Editing City Series:Volume6d Chapter5 (section)

===Part 7===

Something landed in front of Hazel.

It looked like a giant wall to her.

It dropped with enough force to break into the road surface but instead came to a sudden stop between her and Alfred.

His “ah” attack crashed into the wall and the light exploded.

The light shattered on the other side of the wall and the wall shook violently.

But the wall remained hovering more than a foot off the ground and did not fall.

The wall had blocked Alfred’s Bust attack.

Protected by the wall, Hazel took a few steps back. The wind vanished and a few of the light Lives produced by Alfred danced around her in long strings.

She took a few more steps back and stopped once she could see the entirety of the wall.

Everyone else was equally motionless. The surrounding soldiers and Heavy Barrels had all come to a stop.

She looked dazed.

But she had not stopped from the relief of surviving the Bust attack.

She had identified the wall as the white light faded and the warning lights and other outdoor lights shined on it.

It was a 30yd-long aerial warship resembling a blue blade.

She knew its name.

But her gaping mouth was trembling too much to move. Her eyebrows drooped and she took a breath before finally getting her voice out.

“What is happening?”

She was answered not by a voice but by the loud flapping of wings in the sky.

A line of wind passed by in the dark blue moonlit sky overhead. The wind took the form of a dark shadow. The twin-winged silhouette was a Heavy Barrel.

“Schwarz Löwe!”

Hazel’s drooping eyebrows shot up in joy and she raised her head. Tears fell from her upturned eyes.

The black Heavy Barrel vanished beyond a building at the far end of the road and she heard it land.

That was enough for her to nod. She viewed the blue craft in front of her, clenched her fists, and inhaled.

…''It’s time to leave here.

A voice from behind seemed to respond to that thought. A woman’s voice.

“Yes, Hazel. Do that.”

Hearing a sound like splitting stone from the same direction, she looked back.

The blockade at the other end of the bridge had been breached.

For some reason, the trucks that had formed the blockade were missing.

And someone stood in the center of the gap where three trucks had been before.

“Lehrer.”

A woman in a purple uniform had just finished swinging a German military spear up from below.

Her eyes remained closed, but she was smiling. She swung the spear back down.

A moment later, three military trucks dropped from the sky.

“!?”

Everyone on the road ducked as the three trucks crashed down onto one of the buildings built alongside the road. A corner of the building collapsed from roof to 3rd floor like someone squishing a sponge cake below their finger. The trio of noises sounded like shattering stone.

With that as her cue, Lehrer raised her voice.

“Sylphide! Take her inside!”

<The Wind is a guardian dragon.>

Hazel turned around to see Sylphide opening the cockpit hatch on its upper surface.

The blue craft tilted toward her, telling her to climb in. However…

“Out of the way!” roared Alfred’s voice.

A loud impact followed and white light exploded on the other side of Sylphide. And not just once. A second, third, fourth, and fifth shout followed – the last one the most intense.

“Ah.”

Sylphide was blasted over Hazel’s head.

“!”

Hazel ducked down and Sylphide twisted itself around and ascended above one of the buildings. Its lower armor was cracked and broken, exposing its internal structure.

And with Sylphide moved out of the way…

“Are you running away?”

Alfred was not out of breath and stood firm in his diagonal stance.

Hazel noticed his gaze turn toward her just once before turning toward Lehrer behind her. So she shifted to the left to let him see the woman.

She looked back to see Lehrer walking this way. She tilted her head and spoke to Alfred.

“Do you think Hazel is running away here?”

“If she’s going to go on and on about not wanting to run away, the only other option is to fight.”

Instead of responding, Lehrer gathered bluish-white Lives on the blade of her raised spear. She gathered the wind Lives blowing through, called them to her, and hardened them into a blade.

Hazel gave an honest assessment of what she saw.

…''The density and speed at which she gathered them is impressive.

Whether Lehrer was aware of those thoughts or not, she spoke to Hazel.

“Hazel, once you fight your true battle – not a simple skirmish like this – you will find you too can do this much. Because power is acquired through necessity.”

Lehrer threw away her glasses and opened her eyes – one blue and the other dyed red.

Hazel froze briefly when she saw those eyes.

But that was all.

…''I knew it.

“You were the one who went to sleep at Alfheim in the picture book, weren’t you?”

The surrounding soldiers understood the implication.

“The Messiah!?”

Their confused shout changed the atmosphere hanging over the road. Confusion Lives raced out in every direction.

At the same time, Lehrer ran forward. She twisted her body to keep her balance while swinging her spear around and adding on more wind Lives.

Hazel also ran, like she was in sync with the woman. Her hurting right foot dragged a little, but she could still run. She had legs and they could move. And she had the willpower to move them.

So she ran. A great presence moved behind her. She knew who that was: Alfred.

“Ah.”

He released his voice just as Hazel and Lehrer passed each other.

Lehrer swung down her attack.

“Ah.”

Her loud tone crashed into Alfred’s Bust attack and tore a large hole in the road.