Mushi Uta:Volume 8th Episode 32

Episode 32. The Silver Butterfly Bridging between Dreams

The coast was filled with blinding, silver light.

On the beach the silent Fallen Mushitsuki were collapsed here and there, while Kasuou and Yomori Neiko also lost consciousness.

Kusuriya Daisuke was injured and it took every bit of power he had to stand by the breakwater. His face hidden by the goggles was covered in clotted blood and his SEPB coat was also in tatters.

Within Daisuke’s sight covered in red, the exhausted form of the familiar girl was there.

“From now on, we will—”

Wide open pupils. Long hair. A vivid pattern all over her body. As well as—the dream-eating Morpho butterfly in the shape of a spear and the swarm of small butterflies covering the beach.

All of them shone in silver.

Ichinokuro Arisu.

As if she was host to the Perseid meteor shower raining from above, the pattern engraved on Arisu’s body emitted phosphoresce.

“All live togetheeer!”

As the girl howled, nothing remained of her usual bright smile and lively, shining black pupils.

“Is this Maturation…?”

The flame devil Harukiyo standing next to Daisuke was frozen in shock.

Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako who were further away were unable to understand the situation and were speechless.

“AAAaAAaAAAAaAAAH!”

The coast’s air was shaken by this loud roar.

As if shaken by rage.

As if shaken by happiness.

As if about to cry in sorrow.

This scream, not unlike a bestial howl, didn’t sound like something that could come out of the mouth of the girl Daisuke knew well.

The girl called Ichinokuro Arisu wouldn’t shout with such a voice—

Erasing the howl, Arisu widened her eyes. Her pupils drawing arcs of light captured the enemies floating above the ocean surface.

One of the Original Three that give birth to Mushi, Oogui.

And—the Mushitsuki-hating man, Ichiku Kimitaka.

Arisu flung her silver lance toward the monstrous enemies blocking her way.

Even to Daisuke’s eyes, as someone who survived mortal combat countless times and was called the strongest Mushitsuki, the spear looked like it completely vanished. Due to its extreme speed and power the only thing he could register was a silver flash.

“—”

A soundless explosion raised sand throughout the entire coast.

The flash surpassing the speed of sound tore the sea into two, boiling both Oogui and Ichiku Kimitaka instantly.

The spear stabbed into far into the sea—and the ocean exploded. The coast was assaulted by powerful tremors, and explosive wind pressed closer to the beach. Large amounts of seawater rising into the air became a fierce rain.

These shockwaves, enough to make the air crackle, told of the spear’s destructiveness. If it struck the surface, it had enough power to completely demolish a small town.

Unable to withstand this attack that went beyond common sense, the two enemies on the sea surface were reduced to dust.

However—

“Hehe.”

“You fool.”

A black spot gathered in air, and Oogui and Ichiku Kimitaka were reborn.

“You threw away your one and only weapon—”

Ichiku couldn’t finish his words.

Arisu thrust her hand to the side and sand rose to it as if being sucked. The small butterflies dancing around gathered, fused with the sand and became a thin spear. It was somewhat smaller than the spear that held the Morpho butterfly’s body, but even seeing the light flickering on its surface it was obvious it held tremendous power.

Ichiku became speechless and Oogui erased her smile.

It wasn’t just their enemies. Everyone there couldn’t move as though frozen.

The girl controlling the shining silver butterflies dominating the sand who seemed inhuman—was clad in beauty beyond the domain of men.

An incarnation of dreams.

There were no longer any vestiges of Arisu’s lively face—of the commonplace and normal girl.

“…”

Daisuke gritted his teeth.

Was this—the end?

It all started from Hanashiro Mari’s small dream, involved many Mushitsuki and was inherited by Ichinokuro Arisu. Were these feelings about to end right here?

An Undying enemy and Arisu who completely became prey to the Morpho butterfly and had her dream eaten.

Daisuke was always next to her side protecting her. Even so, at the very end—

He couldn’t do anything.

He could do nothing but watch.

“Hey, Kakkou! If it Matures, what happens to the woman?”

At Harukiyo who grimaced, Daisuke couldn’t answer.

If a Mushi Matured, the host Mushitsuki’s dream would be fully devoured—and they’d lose their life.

Arisu wasn’t a Mushitsuki but even if she just had her dream eaten by the Morpho butterfly, the probability of her reaching the same end was high.

When Arisu died, only the Morpho butterfly taking over her body and the two Undying would remain—

Wasn’t that the worst result possible?

Arisu didn’t even turn to look at Daisuke. Right now, she couldn’t even see him. Now that the Morpho butterfly was Maturing, there was no doubt that Arisu’s will was being eroded by the Mushi. When she fully lost her ego to it, Arisu’s mind and body would fully become the Mushi’s—

“Arisu—”

Seeing the girl being controlled by the Morpho butterfly, Daisuke recalled the promise she once made with him.

A casual, small promise.

That was on the first time Arisu showed that she was scared from getting involved with Mushitsuki.

“You were the one who gave me your hand, telling me to take you with me…”

Arisu had wrung out her courage and said this to Daisuke.

At the time Daisuke grabbed her shaking hand back.

“If you go overboard, I’ll bring you back—I’m pretty sure I said this.”

The voice of the mumbling boy.

Was erased by the war cry of the shining girl.

Part 1

Family.

Friends.

Memories.

All of her treasures were packed into a single feeling.

As long as she had that feeling, she could do anything. If she lost this feeling, she would lose her very existence.

It was called a dream.

The path she’d taken so far connected here.

With this feeling in her chest, she would keep going on this path.

So she was convinced.

“—AaAAH!”

Arisu’s throat emitted an inhuman howl. She threw the thin spear she was grasping at her enemies.

At the same time, the surrounding sand rose up and transformed into a swarm of butterflies. One after another, spears of light were created and surrounded Arisu in the blink of an eye.

Right, left, right again.

Swinging both arms in speeds beyond human eyes, the silver girl kept launching spears.

“Nuh…!”

Silver lightning pulverized Ichiku Kimitaka’s half body and caused a giant explosion on the other side of the horizon.

“Could you please move, Arisu-chan?”

Oogui kept scattering her purple scales. In the night sky streaming the meteor shower, the scales formed and transformed into Mushi.

“Well, you might not be Arisu-chan anymore—”

Oogui who was trying to laugh suddenly turned back with a start.

“—”

Oogui’s body floating in the night sky scattered. The flash of light flying from afar hit the mark.

Arisu caught the light that pulverized Oogui and came back down to the beach. Shining particles were blown away and her silver hair danced.

Stopping in Arisu’s hand after this impact was the Morpho butterfly’s spear that she first threw at her enemies. The strongest weapon that came back to Arisu’s hands spread its blade-like wings.

“AAaAAAH—”

The war cry emitted from her mouth could be heard in the distance.

She was being eaten away—

The first precious feelings Arisu had since her birth were being eaten by something and erased.

Just like Oogui said.

Right now, the one moving Arisu’s body wasn’t herself.

Stealing Arisu’s heart and her body, and eating her—

Was a Mushi.

It wasn’t painful, yet unbearably painful.

Painful as though her chest was constricted, yet also brought a pleasant drowsiness and sleepiness.

—Hello.

Her late friend Hanashiro Mari’s smile.

—Ena Homerun!

—When he comes back, I will tell him, “welcome back”.

Her memories of her still-living friends, Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako.

—Geez, why’d I have to…

The days she spent with Daisuke at her side.

—I wanna get punished.

The flame-like eyes of the worthy rival Harukiyo, who came to look for Mari’s dream.

She was literally being eaten by a Mushi, having a hole open inside and having it be covered fully in black.

All of them were irreplaceable memories.

Everything that made up Arisu.

If they were gone, Arisu would cease being Arisu.

No, don’t go away—

She wanted to shout this, yet couldn’t shout.

“AaAAaAAH—”

Leaking from Arisu’s mouth was only the cry of the Morpho butterfly raising cheers.

There was no pain.

Even so, she felt extreme pain—in her heart.

This was what dreams being eaten meant.

The identity of the pain that Mushitsuki always faced and fought against.

Arisu couldn’t even struggle against this harsh pain that she’d never experienced before.

With the faces of her important people vanishing, she also started forgetting her own face they were looking at.

She was starting to lose sight of who she was—

“Are you trying to say that if you can’t change this world that has Mushitsuki with it then you might as well destroy the world itself? Ichinokuro Arisu—“

On the sea surface, Ichiku Kimitaka’s ripped mouth was created. Tardigrades gathered to this form, and the face clad in sunglasses with different colored lenses was restored.

Arisu’s body moved on its own and readied the spear.

The sense of duty to defeat the enemies in front of her eyes was just being dyed by a destructive impulse.

The resolution to protect her dream changed into a joy that controlled immense power.

“If this is the ‘saving’ you speak of, I’ll eat even that.”

The tardigrades tsunami pushed to the beach. Ichiku’s upper torso slid on top of the wave as if surfing, assaulting Arisu.

Arisu flashed her Morpho butterfly spear. Silver scales blew away both Ichiku’s body and the swarm of tardigrades.

“…!”

The next moment, an explosion resounded at Arisu’s feet. From within the swarm of tardigrades gushing out from beneath the sand extended two suit-clad arms.

Arisu’s shoulders were restrained by superhuman strength. And further from the tardigrades a ripped mouth flew out.

Although she barely stopped it with her spear, the ripped mouth broke apart into countless tardigrades and slipped away from the spear. Regaining its form again, the mouth stuck sharp fangs into Arisu’s neck.

“AAaAAH!”

A cry of pain leaked from Arisu’s mouth a cry of pain leaked. The strengthened silver body that fused with the Morpho butterfly scattered fresh blood.

“The world of Mushitsuki will not change.”

Ichiku Kimitaka’s dark eyes glared at Arisu. Without moving the biting mouth, he moved the throat behind the hole in his cheek and spoke.

“Under the name of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, Mushitsuki will forever keep living in despair—”

Being crushed by the tardigrades’ overwhelming weight, Arisu was pushed back to the breakwater.

“AaaAAAH—”

Arisu—no, the Morpho butterfly shouted.

Silver scales were spouted from the spear, and the tardigrades eating it were instantly annihilated.

“What’s wrong, Oogui?!”

Ichiku regenerated in another location as if nothing happened, glaring up the sky of streaming stars.

“As long as this woman’s there you can’t eat the dream you’re aiming for!”

“Hehe… looks like it.”

Narrowing her rainbow eyes enchantingly, Oogui produced several more Mushi.

Arisu crushed the pushing swarm of Mushi with a single attack from her spear.

