Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 6th Episode 23 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

“Kh…!”

The strength of the vines constricting Arisu gradually grew stronger. When the Morpho butterfly’s lance emitted light, the vine’s power slightly lessened.

“Oh, is it a power that weakens Mushi abilities? Looks quite useful, but then you need to focus on protecting your own body.”

There was a tremor. A giant tree grew from beneath the ruffled hair boy’s feet, its branch becoming his chair. With an expression as if he was just sitting in his room, the boy put the cup to his mouth.

“—A trap, you say?”

Ichiku Mikitaka let go of Maimai. He walked ahead, completely defenseless.

Instantly the young man was restrained by the vines crawling up from his legs. Even though he ended up the same as Arisu, not even a single muscle twitched on his face.

“Why do I need to do anything like that for you lot?”

“Wha…”

Seeing Ichiku completely bound and strung up, Arisu became speechless.

“Uuh…!”

Only Maimai alone stayed standing in place. Her body was frozen and unmoving.

“Who’re you?”

The ruffled hair boy threw them a simple question.

“Y-you’re asking us… but I’m the one who wants to ask! Just who are—”

“We’re the SEPB.”

Ichiku answered simply.

“Hmph. Have you come after my ''tenant''? What a bother. Well, since he’s paying me I can’t really complain as the Custodian, though.”

The boy with ruffled hair—Custodian or whatever—nodded as if he understood the situation. Him not moving even while knowing about the SEPB made Arisu have a sense of déjà vu.

“But well, if you’re the SEPB… for now, you’re my enemies. Perhaps I should turn you into fertilizer for my children.”

Arisu felt a chill at the pajama-wearing boy’s gaze on her. Those eyes were emotionless as if he was looking at, just like he said, not humans, but fertilizer.

“And you, eyepatch girl over there. Decide if you want to come closer or run away. By the way, if you come here, I’ll strangle you, and if you run away, I’ll stab you. Choose what you want.”

Maimai’s shoulders twitched.

“Well, since this is inside my domain, you can’t run anyway. So, will you approach me to save your friends?”

The Custodian laughed.

Among Special-Type Mushitsuki, some were able to create a space that was controlled by their own ability. This jungle was also likely such a space created by the Custodian’s ability.

“W-what does this mean…! Why were we suddenly attacked? Who’s that Mushitsuki, anyway!”

Moving her face, she shouted at Ichiku.

“What will you do once you know that? We’ve barged into his turf. That’s why we were attacked. It’s as simple as that.”

“Well, if you can’t move, that means the choice is up to me. Then, thank you for your kindness, I’ll just do it.”

The trees around Maimai swayed. Extending their sharp, lifelike branches, they assaulted the girl.

“Maimai!”

“Eeek!”

Covering her face with both arms, a lone drop of moisture fell from below Maimai’s eyepatch.

The moment after the girl’s tear touched the mossy ground—that lone tear became a fierce stream of water. The girl’s small body was engulfed by a transparent water fountain.

“…!”

The water current blew away the sharp tree branches. The thing covering the girl became white and hard.

A white, large lump was created inside the jungle. Shaped like a whirl, it resembled—the shell of a snail, about as large as a human.

Maimai’s figure could be dimly seen inside the shell. She rounded her body like a fetus in its mother’s womb, closing both eyes hard.

“W-what’s up with her…!”

The Custodian produced new branches and attacked Maimai. However, the hard shell was unmoving, and the attacking branches just snapped.

“So that shell itself is Maimai’s domain, then. It’s awfully small, but apparently negates all attacks from the outside.”

The Custodian was shaken at Ichiku’s calm words. Perhaps fearing to get closer to them, he surrounded himself with a cage of trees.

“Hmm…! If you come any closer, I’ll tie you up!”

“…”

There was the small sound of dragging.

A small water stream was produced around the shell covering Maimai. With the width of only a single meter, the large snail shell began moving toward it.

Slowly, even slower than a child’s steps, the shell was moving—toward the direct opposite direction from the restrained Arisu and Ichiku.

“Haha… ahahaha!”

Seeing the shell slowly, slowly sliding away, the Custodian burst laughing.

“So you’re going to run away after all! Even though I told you there’s nowhere to run to! This girl’s leaving her friends behind and running!”

Receiving the branches’ attacks, the large shell fell to the ground with a thud. It slowly rose up and slowly ran away again.

