"Ughhhh… sizzle sizzle…"
Amid Shani's screams being drowned out by white noise from lost communication signals, Clotho, who was maneuvering Raider against Justice, froze for a moment, and Justice seized the opportunity to kick him away.
At the same time, Black Knight, suppressing Freedom with its prototype FT armor, heard the screams over comms and frowned.
Though it was only a prototype, as long as there was no overload, beam attacks were nothing to fear.
"…You go hold them off, I'll deal with him."
For the first time, Black Knight's pilot spoke over the comms.
Black Knight, facing Freedom's beam cannon, slashed its sword against Freedom's shield, sending Freedom flying.
Kira forced the mobile suit's balance back, instinctively rolling Freedom. Several Daggers glided through the air, continuously firing at Freedom.
Kira found an opening and fired two shots at Black Knight. The suit raised its shield, casually blocking Freedom's particle beams. Meanwhile, numerous Daggers leaped from the ground, flying toward Freedom.
Black Knight glanced at Freedom, surrounded by the swarm of Daggers, then turned toward Narrative Gundam.
Roz, at that moment, was piloting Narrative Gundam through a hail of beams, occasionally using the head-mounted Vulcan and line-controlled remote pods on the backpack to destroy incoming missiles and Daggers.
With Orb abandoning the island's defense, the Earth Alliance advanced rapidly. The Daggers were now near the mass driver.
Though fragile, in sufficient numbers, a beam rifle fire network—even against advanced suits like Freedom and Justice—required careful navigation.
For Roz's Narrative Gundam, without PS armor, he also had to dodge missiles fired by the Earth Alliance fleet.
Narrative Gundam abruptly stopped, executed a quick drift, and the line-controlled pods opened fire on the dense Daggers.
Particle beams flew in all directions. Occasionally, an unlucky Dagger pilot would jump and collide with stray rounds, exploding into a fireworks-like display.
"Tch… endless… how many Daggers did the Earth Alliance send this time?"
Roz expertly maneuvered Narrative Gundam, lifting the beam rifle. A drill-like beam struck a Dagger's cockpit precisely. The rotating particle beam sliced the Dagger apart, and the pilot's death wails faintly echoed.
If Kira had fired, hearing the pilot's screams might have caused guilt. But Roz, trained by "Simulation Amuro" in environments where failing to destroy cockpits meant suicidal situations, felt no hesitation. He simply aimed at the next enemy cockpit.
"Roz, the propellant is running low!"
The Haro beside the cockpit flapped its wings.
"The supply time was too short, and evasive maneuvers plus using Incoms drained too much propellant."
"Isn't that obvious? Right now there are at least twenty Daggers targeting me!"
Roz stomped on the pedal. Narrative Gundam surged upward, several beam fire networks created by the Daggers' beams appearing below.
"At this fire density, even easing the throttle a bit would get me hit!"
"Roz, you should return to the Archangel immediately for resupply!"
Haro didn't dare take control of Narrative Gundam under this fire density; any mistake would be fatal.
"It's too late…"
Roz habitually took a deep breath.
"Blue Cosmos won't just watch me go back for resupply."
"But… if I could use it last time… then it should work this time too, right, Narrator?"
Roz dodged several missiles. Those that couldn't turn in time plunged into the sea, sending up splashes.
"But using mental propulsion…"
Haro strongly opposed Roz using this ability. Roz's mental frame wasn't original; using it would deteriorate his mental state over time, eventually making him unable to fight.
"Abilities aren't charms! If I don't use them when I need them, they're useless!"
Roz gripped the control stick, expression resolute. "Besides, we agreed—to protect our friends' lives, to return alive… that's what you think too, right, Narrator!"
Narrative Gundam's head tilted slightly upward, its mental frame faintly glowing red.
"Fly, GUNDAM!!"
Roz gritted his teeth and slammed the pedal.
The cockpit rapidly transformed. The full-surround blue UI turned red. The touchscreen displayed "NTD."
Narrative Gundam's mental frame glowed red. The high-mobility backpack, whose thrusters had been slightly weakened, now spewed crimson flames. Narrative Gundam gained immense maneuverability.
The flames of mental propulsion left long trails, weaving through beams and missiles like a bird soaring through a storm.
"…Three minutes, Roz."
Haro marked a prominent value on the full-surround cockpit display.
"You can only continue fighting for three minutes."
"When will Kusunagi launch?"
Roz seemed to be getting excited. Perhaps his body had adapted to mental energy depletion from the last battle? Either way, he felt no discomfort.
"…It's in the final stage. Three minutes from now."
"That's enough."
-----------------------------------
"That is…"
In the Earth Alliance fleet, Orphee frowned as he watched Narrative Gundam turn red, spewing crimson flames.
But soon, he stopped paying attention to Narrative Gundam.
Though curious why Narrative Gundam had turned red and was emitting crimson flames, he assumed it was likely some kind of armor effect or a hidden backup energy source.
The main point was that Narrative Gundam used beam weapons.
