Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 14 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.07 Rina Part 5 ==

When she was little, the world she saw outside the small window was very beautiful.

A room that was like a cage. A luxury car that took her in and out. A private school where she wasn’t even allowed to make friends.

The space created for her by her parents was very cramped.

Therefore, she always gazed at the outside world from her room.

The first thing she recalled was that beautiful, red sunset.

She’d once even depicted the sunset etched into her memories in a painting.

She thought she was released from that room and that she became free in the outside world. She thought that as long as the walls didn’t enclose on her, she could go wherever she pleased.

Therefore—she believed she’d be able to find a place that accepted her one day.

“…Haa, haa.”

While running through the empty residential district, Rina glanced around her.

Noticing the engine sounds of an armored car, she leapt over the fence of a private home and hid herself inside the premises.

“…”

Silencing her breath, she waited for the vehicle to pass.

She unconsciously touched the pocket at her waist and made sure of that hard sensation. It was something she’d been handed by Lucifera right before she got out of the supermarket they hid inside.

—''This is my spare cellphone. Please use it when push comes to shove.

Would she even have the chance to use it while C was monitoring the electronic web and all communication networks? She wondered about this, but Rina still accepted it.

—''So you’re going to prepare our means of escape… well, that’s probably true because it’s you, Lady. But I hope it’s a lie. Please escape on your own without minding us…

As they parted, Lucifera said this. Even people other than Lucifera hid their anxious expressions and nodded.

—''I’ll definitely come back.

Rina promised this and parted from Lucifera and the others.

It wasn’t a lie. She did intend to go to a certain place in order to escape Akamaki City with everyone. It wasn’t guaranteed to work—but first Rina needed to slip out of Akamaki City.

“…Alright.”

Confirming the armored car had passed, Rina flew out of the backyard.

Rina was headed—to Higano City.

It was the neighboring city to Akamaki, and Rina’s goal was located there.

“…!”

She saw a human figure on the apartment building straight ahead. It noticed Rina and put a hand to its goggles.

It was one of the Revived. They were probably transmitting the discovery of Rina to their comrades.

“Looks like C took over even the SEPB-use communication network.”

In front of Rina appeared her Mushi, the seven-spotted ladybug.

“Since I’m this far from the supermarket, it’s not an issue for me to get found.”

A powerful shockwave rocked the entire block. Several private houses and the apartment building the figure stood on were swallowed by a torrent of destruction.

Watching over the figure falling down to the ground along with debris, she climbed the seven-spotted ladybug’s head.

Ascending high above, Rina quickly checked the surroundings. The wind was strong so high up.

She could see flying-type Mushi trying to approach her from all angles. She could even see what looked like an attack chopper. Power lines around glowed gold; there was no doubt this was an omen of C about to shoot lightning.

“So running away through the sky is impossible, as expected. Any Mushi would get hit by missiles… as well as C’s lightning.”

It wasn’t just in the skies, either. Rina could see multitudes of Mushi on the surface heading for her.

“If I need to hide myself, then it’s better to do so on the surface…”

Rina’s body suddenly lost its support and started freefalling.

The seven-spotted ladybug left Rina in midair and started quickly descending toward the ground.

While using its thick body to repel the Revived’s intercepting attacks, the seven-spotted ladybug landed on the surface.

With a large thud.

Sounds of destruction that sounded even somewhat comical shook the ground.

The shockwave emitted by the seven-spotted ladybug knocked down everything around it in a circle. Dozens of buildings crumbled down, the Revived were all blown away and stopped moving. Even the lines glowing in golden burst without exception and lost their light.

“Sorry. I know you’re just being controlled by C, so I held back.”

Falling headlong, Rina spun her body. At the same time the seven-spotted ladybug leapt into the air again, killing Rina’s momentum well and letting her land on its head.

“So please—don’t die from just this much.”

The seven-spotted ladybug landed again with Rina.

It started running through the residential district transformed into a smooth wasteland.

“…”

Through her Mushi, Rina noticed the vibrations felt at its feet.

The seven-spotted ladybug swung its head, throwing Rina high into air. Getting thrown away by her Mushi like it was some trampoline, Rina was sent all the way to a private house’s roof.

A moment later—the road right ahead of the seven-spotted ladybug exploded.

