Praya Reveley (Shadow) likely never imagined until his dying moment that he would perish at the hands of the one person he considered his only friend.
Before he could finish speaking, the broken blade pierced through the cockpit of the Blizzard Providence Gundam, shredding both the machine and Praya Reveley (Shadow) within.
"Disgusting—being regarded as a friend by a weakling like you," Gina (Shadow) cursed.
Originally, while Librarian Works was a mysterious organization controlled by LOGOS, not all its members or Carbon Humans were inherently evil. The earliest Carbon Humans weren't subjected to so many behavioral restrictions or personality alterations. Without these constraints, they naturally inherited the personalities of their originals.
For instance, without those restrictions and modifications, neither Murrue (Carbon), Badgiruel (Carbon), Mana (Carbon), nor Cagalli (Shadow) would have obeyed the orders LOGOS assigned them—they might have even defected to the enemy.
Wasn't this exactly what happened in the original storyline? Take Lily Savary and her sisters, or ND-HE, Gai Murakumo's Carbon Human—didn't they ultimately aid the protagonists?
But everything changed after Gina (Shadow) was created. It was he who forcibly demanded that all Carbon Humans undergo personality alterations according to his specifications, along with numerous behavioral restrictions, reducing the newly created Carbon Humans to mere tools and components of war—far more aggressive and divergent in personality compared to their originals.
The older generation of Carbon Humans, however, couldn't have restrictions imposed or personalities altered once their minds had fully matured. Thus, after Gina (Shadow)'s emergence, Librarian Works split into two factions: the traditionalists, who remained loyal to Praya Reveley (Shadow), and the new faction led by Gina (Shadow). The two factions were as incompatible as fire and water within the organization. Due to Gina (Shadow)'s modifications, the new Carbon Humans were imbued with a deranged nature, harboring deep resentment and hostility toward the free-spirited, moderate traditionalists.
Yet Gina (Shadow) wasn't entirely wrong—Praya Reveley (Shadow), much like his original, was indeed a weak man. Had he been slightly more ruthless, he wouldn't have allowed Gina (Shadow) to run rampant within the organization.
But he was also a kind man. As a clone of Mu's father, his intelligence was unquestionable. He knew Gina (Shadow) disliked him, yet he always regarded Gina as a friend, hoping his kindness might soften the other's heart and lead him to abandon his madness and hatred.
In the end… just like his original in the main storyline, he died at the hands of someone he considered a friend. The difference was that he failed to influence Gina (Shadow) in the slightest. Until his death, he never realized that Gina (Shadow) had been tampered with by LOGOS from the moment of his creation—doomed never to change.
"You killed your own comrade?"
The Dawn Gundam hovered not far from the Blizzard Providence Gundam and the Outframe Gundam Mirage 3, refraining from taking advantage of the situation. Instead, it quietly observed the spectacle. He felt no pity for Carbon Humans, though he had promised Lily Savary to spare the traditionalists whenever possible—even sharing with her the unique traits of their Mobile Suits and methods to persuade them to surrender.
But... that was only to the best of his ability. In the chaos of large-scale battles, who could pay attention to such details?
Yet Gina (Shadow)'s actions had ignited Yang Hui's fury. Perhaps it was projection—he himself valued comrades deeply, and now he had witnessed Gina (Shadow) kill the very person who had just saved his life.
Everything happened too quickly. Before he could react, the cockpit of the Blizzard Providence Gundam had been pierced clean through, leaving Yang Hui no time to intervene.
"Hmph! I never considered him a comrade. He was merely a stepping stone, a tool—and he fulfilled the purpose I assigned him perfectly! Now that he's dead, I am the Chief Librarian. Once I kill you, I'll take full control of the organization and rule the entire world! Hahahaha—"
Schlick!
"What!?"
Gina (Shadow) stared in disbelief at his severed limbs, cleanly sliced by beam threads. He hadn't even sensed the attack, let alone seen what happened—his arms and legs were simply gone.
"Congratulations, Gina's counterfeit." By now, the Dawn Gundam had approached the wreckage of the Outframe Gundam Mirage 3. With precise control, several bits attached themselves to the head-mounted Vulcan Cannons, destroying only the weapons while leaving the primary camera unharmed. "When was the last time I got this angry? Hmm... decades ago? Ah, I remember—it was when Yurin got hurt."
"W-what are you talking about? What decades? Who's Yurin?" Trembling under overwhelming terror, Gina (Shadow) was drenched in cold sweat. Though he couldn't comprehend Yang Hui's mention of "decades," he had no mental capacity left to ponder it—because...
"You don't need to know." The moment those words fell, the Solid Sword pressed against the cockpit hatch, slowly piercing inward.
"Wait! Yang Hui, listen! I know valuable intel! We—we could team up! With our combined strength, no enemy could stand against us! How about it?" The grating sound of metal against blade drew nearer, driving Gina into desperate pleas.
"Not interested."
The icy voice held no emotion—this was Yang Hui's cruelty toward enemies. To ensure Gina (Shadow) drowned in despair, he had deliberately disabled the Solid Sword's high-frequency vibration, letting its sheer sharpness carve slowly into the cockpit.
"No! Yang Hui! Stop! Don't— AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The cockpit was cramped—nowhere to hide from the creeping blade. Gina could only watch helplessly as the cold steel inched closer, piercing his body bit by bit before finally splitting him in two.
"Was this vengeance for you?" After the Solid Sword fully impaled the Outframe Gundam Mirage 3, the Dawn Gundam withdrew its blade and turned toward where the Blizzard Providence Gundam had been. "Well... maybe you didn't even need it."
The Dawn Gundam did not head toward the Librarian Works' headquarters fortress. Whether the fortress itself held any traps was unknown, but the two highest-ranking members of the Librarian Works were already dead, and the ambush forces hidden by the new large-scale Mirage Colloid System had been decimated. Even if traps remained, they no longer mattered.
Carrying the wreckage of two Mobile Suits, the Dawn Gundam returned to the center of the battlefield. It hurled the remains of the Blizzard Providence Gundam and the Outframe Gundam Mirage 3 into the air, then gathered a massive number of bits to set off a firework display overhead. Simultaneously, it activated an all-channel communication, connecting to everyone on the battlefield.
"Attention all Librarian Works forces in the combat zone—your Chief Librarian and highest combat commander have been slain by me. You are ordered to surrender immediately. Otherwise... annihilation awaits!"
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