Mushi to Medama Vol 4 Chapter 5

Finale: Unable to Save Based on Love Alone 

An uncomfortable feeling lingered at his fingertips after he killed Long-Armed Demon.

No matter how many times he wiped away the blood, no matter how he altered the form of his hand and wrist, that feeling would not disappear. It was a sticky, unpleasant sensation. Of course, it was not the first time he had killed. He should also feel no guilt towards such acts.

"..."

Zekiguchi Nashinori narrowed his eyes and walked forward as he gauged the darkness before him. He carried Breaksun, who had fainted, on his broad shoulders, together with the girl he had obtained from the apartment complex.

"--"

The girl was silent. She simply fainted and was still alive. She suddenly lost her consciousness when they left that apartment complex, as if she was an electronic toy who suddenly had her battery removed. She completely lost her consciousness all of a sudden, and her face was devoid of all expression.

Her name was Usagawa Rinne.

A girl with pale pink hair, whose face still retained a hint of childish innocence.

She was dressed in plain household clothes, and there was nothing particularly unique about her. She had fainted unconscious and was carried on Zekiguchi Nashinori's shoulder. He attacked the apartment building after he sorted out Long-Armed Demon, all for the sake of obtaining Rinne. She was someone whom Zekiguchi must have in order to fulfil his goal.

A blond human with fast reflexes tried to stop him, but he was no match for Zekiguchi Nashinori at the end.

Zekiguchi was the strongest fighter in terms of physical battles amongst all the Greater Fragments due to his power to alter his flesh. This was also something he was very proud of. It was a piece of cake to dispatch of a human.

But that expression the human showed at the end -

- Even Zekiguchi was not prepared for that expression full of despair and anguish.

He would see that expression whenever he tried to recall the event, if only a little bit. He must have had that same expression on his own face at the beginning of all things, when he decided to act in order to attain that goal, which he was ready to give up his humanity for.

It was an expression full of hatred for the world, full of vengeance for G.o.d, and full of curses towards himself. It was an expression full of tears.

"... Don't cry."

Rinne, whom he carried on his shoulder, suddenly said in a low voice. She was probably saying it to the man whom Zekiguchi had left in the apartment.

Suddenly, Rinne looked at Zekiguchi and said: "You aren't crying."

Zekiguchi's head suddenly twitched. His intestines began to pulse, and his chest felt tight. His breathing was somehow only coming out in short gasps. Why was he feeling so anxious all of a sudden?

This feeling - this memory - was beginning to surface.

This was an anxiety Zekiguchi used to have when he was still a human. This was the feeling he had when he pondered about death, about the future, and about the world after this life. This was exactly like it.

"Ahahaha, haha, hahaha."

Rinne suddenly laughed out loud.

Her laugh was a sharp, piercing, almost metallic noise. It made him instinctively feel cold. He felt an indescribable fear when he saw her expression.

Zekiguchi simply must have her in order to obtain his goal. He must have Usagawa Rinne. But would he be able to control her?

Zekiguchi suddenly felt unsure and uneasy.

A startlingly pure beauty sparkled in her eyes.

Her eyes were as clear as if they were mirrors of truth. They reflected Zekiguchi's crying face, crying because of his cowardice born out of fear.

"Crying. Living. Everyone. You. Me."

Ahahahahaha. Rinne continued to laugh.

 

 

Old memories started to surface in his mind.

Those were the words Tatsue tearfully said to him when they met in the mansion owned by Sakaki Guryū's parents. She was his adopted sister with no blood relations to him.

- I'm so jealous of big brother.

- I really want big brother's talents.

- I want to keep living with an inner strength like big brother's.

"Hahaha. Tatsue... If you're really jealous of me, then find a way to replace me."

He was in a dark room in the old apartment building. It was a room rented under Usagawa Rinne's name. Sakaki Guryū was sitting in there. A man like him with blond hair, green eyes, and beauty rivaling that of an art piece, was now lying on the ground covered in blood and feeling weak all over.

The lights were not on.

The room was dim. Everything appeared fuzzy.

There were two sets of blankets in the room. The phone that Sakaki Guryū bought for Usagawa Rinne was resting on the pillow. Sakaki's face was full of confusion and slowly reached his hand towards the phone. That was something they used to pour out their innocent love to each other many times with endless text messages. As long as there was still power in the battery, all the information stored in the memory card could be read.

From ★ Usagawa Rinne To ★ Sakaki Guryū-sama Subject ★ Pleasure to meet you Body ★ Good morning, Sakaki-san. Thank you for gifting me with a phone, but I don't really know how to use it. I'm very slow when it comes to electronics. I'm very sorry. Why did you give such an expensive thing to me? I feel like I'm being cheated. Ah, no, I'm sorry. Umm, I apologize. It's my first time sending a text message. I'm sorry.

As Sakaki paid for Rinne's phone bills, the two of them sent innumerable messages to each other without hindrance. This was the first message left in her Sent folder from the beginning of everything.

Beep beep. The light of the phone monitor shone on his face. Sakaki Guryū expressionlessly pressed the b.u.t.tons on the phone.

When they first met, Rinne was always giving out this kind of an impression. She rarely smiled, and she was not good at conversing. As she was discarded by her mother, and her father abused her, Rinne always appeared gloomy and unhappy. No matter how one looked at it, she was a very normal and very unfortunate girl.

From ★ Rinne To ★ Sakaki Guryū-sama Subject ★ Please do not call me Milady Usarin Body ★ Good morning, Sakaki-san. Please stop calling me by that nickname. Or should I say, please stop calling me 'Milady' out in the public... It's very embarra.s.sing. Um, why are you so... Ah, no, um, I'll be very happy if you can just address me as per usual. Also, are you really working as a teacher at the high school I am going to attend?? Um - Um - Why did it turn out like this?

She was really cold emotionally. Sakaki grinned bitterly when he saw Rinne's messages. Or was it him who was always too egotistical and couldn't tell what was going on around him? He worked so hard in vain, and yet Rinne felt troubled because of their relationship. What did Rinne regard him as? Perhaps it would be happier for Rinne if she had died in the sea? No one could protect her. She was always getting hurt. Wasn't it enough for her to suffer through such meaningless pain?

She was in so much hurt after attempting to kill herself in the sea. She was then killed by Guriko. Then Mushi tried to strangle her and hang her. She was then turned into a Meat Doll by Sterilization Disinfection. And now Usagawa Rinne was taken away by a man with wolf-like, savage eyes.

