Mushi Uta:Volume 10 Chapter 4

4.00 The Others

The boy violently washed his face in his bathroom’s sink using both hands.

“…”

Raising his face, he saw his wild dog-like eyes reflected in the mirror. Rubbing the towel over his face, he next took the piercing left nearby and put it on one ear. Rubbing hair wax all over his hands, he set his hair backwards.

Exiting the bathroom, he wore the hoodie he took out of the closet. Without even turning back to the silent room, he exited.

Walking through the corridor, he could hear robed boys and girls conversing.

“We gotta finish up demolishing the northern area today.”

“I’m sure Kanon-sama’ll be happy if we finish it according to schedule.”

The boy kept walking, expressionlessly, and rode the elevator. He also heard a few boys talking inside.

“Kanon-sama listened to me yesterday. She told me that if I have any food, I’m welcome to come and share it with her.”

“Seriously? What did you talk about?”

“I told her about the time I became a Mushitsuki. Since she asked me so earnestly, I just ended up ranting, though. I wonder if she’s mad.”

“Me too. She listened to me and always greeted me the several weeks after. She remembered my story… I was so happy.”

“…”

The boys riding the elevator with him all wore casual clothes. He put on his hood at a corner of the elevator, hiding himself, and they didn’t seem to notice him at all.

The elevator reached the first floor.

The remodeled love hotel Castle’s main hall appeared in front of him. Taking away all unneeded facilities, the now empty space had a carpet laid on it. An extravagant throne was left on the top of the large stairway, waiting for its master.

“…”

Standing in the main hall, he looked up the ceiling that had an atrium.

The figures of believers were displayed on the monitors hanging from the walls and around the chandelier. They finally installed electricity, so the security cameras all around the Abandoned Land were now active.

“Kanon-sama’s going to wake up soon. How’s breakfast going?”

“Done. Since this morning it’s her favorite hot cake, she’s sure to be happy.”

“Hey, you. If you’ve got nothing to do, go wake up Kanon-sama.”

Being called by a robe-wearing boy, he turned around. He gazed at the boy with a hunched back.

“—Sorry, dude, but I’m in charge of demolition work at the northern area today. I gotta hurry.”

“What? It’s way past the start time, hurry along.”

“I know. By the way, do you know where Nii is?”

As he asked in a low voice, the robed boy tilted his head.

“Are you a newcomer? Never seen your face.”

“I know all about you, Hachijuusan.”

He smiled while casting his gaze down. The robed boy thought a bit and frowned.

“Ah, now that I think about it, I have the feeling I’ve seen you before. —Anyway, I saw Nii outside.”

“Thanks.”

Putting both hands in his hoodie’s pockets, he tried exiting the Castle.

However, he soon stopped. He spoke without turning back.

“Say, Hachijuusan.”

“Hmm?”

“Your dream is succeeding your parents as a veterinarian, right? Well, you said you gave up on it ‘cause you failed your exam and even became a Mushitsuki, though.”

“…Why do you know about it? Have I ever spoken to you before?”

Staying hunched, the boy smiled within his hoodie.

“It’s fine. You might’ve lost your confidence a bit, but the people around you know a good person. You can just take your time. You’re kind, so you’re bound to become a good veterinarian.”

“…”

“I wanna have a Yorkshire terrier someday. And if it ever gets hurt… I’ll definitely bring it to you.”

There was no answer.

Had he said nothing because he’d already gone somewhere? Or so the boy thought, but there was finally a voice behind him.

“…Oh, really?”

After his somewhat absent-minded reply, he kept going with a voice full of tears.

“Then I can’t help it… even if I thought to save my first appointment for Kanon-sama.”

The boy kept walking. He walked to the exit of the Castle. Weaving through the door that before this was just an automatic door, he exited to the outside.

A dusty wind welcomed him.

In just a short time, the scenery of the Abandoned Land viewed from the Castle changed completely.

The buildings around were all demolished and the land had been made flat. Rows of houses were destroyed and mountain of ruins and cables piled up a few dozen meters tall.

Another tall building had been rebuilt, becoming the believers’ living quarters. They now swelled to several hundreds, so the mansion gathering them that still had some space remaining in it was in the center of the Abandoned Land. The only buildings that remained scattered here and there were a karaoke and a playground, a gym and the like; all sorts of recreational facilities.

Kanon and the believers finally gained the entirety of the Abandoned Land.

With great amounts of money that came from who knew where they bought the entire of this vast land. Everything around the area belonged to the person called Kanon.

“…”

He saw an old car parked near the Castle. The believers fixed up this car that was left in the Abandoned Land and used it for shopping.

There was a boy yawning and leaning on that car.

It was Nii.

Although he’d once belonged to the SEPB, he’d lost all of his comrades while fighting against a single Mushitsuki. Although he was usually withdrawn, just the other day he gave his comrade’s Mushi to Kanon, and looked as if he took off a bit of the load off his shoulders. Recently he began helping the cleaning of the Abandoned Land along with the other believers.

“Can you drive that?”

The boy approached Nii, pointing at the car.

“…Hmm?”

“Here, get in the driver’s seat.”

Pushing Nii aside, the boy entered the passenger seat.

The boy smiled through the window as Nii raised his brow.

“Let’s go, Nii.”

“Who are you?”

“Hurry. It’s an order.”

Removing his hoodie, the boy looked up at Nii’s face. Nii gasped.

“…! You…!”

“Nii.”

He added, and, although Nii was puzzled, he got in the car. Closing the door, he started the engine.

“Hurry up. Push the gas. Let’s get out of the Abandoned Land.”

Nii obeyed the boy’s words. Stepping on the gas, the car they were riding rushed through the center of the Abandoned Land.

The scenery of the Abandoned Land seen through the passenger seat—looked, ironically, full of hope.

Despite it being early morning, the many believers were working on the Abandoned Land. All of their faces were filled with strength and many wore bright smiles.

Smiles.

Those who once gathered there with the same kind of despair, became able to smile at their one and only thread of hope.

People sharing the same pain and living with the same hope in their chests were brought together.

In this land, no one threatened them.

Once called the Abandoned Land, it was becoming a paradise for Mushitsuki.

“What does this mean? What’s the deal with your getup…?”

Nii, holding the wheel, was staring at the boy’s face.

He smiled. He spoke not with his fake low voice, but his original tone.

“I wasn’t trying to deceive you or anything like that.”

Right, he had no desire to deceive them.

Regarding this matter alone, he told no lie.

They all just misunderstood this on their own.

“—Kanon doesn’t remember ever saying Kanon was a girl.”

The boy sitting in the passenger seat—Kanon—returned Nii’s gaze.

“It’ll definitely be your turn next, Onii-chan.”

“What?”

Kanon’s clenched fist on his knees were shaking.

He couldn’t properly look at the faces of the believers smiling all over the Abandoned Land.

The hope they all believed in didn’t exist anywhere—

He knew that, and yet thought it was fine as long as they were happy.

However, that now came to an end.

“—Let us run away.”

Casting down his gaze, Kanon spoke in a shaky voice.

The false paradise streaming by the window looked very scary to his eyes.

“If we stay here, Tama-chan’s lie will get everyone killed.”

Kanon’s small, simple lie.

It no longer belonged to him.

4.01 Tamaki Part 7

There were no people around the harbor.

Stagnant air, fully rusted containers and warehouses, as well as cracked asphalt that grew wild weeds. That desolate scenery resembled how the Abandoned Land had been not long ago.

The chains blocking the entrance to the harbor shook faintly. Marks shaped like fallen leaves appeared noiselessly on the surface of sand brought by the salty wind.

The fallen leaves passed the entrance, slowly being engraved inside the harbor as if sliding ahead. Those marks—the silent footsteps—directly climbed one of the warehouse walls, stopping entirely on the roof.

“…”

The space above the roof, until now empty, was torn in two. A seagull that landed nearby was startled and flew off.

Two slender arms peeked from within the ripped space. Putting her hands on the edges, a girl with long, black hair came crawling out. She calmly clung to the roof, and a grotesque monster resembling a weevil appeared. The Mushi that had swallowed the girl and brought her there now vanished again.

“Hmm, so that thing’s the guard?”

The moment she mumbled this, the girl’s black hair changed to short hair and her face changed. Tamaki transformed into a Mushitsuki suitable for stealthy movements—Sugitsu Matsuri—and her eyes captured a single person.

A boy sat on a folding chair, fishing at the harbor. From a glance he didn’t look like a student from a nearby village who came to kill some time.

However, Tamaki was looking at the warehouse behind the boy.

It looked the same like the other dirty warehouses, but looking more closely there were something suspicious. The water tank next to the warehouse was brand new; it was obviously installed lately. There was barely any sand piled at the entrance to the warehouse, evidence that people used to frequently come in and out.

On top of another roof, Tamaki was grinning.

“So that means Alpha’s hidden there.”

The primal Mushitsuki, Alpha.

He was the first person to become host to a Mushi—the first person who became a Mushitsuki. He’d been hidden by the Round Table for more than a decade, and Mushibane managed to obtain him with Nanana’s cooperation.

Alpha went back to sleep and had yet to wake up. It was said that he was connected to life support provided by Akasegawa Nanana.

Tamaki grasped this information because she’d scouted a lot, just like today.

“Something about that guard feels weird. Might be dangerous to just attack carelessly.”

The boy lowering his fishing line on the breakwater was full of openings. However, looking at his back Tamaki felt something was amiss. In situations like this, powerful Mushitsuki often have already activated some kind of ability.

“Since he’d been positioned to guard over Alpha, he’s definitely not your average Mushitsuki. Oh, how scary.”

Despite her words, Tamaki chuckled and showed a confident grin.

The courage to leap alone into a dangerous zone and the power of insight to be able to tell her enemy’s powers at a glance. Right now Tamaki was aware not only of these abilities, but also of her having honed all her senses.

She felt thrilled risking her life.

Every time she got into a predicament and escaped it by the skin of her teeth.

She could feel her abilities blossoming within her with frightful speed.

“Maybe I should try poking him a bit. I want to show off my abilities just a little bit. Hmm…”

The ability to transform into a person taken from a touched person’s memories. In the past Tamaki had used this ability to gain the information of Mushitsuki with powerful combat strength.

But no matter how powerful of a Mushitsuki she transformed into, it didn’t matter in the face of truly powerful opponents. She learned this lesson when she’d infiltrated the SEPB’s Central Headquarters. She was simply saved because her opponent at the time was also a fake.

Gaining this valuable experience, Tamaki came to know.

Her ability wasn’t meant for pure strength.