“Uh… egh… hee…”

Arisu heard those sobs through her earphones.

Maimai’s face was barely visible from outside the shell. A lone tear fell on the cheek of the face that looked like she was sleeping.

“I-I’m sorry, Arisu-san… I’m, scared… Sorry I can’t do anything… ugh… ehh…”

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_6th_p167.jpg|thumb]]

“…”

Arisu bit her lips. She looked at Maimai who was still sobbing while trying to escape.

“D-don’t mind it, Maimai-chan… even if you run away now, you definitely have a bright future… next time, for sure… tomorrow for sure… uugh… eh…”

“Haha!”

The Custodian’s attacks continued insistently. The branch attacks made her fall and roll around as if playing with her, and when the Custodian saw her sluggishly rising up again he laughed.

“It’s simply a really dense domain. Without any medium, it probably wouldn’t last for long.”

Arisu moved just her face to gaze at Ichiku who spoke as if none of this had anything to do with him.

“Watch closely, Ichinokuro Arisu.”

Ichiku Mikitaka, the man leading the whole SEPB, looked at Arisu, asserting with scorn.

“''This is a Mushitsuki''.”

Arisu widened her eyes.

“I said that Maimai can’t do anything, but that doesn’t mean it’s only her. Just by virtue of being Mushitsuki… every single one of them is the same.”

“…”

“You’ve seen her all day. Harboring a wish while forgetting one’s position leads to doubt, the inability to find anything, loss and then finally to escape. —All Mushitsuki are the same. They can’t do anything. No wish of theirs will come true. They’re the embodiment of futility. Even their existence has no meaning. Seeing those unshapely creatures, it makes me even abhor them.”

Arisu fell a chill run through her spine.

Ichiku Mikitaka showed some emotions for the first time.

And what he felt was—hatred.

As if it precipitated for long months and years in the depths of his heart, solidifying to pitch-black loathing.

Every part of him, whether the eyes glaring at Arisu, the voice wrung out from him, from his fingertips to the top of his head, the young man’s entire body was permeated in unfathomable hatred.

“I loathe Mushitsuki.”

The pure anger Arisu had never felt before solidified with the man’s words.

“Even death is too good for them.”

It was completely different from the flaming fury that she’d felt from Harukiyo before.

An anger which was dark, gloomy, and could never be purified—

“Pity I’ll allow. —However, if any person wanted to save Mushitsuki, I myself would consume them.”

It was a warning—most likely.

Telling her to not get involved with Mushitsuki anymore.

The man who possessed the most power within the SEPB said this to Arisu.

If she ignored his warning, the entirety of the SEPB would become her enemy.

Even the Mushitsuki stronger than anyone, Kusuriya Daisuke, was a subordinate of that powerful organization, so Arisu knew she had no chance against it.

“…Nngh!”

Arisu struggled against the vines restraining her.

“Ngaaah!”

Just moving her wrists took everything she had. Mustering her strength, she threw the Morpho butterfly spear with just her wrists.

“—Idiot.”

Ichiku’s mumble overlapped with a great noise.

“Wha…!”

Turning into a line of silver light, the spear pierced the Custodian’s head—no, it grazed Maimai and hit the tree behind her.

For an instant the jungle scenery distorted. Inside the jungle, a large hole opened up in the tree pierced by the spear, and a familiar scenery spread behind it.

It was the apartment’s lobby.

Even while clicking his tongue, the Custodian sneered.

“Are you glad you were finally able to throw your weapon? If you’d attacked me, you might have managed to beat me, though. —Well, I’d have been able to easily dodge it, though.”

Arisu also hadn’t fought many Mushitsuki until now just for show. She noticed that the further away one was from the Custodian in the jungle he created, the less plants he could control.

Trying to show as if the jungle spread around endlessly was probably also meant to cover for that weak point. Now she was convinced that the further they got, the less control he had over his domain.

“Run, Maimai—”

Letting go of the Morpho butterfly spear and becoming powerless, Arisu’s body was strung up by the vines.

“Run away… and call Daisuke.”

“…!”

She could feel Maimai was shaken.

Ichiku made a bored-sounding sigh.

“It’s useless. Do you really think we can stay alive until Kakkou comes here?”

“Please, Maimai.”

“Uuh…”

Leaking a sob, Maimai started moving again. She sluggishly advanced toward the hole where the lobby was visible.