Why must she suffer through such cruelty?

Why can't he even bring happiness to a girl?

From ★ Rinne To ★ Sakaki-san Subject ★ Edict Body ★ I give up. I finally got it. It doesn't matter what I say to you. You can call me Milady if you want to. You can even call me Queen if you want to. Ah, no, sorry, I'm getting a bit full of myself. Sakaki-san, how is work? You seem to be visiting me every day. No, um, I don't feel troubled, but I'm a little worried. Why are you so... No - I'm sorry. This is it. I'm deleting this message.

There was this half-written message in the Recycle folder of the phone. Were these messages originally going to be sent to Sakaki's phone? Why did she stop writing them? Sakaki discovered that there were many more discarded messages in Rinne's phone than those she managed to send.

Rinne always seemed to be afraid of something back then. Was she always considering what she would say to him when she composed messages? Was that why she never managed to talk about many of her feelings and thoughts?

Did he really ever see the true Rinne? Did he ever really understood her?

He just wanted someone to rely on him. He wanted to make her happy. Was that not to fulfil his own ego and satisfaction? Those unsent messagets probably contained her true, happy heart.

From ★ Usagawa Rinne To ★ Sakaki Guryū-sama Subject ★ Want to die Body ★ I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't understand anything. I don't understand what you're thinking. Why do you exist? Why are you interfering with my life? I don't understand. I really want to die lately. I want to escape somewhere. I want to die.

He kept pressing on the phone's keyboard. There were many words that he didn't understand after the phrase 'want to die'. If Rinne was an ordinary person, then she must have had times when her mind was unstable. Sakaki just wanted to gently hug Rinne, who was no longer here, and at least comfort her with words such as 'it's going to be alright'. But she was not here.

Why couldn't he stay beside Rinne?

He sunk into deep thought as he manipulated Rinne's phone out of boredom. Gradually, Rinne's messages changed and had more content in them.

From ★ Usarin To ★ Sakaki-san Subject ★ Edict Body ★ I never used to believe that just chatting with someone can make me so happy. I didn't know I could laugh, either. Now I feel as if I was a completely new person. This is very interesting. Ah, I'm a girl after all, so I'm going to try challenge cooking. The information I attached is concerning that dish. Thanks to Sensei, I keep buying food to eat, and now my weight is starting to get out of control. I should probably pay attention to what I eat. By the way, I still don't know the name of that dish. It was vegetable and meat stir-fried together and sprinkled with salt. What about this...

Rinne would start to cook dishes that both tasted good and looked healthy ever since then. She created many strange-looking dishes. If Sakaki found the flavor to be pa.s.sable, then she would be very satisfied and conclude that it was a masterpiece.

Sakaki smiled softly when he saw Rinne's message.

When Sakaki met Rinne for the first time, he also realized that just chatting with someone can make him so happy. Was he smiling? Sakaki wasn't sure. They were already like friends with similarities to each other. That was how Sakaki and Rinne were like. They met as if they were destined to be together. She was a woman that he was fated to love.

Rinne.

Why - why were they now separated by monsters they didn't even know, and had to exist apart from each other?

They were so far away from each other. That was what Sakaki felt. They were in such harmony when they sent those messages to each other, and yet right now they existed in worlds incomparably apart. Where did everything start to go wrong?

Guriko's face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"... Urk." Was that when the oddities started to happen? Did Sakaki and Rinne's ordinary life start to get affected after Guriko's appearance?

Why? He couldn't help but start to shiver.

From ★ Rinne To ★ Sakaki-san Subject ★ RE: Confirming Body ★ Sakaki-san is so shrewd. You saved me, who didn't believe in anything, and allowed me to slowly recover. I can't dislike you anymore. Um, please give me a minute. I'll call you after five minutes. Let me calm down a bit.

Rinne's stubborn and closed heart gradually started to open up. Her stiff expression started to gradually become gentle, and began to like joking with others. When he brought up the question of getting married, Rinne replied affirmatively with a serious expression contrary to before.

Yes, after he received this short message, Sakaki ignored her words and walked straight to Rinne's apartment and started talking with her. They affirmed their intentions with one other. Sakaki was deeply in love with Rinne, and Rinne was also responding to his love.

From that time onwards, the two of them overcame all the obstacles between them, be it age or anything else, and became lovers who understood each other.

Rinne had some doubts back then. She thought Sakaki was just using her and playing with her. However, after they got to know each other more and made promises to each other, they already established a form of trust and constraint. Rinne trusted in Sakaki, and Sakaki also genuinely loved her. Their trust and promise to each other were tied together tightly in happiness.

Sakaki despised having his life and future planned by others, and to waste his talent on such plans.

This was the first hope he found for himself. This was not a happiness that he obtained through his wealth. Others would probably think him as a fool if they knew about it. He just wanted to stay next to Rinne. He just wanted to listen to her voice and look at her smiles.

That was all Sakaki hoped for, and Rinne agreed to be with him.

But - he failed her promise and her trust.

He failed to protect Rinne.

He could not even fight back against that man.

Sakaki sank into despair and was surrounded by a feeling of powerlessness. That's enough, Sakaki thought. I'm tired. Let me rest a bit.

Sakaki frequently blamed himself because of his small mistakes when he took care of Rinne, who lost her personality and became a Meat Doll. It was a h.e.l.lish time. Would such a life momentarily pause after Rinne was taken away from him? Such thoughts briefly flashed through his mind and just for a split second, he felt happy about it.

He didn't want to keep feeling this pain. He didn't want to keep getting hurt. That was what Sakaki thought.

"Sorry..." Someone's moaning low voice suddenly came through the open door after Rinne was taken by the man dressed in black.

"Sorry. So...rry."

It was the sound of a young girl. It was the voice of Ume, the girl who lived with their landlord, Nageki Kurukiyo.

Her voice sounded weak, as if it was a mirage about to disappear.

Sakaki could not see anything when he turned his eyes towards the direction of the voice. The man dressed in black knocked him away powerfully and his back whacked against the wall. It felt like all the bones in his entire body were broken.

The best he could do was to move his fingers and use Rinne's phone. Sakaki also had an Apple within him. He should be able to recover soon - but even so, he did not feel any strength coming back.

Sorry.