However—

“…!”

A giant shadow fell down from overhead.

She hurriedly swung her spear and emitted scales. However, the half-dome-shaped Mushi alighting down wasn’t fully destroyed by this.

It was Rina’s seven-spotted ladybug. Although half its body was torn off, it bit the spear with its large mouthpart.

“—!”

This shockwave with power off the charts sank Arisu into the ground. On top of sealing the spear with its mouthpart, it continued by shooting a shockwave. Adding to seven-spotted ladybug’s weight, Arisu’s body stabbed even further into the ground.

Dirt was blown and oceanwater flowed in like stormy waves. The seven-spotted ladybug’s shockwave tore the ground asunder, dropping Arisu into the abyss.

Tardigrades spouted from within the torn earth. Ichiku’s arms extending from the surface pinioned Arisu from behind.

“—I will drop you into hell and close the lid, you old relic, Morpho butterfly. So you can never come back to this world again.”

Falling—

Along with the sensation as though she was falling, Arisu’s heart was assaulted by the sensation of being dropped into the deep abyss.

Arisu’s heart was being devoured by the silver spear she was grasping, and her consciousness was swallowed whole by the darkness.

The faces of those important to her.

The memories of the days she spent with her loved ones.

They were all being eaten by the Mushi and losing their form.

“—”

Arisu widened her eyes.

Letting her left hand go of the spear that had its movements restricted, she used her fist clad in a glowing pattern to strike the abdomen of the seven-spotted ladybug. Its body pierced, the seven-spotted ladybug flinched, and in that opening Arisu shot scales from her spear.

Light burst.

Both the seven-spotted ladybug and Ichiku Kimitaka boiled and a huge tremor shook the ground.

The girl leapt up from the depths of the holes created in the ground. Bursting through the waterfall of seawater, she leapt up stairs created by her small silver butterflies and up into the night sky.

Rotating midair, she landed on top of the carpet created by butterflies gathered on the ocean surface.

“Although weakened, you still are the remains of a Rank 1. So you can still crawl up, huh.”

“Hehe—”

Ichiku who emitted white breath from his ripped mouth and Oogui who sneered bewitchingly.

Ichiku said she had crawled.

But that was a mistake.

Even while facing these Undying enemies, Arisu kept falling.

She was desperately struggling inside the sea of darkness that tried dragging her heart and memories inside it.

Precious feelings she should have had.

She was supposed to be fighting in order to fulfill them.

However—

Arisu was starting to forget them.

She should have had people she wished to protect, but couldn’t recall their faces.

She couldn’t recall the name they called her with.

Although it was really said, she couldn’t even remember why it was sad.

Even her reason for fighting, the faces of her important people, was eaten by the Mushi every time she used her power—

The man controlling the tardigrades howled, attacking her.

The woman in control of swarms of Mushi including the seven-spotted ladybug was attacking her.

She stood against them to protect herself.

The more she fought…

The more she used her power…

The personality known as Ichinokuro Arisu was falling into the depths of the darkness, and—

“—!”

While Arisu fought against the two enemies, a flame ball attacked her from another angle.

She didn’t even need to swing her spear. Arisu easily repelled the fire with her bare hands.

“—Don’t you fuckin’ ignore me.”

The boy standing on the breakwater glared at Arisu.

“You’re ideal as you are right now. Finally feel like fulfilling your promise?”

The boy clad in fire wore a fierce smile. His blazing eyes glared at her.

“C’mon, do it. Fulfill my dream—”

She looked back at the boy with eyes of silver.

She couldn’t—see the boy’s face.

It should have been familiar to her. His voice should have been familiar to her. Although she saw him and heard him—her heart couldn’t recall his face and voice.

“Ha, you idiot,” spat the tardigrade man with a bored-sounding voice.

Arisu kicked the butterfly carpet. She reached the boy in the blink of an eye.

No…!

While struggling inside the darkness, Arisu shouted.

She couldn’t remember his face, but she did have the impulse that she couldn’t hurt him.

He was one of the people important to Arisu.

She only had this conviction.

Stop…!

Desperately stopping Arisu’s will, her body didn’t listen. He was acknowledged as an enemy that tried to hurt her, so she obeyed her self-preservation instincts and swung the spear at him.

That person’s important to me—

Arisu’s personality was sinking.

The power she couldn’t resist was dragging Arisu under the dark ocean abyss, and—

She completely lost sight of the exit.

“—”

Her silver eyes glowing, Arisu’s expression was gone.

She swung down the Morpho butterfly spear at the flame boy with mechanical movements.

However, the moment before the spear tore him apart—

“—WOOooOOOOOooOOOH!”

Grasping and stopping the spear spreading destruction was a boy whose face was hidden by goggles. His black long coat was ripped, and his left arm stopping the spear was covered in splattered blood.

“…!”

Arisu’s vision blurred. Silver and green lights clashed, burst, and both her legs fell on the sand.

The boy struck his forehead against hers.

It was powerful, but this wasn’t enough damage to affect Arisu as she was now. She soon raised her head and glared at the new enemy—

“Come back—”

The headbutt’s impact broke the boy’s goggles. His true face now revealed, his eyes looked back at Arisu.

What powerful eyes.

His entire body dyed in fresh blood, he was supposed to be so exhausted he could fall down at any moment, but there was not even a shred of weakness in the boy’s eyes. His overly powerful sight created ripples in the dark sea isolating Arisu.

“Arisu!”

Thrusting his forehead, the boy shouted.

The silver girl widened her eyes.

Arisu.

Ichinokuro Arisu.

That name—didn’t belong to the Morpho butterfly spreading destruction.

The boy’s call pulled up Arisu’s consciousness from the dark depths.

“What are you gonna do, losing to that Mushi! You’re going to keep living with us!”

The boy called her name.

“ARISU!”

Arisu floated from the sea of trance that the Morpho butterfly enclosed her in.

He called her.

The reliable boy who was always at her side was calling her name.

The silver lance emitted violent light.

However, just before floating from the darkness-colored ocean, a violent power of control pushed Arisu back down. She was trying to wake up and yet she was being dragged back into the dark ocean.

However, someone grabbed her hand.

—Arisu.

The hand was thin but filled with warmth.

Hanashiro Mari who wore a kind smile grabbed Arisu’s hand.

—Everyone’s waiting for you, Arisu.

The hand of her friend that was no longer there dragged Arisu’s consciousness out of the darkness—

“Arisu!”

She heard the voice that called her back.

Calling her name was the girl who shed tears far away.

The dream eaten by the Mushi.

The holes in her memories.

These were being restored as though by magic.

Clenching both hands atop her chest and crying was Arisu’s important friend.

Saionji Ena.

“Arisu-san!”

A friend just as precious as Ena, Kujou Takako, also cried.

Arisu’s pupils returned from silver to be black.

In the world that regained its color, the one who waited the closest to her than anyone—

—If you go overboard, I’ll bring you back.

Protecting the promise they made once, the one who called her back into this world was that boy.

“Whether or not I’ll come back quietly is another matter, I’ve said—”

When her body was paralyzed with fear and doubts, he always protected her.

Arisu who retrieved her ago called his name.

“Daisuke.”

“…I’m already used to you not being silent.”

Arisu who regained her black eyes as well as Daisuke who was bleeding from his head smiled at each other from up close.

Seeing Arisu’s survival, Daisuke let go of the spear. Then he buckled down on the beach.

“—Harukiyo.”

Behind Daisuke as he groaned painfully and finally exhausted himself, was a boy with eyes wide open.

“This isn’t like you. Weren’t you always trying to live seriously?”

“…!”

“Letting go at this stage makes you a failure of a Mushitsuki.”

Narrowing her eyes as though in teasing, Arisu spun her body. Her silver hair drew a shining arc.

“—So it’s not only Hanashiro Mari and the Morpho butterfly who are obstinate.”

Ichiku Kimitaka grimaced. He emitted white breath from his mouth open wide in hatred.

Oogui sneered derisively.

“It doesn’t look like you’ve come back to yourself, though?”

Arisu grasped the Morpho butterfly spear.

Oogui was right. Although she regained her ego, the Morpho butterfly was still eating Arisu’s dream, trying to erase her consciousness and encroach her body and mind. Only her pupils regained their previous color, and her long hair stayed colored a vivid silver.

“…”

Arisu’s arm grasping the spear slightly shook. Although she showed a smile to Daisuke and the others, her body clearly felt the frightening destructive impulse.

Just a bit more—and she would’ve tried to kill Harukiyo.

Maturation.

Only once, Arisu had seen a Mushitsuki about to Mature. Back then, in order to protect the host’s life, Daisuke killed the rampaging Mushi. By doing that the host became Fallen, but victims were kept to a minimum.

“—”

Arisu bit her lips.

Even now the Morpho butterfly was trying to Mature. The more they kept fighting the power of control strengthened, and it was trying to take over Arisu’s mind and body.

If it managed to achieve full Maturation, there was no doubt a tragedy beyond any imagination would happen.

Arisu would, most likely—die. Although she wasn’t a Mushitsuki in the strictest sense, if the Morpho butterfly fully ate her dream, she would undoubtably be unable to escape this fate.

And the Morpho butterfly would Mature.

Destructive impulse and the self-preservation instincts would give birth to a monster spreading all manners of disasters in the world. Not just Arisu’s precious friends, but many other unrelated people would get involved.

They had to avoid that.

Even if it managed to destroy Ichiku or Oogui, if the Matured Morpho butterfly remained, that tragedy would be unavoidable.

Without saving Mushitsuki—the hope connecting many Mushitsuki would be cut there.

Seeing Arisu stand in place, immobile, Ichiku smiled scornfully.

“What’s wrong, Ichinokuro Arisu? Are you finally getting scared?”

If she fought, the Morpho butterfly would give birth to a tragedy.

If she didn’t fight, the Original Three would keep giving birth to Mushitsuki.

Although she had the power to overwhelm her enemy—

Just from adding the danger of the Morpho butterfly’s Maturation to the equation, the road letting everyone keep living in the future—

There wasn’t even one.

The dream’s continuation would reach a standstill—

“—”

No.

There was a way.

Just one way remained for Arisu to make the dream she thought of come true.

The one and only way she had right now.

The single path that only she could do.

As Arisu managed to reach this path—she felt proud.

“Daisuke.”

She turned around and spoke.

“—Keep Ena safe, please.”

“Arisu…?”

As the boy raised his face in puzzlement, Arisu smiled.

She could smile.

For real.

She had no doubts at all.

Until now she was plenty scared and hesitant. She was saved by Daisuke countless times and by meeting many Mushitsuki, she became just a bit stronger.