“Daisuke would definitely find a way to save us.”

She knew his strength more than anyone.

If it was that boy, who was stronger than anyone—he should be able to save them even from this deadlock.

They only knew each other for a short while, but after walking this path with him, he made Arisu believe in him so.

“Ueh… eh… d-don’t mind it, Maimai-chan, tomorrow your bright future will definitely… ugh… Kakkou-san can definitely…”

“Kakkou, huh. That might be bad for me. I’ll just kill those remaining and run away.”

He apparently wasn’t even looking at Maimai anymore. Speaking with a light tone, the Custodian turned to look at Arisu and Ichiku. The power of the vines constricting her strengthened.

“So you’re going to die for a Mushitsuki… and for that kind of brat. For simple pity.”

“…This isn’t… pity…”

“Ehh… uugh…”

“You don’t even know anything about Maimai’s life, and you’re not even a Mushitsuki. Since you don’t even understand her, do you have any reason to save her other than pity?”

“A reason… I do have one…”

“Tomorrow for sure… my, bright future… uugh…”

Even while her face distorted, she smiled. Her lungs were constricted so she couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Because I like her.”

“…!”

Maimai reached the hole.

“It’s amazing how she always does her best…”

Lacking oxygen, her vision became blurry.

Ichiku Mikitaka looked at Arisu with a cold face.

The Custodian was engrossed in playing and torturing the groaning Arisu.

Because of that—only Arisu saw what happened next.

She smiled happily.

“Right… Ichiku Mikitaka—thanks to you… I finally understand…”

“…?”

Ichiku raised a brow against the paling Arisu.

“Try to guess what I’m trying to say… if you can, that is…”

“’You’re right, dying for Mushitsuki is stupid. Please save me’, right?”

Wrong.

Arisu too was human. There was a part of her that really feared death.

However, seeing what happened in front of her, a feeling much stronger than that welled up from inside her.

“I’ll never understand you…”

Certainly—Ichiku Mikitaka might have been right.

Perhaps Mushitsuki could only cling to a large dream, lose their way and never have it come true.

However—there were those who were not trying to lose.

There were Mushitsuki who kept walking forward without running away.

Arisu’s friend, Hanashiro Mari, had lost her life while doing that—but there were other Mushitsuki who tried finding what she was dreaming of together.

On the way to fulfill her simple wish to know of Mari’s desires, Arisu had met many Mushitsuki—and before she noticed they were not merely “on the way” anymore.

“…!”

Ichiku Mikitaka and the Custodian.

They both turned at the same time.

“Uuuuh…!”

The pure-white shell was now approaching Arisu.

“Uuuh… eh… hic…!”

Without anyone noticing.

Even if her steps were awfully slow.

She looked as though she would soon withdraw back if one touched her horns, just like a cowardly snail, but even so she was advancing toward Arisu slowly but surely.

“You…!”

The Custodian hurriedly sent an attack at Maimai. He tried stabbing her with sharp branches and constricting her with ivy.

However, Maimai’s walk did not stop. Whenever she fell she rose again, she tore through the vines, and she slowly, sluggishly slithered her way to Arisu.

Finally, the white shell touched Arisu’s body.

“Uuuuh…! My bright future! Is right in front of my eyes!!!”

The vines wrapped around Arisu raised a scream.

Forcing its way past the vines, the shell’s charge tore them one by one.

“Tch!”

The Custodian looked anxious. He created a huge tree and brought it down on Maimai.

The jungle shook.

“Waaah!”

Maimai’s willpower reached its limits at last. Being crushed by the tree that weighed dozens of tons, the white shell finally broke.

As Maimai collapsed, Arisu covered her. Perhaps because she also protected Arisu from the tree’s weight, blood was dripping down her forehead.

“Shit… that’s enough, I’ll just kill all of you!”

He probably could no longer afford to toy with them. The Custodian shouted, assaulting Arisu and the rest with a concentrated tree attack.

However, the next instant a blowing storm of silver scales blew away the verdant trees.

“I simply—”

Arisu’s hands, released from the vines, were grasping the spear transformed by the Morpho butterfly. —Maimai had picked up the rod and brought it back to her.

“Love Mushitsuki.”

While enveloped in scales, she looked at Ichiku Mikitaka.

The cold-faced young man said the exact opposite of Arisu.

That he hated Mushitsuki.

But Arisu did not think so.

