Mushi Uta:Volume 4 Chapter 4

4.00 Chiharu Part 5

The chime signalling the end of school resounded.

While the rest of her classmates were standing up from their seats, only Chiharu alone was still seated gazing out of the window.

“You’re kidding, really?”

“Well, I’m not someone who tell lies. My two years younger cousin who lives in Akamaki City saw it pretty closely.”

Hearing her classmates’ conversation, Chiharu turned around.

“Hey, Chiharu. Did you hear that?”

“Eh? What was that?”

“Turns out, there really are Mushitsuki!”

One of her classmate leaned her body across Chiharu’s desk.

—…

Something seems to stir in her heart.

“Mushi… tsuki?”

“That’s right, Mushitsuki! My cousin saw it with her own eyes! An actual one, you know!”

Chiharu had some vague recollection about that term.

Now that she thought about it, she recalled hearing rumours about the monsters known as Mushi in the inner-city areas. They were monsters that possessed humans, feeding on their dreams in order to grow.

It felt like she had heard about this topic numerous times in the past. However, those were always baseless hearsays and Chiharu only treated those gossips as happenings of another world, on the same level as that of war and natural disasters occurring in other countries. To Chiharu who lived a peaceful everyday life, those speculations were completely detached from her.

But, for some reason, these words about Mushitsuki had a sense of reality to the current Chiharu.

“Mushitsuki…”

“Can you believe it! …Is something wrong, Chiharu? You look kinda gloomy today? Even though you are usually happy-go-lucky.”

“Eh? I seem like that?”

“Yeah. In fact, you have been this way since yesterday when we asked you out for karaoke.”

“I see. I must be nearing the age to have lots of worries then, that must be it.”

Speaking as if it was other’s problem, Chiharu stood up from her desk.

“Well then, I shall return home now. Farewell, everyone. Till the day we meet again—”

Carrying her bag, she walked briskly to the exit. The sound of laughter along with a voice saying, ‘What ‘till we meet again’, we’ll see each other again for the closing ceremony tomorrow isn’t it’, could be heard from behind.

Chiharu walked out of the classroom while humming.

—…

But, she suddenly felt as if somebody had called out to her and she turned around.

What she saw was only the classroom that was cleaned beautifully and her classmates conversing merrily.

Nishito Sousei High School’s spring break started a bit earlier than other schools. After tomorrow’s closing ceremony, she would probably not come here again till when the next semester starts in April.

Looking at the classroom which had served her for this past one year, a smile came onto her face.

Somehow, she felt a desire to see the members of the student council again one more time. But, they had probably left their classrooms and embarked home by now.

“I am living blissfully today as well too.”

She muttered softly to nobody in particular.

With a smile on her face, she turned around and left the classroom.

She exited the school and headed home.

The scenery on her way back home was the same as always. There were other students on their way home walking with quick footsteps, overtaking her and walking towards the residential area under the early spring weather.

Once she reached home, she changed her clothes swiftly and readily.

“Hm?”

The windows of the unit opposite her were closed today, and there did not seem to be any sign of people. As it was like the past few years, the apartment regained the tranquillity that existed around it in the midst of the surrounding hustle and bustle.

After changing, Chiharu grabbed her usual casquette and left the house.

After she departed from the residential area, she emerged onto the boulevard leading to the station. She walked down the sidewalk lined with trees and hummed along while glancing at the shops on the side.

“Chami-chan… I wonder if she would properly attend the closing ceremony tomorrow?”

The thought suddenly came into her mind and she voiced out her monologue.

Chami referred to the junior from her school that she had met coincidentally yesterday, Konomura Chami.

Her tone of voice was rude and tactless, but she was exceptionally smart. She probably had a tall pride, seeing as how she readily discarded using polite speech when speaking with Chiharu who was her senior. Her aloof yet strict side profile when she only looked forwards with an unshakeable will left a deep impression in her.

When she visited Chami’s classroom in hopes of calling out to her, she had been informed by her classmates that she was absent. From the attitude of the student, she could tell that Chami was disliked by her class.

Chiharu wanted to call out to Chami because of an obscure feeling that she thought that they would get along well. She was drawn by Chami’s attitude of not trying to ingratiate herself with anyone.

—There’s no need for you to notice anything. You should just live your peaceful life like always. It is your duty to do so.

Chami had said that in brusque manner, but it did not sound like a pretence. Her unwavering figure was just like that of a warrior heading towards battle.

“Duty, huh.”

She walked right passed the station.

—Duty.

What does duty even mean?

Did it refer to the reason for which you are born for, or something like that?

My junior from the same school, Konomura Chami, had said so yesterday. That my duty was to live my life out peacefully as always in the same manner as today. No matter if somebody was fighting a battle right next to me, or even if they had died as a result of that, I must not notice that and just live a life of happiness.

Is that really alright?

There are still some things which I don’t remember from the past. I’m positive that the reason for this guilt I feel during my blissful everyday life lies in my past.

However, am I fine this way?

Am I fine the way I currently am, leading a life of happiness without knowing anything, without remembering anything?

Hey… please tell me…

“…”

Without her realising, she had stopped humming.

Looking forward with a stern countenance, a silver tower and dome were lined up in her view.

‘URBAN’.

The tower reflecting the intense sun rays seemed to pierce into the sky like a sword. The saucer-like dome that lied next to it resembled that of a huge platinum shield. The proud outlines of the buildings could truly be said to be the ultimate weapons of the battle god Urban.

“Even though she told me not to get close anymore, I can’t help but be interested.”

With a smile, she crossed the fence.

The surroundings of ‘URBAN’ was steeped in silence as always. Heavy machineries and building materials were left as they were, and the eaves lining the building gave off an ominous feeling. There was no sound apart from that of the cars passing by and the clamour from opposite the street, almost as if it was a ghost town.

A cuboid-shaped passageway connected Urban Tower and Urban Dome on the first and third floors. A plaza laid in front of the two buildings that contained a roundabout, with a slope leading down the ground to both buildings. Those probably led to the underground parking lots.

Chiharu headed for the dome and entered the building.

The walls and ceiling were supported with steel frames while the glass and reinforced plastic let light in. An inactive escalator in the centre led to the second floor which was an atrium with a forest.

She ascended the escalator and stepped towards the forest on the lounge on the second floor. What was probably a botanical garden for viewing pleasure had bourgeoned into a forest after being left to its own devices for a long time.

A sleeping beauty laid in the centre of the botanical garden which had morphed into a green paradise.

The long-haired girl was sleeping on her side. Her limbs that extended from her clothes were pale and thin. Soft breathing could be seen from her lips on her cherubic sleeping face.

“I’ve come to meet you again. Even after Chami-chan told me to stop doing so.”

With a smile on her face, Chiharu lied down facing her in the same position.

“Even though she said that that was my duty, I can’t seem to accept that. Really, why is that so?”

As a result of the dome being sealed off, the air was very fresh. The air was profuse with oxygen produced from the plants photosynthesising.

“In addition to that, it somehow feels like you know about me. Do you think I’m weird for feeling something like that? Even though I’ve only just found you and followed you by chance.”

Looking up at the ceiling blankly, Chiharu continued her oration.

“I am experiencing happiness every day. But… for some reason, it feels like I have done something very awful. Hey, why is that so…?”

The second half of her words became soft with the sudden onset of drowsiness.

Hey, please tell me… just what had I done in the past?

She directed those words to nobody in particular.

“…”

Obviously, there was no response. Under the gentle sunlight filtering from the ceiling and wrapped in an inexplicable sense of security, Chiharu started to doze off.

“!”

A black figure appeared beyond her thinly opened eyes. Due to the backlighting, she could only see the outlines, but somebody was looking over Chiharu’s face.

“Ah… Eh? You…!”

She hurriedly raised her body.

The girl had awakened. She was standing still with a sleepy look and looking down dazedly at Chiharu.

“E-erm, wai-…”

Due to the all too sudden ‘meeting’, Chiharu completely lost her cool. This was the first time that she had met face-to-face with the girl while she was awake.

“…”

The girl only spared one glance at Chiharu before she turned away. She started to walk towards the exit of the dome with unsteady footsteps. The staggering gait of the girl reminded her of a zombie film that she had watched some time ago.

“Hey, wait up…! I say, there’s something that I want to ask you—”

“In the end… thou plan to stand in thy way, child of Elvioréne… though neither of us has fully recovered our strengths…”

Though Chiharu intended to call the girl to a stop, her shoulders shook from surprise and she froze.

The hoarse voice of an old man came from the girl. Although Chiharu couldn’t see her face, that deep voice was far removed from the girl’s youthful appearance. She started to wonder if the mutterings that seemed to crackle in the surroundings was even a ‘voice’.

“So be it, let battle be joined… together with the child who protects the king… we shall head by the king’s side…”

Gooong… The oppressive sound of a bell rang out from somewhere.

“Y-you…?”

Cold sweat poured from throughout Chiharu’s body. She could feel that the paradise, which was a picture of serenity till then, being defiled by an uncleanness in an instant.

“…!”

Chiharu held her breath.

The girl had turned her way.

Her large gaping eyes encroached with darkness were peering at Chiharu with shadowy pupils, and there was a stiff wide smile on the face of the girl.

“Doth thou repent, girl with the lingering scent of thy past brethren… But, fret not… thou hast already fulfilled thy duty…”

Exaggerated words came from the girl's mouth, as if she was a god granting mercy on the distressed.

“It is fine for thou to live as thou are, forgetting all that hast happened. That is thy duty… for thou who hast been the previous Aria Varei…”

The stiff smile on her face seemed to extend so widely that it almost reached her ears.

Chiharu’s heart pounded heavily. Beating strongly with dokun, dokun, it shook her powerfully from her insides. —As though somebody was pressing for her to hurry up and recall the past.

The previous… Aria Varei…

Somebody’s screaming voice seemed to cross past Chiharu’s mind at the speed of light.

—Why… why is it that I must forget about it no matter what!

The voice crossed past.

—This sky… and even your face? I must lose it all…?

And past.

—Then… who am I going to become?

Chiharu knew whose voice it was.

It was her own… the voice of Chiharu when she was still young.

“…”

However, she still couldn’t recall it.

—It’s fine, even if you can’t remember that.

Chiharu felt like she heard somebody’s ironic voice. With that voice, the memories of her own voice that were brought back vanished.

Huh…? Right now, what was I…?

Leaving behind Chiharu who stood on the spot befuddled, the long-haired girl descended the escalator.

“Ah! W-wait for me! Just now, what do you mean by that—”

She promptly chased after the girl.

But—.

“Eh? Huh?”

The back view of the girl suddenly disappeared after she descended the escalator.

At the same time, the choking atmosphere of the surroundings reverted back to that of the fresh air.

Chiharu dashed down the escalator and exited the dome.

Looking around the vicinity, the figure of the long-haired girl was gone all the same.

“Ah…?”

In replacement, she saw another person’s figure.

Opposite the plaza, she saw a familiar face heading down the slope leading to the underground parking lot of Urban Tower.

“Chami-chan?”

It was Konomura Chami.

She was walking along with a smile on her side profile while holding a long object in her hands that she probably picked up somewhere—a spanner used for construction. However, in Chiharu’s eyes, Chami looked as if she was furious. Also, it was no ordinary level of fury. It looked as though she was headed towards a fight that held her fate on the line—.

“…”

Chiharu briefly ruminated. However, disregarding the hesitation swirling in her heart, her body moved before her.

Heading for the underground parking lot, Chiharu kicked off her feet.

4.01 The Others

A heavy silence hung in a certain suite on the highest floor of the Imperial Hotel.

Staring at Shiika seated on the sofa were the same few faces from a few days ago.

Seated on the chair opposite was Munakata Kaiji. Kandori Youichi sat on the double sofa by the side while Sugitsu Matsuri was leaning against the fireplace with her arms folded just as a few days ago. They all had stern faces and were staring down at Shiika fixedly.

On the other hand, Reiji was staring out of the window in the sofa by the window.

“In the end, just three days were not enough to assemble the rest of the executives. They all seemed to have headed more to the south which was the original assembly point. They were also unable to stay for long as they have their hands full with overseeing their respective areas.”

Munakata was the one who broke the silence. He continued with his usual straightforward tone.

“That’s why, the only ones who can protect you are those of us here. —Being as Aijisupa does not have the intention to do so, the only one who can fight is Sinica as a matter of fact. Halen is unsuited for battles while I am completely useless in that regard as well. It would have helped if Halen’s sister was here, but it seems she remains uncontactable.”

“…”

Munakata looked towards Matsuri and she only averted her face with an expressionless look. —It was obvious from her behaviour that the long-haired girl was lying, but Reiji pretended as if he did not notice.

“With that being the case, I would like to remind you once again… please refrain from leaving the hotel on a whim like the other day. Even though we are far away from Akamaki City and Ouka City, the fact remains that you are being actively pursued currently.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Shiika huddled her shoulders apologetically. That figure seeming like it belonged to an ordinary girl made it unthinkable that she was in fact an exceedingly powerful Mushitsuki designated as Rank 1 Secret Class.

“As long as you bear that in mind from now onwards. …How is it going, have you memorised the information?”

“E-erm… sorry.”

Shiika apologised again.

Having stayed by Shiika’s side most of the time these three days, Reiji witnessed how she desperately tried to memorise the information. But, with that amount of information, it seems that one-third was her limit. In the first place, this kind of memorisation task may not have been suited for her. To Reiji who committed all the information to his memory within an hour, the wirings in their brains couldn’t be any more different.

“Hmm…”

Munakata remained silent, while Youichi and Matsuri openly heaved a sigh.

Shiika clenched her fist that was placed atop her knees and bore their stares motionlessly.

“…”

The irritation in Reiji’s heart shot up.

There should not have been any need for Shiika to apologise at all. Those of them from Mushibane had willingly said that they would protect Shiika. The ones who had one-sidedly pushed the information to Shiika for her to memorise were them as well. She should have refused them in the first place if she could not do it… at least that was what Reiji would have done. And if it was Rina, she would have classified things into what can be done and what cannot be done and choose the best option.

Rina… why would you call someone like that your friend?

As long he does not understand why, the only thing Reiji can do was to watch over Shiika’s action. That was what Rina had requested him to do.

The thing that neither Rina nor I have… just what is it?

Despite putting up a mask of indifference on his face, irritation welled up in Reiji’s heart. He had never felt his emotions getting so worked up before. It was as if something invisible was stimulating his emotions, and he could not get his worked-up feelings to calm down.

“Tch…”

He clicked his tongue softly such that no one could hear it.

Opposite Reiji who was like that, Munakata took a deep breath and inquired in a formal tone.

“Snow—no, seems like it is still too early to call you that. Anmoto Shiika. I would like to hear the answer to our conversation a few days ago. Would you be our leader?”

“…”

Youichi and Matsuri frowned. It seemed like they had yet to change their opposing opinion regarding the matter. But, perhaps they had been notified by Munakata earlier, as they do not seem to have the intention of speaking out.

Shiika seemed to be pondering and remained unspoken. Then, she slowly lifted her head.

“What does it mean, to be Mushibane’s leader?”

Her tone was not strong; however, it was not weak either. Her voice was soft, but resounded in the quiet room clearly.

“…”

Munakata, Youichi and Matsuri all turned their gaze towards Shiika silently.

“If I do become as such, then what do I have to do?”

Reiji too looked towards Shiika. The small-statured girl looked at Munakata calmly.

“If this is something I must decide no matter what… then, I can’t do it. It might be selfish of me to say this after you have helped me, but it is impossible for me… After all, I am different from Rina, I do not have the will to lead people.”

