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

===Part 25===

「How long are you going to run? It won’t be much longer until Gigas’s all-directional bombardment you know? You’re planning to abandon this country huh, princess-sama.」

「Kuh……!」

Lisha barely continued to avoid fatal wounds from the fierce attacks that Hayes’s Nidhogg unleashed by skillfully using Legion and Suppressor.

The trajectory that was passed through when the blade of Nidhogg’s Divine Raiment, Astral Line was swung──that severed cut section remained behind as a wall of light. Because the space was literally cut apart like that, any attack wouldn’t pass through to the other side.

(As long as the enemy doesn’t dispel that cut section created by the Divine Raiment, my attacks won’t reach, huh……)

Besides, the slash from Hayes’s Astral Line could further sever that cut section of space from above.

Just like how a paper with countless lines drawn on it had a new line drawn on it and enclosed an area, Lisha’s was also gradually getting cornered with her escape path getting cut off one by one.

It was a hopelessly unfavorable situation. Even so inside her head, Lisha was trying to form a strategy towards victory.

How to make her attacks pass through using all the methods available to her.

That was the tactical thinking possessed by Lisha who was called as the New Kingdom’s Scarlet Battle Princess.

(However, thanks to seeing that Divine Raiment many times like this, I finally understand how it works.)

The moment Hayes tried to unleash a slash using Astral Line again, Tiamat flew.

「Idiot! No one can fly through the space that Nidhogg cut──……!?」

But, the moment Hayes unleashed a new slash using her Divine Raiment, one of the walls of light from the cut space that was surrounding the area suddenly disappeared as though dissolving into air.

「You’re quite something in scheming, but you are not really a big deal when it comes to Drag-Ride tactics huh──bungler strategist.」

Lisha charged and slipped through that vanishing cut section──the hole between the light walls.

The cut section of space created by Nidhogg’s Divine Raiment couldn’t be done infinitely by any means.

In the case when more new slashes were unleashed after already cutting apart a certain size of surface area, the cut section that was previously made would vanish in turn, starting from the oldest cut section.

Therefore, Lisha memorized the order by which the light wall of cut section was created, then she matched her timing with Hayes’s attack and broke through the hole of the vanished wall.

Even though Hayes understood the trait of Nidhogg’s Divine Raiment, she wasn’t grasping it thoroughly in real battle.

That time when the difference in battle experience between the two sides was brought to the fore, Lisha aimed her Seven Heads.

「Prepare yourself Hayes! This is──your loss!」

「──Hah」

But that moment, *gashiin!* Lisha together with Tiamat were restrained.

「Wh, at……!?」

The rumbling Gigas that should be only preparing for its all-directional bombardment until now.

Its giant arm had moved unnoticed by anyone and caught Lisha with it.

「That’s naïve, you substitute princess. Even if Gigas is in a state of opening all its gunports, but were you looking down on it that it won’t be able to move all the time?」

「-……!?」

「I have great power, the proof of my bloodline that once ruled over this world and made you lowlifes succumb! This is──the status that you fake absolutely cannot obtain.」

「──That’s idiotic.」

Lisha raised her voice in response to Hayes who was showing a triumphant smirk.

「What did you say……?」

Gigas’s hand was tightened until just barely, even so Lisha grinned fearlessly.

「Just what is amazing from that? I don’t get it at all. Are you really satisfied that you are able to subdue a junk that will move just because of your bloodline?」

「You are still going to bluff even at this point huh, this fake princess.」

「……You see, when I obtained Tiamat, I didn’t think like that for even the slightest bit. No matter how strong specs it has, I didn’t want something like that for even the slightest bit. Since the past until now, what I want is the strength and qualification that is worthy for that Drag-Ride!」

Lisha put her strength into her Drag-Ride, trying to tear off Gigas’s restrain.

「I’ll teach you! The thing that I’m trying to obtain by fighting, if far higher in rank than your so called strength!」

「──That as far as your joke goes, get crushed and die.」

Hayes raised an angry voice and Gigas moved to closed its fist and crush Tiamat.

But at that instant, several of its five fingers were cut apart and a jet black Drag-Ride cut through the sky.

「I’m sorry to make you wait, Lisha-sama.」

Lux carried Lisha along with her Drag-Ride in his arms and spoke to her.

Lisha who became aware of that saw Lux’s face from close up and her face flushed up red.

「──!? Yo, you are slow, really! Don’t make me worry so much……」

Lisha yelled angrily to divert attention from her state before she averted her face and whispered so at the end.

「Also, that girl’s Divine Drag-Ride, Nidhogg, I saw through its ability. It will be sink or swim, but will you follow me?」

Seeing his master, the princess pretending to be tough, Lux gently smiled at her.

「There is only little time remaining until Bahamut’s activation time limit. Please instruct me about your plan through Dragon Voice.」

「……Yeah! We are going to teach that mad strategist a lesson!」

Lisha faced Nidhogg once more and began to focus energy into Seven Heads.

At the same time, Lux who flew drawing a sharp arc attacked towards Nidhogg.

His swordsmanship was endowed with weight and speed, but Nidhogg obstructed it with the wall its cut section created.

「It’s futile! It’s impossible for you to surpass this wall! You guys will absolutely──」

「Try blocking this Hayes! The other technique that I devised!」

Immediately after Hayes who was convinced of her victory yelled, *DON!* Tiamat’s armament the Seven Heads fired flickering purple light bullets from its center muzzle.

