"Uh... well... Mr. Woolf, it's really nothing, maybe just bad luck..." Athrun quickly comforted Woolf after seeing him metaphorically pierced by a thousand arrows, shooting Zhang Wufei a look to stop him from speaking further and say something nice instead.
Zhang Wufei indeed stopped talking, but offered no comfort to Woolf—instead giving him a proud glance before turning back to watch the battle, much to Athrun's frustration.
"Luck? Hah, yeah, it was luck alright." Woolf wasn't that fragile and quickly bounced back. "Definitely bad luck—Yang Hui chose me first instead of Gai."
"You ran into Yang Hui?" Athrun asked in surprise. If they'd really encountered Yang Hui, then whoever got eliminated first wouldn't be unexpected.
"Sort of." Woolf tilted his head toward the large screen. "Not long after it started, I ran into Yurin. Lyle, Tieria, and Gai were all closing in nearby. We were about to go at it when Yurin spotted Yang Hui. So we decided to temporarily team up to eliminate him first before settling things among ourselves."
"Hmm... I actually planned to team up with Kira to take Yang Hui out too, but then I ran into the Captain. You know how he is..." Athrun shrugged helplessly.
"Ah, Creuset. Heh."
Creuset's notorious deeds were already widely known—the man who deceived the entire world and nearly destroyed Earth and humanity. While he had no personal grudges with people from other worlds, that didn't stop everyone from having mixed feelings of admiration and fear toward him.
What they admired was his capability—he handled dark operations with flawless efficiency, making him an indispensable part of the fortress and an ally too powerful to discard.
What they feared was his aura and history. Though Creuset always wore a smile, it was one that sent chills down spines, making people wary of being unknowingly ensnared in his schemes.
But for those from the Gundam SEED World, their feelings toward Creuset were... complicated, to say the least. Given that the events had unfolded in their world, they trusted yet distrusted him, acknowledged his abilities yet feared them—absolutely refusing to ally with him under any circumstances.
"Then Kira and I ended up fighting the Captain. We almost had him eliminated, but then Zechs showed up, and Wufei charged straight at me without letting up." Athrun sighed in resignation.
"Yikes, that sounds like a disaster." Woolf's lips twitched. He'd sparred with Zhang Wufei before and knew how single-minded the man was—once he locked onto a target, he'd fight relentlessly without a second thought.
Just then, several more were eliminated. Asemu, Jehart, and Flit walked over together. Jehart was sighing dejectedly, while Asemu and Flit—father and son—were... well, let's just say their dynamic was "fatherly kindness meets filial piety." An apt description.
In their two-on-two battle, Graham and Flit had gained the upper hand, pressuring Jehart and Asemu until they could barely fight back. Though eliminated soon after, the two made a last-ditch decision—even if they were going down, they wouldn't let Flit and Graham off easy. So Asemu sacrificed himself to take Flit out, while Jehart crippled the Flag Gundam by destroying its legs and one of its main thrusters in a final desperate strike.
Next were Kira and Creuset, who were also eliminated. Kira was indeed formidable, but he couldn't hold his own against two opponents at once. Creuset and Zechs teamed up to take him out, though not without cost—Kira managed to take Creuset down with him. Zechs' Epyon Gundam lost its crucial right arm and Doff Cannon, along with its electro-thermal whip and head, leaving only its signature high-output beam saber as its sole remaining weapon.
"Where's Yang Hui?" Creuset asked immediately after being eliminated. Despite all the unexpected twists, his ultimate goal remained unchanged: to take down Yang Hui.
"Right there, fighting like crazy."
Everyone turned to look just in time to see a physical blade pierce through the Astray Gundam Blue Unit's torso, while bits swarmed around the Gundam Cherudim, sealing its fate. Gai Murakumo and Lyle were out.
"Tsk tsk, love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Yurin's going for the kill with every shot," Flit remarked, clicking his tongue. The last time he'd seen Yurin fight this ruthlessly was probably during a mission in the Gundam AGE world.
"Tieria's barely hanging on too... Whoa! He's going for a self-destruct!?"
On the screen, the Gundam Virtue had already lost its GN Bazookas and shoulder-mounted GN Cannons. Its legs and auxiliary arms had been cleanly severed by the Voiture Lumiere's beams, leaving it with most of its weaponry destroyed. Recognizing that his mobile suit was no longer combat-ready, Tieria decisively activated the Trans-AM system, overloading the GN Drive and charging toward the Dawn Gundam behind a reinforced GN Field.
Unfortunately, the GN Field couldn't withstand the Dawn Gundam's relentless assault. Before the barrier could break, the GN Drive gave out, exploding inside the GN Field like a bursting balloon.
Seizing the opportunity, Yurin fired a shot that pierced the Dawn Gundam's right wing, finally destroying half of its most crucial armament. With one wing gone, the Dawn Gundam's combat effectiveness plummeted by 50%.
