99 Burning sacred tree




 What I could see from the Raoult family's mansion was a burning holy tree.

 The earth was shaking, as if the holy tree was in pain.

 Alberg pressed his chest.

''Mr. Alberg!''

 When Noel ran up to him, Arberg looked pained.

 When he looked at the back of his right hand, the Holy Tree's blessing - the crest was shining.

''--The holy tree is attacked and is furious. It's a fuzzy image, but I feel pissed off at what you guys are doing.

 Noel looked troubled.

''Is Seiki mad at you?''

'You may be angry with us for being unworthy, but I don't know what you're trying to tell me. We have to put out the fire in a hurry, but--

 Not only is the Raults' territory in trouble, but the entire Republic is in trouble.

 The earthquake is the same, but the problem is the aftermath of the battle.

 When the rays of light hit the Holy Tree, there was a sound that made the Holy Tree scream.

 With a bang, the light scattered around them, causing the branches of the holy tree to fall off.

 From a distance, the branches slowly fall off, sending up a cloud of dust.

 Noel hugged the sapling he had retrieved.

'I don't know what you're talking about,'

'You are the priestess of that sapling. It's no wonder we don't have a connection. But I can't lose the Holy Tree at this point. I'm heading to the battlefield.

On the battlefield? Mr. Alberg said...

 Having been deprived of real power, there was nothing more Arberg could do.

 He knew that as well.

'This is the end of it. I will have Serge stop the war.

 Noel hugged the case with the saplings.

I'm coming with you.

 Alberg says no, but Noel never relented.

 Defeated by the roots, Alberg says.

'Then let's get one armor. 'This way.'

 The two men were about to head for the battlefield.



 The airship approaching the Holy Tree was working to extinguish the fire.

 They were using magic to put out the fire by pouring water on it, but the fire was not stopping.

 Fernan, who had come to extinguish the fire, was out on deck shouting.

'Put out the fire! If the Sacred Tree burns, we'll be in big trouble!

 If the Holy Tree was gone, the Republic would end.

 If you looked at the battlefield from the deck, it was still fiercely fought.

 An unbelievable scene was unfolding, and the airship was rocking as the blast came in the aftermath.

 One of my men shouted.

''Fernan-sama, we can't do this anymore. I can't feel the power of the Holy Tree from the crest. There is no supply of magic power.''

 Fernan looks at the back of his right hand and bites his back teeth on the weakly shining crest.

(How could anyone have seen this coming? If I had known, I would have stopped Serge from fighting. (Serge, did you know that your opponent was of equal power?)

 I felt ashamed of myself for agreeing with Serge for the sake of our own pride.

(No matter how we move from here, we can't afford to lose the Holy Tree. If we don't protect the Holy Tree at all costs, there is no future for the Republic)

 Fernand made up his mind, but then he saw a light.

'--What?'

 The airship Fernand was on was swallowed by the light and then disappeared.



 There was one small airship headed for the battlefield.

 On it was Clément on board.

 There was also Lelia's figure.

''Lelia-sama, there's nothing you can do about it if you head to the battlefield now!

I know what I'm doing. --I know, but...

 --I didn't expect Leon to go this far.

 Or, more accurately, I didn't think he could go this far.

 He knew it would be bad if he didn't, so he headed to the battlefield to contact Serge.

'I shouldn't have let him fight. If this was going to happen, we could have done things differently.'

 Whichever side won, the Republic was in shambles in the aftermath.

 The damage had already been done beyond imagination.

 It wasn't supposed to be like this, Lelia cried her head off.

''My sister is gone too. The Holy Tree saplings were gone too. Alberg wasn't there either!''

Lady Lelia.

How could you do this to yourself?

 Clément confronts the crying Lelia with reality.

'Mr. Leon - you must have offended Count Baldfalt. Because he seems to be an unrelenting knight to his enemies.''

But!

'That's all I've done! Here's the one who kidnapped and provoked his fiancée when she came for the Count.

 Clement's voice finally made Lelia feel like she was waking up.

'Duh, because, you know, Ideal.

 Still, there is little remorse when the name of Ideal immediately comes out of his mouth.

'We followed Ideal, and now we are. We offended someone we shouldn't have offended. That's the way it is.''

