Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 8 Episode 4 (section)

===Part 4===

「This is──!?」

It was a sight that would make one doubted their own eyes. Lux’s focus was taken away for a moment by that happening which surpassed the imagination.

Right after the offense and defense that should have decided the victory for them just as they predicted──, for some reason it was Celis herself who got hit by a sure kill attack.

The Scythe’s blade that was tinged with shining purple energy was digging into Lindwurm’s torso.

But, the Lance that was slightly tilted came in between, which exempted Celis from direct hit.

「How fuun. To be able to defend against this attack in this timing──just what kind of reaction speed that is? Are you really a human I wonder?」

[[File:SaijakuBahamut v8 color 3.jpg|thumb|right]]

Rosa who was grinning smugly put even more strength and forcefully swung her Scythe to the end.

The heavy weight land battle type with its feet firmly planted on the ground, and the light weight flying type that was floating midair.

The difference in power when the two clashed directly was clearly shown in this situation.

「Kuh!? My attack should have landed for sure……. Why is a counterattack──!?」

Terrific amount of energy surged from the Scythe’s blade, and it increased in momentum to cut apart Lindwurm’s barrier.

The armor’s destruction──a killing intent that was aiming for more than mere injury caused Lux’s expression to pale.

「Celis-senpai!」

Lux immediately tried to assist by brandishing his Scale Blade toward Rosa.

──But, Calensia immediately discarded her half destroyed Blade and obstructed him.

「It’s vexing to be ignored like that. ──That’s your blunder.」

At the same time the EX Wyrm quickly switched weapon.

The land battle type Drag-Ride that had its heavyweight class as its selling point was loaded with a lot of armaments. Because of that it possessed a lot of variety.

Next when she aimed the Breath Gun in her hand toward Lux, territory of light spread in the surrounding.

「Divine Gate.」

Celis brushed away the Scythe slightly and activated Lindwurm’s Divine Raiment, the ability of high speed teleportation.

Celis instantly appeared right beside Rosa and sharply thrust her lance toward Rosa’s flank.

*DOGAA-!* That attack oerced the Drag-Ride’s barrier and crushed the shoulder armor.

At the same time, the Scale Blade that Lux swung in the pretension of helping Celis blocked the muzzle of Calensia’s Breath Gun.

「The second attack is also a trap──!? How can!?」

But Calensia who had reflexively pulled the trigger couldn’t stop, causing the Breath Gun to explode.

The EX Wyrm got hit by the backlash of its second weapon getting destructed and it was pushed back.

Celis too, although she had received an inexplicable counterattack, but with this she was able to bring down Rosa with certainty──that was how it should be. But,

「You aren’t half bad. ──Just slightly than what I think thouugh.」

The Drag-Ride of the sarcastically grinning Rosa was completely destroyed along with the pilot’s body.

「Wha-……!?」

The Lindwurm of Celis who was taken by surprise received a sharp impact on the back and got struck down.

The Gorynych of Rosa that should be at the front was slashing its Scythe from the back before Celis knew it.

「Illusion!? No, I certainly felt feedback──!?」

Sparks were fiercely scattered from Celis’s armor while she was muttering in astonishment.

It seemed that her back wings, the flight device was done in. She couldn’t fly anymore.

「Calen. You aim at this one who is near dead. Weeell, the punishment for you is decided already though by the time you got done in by such brat twice. What’s going to happen if we lose because of your fault──. If it’s the clever you, don’t you get it already riight? It won’t be just your parents, even your little sis will be turned into slave you know?」

「……uu-」

The expression Calensia who was glared by Rosa turned pale. Her shoulders were shaking fiercely.

It seemed the dark side of Heiburg, the inhumanity of Rosa wasn’t just a mere rumor.

Her poisonous fang wasn’t bared to just the army and citizens it seemed, it even reached her own partner.

(……This is bad! At this rate we won’t win──not just that, Celis-senpai is in danger!)

Lindwurm that already received a serious damage couldn’t fight satisfactorily anymore.

At the same time, Rosa Granhide’s true strength and also the Divine Raiment of Gorynych were still unknown.

