Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Chapter 3

3.00 The Others

“—Come, Taiki-san.”

Following the voice that called to him from outside him room’s window—

“…!”

Taiki jumped out of the window.

His room was on the second floor, but it wasn’t that high. They also had a lawn. Even taking in mind all these conditions—his own body very easily absorbed the impact of the landing. Taiki, who never gave any effort during gym classes and always focused on studying, somehow made it.

“Here!”

Her diagonally-cut bangs swaying, Ikarino Kirari spun her body. She leapt over the low fence, nimble as a cat.

“—”

Taiki looked up toward the window of his room. He jumped down due to a bad premonition and impulse, but he still couldn’t wipe away his anxiety.

“Big brother.”

His sister Ririe looked down on Taiki expressionlessly. She was petite even among fellow middle schoolers, and although not very sociable, she was their smart youngest sister.

“Taiki-san, hurry up!”

From the top of the fence, Ikarino Kirari shouted at him.

He flinched from his own family and followed a complete stranger. —He knew perfectly well that this wasn’t a natural situation in the least. However, that impulse without a cause urged Taiki to move.

Turning his back to Ririe, he tried following after Kirari.

“…!”

The surroundings that were dark due to the blackout or whatever suddenly became bright.

Taiki soon realized what light source illuminated them.

It was the sky.

“What—is that…?”

Could he call it a rain of light?

A swarm of stars floating in the night sky became a large mass of light. While lighting up the city like lightning, the mass of light was slowly changing its shape.

It became a golden, glowing, divine shrine—

A gigantic shrine was now floating above Taiki’s town. Its tremendous size was likely several times Taiki’s high school.

And there wasn’t just one.

Even within Taiki’s vision alone there were three. Although they were so far away that he couldn’t see their shape, he could see other floating objects that emitted light of the same type.

“Ah…!”

Ikarino Kirari grimaced. She held her ears.

“These—bell sounds…!”

Bell sounds.

Yesterday afternoon as well, Taiki’s classmates said that they heard it.

However, just like back then, Taiki couldn’t hear anything. Rather than that Taiki had been more taken in by the mysterious shrines popping overhead, but hearing a sound from overhead, he came back to his senses.

It was from right next to Taiki’s room.

She probably put her head out due to all the lights and sounds. His middle sister Noa opened her door’s window, glaring at the mysterious shrines floating in the night sky.

“Noa…!”

Noa made no response at all to Taiki’s voice. She was just staring, her expression vacant.

Just as Taiki found Noa’s behavior suspicious, this time the front door opened. His parents came out and looked up to the shrine with the same expression.

He was paralyzed by this bizarre sight, but it wasn’t just his family acting strange.

“…!”

Even from the neighboring house and on the other side of the street the residents came out and opened their doors, one after another. Their faces were vacant.

W-what’s going on? Is this real life?

Taiki was about to panic. It felt like seeing a nightmare, but the sensation of the grass touching his bare feet was too real.

“—Taiki-san! Quickly!”

Struck by this sharp voice, Taiki gasped.

Even while holding her head, Ikarino Kirari reached a hand toward him.

“B-but my family…!”

Unable to know what to believe in, he turned toward them.

“Don’t go, big brother.”

Ririe also reached toward Taiki. Taiki groaned.

“Taiki-san! There’s nothing you can do here!”

Ikarino Kirari was urging him, her face looking desperate. His family was acting completely abnormal.

Who should he believe in? Who should he go to? He didn’t even have to hesitate at this decision.

Even so, Taiki took an action unbelievable even to himself—

“—There are people waiting for you!”

Hearing those words, his body moved on its own.

Kicking the ground and running, Taiki took—

“We have no time.”

The hand of the grinning Ikarino Kirari.

Shocked at his own actions, Taiki turned to his house.

“…”

Ririe was staring at Taiki. Guilt stabbed his chest.

“—Sorry, Ririe.”

He couldn’t just abandon his family.

Right now, Taiki had no idea what made his family act so weird. Just like Kirari told him, he doubted there was something he could do by staying there.

He felt like it was the girl called Ikarino Kirari who knew the truth. If he could do anything for his family, it would have to start from asking her about the situation.

Because he had this intuition, he chose to part from his family for now.

“Get on, Taiki-san.”

A motorcycle was parked on the other side of the fence. Jumping down from it, Ikarino Kirari immediately rode the bike.

Taiki sat in the back just like he was told and Kirari grabbed his arms. She forcibly put them around her waist.

“Hold on tight.”

Saying this, Kirari revved up the engine.

It appeared to be an electrically operated motorcycle. There were no engine sounds and the motorcycle cut through the residential district like it was flying.

Kirari’s driving was excellent. As the motorcycle soundlessly slipped through alleys, it leapt out of the block where Taiki’s house was in no time flat.

Every window Taiki could see was open, and the residents all gazed at the shrines floating in the night sky.

“What’s up with that… what is going on…”

“Since there’s a blackout, they’d end up seeing these lights—”

For a moment, the girl grabbing the handlebars froze as though her head was struck.

“And… if they hear those bell sounds, everyone would end up looking up at the sky.”

Although there were no engine sounds, he could hear the girl’s voice well.

“The deluge of blackouts, as well as the deluge of light and sound—everyone in the country is probably being attacked by both of them right about now…”

The entire country was in a situation like this—

This sounded unbelievable, but he couldn’t laugh at this either. Although they were already far from his home due to Kirari’s driving, the lines of shrines floating in the sky were endless.

“A-are you alright? Why are only you…”

“It’s because I’ve gone through training to resist things like this before. The only ones not affected by this bell are probably those that went through special training like me—or Mushitsuki.”

“Mushitsuki—”

Taiki’s body stiffened.

In the first place, strange things started happening around Taiki ever since he started dreaming about Mushitsuki. All of a sudden Ikarino Kirari appeared in front of him and it finally became like this—

“Right, Mushitsuki. —Those Shrines are nothing more than triggers to create Mushitsuki.”

“Eh…?”

“It was probably originally the ability of one the Original Three—those Primal Mushi that gave birth to Mushitsuki. Since C absorbed the Church and the bell sounds, it became like this…”

Taiki paled. He couldn’t really understand what the girl was talking about, but she said things he couldn’t ignore. —That Shrine gave birth to Mushitsuki.

“No way… so my family’s also going to become Mushitsuki?”

“The originals could only make young people into Mushitsuki… but since C learned how to manipulate dreams and memories, she absorbed the Original Three.”

Ikarino Kirari was speaking.

“Even adults wish for things. C might be able to upgrade even simple wishes such as eating good food to dreams.”

“—”

“C’s goal is to create Mushitsuki and then make them into Revived that can come back to life again and again.”

Ikarino Kirari’s tone was detached.

“By doing that, she wants to fill the world with a new mankind—the Undying…”

He knew she was saying something very scary.

No—a world where no one could die was perhaps not scary, but actually good.

However, whether it was good or bad had nothing to do with Taiki right now.

His own family was in danger of becoming Mushitsuki.

Should he go back home? However, what could Taiki do even if he did?

Thinking this far, he noticed a contradiction.

“—What about me, then?”

He could feel the girl twitching a little.

“Why am I… fine, then? I’m not a Mushitsuki, but when I look at that Shrine nothing happens and I can’t hear the bell like you…”

“…”

“What does it mean? Hey!”

“There is—a reason for that.”

She sounded utterly convinced. Taiki felt his heart beating harder.

“Did you… do something to me?”

“The reason you are unaffected by the Shrine is different… but I did do something to you. I’m sorry.”

“Ha…? W-what do you—”

“The one who found you is the Mushitsuki called Konoha, but I was the only one who could approach you… because any Mushitsuki would get noticed by C. So I received something from a certain person and tried delivering it to you in secret. —And this happened before I acted the part of that journalist’s interpreter to see your reaction.”

Taiki couldn’t understand what she was saying at all.

“Eh…? Before the interview…? But we never—”

“I don’t have any distinguishing features other than my hairstyle… so if I hide that, wear a disguise and change my voice, I can infiltrate pretty much anywhere. I delivered you something many times, whether you were on the way to school or inside it. And every time I did that—you dreamt of Mushitsuki.”

“…!”

Receiving this impact that felt much like getting hit on the head by a club, he felt dizzy.

The origin of these dreams that Taiki worried about—was right in front of him.

“Why—h-how—”

“Because it was a request from the queen bee—from a certain Mushitsuki.”

For just a brief moment, her tone dropped as she said this.

“And because… doing this is my duty.”

“What—did you do to me?”

The moment Taiki asked this, the motorcycle decelerated.

They reached a certain corner of town illuminated by the Shrine’s light. Having stopped its engine, the motorcycle now approached a large, three-storied building using inertia alone.

“I’ll explain now.”

The residence’s garage facing the road remained half-open. As far as Taiki could see, that large house was wrapped in silence, and there were no residents peeking from the windows.

“…Including the reason you’re not affected by the Shrine.”

The motorcycle parked just as they slipped into the garage. Ikarino Kirari got off first.

While Taiki timidly got off as well, he felt the presence of a person there.

Within the dark interior of the garage there was something humanlike. —The golden light peeking through the half-open entrance illuminated their lower torso.

“W-who’s that…?”

Responding to Taiki’s voice, the person inside approached.

Revealed by the light was a girl who looked about Ikarino Kirari’s age. Perhaps having sustained some injury, her limbs were wrapped by bandages, and it looked rather painful.

That girl wearing a casket hat instantly reached for Taiki upon seeing his face.

“—Daisuke…”

The girl’s fingers touched Taiki’s cheek.

As this complete stranger took an unexcepted action—Taiki’s body was paralyzed. Her crying like this and forcing her wounded body to move in order to touch Taiki looked like it could be a famous scene from some movie.

“She’s Ayukawa Chiharu-san.”

Ikarino Kirari moved next to her, turning to Taiki.

“Ayukawa… Chiharu.”

Taiki didn’t know her.

However, the person called Chiharu appeared to be mistaking Taiki for someone. “Daisuke”, she called him—wait, did she mean his cousin Kusuriya Daisuke?

He’d also be the first to admit it, but Taiki had no distinguishing features in his appearance. He was of a medium build and height, and his hair was neither short nor long. He was a normal high-schooler who could even be called plain.

It’d be natural for him to be mistaken for someone else in this limited lighting.

“Y-you look hurt… shouldn’t you be going to a hospital?”

As Taiki said this, Chiharu’s expression froze.

“And she, err, seems to be mistaking me with someone, so she should at least rest until she calms down…”

He tried worrying about the girl.

However, as Chiharu raised her brows sadly, Kirari sank into a pregnant silence.

“…?”

Taiki frowned.

Chiharu bit her lips. Inserting her hand into her shirt, she pulled out a necklace from inside her collar. There was a gold ring hanging from the chain.

“I’ll bring you back to yourself now—”

“…!”

Inside Chiharu’s palm, the ring started glowing in azure.

Chiharu brought the glowing ring closer to Taiki—

“—”

Both Taiki and Chiharu’s expressions stiffened and they froze on the spot.

Why did they stop moving?

That was—because Ikarino Kirari stuck out something toward Ayukawa Chiharu’s temple.

“Kirari-san…?”

It was a gun.

And it was a large automatic pistol, the kinds of which he’d only see in foreign movies. It looked so heavy for Kirari’s thin arms it was a wonder she could hold it like that.

The moment after, a light burst at the entrance to the garage.

“—Big brother.”

As Taiki turned around in shock, he saw his little sister Ririe standing there.

“Kirari-san, are you… being controlled by C—”

Chiharu groaned, her voice hoarse.

3.01 The Others

Pointing the gun at Chiharu, Kirari spat in a cold voice.

“Don’t move, Ayukawa Chiharu-san.”

Standing at the garage door, Ririe glared at Ayukawa Chiharu and then mumbled.

“Aria Varei—”

“You too.”

Ririe stopped as Kirari looked to her as well.

“Tell the Revived outside to also show themselves and stay still.”

Ririe was speechless.

“If you don’t—I’ll kill Ayukawa Chiharu-san here.”

Chiharu shuddered. Taiki didn’t know what to do at this sudden development.

“Kirari-san…? What are you doing?”

Ignoring Chiharu’s question, Kirari spoke to Ririe.

“You want to absorb the Original Three—Aria Varie—that’s inside her, right? But if the vessel dies here, then Aria Varei who’s fused with her will be gone as well.”

“…”

“By killing the vessel, I could kill Aria Varei. Miguruma Yaeko knew them to be such a fragile existence—which was why she attacked Aoharima Island, trying to kill Sanbikime along with the vessel.”

Kirari and Ririe glared at each other.

“All I want is to have a little talk with you. —However, if you’re not willing to talk, I’ll kill Ayukawa Chiharu. Before she gets absorbed by you and you become an even larger threat.”

“Talk…?”

Chiharu was shocked, turning her face to Ririe.

“With her—with C?”

C.

This time it was Taiki’s turn to shudder.

He heard this name so much every night in his dreams that he was sick of it.

The C he knew and his sister weren’t alike at all—no, perhaps there were a few traces of that in her face, but they were definitely different people. He couldn’t understand the meaning behind Ikarino Kirari’s actions, but he could understand Chiharu’s words even less.

“You know what kind of person I am, right? Even if you know, you can’t say this is an idle threat, right? Since you’re C—you can think logically about it.”

She definitely wouldn’t lose against Ikarino Kirari’s resolute actions. However—

“…”

Ririe’s eyes softened and she became expressionless again. Behind her, many boys and girls appeared in front of the garage. All of them were expressionless as if they were mimicking her.

“Ririe…?”

Seeing his little sister commanding all these strange people, Taiki felt like he didn’t know her at all.

“Thank you very much for agreeing to talk.”

Ikarino Kirari thanked her and bowed politely.

Now retrieving her calm, Chiharu glared at Kirari. There was a very unsettling atmosphere throughout the garage.

“…Can you explain what you’re doing? Kirari-san.”

“Thank you very much for using my services. I am Handyman Kirarin✩.”

Still holding the gun, Kirari bowed again.

“I am currently fulfilling two requests. However, their contents are one and the same.”

The girl who managed to seal the movements of both Ririe and Chiharu looked at Taiki.

“That is, returning a certain Mushitsuki to the frontlines—namely, Kakkou.”

Taiki was confused.

He had no idea who Ikarino Kirari was, and he didn’t care for her goals.

However, for some reason—she looked straight at him and started talking.

“He continued fighting ever since he became a Mushitsuki. For a long time… he hurt many people and he also saved many people. Like, Fuyuhotaru, Lady Bird, as well as… a certain Marker-User. Without him, perhaps the entire country would have gotten affected by their rampage.”

Kirari’s tone was detached. Was she speaking about some stories from the past Taiki knew nothing about?

“—But he then exhausted himself.”

This had nothing to do with him.

Even so, strangely—he felt something stir within him.

“Just as he was about to Mature… he got his Mushi killed by Fuyuhotaru, and his life was saved. In return, he became a Fallen with neither memories nor feelings… but even in that state, he was still needed. By the queen bee’s group, including Ayukawa Chiharu right here.”

“I—I’m not like Chami-chan—”

Ayukawa Chiharu tried denying it, but soon wore a pained face and went silent.

“However, Kakkou rejected Chiharu-san’s call. Because he knew that if he woke up, he’d have to fight again. He was… too tired.”

While Kirari spoke matter-of-factly, Chiharu averted her face.

“However, the queen be—did not allow Kakkou to sleep.”

“Thinking that if calling him wasn’t enough, she could let those who knew him well try to convince him, the queen bee split the personality she pulled out of Kakkou and sent it to his close acquaintances or those of the same power level—to the Rank 1 Mushitsuki. If they resonated with each other, they might be able to forcibly wake up Kakkou… this was her gamble.”

Taiki’s heart felt like it jumped inside his chest.

Resonating with the Rank 1s—

Hearing these words, the bad premonition inside Taiki was growing worse.

“Letting Kakkou’s personality come in contact with the Rank 1s and recollecting it was Ayukawa Chiharu’s job—and I was requested to deliver it to Kakkou’s body. It also overlapped with a request I’d been given by another person before…”

“—W-wait a minute—”

Wait.

