Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 10 Chapter 5 (section)

== 5.02 The Others ==

He was confident in his stamina. Although he’d been far from battle for a long time, that didn’t change.

Nii went back along the same road he came through, running alongside the horizon of the Abandoned Land while changing direction. As he was long-limbed, he took a forward leaning stance, and his form jumping around obstacles while dashing ahead was like a tank. —So he’d been told before.

By his past comrades.

“Bastard…!”

He swung his arm at the mountain of wooden scraps that stood in his path. The wooden boards broke and showered him in fragments as he raised his speed even further. Although he took a large detour, he’d probably arrive before the believers who were moving in great numbers.

Nii glared at the distant sky, seeing the Great Yama tiger beetle’s mad dance.

“Harukiyo!”

Among the three remaining Rank 1 Mushitsuki, he was the man most wrapped in mystery.

Once he was seen as the leader of a third force comparable to SEPB or the Mushibane that had only few but powerful members. Even so, only very few people knew that he actually belonged to the SEPB’s secret unit called the Annihilators.

Nii was one of the few people who knew.

In exchange for knowing bottomless fear and despair.

“I won’t be able to finish it at this rate…”

The flame devil. Never mind being a Mushitsuki, this monster wasn’t even a human being.

One day he came and appeared in front of Nii without any advance warning.

No—there was a warning. It was much, much too small, and including Nii, no one had noticed that this would become the chance for it.

It was just a small sentence uttered by one of Nii’s comrades.

''—Hey, leader. Can we really keep on going like this?

The girl with the laurel wreath on her head said this.

At the time—well, it was just several months ago, but still—Nii belonged to the SEPB. He served as the leader of a four-person group under the jurisdiction of the South Central Branch.

To put it bluntly, he thought of his team as invincible.

They never lost against wild Mushitsuki with unknown powers, even ones that were strong. They had accumulated training and real battle experience, their teamwork was perfect, and they could respond to any and all situations. It sounded cliché, but since he’d never even seen a single weakness, he could only describe them as invincible.

Among this team made of two boys and two girls, the strongest was the Rank 2 Nii. Rank was irrelevant, though. As long as he was with his team, he had the confidence he could beat even the one said to be the strongest in the SEPB, the Rank 1 Kakkou. He knew that even within the SEPB there were similar estimations.

''Keep on going like this… are you unsatisfied with our team?

Today they also easily managed to capture a powerful wild Mushitsuki. While one of Nii’s comrades, a blond boy, made the captured Mushitsuki powerless with his ability, the laurel wreath girl asked him.

Nii remembered himself and another of his comrades, a tall girl with glasses, exchanging glances. He couldn’t understand the intention behind the laurel wreath girl’s sudden words.

''We might be strong…

Everyone in the team agreed with this. They already accepted it together.

Yet the laurel wreath girl sat on a bucket at some empty back alley and looked at the sky. The sky boxed in by buildings was square-shaped and blue.

''—But if we’re really strong, doesn’t it mean we cannot just protect ourselves but do other things as well?

She always had a tendency to take care of people. Even her ability of amplifying others’ abilities reflected her personality.

The blond boy realized this, because he knew her kind personality.

''—So we should also get out of the South Central Branch. That’s what you wanted to say?

Nii’s team was invincible. However, since they never tried leaving their branch’s jurisdiction, it was true they had nothing to compare themselves to. They kept ignoring requests for help from other branches, only focusing their whole efforts on keeping the peace in their own turf.

''—There was apparently a large battle at Hashiba City. They say that Kakkou defeated Mushibane’s leader, Lady Bird.

The laurel wreath girl kept talking in a singsong voice while still looking up the sky.

''—Fuyuhotaru ran away, and apparently met up with Mushibane at Nishito City. A combined force of the Central Headquarters and East Central Branch apparently fought against Oogui at Shiou City. And our teacher, who was so strong, apparently fought against Shinpu at Holland City and perished. The North Central Branch apparently fought against a Mushi-eating Mushi with some help from East and won. This is only a rumor, but apparently a new Fusion Type Mushitsuki appeared and was defeated by Kakkou. …Apparently. …Apparently. It just keeps going.