“What if I said that I want you to fight along with us?”

“Fight…”

Shiika lowered her gaze.

“What do you mean to fight… Just what should we be fighting against?”

“Obviously, it’s the SEPB!”

Youichi could not bear any longer and shouted out.

But, Shiika remained unmoved. She only revealed a sad look and slightly creased her eyebrows.

“In that case, I’m afraid… I can’t do it.”

“Why is that…”

Matsuri leaked out a hoarse voice. Her linked arms shuddered faintly, and tears gathered in her eyes. She glowered at Shiika with anger in her eyes.

“Aren’t you very strong! As much so as Lady! Yet, why do you not want to fight? Don’t you loathe the SEPB? Aren’t you mad that they killed Lady? Haven’t you yourself have been subjected to some horrible treatment by them? Don’t tell me that you don’t hate them at all! Then, fight! Along with us! Just as Lady did!”

“Rina was—”

Shiika started to speak, but closed her mouth. However, she raised her face determinedly once more and asserted bluntly.

“I think that… Rina was mistaken.”

Everyone present had their eyes shocked wide open.

“I think that Rina actually realised that herself… after all, she was in doubt too. However, she could no longer turn back… but, she definitely realised it in the end—”

—I’m gonna head to Ouka City.

By the time he met her coincidentally that day—no, she must have specifically come to inform Reiji. For the sake of letting him know about her determination, to let him know that she had made up her mind.

“W-what… are you…!”

“You…!”

Youichi and Matsuri got up from their seats.

However, a loud gotan sound stopped the two’s movement.

Reiji had gotten up from the sofa. Without any expression on his face, he headed straight in a line for Shiika. He violently grabbed Shiika by her lapels as she looked up surprised.

“Take that back.”

His expression remained the same, only his mouth moving mechanistically. —An alien feeling stirred in his heart, feeling as though his body was being stimulated by sharp needles, causing his body to rouse by itself.

Deep in Reiji’s heart, he wished for Shiika to take up the role as Mushibane’s leader as well. He wanted to know what kind of orders would she dictate, being in the same position as Rina was.

But—.

“You say Rina was mistaken? That her life had been wasted? Rina had called you a friend, and you would say that what she had done was futile?”

“…”

Shiika looked back at Reiji’s face. That sorrowful face made Reiji all the more infuriated.

…You want me to watch over her actions, Rina? This is what you request of me?

“I didn’t say that it was futile.”

“I told you to take that back.”

Reiji raised one of his arms. A white haze—a silhouette with long body and two mandibles followed around his arm. A pushii sound of gas being released came from his hand.

“Stop it, Aijisupa.”

Munakata grasped Reiji’s arm. But, Reiji was resolute. If she did not take back her words, then he intend to end her right here. Then, he would say this to his late friend, ‘You’ve chosen the wrong person’. —However, in the deep recesses of his mind that remained rational, he was wondering why did he got so worked up over such a thing.

“…Munakata-san, you said that you detest me, right.”

Turning her head, Shiika looked at Munakata. In the eyes of the girl biting her lips, Reiji was not reflected at all, as if she did not even take him into her view. This caused Reiji’s head to chill instantly; if it’s now, then he would not even hesitate to kill the girl in front of him.

“I also detest myself too. Even till the end, I was still requesting for Rina’s help… However, that wasn’t actually right.”

Shiika’s wavering gaze swept across Munakata, Youichi and Matsuri.

“But, even I… detest all of you just a little too.”

Munakata and the rest were jolted.

“The one who was requesting for help was actually Rina… after all, she had been completely driven into a corner. Unable to request for help from anyone, yet having to extend a helping hand to anybody… That’s why she chose the wrong method of fighting right at the very end.”

“…Those of us wanted to help Rina as well. To defend her.”

“For what reason? So that she can be your saviour?”

“!”

With that one sentence from Shiika, the faces of Munakata and the rest changed. The room fell into complete silence.

“Because Rina was strong… that’s why she could not betray the expectations of the people around her. But, actually… Rina wanted to ask for help too. To cry, to laugh, and to find someone she likes… to do things that any ordinary girl could do, did any of you even realised that about her?”

Shiika turned her gaze away from Munakata and the rest who were speechless and stared at Reiji.

“But, the one I detest the most excluding myself… is you, Aijisupa-san.”

Reiji was startled. The normally meek and reserved girl was glaring at him.

“You were the only one who realised that, wasn’t it? That Rina was but an ordinary girl. And yet…”

Even when stared at with a blaming look, Reiji’s expression did not change. However, he was unconsciously grinding his molars.

“If she had asked for help, I would have helped her. But, the only thing she asked of me was this—”

“That doesn’t matter…!”

With tears gathered in her eyes, Shiika shouted out at last.

“Isn’t it weird that you would not help her if she did not ask for your help…! What were you actually thinking, Aijisupa-san? Why didn’t you try to help her? Even though in reality… you wanted to help Rina out so badly!”

“…!”

Reiji’s head blanked out wholly. The hand grabbing Shiika’s lapels lost its strength.

I—.

His crumbling sense of reason and heightened emotions escalating against his will blended together, causing him to lose the capability to think.

“I cannot think that it was right for Rina to fight till her death whatsoever…! To fight like that, I don’t want to do it!”

In the room where everyone kept mum, Shiika’s shouting voice reverberated.

—There’s something I must do no matter what.

Rina mentioned as such. She also said that that was her dream.

—Are you alright?

When Reiji had asked that, Rina had slightly lowered her gaze.

At that time, what was Rina really thinking about? What had he actually realised? Did Rina resented him for pretending not to have notice when he actually did? That’s why she—.

—Someday, I’ll make such a huge request of you that you would definitely regret it. And that will be something that would shake up your entire life.

Rina’s request for Reiji to watch over Anmoto Shiika, could that possibly be her revenge towards Reiji—.

“Then…!”

Matsuri unfolded her arms and shouted at Shiika vehemently.

“Then, what do you expect us to do! Do you expect us to do nothing even though Lady was killed? What kind of battle do you expect us to do!”

“That is…”

This time, Shiika was tongue-tied and she bit her lips.

However, the stupefied Reiji did not even comprehend their exchange.

He was picturing in his mind a future in which the girl known as Tachibana Rina did not become a Mushitsuki, and did not become the leader of the organisation, Mushibane.

Rina would still turn out to be the popular figure in class, and he would only be able to gaze at her from afar. Then, Rina would occasionally come by Reiji’s side to grumble to him. —All that came into his mind was that of such an ordinary everyday scenery.

Indeed, Reiji already knew all along that Rina was just an ordinary girl—.

An electronic sound rang in the room. It was the internal line.

In addition, a small vibration was transmitted to their feet along with a dosun.

“It’s me. —What? A monster… Oi? What’s happening?”

Along with each tremor, the sound accompanying it seemed to be getting louder. Munakata and the rest got anxious.

“What’s going on…?”

“It came from the front. They probably got the internal line as it was cut off halfway… Something seems to be headed towards here.”

“The enemy… is it the SEPB?”

“I don’t know, but their objective is most likely…”

Unrest filled the air and the tremors transmitting to their feet approached. Shiika’s expression stiffened.

However, Reiji could not move his body at all.

As the tremors got more intense, his thoughts got more and more confused. He did not know what he should do, what he wanted to do, and what would be the right thing to do anymore.

“Uuuu…”

He did not even realise that the moaning sound entering his ears was produced by none other than himself.

Suddenly, the entrance was blown apart along with a violent impact.

“Tch…!”

Munakata retreated back and Youichi moved up front. By his side, a Mushi with a slender tanned brown shell appeared. It had thin upper wings and long antennas. The protruding mouthpiece featured rows of saw-like teeth. Its external appearance resembled that of a Longhorn beetle.

Matsuri too summoned her gigantic ground beetle. But, its movement was slow, and it could not move much in the cramped room.

After the dust surrounding the entrance settled down, the figure hidden behind was revealed.

“Just… one person?”

Munakata exclaimed in surprise.

The one who appeared from the destroyed entrance was but a lone man with a slender build. A mechanical goggle covered his eyes while a mask extending from his neck covered his mouth. His whole body was covered by a black suit, and the only his trivially cut short hair was exposed.

Next to the man who stood in a forward-bent posture, there was an irregularly shaped monster. Its carapace was separated into multiple sections, resembling that of a centipede. It had two heads which were red and blue respectively, and its huge mouthpiece took up the majority of its body. From the gapless rows of teeth, a green bodily fluid flowed nonstop.

The man with the goggles scanned through the room once.

“…”

He stopped his gaze on Shiika.

“You bastard!”

Youichi set his own Longhorn beetle against the man.

The man took one glance at him. The red head of the centipede rised and tried to bite into the Longhorn beetle.

The Longhorn beetle accelerated all of a sudden. Leaving behind a tanned brown afterimage, it evaded the centipede’s teeth. It circled around the centipede’s back in an instant and bit into the man’s torso. It then killed its momentum and slammed the man into the wall.

“To rush in all by himself, what an idiot!”

“Don’t let your guard down, Sinica. There might be others—”

Munakata’s calm voice was cut off midway.

The sound of the longhorn beetle’s body creaking resounded in the room with a mekyaa.

“…”

The goggled man only looked down at the Mushi biting him without any change in his expression. The red centipede had bitten down onto the Longhorn beetle. Under its thin wings, the portions that were touched by the green fluid released a smoke with an irritating odour.

“Ah—”

Youichi’s face twisted.

The red centipede twisted its head, peeling the Mushi off the man. Even as fresh blood poured from the wound on his torso, the man’s complexion did not change.

The red centipede released a shrill scream. Holding the Longhorn beetle in its mouth, it rushed into the room with overwhelming force. It rushed towards Youichi, smashing the dresser and the wall in its way.

“Ooo! Aaaaaaaah…!”

Like a tank, the red centipede ravaged the room, ramming Youichi along with the Longhorn beetle all the way into the wall behind, smashing a hole in the wall. It then released Youichi and the Longhorn beetle out of the gaping hole, down tens of meter off the ground. —For a moment, they saw the injured Longhorn beetle spreading its wings. But, even if it managed to pick Youichi up from the air, it was no longer in any condition to fight.

““Halen!””

Munakata and Matsuri’s shouts overlapped.

The blue centipede assaulted Matsuri’s Mushi.

“Guu…!”

Just one bite was enough to break through the tough shell of the ground beetle. Unable to resist, Matsuri crumbled onto the floor palely like a doll with its string cut. —It did not look like her Mushi had died, but the severe injury had completely sapped her mental strength and she fainted.

The two-headed centipede let out a roar in the centre of the wrecked room. It swung its head around madly, pinning Munakata against the wall viciously. His head strongly hit the wall, causing him to lose consciousness and collapse on the floor.

The man was abnormal in that his expression did not change at all despite his injuries, but the strength of the two-headed centipede was even more exceptional.

“…”

The goggled man looked at Reiji.

The bloodlust radiating from the man’s entire body indicated that he would kill all who stood in his way.

“U-uuuu…!”

Reiji could not even take a single step from that position.

He was grinding his molars which produced a gachi gachi sound, and his whole body was convulsing. His view was flickering, and he felt like he was in a stupor even now.

“…Hmph.”

He could tell that the goggled man was laughing at him, scorning him. He probably thought that Reiji was so frightened that he could not move.

However, it was not that Reiji was frightened.

The man faced Shiika again.

The astounded girl who stood there motionlessly opened her shivering mouth.

“Y-you are from the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau?”

“You shall come along with me.”

He walked towards Shiika leisurely.

“If we fight here, your comrades lying on the ground are going to be implicated… you know that, right…”

The man was trying to erase all emotions from his voice—Reiji knew that even as he was seized in a fit. The man was desperately trying to contain his emotions.

Shiika looked at Munakata and Matsuri, and then at the large hole in the wall. Then, she turned towards the man. The girl who could be thought of to be frail was in fact fuming.

“I understand.”

She spoke clearly, and walked towards the man herself.

Wait—.

Reiji intended to call her out to stop.

But, the only sound that leaked out from his mouth was a miserable groan.

“Uuuu…!”

It was not that he was afraid.

He had no idea about what was happening to himself at the moment. Emotions that he had never experienced before tormented him.

What do I do…? No, there’s nothing I need to do, all I’m going to do is to watch, that’s all! She did not ask for my help, and all that Rina even requested was me to be by her side…! That’s why, even if she dies here, that’s just the end. I would have fulfilled Rina’s request!

His thoughts circled around in his mind.

B-but…! Would Rina really be fine with this? Did she in fact wanted to ask for my help? I didn’t know anything… no, I knew! She had always suffered all by herself… Was that my fault? Was I the one who killed Rina? In that case, am I just going to watch as that girl dies here…?

“Uu… Uuuu…! S-sa—”

Finally, Reiji’s quivering mouth managed to spin out words.

“Say that you want… my help…”

He finally managed to make out a soft voice that can reach Shiika.

Shiika and the man looked towards Reiji. —The current him probably looked so pathetic that he looks like he is about to cry… looking so hopelessly uncool.

“If you do so, I will…”

He looked at Shiika with imploring eyes.

The man sneered once again.

And Shiika—.

“…”

Only smiled.

—Are you alright?

On the countless occasions that Reiji had asked that of Rina, that was the same smile that she had shown.

Reiji revealed a look of despair.

I see, you were always—.

Looking at Shiika’s smile, Reiji understood.

“Uuu! Uuuuu…!”

Right in front of the groaning Reiji, Shiika was brought away by the man.

You… were always afraid—.

Tachibana Rina was always afraid. Afraid about having turned into a Mushitsuki, and about what was going to happen to her from then. Afraid of leading a huge organisation like Mushibane, and shouldering the lives of all her comrades, afraid of every single thing.

But, she still smiled despite all that, just as the current Shiika did.

You had always wanted to cry for help. And you always couldn’t do that—.

“UU—”

How many minutes had passed since Shiika’s figure completely disappeared. It felt as if only a few seconds had passed, and at the same time, it also felt like hours had passed.

Reiji widened his eyes.

“UU…...UoOOAAAAaAAAAAaa!”

Like a beast, he strained his voice to howl out as loud as he could. He swung around his right arm on which a white haze had condensed. —A gust of wind grazed past the fallen Munakata and completely decimated the wall behind him.

“UAAAaa! GAAaAa! AAAAAAAaa!”

He swung his arm wildly, causing the room to be devastated. The ceiling was gone without a trace, revealing the blue sky. The bedroom looked as though a storm had passed through, leaving it in ruins. The carpets near the non-existent entrance smouldered, giving off an unpleasant scorched smell.

“Damn it! Damn it! Daaamn it!”

He wondered if he had gone insane—the miniscule bit of reason in his head informed him as such.

“What the hell is this! What’s wrong with me! Or Rina! Or that kid called Shiika! What the hell are they thinking! I don’t get it! I don’t get anything at all!”

Not caring about Matsuri who was collapsed on the floor, he rampaged in abandon.

“Is this it! Is this what you wished for, Rina! Your revenge intended to shake up my life? Haa! You’re right, I’m just hopeless! Because I already regret it! I regret not coming to help you!”

This emotion that he could no longer suppress and just keeps spiralling—it was none other than regret.

The words of the unfamiliar girl he met in front of the station yesterday swam in his mind.

—I say, did you ever had anything that you wanted to do up till now? Because you just seem to be so uninterested in everything. Have you ever had somebody you like? What about someone you hate? Have you ever been so angry that you wanted to shout out loud? Did something happened before that made you want to cry? Have you ever been hurt? Or have you hurt others? Have you experienced something heartrending before? What about something that made you feel pathetic? Do you have things you regret? What do you wish for in the future?