Taiki wanted to stop her, but Ikarino Kirari continued forcefully.

“Kakkou’s body was found by the queen bee’s comrade, who could use an ability to see afar—but two unexcepted things happened.”

The girl’s eyes watching Taiki narrowed in sadness.

“Firstly, apparently Kakkou-san’s fragments I collected had some of the Rank 1 memories copied into them—”

The memories of the Rank 1 Mushitsuki—Tachibana Arisu, Harukiyo, as well as Sleeping Beauty, Arisu.

For some reason, their names rose to Taiki’s mind.

It was because he dreamt about them every night—because he watched parts of their memories.

“And another miscalculation—was that Kakkou’s body was living as a completely different person.”

“—”

Ririe’s brows twitched and she tried moving her arm.

Ikarino Kirari immediately put power into her hand holding the gun, keeping Ririe in check.

“I did think I was mistaken at first. There’s been such an ingenious, careful falsification of reality. —I couldn’t believe it had been done in so short of a time.”

Falsification of reality—

Taiki heart beat to a painful extent. Even so his body felt heavy and he couldn’t move even a single finger.

“With none the wiser and with no one noticing—a certain household suddenly had two more kids. Starting with those parents and their only daughter, to the people living nearby and even classmates, any and all humans related to them had their memories manipulated. She created two fake lives, carved those into everyone’s memories, falsified the family register, grades and all other relevant digital data, and even prepared rooms. There was even an album with composite photos…”

It was there that Taiki’s thought short-circuited.

He simply couldn’t understand what the girl was saying. —Or wouldn’t.

While holding the gun, he didn’t know why she was making such a sad face.

“I just barely managed to find an old official copy of the family register… not a digital one, but one that was no more than yellowed paper. If I’d been just a little late in finding it, it would’ve been purged as well.”

“…”

“There was only three people’s worth of information written there. Among the two not written there, one was the body double of the falsifier herself, C—”

Ikarino Kirari looked at the girl standing at the entrance to the garage.

“Takashiro Ririe.”

Ikarino spat this, then tried turning toward Taiki—

“And the other one is—”

“Wa—wait—”

He blocked her sight with a hand, as if he didn’t want to look at Kirari’s face.

“…Please wait…”

He repeated this, his eyes widened.

Ikarino Kirari’s explanation were too hectic, something that could just be laughed off.

Even so—the heartbeat pounding inside his chest wouldn’t let him do so. Cold sweat erupting all over and the sounds pounding in his chest urged Taiki violently.

Get out of here, quickly—they seemed to be saying this.

“Why would you do that…”

After being rejected by Taiki, Ikarino Kirari turned her face to Ririe.

“If you were just scared of Kakkou-san, you should’ve just hidden him somewhere no one would find him—no, you even had the choice to kill him! So why would you go through the trouble of doing all that…!”

“K-kill…?!”

Kirari blamed Ririe, while Chiharu blamed Kirari in turn.

“—I do not fear Kakkou.”

Seeing his little sister suddenly say this, Taiki felt his breath stop.

His little sister, who he was so used to see, started transforming. Golden lines surged around her and her hair ends and fingertips became covered in glowing lines of electric flow.

“—”

Seeing his little sister transform into something inhumane, Taiki felt the very last traces of his rationality crumbling away. His head became blank.

“I am not afraid of anything. The system called C is to make all of humanity into Mushitsuki, make them Undying, and lead them to eternal rest. Leaving aside the Mushitsuki of the old generation trying to eliminate me, I have the right to screen all other people with my Deluge.”

All human emotions were gone from Ririe’s expression. She was looking at her supposed brother Taiki with doll-like, round eyes.

“There are no exceptions. No one is special to C.”

“If he’s not special, then why…!”

“Since the Mushitsuki called Kakkou stood in my way, I have eliminated him. If he was a Fallen, I could revive him into the Undying and thus saved him.”

Ririe’s mouth did not move at all. Even so her voice kept echoing.

“However, when I picked him up, he was empty.”

“…!”

Ikarino Kirari and Ayukawa Chiharu widened their eyes—and looked at the shining necklace.

If the story from before was true, Kakkou’s personality was in there.

Originally, it should’ve been inside the owner’s body.

“This was my first time handling an empty body. Since this was an unprecedented case, I had to experiment. It was needed in order to gain more data for the creation of a new world, too.”

“An… experiment—”

As Taiki muttered this unconsciously, Ririe’s eyes passed at him.

“Creating a personality and giving it to an empty body.”

Finally—

What Taiki already understood for a while now, those words that would ruin him—

“The personality called Taiki didn’t exist until now.”

Came right from the mouth of his little sister Ririe.

His memories of living with his two sisters ever since he was young.

His memories of playing with childhood friends as well as other friends he made while growing up.

All of them—were simply fabrications.

He wanted to laugh it off, say there was no way it was true—but right now Taiki was surrounded by far too many unrealistic things.

Right, to the extent that the balance between reality and fiction was reversed—

“Apart from giving you a personality, I gave you the right to be chosen by the Deluge. —So there’s no exception, and nothing special about you.”

Ririe’s mechanical tone sounded terribly creepy to him.

“That is also a needed process in order to create a new world. Once I eliminated all the failed products and bequeathed rest to everyone turning them into the Undying, there would no longer be any need for humans to fight. —Then, as long as life activities are preserved, I can reconstruct the world.”

Although no one was even listening, Ririe continued talking.

“By controlling the memories of the new mankind called the Undying, the very concept of death will be gone. As long as life activities and breeding will be preserved, I will give everyone personalities lacking any violence, preserve birth rates and make the newborn into Mushitsuki as well—and recreate the world as one without any fights or fear.”

Ririe recited her own duty disinterestedly.

“Everyone will continue forever without losing anything. —The world will become Undying.”

Neither Taiki, Ikarino Kirari or Ayukawa Chiharu could say anything.

They were probably all thinking the same.

Taiki especially noticed it with pain that felt like his entire body was being twisted.

“And the failed products are resisting the world where no one loses anything.”

“—Then why?”

Taiki’s mouth moved on its own despite his intentions.

He didn’t want to say this—but he ended up spitting what he shouldn’t.

“Why is… nothing happening to me now?”

Kirari and Chiharu probably understood.

Therefore, both averted their eyes from his with pained-looking expressions.

“That Deluge or whatever already started, right? But I can’t feel anything… I can’t even hear the bells… Does that mean I’m not being selected…? I’m not even a Mushitsuki, so why am I the only one…”

That was the biggest reason why Taiki couldn’t believe in his existence.

“Why do I feel so sad, hearing all of this now…?”

The world that Ririe—no, C created shouldn’t have any pain in it.

Taiki himself was supposed to be a personality created by C.

The fact he was feeling pain was a contradiction.

“…”

The thing that took Ririe’s shape looked at Taiki and thought.

After thinking, she mouthed her conclusion.

“You’re a failure.”

“—”

These three words seemed to cut off the being known as Taiki and throw him away.

Just like trash.

Just like a used teabag, his life was thrown into the trashcan.

“My personality-fabricating program was standardized based on the memories and feelings from the Mushitsuki I touched. I should have given you enough years’ worth of memories to have a dream, but it was unexpected you would have no reaction to my Shrine. And since you are physically fine, bearing no wounds or mental stress, it’s also abnormal for you to feel pain. I shall now fix—”

“Stooop!”

Shouting loud, Taiki leapt back from Ririe who was raising an arm.

“Don’t do… anything else to me…!”

“Why are you rejecting me? I only want to remove your pain and fear—”

“I told you—don’t try anything.”

Ikarino Kirari put strength into her finger holding the trigger. Ririe stopped moving.

“You’re not the one to decide here, C. Also—it’s not you, Chiharu-san, either.”

Chiharu’s face froze.

Shaking her diagonal bangs, Kirari looked at Taiki.

“The one to decide is Taiki-san.”

“…!”

“Right now, only the person called Taiki-san has the authority to decide what to choose.”

Choose?

Being suddenly told that, Taiki was confused.

What did Taiki need to choose right now?

“Chiharu-san, I have the same goal as you. However, you can’t just ignore the opinion of a completely unrelated person.”

Chiharu became speechless at Kirari’s words.

“Since you were trying to sacrifice someone who wasn’t given the choice to try and call him back—I doubt Kakkou will respond to your call.”

“…!”

“You don’t wish for it either; you’re just forcing yourself due to your sense of duty and responsibility, right? You want to carry all sins on your back. —Since Kakkou had done the same until he exhausted all his powers again and again, he would definitely not wish for this.”

Chiharu’s expression became more and more twisted. She looked like she wanted to deny it, but her body shook so much that no words came out.

“C.”

Ikarino Kirari turned to Ririe next.

“To me it does look like Taiki-san’s special to you. You may call it an experiment, but I don’t believe you needed to make such meticulous preparations, in that case… not to mention you putting your own body double as his sister. If you just wanted to watch over him, you had plenty of ways.”

“I am C. There are no exceptions. I have no one special to me.”

Ririe spoke naturally.

“A family living together is the most popular arrangement.”

“…Eh?”

Taiki let out a stupid voice without thinking, glaring at Ririe.

The girl who was but wasn’t his sister spoke.

“I am a special body without any personality either. Therefore—me and Taiki are siblings.”

Siblings.

That was too much of a leap in logic; there was probably another way of saying that.

However, if there were only two similar existences in this world—

Perhaps they could be called family.

He could almost believe this—since Taiki felt like he was going to stop breathing from loneliness, he had the sense like this was a very small salvation.

“…I can only think of what she’s doing—of the world she is trying to create as a boxed garden that uses people as playthings. If you abandon people who aren’t Mushitsuki, you won’t last long anyway…”

Ikarino Kirari spoke.

“But I myself want to accept the person called Taiki-san.”

The girl with a gun changed her expression, glaring at Ririe.

“It’s been only for a short while, but the Taiki-san I’ve seen was definitely human. That’s why I believe he should be the one to decide. —C. If you claim you two are siblings because of this experiment you’ve conducted on him, then his next actions should also be data for you. I don’t mind what you do to us after he makes his choice. How about that?”

Ririe looked between Kirari and Taiki’s faces.

“—Agreed.”

Her response was quick.

“However, C declares that she won’t attack anyone here after Taiki’s choice. Showing any hostility toward you two might end up influencing his decision, after all.”

“Thank you very much. …Chiharu-san.”

Ikarino Kirari turned her face to Chiharu.

“The one you see now isn’t Daisuke-san. It’s Taiki-san. He also has a family. —Even if it was fabricated, it’s becoming reality.”

“—uh.”

Something like a hiccough leaked from the depths of Chiharu’s throat. Looking at Taiki desperately, her face ended up distorting painfully.

“He has the right to live a life without fighting.”

Chiharu’s hand holding the necklace—grasped it. The ring’s glow was vanishing.

“…I don’t get it…”

Hugging her clenched fist, Chiharu squatted down.

“I mean, Daisuke… probably wished for this life…! If I steal it from him again, I… but if I don’t do that, Daisuke will…! I don’t know anymore—”

Rounding her body on the ground, Chiharu raised her tear-stained face.

“Sorry for being such a lousy sister…!”

Sister.

Taiki looked at the sobbing Chiharu with a start.

She was—the older sister of the person called Kakkou. There was something so ghastly in her eyes looking at him because she looked at her family member inside him.

“Taiki-san, tell us what you want to do.”

Kirari looked at Taiki.

Ririe and Chiharu also looked at Taiki.

“Eh… what I want to do—meaning—”

The girls said they’d let Taiki choose.

They asked him what he wanted.

Wasn’t there only a single thing he wished for?

“But that’s—”

He wanted to go back to his previous normal life.

Did they think he had any other choice?

Or were they thinking that he was about to hand over his body to the one called Kakkou? If so, they considered Taiki too much of a fool.

“I, I want things to be like they were until now—”

Ikarino Kirari was made no reaction.

Ayukawa Chiharu twisted her face.

Ririe—was expressionless, much like she was watching something on a screen.

Seeing his sister’s unknown figure, he started muttering.

“I, I…”

Just like they were until now?

Even though—he now knew that these were nothing but fake memories created by C?

No, he didn’t mind that. Well, he did mind it, but it wasn’t a problem. Even if all of this was a lie, Taiki had been able to live his life just fine. Because he had been given this choice.

If so, then why did Taiki hesitate so much?

“Taiki has no reason to lose his personality and return being Kakkou.”

Ririe spoke.

“If you say you’re hurt, I will remove that pain.”

That voice sounded somewhat kind—because Taiki finally understood something.

Ririe—no, C—wasn’t Taiki’s enemy.

She didn’t have any intention of hurting Taiki; rather the opposite. She was trying to save him from pain. It was true that he had no reason to reject her at all.

However—

“…”

Seeing the people behind Ririe, Taiki couldn’t help but feel anxious.

The Revived. Since he saw them in the Rank 1s memories, he knew what they were very well.

The were the Undying, revived by reusing the power called a dream.

They also said that they were given personalities like Taiki to create a painless new world.

And these people also looked extremely creepy to Taiki.

“…Thanks, Ririe.”

Taiki smiled at his sister Ririe.

It was a very awkward and forced smile—and he had the feeling that he smiled for the first time in a long while.

“You’re my family. …Noa, dad and mom, too.”

“Yes, true.”

Her mouth was unmoving, but Ririe nodded.

What Taiki wished for was a peaceful life like what he had until now.

Even if it was manufactured. Even if he had fake memories.

His father was a bit strict, but he prided himself on protecting his family. His mother was noisy, but she supported her husband and children. Although Noa was starting to show signs of being rebellious, she never troubled her family, and he was looking forward to see the smart Ririe’s future.

That was Taiki’s family as he knew it.

Unlike those people behind Ririe who had expressions like dolls—

“…I wonder. Can this guy called Kakkou…”

His legs started shaking as though convulsing.

Fear and anxiety made even Taiki’s voice shake.

“Win against C…?”

Ririe remained expressionless.

Ayukawa Chiharu slowly raised her face.

Ikarino Kirari—shook her head to the sides.

“—I don’t know.”

Right.

He saw the memories of the Rank 1s to a painful extent.

He knew there was no guarantee to win against the unprecedented threat called C.

Even so, he had to make sure.

“My family… would they have helped, before becoming like that…?”

If not, he would feel like he was going to get crushed by the action he was about to take.

If he had even the smallest excuse—he would make it into a reason why he couldn’t do this to protect his family.

Then, he’d have C erase even this guilt and live his life to the fullest.

Was it the human decision to make?

But it made him feel sick.

For Taiki to not only pass over the one and only method for someone like him to protect his family—but even forget about this fact and start living a normal life.

Not feeling sick about it—

Would surely mean he wasn’t human.

“…I don’t know.”

Ayukawa Chiharu, who wrung out this honest answer, probably felt the same.

She could lie and she could trick him.

However, she’d obviously feel bad as a human, doing something like that.

Taiki looked at Ririe.

“…You’re also my family. But—I do believe that people should decide for themselves…”

It scared him to even think about what happened, and mumbling this took everything he had.

He was deathly scared of what would happen to him now.

At this moment, his head was filled with excuses and doubts.

Even so, he extended a hand to Chiharu.

“…”

Chiharu made a befuddled face, but she timidly presented her arm forward.

Her clenched hand opened slowly.

Taiki unconsciously averted his gaze from the ring glowing a pale azure.

“Can this guy called Kakkou—”

He raised his voice, trying to force himself to find his resolve.

He looked at the lines of creepy Revived who blocked the exit from the garage.

Everyone had dreams.

The scenery he saw until reaching the garage taught him that. All humans had dreams, whether big or small, of wanting to become something.

Therefore, everyone responded to C’s Deluge.

There was probably only a single person in the entire country who hadn’t—

“Hold this pain of not even having a dream…?!”

Nothing happened—to Taiki alone.

Even his hope of living a normal life was perhaps no more than a wish created by C as well.

Maybe it wasn’t.

However, this hopeless sense of loneliness threatened to crush Taiki.

Enough to make him feel so happy that Ririe referred to them as siblings.

Taiki turned back, his eyes full of tears.