Nii and the rest kept listening to the girl.

''—Why were we never there? Why were Kakkou or the East Central Branch always there? How would it have ended if we were there?

After the laurel wreath girl finished her monologue, the bespectacled girl spoke.

''—One of us might have died.

Nii nodded.

That was the reason why their team had never gone to the outside world.

The invincible team would keep on being invincible. Without losing anyone. By doing that they would be able to keep living even one day longer.

''—We might have saved someone without losing anyone.

The laurel wreath girl refused to back down. She grabbed the hands of the blond boy and glasses girl on both sides.

''—I’m having so much fun now. Everyone in the team relies on me and it’s fun being together. I feel relieved. You all feel the same, right? So I didn’t care about anything that I can’t reach with my hands. But, when I sometimes look to the outside… he’s always there.

Although normally a meek and mild girl, she now looked straight into Nii’s eyes as she spoke.

''—That demon… Kakkou.

Including Nii, everyone grimaced.

''—I also hate that demon, but he always… comes to save Mushitsuki. If the Matured Lady or the new Fusion Type were allowed to go rampart, the world would have in a horrible state for sure. He’s the only one who can defeat such monsters. …But is that true? Speaking frankly, I always think about it. “All of us are even more amazing!”

Excluding the laurel wreath girl, the other three said nothing. They definitely felt the same as her, in the depths of their hearts. At least Nii did.

''—The four of us together have too much fun, but I have the feeling we’ve been averting our eyes from the problems of Mushitsuki. Despite us being strong… as long as we keep averting our eyes, we might actually be weak, I ended up thinking. And I find that very… painful.

The laurel wreath girl looked at Nii as she spoke.

''—So let’s go outside. Since we’re strong, I believe that we definitely have… something like a mission or a duty that we have to fulfill.

Nii sighed.

''—Aren’t we gonna have a majority vote? As long as one person is against it, we won’t do anything. That’s our rule, after all.

Saying this, he first looked at the baby-faced blond boy. He went silent, thinking of something, but finally smiled and looked at Nii’s face. He nodded.

Next, as he looked at the bespectacled girl, she brushed up her hair. She looked around her comrades’ faces and raised her chin. After looking at something in the distance, she made a clear nod.

Nii smiled.

It was always like this.

They would do nothing if anyone was against it. While saying that was the rule, whenever someone seriously decided anything—no one would refuse.

''—For now, let’s step into the center of Mushitsuki.

Nii nodded and made the decision.

That was the biggest mistake of his life.

Nii’s group went out of the South Central Branch’s jurisdiction. They tried to investigate what Kakkou was fighting against and what the East Central Branch thought and how Mushibane would move.

As a result—they summoned a devil.

Although they made a move, it didn’t mean they grasped any clues. They didn’t even get hold of any information that could be considered a secret. However, just for starting to move—

Harukiyo appeared in front of their team.

Seeing his defeated comrades, Nii couldn’t even understand what happened. The blond guy and the bespectacled girl became Fallen, while the laurel wreath girl was hurt so bad she went in a coma. The team they cultivated so much weren’t able to do anything.

In the center of the crimson, scorching hell, the devil sneered toward Nii who was standing there covered in blood.

''—Those who lack resolve can’t butt in.

The flame devil didn’t attempt to finish Nii off.

''—I’ll letcha live. Get outta there and give the warning to all the weak ones. “If you don’t wanna die, don’t get involved”.

Get involved in what?

He had no idea. He just realized this with helpless despair.

He was being watched.

The people who could participate in battles pertaining to the entire Mushitsuki were limited, only the chosen ones. And the one choosing them was none other than—the flame devil, Harukiyo.