It was just as she said.

Reiji never had anything up till now.

Finding everything to be tedious, he did not even know what was he living for. Nobody was able to hurt Reiji, and he himself did not feel the need to be in contact with other people. He only lived his life going along with the flow and never really felt anything.

—You look just like a Fallen.

It was just as what that bespectacled girl had said.

For Reiji who never really felt anything, he might as well have been dead. Just because he was still breathing, that indicated that he was alive. The way he was, holding no desires and feeling nothing was precisely like that of a Fallen.

“UOOoOOOooOOAAAAAAa!”

As a result of the shockwaves produced by himself, his clothes were reduced to tatters. His hair that was held up by his headband was made dishevelled, making him truly look like a lunatic to anyone who passed by.

Reiji had never felt anything.

But—.

“OO…! UOOooO…!”

Running out of breath and his voice withering down, Reiji collapsed onto the floor on his knees. He grasped his right arm which had been injured from the aftermath of the destruction with his left hand. The white mist entwined around his arm let out a pushii sound.

But, he became a Mushitsuki.

That was after Rina had confessed to him that she had become a Mushitsuki.

“OOoO…!”

He wailed. In the middle of the room which no longer resembled a suite, Reiji choked with tears.

At that time, what had he thought to himself?

Recall it.

That’s right—.

He had definitely thought of as such. As usual, he was being indifferent. It was the same feeling as when the two of them were on the rooftop with Rina grouching to him, and him only replying with a single phrase of, ‘I see’.

—If you said that you have become a Mushitsuki, then maybe I’ll try being one as well.

Why did he think that?

“…………”

After his fit of crying had ended, Reiji recollected.

Duty—.

Perhaps, it could be called something like that.

He had never needed anyone, and never let anyone rely on him. There was only one girl who would call out to him who was like that. And that girl had said so plainly.

—Do you know about… Mushitsuki?

In truth, he had realised. At that time, Reiji had undeniably seen it. On the dry rooftop, there was a single drop of tear.

Ever since he was born, he had lived his life like air, merely going along with the flow.

But, a thought came to that kind of him.

That perhaps he had been born so as to meet this girl.

That he came into this world just so that he can do something for this very girl that was right in front of him, that that was his duty—his dream, or so he thought.

However, he did not know what should he do for that girl—someone like him, what could he possibly do for her. Even up till the very end.

“………Ku.”

Laughter spilled from his mouth.

What duty, that just seem to make him sound like an idiot to anyone who heard him speak of it. Speaking of which, the word ‘duty’ made him recall another scene.

“Kuu… Kuhahaa…”

When they first arrived at Nishito City, Shiika spotted a cat.

It was a cat with its originally beautiful white fur stained with blood and on its deathbed. That cat’s mouth was curled up, as if it was laughing. —Right then, it seemed as though it was exulting how it had lived a life without regret, rejoicing at how it had completed its duty.

“Hahaa… Aaahaahaahaahaaha!”

Even a cat like that was able to die with a smile.

—Listen to me, I want you to stay by the side of a certain girl. In the case that I fail in what I am going to do from now on… I want you to watch over with your own eyes what that girl would do. She’s my important friend.

—So, you’re saying you want me to protect her? Is that for her sake?

—No, that’s wrong. You just need to stay by her side. This is for the sake of Reiji.

—My sake?

—I want Reiji to watch over that girl, Shiika. That girl has something that neither Reiji nor I have.

He recalled the conversation he had with Rina.

I see… so that’s the case, Rina. You were giving me a chance. To someone like me who was just like a Fallen… you want to give me a duty again. You knew that I would regret… or is there another reason? The thing that that girl has that even you do not, do you intend on showing me that? Even at the very end… were you trying to save me? Despite me not having helped you…

“…”

He could feel something trying to force itself out of his body which had run out of even the energy to laugh.

Even though it could not be seen by the naked eye, looking on the floor, Reiji could observe the shadow of a smoke-like entity escaping through the ceiling. The entity formed an outline of bee with defined wings and a needle in the air before dispersing.

“I am going to do it… since this is something you have requested of me…”

In the quietness, Reiji muttered. On his face, a calm smile had formed.

Who knows if it was because the thing that had afflicted him was purged. When he arrived at the conclusion, the whirlpool of regret trapping him evaporated away.

When he raised his head, all that surrounded him was debris.

Around him, there was nothing, and nobody.

“I’ll stay by her side… no matter what happens. From now onwards and forever. —Jeez, Rina. That's so shrewd of you. If you ask me to stay by her side, doesn’t the mean that I’ll have to protect her?”

The regret was gone from within Reiji.

Rina had given him a chance, a chance for him to reclaim his lost emotions.

“Did you already know that I would be able to do at least this much?”

He grinned.

The sound of the debris being stepped on echoed in the devastated room.

—That’s why, I have a request for you.

When Rina had asked that of him, Reiji had replied as such.

“Fine. I’ll listen to anything…”

Hehe, he seemed to hear the Rina’s giggling voice.

4.02 Chami Part 4

The gokin sound of metal twisting echoed in the damp underground parking lot.

“Huu…! Huu…!”

Taking deep breaths, Chami put her weight behind the spanner. With each push, the metal pipe bent even further, till finally it broke from its support and liquid started to flow from the pipe.

She paid the utmost precaution not to produce any sparks. With that in mind, she tried to complete the work as fast as she could.

“Huu…! —Ow!”

The spanner slipped and fell out of her hands. Its front portion scraped across her arm, causing fresh red blood to spill.

“Haah… Haah… damn it, what kind of shitty job is this. How the heck do you expect me to do this? This kind of menial labour is just impossible with my physique…”

Spitting out her gripes, she returned to work once more.

She had already completed her preliminary investigations regarding ‘URBAN’.

First off, this underground parking lot.

Although there were two separate entrance leading to this parking lot from the tower and the dome, the underground space was actually connected. Water and gas pipes stretched throughout the lot and there was also a boiler room further in.

In addition, the electric, water, gas, and other utility systems had pretty much been completed in the floors aboveground. Only a portion of the upholstery works which has not been completed, and in fact plenty of tenants had already started their preparations on each floor. It seems that the construction had met an impasse just right before the unveiling of the place.

The breakers for the power generator of the tower and the dome had been installed beforehand too. They probably intended to resume work whenever, seeing as how the large high voltage power generator appeared ready to operate anytime. Chami had opened one of the breakers to check, but she could probably had found that out through the power company. She must complete this ‘setup’ before soon.

“Haah, Haah… this place sure stinks.”

She was running around the underground parking lot and breaking the pipes lining the wall. From the portions of the pipe that broke, liquid spurted out stalwartly. The foul-smelling liquid formed a layer on the ground of the underground parking lot.

“Really, she sure thought up of something dreadful… what a weird trait for her to take after me. That’s right, after all, petty tricks like this are all I am capable of.”

While muttering to herself, she walked with a splash to another location. She approached another pipe attached similarly to the wall and started to push at it with the spanner.

“…”

If there was even a small spark, that would be the last of her. The End. Chami’s life and ambition, boring things like those would cease without anyone even knowing.

Using the principle of lever, she twisted the pipe from its joint. The bolt supporting the pipe broke off with a pakin, cracking the pipe. Gas spewed out from the crack in the pipe vigorously.

… Chami grinned as sweat formed on her forehead.

“Kukuu… Hahaa.”

A heavy laughter rised up from her throat and she continued on her work. She was possibly high from the sharp odour coming from the surroundings. Or perhaps, the stress of doing such life-risking work had popped a few screws off of her head.

“I wonder if I’ll continue to do this kind of thing forever. This kind of cheap ruses which no one ever knows and notices… Well, it’s not like I would be able to do much more than this anyway.”

She completed the work along with her self-derision and walked up the slope leading to the surface with tottering steps.

“If those leads at the centre of the story had seen my actions, they’d probably go, ‘Eh? You did all that? That looks really tough, isn’t it’. After all, I’m no more than just some small-time villain. I already knew that from five years ago… ever since I looked up at that panel with you.”

After exiting to the surface, Chami took a deep breath of the fresh air. However, her hazy consciousness did not seem to clear up.

“…”

She walked towards the tower absentmindedly.

Entering the entrance, she walked up the frozen escalator.

Chami had reached her limit using her ability on the youth around Anmoto Shiika and Kanata. Along with the multitude of other people that became her pawn under her Mushi’s ability, Chami’s concentration ability was greatly reduced.

She recollected the happenings five years ago dreamily.

After becoming a Mushitsuki, she was swiftly detained and inducted into the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau as a member, and it was then that she knew that she would spend her whole life serving the organisation. Losing both family and friends, Chami was left all alone in the world. Lacking any outstanding ability or talent, she despaired at her life that was left to the whims of others to use.

She had just been assigned to a meaningless mission a few days ago. Walking along the streets like an empty shell, she spotted a filthy bench in front of the station.

—Kuhuu.

There was a newly unveiled large department store in front of the bench. Looking up at the large panel display installed by its wall was a character laughing.

It was a small cat.

That cat with a dirty exterior was irrefutably laughing at the screen. However, part of it appears to be crying as well.

Chami was surprised and looked up at the screen as well.

What was displayed was a ridiculously beautiful scenery.

An adventure film spanning the entire world. An out of the world fantasy. A love story with freedom and love as its theme. —All of which were stories that couldn’t possibly be Chami’s life.

—Kuhuu… Kuhuhuu…

Chami sat down next to the small cat that was shedding tears while laughing.

—What’s with you? Are you laughing? That looks disgusting.

With a scowl, Chami said. When she touched its head on a whim, the small cat shuddered in surprise. Looking at that frightened form, it reminded her of herself and a bout of laughter welled up in her. …Indeed, Chami was frightened as well. About how she had become a Mushitsuki. And how her life would end without her being able to do anything.

—You’re shaking.

Chami materialised her own Mushi. It looks like the cat could see it as well.

—People like me are known as Mushitsuki. How about that? Aren’t I revolting as well?

The cat lightly nodded. Then, Chami burst into laughter.

—Ahaha! What’s with you? Even someone like you understand what I’m saying? That’s weird, jeez… Fine, I shall make you my very first servant. It wouldn’t be bad to have you help out for SEPB’s mission.

Chami could still remember what she had thought of at that time as clear as day.

That even a cat like this had its own wish.

And that it had its own thoughts.

And that its wish was the same as Chami’s.

—Even someone as shitty as me may have a chance to shine as the main character someday.

She had a feeling that the cat held that same dream as her. The cat, which held the feelings of ‘admiration’, was just like a splitting image of her.

Just how high would she be able to climb till?

Just how close would she be able to get to the ‘heart’?

Holding onto those thoughts, Chami shouted out.

—How about we trudge onwards together along this shitty life!

And then, five years passed.

Although their forms and places were different, the two owls had progressed thus far.

Someday, the main character shall be me—.

“It’s time to stop this sentimentalism. If it goes on, it’ll be just like the ending of the movie. After that will the staff roll and then goodbye? Hah, don’t kid me!”

Dragging along the spanner with her heavy footsteps, she came to the ninth floor.

“There’s still more to come, we haven’t even reached the climax!”

The floor which was converted into an atrium served as both an exhibition hall and free space. The four sides were lined with shops, while elevators were located at the four corners.

By the time Chami reached the front of the elevator, she was already exhausted, and she plopped on the floor. The spanner which fell from her grasps hit the floor, letting out a light ring that echoed in the hall. The wall in front of her was glass-sided, and she could view the passageway connecting the tower to the dome.

Looking down from above, Chami kept a lookout.

There were two figures that were approaching the dome. It was Kanata along with a small-statured girl. She couldn’t see clearly due to the distance, but the face was the same as that of the photograph Konoha secretly took from the top-secret documents.

As expected, it’s Fuyuhotaru… but what the hell are they doing, damn it!

Chami unconsciously slammed her fist into the glass surface.

“W-why’re they practically unwounded! God damn it! God damn useless idiots! Couldn’t they even do anything? Why do you think I planted my Mushi into him! Don’t tell me they were scared!”

According to her plan, the two of them, Kanata and Fuyuhotaru should have accumulated quite some wounds by the time they arrived here.

Kanata—she was able to grasp that the man was zealous towards his mission of the assassination of Horisaki Azusa.

However, she did not have any clues as to why was Horisaki Azusa chasing after Fuyuhotaru. She probably didn’t even treat Kanata as an opponent. That’s why, to Kanata who had lost his ability to make calm judgements due to Chami’s Mushi, there was only one option left for him. That was to capture Fuyuhotaru and use her as a bait to draw Horisaki Azusa out.

The place to draw her out would be here, at ‘URBAN’. He would have figured out that Horisaki Azusa would be around here since this was where she disappeared a few days ago. And, it was probable that for Kanata who had lost his composure, he would not even report back to Headquarters as long as he had not completed the mission.

However, according to her expectations, Kanata should have fought against a certain youth when he was trying to capture Fuyuhotaru. The youth with a headband was supposed to be protecting Fuyuhotaru. The impression that Chami got from him was that he would have been quite a troublesome opponent.

Kanata was supposed to have fought the headbanded youth and get injured, as well as weaken Fuyuhotaru on top of that—that was her plan. She had already confirmed from Konoha that Fuyuhotaru did not any will to fight.

She would then kill the weakened Kanata, and obtain Fuyuhotaru and Horisaki Azusa. But, from the looks of it, the chance of Chami being able to win against Kanata seems low. He was bleeding from his torso, but that only seem to be a superficial wound judging from his firm footsteps.

“God damn it…!”

Chami watched as the two of them entered the dome, then walked down the passageway leading to the tower after a while. —Chami had already confirmed that Horisaki Azusa was not in the dome. Their actions were as she had expected.

However, she saw the figure of a youth walking into the premises alone all of a sudden.

It was the youth with the headband.

It seems that he had noticed the two people walking down the passageway. He scratched his head and then headed towards the tower with a composed look.

Chami reflexively patted her chest.

“So that’s it… they haven’t even fought? You’re late. But, well, fine. This result is alright.”

She released a sigh with a haah and looked towards the ceiling.

“The actors have all gathered, don’t you agree, Owlet?”

She stood up with a grin and took a lighter out from her pocket. It wasn’t any cheap lighter, but an electric ignition type oil lighter whose flame doesn’t go out unless one closes the lid. With the thought that this would probably serve as a suitable incense to offer up to her deceased partner, she had gotten the lighter.

Pressing the button, the door of the elevator opened. —Chami had checked the breaker for the power generator just for this purpose.

She lighted the lighter and threw it into the elevator. She watched the lighter roll on the floor of the elevator and pressed the button for the underground parking lot.

“Or would it be better to say that the stage had been set?”

With those words, she sat down once more.

By her side, the elevator’s door closed.

“Huu…”

She breathed out and lowered her head.

Closing her eyes, she immersed herself in sentimentality once again. But, as she does so, an unforeseen voice called out to her.

“Hey, Chami-chan. What were you doing just now, ditching school for this?”

“…!”

Thunderstruck, Chami turned around in a flash.

An unbelievable person was standing there. It was someone who was not supposed to be in this screenplay that Chami wrote. That girl was not supposed to be present on this vulgar battlefield.

Up till now, Chami had always been on high alert around her surroundings. That was because she was always cautious against having the SEPB realise her scheme. However, she cursed herself for the oversight that she had completely overlooked the one person that even till the very, very last she would not include in the casting list.

“A… Ayukawa Chiharu…!”

Similar as to when they had met in front of the station yesterday, Ayukawa Chiharu was standing there looking extremely carefree. On her slightly inclined face, there was a bitter smile.

