Fire-breathing Bug

—**Fire-breathing Bug** to Phantom Solitaire, *DMDP* Volume 3, Chapter 20.

## Fire-breathing Bug

* Collective
* Umbrella
* Raincoat
* Higuro

### Occupation

Troublemaker
Arsonist

### Relations

Comps-3 (wanted by)
Tena Sorimura (aiding & abetting)
Corpse God (person of interest)
The Bastard Children of Sabaramond (enemy)
Know (impersonated by)
Kuon Higuro (host)

## Media

### Debut

Chapter 17 (formal debut)
Episode 06

### Japanese VA

Madoka Yonezawa (Ep. 6)
Kentarō Tone (Ep. 7)
Takashi Matsuyama (Ep. 9)
Miyu Takagi (Ep. 16)
Hayato Fujii (Ep. 16-17)
Ryūho Nagaoka (Ep. 16-17)
Teppei Uenishi (Ep. 16-17)
Hinata Tadokoro (Ep. 17)
Mikoto Nakai (Ep. 17)
Masafumi Kobatake (Ep. 18)
Yōhei Hamada (Ep. 18)

**Fire-breathing Bug** (火吹き蟲 *Hifuki Mushi*) is a "troublemaker"-classed collective of people responsible for multiple acts of arson and murder committed in Shinjuku over the course of a century. Bug believes that anyone or anything connected to the Other Side of the Sky is a "bug" in Earth's system that necessitates extermination, including themselves and especially the Bastard Children of Sabaramond: an organization against which Bug has a century-old vendetta concerning its experiments on human children.

At the scene of their crimes, Bugs leave the following English message as their calling card: "**This world is a buggy program**" (この世は真っ当にあらず。 *Konoyo wa mattō ni arazu.*), followed by the second half: "**So it cries out for the flame**" (故に、炎に恋焦がれる。 *Yueni, honō ni koikogareru.*). The second half also varies depending on the context. Only the first half—"This world is a buggy program"—is known to and publicized by the media, as Comps-3 has kept the second half a secret during its ongoing investigation into the troublemaker. Bugs only started using English recently and used a Japanese message in the past; **「此の世は真っ当に非ず　故に炎に戀い焦がれる」** (*Konoyo wa mattō ni arazu yueni honō ni koi kogareru*, "This world is flawed, and so it should be consumed by flame.").

## Overview

### Collective

Identifying Factors
The individuals—hereafter referred to as "Bugs"—who constitute Fire-breathing Bug have no commonalities in ethnicity, gender, age, class, profession, or other demographic criteria. The primary signal that identifies or unites Bugs is their slogan **「火の用心」** (*Hinoyōjin*, meaning "watch out for fires"), written in the past as **「火乃要慎」**, as emblazoned on various forms of rain gear: although dark umbrellas are their signature accessory, a raincoat with the slogan on its back has been an identifier for at least one bug. Caution must be taken before associating all rain appurtenance with all Bugs, as not all may be wearing 'branded' rain paraphernalia, and it is meanwhile only natural for the masses to don rain gear when it rains; moreover, there is no guarantee that Bugs will be able or choose to have rain gear on their persons when they are acting in the collective's name.

When looked upon from a bird's eye, an assembly of umbrella-carrying Bugs resembles a swarm of black insects.

#### Traits and Worldview

Due to its traumatic origins, Fire-breathing Bugs view existences like themselves to be mistaken on the world. Hence it vehemently despises the Bastard Children of Sabaramond as the group was responsible for bringing them into existence and trying to extinguish them in a fire. They view all those from the "other side of the sky" as enemies, seeing them as having no place in the world and seeking to burn them out in flames. They view themselves as a guardian of the world in protecting it from such outsiders.

Despite their single-minded violence, Fire-breathing Bugs is not without their own moral code. While single-mindedly pushing vengeance against those wronged them, Fire-breathing Bug has no tolerance for those who target the innocent, as shown with their interaction with Know, classified him as a "sham, phony bug" for using their name and corrupting their work. While Know was a normal human, the Troublemaker saw him as a rabid animal that needed to be put down for the sake of the peace.

Additionally the Troublemaker, having no qualms about using others as puppets to commit murder, refuses to kill those who seek justice, such as the members of Comp-3. Even when the officers stand in their way, Fire-breathing Bug uses physical force to push them aside rather than immediately incinerate them.