Tamaki’s greatest strength was her being able to transform into any and all Mushitsuki. By choosing to transform not simply into powerful Mushitsuki but those with advantageous abilities, like a game or rock-paper-scissors, Tamaki could become stronger than anyone.

When she woke up to this fact, Tamaki underwent immense growth as a Mushitsuki.

There was no opponent Tamaki couldn’t win against.

There was no opponent she couldn’t deceive.

Convinced of this, Tamaki resolved to move to the next step.

“Alpha… the one and only clue to the reason for the birth of Mushi.”

Tiring of glaring at the fisherman guard, Tamaki moved her gaze to the warehouse.

She mumbled.

“If I figure out the mystery of how Mushi were born, I might find out a real way to erase Mushi—”

What were Mushi?

If she solved this mystery, she might figure out a way to cut off their very existence—

“Geez—turning Kanon’s lie into a reality sure isn’t easy.”

While staring at the warehouse hiding Alpha, Tamaki grinned.

The moment she truly gained a way to erase Mushi, her childhood friend’s lie would become reality. Not just bad acting or illusions—not even the cheap trick of stealthily turning one comrade into a Fallen and masquerading as them.

Kanon’s lie called forth many Mushitsuki.

Even the desolate place called the Abandoned Land turned into a paradise.

Being revered like a God, Kanon-sama even now gathered more followers.

On top of that—if Kanon’s lie became true, what would happen then?

Just thinking about it made her incredibly excited. The thrill of wondering what would happen and the paradigm shift of making a lie come true set her heart aflutter.

Tamaki and Kanon’s lie would change the world—

She was convinced of this.

“SEPB, Mushibane, and even the Round Table, many Mushitsuki and people fought, finally reaching the hint of Alpha…”

On top of gathering information regarding Alpha, Tamaki had naturally gathered information that allowed her to reach that far.

Until now many Mushitsuki fought, were hurt, and died. Those who survived and overcame their dreams and death throes, finally reached toward Alpha.

The one who grasped it was Anmoto Shiika.

She was the Mushitsuki who once nearly destroyed the SEPB, became a Fallen and yet came back. Called either Fuyuhotaru or Snow Fly, the girl walked a heroic path, carrying many things on her back.

However—none of that had anything to do with Tamaki.

“I don’t care at all about any Mushitsuki that live now or those who died before. This hint called Alpha… belongs to us.”

In order to allow a single lie to change the world—

Chuckling to herself in her heart, Tamaki returned looking at the fisherman.

“Oh, he’s actually caught something even in this place?”

While she herself aimed for Alpha, the fisherman also seemed to have a big catch of his own. The line was tilting heavily toward the water.

Tamaki frowned. Unlike the fact the line was moving so violently, the fisherman made no move at all.

“What’re you doing? You have to pull—”

As she tried to say it, she gasped.

The fisherman’s neck rotated 180 degrees, looking at her. The fisherman’s face that she saw for the first time had a grainy texture, and its mouth twitched as it moved with hinges.

“A puppet…!”

It wasn’t a fisherman at all.

It was a dummy meant to fish out intruders—

Tamaki moved the moment she understood this.

Her short hair transformed to long, black hair, and the moment after this—

Bam! Along with this impact sound, a figure casually landed on top of the roof. It was a girl who wore a black and white apron dress—what was commonly called a maid.

It wasn’t just a girl. Her white skin was made of inorganic material, and her golden glinting eyes were transparent like camera lenses.

“…”

The maid girl moved her seamed neck. She looked around the rooftops.

However, there was no one other than the puppet on the roof.

“I see, so it’s an ability that allows you to plant your Mushi inside a puppet to control it.”

Next to the maid puppet, Tamaki breathed. Transforming into Sugitsu Matsuri—known as Halensis within Mushibane—she hid inside the body of her weevil Mushi. Sugitsu Aya’s Mushi could swallow anything and isolate its very presence from the outside world. The weevil itself was almost nonexistent as it used camouflage to erase itself.

“I’ll just retreat for now.”

The inside of the weevil was vast, making her feel like she was floating in water. As the Mushi folded its legs and allowed Tamaki to view the outside like through a magic mirror, she saw that the puppet was pulling someone onto the roof.

“—Is this the user? Maybe I should finish him off, then.”

In front of the grinning Tamaki, a boy wearing glasses was looking around the rooftop. His lean body and wrinkles between the brows gave the impression of him being very highly strung.

He didn’t notice Tamaki despite her being close by. He took out a cellphone.

“…This is my periodical report. My girl found something moving on the roof. Might’ve been just a bird, but when it rushed there, it found nothing. I have a bad feeling about this, this might be an intruder.”

He apparently got in contact with someone from Mushibane. While his attention was on the call, Tamaki took the invisible weevil and moved it further away.

“Should I pretend to be Sugitsu Aya and land a surprise attack…?”

As if he could hear Tamaki’s mumble, the boy spoke.

“I know. I won’t let any Mushibane member inside. I’ve heard about that Mimic person who morphed into Akasegawa and Lady.”

“Ugh.”

That was a close one. Tamaki lowered her weevil from the roof, deciding to retreat.

While she distanced herself from the warehouse, Tamaki giggled. She immediately understood who the boy was talking about.

“So they’re calling me Mimic, huh. Not sure if that’s in good or bad taste.”

Letting her weevil run, she left the harbor.

There was no need to hurry.

They were wary, but Mushibane currently didn’t seem like they were going to move Alpha anywhere else. Perhaps they trusted that puppet-user or had another reason they couldn’t move.

As long as she knew the place, she could try it anytime.

She was the one who gained advantage from time passing.

Even now Kanon’s lie was expanding, calling many comrades—

“The Abandoned Land’s remodeling is also going great.”

The drive inside the weevil was pleasant. She came back home and after piercing through the center of the Abandoned Land, she reached their base, the Castle.

Coming out of the weevil at an empty spot, she lifted Sugitsu Matsuri’s form.

When she was in the Castle, she was just plain old Tamaki. She was neither a Mushitsuki nor the transforming Mimic.

“I’m back.”

Nothing changed from the time when she’d stopped by the family restaurant on her way back to school.

As Tamaki entered the Castle in a natural manner, she expected Kanon to greet her like always.

Welcome back, Tama-chan.

However—

“Tamaki!”

Instead, welcoming her were believers with faces as if they saw the end of the world.

“Oh?”

Startled, Tamaki looked back at their faces. Next she looked up the large stairs of the main hall.

The throne at the top was empty. She couldn’t see her innocent childhood friend who was supposed to always be there.

“It’s almost meal time. Where’s Kanon? Went to the toilet?”

It really was rare for the gluttonous Kanon to miss a meal.

The believers answered the question just as Tamaki asked it.

“Where’s Kanon-sama?”

“So she wasn’t with you, Tamaki?”

“We’ve been looking since morning, but we can’t find her…!”

“Eh?”

Tamaki’s head tilted.

“We can’t find Nii, either!”

“As well as the car we bought…!”

It took a few moments until she understood the meaning of the believers’ words.

“Kanon’s… gone?”

As she unconsciously mumbled this to herself, she came back to her senses. She arranged everything the believers told her in her mind.

Kanon was missing since morning.

Nii was missing, too.

A car also vanished.

These facts all seemed to point at a single possibility—

“No way… did Kanon-sama abandon us?”

These words silenced the entire main hall.

No, they weren’t just silent. The believers wordlessly exchanging gazes were all sickly pale.

Seeing the believers like that, Tamaki felt a chill.

Rather than the disappearance itself, just the fact they hadn’t seen Kanon for a few hours made them wear this face. It was scary.

“W-wait a minute. Maybe Kanon and Nii went for a drive? They’ll be back soon.”

Tamaki feigned calmness, trying to laugh it off with a light tone.

However, all that did—was make an ominous sensation grab hold of Tamaki’s heart.

A chill passed through her spine.

No one was even listening to her. Until just yesterday they all laughed together and made fun of each other, but now the believers’ empty, dead eyes stared at air.

“We’ve been… abandoned by Kanon-sama?”

“Who was it that made Kanon-sama mad?”

“Right… maybe she didn’t want to eat the hot cake this morning…”

“You…”

Unconsciously losing her calm, Tamaki shouted.

“You idiots! Do you actually think Kanon would be gone just because of something so stupid—”

“Stupid…?”

The gazes of the believers all focused on Tamaki.

She almost found herself raising a shriek. She had the confidence to be able to face any kind of Mushitsuki, but now a different sort of fear skewered her heart.

The believers all looked straight at Tamaki with eyes that concealed their anxiety.

“W-wait! Really, wait a minute! Why are you all looking at me like that! Haven’t I also saved you? Actually, rather than Kanon, I was much more—”

“More than Kanon-sama…?”

“What are you… even talking about?”

Tamaki’s words had the opposite effect. Perhaps thinking she made fun of Kanon, the believers’ eyes became severe.

“Ah, n-no… I-I was just lying, obviously… alright?”

Even as Tamaki hurriedly gave excuses, their eyes didn’t change.

Right, she’d completely forgotten. Since Tamaki had done only behind the scenes work, from the believers’ point of view, she was nothing more than Kanon’s childhood friend.

—No.

That wasn’t the issue.

“Kanon would never leave like that without telling me anything! Probably just went to play somewhere.”

It was a miscalculation—no, things have simply progressed much beyond Tamaki’s estimations.

They all gathered, laughed, and huddled together because Kanon was there. Kanon’s lie served to wipe away their fear and anxiety. However—

She never thought it was to this extent.

Who could have imagined that Kanon’s lie grew so large?

The hundreds of Mushitsuki here would only listen to Kanon.

They wouldn’t try to listen to other people’s lies—

“So Kanon-sama’s actually gone…”

“Where’s Kanon-sama?”

“I g-got it! I-I’ll go look for Kanon! I’ll be right back! Ouch! Please, stop it!”

They were just like zombies crawling out of the grave. Until just yesterday these Mushitsuki worked around the Abandoned Land, but now they grabbed Tamaki.

“Please, let me go!”

Shaking off the believers’ arms, Tamaki ran to the elevator. She pounded the button many times.

“I-I’ll bring Kanon right back…”

The followers did not come after her. They fixed their glass ball-like eyes on her until the door closed.

“U-ugh…”

Tamaki slid down to the floor as the elevator rose. She hugged her shaking body with her hands.

Kanon’s influence grew way bigger than Tamaki had anticipated. In a sense she should have been happy it went as she intended it to.

However—

“S-so easily…?”

Within a few hours of Kanon’s disappearance, they all went back to being lumps of despair.

No, they were even worse than they were before—

“Everything ends so easily…?”

