Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Prologue
Prologue[edit]
There were supernatural beings known as Mushi.
Having suddenly appeared ten-odd years ago, these possessed adolescent boys and girls. By feeding on people’s dreams—their emotions such as wanting to do or become something—they gave their hosts varied abilities. Since they outwardly resembled insects, they were called Mushi.
Those possessed by Mushi were called Mushitsuki.
“Excuse me.”
Akamaki City, the capital city that held Japan’s most important agencies.
In one corner of this city, already evacuated by its citizens, stood Miguruma Yaeko. A JSDF soldier approached her, cutting open the thumbcuffs that bound her hands behind her back.
“Vice-Deputy—sorry, former Vice-Deputy of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, Miguruma Yaeko.”
A middle-aged man appeared in front of Yaeko. He was the vice-minister of some department, dispatched by the government.
“I hereby clear you of all charges.”
“Is that so?”
While smiling, Yaeko looked at the scenery around her.
She was currently in front of the half dome-shaped facility. Until just a few days ago, it was a place filled with excited audiences of all kinds for events such as sports matches and concerts, but now it became a barren battlefield.
Even other buildings around the dome crumbled down, and soldiers and armored vehicles guarded the entire area. This strict atmosphere felt like they were at the site of a terror attack.
However, what happened here wasn’t merely a destructive event.
“The SEPB has been disbanded. That is exactly like I declared.”
Akamaki City had turned into a battlefield due to a certain powerful Mushi going wild.
Super Class Rank 1, C.
By manipulating electricity, this Mushitsuki could control other people’s memories or dreams. As a result of a certain experiment, C had lost her personality and started operating only to fulfill the goal bestowed to her.
And C’s goal—was to turn all of humanity into Mushitsuki.
For that sake, she was attempting to absorb even the Original Three, those primal Mushi who gave birth to Mushitsuki, and thus drown the world in Mushitsuki.
Right now, Yaeko could see the devastated Akamaki cityscape.
These were traces of the battles made by those Mushitsuki who gathered in order to defeat C. They had the tables turned on them and had to flee—thus serving as proof that the winner had been decided.
All those who attempted to stop Mushitsuki from being born suffered a complete defeat against C, who was scheming to turn humankind into Mushitsuki.
Even the government agency created to capture Mushitsuki in secret—the SEPB—had received the orders to disband. This was the result of C using her abilities to brainwash the country’s leadership.
In reality, one could say that the country was now being controlled by a single Mushitsuki.
The purging of the old generation Mushitsuki by Super Class Rank 1 C had begun.
And now, she started the creation of a new generation—
“As of this moment, we establish the new National Unification Records Bureau and appoint you as Director.”
As the vice-minister gave this appointment to Yaeko, a golden spark momentary passed through his head.
Controlling the electric signals going through a person’s brain, his memories and actions were being manipulated. —It could be called one of C’s specialties.
“The National Unification Records Bureau—meaning, a record of the process of unifying the entire country?”
Yaeko’s long hair was fanned by the wind. Her face, with its striking narrow eyes and beauty mark under one of them, was just slightly dusty. The same went for her meticulously worn business suit. However, her exceedingly calm behavior that did not seem fitting to someone in her late twenties remained unchanged even as she stayed in this former battlefield.
“So that is C’s will.”
Yaeko smiled.
She’d come this far while always smiling.
Even when she used her scientist father and the rich people of the Round Table to create the opportunity for the birth of Mushi.
Even when she used every bit of her ingenuity to create the organization called the SEPB and thought of managing and concealing Mushitsuki in order to control them.
Even when she kept isolating Mushitsuki from the populace and continued researching the Undying in secret through them.
Even when she set her eyes on the young Mushitsuki called C during her experiments and researched the techniques to control a person’s body and heart, and by extension their dreams.
Even as C was losing control over her abilities and she imprinted into her the mission leading into the Undying, to turn all people into Mushitsuki and bring them back to life by reminding them of their dreams again and again.
She was constantly overflowing with love toward Mushitsuki and smiling.
That was how she was.
The one and only woman called Miguruma Yaeko.
“C will use the Deluge to wash away the surface. And after unleashing the Dove to confirm that the old generation of Mushitsuki has been fully eliminated—”
This was just like that old story about God’s creation.
“She will ride the Ark along with C, ready to create a new world. Are you telling me to write that story, then—C?”
The deluge will wash away the surface, and the white dove shall inform of the land being purged.
And those seeds chosen to board the ark will form a new world—
C was telling her to write these details down.
“It certainly was me who told you to leave all records as data. However, this is much like a baby crying for her mother’s attention.”
Miguruma Yaeko smiled as she watched over the ruined Akamaki City. A soldier handed her a tablet computer. There was already footage streaming on the screen.
“Is this the SEPB’s system…? Ah, so it’s live broadcast from the goggles of the Revived being controlled by C, then.”
Within the shaky footage, she could see a familiar face.
“Lady Bird.”
Blaze Class Rank 1, Lady Bird. Real name: Tachibana Rina.
