Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 8th Episode 32 (section)

=== Part 4 ===

The night sky with streaming stars was split into two.

A silver glow and a wriggling black.

The world was divided into these two competing colors.

The Morpho butterfly’s scales filled with warmth caused the tardigrades multiplying by malice and hatred to drop into the sea.

The fallen tardigrades ceased their movements and vanished into thin air while sinking.

Her hair glowing silver, Arisu desperately contained the spear’s powers.

“Kuh…! UuUh…!”

“So that’s that Mushi’s ability…!”

His eyes shining red, Ichiku Kimitaka pursued Arisu. The Undying Mushitsuki no longer wore a human form. Swarms of tardigrades formed a giant face and giant arm, and fingertips wriggling indeterminately were trying to grab Arisu.

“WooOOOoRAAAAAAH!”

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Putting his life at risk to protect Arisu, blood spurt from Harukiyo’s entire body. He wrung out his remaining power and shot down the tardigrades with flames while his face, neck, hands and legs were being eaten.

A mouth gigantic enough to rip through the night sky wore a derisive smile.

“It’s no use to try and put me to sleep.”

The silver scales were being pushed by the tardigrades. They continued multiplying much more than those that fell into the sea and vanished, so they were eating the scales back.

“My Mushi eats Mushi. That power is the same. —I’ll eat your scales until your exhaust your powers.”

The power to sleep and the power to eat.

Both powers momentarily competed, but even so the Morpho butterfly’s scales were not endless.

“…”

The more the Morpho butterfly used its powers, the pain deep within Arisu’s chest was revived.

Parts of her were being eaten.

The scales by the tardigrades.

And Arisu’s dream by her Mushi.

“Uh…gwAAAAH!”

Even Harukiyo, who was covered in fresh blood all over, passed his limits.

“Arisu…!”

She turned toward the voice echoing from the beach.

Daisuke stood there listlessly, the crying Ena behind him and Takako near her.

Seeing Oogui float in the sky, unmoving, she realized something happened.

She thought that Daisuke wouldn’t do that.

And yet he destroyed Ena’s dream for her sake.

Ena’s small dream melted away, so there was no doubt she felt pain.

Even so she would probably—find a new dream, someday.

She would definitely be able to find a way of life that was free and controllable, just like she was, without being afraid of Mushi. She would grant herself an even better dream.

“It isn’t like you, making that face.”

Seeing Daisuke about to collapse, she mumbled this.

“Really, you’ve worried me so much… idiot Daisuke—”

The spear Arisu grasped changed its shape.

The shining tip split into four, became the Morpho butterfly’s wings and spread.

“…!”

Ichiku’s crimson eyes shook.

The Morpho butterfly split from the spear. It slowly spread its wings, taking off from the rod.

“By doing that—can you keep moving forward?”

Many of her comrades became victims.

Arisu who lost her best friend was knocked out by her weakness.

This time she really was being eaten by despair until no one remained.

It would never end there.

Everyone would keep on living in the world.

“Harukiyo, you too.”

Smiling, Arisu put her fingertips on the back of the boy protecting her.

Spreading its wings, the Morpho butterfly landed on Arisu’s shoulder.

“Do you remember the promise with me?”

She would grant him a punishment much worse than death—so she’d declared to him before.

“Daisuke called me back.”

When she was about to lose to the Maturing Morpho butterfly, Daisuke had called her back.

“This time you—all of you, need to…”

“You piece of—what are you—”

As Harukiyo widened his eyes and turned, she met him with a full smile.

''—I want to live.

She vividly thought back to when Mari wished for this from the bottom of her heart.

Perhaps coming through the Morpho butterfly, the memories of her late best friend were reborn in Arisu’s mind.

A wish strong enough to rip her heart.

A small feeling that anyone had the right to feel.

Arisu met this girl who had such a wonderful dream.

''—Hello!

The dream entrusted to Arisu made her meet many more people.

Daisuke and Harukiyo.

Other important allies.

The dream that kept going through such varied meeting would not end here.

“I was so glad…”

Arisu smiled and hanged her face. Just by recalling this she broke into a smile.

