Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 11 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.08 Daisuke Part 9 ==

Riding the motorbike that he found in the city, Daisuke came to the landfill on the suburbs.

Reddish brown ground, piles of thrown waste, and the violent rain.

Daisuke found it within this apocalyptic background.

“This is… the ship, then.”

A rusted, large passenger boat.

The same as the one from “prophetic dream” Daisuke had seen when first infiltrating Akamaki City.

As he came down from the bike, a pale blue heat ray was unleashed from inside the ship. Piercing through the ship’s hold, it made the vessel greatly swerve.

“…! What was that just now—”

Daisuke rushed up the mountain of waste.

He looked down from the peak of waste to ascertain what was happening below to the ship.

And Daisuke observed that moment.

“—”

The pillar of light falling inside the fierce rain pierced the ship.

The ship’s exterior was blown off, and a tremor shook the landfill.

Small explosions popped on the deck, in the cabins and even in the bilge. Perhaps it was the equipment inside being shorted out, as it spouted flames and spoke and there was a pallid electrical discharge.

An azure glow, a purple glow and pitch-black smoke—or rather miasma—gushed from inside the ship. All those colors competed and mixed, engulfing the ruined vessel.

“I—”

The first to show a change was the purple glow.

Pushing the other colors aside, the purple glow flew high into the air. The light tearing a hold into the black clouds changed form, becoming a swarm of butterflies glowing purple, and fluttered down to the landfill.

He looked up stunned as the purple butterflies gathered and took a human shape.

“I didn’t make it in time, then—”

He couldn’t use the power of his Mushi.

He couldn’t get in contact with the SEPB.

There were Imperfect Mushi made of body parts.

These truths all mixed together into one conclusion inside Daisuke.

Because of that he sought this place, and yet—

Daisuke couldn’t stop this destiny.

“So this is the moment you were born.”

The thing born from the gathering of glowing butterflies took the form of a beautiful lady floating in air.

She had a crimson long coat and long hair. She had eyes glowing in the color of the rainbow.

“Oogui…!”

One of the Original Three, the supernatural being that gave birth to Mushi—

Daisuke just witnessed the moment that Oogui was born.

Meaning, the world Daisuke found himself inside of was—

“Elvioréne.”

A voice came from near Daisuke.

“…!”

“That was her name—or rather, of the person that served as her base.”

At some point a girl came sitting beneath Daisuke at the top of the mountain of waste. She put a hand to her masked mouth and coughed.

“Mikko…!”

“You cannot interfere. Not you, at least.”

Following the purple glow, something split the boat into two.

The deck bulged and was then broken from inside. Blowing away the heavy downpour as it gushed from within the ship was a black miasma—as well as a tidal wave of some white swarm.

Caterpillars.

Tens of thousands, perhaps millions of these caterpillars were gushing out of the ship.

Leaping out from within them was pure white arm. An elegant cloak and bloodshot red eyes were buried inside the flood of caterpillars.

“GWOOOAAAAAAAAH!”

The man born from the caterpillars and miasma emitted a decidedly inhuman scream. The ship’s bow was covered in caterpillars and was rapidly decaying.

“Diorestoi.”

Mikko whispered calmly.

“There was no one as crazed with selfishness and ambition as the person who became his base.”

Daisuke’s pulse quickened.

Now he could understand what Mikko was talking about.

What was happening right before his eyes—

Having gone through the short journey to get there, Daisuke now realized the meaning of this.

Because he understood this—he couldn’t move a step away from the spot.

“And the remaining one—Aria Varei.”

Mikko calmly continued speaking.

The azure glow engulfing the ship gradually thinned, slowly vanishing.

“Quickly ran away from here.”

“…”

[[File:Mushi Uta 11 p205.jpg|thumb]]

“At this moment, he’d ‘combined’ with everyone inside the ship, and after combining their memories, he split again. I do not know what his aim was… perhaps it was nothing more than a coincidence. However, because of that, everyone who was present here understood what happened.”

A pallid heat ray tore through heaven and earth.

The flash of light shot from inside the ship and gouged out a part of it. Even then the unstopping impact engraved giant scars throughout the landfill.

Subject to immense pressure, the ship’s stern crumbled and a tremor passed through the landfill.

From within the destroyed ship flew out countless spheres.

Seeing them, Daisuke unconsciously let his voice leak.

