.

“Nooooo!!!”

She thought she was a step away from gaining Alpha. She was supposed to succeed the Magician’s will and buy back the halcyon sweet days.

But even so—

She lost everything.

Just like a bubble popping off, everything was gone.

Nanana couldn’t obtain anything.

Even the people drawn to her by money were gone.

Nanana once more—became alone.

“Christy! Punish these violators!”

Drifting down from the skies was a lady dressed in a jet-black evening dress.

That woman floated above Nanana and the rest, ignoring gravity. A feathered hat several times larger than her head hid one of her eyes, but her face was as pale as a corpse’s. Her lipstick and eyeline were also creepy, but the most unnatural thing about her were her legs.

She—had no legs.

[[File:Mushi Uta 9 p263.jpg|thumb]]

More precisely, no legs could be seen. The hem of her evening dress was transformed to black smoke, fusing with the night’s darkness. The dress fanned by the wind spread everywhere, and the woman’s head and shoulder almost seemed to pop out of it, as if she was drowning in the sea of her dress.

'' “Laaaah…”

The beautiful woman floating in the night sky raised a shriek-like song. Thrusting out her arms as if to embrace Nanana, she fell head first.

The stupefied Nanana was unmoving with her head dropped.

“Uwoooh!”

A roar echoed in the entrance.

The beauty pursuing Nanana was covered by white cloth shooting at her from the side.

It was Pochi. The cloth around his arm swelled, lengthened, and wrapped around Christy’s body. Rotating his body to wrap the cloth around his arm, like a competition of hammer throwing, he used centrifugal force to throw the dark woman against the building.

The strengthened glass window exploded. Vibrations shook the air, and the impact caused part of the building to crumble loudly. The wall Christy was pounded against caved in the shape of a half dome.

'' “Laaah—”

Even after receiving an impact that shook the entire building, nothing about Christy’s expression changed. Her dress wriggled like a living being, ripping the cloth ensnaring her body.

Now free, Christy flew, again gliding toward Nanana.

Pochi kicked empty air, extending the cloth on his leg. —He was a Special Type Mushitsuki who could control a certain kind of mineral wool. His battle style was to control clothes with his medium woven into them.

“Pochi! This person’s no longer the Chairman of—”

Pochi didn’t lend his ears to the secretary’s attempt to stop him. His normally calm face now contorted as he glared at Christy like a watchdog spotting an intruder.

“Uwoooh!”

Using the cloth extended by his kick that was wrapped around Christy, the rubber band-like recoil allowed him to leap high. In an instant Pochi flew above the woman’s head, landing his cloth-wrapped fist against her hat.

Christy crashed on the ground. The asphalt shattered and a small earthquake assaulted the surroundings. He headed to the hole to finish the job.

However—

“…!”

The boy’s face looked shaken.

The woman wasn’t inside the hole. Large amounts of darkness poured out, filling his vision.

'' “Laaaah—”

Shriek-like singing voice came from exactly next to Nanana.

The billowing darkness condensed and Christy’s white face emerged next to Nanana. The jet-black beauty extended both arms toward the girl.

But the next moment, a grotesque monster chomped on Christy’s body.

The Mushi suddenly appearing stuck its sharp fangs into the dressed woman, protecting Nanana. Pushing her with its weight, the large Mushi pounded Christy against a pillar.

“All of you—”

As the secretary turned back, several boys and girls appeared out of the black-painted car. Just like Pochi, they were bodyguard Mushitsuki. —They showed no hesitance in following the orders of their leader, Pochi.

But one of the Mushitsuki grimaced with a “Ugh…!” and fell to the ground.

The sound of something breaking was heard from the pillar Christy was on. The darkness covering her dress squirmed, and the Mushi that bit her was crushed as if by a powerful hug. Although it looked like its hide was tough, it raised creaks while being crushed, screaming as body fluids flew about.

Christy flew overhead.

'' “Laaah—”

Darkness engulfed the building.

