Editing Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 12 Episode 5 (section)

===Part 7===
「Kuh……. How careless of me, to be caught with a simple method like that.」

Soffice who was running to outside the school building felt that she was being cornered.

Coral intentionally didn’t close the distance all at once. He was chasing after her while maintaining a fixed distance that wasn’t too near or too far.

It was too cramped to summon a Drag-Ride indoors, and even if he summoned one he wouldn’t be able to move it satisfactorily.

Thus, he was trying to chase her towards the direction of the practice ground. Soffice could see that.

Most likely he was also being careful in case Dragon Marauder was also sneaking in.

There was no hesitation and opening in Coral Esther’s movements.

「……No, it wasn’t that I got caught in the enemy’s trap. It was inevitable from the start.」

In order to escape with her own strength, Soffice had to find Vritra’s Sword Device.

If Airi was walking alone, then she would have no choice but to capture her and question her about its location.

Coral splendidly aimed at that.

「Is this, the end?」

Soffice’s arms and legs were starting to tremble.

Even though she should have been resolved to get killed when she declared war on the world, she was overrun by fear now when she was facing death in the face.

「──In the end, I was unable to hear even a single bad rumor about that young man.」

Unexpectedly, but escaping and hiding in the Academy, she was able to interact with the girls in the Academy who were close to Airi and Lux, but from them she only heard that those siblings were good people.

「──However, I won’t repeat the same mistake.」

Even the people of the Old Empire, at first they were valuing her and Uruk highly.

They were courteously treating them as Xfer, the indispensable existences for dealing with the Ruins.

But in the past, within Garden, they tried to rule over the world as dictators.

Uruk was killed when she tried to stop it.

It was trivial.

According to the past history, they should be able to get along well with the descendants of the Lord, but Soffice and Uruk couldn’t become friends with them.

The imperial family of the Old Empire literally only thought of them as keys for opening the treasure warehouse of the Ruin.

「As the last remaining Xfer, I must not get betrayed anymore.」

On the route from the Academy that was heading to the practice ground, she headed towards the nearby waiting room.

It was locked, so she circled to the back. But there, a death god for Soffice had been waiting.

「……That appearance, it suites you more than I thought.」

「I see, then that’s good. After all, it means that the surrounding’s perception isn’t mistaken.」

Coral Esther who was already wearing his EX Wyvern was looking down on Soffice with a cool gaze.

Soffice was running out of breath from sprinting all the way here. A Sword Device’s tip was pointed to her when she sat down on the ground.

「Please, I want you to change your mind. It’s too dangerous to let you live in this situation.」

「You can kill me. Even though you intentionally pursued me alone, with that intention. Liar.」

「…………」

Coral couldn’t reply back at what Soffice pointed out.

In other words, it showed that it was just as Soffice said.

「Liar, huh……」

Coral who heard her words shut up for a moment with a gloomy expression.

However, the next moment any expression vanished from his face and he lifted up his Blade.

The moment Soffice closed her eyes tightly, a running sound came.

「Don’t! Coral!」

*Claang!* Sharp metallic sound echoed, but there was no pain in Soffice’s body.

When she opened her eyes fearfully, there Lux with a Wyvern covering only half his body was blocking the Blade’s attack.

「Lux, kun……?」

The eyes of Coral who was seeing that opened wide in surprise.

On the other hand, Lux, who was still wearing a suit, was breathing hard.

A high speed Drag-Ride summoning by discarding the chant.

Lux who noticed the commotion and rushed here midway stopped the attack just barely──

「──I’m glad, I made it in time.」

「What, do you mean?」

Soffice murmured in a daze. Lux turned towards her and muttered.

「I heard from Krulcifer-san. The Moon’s Automata came here to search for you. Even though there is a risk of her getting captured in the middle, she said that she doesn’t want to respond to negotiations with you still being a hostage.」

While talking, Re Plica along with Krulcifer showed up from behind.

There wasn’t any change in her breathing, but she was standing still with a desperate expression.