“I was thinking about that, Chami-chan. But, if you did that…”

Chiharu spoke with a troubled expression that looked out of place.

“…Wouldn’t this place blow up?”

Chami seemed to hear the sound of her scenario shattering into a million fragments.

4.03 The Others

The dry footsteps of the two walking down the passageway on the third floor resounded in his eardrums.

Even the sound of his own breathing under the mask sounded irritating to him.

“…”

Kanata walked along wordlessly.

Walking behind him was the silent Fuyuhotaru—Anmoto Shiika. She was following him obediently without resistance.

—I…

He felt all his senses sharpening till the point of a knife’s edge. It felt as if there were eyes and ears all over his body, and he could even perceive the flow of air on his skin. The wound he received on his torso had penetrated even his internal organs, but he could not even feel the pain now.

If it was now, he felt like he would not lose to anyone. Even to Anmoto Shiika who was behind him. Indeed, even against Kakkou or Harukiyo who were titled as the strongest Mushitsuki.

However, contrary to the strange lightness of his body, he could sense his thinking capability gradually diminishing.

—I’ll erase Horisaki Azusa. That’s my primary objective… my mission. It was lucky that I managed to find Fuyuhotaru… If I brought her to Headquarters, my assessment would probably increase… But, that is only after I have erased Horisaki Azusa… That was the order given to me. She would… if I continued to fight for her… vice-director Miguruma would give to me the next battle… and make my dream come true…

With his eyes lighting up from within of his goggles, he passed through the passageway to the tower.

He roamed around the interior of the tower, but couldn’t find his objective of Horisaki Azusa either.

However, there were no doubts that Horisaki Azusa was chasing after Shiika. As long as he kept her by his side, she would surely appear. —It was just a baseless conjecture that Horisaki Azusa was chasing after Shiika. But, Kanata was convinced of it. There was no longer any room for doubts in his heart.

—I am not wrong… not, mad… I’ll massacre all who obstructs me… For the sake of my mission… for the next battle…

Kanata did not realise that he had started to mumble out of nowhere.

“I am not mad… massacre all…”

Behind him, Shiika had a face of incomprehension.

The third floor of the tower seemed to be intended for dining and clothing shops. Racks crammed with mannequins were lined up toting the latest bags.

“…!”

The sight of carvings on the side of the motionless escalator caused him to shake.

That had been done by Kanata’s own Mushi. Memories of the bizarre white cat that he encountered here came into his mind.

“…!”

He turned to his right forcefully with baa.

He seemed to see something white running amongst the abandoned construction materials and vinyl sheets.

“…!”

He turned to his left.

This time, the white object seemed to have appeared there.

—Kuhuu.

The laughing voice of the cat echoed in his ear.

—Is that your duty… your dream?

Someone whispered into his ears. That voice resembled that of his own.

—What would you be left with after that dream bears fruit? Continuing on fighting, would you be smiling after all that? Just as that cat did…

“…!”

He turned to his back.

But, he only found the petite girl whose shoulders trembled in surprise. Certainly not the laughing white cat.

“E-erm…”

He ignored Shiika who was trying to say something.

“Huuu… Huuu…!”

Kanata took short breaths, trying to supply as much oxygen to his brain as possible. Mushitsuki—amongst those of the Special type, there were those who were capable of mental domination or contamination. He had practised this technique to maintain a clear cognisance so many times that he was sick of it.

It can’t possibly be here…! I have personally killed that cat with my own hand… No, in the first place, that was only because of the high fever due to my wounds at that time… there can’t possibly be a cat like that. That was merely an illusion that was born from a chink in my heart…!

However, for some reason, he could not seem to subdue the agitation in his heart as he could normally. It felt like there was something stimulating him from within against his will.

Why was it that the current him was panicked to such a degree. Just what was this feeling afflicting him. That, Kanata did not know.

“…Huuu! …Huuu…”

The throbbing sound of his heartbeat that seemed to drum in his ears caused him to grimace. He sat down on the entrance of the passageway.

From here, I would be able to see those who come from below in the tower, as well as those who approach from the dome. —To be able to think at least this much, it seems that there was still some reason left in Kanata.

Unlike Kanata who suddenly sat down on the spot, Shiika scanned her surroundings.

“Are you really alone?”

“…”

“Aren’t you from the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau?”

“…Shut up.”

Lifting his goggles up onto his forehead, he glared at Shiika fiercely. He probably had an abnormal glint in his eyes, as Shiika’s expression turned into one of fright.

“I am going to bring you to Headquarters… But, before that, I am going to finish up my mission here. For that reason, I am going to make use of you…”

Shiika’s countenance changed. She bit her lips and exclaimed.

“I am going to escape from here.”

“…”

“Over here, I probably wouldn’t cause trouble to anyone. …Also, I’ve made a promise with my friends. That I would not get captured by the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau another time.”

Kanata had seen this look that Shiika was making now countless of times. It was the face of someone who had been chased into a corner, and had made up their resolution to fight—however, that was not the resolution to defeat the enemy.

“…Huu.”

Kanata breathed out and slowly stood up. Looking at the emotions in Shiika’s heart—those trivial emotions, his head became chilly.

“Escape, huh… not to try to kill me?”

“…!”

He knew that Shiika was shaken.

“In the battlefield, those who hesitates dies. You do not have the will to fight at all. The only thing you have is naïvety… do you really care so much for your opponent? You can’t bear to hurt others or get hurt yourself? Or is it that… it makes you remember about those you’ve hurt?”

The unease on Shiika’s face spread more and more.

“You’re so half-baked, Fuyuhotaru… Truthfully speaking, I don’t even care about the matters regarding you at all… but, it seems like you have yet to realise that you stand right at the ‘heart’ of matters.”

“T-the ‘heart’…?”

“It just means that you are special. Just by being around, you would cause fighting to occur with you at the centre. This is just how the country has always been… are you going to be just as naïve when the battle begins? The naïve you who say that you don’t want to fight, even being so naïve towards the enemy… surely, you would give rise to even more conflicts. Someone like you would always be embroiled in strife no matter what…”

Kanata walked towards Shiika unguarded. Shiika retreated backwards step by step with a frightened expression—no, a look of discomfiture.

“Were you thinking that somebody would end the fighting someday? Someone other than you? Till then, how many soldiers do you think would die? Nobody knows, and nobody ever notices. Do those of you at the ‘heart’ think that they were fighting for your sakes…?”

“…!”

Shiika’s face twisted and she let out a groaned wordlessly. She seemed to have recalled something and looked like she was about to cry.

—Wrong…

Kanata did not even know what he was saying anymore.

He had seen innumerable people surviving and dying in battles. Those included many of his allies who had died in vain as well, such as his team who were chasing after Horisaki Azusa and had been turned into Fallen. If Shiika had been the objective of Horisaki Azusa, then wouldn’t that imply that their current condition was due to Shiika?

—This is wrong… I have already realised it.

The barely remaining rational portion of his brain whispered at him.

I… I, who have no worth apart from fighting, have already realised… I had believed that Miguruma Yaeko would present me with more battles, and so I fought… believing in her blindly, and now, all I can do is nothing but fight… Despite knowing that I would die in the midst of a battle someday, even so I ended up being unable stop fighting… And surely, that is what makes me the worst…

Separate from his internal monologue, Kanata’s mouth continued running by itself.

“I’ve met Kakkou once. He was an unpleasant fellow, but he was different from you. He had the resolve to end the fighting…”

“Kakkou…-kun?”

“I now know. These battles centred around you would surely continue without end. However, if it were to somehow come to an end, then surely… that would have been the time when you yourself have made up the determination to end the fighting.”

Next to Kanata, the two-headed centipede appeared. It opened its huge mouth and faced its venom-dripping fangs towards Shiika.

“I am going to end the fighting…”

“You who doesn’t have the will to do so, does not have the right to live. As long as you live… worthless soldiers like me would continue to be manufactured. Believing in the words of someone who lies close to the ‘heart’, and becoming capable of nothing but fighting…”

Seeking out battles.

Believing in Miguruma Yaeko who would present him more battles.

In the end, what was it that Miguruma Yaeko have given him? That is—merely nothing but a place to die. Nonetheless, Kanata can only continue to fight. Because that was the dream he bore, the only reason for which he exists.

People like me who hold such incorrigible dreams should just—.

“You are the same as Miguruma Yaeko.”

“…!”

“Creating warfare everywhere… yet have no intentions of stopping them.”

Shiika seemed to have received a shock and was frozen on the spot.

—That white cat was laughing.

Like Kanata, perhaps it had been assigned with a duty by somebody and had completed it.

However, it was different from Kanata.

That was, the cat had believed in the somebody who had also trusted it and gave it its mission, and it believed that that person would make its own wish come true. It had believed that that person would bring it along with them as they continued on their journey.

Kanata is unable to laugh as the cat did—.

“I’ve changed my mind… you are going to die here.”

A hatred towards Shiika gushed up so intensely that even he was unable to hold it down himself.

He has already put what happened to him behind, after all, he could no longer turn back anyway. However, as long as the girl in front of him was around, pitiful soldiers like Kanata himself would continue to exist…

“It would be brief from this distance. Before you can even use your ability, I’ll have no trouble snapping your neck. I was going to use you to draw out Horisaki Azusa, but… at this point, perhaps a dead body would serve too. Once I erase her and complete my mission, I’m going to return to Headquarters.”

Kanata had no qualms doing so, even disregarding the fact that the Central Headquarters wanted her to be captured alive, and not assassinated. If it was found out that he had killed Shiika, he would probably be punished. But, his mission had only been to erase Horisaki Azusa, so long as Fuyuhotaru doesn’t appear in his report at all, that would be the end of it.

Shiika stood there with a pained expression, but let out an utter upon looking behind Kanata.

“Ah…”

Kanata turned around.

There was a person climbing up the escalator.

“Aijisupa-san…?”

“Yo.”

It was the youth with a headband who was around Shiika’s age. In contrast to his tattered clothes fluttering about, his expression was truly serene. His eyes which showed no hints of nervousness whatsoever even had tinges of sleepiness.

He was the youth who could do nothing but make groans while Kanata took Shiika captive. Unlike just now when he was paralysed with fear, he currently stood relaxedly in front of Kanata.

Kanata glared at the youth who was called Aijisupa with murderous intent in his gaze.

“How did you find us…?”

“Even if I told you, you probably wouldn’t understand either. Some uncanny monster that was following us around the past few days brought me here. …It seems like I had been made use of by something.”

Monster…? Is he referring to Horisaki Azusa?

Kanata pondered in his mind, but he couldn’t be sure.

“What does the coward who could do nothing but tremble in fear earlier thinks he can do now? Get lost.”

“Sure, I’ll do so once you return that to me. It’s not like I have anything on with you either.”

Aijisupa said so with a bothersome tone with both of his hands stuffed into his pockets. That calm demeanour that was a complete reverse from before surprised not only Kanata, but Shiika as well.

“I am going to kill Fuyuhotaru right here. I’ll only say it once more, get lost. If you don’t, I’ll kill you!”

“Is there a need for me to repeat myself a second time too? Fine, I’ll say this much then. Return that to me. I still haven’t witnessed anything yet, it’ll be troubling for me if she dies now.”

“…”

“In any case, you just wanna fight, isn’t it? Well, I was already prepared for this to happen.”

Hearing him speak nonchalantly like that, the irritation in Kanata shot up. Just that small irritation in his heart was amplified by an invisible needle and it soon blazed into a rage in no time.

Grrrr… A beast-like growl was being emitted from his throat. He could also hear himself strongly grinding his molars.

“You bastard…! Is a coward like you who can’t even fight saying that you are going to get in my way…!”

Aijisupa only watched on calmly as Kanata got into a forward-bent combat posture.

“Coward…? In my eyes, you are the one that looks like a coward.”

Kanata’s eyes widened.

—Kuhuu.

“…!”

He heard the laughing voice of the cat and hastily turned towards the centre of the building.

That was a sneer.

An apparition was laughing at the him who despaired over his own dream. The back of his spine was suddenly assaulted by a wave of coldness.

“?”

Aijisupa knotted his eyebrows in puzzlement.

Kanata clearly saw it with his eyes. He saw a white silhouette beyond the escalator.

It was looking at Kanata in pity and sneering.

“G-grrrr…”

But, in the next moment, the apparition of the cat disappeared.

The emotion that had been magnified in Kanata’s heart—that was fear.

It was the fear that had been born when he saw the white cat laughing. At the start, it was so small that he didn’t even notice it, and now it grew so large that it broke him.

Right before Kanata lost his remaining sense of reason, the last thing that he saw through his bloodshot eyes was the flickering display on the elevator landing.

The display showing which floor the elevator was on changed. It descended from the ninth floor to the eighth, then to the seventh and so forth. It flashed past the third floor which they were on, and stopped at the second basement level—where the underground parking lot was.

—In the next moment, a large tremor shook the whole of ‘URBAN’.

“…!”

Kanata, Shiika and Aijisupa all lost their balance.

The scene of the glass walls on the first floor shattering into millions of pieces could be seen out of the window. At the dome, there was truly a great explosion. From the sealed interior, everything was blasted outwards towards the walls and the ceiling. A large blaze licked the outside from the broken windows.

Things did not end there for the tower which Kanata and the rest were in. A shockwave naturally propagated upwards from the first floor. The glass windows of the passageway was not spared either, and shattered with the fragments scattering outwards.

“…!”

Kanata got up and scanned over the disaster scene, confirming that Aijisupa had gotten up promptly as well.

The sky which was darkening due to the arrival of dusk was instantly dyed bright red. A huge wave of heat blanketed the area, causing them to feel like their hair were getting singed.

This smell… gas? And also, gasoline! Did the explosion come from the underground parking lot! At this rate, the fire will soon consume the first floor and above…!

“G-grrr…!”

Hi growl getting deeper, Kanata glared at Aijisupa.

“You bastard! How dare you pull such petty trick…!”

“It wasn’t me. In fact, shouldn’t it have been you?”

Aijisupa’s words of denial didn’t even enter Kanata’s ears anymore.

—Kuhuu.

He heard the cat’s laughing voice again.

That dealt the final blow to Kanata’s reason. He pulled down his goggles over his abnormally bloodshot eyes.

“Wai-… looks like he’s not listening anymore, huh. —Shiika! Go up from the stairs further in pronto! The shockwave should have settled down already!”

“B-but! What about Aijisupa-san—”

“Nevermind that, just go! You’ll just be a hindrance!”

Shouting out those words, Aijisupa smiled once again.

“You felt like you wanted to be punished, huh… I get what you mean, Rina. That’s precisely how I feel right now. Perhaps it would be good for me to feel some pain as well…”

He muttered to himself. That voice should have reached at most Kanata without Shiika hearing it.

“Grrraaaaah!”

Raising a roar, Kanata rushed at Aijisupa with his Mushi.

4.04 Chami Part 5

‘URBAN’ was burning.

Chami was the one who did it. No, she had just executed the strategy thought up by her partner, and it had ended up as such.

“…”

“…”

On the ninth floor, the shockwave and heat were not that intense. Only the quaking was strong, and Chami and Chiharu both could not maintain their balance.

Unable to stand, the two of them stared into each other’s face while on their fours.

Chami opened her mouth gobsmacked, while Chiharu being Chiharu, opened her mouth widely.

“Th-—”

“Wh-—”

The two of them spoke at the same time while in close proximity.

“T-there really was an explosion, Chami-chan! H-hey, what’s happening? Is this a prank?”

“W-why are you in a place like this! Didn’t I told you to stay away!”

“It’s dangerous here! We need to escape fast! T-this building wouldn’t collapse, right?”