She was a Mushitsuki who’d once fought against the SEPB by creating the resistance group called Mushibane. Around a year ago she had died a heroic death, but came back to life due to a certain person’s plan.
“Hmm… this appears to be a port somewhere.”
Right after running away from C’s pursuit, Lady Bird separated from her many comrades in order to allow the few weaklings to escape. However, even she seemed to have already gone out of Akamaki City. The footage showed her fighting against C’s assassins, the Revived; she knocked out more than half of them and was boarding a ship along with her few companions.
“Ah, the sea. —True, that is definitely the only place you can use to escape from C.”
Even C wasn’t as almighty out in the sea, where she couldn’t access electricity, the medium of her powers.
This was an excellent decision by Lady Bird, who usually just charged recklessly ahead.
“However, Lady Bird—you may have escaped being revived by C due to all those dreams you took with you, but this isn’t what I expected. Although you came back to life, I would have expected your personality to have collapsed long ago, in that sort of state. …Something doesn’t add up.”
She wanted to watch a little bit more, but the footage quickly changed over.
She immediately knew who she was watching now.
All because she saw those blazing flames as well as the human figure cackling within them.
“Irregular Class Rank 1, Harukiyo. He also seems to be in some harbor. I can see the container ship as well as the semi-trailer… is Alpha inside it?”
It was a somewhat unexpected combination.
Harukiyo was the strongest and freest Mushitsuki. It was unexpected for someone hailed as the demon of flames to come in contact with Alpha, who could be called the primal Mushitsuki. Even if they did end up meeting, she couldn’t understand why Harukiyo would be protecting him.
“Has the Akasegawa Group led him to it? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised for him to notice Alpha’s true worth, regardless… but it’s still odd.”
Yaeko narrowed her already narrow eyes even further.
“In my estimations, Harukiyo should already be showing signs of Maturation. After going through so many consecutive fights, he should have Matured already—”
For Yaeko, all Mushitsuki were like her children. She stood there and watched the moment the race known as Mushitsuki was born, and she always watched over their growth from the side.
For someone like her to miscalculate the timing when a Mushitsuki underwent Maturation—
Although the fight between the Mushitsuki and C had supposedly been settled, there was something wrong with how things continued this far.
Had C noticed this slight discrepancy?
“Harukiyo also managed to escape to sea…”
Yaeko muttered. The footage switched over again.
“—Yet another harbor.”
This time it was clearly a group fight.
These were the joined forces of the SEPB and Mushibane being forced into a defensive battle. One could say that practically all Mushitsuki combatants in this country were gathered there.
And they were being attacked by the Revived sent by C.
A gigantic tanker was anchored at this harbor where these intense battles were taking place. Not many people were capable of preparing something like that in a state of emergency like this.
“I see, so it means that it was Haji Keigo and Akasegawa Nanana who planned on escaping to the sea.”
Tactician Haji Keigo and the rich Akasegawa Nanana were trying to let the old generation of Mushitsuki escape to sea.
“Since Haji Keigo has guided them to the sea, their destination must be…”
She could imagine where the Mushitsuki were going to flee to, but there was something else that bothered her before that.
Yaeko’s eyes captured the armored vehicle on the screen.
“Sleeping Beauty, Arisu—”
The Rank 1 who’d fallen asleep in a decisive fight that was already forgotten.
The girl was a complete and utter irregular in everything that went with her; even the fact that she fell asleep again immediately after waking up had been unexpected.
She didn’t think someone like that would move according to her thoughts at this stage, but—
“…”
The same sensation of wrongness like with Lady Bird and Harukiyo assaulted Yaeko.
It was just an intuition with no basis behind it.
Even as Yaeko considered this, the footage switched over to the next one.
Next, she could see a petite girl.
It was a Mushitsuki Yaeko knew well.
“Secret Class Rank 1, Fuyuhotaru.”
She was the Mushitsuki who brought the SEPB to the brink of destruction a few years ago.
That girl had suddenly appeared and nearly ruined everything that Yaeko built up. Although they’d barely succeeded in her capture at the time, the astounding potency or her power remained unchanged.
Fuyuhotaru could be said to an existence close to C.
She was a Mushitsuki who possessed the power to destroy everything—so that the world can be rebuilt anew.
“So you’re saying that all the conditions for the creation of a new world were fulfilled, C.”
While stroking the screen with her fingers, Yaeko smiled.
“Yes, I will watch over all of it. I wait to see how you unleash the Dove from your Ark and start screening the entire world with the Deluge…”
The footage changed again.
It now showed a single boy.
“—The most dangerous Mushitsuki of all does no longer exist.”
Yaeko wiped her smile.
It was like that back when Mushi were born, too.
He—no, they—definitely always did it.
Neither changing nor destroying everything, they’d simply stand in front of the change Yaeko wished for the world to take—and try to stop it.
They were the Mushitsuki born by the member of the Original Three known as Sanbikime.
“…Kakkou.”
She mumbled.
Yaeko flicked away the empty shell of the Mushitsuki called a demon with her fingertip.
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