Looking at the blue-and-white Freedom, it was clear: Freedom, which relied on beam weapons, was perfectly suppressed by the prototype Black Knight. Even though the FT armor was only a prototype, it was countered by any suit using beam weapons.
"Take down that incomplete G and the Archangel."
Orphee opened comms and addressed Black Knight: "This is your honor."
"…Understood, Chancellor."
Black Knight finished its observation and raised the beam rifle in its hand.
-----------------------------------
Amid the chaotic battlefield, Roz destroyed another Dagger, but the electrical feedback in his brain made him instinctively halt the Gundam's forward movement.
A red particle beam suddenly struck the sea in front of Narrative Gundam, causing an explosion.
Through the steam rising from the heated water, Roz saw the suit that had just attacked him—it was Black Knight.
"A new mobile suit? Kira's been defeated?!"
Roz squinted slightly, and Narrative Gundam began firing continuously at Black Knight.
"Sss… Roz, be careful of that black knight mobile suit."
In comms, Kira sounded a bit fatigued, but overall he was in acceptable condition.
"It has unknown armor; the beam has no effect!"
"You don't need to tell me, I see it!"
Roz watched as the drill-like particle beams struck Black Knight's cockpit and shoulder but dispersed as if hitting something incredibly solid.
Frowning at the scene, he still skillfully avoided missiles coming from behind.
Inside Black Knight, the pilot's expression also darkened as he looked at his instrument readings.
Compared to Freedom's beam rifle attacks, Narrative Gundam's rifle had greater beam penetration. The earlier shot to the shoulder was just 1.5 times the overload value caused by Freedom's beam rifle.
As a prototype FT armor, if any section took continuous hits causing overload, or if the suit ran out of power, the FT armor would shut down, leaving that area as vulnerable as a normal Earth Alliance G.
Yet facing a strong opponent like Black Knight, Roz didn't focus solely on it.
Many Daggers were trying to land on the mass driver track or the Archangel's deck.
On the central deck of Archangel, Mu, having emptied the long-range ammo of Strike Gundam, drew the ship-breaking blade for close combat.
"Funnel!!"
Without thinking further, Roz immediately deployed the backpack's funnels.
"Roz!!"
Big Haro was startled by Roz's action. "Your mental energy will drain even faster!"
"Three minutes, that's all—it's fine!"
Gritting his teeth, Roz used the mental-frame resonance to control the funnels.
The funnels detached from the cables and flew at high speed toward Archangel. Dense streams of beam pellets sprayed out, even denser than in tethered mode.
Black Knight also began attacking Roz, who continued firing at it while simultaneously operating two funnels. This multitasking gave Roz a sense of familiarity.
He kept shooting the beam rifle at Black Knight, testing each part: head, shoulders, legs, waist—each was struck by a beam.
Skillfully dodging Dagger fire, combined with Black Knight's attacks forming a deadly barrage, Roz fired a particle beam at Black Knight's right shoulder.
Black Knight performed an unusual maneuver: raising the shield, it blocked the particle beam.
"It blocked it… so this armor has a threshold!"
Even while multitasking and with his mental state rapidly deteriorating, Roz could make basic deductions.
"Roz! Your mental condition is critical! Withdraw immediately!"
Big Haro felt anxious seeing Roz's state, but dared not take over; if it did, Narrative Gundam could only jump back to Archangel.
"I'm fine… still not three minutes yet…"
Roz shook his dizzy head and forced himself to stay alert.
The funnels continued hovering near Archangel, providing suppressive fire. But as Roz pushed his mental energy to the limit, their target tracking slowed.
Suddenly, Roz felt a funnel being destroyed, which brought him slightly back to clarity.
"The Dagger units keep pressing! Leave this ship here!"
Using the dual cannon shield to block the incoming beam pellets, Clotho seized the chance created by a slowed funnel and fired the ion cannon from the head of Raider Gundam, accurately destroying a funnel.
Although Raider Gundam's battle situation looked grim, as a member of the "trio," Clotho's shooting skills were quite excellent.
"Damn it… split a third of the Daggers and continue suppressing that red-and-white mobile suit!"
At this moment, Clotho's desire to destroy Narrative Gundam had reached its peak.
"Hey, hey, hey… there are too many of them! Are they all using that intelligent combat system?"
Looking at the approaching Daggers, each marked with the "SB" emblem on the left shoulder, Mu broke into a cold sweat, gripping the ship-breaking blade on Strike Gundam.
"Kusanagi is entering launch sequence… Everyone, hang on a little longer!"
Murrue also had beads of sweat on her forehead. The intensity of the battle far exceeded her expectations.
"Arnold, check the thrusters!"
"Heh… finally almost over."
Roz controlled the remaining funnels, flying them between Archangel and the mass driver, acting as a temporary anti-air battery.
"Faster… a little faster, Kusanagi…"
Roz suddenly raised the shield in his left hand, blocking Black Knight's slash. Narrative Gundam's missile launchers on the legs quickly fired the remaining rockets. The rockets exploded on Black Knight's prototype FT armor, but since they were not beam attacks, they did not overload the armor. Black Knight's excellent physical resistance under the FT armor absorbed the rockets, leaving only some dents.
