Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 5 Episode 4 (section)

===Part 12===

『──Warning』

It was a voice that sounded robotic and tinged with a hollow presence.

An amplified voice that was different from Dragon Voice which was a communication ability between fellow Drag-Rides was emitted from the head part of the Gigas.

Approximately a hundred Drag-Knights of the New Kingdom military were heading to intercept as well as defending against Gigas. Half of them were shot down by Gigas’s bombardments and Hayes’s Nidhogg, and the remaining half was withdrawing with the injured among them.

The capital’s northeast district that was starting to be evacuated was already crushed underfoot and fell into a half-destroyed state. The cause of that, the Gigas was moving towards the castle at high speed.

『The battle is decided already. New Kingdom military as well as the queen and her subordinates in this place are to swiftly display their will to surrender by prostrating. By doing that any further attacks will stop and we will grant repose, that is our rule to everyone.』

Hayes proclaimed that above the people who were running about trying to escape.

The New Kingdom that had its forces scattered and also its defense line broken through had no more methods to oppose it.

And then, this advice was a trap.

Heiburg would place the Rebel Army that was supporting the Old Empire as the head and indirectly ruled over the New Kingdom.

Furthermore, it would be shown to the VIPs from many countries who came for the All-Dragon Battle, with the aim of putting a check on them too.

The consuls inside the chaotic castle couldn’t find any breakthrough solution against this advice.

While the screams and confused voices of the people could be heard from the streets of the capital,

『Unfortunately, your lords didn’t give their answer──. Therefore, We’ll resume attacking!』

Right after that cold proclamation, the Gigas moved.

The countless cannon muzzles growing from those giant shoulders aimed downward, it was then an abnormality occurred.

*GAKIiiI-!*

The thin long arms growing from Gigas’s shoulders with countless joint in it. One of those arms that looked like a spire suddenly slanted, the Gigas’s posture crumbled and pitched forward.

Right after that, the countless light bullets fired from those shoulders and the chest part rained down on a greenery area right under it where people had already finished evacuating.

『What……!?』

Hayes who was near the head part of Gigas noticed the cause of that and she frowned.

Looking closer, Philuffy who was wearing Typhon entangled several wires of Pile Anchor on one of Gigas’s arms, pulled downward and broke its balance.

『Foolish act……! El Fajura! Crush her!』

After Hayes gave that instruction to the Automaton, the Gigas pulled its other gigantic arm and aimed at Philuffy──but, that instant when its attention was diverted to below, the left arm Gigas was lifting up was struck by a light bullet.

『This is──don’t tell me!?』

「Starlight Zero」

That was the compressed light bullet fired from Celis’s Lindwurm. When Hayes noticed it was already too late.

The attack fired from the special armament of wide range destruction sent the left arm of Gigas flying. The countless cannon muzzles sticking out from both its shoulders were smashed. That overwhelming offensive power was pruned temporarily.

Hayes cursed receiving that fierce wave of explosive blast.

「Pointless struggle……. Enough, ignore them and crush the castle underfoot.」

Hearing Hayes’s instruction, Gigas’s feet that were like a mountain moved. It marched while causing fierce rumbles in the ground.

The many citizens at the area around the castle until the arena saw that and screamed. Running about trying to escape.

But, when those feet arrived until nearby the castle wall surrounding the palace, a single Drag-Ride stood in its way.

「Kneel under my name! Suppressor──!」

Lisha wearing Tiamat unsheathed her Sword Device and pointed at Gigas.

Instantly, a gravity field was formed on a spot of that gigantic right leg and its movement became dull.

Seeing that, Hayes looked down on Lisha from above the Gigas’s head.

「So you came to incorrigibly expose your shame again huh, princess-sama!」

「Shut up this wannabe strategist! I’ll make you pay back your debt to this country and me!」

「Hah! Don’t get carried away, you substitute lowly princess! What can you son of a bitch do!? You think that this Gigas can be stopped by something like that?」

Just as Hayes ridiculing words said, the burden from the gravity field didn’t do anything and the Gigas resumed its march.

It was as though it was proclaiming that something like the resistance of Lisha alone was pointless.

But the next moment, when the Gigas was about to take one more step,

「──Reload on Fire.」

*DOOooOONN!*

One of Gigas’s legs smashed the stone pavement and the ground and it stepped through until below the ground.

「……What-!?」

Because of the gravity pressure that was reinforced until several times from before, that leg was buried deeply into the ground. Lux wearing Bahamut was looking down calmly on it from midair.

Tiamat’s Divine Raiment, the gravity field that at a glance looked like it wasn’t working at all went through the compression strengthening of Bahamut’s Reload on Fire. The moment Gigas tried to ignore it and took a step forward, the power of the gravity field became several times the original and attacked.

「Bu, but why, why is there a hollow below this kind of place!? What in the world──!?」

「Should I teach you, wannabe strategist? You see, the underground around there has a large scale tunnel that was dug up in the era of the Old Empire. It was something created more than a hundred years ago, that’s why only very few know about it.」

「……-!?」

Hayes also guessed the fact from listening to Lisha explaining proudly.

The people in the past were building a city above while knowing that there was a tunnel below was because it was constructed to be able to endure great burden and weight.

But, because of Lux’s Reload on Fore, Suppressor’s gravity pressure was reinforced several times over, and aiming at the moment the super heavy Gigas step there, a pitfall was prepared to make the foot step through the ground.

But even with that the best it could do was sealing one leg of Gigas, but at this moment a completely advantageous situation was created.

「Chih!」

Hayes clicked her tongue. In order for the Gigas to pull out its buried leg, it was going to put both its hand on the ground, it was then two more people moved.