Ikarino Kirari and Ayukawa Chiharu.

Both girls looked straight at Taiki.

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

They said this and nodded.

If these two honest girls—the girls who could have just as easily lied to him to force him to fulfill their goals and yet kept being honest with Taiki to the very end—said this, it was probably the truth.

It meant that Kakkou was that kind of person.

He even starting feeling a little—

That he wanted to become like that.

“—”

Taiki grasped the ring held atop Chiharu’s palm.

A whirl of emotions passed through his arm like a violent storm.

Anger, hatred, pain burned Taiki from the inside like roaring flames. At the same time, a cold sadness and pain froze his legs, making him unable to move from the spot.

And there was a small handful of warmth.

—I want to see you again, Daisuke-kun.

A certain girl’s smile shook off the flames and melted the ice.

“Yeah, I understand, Daisuke—”

Chiharu touched Taiki’s shoulder, and made a gesture as if she sucked in something large.

“Mushitsuki can recall their dreams again and again…”

Something born within Taiki—something important that he recalled—fell down.

He felt it getting absorbed into Ayukawa Chiharu’s mouth.

3.02 Daisuke Part 1

He felt like he came back to life—no, this experience did not fit that sort of expression.

His body was as heavy as though he was standing in the depths of the ocean and he couldn’t breathe. There was nothing wrong with his body, but he felt as though he was carrying several people on his back.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

When he was the boy called Taiki, he’d seen four Rank 1s’ worth of dreams.

He could feel part of their lives along with a fragment of their memories still inside him now. He was further carrying the “pain” of yet another person.

“Dai…suke…?”

As he stood there voicelessly, Ayukawa Chiharu looked up at him, her face wet with tears.

He opened his clenched hand.

“Thanks, Chiharu.”

He—Kusuriya Daisuke—smiled, returning the necklace to his sister.

Large tears started streaming down Chiharu’s eyes. She rose up as if to leap into his arms, but soon shook painfully and crouched again.

“How can you—no… I just—”

“What about Sanbikime?”

As Daisuke asked this, Chiharu’s movements stopped.

The girl fused with one of the Original Three, Sanbikime, wiped her tears roughly. Raising her face, she smiled toward her younger brother, Daisuke.

“Don’t worry. Aria—will stay with me forever.”

By eating people’s dreams, Sanbikime would keep only moving from their vessel again and again. It was the only reason they managed to live thus far without getting found out.

Staying with that monster for life meant she would no longer give birth to any Mushitsuki.

Meaning that as long as Chiharu was alive, she would have to keep suppressing the hunger to eat a person’s dream.

It was probably hell.

However, Chiharu was resolved to live this life of suffering along with Aria Varei—

“Don’t make this face, Daisuke. Rather than that, take this—”

As if to avoid Daisuke’s eyes, Chiharu brought out something other than the necklace.

It was an old model cellphone. It was wrapped by something like a bizarre mist.

“It has Recall-chan’s ability on it. We believe you’ll be able to get to the Ark with everyone if you have this…”

Chiharu’s hand holding the cellphone was slightly shaking. She probably didn’t want to hand it over to him.

“Got it.”

As Daisuke accepted the cellphone from his sister’s hands, a voice called to him from the side.

“Daisuke-san.”

Ikarino Kirari presented him with an automatic pistol and a black long coat. At her feet was an opened bag and large goggles.

“…Thank you too, Kirari.”

Daisuke received his equipment and put it on.

“—You told me you’d let me choose, but you actually knew this, right?”

As he wore his goggles on his head, Ikarino Kirari gave a low bow.

“Thank you for using our services.”

Raising her face, the girl suddenly looked like she was crying.

It was the exact same expression Kirari had when she’d seen the ending of a certain Mushitsuki along with him.

“We will probably never meet again.”

Whenever Kusuriya Daisuke and Ikarino Kirari met, someone would vanish from the world.

She didn’t want to repeat the same kind of tragedy ever again.

Her words of farewell contained this wish.

Daisuke turned his back to the handyman called Kirari and back to the entrance to the garage.

“—Ririe.”

He calmly faced the girl in control of the Revived.

“Thank you for waiting for my—for Taiki’s choice.”

“The experiment has failed.”

The girl clad in a golden glow spoke in a voice without any inflection.

Daisuke shook his head to the sides.

“That was probably—a good family.”

“…”

Those two who were siblings not long ago looked at each other.

As he lowered the goggles over his eyes, mist started slowly wrapping around Kusuriya Daisuke—the Mushitsuki known as Blaze Class Rank 1, Kakkou. It came from the cellphone handed to him by Chiharu.

At the same time, Ririe—C’s body double raised her face with a twitch. She looked to the distance for a moment as if in response to something, then turned to Daisuke again.

Those two who were family until yesterday would now go back to their previous relationship.

Although various feelings crossed between them in this short time, in the end nothing changed.

The new generation of Mushitsuki, trying to create a new world without any pain.

The old generation of Mushitsuki, who fought in order to make their dream come true despite choosing pain.

“Let’s settle this.”

“C accepts.”

The two glaring at each other were wiped away from the garage.

C probably returned her body double to the original.

On the other hand, Daisuke—felt like he was falling. In the space of a few seconds, he flew through a strange space where darkness and light mixed and moved as an expanding mist—

And appeared on top of the supporting pillar of a huge bridge.

Fanned by the side wind, his long coat fluttered.

Apart from him other clumps of mist appeared on the ground, and people who looked like Mushitsuki appeared one after another.

Including Daisuke, the Mushitsuki were all led there.

It was a star-studded Ark of light—

No.

Daisuke knew that place.

It was originally created as part of a development plan, a reclaimed land on top of the sea. With a lone hanging bridge and train lines connecting it to the shore, it commanded a wide area. On the coast were a series of high bridges surrounding the premises, while inside them there were rows of multi-tenant buildings and roads.

Unlike the mainland assaulted by the deluge of blackouts, here all lights were on. Above all else the blinding lights of the capital were gathered right in the center.

In the very center of these high-rise buildings there was a single especially tall building. With a silhouette that looked like a giant spear piercing Earth, it was wrapped in a golden glow. —That building was the only thing Daisuke didn’t know.

It was a city developed as an experiment, able to house a population of 100,000 people.

Daisuke knew everything about this city.

After all, this place was under the jurisdiction of the East Central Branch, where Daisuke belonged—and in fact, was the collection facility for the empty shells of Mushitsuki, called the Fallen.

“It’s GARDEN…!”

East Central Branch jurisdiction, Fallen Assembly Facility, Hashiba City.

It was once called GARDEN—

And at present, it was the Ark taken over by C.

3.03 Shiika The Last

“—So in the end I’m back here…”

Anmoto Shiika had disguised herself as the Dove and came back to C.

It was a giant city, studded with twinkling lights.

GARDEN.

“And now—”

Shiika was at the entrance to this reclaimed land called Hashiba City.

Behind her was the giant hanging bridge connected to the mainland. On both sides were the coastal road and high bridge connected from the interchange. And ahead of her—was a swarm of high-rise buildings jutting from the ground.

As Shiika had C’s brainwashing lifted from her, this scene looked like paradise to her.

A sea of blinding neon, as well as the golden fairies and C-butterflies filling the place.

It was heaven, and it was also like a shrine housing a God—

However, it was also a boxed garden without any feeling of life.

Shiika had once lived in this city.

She became a Mushitsuki, got turned to a Fallen by the boy who had the same dream, and lived in this land—a collection facility that existed only to manage and observe the Fallen.

She thought of nothing.

She felt nothing.

For long four years, in this city—

Now she came back to this city, called GARDEN.

“It’s finally time for the final battle…!”

Shiika held both hands aloft, materializing her Mushi.

“…!”

The fairies and C-butterflies who gathered to bless her noticed the abnormality and distanced themselves.

White snow began falling down from above.

At the same time, Shiika touched the tiara on her head.

“Uh…!”

Withstanding the surging electric shock, she forcibly removed the tiara from her head. Unlike back at Aoharima Island, Shiika’s body was free, this time.

A single flake of snow landed on the tiara falling from Shiika’s hand.

Along with loud sounds of destruction, light surged through the entrance of GARDEN. Large fissures ran through the ground and the tiara broke down to smithereens, causing bursts of golden light. Flinching, Shiika gritted her teeth to remain conscious.

“She is not the Dove—regard her as an intruder.”

All of C’s body doubles fairies spoke in unison. The fluttering C-butterflies and fairies on the surface were all linked together through golden electricity.

It was a close shave.

The moment after Shiika defended herself with the pouring snow, her view was dyed with golden light.

A large earthquake shook her footing. For a moment, Shiika’s small body floated in air from the tremor.

A massive lightning strike assaulted Shiika.

“Urkh…!”

She fell down, but soon rose up again.

The curtain of snow protected Shiika from lightning. Touching the snow, it broke down completely, flying to all sides like a living being in agony. It was something physically impossible.

“—She’s, nearby…”

Shiika groaned, heightening her consciousness while raising her Mushi aloft.

She thickened the raging blizzard, using everything she had to protect herself.

“C is somewhere in GARDEN…!”

Even someone as stupid as her could understand this clearly.

The pressure created by the lightning attacking her was something completely different from C’s power that touched her in Akamaki City.

Furthermore—

“She is not the Dove. That is Fuyuhotaru.”

“None of the old generation of Mushitsuki have the right to be invited to the Ark.”

“All intruders—”

“Shall be eliminated from the Ark.”

There were too many fairies and C-butterflies.

Even the number of Revived who were brought there after being guided by the voices of fairies—were already over a hundred.

“—”

With hundreds of guardians facing her, Shiika gulped. She felt cold sweat trickle down her forehead.

C was probably using the independent generators of GARDEN itself. Enough power to make an entire city function became the source for her powers—

“—C’s there…!”

Trying to snap herself from fearful paralysis, Shiika took a single step forward.

The isolated and unassisted Shiika faced hundreds of enemies.

And that very first step—

“—Kyaaah!”

She was repelled back by a golden flash and colorful lights.

She had no idea what was done to her.

No, it was something very simple.

She received a concentrated, simultaneous attack by the fairies, C-butterflies and Revived.

She tried walking forward, but the impact blocked her, pushing her back.

She just barely stepped in place and managed to prevent herself from falling down, recovering her blizzard curtain.

“She’s definitely here—somewhere in GARDEN…!”

Even C couldn’t control this much power from far away.

It was the sensation of the attacks hitting Shiika that told her this truth the most. She knew that she was attacked the most of everyone, ever since becoming a Mushitsuki.

The attacks carried out by the fairies—were for “defense”.

They weren’t meant to defeat Shiika. Obviously their main goal was to eliminate her, but it looked like the fairies and Revived just stayed in place, watching Shiika’s reactions and attacking her by force.

What were they protecting?

It went without saying.

“If C is somewhere here… then I—”

Bending down, she advanced along with the blowing blizzard.

If she just protected herself, she’d be chased out of GARDEN quickly. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I can’t afford to lose… until everyone comes…”

Shiika’s role was to keep remaining near C until her comrades arrived.

In order to approach even a step closer to C, she kept advancing toward where the pressure was the strongest. C was located where the fairies tried to protect.

“Kuh…!”

The attacks aiming for Shiika could only be expressed as “terrific”.

Lights and impacts bursting at the entrance to Hashiba City ripped the night sky and ground haphazardly.

“Until everyone comes—”

Right about now, the Mushitsuki on Aoharima Island should be moving.

They should sense Shiika’s powers during her fight and come rushing there.

Until then, all Shiika had to do was focus on approaching C.

She never thought she’d be able to beat C alone in the first place. Even just defeating the Revived who surrounded Shiika from a distance was probably impossible.

But that was fine.

Shiika was just a lighthouse.

All she had to do was wait for her comrades to come there by relying on the light she emitted—

“—”

She took a step.

And another step.

Being pushed by the impacts, she stood in place for a while.

She took another step, then got pushed back.

“…Hah… hah…”

How long did this fruitless endeavor continued?

After struggling for a what felt like eternity, Shiika glanced behind her with a pale face.

She ended up smiling.

Shiika hadn’t taken even twenty steps from where she started.

There were too many enemies.

Perhaps still cautious at being unable to beat Shiika at one go, the fairies and Revived kept taking their distance from her.

“You are advised to surrender.”

Not lessening the attackers, a fairy spoke.

“Secret Class Rank 1, Fuyuhotaru. I do not understand your reason to oppose C. The possibility of you beating C with your full powers is close to zero.”

Shiika couldn’t beat C. Shiika alone couldn’t even approach any of the Revived blocking her path.

However, it was a different story if her comrades were there.

If all these reliable Mushitsuki were there with her, Shiika would be able to reach C—

“The Mushitsuki of the old generation will not appear here.”

The fairy asserted this resolutely.

“I copied the same wavelength of the battle occurring here and started transmitting it all over the country. A sensor that can differentiate them doesn’t exist.”

Shiika put strength into her two legs, advancing further.

“You are all alone—and powerless.”

No one would appear next to Shiika.

If this was the past Shiika, she would definitely be shaken by C’s words.

But Shiika knew.

She hesitated, worried, and even started doubting the boy Kusuriya Daisuke with whom she promised to reunite, and escaped to the peace given to her by C.

And while that happened, Shiika came to know a certain fact.

Compared to doubting or running away—

“They’ll definitely come—”

She felt the happiest when she believed.

Belief could make you stronger.

Even now that she was a moment away from collapsing, just by waiting for those precious to her—

Shiika could keep walking ahead.

“Definitely…!”

Announcing this, she took yet another step forward.

Narrowing the span of the blizzard, she also increased its richness to protect herself. She was bad at controlling the snow and it took a lot out of her, but it should help her move further.

She wanted to approach C’s main body as much as possible before her comrades came—

She was resolved to do this.

“…!”

At that moment, Shiika felt wind.

It was a refreshing sea breeze.

Since she was protecting her body with the blizzard and was exposed to so many violent attacks, it should have been impossible for her to feel something like that.

However, she did feel it.

This familiar presence—right, that air mixed with the smell of grass on that island.

The wind of freedom.

“…!”

As if noticing something, the fairies all raised their faces.

They stopped their attacks and fell back, cautious.

Shiika heard the sound of cutting wind from behind her.

“—”

As she turned around, what jumped into her sight was a black bird appearing from the sky—

No, it was a human figure with large black wings sprouting from its back.

It leapt over the hanging bridge, crashing down on the entrance to Hashiba City. Rolling atop the asphalts devastated by the fight between Shiika and C, she crashed against a building and stopped.

This sight of her entire body dyed in black and her gnarled wings crumbling was abnormal.

However, Shiika realized at a glance who she was.

“Ubuki…!”

Shirakashi Ubuki.

Ubuki was the Mushitsuki who saved her when she’d been captured by the SEPB in the past. After that, they met with the companion called Ebina Yuu and had a short escape journey.

Why did this precious friend of hers appear here?

Why had she been reduced to a shadow of herself like that?

Before she could think of answers to those questions, she tried rushing to Ubuki—

“Transfer location—”

Seeing what rolled away from the chest of the unmoving Ubuki, she froze.

It was a girl’s head.

All body under her neck became mist. Shiika knew that face well.

“—Here.”

“Recall-chan…!”

She was a Mushibane member and Shiika’s comrade—Recall.

This young girl’s expression changed. The moment her widened eyes were dyed in black, even her remaining head dispersed to mist.

Then, great lumps of mist appeared at the entrance to Hashiba City.

As the fairies and Revived distanced themselves even further—

“…!”

People’s figures began appearing one after another from the mist covering the interchange.

She could see more and more people around the coastal road and surrounding buildings, on rooftops and such.

All of them facing the fairies and Revived in GARDEN, they were—

“This is—GARDEN!”

“Haji you bastard, your own turf got taken over by C!”

Including Terasu and Kasuou, they were the elites of the SEPB.

“GARDEN… is the Ark—”

“Who cares as long as C’s there.”

The forces of Mushibane led by the confused Namie and cool Aijisupa were also there.

“Shiika…! Are you fine?”

On the roof of a low building there was also the worried-looking Tachibana Rina.