It all depended on Kanon.

Without Kanon, the lie created together with Tamaki would easily vanish.

She didn’t fear getting cornered by the believers. Even if they started a rampage, she could just run away.

Tamaki was simply scared of how excessively brittle they were.

What she built with her childhood friend was crumbling due to such a small happening.

“Kanon…!”

Getting off the elevator, she ran around the Castle.

“Kanon! Kanon!”

The kitchen, believers’ rooms, emergency staircase.

She ran around every place, looking for her childhood friend.

“Kanon! Where are you!”

Kanon was gone.

Her childhood friend wasn’t anywhere.

“Kanon!”

At the very end she came to the highest floor, to Kanon’s personal room. She hadn’t come there first was because her mind was quite shocked.

Jumping into the vast room, she soon felt it.

The air was stagnant. Kanon was not here.

“Kanon… where are you…”

Why did you leave? Until now, Kanon spoke to Tamaki about everything, and yet—

Thinking this as she stepped into the room, she noticed the laurel wreath left on the table.

It was the one left by Nii’s comrade. As she approached it and touched it with a finger, she could feel a slight heat and heartbeat.

“…?”

She noticed there was a piece of paper under the wreath. She reached for it and turned it around, then gasped.

Tama-chan, you’ve lied to Kanon. Kanon will not forgive you about Ichi-san.

This was undoubtedly Kanon’s writing. She would never mistake those bad letters that looked like worms.

“Ichi…! But how did…?!”

No one should have known about Ichi. She knew that Kanon would be against it, so she made persistent efforts to make sure there were no people around.

Kanon shouldn’t have noticed that she transformed into Ichi.

So how did—

“Someone snitched on me…!”

She couldn’t think of anything else. She didn’t know how they found out the truth, but someone saw what Tamaki did and told it to Kanon.

When that happened, Nii was taken away—because Kanon realized he was the next in danger.

“Kanon… why—”

She knew it was a sin.

Even Tamaki thought that sacrificing Ichi and hiding it from Kanon was bad.

However, wasn’t it still cruel?

“Everything was going so well… but you were still going to throw everything away for that…?”

Tamaki did everything for her childhood friend.

She protected the lie, gathered more comrades, and even built up a castle.

It wasn’t a small lie like the ones she’d told before.

Tamaki’s lie and Kanon’s lie.

Just when she was ready to test how far the pair’s lie could go—

“…”

Tamaki’s hand grasped the laurel wreath. Kicking the floor, she went to the closet, pulling out the robes made for Kanon.

She flipped—and by the time she wore them, Tamaki transformed into Kanon.

“Our lie is not yet over.”

She put the laurel wreath on her head.

Leaping out of the room, she got into the elevator.

“Our lie isn’t over yet. So it’s fine.”

The elevator headed to the surface.

And the door opened.

“I’m waiting for you… so come back, Kanon.”

Seeing the smiling Tamaki—Kanon—caused a cheer almost loud enough to crack the main hall to erupt.

“Kanon-sama!”

“Where on earth have you been…!”

As the believers all bustled to her and raised their arms to the sky, Tamaki tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, you guys? Kanon was just exploring a bit inside the Castle.”

Everyone’s expressions regained their vitality. Them trying to capture Tamaki before looked nothing more than a passing nightmare.

“By the way, what about breakfast? Kanon’s really hungry.”

When Tamaki who looked like Kanon said this, the believers all looked relieved. Smiling, they said “We’ll go get it ready!” and went away.

“Don’t you want to see how far we can go and make a lie the truth?”

Tamaki mumbled quietly to herself.

The lie raised by Kanon and Tamaki would continue to grow.

One day, it would even end up swallowing the world. The pair’s lie would control the world.

At any rate, there were only two people who knew this lie.

“Have you stopped believing our lie…?”

While climbing the stairs to the throne, Tamaki noticed something.

She had the confidence to continue with the lie.

However, what about the other party?

“The only ones who know the power of this lie is me and… Kanon.”

Turning back, Tamaki sat on the throne. Below her eyes were filled with the people who worshipped Kanon’s face like a god.

The lie would keep on growing.

No one could stop it.

Or perhaps there was a single person who could.

While knowing that, the script for the best possible ending ran through Tamaki’s mind.

“You can’t run away. No matter what you’ll do, you can’t stop it.”

While looking down at the worshipping believers, Tamaki smiled.

“I will show you… just how much power a trifling lie possesses.”

4.02 Kanon Part 7

Buildings he’d never seen before and unfamiliar people.

In an unknown town, Kanon was walking alone.

It was a major city much more developed than the Abandoned Land’s town, and the road with two train lines to each side was filled with exhaust gas. Since he’d gone without food for a while his stomach growled, but he kept passing by fast food places. Right now, Kanon only had some loose change in his pockets.

Aah, I forgot—

While passing by people taller than him, Kanon recalled a certain sensation.

Being by myself is so lonely—

Recently, he always had someone at his side. So Kanon forgot how this felt.

“Ah… sorry.”

While trying to pass by some high schoolers, he accidently bumped his shoulders with one. Glared by the guy who didn’t look nice even as a compliment, he froze.

“S-sorry, sorry…”

Seeing Kanon apologize many times, the boys burst laughing. They snorted and went away.

If these bulky boys surrounded Kanon, he would end up covered in blood in mere moments. Feeling relieved that nothing ended up happening, he resumed walking.

Although he was walking, he had nowhere to walk to.

A few days passed since he’d run away from the Abandoned Land. After that he parted from Nii, and since he had no place to stay in, he kept walking. Even at night he just wandered around. Even if he wanted to lie somewhere, the darkness was too scary so that he couldn’t even sleep.

His stamina was exhausted, his empty stomach gouged into his body, and he feared violence, but he kept walking.

It was the same when Kanon ran away from home.

“So… hungry…”

Dragging along fear and anxiety, he just wandered around town.

And at the root of that was—

“Don’t… really care though…”

Complete apathy, as no one wanted him.

He hated pain. He hated suffering. And he hated being scared the most.

And so—he wanted to just vanish, be gone. Since he was stupid and weak, could do neither good nor bad, life in this world was too hard of a hurdle.

Passing by many people, he could reach out to anyone.

Even so, among them Kanon was the weakest.

“Ah…”

Kanon saw a convenience store stuck in the road. One high school girl chattering in front of the store was about to throw away a half-eaten sandwich.

Seeing her get away from the store, Kanon passed through the traffic light.

“…”

He looked around him at the trashcan many times. Whenever someone entered, he twitched.

As Kanon stared at the trashcan, he gulped.

His meagre pride managed to hold down his instincts for mere moments. When he came to, Kanon opened the trashcan covering and searched for what remained of the sandwich.

“Mm? Hey, what’re you doing.”

An employee came out of the store with cleaning utensils, finding Kanon there. He hurriedly grabbed the sandwich and ran away.

“S-sorry, sorry…”

Kanon ran away unsteadily and listlessly, but the employee didn’t come after him. He kept turning corner after corner, rushing between buildings.

“Hah, hah…”

As he fixed his breath and gazed at his hand, he saw he’d crushed the sandwich. Almost all of the bread fell away and only a bit of garnish and sauce remained.

“…”

Sitting down on the cold asphalt, he reached with his tongue to the sauce-covered hand.

As Kanon lowered his gaze and licked his hand, tears welled up in his eyes.

He was powerless, pathetic, couldn’t even fish in the trash properly… he was a loser.

This overly pathetic figure—was the original form of Kanon. It was obvious it’d turn out this way once he ran away from home.

But it hadn’t.

He was a loser, and yet people who protected him appeared.

“…Tama-chan…”

As Kanon licked his hands while sobbing, the face of his childhood friend rose to mind.

Tamaki was kind, beautiful, and could do anything. He was proud of his friend.

“Everyone…”

The faces of the Mushitsuki that adored Kanon and that he relied on appeared in his mind.

Even now he could perfectly recall their faces. He listened to all of them and came to know their circumstances—he knew all of their dreams.

“I wonder how they’re doing…”

The lifestyle he had ever since reuniting with Tamaki was heaven on earth.

He had food, clothes, and a bed.

Above all else, Kanon had people to look at him and talk at him.

He knew these were too much for him—but he still wanted to return.

However—

“…I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Tears fell on his hand.

He could no longer go back.

He’d run away from the Abandoned Land because he was angry with Tamaki

One of the friends who sought salvation and admired him had been turned into a Fallen—

He would never forgive her for that, and more importantly, he wouldn’t forgive Tamaki for lying to him.

“I’m sorry… Tama-chan… this is…”

However, he noticed that this was an unreasonable grudge.

The one who did this to Tamaki was Kanon.

Kanon’s lie made Tamaki do irreversible things. She had offered up Ichi as a tribute in order to protect Kanon’s lie.

Everything was for Kanon’s sake—

Everything in that paradise was for him.

That was why Kanon’s lie was a good thing for them, and he misunderstood that his lie saved them.

“All because of Kanon’s lie… Kanon’s so sorry…”

Kanon’s lie led his important person astray.

He finally noticed this.

So he couldn’t go back.

He possessed neither the courage to expose those lies nor the resolve to accept their revenge, so the cowardly Kanon just kept running away.

Kanon was truly hopeless—the worst of the worst.

“Hey? You over there, are you fine?”

Unexpectedly being called, Kanon raised his face. A suited man peeked into the road within the buildings.

“Are you hurt…?”

He was probably just an office worker on the way home. Seeing Kanon’s dirty clothes as he absently raised his face, the man was taken aback.

The man stared at Kanon’s face as he wordlessly shook his head.

“…”

Just as he was puzzled about it, the kind-looking man wore a bizarre smile.

“Did you run away from home? Got any place to stay?”

Kanon shook his head again.

“If you’d like, you… would you come to my place? You’re hungry, right? I have some delicious—”

As the man sidled up to him, Kanon gasped. Knowing the meaning of the man’s smile, he jumped away as if running.

“Kanon’s sorry, sorry!”

He ran away from the big road as far as his stamina allowed.

He reached an unfamiliar residential district. As loitered about, he found a small park.

Still out of breath, Kanon ran to the water tap and wet his parched throat.

“—Cough!”

Feeling too fatigued and drowsy, he nearly lost consciousness while drinking water. He coughed and bumped his head against the tap.

“U-ugh…”

Slowly leaning on the water tap, he looked at the small park. He felt some pain and the hand he put on his forehead had some red on it.

The small park right in the middle of the residential district brought some nostalgia.

Most people wouldn’t even look at such a small park that only had a sandbox and a single slide in it. Students heading home after school or parents going back home just passed by the park.