If it was Arisu alone, it would have ended long ago.

The people she met due to Mari’s dream called Arisu back.

They were still connected.

The dream that began from a lone sickroom bed was still connected to the future.

Therefore, Arisu could head down that path with a smile—

“I love you, everyone…”

The hope passed from Mari to Arisu.

Now, it was going to connect to the future—

Arisu kicked the ground.

Part 2

Mushi—

These were supernatural beings that appeared in the country more than a decade ago.

It is unknown how they were born. It was only said that these Mushi preyed on the hopes and dreams of wanting to become something or doing something made by adolescent boys and girls in order to grow.

Those who were host to Mushi were called Mushitsuki, and in exchange for their dream being eaten they became able to use the Mushi’s special abilities.

If Mushitsuki had their Mushi killed, they’d become a living corpse with no emotions or memories, called a Fallen, or if they had their dreams fully eaten by the Mushi they would lose their lives along with that dream—only such results awaited them.

In the end—was that true?

In the days of searching for the dream her best friend left to her, Arisu met many Mushitsuki. All of them had strong feelings, all of them shouted while being hurt, and fought with something insane to death.

Arisu loved these dreaming people.

Did only despair wait in the future of such lovely people?

If the world really was made that way and she had to accept it—

Arisu wished to change that.

“Kuh…!”

Arisu kicked the sand and rushed, but the gigantic seven-spotted ladybug blocked her way. It spread its wings that were dotted by seven spots and tried tackling her while launching shockwaves.

“Kuhhh!”

Arisu cancelled the shockwave with her spear and used her left hand with its silver pattern to stop the body. She pushed the giant Mushi that was dozens of times heavier than her and further raised her running speed.

Rina’s Mushi was powerful. Arisu’s arm pushing it back was ripped and red blood flew around.

That seven-spotted ladybug also was the crystallization of a single Mushitsuki’s dream. Wanting to create a place for all Mushitsuki to belong to—the original host Rina spoke of such a dream.

That girl’s dream wasn’t there to be eaten by the Mushi. Neither to be used by Oogui.

It was there to be granted one day by Rina’s own power.

Not just Rina.

All Mushitsuki’s dreams were for their own sakes.

“AaaAAAH!”

Arisu’s long hair emitted silver light. The silver arm that won the contest of strength pounded the seven-spotted ladybug on the sand. Along with a tremor the giant body sank into the ground, creating a huge crater.

Arisu leapt, rotated in air and swung her spear.

“Ichiku Kimitaka…!”

She struck the suited man who was laughing literally from ear to ear using her full body’s weight.

Heaven and earth were swapped.

As if the world itself was reversed, oceanwater rose from the surface as far as the eye could see into the night sky. The swarm of tardigrades filling the water were instantly boiled.

“Uh—”

While wrapped in the roar that broke, crushed and erased everything, Arisu grimaced.

The tip of the swung blade expanded, and the Morpho butterfly flapped its wings.

“Uuh…AaaAAAAH!”

The pattern covering Arisu’s body shone. Her ego that just barely got back started thinning again. The Morpho butterfly ate Arisu’s dream, rampaging to take control of her body and mind.

“…!”

Looking at the spear in hand, she gulped.

The Morpho butterfly was looking at Arisu. Red eyes popped open on the unfolded wings, waiting for her to exhaust herself—

The Mushi wanted to spread their wings.

Even while they pretended to be the allies of humans and leeched on them, eating their dreams little by little in exchange for granting them power, they wished to Mature and become free.

That was what Mushi were.

They appeared in front of the dreaming beings called humans, pretending to be their friends while in fact they were predators after prey.

Were they their enemies?

Were they unbeatable?

Arisu—didn’t think so.

Even while resisting the Morpho butterfly rampaging in her hand, Arisu smiled.

“—Thank you.”

Twitch.

The Morpho butterfly’s movements stopped.

As if it was taken by surprise by Arisu who smiled while withstanding pain.

Or perhaps as if it was scared.

The power of control rampaging in the spear slightly lightened.

“You were always at my side. Always, ever since Mari died—”

Arisu didn’t know whether the beings called Mushi were the enemies of mankind.

At the very least, this Morpho butterfly here watched over Mari.

Although only for a short time, it extended her life.

That was a miracle.

It gifted Mari with a little more time, then sent her dream to Arisu.

And it wasn’t just Mari. The Morpho butterfly gave even Arisu a precious gift.

“You’ve called so many Mushitsuki. To make sure Mari wasn’t lonely… to make me even a little stronger.”

Therefore, she couldn’t give up.

The dreams that connected many Mushi couldn’t be cut off there.

“You wanted my dream, but—”

She smiled and raised her face.

The welling seawater turned into a light rain on the breakwater and black dots were born in it.

Ichiku Kimitaka’s form was restored.

“My dream’s going to become bigger and bigger. So big that you’ll never eat it all—”

The Morpho butterfly spear didn’t weaken its power trying to take control of Arisu.

However.

The wings closed with awkwardly stiff movements.

It became a spearhead again and emitted glow.

I’m watching—

She felt as if it told her that it was watching her carefully to see whether she despaired again.

“Thank you.”

As Arisu narrowed her eyes and returned that greeting, Ichiku Kimitaka attacked. Drawing the swarms of tardigrades, he swung down his not yet fully-reformed arm.

She immediately caught the attack with her spear, but the superhuman strength made Arisu’s legs sink into the ground.

“No matter how much power you gain, I’ll teach you that everything is useless.”

“Kuh…!”

Arisu swept her spear powerfully, blowing Ichiku back.

“—And it’s not just you, little girl.”

Ichiku, having formed in a different location, sneered.

Emitting white smoke from his ripped mouth, his form with red eyes glowing behind his glasses was already—a far cry from being called human.

The tardigrades multiplied with unprecedented vigor.

“You’re not the only one holding back Maturation.”

“…!”

The black Mushi expanded as though to eat the entire world.

“Even if you can kill me using power that would destroy half the world, no salvation will come.”

Kuha, the boy with red eyes emitted a white breath.

“If my Mushi lost control and Matured, it would just eat the remaining half of the world.”

Ichiku Kimitaka’s tardigrades, just like the Morpho butterfly, were undergoing Maturation—

No matter what she did, she couldn’t kill him.

She mustn’t kill him.

Ichiku Kimitaka’s death would mean the death of the world.

“No one can kill me. I must not be killed by anyone. —That what’s being Undying means.”

And as long as Ichiku was alive, Oogui would keep living.

Mushitsuki would keep being produced.

People strayed into a one-way street that was unchanging—that had no way to change.

If one had a dream, they’d become Mushitsuki.

If one became Mushitsuki, only a sad ending awaited them.

And what would happen to such a world in the future?

“The world will not change.”

Ichiku Kimitaka’s derisive smile broke the Mushitsuki’s hopes.

“The thing called a dream… will vanish from this world.”

Dreams would be gone.

The hearts of people wishing for something would vanish.

A world that desired no change.

Did this not mean that it was slowly dying?

“—But.”

Arisu grasped her spear.

“Mari… wished to live in this world.”

She raised her face.

Arisu’s friend had not despaired.

No—she probably gave up many times before. Arisu probably could never imagine how much her hopes caused her to doubt, to hesitate and to get knocked down.

But even so.

She never gave up that little hope.

“She tried to live desperately with Sanbikime—with the man called Sensei.”

“She simply struggled to live in vain. She’s nothing more than a pathetic loser, unable to give up her impossible hope.”

“No, that’s wrong.”

Arisu smiled.

The Morpho butterfly’s spear emitted silver scales.

It wasn’t the same glow that until now used to rip and attack.

This gentle glow that was even full of warmth filled the beach with Arisu in the center.

“Mari possessed the power to change the world…”

“…!”

The small butterflies, the clones of the Morpho butterfly, were keeping the tardigrades encroachment of the coast in check. They didn’t eliminate them by force, but instead spread around warm scales and were slowly pushing them back to the sea.

“And this power—is now here.”

The color of the world was being overwritten.

The night sky painted by the black tardigrades was slowly coming back to the background of falling stars.

“Mgh…!”

Ichiku’s eyes changed. He probably realized the nature of the spear’s scales.

Arisu did her best to hold back the spear’s power, glancing at Oogui.

“Hehe…”

By facing one against one with Ichiku, no people remained to stop her. As if saying she had no interest in the battle, she came down to the beach, only glancing at the contending butterflies and tardigrades.

Daisuke… keep Ena safe—

Without even turning around, she prayed in her heart. She knew painfully well that it was cruel to rely on him like this when he was covered in wounds all over. However, right now, she could do nothing but believe in her most trustworthy ally.

“You bitch—what are you trying to do!”

Ichiku howled. Perhaps starting to feel danger from the Morpho butterfly’s unknown power, he erased his sneer and leapt toward Arisu. The Undying man’s body split, and a ripped mouth made of squirming tardigrades and two giant arms assaulted her.

“Mari had been looking for you…”

The wall of scales protected Arisu.

“She kept searching for the Undying Mushitsuki until the very end.”

“She envied my immortality. She did nothing more but succumb to jealousy!”

“Maybe it was so… no, it probably was. Mari wanted to live, after all.”

Even the wall of scales was being eaten by the tardigrades. Ichiku fed on the Mushi’s power—

“But—it wasn’t just that.”

Mari kept her promise and came back not just to meet with Arisu.

—Can I entrust it to you?

The power to see the continuation of her dream was left to Arisu.

“After all, Mari was called Hunter…!”

Even as she grimaced and desperately fought the tardigrades, Arisu spoke.

“I know very well that I can’t kill you! I also know I shouldn’t kill you…! But Mari also knew all that! That’s why she called you Undying! Although she knew you were an opponent she couldn’t kill, she never hesitated in her attacks, causing her to be called Hunter! That’s a contradiction!”

“She was just mad with jealousy! Just like a child raising a tantrum, she went on a rampage without any logic! She was nothing more than the dregs of an ugly Mushitsuki!”

“Right, Mari was a Mushitsuki! Therefore, she had many sorts of feelings! She also felt envy and fear! She hesitated and surely also gave up! Because she was such a Mushitsuki—”

The defensive wall of scales was being eaten by the gluttonous tardigrades. The innumerable black Mushi ate the scales, scratching Arisu’s cheek with their claw tips.

“She didn’t give up on anything!”

She shouted, her eyes moist.

“Her dream of wanting to live! The promise with me! And—defeating the Undying Mushitsuki. Mari never gave up on any of those!”