But this left Yurin completely exposed. Without teammates to delay or cover for her, the Dawn Gundam quickly locked onto the Luna Gundam's position and pursued it relentlessly, ultimately taking it down.
"Damn..." The sheer decisiveness, brutality, and coldness of the Dawn Gundam's actions made everyone suck in a sharp breath. If they hadn't known how deeply in love Yang Hui and Yurin were, they might have mistaken them for mortal enemies. What kind of grudge was this?
"Only Graham, Zechs, and Yang Hui are left now."
"Their mobile suits are in terrible shape. At this point, it's purely a battle of willpower and luck."
"Exactly."
The remaining three pilots were all in dire straits—their mobile suits were barely functional, to the point where even normal flight carried the risk of catastrophic failure. Only an unyielding desire for victory, combined with sheer luck and ironclad determination, would secure the final win.
"Uh..." No sooner had they spoken than everyone froze—Zechs' luck had run out. His control system malfunctioned mid-flight, sending him crashing straight into an asteroid. Boom. Gone.
"Heh... heh... so it's just Yang Hui and Graham now."
"Still the two of them, huh?"
"Whether Graham can finally beat Uncle Yang Hui once comes down to this moment."
"Hahaha..."
...
While Zechs had been eliminated by sheer bad luck, Yang Hui and Graham were faring slightly better—their mobile suits hadn't suffered any fatal malfunctions during movement, and they had even managed to find each other.
"Yo, Commander, where are your legs, left arm, and right wing?" Graham greeted with a sneer, sarcasm dialed to the max.
"Tch, how does the mighty Flag Fighter plan to raise his banner without any hands?"
"Don't worry, I can still kick you to death."
"Good, that saves me the excuse when I swat you dead with my wing."
"You think I'm a fly to be slapped!?"
"You think you're some shadowless kick master!?"
"Let's go! Today's the day I finish you!"
"Keep dreaming. I'll be the one finishing you!"
The battered Dawn Gundam didn't deploy its bits or Voiture Lumiere, charging forward with a single sword in hand. Meanwhile, the Flag Gundam forcibly jammed its last remaining Beam Saber into its foot, wielding it as a makeshift weapon.
No ranged weapons, no psychological tactics—just the purest, simplest, and most heated clash. When swords broke, fists flew; when fists shattered, legs took over. Like the gladiators of ancient Rome, every strike burned with passion and lethal intent.
"Is this really okay?" Many were puzzled. The Dawn Gundam still held the advantage—its remaining wing carried bits and the Voiture Lumiere, its left arm was intact, and its Sword-Gun Composite Armament remained functional.
In contrast, the Flag Gundam had only a single gun left on its back and waist, no arms to speak of, just a Beam Saber awkwardly lodged into its right foot.
Yet neither pilot employed tactics, tacitly abandoning ranged combat for reckless, brutal close-quarters brawling.
"…This has turned into a duel, hasn't it?"
Not long ago, they had lectured Norba Shino—the battlefield wasn't a dueling ground, war wasn't a duel. There was no such thing as underhanded tactics—only survival and victory mattered.
But now, Yang Hui and Graham were slapping that lesson right back in their faces.
"At this point, the objective's already been met." Flit spoke up, addressing the confusion.
"Right. Aside from Graham and Mr. Yang Hui wanting a good fight with us, this was also about letting the top brass familiarize themselves with each other's strength. And lastly, to show all of you what the current peak of combat looks like," Jehart added.
"All three goals are accomplished. We fought to our hearts' content, gauged each other's abilities, and you all got a front-row seat to an epic battle. Now, let them blow off some steam," Creuset said.
"Uncle Graham and Uncle Yang Hui are best friends—and rivals. They haven't had a proper fight across two Mission Worlds now. They've been itching for this," Asemu remarked with a grin.
"Result's in—draw."
At that moment, the monstrous free-for-all finally reached its conclusion. The Dawn Gundam's Solid Sword cleaved the Flag Gundam's upper body clean in two, splitting the cockpit down the middle. But the Flag Gundam's severed arm fragment stabbed straight into the cockpit's cracked seam.
As their simulation pods opened, Yang Hui and Graham stepped out simultaneously, exchanging a grin before slinging arms over each other's shoulders, trading jabs:
"Finally took you down."
"You didn't take me down?"
"At least it's a draw. That's progress."
"Pfft, not the first time. What's there to gloat about?"
This wasn't the first time they'd ended in a draw. During the final mission in the Gundam OO World, Graham and Sergei had joined forces to perish together with Yang Hui, who was piloting the Gundam Rasiel.
"It's different this time. I had help back then, but not now."
"Bullshit! Who wrecked my Mobile Suit?"
"And mine is perfectly fine?"
"That's because you suck."
"Serves you right!"
"Ahahahaha..."
(End of Chapter)