 Lelia sat down to collapse in place and covered her face with her hands.

'What am I supposed to do?'

I can't even imagine.



 Luxion and Ideal fight while blowing up their surroundings.

 Both pierced the energy shield and damaged the hull of the ship.

 If Ideal shot Luxion with the battleship's main gun, it would punch a hole in Luxion's hull.

''--!

 But Ideal is also a wreck.

 They had already lost a lot of equipment and smoke was coming out of the hull.

 Luxion says to Ideal.

''If we continue to chip away at each other, I will win. How long will you continue to do this in vain?''

 No matter how you look at it, Ideal would sink first.

 And yet, Ideal didn't stop fighting.

 He blew up all of his allies around him and still challenged Luxion to a fight.

''It's a migrant ship, after all. They don't know how to fight. Battles are fought under conditions where they can be won.

 When Ideal says confidently, a turret rises from the land of the Republic.

''--Is the defense device still working?

 The equipment of the military base was still alive, whether Ideal was continuing to maintain it or not.

 The artillery and missiles that showed up - they were all facing Luxion.

'I've waited a long time! For this moment I am aaaaah!'

 At the same time as Ideal's shout, Luxion is attacked from all sides and an explosion occurs.

 Luxion's main body slowly tilts the main body at an angle and descends.

 The equipment had exploded once it was used, or it had stopped working.

''Is this the way back?''

'This is my territory. You underestimated me, Luxion!

 However, Luxion was in no hurry.

'No, it was Ideal--you who underestimated him.

 Directly above the Ideal - an airship that was moving slowly, with the bow of the ship pointed at the Ideal.

 The shape of the ship's bow pointing directly downward is - Paltner.

 A large cannon is attached externally, and when released, the cannon is blown off with a single shot, rendering it useless.

 He punches a hole in the hull of the Ideal - but the Ideal still doesn't sink.

 It fires back immediately, and Paltner deploys his shield, but is burned by the rays and falls.

 Explosions and smoke erupt from the hole left open by Paltner's attack.

 The hull of the ship slowly descends - in a situation where both sides seem to be fighting each other, Ideal is laughing.

'You don't think I'm expecting a trump card of this magnitude! But let's give credit where credit is due.

"You're not too carefree to fall.

"Falling? Luxion, you have no idea what you're talking about. It's not a mutual fight. This battle is won by me!'

 Luxion, who was slowly descending, could not understand Ideal's attitude.

'Why would we be fighting? They could have gone hand in hand.'

 Ideal replies to Luxion.

'--to counter the real threat, sir.

A threat?

"Everything will be explained under my control. Once I have you, I will finally be able to fulfill my promise.

 Ideal already seemed to think he had won.

 But - suddenly, the situation of the Ideal became strange.

 The transport ship that was slowly descending suddenly stopped its engines and fell rapidly.

''Hey, what happened? Virus? How could this happen!'

 Luxion replied to the confused Ideal while increasing his output.

 The pretense of falling is over. While slowly leveling the hull.

Partner did a fine job. And of course, you did your best to find Claire. It was nice of you to find your body.

CREARE?

'Oh, you didn't notice? We've been looking for your body. You don't have artificial intelligence on board the transport, do you? 'No wonder you don't panic when Paltner attacks you.'

"No way.

"Creare has replicated the artificial intelligence we had in the lab. It's a matter of resources, but in this case, they did a great job.

You-ah!

 When Ideal shouted as he figured it all out, Luxion explained.

 It was an electronic voice that even felt somewhat spare.

''Bringing the main body of the artificial intelligence down from the ship and operating the transports from the ground--that was the true nature of your leeway, wasn't it? Ideal - it was my master who saw through it. What do you think? Isn't my master excellent?'

No way...

'Yes, sir. We have been ordered to go easy on him. My master ordered us to limit the damage as much as possible, sir.

 The only people who didn't cause damage, however, were civilians, and the rest were ignored.

 As the Ideal emitted an unvoiced electronic sound, the fallen transport exploded.



 The remains of a military base.

 Cleare entered and hacked into the main body of the Ideal with a group of escort robots.

