"I certainly didn't expect Gryps to be something like this."
Looking at the battlefield, which had grown significantly emptier, the expressions of those in the allied fleet were quite grim.
Undoubtedly, both sides—at least at the leadership level—were now making decisions with the intent of "complete mutual destruction."
Everything had spiraled out of control.
"Complaining is useless. Get ready for battle."
Mu La Flaga's voice rang out over the comms.
The fleet continued to close in on the battlefield and had reached the optimal distance for MS launch. The Strike Gundam, equipped with the wire-guided funnels pack, was brought to the deck by the elevator, gripping its Agni beam cannon tightly.
Perhaps it was the pre-decisive battle anxiety? Even though there was a new pack more suited for him, Mu had still chosen to bring along parts of the Sword and Launcher packs.
"Unit preparation complete. Strike, clear for launch!"
The voice of Miriallia Haw, acting as CIC, came through the comms.
"Mu La Flaga, Strike, launching!"
Mu flipped down the glass visor of his helmet and stepped on the pedals.
As the intense force of the acceleration pushed him into his seat, he instinctively grit his teeth.
Although the wire-guided funnel pack looked similar to the Moebius Zero, it was a pack redesigned and heavily modified by Roz Links; its thrust was far more powerful than the original Moebius Zero prototype.
"Ugh, he didn't tell me this pack was this powerful..."
Seeing that the Strike was about to enter the active combat zone, Mu eased off the pedal slightly to let the Strike decelerate.
"Next... release pods."
As Mu pressed a button, the four wire-guided pods—similar to those of the Moebius Zero—detached from the pack, extending their twin barrels.
Compared to the all-live-ammunition armament of the Moebius Zero, these four pods, redesigned by Roz, were each equipped with a beam cannon and a linear gun. Atop each pod, several small missiles were also loaded.
An attack mixing live rounds and beams, with killing moves hidden within standard fire—Mu found this configuration absolutely addictive.
And as he manipulated these wire-guided funnel pods, a sense of familiarity—as if etched into his very genes—caused Mu to instinctively curl his lips into a smirk.
"Sorry... I'm not exactly familiar with how to handle this machine... forgive me if I'm a bit heavy-handed."
Mu applied a layer of psychological armor for himself without the slightest guilt and pulled the trigger on the control stick.
The linear guns and beam cannons on the wire-guided funnel pods fired in rotation, sending beams and shells flying toward the Daggers and white MS.
-----------------------------------
At this moment, the lively discussion in Bridget's constantly open livestream room had suddenly grown cold and quiet.
After witnessing the exchange of fire between GENESIS and Gryps at close range, the viewers in the room understood one thing clearly.
A group of netizens from the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, who had been joking around with everyone just a moment ago, had already perished within the γ-ray storm and the torrent of white beams—without even a whole corpse left behind.
To them, this war meant that friends from the livestream chat had headed to the front lines on orders from above, fired upon one another, and ultimately died on the battlefield.
Just a short while ago, everyone was mutually complaining about the various problems of the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. To die like this in the end caused a wave of sorrow to spread through the chat.
What, exactly, was this war for?
"...I almost died. That attack from Gryps was truly terrifying."
This was a ZAFT soldier stealing a moment of rest to post in the chat.
"Same here. The attack from your side nearly clipped the battleship I'm currently on."
This was an Earth Alliance soldier who had boarded his Dagger; he fixed his communication device to the dashboard.
"I just received orders. I'm preparing to launch."
"Me too. Stay alive."
At this time, Bridget, piloting her Jesta Cannon, looked quite sorrowful through her avatar's expression.
Although many MS and warships had already been destroyed—and it could be said that both sides had suffered severe trauma—neither side showed any intention of stopping. They continued to deploy MS and fleets without pause.
"Ah, cheer up, streamer."
A somewhat lighthearted bullet-chat message drifted across the screen.
The Earth Alliance pilot, who had already started up his Dagger, picked up the communication device from his dashboard and tapped away.
"When the war is over, everyone who survives should go out for a drink together. I remember a great bar near my house."
"Great idea. Everyone has to stay alive."
Earth Alliance and ZAFT soldiers wishing for each other's survival—this was a magnificent sight that could not be seen anywhere else.
Within this tiny livestream room, whether they were Coordinators or Naturals, they had reached a mutual understanding through the bond of friendship.
-----------------------------------
The Minerva, which had been following closely behind the ZAFT unit and approaching the Dendrobium, spotted the fleet in the distance continuously deploying MS.
"It's the MS force from the Unicorn's fleet. Prepare to launch!"
Although the Minerva could not participate in the battle between the three giant machines, after seeing that fleet of complex composition and the MS they were deploying on the screen, Talia Gladys immediately made her decision as the captain of the Minerva.
Even if they might not win, they had to fight now—hurry and drive them away, then retreat to GENESIS.
To be honest, when GENESIS was pierced by Gryps just now, Talia felt her heart clench.
"Understood. Catapult rail clear. Destiny, Legend, please launch!"
Meyrin Hawke pressed a button on her headset and spoke.
"...Understood. Shinn Asuka, Destiny, launching!"
Sitting in the cockpit of the Destiny, Shinn took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
Although the previous high-intensity combat had hardened Shinn's psychological resilience, entering a battlefield like this—where human lives represented nothing more than insignificant numbers—Shinn could not help but feel tense.
As he stepped on the pedals, the Destiny's wings erupted with fire, flying out of the Minerva's catapult rail at extreme speed and into space.
-----------------------------------
On the other side, a "ZAKU" equipped with a massive backpack was transported by the elevator to the catapult rail of the Nahel Argama.
"That machine... is Shinn Asuka, isn't it?"
Miriallia Haw's voice came through the comms. "Are you alright, Miss Stellar?"
"Mm... unit link normal."
Stellar Loussier adjusted the interface behind her ear that connected to the adapter. After confirming it wouldn't be torn off by intense combat, she looked up at the Destiny, which was highlighted by the panoramic cockpit.
"I will definitely... bring Shinn back!"
Having made up her mind—no longer piloting an MS to commit slaughter, but gripping the control sticks to protect something—Stellar raised her head slightly.
"Stellar Loussier, Psycho Zaku, launching!"
The various thrusters on the Psycho Zaku ignited one by one, propelling the machine forward at extreme speed.
Faster, even faster... I see, so this is how they feel when they fight.
At this moment, Stellar finally understood why those three Jestas had displayed such aggressive maneuvers during simulation training.
With her full-body prosthesis, G-forces were treated as if they were nothing; under the influence of powerful buffering devices, her brain felt no discomfort at all.
She felt it—this was the power sufficient to take Shinn back.
...................