“—”

He recalled.

When he was young, he used to play with Tamaki in exactly such a park.

What conversations did these two children who didn’t want to get back home have? What have they played? He dug out the memories from his fuzzy brain.

“…”

Kanon rose up, reaching for the twisted faucet.

Scooping up a bit of water, he spread it on the dry sand. He came back to the water and took a handful again, wetting the sandbox again.

Next, he sat down in the sandbox and started piling up the sand.

—What’re you making?

—A castle. Will you help me?

Seeing as he didn’t go to any kindergarten at the time and had no interaction with kids his age, Kanon hadn’t differentiated well between the sexes. And so—he thought he was a girl.

Kanon’s father wanted a girl. Because of that he only gave Kanon girl clothes and treated him like a girl.

—If I’m the knight then what about you?

—The princess.

Tamaki did not deny Kanon’s words, despite definitely being aware that he wasn’t a girl.

Kanon, who wasn’t a girl, couldn’t become a princess.

So it was just a lie.

The lie he uttered that time was mysteriously reborn in his mind.

Despite being unable to become a princess.

Despite not having a castle.

Just like during his childhood, Kanon had no power but telling lies.

Tamaki knew it was a lie, and yet protected it.

The two of them, unchanged from how they were as children, simply met again by coincidence—

Why did it become like this?

Why had it ended up involving so many people and hurting them?

“…”

Strength left Kanon’s hand scooping sand. His blurry vision seemed to approach the sand castle.

And then.

He heard the sound of his face getting buried in the sand castle.

The fatigue and drowsiness reached their limits and his consciousness was rapidly fading away.

There were no pain or fear, just a sensation of vanishing—

Finally obtaining what he wished for, calmness filled Kanon’s heart.

“—!”

However, that calmness was soon obstructed.

Someone grabbed his collar and roused him forcefully.

“Eek…!”

Someone dragged Kanon and pushed his face into the streaming water tap.

“Wabh! Bha! —Stoooop!”

Recklessly swinging his arms, Kanon resisted.

Who on earth stood in his way just as he was about to vanish?

He was finally going to do it.

It was finally the time!

“Stoooop it! —Ubh! Cough!”

The powerless Kanon never stood any chance. He was thrust into the water again.

Although it was finally about to be over without him telling another lie—

After having water flow down his head, he was thrown on the bench nearby. His shoulders colliding against the backrest, Kanon grimaced.

Everything was supposed to end without any pain, suffering or fear—

“Uuugh…!”

As Kanon shut his eyes and rounded his body, someone grabbed his collar again.

“It’s me.”

A familiar voice.

Kanon reflexively opened his eyes, looking at the face of the one who grabbed him.

“—O…nii-chan…?”

The boy he supposedly parted with a few days ago brought Kanon’s face closer and glared at him.

“Auh!”

He was pounded against the bench again. Nii brought out a towel of a plastic bag and began to rub Kanon’s face violently.

“You suddenly told me to split up so I couldn’t really accept it.”

Nii spat these words at the flabbergasted Kanon.

“Did you forget? You were the one who told me this after we left the Abandoned Land. ‘Let’s split up’. I obviously then asked you, ‘What about my comrade’s Mushi?’ And then, what did you say?”

While wiping the dirt off of Kanon’s face, Nii brought out bandages this time. He pasted them on Kanon’s forehead wounds.

Letting him do as he pleased, Kanon mumbled.

“…’Kanon’s sorry’…”

Thus Kanon answered. He’d left the laurel wreath back in the Castle. Since everything was a lie for Kanon, that would not help him at all.

That was the last he’d seen of Nii. He’d been rightfully angry, and left.

Kanon betrayed Nii.

If he remained there, Nii might become the next sacrifice. Although Kanon thought so and made them escape together, he thought they’d never meet again.

“…Kanon’s sorry…”

As Kanon repeated this a sweet bread bag was thrust into his chest.

“Eh?”

“Eat up.”

Kanon looked inside the bag, stunned, and then pounced on it. He ripped the bag and started stuffing his mouth like an animal.

“I got pissed off and left, but I thought about killing you. I soon started following you.”

The second bread was thrown to him. Kanon pounced on it and tore the bag.

“As I tried tailing you… you just went around town. You didn’t eat or sleep, so what did you want to do? Were you trying to repent?”

As Kanon stuffed bread down his throat, a mineral water bottle hit his head. He hurriedly opened it.

“Every time you bumped against someone and fell, I laughed. Served you right. —After I did this for a few days, I calmed down.”

Kanon started choking vigorously. He spat water and bread crumbs onto Nii’s face.

“And so I became an idiot.”

Wiping his face off with a towel, Nii clapped Kanon’s head. He sat next to him.

“How could I have sought salvation from someone so pathetic… is what I thought.”

“Onii-chan…”

“It didn’t matter even if you really have the power to erase Mushi.”

He spoke with a face of someone who got over it.

“…”

Kanon couldn’t smile back.

He currently didn’t possess the courage to assert this. He knew that Nii’s eyes had slight dark circles under then because he protected Kanon who couldn’t sleep.

“Kanon can’t save everyone…”

Saying that and deceiving them took everything he had.

“Right. I knew it.”

“Eh?”

Nii stayed smiling. Not asking the reason, he looked directly in Kanon’s eyes.

Seeing that calm expression, Kanon was confused.

“U-um…”

“Never mind why. If you can’t save us, you’re not a god and I can’t trust you.”

Nii’s hand grabbed Kanon’s head. He ruffled his hair.

“You’re just my friend.”

A friend.

He never thought he’d hear that word again, so he couldn’t immediately understand it.

But, as comprehension dawned slowly, Kanon’s sight began warping.

“…Waaaah!”

The emotions he couldn’t hold back burst at once and he began wailing.

He couldn’t run away at such times.

“Waaaaah…”

He was so—lonely.

Only those emotions he couldn’t deceive with lies.

“Will you still keep repenting?”

Hearing Nii’s joke for the first time, Kanon shook his head so much it almost tore off.

He’d run away from home and became alone.

With a miraculous probability he’d reunited with his childhood friend, and they became two.

The pair’s lie had brought more allies.

Allies had begotten allies, and Kanon was surrounded by many people.

The many people around Kanon had erected a castle and created their own paradise. While they were doing that, the people creating paradise grew more and more.

On the way Kanon had become suddenly scared and ran away from this paradise.

Kanon had returned being alone, however—

“—My cash situation is also pretty bad, you know?”

They were two again.

“Foh yeaf?”

Kanon’s life, supposed to collapse like that loser he was, was apparently going to continue for a while more.

“Don’t talk while eating. What was that?”

“I said, oh yeah?”

“Don’t you ‘oh yeah?’ me. What’re we gonna do? Maybe I’ll look for a live-in part-time job.”

Kanon and Nii faced each other while stuffing themselves with hamburgers. The pair sat shoulder to shoulder on the guardrails with passersby going in front of them.

The two had nowhere to go to in this unfamiliar town.

No one there knew them, and no one would help them.

“In the first place, even back at the family restaurant, I was the only one paying for everything. That was absurd. The SEPB salary I worked so hard to gain turned into a bad menu into my friends’ stomachs. There’s a limit to generosity. Does sponging off weak people really not hurt your conscience?”

Nii, ex-SEPB member Akaoni, mumbled complaints to himself. In the past he looked sickly, but now he wore a hairband to pull back his bangs, so his eyes exposed along with his face were amiable. The body revealed from his punk-style clothing was firm and he was obviously fit. He finally looked like he was seventeen years old.

“Those were really tasty times.”

The grinning Kanon too had tossed away his dirty hoodie and changed to a blouse and short pants. At night they stayed at some net café, and since they also showered, he thought they looked quite neat for now. He used a hairpin to hold his hair.

Kanon and Nii.

A week passed since the two started just wandering around.

“Geez. No choice then, let’s look for a live-in job. I don’t feel like going back to the SEPB at this stage. They think I’m already long dead, so that’s convenient.”

“A job… what can you do, Onii-chan?”

“I went to a technical high school, so I do have some qualifications. But if it’s going to be a live-in job in my age, it’d probably only be manual labor. I’m fine with it, but…”

“What about Kanon? It’s probably impossible for Kanon.”

“Right. Haa, we went to karaoke, bowling, darts and billiards… we’ve played quite a lot without thinking about the consequences. You’ve left no regrets behind even if you’re gonna die, eh?”

“Ehehe.”

During the last week, Kanon and Nii played to their hearts’ contents.

It wasn’t like one of them had suggested this. It just so happened naturally when they were on their own.

The mere fact a lone person became two was a huge difference.

Thanks to that he felt like creating enough memories for a lifetime.

“Kanon can’t do anything but cheer on you! Oh, right. Kanon can make meals, laundry and cleaning.”

“Ah? So you’re like a housewife…”

Saying that, Nii wore an indescribable expression. He stared at Kanon’s face.

“What is it? Kanon’s going to blush if you stare so much.”

“You really look exactly like a girl, though… are you, y’know, well—”

“…Even if we live together, you can’t lay a hand on me, right?”

“As if I’d do that! I only want my hands on some older hottie.”

“Oh, really. Come to think of it, you looked to be having fun talking to that office lady when we played billiards. So the reason you suddenly vanished and left Kanon crying behind was…”

“I-I already apologized for that!”

Kanon opened his mouth to keep on bullying the apologizing Nii, but then gasped. A girl with a short cut passed by and he followed her with his eyes without thinking.

“…Didja think it was Tamaki?”

Nii wore a bitter smile. Kanon lowered his gaze.

“Are you dating? Is it fine not to get in contact with her?”

“It’s nothing like that. Tama-chan’s just a childhood friend.”

“No need to hide it anymore. You were doing some naughty things in secret anyway, right?”

Grinning, Nii was poking Kanon vulgarly with both hands. His true nature after recovering was quite a waste, Kanon had to say.

“Since both of you are feminine it’s even more erotic than I thought. So how was it?”

“Kanon’s going to hit you. Tama-chan’s just… no.”

He spoke while swinging his legs on the guardrail.

“She’s my important childhood friend.”

“Hmm?”

Thinking he should take revenge on his friend smiling so provocatively, Kanon pouted.

“What about you, Onii-chan? Kanon left that crown behind.”

“Right, that was also important to me.”

“…Kanon’s sorry.”

“S’fine. We both left our treasures back at the Abandoned Land.”

Saying this, Nii looked at Kanon.

“But… I feel like going back a bit later to get ‘em back.”

“Kanon does, too.”

They smiled at each other.

These days where they had fun without thinking of anything were so wonderful.