As a result, Nii survived. Carrying the laurel wreath girl on his shoulders, taking the bespectacled girl by the arm and dragging the blond boy, he returned to his branch. Fallen could walk by themselves if ordered to, but he couldn’t do that to his comrades.

When he came back to the branch, it was obvious at a glance they’d been “warned” by Harukiyo. Although the base was fully scorched, there wasn’t even a single victim. However, all members beneath the rank of branch head were trembling and groaning. —Their hearts were broken by the flame devil.

The South Central Branch had been destroyed by a single Mushitsuki.

In the end, it was unknown when the laurel wreath girl would wake up. Even so her Mushi remained. A host losing consciousness and their Mushi remaining was an extremely rare situation.

He lost his irreplaceable allies.

He lost the branch he could return to.

Nii, who became empty, held the laurel wreath that could be called his comrade’s memento—and ran away. His heart full of despair and regrets, the loser who lost his confidence and power to live wandered around aimlessly.

Then he met with Kanon—and now, he was about to see the devil of flames again.

He had a hunch.

If anyone other than Kakkou or Mushibane stood out, Harukiyo would come to “warn” them. He didn’t know the reason or the conditions, but if this was something decided by Harukiyo himself—

He would definitely come to Kanon and the believers one day.

He was convinced of it.

“Harukiyo…!”

Not noticing his heart gave out shrieks, Nii detoured through the horizon of the Abandoned Land, continuing to run.

Soon people who fought with their Mushi out appeared in front of him. They were the believers wearing red and the Annihilators wearing black masks. —The fake Kanon was not there yet.

A believer in red robe stood in the path of the rushing Nii. Although they were once comrades, perhaps they’d been ordered to catch him, since he was an escapee.

“Move!”

Nii swung his right arm. His Mushi appeared in his hand.

Shaped like a giant axe, it was an equipment-type Mushi, rare even among Mushitsuki. From his grasped axe, string-like fiber crawled up his arms and wrapped his entire body.

His arm strengthened by his Mushi’s muscle fibers, he swung the large axe horizontally.

“UWOOOO!”

The Mushi of the red-robed person in front of Nii completely vanished. The axe swung at terrifying speed instantly blew the opposing Mushi far away.

As he continued rushing, now an Annihilator’s Mushi stood in his way.

But Nii did not stop. Weaving between the attacks of Mushi coming from left and right, he used his powerful arm to crush any Mushi that he saw.

Just like his past codename, Akaoni, he became an ogre with bloodshot red eyes and cut through the battlefield.

And then, finally—he found an area enveloped in raging flames.

Nii’s hunch was on the mark.

That devil aimed for Kanon and the believers.

“Harukiyooooooooooo!!!”

A building turned into a large pillar of fire, and the machinery parked around all exploded to smithereens.

Inside this scenery from hell he saw the back of a tall person. That man was folding his arms and watching over the fights between the Annihilators and red robes inside the flames—

Nii would avenge his precious comrades being trodden over like bugs.

As the team’s leader, Nii had the duty to clear his comrades’ regrets—

“WOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Scattering the raging flames, the red ogre of revenge struck his axe into the defenseless back of the young man.

—Or so he tried.

However.

“—”

Along with a shining afterimage, the young man’s burning eyes turned to him.

His hairs, like the billowing rage of buddha, was so crimson they almost seemed to be made out of flames. His entire face was covered in tape, and his form wearing a scorched jacket emitted a superhuman presence.

He was the incarnation of flames.

An inhuman devil.

The zenith of Mushitsuki everyone acknowledged, Harukiyo, stood in front of him.

“—Who the hell are you?”

A low voice that sounded like it echoed from the depths of hell. The flames around shook, and Nii felt as though the entire temperature of the Abandoned Land rose at once.

The flame devil turned around and asked him who he was.

Nii had seen the ending of that chain of movements.

He was unable to move a single step from the spot.

He was still holding the axe aloft and his feet felt as though they were stuck to the ground.