“Cut the bullshit! She just didn’t know what she was doing, she couldn’t grasp the difference between dreams and reality!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t get it! The ones who called the Morpho butterfly an irregular Mushi is you SEPB lot! Mari’s Mushi invited many Mushitsuki, led them astray and twisted them—”

“That’s nothing more than a defect! One which I will eliminate here and now!”

“You can’t! After all—you yourself are nothing more than one of the people invited by the Morpho butterfly! You’re already deep in this. In the continuation of Mari’s dream…!”

The movements of the tardigrades attempting to eat Arisu froze.

“Go to sleep, Ichiku Kimitaka.”

Using the opening of the tardigrades flinching, the silver scales regained their vigor.

As the black Mushi touched the scales, they stopped moving, one after another, and dropped into the sea.

“Stay frozen in the moment your life stopped, just like Mari when she came back to my side—“

There was something she understood from having the Morpho butterfly consume her dream to let her use its powers.

“Just like the Morpho butterfly that lost its host and became stuck right before Maturation—“

It happened to Mari’s life as well.

And to the Morpho butterfly itself.

The moment before Mari left this world due to her illness, they were kept frozen and sleeping.

As if they were hibernating.

Both Mari’s feelings and the Morpho butterfly stopped at the very last second.

To see the continuation of her dream.

To eat a new dream.

Mari would rampage whenever she’d take over Arisu’s body, and the Morpho butterfly being able to use only its incomplete power was natural.

It was because Mari kept sleeping in the very moment before all power was gone, in a state where she embraced all possible feelings in her heart. Even the power Arisu exercised was nothing more than borrowing the cutting edge of the sleeping Morpho butterfly’s power.

Mari’s dream of wanting to live and the Morpho butterfly’s persistence to Mature.

The “last second” when these two overlapped and intertwined continued for more than a year—

“Remain Undying—while you go to sleep.”

This was the Morpho butterfly’s hidden power.

The power to twist even the destiny of death—enough to freeze even the flow of time and entice a deep sleep.

Just another bug created by this world where Mushitsuki kept being born.

“A power that can end the world shouldn’t be allowed to exist.”

“…!”

She could see that Ichiku was shaken.

Arisu smiled.

As long as the Undying tardigrades existed, the world was slowly dying. Even if she was able to kill their host Ichiku Kimitaka, at that moment the tardigrades would rampage and eat up the world.

And the Morpho butterfly.

The Morpho butterfly’s Maturation couldn’t be stopped. If it Matured, the world really would be in danger.

The lone way to clear the two disasters for the future, the Undying and the Morpho butterfly.

Arisu—had found it.

“—Kuha.”

A sneer was heard from within the tardigrades filling her sight.

“Haahahaha!”

The shout that sounded as if it came from the bowels of the earth shook the coast.

The number of tardigrades exploded. Even while those that touched the scales fell into the sea, they grew much faster than that and were eating the scales.

“…!”

Arisu raised her face, speechless.

Ichiku Kimitaka’s red pupil looked down on Arisu. Inside the pushing tardigrades, only a right eye burning with hatred could be seen.

“Go to sleep, you’re telling me—”

A pressure like never before burst the scales protecting Arisu.

“If you think that you, as someone who isn’t a Mushitsuki, actually have the right to change this world that has Mushi in it—”

“Kuh… UuUuUuh!”

This unbelievable pressure made Arisu grit her teeth.

Although she retrieved her sense of self, the fact that Morpho butterfly was on the verge of Maturation was unchanged. This overwhelming power shouldn’t have changed even a bit.

However, Ichiku’s hatred—surpassed it.

Her body was attacked by the tardigrades’ fangs and claws.

Her heart was attacked by the prickling hatred she felt on her skin.

They pursued her, trying to eat her until not even a single bite remained.

“—”

Finally, a small hole was opened in the wall of scales.

Instantly, tardigrades swarmed it, leaping toward Arisu.

“Mushitsuki will keep on existing. Otherwise, Mushi would lose even their meaning to be born…!”

Unable to do anything, Arisu was about to become prey to these tardigrades.

Then, however, a crimson fireball leapt in front of her.

“—GaAAAAaAAH!”

The flame devil stepped forward and defended Arisu from getting eaten.

Arisu widened her eyes.

“Harukiyo!”

“Guh—OOOAaAAAH!”

It was obvious at a glance that he already used almost all of his power. Never mind the scales that had no attack power, the indiscriminate tardigrades easily ate through Harukiyo’s weakened flames. The large number of Mushi tore through the boy’s skin, causing fresh blood to fly. Even his masculine face covered in a fire-patterned tattoo now had hideous gashes across it.

The great swarm of tardigrades wriggled, forming Ichiku Kimitaka’s right eye and half his mouth.

“You devil that outlived your time, what are you trying to—”

“What’s even going on here! Ah?! Shit! I wanna live! I haven’t lived enough, so I still want to have plenty more fun in this world!”

Harukiyo shouted.

Widening his flaming eyes, the Mushitsuki feared as the flame devil raised a howl full of rage.

“And yet, fuck me! What was I even doin’?! If I don’t wanna live I might as well run! It’s a bit painful, but not fun at all! If I wanna get punished then fighting you is the best! I won’t ever have this chance again! So what was I fucking doing! If I keep like this, my dream’s never gonna come true!”

While scorching the tardigrades and being eaten by them, Harukiyo shouted.

“Even so, I—no matter who says this! No matter what I myself think! I wanna do this, so there’s no helping those! The fuck’s this! What’s up with this un-Sehateno Harukiyo-like behavior! Haha!”

Harukiyo looked to be in pain, his face was about to cry, and he yelled in quite a childish voice—but the boy still smiled, with a cheerful sneer. Using all of his remaining powers, he kept shooting down the tardigrades headed for Arisu.

“I’m pissed off! This stinks! This’s your fault, Ichinokuro Arisu! Why’d ya do it, ah? Right now there’s a certain something I’d find harder to forgive more than anythin’ else—for you to die!”

“Harukiyo…”

Arisu’s expression crumbled.

She would get him to realize that he was a Mushitsuki.

Who said this to Harukiyo was none other than Arisu.

He probably knew.

Since there were many Mushitsuki who doubted and got hurt while fighting, just like Arisu said, he surely knew that better than anyone.

“I’ll just stab you from behind! If I do that, I…!”

The boy was shouting as if crying, smiling as if imploring. She found his back unbearably lovable.

“I’ll finally—”

Harukiyo’s howl stopped.

Arisu pressed her forehead against his back.

“I told you already. —I’m not going to kill you.”

Harukiyo grimaced. He smiled while crying and groaned.

“This is hell… just like you said.”

While Arisu desperately pushed back the swarms of tardigrades, she turned toward the beach.

There, yet another threat was trying to alight down.

Daisuke—

Grasping her spear, Arisu called the name of her most reliable partner in the world.

Part 3

Daisuke kneeled on the sand, wailing in fatigue and pain.

“Haa… haa…”

His bangs were plastered to his face due to blood, a line of blood dripped from his chin, and his goggles fell into pieces. The gun held by his limp hand—had no more bullets left.

He apparently reached his limits.

The cost of directly blocking Arisu’s blow when she nearly Matured was large. He was also already injured from his fight against Oogui, and his left arm that defended against the spear became completely numb. Although he strengthened himself through fusion with his Mushi, the left half of his body was dyed in blood and he could feel nothing but despair from its state.

Fight.

Keep fighting.

He always single-mindedly fought and survived, but finally—

His power to fight was completely depleted down to the very last drop.

Yomori Neiko who possessed the power of regeneration had exhausted herself and remained unconscious.

Death—

He could feel this cold, heavy fate creeping up his legs.

“—Kusuriya-kun!”

As he turned around awkwardly, the two girls who attempted to run toward him froze in place. Seeing the blood-drenched Daisuke, they shuddered and their faces froze.

“…Saionji-san… Kujou-san…”

The words that came unbidden to his mouth made him wear a forced, bitter smile.

I can’t believe that in this stage I—

With them in front of him, he unconsciously became not Kakkou, but assumed Kusuriya Daisuke’s face.

He referred to those girls, who went to school together with him, as Saionji-san and Kujou-san. Just like every day in class.

Since when—

He just so happened to meet the girl called Ichinokuro Arisu when he went for a mission in her school.

He then started monitoring the Morpho butterfly, a Mushi that lost its original host and yet kept existing.

Although this daily life was just part of his infiltration as an SEPB member, since when had he—gotten so deep into it that he revealed his true self?

“Why…?”

Ena threw a question at him with a hoarse voice.

“Why are you wearing that getup, Kusuriya-kun…? What’s happening to Arisu? Why—are so many people collapsed?”

“…”

“Is it my fault?”

Ena was crying.

“I mean, Arisu and you were protecting me, right…? Even those who collapsed were all—”

“Right, Ena-chan.”

A sickly-sweet voice that seemed like it would engulf them came from overhead.

The beauty with the meteor shower at her back danced in air, her crimson coat fluttering. Behind her round sunglasses, her pupils glowed in crimson as she looked down on Ena.

“Everyone came here, invited by your sweet dream…”

As Oogui moved her red lips, all the surrounding noise began to vanish like receding waves. As if the flow of time was slowing down, the sounds of Arisu’s battle and the sound of the waves were being isolated.

“—My—dream—”

Ena’s eyes were glued to Oogui as if she was being sucked in. Even Takako next to her now wore a vacant expression.

It finally started.

The time Oogui came to eat her dream.

One of the Original Three who gave birth to Mushitsuki, Oogui, would become charmed by the person she had her eyes on, then come to eat that person’s dream by asking about it.

“—”

Daisuke just watched it, completely helpless.

She probably knew he couldn’t do anything. Oogui didn’t even turn to look at him.

And it was the truth.

Once he managed to bring back Arisu from Maturation, that was all he could do.

He lost the power to fuse with his Mushi and his checkered beetle split from his body. It rubbed its long feelers against Daisuke’s knees that fell on the sand.

“Yes, the important feelings that you brought up in your heart with great care…”

“Important—feelings—”

The checkered beetle grew blurry in his vision.

Perhaps his eyes misted over from losing too much blood, or perhaps—he was approaching death and even his Mushi was starting to lose its existence.

He thought it would all end soon.

Daisuke completed many missions with the checkered beetle and he thought the monitoring mission on the Morpho butterfly would also end easily.

However, he was sorely mistaken.

The personality of the Morpho butterfly’s host, Hanashiro Mari, was revived, the flame devil and other unexpected Mushitsuki only stood in his way, and he was strung along by Arisu, who involved herself with Mushitsuki despite not being one herself.