“I can’t believe it! Why the heck is someone like you who’s absolutely, not the slightest bit related at here at this time…! Is narrowly escaping from death a single time not enough for you?”

They grabbed each other’s shoulders, bringing their faces close together.

As Chami was fatigued from laying the groundworks for her plans, the possibility of this happening never even came into her mind.

Chiharu gasped.

“Narrowly escaped death… You mean me…?”

“Why is it! Why are you here! For five years! Five years! She had always protected you! And because of that, she died! Even then, she was smiling! Don’t mess around with me, damn it! Was taking her life not enough, now you even want to ruin her setup! Damn it! God damn it!”

Chami was enraged at this situation where Ayukawa Chiharu was right here. So much so that she wanted to roll on the floor and throw a tantrum and wreck everything around her.

She had resigned to the fact that Chiharu, an outlier had interjected into her plans.

However, she was mortified.

Mortified at Chiharu who had made her way here. She wanted to curse at the fate and coincidence and everything else that had brought Chiharu here.

Chami’s partner (indeed, this fact she acknowledged now), the white cat had traded her life to serve her duty to Chami. Chami must answer to her dying wish no matter what. She still did not know even now why did Owlet protected Chiharu till the extent of giving up her life. But, that cat did not want Chiharu to be exposed to the battlefield. Just this, she knew clearly.

She had hoped for the girl known as Ayukawa Chiharu to lead a youth of happiness, without knowing of anything.

“Damn it! Give me back—”

Give me back her life!

She wanted to shout that out, but she stopped. Grasping onto her lapels like that, her arms trembled.

She thought that if she had said that, that would have really meant that her partner had really lost her life in vain. Owlet had died with a smile. In other words, that meant that Owlet had been satisfied with her life. More so than anyone else, Chami herself must never deny that.

That’s wrong—.

Chami bit her lip so hard that it tore, causing blood to flow.

The one who had let down was me… I didn’t even notice Ayukawa Chiharu tailing me!

The intense chagrin caused tears to well up in her eyes.

Chiharu murmured dazedly.

“Always protected me…? Died…? H-hey, what are you talking about? I don’t understand it at all…”

“…Tch.”

Clicking her tongue, Chami released her hands from Chiharu.

“It’s nothing, I was just venting some anger. Forget what I just said.”

Speaking over her shoulders, Chami took the spanner and stood up. Looking out of the window, the darkening skies were a burning red.

The dome was wholly burning as a result of the explosion. Looking at the current state of the dome, it was probably futile to try to stop the fire; the only thing they could do was probably to wait for the fire to die out.

The tower in which they were in was probably the same, the sea of fire had probably spread from the first floor to the second. The fire would gradually creep up to the higher floors, where it would eventually reach the floor of the ‘second explosion’ in accordance to Chami’s plan.

“You said five years, didn’t you? Yes, you definitely said that! Does Chami-chan know how I was like five years ago?”

Chiharu grabbed Chami’s shoulder and forcefully turned her around to face her, causing Chami to scowl. Chiharu had a desperate look on her face.

“Huh? How could I possibly know that kind of thing, you were probably just a little brat?”

“…”

Hearing her reply, Chiharu was dejected. Her shoulders sagged as she faced Chami.

“I see… that’s probably the case.”

“What’s with you. Asking other people about yourself… you suffering from memory loss or something?”

“…”

“Seriously?”

“Somehow, I only have vague memories from more than five years ago…”

Chiharu said with a weak smile. Chami furrowed her eyebrows.

…What was that? She really doesn’t remember? If that’s the case, could the reason for her surveillance by SEPB be within her forgotten memories…? —No, that kind of thing doesn’t even matter anymore at this point of time…!

She was supposed to have turned her back on the mission to monitor Ayukawa Chiharu after yesterday. Not to mention, she did not have any spare thoughts to consider about that currently. Chami changed her line of thoughts.

“Well, that’s not important right now. The only thing I know is that this is not a place for an ordinary person like you to be. There’s something that I must do no matter what, but if you promise me something, I don’t mind helping you out along the way.”

“Promise?”

Chiharu questioned back while coughing. —The fire might not have reached here yet, but smoke was streaming up from the escalator. The heat was rising up as well, causing the place to feel like the inside of a steam bath. Their bodies were covered in sweat shortly after, causing them to feel uncomfortable.

“I want you to completely forget about what you saw here, including what I did. And then, you will return to your normal life tomorrow, return to that happy and enjoyable everyday life. —If you can promise me that, then keep by my side. There’s only one escape route left now.”

“B-but, just now you said that… someone had died because of me…”

An ironic smile formed on Chami’s face. Chiharu was probably a kind person. Despite never having even seen the face of that ‘someone’, she looked like she was about to cry. It seemed like she unquestionably believed in what Chami had just said.

“Forget that as well. You don’t need to know anything about that. …In the first place, it’s not strange for that to occur to us anytime at all.”

“…”

“Dying without anybody even knowing, that’s just the fate of our shitty life. Fighting as we please, winner takes all and the losers have nothing left. It’s just like that.”

Chiharu only stared back speechlessly at the grinning Chami.

“Don’t leave my side no matter what, okay.”

Chami walked towards the escalator in the middle of the dimly lit environment muddled by smoke. The smoke merely accumulated around the ceiling, and did not impeded their breathing. The sound of the spanner being dragged on the floor resounded in the atrium.

“…”

Chiharu followed behind Chami silently.

Chami stopped right before the escalator and carefully scrutinised the state of affairs of the lower floors.

…Could they possibly have used the staircase? No, Fuyuhotaru should have been the only one using it. Those two shouldn’t have the leeway to do so while they’re fighting. They’ll probably pass through here once the fire gets unbearable. Or possibly, could they have already settled the fight before they even reach here…? Oh well, as long as that’s after Fuyuhotaru. The problem is, will the ones who pass by here be those two, or perhaps…

At the lobby that functioned as an atrium, Chami directed a sharp gaze at the escalator. She silenced her breath, with Chiharu following her lead and muting her breath.

“H-hey, Chami-chan. Is this really your doing? What did you do?”

Chiharu asked gingerly.

“Nothing much.”

Chami replied while maintaining vigilance over the escalator.

“On the roof, there’s a pump for the water pipe in which some shitty gasoline was mixed in. That’s why, all I did was break the water pipes that were in the underground parking lot, releasing it underground. Actually, the density of the gasoline is lesser than that of water which prevents it from sinking down, but once I broke the underground water pipes, the water pressure naturally forces the gasoline down. In doing so, that means that it is in the water pipes on each floor as well. By the way, there was a boiler room underground which means that there were gas pipes too. After trashing those, I was able to make everything go up in a bang just by lowering a lighter down the elevator.”

Of course, the one who had mixed the fuel into the pump installed onto the ground of the rooftop was not Chami. That had been done by Owlet who was chased into a corner by Kanata.

If Chami hadn’t seen that, she probably wouldn’t have thought of such a foolhardy plan like this. However, that cat had done precisely that, as if she knew that if it was Chami, she would have definitely understood her intention. She trusted in Chami without a single shred of doubt.

“The explosion should have only engulfed the first floor at most. But, that would have totally sealed off the escape route. Those people left here would have no choice but to climb up in order to evade the flames. Also, the fire wouldn’t stop any time soon. Why is that? That’s because the water pipes of each floor are filled to the brim with the fuel.”

The sound of sirens approached in the midst of the fire crackling. As they were in the city centre, the fire brigade had arrived swiftly. However, the intensity of the fire was growing one-sidedly just as Chami had expected. It was already too late to extinguish the fire.

“W-what are you doing this for? Those people…?”

“For what you ask? Hah, that’s what truly none of your business. This is a battle that has not the least bit to do with you.”

Chami laughed undauntedly.

“That’s right. I have manoeuvred around without anyone’s knowledge these five years all for the sake of now. From collecting information, to mastering my ability and undergoing combat training all these time…! All for the sake of grasping everything in my hands! I haven’t let these five years that she bought me gone to waste!”

After Kanata and the headbanded youth have ended in mutual destruction, Chami would then get ahold of both Fuyuhotaru and Horisaki Azusa. Whether be it the Central Headquarters, or Mushibane or any other powers, Chami, whom nobody even bothered to look at till now, would arrive at their desired ‘heart’ of the Mushitsuki before them.

Chiharu swallowed a gulp, listening to Chami wordlessly. She probably did not get a single bit about what Chami was talking about.

“Without anyone’s knowledge… that’s what you said earlier too, Chami-chan.”

Chiharu spoke out softly all of a sudden. Chami turned around.

“Ah? I did say that. Is there anything wrong about that? To you… to the you who would be the main character no matter where you are, those words have nothing to do you.”

“It may seem weird for me to say these words now when we are in this kind of situation, but… I really want to be your friend, Chami-chan. Yes, there’s no doubts about it.”

“Huh?”

Chami made a mystified face at Chiharu who was nodding continuously while grunting affirmatively.

“I was speaking the truth there. Why are you saying this kind of idiotic things at this time. Don’t even bother. If you trust in someone like me so easily, you’re gonna get used and thrown away by others disposably.”

“Is that so? But, it’s not like that.”

Chiharu smiled with a grin. —Being in this situation where they were surrounded by smoke, the skies outside of the windows were stained red with fire and the sound of destruction impending from below. Even as they were in this kind of situation seemingly disconnected from reality, Chiharu’s smile flashed brilliantly. That bright smile showed without any doubts that she was indeed the story’s lead.

“…Haah.”

Chami laughed contemptuously and averted her eyes from Chiharu. Faced with Chiharu’s smile, she could feel the smallness of her existence compared to hers.

…Owlet. Your these five years were not a waste. Ayukawa Chiharu is still living and smiling even now. So long as she lives, you can sing praise about the shitty life that you’ve had.

“It’s impossible. You and me, we live in completely different worlds.”

“Ah, are you feeling shy? I guess that can’t be helped, seeing as Chami-chan probably doesn’t have many friends.”

“Go mind your own business. How can you still smile in this situation? Have you gone mad from fear? Or is it that your generation can’t tell the difference between a game and real life anymore?”

“You are smiling as well, Chami-chan. Same to you too.”

In this life-or-death situation, yet the two girls were still smiling. On one hand, Chami was smiling fearlessly in hopes of surpassing those who lie at the ‘heart’. On the other hand, Chiharu had been somewhat influenced by Chami, but her smile was a cheerful one which befitted her.

“…!”

The escalator below was destroyed by something like an explosion.

At the same time, the figures of two man appeared.

One of them was a lanky man directing a huge two-headed centipede. Only his short hair could be seen, as his other features were hidden by his goggles and a mask. However, he was releasing a strange growl like a beast, thoroughly destroying the installations of the floor below together with the centipede.

The other person was a youth wearing a headband. He seemed to be at a disadvantage, where he was evading all the attacks of the centipede using wasteless motions with his battered body. On both of his arms, a white haze—resembling a long-bodied Stag beetle crawled around. Whenever he swung his arms, there was a pushii sound like that of gas leaking. Then, a shockwave cut through from the front of the staircase to the end in a straight line.

Chami and Chiharu peeked their heads over the edge of the escalator, witnessing the scene. Under the overwhelming destructive powers of the two, the objects and materials lying around the floor were torn through easily as though they were paper and vanished.

“…”

Next to the speechless Chami, Chiharu looked absentminded. Rather than surprised, she looked more like her consciousness had been sucked into another dimension.

“…Mushi…”

Chiharu muttered with her eyes wide opened. —Her tone was not that of doubt like, ‘Mushi?’. She muttered as if she had seen it before somewhere.

“That’s right. Those guys are shitty Mushitsuki. Just as I am. But—”

However, Chami was too preoccupied to explain to Chiharu how she was different from them.

I’m the same as them? That’s outrageous…!

Looking at the battle between the two, she could feel a chill running down her back. The scene could not simply be passed off as fiercer than she had expected. Especially Kanata, his strength was atypical.

T-those guys… are that strong? Could they possibly be even stronger than Kakkou…!

“Mushi… tsuki…?”

Chami grabbed the muttering Chiharu’s arm and strongly pulled her along. She took the opportunity while the two below haven’t noticed them to sprint up the escalator.

“Tch…! There’s no turning back by now! I’ve just got to do it!”

Pulling along Chiharu’s arm while heading for the upper floors, Chami shouted out. She tightened her grip around the spanner as well.

“Mushi… Aria… Varei…”

Chiharu’s mumbling voice was drowned out by the sound of destruction echoing from below.

4.05 The Others

“GRRR…!”

Something was growling from somewhere.

Kanata set the blue centipede upon Aijisupa. His Mushi further expanded in size. Currently, the red and blue centipede had swelled to several times the height of Kanata.

Raising a tremendous roar that seemed to burst the eardrum, the centipede opened its huge jaws and tore holes in everywhere including the floor and the ceiling.

“Kuu…!”

The headbanded youth jumped away immediately from where he was, dodging the fangs that bit into that spot right after. However, the fragments of metal and glass blasted everywhere caused him to be lacerated all over his body. But, even as his blood scatter everywhere, Aijisupa’s composed gaze remains trained on Kanata.

Aijisupa pointed his left index finger in the direction of Kanata.

The air currents shifted unnaturally and a moist and chilly wind swept across Kanata’s cheeks. —This cooling feeling belonged to water droplets that had condensed from the air even as heat and smoke radiated from the floors below. An irregular-shaped Stag beetle made out of mist standing on Aijisupa’s fingertip opened its mouthpiece.

He thought he saw a red light coming from the youth’s fingertip momentarily.

“…!”

Right after, Kanata’s view was dyed a pure white. The red centipede had reflexively served as his shield.

A shockwave swept over him violently.

The carapace of the red centipede was vaporised, and Kanata was smashed into the wall behind.

As Kanata recovered from the defensive position he took when he was slammed against the wall, he saw the cold gaze of Aijisupa right in front of him. Having taken advantage of the explosion to close the distance between them, Aijisupa’s fist loomed before Kanata.

However, the combat-proficient Kanata stooped his body and easily evaded the attack. He threw an uppercut towards Aijisupa’s torso in counter.

But, before his fist reached the youth’s body, it was repulsed by an invisible cushion. A white mist spiralled around the front of his fist. The white mist that condensed around his fist detonated all at once.

“GRRRR…!”

A layer of white frost froze around Kanata’s arm as he was blown backwards. The red and blue centipede cut in front of where Kanata landed, blocking Aijisupa from both sides.

Aijisupa calmly raised his arms and crossed them. A white mist accumulated around his thumb, index and middle finger. The next moment, a red light shot out from both of his hands.

The sound of something rushing out resounded from somewhere with a pushii. Condensed water droplets rained down upon the surroundings.

The released shockwave pierced through the two-headed centipede. The explosion did not just engulf the centipede, but also penetrated through the wall, leaving a large hole. The air within the tower was expelled out of the tower together with smoke and flames.

“GRRrOAAA…!”

A loud groan overlapped with the howl of the centipede.

Even as the centipede was buffeted by the overwhelming impact of the shockwave, there were only light depressions on its carapace. The body of the half-crazed howling centipede further expanded in size as if it was a balloon injected with air.

“…You monster…!”

Aijisupa spat out disgustedly.

“Grraa…! RuUOAA…!”

Kanata ‘calmly’ analysed the ability of the youth in front of him.

He estimated that they must have reached around the eighth floor. The white mist that was wrapped around Aijisupa’s arms, as well as the water droplets formed right before the explosion and the red light from his fingertip. Lastly, the invisible barrier around his body—all those were probably the effects of Aijisupa’s Special type Mushi.