That voice had the same sentiments as Sakaki’s mind. She was apologizing because of her weakness. She was apologizing because she couldn't protect what she wanted to protect.

He wanted to apologize to Rinne.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks for no reason.

Ume's moaning finally stopped. A silence more unbearable than the pain started to spread out.

From ★ Usarin To ★ Sensei Subject ★ Edict Body ★ Hi. It's me, Usarin. Sensei is probably still very busy after school, but you did say I can send you a message whenever I want, so I sent this without too much anxiety. It's fine if you get upset at me for getting you at a bad time. I'm home right now. Is Sensei still at school? It's fine if you ignore me because you aren't feeling well. Please reply if you have time. I will be very happy to receive your reply.

These good old times. That was a time before they met Guriko - before they knew anything about their destiny. Those messages from Rinne were from that time. As he read through this, someone suddenly appeared at the door.

The man had a rather bent back, and a long fringe covered his face. He was the landlord of this building, a detective in the homicide department - Nageki Kurukiyo.

"Ume-chan died."

"... I see."

Sakaki could only give such a reply at this moment.

He rarely talked with that girl, but he did feel sad for her pa.s.sing. She was so young. She still had so many opportunities for happiness, and yet she already died. It was really sad.

"Rinne was - taken away."

His own voice sounded like it came from somewhere far away. It was spiritless, as if it came from the bottommost spot of his abdomen. It was full of a powerless, gloomy feeling.

Nagike's lips shook, and answered in a low, ironic voice: "... We're so powerless."

"..."

"But Usagawa Rinne may still be alive. Why are you not doing anything?"

The melancholic detective lowered his head and said this in a low voice as he slowly walked away.

Sakaki was not particularly interested in where he was going - maybe he went to seek out Ume's killer.

Even if he revenged her, his personal world would not change, and his heart would not be saved. Even so, he will still complete this task.

Even though he was powerless and has no ability to change the world, he will still regret it if he did nothing.

He had stretched out his hand before now in order to save the person most important to him.

Although he probably didn't have that kind of a power, he will at least – achieve something before he dies.

It was such a miracle to be born in this world. How can he possibly die in despair like this without fighting back and refusing to be G.o.d's toy?

He felt his wounds improving little by little. Sakaki gradually felt strength coming back to his waist and legs.

“Rinne…”

He reached out his hand meaninglessly. It was pitch black before him. Even so, Sakaki Guryū had no other choice.

Ring ring.

“…?”

The phone in his hand suddenly started to ring. Sakaki was startled, and he stared at the screen.

An impossible name appeared there.

From ★ Usagawa Rinne To ★ Everyone in the world Subject ★ Mirror mirror, Mr. Mirror Body ★ Who is, the most beautiful, of all?

“What is this?”

This might be someone’s prank. Why would anyone send such a meaningless message?

As Sakaki thought this, many text messages, bearing exactly the same content, kept coming in.

Mirror mirror, Mr. Mirror. Who is, the most beautiful, of all?

The phone kept receiving this message over and over until the entire storage capacity of the phone was flooded full.

At the end, with a final ring, a particularly shrill sound rang out, indicating it had received another message.

This was the final one.

From ★ Usagawa Rinne To ★ Everyone in the world Subject ★ Finally, the end is almost here Body ★ This is the story about the most beautiful Snow White in the world. There was no need to search for the mirror of truth. The jealous queen – the witch - knows this. Ordinary people such as the hunter cannot reach her. The poisoned apple cannot kill her. This is the true ident.i.ty of the Snow White who merely waited for her prince to arrive. G.o.d is the one who decides who is the most beautiful of them all, right?

Why wouldn’t his body stop shaking?

Sakaki held onto the phone in his hand, and kept looking at those ominous words being displayed.

He suddenly noticed that someone’s shadow blocked the moonlight coming through the open door.

Someone was standing at the door.

Was it Nageki Kurukiyo again? Sakaki thought this, but he instantly crossed out that idea.

Ring-ring. There was the crispy sound of bells.

“… Compared to talking to yourself pointlessly, it’s better to work on a little game that requires a bit of brain power.”

This person did not make an introduction, but only made some short and strange comments.

“Humans use their brains to detect the world. The senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch – they use these five senses and the a.s.sociated sensory organs to feel and to understand this so-called world. But what if all your five senses were empty from the moment you were born? Can’t see or hear anything, not even having a concept of darkness that we can imagine, but instead experiencing utter emptiness. The world would not exist for someone like that.”

It was the sound of a woman. He felt that he had heard her voice somewhere before.

It was a voice that felt nostalgic for him, but Sakaki didn’t understand what she meant at all. He seemed to understand what she said – and yet he didn’t really understand. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t understand anything, but he didn’t understand what she meant to accomplish by coming here and saying these words.

It was a foreign woman with bells attached to her long blonde hair.

She wore a tight black suit set. She looked graceful, and had a pair of sungla.s.ses over her eyes and had gloves on, veritably as if she was a member of the mafia that just walked out of a movie.

The woman was not being distracted by her own appearance, and kept saying more alien words with a serious tone:

“Then, if there were someone who controlled all the sensory organs of the entire human race…”

It was a detached, cold, and yet slightly sad tone.

“That person would probably be the existence that encompa.s.sed the existence of every human in the world, isn’t it? Does such a thing really exist? Your sight might be fake, hearing might be fake, scents might be fake, tastes might be fake, and touches might be fake. We paid attention to all this. Yet could it be that, the conception that someone was there was only an illusion?”

She stretched out her arms and spoke more enigmatic words.

“No one doubted that. Everyone believed firmly that some form of existence is definitely out there. Then does an existence like that really exist right there, right now? Does It exist or not? Does It really exist, or was it only a product of our imagination?”

“…”

Sakaki couldn’t understand what she was trying to say, but he was getting a little scared.

“Did you ever ponder about such things?” The woman kept talking about that incredulous concept with a low voice.

“Everyone was living under an illusion. The you over there is not the true you. Your entire existence is the imagination of some other person. Some other person’s five senses were stimulated by illusionary stimuli and created this imagination of you. You only exist because he or she imagined that you are here.”

What – did that mean?

She was saying that I, Sakaki Guryū, is only an illusion? That my true self does not exist, but I am only an illusion created by someone else? No one knew about this, so everyone shared this hallucination, that of my existence?

Just thinking about this made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

I – do not exist here? The person here was only a person from everyone’s collective imagination?