Standing on top of a street light was also a figure carrying a sleeping girl on his shoulders.

“Haha, what a fitting place for zombies.”

They were the flame devil Harukiyo, as well as Sleeping Beauty, Arisu.

“You guys…”

Her comrades from Aoharima Island finally came.

She was not surprised.

Because Shiika had believe they were coming.

Therefore—she wasn’t surprised.

Even when another small mist appeared on top of the hanging bridge.

“…!”

Everyone was the same as Shiika.

As they looked at the black figure that appeared on the pillar supporting the hanging bridge’s wires, none were surprised—but seeing that stance, they probably all felt something well up inside them.

It was that Mushitsuki with hair standing up like the horns of a demon, with a black coat fanned behind him like demon wings, with his goggles’ lens appearing like red, demonic eyes.

He was someone supposed to be there.

However, even so Shiika felt tears rising to her eyes—

She couldn’t help but name him.

“Kakkou-kun…!”

Fuyuhotaru—Anmoto Shiika.

Lady Bird—Tachibana Rina.

The flame devil—Harukiyo.

Sleeping Beauty—Arisu.

As well as Kakkou—Kusuriya Daisuke.

“—Daisuke-kun.”

Shiika mumbled that name only to herself.

In the paradise of the Fallen, in the land of genesis for a new world.

All five Rank 1s assembled for the decisive battle in GARDEN.

3.04 Daisuke Part 2

“Kakkou-kun…!”

Reacting to this voice, Daisuke looked down from the hanging bridge to the surface.

The girl wrapped in a curtain of blizzard stood there.

He never forgot that face. —Ever since he turned her into a Fallen by his own hands five years ago to now.

Anmoto Shiika.

He fought and survived in order to meet her again.

Even so, he gradually got hurt, tired, exhausted himself and was about to sink into the depths of forgetfulness—

But he came back to the battlefield to meet with her.

“…”

However, he still couldn’t fulfill his promise to reunite with “Anmoto Shiika”.

His Mushi the checkered beetle landed on top of the large automatic pistol dangling from one hand. It transformed into tentacles that stabbed into the gun and his body.

The muzzle sprouted sharp fangs, becoming the checkered beetle’s maw. A pattern glowing in green wrapped Daisuke’s entire body, granting him supernatural physical abilities.

Right now, Daisuke was Kakkou.

And the girl beneath his eyes wasn’t Anmoto Shiika—she was Fuyuhotaru.

Before they could meet as Kusuriya Daisuke and Anmoto Shiika, there was something they had to do first.

To end the battles between Mushitsuki—

Daisuke went through countless battles for this sake, finally arriving here.

The Mushitsuki on the surface knew that as well. That was why they all looked up at him, and probably why they weren’t confused about the Mushitsuki called Kakkou being there.

Among the Mushitsuki there were Tachibana Rina, Harukiyo, and even Arisu.

It wasn’t just the five Rank 1s, including him and Fuyuhotaru.

All Mushitsuki there went through their own battles, survived and now stood here—

In GARDEN, the final battlefield.

“…”

Daisuke raised his gun voicelessly. A bullet rotated within the maw of the gun transformed by the checkered beetle, spreading roaring flames.

He aimed this first attack, literally pulling the trigger on this final battle, toward one of fairy C’s body doubles—no, he actually shot it toward a lump of black mist wafting in air.

“…!”

All the Mushitsuki and fairies on the surface turned to look where Kakkou was aiming.

And there was—

“—aaaaAAAAAAAaaaAAAAHH!”

Even while pierced by the bullet, the mist was taking a human shape again.

Shaped like a young girl, it looked like a ghost—no, like an evil spirit raising its eyes. Her wide mouth was a cavern and she was trying to evade the bullets by teleporting from place to place in the blink of an eye.

“Recall…!”

A pained voice came from the ranks of Mushibane.

Daisuke fired mercilessly, piercing through the girl spirit.

“Mushitsuki who are out of time—are nothing but a hindrance to the battle.”

As the evil spirit raised a shout every time it was shot, she transported right in front of Kakkou.

Calmly launching the finishing blow, he pierced the ghost’s chest.

“—”

However, this didn’t fully defeat her.

The girl’s evil spirit weakly yet barely tried taking shape again—

A shockwave grazing Daisuke blew the mist completely away.

“Lady!”

Looking down to the surface, he could see Tachibana Rina was commanding her giant seven-spotted ladybug. Still in the same pose as when she fired that shockwave, she was biting her lips and wearing a harsh expression.

“You were just tormenting her needlessly with your attacks…!”

“…”

Below Daisuke, a small mist was formed on top of the hanging bridge.

It became the petite girl called Recall, who then fell to her knees. Her emotionless, empty expression was proof that she had her Mushi killed and became a Fallen. —Since her Mushi had been killed before it fully ate her dreams and Matured, she remained alive.

Daisuke silently turned the muzzle toward his next target.

“UuuuuuAAaaAAAAH—”

Nearby there was a Mushitsuki with wings growing larger and larger.

Shirakashi Ubuki. Her body already turned black, and something that looked like carapace spreading from her wings at her back was trying to encroach from her shoulders to her neck.

It was too late for her as well.

Daisuke tried pulling the trigger—but after noticing something, he lowered the muzzle.

A small light was fluttering toward Shirakashi Ubuki.

“Ubuki—”

It was white snow.

“Thank you—I’m waiting for you…”

Shiika had her face scrunched up, shedding tears.

While Maturing, Shirakashi Ubuki looked toward Shiika—and smiled.

The snow touched Ubuki’s wings.

The giant black wings burst, twisted and scattered with a high-pitched sound. Even splitting from Shirakashi Ubuki’s body, they were unable to escape the snow’s destructive power that pulverized even the very last fragments.

As her Mushi was killed, Shirakashi Ubuki bent backward—and collapsed soundlessly.

She made no move after that.

“…”

Seeing off both Recall and Ubuki turn into Fallen, Daisuke turned his muzzle toward the last target.

A Mushitsuki who already had the signs of Maturation and could no longer control her own Mushi.

That final person was—

“…Senri.”

Clad in a robe of flares, the girl couldn’t even support her own body.

Haji Senri. She was the little sister of Daisuke’s boss Haji Keigo, and since she lived with him once, she was also like a sister to him.

“Thank you—Dai-kun—”

Her unseeing eyes looked to Daisuke. As the girl raised her hands, a sphere of ruby-colored glowing flames emerged above them.

“But—”

The smiling Senri’s gaze moved toward the boy hugging her from behind.

He was Kaguya—Ogata Akastuki. His handsome features distorted, he was already crying. He materialled his Mushi the mayfly.

“Akatsuki-kun—is going to do this for me, so—”

In the state of Semi-Maturation, unique for this mayfly, its tail started glowing. It emitted laser beams from the sharp tip, piercing the Mushi that Senri held up.

“—!”

Akatsuki hugged Senri’s body tightly as she jumped from the impact.

Daisuke naturally understood that the reason these three girls’ Mushi were Maturing before the fight was because they combined their abilities. It was probably thanks to them that he and the many other Mushitsuki could reach this decisive fight.

And not just the three of them.

To challenge C to this final fight, many Mushitsuki became sacrifices.

“This makes it… so that the only classmates who survived from back then… are just us two…!”

Raising his tear-stained face, Akatsuki glared at Daisuke.

Many Mushitsuki collapsed up to this point.

There were also those who finally woke up after reaching here.

“Haha! If you nap like this, you’ll be left wide open!”

Harukiyo leapt down from the street lamp and flung the girl he was carrying to the ground. He also threw the silver rod he found somewhere near the girl.

“Right, Arisu?!”

Standing atop her seven-spotted ladybug, Tachibana Rina also turned toward the sleeping girl.

“Arisu!”

“Arisu… san?”

Wiping her tears, Anmoto Shiika also turned back.

Daisuke also looked down on the girl with her eyes closed down on the surface.

He saw that her familiar features became slightly more mature. Although she had kept sleeping for a while, her appearance grew up from when the time she was with Daisuke.

“Wake up already.”

However, her insides probably didn’t mature.

Since he was convinced of this, Daisuke called the girl’s name for the first time in many long years.

“Idiot Arisu.”

She told him to wake her up one day.

She told him to call her.

As Daisuke fulfilled his promise and looked at her, the girl’s brows twitched.

A blinding light not at all inferior to any of GARDEN’s neon lights emitted from silver scales fluttered down to the girl lying on the road.

It was a silver-colored Morpho butterfly.

The rod rolling on the road extended to several times in length. The Morpho butterfly landed on top of it, transforming its beautiful wings to tentacles.

“—”

The girl’s arm moved and grabbed the rod.

The rod and the girl’s body began being dyed with a silver pattern. The rod’s tip became large, unfolded wings like a blooming flower, closed them again and became a sharp spear.

The girl used the momentum caused by this action to jump to a standing position. She opened her eyes.

Dark pupils that looked like an unblemished abyss of the deepest ocean and long hair. A white coat that belonged to the SEPB equipment. In her hand was a silver spear dyed with such vivid patterns that they looked artistic. —That form covered in silver scales looked as gallant as a knight.

Arisu opened her eyes, but the fairies and Revived all still remained silent.

“Looks like she stopped herself from Maturing, but she’s not fully awake, either.”

“As long as she can differentiate enemies, that’s good enough for now.”

Harukiyo laughed at Daisuke’s reply. Meanwhile, Rina looked at Arisu worriedly, while Shiika, who never knew her, looked puzzled.

Arisu raised her spear.

The glowing spear’s tip was pointing toward the spire at the very center of GARDEN.

“Is C over there?”

Arisu nodded to Daisuke’s question. He asked this because she had sensing abilities.

Now all the Mushitsuki and fairies who were frozen glaring each other became tense.

The enemy Daisuke and others had the defeat, C, was in the center of GARDEN.

All the fairies and Revived that were supposed to protect C were in the center of the Ark.

Everyone used all their strategies already.

All arguments between the two sides had already broken down.

All that was remained—was to start this battle for survival.

Only one side would win and survive, while the loser would perish.

That was all.

“—Fuyuhotaru.”

Daisuke called toward Shiika.

Right now, Daisuke didn’t have the right to use her real name.

“Y-yes.”

Although confused, Shiika raised her face.

Daisuke raised his arms, pointing with his muzzle at the central part of GARDEN.

“Charge.”

Shiika and all other Mushitsuki looked to where the gun was pointing.

“We’ll definitely help you reach there.”

There was no longer any need for tricks or strategies.

With this short order handed by Daisuke—all of them knew what they had to do.

“—Yes.”

Nodding strongly, Shiika wore her curtain of snow.

The enemy also realized what they needed to do. Trying to stop Shiika’s advance, they stood to block the Mushitsuki.

A world where no Mushitsuki were born, or a world filled with Mushitsuki—

The battle to decide this new world—

Began with Shiika taking her first step.

3.05 Daisuke Part 3

The spire Arisu pointed at was a building that even Daisuke, who was familiar with GARDEN, saw for the first time today. C probably created it with the Revived’s powers.

Much taller than any other building, it looked as though it was made to be able to watch over all of GARDEN. Its tip was sharpened to a point, and its gently curving body stabbed into the ground. Some sort of construction that looked like a spiral piece of art coiled around the entire building, so it looked like a snake was hugging some treasured sword.

Shiika stepped toward that building that could be called a pagoda.

“Break…”

Whispering this was not Shiika herself, but her Mushi.

White snow became a protective wall around Shiika.

Trying to intercept Shiika and the other Mushitsuki, the fairies and C-butterflies increased their glow. The Revived also took battle positions at once.

“—”

However, the one who moved first was Sleeping Beauty, Arisu.

Swiping her spear horizontally, multitudes of scales gushed out from it. They covered the fairies and the Revived that blocked Shiika’s path.

When this happened, the fairies all started slowly closing their eyes. They noiselessly fell to the ground, unmoving. The C-butterflies and the Revived similarly collapsed one after another.

It was another of Arisu’s abilities. She had the special power to put Mushi to sleep.

“All hands, begin battle! Eliminate all fairies and Revived blocking the path!”

A girl’s voice echoed through the goggles.

“Create a path for Fuyuhotaru!”

Looking to the surface, a girl wearing the West Central Branch coat looked up to Daisuke.

She was Terasu.

“I won’t hand over command to you at this point—Kakkou.”

“…”

“You Rank 1 lot won’t listen to my orders, anyway.”

Apparently the opposition and hostility she felt for him remained unchanged even at this late stage.

However, she was reliable.

He knew that she was using the hatred she held inside her to lessen his burden.

She would take on overall command so he could fight freely with the Rank 1s—she was telling him that.

“Yeah. —Leave Fuyuhotaru to me.”

Terasu gave no reply as he decided to take care of the most important person. She silently glared at Daisuke, then turned to the enemy at front.

“Keep advancing while staying close together! Focus and aim your attacks on fairies that look like they’re going to shoot lightning! Sakura, set up lightning rods at fixed points! Tamamo, Kasuou, protect everyone with barriers! —If you get away from the squad even a little, they’ll finish you with concentrated attacks!”

The Mushitsuki’s attacks made the fairies and Revived retreat little by little.

“Because she controls so much power, C’s main body shouldn’t be able to leave from the facility supplying her electricity! We’ll get to that tower no matter what!”

Now with less pressure on her, Fuyuhotaru managed to advance step by step.

However, her gait was slow and she would require some time to reach all the way to the pagoda.

“Hey, Lady! How about we go over there for a little date?”

Tachibana Rina raised her face at the flame devil’s invitation.

Ahead of their two gazes was the towering pagoda.

“—Sure.”

Rina looked at Shiika only once and nodded. Riding her seven-spotted ladybug, she rose to the sky.

Harukiyo wrapped himself in flames and then looked at Daisuke.

“…”

Daisuke couldn’t stop the seven-spotted ladybug and the crimson fireball from flying together to the sky.

Even he wasn’t planning to count on Fuyuhotaru alone. He wanted to strike C down if he had the opportunity, and since those two could fly, they were well-suited for a surprise attack like that.

Leaping over the Mushitsuki fighting on the surface, Rina and Harukiyo flew toward the pagoda.

If these were the opponents he’d fought against this far, they’d never be able to stop those two.

However—Daisuke’s ears caught a certain sound.

“Come back, Lady! Harukiyo!”

The moment after Daisuke shouted this, some smoke appeared.

Clouds of white smoke from the entirety of GARDEN.

They numbered more than one or two. As if eruptions happened all around the city, those clouds of smoke pursued the seven-spotted ladybug and the fireball with great speed.

And that wasn’t all. Flashes of light launched from the surface along with roars assaulted those airborne Mushitsuki.

The night sky was wrapped in great explosions.

Furthermore—there were golden lightnings, bursting with violent glows.

“—”

Having witnessed this tremendous attack, all Mushitsuki stood in place, shocked.

What Daisuke heard—were the sounds of bombardment.

They were surface-to-air missiles.

The attack launched from the surface in a delay probably came from autocannons. It was apparently C’s lightning that set off both the missiles and the autocannons.

Having been attacked by this concentrated bombardment in the sky where there was no cover to protect them, the two started crashing down to the surface while raising smoke. Although they heard Daisuke’s voice and took evasive actions, perhaps it wasn’t enough.

“…Tch!”

Daisuke clicked his tongue and leapt down from the hanging bridge. Taking a detour around where Fuyuhotaru and other Mushitsuki were fighting, he was headed to the inner part of the city through the coastal road.

He rushed between buildings, aiming for where Rina fell down.

Several fairies stood in his path. They were linked to the C-butterflies around through golden lights.

Light burst beneath his feet, shooting lightning aimed at the sky.

He leapt, kicking the wall of a building to dodge.

Leaping over the fairies, he turned at an alley and came out into the road.

As he did, a shockwave passed right in front of Daisuke’s eyes.

“What did you come here for?”

Her face covered in soot, Tachibana Rina turned to Daisuke. She appeared to be uninjured, but the seven-spotted ladybug spreading its wings nearby had scorch marks all over it.

Nearby, there was a toppled autocannon. These anti-air autocannons were loaded onto a battery with caterpillar tracks.

“Did you really think they’d get me so easily?”