「I’m sorry desu, Soffice……」

「…………」

「These people are surely, not bad people desu. I cannot tell you to trust again, not after you lost your little sister desu. But──」

While looking down, even so Re Plica squeezed out her voice.

「I want you to at least have a talk with them with your true opinion desu. Because, that should be what both you and your little sister Uruk wished for all this time desu……」

「────」

Soffice fell silent for a while at Re Plica’s pleading.

But, when she saw that not even one of the members of Syvalles who gathered here after noticing the commotion was trying to reach for their weapon, she sighed quietly and threw away the cake knife that she was secretly carrying.

At the same time, she took off the white robe she was wearing and went back to her usual ethnic tribe appearance.

「Understood, I surrender. However, I have no intention to cooperate with you all. I’ll only stop the threat of using the Moon.」

After hearing that, Lux used a rope for decoration to restrain Soffice’s arms.

It seemed that everyone around also stopped being tense and relieved sighs could be heard.

「To think that the Moon incident would be settled in the middle of this Holy Night Festival party.」

「Yes. It was the correct action to not lose focus.」

「Lisha-sama and also Celis-senpai, you two aren’t persuasive at all with that appearance y’know?」

Tillfur made fun of the words of the serious two who were dressed as a bat and a dog. The place’s atmosphere was softened.

「It’s unfortunate. If only I received healing from the 『hibernation pod』, I would be able to be a bit more useful.」

「If you acted, it feels like the matter will be settled quickly in the opposite meaning, so it’s scary though……. Either way, it was great that she wasn’t harmed.」

「Right. Especially missy Krulcifer, you did great noticing the Automata girl.」

The talk of Yoruka who gave a hint of a dangerous atmosphere with a smile was followed by Krulcifer and Sharis next.

Krulcifer’s response to this matter was calm and swift as usual, but it also looked like she was glad inside her heart that she was able to save her brethren.

「Should we, keep watch by turn? Lu-chan seems busy after all.」

「It will be helpful if Philuffy-san can do that for us. After all it’s possible Dragon Marauder or another enemy might come attacking.」

「Yes. Then Lux-san, please return to the party. We will properly set up a place for you to talk with her again.」

After Philuffy made a suggestion with an absentminded tone, Airi agreed with it and Noct concluded the talk.

The elites of Syvalles each had a strong personality and status, but they were reliably managed with Lux at the center.

After that, Lux allowed himself to presume on everyone’s kindness and returned to the party. During that time Airi explained the course of events until now to Lisha and the others.

The matter of Soffice asking Airi to cooperate in order to liberate the Ruin of Garden.

Then how Magialca attempted to obstruct that and laid out a trap. She battled Soffice and brought her down.

The matter of hiding Soffice underground the Drag-Ride hangar and their attempt to have a dialogue with her.

And then now, the escape attempt was foiled, and the duo of the Moon who declared war on the world──The Key’s Supervisor Soffice and the Automata Re Plica were together here came to light.

After that, Soffice and Re Plica were brought back to the prison underground the hangar, and they would be made to wait until the costume party was over but──

「Before this, it was intentional wasn’t it?」

Soffice muttered with a small volume to Coral who was helping with taking her to the underground prison.

「What do you mean?」

「You didn’t intend to kill me. Even without Lux coming, you would have stopped just before it hit.」

「……That’s not really true. Even though I planned to stop, but I didn’t know whether I would really be able to stop or not. At the very least, if Lux-kun didn’t come, the worst case might have occurred.」

「Then, why did you play that farce?」

If he didn’t intend to kill Soffice from the start, then there wasn’t any need to slash at her with Blade.

Coral put his hand on his chin in response to that question of Soffice and thought for a while before speaking.

「I also don’t really understand. But surely, I’m the same as you.」

「The same, like me?」

「I wanted to see what will Lux-kun do. Perhaps……」

「…………」

Coral only said that and left quietly from there.

After that, the Holy Night Festival party progressed peacefully without any big trouble.