“Do you know Single Room?”
It was said an angel of misfortune dropped by this town.
It was a girl. She never killed anyone, nor did she steal anything. She simply appeared like the wind and attacked passers-by.
It didn’t matter if her opponent was a muscular adult or an infamous delinquent. Even if her opponent had a knife or consisted of a group of a dozen people, this visiting angel of misfortune knocked them all to the ground and left these enigmatic words behind: “Do you know Single Room?”
No one had been able to answer that question.
“Guriko-chan~”
Nothing was going as she wanted. Her life was difficult. It was so tiresome to live. Life was so bothersome. She was so upset. At the end, she still hated herself, who couldn’t do anything. Gankyū Egoriko, otherwise known as Guriko, was completely helpless.
She was at the apartment she lived with Usagawa Rinne when she was just living off Rinne. Guriko folded her arms and sat cross-legged in this one-room apartment in the old building, which appeared it would topple with just a small earthquake. She was silent and looked annoyed. Her face was expressionless, her black hair cut in a wolf-like haircut, her dark and deep eyes looked dimly towards the ceiling like gun barrels, and she wore denim jeans and a T-shirt with cute prints as if she just wore whatever she happened to pick up.
There were two more people in this completely plain, undecorated room.
“Guriko-chan, Guriko-chan~”
One was a small girl who was holding onto Guriko’s waist and kept calling out her name. Her pale pink hair was decorated with ribbons and bows, and she looked very cute. Everyone who met her couldn’t help but be gentle with her.
Despite her appearance like a high schooler, her astonishingly innocent expression was like that of a baby. In fact, her linguistic abilities and intellect were more or less gone.
Usagawa Rinne – this girl who was previous killed by Sterilization Disinfection – became a living corpse, a Meat Doll. Meat Dolls do not have a sense of self nor the capacity for thought. They only moved according to their instincts. That was the current status of the girl named Usagawa Rinne.
In order to return this girl to her previous state, Guriko was currently looking for the ultimate existence that could materialize any miracles – the existence named Single Room. However, she yielded no results by searching on her own in this town. It had been two months already and she had yet to uncover any traces of Single Room.
Guriko muttered to herself and watched Rinne, who was walking around, and couldn't help but ask "Rinne, do you know Single Room?"
"Sin-gle-Room?" Looking at Rinne, who mechanically repeated her words, Guriko exhaled a long sigh.
"...Guriko, don't teach Milady odd phrases." Following these words, the young man cooking something in the kitchen looked back towards her. He was a blond man with blue eyes, who looked otherworldly in his beauty. His face, however, looked very haggard.
He was already looking better than before. He didn't even shave just a little while ago. His gaze was empty, and he looked veritably ill. Guriko left the town about half a year ago and have just returned to this apartment after her long journey, again living together with Rinne. She was used to living in the wilderness, but she could not leave this man alone. She was also worried about Rinne's condition, and therefore she moved in again. Judging from appearances, it was the same as before, with the three of them living peacefully together.
The handsome young man - Sakaki Guryū - looked down at her crossly. "Don't get too close to Milady. Milady likes you just as she likes a toy, and would miss you and go look for you whenever you leave."
"Shut it! Why should I care!"
Guriko slowly closed her eyes as she felt Rinne's body temperature, who was hugging her.
"It's Rinne's freedom to hug whoever she wants. I'm not bothered by it. Besides, if hugging me can cure Rinne, I'm welcome to the idea."
"..."
Sakaki lowered his brows and sighed deeply, then he silently went back to cooking. He started cooking with practiced ease.
"Apples" - once someone consumes such a thing, one would obtain the miraculous power of immortality. All three of them have already been endowed with this power. Immortals who have consumed Apples would usually completely lose their appetite. However, it had only been a short time since Sakaki and Rinne ate the Apple, therefore they still needed to eat.
The room was briefly silent. Guriko suddenly noticed something and furrowed her brows.
“Sakaki, are you jealous?”
She asked seriously.
“Are you envious? Envious of the good relationship I’m having with Rinne?”
“…”
He didn’t reply.
It seemed she got it right. This guy was surprisingly childish at times, a trait that was completely at odds with his appearance.
Guriko laughed and tilted her head and drilled Sakaki, who had turned away: “Who are you jealous of? Rinne, or me?”
“Why should I be jealous of Milady?”
When she heard Sakaki’s low mumble, a brief pain passed across her chest.
“…Er, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Guriko looked away awkwardly and her eyes fell on the cellphone placed on the tatami. The phone was vibrating. Someone was calling her. Guriko gently peeled away Rinne’s hand and picked up the phone, and pressed down the answer button.
It was Rinne who taught her how to use this miraculous machine.
It was also Rinne who gave Guriko warmth, gave it to the girl had lived for a thousand years and was nothing more than an empty shell.
Guriko wanted to save Rinne.
That was all she wished for.
Even if Guriko cannot stay here after Rinne recovered. Even if it must cost Guriko’s life. It will be very lonely, but it should be fine.
“…Who is it?”
“I’m Mina, Guriko-baby.”
“Don’t call me Guriko-baby!”
Guriko frowned when she heard the lazy female voice coming from the other end of the call. The other woman, however, completely ignored her.
“I caught one of God Mushi Emperor’s terminals.”
Saibara Mina nonchalantly said this from the other end of the line.
“I will now interrogate it to get everything it knows about Single Room. Come to my place right now.”
After two weeks, her frozen time seemed to have started again.
Saibara Mina lived on the third floor of the same building. After having told Sakaki what was said in the phone call, Guriko ran out of the door without even changing her clothes – as she was about to head upstairs, she suddenly realized someone suspicious was in front of the apartment building.
“…”
“…”
To be more exact – she found a pervert.
“… No.” “No, no!” A weak voice said to Guriko, who was frozen in shock.
It was a girl who looked like a primary school student. She kept shaking her head and kept saying ‘no’. Guriko felt like she looked familiar. The girl had two short ponytails and her face looked intelligent, but at the same time looked as if she just pulled a prank and was afraid of being found out.
She would be an ordinary girl seen all over the town if it weren’t for her non-existent arms.
But there was a collar on her neck.
The collar was attached to a strong chain, and the chain was tied to the pillar next to the apartment as if she was a dog. She – Aizawa Ume – blushed, leaned slightly backward, then yelled at Guriko.
“It’s not like that! Trust me, Guriko-nee-san! I couldn’t help it! Really, really – it’s all Kurukiyo’s fault. I’m totally the victim here…!”
This little girl who looked startled and said those broken and confusing words was the serial killer known as “Long-Armed Demon” who had killed more than ten people in Kannosakazaki. She was also an immortal – an Apple-holder. However, she had somehow become the pet of a certain perverted policeman in town.
“…”
Guriko walked towards the crying girl and asked confusedly. “What, what is this about? I don’t quite understand. Are you having fun like this?”
“– Gah!”
Ume’s ability, ‘invisible fists’, flew towards Guriko with a roar. The power of the Apple magnified her psychic abilities and made those fists as powerful as cannon balls. Guriko hurried to jump aside. With a ‘bam’ sound, a hole appeared at the place she was standing at before.
“… what are you doing! That’s very dangerous!”
“Shut up, shut up shut up! Don’t treat me like an idiot!”
Aizawa Ume kept firing out invisible fists. Guriko had to predict where she would strike and dodge ahead of time. Bam! Wham! The corridor and walls were all broken up and pieces flew everywhere.
Long-Armed Demon started to sob.
“I’m not having fun! It’s so embarrassing, I want to die! But I can’t help it. I want to stay next to Kurukiyo and live like a normal person, so I should fulfil his wishes as much as possible, right? Kurukiyo said this is normal, that this is an expression of love. I don’t understand…”
“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but I think you were tricked.”
Guriko said this straightforwardly.
Then she felt a bit odd and asked: “But Long-Armed Demon – couldn’t you use your ‘invisible hands’? If you don’t want to be kept by someone, couldn’t you have torn off that ornamental chain?”
“That’s what I mean… never mind.”
Ume stopped herself and shook her head.
"No. Kurukiyo still doesn't know my hands have recovered. If he knew I regained those hands - that I became the monster named Long-Armed Demon again - he will hate me. Kurukiyo, he... he hates monsters."
"..."
These words hurt the tender parts of Guriko's heart a little, but her expression did not change. She was different from this girl. She did not care if she reverted to a monster. She cannot get Rinne to return to normal without the power of a monster.
Guriko shook her head to chase away the unpleasant feeling and looked at Ume.
"... By the way, Long-Armed Demon, you're serving Zekiguchi Nashinori, aren't you? Should you be so relaxed? Aren't your current status and behavior contrary to Zekiguchi's wishes? Won't you bring trouble to Nageki the longer you stay here?"
"..."
Long-Armed Demon opened her eyes wide and large teardrops rolled down her cheeks. Ume seemed to be conflicted, and her shoulders shook.
She finally moaned in a low voice.
"... But I hate that. I don't want to kill people anymore, and I can't kill people anymore. I already know it feels much happier to save people than to kill them. I'll be very unhappy if I stay with Zeki-kun."
It was a low, hoarse voice. The voice of a lost child.
"I know this will bring Kurukiyo trouble, but... what should I do? What should I do? I don't know! I just want to stay here! I - I - "
"I'm sorry, Long-Armed Demon."
Long-Armed Demon sobbed as Guriko gently caressed her head and muttered.
"No - your name is Ume. It's my fault. You're still a kid. You don't understand that complicated stuff."
"... Don't underestimate me."
Ume kept pretending to be strong. Guriko hugged her gently.
"Mmm, I'm sorry, but I understand what you mean. I'm just the same."
Guriko let go of her and smiled.
"Keep it up, Ume. I hope you will find happiness."
"... Guriko-nee-san?"
Just as Guriko turned away from Ume, who was sitting there in a daze, the iron stairs at the corner of the apartment building started to creak. Nageki Kurukiyo appeared.
He was a strange man. His rather long hair covered the greater half of his face and his clothing was all wrinkled. The way he walked with his back hunched made him look like a wraith and he made no sound as he walked. He casually greeted the two of them.
"Ahh, I made you wait, Ume-chan... Mmm? Why are you crying? Did Guriko-baby make you cry? That won't do. You must get on well with each other."
"Stop calling me Guriko-baby! Everyone is like that..."
Guriko pouted, then patted Nageki Kurukiyo's shoulder rather strongly.
"Also, my dear detective, your perverted behavior needs to have limits. If you dare to make Ume unhappy, then I'll gouge out your eyeballs!"
"Um! This is an expression of my love! Besides, going on a stroll with a collar is just the beginning of everything."
"... I'll gouge out your eyeballs."
Guriko pretended to chase the perverted detective who dared to prey upon elementary school students.
Once she caught up with Nageki, she did teach him a lesson. Guriko then returned to the apartment building with a satisfied expression, and walked towards Mina's room according to their previous arrangement.
Whether by accident or fate, many people involved with 'Apples' were living in this old and decrepit apartment.
She climbed to the third floor along the rusty stairs. The household with the name plate 'Saibara' on it was not as ordinary as it seemed, either.
"Chu~ Guriko-baby! Good evening, ha~"
"Why is everyone calling me Guriko-baby? Which bastard thought up this idiotic nickname? I'm going to blow your stomach open..."
The girl who opened the door had on a hat decorated with large and circular ears, and she wore gloves despite being indoors. Her expression was optimistic and full of smiles - her name was Saibara Mitsuki.
Mitsuki inherited one of the Seven Greater Fragments of God and represented one seventh of God's Role together with the name of Unpleasant Counter-Current. A monstrous strength that could punch a dent in an iron sheet lay behind her innocent looks.
She was originally Guriko’s sworn enemy, but now they were comrades fighting for the same cause.
Mitsuki, who had her hair tied up in a braid, shouted into the room: “Big sis, the eyeball gouger is here~!”
“Oh, eyeball gouger, you’re finally here.”
The woman sniggering and sitting on the chair waved towards Guriko. Saibara Mina, this woman with her pristine white hair tied up in a braid, was Saibara Mitsuki’s older sister. She was also an inhuman existence, one of the seven Roles of God, and was named Sterilization Disinfection after having also inherited one of the Seven Greater Fragments of God.
However, clothes and all sorts of trash were scattered all over the floor. A pile of something unrecognizable was dumped on the coffee table, and she was sitting there sedately with a can of beer in her hand, completely ignoring this horrendously chaotic scene all around her.
Mina looked at Guriko with red cheeks and burped.
“…Burp!”
“You’re an immortal, and yet you’re burping?! Are you having alcohol poisoning?”
Guriko took off her shoes as she said this and walked into the incredibly messy room. Mina and Mitsuki have both completely lost the ability to take care of themselves, and this room would become a hellish dirt pile as soon as someone ceases to help them.
The sisters only started living in this apartment a little while ago. Mina seemed to be a nurse at the hospital, and Mitsuki was a student at the Kannosakazaki High School. The white coat hanging off the cloth hanger on the wall should be Mina’s work clothes.
Mitsuki, who still wore her school uniform, pushed a cushion over for Guriko to sit while smiling at her.
“Big sis has been very serious. She looks fine from the outside~ But it’s really draining to be so uptight all the time. So that’s why she’s all sorts of useless as soon as she gets home~”
“I’m not useless! So rude! Burp~ Alright alright, Guriko-baby, come here and pour me more beer.”
“…”
She would rather have her hands broken than to do that. She would rather die by a curse, or to have her entire family killed – Guriko’s head was full of how she would rather die than to pour beer for Mina. She sighed and looked at Mitsuki, who brought her a soft drink.
“Hey, Mitsuki, how’s your body? Nothing wrong so far?”
“Yep. Don’t worry, I am feeling very well~”
Mitsuki did a victory sign and smiled. The thin pigtail decoration on her butt curled up and swayed side to side. Due to what happened at the Eternity Institute – that place which was veritably an Institute of Nightmares – a while ago, Mitsuki overdrew the power of her Greater Fragment and her physical body almost broke down. In order to save her, Saibara Mina used one of her abilities, Jack JewelFixation Mist, and completely stopped the passage of time on Mitsuki’s body.
It was meant to go on forever – Mitsuki’s time was to be forever stopped like Snow White, who ate the poisoned apple. However, someone suddenly appeared and unsealed Mitsuki’s paused time, and returned her completely shattered flesh to its original state. That person was Single Room, the Greater Fragment of God who possessed the power of Genesis, the existence closest to God in this world. He was also the existence that Guriko and her friends were looking for.