If he wanted to prevent any injury to the minimum, perhaps it would be better to surrender here.

However, of all things if they lost here against Heiburg that was hostile to the new kingdom, the Ruin within the new kingdom’s territory would be ransacked for a month and the area around it would receive considerable damage.

「……Fuh.」

At that time a chuckle that seemed like it had seen through Lux’s complication came from the audience seats far away.

It was a distance where something like a muttering voice couldn’t possibly be heard.

But, Lux felt like he had certainly heard it.

The face of his elder brother Fugil who was sneering.

That laughing voice which sounded like it was scorning his choice and the end of that road caused his emotion to erupt.

「Some nerve you’ve got there──. No, is it a lure perhaps? You don’t have any tome to leisurely look at other way you knoow」

Rosa who was showing a wicked smile drew near to Lux while brandishing her Scythe.

At that instant, Lux resolved himself and instantly dispelled his own armor.

「Howling Howl! And then ──Break Purge.」

It was a basic skill to shoot out the energy that was gathered in the head part in a surge. But, just that wasn’t enough to contain the charge of Gorynych that was a land battle type Divine Drag-Ride.

Therefore Lux used one more technique, the Break Purge to shoot out his armor as buckshot to cover the enemy’s field of vision.

It was a basic operation skill to purge off a part of Drag-Ride’s armament and armor and reduced the burden to oneself.

But, the barrier’s strength and the mobility were also shaved off at the same time, so it was almost never get used in the middle of combat.

Lux daringly use it was for the sake of taking the enemy by surprise and stopping her movement.

And then, at the same time it was also a preparatory step to use the next Drag-Ride.

「Releasing off the armor completely!? This is……」

「Lux!? That Drag-Ride is──!?」

Celis leaked out an astonished voice, but Lux didn’t stop.

The other Sword Device──the second one was pulled out from the black sheath and he quickly muttered the Passcode.

「──Manifest, violent dragon devouring the flesh and blood of the gods. Sever the sky of black clouds, Bahamut!」

Right after he yelled, a large type Drag-Ride shining jet black was summoned before his eyes. It covered Lux’s body and turned into armor.

The people in the audience seats who witnessed that spontaneously leaked out astonished sighs.

「──Oo」

「So that’s, the Divine Drag-Ride of new kingdom’s Seven Dragon Paladins.」

There was no common student or visitor in this place.

The people watching the fight were only Syvalles’s members and Relie, also the other members of Seven Dragon Paladins and the four leaders’ representatives.

Even so, Lux didn’t want to show his own combat strength openly, but there was no more room for hesitating.

He still wasn’t able to perfectly predict the opponent’s attack preliminary movement, but even so he could only do this.

「……Remaining times, three minutes.」

The voice of Instructor Raigree who served as the referee resounded at the surrounding.

Celis who received damage shouldn’t have much time remaining where she could equip her Drag-Ride.

Lux faced the Gorynych that possessed large dark grey frame and flew Bahamut forward.

「So that’s the rumored Bahamut? I have heard of it from Saniya.」

Right after she muttered so, Rosa snapped her fingers with a clear sound.

Instantly, with a force that was like a bullet, Calensia who should be taking on Celis as an opponent aimed at Lux with a slash using her second Blade.

Trickery──deception and trap, and overwhelming strength. This was a witch who freely used all of those.

Her instruction that told Calensia to face Celis was a groundwork to make a sneak attack toward Lux.

But, the Blade of the EX Wyrm that was aiming at Bahamut’s armored arm instead got severed along with its armored hand. The severed part rotated in the air.

Quick Draw──the super fast attack that was unleashed from aligned operation of body control and mental control dealt the counterattack splendidly.

「No way-……!?」

Calensia opened both her eyes widely, then right after that Lux quickly struck a return attack at her.

Slashed from above the barrier, Calensia’s EX Wyrm was blown away.

「Hee? You use a strange technique there. It’s not that Bahamut’s Divine Raiment. Is that perhaps a technique of Drag-Ride operation just like Singlen I wondeer?」

Rosa threw that comment with deep interest.