Hehehe, the woman began to laugh. She also showed a very lonely expression.

"Rest a.s.sured. You do exist right here. You are not a figment of imagination. But do not come to such conclusions so eagerly, Sakaki Guryū. Indeed, no one can completely eliminate their suspicions about whether we truly exist, whether our ordinary daily lives are only a dream or an illusion of someone else's, No one can completely discard such doubts. I, too, am scared of this possibility."

"I..."

Sakaki looked at this woman with uneasiness. It was as if he had once seen her from far away.

She was a woman who couldn't save anyone, who couldn't change the world, who couldn't protect the things and people she loved. She could not affect the world in any way - and therefore she could not confidently conclude that her existence was not an illusion.

"If G.o.d really exists, then even He would keep having that kind of fear. If one is incapable of letting others hear him, or if one cannot see, then the perceived reality of existing in this world would completely crumble."

The woman said in a low voice as if being pitiful of something.

"Everyone more or less know some legends about G.o.d. One may be nonchalant about it, or may instinctively find it to be familiar, but we cannot even decide if that was just an imagination. Hey, Guryū, maybe G.o.d really doesn't exist."

Everyone had, at least for a split second in their lives, had this doubt.

This woman, who had always firmly believed in G.o.d, was very much in doubt of His existence at this instant. She walked up to Sakaki, who was collapsed to the ground, held him up, and caressed his hair.

"Even if G.o.d does not exist in this world, your own existence is a reality and not an illusion. Even if you only have a very brief window of opportunity, your existence at this place and at this time may be able to change the world. Therefore, don't give up. Hurry up and start to act, Guryū."

She then turned and prepared to leave, but - who was she?"

"...Ah."

Sakaki opened his mouth. Many questions surfaced in his mind, but he could not clearly articulate them all.

The woman turned her head and smiled at him: "My name is Sakaki Joker."

Yes. Sakaki recalled her now. Little wonder he felt that he had met her before.

"I was born in America, and your father brought me here - I wanted to meet you a few times before, but I was rather scared, and only managed to show myself now."

Her face was more unfamiliar than he remembered because of those gla.s.ses. He had heard of her existence from his father a long time ago, and he had seen the few pictures of her accessible to him – this woman had the countenance of Sakaki's mother.

"Guryū, I had just guaranteed your actual existence. Without such a warrant, even I can degrade into a mere illusion. You exist, right here, right now. Therefore, even if you only have a very short amount of time, you need to go and change the world. Don't forget that. Don't give up. Hurry up and start."

The woman then turned back and walked away.

Sakaki looked at her. Her figure seemed so strong, as if she would not accept anyone's feelings, whether benevolent or malevolent. However, just for a brief moment, Sakaki felt a sliver of her nebulous gentleness.

"I did not fulfil the duties of a mother at all, and I did not fulfil the role of a wife towards Ganhō."

Those words were empty. They held no feelings of remorse.

"If only we did not l.u.s.t after eternity. If only we did not seek Heaven and G.o.d. Ganhō sank into madness due to his never-ending greed, and dragged me down with it. You, me, Ganhō, and Tatsue - we discarded our happiness, and did not manage to live together as a family."

"Mother!"

The word tumbled out of his mouth so naturally. He didn't know why she always looked so sad. Joker's back violently shook once, as if she was shocked. She then bent down slightly.

"I don't like this. At end - just like my own mother - I didn't - "

She muttered in a low voice as if speaking to herself as she pushed opened the door.

"I am afraid we won't see each other again. That’s why I wanted to see you now. I've always looked forward to meeting you, but I never came because I was afraid. I'm sorry. Have you been lonely? I didn't learn how to love others, but you and Tatsue found that on your own. Therefore, I - Mom - respects the two of you very much, Guryū."

I wish you happiness - The woman calling herself Joker disappeared at the entrance of the apartment with these muttered words. Sakaki felt lost. He simply watched her walk out as his brain thought in a fuddled way.

He gradually realized that he was encouraging him, her own son, in her own way.

But - why couldn't he feel her presence at all? What if Sakaki himself was an illusion after all? What if his mother, the woman calling herself Joker, was also an illusion? At the end, he still could not completely refute the possibility that even the entire world could be nothing more than illusion.

The night deepened in this ambiguous world.

25%

"... Meat Doll?"

"Mmm, do you know of it, Single Room?"

Gankyū Eguriko, Nikuyama Kajiri, Saibara Mina, and Saibara Mitsuki - these four people with supernatural abilities had completely smashed through the tanks, and had then begun to chase Zekiguchi Nashionori, who took away Breaksun.

However, the damage the tanks dealt to the town was too extreme, and it was hard to pick up Zekiguchi's trail. The once bustling shopping street had sunk into a sea of fire, and scorching flames lit up the sky. Still, Guriko was very adept at detecting the presence of powerful monsters. Apparently, Snake - Takamikado Mitaka - was also very good with this ability. Guriko wasn't sure why. She wondered if the two of them were similar in any way.

Any reason would do.

Either way, it would be somewhat difficult to catch up to Zekiguchi with Guriko’s current abilities and stamina.

Zekiguchi held the Greater Fragment named Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest, and was a very powerful opponent.

It wasn’t hard to track him. However, as PoisonCatastrophe, the piece he took away – Breaksun – periodically activated her ability to corrode cause and effect in her unconscious state due to her natural ability to conceal herself, they often lost track of those two. For Guriko, who was chasing them, this ability was very problematic.

“Meat Doll…? Mmm – I might have heard of that.”

Guriko and her group were helping Single Room in order to return Rinne to normal.

Just like this, this group was united in chasing down Zekiguchi Nashinori, who took away Breaksun.

They were a.s.sisting Kajiri, and asked him to use his ability on Rinne as exchange. It was a fair trade.

Kajiri was worrying about Breaksun, and was answering in an off-handed way.

Mina was a bit behind him and muttered lowly: “Really – it’s not surprising that you haven’t heard of it. One just needs to place an Apple into a corpse, and then it will become a puppet that one can freely control. That’s something I invented myself, by accident.”

She said this nonchalantly. Mitsuki clutched Mina's hand and swung their hands back and forth in a playful way, as if she was very happy.

“Ahaha. Big sis won’t ever invent something good. She invented some new net to kill c.o.c.kroaches, some manual miniature hanging ceilings. They are all super boring inventions.”

