As the engagement progressed, the situation on the battlefield grew increasingly eerie. For Athrun and Dearka in particular, this unsettling sensation became more and more intense.
"What is going on? They're so agile... and this level of anticipation..."
Dearka grit his teeth as he watched a Black Knight evade his attack yet again, moving as if it had predicted the exact trajectory of the Buster's fire.
"It's like they have telepathy..."
Athrun frowned as he glanced at the heavily damaged Orb units nearby. He manipulated the Justice Gundam to intercept the Black Knight in front of him.
The Black Knight squad seemed to be waiting for something; their offensive wasn't particularly fast. In fact, it gave off the impression that they were "playing a game."
The Justice raised its leg, kicking the Black Knight's shin. The machine's frame—specifically designed for mid-to-close range combat—and its robust red PS Armor allowed the Justice to trade kicks with the Black Knight.
But the probing phase ended there.
Unlike his previous attacks, Athrun completely emptied his mind, allowing his pure combat instincts to take over the controls as he continued his assault.
The Justice raised its shield to block a strike from the Black Knight's newly drawn beam heavy sword. The shield, built to the same specifications as the Freedom's, began to melt under the contact with the beam cutting edge at a visible rate.
However, seemingly unable to read Athrun's mental activity for a split second, the Black Knight's movements faltered. Ultimately, it continued its heavy sword swing.
This was the opening Athrun needed. The "Fatum-00" lifter on his back aimed its beam cannons at the enemy. Along with the rotary turrets and machine guns on the backpack, a burst of beams and live rounds erupted instantly, slamming into the Black Knight.
The Black Knight's frame sparked violently under the machine-gun fire, though the two beam attacks were absorbed and dissipated by the FT Armor.
Clang...
Athrun could faintly hear the sound of his shield being completely severed. The shield on the Justice's arm was sliced in two, the cut smooth and even.
Athrun didn't wait to be a sitting duck. He manipulated the Justice to use the sharpest edge of the broken shield to ram the Black Knight. But as if his thoughts were being read again, the Black Knight raised its own shield, blocking Athrun's "shield bash."
It was as if this Black Knight were a monster capable of reading a player's inputs.
However, no matter how much they could read the commands in a person's mind, they couldn't read the "thoughts" of a machine.
The "Fatum-00" lifter disappeared from the Justice's back at some unknown moment, suddenly reappearing at the Black Knight's flank. It slammed directly into the machine, forcing its posture to warp.
Athrun drew the two beam sabers from his waist and joined them end-to-end, revealing a double-edged beam saber to all present. He then commanded the Justice to perform a vertical slash that looked riddled with openings.
The Black Knight pilot sneered and raised his shield, while leveling his heavy sword at the Justice's cockpit, intending to destroy the unit on the spot. The Justice's slash landed exactly where he predicted—directly on the Black Knight's shield.
But in the next second, the "Fatum-00" lifter, which had just performed the ramming attack, slammed into the Black Knight's back. Two beam cannons pressed against the Black Knight's frame, their muzzles erupting with intense light.
Amidst the explosion, the Black Knight's movement shifted. The heavy sword that was supposed to pierce the Justice swept past it instead, causing no damage.
The Justice, meanwhile, slightly adjusted the angle of its double-edged beam saber. After boosting the output power, it successfully plunged the saber into the Black Knight's chest.
There was no doubt that FT Armor possessed excellent resistance to live rounds and standard beams, but the high-output beam saber, after a momentary struggle, pierced straight through the Black Knight.
With a swing of the saber, the once-troublesome Black Knight was cleaved in two, exploding into a cloud of debris.
"Huff... huff... It seems they really do have some kind of mind-reading ability..."
Athrun panted. Having to keep his mind blank while simultaneously fighting a high-speed battle was an immense drain on his concentration.
The "Fatum-00" lifter returned to the Justice's back. Athrun scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowed deep. The Orb M1 Astray and Murasame squads were suffering heavy losses. Dearka's Buster, lacking melee armaments, was being chased down by another Black Knight.
As for himself...
Looking at two more Black Knights identical to the one he had just fought, Athrun felt a massive headache coming on. It was like killing a monster you thought was a mini-boss, only to walk through a door and find a whole room full of them.