Water vapour.

Kanata was certain that that was the true form of Aijisupa’s ability.

The youth was able to manipulate the water vapour scattered in the air using his ability. He was able to compress it into a wall to deflect attacks, in addition to causing it to expand in an instant, cooling it and turning it into a liquid. All these were made possible by a heat source within his fingertip.

He collected the cool water vapour in the air, and applied a strong heat source with a large temperature difference to it. That rapidly vaporises the condensed water into steam, causing an explosion—commonly known as a steam explosion. It was also probably due to the intense heat source in his fingertips used to rapidly vibrate the water molecules, that water vapour condenses around his arms due to the temperature difference, forming a mist coiled around his arms.

“GRrOoAA…!”

What a troublesome foe. On top of that combination of offence and defence, it had huge destructive capabilities. However, it seems like he is unable to do both compress and release, and expand the water vapour at the same time. Kanata would have to shift between attacking and guarding, while waiting for him to make a misstep.

—That was the tactic that Kanata would have come up with, up till yesterday that is.

But, the current him had no need for such approach.

The carapace of the roaring centipede was repairing itself right in front of his eyes. With acid drool dripping from its large maw, it could even swallow up Aijisupa completely just by opening its jaws now.

“…!”

Aijisupa covered his face with his hand.

The blaze had reached up till the ninth floor. Thee headbanded youth spared a single glance at Kanata before turning around and dashing up the escalator.

You think you can escape…!

“GRrAa!”

Kanata jumped onto the red centipede. The blue centipede bit into the escalator and continued to chew it all the way up till the tenth floor.

Aijisupa carried on running up the escalator.

Kanata too continued to chase the youth, while destroying the pillars and the escalator along the way.

After ascending a few floors, Aijisupa ambushed Kanata.

“Go to hell!”

He raised both of his hands which had a large volume of white mist accumulated in Kanata’s direction.

Water droplets rained over Kanata.

As a result of the steam explosion, the tower crumbled from above to below. Together with the flames rising from below, they consumed Kanata.

However—.

“GRRroAAAaa!”

His goggles cracked, mask torn, and his whole body covered by burns, even so, Kanata could not suppress his raging emotions.

The two-headed centipede crawled out from within the flames. Its two heads assaulted the petrified Aijisupa.

Aijisupa dodged the fangs of the blue head by a hair’s breadth. However, he did not manage to evade the fangs of the red head in time. Sharp fangs sank into Aijisupa’s right shoulder, crushing his bones. The smell of skin being burnt by acid filled the air.

“Guaaah!”

The youth’s scream of pain echoed in the tower. Kanata jumped down from the back of the centipede, grasping the youth’s neck with his hands trying to choke the life out of him.

“…aAAAAAAA!”

Aijisupa’s scream turned into a war cry. White mist started to spew out from the mouthpiece of the red centipede biting into the youth’s shoulder.

“!”

The red centipede swelled up with a bokon. The steam explosion was discharged from within the red centipede. Its inside was unable to contain the massive pressure, causing it to rupture from within, scattering it everywhere. The damage inflicted on his Mushi rebounded onto Kanata, causing his chest to experience a sharp pain.

…I will fulfil my duty—.

Kanata stared with his eyes wide open at Aijisupa who looked composed despite being injured. He touched Kanata’s flank with his left hand, his bloody right arm hanging limply.

“So this is a fight till death. …Even though I didn’t have any intentions of killing you.”

“Grr—”

A red light flashed from Aijisupa’s left hand.

The instant Kanata felt a chill on his torso, his world started to spin.

Being hit right in the abdomen at point blank by the explosion, Kanata was sent flying tailspin through the storey, slamming into a support pillar.

“Haah…! Haah…!”

Clutching his strengthless arm with his left hand, Aijisupa stooped onto the ground on one knee.

“That was intense… is this going to be the norm from now onwards? Is this what it means to remain by her side—”

Aijisupa’s bitter soliloquy as he was gasping for breath was interrupted all of a sudden.

…I will execute my mission… and then, the next mission… I will continue to fight… for that is my duty—.

“GRRR…”

Kanata slowly got up. He confirmed the sensations of his limbs, that they were still moving properly. There was no particular impediment.

Kanata, who was completely soaked in blood from his body to his feet as well as his suit, glared at Aijisupa hatefully.

…Give me battles… to the next battle… and the next…—.

His fury was so great that he bit his molars so hard they cracked.

“GRRR…”

He had realised that the groaning voice he heard for a while had come from himself. —There were no doubts about it. There was something inside of him that was rousing him up. That something had messed up his internal wirings, causing him to go mad.

“How are you… still alive…? With that kind of injuries…”

Aijisupa muttered hoarsely.

Kanata was apoplectic.

As if just that white cat alone wasn’t enough, now even the boy standing in front of him was obstructing him. This made Kanata intolerably infuriated.

What’s more was the something that was plaguing him. That feeling was what was obstructing Kanata’s mission the most.

Who the hell is it… Who the hell is getting in my way…! What have you done to me!

“GRrAAAAAAaa!”

I’m going to kill everyone that gets in my way!

Aijisupa!

Fuyuhotaru!

And also, the one that planted whatever in me, along with the one that blew up this building!

I’ll massacre them all!

“GUOo…!”

The blue centipede hurled itself towards Aijisupa. A white mist instantly came between the centipede and the youth, but Kanata ordered the centipede to break through nevertheless.

“OAAAAaa!”

Breaking through walls and smashing through pillars, the centipede rammed its way through any obstacles on the floor between it and Aijisupa.

The whole floor was collapsing.

The portion of the floor which had lost its support crumbled, swallowing Aijisupa down with it.

“…”

Amongst the smoke and heat, silence descended upon the floor which was being consumed by flames.

The spitting flames from the floors below casted a long shadow of Kanata on the ground. On the back of the shadow behind him, there was a flickering figure.

It gradually consolidated into a fixed shape, resulting in the shape of a bee with a stinger on its abdomen.

—Who would have known that the one you were chasing to be… Fuyuhotaru of all people.

The face of a girl smiling provokingly crossed Kanata’s mind.

“I see… It’s you…”

The one who have caused him to descend into madness.

The girl who suggested for him to come to this building so that she could make use of him.

Kanata finally arrived at her true identity.

“Ooooowl! You bastaaard! So you were the one getting in my way! Everything was your doing!”

He looked up at the ceiling and shouted. He then grabbed onto the blue centipede and it began to chew its way through to the rooftop.

Crushed under the wreckages, blood flowed down Aijisupa’s head. His eyes were shut and he was collapsed with his head hung weakly.

The bellow of the centipede reverberated throughout Urban Tower.

4.06 The Others

Shiika was climbing up the smoke-filled staircase.

Right after the mysterious explosion, Reiji started to fight against the masked man, while Shiika left him behind. Reiji had told her to escape, but she had no idea where to go. She just did as she was told and aimed for the upper floors.

It appears that Reiji had made up his resolution to protect Shiika. However, that only served to stir Shiika’s hesitation.

Up until now, Shiika had been protected countless times. The girl known as Shirakashi Ubuki had even gone as far as to risk her life to allow Shiika to escape.

—Just by being around, you would cause fighting to occur with you at the centre. This is just how the country has always been…

The words of the masked man struck in Shiika’s chest.

“As long I am around…”

Shiika’s face contorted as she ascended the hot and smoky staircase.

It was just as he said.

Shirakashi Ubuki and Reiji had both gotten injured for the sake of protecting Shiika. And yet, Shiika herself could not help them in any way. If she exerted her ability, everyone nearby would be caught up in her power which destroys absolutely.

“Daisuke-kun…”

She recalled her promise with Kusuriya Daisuke.

—I hope that you can wait till next year. There are some things that I still have to do. And I won’t be able to meet you until they’re settled…

That was what Daisuke told Shiika, as was passed on by Kakkou.

At that time, Shiika had thought of waiting for him. It was this promise that had supported Shiika and enabled her to move on despite the multiple times she wanted to give up.

She recalled the words of the masked man.

—He was different from you. He had the resolve to end the fighting…

He was referring to Kakkou.

Kakkou had been trying to end the fighting. He held the same dream as Shiika, but he did not run away and continued to fight.

“…”

When she passed by a sign which read “16F”, her feet stopped.

Rina had fought. She had met a sorrowful ending, but if she was still alive, she would probably be fighting even now.

Munakata Kaiji had said as such: that Shiika was worthy of being the leader of Mushibane. That he wanted for her to fight along with them.

And lastly, Reiji. He had made up his determination to fight for Shiika’s sake.

—These battles centred around you would surely continue without end. However, if it were to somehow come to an end, then surely… that would have been the time when you yourself have made up the determination to end the fighting.

The master of the two-headed centipede had said that towards Shiika.

“Is it the same for me too, Daisuke-kun…”

She spoke out to the youth whose whereabouts she did not know.

“Is it not possible for me to just wait…? Is there something that I must do myself no matter what?”

Fight—.

All those around Shiika had told her to do so.

However, Shiika had by no means thought that any of all the battles that she had experienced so far had been righteous.

They were all fellow Mushitsuki, yet they had come into conflict just because of some small difference in viewpoints. The reason that Kakkou and Rina fought was naught but that the things that they shouldered were different. If they had just met as friends, they wouldn’t have fought—.

Rina’s death, and the majority of Mushitsuki who ends up as Fallen. These kinds of conclusion that was borne from fighting was precisely why Shiika cannot approve of fighting no matter what.

“I—”

To the Shiika who clutched her chest and raised her head, a strange sound could be heard.

Gooong… it was the oppressive sound of a bell resounding.

The loud reverberation seemed to Shiika like it resounded throughout the tower, but she did not physically hear something of that sort. It was an eerie sound that seemed to shake the heart directly.

The sound continued intermittently. It seemed to come from across the atrium. When the sound rang out, the smoke and heat from the surroundings suddenly felt distant. In exchange, the atmosphere felt viscous and unclean.

“…?”

Shiika looked towards the atrium that was lightly obscured by smoke.

With some hesitance, Shiika exited the staircase and entered the atrium.

Something was calling her over—she did not have a basis behind it, but that was what she felt. She could perceive that the sound was calling none other than Shiika to go over there.

Making her way through the smoke, she found a space in the middle of the atrium where the black smoke did not enter.

“Eh…”

Shiika unconsciously uttered.

A lone girl was standing on that spot.

The girl was dressed in an attire made of thin fabric, her long hair was fluttering, and a smile was plastered on her face. Her lifeless pupils staring at Shiika seemed to be dyed in a shadowy darkness.

“Wh-…y…? How…?”

Shiika’s voice became blurry. Her tongue was shivering in her mouth which was covered by her hands.

“After all, that time… you were…”

The girl smiled smugly.

Her whole body was draped in a black fog. A small hornworm creeped up her shoulder. In addition, there were many small cicadas clinging onto her legs and even her abdomen.

That girl was someone who should not have been around.

That was because, right in front of Shiika, that girl… had been turned into a Fallen because of her power.

“Thou hast finally managed to have an audience with thee… the king of Mushitsuki…”

The girl opened her mouth. The voice that came out of that well-shaped lips was however that of a raspy old man’s.

No, even though she opened her mouth, there were no movements within. It only formed a smile with an unnatural curvature.

Shiika only stood there flabbergasted, unable to form any words.

“Hadst thou known earlier… that thy child hadst yet to realise thine duty of protecting the king… thou wouldst hast been able to meet thee hastier… However, thou hast finally realised thy role… from now on, thou shalt only be of use for thy sake… thou can’t afford to lose thee in this skirmish…”

“…”

She is not the girl she knew—that was what Shiika’s intuition told her. Her external appearance was the same, but the personality inside was different. That was what she felt clearly.

“This vessel is thy temporary roost… the other vessel who seeks thine king… hast already retired from losing thine king…”

“Wh-—”

Shiika finally croaked out a voice.

“Who are you? You…”

Facing something which she had never met before, Shiika felt some fear. But, even more so, she felt a small anger that had ignited in her. That something in front of her had hijacked the consciousness of the girl with no regards to the girl’s will—that was what Shiika was angry about.

“Thou hast come to… question thy will… to thee who hast the right to be king, thy will…”

The black fog spewed unsteadily from the girl’s body. The outline of the hornworm became fuzzy, as if it was about to disappear anytime while barely hanging on to its existence. The cicadas exuded the same symptoms.

“Will…? King…?”

“What doth thee wish for from now onwards…? Thee who hast resurrected from a fleeting death, bears the right to be king… what dost thee wish for?”

Shiika swallowed a breath.

Fight—.

Shiika seemed to be hearing the voices of those Mushitsuki who had been turned into Fallen because of her.

The sound of a bell resonated.

The girl’s question carried a sense of oppression that disallowed her rejection.

Fight—.

The smoke rising from the surroundings and the black fog covering the girl manifested into the figures of the Fallen which encircled Shiika.

“I—”

Shiika’s feets trembled incessantly and she was cornered by fear.

Fight—.

All the dreams that had been crushed by Shiika prevented her from running away. Wherever Shiika went, that place became a battlefield. As if to say that the battlefield was where Shiika truly belonged.

Shiika may have been able to fight as well.

Using her own strength, it may be possible for her to end the fighting.

However, that was the ending that Shiika feared the most—that the only one who remained would be her, standing alone amidst a mountain of corpse.

“I… I don’t want to fight…!”

She recalled the scene where all the Mushitsuki apart from herself had been turned into Fallen, lying beside her feet.

To her, that was the most dreadful scene.

“But—”

She recalled those who held the same dream as her.

—Am I really? Ahh~ I don’t understand myself anymore…

—I promise you, I will never give up.

—There are some things that I still have to do…

They all fought. Shiika tightened her fist.

“I want to end it…! I want to end this kind of fighting!”

The sound of a bell rang out raucously.

The girl smiled so wide that it seemed like her face would tear into two. It was a smile that one made when one found the thing which they had sought for forever.

“In that case… pursue that as thou wish…”

Shiika and the girl faced each other.

“Then release thee and elucidate the truth… Once thou dost so, thou shalt edify thee the reason why thee hast the right to be king, and why art thee the one and only one who resurrected from fleeting death…”

“…!”

“At that time, thou may then be able to bring an end to everything…”

The girl’s smile became distant. Like smoke, the figure of the girl faded away.

“W-wait…! Just who are you—”

“Thy name is Diorestoi… Unlike Elvioréne and Aria Varei, thou willst not go anywhere… Search for thee… if thou wish to bring an end to everything…”

As Shiika ran forwards to her, the figure of the girl disappeared into thin air.

Along with her disappearance, the sound of the ringing bell dwindled until it eventually cannot be heard anymore.

“Bring an end… to everything…”

Shiika stood there in a daze, muttering softly.

She barely understood the meaning behind any of the words spoken by the girl who named herself Diorestoi. But, it was clear to her that the girl was not lying at all.

Shiika just might be able to bring an end to everything.

She wanted to put a stop to the battle between Mushitsuki.

But, is it possible for her to do that…?

Nevertheless, it is something that she must do no matter what.

This is something that she can’t leave to anybody else, something that only Shiika who is currently alive can do.

“I must do this no matter what…”

Underneath Shiika who had established her resolution, a large tremor was transmitted through her feet.

4.07 Chiharu The Last

Chiharu was being pulled along by Chami as they run up the escalator.

Mushi… Mushitsuki… Aria Varei—.

The current scene she was saw through her eyes, and the words of the strange girl cycled back and forth in her mind repeatedly.

“Move your legs faster, you dimwit!”

She couldn’t even hear Chami’s rebuke.

—Then… who am I going to become?