Guriko was looking for him to revert Rinne, who became a Meat Doll, to her original state. Mina and Mitsuki were looking for him to ascertain if Mitsuki’s body was truly returned to normal.
Guriko looked at Mina seriously as she recalled her goal.
“Hey, Sterilization Disinfection, don’t act so drunk and hurry up and explain things to me. Did you really catch a Mushi, a terminal of God Mushi Emperor? Are there any news?”
“… Yes yes, don’t you fret. I do the necessary work diligently enough!”
Having sipped on some tea that Mitsuki brought him, Mina appeared more coherent and smiled at Guriko. She was sitting messily and cross-legged on the chair and looked at her younger sister, who was playing with her braid: “Ki-chan, show us the terminal of God Mushi Emperor.”
"Got it."
With a bam, the wardrobe was opened, and Mitsuki proudly puffed up her chest.
But there was nothing within the empty, dim wardrobe. Guriko didn't understand what was going on. She walked up and saw a bundle of suspicious ropes.
"...What is this?"
"Heh?"
Mina was also very surprised, and a confused look surfaced on her face. She walked up to Guriko and saw the empty wardrobe, then nodded with understanding: "Ah, that's what happened."
Mina clapped her hands.
"The Mushi died because we interrogated it too much. A Mushi is just like a monster and would disintegrate into thin air after it dies - so it only left the ropes we used to tie it up, that was all."
"... Hey!"
Mina twitched the end of her mouth when faced with Guriko's vicious look.
"Don't worry, we already got the information we need. We didn't kill the Mushi straightaway because we thought you’d believe the information more if it came straight out of its mouth." Mina pointed at the cushion and motioned Guriko to sit down, then snapped her fingers.
"Mi-chan, get me the data."
"Big sis, you're ordering me around too much... Hold on~ Woaaaaahhh - "
Mitsuki swiftly picked out some pieces of paper from the untidy pile of rubbish.
Guriko placed it on the coffee table. It seemed to be a typed-up and printed summary of the information they got so far.
"This is...?"
There were only pictures of large buildings on it. Guriko couldn't understand this at all, and passed it to Mina. Mina sipped on some tea and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the pictures: "In conclusion, we know where Single Room is."
"Really?"
Guriko couldn't help but yell out in excitement.
"Single Room is here? He's so close to us? Awesome, let's go right now - "
"Calm down. This isn't like you."
Mina smiled and knocked on Guriko's forehead to stop the latter from jumping up in joy.
"This is the the information gathered by Mushi, the terminal of God Mushi Emperor. We didn't quite understand what exactly it meant, so we interrogated it, and we didn't expect to successfully narrow down on Single Room's whereabouts to this degree. Mi-chan, get me the map!"
"Yes - "
Mitsuki was just sipping at her tea and forcibly pulled out her fingers from her gloves. She had to get up again after hearing her sister's command, and dug out the pre-printed map from the messy rubbish pile.
She should have gotten everything ready. She really was messy.
“I can’t believe Single Room is so close to us!”
Guriko said this as Mina drew circles with a red marker pen on the large map, and pointed out the rough area. Although Guriko don’t quite know how to read maps, even she knew this was very close to them – rather, this circle included the apartment they were currently at and the Kannonsakazaki Private High School.
"The places he frequented are here, here, and here."
Mina made a few marks on the map, and finally drew a star on a building.
"This place in particular. He seemed to be here every night, this building right here."
She pointed at the photo of the building with the tip of her pen.
"We don't know what he was doing there. However, considering that none of us can hide our whereabouts from the Mushi, he shouldn't be doing anything dangerous - anyways, this is an important piece of information. Single Room doesn't know about us for now. We need to get in touch with him and cage him in, and obtained our goals. We have only one chance."
Indeed. If he knew he was being followed, Single Room would certainly hide or run away. If they contacted him carelessly right now, they may never know the way to return Rinne from a Meat Doll to a normal human.
Guriko's face became solemn as she arrived at this conclusion.
"We must be very careful right now. If he got a bad expression of us, then we might not receive his help."
"Yes... Anyways, we should try talking with him first. We can only pray that Single Room is a kind soul. However, the Greater Fragment closest to God - is probably going to be very unpredictable."
Mina mumbled in a lowly voice, took out some canned beer from God knows where, and poured into Guriko's teacup. The dark brown mixture of tea and beer flew out of the cup.
"...What are you doing, drunkard?"
"Mmm, let's call it a day. We'll discuss how to approach Single Room and how to fight him tomorrow. Anyways, to celebrate achieving our goal, let's drink!"
"We're having a banquet~" Mitsuki snuck up too, and brought a bunch of canned beers and dishes with her.
Mina popped open the canned beer and poured the whole can into her own glass, looking as if already drunk.
Guriko looked at her with incomprehension.
"... You really have no worries, do you? I’m not staying. I need to go back. I might die if our negotiation with Single Room breaks down - so I want to spend some time with Rinne and Sakaki."
"Oh? You won't even drink with me?"
Guriko stood up and was going to leave. Mina took hold of her shoulder in a drunken way.
"No, no. Guriko-baby is such a good friend of ours. We're comrades together. Let's drink together and have a good chat."
"... Erk..."
Guriko’s resolve wavered. She turned and grasped the glass - but she still shook her head forcibly.
“No, I can’t. School taught me alcohol is bad for the human body!”
“Oho, you’re so cute! You’re such a goodie-good, so obedient to teachers. Don’t worry. The power of the Apple can maintain your liver. You won’t damage your body just from drinking.”
Mina said with a half-smile on her face: “Oh? Could it be that – you’ve never tasted alcohol before?”
Guriko stood still and expressionless.
“Er…”
“Ahahah! The world-famous Gankyū Eguriko-sama is afraid of this liquid made from fermented hops? Aha – so cute! Haha, you’re really a Guriko-baby. You’re never going to grow up, always staying a short little child!”
“Ehhhhh….!”
Under Mina’s full-out challenge, Guriko’s expression became stiff and looked unhappy, and pouted her lips.
Seeing the two of them like that, Mitsuki mumbled in a low voice: “big sis’s bad personality hasn’t changed at all.” But Guriko didn’t hear this at all.
“Don’t look down on me, Sterilization Disinfection! How can I possibly be scared of a few glasses of beer! Alright – I’ll drink it in front of you, I’ll drink it with you! And I won’t get drunk like you!”
Gulp. She took a big gulp after taking up the glass. Guriko couldn’t help but frown. It tasted awful. She poured the mixture of beer and tea into her belly all at once and put the glass down onto the coffee table.
“Woah, keep going! Awesome, awesome!” Mitsuki clapped her hands emotionlessly and looked at Mitsuki. “… Ki-chan, Guriko-baby didn’t seem to have drunk enough. Come and pour some more alcohol for her.”
“Eh? But –”
“Erm… Erk… Guriko-baby, hurry and leave! This is big sis’s sly trap!”
Mitsuki muttered this as she opened another can of beer and filled up Guriko’s glass as her big sister ordered. Guriko looked sideways with a challenging look at Mina, and once again drank the entire content in one gulp.
This really challenges the taste, and it tastes awful. And – her body was somehow getting hotter. Her head was getting dizzy and she couldn’t think.
“Oho, hoho, ohohoho –”
Mina made a terrifying laugh and kept shaking Guriko from left to right, her face full of excitement.
"... I heard from the Meat Doll Hino that she used sleeping pills to put Guriko-baby to sleep - Guriko-baby really have no resistance to these things. So how does it feel to not think about anything at all? That's the so-called feeling of being drunk."
Guriko's face was fully red and she opened her eyes hazily.
"...Cauld water, gimme, some cauld water..."
"The way you talk is so weird. Ahh - you're so cute! I'm so excited. Gankyū Eguriko is really drunk and her face is so red -" Mina grabbed hold of Guriko, who was wobbling, and poured canned beer straight into Guriko's mouth while laughing loudly.
That sadistic laugh was positively that of a devil.
"Come, come, let me see how you look when you are drunk! Don't think about anything else and lemme see your cute face!"
"Waaa - awaaaa~!"
Mitsuki stretched out her hand and forcibly pulled away Guriko, who was letting Mina have her way with her. Mitsuki's face was so upset it was almost green.
"Big sis's bad habits are back again. All you know is how to bully people! Big sis is so naughty! Stop it, Guriko-baby is so pitiable!"
"Don't stand in my way, Ki-chan. Even if the person hindering me is my own sister, I won't let you... Hey, Guriko-baby, keep drinking, stop thinking..."
"Gulp..."
Mina kept shaking Guriko. Guriko, who was completely drunk, shook her hand and tried to resist. "Nuu, duun't wanna, duun't wanna."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand you at all!"
"Uuuuurgh - "
Guriko finally fainted in her drunkenness and fell down onto the coffee table with a bam, and fell deeply asleep. Her careless expression was just like that of a little animal, and her breathing sounded even and peaceful.
"And now - "
Once she made sure Guriko was sound asleep, Mina looked at Mitsuki, who was glaring at her in shock.
"Do you understand, Ki-chan? It's just as we planned - let's prepare for 'that' once Gankyū Eguriko falls asleep."
"... Big sis is really a devil." Mitsuki's expression became gloomy, which was rare for her, and mumbled. Mina, at the meantime, laughed loudly and merrily.
"... Mmm?"
When Guriko woke up, she saw that she was dressed in a long dress with red silk decorations, and she felt like she was still in a dream. Her head was remarkably heavy and her thoughts were confused. The unendurable smell of alcohol lingered on her breath.
"Big sis, Gu-Gu seemed to have woken up."
She heard Mitsuki's voice.
Who is Gu-Gu? What a disgusting name - Guriko thought this confusedly. Suddenly, a chilling fear overwhelmed her, and she woke with a start. This - was not a dream? The feeling of the dress on her skin was so vivid, and Mitsuki's voice did not sound like a mirage at all.
She tried to move her body and felt waves of motion.
It was very dark around her. Light music was coming from somewhere in the background.
This was - where was...?
"Gu-Gu, are you ok? Still drunk? You just need to wait for your liver to get rid of the alcohol. Mmm, would you like some tea to recover faster?"
"..."
She could tell Mitsuki was eagerly trying to help her, but she couldn't tell where the other was. Guriko still felt really dizzy, and her hand touched a drink bottle full with tea.
"Urk..."
Like Mitsuki said, the raging alcohol in her body was gradually getting digested. As she drank the ice cold tea, she was starting to feel much better. As she looked at her surroundings, Guriko finally realized she was sitting in a car.
They seemed to be in a rental car. It was small but moderately comfortable. She was lying across the backseat, and Mina was sitting seriously in front of the steering wheel, while Mitsuki was sitting in the passenger's seat and looking at Guriko worriedly - that seemed to sum it up. Where were they? Why did they get her onto the car? Where were they driving to? Why was she asleep? - Numerous answers emerged in her head, but there was something even more incredulous. Guriko sought for that 'something' in her mind.
"... Hey, mouse, why did you put such a disgusting dress on me?"
"Mouse? Me?" Mitsuki tucked her braid into her hat with round ears and opened her eyes wide. "Uuu - what to do... I, I don't know what to say - big sis can explain this!"
"... I'm driving. Don't talk to me."
Mina replied impolitely. There was something wrong with how she handled the steering wheel. Perhaps she was not yet proficient in driving.
Mina and Mitsuki were dressed in the same splendid kind of gowns as Guriko, but they were driving a rather ordinary and cheap car. Were they going to a ball? Why would they wear such strange clothes?
"Chuu~ Oh well. Lemme explain it for you."
Wearing a magnificent long dress but still wearing her hat, tail, and giant gloves, Mitsuki began to explain with some difficulty. "Do you still remember those pictures of the large building before we got drunk?"
"Aaa - yes."
Although the scent of alcohol still lingered in the air and her memories still seemed fuzzy, Guriko remembered it.
It was the building where Single Room would head towards almost every night.
Mitsuki continued after she saw Guriko nod.
"After a brief investigation, we found something like an underground ball happening every night there. It's a really really chaotic party with gambling, violence, prostitution, and all sorts of stuff like that."
"..."
How did these guys manage to find out about this suspicious stuff? It wasn't legal, so it must have been held in secret. Maybe they caught someone who went to this party and questioned him. Guriko couldn't be bothered to figure these things out, but there was one thing she was very concerned with.
That should be the main issue.
“Does Single Room go to that party every night?”
“That is only our guess. That’s the only event that happens every night in this building, so the possibility is very high. So we’re going to dress like this and secretly join that party, and we can contact Single Room if we’re lucky enough. That’s our goal for today~” Mitsuki smiled brilliantly at her, while Guriko started to look over the dress she had on her.
“But – even if we want to disguise ourselves, do we need to wear such extravagant clothing? We can hide on the rooftop and secretly observe…”
“Mmm, we did consider that. However, that building was thoroughly covered by surveillance and had guards, so it will be near impossible to observe while in hiding. Although we can use the power of our Fragment to twist cause and effect and go join the party that way, this is much safer.”
Both Mina and Mitsuki had a Grater Fragment of God within their body, and Guriko also had a Lesser Fragment named ‘Apple’ within her that granted her immortality – those contained the power to twist cause and effect and create miracles.
One example would be how she managed to study at a high school without any proof of residence or of her identity.
Although Guriko never tried, it should also be useful to get into parties like this.
As she thought this, Mina suddenly turned around and looked at Guriko unblinkingly with a smile.
“Just give up already. I knew you would hate it, that’s why I got you into that dress while you were passed out drunk. It’s a very formal party, so it will be too incongruous for you to sneak in dressed in your everyday clothes. It can’t be helped.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. This really suits Guriko~ Chuu, so cute~”
“…” Guriko furrowed her brows and looked at her bothersome dress.
Her arms and legs couldn’t move freely. It would be troublesome if they started a fight – Guriko sighed as she thought this. It was just like old times. She was incapable of thinking like a normal human girl. But that was fine. It should be fine. She had decided to go back to being a monster. She didn’t need to be cute. She never wanted to be treated like a girl.
“…”
Why did her chest hurt? It was as if she lost something important to her without realizing it, as if she lost her soul.
She shook her head.
“…So, we’re going to find Single Room at that party? A red-head boy with canine teeth – that should be easy.”