“I hate c.o.c.kroaches. Ah – um, I’m gonna get angry if you keep talking about me like this.”

Mina pulled at Mitsuki’s cheeks while looking sternly at her.

What is all this about… Guriko thought in a bored way.

Anyways, they were currently having a serious conversation with Single Room. It was probably better to ignore those two sisters for now.

“Well, what is Single Room’s ability, anyways? Genesis – although that’s what I was told, how can you manage to resurrect the dead or pause the flow of time? If such a thing were possible…”

That was something Mina told Guriko following the event at the Eternity Inst.i.tute. According to Mina’s words, that was how Single Room’s ability was described in the information given by G.o.d Mushi Emperor, an existence that took the ‘role’ of the database of Greater Fragments.

“…Ah?”

Kajiri’s expression appeared somewhat disgusted with this. His lips drew back and he bared his sharp canine-like teeth.

“Ah – you mean to make dead people alive again – I won’t try that. That’s super disgusting.”

That was a really unconvincing answer. However, Guriko was not defeated. She held on to the idea of recovering Rinne to her previous state. No matter what she must do, no matter what was required, she would prepare for it.

He was different from what she had heard about him. It was hard to tell that Kajiri was someone who possessed the power akin to that of G.o.d.

He had kept running away in the previous fight. Yet if one were to compare him to Mina and Mitsuki, it would be hard to tell which side was stronger.

Kajiri narrowed his eyes and showed a thoughtful expression.

“Urk? So those Meat Dolls… are they corpses? Are we trying to get a dead person to come back alive?”

“If you want to call them corpses, I admit there are some similarities… what should I say?” Guriko was a little confused while Mina, who was more skilled at explaining these things, started to fill Kajiri in. “A Meat Doll, mm, is basically a living corpse that had a Fragment inserted into it and is being forced to move. That’s what it’s like. Although the body of a human is standing there, there is barely any consciousness left in that. The corpse given the Fragment will become absolutely obedient to the Fragment's previous owner.”

She narrowed her eyebrows and asked in a low voice with a slightly questioning tone.

“I also want to ask you something, Single Room. You saved Ki-chan when she was close to death. Did she really completely recover, with no symptoms left whatsoever?”

“I’m Ki-chan. My full name is Mitsuki. Thank you so much for that~”

Mitsuki greeted Kajiri casually as her happy-go-lucky self, with an atmosphere completely different from their previous conversation.

Kajiri was not too pleased with her. He waved at her as if he was waving away a fly, then shifted his eyes away from her instantly.

“Mmm – I don’t understand this at all. I’m rather embarra.s.sed to have you people saying words of grat.i.tude towards me. I ran into Mitsuki by accident when I was looking for Breako, and I remembered that I was also imprisoned once upon a time at a place where time had stopped – I felt some pity for her, so I saved her. I didn’t particularly mean to do it.”

Although he spoke rudely, he behaved in a very kind way.

She could tell even from before that this boy was not a bad person. If they asked him to help Rinne, then he would do the best within his ability. That was what Guriko thought as Kajiri looked far into the distance, fingering the crucifix hanging off his neck. “My abilities feel like those that can modify things. They are different from Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest's, and isn’t limited to modification of the flesh. Hmm – how should I say this – it’s something like playing with concepts.”

It seemed that even he couldn’t explain it properly himself. He tilted his head a little and started to demonstrate, his face full of seriousness.

“Mmm, for example, if you compare the entire world to a video game, then I can change the operating system of this game, change the faces and clothing of the characters, and change the appearances of shops. Not just the details, I can also change the type of the game from a role-playing game to a fighting game, or make the enemy so strong that it becomes impossible to win.”

“…Oh, is that so?”

Kajiri was a little surprised to see that Guriko understood this.

“I’m surprised. Ganko. You know about games too? I feel you are very behind the times. Even I didn’t know stuff like video games existed until Breako told me.”

“How rude. I’m very experienced with games. I’ve played the initial FC and even the SFC that followed it.”

“… big sis, what’s a FC?”

“A gaming console that was very popular about a decade ago. Surprisingly, the CPU was only 8-bits. The latest is already heading towards 128. Mmm, Guriko-baby is really behind the times.”

“Why do you even care about such things?!”

The topic seemed to have completely deviated from the original direction. Guriko recovered her serious expression and looked at Kajiri.

“That means there is nothing that you cannot do, correct?”

“Theoretically, I am omnipotent. However, there is a lot of preparation I need to do to activate my ability, so it’s impossible to use it during a battle.”

Kajiri complained about this, but Guriko felt she saw hope.

“Although I won’t be able to understand it unless I actually see the Meat Doll, but that Rinne person was just an ordinary human, right? I think it should be fine if I revert her time to a period when she was still human. That’s how I cured Mitsuki, too.”

“Ah? Really?” An expression of surprise surfaced on Mina’s face, and she shifted towards her eyes towards Mitsuki, who was walking next to her. “Ki-chan, do you still remember what happened in the Eternity Inst.i.tute?”

“Chirp? What’s that?” Mitsuki tilted her head. Mina seemed to understand something as she saw this.

“Ah, your body was cut up in such a way, I thought it was impossible to revert it to its original form. I even neglected the possibility of reverting time. No wonder you are acting even sillier. Indeed – you reverted to the time before we fought Guriko-baby. If that’s the case –”

Mitsuki listened dumbly to Mina saying words that were very hard to understand for her, and showed an uneasy expression. Did she do something wrong to make her big sis like this? Seeing how the two sisters cared for each other, Guriko couldn’t help but feel a warmth welling up in her chest too.

She would return Rinne to normal! She would revert her to how she was before, and live all over again!

Just imagining such a scene made Guriko feel incomparably happy. Reality was indeed full of hope.

Yes – if they did that, then even her guilt of not having protected Rinne and Sakaki could be somewhat ameliorated. She was happy. Even though she felt she shouldn’t feel like this, Guriko felt it was enough to erase her past failures, return to those previous happy days, and go to school with everyone else.

She could return to that quiet and peaceful daily life.

A rare smile surfaced all over Guriko's face, and her finger wiped at the corner of her eyes, which started to be wet with tears. Everyone could get back to how things were before! Everyone could enjoy their previous life!

"Wonderful... Sakaki would definitely be happy too."