So the city had not just fairies and Revived, but even modern weaponry. Since C was better at controlling machinery than people in the first place, perhaps that was obvious.

“No, I came here to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“You need to get away from here—”

Before he could finish talking, several unmanned self-propelled artilleries appeared on the other side of the road. Furthermore, fairies and Revived came swarming out from the shadows between buildings.

Daisuke and Rina were completely surrounded in the blink of an eye.

“…! She sure responded quickly. Isn’t she supposed to be busy with Shiika and Harukiyo?”

“That’s not C.”

Daisuke could see a lone figure as he looked up. Rina followed his gaze.

There was a slim figure sticking to a wall of the high buildings. That figure stood upright horizontally as though both legs were glued to the surface.

It was a Revived wearing a yellow raincoat. It also seemed to miss an arm.

Rina’s face twisted and she groaned with a pained voice.

“So that woman’s controlling them…”

“I’ll deal with her. You go and deal with as many weapons and Revived on the surface as you can. —Since anyone flying will just get shot down, we have to somehow control the surface.”

“I know that. How about you go already?”

As Daisuke turned his back to her, he felt Rina sighing behind him.

“To think I’d end up joining forces with you here in GARDEN… I want to laugh, but I can’t.”

“Not to mention with Arisu and Harukiyo, too.”

Rina had expired within Daisuke’s arms around a year earlier in GARDEN. It would be much too cynical to call this a fateful place.

Looking even back further in time, there was also the fight on the night of the meteor shower. Originally, Daisuke, Rina, Arisu and Harukiyo were supposed to join forces there.

“Don’t make Shiika cry anymore… Kusuriya.”

And Anmoto Shiika herself—Fuyuhotaru—had been enclosed here in GARDEN for four years.

It felt as if the fate that got twisted over many times by now finally got reconnected here.

Obviously, if they lost here—it would all become for nothing.

“Of course, Tachibana-san.”

Daisuke and Rina. How much time it had been since those two spoke alone?

Perhaps they would never have this opportunity again. —At the very least, the possibility would be gone if they died here.

The fairies and C-butterflies were wrapped in a golden glow.

Daisuke leapt from the spot.

A moment later, the seven-spotted ladybug’s shockwave mowed down the surface. Both fairies and Revived were blown away in all directions along with destroyed buildings.

Daisuke kicked the wall before it collapsed by the shockwave and leapt yet again to aim for the Revived wearing a yellow raincoat—Shishidou Inuko, aka Asagi.

“Wanko—”

Turning his gun toward his past comrade in arms, he pulled the trigger midair. The muzzle spat fire.

Purple lightning flashed.

The raincoat figure vanished and purple afterimages rushed around the entire city. She easily dodged the bullet and in no time at all appeared directly besides Daisuke.

“—!”

An impact struck Daisuke’s temple.

Receiving this superspeed attack, Daisuke was pounded on the ground. Just as he sank into the caved-in asphalt, an unseen power pulled him out again.

After being struck directly ahead, this time he flew to the side. —This strange phenomenon assaulting Daisuke was created by Asagi’s ability. On her first attack she charged Daisuke himself with electromagnetism, then used it to draw him toward the towering building next to them.

“Gwah…!”

The impact caused by crashing into it made the building’s wall crumble. Daisuke got buried and was getting crushed both by the mass of the debris as well as the pressure of the steel concrete.

“—WoooHHH!”

The patterns all over Daisuke body glowed. He used superhuman strength to push the concrete away and stood atop the debris.

“Gah…!”

The moment he exited to the surface, an impact pierced his sides this time.

It was another of Asagi’s attacks. Purple flashes flew between all buildings, power poles and lamps—meaning, all magnetic bodies around GARDEN.

Meanwhile, Daisuke had his legs caught up by the steel concrete, and he couldn’t follow this fast enemy with his naked eye.

Not only did Daisuke have no means to attack from range, he also had no way to remove the electromagnetism from him. Although he knew the enemy’s ability—no, because he understood the enemy’s fighting capabilities, he had to admit he was badly matched against her.

However, he had to defeat her here.

He definitely wanted to avoid having Asagi’s experience and intuition to C’s calculation abilities. Even if they managed to corner C, Asagi might appear at any moment to trip them up.

“—Are you really that happy, Wanko?”

Could she hear Daisuke talking while bleeding from his forehead?

The raincoat girl appeared, directly facing Daisuke. She fashioned herself a makeshift hockey stick made by using magnetism on steel pipes and tubes, resting it on her shoulder.

“There is nothing as pitiful as a warrior being hated by the battlefield… you used to say that a lot. And now you’re finally able to participate in a large battle. Even in that form.”

The berserker clad in purple lightning looked like she was smiling—

It probably wasn’t just an optical illusion.

“You’re the only one among the Revived looking so lively.”

He said this and readied himself.

“There’s something I gotta apologize to you about—but I ended up not caring about it, seeing that face. You feel the same, right?”

While Daisuke made his entire body’s patterns glow, Asagi raised her hockey stick in affirmation. Golden fairies and C-butterflies gathered around the raincoat.

He thought they’d shoot another lightning, but he was wrong.

The fairies and C-butterflies joined and fused with Asagi’s hockey stick. As a Revived, Asagi didn’t have to worry about getting numbed by her own electricity.

She readied her charged hockey stick.

“Tch…”

He was always able to take a lot of punishment, but now he lost this sole advantage. Daisuke was definitely tougher than a normal person, but even he wouldn’t be able to survive getting struck by C’s lightning again and again in speeds he couldn’t follow. Never mind any of the other flesh-and-blood Mushitsuki.

Daisuke and Asagi kicked the ground at the same time—

“…!”

Suddenly, Daisuke’s sight was dyed by orange. The steel pipes fell from his legs.

“What are you doing?”

A boy abruptly showed himself between Daisuke and Asagi.

He was Shiohara Shachito. With his casual wear and flippant smile—as well as the hockey stick carried on his shoulder—he looked much more fitting to some sports venue rather than a battlefield.

“You have no sensing ability or speed, so it’s gotta be tough for you to take on Inuko. Stopping you here is also part of Inuko’s strategy, you know?”

The boy who called himself Asagi’s last disciple spoke.

Daisuke had felt dubious about this until now, but looking at him like this, he had to accept it.

His stance, smiling like that with a hockey stick in hand—was like a mirror image of the other berserker in front of his eyes, Shishidou Inuko.

—One day, those I’ve raised will fight alongside you.

During the conversation they had in her last moments, she told him this.

Her prediction became reality in a way that surprised even Daisuke.

“Leave this student and teacher fight to me.”

Speaking casually, Shachito then erased his smile.

“Right… Inuko?”

His expression looked sad.

Daisuke glared at Asagi.

The gaze of his past comrade in arms—went from Daisuke to Shachito.

Seeing that, Daisuke also looked away from her.

“—Sorry, Wanko. I told you to return to the battlefield, but…”

He turned his back to Asagi, entrusting that place to Shachito.

It was just like Shachito said. Daisuke had to fight more than one Revived.

“I never would have expected—you’d manage to raise a warrior even stronger than you.”

Leaving this behind, he kicked the ground and went away.

He could immediately hear violent sounds of battle coming from behind him. He felt an explosion, then immediately heard lightning rumbling in the distance. It happened on both surface and air.

Daisuke ran through the city, eliminating any and all enemies he ran across.

He used a burning bullet to destroy an autocannon on the road. Revived trying to surround Daisuke closed the distance, and he broke their Mushi to smithereens with punches and kicks.

“…!”

The number of light sources illuminating the night sky increased.

These were fighter helicopters. Clad in a golden, electrical light, they were equipped with missiles and guns. Connected to the lightning strike from the surface, they created a waterfall made of electricity.

Dragged by these destructive waterfalls, the helicopters were deployed throughout GARDEN. They probably numbered more than twenty.

He could see these waterfalls of lightning—that acted much like pillars supporting the shrine—mowing down the surface. They also shot their machineguns embedded with electricity, spreading destruction in three particular areas.

They were probably attacks against Rina, Harukiyo and Arisu.

“So they managed to split the enemies forces from focusing only on Fuyuhotaru… but since the number of enemies just keeps on growing, it’s probably meaningless.”

Two helicopters even approached Daisuke. Their lightning waterfalls mowing down everything below them, they got close to him.

Daisuke aimed his gun at the upper sky. He pulled the trigger and shot. The impact caused by the discharge blew away the Revived trying to surround him.

Two more bullets shot in succession destroyed two of the attack helicopters.

As Daisuke saw them lose most of their body and start falling down—it created an opening.

“—!”

Although the attack helicopter was supposed to lose all control over its flight, it started firing its guns toward Daisuke.

The vehicles controlled by C required no pilot. Even if they couldn’t fly, they could attack. He immediately took evasive action, but countless bullets hit all around Daisuke. Golden lightning rose from every spot they struck, one after another.

“Gwoaaah!”

Daisuke kept shooting back bullets even while being washed by the lightning attacks. This time the attack helicopter broke down without a trace.

“Kuh…”

He just barely avoided any direct hits, but his legs were numb and his head felt hazy.

He was probably able to avoid any follow up attacks because Shachito was holding back Asagi, who was in charge of commanding the Revived. Dodging the fairies and Revived that arrived in a delay, Daisuke withdrew.

“Helicopters coming! Kaguya, change your aim to the skies!”

“But we won’t be able to hold back the Revived like this!”

“Just go back to aiming at the surface after downing those helis! Until then, I’ll handle ‘em! —Sense Isolation!”

The voices he heard from the goggles informed him of his comrades’ struggle.

They had too many enemies.

Never mind gaining control of the surface, they might run out of stamina before that.

What do I do here… should I try to go all for nothing and charge to the tower alone?

He shook off this thought entering his mind along with the remaining dizziness.

It was easy to imagine there were way more enemies nearer the pagoda. Also, C might have laid traps for them.

It wasn’t a battle Daisuke could win on his own.

He should scatter the enemy forces and then make a surprise attack on the pagoda—but if both were impossible, there was only one thing he could do.

Daisuke leapt, kicking walls to alternate between two building and climb like that, landing atop a high rooftop.

The GARDEN he could see from his vantage point really looked like a battlefield. All around the city there were violent explosions and columns of smoke.

“So we were thinking the same.”

The fights occurring in the outer perimeter of the town were starting to converge in one place.

Toward Fuyuhotaru.

While he stood on the rooftop, Daisuke started getting bombarded by self-propelled artillery shooting at him from the surface.

The moment before these autocannons hit their mark, Daisuke leapt down from the roof. Landing on the ground, he left the explosions echoing overhead behind him, running ahead.

Beating down the Revived swarming toward him, he mowed down the fairies and C-butterflies with bullets. He dodged the self-propelled artillery launched by the autocannons, kicked them into the air while passing by them and turned them over.

By rushing through the alleys, he soon leapt out into a wide roadway.

It was wide, two-laned road that connected all the way to the pagoda in the center of GARDEN.

A fierce battle was unfolding there.

He could see the blizzard-clad Shiika going in the front and behind her a group of fighting Mushitsuki. Rina, Harukiyo and Arisu were already there.

“Kakkou’s also back!”

“The helis are gathering…! There are suddenly many more Revived, too!”

“Why are they all coming back here! Change in strategy?”

While listening to Terasu’s tense voice, Daisuke looked at the traces of Shiika’s passage.

Too slow—

Right now, the hanging bridge that served as the entrance to GARDEN was still visible from their current location. Regardless of the unobstructed view created by destroyed buildings, roads and such. They only advanced a few hundred meters.

Even including the fact that the four Rank 1s attracted their enemies to lighten the combatants’ burden, if they kept going in this speed—the Mushitsuki were definitely going to exhaust themselves before reaching the pagoda.

Operating the goggles, he broadcast his voice to everyone.

“It’s useless for us to try approaching the tower on our own. And even if we lower the number of enemies on the surface—it’s probably useless. Because it looks like she’s sending weapons into GARDEN from the outside.”

“Should we gather and advance together like I thought, then? The enemies in GARDEN are assembling, but since we also have the Rank 1s, we might be able to somehow keep this pace—”

“It’d be too late. —Everyone here already understood this long ago, right?”

While in the middle of violent fights, a complete silence befell the comms.

Not even a single person denied Daisuke’s words. The already wounded Mushitsuki’s expressions becoming severe wasn’t just due to their injuries and fatigue.

Above all else, Shiika’s sorrowful face told it all.

It wasn’t like she was feeling pain for those Mushitsuki who fought in order to let her advance.

It was because—she knew that sooner or later, her comrades would just exhaust themselves.

“At this rate, we’d all die pathetically before even reaching the midpoint.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?! We can’t go back anymore, right?”

“Raise the pace.”

All Mushitsuki other than Shiika turned to Daisuke. —She was the only one without any equipment.

“All Rank 1s other than Fuyuhotaru will create the path to the tower. All other combatants are to take detours away from the front and clear the enemies. Now that Asagi isn’t here, the enemies shouldn’t be making any complex attacks.”

“Are you telling us to run all the way to the tower in one go?! We’ll never hold up for so long!”

“It’s fine as long as Fuyuhotaru reaches there.”

He could hear all Mushitsuki gasping through the wireless.

However—not a single one opposed his suggestion.

“C’s afraid.”

With the pagoda in the very center visible in the distance, GARDEN was ablaze with the color gold.

She mobilized the fairies, the C-butterflies, the Revived, the autocannons and even the attack helicopters to protect the one and single spire towering over the center.

“It’s clear, right? C’s being this cautious not because she’d scared of us. She’s afraid of one person and one person alone—Fuyuhotaru—coming to her.”

“…”

“We need no strategy or anything. As long as Fuyuhotaru reaches that place, we can end this.”

From the very beginning it had nothing to do with the Rank 1 or anything else.

C had attacked Daisuke and the other Mushitsuki simply because she feared a surprise attack. She was convinced she could beat any Mushitsuki at all if she isolated them and attacked with concentrated firepower.

Only a single Mushitsuki was the exception.

Only one person who wouldn’t let even a single attack pass, whose attacks could never be defended against.

That was—Fuyuhotaru.

A step.

Yet another step.

There was no doubt that her slow steps sounded to C like the clock ticking her own countdown.

As long as white snow kept falling from the star-studded skies—

The battle between the Mushitsuki and C would never end.

“…”

Not a single one of his comrades were able to utter any voice.

They had no way to win at this rate. Even so, charging while putting their lives on the line was a huge gamble. If they went on that one-way street, they might encounter the ending known as annihilation waiting for them.

However—all their remaining hopes were just ahead.

“—Once the Rank 1s begin their attack, we’ll deploy to both sides and behind Fuyuhotaru! You don’t have to watch the front! Just don’t let any enemies attack from the sides!”

Terasu’s order spread to all units.

Daisuke leapt, landing in front of Fuyuhotaru.

As he readied his gun, Rina, Harukiyo and Arisu also landed to his left and right. The four Rank 1s that assembled in front of Fuyuhotaru prepared to face the enemies ahead.

“Let’s go!”

A bullet clad in raging flames was launched from the gun’s muzzle fused with the maw of the checkered beetle.

The large seven-spotted ladybug unleashed shockwaves.

A crimson, blazing Great Yama tiger beetle was unleashed along with a roar.

The spear fused with the silver Morpho butterfly sent slashing attacks with scales.

“Chaaarge!”

Embodying overwhelming destruction, these attacks blew away the fairies in their way.

While opening the path ahead, this impact wouldn’t stop, creating a large path in front of Daisuke’s group.

—Or so it should have.

“—”

As Daisuke wanted to rush ahead, his legs stopped.

At first he couldn’t understand what happened in front of his eyes.

Up to the point they blew the fairies away, their attack went just like they expected it to—but no path opened up.

Because something flew out of the ground along with a tremor.

Higher than the surrounding buildings, there were creepy patterns tightly etched into its black surface. This rectangular object’s material looked like aged wood, but also like thick metal.

It looked like a coffin—but it was much too large for that.

The attacks launched by the four Rank 1s struck even this large coffin to smithereens.

However, inside the destroyed coffin—

Was another one.