“Mmm, provided Tatsu-chan and Mi-chan’s evidence were correct. We didn’t see him ourselves after all. Traces of his passing, supernatural killing intent – we need to pay attention to all sorts of things too. My memories were rather fuzzy when Single Room showed up, because my ‘fixation’ was getting removed…”
‘Tatsu-chan’ was Kuroki Tatsue, and ‘Mi-chan’ was Takamikado Mitaka. They couldn’t do much when it comes to fighting, and Guriko didn’t want them to be involved in this, so they were not a part of the operation to find Single Room.
Even so, she had a basic understanding of the situation already.
“I understand. It’s not that dangerous. We just need to search and find Single Room.”
“… Don’t be careless, Gankyū Eguriko.” Mina pronounced her ominous name evenly. “The people taking care of this building are the group that once operated the Eternal Institute – the Sakaki Organization.”
This skyscraper hosted secret parties and was a hotel at the same time. The Sakaki Organization was a world-famous conglomeration and everything from the interior décor to the people coming in and out of the building exuded an aura of elegance and nobility.
But it was impossible to see such things from where he was.
“Nom – nom – nom.” A humming sound and the sharp sound of chewing something hard reverberated in the narrow ventilation duct. A boy was lazily lying in this narrow space, where an average adult couldn’t even fit in and only children could barely squeeze into. He was chewing something in his mouth. The sound of crunching was coming from his puffed-up cheeks.
"... Bah, bah! Urgh, this won't do. It's tough and hard to eat; it's terrible. It took so much effort for me to find it - damn it, I thought this apple was just the right size and good to chew on."
It was an apple-shaped decoration made of solid gold and emanated an enchanting aura, and it looked very realistic.
But now there was drool on it and, to make it more horrifying, there were even teeth marks on it. If it could be returned to how it was before and sold in the market, it would fetch a lot of money.
The boy who patrolled the roof and the ventilation ducts like a ninja happened to find this object.
This thing was hidden in secret, which piqued his curiosity. It was only a decoration however, even though he went to such lengths to find it. Maybe it was someone's private property, but these fiscal matters did not interest Kajiri.
"It can't be helped. Never mind - I got it after so much effort, so I should give it to Breako later. She's very poor, so if she sold this it should provide her with some money to live by for a while." The boy looked at the apple, which glowed with an incredible light in the darkness.
"Oh -"
There seemed to be some words carved on the apple. L, O, V, E, S, O, N, G. The boy furrowed his brows. Although he tried very hard to decipher it, he immediately gave up because it was too troublesome.
"Can't read it. I don't even understand much Japanese, how can I understand this?!"
He wiped the apple with his clothes and yawned, impolitely revealling the canine teeth in his mouth. He then tied the apple to a thin string and hung it around his neck. This way, he won't forget the apple again.
"... Oh? Some rare folks arrived."
The boy, who was given the strange name Nikuyama Kajiri and lived with the foreign woman Breaksun Hanselmine in the decrepit apartment, showed a nervous expression.
The signature red hair crowned his annoyed face. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans entirely too big for him. A decoration hang off his neck, and it looked like something between a crucifix and a knife. That was the only thing that did not match his unfashionable looks.
"Sterilization Disinfection - and Unpleasant Counter-Current?"
The boy revealed his canine teeth again and made a low whine like a small animal that was threatened.
"And then there is - " His expression suddenly became one of surprise. "Who's this person?"
Sterilization Disinfection, Unpleasant Counter-Current; the Greater Fragments with these names has enormous presences and could not be ignored.
What was their goal? Him, or Breaksun? Or were they after Melodia NoiseTear Song, who was hiding somewhere within this building?
- No matter what... "This person is not a Greater Fragment, but... but, but this person is too strong! What, what thing is this?"
A strange aura walked beside the two Greater Fragments. It was not an existence like a Greater Fragment - and this person's flesh was not like Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest when he was under disguise, nor like the terminals of God Mushi Emperor. No matter how those individuals changed their appearance, their aura would never change.
Kajiri became interested in that strange existence. Slowly, he took hold of the crucifix hanging from his neck.
It was very dark all around him.
He could not see anything in here. It was like he was sitting inside the void, where he could not feel anything. Though he was still lying in the ventilation duct where filthy air was passing through very quickly, the boy became alarmed like that of a beast.
Ever since Breaksun disappeared on that night, he began to notice that she would go out every dusk. No, not just at dusk, but also at around daybreak, during the day, or night. Time did not matter.
These kind of disappearances kept happening.
Breaksun was not someone who could hide things. Kajiri understood this.
It was precisely because of this that Kajiri was particularly concerned about her strange behavior.
"..."
Was he being betrayed again? Was he being cheated? Were they after him for revenge? He found it hard to imagine Breaksun tricking him. She was a good girl. However, due to his experience with being locked up for hundreds of years in the gloomy forest, Kajiri became extremely anxious.
He needed to endure this. He needed to pretend that nothing was happening, like when he was living with Breaksun.
However, he finally could not endure it anymore, and Kajiri began to follow her.
The focus of his chase was this building. She would go silent every time she saw this skyscraper. He didn't know why this building was built and how people regarded it. All he knew was that Breaksun was here doing something, and recently he realized it also had something to do with Melodia NoiseTear Song. In order to discover all this, Kajiri began his investigations.
Kajiri detested himself for having doubts towards Breaksun, who had saved him. But it was more terrifying to be betrayed. If he was betrayed again, his mind would definitely crumble completely, unable to take this.
"Hmmm."
With a small sound, Kajiri pierced the back of his own hand with the sharp, knife-like end of the crucifix without hesitation.
Then, incredibly, his blood spluttered out - and then, as if it was conscious, the drops of blood wriggled along the ventilation duct, as if each of them was a small snake or an incredulous swarm of insects.
Kajiri's bodily fluids began to move towards every corner of the building and started to send all sorts of information back to him such as temperature, humidity, and the components in the air. It also included visual information such as the ladies and gentlemen strolling and chatting around the building, and the all various delicacies being transported here. A party seemed to take place in this building every night.
Apart from his target and the bystanders, Kajiri's blood also discovered the Greater Fragments. One was a beautiful woman with white hair tied up in a braid. The other was a young short girl in a magnificent dress and a strange hat. And also -
"Welcome to my room." Without any emotion, Kajiri murmured lowly. "Sterilization Disinfection. Unpleasant Counter-Current. And -"
As if his opponent was right in front of him, Kajiri asked with a light smile: "Just what are you?"
And the girl faraway suddenly lifted up her head, as if she felt Kajiri's presence.
"..."
Guriko suddenly lifted up her head as if she felt someone called out to her. Although she concentrated hard and tried to feel and hear for anyone nearby, she still could not be sure. Perhaps she still hasn't completely woken up from her drunkenness. She blinked, and moved her gaze back to the party. Guriko still didn't quite understand what these magnificent and luxurious activities mean.
The splendid decorations, the melodious music, and the outlandish performances; the people gathered here seemed to have removed their ordinary masks. Even actors who could often be seen on TV and clerics who were frequently named in the news were all sinking into madness here without care.
Overall, she felt it was a group of extraordinary people gathered here simply for the sake of more excitement.
All of them had unusual smiles and easily made conversations on economics or politics. In general, it was a place she was not comfortable with.
The room was very spacious, and the huge floor was covered with thick rugs. Self-service machines stood everywhere laden with drinks, and trays of lavish food dotted the room. The people conversed in formal attire, emitting a sense of nobility.
The stage was set opposite the entrance and there were very few people in its vicinity. That was where Guriko's group stood. They did not eat and did not talk to others, as if preserving a little bit of consciousness in this completely different world.
"Pornographic. Perverted. Waste of time."
Something was happening on the stage, where distasteful light and sound effect was being employed. There was the occasional scream of "Monster! Frog-man!". A strange man with distorted elbows and knees was being displayed. Mina looked at that monstrosity and mumbled without any interest.
"I heard it was a perverted performance by perverts, so I did come here with a little expectation - Mmm, it's just something like this. There's nothing interesting."
"... That's what you think. I am feeling thoroughly disgusted."
Guriko replied.
These things were indeed too ordinary for Mina, who was skilled in creating perverted monsters such as Meat Dolls. These things could not satisfy her. However, this was a blatant act of crime for any ordinary person.
People kept appearing on the stage. Humans with all sorts of malformations were being introduced to the audience. They were given outrageous names such as mermaid, dog-man, demon... their dignity as humans were totally annihilated. If the human rights organizations heard about this, this place would probably be wiped out even if they have to resort to terrorist methods.
What was different between ordinary people and these malformed people? Were only ordinary humans permitted to live happily in this world? Guriko had been told by kind people that this was not the case, but she once again sank into anxiety when she saw the scene before her.
The right arm that she had lost gave off a phantom pain and she furrowed her brows. Then she heard a singing voice.
"---"
It was a tired and mundane voice.
She looked up at the stage. The horrendous scene had finished and a singer, who she might have seen somewhere before, appeared on the stage and was straining her voice in song. Where had she seen this woman before? Perhaps on the TV.
Guriko doesn't quite understand music. She didn't quite understand what was being sung, and she didn't feel touched when she heard melodies. Guriko only liked to stay quietly by herself. Singing was a loud business, and that was why she hated it.
The woman on the stage was dressed in a lavish dress and roared out superfluous lyrics that meant nothing - Guriko really hated such scenes. All this talk about love and lovers... what a bother.
"... I hate the sound of singing."
"Oh, what a coincidence! I agree. I hate it too." Mina replied. She, on the other hand, had already gotten used to these surroundings as they searched for Single Room. Mitsuki, who was yelling "But I like it!", was completely ignored.
"I remember when I was in elementary school and we had to sing because it was a compulsory class. We didn't want to sing at all because we don't have any thoughts or emotions we wanted to express through song. But then the teacher said those who didn't sing were all bad children. I was so upset to hear that!"
"That's right. Why do things like songs even exist? And musical instruments, too."
Guriko sighed with a serious expression.
"They are so damn loud. I hate it when I was trying to think and the loud sound of music suddenly pops up. If I'm strolling in town or went shopping and I heard loud singing, I would get very upset. Shouldn't you just talk if you want to communicate? How can something like song communicate anything?"
She said this in a low voice that was full of spite. Suddenly -
"... That's not true." She heard a voice. It was a happy female voice mixed in the sound of singing.
"---?"
Guriko was startled and looked towards the voice. She didn't notice this person at all, not even with the power of her Fragment. This woman appeared as if from thin air, and none of them had even noticed her presence.
She was sitting on the edge of the stage and dangled her feet off it, but she also seemed to be right next to Guriko's group. This woman was smiling at them. Incredibly, neither the singer who was singing hoarsely about love and lovers nor the ordinary people around Guriko noticed her existence.
This woman, who remained undetected as if she was a ghost, said with a sing-song and light-hearted voice.
"According to the Bible, God destroyed the Tower of Babel and split the original, unified human language into different languages such as English and Japanese - this disunity made humans incapable of communicating with and understanding each other. However, before the collapse of the Tower of Babel - people communicated in the same language and lived in communal understanding and love."
The woman smiled prettily and spread out her arms.
"What kind of language was that? I always thought that to be incredible. But it was perhaps – no, it definitely was – music."
The woman dyed her long hair green and tied it into loose ponytails on both sides of her head. Her hair was fluffy and curled, as if she just rolled out of bed. She was dressed in flamboyant colors and gave out a thoroughly strange and startling impression. A tear-like sticker was stuck below her right eye.
The electric guitar she carried over her right shoulder also had cute stickers all over it.
A dream-like, miraculous color seemed to flow in her eyes.
"A long long long time ago, people communicated through music and songs - would that memory be the reason we are still singing today? Are we singing from the bottom of our hearts in order to get back that feeling of trust and unity we had back then? Is that why we are singing for people other than ourselves to hear?"
"Boom." Completely ignoring the music already being played on the stage, she struck her guitar.
"Singing is all about love, lovers, friendship. Isn't every song a song of love that expresses our love for others and our love for the world that others love? Music is the universal language of the entire world - it was the ultimate unified language that connected us all before the collapse of the Tower of Babel. --- Really love it~"
Her guitar suddenly made a sharp, loud sound. She sung loudly with a startlingly clear voice: "Really love it~"
The atmosphere of the place suddenly changed.
This disgusting party - this place full of people who lived in an alien world of slaughter gathered - suddenly changed its atmosphere due to the clear song she just produced.
The woman began to sing.
"Really love it~ Really love it-- Reaaallly really love it~---"
This sound, like the feeling of electric shocks, began to reverberate. It was an unbelievable experience.
It was as if the world was frozen over. Everyone's body became stiff. As if she had cast magic over the entire place, everyone seemed to know her - at the same time, everyone was attracted to this song.
A song that consisted of only one phrase.
It had nothing to do with her rhythm. She was just singing something random, but it was enough to shake everyone's heart. What was happening?
Soon, even language ceased to appear in her music - "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~" It was just a sound, that was all.
"---!!"
This fleeting gratitude - there was a wish that wanted to express these feelings. This definitely exists. The people in this world were still searching for it and wanting to express it. This was the primordial language that disappeared with the destruction of the Tower of Babel, the language that could communicate with anyone in the world.
Songs.
A song of love.
A pure and absolute language that expressed thought and emotions in their rawest form.
Guriko was stunned. Mina and Mitsuki also could not speak. The ladies and gentlemen around them were all standing dazed, and the original singer in the middle of the stage also fell silent as if ashamed.
"~------!! Ah------"
Unbelievably, tears rolled down her cheeks.
This warm liquid was rolling down her cheeks and dripping down her jaw. Was she crying? Why?
Guriko lowered her head.
She wanted to be loved. She wanted to have a full life. She hated being alone - the weak parts in Guriko's heart was being drowned out by the singing voice of the unknown woman.
Really love it. This innocent emotion was being spread everywhere.
"~---------!"
Her string was echoing as it was being plucked.
Guriko felt her heart was being gorged out, as if all the bones in her body were being melted. She could not move. Guriko collapsed into a chair and could not stop her tears. For the first time in her life, she wanted to voice a wish, and she wanted to say she loves someone.
Music wasn't anyone's private property. Breaksun felt that no one needed permission to sing.
Anyone could just open their mouth and sing if they want to. That was how Breaksun was. She sung whenever she wanted to.
She lost her father in endless confusion and tears when she was still young. Her father gave Breaksun many mothers, many younger siblings, and infinite love. She no longer remembered what he looked like, but his disappearance made huge changes in Breaksun's life.
