Mushi:Vol6 Ragnarok 02

Ragnarok 02: Marionette of blood and flesh and bone

It was deep into the night.

“Yes –”

She was at a corner of a winding path in an abandoned and silent apartment complex.

“I don’t hate bad tastes, but I can’t handle bad tastes without esthetics. One needs to be devoted to having bad tastes, and only then can such products be considered art… bizarre art pieces that embodied bad taste is the true form of bad tastes.”

Streetlights were lined evenly along the road. The lights within the houses, penthouses, and apartments all turned off one after another. The weak light emitted by the automatic vending machines vaguely complemented the scattered stars on the night sky. Hardly any cars passed along the tarmac road – and a woman stood in the middle of the pedestrian crossing.

“I have to go… sterilize and disinfect.”

She mumbled in a low voice, looking very tired. She sighed, and a puffing sound could be heard from her mouth, as if she emitted steam.

The sound was because of the over-the-top mask she wore over her mouth. The mask was obviously to keep off dust and bacteria, not because she had of a cold or hay fever. She would have blended in the crowd well with her casual dress. However, that strange mask gave made her incongruous.

Her hair was pristine white, reaching all the way to her waist in a long braid. She wore a small tank top with angel wings printed on the back, and denim shorts cut off at the knee over her legs.

Her name was Sterilization Disinfection. Sterilization Disinfection – Saibara Mina.

She was one of the seven called the Seven Greater Fragments of God. The seven shared God’s existence equally among them and played their respective roles. She was the Punisher who sought out evil in the world and erased them. She was the monster who destroyed the world in the Great Flood. She was the human possessing Sterilization Disinfection, the Greater Fragment of God that came with many terrifying legends.

Mina had a day job as a nurse at the hospital in town. And when she returned home, she would then have to take care of her very noisy younger sister. Today was just the same. She did her best at work and was already exhausted when she finished her over-time. All she wanted was to head home quickly, drink some alcohol to relax, and go to sleep.

Even if she was an immortal – a massive Fragment that could automatically recover from fatigue – it didn’t mean she would not feel tired. Just like everyone else, he hated endless work. Even though physical fatigue disappeared quickly for her, her exhausted mind won’t recover that easily.

Mina was therefore very annoyed right now.

Compared to the other Greater Fragments of God, the number of manual tasks Sterilization Disinfection had to perform were far greater.

Mina sighed in the middle of the pedestrian crossing in the empty road.

She lifted her gaze slightly. Something was hanging down from the traffic lights, which were working just a moment before.

It was a disgusting and distasteful puppet made up of blood, bone, and meat.

There were many corpses hanging from the traffic lights, corpses of people killed in a pitiful way.

“…”

These corpses were hanging messily on the traffic lights all around her. Someone hung those corpses upside down, using their clothes to hook them onto the traffic lights, as if showing them off for some purpose. Mina felt they looked like The Hanged Man from the Tarot, or the cows and pigs hanging upside down in a butcher’s shop in TV.

The first body looked very fresh.

Blood was dripping from the dead body. It wasn’t even stiff yet. It was swaying ceaselessly in the wind, and many insects and carrion birds have gathered around it. Fortunately, there were no pedestrians on this path in the apartment complex at this time of the night. It would probably cause a big ruckus if ordinary people saw this scene.

The dead included men, women, the elderly, and the young – but there were some things in common among them.

They were all killed in the same way, and the wounds on their bodies were identical.

First of all, the fatal blow was always a wound through the heart. They were all stabbed in the chest by either a spear or a katana – something sharp and thin - and died instantly. The heart was a vital organ even for immortals… if immortals were stabbed through the heart by an opponent’s weapon, even immortals would die.

Mina knew she must not let her guard down if she had the misfortune to fight the culprit who caused this pitiful scene. The enemy seemed to be very aware of the weaknesses on an immortal’s body. Even if it was a monster, it must possess outstanding intellect. Ordinary monsters would not even think. They only knew about attacking physical and tearing away at their enemy’s bodies. Corpses made by ordinary monsters would never look like this.

Certainly, there was also the possibility that a deranged human criminal was at work, and they were only interested in targeting and attacking people’s hearts. No matter what, she needed to be alert. Sterilization Disinfection might be powerful, but her life would also die if her heart was pierced. Based on what Mina had seen of the opponent’s abilities, even she could be in mortal danger. Mina harbored God’s Greater Fragment within her and her physical parameters were augmented, but that didn’t mean Mina suddenly became a martial artist. She simply fought in a unique manner. If Mina were to face someone who actually practiced armed martial arts, she would not necessarily win.

“…”

Moreover, there were other incredulous wounds on these bodies.

There was blood coming out of the victims’ ears.

It might have been blood from these people’s broken eardrums after they were attacked with powerful sonic waves. But in that case, both ears should be bleeding. When she examined the corpses, all of them only had blood coming out of one ear. Some of them were bleeding from their left ear, and some from their right, but none had both ears affected.

Mina was very puzzled. She jumped lightly onto the top of the traffic lights and let a corpse down to the ground. It seemed to be that of a high school boy. He was dressed in very flashy clothes; maybe he was out for a taste of the night life. He was probably attacked when he was returning home late at night. Mina laid the body flat on the ground and touched the bleeding ear, then frowned.

“Could it be…”

In order to test her hypothesis, Mina placed her hand on the body’s forehead and pressed down.

The skull was easily crushed under her hand. The only thing Mina felt was the texture of bones – she could not feel any brain tissue from where it was meant to be.

That meant…

“They sucked out the brain… through the ear canal? That is a disgustingly bad taste.”

There was a sharp and loud bang.

Mina jumped up and turn her head as if she was on a spring. Someone was standing there. Yes, a girl who looked like she was a mirage was standing there – she was standing in the middle of the empty road very far from Mina, and her figure was illuminated by the street light. She was the one who made the disgusting act of hanging these corpses on the traffic light above the pedestrian crossing, as if those corpses were marionettes.

She had blonde hair and dark-red eyes. She was wearing a priest’s garb, looking like it was difficult for her to move in. There was a pointy hat on her head, as if it was the hat of a clown.

She covered from head to toe in blood – especially over her lips.

She clasped a despicable spear in her right hand. The spear was evidently inanimate, and yet it emitted a strong stench as if it was a beast.

“What is… this?”

Mina’s entire body tensed. She stood up after placing the corpse in her arms back on the ground. Now, only the width of one traffic lane separated the two of them on the road. It was only a few meters wide. If Mina jumped a little, she could even touch that girl.

Mina calculated her opportunity to strike. She still couldn’t confirm the real identity of her opponent, who looked both like an ordinary human and a monster. She was a bit confused. What was this girl’s goal? It was hard to believe the girl in front of Mina was the culprit of all the bizarre occurrences, including as the blood covering her whole body and the corpses dangling on the curved traffic lights.