He didn’t need to think about saving or being saved.

And more importantly—Kanon could live his daily life without having to tell lies.

If possible, he wanted this to continue forever.

“I wonder what Tama-chan and the others are doing right now…”

“They’re all doing what they want wherever they want. Since you’re gone it’s meaningless for them to stay together, after all.”

“…”

Many days passed since Kanon escaped the Abandoned Land.

These were people who gathered because they wanted to be saved by Kanon. Just like Nii said, once Kanon was gone, they’d disperse and act alone.

Did everyone begrudge Kanon?

Nii said they probably regretted nothing. He didn’t want to reject Kanon who had nothing in the first place, but speaking of regrets—they were his only one.

Were the people who called Kanon a friend still doing fine?

Also.

The one who tried to protect Kanon so much by doing what she could never take back, Tamaki—

“Let’s go look for a job.”

Nii reached his hand and wrapped it around the thinking Kanon’s shoulder.

He smiled.

“Yeah!”

The pair was just about to leap off of the guardrail.

“Hyaa!”

A boy and a girl suddenly cut by, grazing Kanon. Not even minding him as he leapt back, they ran away like something happened.

“R-rushing headlong like that is dangerous… eep! Kanon’s sorry!”

As he put both hands on his mouth and advised them of temperance, the pair turned back. He held his head and stumbled.

But the two didn’t glare at Kanon. Rather, they looked not just back but to all sides, looking around for something.

Their behavior was as if—they were being chased by someone.

“W-what’s happened?”

Turning back, Kanon noticed his friend glare into the distance, silent.

“Onii-chan?”

“…So it’s Mushibane.”

Nii mumbled.

“Eh?”

“Those two were being chased by another two. Their movements were the SEPB. —Meaning, those who escaped just now, are very likely from Mushibane.”

“SEPB…? K-Kanon hasn’t noticed at all.”

“Well, nothing to do with us.”

Smiling, Nii started walking. The complete opposite direction from where the pair ran away.

“…That’s true.”

Kanon also smiled and followed Nii.

“We can browse some newspaper and look for job ads.”

“Right, let’s do it.”

“And I need to take out some money on the way. Not that there’s a lot left, though.”

“You have to use it responsibly.”

“Right. Shall we skip dinner tonight?”

“K-Kanon will never forgive that!”

Kanon who was laughing around suddenly stopped.

After walking for a few seconds, Nii turned back.

“What is it?”

“…Those people just now weren’t Kanon’s believers, right?”

Kanon smiled weakly. Nii shook his head with a serious expression.

“Nope. I don’t know ‘em either, and you don’t either, right?”

“But! Some days passed since then, so we might’ve just forgotten them!”

He’d seen the face of those running away for just a second. Kanon intended to never forget even a single face of his comrades, but could he really say this was true?

If they were his believers and they ended up being chased by the SEPB because Kanon was gone—

“Kanon.”

Nii looked at Kanon with a calm expression.

“We’ve run away. We no longer have anything to do with them.”

“…!”

It was true. However—

“Onii-chan…”

Biting his lips, Kanon looked back at the boy.

He wanted to make sure.

But Kanon alone was useless. He needed help for that.

Nii resisted wordlessly, but that didn’t keep up for long.

“—We’re just making sure.”

The moment the boy folded, Kanon already spun his body. He began running toward where the two escaped.

Kanon ran desperately and a calm Nii followed after him. After running for a while, the ex-SEPB combatant boy clicked his tongue.

“Tch, unranked underlings? Their way of chasing is trash. Here.”

In front of a certain alley, he grabbed Kanon’s arm. It was a narrow road between buildings. Kanon didn’t know this at all, but apparently the SEPB pursuers had cornered the escapers there.

They rushed through that alleyway and stood when they reached a gloomy place sandwiched between two buildings. They stealthily peeked ahead from within the shadows.

“Let’s check it from here.”

“R-right.”

It was a parking lot of an old complex building. He could see that four Mushitsuki split into two groups were facing each other. They already summoned their Mushi.

“Well? Do you know ‘em?”

“K-Kanon can’t really see yet…”

“Wait, looks like there’s another one. The Mushibane lot looked over there—”

The leaning Nii’s profile froze.

“…? Onii-chan?”

No matter how much he called him, the boy still wouldn’t move as though frozen. Having no choice, Kanon also leaned forward, following Nii’s gaze.

“Eh—”

Seeing the person there, he thought his heart would stop.

“Just like promised, we drew the SEPB to you! So you’re going to save us now, right?!”

One of the runaways said.

“No, not yet—”

Answering this was unexpectedly someone Kanon knew.

“Those who aspire to become believers must attain enough strength to protect Kanon-sama.”

On top of the parking lot sign.

Sitting there and calmly looking down on the four Mushitsuki was someone wearing a familiar robe.

“Fight! Those who remain shall gain the right to be saved by Kanon-sama.”

The girl wearing the robes announced solemnly.

Kanon knew that girl. She had once been introduced to him at the Castle, the believer who received the nickname of Hyakunijuuichi, 121.

What was going on—

Unable to understand, Kanon could do nothing but stand there in shock.

“W-wait! Kanon-sama, meaning… the person who erases Mushi? D-does she really exist?”

One of the SEPB members looked up at the believer. Apparently the rumor spread even within the SEPB.

“Right. If you beat the Mushitsuki in front of you, we will introduce you to Kanon-sama as believers, how about that?”

The believer girl grinned.

These words made the SEPB members widen their eyes—and something unbelievable happened.

“Eh…?”

A hoarse voice leaked from inside Kanon’s throat.

Of all things—the four people of SEPB and Mushibane started fighting on the spot. And they leapt at their opponents with devilish visages, raising war cries.

“S-sto—”

As Kanon was about to leap from the shadows, Nii held him back.

“Fight! If you wish to be saved by Kanon-sama, that is!”

As if responding to the believer’s reprimand, the Mushitsuki all howled. They bared their eyes like wild beasts and just started thrusting their Mushi’s fangs or claws to fell the enemies ahead of them.

The conclusion soon came.

The two SEPB members combined their Mushi’s attacks and first tore off one of the enemy’s Mushi. Once he was outnumbered, the remaining person was helpless. He tried running away along with his Mushi, but his Mushi’s hard shell was penetrated by sharp fangs from behind.

Seeing that, the believer girl spoke.

“Alright! Now you’re number 205, Nihyakugo! And you over there are number 206, Nihyakuroku!”

The Mushitsuki first defeated already became a Fallen. The other boy also had his Mushi killed and was kneeled on the ground.

“…!”

Seeing the boy collapse, Kanon shook off Nii’s arm.

“Wait, Kanon!”

Ignoring Nii, he tried running to the collapsed boy.

The two SEPB members turned.

“Who’re you!”

“Eh…? K-Kanon-sama?”

On top of the billboard, the believer girl widened her eyes. Hearing those words, the two SEPB members’ movements stopped.

“Kanon-sama? This one is?”

“G-get a hold of yourself!”

Flying to the collapsed boy, Kanon roused his body.

He saw the boy’s glass bead-like eyes as he was on the verge of becoming a Fallen.

“Kanon…sama…? Y-you are…?”

“W-why’s Kanon-sama here? She’s supposed to be at the Castle…! —Nii, you bastard, where were you!”

The believer girl leapt down from the board. Seeing Nii emerge from the shadows, she was shocked again.

“Why… that is… our…”

Kanon’s voice shook. The robe-wearing girl turning around.

“That’s Kanon’s line! Why are you doing something so cruel! Why…!”

“Eh? B-but, I was just following your orders, Kanon-sama…”

Seeing the girl so confused, Kanon’s heart thumped.

Orders?

He knew nothing about it.

“Orders…?”

“Right, you were the one who came to this resolution, Kanon-sama…”

“Kanon did? Resolution? What sorta resolution?”

He had a bad feeling.

An incredible chill and fear crawled up from his stomach.

The girl spoke.

“A Holy War.”

Thump.

Kanon’s entire body shook as if hit by something.

“You told us to gather more powerful Mushitsuki for the upcoming battle…”

“Don’t be stupid! Kanon was with me this whole time. No way that happened!”

Nii shouted.

Right. Kanon knew nothing about that.

Holy War? An upcoming battle? These were not words that came out of Kanon’s mouth.

But even if so.

If Kanon ever mouthed these scary words—it wouldn’t be Kanon.

A Kanon who wasn’t Kanon.

The one who could do something so contradictory—

“Kanon-sama…”

Kanon’s body jolted and shook to an embarrassing degree. He almost thought his heart would stop.

The boy with a face devoid of life looked up at Kanon in his arms. He looked like he had a fever and was about to cry.

Kanon knew that face.

He’d seen that sort of face countless times.

“Please… save me too…”

“…!”

Kanon gulped.

The face worn by the boy about to become a Fallen was, certainly—

A face seeking salvation.

He was seeing a human who’d been cornered, who’d lost his place and was now clinging to the one and only hope he found.

“I hate… Mushi and… Mushitsuki…”

The boy’s hand grasped Kanon’s shoulder. He had a deathly complexion, and yet somewhere within him still remained enough strength for his nails to dig into Kanon’s skin.

“I beg you… Kanon-sama…”

“…! Kanon’s… Kanon’s…”

He didn’t have the power to save this suffering boy.

Everything had been a lie.

He didn’t want to tell anymore lies.

By the time he left the Abandoned Land, the liar Kanon was gone.

“Kanon’s—”

So he thought of telling the truth.

Once the boy became Fallen, he’d lose his emotions and memories. So these were his final moments.

Kanon was not evil enough to lie to the boy in his final moments.

He thought he should protect the boy’s dignity as a human by telling the truth.

“Kanon’s… right. Kanon’s got a power to erase Mushi.”

That was also a lie.

Kanon currently didn’t have the courage to tell the truth.

“Look, I just erased your Mushi. Now you’re just another human.”

He smiled at him.

“I’m so glad…”

A mouth on the verge of a smile and a shaky voice.

Seeing that third-rate acting, the boy—

“…Ah… now I can finally…”

Wore a full smile.

Even that smile—vanished within moments.

The boy grew heavier in Kanon’s arms. His fully open, expressionless eyes now lost their luster.

“…Fhu… guuuu…!”

Kanon did something terrible.

He lied to a person in his final moments.

In the end, no matter where he was, Kanon could be nothing but a liar—

“Uwaaaaaah! Aaaah!”

Laying the boy down on the floor and rising, he shouted.

“Kanon never… wished for this sorta thing!”

Turning his back to the Mushitsuki there, he kept shouting while clenching both fists.