Breaksun fell into the curse of being unable to make connections with other people every since his disappearance. She had cursed him and this world many times over. Why could she not make friends with anybody?
She began to sing to herself at street corners out of the unbearable loneliness. No one would notice her anyways, and she didn't feel embarrassed. However, she was still hoping someone would notice her. That strong emotion filled her entire being.
She wanted to pass on her emotions onto someone.
She wanted someone to look at her. That was her only wish. That person didn't need to do anything. He only needs to quietly listen to her talk.
Incredibly, people only noticed her when she sung.
According to Kajiri's later explanation, Breaksun would only control her power, which had always been out of her control, when she was singing. Only then could she manage to link her own cause and effect with that of others.
Why did it only happen when she was singing? And what is this 'cause and effect'? She didn't understand. Breaksun thought it was probably because she wanted to connect with someone. She was so lonely. She wanted to talk to people. She wanted to be close to people. She wanted friends. She wanted a lover. She wanted a family. At the end, humans could not live on their own. Humans were like this both physically and mentally.
Therefore, Breaksun kept singing without regard for anything else.
Like a lonely bird that kept singing in order to find a mate, she kept giving out songs with which she wanted to be heard by someone, that she wanted to affect a heart.
"You are not bad. This is the first time I heard such a genuine singing voice."
She was somehow given the title 'Kingdom of Witches' and had beome a legend amongst street musicians. A mumbling voice came to her one day.
"What a pity - you are completely oblivious of your own miracle. Would you like to use your power in a more meaningful way, Witch?"
The existence named Joker laughed as if it was an incorporeal wraith.
She heard a thunderous applause. The audience that gathered up to her clapped their hands in ecstasy and gave out yells of surprise. They did not conceal their gratitude at all and expressed all of it as if they were simple children. No matter their gender, no matter their social positions, they were all touched by her song as living humans.
Guriko was no exception. She could not move, as if her feet were firmly nailed into the floor. Mitsuki relaxed when she saw this, and started to clap loudly too.
Whereas Mina -
"- Urk."
Mina was the only one who retained a solemn expression in this space filled with ecstasy. Guriko was also very puzzled by her expression.
What was wrong - why did she look so scary?
"This power forcibly linked people's minds with her own cause and effect - this is the power of her voice. How did I only discover this now? This feeling of a Greater Fragment -"
Mina suddenly screamed.
"...PoisonCatastrophe!"
"Urk -" The woman singing on the side of the stage suddenly looked scared. "How did you - " The woman said in a low voice.
Mina looked as if she made a correct guess and leapt up. The pristine white long dress she wore flew like the wings of a butterfly. The crowd started to stir. Guriko was also no longer entranced. Mina ran up to the green-haired woman and grasped her like a beast.
"Single Room was looking for PoisonCatastrophe - Do, do you know Single Room?!"
"---"
The woman, who had previously looked nonchalant, froze when she heard this.
Guriko opened her eyes wide and stared at the stage as she starting to think.
PoisonCatastrophe? That seemed to be a Greater Fragment of equal standing with Mina and Mitsuki. What was that splendid voice? She didn't feel any malevolence or enmity in it -
But PoisonCatastrophe was indeed the unknown Greater Fragment that Single Room was looking for. It was as Mina said.
Could it be that PoisonCatastrophe was also looking for Single Room and she was waiting for him here?
"Huh, huh -"
The woman started to scream pitifully and hugged her head. Guriko didn't understand what was going on. Mina stretched out her hand and grabbed the front of the woman's dress, and forcibly pulled her up.
- Bam! There was an enormous sound of explosion. Guriko looked up at the ceiling, where the sound came from.
"Woah - "
Dust flew everywhere and rubble rained down from above. A red object dropped down like a comet.
"Mina, watch out!" Guriko screamed.
Mina looked up and yelled as she tried to dodge, but she was too late.
The shockwave of the collapsing ceiling threw her against the wall.
"Big sis!"
Mitsuki screamed and jumped up to the stage, wanting to catch Mina. But then Mina, still with flames of anger in her eyes, Mitsuki, and Guriko, all froze in shock.
The woman who was saved from Mina was also surprised.
"Kajiri...?"
"Mmm. Don't worry, Breako."
A red-haired boy smiled and said this, revealing his canine teeth. He held a crucifix in his right hand and his palm was somehow bleeding. His rusty blood stained the crucifix sanguineous red, and it pulsed with a chilling red light.
He was...
"I'm not Breako." Facing the woman who was calmly correcting him irrespective of the situation, the boy looked slightly upset before giving a sigh. He looked at the three others from head to toe. "Alright, let's escape. When it comes down to a fight, Single Room and PoisonCatastrophe cannot overcome the punishing Sterilization Disinfection and Unpleasant Counter-Current."
"Single Room!" Guriko yelled out.
She found him. She finally found him, this existence that could revert Rinne to how she used to be.
This Greater Fragment that might be able to deliver her salvation in this world full of failures and tragedies -
Single Room.
"Don't look at me like that."
Single Room spoke as he looked back at Guriko, who was looking at him with great sorrow in her eyes.
"... I am not God."
The party was full of chaos. There were wails and roars, curses and shouts. All sorts of sounds merged into a riot and exploded like a fireball. Feeling the confused and dangerous atmosphere, the people all ran away. Amongst them, the boy called Kajiri ran forward while holding on to the hand of the green-haired woman.
It was like a knight protecting a princess. Apart from being somewhat lacking in the quality of their outfit, everything else seemed quite similar.
“Um, um – Kajiri, the performance isn’t over yet…”
The woman was still somewhat confused and her electrical guitar had also fallen to the ground, and she was running rather awkwardly. The boy named Kajiri did not reply to her and kept running towards the exit while holding to her hand.
“…Damn it. Single Room and PoisonCatastrophe are already allies? He misunderstood the way I wanted to grab PoisonCatastrophe just then and got a really bad impression of us.” Mina clicked her tongue and took out her spray cans. “Oh well – I can’t change the past… don’t let them run away.”
She made the declaration with a low voice and stretched one spray can out in an angle. “Type B - Jack JewelFixation Mist!” There was a sound of explosion, like the explosion of a glass with acid in it, and something invisible sprayed out in front of Mina.
Mina was Sterilization Disinfection – the Greater Fragment with the power to eliminate and fixate everything. Guriko had once fought to the death against her; she knew her abilities better than anybody.
“…I’m going on ahead. You should follow up quickly too.” Mina yelled at Mitsuki and Guriko, who were standing next to her. She sprayed Jack JewelFixation Mist as she leapt onto the ground, then she jumped on top of the very space that was solidified by Jack JewelFixation Mist and passed secretly above the frightened masses people.
“Woah!” Guriko was very unhappy with Mina’s unrealistic behaviors that involved buying time through using the riotous and confused crowds here. “You Greater Fragments are just like usual, just a bunch of monsters!”
“Oho – I’m actually not that agile.” Mina smiled in an alluring way as she kept moving forwards and her long skirt fluttered.
“Ahh~ Big sis is so awesome! But everyone can see your panties~” Mitsuki was completely oblivious to the current situation and yelled happily.
Guriko was trying to get past the crowds of people running everywhere due to the unnatural events that happened. Mitsuki went up and grabbed her shoulder.
“…What, mouse?”
“I’m not very good with starting a fight, so Guriko-baby will need to help big sis~ Please~ We’re launching! Guriko-baby, launch~”
Without any further explanations, Mitsuki lifted Guriko up with her monstrous strength and threw her.
“Aaaah –” Guriko flew straight towards Single Room. Her skirt flapped around her, and things kept whirling in her vision. Guriko slammed straight into Mina and the two of them tumbled into a mess.
Kajiri ran away with PoisonCatastrophe during that time.
Mina stood up abruptly as she pulled on her long skirt with difficulty, and yelled angrily: “What the heck – what were you doing?!”
“I’m sorry! But it’s entirely your younger sister’s fault!”
Mitsuki was trying her hardest to get near the other two. She was squeezing through the riotous crowds with great difficulty due to her short stature.
Her ability was a protective kind and was as good as an amateur in an offensive fight, therefore she did not plan to join in the battle from the start.
The two of them walked out of the door of the room and began to look for Single Room.
“That’s PoisonCatastrophe! Let’s catch up to her – ”
“But… where’s Single Room?”
The red-haired boy who was beside PoisonCatastrophe a while ago had disappeared. Mina’s eyes widened when she heard Guriko’s remainder – and her neck suddenly began to spurt out blood.
“- Urk…?!”
Mina was stunned and she fumbled to reach for her own neck. Her cranial artery seemed to have been cut open – her warm blood spurted out fiercely in an unbelievable shade of red. It sprayed everywhere and stained the lavishly decorated corridor.
It was undoubtedly a lethal wound for an ordinary human, but Mina was very calm. She ignored the cold sweat that seeped out of her forehead and used her fingers to press down on the wound as she took out a spray can with skull decorations.
It was Type-A – Genocide JusticeAnnihilation Mist.
It was a diabolical mist that can completely annihilate anything it touched. Guriko’s right arm was completely consumed due to this power and never managed to recover.
“You - !”
Mina screamed as she sprayed Genocide JusticeAnnihilation Mist towards the ceiling. A silver mist, like the shadow of a hoard of insects, exploded upwards –
The sparkling chandelier on the ceiling suddenly snapped and fell towards Single Room, who was standing underneath it.
“Mina!”
No! Single Room would die - Guriko couldn't help but yell as she realized this. Single Room jumped down from the ceiling and barely managed to escape from the mist that fell down from above him.
With a 'bam', the chandelier fell on the ground. Single Room moved back a little and put some distance between him and Mina.
Mina used Jack JewelFixation Mist to close her wound and temporarily stopped her bleeding. Once 'fixed' by her mist, her wound stayed in the same state and blood no longer flew out. Although she would not die from blood loss due to her status as a Greater Fragment, her brain would still shut down and faint if she lost too much blood.
"A knife - such an ordinary weapon?"
Guriko took out her spoon as she confirmed the current situation. Single Room used his crucifix-like knife to cut open Mina's throat as he leapt down from above. The weapon he used was truly unbelievable.
"Mina, are you okay? You can rest if the wound is too much."
"Are you kidding? It's only a scratch." Mina shrugged.
Indeed. Despite the large amount of blood lost, the wound was not a deep one.
It would be more difficult if her hand was cut off or her brain was gorged out. That would be a very severe injury and she would be unable to move.
But it was still not a good idea for them to fight Single Room. After all, their intention was just to obtain his assistance. They must declare their intention first and try to get out of their current situation, where they faced each other as hostile opponents.
"Um..."
Guriko was not good with negotiating. She was unsure of herself, and just tried her hardest to yell with her most genuine voice: "Hold on! Please calm down, Single Room. You are - you are Single Room. right?"
"..."
Probably still on guard, he did not reply to Guriko's question and only looked toward her with astonishment.
"... I know of Sterilization Disinfection and Unpleasant Counter-Current, but who are you?"
"Gankyū Eguriko."
"What an odd name."
"Shut up! Don't underestimate me - Um..." Suddenly remembering that they should not make him upset, Guriko nodded rather stiffly. "...It, it is an odd name."
"Then I'll call you Ganko?"
"Don't use that kind of nickname - um, er, ok, Ganko is fine." She seemed to have gone off on a tangent.
Mina, whose dress was stained with blood and was lying on the ground, stood up next to Guriko. "Stop wasting your breath. Let me do this."
Mina, with her pristine white dress stained red with her blood, said clearly to Single Room: "Single Room, we do not wish to fight. Please calm down and listen to me."
"..."
Single Room looked at Guriko and then looked at Mina with a glance full of doubt.
"... Wasn't it you who attacked first?"
"See? All thanks to your actions, Single Room is upset. What are you doing to do now, Mina?"
Mina looked sideways at Guriko upon the other's questions. Her face looked as if she was going to ask Guriko just exactly which side the latter was on.
"Anyways -" Mina closed her eyes and stretched her hand out as if with an invitation. "I would like to ask you some things, Single Room."
She then looked at Guriko, who looked concerned, and added with a bitter smile.
"Indeed, we also hope you can help us with your power."
"..."
Single Room moved his head a little, looking as if he was slightly moved.
Guriko became a bit more reassured after seeing this. He was not as hard to communicate with as Mina and the Long-Armed Demon were when they first met, and he did not seem to have hidden agendas like Zekiguchi.
She could tell he was a kind person. At least, she could communicate with him.
However –
“That won’t do.”
A sound suddenly appeared.
The figure of a woman appeared incongruously, as if she literally popped out of thin air. She has mirage-like green hair, had a tear-shaped sticker on her face and was dressed outrageously – was it PoisonCatastrophe, who should have ran away?
“Breaksun?!”
Single Room did not anticipate her appearance either and he opened his eyes wide in shock,
“Ah, you got my name right this time. Good good. I am indeed called Breaksun.”
The woman named Breaksun said those unimportant things slowly as she turned to the others.
Breaksun – that name sounded familiar…
Guriko seemed to remember something, but then she lost it again.
“I’m sorry.”
Breaksun pushed down Single Room’s head as she bowed, looking veritably like a mother with her young child.
“Kajiri’s power hurts him very much when he uses it. It hurts so much, as if he would die. So, please, let him go.”
Guriko seemed to have heard her voice before. Where? Yet she was certain she had never met her before. Was this PoisonCatastrophe’s power? Guriko was confused. Most importantly, she said Single Room’s ability would hurt him? That would be bad. Guriko was willing to pay any price, even including her own life, to get Single Room to help her. However –
“Therefore… Hmm…”
Breaksun stood up and lifted up Single Room in her arms. She then lowered her head again and said: “I am sorry.”
“Eh? B – Breako?”
Holding Single Room, who wriggled about in her arms like a little animal, Breaksun broke off into a run. Her figure instantly disappeared. She completely evaporated in front of them, as if she melted into thin air.
“PoisonCatastrophe’s reversal of cause and effect –” Mina muttered to herself.
Guriko didn’t understand Mina at all. They must chase –
“Big sis~ Guriko-baby~ Did you catch Single Room?” Mitsuki, who finally made it out of the room, asked as she ran towards them.
Guriko held spoons in her hand and clutched her long skirt as she ran along the corridor. She must not let him escape. Her salvation was so near at hand – this was perhaps the last hope to turn Rinne back to normal.
Like a mortal beseeching a god, Gankyū Egoriko stretched out her hand towards the direction Single Room had disappeared.
“Do you know Single Room?”