A gigantic Mushi emerged from the ground. It wasn’t inferior in size even to the seven-spotted ladybug, and attempted to tackle it—

However, the ladybug gained crushing victory in their clash. With it accompanied by shockwaves as well, it simply crushed the Mushi as though it was made of paper and scattered it to smithereens.

“I’d knew the Revived would swarm like this once they found me.”

Getting a running start and leaping off the building, Rina was caught by the seven-spotted ladybug’s head. Several Mushi stood in her way then, but she soon blew them away with a shockwave.

Rina kept driving the hordes back of the Revived along with the buildings.

“There are a lot of them… but I can somehow handle them since I’m all alone.”

She mumbled to herself while defeated several dozen Revived in the blink of an eye.

There were apparently no high-ranked Mushitsuki in the area. If there were and they came to attack her alone, they’d never be able to compete with the Rank 1 Rina, even as imperfect as she was.

If so, then the largest obstacle was, just as expected—C herself.

As Rina ran through the alley, golden lights started glowing on the power lines.

“—I apologize, but I don’t really feel like fighting you for real right now.”

Bursting the power lines with a shockwave, Rina leapt inside an empty house lot.

Unsummoning her seven-spotted ladybug, she kept passing through homes by the fences.

“There shouldn’t be any more surveillance cameras in this area. Once you lose sight of me you shouldn’t be able to find me unless I use my Mushi, right?”

Rina’s reasoning hit the mark.

By getting mixed in the maze of residential district, she couldn’t sense C making any more attacks. She couldn’t see any Revived, either. Since Rina made her Mushi vanish, any sensors would also lose her location.

“I need to fight the Revived at several different locations and fool her so she won’t know where I’m going… once that’s over I can head to Higano City. Meanwhile, I’ll cut off as many of our enemies as possible, so that less of them will be able to head for Haji Keigo and Terasu’s group…!”

Even if she turned the Revived to Fallen, they’d end up getting resuscitated by C again. But this should be able to buy her time. Since she took off on her own, that was the least she could do to make up for it.

“I’m also used to guerilla fighting. They weren’t calling us a resistance group for nothing.”

She’d strike the enemy and vanish.

After vanishing, she’d appear in the midst of enemies and strike.

She recalled the time she’d led Mushibane and fought against the SEPB. Rina would become a decoy to let her comrades escape and played around with the SEPB while hearing hysterical shouts from people such as Kasuou or Minmin.

Compared to those times, now that all civilians had been evacuated there was no need to fear any damage.

For Rina, this was likely—the very first time she could exhibit her full powers as a Rank 1.

“For some reason I feel like I’m invincible right now… maybe I should do like Lucifera said—”

''I should just forget about everything and run away on my own—

Even such feelings welled up in her chest.

If she lived according to her will without needing to protect anything—she might gain the freedom she’d dreamed about as a child.

“But if that happens—there’s be no meaning for me to be here.”

She smiled bitterly.

After saving many and trying to lead many to salvation, she’d used up her powers and died.

Even so, she’d been called back to help many Mushitsuki yet again.

Perhaps this was the destiny of the human called Tachibana Rina.

“I don’t really… care about myself. After all—”

When she escaped into the next house, something occurred.

Until then completely silent, the residential district was suddenly wrapped in a lot of noise.

“Eh—”

It was the voice of some announcement. An artist’s comment about some luxury food. A murder culprit was interrogated and cornered by the police. The voice of an anime heroine fighting against evil.

She knew where these came from. The sounds of television came streaming out from each and every house in full volume.

“—What on earth is she trying to do?”

Rina knew only one being who could accomplish this.

“C, huh… is she trying to catch my attention with this strange phenomenon and call me out?”

Rina approached one home and peeked toward the TV screen from the window.

“Even if that’s true, if I get found I’ll just destroy everything around and run away…”

Suddenly, the noise stopped.

As Rina furrowed her brows, she saw the display changing.

“The current Mushitsuki are a failure…”

A young girl’s pale face appeared there. She wore a tiara that had patterns of hearts and crowns on it.

“C…!”

“They are not qualified to board the Ark…”

C’s voice echoed around. All the TVs around were probably streaming the same footage.