She was thinking to aim at opening the moment Lux attacked her in this timing, but unexpectedly Lux didn’t come attacking.

「You are more able than I thought……. But you’re really naïve. Even though this fight will be over if you attack Calen more and make her unable to fight, and yeet」

「…………」

Rosa pointed out something painful, but Lux didn’t let it show on his expression.

In case this battle ended in defeat for Heiburg because of Calensia as the cause, she would receive terrible chastisement from Rosa, and her family would receive persecution. It was a fact that such thought crossed Lux’s mind for a moment.

But, the Steel Witch saw through even that hesitation of Lux. It caused Lux to hold a strong vigilance against her.

Until now there had been several Drag-Knights who Lux thought as formidable, but this girl’s 『malice』 possessed strength of different quality from those opponents.

Not only she didn’t balk to sacrifice her own comrade, she also had the shrewdness to form strategy that influenced her opponent.

He understood it keenly, of her inhuman strength.

「Feeling concerned about the position of a woman from another country that you will even harm the interest of your own countr──I love such person who has their head filled with flower field like that you know?」

Rosa licked her lips and caressed her breast with her fingertip while grinning mockingly.

「Actually my partner Calen──, among the nobles she was born from lowly family, but she is a lovely child who overturn status using talent and hard work seee. But, she is an embarrassment for Heiburg, getting pitied by someone of another country like this. That’s why……, let’s see. I’ll have this girl’s remaining family to receive punishment too. I’ll present her mother and little sister to be the plaything of the soldiers.」

「──!?」

Rosa made a cruel and inhumane declaration.

The moment Calensia looked dumbfounded from surprise, a sound burst from Rosa’s back.

「Break Purge──and then, Divine Gate.」

The moment Celis saw an opening, she released a part of her armor and moved.

A swift attack in godspeed that the eye couldn’t even follow.

Celis lightened her burden by purging parts of the armor that were damaged, at the same time she concentrated her energy into one point to launch a lance attack.

It was a form of suicide attack that Celis was learning by applying basic technique.

It was a superb sure-kill skill that put the user’s life at risk. Such attack was attacking Rosa’s back.

At the same time Lux also flew his Bahamut and slashed in order to support Celis.

If he launched a slash using Quick Draw a t this distance and this timing, even Rosa wouldn’t be able to dodge.

Those judgment and prediction hit the mark without any miss. Gorynych was pierced from the back, at the same time it was also slashed diagonally from the front──.

The armor along with the flesh body wearing it were bisected into two.

「……Wha-!?」

Lux and Celis were dumbfounded seeing that sight. Right at that moment, that flesh body dispersed.

It wasn’t illusion, but a clone with physical substance.

Right after Lux noticed that, an intense impact and heat wave were fired from the side of the two who was right near each other as though to strike them hard.

「Sin Phantom – Rapid Fire ModeFlash Shadow of Deceit – All-Out Bombardment Form.」

*DOOOOohN-!*

The air exploded in succession. The ground was smashed and hot wind whirled.

The yell of Lisha and others could be heard from afar inside the inferno where it felt like their consciousness was getting farther.

「Lux──!?」

「Hah! Even though I shot at perfect timing──it’s only your running away that is fast isn’t iit?」

After Rosa laughed mockingly, the dust cleared up and a figure came into view.

It was the figure of Lux’s Bahamut, protecting Celis who only had slightly remaining armor within its arms.

Lux and also Celis could still fight even though it was only just barely.

But, in Celis’s condition that almost couldn’t move anymore, there would be a risk of serious injury or even death if they kept fighting.

「Lux, don’t worry about me! That’s why──!」

「I’m sorry, Celis-senpai.」

Lux shook his head slightly toward Celis’s insistence.

And then the time passed, and the result of this skill exhibition battle was decided.

「──The time is up. This match……is a draw!」

Instructor Raigree’s voice came, at the same time the bell sound that informed the end of the battle rang.

A draw in reality had the same meaning as victory for Heiburg Republic.

And then the fight that began from this quarrel closed its curtain.

–