Was this person Mina’s enemy?

Was this person the enemy of the world?

If it was the latter, then it would be Mina’s duty to eliminate her – however, Mina felt her opponent had a lack of presence. She could not detect the girl’s goals or presence at all. If she had to explain it, then it felt like this girl just happened to pass by here… she didn’t feel like this girl was the main culprit. It was almost as if this girl was controlled by someone else…

However, the girl nodded lightly at Mina, and confessed the sins she had committed with her own mouth.

“I have captured… a surprisingly large prey.”

Her tone was completely emotionless, and words popped out of her month flatly one after another.

“It would have been exceptional, even if only one monster appeared.”

“What? Are you saying that you baited me out?”

Mina became more alarmed than ever. Were those disgusting and gory marionettes just bait created to attract those like Mina, beings who lived in the dark side of this world? She could not understand the reason behind such an activity.

The blonde girl stayed still as she looked at Mina, who was prepared for battle. The girl then nodded swiftly.

“It seems… marionettes were enough to bait them.”

“…”

“Hehe… if you feel this is funny, you can laugh.”

No way. Why would Mina feel like this was funny?

What was wrong with this person? She felt very strange, and there was no way Mina could determine her personality.

Mina was still stunned by the scene before her. She didn’t know what to do. She felt lost facing this strange opponent, as if she just stepped into the innocent world of a manga. Mina was completely lost as to whether this girl was a friend or foe, or a powerful adversary who needed to be killed immediately. If her opponent showed any desire for battle, then Mina would certainly rise to the challenge and defeat her. However, the girl in front of her felt barely there.

Mina did not feel any enmity from the girl, nor did she feel any murderous intent.

The girl just stood there, emotionless.

“What… are you? What is your goal?”

This monstrous girl murdered innocent people, ravaged their bodies, and perhaps even sucked out and consumed their brains. She could not figure out what the girl wanted out of it. What was she? Could she be a human? Or was she a monster?

“My name is Damaged Hair, the Ravaged Queen of Insects.”

As expected, the girl gave her name with a calm tone and without any emotions.

“My goal is simple and clear.”

She then declared with a very serious expression:

“I want to conquer the world.”

There was a rush of wind the moment she said this.

Mina was confused by her opponent’s wild words, but she felt a shiver of cold air rushing towards her. She immediately moved sideways out of animalistic reflex. The attack barely missed and brushed past her.

Blood dripped out of her broken skin. Mina jumped away and drew some distance between her and the girl named Damaged Hair.

“Erk…!?”

What was that?

What happened there?

Why did somebody just attack her from behind?

“That was beautiful.”

There were no emotions in the words of praise that Damaged Hair uttered. Even though it seemed like a genuine approval, the empty and weightless voice and actions indicated a lack of concern.

“However, there are certain things you should know.”

“To fight us – would be akin to trying to drink the ocean dry.”

A persistent, identical echo to the voice of the girl could be heard interlaced with Damaged Hair’s voice.

Mina, who stood opposite her, finally understood who just attacked her from behind.

There were two Damaged Hairs.

“My ability is eternal and endless multiplication.”

“I will be resurrected even if I die, and replicate without end…”

They looked identical. The only difference would be whether one held a spear, and where there were bloodstains on one’s clothes and skin – those two were more similar than twins, as if they were in fact copies. That copy was the being who delivered a sneak attack towards Mina.

Like mirror images, the two Damaged Hairs both sniggered.

“To eliminate and solidify existences… the Greater Fragment named Sterilization Disinfection is indeed quite powerful.”

“Nevertheless, if your opponent replicated endlessly, your endurance and stamina would also deplete endlessly.”

“Exhausted. Exhausted. Exhausted. The power of the Fragment of God will also be depleted –”

“Or, you would be surrounded by my endless replicas in all directions, completely destroyed and eventually killed. That would be your fate.”

The two Damaged Hair spoke one after another as they gradually walked towards Mina. Their movements were very slow… however, if they were speaking the truth, then this kind of endless enemies was simply too annoying.

Even if she was defeated over and over, she will still resurrect.

Even if she was not defeated, she would still replicate.

Eternal reincarnation and endless multiplication – those were abilities Mina had never heard of.

“This is violence in numbers!”

Damaged Hair held the spear in a weird pose and declared proudly. Even though Mina’s target should be the one with the spear – the original body – and that defeating her should destroy all other Damaged Hairs, would such a simple solution really work?

For some reason, Mina felt that even if she defeated that blood-drenched Damaged Hair, the remaining Damaged Hair will continue to attack Mina as if nothing had happened.

She met a very tough enemy this time.

But it was okay – Damaged Hair wasn’t a very strong enemy.

The scratch made by the second Damaged Hair when she stabbed at Mina’s back with a short blade had all but healed. That was also when Mina scoped out the enemy’s capacities to a limited degree.

Firstly, Damaged Hair did not have powerful abilities.

She held a weapon and attacked Mina suddenly from behind, trying to kill Mina. Mina felt there were no major differences between the strength of a Damaged Hair clone and that of a normal human. Even though that spear felt repulsive, as long as Mina kept her eye on it, there should be no other problems.

There were two clones now. Even though she said endless multiplication –

“Hey, if you don’t have corpses, then you can’t replicate anymore, right?”

Damaged Hair had attacked Mina from behind her – at the same time, the corpse of the flamboyantly dressed young man, which Mina had assessed, disappeared. Perhaps that corpse morphed into a Damaged Hair… that was the only conclusion Mina could draw regarding the phenomenon.

Yes, it would be abnormal for Damaged Hair to pop out one after another from thin air. Perhaps if materials such as corpses did not exist, then her ability to endlessly multiplicate can’t be activated either.

All these bodies prepared like marionettes were indeed bait to attract Mina and other monsters, but they were also weapons for Damaged Hair. As Mina pondered this, she felt happy as she believed in her impending victory –

“No… that’s not it.”

Damaged Hair tilted her head decisively.

“Even without corpses, I can still multiply.”

As Mina looked on, the blonde girl started to split in half like an amoeba, just like she said. An identical, third Damaged Hair appeared. Indeed, the bloodstains and the spear could not be reproduced –

But if Damaged Hair could multiply even without corpses, then that would be very difficult to deal with her. Even if Mina killed them all, she can’t be sure whether Damaged Hair kept a hidden, back-up body somewhere. Even if she could kill them over and over, it would end up being an endless task, like eradicate a pest.

This was honestly a very troublesome task. Mina didn’t want to admit defeat, but she also had no idea how she could win this fight. The wisest thing would be to escape swiftly –

“Sterilization Disinfection, I absorbed the brains of all these corpses. Isn’t that an incredulous thing?”