Destroying even that, another one appeared behind it—

“This—is—”

He could hear Terasu’s groan from the wireless.

Daisuke and the rest’s attack was finally blocked by the fourth coffin.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

A white brilliance was formed in front of their target, the towering pagoda.

Swelling from between the high-rise buildings and while crushing those, appearing as though to protect the pagoda—was something much too large to be acknowledged as a Mushi, a much too beautiful monster.

Its long and thin body was pure white and emitted a pale glow. Its sharpened, blade-like, smooth legs stepped firmly on the ground, and on its raised upper torso it readied a single, curved scythe. Its oval head had eyeballs like pearls, and on its back it unfurled wings that were pink like flower petals.

It was an orchid mantis glowing in white.

And even a veteran like Daisuke had never seen a Mushi so large.

“Genius—”

He heard the voice of Ogata Akatsuki coming from the goggles. Apparently he and Terasu knew this monster’s identity.

The orchid mantis made a deep howl.

Countless coffins began sprouting from all around the pagoda and the orchid mantis from the surface. Even seen from afar, they were large and formed a circle with no openings.

A moment later, even further new coffins appeared to draw a circle around their outer perimeter.

Earth tremors kept echoing one after another, and further coffins appeared—

The tremors finally stopped when the wall of coffins came right in front of Daisuke’s face. With electricity running through all of them, the coffins were glowing in gold.

“—No, way—”

Someone groaned this with a hoarse voice.

Enough coffins appeared to form a wall around the pagoda. If GARDEN was viewed from the sky, they would probably be able to see the circle of golden coffins like the loops of a cut tree.

Looking up the towering coffins, the Mushitsuki were frozen still.

Along with curtains of lightning, attack helicopters approached from the skies.

Even the fairies and Revived began gathering where Daisuke and the others stopped their charge.

Furthermore—

White lines passed through the sky and something was thrown toward the Mushitsuki on the surface.

An aircraft was carpet bombing the surface. Since they sparkled in gold, it probably meant that these bombs were also embedded with C’s lightning.

“—”

Watching the golden glows drop down from the sky as though in slow motion—all Mushitsuki felt despair.

However, even in such a situation—

Kasuou.

Harukiyo.

Arisu.

These three Mushitsuki instantly erecting a defensive barrier with their abilities was close to a miracle.

The three-layered barrier of mist, flames and scales engulfed all Mushitsuki. However, they weren’t able to fully defend against this overwhelming attack.

Attacks made by golden lightning, violent explosions or the Revived that managed to break through the barrier hit the Mushitsuki on the surface.

“WaaAAAhAAAH!”

“Ah—”

“KyaaAAAaAH!”

The wireless was filled with the dying screams of Mushitsuki.

While their sight was filled with flashes of light and explosions, the Mushitsuki collapsed one after another.

“Aah—Ah…”

Protecting herself with a blizzard, Shiika saw their end with a sorrowful expression. While the Mushitsuki were injured by golden lightning and explosive wind, she just stood there, unable to do anything.

“Uh—”

He heard a new scream through the goggles.

One of the Mushi desperately protecting themselves was trapped inside a coffin around two meters tall appearing from the ground. The moment it trapped the Mushitsuki, the coffin was enveloped by golden lightning.

More and more new coffins leapt from the surface. Quite a few Mushitsuki were taken inside and vanished.

Urgent voices of his comrades including Ogata Akatsuki echoed in the goggles.

“Genius is a Mushi-eating Mushi! If you get swallowed by the coffin it’s all over…!”

“Gwah! H-how many were taken down?!”

“Already, more than half our forces…! T-Terasu, give your orders…!”

“Uuh—if I Isolate the territory right now, Kasuou and the rest’s barrier will also be gone—t-try and resist by yourselves, somehow…!”

Terasu’s voice was also swallowed by explosions and he couldn’t hear her clearly.

Even if he could hear her, it was probably meaningless. A lone word probably came to the minds of all Mushitsuki there, including Terasu.

Annihilation—

Their worst prediction would probably become reality in a few minutes.

After the exhausted Mushitsuki fell, even the powerful Mushitsuki who lost their support would fold up one after another. And this would continue until even the Rank 1s like Daisuke fell.

The one remaining last—would be Shiika.

Left alone, even Shiika would be unable to either proceed or draw back, and eventually run out of power—

It was the common image that rose to all Mushitsuki’s minds.

For Daisuke, too.

However…

“Fuyuhotaru!”

It wasn’t over yet.

It was clear they wouldn’t be able to avoid annihilation at this rate.

If so, then Daisuke and the rest had only one way to survive.

Daisuke’s loud voice reverberated in the battlefield engulfed by the sounds of battle and flashes of light.

“Stop your ability!”

Forgetting about the situation, the Mushitsuki gasped. Everyone turned to look at Daisuke.

The patterns etched all over Daisuke’s body emitted green light. Grasping his large automatic pistol, he stepped hard on the ground.

Stopping Fuyuhotaru’s ability in this situation?

Removing the snow now would be suicidal—

Everyone probably thought this.

“Stop making it snow… and run!”

Howling, Daisuke kicked the ground. Rushing ahead, he struck down the overlapping barrier of mist, flames and scales from the inside.

“All other Mushitsuki, protect Shiika with everything you have!”

As he leapt outside the barrier, a storm of lightning attacks was immediately revealed. However, without considering his own injuries, Daisuke approached even the towering gold coffins in front of his eyes—

And shot a bullet with his full powers.

The flaming bullet struck through the coffin that was like a high-rise building.

At the same time, golden lightning surged from the broken coffin. This golden glow pierced Daisuke.

“—GAHHHH!”

He was assaulted by a strike that felt like it should blow him into a hundred pieces. His sight was dyed in white and his consciousness felt about to get blown away.

However, he couldn’t allow himself to stop here.

There were still more walls protecting the pagoda.

If he couldn’t break down all of them and then also defeat the monster called Genius, he’d never be able to reach all the way to C.

If he couldn’t reach her—they’d be all annihilated.

When Daisuke and all the rest died, it would be C’s victory.

The world would become one where Mushitsuki were born endlessly—

“Gu—uh…”

Daisuke tried rushing toward the next coffin, but his body wouldn’t move. Without him even realizing, his knees fell touched the ground and his head was hazy.

If he stopped here, he would get hit by another concentrated attack.

While he understood that, as his body was numb and unmoving, above his head appeared—

Something like a fluttering butterfly.

Like a bridge connecting hope to hope.

A lone silver glow leapt over him.

“—Arisu—”

The moment she passed next to him, the silver spear-wielding girl looked at Daisuke.

She spoke no words.

However, she wore a bright smile like that of her original self. Just like back then when she might have ridiculed Daisuke, but fought to save Mushitsuki.

Arisu got a running start and thrust the lance glowing silver straight ahead.

Cracks ran through the gigantic coffin blocking the path ahead.

The next moment, as the coffin blown apart while spreading scales around—she received a violent electric shock.

“—!”

Struck by lightning, Arisu was thrown to the ground. She apparently immediately protected herself with scales, but it wasn’t the kind of damage she could fully nullify.

Having witnessed the second coffin getting destroyed, someone overtook Daisuke again.

They were Harukiyo with his body clad in flames, as well as Rina riding her seven-spotted ladybug. Without even turning to Daisuke, both looked ahead.

Furthermore—Shiika sprinted next to him.

Shiika was limited in how fast she could move while using her ability. However, since she stopped making it snow and ran, she was now much faster.

“...”

Shiika’s eyes that he saw for only a brief moment—were powerful.

She believed without doubt that Daisuke would rise to his legs again.

While protecting Shiika from the fairies and Revived, many Mushitsuki also passed by Daisuke, running. None of them worried about Daisuke or looked at him.

“—Guh!”

Howling, Daisuke got up. The pattern all over his body emitted a glow again.

The sight of Harukiyo destroying the third coffin leapt into his eyes. Unable to fully evade the lightning attack released from the destroyed coffin, the flame devil rolled on the ground.

Daisuke broke into a run.

He overtook Arisu who tried getting to her shaking legs.

He overtook Shiika and the Mushitsuki protecting her.

Her overtook Rina, who was blown back along with her seven-spotted ladybug by the lightning emitted by the fourth destroyed coffin.

He struck his clenched fist at the fifth coffin towering ahead of him.

“Gwah...!”

The moment the coffin broke down, Daisuke was struck by lightning. This impact that was superior even to the previous one caused him to fall forward. His limbs were numb and paralysed and his head was swimming.

Even so, as he raised his face and tried getting up again, Arisu overtook him. Her white coat was stained with fresh blood.

Arisu destroyed the next coffin again and was struck by lightning.

And once more, the Mushitsuki with Shiika in the center ran ahead. They numbered less than before. Either getting caught by coffins that came flying out of the ground or else protecting Shiika from the fairies, the Mushitsuki collapsed one after another.

Transforming into a fireball and reaching the very front of the group, Harukiyo destroyed the next coffin.

“AaAAH!”

Daisuke shouted and rose. His long coat was scorched and in tatters, and his face was dirtied by blood and soot. If he collapsed like this, he might get mistaken with debris.

Even so Daisuke ran ahead.

Overtaking his comrades, overtaking his collapsed comrades, he was headed to the frontlines.

Although their numbers went down, the Mushitsuki rushing with all of their power were approaching the pagoda.

A coffin was destroyed again and the seven-spotted ladybug was pierced by a golden flash.

“—!”

Bending back, Rina fell to her knees and remained there—

Daisuke broke the next coffin with bullets.

Even as his sight was dyed in gold, he didn’t feel any pain—because he lost consciousness for a second.

He regained it because Arisu poked him with the handle of her spear as she passed next to him. Kasuou and Terasu also struck his body. It was also thanks to the healer Mushitsuki called Nene who kept singing despite her face being blue on the verge of asphyxiation.

While switching with each other to destroy the coffins, the Mushitsuki kept advancing toward the pagoda.

Already, the only traces to their passage were debris strewn with collapsed Mushitsuki or Revived.

All those who were running were covered in wounds without exception. Even Shiika who stopped using her powers was bleeding from her forehead, perhaps from an attack that their comrades hadn’t managed to fully protect her against. Even including Shiika, those who still ran together numbered no more than about thirty.

“—...”

Daisuke stood up, wavering. He stepped ahead with a weak gait.

As he hastened his pace, the patterns on his body increased their glow. Switching his legs from walking to running, he finally raised his head and looked ahead.

They were approaching the pagoda.

As well as the orchid mantis that stood in front of it like a watchdog.

Overtaking the collapsed members that were pulled up by their comrades, Daisuke ran.

Rina destroyed another coffin.

Only one coffin remained—

“OOOooOOOOOHHH!”

Daisuke’s fist struck through the final coffin.

As he was struck by lightning, it finally opened up the view for him and the Mushitsuki following from behind.

Appearing on the other side of the raining coffin fragments—

Was the gigantic orchid mantis they needed to look up at.

As well as—a gigantic Shrine floating in the night sky.

“—“

Seeing the Shrine that appeared at some point, the Mushitsuki all froze.

Looking down on them, the orchid mantis swung down its massive scythe. A warm wind blew through the battlefield, and a swarm of white spheres was created on the surface.

“T-this is... Genius’s mental pollution—”

Terasu’s voice was cut off in the middle—because time itself seemed to stop.

Anything and everything was dyed in white.

In a world where even his blood was dyed white, Daisuke—

Was struck by lightning, losing all sounds and sense of time.

3.06 Daisuke Part 4

Daisuke woke up from his head being hit.

“Hey, Kusuriya. We’re moving classrooms.”

His classmate Tachibana Rina was smiling at him. He’d apparently fallen asleep on his desk.

While rubbing his eyes and raising his face, he could see fellow students streaming out from the classroom of Class 2-F of Ouka High School.

His next class was an elective subject of Art. Since it was Rina’s specialty, she looked fired up.

“Dai-kun’s awake?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to see how long it’d take him to wake up.”

“Akatsuki… did you have that sort of personality?”

“It’s fine, Senri. Let’s just leave him alone and go ahead?”

Just like Rina, the four classmates peeked into his face.

Haji Senri, Ogata Akatsuki, Endou Iori and Sunakozaka Azu.

Daisuke looked at their faces absentmindedly.

Watching his friends wear rich expressions and smile—he returned a pained smile.

“…Maybe I should ditch class. I’m still so sleepy.”

“Do it if you want to? You’ll get scolded by the teachers, though.”

Saying this abruptly, his friends all went out of the class with Rina in the lead. Only Iori stayed behind. “C’mon,” he said, grabbing Daisuke’s arm to force him to rise from his chair.

Leaving the classroom with Iori, they reconvened with Rina and the rest in the corridor.

While shivering at the coldness of winter, Daisuke looked outside the window.

He could see the bare trees and the students heading to the school gym by cutting through the courtyard.

“You’ll come for karaoke today, right?”

“Oh… sorry, I have plans today.”

As he rejected Iori’s invitation, his friends all smirked.

Rina also turned aside and smiled.

“We need to get that girl a personal alarm. Three of them.”

“Oh, I see…”

This time she had no retort, just accepting it with an amiable smile.

After that, Daisuke went through art class properly. He submitted his picture which was below average in class and attended his next period.

At lunch break he chatted with his friends and attended afternoon classes properly too.

After going through normal classes like usual, he wore his coat to head home and found a petite girl waiting for him at the entrance to the classroom.

“—Well then.”

His friends turned around as he said this and left first.

They all exchanged words of farewell.

Burning their figures into his sight, Daisuke left the classroom in a fast pace.

“Sorry for making you wait, Shiika.”

“No problem.”

Anmoto Shiika, who was waiting for Daisuke, wore a carefree smile.

Walking together out of campus, they were blown by the winter’s cold wind. As they shrugged and brought their bodies closer, Daisuke and Shiika shrunk the distance between them.

Going into town, they saw many colorful, glittering illuminations.

“It’s almost Christmas, huh.”

As Shiika mumbled it, her profile seemed excited at seeing the decorative lights filling town.

“Yeah. Iori and the others said we’re going to have a party at Senri’s house.”

“Rina too?”

“Who knows? That girl seriously has too many friends. I’m sure her schedule for Christmas is packed full.”

“Wow.” Daisuke was joking, but Shiika seemed to show serious admiration. He almost ended up grabbing her hand without thinking, but recalling the existence of the personal alarm, he stopped himself.

Daisuke and Shiika went to an arcade and played with the prize corner, then just bought some sweets and went on the road back home early. Since the days were getting shorter, they also had less time for dates.

He walked through the residential district, escorting Shiika back home.

They walked, the setting down creating long shadows behind them.

As he turned his gaze aside, his eyes suddenly met with Shiika’s.

She smiled happily.

Daisuke returned that smile.

“…How many times will you show us the same illusion, C?”

“C will use whatever she can to eliminate her enemies.”

Shiika erased her expression. Watching Daisuke with doll-like eyes, her mouth moved mechanically.

“By overlapping the mental pollution abilities of Genius and Shinpu, I created an effective attack method to interfere with the deep subconscious. At present, I managed to affect all enemies.”

It certainly worked.

He knew it was an illusion from the very start, but couldn’t get out of it.

Apparently even C was aware that he hadn’t been completely affected.

“This is not an illusion. I can recreate these exact environments in the new world as well.”

“By manipulating our memories, right? I already rejected that as Taiki.”

“Taiki did reject it. However, what about Kakkou—Kusuriya Daisuke?”

“…”

“You are very tired. You must want to rest.”

Daisuke gave no answer.

Kusuriya Daisuke and Anmoto Shiika—or rather, C who took her form—walked back shoulder to shoulder.

Whether Daisuke really had a home to go back to in here—he didn’t know.

C had called this illusion an attack, but he felt no pain. In fact, he was even filled with relief that he didn’t need to fight anyone.

“Do you know why until now some people became Mushitsuki while others didn’t?”

Daisuke remained silent and unanswering.

“People have desires. Since they have instincts, that is natural. Even hunger can become a dream. Perhaps even those who aren’t human, like animals—perhaps even a cat on the side of the road might be holding potential to become a Mushitsuki.”

