Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 3 Episode 5 (section)

===Part 5===

The wall and ground were gouged violently, clouds of dust and white smoke were hanging over the practice ground here and there.

In the practice ground that welcomed the decisive battle of Lux and Celis, a never seen before fierce battle was developing.

「Biting FlareDragon Bite Explosive Blaze」

The right arm of Typhon that Philuffy was wearing was tinged with light and shook the surrounding air.

It was Typhon’s other special armament that sent energy directly into the caught object and blew it up.

That attack, which wouldn’t let Celis get away unscathe if she was hit with it directly, caused explosions that looked like eruptions from the piece of the ground that Philuffy seized from the practice grounds.

Clouds of dust and soil rolled up from the explosion’s impact, and at the same time Typhon’s shoulders, arms, and back fired out countless Pile Anchors. Inside the smoke where one’s sight was limited such that they should be unable to see even an inch ahead, Celis deflected all the Pile Anchors with accurate lance handling.

But, Philuffy also closed the distance by kicking on the ground and visited a fist using Typhon’s powerful arm on Celis.

Her frame’s joints twisted and a sure kill barrage of fists was unleashed at high speed. Celis dodged or evaded by running to the sky. Typhon chased her using its terrifying leaping power and unleashed a spinning kick after a feinted straight punch.

Furthermore she fired multiple Pile Anchors to the ground. They pulled on Typhon like rope with a claw attached, changing its orbit midair and evaded Lindwurm’s counterattack.

Typhon landed down on the practice ground at high speed, shook off the opponent’s aim with circling trajectory, dashed to beneath Celis, fired countless Pile Anchors once more, and sniped at Lindwurm.

Philuffy casually caught the three Daggers that were thrown from the air as counterattack, she then turned around her body from side to side and threw them back several times faster. Celis who predicted that circled to Typhoon’s back instantly using Divine Gate. This time she took distance to be able to dodge Philuffy’s kick and unleashed a thrust that was laced with electricity. But, Philuffy too seemed to know it. She jumped forward to dodge, twisted her body and faced towards Celis, then midair she fired several more Pile Anchors.

Celis slipped through that attack that aimed to hold her back and seize her, and pursued with a lance attack.

Philuffy seemed to perceive reflexively that she couldn’t dodge it. She met Celis with her fastest forward charge.

Fist and lance’s tip collided, and intense sparks and impact burst out.

────.

Such offense and defense that was like raging waves were deployed without even a breathing gap.

Even the female students at the spectator seats who were cheering them on loudly at first were watching the fight while holding their breath before they knew it.

「Celis. Sorry but I leave the rest to you. I’ll be at my limit soon.」

A few minutes later, Sharis who came down on the ground sheathed her Sword Device and declared her own defeat.

All her weapons were already destroyed, and even her Wyvern’s armor had deep gashes on it.

Her state was because she launched attacks at Lux several times even knowing that she would receive counters by Lux’s Critical Hit, in order to pull his attention to her, but she was literally reaching her limit.

「I understand. Please withdraw quickly. You are too reckless.」

「I see. Then, do your best, okay? I’ll leave it to you.」

Sharis leaked out a wry smile and headed to the door that connected to outside the ring in a jog. It was then,

「You fought in a way that doesn’t put shame on your status as my partner, Sharis.」

Such words of gratitude were softly said to her.

「Haa, haa……. Haaa. tsu──」

Right after Sharis exited the ring, Typhon’s armor that Philuffy was wearing was also losing light and it was automatically dispelled.

It was because the exhaustion of the user reached the limit, but thinking how it was used continuously at full output, even though using a Divine Drag-Ride already consumed energy intensely even at the best of times, she had been using it for too long.

In the case it was confirmed that the armor was forcefully dispelled, that participant would also be considered as defeated, and they had to leave the stage right away.

「Haa, haa……sorry, Lu……chan」

Philuffy cast her eyes down with her head hung low while walking away with a limping gait.

Philuffy was usually silent and didn’t show much emotion, but she was exerting her best effort for him while sweating all over her body and out of breath.

