"My name is Lacus, Lacus Clyne. Soldiers of the ZAFT Forces, do you truly wish to continue fighting?"
"Why must we, as fellow human beings, allow hatred to spread endlessly and engage in perpetual mutual destruction!"
"Should we let the flesh and souls of those around us become tears scattered across the cosmos, mere sacrifices to boundless ambition?"
"Do you truly believe war is righteous? That only through war can happiness ultimately be created?"
"Is this what you believe? Is this how you understand things?"
Amidst the explosions of ZAFT Forces' battleships and Mobile Suits around Genesis, Lacus' authoritative yet chilling interrogations echoed through space.
In that instant, this pink-haired diva—branded a traitor to the Coordinator community by Patrick yet still widely respected in PLANT—made her unexpected return to the world stage!
She reappeared in the public consciousness once more.
"That woman! When did she—?"
Patrick, leading the main ZAFT forces, was desperately trying to delay the East Asian Army's advance. His ideal scenario would be destroying the Boaz Fortress that the East Asian forces were using as artillery.
But never could he have anticipated that while he was fighting tigers at the front gate, a wolf had slipped in through the back. The last surviving member of his old friend Clyne's family had somehow managed to reach the perimeter of Genesis during his absence.
Not only had she destroyed the defensive forces he left around Genesis with her followers, but she now had the audacity to deliver this demagogic speech to the entire army!
"Internal security must come before external threats! The ancients spoke true!"
Muttering angry curses under his breath, Patrick felt overwhelming regret. When she had stood before him previously, why had he softened and not simply strangled her then and there?
"Chairman Patrick, we've figured out how Lacus infiltrated our ranks."
Just as Patrick's rage peaked, someone chose this worst possible moment to add to his troubles. An officer approached with analysis materials prepared by the staff, offering belated wisdom.
"According to data analysis, Lacus' rebel forces are using our standard warships and equipment."
"Furthermore, they've somehow obtained our current identification codes through unknown channels."
"This allowed the rebels to blend into our formations. Then, while we were dealing with the East Asian fleet threat, they launched this surprise attack that nobody anticipated!"
"Hmm?"
Of all the things to mention—this was the last thing Patrick needed reminded of! Did they forget that he was the one who established the ZAFT Forces? In many ways, he was the original professional Coordinator soldier!
Military ID number 001.
Did they think he hadn't already figured out how Lacus appeared?
Fixing the unfortunate officer—who'd clearly been set up by his colleagues—with a murderous glare, Patrick opened his mouth to speak.
Yet another fool of an officer came running over, one who clearly hadn't learned from the previous examples.
"Chairman Patrick, Genesis is being infiltrated by Lacus' rebel forces."
"According to reports from the personnel stationed at Genesis, it might not be long before the rebels take control of Genesis!"
"What?"
Strange occurrences happen every year, but today was particularly full of them. Patrick had considered the possibility of Genesis being destroyed by the East Asian Army.
Later, when Lacus appeared with the rebel army, Patrick had also imagined that Lacus might destroy Genesis before the East Asian Army could.
But he never expected that pink-haired woman to charge straight into a deathtrap!
Even if she managed to take control of Genesis now, what good would it do?
The Boaz cannon of the East Asian Alliance was about to destroy Genesis at any moment!
Was she trying to get herself killed in the most reckless way possible?
"Hmph, that pink diva?"
On the other side of the battlefield, Creuset also heard Lacus' declaration but quickly refocused his attention.
If it weren't for Wang Hu—who seemed like he could be killed with just a flick of a finger—Creuset might have turned to attack Lacus instead.
Or he might have followed Patrick to assault the East Asian Army.
To make the flames of hatred burn even fiercer in this universe.
But his hatred for Wang Hu left Creuset with no attention to spare, and he even stopped Nicol and Heine, who wanted to return and reinforce Genesis.
"What are you doing? Focus on taking down Wang Hu first!"
Creuset shouted over the internal comms, emphasizing what should be their top priority.
"Exactly! We can return to reinforce Genesis after we kill Wang Hu!"
Before Nicol and the others could respond, Yzak—who empathized most with Creuset and whose hatred for Wang Hu was perhaps second only to Creuset's—chimed in to support him.
At the same time, he flew over to the Dendrobium, which had been destroyed by Heine and was still engulfed in explosive flames.
Even Heine had moved away to avoid the danger of secondary explosions.
But Yzak acted as if he didn't notice.
He raised his beam rifle...
Was this considered desecrating a corpse?
It absolutely counted as desecrating a corpse, right?
Whether to vent his anger or to ensure there were no mistakes,
Yzak aimed at the rolling flames and relentlessly pulled the trigger, as if he wouldn't stop until he had emptied the entire magazine of his beam rifle.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
Yzak's gun barrel was glowing red, and countless beams shot out one after another.
Watching this, Dearka, who had followed behind Yzak, wore an expression of speechless exasperation.