It was said an angel of misfortune dropped by this town.
It was a girl. She never killed anyone, nor did she steal anything. She simply appeared like the wind and attacked passers-by.
It didn’t matter if her opponent was a muscular adult or an infamous delinquent. Even if her opponent had a knife or consisted of a group of a dozen people, this visiting angel of misfortune knocked them all to the ground and left these enigmatic words behind: “Do you know Single Room?”
No one had been able to answer that question.
“Guriko-chan~”
Nothing was going as she wanted. Her life was difficult. It was so tiresome to live. Life was so bothersome. She was so upset. At the end, she still hated herself, who couldn’t do anything. Gankyū Egoriko, otherwise known as Guriko, was completely helpless.
She was at the apartment she lived with Usagawa Rinne when she was just living off Rinne. Guriko folded her arms and sat cross-legged in this one-room apartment in the old building, which appeared it would topple with just a small earthquake. She was silent and looked annoyed. Her face was expressionless, her black hair cut in a wolf-like haircut, her dark and deep eyes looked dimly towards the ceiling like gun barrels, and she wore denim jeans and a T-shirt with cute prints as if she just wore whatever she happened to pick up.
There were two more people in this completely plain, undecorated room.
“Guriko-chan, Guriko-chan~”
One was a small girl who was holding onto Guriko’s waist and kept calling out her name. Her pale pink hair was decorated with ribbons and bows, and she looked very cute. Everyone who met her couldn’t help but be gentle with her.
Despite her appearance like a high schooler, her astonishingly innocent expression was like that of a baby. In fact, her linguistic abilities and intellect were more or less gone.
Usagawa Rinne – this girl who was previous killed by Sterilization Disinfection – became a living corpse, a Meat Doll. Meat Dolls do not have a sense of self nor the capacity for thought. They only moved according to their instincts. That was the current status of the girl named Usagawa Rinne.
In order to return this girl to her previous state, Guriko was currently looking for the ultimate existence that could materialize any miracles – the existence named Single Room. However, she yielded no results by searching on her own in this town. It had been two months already and she had yet to uncover any traces of Single Room.
Guriko muttered to herself and watched Rinne, who was walking around, and couldn't help but ask "Rinne, do you know Single Room?"
"Sin-gle-Room?" Looking at Rinne, who mechanically repeated her words, Guriko exhaled a long sigh.
"...Guriko, don't teach Milady odd phrases." Following these words, the young man cooking something in the kitchen looked back towards her. He was a blond man with blue eyes, who looked otherworldly in his beauty. His face, however, looked very haggard.
He was already looking better than before. He didn't even shave just a little while ago. His gaze was empty, and he looked veritably ill. Guriko left the town about half a year ago and have just returned to this apartment after her long journey, again living together with Rinne. She was used to living in the wilderness, but she could not leave this man alone. She was also worried about Rinne's condition, and therefore she moved in again. Judging from appearances, it was the same as before, with the three of them living peacefully together.
The handsome young man - Sakaki Guryū - looked down at her crossly. "Don't get too close to Milady. Milady likes you just as she likes a toy, and would miss you and go look for you whenever you leave."
"Shut it! Why should I care!"
Guriko slowly closed her eyes as she felt Rinne's body temperature, who was hugging her.
"It's Rinne's freedom to hug whoever she wants. I'm not bothered by it. Besides, if hugging me can cure Rinne, I'm welcome to the idea."
"..."
Sakaki lowered his brows and sighed deeply, then he silently went back to cooking. He started cooking with practiced ease.
"Apples" - once someone consumes such a thing, one would obtain the miraculous power of immortality. All three of them have already been endowed with this power. Immortals who have consumed Apples would usually completely lose their appetite. However, it had only been a short time since Sakaki and Rinne ate the Apple, therefore they still needed to eat.
The room was briefly silent. Guriko suddenly noticed something and furrowed her brows.
“Sakaki, are you jealous?”
She asked seriously.
“Are you envious? Envious of the good relationship I’m having with Rinne?”
“…”
He didn’t reply.
It seemed she got it right. This guy was surprisingly childish at times, a trait that was completely at odds with his appearance.
Guriko laughed and tilted her head and drilled Sakaki, who had turned away: “Who are you jealous of? Rinne, or me?”
“Why should I be jealous of Milady?”
When she heard Sakaki’s low mumble, a brief pain passed across her chest.
“…Er, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Guriko looked away awkwardly and her eyes fell on the cellphone placed on the tatami. The phone was vibrating. Someone was calling her. Guriko gently peeled away Rinne’s hand and picked up the phone, and pressed down the answer button.
It was Rinne who taught her how to use this miraculous machine.
It was also Rinne who gave Guriko warmth, gave it to the girl had lived for a thousand years and was nothing more than an empty shell.
Guriko wanted to save Rinne.
That was all she wished for.
Even if Guriko cannot stay here after Rinne recovered. Even if it must cost Guriko’s life. It will be very lonely, but it should be fine.
“…Who is it?”
“I’m Mina, Guriko-baby.”
“Don’t call me Guriko-baby!”
Guriko frowned when she heard the lazy female voice coming from the other end of the call. The other woman, however, completely ignored her.
“I caught one of God Mushi Emperor’s terminals.”
Saibara Mina nonchalantly said this from the other end of the line.
“I will now interrogate it to get everything it knows about Single Room. Come to my place right now.”
After two weeks, her frozen time seemed to have started again.
Saibara Mina lived on the third floor of the same building. After having told Sakaki what was said in the phone call, Guriko ran out of the door without even changing her clothes – as she was about to head upstairs, she suddenly realized someone suspicious was in front of the apartment building.
“…”
“…”
To be more exact – she found a pervert.
“… No.” “No, no!” A weak voice said to Guriko, who was frozen in shock.
It was a girl who looked like a primary school student. She kept shaking her head and kept saying ‘no’. Guriko felt like she looked familiar. The girl had two short ponytails and her face looked intelligent, but at the same time looked as if she just pulled a prank and was afraid of being found out.
She would be an ordinary girl seen all over the town if it weren’t for her non-existent arms.
But there was a collar on her neck.
The collar was attached to a strong chain, and the chain was tied to the pillar next to the apartment as if she was a dog. She – Aizawa Ume – blushed, leaned slightly backward, then yelled at Guriko.
“It’s not like that! Trust me, Guriko-nee-san! I couldn’t help it! Really, really – it’s all Kurukiyo’s fault. I’m totally the victim here…!”
This little girl who looked startled and said those broken and confusing words was the serial killer known as “Long-Armed Demon” who had killed more than ten people in Kannosakazaki. She was also an immortal – an Apple-holder. However, she had somehow become the pet of a certain perverted policeman in town.
“…”
Guriko walked towards the crying girl and asked confusedly. “What, what is this about? I don’t quite understand. Are you having fun like this?”
“– Gah!”
Ume’s ability, ‘invisible fists’, flew towards Guriko with a roar. The power of the Apple magnified her psychic abilities and made those fists as powerful as cannon balls. Guriko hurried to jump aside. With a ‘bam’ sound, a hole appeared at the place she was standing at before.
“… what are you doing! That’s very dangerous!”
“Shut up, shut up shut up! Don’t treat me like an idiot!”
Aizawa Ume kept firing out invisible fists. Guriko had to predict where she would strike and dodge ahead of time. Bam! Wham! The corridor and walls were all broken up and pieces flew everywhere.
Long-Armed Demon started to sob.
“I’m not having fun! It’s so embarrassing, I want to die! But I can’t help it. I want to stay next to Kurukiyo and live like a normal person, so I should fulfil his wishes as much as possible, right? Kurukiyo said this is normal, that this is an expression of love. I don’t understand…”
“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but I think you were tricked.”
Guriko said this straightforwardly.
Then she felt a bit odd and asked: “But Long-Armed Demon – couldn’t you use your ‘invisible hands’? If you don’t want to be kept by someone, couldn’t you have torn off that ornamental chain?”
“That’s what I mean… never mind.”
Ume stopped herself and shook her head.
"No. Kurukiyo still doesn't know my hands have recovered. If he knew I regained those hands - that I became the monster named Long-Armed Demon again - he will hate me. Kurukiyo, he... he hates monsters."
"..."
These words hurt the tender parts of Guriko's heart a little, but her expression did not change. She was different from this girl. She did not care if she reverted to a monster. She cannot get Rinne to return to normal without the power of a monster.
Guriko shook her head to chase away the unpleasant feeling and looked at Ume.
"... By the way, Long-Armed Demon, you're serving Zekiguchi Nashinori, aren't you? Should you be so relaxed? Aren't your current status and behavior contrary to Zekiguchi's wishes? Won't you bring trouble to Nageki the longer you stay here?"
"..."
Long-Armed Demon opened her eyes wide and large teardrops rolled down her cheeks. Ume seemed to be conflicted, and her shoulders shook.
She finally moaned in a low voice.
"... But I hate that. I don't want to kill people anymore, and I can't kill people anymore. I already know it feels much happier to save people than to kill them. I'll be very unhappy if I stay with Zeki-kun."
It was a low, hoarse voice. The voice of a lost child.
"I know this will bring Kurukiyo trouble, but... what should I do? What should I do? I don't know! I just want to stay here! I - I - "
"I'm sorry, Long-Armed Demon."
Long-Armed Demon sobbed as Guriko gently caressed her head and muttered.
"No - your name is Ume. It's my fault. You're still a kid. You don't understand that complicated stuff."
"... Don't underestimate me."
Ume kept pretending to be strong. Guriko hugged her gently.
"Mmm, I'm sorry, but I understand what you mean. I'm just the same."
Guriko let go of her and smiled.
"Keep it up, Ume. I hope you will find happiness."
"... Guriko-nee-san?"
Just as Guriko turned away from Ume, who was sitting there in a daze, the iron stairs at the corner of the apartment building started to creak. Nageki Kurukiyo appeared.
He was a strange man. His rather long hair covered the greater half of his face and his clothing was all wrinkled. The way he walked with his back hunched made him look like a wraith and he made no sound as he walked. He casually greeted the two of them.
"Ahh, I made you wait, Ume-chan... Mmm? Why are you crying? Did Guriko-baby make you cry? That won't do. You must get on well with each other."
"Stop calling me Guriko-baby! Everyone is like that..."
Guriko pouted, then patted Nageki Kurukiyo's shoulder rather strongly.
"Also, my dear detective, your perverted behavior needs to have limits. If you dare to make Ume unhappy, then I'll gouge out your eyeballs!"
"Um! This is an expression of my love! Besides, going on a stroll with a collar is just the beginning of everything."
"... I'll gouge out your eyeballs."
Guriko pretended to chase the perverted detective who dared to prey upon elementary school students.
Once she caught up with Nageki, she did teach him a lesson. Guriko then returned to the apartment building with a satisfied expression, and walked towards Mina's room according to their previous arrangement.
Whether by accident or fate, many people involved with 'Apples' were living in this old and decrepit apartment.
She climbed to the third floor along the rusty stairs. The household with the name plate 'Saibara' on it was not as ordinary as it seemed, either.
"Chu~ Guriko-baby! Good evening, ha~"
"Why is everyone calling me Guriko-baby? Which bastard thought up this idiotic nickname? I'm going to blow your stomach open..."
The girl who opened the door had on a hat decorated with large and circular ears, and she wore gloves despite being indoors. Her expression was optimistic and full of smiles - her name was Saibara Mitsuki.
Mitsuki inherited one of the Seven Greater Fragments of God and represented one seventh of God's Role together with the name of Unpleasant Counter-Current. A monstrous strength that could punch a dent in an iron sheet lay behind her innocent looks.
She was originally Guriko’s sworn enemy, but now they were comrades fighting for the same cause.
Mitsuki, who had her hair tied up in a braid, shouted into the room: “Big sis, the eyeball gouger is here~!”
“Oh, eyeball gouger, you’re finally here.”
The woman sniggering and sitting on the chair waved towards Guriko. Saibara Mina, this woman with her pristine white hair tied up in a braid, was Saibara Mitsuki’s older sister. She was also an inhuman existence, one of the seven Roles of God, and was named Sterilization Disinfection after having also inherited one of the Seven Greater Fragments of God.
However, clothes and all sorts of trash were scattered all over the floor. A pile of something unrecognizable was dumped on the coffee table, and she was sitting there sedately with a can of beer in her hand, completely ignoring this horrendously chaotic scene all around her.
Mina looked at Guriko with red cheeks and burped.
“…Burp!”
“You’re an immortal, and yet you’re burping?! Are you having alcohol poisoning?”
Guriko took off her shoes as she said this and walked into the incredibly messy room. Mina and Mitsuki have both completely lost the ability to take care of themselves, and this room would become a hellish dirt pile as soon as someone ceases to help them.
The sisters only started living in this apartment a little while ago. Mina seemed to be a nurse at the hospital, and Mitsuki was a student at the Kannosakazaki High School. The white coat hanging off the cloth hanger on the wall should be Mina’s work clothes.
Mitsuki, who still wore her school uniform, pushed a cushion over for Guriko to sit while smiling at her.
“Big sis has been very serious. She looks fine from the outside~ But it’s really draining to be so uptight all the time. So that’s why she’s all sorts of useless as soon as she gets home~”
“I’m not useless! So rude! Burp~ Alright alright, Guriko-baby, come here and pour me more beer.”
“…”
She would rather have her hands broken than to do that. She would rather die by a curse, or to have her entire family killed – Guriko’s head was full of how she would rather die than to pour beer for Mina. She sighed and looked at Mitsuki, who brought her a soft drink.
“Hey, Mitsuki, how’s your body? Nothing wrong so far?”
“Yep. Don’t worry, I am feeling very well~”
Mitsuki did a victory sign and smiled. The thin pigtail decoration on her butt curled up and swayed side to side. Due to what happened at the Eternity Institute – that place which was veritably an Institute of Nightmares – a while ago, Mitsuki overdrew the power of her Greater Fragment and her physical body almost broke down. In order to save her, Saibara Mina used one of her abilities, Jack JewelFixation Mist, and completely stopped the passage of time on Mitsuki’s body.
It was meant to go on forever – Mitsuki’s time was to be forever stopped like Snow White, who ate the poisoned apple. However, someone suddenly appeared and unsealed Mitsuki’s paused time, and returned her completely shattered flesh to its original state. That person was Single Room, the Greater Fragment of God who possessed the power of Genesis, the existence closest to God in this world. He was also the existence that Guriko and her friends were looking for.
