Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 6 Final Chapter (section)

===Part 12===

“Everyone, I’m glad you’re all safe.”

Those were the words first spoken by Monica after she was rescued from the giant hole.

“I was worried. After we fell down, there was no support or response for a while, so I thought that perhaps you were also about to be attacked by Yuugenshu.”

“……It wasn’t just about to be.”

“That’s right. It was a hassle.”

Kagura and Vaiel answered with dead tired expressions.

“Don’t say that. It was hard on our end too. At any rate, it was a really troublesome one which no matter how many times we defeated it──”

“Right, that. Ilis and I were also worried but……it looks like everything went alright.”

He didn’t have time to check while fighting the Yuugenshu underground, but she didn’t seem to have any injuries on her when he looked. He had more scratches on him.

“Captain Horn was the one who struggled so I was more of an extra.”

She dug her nails into her unharmed formal wear in shame.

“That’s wrong. The one who completely annihilated that was her.”

The blinder-wearing woman lightly rested her hand on Monica’s shoulder.

“My thanks; I was saved by your barrier.”

“Eh? Ehh, eh…… wa-wait, Captain Horn!?”

“I merely spoke the truth.”

The Sennenshi declared that plainly and turned around.

…………Should I say it?

He was lost for a moment on whether he should speak.

“Wait.”

Sheltis called out to Horn who was about to walk away.

“What is it?”

“Thank you very much.”

“Mm?”

She had a dubious expression on her face as he bowed his head to her.

“Isn’t Monica unharmed because you put yourself at the front?”

The fully depleted Silver King <Rusty Heidt>. The machine pistol magazines all around her waist were also used up by a great deal. It had been that much of a rough battle.

“All according to plan. There’s no idiot who would place a shinryoku spellcaster before the enemy. Also”

The tall woman slowly turned to him.

“I was indebted to you.”

“Heh?”

“I’m interested in your background but I’ll let it slide for now.”

She turned away and walked away briskly.

……I see, so she really did notice.

“What’s wrong, Sheltis?”

“Eh? No, I don’t really understand it well.”

He folded his arms and thought. By the way, he had already asked Kagura and Vaiel to keep it a secret from Monica that he had headed underground by himself.

And──

“That”

Horn, who was walking at the head of the group, suddenly came to a stop.

“Wa, wawaa……Captain Horn, I’m glad to see you’re safe!”

The boy with heavy firearms in both hands ran up to the blinder-wearing Sennenshi. He should have been in overalls but now he was wearing camouflaged battle clothes.

“Catria, what is that outfit for?”

“B-Because, because. ‘Bring a stronger weapon‘. It was a Yuugenshu even Silver King <Rusty Heidt> couldn’t defeat, right? For that kind of opponent, I-I thought I would also need to fight!”

“……Ahh. About that, your new gun was helpful.”

Horn replied with a strangely awkward expression.

“Eh, i-is that right!”

“But that doesn’t mean a maintenance worker should join the reinforcements unit. Somebody who doesn’t even know how to fire a gun shouldn’t come out onto the battlefield.”

“…………My apologies.”

The boy stared at the heavy firearms in his hands with a downcast expression.

“……I won’t say it again.”

“If you have a break from work, tell me ahead of time.”

“Eh?”

In front of the boy who had his mouth hanging open absentmindedly, the Sennenshi averted her face for some reason and mumbled.

“……I’ll at least teach you how to handle a gun.”

“Ehh, ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

“What is it?”

“B-Because, Captain Horn is……saying such kind words to me. Th-This is bad. You must have been hit with mateki and gone strange in the head──”

“Quiet.”

A fist sunk into Catria’s face with an unpleasant sound. Monica and the others who shuddered at the full-strength hit and the person who clenched that fist grabbed the boy by his collar.

“Come to think of it, Catria, how about the report to the executives?”

“A-All done! Everyone was relieved that the subjugation is complete.”

“I see……”

She muttered that as if talking to herself, then the female Sennenshi looked up at the sky.

“……The only thing left now is Tessha.”

There was no mistake that the one she defeated was the S vector, eighth class she had been chasing for many years. There was one concern left ── whether or not defeating the main body had managed to also erase the mateki eating away at the boy.

“Let’s have faith. Also, that it’s not the delayed sin-type mateki.“

“……Yeah.”

That was mateki which became a stronger curse after its defeat. If mateki which the Priestesses couldn’t cure were to become even stronger, nothing could be done about it.

The only thing they could do was have faith.

In what they had come to do. As well as the meaning in what Horn Nova had spent years continuing.

“I’ll confirm it with the doctor in charge of the hospital. Sorry, but please wait a bit.”

Placing the communicator to her ear, Horn was silent. However.

 

“…………Why……is no one answering?”

 

Her whisper said everything with utmost cruelty.

“Is this Horn-sama?“

A nurse working at the hospital was heard from the communicator.

“What is it? Where is Tessha’s doctor──”

“Th-The doctor……he just ran to D ward and hasn’t come back yet! U-Um, he said that a patient’s condition had suddenly worsened.“

“…………Don’t tell me, is it D09?”

“I-I don’t know but it was the patient in the innermost room. ……Ah, h-hello, Horn-sama!?“

Clatter……

The communicator slipped from Horn’s hand which had lost its strength and fell.

“───Why?”

Both her knees touched the ground followed by both hands. A sob leaked from the lips which the Sennenshi was biting down on hard enough to draw blood.

Delayed sin-type mateki. There was no way to stop the curse strength which had lost its control. It was of a strength which Priestesses couldn’t cure even before running out of control. There was no way they could deal with it.

“Why……nothing has paid off……I……what I’ve done so far, not a single thing has”

 

“It will pay off, definitely.“

 

That voice.

From the communicator which had fallen to the ground, it was carried along the silver wind flowing to the great salt lake.

“I’ve heard the report. You defeated that Yuugenshu. ……That’s why, after that, you must believe. In what you have done. And in me.“

“……Ymy?”

Whispering that with a sob mixed in, Horn Nova slightly lifted her face.

“Tessha-kun’s mateki was of the delayed sin type as I suspected. Because the main body was annihilated, his mateki has undergone a change. ……We don’t even have an hour to spare. I will be heading to D09 to perform a purification now. The supervising doctor is making preparations.“

“…………”

“Are you uneasy? That I’m performing the purification.“

Horn didn’t answer.

“……Please have faith and wait. Well then──“

“Wait.”

Horn’s hand once again gripped the communicator.

Such that everyone there could hear, she stood up and then.

“──I’m sorry.”

The third Sennenshi lowered her head towards the communicator.

“……I am thankful that you are at {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}.”

“Horn-san?“

“I entrust Tessha to you.”