“Kanon doesn’t care about strong or weak or whatever! If you want to kill the weak, then just kill Kanon first…! Kanon wanted to save everyone, but Kanon never wanted to…! Kanon…! Kanon would never…!”

He hid his eyes while tears streamed down.

In the end, this too was Kanon’s fault.

Kanon didn’t deserve to shed tears—

“It has nothing to do… with who’s a Mushitsuki and who’s not…”

“—!”

The Mushitsuki all held their breaths.

Kanon turned back, passing by the believer girl.

“The Kanon at the Castle is an imposter…”

“Eh?”

“There’s no need for you to listen to them…”

Leaving this behind, Kanon started walking.

“Wait, Kanon! Where are you—”

He held out his hand to stop Nii who was about to follow him.

The Mushitsuki there all looked at Kanon.

“…Kanon’s sorry…”

Shaking his head from left to right and denying it, Kanon went walking.

He didn’t want to involve any of them any longer.

Apparently, his lie had somehow grown even larger somewhere.

After Kanon left, his lie was being used by a certain person.

“Why… Tama-chan…”

This person pretended to be Kanon and inherited his lie.

It could only be Tamaki.

No person other than his childhood friend would be proficient enough to act like Kanon—

He had to stop her.

He had to somehow stop his lie.

Should he go back to the Castle?

No, it wasn’t that easy to solve.

What if… it was an unlikely scenario, but…

What if everyone believed Tamaki more than Kanon?

“Tama-chan can definitely… become more Kanon-like than Kanon…”

Tamaki could become the Kanon the believers all wished for.

In the first place, the one who protected his lie was not Kanon, but Tamaki.

“What can Kanon do…”

As he walked in the back alley, mumbling to himself, someone came nearby.

“So we don’t have any time to look for a job, then.”

It was Nii. The boy with a headband walked next to Kanon as if it was natural.

“…”

Kanon wordlessly shook his head to the side. However—

“Your actions and expression don’t match.”

Nii smiled.

“Don’t try so hard with such a lonely expression.”

“Fgh…!”

Sobs welled up from the depths of his throat.

Kanon alone was useless.

He knew that he couldn’t do anything alone.

“You need to rely on your friends.”

He didn’t want Nii with his cheerful smile to follow. He didn’t want to involve the boy any further, and yet—Kanon’s arm acted on its own, grabbed his friend’s clothes and he shook his head to the side.

Alone, he was powerless.

But the two of them could at least keep walking ahead.

Also—

“Kanon-sama!”

The robed girl rushed toward Kanon.

“Please take me too!”

“Us too…!”

The two SEPB members followed after the girl as well.

“It might sound too convenient, at this point, but… please!”

“…But Kanon cannot save any of you…”

He spoke weakly.

However, the three Mushitsuki’s eyes staring at Kanon did not change.

“…Thank you.”

As Kanon mumbled this weakly, the three Mushitsuki’s expression sparkled.

He almost went alone again, but then they became two.

At soon after that, they became five.

He couldn’t do anything.

He was weaker than anyone.

About the only thing he could do was tell lies.

And, around Kanon, one person and yet another person came to seek salvation, gathering around him.

And this—

“Kanon must do something…”

Was the beginning of the saint’s march.

4.03 Tamaki Part 8

The abandoned nighttime harbor had cold, salty wind blowing through it.

Stepping on the weeds growing from the cracks in the asphalt, she walked toward the harbor entrance. Her white robes sewn with an emblem resembling a full moon fluttered with the wind.

Beneath the twinkling stars, the sound of her stepping on sand echoed in the harbor entrance.

Just as she was about to step inside the empty harbor, a low voice echoed.

“Who are you?”

A nervous-looking boy with glasses stood in front of the chain blocking the entrance. The silhouette of him crossing his arms was thin, but he was prominent within the darkness like a creepy shadow.

“This is private property. Unless you want me to report an unlawful intrusion, you should go back right this instant.”

“My name’s Kanon.”

Wearing the loose-fitting robe and a laurel wreath on her head, Kanon—no, Tamaki—smiled.

Keeping pace with her, other presences appeared in lines behind Tamaki. The number of elites wearing those same standardized clothes were probably about 50.

In the darkness, Tamaki’s smile shone like a crescent moon.

“Will you not become one of Kanon’s followers?”

“What?”

“If you give Alpha to Kanon, Kanon will also be able to save you.”

Kanon’s words didn’t move the bespectacled boy at all. Even while heavily outnumbered, Alpha’s guard asserted with a calm tone.

“…Seems like you’re not a mere trespasser.”

Ear-grating metallic sounds reverberated throughout the whole harbor. All shutters there opened at once and many silhouettes appeared from within.

A girl in maid clothes, a soldier with machineguns, a person in a space suit, an inhuman monster—elaborate, life-size puppets began filling the harbor. Even a plastic doll climbed from the ocean and zombie crawled up from inside the ground.

Their numbers were several times Tamaki’s forces.

The guard’s Mushitsuki ability was obvious at a glance. And yet, him being able to control so many puppets at once was evidence for him being powerful.

“I’ll warn you again. Go away.”

However, Tamaki in the form of Kanon merely smiled back at this warning.

“How unfortunate. —Kanon cannot save you.”

Tamaki spread her arms.

The believers on both sides took her hands. Then these believers took the hands of those next to them. They all ended up holding hands at the same time, forming a circle.

“What is that supposed to be…?”

The same time as the bespectacled boy mumbled this quizzically, something happened above Tamaki’s head.

The Mushi shaped like a laurel wreath started emitting a pale light. The light spread among the dark harbor and then floated in air.

“W—what is that…?”

The circle of light floating from Tamaki’s head moved slowly ahead. It was floating soundlessly a bit above the ground.

A ring of light.

Changed from a laurel wreath to a luminous body, it lit the harbor up to a godly degree.

And at the next moment—

“Uh—”

An invisible blade unleashed from the ring of light cut the bespectacled guard’s shoulder.

It wasn’t just him. All of the dolls around him were cut in halves, cruelly spreading their remains on the asphalt.

“Finish it…!”

He clearly acknowledged the ring of light as an enemy. Holding his shoulder, the guard shouted.

All of the puppets immediately leapt toward the ring.

The next moment, a roar and a tremor wrapped the harbor.

The typhoon with the ring in its center blew the puppets away, and then red hellfire turned the remaining ones to ashes.

More than a hundred puppets came to attack one after another, but they weren’t able to even touch the ring of light.

“I-is that… a Mushi?”

Seeing the puppets having the table turned on them one after another, the guard groaned.

The ring shone even brighter.

Along with the sound of something bursting, a large amount of steam became a whirlpool and assaulted the guard. The puppet that immediately leapt to block it broke down.

The guard widened his eyes.

“No way… t-this is Aijisupa’s—”

The ring glowed.

Butterflies made of flame leapt from the inside of the ring as if trying to pierce the guard.

“Is this Namie’s ability…?”

“Yes, it is.”

Tamaki grinned.

This was the Mushi originally brought by Nii, an ex-SEPB member. It was shaped like a laurel wreath and Tamaki had investigated its ability and reached full understanding of it.

Its original usage was probably allowing the Mushitsuki who wore it to also use others’ abilities.

However, Tamaki herself did not have a fixed ability. It could also be used as an amplification tool for abilities—and the number of believers was overwhelmingly large. Tamaki and the laurel wreath were the ideal combination.

A protean ability and an infinite amplification tool.

Tamaki and Kanon’s believers—have obtained the ultimate weapon.

“Gwaaaah!”

The butterflies wrapped in white flames swallowed the guard. Scorched by the hellfire, his knees shook as he collapsed on the asphalt—the plastic used for his skin melted, exposing the mechanical contents within. Apparently it was just another puppet posing as him.

“Go, believers of Kanon! To Alpha, while we can!”

After defeating the guard, Tamaki shouted.

The believers let go of each other’s hands and spilled into the harbor along with battle cries. The few remaining puppets were cruelly stepped over by the followers.

Once the circle of believers was gone, the ring of light gradually lost its shine.

“There is no longer need to be afraid! There is no need to obey powerful Mushitsuki like the SEPB or Mushibane!”

Passing by Kanon one after another, the believers raised a cheer.

“For weak humans like Kanon, they are nothing but enemies! This time we will exterminate them, and it will be your turn to be saved!”

As she swung her khakkhara staff, the laurel wreath on her head lost its light.

The more her lie spread around the world.

The more believers she gained.

Tamaki and Kanon’s followers would become invincible.

“This is a Holy War! You shall all take back what has been taken from you!”

Tamaki shouted.

And yet the voice emitted from that mouth wasn’t that of Tamaki.

“Defeat the enemies and protect Kanon!”

It was the voice of the Child of God, Kanon.

Kanon’s lie would never stop.

It could grow even larger.

The larger it grew, the faster it would reach the real Kanon, wherever he was.

He should show himself again.

At that time, Kanon’s lie would be completed.

“The SEPB and Mushibane are sacrifices made for your salvation!”

For that, she needed a much more intensive impact than she had until now. Tamaki thought up a suitable event for that.

Sacrifice—

It truly sounded like a ritual fitting for the being called Kanon to become the Child of God.

And it wasn’t just any old sacrifice.

Tamaki spoke about the SEPB and Mushibane, but that was another lie.

Even these organizations holding tremendous power were all part of the act.

For the true sacrifice—a single person would suffice.

No.

It had to be a very specific person.

“If you believe in Kanon, Kanon will save you all!”

A lie would change the world—

The girl enchanted by lies, Tamaki, had to view that moment no matter what.

4.04 Shiika Part 2

“Alpha has been stolen?!”

Namie’s angry shout echoed in the camp that served as Mushibane’s base.

It was early morning when Shiika had been called to this square wrapped in a thin fog. By then, her main allies like Aijisupa and Namie have already gathered.

In the center of the gathering was a boy with glasses. He kneeled on the ground, looking clearly exhausted.

“Everyone, please calm down.”

Stopping the clamoring members, Shiika looked down at the kneeling boy. He was in charge of watching over the warehouse hiding Alpha.

“Are you fine, Peedwood-san? Can you explain what happened?”

“I don’t know if I can even explain properly… this is the first time I’ve seen that kind of Mushi. I couldn’t even land a hit… All of my puppets were destroyed by that ring monster…”

The boy speaking in a hoarse voice was a new member who joined after Shiika became the leader. He possessed an especially powerful ability even among the Mushitsuki who agreed with Shiika’s policies.

If he didn’t even manage to land a hit, it was no doubt something incredible. The comrades who knew of Peedwood’s strength began clamoring again.