Of course, now was not the time to be complacent. They could not be completely sure whether Kajiri would give his all to help them. Such an ultimate ability probably couldn’t be used frequently…

Was there anything else he needed to activate such a powerful ability? The world was equally cruel to everyone. It was impossible to have something so all-powerful while at the same time being easy to use.

"Therefore, um – I believe my ability can change time, cause, effect, and fate according to my goal and desired result. It is a powerful ability."

He sighed and said in a low voice as if mocking himself.

"I don't quite know if that is really the case. According to the Bible, G.o.d used a week to create the world. He created the world perfectly in six days, and set aside the seventh day as a day of rest. In other words, even G.o.d would feel tired or bothered when conducting Genesis."

As he said this, Mitsuki suddenly lifted up her face, as if she was scared.

"Ah ... Guriko-baby, NikuNiku, big sis, did you hear something?"

"NikuNiku... is that me? Urk..." Kajiri mumbled, his face full of a loathsome expression. He then immediately put himself on guard and inspected their surroundings with a serious expression, as if he was a dog.

The neat rows of mercury lamps emitted a weak light. The entire residential area appeared fuzzy due to the darkness. Indeed, there were sounds of explosions in the far distance if one were to listen carefully.

"... Have those tanks moved on to a different spot?"

"Such an incredible sound."

Guriko sought the source of the sound, her face very stern. It was as if she had heard it somewhere before, a rumbling, rumbling, intermittent sound. She didn't feel it to be a sound of destruction, but - it didn't stop. It rumbled.

"This - this seemed to be coming from Kannonsakazaki High School~" Mitsuki said in an anxious voice as she jumped up on top of a stone wall and looked around.

Indeed - she heard that Mitsuki has also attended that ordinary rural high school where Guriko had attended. Yes, the sound was coming from that direction, and it wasn't too far from here.

"... It seems so. Let's go. I feel that Zekiguchi's aura is also coming from that direction."

As Guriko said this, the rest of them nodded in agreement.

 

 

"... Yo. I knew you'd come, Crybaby."

"You dare to look down upon me, you piece of s.h.i.t? You are a useless monster who hasn't even grown into shape."

The two of them met with the night school as the background. No one walked through the s.p.a.cious Kannonsakazaki Private High School grounds. Only a dry wind stirred up the sand past them.

"Your words are still so d.a.m.n cool, Melodia NoiseTear Song. Aren't you the kind of person to take away the souls of human companions who once worked with you? And also - would you like to have a friendly chat?"

"What fake flowery words. Shut up. I've hated jesters like you ever since the start, Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest."

These were the existences which played hosts to Greater Fragments, those seven equal parts of G.o.d's role.

He was a tall man with lupine eyes under his carefully tended fringe - he was Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest, Zekiguchi Nashinori.

She was a woman wearing sungla.s.ses and a suit, and had decorative bells tied onto her braided long hair - she was Melodia NoiseTear Song, Sakaki Joker.

The two of them had joined together as comrades once upon a time in order to retrieve the power of Apples that only existed within humans. They acted together in everything they did. However, the relationship between them had ceased to be friendly since the events at the Eternity Inst.i.tute.

Those two had originally fought for their own, very different goals. It would have worked out better if they continued to cooperate instead of fighting, but their unified front was gradually crumbling.

She was no longer a friend of his – or anything else to him. So Joker had resolved to get rid of him – just as she would to anyone who stood in the way of her goal.

Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest’s ability is the modification and alternation of the flesh, and can create large amounts of warriors. He also had the most powerful physical combat abilities among the Seven Fragments. For Melodia NoiseTear Song, however, who possessed the ability to crush and manipulate s.p.a.ce, she could completely dodge Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest’s unblockable attacks.

Therefore, he wasn’t much of an opponent for her.

Joker reasoned that she could never lose to Zekiguchi Nashinori in a one-on-one fight. She also still had her ultimate trump card left, so there was no reason to fear.

“…”

Though she thought this, her teeth were still clattering and her legs shook slightly.

“Hehehe.” Zekiguchi, with his sharp eyesight, didn’t miss this. He laughed very happily. “What’s wrong, are you scared, Melodia NoiseTear Song? Really, when we fought others before, it was always me and my soldiers who fought for you. Could this be the first time you actually fought with someone for real? Honestly, it’s rare that you, who has always been in hiding out of fear, actually put yourself out here… Ohoho, whatever. You are still an astounding beauty, Melodia NoiseTear Song.”

“Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest, your frivolous tone makes me disgusted. Besides, I’ve always believed that if it was something important, I should do it myself. I am not someone who’s often scared. I just don’t really trust the things other people do.”

Melodia NoiseTear Song made a threatening declaration: “Return Lovesong to me. I don’t know what you want to do with her, but she belongs to me. Return her to me!”

“… Ohoho, ‘Lovesong’?”

Zekiguchi turned around. Usagawa Rinne was laughing for some unknown reason, and Breaksun had her eyes tightly closed and her head was resting on Rinne’s knees. Zekiguchi reached out to Breaksun and took out the golden apple in her blouse, and threw it towards Melodia NoiseTear Song.

“Hey, ‘Lovesong’ is this thing, right? Catch.” The golden apple traced a trajectory in the air with a whoosh and flew towards Joker.

“… Stop kidding.” The object made of pure gold suddenly exploded in the air.

Crushing s.p.a.ce.

She had used the maximum power this attacking method was capable of to destroy the giant monster called the Dream World Beast - For Melodia NoiseTear Song, who possessed the sensory organ with augmented investigative powers, this was her only means of attack.

The broken gold pieces glittered with reflected moonlight amidst the dust flying through the air. Joker ignored that and simply spat.

"That golden apple was only something ordinary. It was only something that the guy who built the building hid secretly on his own. I don't know why Breaksun was holding on to it. I'm not interested in treasures with actual physical value, such as gold. Things such as the price of gold are only accessory values this capitalistic era endowed upon the object. I have absolutely no interest in such things."

Joke roared with a rude tone towards Zekiguchi, who was standing there with ease: "Then, return 'Lovesong' - return my Breaksun to me!"

Bam, bam - intense impact waves, together with deafening noises, smashed through the air all around Zekiguchi. The ground was broken and scattered. If she gave out all she had into crushing s.p.a.ce, then she could easy blow apart the school building behind Zekiguchi, let alone the man himself.

The 'role' of the Greater Fragment Melodia NoiseTear Song within Joker was that of the Savior, or the Prophet.