Lux thanked his important childhood friend while he too exerted his last fighting spirit.

「Right. Leave it to me, Phi-chan.」

Since the battle started, Philuffy did something unexpected and commenced close quarter combat, but she couldn’t score a direct hit on Celis’s Lindwurm.

It seemed that she really wasn’t serious even in her fight against Lisha and Krulcifer.

But, thanks to Philuffy challenging Celis proactively, Lux was able to memorize that exquisite lance handling with his eyes somehow.

Celis’s movement had no wasted motion and it was hard to see through, but with this it would be a more even fight somehow.

「……Why?」

When their respective partners withdrew and it became a schema of a one-on-one duel, Celis suddenly let out a voice.

Celis too, although she didn’t receive any damage worth mentioning, but her composure was already gone.

In order to defend against Philuffy’s fierce offense, other than her Lightning Lance for close quarter combat, and Starlight Zero for long range, almost all her armaments were out of use.

「Why are you fighting? Is it for restoring a male dominated society? Or else are you trying to raise an achievement in this academy where noble ladies are gathering, so that you can get involved with this country once more? As the survivor of the Old Empire that once ruled this country──」

「…………」

Her voice was the same like usual, an aloof voice of a ruler.

But, Lux could hear that there was a slight hesitation inside Celis’s voice.

「Please answer. Lux, you are──」

Lux made a small sigh, then he softly touched the collar of a criminal with his Drag-Ride’s finger.

Now that he was looking back once more, he wondered why.

Was it atonement towards the perished country that he failed to save?

Was it regret of being unable to fulfill his responsibility as prince?

Was it for the sake of answering the feelings of these girls who he ought to respect?

No──.

「I tried the whole time to walk the right path, and made a mistake.」

All the reason above sounded true, but surely it was different.

「What should I do? Is the current me able to do something more than that? I don’t know the answer. But──」

Surely Celis was the same like himself. That was what Lux thought.

She tried to do her best in order to guide this country, however, at the same time she was lost.

Actually, should she cooperate with a man? She was worrying and suffering even about that.

「What can the current me do. It is continuing to hope for the best by none other than my own judgment. I will fight for that, that’s what I’m thinking right now.」

「……I understand.」

Celis gathered her breath slightly hearing that answer, and she readied her lance.

The mock battle’s remaining time had just gone below three minutes.

Most likely, this would be the last exchange of offense and defense.

「Let’s decide this, Lux Arcadia!」

*Gakiin!*

Celis yelled and aimed the main cannon connected to Lindwurm’s shoulder toward Lux.

The special armament that wasn’t used even through the intense fight and saved until now, Starlight Zero.

Against the super wide range attack that would blow up the whole practice ground, even Lux wouldn’t be able to defend against it.

「-……!?」

Before the energy finished loading, Lux’s Wyvern flew in at high speed, but at that moment Celis’s spear became wrapped with electricity and shined radiantly.

Right after that, she teleported instantly using Divine Gate and took distance from Lux to the very limit.

The act of loading energy at first was──fake!

「Starlight Zero.」

Together with Celis’s voice, the light ball of compressed energy was fired──it was then!

–

「──GU, oOoOOOOooOOoOOoooooOOOOOOON!」

–

A never heard before strange sound resounded in the surroundings, making anyone who heard it think of it as the evil omen of calamity.

The surroundings fell silent as though time had stopped, an odd tension was born.

At the same time, the practice ground and spectator seats were starting to shake rattlingly along with terrible rumbling from the earth.

–

「Wha, what is, this sound──?」

–

Someone among the female students at the spectator seats leaked out that mutter, it was at that moment.

*GOBAA-!*

Several dozen tentacles crawled out all at once from the ground of the practice ground like pillars.

「Wha……-!?」

Without even any time for the two who were in the middle of battle to hold their breath, they were attacked by the tentacles and Lindwurm’s balance crumbled.

Right after that, the compressed light bullet of Starlight Zero hit the center of the practice ground and exploded.