“The fact of your ability requiring money is a huge minus. On top of that, Alpha was snatched right under your nose.”

After receiving contact, Akasegawa Nanana also came running in along with her secretary. Shiika lightly glared at Nanana who blamed the groaning Peedwood.

“Nanana.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. —You don’t need to explain anything. Well, secretary?”

“I have finally finished downloading it from the database. Here you go.”

Hugging a teddy bear, the secretary presented the small laptop in one hand.

“This is footage from the harbor’s security cameras. There are some unclear portions, but there should be no problem to generally assess the situation.”

Shiika and the rest huddled to look at the screen of Nanana’s computer.

“I’ll be playing it now.”

The first thing displayed on the lcd screen was darkness.

But soon a girl wearing strange clothes appeared and Peedwood noticed the trespassers and came to confront them.

After both sides finished talking, they charged into battle—

“What the heck’s that…”

Mumbling this with a shudder was Halensis, aka Sugitsu Matsuri.

Inside the screen, people wearing strange clothes—ceremonial clothes that could be called robes—all held hands and formed a circle.

When they did, something like a ring rose above the center girl’s head.

It became a shining halo and evaporated the puppets using all kinds of abilities.

“I-is this a Mushi…?”

“Who’s the host? Who’s controlling that?”

“No, in the first place how can it use several abilities?”

“Even Aijisupa and Namie’s powers…”

As the comrades bustled, the video continued.

“This is a Holy War!”

They could faintly hear this shout. The position of the camera was distant and they could only hear screams and shouts, but Shiika knew that someone shouted this.

“Holy War…?”

Shiika mumbled.

She knew that it wasn’t the SEPB with a glance. Apparently it was a gathering of Mushitsuki, but she never heard of any organization with this many Mushitsuki.

“Who on earth were they?”

Aijisupa’s mumble was answered by one of their comrades.

“It’s Kanon-sama…”

“Right, no doubt about it…”

“Eh?”

As Shiika turned around, the voice stopped completely. Halensis answered instead.

“Do you not remember? That rumor about erasing Mushi…”

“Oh, what that Mimic person said?”

Chouya Nihei said as if suddenly recalling.

Now Shiika recalled it too. There was the mysterious, shapeshifting Mushitsuki they called “Mimic” who’d boldly infiltrated their camp.

“I have a baaad feeling. I know a Mushitsuki like that!”

While fiddling with her cellphone, Lucifera’s expression turned severe.

“A Mushi that can use several abilities… the mantis destroyed by the SEPB’s North Central Branch was similar to that. It was a Mushi-eating Mushi controlled by a person other than the host. Nearly an entire town was destroyed.”

“Yeah? I remembered something different, though.”

Akasegawa Nanana also grimaced while exposing her disgust.

“There was this person who was much worse than any Mushi, and it wasn’t an issue of just a single town… oh no, I really didn’t want to recall that night of the meteor shower.”

“Meaning… that this ring is as least as dangerous as that?”

Everyone turned silent at Shiika’s question. That said everything about how serious this was.

Who on earth was Kanon?

When had she managed to build such an organization?

Also—what was the identity of that ring of light?

No one in this entire foggy camp could answer those questions.

“Lucy-san, do you know anything?”

Shiika asked the girl still playing with her cellphone.

“Ask that collaborator if they have anything about this Kanon-san and the ring—"

“What are you even talking about? I dunno, can’t understand you, how mysterious.”

Lucifera was apparently playing dumb. Not only that, but recently she had the feeling that girl started giving them less and less information.

“But in my personal opinion…”

Lucifera glanced at Shiika.

“Alpha’s recapture should take highest priority. For that, we need even the smallest hints. Anyway, since they spoke about a Holy War or whatever, they seem to be looking for a fight.”

“That’s… right.”

Shiika gnashed her teeth.

Mushibane’s organizational reform continued, and they were just about the taste the fruits of their labor. Just when they felt like they were really starting—Alpha had been stolen away from them.

And not by the SEPB, but a mysterious new gathering of Mushitsuki as their rival. Although Shiika didn’t want to fight, the other side challenged them so they had to protect themselves.

Even if it wasn’t the time to be doing this sort of thing—

Those feelings welled up from her chest.

She was currently acting to have Mushitsuki cooperating with each other, so she wanted to avoid any new rivalry forming.

“Snow Fly!”

One member ran toward Shiika and the other silent members.

“Someone came to our camp! Two unfamiliar people!”

“…!”

Tension ran through all comrades in the square.

“Secretary.”

“Yes, ma’am. I synchronized the camp’s security cameras, so I will bring out their broadcast.”

The secretary started typing on the laptop brought by Nanana. Operating the keyboard as if letting her fingers dance on it, she soon returned it to its owner.

“Wha—”

Everyone peeking into the lcd display became speechless.

A boy and a girl were walking through the mountainous paved road. Even looking at their rough clothes, they obviously weren’t there for hiking or a picnic.

What surprised Shiika most of all was when she saw the girl’s face.

She mumbled without thinking.

“Kanon-sama…?”

Approaching their base were the robed girl they just saw in the video—none other than Kanon. She and a boy wearing a headband were climbing the mountain.

The other Mushitsuki at the square grew clamorous.

“What’s she come here for, after stealing Alpha from us…?”

“How did she know about this place? No way, is she planning on attacking us…?”

As some lost their cool, Namie shouted “Calm down!” and gave an order.

“Wake up everyone’s who’s still sleeping! Only those who can fight stay, other members go to seek refuge!”

“Can we win…? Against that kind of monster.”

Halensis wore an anxious expression but Aijisupa answered calmly.

“I dunno, but we have to try. We have to hold out here until we evacuate all the noncombatants.”

“I’m fighting too…!”

“You can’t fight without any puppets. You evacuate too, Peedwood.”

Nanana held back Peedwood who was trying to stand up.

“—No.”

Shiika said.

“Everyone, get away from here.”

“Don’t be stupid. You can’t do this alone—”

“I’ll be fine.”

Shiika interjected with a smile.

—Several dozen minutes later.

Shiika alone was sitting on a bench at the square that was now clear of mist. She played with a butterfly that came close to her as the people she’d been waiting for arrived from within the mist.

“…Excuse me.”

They were Kanon and the headband boy. While looking around the empty camp, Kanon inquired from the seated Shiika.

“Isn’t this place the Mushibane’s…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Shiika answered with a grin.

“I want to meet up with the person called Snow Fly.”

“I am her.”

“Eh?”

Kanon made a surprised face. She fidgeted while looking at Shiika’s face, then spoke.

“Kanon thought that since she was a super powerful, she’d be super scary… but you were actually this cute, huh. Oh, sorry, Kanon didn’t mean anything strange.”

“Eh. U-umm… I mean… thank you.”

Shiika and Kanon.

Although their positions were different, both stood at the top of many Mushitsuki and lowered their heads at each other.

“Don’t be fooled by her appearance. Fuyuhotaru—she really is a dangerous Mushitsuki.”

“Eh, but—”

“R-right. I am probably a dangerous Mushitsuki. So—”

Shiika smiled at Kanon.

“So… if you use that ring here, I will fight.”

If it was a scary opponent, she wanted to fight them alone if possible.

This was an action based on that.

However.

“No, we’ll all fight.”

She heard a voice from behind.

“Eh?”

Aijisupa, Namie and the rest who were supposed to be hiding—and other comrades—all appeared from within the mist together.

“Sorry, but we can’t listen to your orders. If we fight then it’s all of us.”

Namie said. The other members all nodded at once.

Shiika wanted to rebuke them—but nodded back.

“…Thank you.”

Hey, Rina. If this were you, you would’ve gotten even farther and fought on your own, but—

In this situation, Shiika suddenly recalled her dead friend.

It’s impossible for me. It’s scary, so I want everyone at my side—

Shiika was weak.

Was that good or bad?

The answer would probably come out in the future.

“F-fight? We can’t! Kanon’ll be killed in an instant!”

Looking scared, Kanon hid behind the headband boy.

Shiika tilted her head.

Something was strange about this.

“Kanon came here to ask you for a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. Kanon does think it’s impossible, but, well…”

Even while fidgeting and hesitating, Kanon finally managed to wring out the words.

“Kanon wants you to cooperate so that we can put a stop to ‘Kanon-sama’.”

4.05 Tamaki Part 9

The ring of light brought a storm of electricity.

A lightning bolt large enough to connect the night sky and the surface caved in the riverside area at the suburbs. The water flowing in the river instantly boiled and a large amount of dirt was blown away.

The Mushitsuki wearing green long coat and goggles were all blown away by the impact. The Mushi trying to attack the ring had their bodies crumble.

The ring’s uniliteral carnage did not stop. While going a fast rotation, an unseen power lifted the surrounding dirt and shot it with terrifying speed. Pebble bullets struck the long coats and their Mushi, causing several more dying screams.

The finisher was a surge of steam explosion and Common Albatross butterflies wrapped in white flames. The blowing, pure energy pursued the escaping Mushi and in no time scorched them to ashes.

The battle between the ring of light and the long coats did not even last ten minutes.

The ring floated several dozen centimeters above ground.

Not even a single long coat remained standing.

“Is that the extent of the SEPB’s power?”

Looking down calmly at one of the collapsed members, Tamaki smiled.

“This makes it the third branch that Kanon demolished.”

Using Kanon’s face and voice, Tamaki held hands with the lines of believers lined up on the riverbank.

“Watch this! By combining our powers, Kanon and all of you have nothing to fear from the SEPB!”

The believers raised a cheer. “Kanon-sama!” “Kanon-sama!” loud chants worshipping Kanon reverberated along the river.

“Now, people of the SEPB, will you not join Kanon as well? Rather than staying where you only follow orders, won’t you help us help you? If you believe in Kanon—”

Grinning, Tamaki whispered sweet words to the SEPB members.

“Kanon will someday erase your Mushi and save you, you know?”

Upon hearing those words, the members who rose up to try their last resistance were clearly shaken. Biting their lips, one took off their coat, then another, and yet another one.

“The full moon approaches again…”

She looked up at the sky.

A large moon floated there with the twinkling stars. In just a few more days, it would become a full sphere.

The time for her to exhibit the fourth miracle to her believers was approaching.

“During the next full moon, Kanon will save everyone.”

Agitation spread throughout all of the followers.

Tamaki looked up to the moon, smiling.

“Right… everyone who believes in Kanon…”

A moment of silence.

The next instant, a loud cheer tore the air asunder. The voices zealously extoling Kanon’s name overflowed, becoming a tremor that shook the riverside.