Mina was thinking about how to attack, but Damaged Hair took out something like a straw from her clothes and put it in her hand to show it to Mina. Perhaps that was what Damaged Hair used to pierce the victims’ eardrums and suck out their brains. What a disgusting act.

“Of course, I would never do anything without a purpose.”

“I consumed these brains –”

“– to reproduce my existence.”

As those words were uttered, the shape of one of the Damaged Hairs started to change.

She changed into that flamboyantly dressed young man. It was the face of that pitiful victim, who perhaps stayed out at night and was attacked on his way home, and had his chest pierced and his brain sucked out. There were no emotions on his face, making him appear insect-like. A dark red light sparked in his eyes, a light similar to that in Damaged Hair’s eyes. He muttered lowly:

“This is similar to the body modification of Ultimate SheildThe Weakest. Even though I cannot change my form as I wish –”

“I can completely replicate someone from analyzing the structure of this person’s body, as stored in their brains.”

As ‘he’ finished speaking, the young man changed back to Damaged Hair’s appearance. Perhaps, what she expected was being able to freely choose her appearance from the designs she memorized, and shift into that form. The only thing that remained the same was the red eyes –

Mina finally understood the true form of Damaged Hair, the Ravaged Queen of Insects.

Insects. Figured. She told everyone her real name from the beginning.

“You are God Mushi Emperor… no, you are the true body of God Mushi Emperor.”

Damaged Hair didn’t seem to want to waste time explaining the situation in detail. She simply nodded.

“I am the Ravaged Queen of Insects.”

“The name of my Fragment is God Mushi Emperor. Its function is to serve as the Beast of the End, which will destroy the world at Ragnarok…”

“I will drink down the brains of all humans. I will drink down the brains of all of God’s Greater Fragments. I will replicate and replace all things that exist in this world –”

Then, as if she was a cicada or a bell, all the replicas of Damaged Hair began to sing an awful song:

“Everything that exists – all humans, animals, monsters – will be replicated by me.”

“The Greater Fragments of God will be no exception. All will be replicated by me.”

“I will replicate every living being in this world, and create the perfect, harmonious world. Everything is but one person. Everything goes back to the same roots. That would be a world full of peace and calm.”

She looked so self-assured, as if she would be able to eliminate all the uncertainties in this world, as if she was the Divine Truth of this world.

“'Others' won’t exist in that world. It will be different from this world, where everyone was a Fragment of God, but everyone seemed unrelated to others.”

“Everything in existence should be combined together under the name of ‘Damaged Hair’.”

“There… our goals are simple and clear. We will conquer the world –”

The clones of Damaged Hair declared together in pride and confidence:

“This is the name of our venture! This is the ‘Divine Battle’ to achieve our final aim!”

“…”

…

…

That name sounded terrible.

“Um, heh, er –”

Should Mina appear surprised? Scared? Or should she be smiling? Mina can’t decide what kind of an attitude she should have – but she decided not to worry about it too much.

Damaged Hair wanted to absorb the brains of all living creatures and replace everything with herself, so that no ‘others’ will exist in this world… if Damaged Hair fulfilled that goal, then indeed, to some degree, she will usher in a perfectly harmonious world.

However.

“It’s crappy and super boring to have a world where no one else exists. ‘I’ would hate that. It would be really bad to have a world where everything is me. Even though I don’t like other people, and I hate myself and hate the whole world, I am still staying alive day after day in this annoying world…”

Her right hand held the spray can that can destroy everything and eliminate all existences.

Her left hand held the spray can that can solidify everything and freeze all existences.

Sterilization Disinfection – Saibara Mina – didn’t do anything outrageous. She simply grasped her weapons, the tools that could channel the power of her enormous Fragment. She simply said in a self-possessed – and selfish – low voice.

“As long as I still have hope, then someone I like might appear.”

Mina leapt into battle after this heartfelt declaration. She didn’t know whether she could win. She was not fighting for the world, or for humanity, or to protect the world from being conquered. Mina’s reason was simple. She just hated the fake ‘perfect harmony’ that Damaged Hair was seeking to create, and Mina wanted to crush it.

Destroy everyone else? Copy every single other person?

Wouldn’t such a world and such a perfection be similar to a dead world?

Wouldn’t such a world and such a perfection be just like a dead world?

“I didn’t fully expect others to understand.”

The original Damaged Hair, the one with the detestable spear in her hand, narrowed her eyes and lifted the spear as she sighed.

“Mmm, never mind… if everything becomes a replica of me, then there will be no more misunderstandings. Then all conflicts would disappear, and everyone will understand each other.”

“If we can’t understand each other, can’t we just say everything we want to say properly? Didn’t humans progress because we had conflicts –”

Mina felt very angry. She quickly lifted the spray can that could eliminate existences and pressed down on the trigger.

“If no one else exists, then hate would disappear… but so would love – and I definitely don’t want that kind of a world!”

The white mist that had once swallowed everything in the legend of the Flood from Genesis instantly and resolutely blew apart the blood-stained figure of Damaged Hair, which Mina thought was the true body. Only fingers and feet remained as the rest were completely torn up and disappeared… and that was when Mina started to paradoxically feel agitated.

That was too easy.

She won? Damaged Hair was killed just like that, after her body was destroyed?

“… Of course, it would be shallow of you to think that was the end.”

The spear that Damaged Hair threw out without alerting Mina was turning and twisting in the air. This spear, which was held by the Damaged Hair clone covered by blood, fell into the hands of a different Damaged Hair clone, one that didn’t have any blood or dirt on her clothes or hair. This Damaged Hair held the spear in one hand and moved into a battle pose, then snapped her fingers loudly.

All at one, the marionettes that were dangling on the traffic lights instantly turned into Damaged Hair’s appearance and jumped down onto the road. There were about a dozen of them. All of them had emotionless, garnet red eyes, and they stood there blankly, looking at Mina.

It was as if they were a hoard of insects, or a massive crowd of zombies. Mina felt an instinctive repulsion.

The Damaged Hair clone with a spear in her hand said nonchalantly to Mina, who was standing there in a daze.

“Come and become one of me.”

The face devoid of emotions showed some sentiment at last, and Damaged Hair’s tongue snuck out of her mouth and licked her lips.

“I’m taking you in – Sterilization Disinfection.”

“… However, before that…”

As if their competition paused, Damaged Hair slowly lifted the spear she held in her hand. Compared to Damaged Hair’s listless way of acting, Mina put all her strength into her legs, ready to dash up to her opponent at any time.

This was a girl that had a tempo of her own, and Mina could not decipher her at all. Facing her was like facing an unpredictable and volatile cat.