If she used this ability, then she would be able to accomplish what the Prophet Moses achieved in the Bible. The sea would split in half before him as he lifted his staff. She had the ability of actualizing impossible miracles into reality.

Coldly, she looked sideways at Zekiguchi, and paid attention to Breaksun, who had fainted behind him. Breaksun - 'Lovesong' - was the vital ingredient in ensuring Joker's safety. How could she endure having Breaksun being taken away from her by someone like Zekiguchi?

Powerful vibrations swept through the air. Just as Zekiguchi said, this was the first time Joker had seriously fought with others, and this was a fight she knew she had to win.

However -

"Making such a loud noise at school at night would bother the people living around here."

A high-pitched and taunting voice suddenly sounded. There was no need for her to check. Melodia NoiseTear Song's ability was to manipulate everything within s.p.a.ce. Everything around the school was within Melodia NoiseTear Song's control. No matter what approached her - she would not miss even an ant coming near.

"... I'm a little busy right now. Kids should hurry home and sleep." Joker said in a low voice.

Yes, a kid - the red-haired boy was coming straight through the main school doors, and smiled while exposing his sharp canine teeth.

“Ha! You are really arrogant. Hmm – crushing s.p.a.ce, I saw that. You are Melodia NoiseTear Song. You look like you believe yourself to be really important. There really are people who play the ‘role’ of the Savior everywhere.”

The boy’s red hair moved with the wind in the night, as if he had a ponytail.

The intruders behind him were Gankyū Eguriko, and the Sterilization Disinfection and Unpleasant Counter-Current sisters.

Even the Pale Horses didn’t manage to finish them off.

That was fine. It was not something completely unexpected.

Joker pondered this. The situation was getting rather troublesome for her. All sorts of things kept happening, and this upset her. Just when would she be able to enjoy a peaceful life where there was no anxiety or dissatisfaction?

“Besides, ‘let her go’ is my line.”

The boy said in a low voice, as if mocking himself, as he looked at Breaksun.

His tone was somewhat joking, but his expression was terrifyingly stern. Zekiguchi still smiled happily, while Joker responded with a very tense expression.

This boy was more than just a simple child.

Her soul – the memories of Melodia NoiseTear Song sleeping within her body – awakened. Her terrifying enemies had brought Breaksun here, got Joker to come out like this, and had created all this. This aura, this atmosphere; could it be…

“You are Single Room?! I heard you disappeared from where you were sealed, but I didn’t expect you to be here! Why are you standing in my way?”

“So you are indeed Melodia NoiseTear Song. Oh, you also have disagreements with Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest? Your previous reincarnation – or the reincarnation before that, I can’t tell - Melodia NoiseTear Song, PoisonCatastrophe, Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest; you guys sealed me up. I will never forget that hatred!”

A killing aura permeated throughout Single Room’s body. He held onto the crucifix hanging off his neck tightly, and pulled it outwards as if he was going to pull it off. Its sharp, knife-like end was pointing directed towards them.

“No matter what, let her go! I am going to watch a movie with her. It was a new work from a very famous director after four years. I don’t know what it is about, but apparently it was an excellent piece of work that shook all of America. Do you think that’s boring? It is – but she does not want to use me as Single Room. She was the first one to ever say those silly words to me…”

Single Room continued sincerely.

“… Therefore, return her to me, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Even if you are unwilling, I will make you willing.”

“I refuse. I must have Breaksun in order to not live in terror.” Joker maintained her cold expression and kept her pose, ready for battle. Zekiguchi Nashinori also kept his delighted smile. His lips were upturned, and his shoulders shook slightly.

Although he looked nonchalant, it increased the pressure he was giving out.

“… Hmm – it seems like we can only take her by force. Let us fight.”

“… I’ll cover you, Single Room. Rinne is also over there. Although I don’t know what happened, I will take her back as well.”

Guriko walked up as she said this. Mina and Mitsuki also took out their respective weapons.

“Yes – hmm, though I’ve achieved my goal, I should probably still help out of a sense of morality. Those really dodgy people are probably superfluous to keep on this earth anyways.

“Hya, I’m helping NikuNiku too~ Yay, no matter who you are, come at me~ Uuu – Mitsuki-chan will do her best –”

Unpleasant Counter-Current held tightly onto her gloves of retribution.

Sterilization Disinfection took out the spray cans that could annihilate everything.

Single Room held onto the crucifix that had the power to create heaven and earth.

The bells tied onto Melodia NoiseTear Song’s long hair kept ringing, sending out hypnotic tones into the air. Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest also created a shield out of flesh and held it in front of him as a weapon. Guriko, too, held on to a few spoons, her beloved weapon of choice.

“…”

Suddenly, Rinne looked expressionlessly towards them. Guriko felt that.

“… Rinne?”

“– What’s wrong? Will there be fighting?”

She allowed PoisonCatastrophe, who twisted cause and effect, to lie on her knees. She mumbled for some unknown reason, looking idiotic and awkward while at it. No one could tell whether she could hear what was happening, and she mumbled as if it had nothing to do with her. “Isn’t everyone – the same?”

As if they took that as a signal to start, the non-humans with supernatural abilities sprang into battle.

Their goal was Breaksun – the woman called ‘Lovesong’.

 

 

An unprecedented change was occurring within the Meat Doll named Usagawa Rinne. This change was destroying the personality Usagawa Rinne had had since now. She was currently being destroyed, with her soul awakening - the Meat Doll herself could not comprehend this.

The so-called near-death experience allowed people to obtain an extraordinary ability during that time, and also prompted an awakening to one's beliefs. It was perhaps a feeling like that. As the soul walked towards the distant sh.o.r.e, it was neither alive nor dead. The ends that the soul of the Meat Doll and the soul of a human gazed upon were ultimately different.

The Meat Doll couldn’t see anything at that instant, but was gazed upon by everything else. She could not hear any sound, but was heard by everything else.

Her senses became sharp, but that was to be expected. There was also no joy or happiness for her. It had perhaps been like this since a long time ago, but she just couldn’t feel it. Rinne's world had always been like this. Tears fell down. The hot liquid rolled down her cheeks and dropped down her chin.

"...?"

Why would she cry? She didn't know. She just - couldn't control it. She felt empty.

In order to forget what she was feeling right now, Rinne pointed to the things around her in order, and called out their names one by one.

