Kira's pupils dilated...
Don't misunderstand—it wasn't Seed Mode. That wasn't so easily triggered.
He was simply blinded by regret, just as Wang Hu had said.
Long before some distant future day arrived, he already regretted his actions so much he wanted to slap himself.
"It's all me! It's all my fault!"
"If only I hadn't made that mistake, none of this would have happened!"
His mind was filled with that indelible stain of blood, his ears ringing with the cries of countless innocent dead.
Pushed into a corner by nonexistent forces, Kira let out a shout and turned to charge toward those GINN units.
"Kira!"
Athrun was a beat too slow to react due to the other's shout over the comms, and by then Kira was already moving.
Only then did Athrun belatedly give chase, switching the Aegis Gundam into High-Mobility MA Form.
As the targeting reticle locked onto Kira's position, Athrun gritted his teeth in hesitation.
Should he fire? Fire now?
With Kira flying straight like this, his marksmanship would guarantee a hit!
But that was Kira!
"Damn it!" In the end, Athrun abandoned the thought of shooting Kira down—he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Don't go, Kira!" he shouted, attempting to intercept him mid-flight.
But with raging fury burning in his chest, could Kira—in this state—really be stopped by an Athrun who lacked the will to fight?
"Move aside, Athrun."
Eyes filled with anger, Kira glared at his childhood friend who had arrived too late and spoke with venom.
Even as he spoke, Kira drew his Beam Saber and slashed without hesitation.
"Kira?" Athrun's eyes narrowed, feeling as though something inside him had shattered.
What was he seeing?
That Kira—raising his sword against him?
When Athrun hadn't even drawn his own blade against him!
How could he? How could he do this?!
Instinctively, Athrun raised the Aegis Gundam's shield, watching the flash of red on the screen draw dangerously close.
"Kira!" This unexpected turn of events made Athrun feel as though he had fallen into a nightmare.
Yet his cries did nothing to soften Kira's resolve. To prevent tragedy from repeating, to protect the Colony Satellite he called home—
Kira unleashed his full potential, maneuvering the Strike Gundam with a speed Athrun couldn't match, delivering a powerful kick!
"Boom!" The Aegis Gundam took the full brunt of the flying strike.
"Ah—!" Inside the cockpit, Athrun jolted violently, letting out a pained groan.
Seeing that he had kicked the troublesome Aegis Gundam aside, Kira didn't even spare it a glance as he continued toward the Archangel.
"Kira!" Still muttering his childhood friend's name, Athrun tried to pursue.
"Damn, that hurts!" As he pressed down on the accelerator, his face paled instantly.
"Did that last hit injure my chest?"
Gritting through the pain, Athrun watched Kira's retreating figure.
"I have to catch up—this little injury means nothing!"
Meanwhile, Michel of the Twilight Phantom, who was directing the assault on the Archangel and dealing with another nuisance, felt a surge of satisfaction.
Watching the annoying Strike Gundam flying toward him, Michel glanced at the Aegis Gundam chasing behind it.
"Hmph." With a disdainful snort toward Athrun, Michel actively flew toward the Strike Gundam.
"Sure enough, these spoiled young masters from official families are unreliable, whether it's that white-haired one or the blue-haired one!"
"Only those like us are truly capable and daring in battle!"
"Get lost!" Kira shook off Athrun and then saw Michel approaching.
For him, Kira wouldn't be as gentle as he was with Athrun.
Retracting the Beam Saber and raising his Beam Rifle, Kira ruthlessly aimed at the opponent's cockpit and pulled the trigger!
"Naive!" Just by observing the direction of the muzzle, Michel could guess Kira's intention.
With a flick of the control stick, Michel's GINN veered off the trajectory of Kira's beam shot.
"Hmph, don't think I'm still the same as before, so easily hit by you!"
Looking at the enemy's attack grazing past him, Michel said smugly.
"Now it's my turn!"
With a toss of his head, he prepared to launch a counterattack.
"What?"
But as he turned to confirm Kira's current movement.
Michel saw on the cockpit display an infinitely magnified, cold metallic face!
It was an illusion caused by the Strike Gundam being too close.
"Stop it, I won't let you harm others anymore!"
Kira said this over the public communication channel, then drew his Beam Saber with a backhand motion.
An X-shaped slash, and Michel was suddenly...
"Michel!" Athrun, who had just caught up, witnessed everything and regretted it!
Another one, another comrade died before his eyes. This time, the one who did it was his friend Kira!
Using the saber to finish off a GINN, Kira didn't feel the discomfort described in literary works.
Perhaps it was because of the cold metal barrier, or maybe the explosion's flames engulfing the enemy, making it less horrifying than the bloody splatter from a lifeboat's detonation.
Kira continued flying toward the Archangel.
"That kid!" Kira had cleanly secured a victory.
Mu, who was being chased dizzy by several GINNs, caught glimpses of most of the process amidst his busy evasion.
Honestly, Mu was very surprised—a civilian with no battlefield experience.
Even if he was a so-called Coordinator, he shouldn't perform like this!
"Damn it." Mu rolled sideways to dodge an enemy attack.
"If I don't step up my game, my position..."
Shaking his head, Mu focused, determined to secure a victory immediately.
If nothing else, at least to shoulder the burden like a man and not become deadweight!
"Michel is dead."
Tangled with Wang Hu, just like the outcome on the Nova Resource Satellite front, Creuset lowered his head and saw the first casualty report on their side.
Twilight Phantom Bullet Michel, though a Green Coat, was actually no less skilled than a Red Uniform.
Compared to Athrun and others who had just graduated from the military academy and were granted Red Uniform status for ranking within the top 20, he was not weak at all!
"Was it Mu who took him down?"
The first thing Creuset thought of was his disappointing son—if it were him, taking out Michel wouldn't be entirely unjustifiable.
But the truth left him utterly shocked.
"That's the Strike Gundam? Who's piloting it?"
In fact, he had been puzzled from the start of the battle when he saw Wang Hu piloting the Qilin.
According to the intel Creuset had received, the Allied Forces' test pilots could barely even get a Gundam to move.
In the current situation, who besides Wang Hu was even qualified to pilot the Strike Gundam?
And to actually make it perform in combat?
"Surprised, Captain Creuset?"
Wang Hu had also noticed the battle on the other side, watching as Kira kicked Athrun away and then killed Michel.
He was thrilled—this was a major turning point!
Kira had actually struck down Athrun.
"Who is he?"
The shock lasted only a second before Creuset regained his composure, as composed as if he were enjoying afternoon tea with a friend under the midday sun.
He casually inquired of Wang Hu.
"Him?" Wang Hu deliberately played coy.
At this point in time, should he really tell Creuset?
"Yes, him." Creuset pressed, drawing his blade and launching another attack.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!