For some reason, Mina was already starting to feel exhausted before she even gave her all for the fight. But Damaged Hair completely ignored Mina. She lowered her head and looked at the spear in her usual blank expression.

“Fenrir, go hide somewhere safe.”

“Gagaga!”

The spear suddenly gave out a barking laugh.

If the sound Damaged Hair made was like the low chirping of insects, then the sound made by the spear named Fenrir was akin to the roaring of beasts, savage like a vicious storm, bursting through the minds of all who heard its voice.

This thing possessed an inhuman voice. The spear then started to talk on and on, as if completely ignoring Mina.

“Gagaga! Gagaga! Gagaga! You haven’t summoned me for a long time, and the only thing you say is ‘run away’! I hear you, my master~!”

“Don’t call me that anymore. It’s very embarrassing. We are companions who share our destiny… we are equals, therefore you can call me Damaged, or Hair-chan.”

“Gaga! Gagaga! That would sound even more disgusting! Say, master, you are not planning to fight with me, the most powerful weapon? You are going to die! Going to die! Gaga! Gagaga!”

“The opponent this time is very powerful.”

Damaged Hair narrowed her eyes towards the cantankerous spear, then shifted her gaze towards Mina, who was standing there confused. Fenrir also noticed Mina’s presence and began to laugh loudly with joy.

“Gagaga! Isn’t this Sterilization Disinfection? How did we get this annoying person as our first opponent? My master… you don’t know her yet, do you? Saibara Mina, the one with the role of Sterilization Disinfection, could be called the most powerful character in the world!”

“… Have I… met you before?”

The spear seemed to know a lot about Mina. Mina tilted her head a little. She should be able to remember someone as weird as this if she had met them before…

However, Fenrir’s reply to Mina’s question was very incredulous.

“Gagaga! Gaga! No, this is the first time we’ve met face to face! It was your previous reincarnation who met me!”

“… Previous reincarnation?”

Fenrir’s repulsive and incomprehensible voice echoed around them.

Fenrir ignored Mina, who was wearing a surprised impression, and changed to a more serious voice and howled.

“Gagaga! Hey, my master! I’m giving you advice out of kindness. Escape! You have encountered a mighty opponent who you cannot defeat! You would have to have absorbed at least one or two Greater Fragments, or use me at my greatest capacity – at least, it’s best not to fight her alone at this stage!”

“…I can’t understand why you are so afraid.”

As if she was being humiliated, Damaged Hair pouted in anger, and rebuked.

“Indeed, Sterilization Disinfection is a terrifying opponent… but the powers of Greater Fragments are equal. The differences are in our affinities and how we fight – God Mushi Emperor is capable of eternal reincarnation and endless multiplication, traits that can suppress Sterilization Disinfection’s power of eliminating and solidifying existences… therefore, I am confident that I can defeat her without your help.”

“That’s not the problem! Hurry and listen to me. Master, you need to escape!”

Fenrir continued to speak some confusing words in a loud voice. Mina didn’t understand what he was saying at all.

“As far as I am aware, only three people can go against Saibara Mina when she was using her full power as Sterilization Disinfection. The first is Gankyū Eguriko when she uses the full abilities of the Poison Apple and metamorphoses into a monster. The second is Melodia NoiselTearsong after she had consumed all one hundred and forty-three children of PoisonCatastrophe and augmented her powers that way. Those are the only two who can actually defeat her. Saibara Mina defeated Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest, the most powerful of all melee fighters, at the cost of her own life, even when the power of the Sterilization Disinfection Fragment was exhausted, and she was also suffering from mental trauma. As God Mushi Emperor, who only specializes in reproduction, it is impossible for you to beat her! Gagaga!”

“…”

What was going on? Mina was still lost.

An unknown emotion was throbbing within her, something that even she could not seem to control.

She felt that she forgot something.

However, some things were better not being remembered.

Especially in this… peaceful world.

“You are being too loud.”

What might count as the greatest emotional turbulence so far appeared on Damaged Hair’s face – the annoyance and stubbornness on her face was as naïve as a child’s – and she did not take in Fenrir’s repeated warnings at all. Instead, it further stimulated her desire for battle, and she looked sideways at Mina with a cold gaze.

“I cannot beat her? Heh, if there weren’t some obstacles or difficulties of that level, then there would be no joy in defeating her. Also – did you happen to forget something, Fenrir?”

Damaged Hair suddenly grasped the spear tightly and lifted it over her head, then started to swing it powerfully.

“I will resurrect countless times even if I fail! I am therefore invincible! Therefore, I am the most powerful existence!”

Then she tossed the spear away.

“All I need from you… is to wait somewhere far away until I defeat this strong foe and became stronger myself!”

“Gagaga - !?”

The speed the spear was thrown out would have been astonishing even for an Olympic javelin thrower. However, another Damaged Hair clone was standing before the flying spear. This clone grabbed the spear and then threw it out again. Another clone further along the trajectory of the spear grabbed it and threw it further still. The same thing happened over and over – and the spear kept going further and further away.

Fenrir’s vengeful curses echoed in the residential streets, and gradually quietened down.

“Gaga! Gagaga! You are ignorant! Ignorant! Without me, all of you will be eliminated at once, ignorant fool! Don’t forget. I. Am. Your. Most powerful weapon! Hold on to me! Hold on to me you piece of shit! Idiot! Gaga! Gagaga!”

The yelling got further and further away until it completely disappeared.

Mina still couldn’t figure out what happened… Damaged Hair was still worried about Fenrir and deliberately looked towards its direction. Even if Mina’s ability – the erasure of existences – hit Damaged Hair, the latter could still resurrect in a different body, but Fenrir would not be able to do that. Damaged Hair did not hide herself before Mina attacked, but she threw away Fenrir, and that was how Mina came to that conclusion.

She didn’t hold on to that strange spear, but let it escape?

These two cares about each other very much, and their communal goal was to conquer the world.

Was she evil, or just?

Could Mina – actually defeat her here?

“… It really had its fun.”

As if Damaged Hair was ready to erase the confusion in Mina’s heart, all expression disappeared on Damaged Hair’s face as she said lowly:

“Then, let’s try this again. I will declare war on you once again. The judge amongst Greater Fragments, the Confusion of God… Sterilization Disinfection, Saibara Mina – Become the stepping stone on my road towards might and power!”

“Road towards might and power… how old is this shōnen manga?”

Things seemed to have become more difficult, and Mina did not relax. She grabbed her weapon, the spray cans, tighter in her hands.

Then, as if to cooperate with her opponent, Mina thought whether she should say words like she was a companion of justice.

“…”

… She couldn’t think of any.

“Hmm, me too – no matter how you look at it, I am still closer to a villain.”

Mina sighed and decided to pay her back – she will fully expand her evil as if she was a villain in a shōnen manga.