There were some tough times in the days looking for Mari’s dream, but it was always fun.

It was much too fun—that there were times she was scared it would change.

This night, after comparing her answers with Mari, the situation revolving around the Morpho butterfly would also probably reach an end. Then, Daisuke’s mission would end and he would leave Akamaki City. She heard that Kasuou, C, Neiko and the rest would also leave with him.

Harukiyo would also go back to his days of wandering around to grant his dream. Rina as well. She would engage herself in what was both her dream and her duty, to create a place for Mushitsuki to belong.

All of them would leave Arisu.

Those who were invited by the Morpho butterfly and intersected would part, all go on their own different paths.

If it was going to cause her so much loneliness—should she just stop in place?

She also thought of that.

Forgetting all about the future, averting her eyes from her goal and mission, she wanted to spend her days having fun at the exact same place.

“I’m really happy I met all of them…”

As she raised her face again, the Morpho butterfly vigorously flapped its winds behind her.

Its four wings emitting brilliance made it look as though Arisu herself had sprouted wings—

“No way, are you—”

She leapt over Harukiyo who had his blood-covered face frozen.

“You bitch—”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings—Arisu’s wings enveloped the large swarm of tardigrades. Even while they resisted and tried eating the wings, the black Mushi fell into the sea and vanished.

She was afraid of these fun days changing—

Arisu, who challenged this decisive fight while scared of those feelings, froze in the middle of battle as expected and couldn’t move. She lost Mari, felt completely lost, and nearly ran away.

However, her precious allies pushed her back.

Even while getting hurt or becoming Fallen, they pushed Arisu’s back to get her to move again.

That was—being entrusted to her.

They weren’t really gone.

They all had a future they wanted, and they all just took a step toward there.

Now, even if they parted temporarily, if they all wished for the same future, they would definitely meet again.

Since Arisu wanted to meet them again, she possessed the courage to move toward the future they pushed for.

“I told you this was useless! I’ll eat that Mushi!”

The tardigrades multiplied explosively.

However, Arisu’s wings kept expanding and slowly enfolding around the black Mushi.

“If you say you’ll keep eating—I’ll just keep on making you go to sleep.”

Arisu smiled.

“Keep sleeping by my side.”

A silver glow blew around.

If the two Mushi, the Undying tardigrades and the Maturing Morpho butterfly were trying to stop the future everyone wanted—Arisu would seal them both.

“Right now, the two of us—shouldn’t exist in this world.”

Arisu and Ichiku Kimitaka.

No matter who lost, if their Mushi were going to Mature, they should sleep together.

To keep advancing.

To have everyone meet again in the future they wanted.

Arisu received the courage to do this from many people.

“UH—OooOOoOOooh!”

Ichiku shouted. The tardigrades were ripped from Ichiku’s body and he was sucked in by the silver wings.

Ichiku Kimitaka’s mouth that was trying to swallow Arisu and the gigantic arm that was trying to rip her were all torn apart and turned back to tardigrades. The swarm of black Mushi unable to multiply was being enveloped by the silver light and vanishing.

“So you’re listening to my wish.”

Looking up at the silver wings enveloping the black Mushi, Arisu grinned.

“Me and Mari… sorry for the both of us being such selfish mistresses.”

It happened just as she announced this to the silver-colored Mushi.

The air shook.

“—”

Arisu and everyone on the coast were shocked, widening their eyes.

The Morpho butterfly—was crying.

Although human ears couldn’t hear it.

The silver butterfly certainly cried. It shook its endlessly spreading wing, spouted scales and made the air vibrate.

The Mushi’s cry that shook the bodies of all those who heard it and made their heart tremble reverberated on the coast.

She didn’t know why it was crying.

Perhaps it was feeling something no human could understand.

Arisu felt her chest constrict and smiled.

“…Thank you.”

Finally, the Morpho butterfly’s sleeping overtook the speed of the tardigrades’ multiplication.

A hole opened through the black cloud covering the night sky.

More and more holes opened up, they turned into caves, and the falling meteor shower was revealed.

“GWOO…OOooOOH?!”