The first miracle happened during Kanon and Tamaki’s reunion. Although it was a joke coupled with third-rate acting, it saved Kanon and created many allies.

The second miracle gave Kanon the name of a God and a castle. The miracle able to erase Mushi turned the Mushitsuki to believers, and Kanon to a God.

After the third miracle—Kanon and Tamaki split up.

But it was not yet over.

Kanon’s lie was going to grow even larger.

The fourth miracle would probably let Kanon and Tamaki meet again.

And, at that time, by offering up a sacrifice—

Lie would become truth.

The world would be fully dyed by Kanon’s lie and the pair would obtain everything.

“If you believe in Kanon, you too will be saved during the next full moon.”

Tamaki reached out her hands toward the SEPB members collapsed around the ring.

As if to welcome them.

As if to embrace them.

As if—to save them.

“Will you believe in Kanon?”

No one could resist those sweet whispers. Even among the members who still turned eyes full of doubt at her, all of them had removed their long coats.

Tamaki wore a satisfied smile—and turned sharp eyes toward the darkness.

“—So you’re here.”

She mumbled softly.

Tamaki’s narrowed eyes saw a figure moving within the night darkness.

“Will you also come and speak to Kanon, members of the Annihilators?”

The SEPB members at the riverbank all shuddered. As they looked around to the other side, figures in the same color as the darkness appeared one after another.

There were perhaps about 20 of them. All of them wore black clothing close-fitting body suits and black masks to hide their faces.

“T-these are the Annihilators…? They actually exist?”

“What’s up with them…?”

At the appearance of the abnormal figures, the SEPB members and believers were confused.

Appearing there weren’t only the black suited people. Advancing calmly within their center was also a person with tape pasted on their mask. His height and blazing-like red hair emitted a presence far beyond any of the Annihilators around.

“You’ve got some guts, pickin’ up a fight with the SEPB, eh?”

A low voice that seemed to tremble the air of the riverbank. It even felt as if the surrounding temperature rose, so much that none would be surprised if the man exhaled fire with every breath.

Seeing him, the SEPB members disregarded their wounds and drew back.

“Ha—Harukiyo!”

“It’s Harukiyo…!”

The believers were disturbed just the same. Among them were also ex-SEPB members, and there were also those who saw him while in Mushibane.

“Waaah! It’s Harukiyo!”

“Protect Kanon-sama!”

The believers hurriedly caused a commotion, and yet Tamaki stopped them with a hand.

Everyone lost their calmness as if their reasoning capabilities were burned away, but a single person, Tamaki alone, still smiled calmly.

Tamaki too had once fell into panic just like them.

The power of the Mushitsuki called Harukiyo was overwhelming. The only ones who could face him and remained calm were probably those who were Rank 1 just like him.

“Finally! Does coming here only after three branches were destroyed mean you were sleeping?”

However, Tamaki was different from her past self.

Right now, Tamaki was—Kanon.

She had the confidence of many believers and she had gained the strongest guardian deity, the ring of light.

For Tamaki, who transformed into the Child of God, Kanon, the Mushitsuki in front of her—was nothing but another sacrifice. She had wished for his arrival.

“Huh? Aiming for these branches full of small fries won’t do nothing to invite me.”

Folding his arms, Harukiyo wore a devilish smile. Hot air started crackling around him, making even the surrounding Annihilators step back.

“Isn’t targeting small fries the best if one wishes to summon a small fry?”

“The fuck you just say?”

Tamaki’s provocation changed Harukiyo’s eyes. His hot eyes that almost seemed to be able to kill with just a gaze pierced through Tamaki and the followers.

“Ka…Kanon-sama…?”

“Please stop, Kanon-sama…!”

“It is fine, we will not fight now.”

Turning toward the scared followers, she calmed them with a kind smile.

“Right, if you’re not gonna fight that means I can just butcher all of you, right?”

“No, you should just pass a message along.”

Harukiyo’s tape-covered eyes twitched.

Tamaki grinned.

Until now she’d used her ability to infiltrate all organizations. Her aim was to cause confusion until her side gained power, inviting followers and the like, and she had the information she gained in the course of that.

“’I know your goal. Are you not burning with yearning for a certain person’s return? But if that person returns, the world might be destroyed’—”

“—”

For a moment, the wave of high temperature covering Harukiyo shook like a heat haze.

Tamaki was convinced.

It was just like she thought.

If it was the “real one”, he never would have had a humanlike response such as wavering.

Now that she realized this, it was all the more reason not to fear the man in front of her.

“’Kanon can save that person’.”

Harukiyo stood motionless, paralyzed, while Tamaki with Kanon’s face smiled.

“’Kanon can remove the reason for that person’s slumber’—is the message.”

The riverbank fell silent.

This space, until very recently ruled by the remnants of battle and the commotion caused by Harukiyo’s arrival, was now so quiet one could even hear the chirps of bugs.

“You know who you need to pass this message along to, right?”

Kanon smiled.

After staying silent for a while, Harukiyo finally raised his chin as if recalling something. He suddenly spread a heat wave around, wearing a smile loaded with killing intent.

“…So you’re the bitch from back then…!”

“Whatever might you be referring to? This is Kanon’s first time meeting you.”

Tamaki played dumb.

The ring emitting pure light and the crimson heatwave emitted by Harukiyo.

An explosive situation unfolded between these two people who possessed power beyond the domain of humans. As if responding to that, the Annihilators slowly parted to the sides, assuming a position from which they could attack at any time.

“…”

Harukiyo left a provocative smile behind and turned away. The believers and SEPB members, and even the Annihilators all looked at the devil’s back with shock.

“Make sure you pass it properly.”

Tamaki reminded Harukiyo—the fake devil.

The remnants of flames vanished into the night’s darkness.

Since Harukiyo drew away, the other Annihilators also apparently lost their desire for battle. Just like when they appeared, they vanished into the darkness noiselessly.

“We’re… saved…?”

“Harukiyo retreated…? Why…”

On one hand the believers were relieved, but they were confused, unable to understand the reason for Harukiyo’s departure.

“There is no need to be scared. Even if Kanon needed to fight, we would have won.”

Tamaki wore a carefree smile, looking at her believers.

As the dreary atmosphere vanished, perhaps finally relieved from the depths of their hearts, the believers raised the voice of victory.

“Kanon-sama!”

“Kanon-sama!”

While listening to the voices revering Kanon, Tamaki looked up the night sky.

The next full moon was but a few days away.

By stealing Alpha, she turned Mushibane into her enemy.

By raiding the SEPB, she declared war.

The preparations to make the next miracle happen were steadily moving—

“You’ll come back, right, Kanon? At the next full moon…”

With a voice small enough to not be heard by anyone, Tamaki mumbled.

“At that time, I’ll show you. A true miracle… the moment a lie becomes the truth.”

Receiving on her body the chanting praising Kanon’s name, Tamaki smiled bewitchingly.

4.06 Kanon Part 8

The Abandoned Land he’d seen for the first time in a while was just like a fortress.

The spires viewed in the distance were the Castle. Perhaps having been dyed over, the walls that used to be a faded brown were now white, looking more like an actual castle.

All extraneous buildings were demolished from the vast premises and an asphalt road was paved. Piled-up mountains of debris or scrap wood from the remaining buildings grew up here and there like bamboo stalks. The parked heavy machinery and crane vehicles looked like tanks protecting the Abandoned Land.

Although it was still early morning, they had already started demolition work.

However, not a single sound could be heard from the Abandoned Land. None of the heavy machinery moved, and no workers who operated them could be seen.

It was as if no one was present at the Abandoned Land.

However, it wasn’t so.

The people living there all held their breaths, waiting for this time.

Waiting for their salvation.

Everyone was waiting for night to fall.

“Everyone… Kanon’s back.”

On top of the barricade used at the border of the Abandoned Land, Kanon mumbled.

Following him, many shadows also stood at once on the barricade.

There was also his friend Nii nearby, and some other comrades who followed after Kanon.

“Is it really tonight?”

Snow Fly—Anmoto Shiika—asked Kanon. Perhaps wearing combatant gear, she was clad in a leather-made suit with a radio hanging down from a gun belt at her waist.

As if to protect Shiika, the Mushitsuki of Mushibane lined up together. Aijisupa, Namie, Halensis, Peedwood, Lucifera—including the other comrades who underwent battle training, about thirty elite forces arrived here.

“Yes. Tama-chan will definitely try to do something tonight.”

At first, it was just a small lie told by Kanon.

From there Tamaki added another lie.

Another lie.

And another lie.

By piling up all these lies, they became a fortress.

That was—the Castle.

When there were no longer any lies to used as building blocks, Tamaki piled another thing on top of them—a sacrifice.

Kanon was disgusted and had left.

However, Tamaki kept on piling sacrifices even now.

What was she going so far to create?

She had already obtained the castle she wished for—

“Can we really stop that person?”

Kanon mumbled at Shiika’s question.

“If we talk, Kanon is sure she will understand. …But, Kanon alone would be killed long before reaching Tamaki, so—”

“Understood. So we just need to buy you some time.”

Shiika smiled.

Kanon bit his lips.

“Why are you helping? Do you believe Kanon?”

“To get Alpha back, obviously. …But, also because you’re the same as us, Kanon-san.”

“The same?”

“We all hate fighting.”

Shiika, who wore such an embarrassed smile, was definitely as far from the word “fighting” as possible. Even after spending a few days with her Kanon couldn’t really believe she was one of the strongest Mushitsuki.

“Let’s all stop her together.”

“Right.”

Kanon nodded.

He had explained to Shiika and the rest that the Kanon currently residing in the Castle was a fake.

However, he did not confess the lie that Kanon had the power to erase Mushi. The people of Mushibane always looked at him with half-doubting eyes.

It wasn’t to preserve himself.

That lie was until now his ace in the hole.

In the case that he couldn’t convince Tamaki—he would use that ace.

“Hey, that…!”

One of the people of Mushibane pointed to the distance.

Kanon and the rest gulped.

On the exact other side of the Abandoned Land they could see a fire pillar pointing to the sky. That thing whirling high above also looked like a Great Yama tiger beetle with tusks of different lengths.

“So that bastard’s also here…”

Nii’s voice full of hatred was slightly shaking. Kanon couldn’t tell if this was anger for his fallen comrades or else cause by fear.

He raised his face to the sky.

An endless blue sky was spreading there. White clouds were flowing by.

In several hours it would become night, and the sphere causing the fourth miracle would probably float there.

“—Let us go!”

Along with Shiika’s call, Kanon and the rest started running.

Three months have passed since Kanon and Tamaki’s first lie.

Tonight was the fourth full moon.

Notes

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