Guriko was looking for him to revert Rinne, who became a Meat Doll, to her original state. Mina and Mitsuki were looking for him to ascertain if Mitsuki’s body was truly returned to normal.
Guriko looked at Mina seriously as she recalled her goal.
“Hey, Sterilization Disinfection, don’t act so drunk and hurry up and explain things to me. Did you really catch a Mushi, a terminal of God Mushi Emperor? Are there any news?”
“… Yes yes, don’t you fret. I do the necessary work diligently enough!”
Having sipped on some tea that Mitsuki brought him, Mina appeared more coherent and smiled at Guriko. She was sitting messily and cross-legged on the chair and looked at her younger sister, who was playing with her braid: “Ki-chan, show us the terminal of God Mushi Emperor.”
"Got it."
With a bam, the wardrobe was opened, and Mitsuki proudly puffed up her chest.
But there was nothing within the empty, dim wardrobe. Guriko didn't understand what was going on. She walked up and saw a bundle of suspicious ropes.
"...What is this?"
"Heh?"
Mina was also very surprised, and a confused look surfaced on her face. She walked up to Guriko and saw the empty wardrobe, then nodded with understanding: "Ah, that's what happened."
Mina clapped her hands.
"The Mushi died because we interrogated it too much. A Mushi is just like a monster and would disintegrate into thin air after it dies - so it only left the ropes we used to tie it up, that was all."
"... Hey!"
Mina twitched the end of her mouth when faced with Guriko's vicious look.
"Don't worry, we already got the information we need. We didn't kill the Mushi straightaway because we thought you’d believe the information more if it came straight out of its mouth." Mina pointed at the cushion and motioned Guriko to sit down, then snapped her fingers.
"Mi-chan, get me the data."
"Big sis, you're ordering me around too much... Hold on~ Woaaaaahhh - "
Mitsuki swiftly picked out some pieces of paper from the untidy pile of rubbish.
Guriko placed it on the coffee table. It seemed to be a typed-up and printed summary of the information they got so far.
"This is...?"
There were only pictures of large buildings on it. Guriko couldn't understand this at all, and passed it to Mina. Mina sipped on some tea and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the pictures: "In conclusion, we know where Single Room is."
"Really?"
Guriko couldn't help but yell out in excitement.
"Single Room is here? He's so close to us? Awesome, let's go right now - "
"Calm down. This isn't like you."
Mina smiled and knocked on Guriko's forehead to stop the latter from jumping up in joy.
"This is the the information gathered by Mushi, the terminal of God Mushi Emperor. We didn't quite understand what exactly it meant, so we interrogated it, and we didn't expect to successfully narrow down on Single Room's whereabouts to this degree. Mi-chan, get me the map!"
"Yes - "
Mitsuki was just sipping at her tea and forcibly pulled out her fingers from her gloves. She had to get up again after hearing her sister's command, and dug out the pre-printed map from the messy rubbish pile.
She should have gotten everything ready. She really was messy.
“I can’t believe Single Room is so close to us!”
Guriko said this as Mina drew circles with a red marker pen on the large map, and pointed out the rough area. Although Guriko don’t quite know how to read maps, even she knew this was very close to them – rather, this circle included the apartment they were currently at and the Kannonsakazaki Private High School.
"The places he frequented are here, here, and here."
Mina made a few marks on the map, and finally drew a star on a building.
"This place in particular. He seemed to be here every night, this building right here."
She pointed at the photo of the building with the tip of her pen.
"We don't know what he was doing there. However, considering that none of us can hide our whereabouts from the Mushi, he shouldn't be doing anything dangerous - anyways, this is an important piece of information. Single Room doesn't know about us for now. We need to get in touch with him and cage him in, and obtained our goals. We have only one chance."
Indeed. If he knew he was being followed, Single Room would certainly hide or run away. If they contacted him carelessly right now, they may never know the way to return Rinne from a Meat Doll to a normal human.
Guriko's face became solemn as she arrived at this conclusion.
"We must be very careful right now. If he got a bad expression of us, then we might not receive his help."
"Yes... Anyways, we should try talking with him first. We can only pray that Single Room is a kind soul. However, the Greater Fragment closest to God - is probably going to be very unpredictable."
Mina mumbled in a lowly voice, took out some canned beer from God knows where, and poured into Guriko's teacup. The dark brown mixture of tea and beer flew out of the cup.
"...What are you doing, drunkard?"
"Mmm, let's call it a day. We'll discuss how to approach Single Room and how to fight him tomorrow. Anyways, to celebrate achieving our goal, let's drink!"
"We're having a banquet~" Mitsuki snuck up too, and brought a bunch of canned beers and dishes with her.
Mina popped open the canned beer and poured the whole can into her own glass, looking as if already drunk.
Guriko looked at her with incomprehension.
"... You really have no worries, do you? I’m not staying. I need to go back. I might die if our negotiation with Single Room breaks down - so I want to spend some time with Rinne and Sakaki."
"Oh? You won't even drink with me?"
Guriko stood up and was going to leave. Mina took hold of her shoulder in a drunken way.
"No, no. Guriko-baby is such a good friend of ours. We're comrades together. Let's drink together and have a good chat."
"... Erk..."
Guriko’s resolve wavered. She turned and grasped the glass - but she still shook her head forcibly.
“No, I can’t. School taught me alcohol is bad for the human body!”
“Oho, you’re so cute! You’re such a goodie-good, so obedient to teachers. Don’t worry. The power of the Apple can maintain your liver. You won’t damage your body just from drinking.”
Mina said with a half-smile on her face: “Oh? Could it be that – you’ve never tasted alcohol before?”
Guriko stood still and expressionless.
“Er…”
“Ahahah! The world-famous Gankyū Eguriko-sama is afraid of this liquid made from fermented hops? Aha – so cute! Haha, you’re really a Guriko-baby. You’re never going to grow up, always staying a short little child!”
“Ehhhhh….!”
Under Mina’s full-out challenge, Guriko’s expression became stiff and looked unhappy, and pouted her lips.
Seeing the two of them like that, Mitsuki mumbled in a low voice: “big sis’s bad personality hasn’t changed at all.” But Guriko didn’t hear this at all.
“Don’t look down on me, Sterilization Disinfection! How can I possibly be scared of a few glasses of beer! Alright – I’ll drink it in front of you, I’ll drink it with you! And I won’t get drunk like you!”
Gulp. She took a big gulp after taking up the glass. Guriko couldn’t help but frown. It tasted awful. She poured the mixture of beer and tea into her belly all at once and put the glass down onto the coffee table.
“Woah, keep going! Awesome, awesome!” Mitsuki clapped her hands emotionlessly and looked at Mitsuki. “… Ki-chan, Guriko-baby didn’t seem to have drunk enough. Come and pour some more alcohol for her.”
“Eh? But –”
“Erm… Erk… Guriko-baby, hurry and leave! This is big sis’s sly trap!”
Mitsuki muttered this as she opened another can of beer and filled up Guriko’s glass as her big sister ordered. Guriko looked sideways with a challenging look at Mina, and once again drank the entire content in one gulp.
This really challenges the taste, and it tastes awful. And – her body was somehow getting hotter. Her head was getting dizzy and she couldn’t think.
“Oho, hoho, ohohoho –”
Mina made a terrifying laugh and kept shaking Guriko from left to right, her face full of excitement.
"... I heard from the Meat Doll Hino that she used sleeping pills to put Guriko-baby to sleep - Guriko-baby really have no resistance to these things. So how does it feel to not think about anything at all? That's the so-called feeling of being drunk."
Guriko's face was fully red and she opened her eyes hazily.
"...Cauld water, gimme, some cauld water..."
"The way you talk is so weird. Ahh - you're so cute! I'm so excited. Gankyū Eguriko is really drunk and her face is so red -" Mina grabbed hold of Guriko, who was wobbling, and poured canned beer straight into Guriko's mouth while laughing loudly.
That sadistic laugh was positively that of a devil.
"Come, come, let me see how you look when you are drunk! Don't think about anything else and lemme see your cute face!"
"Waaa - awaaaa~!"
Mitsuki stretched out her hand and forcibly pulled away Guriko, who was letting Mina have her way with her. Mitsuki's face was so upset it was almost green.
"Big sis's bad habits are back again. All you know is how to bully people! Big sis is so naughty! Stop it, Guriko-baby is so pitiable!"
"Don't stand in my way, Ki-chan. Even if the person hindering me is my own sister, I won't let you... Hey, Guriko-baby, keep drinking, stop thinking..."
"Gulp..."
Mina kept shaking Guriko. Guriko, who was completely drunk, shook her hand and tried to resist. "Nuu, duun't wanna, duun't wanna."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand you at all!"
"Uuuuurgh - "
Guriko finally fainted in her drunkenness and fell down onto the coffee table with a bam, and fell deeply asleep. Her careless expression was just like that of a little animal, and her breathing sounded even and peaceful.
"And now - "
Once she made sure Guriko was sound asleep, Mina looked at Mitsuki, who was glaring at her in shock.
"Do you understand, Ki-chan? It's just as we planned - let's prepare for 'that' once Gankyū Eguriko falls asleep."
"... Big sis is really a devil." Mitsuki's expression became gloomy, which was rare for her, and mumbled. Mina, at the meantime, laughed loudly and merrily.
"... Mmm?"
When Guriko woke up, she saw that she was dressed in a long dress with red silk decorations, and she felt like she was still in a dream. Her head was remarkably heavy and her thoughts were confused. The unendurable smell of alcohol lingered on her breath.
"Big sis, Gu-Gu seemed to have woken up."
She heard Mitsuki's voice.
Who is Gu-Gu? What a disgusting name - Guriko thought this confusedly. Suddenly, a chilling fear overwhelmed her, and she woke with a start. This - was not a dream? The feeling of the dress on her skin was so vivid, and Mitsuki's voice did not sound like a mirage at all.
She tried to move her body and felt waves of motion.
It was very dark around her. Light music was coming from somewhere in the background.
This was - where was...?
"Gu-Gu, are you ok? Still drunk? You just need to wait for your liver to get rid of the alcohol. Mmm, would you like some tea to recover faster?"
"..."
She could tell Mitsuki was eagerly trying to help her, but she couldn't tell where the other was. Guriko still felt really dizzy, and her hand touched a drink bottle full with tea.
"Urk..."
Like Mitsuki said, the raging alcohol in her body was gradually getting digested. As she drank the ice cold tea, she was starting to feel much better. As she looked at her surroundings, Guriko finally realized she was sitting in a car.
They seemed to be in a rental car. It was small but moderately comfortable. She was lying across the backseat, and Mina was sitting seriously in front of the steering wheel, while Mitsuki was sitting in the passenger's seat and looking at Guriko worriedly - that seemed to sum it up. Where were they? Why did they get her onto the car? Where were they driving to? Why was she asleep? - Numerous answers emerged in her head, but there was something even more incredulous. Guriko sought for that 'something' in her mind.
"... Hey, mouse, why did you put such a disgusting dress on me?"
"Mouse? Me?" Mitsuki tucked her braid into her hat with round ears and opened her eyes wide. "Uuu - what to do... I, I don't know what to say - big sis can explain this!"
"... I'm driving. Don't talk to me."
Mina replied impolitely. There was something wrong with how she handled the steering wheel. Perhaps she was not yet proficient in driving.
Mina and Mitsuki were dressed in the same splendid kind of gowns as Guriko, but they were driving a rather ordinary and cheap car. Were they going to a ball? Why would they wear such strange clothes?
"Chuu~ Oh well. Lemme explain it for you."
Wearing a magnificent long dress but still wearing her hat, tail, and giant gloves, Mitsuki began to explain with some difficulty. "Do you still remember those pictures of the large building before we got drunk?"
"Aaa - yes."
Although the scent of alcohol still lingered in the air and her memories still seemed fuzzy, Guriko remembered it.
It was the building where Single Room would head towards almost every night.
Mitsuki continued after she saw Guriko nod.
"After a brief investigation, we found something like an underground ball happening every night there. It's a really really chaotic party with gambling, violence, prostitution, and all sorts of stuff like that."
"..."
How did these guys manage to find out about this suspicious stuff? It wasn't legal, so it must have been held in secret. Maybe they caught someone who went to this party and questioned him. Guriko couldn't be bothered to figure these things out, but there was one thing she was very concerned with.
That should be the main issue.
“Does Single Room go to that party every night?”
“That is only our guess. That’s the only event that happens every night in this building, so the possibility is very high. So we’re going to dress like this and secretly join that party, and we can contact Single Room if we’re lucky enough. That’s our goal for today~” Mitsuki smiled brilliantly at her, while Guriko started to look over the dress she had on her.
“But – even if we want to disguise ourselves, do we need to wear such extravagant clothing? We can hide on the rooftop and secretly observe…”
“Mmm, we did consider that. However, that building was thoroughly covered by surveillance and had guards, so it will be near impossible to observe while in hiding. Although we can use the power of our Fragment to twist cause and effect and go join the party that way, this is much safer.”
Both Mina and Mitsuki had a Grater Fragment of God within their body, and Guriko also had a Lesser Fragment named ‘Apple’ within her that granted her immortality – those contained the power to twist cause and effect and create miracles.
One example would be how she managed to study at a high school without any proof of residence or of her identity.
Although Guriko never tried, it should also be useful to get into parties like this.
As she thought this, Mina suddenly turned around and looked at Guriko unblinkingly with a smile.
“Just give up already. I knew you would hate it, that’s why I got you into that dress while you were passed out drunk. It’s a very formal party, so it will be too incongruous for you to sneak in dressed in your everyday clothes. It can’t be helped.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. This really suits Guriko~ Chuu, so cute~”
“…” Guriko furrowed her brows and looked at her bothersome dress.
Her arms and legs couldn’t move freely. It would be troublesome if they started a fight – Guriko sighed as she thought this. It was just like old times. She was incapable of thinking like a normal human girl. But that was fine. It should be fine. She had decided to go back to being a monster. She didn’t need to be cute. She never wanted to be treated like a girl.
“…”
Why did her chest hurt? It was as if she lost something important to her without realizing it, as if she lost her soul.
She shook her head.
“…So, we’re going to find Single Room at that party? A red-head boy with canine teeth – that should be easy.”