“Eyes—”

These were eyes covered by tough shells floating in the sky. Daisuke had fought these before—

“OOOOOooooOOOOOOH!”

A man appeared from within the destroyed ship. He wore something like hospital robe and unleashed the countless Eyes around.

The man was crying.

His scraggly hair was wild, and his clothes were dyed in red, perhaps meaning he was wounded. His Eyes unleashed heat rays all around, forming valleys of fissures around the landfill.

“Alpha was the research’s first ‘result’, and was supposed to be the last. As to why only he produced not the Imperfect Mushi but became the first one whose state could be called a Mushitsuki… I do not know.”

As the random firing of heat rays by the Eyes continued, further shouts echoed.

“GyaaaAAAAaaAAAAaaAAAH!”

Along with screams of pain, a swarm of black bugs came crawling from within the crumbling ship.

Much like a tidal wave, they gushed out from all over, multiplying into an avalanche. However, the one screaming couldn’t be seen anywhere.

No—he was.

The black insects gathered on the half-destroyed deck and transformed into a human chin.

The chin created a neck, created a nose, created eyes, and became a human face and upper torso.

And it was someone Daisuke knew.

“Kii-kun—an unfortunate person who just so happened to be in the wrong place…”

Mikko narrowed her eyes sadly.

“T-that guy…”

Daisuke knew Kii-kun.

It was obvious since he was with him just a few hours ago, but even those black insects were familiar.

“What the hell’s going ooooon!”

While pelted by the fierce rain, Kii-kun saw his own body and shouted. Even as he tried using his torso to escape, the black bugs that formed his body wouldn’t let their owner get away.

Those black insects—were tardigrades.

Small tardigrades that wriggled with their countless legs became part of Kii-kun’s body.

“I-I’m a monster—ugh!”

An Eye’s heat ray pierced the wailing boy’s topknot.

Kii-kun face melted, and he died—or not.

The tardigrades gathered at another location and formed the boy’s upper torso again.

“I won’t die…! I don’t dieee?”

As Kii-kun half cried, half shouted, the Eye focused on him again.

However, a white glow came from inside the ship. This white flash leapt around the destroyed ship, jumping toward above on of the floating Eyes.

It was a boy with his entire body covered in a glowing, white pattern.

“Perhaps Kasshi himself was the one who symbolized both beginning and end.”

He was Kasshi. He equipped the goggles that always hung from his neck and they had a glowing pattern on them.

Kasshi’s fist blew away the Eye without any remains. His leaping power that allowed him to jump high into the air and the physical power that allowed him to crush the Eye’s hard shell were no longer human.

“Run, Kii-kun! —Or rather…”

While alighting down to the surface, Kasshi yelled.

“Ichiku Kimitaka!”

Daisuke’s heart froze.

“I—chiku—”

Ichiku Kimitaka.

Daisuke obviously knew that name.

Mikko spoke.

“Since we all shared our memories, we came to know of each other’s names and natures.”

Anyone who belonged to the SEPB knew him.

After all, that name belonged to—no, Daisuke had an even deeper connection to him—

Daisuke’s thoughts became jumbled and his head blanked out.

“Kasshi! Help meeeeeee! What’s happening to me…!”

“It’s fine, quickly get out of—”

Kasshi’s words were cut. He noticed that the remaining Eyes were glaring at him.

Unable to move while in air, Kasshi returned to glare at one of them. His goggles glowed red and a laser-like crimson locus followed his line of sight. 

The Eyes all shot out their heat rays at once.

Kasshi’s body was crushed to smithereens.

“Kasshi—”

Kii-kun froze.

The moment later, one of the Eyes burst and burned away as though in an explosion.

Behind the destroyed Eye suddenly appeared an unharmed Kasshi.

No, looking at him closely, he wasn’t unharmed. His shoulder was cut and blood gushed out. However, Kasshi soon aimed for another Eye and vanished.

“Kasshi was the first Fusion Type and a scary Mushitsuki. Although a newborn, he didn’t rampage at all, but instantly understood his abilities.”

The Eye right above Kashi was blown off, and the boy vanished again. His two arms were ripped and fresh blood spurt.

“He could disassemble and then reform his own body. By using this ability, he could heat up and therefore erase any object in a straight line on the molecular level. —Ah, he’s finally here, too.”

Mikko removed her eyes from the ship.

Her gaze pointed at a group of armored cars that were approaching the landfill from the distance.