The voice of the past her echoed within her head.

“Who… am I…”

Chiharu’s muttering voice was drowned out by the sound of destruction.

Right after they reached the fifteenth floor, the ground on the previous floor they were at crumbled and collapsed below. Dust, smoke and wreckage flew everywhere.

“Tch…!”

It seemed that this floor was set aside for restaurants. Glass partitions separated the space into fixed intervals, which hanged sign plates with the name of the restaurants in several languages. Some stores even had tables and chairs in position already.

A huge wriggling blueish black centipede emerged from the crumbling floor. Just its height alone was multiple times that of Chiharu. With its innumerable scuttling legs, its huge body alone occupied a whole section of the floor.

“GRRuoOO… Ooowwlll…”

Along with its appearance, they could hear a beast-like howl.

The man riding on the centipede’s back glared daggers in their direction as if he wanted to swallow them up entirely. The lens of his goggles was cracked on one side, revealing his bloodshot eye. His mask was also torn, exposing his canine teeth as he roared in anger.

“OooowwWwlll! So you were the one getting in my way!”

That hollering voice that was even louder than the roar of the centipede scattered away the surrounding smoke.

“God damn it…! Couldn’t that kid have tried a bit harder? I’ve already come so far… if only he could’ve bought me a few more minutes!”

Chami stopped running and released her grip on Chiharu’s arm. She faced the masked man and raised the spanner.

“Fuyuhotaru… and Horisaki Azusa, where the hell are theeeeey!”

“Who the hell knows! After all, I planned on taking my own sweet time to search for them after killing you! In any case, the only place that they could go is up!”

“GRRroOo…!”

The man raising a growl did not seem like he was listening to what Chami was saying anymore. He looked to be heavily injured, with fresh blood soaking the lower half of his body. Yet, he was so angry that he screamed with all his strength.

The body of the blue centipede grew one size bigger. Its mouthpiece split into two parts, with a red centipede emerging from the other and staring at Chami ominously with its compound eyes.

“Looks like he’s at just about the right level of madness, but… for Christ’s sake, why the hell is he still alive even with that kind of injury! Even that Mushi looked like it was half-dead just now! And it doesn’t look like it’s maturing… could this be due to my ability?”

Spitting out words of curse, Chami pointed the spanner at Chiharu.

“Don’t just stand there blankly like an idiot, get the hell away from here! Unless you want to get eaten by it!”

At Chami’s shout, Chiharu came to herself.

“C-Chami-chan…!”

Pinned down by the pressure she exerted, Chiharu took a step back.

Just what was I—.

Right in front of Chiharu whose legs were shaking and frozen by fear, the centipede hurtled towards Chami.

“As you wish, I shall deal with you directly, Kanata! You better thank me, you undying bastard!”

“GRrOAAAaa!”

It was like a huge dinosaur was approaching her. The jaws of the centipede opened till its width was so large to the extent that it could devour something three times the size of Chami. It shattered through the glass and swallowed all the tables and chairs that got in the way of its charge.

Chami jumped to her side, barely avoiding those fangs. Its huge mouthpiece crashed right next to Chiharu who stood behind her. A gust of wind like that of an express train passing by blew across Chiharu, causing her hat to be blown away.

“…!”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Jumping up with a revolution from the ground, Chami dashed towards the man.

“Without using your Mushi, why don’t you face me yourself! Or is it that you are scared of a tiny girl like me?”

The swinging spanner was aimed towards the face of the man riding above the centipede. The man—Kanata received the blow with his arms with a look of wrath.

“You’re saying I’m scared…!”

Kanata kicked at Chami. However, she instantly blocked it with the handle of the spanner. She was sent flying backwards as a result of their weight difference, but she caught her feet after recoiling back a few steps.

Her arms had probably gone numb, seeing as how her face distorted. But, she showed zero signs of backing down.

Chiharu could tell that Chami was desperately trying to maintain a close distance between herself and Kanata. It was probably because she would face the Mushi’s attack if they were apart. Although the destructive power of the gigantic Mushi was devastating, as a result, it would drag its master, Kanata into the mess as well.

“I’m going to kill you! Owl!”

“Let’s see you try!”

Right before Chiharu’s eyes, the two of them were engaged in a fistfight.

No, it wasn’t merely a fistfight.

It was a death bout.

The man made no wasteful movements at all despite losing sight of himself in his rage. His attacks were all aimed at the eyes, throat, medulla oblongata et cetera, vital spots of the human body.

Opposing him, Chami too did not have any shred of hesitation nor mercy. The tip of the spanner, currently bent till an L-shape, aimed only at the man’s head or heart. There were no doubts that she was intending on ending his life in a single blow.

“Someone like you dares to dream of obtaining Fuyuhotaru and Horisaki Azusa! Those are my prey! They’re not opponents that a mere accessory like you can handle!”

“What does a piece of shit like you know! Even for an accessory that was bound by a worthless mission for years, so much so that even the mission was forgotten! Even I have those worthless things like my puny pride and ambition! To be used by others my whole life, that can go eat shit! I will use of anything at my disposal! Not for the sake of anyone else, but all for myself!”

The two of them shouted passionately, baring their emotions as they fought to the death.

Chiharu hugged her quivering body as she fixed her eyes at the fight that was unfolding.

Hey, how are you over there…?

Perhaps it was a result of the lack of oxygen due to the spouting smoke. As her consciousness became muddy, her ‘narrating quirk’ emerged unconsciously.

Today, I experienced yet another peaceful day—or so I thought, but I was utterly wrong. This kind of battles… were unfolding right by my side even as I remained unknowing. I finally know. I thought that I was living in happiness every day, but in fact, in places unrelated to me—.

A sharp pain assaulted Chiharu’s head.

—Unrelated to you? Heh, really?

Somebody whispered by her ear.

Chiharu widened her eyes.

It’s related… to me? I, the Mushi and Mushitsuki… Indeed, after all, I—.

“Don’t look down me…!”

Chami’s screaming voice brought Chiharu back to reality. Slipping through the arms of Kanata who looked out over her, Chami strike at him with all the strength behind her body.

“I’ll make any and everyone prostrate before me!”

A dull sound rang out with a dosuu.

The spanner with Chami’s whole weight behind it pierced deeply into the man’s chest.

Struggling to catch her breath, Chami flashed a satisfied smile.

Kanata had stopped moving. Light vanished from his pupil in his broadly opened eyes—he glared at Chami through his dulling pupils.

“Wha-—”

Another dull sound rang out again.

Kanata had thrusted his hand into Chami’s torso. The unpleasant sound of flesh being penetrated entered Chiharu’s ears. Stabbed into the abdomen by the man’s arm strongly, red blood spilled out all at once.

“…Puu—”

Blood spewed out from Chami’s mouth. Kanata sent a kick towards Chami, sending her petite body flying through the air effortlessly. Her body hit the ground and rolled all the way till Chiharu’s side. Her fallen off spectacle was sent sliding past Chiharu to behind her.

“Ch-—”

Chiharu rushed towards Chami’s side.

“Chami-chan! Chami-chan!”

Chiharu lifted up Chami who was collapsed face up on the floor. Chami’s face distorted from intense pain for an instance. But, she immediately showed a frail smile, and spoke weakly.

“He… really… became… a monster… S-serves me right… to get killed because of my own ability… Kuhahaa…”

Kanata and the gigantic centipede drew near to Chami who was laughing self-mockingly.

Looking at him, Chiharu did not know if the man was even human anymore. The spanner was still driven into the man’s chest even now as he continued to groan. It was unmistakably a fatal injury.

“Ah-ah… so I’m going to meet my end here… I guess this is it for a third-rate small-time villain after all…”

Chami coughed up blood as she frowned at Chiharu.

“What are you doing… quickly get out of here… didn’t I tell you that this fight has nothing to do with you…”

“…!”

Chiharu couldn’t produce any words and only shook her head frantically.

It was not unrelated to her. She had that sort of feeling.

“Just get away… If you don’t leave quickly, this place will soon…”

Chiharu shook her head and tried to drag Chami’s body along with her. She desperately tried to put some distance between them and Kanata and his Mushi, but could not do much with her arm strength. The floor was smudged with blood through the places over which Chami was dragged.

“You idiot… I have yet to lose… I will… drag him down along with me over here, so…”

Chami spouted urgently.

“It doesn’t have nothing to do with me… Didn’t I say before! That we are friends…!”

Chiharu was unable to recall the foremost reason, but for now, she cried out the reason that came to her mind.

It wasn’t a lie.

Chiharu did not dislike the Chami that had a tall pride and spoke as if people other than herself were objects that belonged her. Chami mentioned herself that she was nothing but an accessory, but at that moment when she shouted out proudly about her desires honestly, she looked especially queenly.

Chami turned angry.

“Don’t be such an idiot…! Don’t throw away your life for such a meaningless reason…! How far are you going to go… to act like the main character…!”

“GRrAAAaa!”

It was not the scream of a human. At the same time as when the man raised a roar, the blue centipede rushed at Chiharu and Chami.

“…!”

Chiharu resigned herself to her death.

However, right before the centipede chomp down on the stiffened Chiharu and Chami, its movements stopped abruptly.

“GRR… RuAAa…”

Kanata’s behaviour was weird. He seemed as if he was being mindful of something, looking around left and right at the surroundings.

“…?”

Before Chiharu and Chami who looked at him dazedly, the man’s action became increasingly unusual. He looked agitatedly over every single corner of the floor with his bloodshot eyes.

“You’re… still going to get in my way…!”

The man started to shout out unfathomable words.

“You should have already been killed by me! That time, in this tower…! You’re still going to get in my way, you damn cat!”

“…!”

Chami was the only one who gasped.

Chiharu still did not understand the situation, and followed the man’s line of sight. But, the figure of said cat was nowhere to be seen.

“Something like that… to you who has gone mad… is obviously just your hallucination…”

Chami laughed peculiarly. However, tears formed on the corner of her eyes.

“Or could it be… Damn it…! Are you trying to say that even though you’ve died, you still want me and Chiharu to live… don’t kid me… Owl!”

Chami shouted hoarsely.

Chiharu could not understand the meaning behind her words.

“How dare you just go ahead and die by yourself! Didn’t I order you to trudge with me along this shitty life! And yet, you went and died with a smile! The me who you swore loyalty to is just a cowardly and dirty and weak accessory! Even so, you want this kind of shitty me to go on living? You want me to continue down this shitty life, Owlet!”

Chami was truly lamenting. The girl who had taken the world as her enemy and still flashed an undefeatable smile was currently wailing. She cried out miserably, spluttering out saliva which was mixed with blood and laying her weakness to bare.

Pushii—.

They heard the sound of air being expelled.

Cool water droplets formed on the cheeks of the ash-ridden Chiharu.

Right after, a bright white light flashed in front of her eyes. The bright light gouged a large hole in the blue centipede, scooping out a straight line through the floor. Kanata threw his head backwards in surprise.

“Haah… Haah…”

A lone youth stood behind Chiharu and Chami. The headband wrapped around his head laid in tatters and his whole body was covered in blood. One could tell with one look that his limply hanging right arm was fractured.

“You…!”

It was somebody Chiharu knew.

Indeed, she had seen the youth’s face for an instant before when he was fighting against the centipede at the lower floors. At that time, she had been preoccupied with thoughts about Mushi and had forgotten his face till now.

“…Yo.”

The youth looked at Chiharu with an exhausted expression and blood flowing from his head.

He was the youth she met in front of Nishito City station, the one who was together with the girl known as Anmoto Shiika who lent her some cash.

“Tch… why’re you only appearing now…! You this useless…!”

With traces of tear streaks remaining on her face, Chami spat out spitefully with difficulty.

“I see, so what happened in this tower was the work of you guys, eh. As expected, we were being made use of conveniently, huh…”

“Enough about that… hurry and get your ass up chop-chop! This place is soon going to—”

“Yeah, it’s probably a good idea to make haste. Was it also part of your scheme to stop that guy here… seems not, you probably intended for us to fight at a lower floor and seal off our escape route, right?”

Chiharu had no inkling about what was Chami and the youth talking about at all.

“Aijisupa-san…!”

A voice came from beyond the centipede that was writhing in agony.

“Shiika-chan…?”

Looking at the astonished Chiharu, Shiika too appeared surprised. She stood there as if frozen.

“Ah…!”

Chami started to get worked up from within Chiharu’s arms all of a sudden. She tried to crawl her way towards Shiika.

“D-damn it…! You’re mine…! You were supposed to end up in my palm…!”

“…So that’s it. You guys are the enemy as well.”

“Eh…?”

“GRrAAAaa!”

The youth raised his left hand in the direction of the howling Kanata.

Right after they heard the sound of air being ejected, a white flash struck Kanata and the centipede. Taking opportunity of the moment when the man flinched, the youth rushed by Shiika’s side.

“Let’s go. Hurry up.”

“W-what about them…?”

“They’re the enemy.”

Pulling Shiika along by her arm, the youth ran. They ran towards the staircase further in.

“Shit! Stop right there…!”

Chami stretched out her hand, but there was no way she could reach Shiika. Her face twisted and she screamed out in rage as if she wanted to curse the whole world.

“You’re kidding me… Don’t you dare kid me! Fuyuhotaru! You probably don’t even regard me in your eyes, right! But, remember this! I will definitely get you into my hands without fail! I’ll make use of you all for my sake! I’ll reach the ‘heart’ of the Mushitsuki before anyone else! No matter who it is! Every single one of you are going to prostrate before me, Konomura Chami!”

No longer caring about appearances, Chami declared her anger and ambition.

Yesterday, when Chiharu spoke with Chami in front of the station, she had just thought that she was a cool girl unbefitting of her age. However, looking at her current appearance, she finally comprehended the true character of Konomura Chami. Beneath her fearless smiling expression, an ambition incongruous with her small size constantly swirled.

It was relentless and deceitful, but more than anything, it was sheer ambition. That was what Konomura Chami held.

“C-Chami-chan…!”

Her voice dying down, Chami ran out of strength. She sank onto the ground limply without moving.

“Damn it, damn it…! Damn it all to hell…!”

“W-we need to escape immediately…!”

Chiharu lifted Chami up by her arm and placed her on her back.

She headed for the escalator with Chami’s legs dragging behind. Wisps of flames could already be seen licking up from below. The hot air blew Chiharu’s hair upwards.

Chiharu did not know what exactly, but her intuition told her something dangerous approached.

“GRrAAAaa!”

Kanata turned his gaze in their direction.

“It’s fine already… just let me down already…! I-it’s too late at this rate…!”

Arms of fire reached out from below, swallowing the area from behind where Kanata and the centipede were at.

Chiharu quickly climbed up the escalator; she was just a few steps away from the next floor.

“R-run, quickly…!”

Chami raised her voice anxiously.

Chiharu saw a small spark from within the sea of flames.

“…!”

Reflexively, she threw Chami onto the floor above.

Then, the next instance.

Explosions rocked the restaurant floor.

Left on the escalator, Chiharu was thrown off by the explosion that blasted out from below.

“…”

All sound disappeared and she lost sensation of her body.

Ah-ah, so you recalled it—.

She seemed to hear somebody’s voice.

In her head, something clicked into place.

Visions of the past were brought back to her.

—Why… why is it that I must forget about it no matter what!

A young Chiharu yelled. There was nobody in her surroundings at all, but her dialogue partner was right by her side.

The location changed and Chiharu was smiling. Under the evening skies dyed red, Chiharu was walking next to a young man.

—This sky… and even your face? I must lose it all…?

Even as there was a smile on her face, she was crying in her heart.

—Then… who am I going to become?