“Then come, struggling worms.”

The gluttonous mist of Sterilization Disinfection sprayed towards the two Damaged Hair clones.

Damaged Hair… Mina didn’t know if that was a real or fake name. Her function and name as a Greater Fragment of God seemed to be God Mushi Emperor. All Mina knew was that God Mushi Emperor was the information gatherer, who spread her 666 ‘terminals’ all over the world and supported the other Greater Fragments.

Then, this could be the first time that God Mushi Emperor openly appeared and acted according to her own desires. Mina had never heard of such cases before. All the other Greater Fragments had more or less acted for themselves in the past, whether openly or in secret. But indeed, God Mushi Emperor had never been detected to do so.

It was a strange Fragment that had always passively provided information to the other Greater Fragments when they needed it.

It was content being the assistant for the other Fragments and devoted itself to working behind the scenes.

God Mushi Emperor, Damaged Hair… She wanted to conquer the world to fulfil her goal of replicating everything living by herself, and construct a perfect world. But why did she start this unreachable goal only at this time?

She was denying the way everyone in this world had lived up till now.

She would become the enemy of all the other Greater Fragments – no, of every creature in this world.

What… caused her to start on her so-called ‘road towards might and power’?

“…”

For some reason, Mina began to care about this.

There were too many confusing things here, an unprecedented oddity. The evil ones that Mina had destroyed up to now… the monsters that suddenly emerged and devoured humans… this Damaged Hair was just like those monsters. It was the first time that a Greater Fragment opposed the entire world and aimed to assassinate all the other Fragments.

The entire world seemed to be very strange, twisted, and torn – Mina could faintly tell it was exuding a disharmonious aura, and she detested it. They had finally obtained this peace. They had finally managed to peacefully pass their days.

What was the reason behind this chaos and this confusion?

Why did Damaged Hair begin her operation?

“You are thinking of other things while you’re killing… you are underestimating me.”

How many Damaged Hair clones had she killed? Mina couldn’t be bothered to count, so she didn’t. She just kept killing and Damaged Hair kept multiplying, and the process repeated itself over and over – Mina started to feel irritated in this meaningless battle, with her enemies arriving one after another like invading waves.

Damaged Hair deserved her title of endless multiplication.

Even though the Damaged Hair clones were being defeated one after another, more kept appearing from every direction. No matter how much of the white fog that erased existence was sprayed out, another Damaged Hair would appear when one disappeared. Mina’s opponent couldn’t truly replicate in an endless manner. When the power of the Greater Fragment was exhausted, Damaged Hair wouldn’t be able to replicate anymore… it was the same for Mina. It was impossible for them to fight endlessly.

If they kept fighting and kept up this war of attrition, it would be dawn soon.

Mina couldn’t think of any decisive solutions. She could only spend her stamina and the power of her Fragment until she becomes completely spent.

“Huhuhu… do you understand now?”

Countless Damaged Hair clones, now nothing but broken corpses, piled up at Mina’s feet. Another Damaged Hair clone then appeared and looked at Mina expressionlessly.

“I won’t be killed by anyone. No, I will resurrect no matter how many times I am killed. It’s not so easy to beat me…”

The bodies piled up like a small mountain, while rivulets of blood ran down the street.

A thick stench of blood permeated the silent residential road at night. Moonlight shone through gaps in the clouds. A new, spotless Damaged Hair emerged, while Mina panted in exhaustion. Since Mina’s enemy kept multiplying, it wasn’t long before the situation changed and there were no longer just the two of them facing each other. Soon, the number of Mina’s opponents rapidly multiplied, and they surrounded Mina.

Damaged Hair’s corpses would not disappear even if they were killed. Damaged Hair stared blankly at her own bodies and nodded.

“… It seems you are feeling bored, and I have had enough too – now we are going to get things to be more fun.”

“…?”

What was she suddenly talking about? Mina made her battle pose and was still a little confused. It was the same as before. Mina still couldn’t understand Damaged Hair at all.

“From now on, the battle will decisively turn in my favor… this is it. The battle will become a one-sided affair – just understand that you won’t even be allowed to fight back. Your performance is over.”

A red light briefly flashed past Damaged Hair’s eyes, and she swiftly spread her arms.

“Try taking this, Sterilization Disinfection… my ultimate move, ‘Battle God Mode’!”

“…”

Why did everything this person do sound like something from a shōnen manga?

She sucked even at making names. Nothing had changed at all.

Damaged Hair completely ignored Mina, who was looking depressed. Damaged Hair raised both of her arms and yelled loudly:

“Battle God Mode – Asura!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a huge bump suddenly appeared on her back, and numerous new arms emerged from it. There were – eight arms in total, taking into account her initial arms. The eight arms wobbled in an uncoordinated manner, as if she was a multi-segmented insect, and looked repulsive.

“Woah…”

Mina couldn’t help but want to retreat when she saw this scene. Damaged Hair started to talk with pride.

“See! This is Battle God Mode Asura! I detest others saying that I am not as good as Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest’s metamorphosis of the flesh… the limit of my ability is to subtly change the blueprint of humans. I cannot conduct any changes outside of normal development, such as adding wheels on a human body or changing the body into a flame thrower, which Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest dabbles in!”

Mina did not know a lot about the person known as Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest. However, for someone to be capable of doing stuff similar to the enemy in front of her – such as adding wheels on the human body – it was disgusting enough just hearing about it. Mina thought it would be better if she never meets that person.

Mina kept thinking about these irrelevant things, but Damaged Hair fixed her gaze solely at Mina. Perhaps she was confident enough and became arrogant from thinking that her Battle God Mode was an unbeatable trump card.

“This is no exaggerated metamorphosis… however, I can change into different forms of myself according to my imagination! Even though this Battle God Mode Asura only added the number of my arms – but after some simple estimation, wouldn’t you understand it increased the power of my attacks eight-fold? Could you handle all these dexterous hand movements –”

“So, it means I just shouldn’t allow it to attack, right?”

With a puff, a white mist sprayed out, and the Damaged Hair clone with the eight arms instantly exploded.

Then, next to Mina – a few meters from the previous clone – a different Damaged Hair appeared.

“Hey! What are you thinking of now that you are a human? Are you just going to attack silently while your opponent is still talking?”

“Isn’t it common strategy to destroy your opponent before they use their abilities…?”

If the clone with the eight arms was capable of terrifying attacks, then Mina should stop it from approaching her, and defeat it as soon as possible. That would be the easier way. There were no problems with that approach.

“Urk…”

Despite the cruel methods Damaged Hair used, she evidently didn’t have enough experience with the battle field. She thought over Mina’s silently, twisted her body a little in confusion, then boosted her own spirits and cast her eyes towards Mina’s direction.