“I will wash all of them away… and in this purged world, the real Mushitsuki will be born…”

C’s eyes moved around, and her mouth was completely unmoving.

“That will be a new world… A reborn world, full of the Undying…”

“So that’s the goal Miguruma Yaeko implanted into you?”

Rina spat, her voice cynical.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all… but I do understand you’re scheming something bad. —An Ark? Purging? Are you saying you’ve turned into some kind of God?”

“In order for the world to change… I need to wash everything away with the Deluge… I must unleash the Dove… And then I will bear children in this purged world…”

“C-children…”

Hearing these words coming from that cherubic face made Rina unconsciously blush.

“Does she mean new Undying Mushitsuki…? Stop being all weird about this, just show yourself and fight me already. If you bring out your real body I’ll play along.”

She had a bad feeling.

Not just a feeling.

This sensation was familiar—Rina had once felt it, and it fit.

It was her final moments.

Could it be called that? A sensation as though the grim reaper’s scythe was slowly reaching her neck and whispering a countdown in her ears.

Rina had actually been constantly feeling that mysterious sensation since the very moment she’d been revived.

“Are you scared of me? Aren’t you the strongest Rank 1? Then come attack me from the front.”

To mask her ominous sensation, Rina made a cheap provocation—

And then C inside the screen suddenly glared at her.

“Tachibana Rina… Lady Bird… I must purge the failure of the Undying… And release the Dove…”

“The Dove…?”

“The Dove will confirm the world has been purged and I will descend to the new world for the first time—”

After saying this, C moved her eyes again.

Moving just her eyes to the opposite direction of Rina—she sneered.

Rina felt that this pure expression of a face filled with malice was familiar. Once, she just so happened to be present at a place where ''he'' attacked people.

It was just like Shinpu—

The smile visible on the screen did not belong to Super Class Rank 1 C.

This face was just like one of those Primal Mushi giving birth to Mushitsuki—like one of the Original Three.

“She’s coming…”

Leaving that small mumble behind, the TV was cut off.

As if nothing happened at all, the surroundings went quiet.

“What…? She’s coming?”

Being suddenly abandoned like that, Rina stood there in shock.

C’s behavior was definitely not normal.

C might have gone to do something important for her, rather than fight Rina.

“Simply blurting out whatever and just leaving like that… who’s coming, exactly?”

Although she hesitated, Rina summoned her seven-spotted ladybug.

Riding its head, she rose high into the sky. —Although she risked getting found out by sensors, she intuited that she should try and grasp the meaning behind C’s change.

Looking at the sky, she could see four masses of light created above the area of Akamaki City.

These were probably made by C’s abilities. Four points of golden light were gathered in fixed distances, as if to draw a square.

However, even after watching it for a while, there were no further changes.

“What’s C trying to do? What on earth—”

The moment she muttered this while being fanned by strong wind, the distant sky gradually underwent change.

The color of the sky changed as though dyed by ink—and it became purple.

“—Eh… no way?”

That ominous purple was familiar.

A sky dyed purple, and C who spread a net underneath that sky.

Seeing these two phenomena, Rina—came to realize what was about to happen.

“Hadn’t all of Akamaki City’s residents been evacuated yet? So why—”

Behind her fox mask, Rina’s face froze.

“Why did Oogui appear here…?”

Rina was supposed to run around in order to escape Akamaki City along with her wounded comrades, but now yet another tragedy was about to occur in front of her eyes.

A sky dyed in purple—

It was an omen for the appearance of one the Original Three, Oogui.

“Meaning—there’s someone there and they’re about to become Mushitsuki? Also, C is lying in wait to capture Oogui… At this rate, she’ll end up just like Shinpu…”

This was an unexpected situation—no, it was completely unthinkable. The absolute worst-case scenario.

What was going to happen, if C managed to absorb Oogui?

Oogui could use the abilities of all people she’d made Mushitsuki.

If C ended up gaining that power, she would evolve to become a real nightmare, this time—

“I will not—let you do that. I won’t allow you to turn whatever person’s there into a Mushitsuki…!”

She had no other choice. Rina directed the seven-spotted ladybird ahead.

She had to stop at least the worst-case scenario from happening.

Rina flew with resolve, however—

“Can I do it, though? All on my own…”

She unconsciously wore a weak smile.