But Athrun wasn't one to give up. He leveled his double-edged beam saber at the two Black Knights drawing their heavy swords.
Before Athrun could react, a Black Knight suddenly appeared at his side. With a swift strike, it pulverized his left arm—along with the severed shield it was holding.
Watching the "LEFT ARM OFFLINE" warning flash frantically in the cockpit, Athrun instinctively maneuvered the Justice into a side-roll, dodging several red beams that shot out from nowhere.
The Black Knight that had just attacked joined the two he was already facing, forming a three-man squad. They all raised their heavy swords toward the Justice.
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"Honestly... to be shot down by a machine piloted by an Oldtype, he was way too pathetic..."
A mocking voice echoed through the "mental chat channel" shared by the eleven remaining members of the Black Knight squad.
"Don't let your guard down. The pilot of that unit recorded as 'Justice' is clearly a veteran with immense combat experience," a stern voice cut in, interrupting the ridicule directed at their fallen comrade. "Furthermore, I could barely read his thoughts just now."
"It doesn't matter how much he empties his mind; he's still just an Oldtype. He only needs to show a single opening in front of us Newtypes, and he's dead!" The mocking voice spoke up again, refuting the stern warning. "See? With just one opening, I destroyed his left arm."
"Wait... something's coming... EVADE!"
-----------------------------------
A blue beam, like a slithering python, struck the Black Knight positioned directly in front of the Justice. Following the wake of the blue light, the Black Knight's left arm was blown into fragments.
A pure white silhouette burst onto the battlefield, its frame trailing dazzling streaks of yellow light as it moved at extreme speed.
The gauntlet on its left arm deployed into savage, giant claws. Casting aside its previously heavy feel, the high-frequency vibrating tips of the claws slammed into a Black Knight. As the left hand made contact, the claws plunged deep into the machine's frame.
Under the influence of the high-frequency vibrations, the FT Armor seemed to lose all effectiveness. The claws pierced through the armor with ease and began to tighten, inch by inch.
They didn't stop until the Black Knight's cockpit was crushed into a pulp.
Looking at this white machine radiating intense killing intent and a brilliant yellow glow, a chill surging from the depths of their souls swept through the hearts of every Black Knight pilot present.
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A short while ago, on the catapult deck of the Nahel Argama, the pure white machine stood ready for launch. Maintaining full speed throughout its journey, the ship quickly arrived in the vicinity of Mendel.
Inside the Unicorn's cockpit, Roz's expression was complex. It was because of those bizarre-feeling brainwaves echoing through the Mendel airspace...
"Defective Newtypes... no, are they artificial?!"
After carefully discerning those brainwaves, Roz reached his conclusion. At that moment, an emotion akin to "rage" suddenly flooded his surroundings.
"...Regardless of the circumstances, we are going to take those enemies down," Roz spoke soothingly, his hands gripping the control sticks as if he could feel the Unicorn's own temperament. "Just... wait a little longer."
There was no doubt that the Machine Spirit was currently in a state of intense agitation. The fact that the Black Knight units had once severed the connection between Roz and herself was something she would likely remember for a lifetime.
Compounded by Roz's confirmation that these pilots were artificial "Newtypes," old grudges and new hatred merged.
The Psycho-Frame, which should have manifested as red, was gradually being dyed a dazzling yellow due to the Machine Spirit's rampage.
"Phew... Roz Links, Unicorn, launching!"
Stomping on the pedals with practiced ease, the snow-white Unicorn was catapulted along the rail. However, the Machine Spirit clearly lacked the patience to wait through even this brief launch sequence.
The letters "NT-D" flashed across the Panoramic Monitor. The originally white UI was stained a dark yellow, and Roz's seat quickly completed its transformation. While still hurtling down the catapult rail, the Unicorn's armor suddenly expanded, revealing the Psycho-Frame beneath.
It was not the familiar red of the past, nor was it the profound, "miracle-manifesting" emerald green. It was a blinding, brilliant yellow.
Suddenly, Roz recalled a fact that felt particularly relevant to the present moment. The original name of the "NT-D" system was not "NewType-Drive."
It was "NewType-Destroyer."
......................