“…!”

Perhaps having a bad premonition, Pochi leapt. —But then his movements stopped with a jerk.

An arm clung to one of the boy’s legs.

It was an arm created from darkness, its surface black and hard like a mannequin’s. He immediately tried grabbing it with cloth, but it was much too powerful and wouldn’t let go of the boy’s leg.

“Eeek!”

The same happened to the other Mushitsuki. The only one who shrieked was Shiika, but Aijisupa and the other Mushitsuki’s limbs were also grabbed by darkness-colored arms.

Along with Christy’s shriek-like voice, something came fluttering down from above. Shaped like a bird’s plume, these feathers all stopped in air, pointing their sharp edges at Nanana.

Pochi suddenly shook off the arm.

The cloth extending from the boy’s arm swelled, engulfing Nanana in a white curtain to protect her.

But Christy’s feathers blew through that curtain. Piercing through it like bullets, they pursued Nanana.

The rain of impacts rained down on the entrance. The storm of destruction tore down everything around Nanana like a gigantic tsunami.

“—Gfbh.”

“…”

Absently.

As Nanana raised her stunned face, she saw bright red.

His entire body stabbed by the dark feathers, Pochi grimaced while looking up at Christy.

Having become Nanana’s shield, the feathers stabbed all the way to his back. Furthermore—perhaps cut by his own cloth, one leg that was held by the hand of darkness had nothing beneath the knee. He wrapped the cloth around the leg that had a fountain of blood coming out of it, stopping the bleeding and crafting a prosthetic.

There was a thud.

Pochi’s arm pushed Nanana’s shoulder.

He said nothing. The boy couldn’t even tell her to run away.

Even while heavily wounded, the boy who fulfilled the role of a watchdog for Nanana howled toward Christy.

“WOOOOOOH!”

Vomiting large amount of blood, Pochi swiped his arm toward Christy. The extended cloth wrapped around the woman, and by pulling on that, he leapt toward Christy’s chest.

“…”

Pochi’s push caused Nanana to stagger and fall to the ground.

A spray of blood rose in her sight. Unheeding of their flesh being gouged, Nanana’s bodyguards shook off the hands of darkness. They raised a war cry and followed Pochi. 

There was a white flash of light.

The steam explosion created by Aijisupa blew away the arms of darkness that tried restraining him and Shiika.

“You idiot! Run away…!”

Grabbing Nanana’s arm as she stared at empty air was Chouya Nihei. The cowardly boy grimaced with fear, but even so did his best to try and make Nanana stand up.

“Shiika. Go with them.”

Aijisupa said as he walked toward Christy.

Shiika, who was trying to approach Nanana, saw off Aijisupa with a worried look.

“Aijisupa-san…!”

“I’ll keep her busy.”

While throwing off his jacket and loosening his tie, Aijisupa smiled.

“You were going to order me to do it anyway, right?”

“…!”

Shiika looked like she was about to cry. Biting her lips—she nodded.

“Nanana-chan! Stand up!”

“Nanana!”

Nihei and the approaching Shiika shook Nanana’s body.

While she was being shaken a card fell out of her pocket. It was the Round Table member card. She’d always kept it on her.

“Ah…”

There was a golden circle on the pitch-black background. As well as jewel fragments and the inscription “XII”.

Nanana reached out to the card that symbolized glory.

“Shit…!”

Nanana’s hand was unable to grasp it. Nihei cussed and forcibly put her on his back.

Nanana, Shiika and Nihei went away from the entrance to the Akasegawa Offices.

“Aahhh…”

Nanana raised her face, once again seeing Pochi’s figure hit by Christy’s black feather attack.

After having fought at the frontlines, Pochi was now kneeling on the ground. She watched him slowly collapse as if in slow motion.

“Aaaahhhh…”

Nanana grimaced, still reaching her arm toward the distancing vision—

And on the other side of the popped bubble—

What Nanana tried grasping all slipped from between her fingers.