“Come on, Ena-chan. They cannot wait any longer—”

It wasn’t just him.

The people invited by a single butterfly all had their lives twisted and derailed.

Arisu got a dream.

And now, right before his eyes, another girl had her eyes sparkling with a dream.

Who could have imagined this scene?

Who could have anticipated this end?

The hurt and exhausted Daisuke could no longer stop this flow.

In the end, he—couldn’t solve even a single thing.

“…Geez… this mission’s the worst…”

His body was rapidly cooling.

As he hanged his head, Daisuke’s eyelids became heavier.

He couldn’t hear anything.

He couldn’t see anything.

Quietly, his consciousness was starting to fall toward a warm light—

Greeting him there was a momentary sparkle.

A firefly glowing in pure white and a girl about elementary school age.

—So you too.

The girl he had met before, although she reached the very depths of helpless despair—she still hadn’t lost sight of her dream and offered her own Mushi to him with a smile.

—Don’t give up on your dream.

The checkered beetle glowed white for an instant.

On the cusp of fainting, Daisuke widened his eyes.

He rose up, raising his blood-stained face.

“—”

He didn’t have the power to stand again. Nor did he have the power to open his eyelids.

However, being supported by an unseen power and standing upright, Daisuke—was being looked by dark eyes.

The Fallen who’d lost their Mushi.

The eyes of Aki and his comrades who sacrificed themselves, leaving Daisuke and the rest with their hopes.

“Can you tell me your dream?”

Oogui’s sweet whisper echoed in the beach that looked like it had its time frozen.

“My dream is—”

Ena opened her mouth.

Enchanted by Oogui, her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

As if dreaming of a future full of bliss.

I want all four of us precious friends to be together forever—

She was about to mouth this dream.

“—A lie.”

This mumble cut through Ena’s voice.

Her mouth stopped.

“The Kusuriya Daisuke that’s part of that dream… is nowhere to be found.”

Ena’s expression froze. She slowly turned.

The eyes of the girl about to talk about her dream reflected the boy she believed to be her friend.

Daisuke, who stood there listlessly like some ghost.

“I’m… not Kusuriya Daisuke…”

The smile of the girl who had the same dream as him and had her Mushi killed by his own hands.

Aki and his comrades still looking at him despite becoming Fallen.

They didn’t allow him to sleep.

He was supposed to keep fighting only for his dream, but at some point, the feelings entrusted to him wouldn’t allow him defeat.

As long as there was still something for him to do, no matter how small.

Even if it was the cruelest decision of all—

Even if Daisuke became empty, his emotions made his wounded body move.

“I’m Kakkou…”

Daisuke glared at Ena with cold eyes.

—Take care of Ena.

He betrayed Arisu for trusting Ena with him.

What he was going to do was far from salvation. It might even give Ena more pain than becoming a Mushitsuki.

“Kusuriya—kun?”

“I’m a Mushitsuki… and infiltrated Horusu Seijou Academy to monitor a certain Mushi. So I acted as an inconspicuous normal middle schooler, and… pretended to be friends with you.”

Ena absently widened her eyes.

“Kakkou-chan—”

Having her blissful moment disturbed, Oogui’s rainbow pupils looked down at Daisuke. The purple scales became enough Mushi to cover the night sky and assaulted him.

“I kept always lying to you…”

Suddenly, the Mushi about to bite Daisuke to death all stopped the moment before doing so.

Daisuke made no move.

Oogui couldn’t kill him. —At least, not yet.

If she killed him right now, Ena would also lose her dream that was influenced by him. Due to her unsatiable appetite, Oogui couldn’t take his life.

“The Kusuriya Daisuke that played friends with you doesn’t actually exist anywhere…”

“There’s no—Kusuriya-kun?”

Ena mumbled, her face half-asleep.

“No, he’s right there. So, Ena-chan. Tell me your—”

Oogui led astray Ena with her rainbow eyes.

Daisuke denied it.

“He’s gone.”

He was there.

The days he spent with Arisu, Ena and Takako definitely had him there. He forgot about his mission, even about the fact he was Mushitsuki, and retrieved the form of the normal boy, Kusuriya Daisuke.

However—he was gone now.

Daisuke wore a cold smile.

“I’m Kakkou… I dragged you into this battle of Mushitsuki and used you.”

“You told me—you’ll always be there—”

“I lied.”

It wasn’t a lie.

He really did want to stay at her side.

However—that wish would no longer come true.

Daisuke recalled the path he’d taken. Since he became a Mushitsuki and fought as a Mushitsuki—what waited him was nothing but the path of a Mushitsuki.

For just a little bit of time, that path had been twisted by the Morpho butterfly, and he was even able to feel that he became Kusuriya Daisuke again.

Daisuke would become Kakkou again.

“I did nothing but lie to you…”

Therefore, he could bear this pain.

The pain of his wounds, too.

Even the sin of crushing Ena’s dream and the resulting pain ripping his heart apart.

There was no pain that the strongest Mushitsuki called Kakkou couldn’t bear.

“So I can’t stay with you.”

The one in pain—

Much more than it hurt Daisuke—

Was the normal girl in front of him.

“—”

Ena raised a voiceless scream.

Using both hands to hide her shaking lips, she wrung out a hoarse voice.

“I—”

Daisuke’s expression was set in stone. He bit the edge of his lips lightly so that Ena would not notice.

“Really believed you…”

Ena’s heart-rending scream called a storm to the beach.

Purple scales blew around the beach, burst and scattered.

The frozen time resumed its flow.

Arisu’s fight brought vibration to his earlobes, and the meteor shower streamed through the night sky again.

“—What a terrible thing you’ve done.”

Oogui floating in the night sky looked down on Daisuke.

“You wish to stand in my way so much that you’d even break your friend’s dream…”

Daisuke was encircled by countless Mushi in no time. Having her “meal” disturbed just a moment before eating it, Oogui was no longer smiling.

Now that Ena’s dream was lost, Oogui no longer had a reason to not kill Daisuke.

Even with death ahead of him, Daisuke moved not one muscle.

“I… can’t grant Ena’s dream…”

Seeing Ena break down in tears, he mumbled.

He was always called a demon, so he was already used to being begrudged. He was supposedly already used to being hated.

Even so—he bit his lips to suppress the impulse making him want to shout his lungs out.

“Rather than being bound by a Mushi to an unfulfillable dream…”

What else was he supposed to do?

He wanted someone who knew the answer to tell him. He would even offer up his life in exchange, if the other party so desired.

There was nothing he could’ve done.

He could only do this.

Ena’s figure shedding tears overlapped with the little girl who he’d turned into a Fallen.

—Then I’ll give you my dream.

He should’ve become stronger since then.

He thought he’d become stronger.

Did that mean he still didn’t have enough power?

Why did he always have only one choice—

“I hope that one day… you’ll find a new dream…”

Without being threatened by Mushi, something she could dream again and again.

Even if her dream was once broken, she could find a new one—

He thought this was how people should be.

He rose from the edge of death to cling to such a small hope.

This ended everything he could do.

“Perhaps I should make sure right here that you’d never stand in my way again—Kakkou-chan?”

Oogui curled her crescent-like red lips. The purple Mushi pursued him.

With the fate of unavoidable death in front of him, the smile of the girl with the same dream came to the back of his mind. His only regret was that his promise to meet her again didn’t come true.

“…I couldn’t give you your dream back… Fuyuhotaru…”

Daisuke wore a weak smile and mumbled.

Just as he was about to hang his head down and accept his end, it happened.

“…!”

His vision was dyed in silver. Daisuke unconsciously raised his head.

Oogui removed her eyes from Daisuke and gazed toward the sea surface. The Mushi about to attack Daisuke all stopped their movements as though paralyzed.

It wasn’t just the beach.

The sea and the sky.

All the visible parts of the world were divided into two colors, a vivid silver and an evil black.

“…Arisu…?”

The battle unfolding on the ocean changed its nature.

It was supposed to be a battle of attrition between Arisu and Ichiku, but it became a clash between the scales and the tardigrades.

Also, the scales emitted by the Morpho butterfly had a completely different feel than it had so far—

“…You… what are you trying to do…?”

A bad feeling welled up Daisuke’s chest.

Part 4

The night sky with streaming stars was split into two.

A silver glow and a wriggling black.

The world was divided into these two competing colors.

The Morpho butterfly’s scales filled with warmth caused the tardigrades multiplying by malice and hatred to drop into the sea.

The fallen tardigrades ceased their movements and vanished into thin air while sinking.

Her hair glowing silver, Arisu desperately contained the spear’s powers.

“Kuh…! UuUh…!”

“So that’s that Mushi’s ability…!”

His eyes shining red, Ichiku Kimitaka pursued Arisu. The Undying Mushitsuki no longer wore a human form. Swarms of tardigrades formed a giant face and giant arm, and fingertips wriggling indeterminately were trying to grab Arisu.

“WooOOOoRAAAAAAH!”

Putting his life at risk to protect Arisu, blood spurt from Harukiyo’s entire body. He wrung out his remaining power and shot down the tardigrades with flames while his face, neck, hands and legs were being eaten.

A mouth gigantic enough to rip through the night sky wore a derisive smile.

“It’s no use to try and put me to sleep.”

The silver scales were being pushed by the tardigrades. They continued multiplying much more than those that fell into the sea and vanished, so they were eating the scales back.

“My Mushi eats Mushi. That power is the same. —I’ll eat your scales until your exhaust your powers.”

The power to sleep and the power to eat.

Both powers momentarily competed, but even so the Morpho butterfly’s scales were not endless.

“…”

The more the Morpho butterfly used its powers, the pain deep within Arisu’s chest was revived.

Parts of her were being eaten.

The scales by the tardigrades.

And Arisu’s dream by her Mushi.

“Uh…gwAAAAH!”

Even Harukiyo, who was covered in fresh blood all over, passed his limits.

“Arisu…!”

She turned toward the voice echoing from the beach.

Daisuke stood there listlessly, the crying Ena behind him and Takako near her.

Seeing Oogui float in the sky, unmoving, she realized something happened.

She thought that Daisuke wouldn’t do that.

And yet he destroyed Ena’s dream for her sake.

Ena’s small dream melted away, so there was no doubt she felt pain.

Even so she would probably—find a new dream, someday.

She would definitely be able to find a way of life that was free and controllable, just like she was, without being afraid of Mushi. She would grant herself an even better dream.

“It isn’t like you, making that face.”

Seeing Daisuke about to collapse, she mumbled this.