“Mmm, provided Tatsu-chan and Mi-chan’s evidence were correct. We didn’t see him ourselves after all. Traces of his passing, supernatural killing intent – we need to pay attention to all sorts of things too. My memories were rather fuzzy when Single Room showed up, because my ‘fixation’ was getting removed…”
‘Tatsu-chan’ was Kuroki Tatsue, and ‘Mi-chan’ was Takamikado Mitaka. They couldn’t do much when it comes to fighting, and Guriko didn’t want them to be involved in this, so they were not a part of the operation to find Single Room.
Even so, she had a basic understanding of the situation already.
“I understand. It’s not that dangerous. We just need to search and find Single Room.”
“… Don’t be careless, Gankyū Eguriko.” Mina pronounced her ominous name evenly. “The people taking care of this building are the group that once operated the Eternal Institute – the Sakaki Organization.”
This skyscraper hosted secret parties and was a hotel at the same time. The Sakaki Organization was a world-famous conglomeration and everything from the interior décor to the people coming in and out of the building exuded an aura of elegance and nobility.
But it was impossible to see such things from where he was.
“Nom – nom – nom.” A humming sound and the sharp sound of chewing something hard reverberated in the narrow ventilation duct. A boy was lazily lying in this narrow space, where an average adult couldn’t even fit in and only children could barely squeeze into. He was chewing something in his mouth. The sound of crunching was coming from his puffed-up cheeks.
"... Bah, bah! Urgh, this won't do. It's tough and hard to eat; it's terrible. It took so much effort for me to find it - damn it, I thought this apple was just the right size and good to chew on."
It was an apple-shaped decoration made of solid gold and emanated an enchanting aura, and it looked very realistic.
But now there was drool on it and, to make it more horrifying, there were even teeth marks on it. If it could be returned to how it was before and sold in the market, it would fetch a lot of money.
The boy who patrolled the roof and the ventilation ducts like a ninja happened to find this object.
This thing was hidden in secret, which piqued his curiosity. It was only a decoration however, even though he went to such lengths to find it. Maybe it was someone's private property, but these fiscal matters did not interest Kajiri.
"It can't be helped. Never mind - I got it after so much effort, so I should give it to Breako later. She's very poor, so if she sold this it should provide her with some money to live by for a while." The boy looked at the apple, which glowed with an incredible light in the darkness.
"Oh -"
There seemed to be some words carved on the apple. L, O, V, E, S, O, N, G. The boy furrowed his brows. Although he tried very hard to decipher it, he immediately gave up because it was too troublesome.
"Can't read it. I don't even understand much Japanese, how can I understand this?!"
He wiped the apple with his clothes and yawned, impolitely revealling the canine teeth in his mouth. He then tied the apple to a thin string and hung it around his neck. This way, he won't forget the apple again.
"... Oh? Some rare folks arrived."
The boy, who was given the strange name Nikuyama Kajiri and lived with the foreign woman Breaksun Hanselmine in the decrepit apartment, showed a nervous expression.
The signature red hair crowned his annoyed face. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans entirely too big for him. A decoration hang off his neck, and it looked like something between a crucifix and a knife. That was the only thing that did not match his unfashionable looks.
"Sterilization Disinfection - and Unpleasant Counter-Current?"
The boy revealed his canine teeth again and made a low whine like a small animal that was threatened.
"And then there is - " His expression suddenly became one of surprise. "Who's this person?"
Sterilization Disinfection, Unpleasant Counter-Current; the Greater Fragments with these names has enormous presences and could not be ignored.
What was their goal? Him, or Breaksun? Or were they after Melodia NoiseTear Song, who was hiding somewhere within this building?
- No matter what... "This person is not a Greater Fragment, but... but, but this person is too strong! What, what thing is this?"
A strange aura walked beside the two Greater Fragments. It was not an existence like a Greater Fragment - and this person's flesh was not like Ultimate ShieldThe Weakest when he was under disguise, nor like the terminals of God Mushi Emperor. No matter how those individuals changed their appearance, their aura would never change.
Kajiri became interested in that strange existence. Slowly, he took hold of the crucifix hanging from his neck.
It was very dark all around him.
He could not see anything in here. It was like he was sitting inside the void, where he could not feel anything. Though he was still lying in the ventilation duct where filthy air was passing through very quickly, the boy became alarmed like that of a beast.
Ever since Breaksun disappeared on that night, he began to notice that she would go out every dusk. No, not just at dusk, but also at around daybreak, during the day, or night. Time did not matter.
These kind of disappearances kept happening.
Breaksun was not someone who could hide things. Kajiri understood this.
It was precisely because of this that Kajiri was particularly concerned about her strange behavior.
"..."
Was he being betrayed again? Was he being cheated? Were they after him for revenge? He found it hard to imagine Breaksun tricking him. She was a good girl. However, due to his experience with being locked up for hundreds of years in the gloomy forest, Kajiri became extremely anxious.
He needed to endure this. He needed to pretend that nothing was happening, like when he was living with Breaksun.
However, he finally could not endure it anymore, and Kajiri began to follow her.
The focus of his chase was this building. She would go silent every time she saw this skyscraper. He didn't know why this building was built and how people regarded it. All he knew was that Breaksun was here doing something, and recently he realized it also had something to do with Melodia NoiseTear Song. In order to discover all this, Kajiri began his investigations.
Kajiri detested himself for having doubts towards Breaksun, who had saved him. But it was more terrifying to be betrayed. If he was betrayed again, his mind would definitely crumble completely, unable to take this.
"Hmmm."
With a small sound, Kajiri pierced the back of his own hand with the sharp, knife-like end of the crucifix without hesitation.
Then, incredibly, his blood spluttered out - and then, as if it was conscious, the drops of blood wriggled along the ventilation duct, as if each of them was a small snake or an incredulous swarm of insects.
Kajiri's bodily fluids began to move towards every corner of the building and started to send all sorts of information back to him such as temperature, humidity, and the components in the air. It also included visual information such as the ladies and gentlemen strolling and chatting around the building, and the all various delicacies being transported here. A party seemed to take place in this building every night.
Apart from his target and the bystanders, Kajiri's blood also discovered the Greater Fragments. One was a beautiful woman with white hair tied up in a braid. The other was a young short girl in a magnificent dress and a strange hat. And also -
"Welcome to my room." Without any emotion, Kajiri murmured lowly. "Sterilization Disinfection. Unpleasant Counter-Current. And -"
As if his opponent was right in front of him, Kajiri asked with a light smile: "Just what are you?"
And the girl faraway suddenly lifted up her head, as if she felt Kajiri's presence.
"..."
Guriko suddenly lifted up her head as if she felt someone called out to her. Although she concentrated hard and tried to feel and hear for anyone nearby, she still could not be sure. Perhaps she still hasn't completely woken up from her drunkenness. She blinked, and moved her gaze back to the party. Guriko still didn't quite understand what these magnificent and luxurious activities mean.
The splendid decorations, the melodious music, and the outlandish performances; the people gathered here seemed to have removed their ordinary masks. Even actors who could often be seen on TV and clerics who were frequently named in the news were all sinking into madness here without care.
Overall, she felt it was a group of extraordinary people gathered here simply for the sake of more excitement.
All of them had unusual smiles and easily made conversations on economics or politics. In general, it was a place she was not comfortable with.
The room was very spacious, and the huge floor was covered with thick rugs. Self-service machines stood everywhere laden with drinks, and trays of lavish food dotted the room. The people conversed in formal attire, emitting a sense of nobility.
The stage was set opposite the entrance and there were very few people in its vicinity. That was where Guriko's group stood. They did not eat and did not talk to others, as if preserving a little bit of consciousness in this completely different world.
"Pornographic. Perverted. Waste of time."
Something was happening on the stage, where distasteful light and sound effect was being employed. There was the occasional scream of "Monster! Frog-man!". A strange man with distorted elbows and knees was being displayed. Mina looked at that monstrosity and mumbled without any interest.
"I heard it was a perverted performance by perverts, so I did come here with a little expectation - Mmm, it's just something like this. There's nothing interesting."
"... That's what you think. I am feeling thoroughly disgusted."
Guriko replied.
These things were indeed too ordinary for Mina, who was skilled in creating perverted monsters such as Meat Dolls. These things could not satisfy her. However, this was a blatant act of crime for any ordinary person.
People kept appearing on the stage. Humans with all sorts of malformations were being introduced to the audience. They were given outrageous names such as mermaid, dog-man, demon... their dignity as humans were totally annihilated. If the human rights organizations heard about this, this place would probably be wiped out even if they have to resort to terrorist methods.
What was different between ordinary people and these malformed people? Were only ordinary humans permitted to live happily in this world? Guriko had been told by kind people that this was not the case, but she once again sank into anxiety when she saw the scene before her.
The right arm that she had lost gave off a phantom pain and she furrowed her brows. Then she heard a singing voice.
"---"
It was a tired and mundane voice.
She looked up at the stage. The horrendous scene had finished and a singer, who she might have seen somewhere before, appeared on the stage and was straining her voice in song. Where had she seen this woman before? Perhaps on the TV.
Guriko doesn't quite understand music. She didn't quite understand what was being sung, and she didn't feel touched when she heard melodies. Guriko only liked to stay quietly by herself. Singing was a loud business, and that was why she hated it.
The woman on the stage was dressed in a lavish dress and roared out superfluous lyrics that meant nothing - Guriko really hated such scenes. All this talk about love and lovers... what a bother.
"... I hate the sound of singing."
"Oh, what a coincidence! I agree. I hate it too." Mina replied. She, on the other hand, had already gotten used to these surroundings as they searched for Single Room. Mitsuki, who was yelling "But I like it!", was completely ignored.
"I remember when I was in elementary school and we had to sing because it was a compulsory class. We didn't want to sing at all because we don't have any thoughts or emotions we wanted to express through song. But then the teacher said those who didn't sing were all bad children. I was so upset to hear that!"
"That's right. Why do things like songs even exist? And musical instruments, too."
Guriko sighed with a serious expression.
"They are so damn loud. I hate it when I was trying to think and the loud sound of music suddenly pops up. If I'm strolling in town or went shopping and I heard loud singing, I would get very upset. Shouldn't you just talk if you want to communicate? How can something like song communicate anything?"
She said this in a low voice that was full of spite. Suddenly -
"... That's not true." She heard a voice. It was a happy female voice mixed in the sound of singing.
"---?"
Guriko was startled and looked towards the voice. She didn't notice this person at all, not even with the power of her Fragment. This woman appeared as if from thin air, and none of them had even noticed her presence.
She was sitting on the edge of the stage and dangled her feet off it, but she also seemed to be right next to Guriko's group. This woman was smiling at them. Incredibly, neither the singer who was singing hoarsely about love and lovers nor the ordinary people around Guriko noticed her existence.
This woman, who remained undetected as if she was a ghost, said with a sing-song and light-hearted voice.
"According to the Bible, God destroyed the Tower of Babel and split the original, unified human language into different languages such as English and Japanese - this disunity made humans incapable of communicating with and understanding each other. However, before the collapse of the Tower of Babel - people communicated in the same language and lived in communal understanding and love."
The woman smiled prettily and spread out her arms.
"What kind of language was that? I always thought that to be incredible. But it was perhaps – no, it definitely was – music."
The woman dyed her long hair green and tied it into loose ponytails on both sides of her head. Her hair was fluffy and curled, as if she just rolled out of bed. She was dressed in flamboyant colors and gave out a thoroughly strange and startling impression. A tear-like sticker was stuck below her right eye.
The electric guitar she carried over her right shoulder also had cute stickers all over it.
A dream-like, miraculous color seemed to flow in her eyes.
"A long long long time ago, people communicated through music and songs - would that memory be the reason we are still singing today? Are we singing from the bottom of our hearts in order to get back that feeling of trust and unity we had back then? Is that why we are singing for people other than ourselves to hear?"
"Boom." Completely ignoring the music already being played on the stage, she struck her guitar.
"Singing is all about love, lovers, friendship. Isn't every song a song of love that expresses our love for others and our love for the world that others love? Music is the universal language of the entire world - it was the ultimate unified language that connected us all before the collapse of the Tower of Babel. --- Really love it~"
Her guitar suddenly made a sharp, loud sound. She sung loudly with a startlingly clear voice: "Really love it~"
The atmosphere of the place suddenly changed.
This disgusting party - this place full of people who lived in an alien world of slaughter gathered - suddenly changed its atmosphere due to the clear song she just produced.
The woman began to sing.
"Really love it~ Really love it-- Reaaallly really love it~---"
This sound, like the feeling of electric shocks, began to reverberate. It was an unbelievable experience.
It was as if the world was frozen over. Everyone's body became stiff. As if she had cast magic over the entire place, everyone seemed to know her - at the same time, everyone was attracted to this song.
A song that consisted of only one phrase.
It had nothing to do with her rhythm. She was just singing something random, but it was enough to shake everyone's heart. What was happening?
Soon, even language ceased to appear in her music - "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~" It was just a sound, that was all.
"---!!"
This fleeting gratitude - there was a wish that wanted to express these feelings. This definitely exists. The people in this world were still searching for it and wanting to express it. This was the primordial language that disappeared with the destruction of the Tower of Babel, the language that could communicate with anyone in the world.
Songs.
A song of love.
A pure and absolute language that expressed thought and emotions in their rawest form.
Guriko was stunned. Mina and Mitsuki also could not speak. The ladies and gentlemen around them were all standing dazed, and the original singer in the middle of the stage also fell silent as if ashamed.
"~------!! Ah------"
Unbelievably, tears rolled down her cheeks.
This warm liquid was rolling down her cheeks and dripping down her jaw. Was she crying? Why?
Guriko lowered her head.
She wanted to be loved. She wanted to have a full life. She hated being alone - the weak parts in Guriko's heart was being drowned out by the singing voice of the unknown woman.
Really love it. This innocent emotion was being spread everywhere.
"~---------!"
Her string was echoing as it was being plucked.
Guriko felt her heart was being gorged out, as if all the bones in her body were being melted. She could not move. Guriko collapsed into a chair and could not stop her tears. For the first time in her life, she wanted to voice a wish, and she wanted to say she loves someone.
Music wasn't anyone's private property. Breaksun felt that no one needed permission to sing.
Anyone could just open their mouth and sing if they want to. That was how Breaksun was. She sung whenever she wanted to.
She lost her father in endless confusion and tears when she was still young. Her father gave Breaksun many mothers, many younger siblings, and infinite love. She no longer remembered what he looked like, but his disappearance made huge changes in Breaksun's life.