“Uh—”

Just moments ago, Nii’s desire for revenge was ready to burst. However, his guilty conscience regarding his comrades and his anger…

All of them were burned away by the gaze of the devil.

“Name yourself.”

Apparently the flame devil didn’t even remember him as one he’d previously beaten.

Nii put strength into his arm grasping the axe. Right now, Harukiyo turned only his face toward him. The fact he was defenseless was unchanged. Right now he could instantly close the distance and cut him off.

Although he thought this in his head, his body couldn’t move.

Never mind attacking, he couldn’t even introduce himself. As for why, it was because his teeth were chattering.

“Uh… Uuugh…”

The final moments of his comrades were revived in his mind. Even as they desperately resisted, their Mushi was dully killed. As if to tell him to run away, they all turned to Nii—and lost their liveliness.

Just like that time.

Never mind saving his comrades, he wasn’t even able to take a single strike for his revenge.

Here was just a loser.

A loser would have no name.

“Uuugh…”

Why did he have to face that devil again—

He despaired at his own uselessness.

“—”

Seeing Nii completely frozen, the devil lost interest. He returned his gaze elsewhere as if Nii didn’t exist, turning his back.

The flame devil simply ignored Nii’s existence. He couldn’t even hold his interest for more than a couple of moments.

He knew well he had no chance to win. He knew that firsthand.

If so, why had he even considered revenge?

Why had he come there?

How on earth—had he been able to overcome his despair and get all the way here?

“Wh—”

The heat remaining in his throat burned. Nii spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Why… are you here…”

He didn’t even know why he was asking himself that.

As expected, even waiting for a while no answer came. The question of a loser that didn’t even introduce himself would never draw an answer from the devil.

Or so he thought—

“I’m obviously gonna come here, seeing I was invited, right?”

Nii widened his eyes, looking at the devil’s back.

Harukiyo was laughing.

Invited?

Meaning, did someone invite Harukiyo to the Abandoned Land?

Who on earth would do that—

If someone summoned this devil, it could only be for destruction.

“While we’re at it, I’m gonna make a test.”

The devil of flames looked to be in a good mood. Nii knew that because a smile was mixed in with his voice.

Test?

What did he mean, a test?

“I will test—whether this Kanon or whatever has the qualification to participate in the upcoming battles.”

''Thump.

Nii’s heart leapt.

Although that guy didn’t even look at him, he said Kanon’s name. It practically sounded like a death warrant.

And more importantly—

“A test… you say…?”

A shudder rose from the depths of his body. Even he didn’t understand what emotion was causing it.

“So when you crushed the South Central Branch… was that also a test…?”

“What if it was?”

The devil turned back again, looking at Nii with blazing eyes. He wore a provocative smile.

“Your lot weren’t qualified. That was it.”

“…”

“I do hope Kanon’s got it.”

Qualification?

He couldn’t understand at all what the demon was talking of.

But there was something he did understand.

The Mushitsuki in front of him had made his friends unable to move due to that ridiculous reason.

“—”

Anger rising yet again pushed a little of the fear and despair.

Seeing Nii grasp his axe, the devil laughed.

“I’m in a good mood. I’ll let you go. —You can’t possibly defeat me.”

“…”

“Give up. ''We'' can’t be killed.”

Grinning, the devil removed his eyes from Nii. He folded his arms, sneering.

''”That’s why we’re all Rank 1.”

Nii’s breathing stopped for a moment.

He didn’t understand what he was saying.

No one could match the Rank 1s—was that what he meant?

No, it was just a hunch, but he didn’t think Harukiyo would say something like that. It was something more important—far more outrageous, that the devil just blurted.

Such a bad feeling rushed through him.

“Can’t be killed… no way. Lady’s dead and Spear Form’s gone, too…”

If he accepted this, he’d never win. The names of Rank 1s who were gone came out of Nii’s mouth as he thought about this.

Rank 1s couldn’t be killed.

There was no way this was true.

“Even Fuyuhotaru… momentarily became a Fallen… so you can be killed, too.”