“Really, you’ve worried me so much… idiot Daisuke—”

The spear Arisu grasped changed its shape.

The shining tip split into four, became the Morpho butterfly’s wings and spread.

“…!”

Ichiku’s crimson eyes shook.

The Morpho butterfly split from the spear. It slowly spread its wings, taking off from the rod.

“By doing that—can you keep moving forward?”

Many of her comrades became victims.

Arisu who lost her best friend was knocked out by her weakness.

This time she really was being eaten by despair until no one remained.

It would never end there.

Everyone would keep on living in the world.

“Harukiyo, you too.”

Smiling, Arisu put her fingertips on the back of the boy protecting her.

Spreading its wings, the Morpho butterfly landed on Arisu’s shoulder.

“Do you remember the promise with me?”

She would grant him a punishment much worse than death—so she’d declared to him before.

“Daisuke called me back.”

When she was about to lose to the Maturing Morpho butterfly, Daisuke had called her back.

“This time you—all of you, need to…”

“You piece of—what are you—”

As Harukiyo widened his eyes and turned, she met him with a full smile.

—I want to live.

She vividly thought back to when Mari wished for this from the bottom of her heart.

Perhaps coming through the Morpho butterfly, the memories of her late best friend were reborn in Arisu’s mind.

A wish strong enough to rip her heart.

A small feeling that anyone had the right to feel.

Arisu met this girl who had such a wonderful dream.

—Hello!

The dream entrusted to Arisu made her meet many more people.

Daisuke and Harukiyo.

Other important allies.

The dream that kept going through such varied meeting would not end here.

“I was so glad…”

Arisu smiled and hanged her face. Just by recalling this she broke into a smile.

There were some tough times in the days looking for Mari’s dream, but it was always fun.

It was much too fun—that there were times she was scared it would change.

This night, after comparing her answers with Mari, the situation revolving around the Morpho butterfly would also probably reach an end. Then, Daisuke’s mission would end and he would leave Akamaki City. She heard that Kasuou, C, Neiko and the rest would also leave with him.

Harukiyo would also go back to his days of wandering around to grant his dream. Rina as well. She would engage herself in what was both her dream and her duty, to create a place for Mushitsuki to belong.

All of them would leave Arisu.

Those who were invited by the Morpho butterfly and intersected would part, all go on their own different paths.

If it was going to cause her so much loneliness—should she just stop in place?

She also thought of that.

Forgetting all about the future, averting her eyes from her goal and mission, she wanted to spend her days having fun at the exact same place.

“I’m really happy I met all of them…”

As she raised her face again, the Morpho butterfly vigorously flapped its winds behind her.

Its four wings emitting brilliance made it look as though Arisu herself had sprouted wings—

“No way, are you—”

She leapt over Harukiyo who had his blood-covered face frozen.

“You bitch—”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings—Arisu’s wings enveloped the large swarm of tardigrades. Even while they resisted and tried eating the wings, the black Mushi fell into the sea and vanished.

She was afraid of these fun days changing—

Arisu, who challenged this decisive fight while scared of those feelings, froze in the middle of battle as expected and couldn’t move. She lost Mari, felt completely lost, and nearly ran away.

However, her precious allies pushed her back.

Even while getting hurt or becoming Fallen, they pushed Arisu’s back to get her to move again.

That was—being entrusted to her.

They weren’t really gone.

They all had a future they wanted, and they all just took a step toward there.

Now, even if they parted temporarily, if they all wished for the same future, they would definitely meet again.

Since Arisu wanted to meet them again, she possessed the courage to move toward the future they pushed for.

“I told you this was useless! I’ll eat that Mushi!”

The tardigrades multiplied explosively.

However, Arisu’s wings kept expanding and slowly enfolding around the black Mushi.

“If you say you’ll keep eating—I’ll just keep on making you go to sleep.”

Arisu smiled.

“Keep sleeping by my side.”

A silver glow blew around.

If the two Mushi, the Undying tardigrades and the Maturing Morpho butterfly were trying to stop the future everyone wanted—Arisu would seal them both.

“Right now, the two of us—shouldn’t exist in this world.”

Arisu and Ichiku Kimitaka.

No matter who lost, if their Mushi were going to Mature, they should sleep together.

To keep advancing.

To have everyone meet again in the future they wanted.

Arisu received the courage to do this from many people.

“UH—OooOOoOOooh!”

Ichiku shouted. The tardigrades were ripped from Ichiku’s body and he was sucked in by the silver wings.

Ichiku Kimitaka’s mouth that was trying to swallow Arisu and the gigantic arm that was trying to rip her were all torn apart and turned back to tardigrades. The swarm of black Mushi unable to multiply was being enveloped by the silver light and vanishing.

“So you’re listening to my wish.”

Looking up at the silver wings enveloping the black Mushi, Arisu grinned.

“Me and Mari… sorry for the both of us being such selfish mistresses.”

It happened just as she announced this to the silver-colored Mushi.

The air shook.

“—”

Arisu and everyone on the coast were shocked, widening their eyes.

The Morpho butterfly—was crying.

Although human ears couldn’t hear it.

The silver butterfly certainly cried. It shook its endlessly spreading wing, spouted scales and made the air vibrate.

The Mushi’s cry that shook the bodies of all those who heard it and made their heart tremble reverberated on the coast.

She didn’t know why it was crying.

Perhaps it was feeling something no human could understand.

Arisu felt her chest constrict and smiled.

“…Thank you.”

Finally, the Morpho butterfly’s sleeping overtook the speed of the tardigrades’ multiplication.

A hole opened through the black cloud covering the night sky.

More and more holes opened up, they turned into caves, and the falling meteor shower was revealed.

“GWOO…OOooOOH?!”

At the breakwater, Ichiku Kimitaka’s form appeared. As the tardigrades were sucked away and their silhouette was crumbling, he was regaining his former form as a human.

Arisu gritted her teeth and unleashed more of the Morpho butterfly’s power.

The wings covering the tardigrades slowly closed.

Being warmly embraced by the wings, the black Mushi’s numbers rapidly lowered.

And.

The final one.

Was drawn to Arisu’s chest.

With silver wings sprouting at her back, Arisu slowly reached with both arms to the black Mushi.

“Give—my Mushi back—”

Ichiku Kimitaka raised his face. There wasn’t the figure of the SEPB Director there.

“Ichinokuro—Ichinokuro Arisu—”

The boy who lost his sunglasses and had his braid come undone was just like the many people Arisu met thus far—

A simple Mushitsuki.

“A person like you who knows nothing trying to end the existence of Mushi… I can’t allow it!”

The tardigrade being drawn toward Arisu’s chest leapt. Its hard carapace shivered and it rampaged, trying to multiply endlessly again.

“…!”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings rippled, cracks running through them.

A single tardigrade was spouting a pitch-black wave.

So much hatred.

A curse.

The tardigrade resisted violently, as if it held all possible disasters in the world.

Knowing nothing—

Arisu certainly knew nothing about Mushi. Judging from Ichiku Kimitaka’s way of speaking, he apparently knew something about those beings called Mushi.

Knowing about them—wasn’t Arisu’s duty.

What were Mushi?

The one to ascertain this truth wasn’t Arisu.

It could be someone else.

It could happen one day.

For that sake—Arisu would create a path.

“The dream’s continuation—let’s wait there together.”

Arisu reached out both hands toward the tardigrade spreading hatred.

She gently wrapped her hands around the rampaging tardigrade.

How much time would it take for so much hatred to vanish?

Would there ever come a time when this hatred would melt?

The answer to that would not come now—

“Guh—OOooAAAAAaaAAH!”

“Until the day someone wakes us—”

The Morpho butterfly’s wings closed.

Carefully covering the tardigrade in her hands, Arisu was being slowly engulfed—

“—Arisu!”

She could hear someone calling her from the beach.

Daisuke was standing there, frozen. His face, revealed by his broken goggles—was weak, unlike his usual self.

“Arisu—”

The boy standing at the breakwater, Harukiyo, also made the same face. Even the flame devil of all people grimaced like a lost child.

Arisu grinned.

“You can’t die, you two, alright?”

If her important people pushed her back—if she was entrusted with so many feelings, Arisu could fight.

So this time—

Arisu would leave it to them.

She would push their backs, as they seemed likely to stop in place.

“As long as you’ll live—we’ll definitely meet again.”

As if thinking something about this word, Daisuke gasped.

Before taking the challenge of this decisive fight, she’d ended up meeting a young man whose name she didn’t know in town by chance. She now recalled his words.

—As long as we don’t forget, we’ll definitely reunite with our feelings intact.

They wouldn’t forget.

This day, when they all dreamt of the same future.

Therefore, she should definitely be able to meet all of them again.

She’d meet everyone in a world without Mushi.

Even if they parted right now, everyone’s dreams connected to the same future—

Grimacing with hatred, Ichiku Kimitaka shook his body. His knees fell atop the water’s edge with a splash.

Arisu grasped the black Mushi in both hands and rounded her body.

When the silver wings engulfed Arisu, a gentle drowsiness closed her eyes.

She didn’t know when they would open.

Perhaps they would never open again.

However—she wasn’t scared.

Although Arisu was always weak, she received power by the people precious to her.

“Everyone—”

She wasn’t going to say goodbye.

Someone of those important to her would definitely come to wake her up.

Instead, she should say those precious words just like the promise she made with her friend that day—

“See you tomorrow.”

Along with this promise of a reunion, Arisu closed her eyes.

Falling into deep sleep.

To wake up one day.

Having her important people tap her back, she stifled her own yawn.

Those who were hurt during the battle along with those who became Fallen.

Let us meet again in a world without battles.

Until then.

Until then.

With irreplaceable feelings in her chest.

Let’s keep dreaming—

Part 5

Silver rain poured on the beach.

The scales blowing on the ocean turned into a shining orb and fell above those who remained.

The Morpho butterfly’s wings were wrapped in light and hardened with the rain of scales around it.

And—

“Ari—su—”

Daisuke watched this, stunned.

Near the water’s edge, where waves came and went, sat a strange sphere.

A silver, glowing cocoon.

A Morpho butterfly cocoon held in place by protrusions and being hit by the waves.

“—”

Next to the cocoon there was the powerless Ichiku Kimitaka. His red eyes were slowly closing.

His expression distorted in anger was becoming calm and his jaw slackened. The Undying Mushitsuki looked down while on his knees and did not move again.

“Arisu…?”

Dragging his wounded body, Daisuke approached the cocoon. However, he didn’t even have the power to kick through the waves, so he lost to the water and stumbled.

Using both hands to raise his face from the water surface, he couldn’t even stand up.