As if this was the only way to make herself feel rested, to show that she indeed existed here, and to make her heart feel fulfilled.

The surroundings of the school had already been enveloped by people with red eyes without her realizing it. There seemed to be a few - rather, a few dozens - of these people. They had different expressions, and they stood aside, silently watching this battle to the death between the Greater Fragments.

No. What they looked at was Usagawa Rinne. As if they were waiting for Snow White to wake up, they simply sat and knelt down around her and watched her.

The Meat Doll began to feel terrified and immediately turned her gaze towards Gankyū Eguriko, who was still fighting.

Guriko was currently engaged in a melee battle with Zekiguchi Nashinori. She had just gouged out his eye ball. "Eyeball!"

There was no change to the fight till the end. Breaksun started to sing incomprehensible songs in Rinne's arms as if she was talking in her sleep. She was sleeping on the Meat Doll's knees, and twisted her body as if she was a baby throwing a fit as she sang a chant wishing for peace all over the world, for people to love each other, a hymn of longing towards G.o.d.

"Love... Song."

It was as if they were expecting something to end in this place, in the center of the world.

 

50%

 

Gankyū Eguriko's used a pose as accurate as a precise machine to gouged out eyeb.a.l.l.s.

The spoon in her hand aimed and extended with a lightning fast speed as if it was a thrown marble, and pierced into Zekiguchi Nashinori’s completely undefended eyeb.a.l.l.s, the entrance to his brain. It entered the eye socket at an angle and pierced right through, completely disrupting the contents within.

Guriko’s target was Zekiguchi Nashinori.

He was the man who killed her a thousand years ago.

And now he had taken away Rinne for an unknown reason. He was still an obvious and dangerous enemy for her.

“Zekiguchi!”

Zekiguchi looked as if he didn’t feel the fatal damage to his brain at all. He was still terrifying. Zekiguchi Nashinori was the leader of Long-Armed Demon and Berobōchō. He was the Greater Fragment named Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest, one that had the ability to alter and modify the flesh.

Guriko was very aware of the power of a Greater Fragment after having fought them numerous times.

However, it was as if this man could not feel anything after receiving damage. What should she do? If she didn’t know what to do, then she should just kill him.

“If you touch Rinne and Sakaki, then I will chop you into pieces!”

“Hehehehe.”

An eyeball immediately regenerated from the emptied eye socket. Not only that, three or four new eyeb.a.l.l.s also inexplicably grew out of Zekiguchi’s face. He did not change at all, still as despicable an opponent as before. She felt like her attacks were not working at all.

“Usagawa Rinne-san is an existence more important than you were ever aware of. That’s why I’m putting her under my care – as for Sakaki-kun, hehehe,” Zekiguchi Nashinori laughed enigmatically, “would you be upset, Yono, if I said that I… killed him?”

Guriko’s sight instantly went red.

No one attacked her, but blood spurted out from her head. Her logic was instantly reduced to ash and an explosive torrent of emotions tore out of her. Guriko suddenly became incredibly excited, as if the current situation had nothing to do with her.

She kept filling up, kept filing up.

Guriko’s left arm creaked and began to change.

Her soft skin metamorphosed into red, carapace-like armor. The sharp claws at her fingertips extended out as if they were knives.

Apart from her arms, her legs, feet, shoulders, face, and even the color of her hair changed their appearance after sensing Guriko’s excitement and rage. Endless threads suddenly grew out of Guriko’s back with a whoosh, and instantly intertwined with each other and formed a pair of wings. As if she was an avenging witch, Guriko revealed her original form, the shape of a devil.

“Oh – ” Zekiguchi opened his mouth as if he was about to make a joke, but he was too late. Guriko’s left arm, which had completed its transformation, instantly pierced his chest right through the middle. Right now, Guriko’s entire body was only full of power and the desire to destroy and to kill. What was left of her humanity had been completely eroded away, and all that was left was the evil parts full of destruction.

Apples, which immortals such as Guriko use as the source of their supernatural powers, otherwise known as the Fragment, were contained in their hearts.

Of course, if their hearts were destroyed, then the power of the Fragment would flow away and their existence would completely crumble and die.

Even Zekiguchi should die very quickly according to this logic.

“Ohoho, dangerous.”

He laughed casually and jumped backwards, ignoring the giant wound in his chest, creating some distance between him and Guriko. Although his blood and flesh flew everywhere, Zekiguchi was not dead. The man with wolf-like eyes was so happy for some reason – he showed a happy expression as if he was playing with children.

“Yono, you didn’t change at all. You could kill without any hesitation. But what a pity. My ability is the alteration of the flesh, so the location of my heart could be anywhere.”

“Then – I will completely cut you up.”

Guriko did not stop. If she completely dissected her enemy, then she could return to the happy life with Rinne and Sakaki.

If she can get rid of all these problems, then she can experience those happy times again.

Guriko fought as she held onto only these expectations. No matter how despairing it was, she should be able to get there as long as she reached out.

“Hehehehe, how annoying. Don’t get so seriously angry, Yono. No more jokes. Sakaki-kun isn’t dead – oh!”

A pair of black wings similar to Guriko’s began to form on Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest’s back after dodging the spoons that Guriko threw towards him. He flew high into the sky in the pitch-black night.

He flapped his wings and escaped towards the sky. Was he trying to make time to cure his wounds? No, she can’t allow that.

She will chase him and defeat him during his escape, and completely annihilate him.

“How foolish, Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest!”

This was suddenly heard beside them.

It was the astonishing woman who had just dodged a fatal blow as she fought Mina, Mitsuki, and Kajiri all at the same time. It was Melodia NoiseTear Song.

She arrived next to Guriko and Zekiguchi in their one-on-one fight, and looked up towards Zekiguchi, who was flying in the sky. She smiled with one side of her mouth tilted.

“This weakling is almost dead. Since he is already wounded, then go completely destroy him. If he fell once, then he will fall again. This is how the world is – fall all the way to h.e.l.l!”

With a whoosh, her fingertips, clad in black gloves, moved downwards as if in command.

Zekiguchi instantly lost control of his wings and fell straight down from the sky. His face was full of surprise.

“What’s to be surprised about, fool?”

Melodia NoiseTear Song smiled coldly, and the innumerable bells tied to her hair started to ring.

"As long as you're in the sky, whether gliding or flying, you would fall to your death without the support of the