“…”

“But do you know what is a dream strong enough to become Mushitsuki? One so strongly wished for that it can even control people’s life and death?”

Although Daisuke and C were enemies, they kept walking the road without fighting.

What waited ahead?

Ahead of these Mushitsuki walking toward the future—he could see nothing but the road continuing on and on.

“That is—a dream that cannot come true.”

It was Anmoto Shiika’s voice, but she spoke in an inorganic tone.

Daisuke slightly narrowed his eyes. But he said nothing.

“Because it can’t be granted, they wish for it strongly and can even reject death. —Miguruma Yaeko hypothesized that the Primal Mushi called the Original Three are people who anticipated this fate.”

“…”

“While getting in contact with Shinpu, C—Horiuchi Erii also noticed this. She was unable to accept this truth, threw away her personality and ran away.”

“…”

“C takes Mushitsuki who can’t grant their dreams, fixes them in the form called the Undying and saves them from destruction. I am not an enemy of Mushitsuki. I actually—love Mushitsuki.”

“…”

“You should have realized this long ago, right? Both about dreams being unfulfillable, as well as me not being your enemy.”

Daisuke smiled.

Neither affirming nor denying C’s words, he said only one thing.

“They can be fulfilled.”

The girl in the form of Shiika looked at Daisuke’s face.

There was a car honking from somewhere.

“At present, no Mushitsuki who fulfilled their dream exist. —If such a Mushitsuki ever appeared, they would be a defect to the Mushitsuki system. An irregularity that can be called a bug. It is unknown what sort of being this Mushitsuki would transform into.”

His expression unchanging, Daisuke just kept walking while listening to C’s words.

“They even have the potential to be reborn as a frightening monster the likes of which humanity had never seen before.”

“…”

“Rather than risking the creation of monsters, evolving into the Undying is the right choice for Mushitsuki.”

Daisuke shook his head to the sides.

Raising his face, he looked around this world that had neither battles nor conflict.

“I don’t care about the Undying. It’s just that for me, the Revived—those who conveniently lost their pain and anything else—don’t look like normal people.”

This time C was silenced.

“It’s not like I wanna fight either, and I am tired. —Even so, I don’t want forget what happened to me or to others. I want to decide doing something for myself while not forgetting that. Because I believed doing that is what a normal person would do.”

Right now, Daisuke wasn’t walking in a created path like he was now.

His path that included him fighting, getting hurt and hurting many people was already soaked in blood, but even so—it was the proof of the person called Kusuriya Daisuke having lived.

“Those standing in the way are Mushi and the Original Three. Also—if you are going to take that and decide by yourself to make people into Undying…”

Daisuke looked at the girl walking right next to him and spoke.

“It looks to me as if you’re the one who’s becoming a monster.”

Shiika’s expression looked frozen—or perhaps it was just Daisuke’s imagination. Perhaps in reality she simply couldn’t understand his words and was trying to analyze that truth.

“I’ll make my dream come true.”

Daisuke’s heart was beating.

And that heartbeat—was no illusion. Relying on this heartbeat he certainly felt, he focused his consciousness.

His face became not that of Kusuriya Daisuke, but of Kakkou.

Convinced of the breakdown in negotiations, the girl transformed into not Anmoto Shiika, but C.

“By doing this, just by fulfilling my dream—I will become a mere human.”

It was already too late for C to swing her electric-clad arm.

Trusting his own heartbeat, Daisuke retrieved the sensations of his real body.

And—he howled.

3.07 Daisuke Part 5

“—aaAAAAAAAHHH!”

Howling from the depths of his stomach, he forced his consciousness to come back to reality.

GARDEN dyed in white retrieved its previous colors and the flow of time resumed.

It wasn’t just Daisuke.

All Mushitsuki in that battlefield shouted loud.

It wasn’t just to resist the combined mental attack by C and Genius. Even as they were hurt and collapsed—they vowed that they’d fight, walk their own chosen path.

They were Mushitsuki who sang their dream’s praises as loud as their voices let them.

And the number of those among them who fell to the mental attack—was zero.

“—”

The surrounding air all rose up to the high sky. The gigantic orchid mantis blocking their sight swung up its large scythe.

Reversing the winds it whipped up, Genius swung down its right scythe.

This combination of mass and speed was aiming for the Mushitsuki on the surface—

“Haha!”

Harukiyo’s full-powered fist repelled it. The vast heatwave burned up Genius’s scythe in an instant, blowing away the fairies and Revived on the surface.

Genius swung his left scythe horizontally to swipe.

Cutting a high-rise building into two, the pursuing giant scythe’s tip—was pierced by the Arisu’s thrust spear.

Scales came gushing out from the silver lance fused with the Morpho butterfly. Not coming to a rest even after breaking Genius’s scythe to smithereens, this impact erased even the crumbling building’s remains.

“Arisu!”

Daisuke shouted and asked.

“—Where is she?”

Sleeping Beauty accurately surmised the meaning behind his question.

The tip of the silver lance raised aloft pointed to the head portion of Genius.

No—it pointed behind this thin and long head, to a certain point in the pagoda.

“…!”

Looking up where the spear pointed, Daisuke was wrapped in an orange glow. His body suddenly became lighter.

Turning around, he could see a boy on the other side of the swarming fairies and Revived.

It was a blood-soaked Shiohara Shachito. Kneeling on a collapsed building, he pointed the hockey stick at Daisuke. —Him being here probably meant that the fight between teacher and disciple was over.

His body now lighter, Daisuke kicked the ground and leapt high.

As he tried leaping over Genius, the orchid mantis opened its mouthpart wide to stop him.

Mountain-like fangs that attempted chomping down on him—were shattered.

The shockwave emitted by Rina’s seven-spotted ladybug struck the orchid mantis’s jaw from below as though it was an uppercut.

Daisuke kicked the orchid mantis’s head and used the momentum to leap again—

“—OOoooOOOOOH!”

His left fist pierced through the pagoda’s wall. Using that momentum, he stabbed both feet through the wall to hold his body in place.

“Gwuhhh!”

A fierce storm of electricity blew all over the windowless pagoda’s surface.

Daisuke held himself at the place close to the pagoda’s summit—the spot Sleeping Beauty Arisu had indicated with her sensing ability.

“OOooOOAAAAAAHHH!”

While receiving enough electricity to brighten up the entire sky above GARDEN, Daisuke put his gun muzzle against the wall in front of his eyes. Pulling the trigger, he destroyed the thick metal wall.

He finally reached the pagoda that held C’s main body.

He wasn’t going to leave it just for Fuyuhotaru.

Wringing out his remaining powers, Daisuke invaded the tower.

“AAAAaaAAHHH!”

The dark interior had nothing in it other than ceiling and floor. Daisuke destroyed the wall using his left arm while firing the gun with his right. He was constantly getting hit by the electricity raging through the building’s interior, so Daisuke was losing the sensation of his arms.

Destroying everything he found, Daisuke rushed through the floor. In this state where his consciousness was held only through sheer force of will, he searched for C’s main body, and his eyes—

Finally found it.

It was a spacious space with a freezing air.

There were no lights in that room, and there were electric devices blinking on and off that looked like bookshelves.

And further back—

There were two eyes staring at him.

Daisuke readied his pistol.

“C—”

The next moment, light holding vast amounts of energy burst.

Ceiling, floor and walls all broke to smithereens. Having lost his footing, Daisuke was flung back outside the pagoda helplessly.

As he was thrown into the air, what Daisuke saw was the scenery of the crumbling pagoda. He saw the building’s top part explode while the foundation burst into smithereens.

What remained after the crumbling pagoda was two figures floating in air.

One of them was inside a transparent box that was linked to the surface through golden electrical discharges. Rounding her body and covering both eyes with her hands was the girl Daisuke knew as Horiuchi Erii—C.

The transparent box was housed in a majestically-decorated enclosure, itself resembling a large chair or a bed. The girl sleeping inside didn’t move a muscle.

And the other figure—was sitting with her legs crossed on top of the sleeping girl.

Her face was the exact same as Horiuchi Erii. However, her body clad in something like a transparent negligee was pale and slightly see-through. Her worn tiara was shining, and eyes covered by eyelashes bursting with gold looked down on Daisuke.

It was C’s main body—and her body double that could be called the medium of her power.

“Guh…gaha…!”

As Daisuke fell right next to his friends, the orange glow left him and vanished. Since his mass was no longer reduced, the damage he’d accumulated made it impossible for him to move. He couldn’t get up. The healer Nene rushed next to him.

“C…!”

“So that’s her real body…!”

The Mushitsuki fighting with Genius all looked up at C floating above the debris of the treasure tower.

Looking down on them getting pumped up, C widened her eyes.

Much like a balloon instantly inflating—the remains of the pagoda gathered around the floating C. Revolving around her much like a planet’s rings, they formed a perfectly round shape. The sphere’s radius was probably several dozen time the petite C’s height.

And it didn’t end with this.

“…!”

While the Mushitsuki were looking up, C’s expression changed.

Golden wings slowly unfolded from the back of the girl who narrowed her eyes in anger. Patterns drawn with golden threads looking like the veins on a leaf drew the shape of the letter C.

Sitting on her majestic bed, the girl sprouting gigantic wings—

Was her form that of an angel with a halo?

Or was it a buddha with a mandala?

These golden wings—clearly holding vast powers—caused light to surge in the sphere protecting C. All the debris became connected through golden threads, transforming into a glowing golden sphere.

“N-no way, is she trying to Mature…?”

He heard Terasu’s mutter.

“No—t-that—”

Ogata Akatsuki denied this.

Her transformation done, C looked down on the Mushitsuki.

Her gaze was unchanged from how it was before.

“It’s Semi-Maturation—”

It was the ability of Akatsuki’s, Mushi the mayfly. She controlled it so perfectly it could be called Half-Maturation. Since C could control the life and death of Mushitsuki, she was now attempting to control even the phenomenon of Maturation—

“…!”

Genius also started changing in front of the shocked Mushitsuki’s eyes. White blobs gathered toward its lost leg and the large scythe was regenerating.

The entire orchid mantis’s body was transforming as well. It became even larger, and the remaining legs also became sharp scythes.

Furthermore—

The Mushi of the Revived surrounding the Mushitsuki also began to change.

“All of them—”

While holding down his shaking legs, Daisuke rose up.

It wasn’t just C. Even Genius and the Revived, meaning the entire enemy forces, were Maturing.

On the other hand, all surviving Mushitsuki were already with a foot in the grave. They sacrificed plenty to reach this far, using up their very body and soul to fight.

Coming all the way here—they no longer had the powers to face against such powerful opponents.

“—Leave the surface to us, Rank 1s.”

A soprano voice echoed in the despair-filled battlefield.

As Daisuke turned around—he could see Kasuou transforming into an entirely different person.

“You bastards need to go and beat the crap outta C already.”

Kasuou’s vivid golden hair was being dyed pitch black. One arm vanished, and she used condensed mist to sprout a clawed giant arm in its stead. A single eye became a black void, and her exposed teeth were growing sharper.

“Before it’s too late for all of us, like that stupid Himiko.”

Just like the groaning Kasuou said, all Mushitsuki other than her were also transforming.

The Mushi equipped to Terasu’s throat now covered her all the way to her mouth, becoming a mask with countless breathing holes.

Yotsuba’s limbs became dyed in white and black, her entire figure wavering while drawing faint afterimages.

Namie’s common albatross butterfly burning in white started multiplying as if engaged in cell division.

Aijisupa’s hairband and clothes were dyed in pure white, the steam making his body float in air.

“…!”

He could see other Mushitsuki change their forms as well.

They were Semi-Maturing just like the enemy—or not.

What Kasuou and the rest were doing was nothing more than a rampage, inducing themselves to Mature out of their own volition. It would increase their powers, but it wasn’t a state they could hold for long—in the first place, there was no guarantee they could go back to normal after this.

It wasn’t them just betting their lives.

A few minutes. Once this much time passed, it would be too late for them, and if they actually Matured—they would just increase the number of threats on the world.

However, right now, they judged this to be the time to fight and bet on everything.

And that was—the same as Daisuke.

“Yeah, we’ll beat her.”

The seconds hand counting down hundreds of seconds to decide this heroic fight already started moving.

They could no longer go back—

“ORAAaaAAaaaAAHHH!”

“WooOOOooOOOOH!”

“AaaAAAaaAAAHHH!”

The howling Mushitsuki and the Semi-Matured Revived clashed directly. Genius, that became even larger, swung down its sharp scythes.

The goggle’s wireless functions already broke long ago. His comrades’ shouts and the explosive sounds and impact filling the surface right after them shook his eardrums.

“OOOOOH!”

Daisuke made the pattern on his entire body glow and unleashed a bullet toward the floating C.

However, the electric attack shot by fairies from the surface and a concentrated fire from the autocannons, as well as the lightning from the golden planet protecting C, intercepted the bullet.

The same happened with Harukiyo’s flames, Arisu’s scales and Rina’s shockwaves. Their attacks were cancelled, not even reaching the sphere engulfing C.

Attacks from long range weren’t going to work.

Since he estimated this, Daisuke did not hesitate. He kicked the ground, rushing ahead.

“—ooOOOH!”

Avoiding obstacles, he ran through the battlefield where Mushitsuki and Revived fought. As he accelerated, the patterns over Daisuke’s entire body increased their glow.

“—ooOOOOOOOHHH!”

Making himself into a green-glowing bullet, he leapt with great momentum, kicking the earth.

Genius’s scythe swung down, attempting to intercept his leap.

The next moment, Genius was struck by a concentrated attack from all Mushitsuki on the surface. Attacking together while not caring about any damage to themselves, they managed to carve through the orchid mantis’s large body.

Enemy attacks were launched at Daisuke again and again.

The Mushitsuki on the surface blew all of them back.

He took a full-powered running start, followed by a full-powered jump.

And obtaining the full-powered support granted to him by his allies—

“—OoaaaAAAaaAAAAAHHH!”

Daisuke landed right on the top of the sphere protecting C.

Immediately fearsome lightning assaulted Daisuke—but his left arm and right leg covered by a thick, burly carapace grabbed onto the pagoda’s debris forming the sphere and wouldn’t let go.

Having released his power to the very brink of losing control, the change reached all the way to his right arm as well. It fused with the gun, becoming a giant maw of the checkered beetle spewing hellfire.

“aAAaaAAAAHHHH!”

The sides of his mouth ripped and spouted fangs. Daisuke emitted a bestial howl.

The bombardment unleashed from the beetle’s maw struck the golden planet protecting C from zero range.

Mixing with the lightning assaulting Daisuke, it caused so much light to burst that it felt like it was going to destroy the entirety of GARDEN.

“HahaaAAaaAAHHHH!”

The flame devil, Harukiyo, followed Daisuke. Becoming a crimson flame, his right arm stuck to the sphere of light, persistently pounding it with a fireball. As he sneered in great joy, the lower half of his body began transforming into ethereal flames.

“—!”

Sleeping Beauty—Arisu also leapt to the sphere of light. Her long, black hair became silver, and a slashing attack that once parted the sea struck the light sphere again and again. She also emitted a blowing storm of scales that weakened C’s abilities, covering the entire sphere.

“…aaAAAAHHH!”

Lady Bird—Tachibana Rina also pursued the sphere of light. Having swelled up to several times its size and sprouting nasty-looking thorns all over, the seven-spotted ladybug unleashed a shockwave that once half-destroyed GARDEN.

“—”

Even while getting hit by these four focused attacks, the expression of the C sitting atop her real body did not change.

Turning her eyelashes spreading golden sparks ahead, she raised her thin arms aloft. Light surged from her ten outstretched fingers, and she supplied the golden sphere protecting her with the energy known as electricity.

The lightning unleashed from the surface of the sphere became even stronger.

All four Rank 1s including Daisuke were assaulted by further impacts.

“Vanish, all of you incomplete Undying—”

“ooAAaaAAAAHHH!”

“HaaAAAAHHH!”

“—!”

“aaAAAAHHH!”

Lightning ripping through the night sky kept piercing through the Rank 1s—

Daisuke continued his bombardment single-mindedly.

Harukiyo clashed with fireballs.

Arisu swung down her spear.