「──Ei」

Philuffy fired Pile Anchor from every part of Typhon and restrained a part of the thin long arm.

At the same time she drove her Drag-Ride with her Booster at maximum output and ran through the street. By towing the arm once more, Gigas’s balance almost crumbled.

「You think I’m going to let you do the same thing over and over!」

When Hayes’s voice resounded, Gigas raised its remaining left arm and aimed to crush Typhon.

「Obstructing with that──is not permitted.」

But, the lance attack of Celis’s flying Lindwurm aimed at it instead.

She aimed at the seam of the countless joints and made a thrust attack with maximum electricity discharge.

Terrific sparks spread through the whole left arm that looked like a spire, and its movement stopped for just a moment.

「Pointless! Gigas’s arm won’t be stopped with only a single Drag-Ride!」

When Gigas’s left arm was swung down a moment later, Philuffy already released the binding of Pile Anchor, setting free the right arm and escaped.

「You keep making trifling nuisances──……!?」

Right after Hayes cursed, she noticed it and held her breath.

The right arm of Gigas that Philuffy was towing was frozen.

Ten-odd spots of countless existing joints were frozen and its movement was almost completely sealed.

At the sky above a slight distance away from there, Krulcifer wearing Fafnir and readying her Freezing Cannon was hovering.

During the ten seconds when Hayes’s attention was diverted due to Celis stopping the attack of Gigas’s left arm, Krulcifer fired several freezing shots at each joint with terrifying precision and sealed that right arm.

『They got us Lord with this we cannot make movement.』

An Automaton’s voice came from inside Gigas towards Hayes who was wearing Nidhogg.

Hayes too finally understood everything with that.

「────」

Her greatest fighting strength the Gigas had its invasion completely stopped with the chain of cooperation from five Divine Drag-Rides.

The smashed cannon muzzles jutting out from its whole body were being replaced, but there was some distance until the castle.

Right after that, three people other than Lisha and Lux headed towards the castle and began to move respectively.

『Rescinding the frozen state to make both arms usable and the buried leg taken out──more than ten minutes are necessary until Gigas recovers to a flawless state.』

The main body of El Fajura who was controlling Gigas from the control room area sent a voice to Hayes telling her that.

Many people and nobles outside the arena who were evacuating saw that sight and made a stir.

「Fuu……」

Lux let out a relieved sigh seeing that his plan went well for the time being.

He had Sharis and Tillfur to investigate the structure of the fifth Ruin, Gigas.

Because Gigas’s shape was greatly different from other Ruins, he had them looked for the shortest route towards its deepest part.

Of course, there was only a faint chance for them to discover the route nicely, even so they had no choice but to do it.

『Operation success Nii-san. What’s left is as planned──please be very careful.』

Airi who was watching over the situation from the spectator seat of the arena sent her voice through Noct’s Drake.

They had only finished stopping Gigas from moving, the situation still continued to be one where they couldn’t let their guard down.

As for reacting against various other dangers that were occurring at the same time──he could only leave it to other people.

『Right.』

Lux returned a small voice and looked down below him.

And then, Gigas was starting to make a strange vibration sound that might be for melting the arm’s frozen spots. Lux and Lisha landed together on the shoulder of that Gigas.

The two giant shoulders at both sides of the head were each like a battleship’s deck, fulfilling the role as spacious foothold that was several times larger.

There, Hayes wearing Nidhogg and one other girl’s silhouette were standing.

「Lisha-sama.」

「……I know. I’ll take on that fiendish strategist. You fulfill your duty as the former imperial prince, against that so called loyal subject who set us up.」

Lisha said only that and made her Tiamat glide, advancing towards Hayes.

And then, Lisha turned her crimson pupils that were sharp like sword points straight to Hayes and she pointed her Sword Device forward.

「I won’t be able to ask you after beating you up so I’ll ask ahead. What is your true identity and your objective? Is it authority, money──or else some kind of honor or something?」

「……What’s the point of asking me that? A substitute princess like you who was placed only as the replacement of someone, after knowing the answer what are you going to do?」

Hayes jested in response to that question and answered so with a ridiculing grin.

「I’m asking exactly because I’m a substitute.」

But, it was as though Lisha wasn’t shaken up or hesitating at all, she told Hayes calmly.

「I somehow understand about you. Surely you and me are completely opposite──or perhaps mutually similar people.」

「──What?」

Lisha continued pushing her words towards the frowning Hayes.

「I was toyed with by fate, each time the chair I sat on changed, and I became unable to understand what is the true me. I was once abandoned by my father, the great man, and decided to betray the New Kingdom, so I wondered whether someone like me has the qualifications to sit on the seat of princess. But you are the opposite. Because you cannot prove your true position and identity to anyone, you’re purposefully trying to display your privilege, all that ability and treasure of yours.」

「…………」

「Controlling the Ragnarok and dragging out this Ruin here are also like that. By doing this, you want to prove that you are an existence with something, a human race with great power that far surpasses the people of this world. You are someone in the position that is driven with the obsession that you must continuously prove that.」

Lisha asserted that and gazed at Hayes with a sharp glint of eye.

「──That’s why I’m asking you just as you wished! Like this, who the hell are you!? You got any complaint huh, this stupid idiot!」

Instantly, Hayes’s countenance that until now was sporting a smile that looked like it was pasted on there changed.

She strongly gritted her teeth, and then Nidhogg that she wore readied its weapon.

「Fine then. I’ll tell you my true identity, when I crush this country and it’s time to carry out your execution!」

Hayes’s Nidhogg soared and she brandished the two-bladed sword that had blades extending from both ends of its handle.

Crimson and grey light crossed and the battle began.