Staring at Yzak's almost maniacal posture, and as one of Wang Hu's victims himself, Dearka thought it over.
With Yzak setting the example, it wouldn't be right for him not to join in.
So Dearka also raised his gun and unleashed a barrage of fire into the flames.
Now things got interesting. Isn't it said that where one goes, others follow?
Theoretically, everyone on this battlefield had suffered greatly at Wang Hu's hands.
Seeing Yzak and Dearka's actions, and with Captain Creuset seemingly infected by the mood as well,
He not only launched several additional missiles at the fiery wreckage but also charged the high-energy beam cannon in his mobile suit's abdomen...
As for the Dragoons, they had long since begun pouring fire into the exploding flames of the Dendrobium.
With no other choice, Nicol and Heine exchanged a glance before decisively joining the post-mortem assault and additional shooting.
"Is he dead?"
Yzak asked cheerfully as he pulled the trigger.
"Not sure."
As his close friend, Dearka watched their Captain Creuset fire another blast from the beam main cannon.
Eventually, when everyone felt it was about enough and the gunfire gradually ceased,
Dearka asked uncertainly again.
"With this level of attack, he probably can't survive, right?"
"That should be about it—Wang Hu is dead!"
"Wang Hu is definitely dead!"
Tears streaming down his face, Yzak affirmed his old friend's question while staring at the spot where the Dendrobium had exploded, now only smoke without fire.
Thank heavens that scourge is finally dead!
Dead!
Recalling frame by frame the past sufferings caused by that Wang Hu, Yzak's excitement was probably unmatched by anyone except Creuset.
No one could be as thrilled as he was.
"Captain Creuset, since Wang Hu is already dead,"
Nicol suggested, glancing at the still-dissipating smoke. In truth, ever since Captain Creuset had returned, Nicol had found him somewhat odd.
"We should hurry back to support the main battlefield. The situation there is quite urgent too."
"Also, we don't know how Athrun is doing."
Nicol's real intention lay in the latter part of his statement; mentioning the main battlefield was merely out of fear that Captain Creuset might not agree.
"Hmm."
Though Creuset verbally agreed with Nicol's suggestion, he remained motionless, clearly unwilling to leave until he saw the final outcome.
But the former subordinate Nicol was no longer the same—he now had his own opinions and was no longer the inconspicuous follower who just went with the flow.
Looking at Nicol on the screen, wearing the mask he had given him, Creuset adopted a compromise.
"You all go back first to support the main battlefield and search for Athrun. I'll join you after confirming Wang Hu's death."
"Alright."
Worried about his friend, Nicol agreed immediately and turned back with Heine, who also wanted to return.
Dearka had originally intended to leave with Yzak, but seeing his friend staring intently at the dissipating smoke cloud,
He ultimately sighed helplessly, consoling himself that delaying a little longer here wouldn't hurt.
Little did he know that in this brief moment, the entire battle situation would undergo a dramatic and earth-shattering reversal.
The rebel forces led by Lacus, with the half-hearted compliance of the garrison troops in Genesis,
Successfully took over this decisive weapon, which the ZAFT forces had painstakingly restored with the help of the Library.
Don't ask why a decisive weapon like Genesis was so easily captured by Lacus.
The answer is that the Coordinator soldiers in Genesis also wanted to live. After all, the order Patrick gave before leaving clearly meant sending these garrison troops to their deaths. Since they knew it was a hopeless stand,
It's no wonder that the soldiers, from top to bottom, had alternative thoughts. After all, not every unit could fight to the end in a desperate situation like the East Asian Army.
Previously, they had no choice, so the Coordinator soldiers reluctantly stayed in Genesis.
And now Lacus herself had come to the front lines, charging into Genesis with a rifle in hand, claiming she had a better solution.
One that could resolve the conflict between Plant and the Atlantic Federation.
So, when many Coordinator soldiers compared the fleeing Patrick with Lacus appearing before them in Genesis, the choice became clear.
"Do you think your plan has a chance of success?"
In Genesis's central control room, C.C.—who had defected from Wang Hu's faction to Lacus's side—asked with a theatrical expression.
"If it were the Atlantic Federation Army, it would be impossible. If the Atlantic Federation Army were still at full strength, it would also be impossible."
"But under the current circumstances, everyone will help me! And I will definitely secure the best outcome for Plant."
Clearing her throat, Lacus made her final preparations—for Plant and all the people of the Earth Sphere.
At the very least, she believed that what she was about to do was the best choice for all, both above and below.
"Stop replacing the Genesis mirror emitters and destroy all existing mirror emitters!"
After giving these orders to her subordinates, Lacus directed the technicians.
She instructed them to prepare for a live broadcast to the entire Earth Sphere.
Meanwhile, beneath the smoke from Dendrobium's sacrificial explosion, a faint red glow could no longer be concealed.
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