“Lady died? Then what’s the force driving Mushibane? That woman’s curse still alive and well. Also, don’t make a mistake.”

Harukiyo’s tone changed. Eyes filled with fury glared at Nii.

“Spear Form hasn’t kicked the bucket. She’s a Rank 1 because she’ll come back to life countless times.”

“…”

“When you hear the words ‘can’t die’, do only zombies come to mind? I’m tryin’ to explain what death means to us Mushitsuki.”

So stupid.

Nii shook his head.

''What’s this guy talking about—

“That Kanon or whatever also gone way overboard with the kingly act. Then I’ll check it. Does Kanon have the same qualifications as us?”

“…! That… Kanon’s not a Mushitsuki!”

“Right. Therefore, rather than qualification, maybe I should say essence?”

Seeing Harukiyo grin, Nii’s heart quickened.

Did Harukiyo think—that Tamaki, who was currently leading the believers, was Kanon?

Thinking about it, that was natural. He heard about Tamaki from Kanon. Tamaki was a Mushitsuki with the ability to transform to other people.

As Nii stood there with his face fully frozen, a pure light illuminated his profile.

“…!”

Just as Nii turned back, flames blew up in the surroundings. A hurricane-like gale blew around the Abandoned Land and tore through the flames spreading destruction, erasing them.

A ring enveloped in light floated in front of Harukiyo.

And on the other side of that ring—

“Welcome to the Holy Land, Harukiyo.”

A group of believers were led by the disguised Tamaki. They all held hands and faced Harukiyo and the Annihilators.

“Kanon’s sorry after you’ve gone through the trouble and came here, but can you please leave right this instant?”

Still folding his arms, he glared at the face of the fake Kanon.

“…Aren’t you horrible, calling me here just to blow me off like that?”

Just from the devil’s low voice and glint he could tell that the believers had their hairs bristling. The flames were being obstructed by the ring and didn’t reach them, but the devil’s gaze was enough to scorch their hearts.

Only Tamaki acted self-important enough to face Harukiyo. Just like when she faced Mushibane, she wore a kind smile.

“Kanon doesn’t remember calling someone like you, though?”

“Oh really? By the way, you’ve got the power to erase Mushi?”

“That is true. Tonight, Kanon will use that power to save everyone.”

“Oh? Then please, me too. There’s a Mushi I’d like to erase.”

Not only Harukiyo’s comrades, the Annihilators, but even Kanon’s believers, stared at him.

The flame devil asked Kanon for a favor. That scene was strange to the extreme.

“No.”

Tamaki looked around. Seeing the robed believers collapsed, she smiled.

“Kanon hates you. So Kanon will not save you.”

“Gotcha.”

Negotiations were a bust.

Tamaki and Harukiyo glared at each other—and smiled.

“Please die.”

“Die.”

The first strike came from the ring of light. Emitting a blinding light, it shot attacks of all kind—flames, wind and electricity spread around.

A natural disaster.

Causing the ground to shake and even lightning to fall from the sky, this ring truly was a divine incarnation of power.

“Gh…!”

The impact blew Nii and the Annihilators away. Assuming a safe falling position and focusing on defense took everything he had.

While narrowing his eyes from the fierce gale, he raised his face—

And witnessed yet another incarnation of God.

“—So you’re gathering other people’s abilities and amplifying ‘em. Don’t like it one bit.”

Harukiyo stood upright and stiff even within the whirl of destruction. He was still folding his arms and despite his skin being torn by the impact, despite his blood flying, not even an eyebrow of his moved.

The next moment, the youth’s body was wrapped in conflagration. The flames whirled, became a fireball and flew up high. Drawing an arc in the high sky, the crimson fire ball fell toward the halo.

An earthquake shook the Abandoned Land. As if a meteor crashed, the ground caved in with the ring of light in the center, with cracks running all the directions from the asphalt surface.

Nii was speechless.

Within the competing impact and flames, Harukiyo—

“Are you Elvioréne?”