Seeing that unfamiliar attack, Hayes showed an alert expression, even so she didn’t move from her spot.

Nidhogg’s surrounding was already surrounded by the cut section light wall it created. No attack would pass it. In that case it should be absolutely safe if she didn’t move but──

「Linker Burst. ──And then, Reload on Fire.」

The moment Lux raised his voice, Nidhogg itself advanced forward as though it was being pulled.

「Wh, at-!?」

Bahamut was internally equipped with a special armament to create force fields that controlled a material’s trajectory. It went through compression reinforcement by Reload on Fire, and the force field that originally didn’t have the strength to move a Drag-Ride moved Nidhogg.

[[File:SaijakuBahamut v5 13.jpg|thumb|right]]

In order to prevent herself from getting crushed by the light wall that her own Divine Raiment created, Hayes removed the cut section. In that instant──the purple light bullet Lisha fired directly hit Hayes.

「Gu, u……! Damn idiot! My Nidhogg’s barrier won’t even break from just this much──」

「No worry Hayes. Your time is already over.」

The moment Lisha showed her grin, it happened.

Nidhogg that received the black purple light bullet became unable to move.

No, far from that──

「What, this is──!?」

Her armor creaked fiercely and began to distort in turn from the small parts.

It was as though she was being held in place by pins midair. She was fixed on the spot by a powerful pressure and she was unable to escape.

「Gravity bullet, it’s a technique that applies Tiamat’s Divine Raiment, the Suppressor. Also, once you get touched, you will be dragged to the center of the sphere until its effect runs out and get crushed there. In other words──」

Lisha was explaining while loading energy into Seven Heads.

At the same time in front of her Lux’s Bahamut was silently readying its black great sword──a red flash surged.

「──Reload on Fire.」

Lux compressed his own time to the greatest degree and then he unleashed Quick Shot.

Faster than Astral Line could create a light wall, that two-bladed sword that was the Divine Raiment’s starting point was destroyed into pieces.

「──Farewell Hayes, Heiburg’s strategist whose identity isn’t even revealed, see with your own eyes the strength of this Scarlet Battle Princess and fall!」

Right after that, the maximum output cannon shot of Seven Heads attacked Nidhogg.

「──Gu, GAaAAAaAaAAH……!?」

Extremely glaring light bore into the armor, then Nidhogg broke down along with Hayes’s shriek.

Shriek and armor fragments scattered everywhere along with an explosion, melting inside the light.

『Wh, y……! Why are you bastards! The likes of the descendants……who betrayed us……!』

Hayes’s voice that was sent through the Dragon Voice got blurry at the end and became distant.

When their sight returned a few moments later, Hayes’s figure had vanished without any trace.

「We did it, next is──」

Lisha moved even while wheezing roughly.

「Yes! There is only one left──」

Mustering their last strength, Lux and Lisha followed the passage that Yoruka told Lux and infiltrated inside from Gigas’s chest part. After progressing through a single path for ten-odd seconds, they found the control room area just like what they saw before inside the Ark. There, a single girl was sitting on a chair.

She had countless cables connected to her and a mechanical crown on her head, gazing to the front with emotionless eyes.

Perhaps she was splitting her focus with the control of Gigas, she moved her face for the first time when catching sight of Lux and Lisha.

「Situation of certain defeat. Evacuation impossible. Last order──activate.」

The Automaton’s expression was hollow. But, just a single animosity could be sensed from the peculiar tone of Gigas’s Gear Leader, El Fajura.

She knew of the defeat of Hayes, the Lord that she worshipped. And yet, even now she was resolved to take revenge by destroying the capital.

「Stop! The outcome has been decided already. More than this is──」

Lisha raised her voice to stop her while aiming her Cannon’s muzzle at El Fajura.

But, perhaps she had used up all of her energy and willpower because Tiamat didn’t show any reaction.

And then, Lux’s Bahamut had also passed through its activation time limit and got dispelled.

「Damn i──」

「Confirming situation change by sight, achieving the objective within the remaining few seco──」

El Fajura whispered while watching that movement at the corner of her sight, in that instant,

「That will be impossible I think.」

*stab* A katana shaped Sword Device sprung out from the center of her chest, *crackle* and yellow sparks scattered.

「……!?」

When the surprised Lux and Lisha looked behind them, they noticed that Yoruka who had arriving from behind the two of them had thrown her Sword Device.

「You──!?」

Right after Lisha raised her voice in surprise, Yoruka smiled bewitchingly like usual.

「This is a contract violation Automaton-san. Destroying this very country itself is different from my agreement with your master you know?」

「…………」

El Fajura didn’t react to those words. She gazed at Lux with sparks scattering from her stabbed chest. And then, her lips distorted into a grin and she laughed, as though displaying her will as an Automaton for the first time.

「……I see, so you are the rebel. Did you obtain the world you wished for after throwing the previously created world principle out of order?」

「──What?」

Lux asked back with a dubious face after hearing the Automaton’s sudden words.

「You will soon remember. Even if you forgot, someday──if you wish for that once more.」

After leaving those words behind at the end, light vanished from El Fajura’s eyes. At the same time Gigas’s rumbling stopped and the surrounding was filled with silence.

The many long battles were closed here.