“Indeed… what you said makes a lot of sense.”

Damaged Hair nodded decisively and stretched out her arms in front of her.

“But you are equally unforgivable for insulting me. My Battle God Mode isn’t limited to ‘Asura’ – by using the blueprint of humanity, I can perform at an extraordinary level… I will show you my Battle God Mode!”

Mina thought Damaged Hair really didn’t need to give a name to everything, or to yell those names out like a killing blow. However, Damaged Hair once again loudly declared:

“Battle God Mode – ‘Thousand-hand Guanyin’!”

“So, you just increased the number of arms!”

Thousands of arms suddenly sprang out of Damage Hair’s body, forming a truly disgusting sight. Just like before, Mina released her mist and immediately defeated it.

Damaged Hair’s body was blown up into pieces. Before the pieces of meat landed on the ground, they came together to form an upside-down, furiously, and agitated Damaged Hair.

“I won’t… won’t… hold back anymore.”

With a sound of something moving rapidly, Damaged Hair waved her fingers as if she was a conductor. At the same time, the number of Damaged Hairs in Mina’s sight started to multiply endlessly. The number of Damaged Hair clones increased at a terrifying rate and surrounded Mina. Their dark-red eyes looked at Mina as their bodies started to undergo all sorts of changes.

Some of the clones had an increase in the number arms, some had a reduction. Some had two heads, some had deformed arms, some gained massively thick thighs – the countless number of Damaged Hair clones started to show all sorts of changes. However, just like Damaged Hair said before, wildly imaginative changes such as having wheels or wings did not happen.

Mina started to get serious, contrary to her previously slightly joking attitude. Her gaze became very serious, and she made a ready pose.

Even though the name ‘Damaged Hair’ sounded like a fun name, she was definitely not an opponent who can easily be defeated. Mina couldn’t think of any ways to completely defeat her for now. Should Mina run away and think up a plan elsewhere? But if Mina were to escape, it would be very hard to run away from these layers of creatures surrounding Mina.

Then, what should Mina do?

Mina looked intently at the overwhelming number of enemies who gathered before her, which were akin to a massive collection of insects.

Where could she break through…

All the Damaged Hair scattered around Mina were saying something in a low voice, while wearing expressionless faces.

“… You’re fighting alone at high spirits. How magnificent. I understood why Fenrir was so afraid of you.”

“But this will be your grave. ‘Asura’, ‘Thousand-hand Guanyin’, ‘Seven Gods of Fortune’, and ‘Vairocana Buddha’… and many other modes besides.”

“After augmentation, ‘we’ are gathered here as a battalion… ‘we’ cannot be defeated by anyone on earth.”

“Let us begin! The epitome of Battle God Modes – ‘The Eight Million’!”

…

…

“… Eh, um…”

All the Damage Hair clones appeared powerful and a bit cute. Mina slowly raised her hand.

“’The Eight Million Gods’ is a concept in nature worship religions such as Shintoism and Pantheism… doesn’t it conflict with the idea of a ‘Battle God Mode’?

“…”

“…”

Every single Damaged Hair opened her eyes and mouth wide. They then started to chat amongst each other, narrowed their eyes and looked Mina from head to toe, and pointed at her. The countless Damaged Hair clones chattered continuously in a low voice.

“…Ah, so annoying, so annoying.”

“She only knows how to pick on others. That’s the extent of humans.”

“She doesn’t know how to do anything else…”

“She seemed to be very proud of picking up on others’ mistakes. I can’t understand this.”

“Really”. ”This is the end of the world”. “She is a demonic woman”. “She is so nasty”. “She’s a horrible person”.

There were many more comments like these.

These people seemed to be the same person, and their level of synchronicity was also surprisingly high. Every one of them was degrading Mina, insulting her, complaining as they looked coldly at her. This was truly a bad situation.

“This is the violence of numbers!”

Then all the Damaged Hair clones started to echo her. It was the first time Mina had met someone as annoying as Damaged Hair.

“What is this…”

Mina sighed deeply, feeling an incomparable spite for these creatures – and at the same time –

Something impacted heavily into her stomach. There was a thick thud and a dull pain.

“- !?”

The impact was sudden, but also made sense when she thought about it. After all, there were so many enemies around her… while some of them were complaining and cursing Mina, one of the remaining ones prepared to attack Mina. That was not surprising.

She was alone, but her enemies were legion.

This violence in numbers -

Mina finally felt the true meaning and terror within that statement in her heart.

“…?”

Mina finally realized what just hit her. It was heavy… yes, as if someone threw a rock at her back… but it was a slightly different feeling.

The thing that slammed into Mina’s body and then rolled along the ground – was the head of Damaged Hair.

That head lifted the ends of her lips and smiled without humor as she spoke:

“The thickness and weight of the skin and the skull were adjusted to reach its limits for this head. It is as powerful as a cannonball… if we fired these at you from all directions, can you really dodge them all?”

Looking around, Mina saw that every Damaged Hair around her had the same pose… they had all decapitated themselves and were holding their heads in their hands and aiming those towards Mina, as if they were all about the throw their projectile.

The chill that rose up along Mina’s spine almost froze her. This was insane.

“This is Battle God Mode – ‘Jizo Buddha’.”

Endless mouths spoke the same words.

“Jizo Buddha is also known as Yama, Lord of Hell… what a fitting name for the creature what will lead you to Hell.”

Then the main assault started.

It was senseless, almost shameless – a true final assault made of overwhelming numbers.

Mina gritted her teeth in agony.

It was her mistake.

Or rather – Damaged Hair won with a low and despicable plan.

“…”

All in all, events were unfolding in an uncomfortable way. At least, Mina managed to protect her body from the hail of head canon balls… but there were still a few that she couldn’t dodge and hit her. Her wounds would recover after some time –

But this situation posed a problem.

This was definitely not good. Mina was only delaying her death for a little while.

“TYPE-B – Jack JewelFixation Mist.”

The semi-liquid substance that Mina held in her right hand, which worked to solidify existences, constructed a defensive wall around her. The flying heads were frozen there… therefore, their impact and damage did not descend upon Mina. That was the defensive tactics Mina chose against Damaged Hair’s Battle God Mode – ‘Jizo Buddha’.

The heads were thrown at Mina rapidly. She responded a bit slowly towards this odd situation, and a few heads landed on Mina’s chest and legs. Even though they didn’t break skin, it seems they did break her bones. Mina could still feel the sensation of pain, a feeling that felt worse than death.

Cold sweat seeped out of Mina’s forehead, and she started to think about ways to deal with the situation regardless of her life.

Her ‘Jack JewelFixation Mist’ was colorless and transparent, and simply froze every existence. In other words, Mina would get buried by the heads, which flew here one after another and got frozen around her in turn… that felt disgusting. Moreover, for some unknown reason, Mina felt disgusted towards things like ‘heads’. She had no reasons she could recall, but only hated it instinctively.

