"Whoosh—!"
At this moment, Setsuna no longer hesitated about whether contact with the Royal Astray Gundam would trigger the Assimilation phenomenon. In a flash, he appeared behind the Royal Astray Gundam, launching all six Beam Daggers while charging forward. Switching his rifle to sword mode, he dodged the sweeping Wormhole Blade that knocked aside the Beam Daggers and thrust forward with twin blades.
But just as his blades were about to pierce the Royal Astray Gundam, the Exia abruptly halted its momentum, flipping backward to retreat. A Black Streamer Wall had suddenly appeared between them—undoubtedly another Shifting Wormhole. A Solid Sword thrust would be a one-way trip.
However, the Exia wasn't the only one fighting the Royal Astray Gundam. The Cherudim and Dawn Gundam were also in the fray.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…"
From the other side of the Black Streamer Wall, a rain of Beam fire descended, igniting countless explosions amid flames and smoke. And yet…
"It's working!"
"Attack or defense—it can only choose one, and its defense is limited to a single direction!"
The Cherudim and Dawn Gundam, maintaining their distance, quickly analyzed this critical weakness—a major advantage for them.
Without pause, the Dawn Gundam and Cherudim split apart, darting to opposite sides. The next instant, black luminous blades sliced through the flames and smoke once more, revealing that the wormhole wall had indeed vanished.
Seizing the opening, the Dawn Gundam transformed its rifle into twin swords and charged, thrusting forward—only to flip back at the last moment, just like the Exia, avoiding contact with the wormhole.
As the Dawn Gundam retreated, the wormhole wall began contracting, merging back into the single-edged sword. The Royal Astray Gundam raised its blade to strike at the airborne Dawn Gundam, but—
I predicted your prediction of my prediction.
The Exia suddenly reappeared on the Royal Astray Gundam's opposite flank, its blade descending in a vertical slash. For the first time since the battle began, it made contact with the Royal Astray Gundam.
"Zzzzt—!"
"Incredible armor!"
Sparks erupted in rapid succession as the Exia's High-Frequency Vibration Sword met an armor it couldn't cleave through. The screeching friction vibrated the very air.
But Setsuna didn't relent. His second High-Frequency Vibration Sword stabbed into the armor's seams. The combined force finally breached the Royal Astray Gundam's defenses—one slash, one twist—and its left arm was severed.
The Royal Astray Gundam hadn't anticipated this. The loss of its arm caused a momentary pause.
"Perfect opening!"
Yang Hui wouldn't let such an opportunity slip. The Dawn Gundam closed in, twin blades striking the Royal Astray Gundam's right shoulder seams. Simultaneously, the gaps in its wings wove together like fabric, forming ribbons that coiled around the slashed seams and pulled outward.
"Rrrip—!"
Not a mechanical sound, but the visceral tearing of flesh. The right arm tore free from the Royal Astray Gundam's body.
Uncertain if the Royal Astray Gundam had other tricks, the Dawn Gundam retreated swiftly after disarming it, scattering bits to blanket the enemy unit.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…"
"Even that wasn't enough to finish it?"
There was no doubt that the Royal Astray Gundam had been destroyed. Like other Mobile Suits affected by the Assimilation phenomenon, at least half of its body had become festum. When festum are eliminated, they don't leave corpses behind—they simply vanish into wormholes.
Remaining vigilant, the trio expected another attack, but none came. As the smoke cleared, they saw the battered Royal Astray Gundam kneeling on one knee, struggling to stand but unable to do so.
"You... are you... there? You... are you... there...?"
The Gundam's face displayed human-like expressions—pain, sorrow—but rather than pity, it only sent chills down their spines.
"Shing!" x2
Without hesitation, Yang Hui and the others acted. Gundam Exia's blade pierced through the Royal Astray Gundam's torso while Dawn Gundam's sword stabbed into its head. Both Mobile Suits swiftly withdrew their weapons and retreated just as a torrent of Beam fire rained down. Lyle kept pulling the trigger relentlessly until the smoke and flames were suddenly swallowed by a spherical wormhole, only then did he stop.
"Target eliminated!"
Lyle cheered. Setsuna and Yang Hui, in his Innovator state, allowed themselves a small smile—the Royal Astray Gundam was gone, leaving only a smooth, massive crater in its wake.
The three Mobile Suits exchanged glances and nodded in unison before splitting up to sweep the area, eliminating every golden speck on the ground. Anyone showing signs of assimilation, even if they might be saved in the future, was too great a risk to spare. For now... annihilation was the only option.
...
About an hour later, the fighting in the Scandinavian Kingdom ceased. Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, Gundam Virtue, Dawn Gundam, Infinite Justice Gundam, Strike Freedom Gundam, and Providence Gundam hovered above the ruins, scanning for any unlikely survivors.
Meanwhile, three warships formed a triangular perimeter around the royal palace. Transport aircraft descended from the ships, deploying squads of marines who blasted through the palace gates and stormed inside.
"Confirmed no remaining assimilated individuals outside the palace," Yang Hui's message reached Sword of the Heavens, Archangel, and Qilin, appearing before Murrue, Natarle Badgiruel, and Amagi.
"Marines have discovered an underground passage beneath the palace. Investigating now," Natarle replied via transmission.
"Tell them to proceed with caution. If—" Yang Hui paused mid-message, his face lighting up with excitement as Natarle sent another transmission—the news he'd been hoping for.
"Report just in: Marines have located a festum hideout—a secret research facility 500 meters beneath the palace."
"Document everything, erase all research data, then proceed with total demolition."
"Understood."
With confirmation that no assimilated individuals remained in the Scandinavian Kingdom, the Mobile Suits gathered above the palace, gazing down at the ruined yet historically rich structure.
They waited—for the moment the final target would be eliminated, for the moment of complete victory, for the moment Earth and humanity would finally be safe.
Half an hour was an excruciating wait, each minute and second seemingly stretched to infinity. They watched as the specialized small nuclear bomb was carefully transported to the ground, then slowly delivered into the royal palace, and then...
"Mission complete, all units withdraw!"
"Roger that!" XN
Once everyone had returned to the Sword of the Heavens, Archangel, and Qilin, the three warships retreated from the Kingdom of Scandinavia at full speed, coming to a halt above the open sea. There, they waited for the timer to reach zero—until a magnificent and towering mushroom cloud rose into the sky.