Rina unleashed shockwaves.

“You failed worms—”

C’s golden pupils glared at Daisuke.

However, he and the others did not stop their attacks.

They clung to the golden sphere—literally like worms, continuing their attacks.

Impacts caused by these midair clashes reached even GARDEN’s surface. All high-rise buildings in the center of town were unable to withstand the storm of blowing energy, crumbling down.

C’s eyes glaring at Daisuke turned even harsher.

Lightning kept increasing its limitless power as it struck the four Rank 1s—

On the other hand, the attacks made by Daisuke’s group started weakening at some point—

At last.

All four exhausted at the same time.

“—…”

Using up power beyond their limits, they couldn’t even raise screams.

As tattered as a squeezed rag, they were finally blown away from the sphere.

And the result of this assault by the four Rank 1s, regarded the strongest, was—

Not even a single crack appeared on the sphere protecting Super Class Rank 1, C. It appeared like this unimaginable defensive hardness denied everything, creating an isolated territory. Not only that, but using her precise control she would instantly change to other domains, constantly repeating regeneration and hardening.

Daisuke, Harukiyo, Arisu, Rina.

The fight between the four Rank 1s and the Super Class Rank 1 ended in the former’s utter defeat.

However—they had no regrets.

Nor pain.

While returning to a humanlike form after spending their powers, they were falling down toward the surface.

Those four all had the exact same expression.

As for why—

“—The world, will change…”

All of them muttered this because they saw the same scene.

Super Class Rank 1, C, was descending on GARDEN just like a goddess.

Another glow appeared above that divine figure.

It was just a small glow.

But it was—the light that would change the world.

“…To a world where no Mushitsuki will be born again…”

Looking down the four smiling Mushitsuki, C widened her glowing eyes.

It was because she noticed while Daisuke and the rest were falling, that the surviving Mushitsuki had already vanquished Genius.

And because she saw something standing on top of the unmoving orchid mantis.

A lone girl—

“…!”

She looked above her.

There she finally noticed the small light coming down on her.

It was—a single flake of snow.

“…It’s our victory.”

Daisuke and the other three Rank 1s could not compare to the C.

However, there was another Rank 1.

The girl standing atop the defeated orchid mantis—was Secret Class Rank 1, Fuyuhotaru.

The one C feared the most—

The one Daisuke and the others defended to the death—

The course of the destruction that no one could evade finally reached their archnemesis.

“—aaAA—”

What meaning did this whisper-like voice leaking from C’s lips hold?

Sitting on the bed where her real body slumbered, C raised her arms right above her.

An electric strike surged from the golden sphere.

All autocannons installed around town immediately launched a volley of bombardments and ground-to-air missiles.

Fairies, C-butterflies and the Revived on the ground launched attacks straight above them.

The sky of GARDEN became filled with golden flashes of light.

“—“

However, the snow that broke down even through all of those did not slow down its fall in the least.

C looked down at the surface. She reached out toward Anmoto Shiika.

However—

“...!”

Shiika calmly covered herself with a curtain of blizzard.

Even while protecting her body, she kept her gaze trained on above C. With a strong gaze that lacked any doubts she focused her consciousness on the flake of snow.

And the falling snow—touched the golden sphere protecting C.

Destructive noise loud enough to rupture eardrums echoed throughout the entire GARDEN.

This lone flake pierced through the sphere that Daisuke and the others hadn’t left a single scratch on. It broke through even C’s territory, and the snow glowing white got in contact with C’s body double.

“—”

C kept resisting, reaching her hand toward the snow.

However—

As if those golden eyes of her saw through this inescapable fate—

She let her arms that tried protecting against the snow drop down.

“…”

Why had she done this?

C erased her angry expression—and looked at none other than Daisuke.

And then—smiled.

“…”

Why had this being called Super Class Rank 1, C, smiled at Daisuke in her last moments?

He was thinking while watching the snow finally touch C.

Most likely, he would spend the rest of his life wondering about what this meant—

Daisuke was convinced of this.

3.08 Daisuke Part 6

The moment the lone flake of snow touched Super Class Rank 1 C—a change occurred.

The sphere protecting C lost its brilliance, and even the connections connecting the bed and the surface vanished.

Genius’s corpse scattered along with a white light.

The fairies and C-butterflies filling the city’s center all vanished without a trace immediately. All the Revived collapsed one after another like puppets with cut strings.

And that wasn’t all.

All the neon lights illuminating the city turned off one after another.

All lights in GARDEN vanished from the center and to the outer circumference like a receding wave—

“—!”

While falling to the surface, Arisu swung her silver lance.

Gushing scales wrapped all the Mushitsuki on verge of Maturation.

Including Kasuou and Terasu, they all stopped their movements. They all gritted their teeth with desperate expressions to suppress their Mushi—and now that the ability of Arisu’s scales affected them, they just barely retrieved their previous shapes.

The moment before they fell to the ground, the four Rank 1s were wrapped by an orange glow.

Shiohara Shachito probably helped them from somewhere. Becoming lighter, Daisuke and the rest landed on the debris noiselessly.

“…”

Falling spreadeagled on the ground, he looked at the scenery visible in the sky.

The young Mushitsuki called Super Class Rank 1.

Her last moments were incredibly silent.

The moment the snow touched her, C’s body double lost its light.

Its golden brilliance absorbed by a single flake, it become a black statue.

And—along with a small light afterimage, it broke to smithereens and scattered.

“C…”

He could hear Shiika’s mumble.

Even the sphere of light protecting C returned being powerless debris. It crumbled down and rained down on the surface so noiselessly it felt lonely.

At the same time—the rectangular object also fell to the surface.

The bed where C’s main body slumbered.

Within the bed stabbed into the top of the pagoda’s debris, C faintly opened her eyelids.

However, there was no life in them.

A mere Fallen that lost her Mushi was there.

This was the Mushitsuki who tried making all people in the world into Mushitsuki and then Undying to grant an eternal calm to the entire humankind.

This girl had tried absorbing even the Original Three, and held much more power than any other Mushitsuki.

She wished for a new generation of Mushitsuki so much that she threw her original personality of Horiuchi Erii away—

It was the instant she ended within this boxed garden called GARDEN.

“…”

No one said anything.

Tottering, Daisuke rose up to his legs.

On the surface where the moonlight alone illuminated them, all other Mushitsuki also rose to their legs one after another.

“…What’s going to happen now?”

Acting as a representative of all surviving Mushitsuki, Kasuou mumbled.

Only about a dozen people or so still remained standing in GARDEN.

They had no idea how many of the Mushitsuki who collapsed in this city could recover. Even if they started treating them right now, it was probably too late for many of them.

It was certain they fought and survived.

But at the same time, they also felt as if they remained alone in this spacious world—it was this kind of loneliness.

They managed to prevent a future where everyone in the world became Mushitsuki.

However, it also meant that in this world, the Mushitsuki were the only ones left behind.

“You mean… to the world? Or to us…?”

Even Terasu’s voice muttering this felt somewhat lonely.

“I dunno.”

Daisuke spoke.

“I dunno how things turn out—but there’s still something we have to do.”

While everyone looked confused, only the girl Daisuke was looking at seemed to understand.

Anmoto Shiika.

Only the girl who held the same dream as him smiled while looking at him.

“—Do you still have power left to fight?”

Daisuke said, looking around all Mushitsuki on the ruins of the battlefield.

Everyone was so injured that his words sounded like a bad joke.

Even Daisuke himself was smeared with blood and went past the limits of fatigue. Even just standing there took everything he had. And everyone there was the same.

However, even so the Mushitsuki all laughed.

“Easy peasy.”

Harukiyo represented their feelings.

Daisuke smiled as well.

He had no idea what the world would become now.

He didn’t know what would happen to the Mushitsuki survivors, either.

However—it was way too early to think about that sort of stuff.

“…Leave Fuyuhotaru and me alone and get back.”

Saying this, Daisuke faced Shiika.

3.09 Daisuke The Last

GARDEN that became an empty lot was wrapped in silence.

Even leaving aside the pagoda smashed to smithereens, not a single place in town kept its original shape. Crumbled tall buildings and wall, destroyed cars and autocannons and fallen helicopters all reflected the moonlight, glowing dimly.

Perhaps this was the sight of the end of the world.

However, what ended here wasn’t the world.

What ended here—was the fight deciding the fate of Mushitsuki.

And the world would start from here again.

“…”

After looking over the destroyed townscape, Kusuriya Daisuke looked at the girl standing right in front of him.

Her name was Anmoto Shiika. She was a Mushitsuki girl who held the same dream as him.

Right now, only Daisuke and Shiika were there. The other Mushitsuki were all taking refuge nearby.

“—So this makes us the only survivors.”

Daisuke said this to Shiika.

Although they defeated their biggest enemy, C, he recalled that his comrades were still anxious.

A world where no Mushitsuki would be born.

If that became reality—then the existing Mushitsuki really would become “survivors”. They were the people burdened with the fate of being host to the supernatural beings called Mushi that might eat their dreams and cause their deaths one day.

They wished for no further misfortune to occur.

However, in exchange—they would have no new comrades.

They would be survivor Mushitsuki, waiting for extinction.

Anxiety.

Loneliness.

They’d just keep living with all of those emotions.

However—

While they knew this, Daisuke and the girl opposite to him smiled.

“Right.”

Shiika raised her arms aloft.

Her Mushi appeared, resplendent in white light.

Daisuke also materialized his checkered beetle and fused it with his gun.

Although they hadn’t spoken about this at all—both knew what they had to do.

“It’s finally over… I can finally put an end to this—”

While he spat this, he could only taste blood. He was dyed by dried blood from head to toes, and his goggles had long since broke down. His tired legs were shaking.

All fights ended.

However, what they were about to do wasn’t a fight.

It was simply—

Putting an end to everything.

“Yup, finally…”

Even the crying Shiika had blood running down her head. Not even a single person among the survivors remained unharmed.

“I—we came all the way here…”

“We almost gave up many times, but managed to get here…”

They smiled at each other.

Above the boy’s head, a glowing snowflake appeared.

Daisuke put strength into his finger on the trigger.

This silence, that was as though only the two of them existed in this world—was torn by loud gunfire.

The bullet launched from the gun shot through Shiika’s Mushi.

“—!”

Grimacing, Shiika bent back.

Her white Mushi was blown to smithereens, became fragments of light and scattered.

At the same time, a disharmonious sound echoed from Daisuke’s handgun as snow touched it.

The checkered beetle separated from the gun and was being crushed by some invisible force.

“—”

Being assaulted by a sensation as if something inside his chest was being crushed by a fist, Daisuke fell to his knees.

That was—the sensation of despair as the thing he cherished the most until now, his dream, was being crushed.

And there was also the relief at this harsh battle finally coming to an end.

The Mushi’s death throes sounded as though they lamented and cried over these two conflicting emotions.

Their cries overlapped and echoed in the ruins of paradise—

Then, fully vanished.

“…”

As the two Mushi were annihilated, their Mushitsuki collapsed to the ground.

Daisuke and Shiika crawled on the ground, reaching out to one another.

Their fingertips touched.

It was a nostalgic—and warm sensation.

While feeling each other’s warmth, Daisuke and Shiika smiled.

Although their fingers touched only for moments, he could feel Shiika’s heartbeat from them. Shiika could definitely feel his as well.

When he first met Shiika, he made her into a Fallen.

Reuniting with her grown-up self, he didn’t realize it was her and hurt her again.

They kept getting involved with and hurting each other, but now it was going to end.

Their fates of running into each other all the time was going to end.

“…”

Daisuke and Shiika’s eyes lost their lights at the same time.

Losing their Mushi, they were becoming Fallen without any emotions and feelings.

Their fingers still intertwined, the two collapsed to the ground—

This was the ending of the two Mushitsuki called Kusuriya Daisuke and Anmoto Shiika.

Why had they chosen this ending?

Why had they chosen to close the curtain on their story by becoming Fallen?

That answer—came to dye the skies of GARDEN.

Moonlight.

Twinkling stars.

These lights all slowly vanished.

GARDEN, created as a paradise for the Fallen, was being wrapped in pitch black. Lukewarm wind blew and soon became a fierce gale that blew through the surface.

Instead of the vanished moon and stars, purple glows illuminated the city.

Emitting this glow were wings gigantic enough to cover GARDEN’s skies—

Of an elegant swallowtail butterfly.

The drizzle of purple scales headed toward the surface congealed and took a human form midair.

A slim woman clad in a crimson coat. She floated in air without any assistance, and her eyes glowing in rainbow colors were clearly inhuman.

The woman went down toward the pair on the ground as if she was a divine messenger.

Her gaze looked much too enraptured, and she was slightly flushed. Remaining silent in the sky above the two collapsed on the ground, she moved her nose as though sniffing something.

“Ah. I knew it. A splendid dream—”

Curling her bright red lips, she sneered, looking happy from the bottom of her heart.

“An especially scrumptious one among those I ate… my main dish.”

The woman opened her mouth so wide it almost looked like it was ripped.

A small glow rose from Daisuke and Shiika.

Rising to the sky and scattering, that glow came flowing into the woman’s wide-opened mouth.

And then—

The two Mushitsuki called Kusuriya Daisuke and Anmoto Shiika.

They—restarted.

Their touching fingertips twitched.

“Ah, so delicious—it makes not only my tongue but my entire body melt.”

Daisuke’s sister, Ayukawa Chiharu once said.

—Mushitsuki can recall their dreams over and over…

Those were also the words of Sanbikime inside her.

As long as they had an opportunity, Mushitsuki could recall their dreams.

The Mushitsuki designated as Super Class Rank 1, C, had manipulated the memories and feelings of the Fallen to fabricate that opportunity. And by using Shinpu’s abilities, she could revive Mushitsuki again and again.

However, right now Daisuke and Shiika didn’t need C.

There was the warmth they felt from their fingertips.

There was the heartbeat shouting their dreams transmitted from it.

The chance to recall their dream—was right in front of them.

“—…”

Raising their heads as if emerging from the deep sea—

Daisuke and Shiika stood up at the same time.

While receiving back the memories and feelings that came to them with frightening momentum, they looked at their opponent—and smiled at each other.

Next to them, a green checkered beetle and a white firefly were formed.

“—Thank you for the invitation.”

Daisuke and Shiika raised their faces toward the voice echoing from overhead.

It was there, floating above the city turned ruins.

One of the Original Three, Oogui.

Among the three Primal Mushi who gave birth to Mushitsuki, she was the one with an especially strong appetite—no, a monster whose behavioral principle was nothing but gluttony.

Once this monster felt dreams with strong emotions, no matter the situation, she couldn’t help but want to eat them—

“It was the best… and very last dinner.”

Wearing a full smile, Oogui calmly looked down the surface.

Already, all over the ruins—many Mushitsuki were standing.

Daisuke and Shiika. Harukiyo, Rina and Arisu were also there. Including Kasuou, the surviving Mushitsuki were all in battle formations.

The wings of the swallowtail butterfly dancing in the sky—which was the conduit for Oogui’s ability—were already being put to sleep by Arisu’s scales.

“Goodbye.”

Sneering at them, Oogui was wrapped in a flash of light and an impact.

They didn’t even give her a chance for a counterattack.

They wouldn’t allow her any resistance.

The attacks shot from all possible positions at once broke through Oogui’s body.

The swallowtail floating in air was being burnt to a crisp by a crimson Great Yama tiger beetle. Its wings, scattering around like ashes, were eliminated by Rina’s shockwave such that not even a speck of dust remained.

Even as her body broke down, Oogui smiled as if from the aftereffects of her full stomach. Leaving behind her sneering head, the body that received white snow was erased without any remains.

The Original Three.

Supernatural beings that were Primal Mushi who gave birth to Mushitsuki.

Until now—they were seen like that.

However, the truth was slightly different.

They could turn people into Mushitsuki, and, if Mushitsuki who became Fallen could recall their dreams again—

They could produce Mushitsuki any number of times.

These were the monsters called The Original Three, simply ruled by gluttony.

And in the end—

“Goodbye.”

Daisuke gave his words of farewell accompanying them by gunfire that erased the remaining head.

Notes

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