Mina could use ‘‘Jack JewelFixation Mist’ to defend an area with a radius of one meter. Hindered by the invisible wall Mina made, the heads of Damaged Hair that flew in one after another were all frozen there. It was getting hard to see beyond this wall of heads. The moment Mina released the effect of her Mist, all these heads would fall down at the same time. Mina, who would be at the center of it all, would instantly be crushed to death.

Looking up, Mina saw endless heads were still flying at her. These would also be frozen by the ‘Jack JewelFixation Mist’that Mina was spraying out. Then, Mina’s body would slowly get buried by the heads, forming a disgusting sealed room with her inside. Moreover, once she removed the fixation, the frozen heads would simultaneously regain their momentum, fall inward and crush Mina to death.

The solution that surfaced in Mina’s mind was another one of her abilities – the ability to erase existence, ‘Genocide JusticeAnnihilation Mist’.

She could burrow into the ground and form a cave and dig a tunnel for her to escape to somewhere safe. Or she could stay underground in the cave, get rid of the fixation effect around the heads, then escape at a later time.

But even if she succeeded would such a perfect escape – she was afraid Damaged Hair would still chase her down and attack using the same tactics. Then it would be inevitable for Mina to get hit, and her body would gradually become full of wounds and agony, and she won’t be able to win even if she continuously defended and kept running away from her enemy.

“Then, what should I do…”

Mina also had a final solution. An ability that had a fitting name to be used against this enemy, God Mushi Emperor, who was considered the Beast of the End.

TYPE-C – ‘JudgmentThe End’.

It was Sterilization Disinfection’s killing blow, a technique that ascended and combined her original powers of eliminating and freezing existences. It solidified everything that was annihilated and annihilated everything that was solidified, a flood of nothingness that enveloped all contradictions within itself. The moment she activated this ability, Mina’s entire body would start to devour everything around her and continue to expand with every engorgement until she became the personification of destruction.

However, that ability did not use tools such as spray cans, which controlled the rate of release of her Fragment’s power. It was simply pushing her power beyond its boundaries and releasing all the capabilities of the Fragment. Once used, her life would inevitably be shortened. Its effect was also restricted by how much of the Fragment’s power was left within her body. Once it was exhausted, even her own existence would disappear.

Her opponent was God Mushi Emperor, who had the ability to multiply endlessly.

Even if Mina killed all the Damaged Hair clones present using ‘JudgmentThe End’ and destroyed herself in the process, would that count as a victory? Perhaps the other had already prepared a back-up body somewhere else and can replicate herself endlessly at a different location. That way, what Mina did would become meaningless, and it would not be a victory.

Mina felt once again –

– That the traits of Sterilization Disinfection were significantly suppressed when facing the Greater Fragment known as God Mushi Emperor. The latter can multiply even if all of its copies were destroyed… well, that just sounded like cheating. In this situation, Single Room, who can re-write the traits of the opponent, or Melodia NoiseTearsong, who can control all of its opponents via space manipulation and destroy them all, might be at a better advantage –

“…”

Mina shook her head. It was pointless to think about the other Fragments right now.

She didn’t have reliable friends, or the assistance of other Greater Fragments…

No.

Wait. Did she forget something? Reliable friends? The assistance of other Greater Fragments?

Mina vaguely acknowledged something.

“No. No. No.”

She then started to shake her head. It would be a joke. Even though that was a Greater Fragment, even if that appeared here, it won’t completely overturn the present –

“Chu~★”

It would be impossible… to… completely overturn this. It would be impossible. She can’t help… at all… rather, she would be a hinderance… don’t participate in these kinds of jobs… no matter what happens, she should wait at home for Mina to return… after all, Mina had told her over and over again…

“That… idiot…”

Mina looked towards the street corner where that sound was coming from, even when all the space around her was covered by heads – and all the heads, as well as all the Damaged Hair clones, looked that way too.

Even though there was such a chaos, the general atmosphere around them was still quiet and very relaxing.

A girl was standing there.

“Idiot… why – are you here…?”

Mina completely forgot to defend her opponent’s attacks and stood there in a daze.

“… Who is it?”

Facing this simple question, the short figure proudly puffed out her chest, and answered with a crystal-clear voice.

“I am the high school girl – with seven faces★.”

“…………”

It was very confusing.

Her figure was very vaguely defined. As if she was about to initiate some performance, her entire body was covered with a cloak as dark as the night. A little bit of her face was showing, looking very silly indeed.

But she herself did not realize how silly she looked, and she was completely oblivious to the subtle reactions given out by Mina and Damaged Hair. She made a pose that she thought was trendy, cool, and sexy, and declared with a loud voice:

“Sometimes I’m a high school girl with only one eye? Sometimes I’m a high school girl who is a jockey ★ Sometimes I’m a high school girl who is a private detective? Sometimes I’m a high school girl who is a painter ★ Sometimes I’m a high school girl who is a magician? Sometimes I’m a high school girl who is an experienced police officer ★”

“This sounds like Bannai Tarao's Seven Faces… aren’t you just a high school girl experienced with working in different part-time jobs? But since you’re a high school girl, how did you become an experienced police officer…?”

“Then what is her true identity?!”

“Is she going to completely ignore my complaints?!”

This new person was completely oblivious to Damaged Hair, whose faces were full of confusion, and Mina, who was being silent. This mysterious girl took off her splendid cloak and made a magnificent pose in the night town.

Her hair was split in three parts. She was short, and was wearing a high school uniform that showed a little of her chest.

Two big round ears were on the hat she wore on her head, and she also wore a curvy tail decoration.

She wove around some big gloves that she was wearing, which seemed to be in her way – then that girl roared in apparently joy.

“I am the messenger of justice and truth… I am the undefeatable Unpleasant Counter-Current – Saibara Mitsuki★!”

Ta-da~ she made a pose and danced up and down on top of the lamp post like an idiot – Mina looked at her sister while she pushed down an emerging headache. She couldn’t help but mumble in this difficult situation:

“Hey, Ki-chan, young people these days won’t know someone like Bannai Tarao…”

“I’m punishing you as the Moon★?”

“That one’s a bit old too…”

“Pretty CURE CURE~★? Double spirit power – ★?”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about anymore.”

The girl’s idiotic appearance made the tense atmosphere completely disappear. Mina was exhausted. She put her hands to her face and thought of death inside the transparent walls inlaid with countless heads.

Like what this strange creature said herself, she was named Saibara Mitsuki, and was Mina’s younger sister. She was the host of the Greater Fragment named Unpleasant Counter-Current. Even though she looked like a stupid cosplayer, she was also one-seventh of God… an abnormal existence at the same level as Mina and Damaged Hair.