It happened while Chiharu was still young, when she was still a primary school student.

From that day onwards, Chiharu became “Ayukawa Chiharu”.

Before then, Chiharu had a different surname.

Engulfed in the shockwave, Chiharu spoke to her beloved person.

I finally remembered…

Tears fell from her eyes.

Slammed into the wall, she looked at the burning Urban Dome beyond the cracked window.

She felt as if she could see the green paradise being cooked into charcoal in the blazing dome in slow-motion.

—No, that’s wrong.

The thing that burnt into nothingness were the carefree days that Chiharu spent with overflowing happiness.

The paradise in which she lived her ordinary days having forgotten her sin as well as what was important crumbled.

Chiharu recalled everything.

I… The me who was Aria Varei had done some very cruel things to you…

No, that’s wrong. This must have been what you thought—.

Once more, the somebody whispered.

That the thing that was truly cruel, was how you completely forgot about him—.

4.08 The Others

The shockwave propagated upwards from below.

“Tch…!”

Reiji clicked his tongue and released the compressed water vapours in his left hand.

“Kyaah—”

The squall bisected the flames, causing it to go by Reiji and Shiika’s side and hit the above floor.

There was only one impact from the explosion. After it passed, only small patches of fire were left and the surroundings quietened down. Black smoke accumulated around the ceiling, but there was probably time before it went down to Reiji and Shiika’s height.

Shiika looked down at the floors below with a troubled expression. Looking at the girl worrying apprehensively, Reiji thought serenely that she was someone who couldn’t keep her calm.

“J-just what was that…?”

“It’s the same as what caused the explosion in the underground parking lot. There were probably lots of gas pipes on that floor seeing as it had lots restaurants. Perhaps it was propane. The fire from below just lit it up, that’s all.”

“W-what should we do…? There’s nowhere to escape…”

“After the explosions have passed, we can just use my power to deal with the fire afterwards. That way, we can just turn back and descend from here. But… sorry, I feel a bit…”

Reiji collapsed onto one knee on the staircase landing. Blood mixed with sweat streamed down from his forehead onto the ground.

“Aijisupa-san…!”

He had long passed the limits of his body and spirit.

This had been the first time he used his ability till this extent, in addition to fighting an opponent as monstrous as that masked man. He had also never bore an injury as serious as such. Despite him experiencing all these for the first time, those were all under extreme circumstances.

“Let me just rest… for a while… If I don’t recover some stamina, I don’t think I can even make one floor—”

Shiika caught Reiji’s shoulders as he was about to crumple onto the ground.

“E-erm…”

The weary Reiji didn’t even have the energy to resist the weak Shiika. Unable to do anything, Shiika placed his head on her laps having sat down.

“…”

Lying in that position on the girl’s lap pillow, Reiji caught his breath. Shiika herself seemed to be bashful, her cheeks flushing red as she took out a handkerchief and wiped at Reiji’s face.

“Erm… thank you very much, Aijisupa-san. For coming to save me…”

“…”

“Are you… alright?”

“Yea.”

Breathing heavily, Reiji nodded frankly. In reality, Shiika’s lap pillow felt pretty comfortable. It was not say the first time that he had been in contact with a member of the opposite sex, but the body temperature that he felt currently was warmer than anything he had experienced. It seems that he would be able to recover faster than he thought. He shut his eyes and focused on recovering.

“E-erm… would you please listen to me?”

“…”

“I’ve gotten something that I want to do. …No, it’s something that I must do no matter what.”

“…”

“B-but, I myself do not know what should I do… that’s why, erm…”

“…Fine. I’ll listen to anything.”

Reiji bared a smile.

—Fine. I’ll listen to anything.

That time, he had said that without putting much thoughts into it.

Of course, he was not lying when he said that, that was truly what Reiji had hoped for.

He thought that he wanted to do everything that was in his power for the sake of the only friend he had.

However, Rina’s request had far exceeded Reiji’s wildest expectations.

He finally realised that now.

“Eh?”

“I’ll listen to anything… I would do anything that is within my ability.”

—Someday, I’ll make such a huge request of you that you would definitely regret it. And that will be something that would shake up your entire life.

Recollecting Rina’s words, he raised a smile.

Good grief, Rina… your request is truly outrageous. Did you already know that I would do anything for the sake of this girl? The things we do not have… apart from having strength, this girl carried her ‘weakness’ as well. Did you already know that her life would be entrusted to me—.

“I-is this really fine?”

“Yea.”

“You will… lend me a helping hand?”

“Yea.”

“…”

“…”

“E-erm…”

“I don’t know if Mushibane would help you out, but if it comes to the worst, the two of us can do it by ourselves… I’ll forever remain by your side.”

He opened his eyes and looked up at Shiika. Her cheeks were a rosy red. —That sounded just like a proposal, even Reiji thought so in his mind.

“I’m also pretty interested in you myself…”

“Eh? …Eh?”

“Just say anything… As long as it’s something within my reach, I will…”

Right before he entrusted himself to the sleeping bug, he gazed at Shiika’s flustered and unsure face.

Reiji closed his eyes.

“…I feel that Rina and Aijisupa-san are very alike.”

Shiika’s soft and tender voice felt soothing to his ears.

“The two of you are so strong… that’s why I think that the two of you surely couldn’t ask for help even when you wanted to. Because you felt that if you had received help, you would have become reliant… that you would lose your strength…”

Reiji revealed a faint smile.

That’s just so. That’s why, the two of us—.

He continued to listen to Shiika till his consciousness was ferried to dreamland.

4.09 Chami The Last

Feeling her body jolt rhythmically, Chami’s consciousness returned.

Her cheeks were in contact with something warm and comfy.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho…”

She could hear the sound of someone breathing heavily right by her face.

Awakening from her slumber, Chami felt a sharp pain as she became fully awake.

“Ouch…!”

“Woah.”

Chami threw her head back in pain, nearly caused Chiharu to fall over backwards.

“Wha-…! Eh…? What’s…?”

With tears forming in her eyes due to the pain, Chami grasped ahold of the situation she was in.

Chiharu was currently climbing up the escalator with Chami on her back. It seems like they had gone quite a distance up, as the smoke was no longer that thick. She also did not feel the heat she felt back at the restaurants.

As renovation had not even started, there were few flammable materials around. It should have been possible for Chiharu to escape the advancing fire even as she carried Chami.

“H-hey, don’t struggle too much, Chami-chan. This is actually pretty tiring despite how it looks.”

Seeing Chiharu’s admonishing look as she turned around, Chami was taken aback.

“W-what’s with that face! It’s completely black!”

“I can’t help it. That’s because I was engulfed by the explosion a wee bit. More importantly, don’t struggle anymore, okay.”

As Chami looked more closely, she realised that Chiharu’s clothes had been shredded to rags. There were also areas which were smudged with blood, and there was a slight limp on her feet. Even then, she had slowly step-by-step climbed up the stationary escalator.

“I just went upwards somehow or another, but was that alright? I tried shaking you multiple times, but you wouldn’t budge at all, Chami-chan.”

“Well, this is fine, but… why did you bring me along… Ouch!”

“Wawawaa!”

Chami’s face twisted in pain and she clutched her stomach. Chiharu had wrapped her jacket around her stomach probably to stop the bleeding. It was fairly effective seeing as how blood had stopped flowing from her wound. However, as long as there was a hole in her stomach, she was not supposed to be moving. Even though she was being carried by Chiharu, that did not stop the pain.

“Didn’t I say not to struggle, jeez!”

Chiharu said angrily, with sweating pouring down her face. She must have carried Chami all the way up here, using up most of her stamina.

“Kuu…”

As even speaking hurt terribly, she kept quiet.

Moving only her head and looking down at the floors below, she only saw the wispy flames and smoke and did not spot any human figure at all.

It would seem like she was successful in defeating Kanata. In her original plan, the headbanded youth would have had a more prolonged fight against Kanata, and she would have detonated the restaurant floor the same way as she did the underground parking lot. That would have left Fuyuhotaru who had escaped earlier in the upper floor alone, and cut off the two’s escape route.

“Good grief…”

On Chiharu’s back, Chami sighed.

Before long, the two of them reached a viewing platform surrounded by glass on all four sides. Outside the cube-shaped wall of the escalator landing, the floor was choked full of smoke that rose from below, painting the whole floor a pitch black.

In the middle of the escalator landing, a short escalator continued upwards. After ascending that, Chami and Chiharu reached the rooftop.

Same as when she had visited a few days earlier, traces of battle between Kanata and Owlet remained.

The cold night air mixed with the hot air rising from below, causing an updraft which blew Chami and Chiharu’s hair upwards. Looking up, the stars could still be seen faintly in the sky blotted with smoke. The surroundings were punctuated with shrill sirens.

“Aah, that’s my limit! I’m bushed! I can’t move a single inch anymore!”

Putting down Chami leaning against the fence, Chiharu got down and sat next to her.

Chami spontaneously spouted out.

“Well, that was pretty well done, for you.”

“…Chami-chan really is awfully self-important.”

“If you’re not happy with that, you could just drop me down from here. If it’s now, there’s no one looking.”

Laughing through her nose, Chami suddenly widened her eyes.

“Hm? What is it?”

Noticing that her complexion changed all of a sudden, Chiharu followed her gaze.

“!”

A lone figure rose up from the escalator which they came from.

It was Kanata.

His whole body was dyed red with blood and covered in burns, yet he was still alive and kicking. Bloodshot eyes looked towards their direction through the now useless goggles and he gradually drew towards them.

“T-that monster…! He still wants to fight!”

Chami who tried to get up was held back by Chiharu.

Chiharu gave a smile.

“And up.”

Getting up with an utter, she approached Kanata carelessly, causing Chami to panic.

“Y-you idiot…! Don’t get close to him!”

“This person can no longer fight.”

Chiharu stood in front of the man with a grin.

Chami looked at Kanata with a start.

The figure of the two-headed centipede was no longer by his side. —In all probability, it had probably shielded its owner, Kanata, from the explosion. And now, it was gone.

“Then, he is—”

“Yep, a Fallen…”

Chiharu smiled sorrowfully. —Why did Chiharu know of the term Fallen. Before Chami could ask that, Chiharu spoke to Kanata kindly.

“You no longer have to fight any longer.”

“…”

The vacant pupils of the man stared at Chiharu.

Chiharu gently touched the man’s cheeks.

“It would be great if the battles have ended the next time you open your eye…”

The smiling Chiharu wiped off the tears that had flowed from his eyes. The man who should have lost his emotions after his Mushi died was crying.

A red smoke emerged from his back. It was Chami’s Mushi which only she could see—the red queen bee melted into the darkness of the night.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Kanata fell over. He fell on the floor with a thud, not a single muscle moving. But, seeing his chest move up and down, it seems like he would miraculously live on.

“You…?”

Chami looked up, and saw Chiharu wiping at her own cheeks with her finger. She seemed to have cried herself, but once she turned around, there was only a carefree smile on her face.

“Really, that was troubling.”

“…”

“Now then, Chami-chan. Didn’t you say there was an escape route? How are we going to get help from here?”

Chami languidly pointed her finger at the sky.

“…? The sky? Ah, I can see the moon, it’s a full moon tonight.”

“This morning’s news predicted that there was a 60 percent chance of rain.”

“Is that so. I guess that was off the mark then. I can’t see clearly because of the smoke, but there doesn’t seem to be a single cloud in the sky.”

“…”

“…Eh? Don’t tell me, Chami-chan, you…”

Chami gazed up at the sky vacantly.

“If it rains, the fire will be put out… don’t tell me that was the situation that you thought of? Isn’t Chami-chan very ingenious?”

Chiharu moved closer to Chami and put her hands on the floor and looked into her face. Ignoring Chiharu’s spasming face, Chami continued to gaze up at the skies filled with smoke.

—In the first place, Chami didn’t held any expectations for the rain. It’s just that, if she tried to face the other strong Mushitsuki like Kanata on a half-baked battlefield with an escape route, she thought that she would never win.

No matter what shapes they were in, even if it was based on pure luck, those who remained were the winners. Chami felt that this was fit and easy to understand.

Chami had remained standing.

However, did what Chami accomplished made her the winner? If she had burnt to death just like that, could she die with a smile on her face just as Owlet did?

“Don’t come here—didn’t I order that of you? Because your combat potential is practically non-existent, Konoha.”

Stopping Chiharu from getting closer with one hand, Chami spoke softly.

“…?”

Chiharu, whose face was being pushed away by Chami’s hand, knitted her eyebrows.

“…Once the firefighters below extinguish the fire, my Mushi that is clinging onto the wall would lower you down one-by-one …”

A whispery voice sounded out from next to Chami.

A space that had been empty till now slowly turned into a shade of green. —The figure of an outlandish-looking Mushi that was able to camouflage by changing the refractive index of its scales showed itself. Sandwiched between the two wings which resembled leaves, Konoha appeared from within wearing a white coat and goggles.

“W-who is it?”

Disregarding the bowled over Chiharu, Chami looked up at Konoha with a cynical smile.

“If you just dropped me down from here, wouldn’t you be able to kill me? Don’t you hate me?”

“…”

“…So? You properly ‘saw’ it, right?”

“Yes… that Fuyuhotaru came into contact with Horisaki Azusa… and also their dialogue…”

“Hmm. Well, I’ll praise you for this much.”

“…You will bring me along, wouldn’t you? Bring us to the ‘heart’ of the Mushitsuki…”

Her voice was so soft one could barely make out her words, but her tone was unmistakable.

Chami looked up at Konoha in disbelief, but immediately unveiled a smile.

“Be it Owlet, or be it you… All my pawns are such brazen brats. All going off on their own and making unreasonable request of me…”

Chami lowered her head and sighed.

—How about we trudge onwards together along this shitty life!

Looks like the ambition that started from that time had yet to come to an end.

If this was a story, it would probably be one that was filthy, cowardly, not even third-rate and does not even have a single bit of glory in it.

However, the main character of this story was unquestionably Konomura Chami. Someday, she would definitely triumph over everyone and sneer at them all from above.

“So be it, I’ll do it… Your life, your destiny, I’ll use them all! I’ll drag down all those in the lead role from the stage and place myself there! I’ll lead you all down my this shitty life!”

Next to Chami who reveal her ambition, Chiharu smiled once more. In contrast to Chami, even though her face was dirtied with soot, that sunny smile seemed to beam out from within.

“Hey, let me join in too.”

“…Haa? Don’t say such stupid things. This isn’t some kid’s adventure. In the first place, this has nothing to do with you, Ayukawa Chiharu—”

“It’s not Ayukawa Chiharu.”

“…?”

“I’ve just remembered a bit. Ah, even though I say that I remembered it, I’m only referring to my own memories, I still haven’t recalled Aria Varei’s memory. But, it seems that I would recall those before long. Like, it doesn’t have to be Aria Varei itself, but if I touch something that has its scent, I feel like I would remember it all…”

Chami and Konoha faced each other in puzzlement.

However, Chiharu looked like their reaction doesn’t faze her and grinned.

“My name is actually, Kusuriya Chiharu. Once again, nice to meet you, Konomura Chami-chan and… Konoha-chan, was it?”

“Kusuriya…?”

“By the way, Chami-chan. This is kinda sudden, but would you hear me out? Do you know of any child called Kusuriya Daisuke? He’s my cute younger brother.”

“If you’re speaking about Kusuriya Daisuke, of course… Eh? Kusuriya? …Younger brother?”

The confused Chami and the grinning Chiharu in good mood. Along with them was Konoha who was mystified as she failed to comprehend the situation.

Above them, the smoke in the skies cleared up, revealing the round and shiny moon.

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