At the breakwater, Ichiku Kimitaka’s form appeared. As the tardigrades were sucked away and their silhouette was crumbling, he was regaining his former form as a human.

Arisu gritted her teeth and unleashed more of the Morpho butterfly’s power.

The wings covering the tardigrades slowly closed.

Being warmly embraced by the wings, the black Mushi’s numbers rapidly lowered.

And.

The final one.

Was drawn to Arisu’s chest.

With silver wings sprouting at her back, Arisu slowly reached with both arms to the black Mushi.

“Give—my Mushi back—”

Ichiku Kimitaka raised his face. There wasn’t the figure of the SEPB Director there.

“Ichinokuro—Ichinokuro Arisu—”

The boy who lost his sunglasses and had his braid come undone was just like the many people Arisu met thus far—

A simple Mushitsuki.

“A person like you who knows nothing trying to end the existence of Mushi… I can’t allow it!”

The tardigrade being drawn toward Arisu’s chest leapt. Its hard carapace shivered and it rampaged, trying to multiply endlessly again.

“…!”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings rippled, cracks running through them.

A single tardigrade was spouting a pitch-black wave.

So much hatred.

A curse.

The tardigrade resisted violently, as if it held all possible disasters in the world.

Knowing nothing—

Arisu certainly knew nothing about Mushi. Judging from Ichiku Kimitaka’s way of speaking, he apparently knew something about those beings called Mushi.

Knowing about them—wasn’t Arisu’s duty.

What were Mushi?

The one to ascertain this truth wasn’t Arisu.

It could be someone else.

It could happen one day.

For that sake—Arisu would create a path.

“The dream’s continuation—let’s wait there together.”

Arisu reached out both hands toward the tardigrade spreading hatred.

She gently wrapped her hands around the rampaging tardigrade.

How much time would it take for so much hatred to vanish?

Would there ever come a time when this hatred would melt?

The answer to that would not come now—

“Guh—OOooAAAAAaaAAH!”

“Until the day someone wakes us—”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings closed.

Carefully covering the tardigrade in her hands, Arisu was being slowly engulfed—

“—Arisu!”

She could hear someone calling her from the beach.

Daisuke was standing there, frozen. His face, revealed by his broken goggles—was weak, unlike his usual self.

“Arisu—”

The boy standing at the breakwater, Harukiyo, also made the same face. Even the flame devil of all people grimaced like a lost child.

Arisu grinned.

“You can’t die, you two, alright?”

If her important people pushed her back—if she was entrusted with so many feelings, Arisu could fight.

So this time—

Arisu would leave it to them.

She would push their backs, as they seemed likely to stop in place.

“As long as you’ll live—we’ll definitely meet again.”

As if thinking something about this word, Daisuke gasped.

Before taking the challenge of this decisive fight, she’d ended up meeting a young man whose name she didn’t know in town by chance. She now recalled his words.

''—As long as we don’t forget, we’ll definitely reunite with our feelings intact.

They wouldn’t forget.

This day, when they all dreamt of the same future.

Therefore, she should definitely be able to meet all of them again.

She’d meet everyone in a world without Mushi.

Even if they parted right now, everyone’s dreams connected to the same future—

Grimacing with hatred, Ichiku Kimitaka shook his body. His knees fell atop the water’s edge with a splash.

Arisu grasped the black Mushi in both hands and rounded her body.

When the silver wings engulfed Arisu, a gentle drowsiness closed her eyes.

She didn’t know when they would open.

Perhaps they would never open again.

However—she wasn’t scared.

Although Arisu was always weak, she received power by the people precious to her.

“Everyone—”

She wasn’t going to say goodbye.

Someone of those important to her would definitely come to wake her up.

Instead, she should say those precious words just like the promise she made with her friend that day—

“See you tomorrow.”

Along with this promise of a reunion, Arisu closed her eyes.

Falling into deep sleep.

To wake up one day.

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Having her important people tap her back, she stifled her own yawn.

Those who were hurt during the battle along with those who became Fallen.

''Let us meet again in a world without battles.

Until then.

Until then.

With irreplaceable feelings in her chest.

''Let’s keep dreaming—