The role Unpleasant Counter-Current shouldered was ‘angel’. The ability made her possess the dual appearances and personalities of angels and fallen angels. When she was in this very innocent appearance, she was in the form of the angel. She could use the power of retribution to bounce back the opponent’s aggressive attacks.

Rarely, her innocent and naïve self would become evil – she would be enveloped by hatred and anxiety, and her entire being would become a fallen angel of destruction. Everything would be completely destroyed with voracious fire, like Sodom and Gomorrah of legend.

She was a problematic person no matter what. Even if she was an ally, it would be impossible to cooperate with her. She was like a walking bomb. Her abilities were unstable, and her method of fighting was unpredictable. It would be impossible to control her if she goes berserk, and that was why Mina always told her to stay home and don’t go outside –

Mitsuki’s eyebrows raised in a cute way and she put her hands on her side as she looked sideways at the situation.

“Seriously-! I was so worried when my older sister didn’t come home at this late hour ★ I looked for you at sooooo many places… You have a phone, but you never answered my calls. When I found you, you were covered by so many heads… Chu?”

It seemed she finally realised the abnormality of the scene before her. What a slow response. Mitsuki jumped down from the pole and her face was full of surprise.

“Chu? Chu?! Sis, why does this look so bizarre and M-15? Do adults and their friends prefer things like this★?”

“That’s enough. You either run away or come save me. I wasted so much stuff because of you, so choose an option.”

Mina mumbled. She curled up in the middle of the disgusting pile of heads and wanted to stay here forever, thinking this family member was the most embarrassing thing ever.

“Chu… Mmm, then I’ll come help you!”

As Mitsuki made this light declaration, her body instantly disappeared from the top of the pole.

She ran quickly and light-footedly on top of the electrical wires like a mouse. She dashed between the crowd of Damaged Hairs with ease and ran straight towards Mina. It looked like a completely thoughtless move, but she was running faster than a car.

“Hey – "

Even though Mitsuki was called Unpleasant Counter-Current, Damaged Hair didn’t think she would be an enemy worthy of defending against due to her naïve speech and actions. Damaged Hair also couldn’t react on time to Mitsuki’s abnormal movement patterns. Even though she multiplied greatly, all the Damaged Hairs were replicated from the original, and her reflexes were about the same as a human. If one of them don’t get to react, then the rest of the clones won’t respond either.

Mitsuki ran towards Mina like a gale a wind, clenching her fists inside with their giant gloves.

“Then, sis, work with me to get rid of your solidification, okay?”

At the end, they were still sisters. Mina understood the situation simply by observing Mitsuki’s actions and the look in her eyes – Mina soon realized what her sister was thinking without either of them needing to speak. She nodded and sat down on the ground, then started to shake the spray cans in both of her hands.

“Don’t embarrass me anymore… Ki-chan, show me what you can do.”

“Leave it to me★”

Mitsuki smiled sweetly and blinked, then punched viciously towards the head closest to her.

“Little pinball? Little pinball ★ big reward? ★”

The gloves Mitsuki wore were tools just like Mina’s spray cans. They were to control the power of the Greater Fragment that was attached to the user’s life and flowed through the tools. These tools could control the Fragment’s power like one could control water flow using a tap. Most of the Greater Fragments use such tools to exert their abilities.

“The pinball reward is released ★ Aha?”

Mitsuki’s fist swung as she yelled – at the same time, Mina removed the fixation that she applied to the heads around her. These heads, which were about to start moving, were softly pushed along and rotated by Mitsuki. They moved in different directions, bouncing against each other like balls in a pinball machine. The heads fixed around Mina were punched away.

“What…?!”

Mitsuki was actually much better at sports than Mina. She swung so many continuous punches that the human eye could not catch and, in about ten seconds, flung away all the heads that had built up around Mina.

“You, you – Heh, Unpleasant Counter-Current… stop looking down on others.”

Damaged Hair finally reverted to her previous, more serious mode. As if she was throwing a bowling ball, she swiftly threw the heavy and solid head in her hand.

“Why don’t you have a taste of Battle God Mode – ‘Jizo Buddha’ too!”

Facing such an attack, Mina could only stay on the defensive. In fact, if Mitsuki hadn’t appeared, the situation could have become direr – Sterilization Disinfection was suppressed by the characteristics of God Mushi Emperor in every way.

But as Unpleasant Counter-Current, Mitsuki’s traits were an exact match for God Mushi Emperor.

The duty of Unpleasant Counter-Current was the Angel. The Beast of the End was exiled by the Angel.

Of course… there are stories that describe the opposite, and that the Beast of the End killed the Angel. Therefore, the power and traits between them should be very similar.

Either way –

“Woah, the heads are flying my way. It’s just like a movie. It’s scary… d-don?”

Despite her cute words, Mitsuki’s fist could only defend against her enemy’s attacks. Even with her ability, she still could not defeat God Mushi Emperor, who was reproducing endlessly…

“… I am not prepared to face and fight two Greater Fragments.”

Damaged Hair turned away with those surprisingly brief words, and all the other Damaged Hairs also turned away. It was almost like they were a part of the same body and would not interfere with each other.

One of those clones turned back a little and nodded as she said:

“I’m temporarily retreating for today… But I will appear before you again, Sterilization Disinfection, Unpleasant Counter-Current… Even if I were defeated and destroyed, there will always be Damaged Hairs who will appear before you…”

Even in the end, she sounded like one of those rotten villains in old shōnen mangas.

Mina was still stunned. She still couldn’t understand that woman’s behavior. They couldn’t understand each other’s words or characteristics. Mina then spoke in a careful, quiet way.

It was the personal opinion of Saibara Mina, not of Sterilization Disinfection.

“Damaged Hair, I can’t forgive your goals. If no one else existed anymore, then perhaps we will have a peaceful and stable world – but that would be too boring. If that was your sole purpose, and the only reason you are fighting, isn’t that the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve? You’re fighting to achieve peace? Killing to achieve peace? That’s… so stupid.”

“…”

One of the terminals of Damaged Hair mumbled:

“I knew that… even if you didn’t say it.”

At that moment, that blonde girl was undoubtedly and utterly the enemy of the world – God Mushi Emperor, the Beast of the End.

“However, even if this is stupid, even if I must fight against God… I must fight with all my strength.”

As if indicating Mina should simply come after her to resolve their grudge, Damaged Hair left a line that sounded like it came from a shōnen manga. Her clones, these incredible ‘girls’, then walked slowly away.

Return to Ragnarok 01: A 19-year-old useless repeat-year-student, whose hobby is video gaming

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Forward to Ragnarok 03: Peaceful, Everyday Heaven