 Stretching the code from the spherical body, they can access it and do whatever they want.

''You're too careless with me or something, Ideal, you're too careless. But it's a good thing we got there in time. If I hadn't gotten there in time, Master and his cynicism would have been complaining about me.

 While I was extracting various data, Luxion gave me the order to return.

''We were so close. It's still an unreasonable amount of modification. The Republic, or rather, this guy's plan to take over the continent, it's crazy. What's the reason for going to such lengths? Hmmm, I'd like to find out more about that.'

 Even Clairé could sense that the Ideal was quite overwhelmed.

 He placed his own functions on the continent where the Republic was located, while the transport ship itself was loaded with weapons and treated as an interceptor weapon.

 In the future, he planned to arm the continent and turn it into a fortress.

 As Creare is about to retreat, the Ideal comes to him with a group of robots in tow.

 A sphere-shaped child - a spare machine, I guess.

''--We found it.''

 Seeing Ideal, whose red one eye was glowing suspiciously, Clairé pulled out the cord and quickly withdrew.

''I've been found. It's not a good idea to be a part of this, but it's your fault for making the master angry. You have a difference in performance, and yet you still have a secret or two to hide, you know! One of them was a no-brainer! 'Masters are great when they're angry.'

 Creare escapes, laughing as he escapes.

 As for Ideal, his voice was hoarse from frustration after seeing the inside.

''You did whatever you wanted to do, didn't you?''

 The reason for his frustration - a bomb was planted inside.

 When the bomb explodes at the same time as Cleare escapes, Ideal's child aircraft is also caught in the explosion.



 Libya and her friends are watching the battlefield from afar.

 Then the airship of the kingdom arrives with Ricorne at their side.

 Out of the airship is Angers on an air bike, with a masked knight clinging to his back.

 The masked knight is also clinging to the back.

''Angier!''

 Seeing Livia smiling, Angel ran up to her and hugged her as she landed roughly on the deck.

'You're okay. Good, thank God. I'm so glad. -- did they do anything to you? Are you hurt?

 As I was checking on Livia, the masked knight comes waddling over, holding her buttocks.

 It looks like he bumped it with the impact of getting off roughly.

''What on earth is going on?''

 I asked him in pain, and Zilk answered with a dumbfounded look on his face.

''I've just finally calmed down. At one point I wondered what would happen, but it looks like we won.'

 Angier looked at the battlefield.

'What do you mean none of the Republic's ships are floating around?'

 Brad shrugged.

'I don't know. I can't judge from here, though - it looked like he was being dropped by an ally. I mean, are you glad you came out?

'If I hadn't brought Ricorne forward, that light would have left the earth full of holes. I'll give you an explanation for Leon.

 It was a shield to protect the old House of Lespinus' territory, with Ricornu in front of it.

 Livia looks at Angier.

''Angier, is Rion-san safe?''

As much as I'd like to think you're safe, anything can happen on the battlefield. --Let's go. We'll come for Leon.

 Livia nodded.

'Yes.'



 I regain my grip on the controls as I see the Ideal explode.

'It's time to end this,'

 The Gia in front of me is a wreck.

 No matter how human-like the pilot is, he can't match the reaction time of a machine. It's also easy to predict what they'll do next based on battle data.

 It's just a matter of habit.

 Even if they change their patterns, there's still some hesitation in their movements if they're not used to it. If I can help with that, Aloganz showed his overwhelming power against Gia.

''Such--why? The same cheat battleship prepared this aircraft.

'It's the difference between your buddy and my Luxion's performance. Your supply ship was doing a good job, but you weren't an enemy of the Luxion.

Did you know about this all along?

'I thought the job of a supply ship wasn't to go out in front and fight. But didn't Ideal do a good job of it too? You're going to move this and that around in the back and make your own hull part of the interceptor weapon. So that's why we want to fight here.

What do you mean?

 I guess he doesn't know anything.

 If this guy hadn't done anything, I might have reached out to him in pity. But we're past that stage.

'Come on, get off your ass.

 He moved Aroganz and kicked off as he went around Gia.

 He managed to regain his poise while spinning in the air, but the damage was severe and his movements were poor.

 If I swung a large sword at Gia like that, it resulted in a smackdown.