They all surrounded the ship and camo suits holding guns and gun turrets flew out.

Several luxury cars also appeared, a gathering of men and women in suits appeared, and one of them shouted.

“Don’t let anything escape! Finish them all here!”

“This is Rui.”

Bombardment sounds tore through the fierce rain.

The Eyes floating in air, Elvioréne, the squirming caterpillars and black insects on deck, as well as Alpha and Diorestoi, Kasshi, and Kii-kun were all swallowed by this fire.

“Wha—”

Kii-kun’s surprised face was blown away by gunfire. But soon the tardigrades gathered again in a different location and Kii-kun’s despairing face was reborn.

“Rui! It’s me—Kii-kun! Kasshi’s here, too! Help us!”

“…”

Kii-kun and Kasshi looked down at Rui.

Rui bit his lips. He gave further orders with the face of a demon.

“Finish everything here!”

Kii-kun opened his jaw wide—and the next moment, he looked at Rui with an expression of burning anger.

“Rui—you motherfuckerrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Gunfire engulfed the abandoned ship.

“Gwooooaaaaaah!!!”

“UuuUUUhhhhh!”

On the destroyed deck, the man buried in caterpillars.

On top of the burning destroyed cabin, Alpha.

While shouting at the tops of their voices, each used their own ability, whether caterpillars or Eyes, to defend against the gunfire.

“Hehe—”

The woman floating in air used swarms of purple, glowing butterflies as her shield.

Kasshi hid in the remains of the ship, waiting for gunfire to pass.

Being killed by this fire and then rewinding himself, Kii-kun shouted.

“Isn’t it the Round Table’s fault, you fuckerrrrrs! Even me becoming like this—and my pals turning like that, is you guys’ fault! I know everything! I dare you to say something! Rui! Rui…!”

Kii-kun howled.

“Chairman of the Round Table—Ichinokuro Ruisu!”

Daisuke widened his eyes.

“He’s… Ichinokuro…?!”

Yet another name that Daisuke knew.

However, that name really was far too unexpected for him—

“Why are you so surprised? Haven’t you long since realized that?”

While looking down at the chaotic ship, Mikko spoke.

“You surely know what you’re looking at.”

“—”

It was just like Mikko said.

He already realized in what sort of place he was standing.

However, his reason couldn’t catch up with his feelings.

He thought he did understand—but he hadn’t known who Kii-kun and Rui were.

Mikko spoke plainly to the shaken Daisuke.

“This is the scenery of the past. —We are in the moment the Original Three were born.”

Oogui, Shinpu and Sanbikime—

The Original Three were born here.

Daisuke witnessed this moment.

Being unable to use his Mushi powers and contact the SEPB were natural. Neither existed in this era, after all.

Ever since Daisuke leapt inside the mist covering Akamaki City, he was being shown an illusion.

No, perhaps this was no illusion—

“Perhaps we really came into the past—is what you’re thinking, right?”

“…!”

“Is that why you hurried here? You were expecting that perhaps there was a Mushitsuki with the ability to travel to the past and turn back time… and thought of trying to stop the birth of the Original Three.”

Mikko’s expression as she looked down on the ship was completely unchanged.

She narrowed her eyes with sadness—or perhaps enjoyment.

“However, unfortunately for you, this is an illusion. These are all past events, based on my memories…”

“Your…?”

“Yes, however, there were some differences. In actuality Akamaki City was not run over by Mushi. That was definitely—a warning to us from the Mushitsuki showing us this.”

The Mushitsuki showing them this? A warning?

He had too many questions so his mind couldn’t catch up.

There were too many mysteries and he didn’t know their core—

“But in the end, they probably wanted to show you this. I do not know whether this illusion would end or not, if you weren’t here to see this… therefore, I removed you from trying to put a stop to it. In order for us to get out of this world.”

Mikko’s tone was unrestrained, but he couldn’t read what she was thinking about.

“Now, it is time to start. Please watch over it.”

The camo suits continued their attacks, but couldn’t get any result.

Receiving an attack by the large swarm of caterpillars, several camo suits were swallowed by the white wave while raising screams. Also, the Eyes shot heat rays through the surface, splitting armored cars into two.

“This is the crossroads that connects past and present.”

Mikko’s words were apparently on the mark.

The ship and the landfill, as well as the sky glowing in purple—

Were engulfed by a white flash.