The explosions pushed both mobile suits apart. Roz took the opportunity to discard Narrative Gundam's leg and waist missile launchers, slightly enhancing its mobility.
"Phew… what a tough guy…"
Roz took deep breaths, shaking his head to stay alert.
Now that the missiles were gone, only beam weapons remained. The only option was to overload Black Knight's armor…
As Roz tried to think with his already somewhat unfocused mind about how to take down the Black Knight,
"Roz! Return! Archangel is preparing to go into space!"
Murrue's voice came over comms.
"Phew… you guys go first, I'll cover the rear. I'll leave with Kusanagi."
Roz instinctively wanted to grip something with his hands but could only clench them into fists.
"Roz…"
"Go now!"
Roz looked at the Black Knight rushing toward him again and shouted, "What I promised, I will accomplish! Go!"
"…Positron cannon! Fire!"
Murrue gritted her teeth and held the seat handles. "Engines full throttle!"
As the positron cannon struck the atmosphere, a dazzling corridor appeared. Archangel activated its thrusters and began accelerating.
Meanwhile, Kusanagi also entered its launch sequence.
Roz maneuvered Narrative Gundam, raising the left-hand shield to block Black Knight's slash again, while his other hand aimed the beam rifle at the Black Knight's cockpit.
But in the next second, the last funnel lost signal, making Roz pause for a moment.
Black Knight seemed to seize the opportunity, firing a red laser from its head, like some kind of targeting indicator, hitting Narrative Gundam. Then, amid chaotic interference, Black Knight slashed hard again, striking the shield and sending Narrative Gundam flying.
"Phew…"
Watching Narrative Gundam fall near the mass driver track, the Black Knight pilot relaxed slightly.
He should have fired immediately, but since Muruta was interested in Narrative Gundam and its pilot, and with the Kingdom of Foundation as an ally, some courtesy was necessary.
Black Knight shifted direction, the red laser indicator once more targeting Narrative Gundam, adding another mental disruption.
Yes, a mental disruptor. This was another prototype device on Black Knight. Though it could only briefly disturb another's thoughts and its effect was unstable, it was useful to create openings during battle.
"Sss… Black Knight, take down that Archangel."
Over comms, Orphee's familiar voice came.
"…Yes."
Black Knight drew the beam rifle, adjusted the output slightly, and aimed at Archangel's auxiliary thruster.
A thick red beam shot from the barrel, hitting the auxiliary thruster precisely and detonating it.
"Mission complete…"
Black Knight relaxed slightly, but before fully reacting, a drill-like particle beam struck its right shoulder.
"…Can it still fight?"
Black Knight sighed. With FT armor, fighting beam-armed mobile suits felt almost like child's play. But when he looked at Narrative Gundam, something seemed different.
"…Yellow?"
The previously red or gray mental-frame glowed yellow. Narrative Gundam, like a warrior clad in golden armor, stood up once more.
But this time, the red-and-white giant was gone, replaced by a yellow-and-white killing machine.
-----------------------------------
Roz… Roz?
In a dazzling space, a will was echoing within.
A blurry human figure appeared here. Though it had begun to take a female form, the face was still indistinct.
No sound… Roz's voice had disappeared… could not hear Roz's anticipation…
She anxiously searched through the space, finally stopping in place with helplessness.
No… I still exist… the body has not been destroyed…
Which means, Roz should still be alive… but why can't I hear a sound?
The figure began repeatedly reading past memories: being created, being loaded into the mobile suit, the first battle, the first awakening… scene after scene of the past appeared before her eyes.
I see… now I understand…
Finally, a black mobile suit appeared in her sight.
It's you… the one who cut off the connection between me and Roz?
At this moment, lying near the mass driver track, Narrative Gundam, whose mental frame had grown dim, stood up.
The mental frame once again shone with light. Unlike the red when resonating with Roz, or the faint green that occasionally appeared, it was a dazzling yellow.
Roz… Roz… Roz… connection failed…
The figure sank slightly in disappointment.
Then, a "thought" appeared—not arising from Roz's expectation, nor from past programmed judgments, but from her—she herself generated this "thought."
Enemy… enemy… it's an enemy…
Crush, tear apart, cut to pieces… destroy all enemies!
Until reconnected with Roz, until Roz's voice is heard again!
Narrative Gundam raised its beam rifle.
At this moment, three Daggers had just completed their landing, advancing toward Narrative Gundam.
Without hesitation, Narrative Gundam fired four consecutive shots. The three Daggers were precisely hit at their cockpits, torn to pieces by the beams.
The fourth beam shot hit the right shoulder of Black Knight, who had just fired at Archangel.
Yes… it's the enemy…
Tear it to pieces!
Yellow "flames" suddenly erupted from behind Narrative Gundam, rushing rapidly toward Black Knight.
....................