He couldn’t understand what happened.

No—he actually already realized what Arisu did.

Arisu used the power of the Morpho butterfly and sealed the ability of the Undying tardigrade.

By offering herself as tribute.

By continuing to use her powers on the unbeatable existence of the Undying, she put him to sleep—

“Ari—”

With blood and seawater dripping down his hair, he was about to shout.

“—So I missed out on yet another delicious dream.”

A sweet whisper came down from the night sky.

Oogui looked down calmly on the cocoon Arisu slept inside in.

Daisuke raised his face.

Meanwhile, the meteor shower slowed.

The streaming stars watching over the Mushitsuki’s battle were vanishing.

“And she even took one of my cute Mushi along with her… what a naughty girl.”

Her rainbow pupils detached from the cocoon and looked down on Daisuke.

“…”

He looked up stunned at the swarms of Mushi surrounding him.

Nothing changed about him being faced with death. In just a few more seconds, Oogui’s Mushi would bite him to death.

Although he was in mortal danger—he couldn’t think of anything.

Both his feelings and his reason couldn’t acknowledge Arisu’s action.

“…”

However, Oogui’s Mushi did not come to attack him.

Oogui removed her eyes from Daisuke.

As if nothing happened.

As if she didn’t care that Daisuke disturbed her meal.

As if she’d already forgotten about Arisu sleeping inside the silver cocoon.

Oogui, looking to the great distance, sneered cheerfully.

“Ah, there’s another one—”

She would eat dreams and birth Mushitsuki.

She would keep eating and birthing.

The supernatural being called Oogui slowly floated into the sky.

“A delicious dream was born—”

Seeing Oogui who was going to leave for another new dream, Daisuke realized.

That was the being called the Original Three in the truest sense.

When a dream was born, they would eat it.

Mechanically.

People’s feelings and resistances didn’t matter.

As if the very existence of the Original Three was part of the system moving the present world and just kept existing.

Those who were simply part of the laws of nature had nothing but unsatiated desire and defensive instincts against the enemies standing in their way—

“—”

Daisuke stood up, wobbling.

This was the only chance.

Arisu had given up on her body to seal the power of Undying. Then Oogui also shouldn’t be able to use that power.

If he wanted to finish her off it could only be done right here and now.

If he let her escape now, Oogui would vanish somewhere in the world again. Since she would appear at varied places at random, the chance to strike her down would perhaps never come again.

“Oogui—”

He raised his gun and was about to step ahead with his shaking legs—

“—”

His bloody arm stopped. It had no power in it and only trembled.

However, he was warm.

As if he was scorching.

As if there was a bright-red flame dwelling in those eyes.

Harukiyo stopped Daisuke from heading toward Oogui.

“This is—the first and last time.”

While gritting his teeth so hard they looked about ready to scatter sparks, the flame devil spoke.

“Meaning, for me to stop you from wasting what Arisu’s done and die like a dog—”

Daisuke became speechless and looked up the night sky again.

“You’ll no longer stand in my way, right?”

Oogui turned to him, looking at him with rainbow eyes.

“Kakkou-chan—”

Daisuke stood in place, stunned.

Although he should have no longer any power to fight with Oogui—

“Ehehe…”

The form of the beauty narrowing her rainbow-colored pupils was wrapped in purple scales.

Forgetting even about her missed dream—

As if saying she didn’t even care about the girl called Ichinokuro Arisu snatching away one of her powers and going to sleep—

Wrapped in her glowing scales, Oogui was melting into thin air.

“Oh, but—”

Before vanishing, her red lips moved as if she recalled something.

“It does feel lonely to have less Mushi protecting me.”

The only chance—he didn’t know if it would ever come again, the best chance was vanishing right before him.

“Right… perhaps I will go to that girl who had that very delicious dream again and—”

Leaving behind this mumble Daisuke couldn’t understand, Oogui’s form vanished completely.

Remaining there were just the two boys covered in wounds, and—

The cocoon glowing in silver.

Ichiku Kimitaka, who slept with his head hanged.

Ena who was stunned kneeling on the beach and Takako snuggling up to her.

This.

Was the world Arisu changed.

The world that lost the girl called Ichinokuro Arisu in order to defeat a single despair, that of the Undying.

Daisuke was left in that truly calm world—

“—Haha.”

A snicker rose nearby.

“Haahaaa!”

The flame devil’s loud laughter echoed in this beach where only the ocean was heard.

“Look at this, Kakkou! The world did change somehow! This is a new world! As long as Undying’s not there, we might be even able to defeat Oogui! There might one day be a world without any Mushitsuki!”

As if invited by Harukiyo’s laughter, a small shadow floated in the sky above the coast.

Another one appeared, then another. These shadows growing in number—were a large swarm of flying Mushi.

Seeing their coordinated movements, he knew these were SEPB Mushitsuki.

“Nobody got turned into a Mushitsuki by Oogui and the Undying bastard was defeated! Isn’t this our grand victory, eh?!”

Daisuke cut through the waves, almost falling, and approached the silver cocoon.

He didn’t pay any heed to either Harukiyo’s laugh nor the SEPB members approaching the coast.

Finally, he reached the cocoon, gently touching it with his fingertips.

“—”

He ended up leaking a voice without thinking.

Thump.

Thump.

He could clearly feel a small ripple from the cocoon.

Arisu was sleeping inside.

While dreaming of a future where everyone lived, she was in deep sleep—

“—Well, shit.”

Harukiyo’s sneer stopped.

The flame devil in the edges of his sight was glaring at Daisuke.

No, not at him.

The burning eyes were staring at the silver cocoon.

“Welp, now that this idiot girl’s gone the world’s a lot more boring, though.”

Grimacing his wounded yet still masculine visage, Harukiyo looked up at the distant sky. He glared at the SEPB members heading there.

“I’ll get going.”

Daisuke still touched the cocoon, unmoving.

“How long’re ya gonna be standin’ there, Kakkou—”

Harukiyo’s body slowly tilted.

“Come and wake me up, huh… haha, suits me just fine. I won’t stop at nothing, though?”

Sneering boldly, the boy let his back sink into the water as if using the sea as a bed.

“Easy peasy—”

Along with the sound of splashing water, the flame devil vanished into the sea.

Harukiyo probably wouldn’t die.

He would heal his wounds and before long roam around the world with a happy sneer on his face.

But Daisuke—

“…Idiot Arisu…”

His shaking fingertips felt warmth.

He bit his lips.

Was the meteor shower slowing down?

As if saying that there was a silver glow right in front of them—

The world looked darker.

Just a little bit.

He stifled the groan about to rise from him.

“What am I—”

Harukiyo said this:

That the world had changed.

The possibility of a world without Mushitsuki was born.

However, for Daisuke that future felt like a distant world.

“What am I supposed to do without you…”

Did she want him to gather many Mushitsuki again like they did in this battle?

Should he make that devil flame his ally again?

Should he look for Oogui, whose whereabouts couldn’t be determined?

Even though right now only Daisuke remained there alone—

The girl who united Mushitsuki left him behind and went to sleep—

“…Without you…”

Hurt and knocked down as he was, he couldn’t even find words to tell the cocoon in front of him.

The girl who’d make him feel better—was gone.

As he cast down his gaze with his bangs over his face, he heard the sounds of kicking water approaching him.

“What does this situation mean?”

This familiar woman’s voice echoed from right near him.

“Kakkou.”

As he raised his face, he could see a suited woman from within his dribbling bangs.

Central Headquarters Deputy Director—Miguruma Yaeko.

“Conducting a fight without permission and this spectacle… how will you explain it?”

Daisuke made no reply. He no longer had the strength to open his mouth.

He could see two girls being restrained by members wearing white coats. Ena and Takako didn’t even resist and were taken by the members.

“It does seem like you weren’t the only one to have acted without any permission, though—”

Miguruma Yaeko kicked the water and peeked into the face of Ichiku Kimitaka who still looked down without opening his eyes.

Miguruma softly touched Ichiku’s face with her white finger.

“Director—”

She called him in a calm voice, unlike the one she directed at Daisuke. He couldn’t see the expression through her hair.

Ichiku made no move.

For a while Miguruma gazed into his face but finally muttered.

“—Looks like something different than the state of a Fallen. Is he sleeping…?”

On her mouth that had a mole on it she wore the smile of chains that could freeze anyone who gazed on it.

“And this is…”

Yaeko raised her face, turning toward the Morpho butterfly cocoon this time.

“This is—the Morpho butterfly? I cannot see Ichinokuro Arisu, though. Where is she?”

Daisuke made no reply.

“…Well, that’s fine. We will investigate this at Central Headquarters.”

Yaeko turned back. She spoke, still wearing her smile of chains.

“I will not ask you about your independent action here under the condition that you will not speak of what happened here. Of course—including the fact that the SEPB Director was a Mushitsuki. You are not allowed to tell anyone.”

Daisuke remained standing there stunned as Miguruma Yaeko spoke.

“I hereby declare your monitoring mission of the Morpho butterfly complete.”

Daisuke raised his face and looked up at the night sky.

“Good work, Blaze Class Rank 1 member, Kakkou. I permit you to return to the East Central Branch.”

There was a glow above Daisuke’s head as he still looked at the silver cocoon, not moving a muscle.

The last fragment of the meteor shower.

It fell and vanished in the faraway sky.

Part 6

The gentle sound of the shishi-odoshi echoed in the dusk-time courtyard.

With his sports bag hanging from his shoulder, Daisuke closed the door to the dreary room he’d spent many months in. Even doing just this much caused a sharp pain to run through his bandaged arm.

A week passed since the meteor shower.

After receiving some slight healing from Central Headquarters members that had healing abilities, he underwent a harsh questioning and investigation. He challenged Oogui and lost—although Daisuke included nothing more than this brief explanation, not only was he not punished, he was actually praised for managing to temporarily tranquil the Morpho butterfly’s danger.

And today Daisuke returned to the Ichinokuro mansion.

To prepare for leaving the city.

“…”

While heading down the corridor toward the door, he suddenly thought of something and turned in the hallway.

Was this house always so quiet?

Although he could hear the cicadas, he felt the mansion was especially quiet.

He knew why.

The girl who was always so lively and running around was no longer there—

“…!”

Daisuke widened his eyes.

The sliding screen at the end of the hallway was open.

It was the room of the girl no longer there—Ichinokuro Arisu.

He unconsciously hastened his pace. Rushing toward the open screen, he peeked into the room.

In the center of this plain yet still girly room sat a familiar back.