In their interactions with other Troublemakers like Phantom Solitaire, they view the magician as somewhat delusional in his mad desire to seek out the occult and the truth of the Bastard Children of Sabaramond. They compare the magician to a moth drawn to a flame in jest. However, they value Phantom Solitaire as an ally as they fundamentally seek out the truth and cooperate with each other, though Fire-breathing Bug would rather be on the offensive. At the same time, Phantom Solitaire would instead observe and contemplate.

While it may seem that nothing can restrain Fire-breathing Bug's need for vengeance, as they believe no one has the right to question their reasons due to the pain they experienced, they will cease their bloodlust when they encounter those who suffered similar fates as them such as Suzuka Shinoyama who appeared before them to appeal to them to reconsider seeing Corpse God as an enemy.

### Modus Operandi

Fire-breathing Bugs wield various emitters that remotely ignite a target with what are speculated to be electromagnetic waves or lasers. Tsubaki Iwanome's working theory of execution, as inspired by Mikoto Saimyouji, proposes that the Bugs use their emitters much like surgeons use gamma rays to conduct Gamma Knife radiosurgery: all Bugs aim their emitters to intersect with the target at their junction; anything that is in the epicenter of the cross-'rays' is burned.

This method can deliver precise results over considerable distances if its perpetrators have perfect accuracy and synchronicity, which the Bugs do; they routinely burn legible letters into significantly remote targets.

Iwanome explains that the true Bugs are long dead, and that they used the same techniques that the Bastard Children of Sabaramond once used on them to enact their revenge: through a certain tone of their voice and rhythm, a huge amount of information is implanted inside the listener's mind, creating an effect similar to hypnosis. In truth, the controlled people have a second pseudo-personality that is likely based on the original Fire-breathing Bugs, Mitsu Haigawara and Takejirou Toura, implanted in their brains via the hypnosis-like techniques.

## Chronology

### Background

In the past it was mentioned that Lemmings clashed with the other Troublemaker, though admitting only was able to see their shadows.

### **Lemmings Incident**

Tsubaki Iwanome of Comp-3 mentioned Fire-breathing Bug during a briefing with his department, as those troublemakers who were still at large. It was believed by Iwanone that the fire at the Shakuzawa Building was the work of Fire-breathing Bug.

### **Shinoyama Estate Arson**

In the aftermath of Gorō Shinoyama's and Know's failure in killing the Shinoyama Group, Know whilst being transported via a police car was intercepted by Fire-breathing Bug, using their song the thralled the police officers within the car calling Know a sham, before lighting him on fire for his transgression of using their name to commit heinous crimes.

### **Kuon Higuro's Entrapment**

After Hideaki Habaki's case inside of the police station, the Bugs ally with Solitaire to draw out the root of their problem, the commanders of the Bastard Children of Sabaramond kidnapping Kuon Higuro inside a bus to use him as bait.

During the time the Bugs pass with Solitaire and Higuro various information are revealed, such as the Bugs apparent ignorance and indifference towards the Other World, to the point that they don't seem to try and understand it, nor care about Tena Sorimura's theory of the denizens of the Other World being aliens.

Also, when Higuro screams after seeing the video that Solitaire posted with his face, they twitch, showing a reaction despite the hypnosis that before seemed to make them almost doll-like.

## Notable Bugs

* **Mitsu Haigawara** and **Takajirou Toura** (two key founders)
* The **slim, suit-wearing individual** who was the first Bug to speak with Sorimura in person, who was seen at Know's murder, and who spoke with Corpse God via cell phone from the stairwell. It is possible that each of these Bugs was unique, but no evidence has been provided either way.
* The **raincoat-wearing teenage girl** who had her fortune read at the Fortuneteller Shop and later monitors the Great Shinjuku War.
* Kuon Higuro, after he accepted taking the Bugs inside of him in exchange for his life, aiding them in their quest for vengeance

## Trivia

* The Fire-breathing Bug's moniker is first mentioned at the end of Chapter 5, twelve chapters before their formal debut.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Dead Mount Death Play* Manga: Volume 6, Chapter 51
2. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 9, Chapter 75.
3. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 6.
4. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 2, Chapter 17.