Grabbed the ring while smiling like a devil.

Despite the halo spreading around such an overwhelming power, Harukiyo who became a mass of flames was able to grab it and sneer.

“Haha!”

Harukiyo howled. While the two powers fought against each other, he raised the ring, pounding it forcefully against the ground.

Another earthquake.

And yet another earthquake.

Horizontal tremors assaulted the Abandoned Land as though a giant was stomping there.

He pounded the ring against the ground countless times, but seeing that it wasn’t broken, Harukiyo howled even louder.

“ORAAAA!”

He became a crimson fireball again. The halo tried resisting with its full capabilities, but he dragged it against the ground at terrifying speed. As the sphere of flames moved close to the speed of sound, it turned the ground into a burning carpet in no time.

It crushed the ground, melted the heavy machinery and destroyed the cracked buildings.

The carpet of flames stretched to the distance.

“…”

Watching this superhuman scene, Nii just felt numb.

It wasn’t just Nii. Kanon’s believers as well, obviously, but even Harukiyo’s own supposed allies, the Annihilators, stood frozen solid, unable to do anything other than stare at the carpet of flames.

Nii was shocked, and—the feeling of fear was reborn in him.

That man was inhuman.

Anyone who fought like that wasn’t even a Mushitsuki.

Just as he thought he saw flames blowing in the distance, the storm of impact moved elsewhere as if teleporting. But the Great Yama tiger beetle of flames did not let go. It soon followed after, and the two powers burst again.

“…”

He suddenly felt like laughing.

There was no way to win.

He wouldn’t be able to touch him even with a single finger.

He was too much of an idiot, trying to go against that kind of monster.

“Kh…!”

Harukiyo’s strength appeared to have been even beyond Tamaki’s estimation. She grimaced as the mass of light rose high to the sky. Trying to escape the Great Yama tiger beetle, the halo attempted to return to Tamaki and the rest.

But the devil didn’t allow it.

Soon the Great Yama tiger beetle gave chase, striking down the ring floating in midair to the ground.

“—Don’t fucking run away.”

Inside the crater created by breaking the asphalt, the devil grabbed the halo again. He swung his other hand, covered in flames, and kept smashing it into the ring again and again.

A chain of explosions like a missile attack shook the ring. Large explosions shook the Abandoned Land.

That was the power of a Rank 1—

It wasn’t an issue of a power gap. His very existence was wildly different from a mediocre Mushitsuki like Nii.

“Haha… this is impossible…”

Falling to his knees, Nii’s hoarse laughter leaked out.

“I’m sorry, you guys…”

He thought of revenge.

Even if it didn’t come true, he wanted to at least get a single strike in, for the sake of his lost friends. However, how could he do anything to an opponent like that?

He reached way beyond his league.

Nii and the rest simply prided themselves on being invincible in their own jurisdiction, going overboard. They forgot who they were and tried butting into the fight of a Rank 1, so the obvious result awaited them.

Nii and his group wasn’t even reflected in their eyes.

As if they didn’t exist.

So they would simply be destroyed as if they didn’t exist in the first place—

“I don’t give a fuck about any of you.”

The inhuman incarnation of fire had his eyes set ablaze while swinging his fist.

He didn’t have to say it, Nii already knew it. Knew it so much he hated it.

However, Nii couldn’t ignore the words Harukiyo uttered next.

“—I’m gonna go check the ''real'' Kanon-sama now.”

Thump.

Nii’s heart leapt.

Harukiyo—had seen through Tamaki being a fake.

“—”

Nii widened his eyes, slowly raising his face. The form of the devil trampling the ring with overwhelming power was burned into his eyes.

Once he’d caught Harukiyo’s eyes, it was the end.

Gritting his teeth, Nii tried rising up—

“…I really am sorry, you guys…”

And fell to his knees.

After losing his comrades, Nii’s heart completely broke.