It wasn’t Arisu. Putting a hand on his chin and playing with a ribbon—the ribbon that used to bind Arisu’s trademark ponytail—in his hand was a tall man.

“Arisu…”

He was Ichinokuro Arisu’s father.

The current head of the great Ichinokuro family only rarely showed himself in the mansion. Arisu had apparently met him a lot outside, but this was Daisuke’s second time. His appearance was much younger than his three and a half decades of age would indicate.

“Her personality’s like mine, but her beauty was just like her mother.”

Arisu’s father was talking to himself. He probably realized that it was Daisuke from his footsteps and presence.

“As well as the fact she’s suddenly gone just like that.”

The Ichinokuro household had vast connections and Daisuke knew that they even had some sort of connection to the SEPB. He was probably already contacted regarding Arisu.

Arisu’s father never spoke about anything of that. Not even showing tears, not even glaring at Daisuke, he simply stared at air with black eyes like Arisu’s.

“…Sorry.”

He didn’t know who that mumble addressed.

Why was Arisu’s father apologizing—he didn’t think to ask this. Daisuke could certainly be said to be part of the reason Arisu got involved in things, but since he couldn’t save her, it wouldn’t matter what he said.

“…”

Daisuke stayed silent and left Arisu’s room.

As he slipped on his shoes and exited to the premises, someone unthinkable was waiting for him there.

“Kusuriya-kun!”

“Daisuke-san…”

Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako.

Perhaps having sat and waited there for a while, their Horusu Seijou Academy uniforms were heavily creased.

Daisuke strained his face for a moment. He clenched his fists.

“Say, Kusuriya-kun. What happened to Arisu?”

Her eyes moist, Ena approached Daisuke.

Takako also looked at him with an imploring expression.

“Arisu-san’s coming back soon, right…?”

The two classmates—former classmates—grabbed his clothes as he stood.

Unless something major happened, they wouldn’t get involved with Mushitsuki again, in all likelihood. They might get monitored as people related to the Morpho butterfly, but they should soon be able to retrieve their peaceful life.

Starting from now on, he had no idea what effect they would have on Arisu and Daisuke.

But at the very least—they would probably not get involved with Daisuke in the future.

In their lives without being threatened by any Mushi, his existence was unneeded—

“…”

Still silent, Daisuke started walking. Ena and Takako’s hands left him.

“Kusuriya-kun…”

“Daisuke-san…!”

The two girls did not pursue him. However, they called his name in a sad voice.

If he opened his mouth right now, he felt as if he would speak not as Kakkou—but as Kusuriya Daisuke.

He bit his lips and endured. So that they would have no regrets for Kusuriya Daisuke leaving them.

Sorry I wasn’t able to save Arisu.

Sorry I wasn’t able to make your dream come true.

Thank you—for calling me a friend.

Many words swirled around in his chest, but only one of them came out of his mouth.

“…Goodbye.”

He announced farewell in his mouth so that they wouldn’t hear.

And so he walked in Akamaki City’s streets, illuminated by the sinking sun.

Exiting to the national road, as he walked to the road, a white limousine approached him.

“—I have a message from Rina, do you want to hear it?”

The electric window opened and Akasegawa Nanana showed her face.

“Well, I’ll tell you anyway even if you don’t want to. Yahah.”

Matching itself to the pace of the silent Daisuke, the limousine ran on the road.

“’Explain what happened that night’—seems to be it? She apparently doesn’t like it that only you and Harukiyo survived. Obviously. I also know that since I was watching from afar, but since she wanted to ask you directly, I stayed silent.”

“…”

“No comment? Then I’ll tell you what I was told to say if you gave no explanation.”

Nanana tilted her wine glass, speaking while pouring red liquid into her mouth.

“’If all Mushitsuki involved with you are afflicted with misfortune, I will chase you to the ends of the earth and beat you’, she said. Yahah. This elegant princess sure is gallant. —Without even knowing that Minion-Type Mushitsuki like her are protecting Oogui.”

One moment Nanana smiled with one eye narrowed, then sighed coldly.

“Aaah… Mushitsuki are such vain creatures. I’m so disappointed. I’m already way past wanting to become one.”

On the other side of the closing window, the rich girl raised her glass.

“Goodbye, Kakkou. If possible, forever—farewell to you.”

Leaving these words of parting, the white limousine ran ahead.

It was natural for Nanana to be disappointed of Mushitsuki. The sacrifices gathered in the battle under the meteor shower were large.

It wasn’t just Aki and his comrades who offered up their Mushi in exchange for a meager hope. Kurisaka Ayuyu also became a Fallen and was sent to the Central Headquarters’ gathering facility.

The particularly gifted rookie Isa Himeko also suffered heavy wounds. Her life was saved, but he received a report that she would probably never return to the battlefield again.

The Librarian—passed away. He heard there was a bit of battle between her comrades and the Central Headquarters who tried to retrieve her body, but he didn’t know how it ended.

And the flame devil.

Harukiyo, officially acknowledged as a Rank 1 by the SEPB, vanished completely. Although he erased his presence without leaving any trace behind, nobody thought he died. He would probably appear out of a whim at some point.

They were all scattering.

Although for a short time, these Mushitsuki all acted as one on the night of the meteor shower.

They all held hands with the girl called Ichinokuro Arisu and dreamed of the same future.

Turning their backs to each other, they were growing apart—

“…”

Daisuke walked through Akamaki City.

Although he was there only for a few months, wherever he looked he could see small memories.

This road where every morning he walked with Arisu, beaten wordlessly and kicked by her.

The crossroads where Hanashiro Mari, who borrowed Arisu’s body at the time, grew bashful about her skirt.

And if he kept going along that road…

There would be Horusu Seijou Academy, where he spent time with Ena, Takako and others.

His legs carrying him there was perhaps due to him being used to the road to school—or perhaps because he wished to forget all about battle and return to his peaceful life spent in Horusu Seijou Academy. Even he couldn’t tell.

He wasn’t allowed to go straight ahead—

As he turned at the crossroads, he found another familiar face waiting for him.

“We’ve also been moved to the East Central Branch.”

The blonde girl, Mitake Anneliese. Her blue eyes sparkled with unchanged battle will. —Since she always possessed a lot of fighting power, she would probably become even stronger.

“Kakkou-san! What on earth has happened to Arisu-san…? Why was I the only one who wasn’t taken to that battle?”

Horiuchi Erii, codename “C”. Before long she would probably become the center of the SEPB. Right now, her mental strength was mismatched with her powers, but since she was still young, she had plenty of time to grow.

“C-chan…”

Yomori Neiko’s ability had, in a certain sense, the most potential out of those three. The more she gained battle experience, the more she’d be able to use her rare regeneration ability.

“Why was Arisu-san—acknowledged as a Rank 1?”

Erii pressed on Daisuke.

“Not Hanashiro Mari, but Arisu… why a person who’s not there!”

Ichinokuro Arisu was designated as a Rank 1 just like Daisuke and Harukiyo.

Only few people knew that truth. The basis for being a Rank 1 was uncertain. She had probably been judged to possess great power due to her sealing the Undying. Since Daisuke’s report was vague the classification of her ability was uncertain, so it was apparently indeterminate whether she was a Blaze Class, Irregular Class or Secret Class.

Daisuke tried to pass before the three girls—

“…”

His legs stopped.

In the road ahead parked a single vehicle.

Seeing the youth leaning against the car, he felt nostalgic. The young man used his index finger to fix his glasses, wore his characteristic faint smile and looked at him.

East Central Branch Head, Haji Keigo.

Daisuke’s original boss.

Someone was waiting for Daisuke.

Even if some took separate ways—there were also those who walked the same path.

He was now between the two.

Daisuke now hesitated and was about to stop.

He lost so much that his body was paralyzed.

Even if there was hope in the great distance.

In the end, how much had he lost before he reached this place?

Just like Arisu was gone from his side—

“Hey, Kakkou. You ain’t trying to run away now, right?”

Kasuou spoke from his back.

Run away.

He also thought of that as a way.

What was so bad about running away from the bothers of Mushitsuki life and living just for his dream? Would anyone blame him for running away?

“Or didja forget? We had a promise to finish our business once the whole Morpho butterfly thing was—”

He looked down at his clenched hand.

Although he was supposed to fight just for his dream, at some point he was entrusted with many things.

Could he withstand that excessive weight?

He suffered an unprecedented loss on the night of the meteor shower.

He lost so much that everything he could see turned to dust and scattered.

However—

“—”

The sensation of that time still remained in his hand.

That moment when Arisu went to sleep with the Undying.

Daisuke certainly caught a glimpse of hope.

If, at the time, Daisuke had just a little more power left—

Betting on his everything.

Betting on his dream.

If he could have repeated just a single, full-powered attack.

“…It’s not done.”

Daisuke clenched his fist.

He wasn’t enough right now.

If he was a bit stronger, he should have been able to hit Oogui with a full-powered attack at the time. If he managed that, then perhaps—

He might have been able to obtain the future everyone wanted.

No Mushitsuki would be born anymore, and Arisu would wake up—

He might have been able to return to his previous life.

Not any mission.

Not pretending.

Daisuke’s dream.

A true place for him to belong where he could live like himself, and that would definitely—

“Nothing’s over yet.”

As he raised his face, he could see the sunset.

A vivid orange.

Daisuke raised his hand toward the setting sun illuminating Akamaki City.

“Until Arisu comes back, nothing’s over.”

It was connected.

The blissful future Hanashiro Mari had envisioned.

The hope that Arisu had dreamt about and left behind as well.

Daisuke’s dream, too.

They all converged into a single road.

That path was difficult and very narrow—but Daisuke’s eyes could definitely see it.

“One day—”

He had the feeling that he could see a figure on the roof of a building illuminated by the setting sun.

That figure had a long scarf wrapped around it and held a silver spear.

This girl in control of a glowing butterfly smiled at Daisuke.

Hanashiro Mari, who had wished to live and invited many Mushitsuki there, watched over him leaving the city.

It was nothing more than an illusion.

However, Daisuke spoke clearly toward the sunset and that girl.

“I’ll definitely bring her back.”

Even if he were to yield in the middle of the road.

No matter how much he lost.

He would definitely bring her back.

If the people who left were all waiting in the future everyone dreamt of during the night of the meteor swarm, Daisuke would aim there in a straight line.

If a reunion awaited him there.

Daisuke—would start walking here.

Because Arisu gave him the strength to start over from square one.

“Definitely.”

As if to bless Daisuke’s departure—

The illusion of the girl smiling with her Morpho butterfly burst with a glow.

To be connected… Mushi-Uta Lost “Bug”

Notes

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