Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 8 Chapter 4 (section)

== 4.02 Marker-user VS The Annihilators' Ashimaki Part 2 ==
The substation was enveloped in a blue glow.

The light bursting from the mark drawn by Momo swallowed the Mushi one after another.

The Mushi's body touched by the purifying baby blue began to crumble, disperse and vanish.

"Kh—"

Only one of them, the leader of the black-wearing people, managed to dodge the torrent of light. The claws extending from the Mushi perched on the man's mouth turned to dust as they touched the light.

When the glow vanished, all of them were collapsed apart from the man keeping a Mushi in his mouth. Although none of them were physically hurt, all life was lost from their barely-open eyes. Seeing this scene, Momo came to know that any Mushitsuki who lost their Mushi became a living corpse.

"D-dis is Asimaki…! Dis girl's using some kind of strange ability—"

The man facing Momo shouted as he put his hand to the goggles. He was apparently talking to someone.

Having unleashed her power through the marking, Momo shouted.

"WAAAAHHHH!"

She felt as if the hot impulse coursing through her body slightly lessened.

Yet it wasn't enough.

If she didn't let out much more energy from her body, everything around her would explode.

"Daiske…"

Her bloodshot eyes turned to the direction of town.

She had to go back to the boy. He had promised to run away with her.

She hadn't a moment to spare; she needed to get as far away as she could.

"Daiske…!"

Her body was swaying. With that unbalanced gait she started walking to town.

However—

"Hurgh!"

The black-clad man called Ashimaki shot his Mushi's claws through his mouth.

Blown away by the claws that extended like rubber, she crashed into the forest of transmission towers. Her body covered by the glowing pattern bent the steel columns and tore through cables.

"—"

When she came to, she had already taken a landing posture and stepped with both legs on the side of the tower. She preserved her horizontal position with momentum, raising her tear-stained face.

"I can't let you meet up with Kakkou… I'll kill you before your ability fully awakens!"

She no longer understood words.

What she did understand was that the black-wearing man in front of her wanted to kill her very much. He wasn't allowing her to go back to Daisuke.

"AAaahhAAhh!"

Using the recoil, Momo kicked the pole. She launched herself at Ashimaki like a flying arrow.

Yet that was advantageous for him.

"Hergh!"

"…!"

Ashimaki retreated while still shooting the claws, and these kept knocking Momo off without ceasing.

The ground was cracked as if by an explosion.

Momo's body sank into the asphalt.

"…Nnngah!"

Yet Momo soon rose up again, leaping from the within the rubble. Furiously rushing toward Ashimaki, her momentum caused cracks to appear on the ground.

Closing the gap in the blink of an eye, Momo's marker attempted to touch Ashimaki.

However, since he could easily see her, the black-wearing man evaded.

"Hurghhh!"

Hit by the claws from extremely short range, Momo was blown backwards. Also, since these claws were as flexible as whips, they kept landing blows on Momo's head as she rolled on the ground.

"Ugh…!"

Even while ducking onto the hard ground, Momo moved her hand.

"Coatl Heaaad!"

The blue mark drawn on the broken piece of rubble glowed.

"It's useless… I've seen that ability before!"

The moment before the glow touched him, he withdrew the claws hitting Momo. The thick, rubbery claws were drawn back inside his mouth.

"UUUuuugh!"

Momo right now couldn't even understand the word "useless".

Withstanding the pain in her entire body and standing up, as if repeating her foolish mistakes she charged toward the enemy again.

Naturally, she was intercepted by Ashimaki's countless claws. These rained on her from all directions and angles.

"Wah—"

There was no way for her to even know how to dodge. Momo, charging ahead recklessly, was hit by the claws.

"—AAaah!!"

However, her legs wouldn't stop.

Wildly swinging her arms, she kept running as if swimming inside the rain of attacks.

"So this is a Fusion Type… is she really human?"

Approaching the shuddering Ashimaki, Momo threw her body to the ground as though trying to roll ahead.

She didn't want it to hurt anymore.

Still keeping the momentum of her roll, she stabbed in the marker glowing in blue into the ground.

''This guy's Mushi… I'll blow it away, too!''

She engraved a glowing mark on the ground in the blink of an eye.

"Coatl Head!"

The purifying baby blue blew the surroundings away.

"Tss…!"

Along with a muffled clicking of tongue, Ashimaki retreated.

Several claws evaporated after being engulfed by the light. Yet that was all.

"…!"

When the baby blue light was gone, the counterattack began.

Hit and blown away by the claws, Momo rolled on the ground. She heard something creaking. Perhaps one of her bones had broken.

"It's a pain of an ability, bud… there's a time lag from touching the light until the Mushi vanishes."

Raising her face, she saw the destroyed claws regenerating from their base. The claws extended from Ashimaki's mouth entwined, forming the shape of a spear.

"If I can hit you with a single attack from long range—it will be the end."

Momo grimaced with pain and frustration.

"Uuh…"

The enemy in front of her had seen through the power of baby blue.

At this rate—she would be killed before meeting with Daisuke.

When Momo thought this, an indescribable fear pushed on her.

''I need another power—''

She couldn't fight him right now.

She needed a stronger power.

"Dai…ske…"

On the tip of the marker grasped by Momo—

The blue light was slowly changing to another color.