Breaksun fell into the curse of being unable to make connections with other people every since his disappearance. She had cursed him and this world many times over. Why could she not make friends with anybody?
She began to sing to herself at street corners out of the unbearable loneliness. No one would notice her anyways, and she didn't feel embarrassed. However, she was still hoping someone would notice her. That strong emotion filled her entire being.
She wanted to pass on her emotions onto someone.
She wanted someone to look at her. That was her only wish. That person didn't need to do anything. He only needs to quietly listen to her talk.
Incredibly, people only noticed her when she sung.
According to Kajiri's later explanation, Breaksun would only control her power, which had always been out of her control, when she was singing. Only then could she manage to link her own cause and effect with that of others.
Why did it only happen when she was singing? And what is this 'cause and effect'? She didn't understand. Breaksun thought it was probably because she wanted to connect with someone. She was so lonely. She wanted to talk to people. She wanted to be close to people. She wanted friends. She wanted a lover. She wanted a family. At the end, humans could not live on their own. Humans were like this both physically and mentally.
Therefore, Breaksun kept singing without regard for anything else.
Like a lonely bird that kept singing in order to find a mate, she kept giving out songs with which she wanted to be heard by someone, that she wanted to affect a heart.
"You are not bad. This is the first time I heard such a genuine singing voice."
She was somehow given the title 'Kingdom of Witches' and had beome a legend amongst street musicians. A mumbling voice came to her one day.
"What a pity - you are completely oblivious of your own miracle. Would you like to use your power in a more meaningful way, Witch?"
The existence named Joker laughed as if it was an incorporeal wraith.
She heard a thunderous applause. The audience that gathered up to her clapped their hands in ecstasy and gave out yells of surprise. They did not conceal their gratitude at all and expressed all of it as if they were simple children. No matter their gender, no matter their social positions, they were all touched by her song as living humans.
Guriko was no exception. She could not move, as if her feet were firmly nailed into the floor. Mitsuki relaxed when she saw this, and started to clap loudly too.
Whereas Mina -
"- Urk."
Mina was the only one who retained a solemn expression in this space filled with ecstasy. Guriko was also very puzzled by her expression.
What was wrong - why did she look so scary?
"This power forcibly linked people's minds with her own cause and effect - this is the power of her voice. How did I only discover this now? This feeling of a Greater Fragment -"
Mina suddenly screamed.
"...PoisonCatastrophe!"
"Urk -" The woman singing on the side of the stage suddenly looked scared. "How did you - " The woman said in a low voice.
Mina looked as if she made a correct guess and leapt up. The pristine white long dress she wore flew like the wings of a butterfly. The crowd started to stir. Guriko was also no longer entranced. Mina ran up to the green-haired woman and grasped her like a beast.
"Single Room was looking for PoisonCatastrophe - Do, do you know Single Room?!"
"---"
The woman, who had previously looked nonchalant, froze when she heard this.
Guriko opened her eyes wide and stared at the stage as she starting to think.
PoisonCatastrophe? That seemed to be a Greater Fragment of equal standing with Mina and Mitsuki. What was that splendid voice? She didn't feel any malevolence or enmity in it -
But PoisonCatastrophe was indeed the unknown Greater Fragment that Single Room was looking for. It was as Mina said.
Could it be that PoisonCatastrophe was also looking for Single Room and she was waiting for him here?
"Huh, huh -"
The woman started to scream pitifully and hugged her head. Guriko didn't understand what was going on. Mina stretched out her hand and grabbed the front of the woman's dress, and forcibly pulled her up.
- Bam! There was an enormous sound of explosion. Guriko looked up at the ceiling, where the sound came from.
"Woah - "
Dust flew everywhere and rubble rained down from above. A red object dropped down like a comet.
"Mina, watch out!" Guriko screamed.
Mina looked up and yelled as she tried to dodge, but she was too late.
The shockwave of the collapsing ceiling threw her against the wall.
"Big sis!"
Mitsuki screamed and jumped up to the stage, wanting to catch Mina. But then Mina, still with flames of anger in her eyes, Mitsuki, and Guriko, all froze in shock.
The woman who was saved from Mina was also surprised.
"Kajiri...?"
"Mmm. Don't worry, Breako."
A red-haired boy smiled and said this, revealing his canine teeth. He held a crucifix in his right hand and his palm was somehow bleeding. His rusty blood stained the crucifix sanguineous red, and it pulsed with a chilling red light.
He was...
"I'm not Breako." Facing the woman who was calmly correcting him irrespective of the situation, the boy looked slightly upset before giving a sigh. He looked at the three others from head to toe. "Alright, let's escape. When it comes down to a fight, Single Room and PoisonCatastrophe cannot overcome the punishing Sterilization Disinfection and Unpleasant Counter-Current."
"Single Room!" Guriko yelled out.
She found him. She finally found him, this existence that could revert Rinne to how she used to be.
This Greater Fragment that might be able to deliver her salvation in this world full of failures and tragedies -
Single Room.
"Don't look at me like that."
Single Room spoke as he looked back at Guriko, who was looking at him with great sorrow in her eyes.
"... I am not God."
The party was full of chaos. There were wails and roars, curses and shouts. All sorts of sounds merged into a riot and exploded like a fireball. Feeling the confused and dangerous atmosphere, the people all ran away. Amongst them, the boy called Kajiri ran forward while holding on to the hand of the green-haired woman.
It was like a knight protecting a princess. Apart from being somewhat lacking in the quality of their outfit, everything else seemed quite similar.
“Um, um – Kajiri, the performance isn’t over yet…”
The woman was still somewhat confused and her electrical guitar had also fallen to the ground, and she was running rather awkwardly. The boy named Kajiri did not reply to her and kept running towards the exit while holding to her hand.
“…Damn it. Single Room and PoisonCatastrophe are already allies? He misunderstood the way I wanted to grab PoisonCatastrophe just then and got a really bad impression of us.” Mina clicked her tongue and took out her spray cans. “Oh well – I can’t change the past… don’t let them run away.”
She made the declaration with a low voice and stretched one spray can out in an angle. “Type B - Jack JewelFixation Mist!” There was a sound of explosion, like the explosion of a glass with acid in it, and something invisible sprayed out in front of Mina.
Mina was Sterilization Disinfection – the Greater Fragment with the power to eliminate and fixate everything. Guriko had once fought to the death against her; she knew her abilities better than anybody.
“…I’m going on ahead. You should follow up quickly too.” Mina yelled at Mitsuki and Guriko, who were standing next to her. She sprayed Jack JewelFixation Mist as she leapt onto the ground, then she jumped on top of the very space that was solidified by Jack JewelFixation Mist and passed secretly above the frightened masses people.
“Woah!” Guriko was very unhappy with Mina’s unrealistic behaviors that involved buying time through using the riotous and confused crowds here. “You Greater Fragments are just like usual, just a bunch of monsters!”
“Oho – I’m actually not that agile.” Mina smiled in an alluring way as she kept moving forwards and her long skirt fluttered.
“Ahh~ Big sis is so awesome! But everyone can see your panties~” Mitsuki was completely oblivious to the current situation and yelled happily.
Guriko was trying to get past the crowds of people running everywhere due to the unnatural events that happened. Mitsuki went up and grabbed her shoulder.
“…What, mouse?”
“I’m not very good with starting a fight, so Guriko-baby will need to help big sis~ Please~ We’re launching! Guriko-baby, launch~”
Without any further explanations, Mitsuki lifted Guriko up with her monstrous strength and threw her.
“Aaaah –” Guriko flew straight towards Single Room. Her skirt flapped around her, and things kept whirling in her vision. Guriko slammed straight into Mina and the two of them tumbled into a mess.
Kajiri ran away with PoisonCatastrophe during that time.
Mina stood up abruptly as she pulled on her long skirt with difficulty, and yelled angrily: “What the heck – what were you doing?!”
“I’m sorry! But it’s entirely your younger sister’s fault!”
Mitsuki was trying her hardest to get near the other two. She was squeezing through the riotous crowds with great difficulty due to her short stature.
Her ability was a protective kind and was as good as an amateur in an offensive fight, therefore she did not plan to join in the battle from the start.
The two of them walked out of the door of the room and began to look for Single Room.
“That’s PoisonCatastrophe! Let’s catch up to her – ”
“But… where’s Single Room?”
The red-haired boy who was beside PoisonCatastrophe a while ago had disappeared. Mina’s eyes widened when she heard Guriko’s remainder – and her neck suddenly began to spurt out blood.
“- Urk…?!”
Mina was stunned and she fumbled to reach for her own neck. Her cranial artery seemed to have been cut open – her warm blood spurted out fiercely in an unbelievable shade of red. It sprayed everywhere and stained the lavishly decorated corridor.
It was undoubtedly a lethal wound for an ordinary human, but Mina was very calm. She ignored the cold sweat that seeped out of her forehead and used her fingers to press down on the wound as she took out a spray can with skull decorations.
It was Type-A – Genocide JusticeAnnihilation Mist.
It was a diabolical mist that can completely annihilate anything it touched. Guriko’s right arm was completely consumed due to this power and never managed to recover.
“You - !”
Mina screamed as she sprayed Genocide JusticeAnnihilation Mist towards the ceiling. A silver mist, like the shadow of a hoard of insects, exploded upwards –
The sparkling chandelier on the ceiling suddenly snapped and fell towards Single Room, who was standing underneath it.
“Mina!”
No! Single Room would die - Guriko couldn't help but yell as she realized this. Single Room jumped down from the ceiling and barely managed to escape from the mist that fell down from above him.
With a 'bam', the chandelier fell on the ground. Single Room moved back a little and put some distance between him and Mina.
Mina used Jack JewelFixation Mist to close her wound and temporarily stopped her bleeding. Once 'fixed' by her mist, her wound stayed in the same state and blood no longer flew out. Although she would not die from blood loss due to her status as a Greater Fragment, her brain would still shut down and faint if she lost too much blood.
"A knife - such an ordinary weapon?"
Guriko took out her spoon as she confirmed the current situation. Single Room used his crucifix-like knife to cut open Mina's throat as he leapt down from above. The weapon he used was truly unbelievable.
"Mina, are you okay? You can rest if the wound is too much."
"Are you kidding? It's only a scratch." Mina shrugged.
Indeed. Despite the large amount of blood lost, the wound was not a deep one.
It would be more difficult if her hand was cut off or her brain was gorged out. That would be a very severe injury and she would be unable to move.
But it was still not a good idea for them to fight Single Room. After all, their intention was just to obtain his assistance. They must declare their intention first and try to get out of their current situation, where they faced each other as hostile opponents.
"Um..."
Guriko was not good with negotiating. She was unsure of herself, and just tried her hardest to yell with her most genuine voice: "Hold on! Please calm down, Single Room. You are - you are Single Room. right?"
"..."
Probably still on guard, he did not reply to Guriko's question and only looked toward her with astonishment.
"... I know of Sterilization Disinfection and Unpleasant Counter-Current, but who are you?"
"Gankyū Eguriko."
"What an odd name."
"Shut up! Don't underestimate me - Um..." Suddenly remembering that they should not make him upset, Guriko nodded rather stiffly. "...It, it is an odd name."
"Then I'll call you Ganko?"
"Don't use that kind of nickname - um, er, ok, Ganko is fine." She seemed to have gone off on a tangent.
Mina, whose dress was stained with blood and was lying on the ground, stood up next to Guriko. "Stop wasting your breath. Let me do this."
Mina, with her pristine white dress stained red with her blood, said clearly to Single Room: "Single Room, we do not wish to fight. Please calm down and listen to me."
"..."
Single Room looked at Guriko and then looked at Mina with a glance full of doubt.
"... Wasn't it you who attacked first?"
"See? All thanks to your actions, Single Room is upset. What are you doing to do now, Mina?"
Mina looked sideways at Guriko upon the other's questions. Her face looked as if she was going to ask Guriko just exactly which side the latter was on.
"Anyways -" Mina closed her eyes and stretched her hand out as if with an invitation. "I would like to ask you some things, Single Room."
She then looked at Guriko, who looked concerned, and added with a bitter smile.
"Indeed, we also hope you can help us with your power."
"..."
Single Room moved his head a little, looking as if he was slightly moved.
Guriko became a bit more reassured after seeing this. He was not as hard to communicate with as Mina and the Long-Armed Demon were when they first met, and he did not seem to have hidden agendas like Zekiguchi.
She could tell he was a kind person. At least, she could communicate with him.
However –
“That won’t do.”
A sound suddenly appeared.
The figure of a woman appeared incongruously, as if she literally popped out of thin air. She has mirage-like green hair, had a tear-shaped sticker on her face and was dressed outrageously – was it PoisonCatastrophe, who should have ran away?
“Breaksun?!”
Single Room did not anticipate her appearance either and he opened his eyes wide in shock,
“Ah, you got my name right this time. Good good. I am indeed called Breaksun.”
The woman named Breaksun said those unimportant things slowly as she turned to the others.
Breaksun – that name sounded familiar…
Guriko seemed to remember something, but then she lost it again.
“I’m sorry.”
Breaksun pushed down Single Room’s head as she bowed, looking veritably like a mother with her young child.
“Kajiri’s power hurts him very much when he uses it. It hurts so much, as if he would die. So, please, let him go.”
Guriko seemed to have heard her voice before. Where? Yet she was certain she had never met her before. Was this PoisonCatastrophe’s power? Guriko was confused. Most importantly, she said Single Room’s ability would hurt him? That would be bad. Guriko was willing to pay any price, even including her own life, to get Single Room to help her. However –
“Therefore… Hmm…”
Breaksun stood up and lifted up Single Room in her arms. She then lowered her head again and said: “I am sorry.”
“Eh? B – Breako?”
Holding Single Room, who wriggled about in her arms like a little animal, Breaksun broke off into a run. Her figure instantly disappeared. She completely evaporated in front of them, as if she melted into thin air.
“PoisonCatastrophe’s reversal of cause and effect –” Mina muttered to herself.
Guriko didn’t understand Mina at all. They must chase –
“Big sis~ Guriko-baby~ Did you catch Single Room?” Mitsuki, who finally made it out of the room, asked as she ran towards them.
Guriko held spoons in her hand and clutched her long skirt as she ran along the corridor. She must not let him escape. Her salvation was so near at hand – this was perhaps the last hope to turn Rinne back to normal.
Like a mortal beseeching a god, Gankyū Egoriko stretched out her hand towards the direction Single Room had disappeared.