If he tried rising again, that would be—

“I got no business with the imposter. Where’s the real—”

Sneering as he swung his fist, Harukiyo turned back, his glint drawing arcs in the air.

The unmatched Rank 1 who stood at the zenith of Mushitsuki, Harukiyo. This frightening man called the devil of flames—was a mere dozen centimeters from Nii’s face.

“You’re the one who’s got no business here, Harukiyo.”

Closing the distance in an instant, Nii buried the giant axe into the devil’s flank.

“—Why you…”

Harukiyo’s blazing eyes were about to scorch Nii’s heart.

[[File:Mushi Uta 10 p365.jpg|thumb]]

For an instant, Nii was assaulted by an impulse to run away. Yet he bit his lips and kept his wits. Blood was running from his split lip.

“I won’t let you touch even a single finger of Kanon’s.”

''Sorry, you guys—

He apologized in his heart to his past comrades.

Nii’s heart completely broke down.

Therefore, if he managed to move at all, that would be—due to feeling he wanted to protect his new friend.

Never again.

For sure.

He didn’t want to lose someone precious to him.

“OOOOooOOOOooOOOOH!!!”

Howling, he wildly swung his axe.

As Harukiyo was completely entangled with the halo, Nii’s assault was a surprise attack. It didn’t mean that the devil had lowered his guard just because Nii couldn’t even stand up a moment ago.

The completely defenseless devil was struck by the axe many times.

However—

“Didn’t I tell ya not to butt in?”

Harukiyo didn’t even need to defend himself. The moment before Nii’s axe touched him, highly pressurized heat wave blocked it, and every time he was struck, it just melted the axe’s body. All it did was push the devil a bit back.

But that was fine.

Just a little was fine.

“You’re an eyesore.”

The annoyed Harukiyo shook his arm.

With just this—half of Nii’s axe was melted and blown away.

“…!”

Raising a voiceless scream, Nii bent backwards.

“Hah.”

Harukiyo sniffed, turning again toward the ring—and widened his eyes.

In front of the devil’s eyes, the axe he’d supposedly just blown off was swung down at him. Part of the halo changed, and it became an even larger axe than before, pursuing Harukiyo’s head.

And the other side of the ring transformed to an axe—was touched by Nii’s extended arm.

He knew the ability of his past comrade better than anyone.

That laurel wreath absorbed the powers of whomever touched it and amplified them.

“Gwooooh?!”

The strengthened axe buried itself into Harukiyo’s shoulder. His legs were buried into the ground and the sound of his breaking collarbone clearly reached Nii’s ear.

The ring detached from Nii’s hand.

Following the opening where Harukiyo flinched, he flew away.

“…While you can, to the Castle!”

Tamaki immediately gave orders. The halo and the following believers all left toward the spire visible in the distance.

Falling to his knees, Nii collapsed. He’d lost a large part of his Mushi and his consciousness was fading.

Within his vanishing consciousness, he thought of the faces of his team members.

''Sorry, you guys—

Nii could do nothing but apologize.

He really was spineless and good for nothing.

After losing his comrades, his heart had broken. He couldn’t do anything for them.

However—

“—”

Feeling pain in his shoulder, he rolled and faced the sky. He had apparently been kicked by the devil.

“Any last words?”

Looking down the unmoving Nii, the devil was sneering at him. Like always, he wore a provocative smile full of disregard for Nii—but any traces of mockery vanished.

“…”

There was someone who saved his broken heart.

Nii managed to come in front of the devil and make his move because of the lone heart that saved him.

He wished that—

He wanted to believe that even those feelings were courage given to him by his lost comrades.

“…I’m… Nii…”

This wasn’t his real name. And it wasn’t his SEPB codename, Akaoni, either.

Since he died once and was reborn, he had no name.

“I’ll remember that.”

Seeing the devil smile and lower his fist enveloped in flames, Nii closed his eyes.

He wasn’t a loser.

He was glad he had a name at that moment the curtain lowered on his life.

While thinking that—Nii received the final impact.