The Mushitsuki she’d met so far…

They had dreams, hesitated, and—were still dreaming. And she loved them for this. All of them were fighting and trying to push forward.

“Even if they get lost, even if they get hurt, even if they’re cowards… I love the Mushitsuki who so desperately try taking steps forward.”

Even her late friend had definitely been like that.

She was convinced of it.

“There’s no doubt that Mari too was such a Mushitsuki.”

A silver pattern rose on the smiling Arisu’s body. One hand and one leg—although the fusion with the Morpho butterfly was imperfect, the scales released from Arisu instantly boiled away the trees pressing on them.

Arisu turned to face the Custodian.

“Cancel your ability.”

“Uh—”

The difference in power was evident. The Custodian himself probably felt it as well.

“I don’t want to turn anyone into a Fallen… but if you keep attacking us, I’ll make it painful for you.”

Mushitsuki were all fighting against something—

Who was it that said this?

She didn’t want a needless fight, but if she had to fight in order to understand Mushitsuki, Arisu would not run away anymore.

“…Shit!”

The Custodian’s cussing voice became the signal of surrender. The trees around stopped moving.

“I never heard about such a powerful Mushitsuki being after me. That tenant bastard definitely isn’t worth it…”

“That bastard?”

“Huh? What, are you not looking for—”

In the middle of his words the Custodian suddenly raised his face. He quickly paled.

“What’s wrong?”

“The heck’s this…”

Furrowing her brows, Arisu followed the boy’s line of sight.

Seeing it, she was speechless.

The jungle created by the Custodian was being buried by black objects.

Looking closely, these were innumerable swarms of little beetles. Their short and stout bodies had eight, short legs and they were covered in a tough carapace.

This dreadfully large swarm started biting, devouring and eating each and every tree in the jungle with great momentum.

“…Idiot.”

Arisu turned around and widened her eyes.

Ichiku Mikitaka.

Even the vines tying the man who served as the Director of the SEPB were being torn and eaten by the black Mushi.

No.

The black Mushi covering their sight…

The atypical-looking tardigrades all came from the young man called Ichiku Mikitaka.

“Hanashiro Mari had once ignored my warning.”

With a cold expression, Ichiku Mikitaka began walking.

Being pierced by that excessively cold gaze, Arisu couldn’t move a muscle while hugging Maimai.

A step.

Another step.

Every time Ichiku Mikitaka stepped forward, the swarm of tardigrades ate the jungle.

“The proof of that is her leaving the Mushi to you.”

Arisu’s heart made a giant leap. Great fear circulated her entire body, even piercing her brain.

As Arisu stood still, taking ragged breaths, Ichiku Mikitaka passed her. ''Kuha'', as he opened his mouth to exhale, she saw a glimpse of his sharp canones.

“However, soon… I will give Hanashiro Mari one more chance to choose.”

He was probably laughing at her. Leaving this low mumble behind, the young man passed in front of the dazed Arisu.

“Uwaaah!!!”

Ichiku was progressing toward the Custodian. The remaining trees reached with their branches and pierced the young man.

“Uh—”

The branch certainly did pierce through the young man’s living flesh. His limbs and chest and even his face were stabbed by the hard branches. His skin was torn, his flesh scraped off, his bones broken.

However, what flowed out of his wounds was not blood.

It was a stream of tardigrades.

The Mushi overflowing from his body started covering his damaged parts, flexibly changing their bodies, and transforming into the lost organs. It was much more grotesque than anything Arisu had seen before—and caused her unimaginable horror.

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_6th_p181.jpg|thumb]]

“Immortality or death—I will have her choose again which she would drink, the angel’s medicine or the devil’s medicine.”

Supplementing his body and eating the branches, the tardigrades fell from Ichiku’s body. They joined their brethren Mushi to keep eating the jungle.

“…!”

In the end, they managed to devour the entire jungle. The moment the scenery returned to being that of the lobby from before, the host fainted and bent backwards.

The boy who became Fallen collapsed on the apartment’s lobby with a thud.

“Me and Hanashiro Mari were similar… but you’re the exact opposite, Ichinokuro Arisu.”

Wearing his sunglasses, Ichiku Mikitaka walked toward the exit.

“You should thank Hanashiro Mari for surviving today.”

He left with a cool face as though nothing happened, until she couldn’t see him anymore—

Arisu was still slightly shaking, unable to move a single step from the spot.