 Gia falls to the earth, and then makes a creaking sound - and is unable to move from the spot.

 I try to get up, but I'm so battered I can't seem to move properly.

 If you look around, you'll see that the Republic's airships and armor have been reduced to wreckage.

 The guy from Ideal also rampaged around with his allies quite a bit.

"-They blew everything up. You really are relentless.

 I can hear Serge's frustrated voice.

'd*mn it! Next time, I promise you--

 I had to be dismayed to hear those words.

 No, I can't speak for others either.

"There's no next time for you. You're done here.

 He raised his greatsword and swung it down to destroy Gia as it descended on Aroganz.

''No way. Well, wait! I give up! I would have missed it!

 I couldn't bring myself to stop Allogants.

 As he swung his great sword down while hearing Serge's shouting voice - as if to interrupt, an armor appeared.

 It was unarmed and held out its arms to protect Serge.

''---!

 As soon as he could, he stopped the great sword and missed his aim, but it hit the interrupting armor and the great sword crashed to the ground.

 A cloud of dust was raised.

 The impact blew off the interrupted armor and Gia also rolled over.

 The chest of the interrupted armor came off, revealing the figure of the pilot who was riding on it.

''--Is it Mr. Arberg?''

 A father came out to protect his child.

 No matter how bad it was, it would be my child.

 Although I was able to escape from the mansion - I didn't expect him to come to the battlefield.

 I guess Serge also noticed, so he got out of Gia and went to Mr. Alberg's place.

 I thrust the great sword into Gia and pulled the trigger.

 Gia explodes and shatters as the shockwave generated from Aloganz's right arm is transmitted to the great sword.

 Looking around, there was also the figure of Noel with a sapling.

''It's dangerous to be alive. Luxion, how about that one?

 I reached out to Luxion.

'We're done here. But I can't move as a precaution.

I knew--

 From Aroganz I was looking out.

'Why? Why!

 Serge is talking to Mr. Alberg.

 He's probably asking why he covered for himself.

 Mr. Alberg's face is pale, as if he is injured.

'-- You must live. You have to take responsibility for what you've done--!

 From the way Mr. Alberg coughed up blood, the wound seems to be deep.

 Noel comes up to my side.

'Rion, please listen to me!

 An alert sounded in the cockpit.

 It was a small airship approaching.

'Dr. Clément and--Lelia?'

 When I came down, I saw Lelia's eyes widen as she looked at Serge.

 The shattered Gia, and the wreckage of the Republic's airships and armor around her - the wreckage of the Republic's airships and armor.

 In the distant sky, Einhorn and Ricorne were coming.

''Have they come for you?''

What do you want to do?

It's over anyway. Tell them not to get too close.

I think they've already sent a small boat.

 They say Angel and the others are on board.

Tell them to be careful.

'Yes, sir. I'll have five people escort you. And then--

 I looked at Lelia.

 She's standing in front of me with tears in her eyes, but she's protecting Serge and the others behind her back and trying to say something.

 -- Don't look at me like that.



 A short distance away from Leon and the others.

 It was Emile crawling out of the fallen Republic armor.

 He was holding his abdomen, as if he was injured.

 His blood was soaked and his face was pale.

'Lelia - I'll be back. I have to tell Lelia properly.

 As he was vomiting blood and trying to exhaust himself - a plant ivy (vine) grew out of the earth and was healing Emile's abdomen.

'The blessing of the holy tree? Oh, thank you.

 Emile gripped the ivy lightly and smiled in thanks, relieved that the pain was gone.

'I have to go. We have to get back to Lelia's.'

 When he managed to stand up, he saw Lelia in the distance.

 She was facing the black armor.

''Lelia! Why is this--what?

 And behind Lelia was Serge's figure.

 It looked as if she was protecting Serge with her life from the black armor.

''I see. I've gone that far to protect Serge - Lelia, I trusted you -'

 Emile turned over and then looked up to see bloodshot eyes.

''--Aha.''

 Ivy tangled around Emile's body as he smiled wryly.

 As it was - he started walking slowly.

 On the back of his right hand, the coat of arms of the six great noblemen - not the coat of arms of the guardians - was shining.