On the island, a unique showdown was about to begin.
The Gundam Virtue, so robust it could be described as "stout," stood at one end of the level clearing. Opposite it stood a machine clad in a blend of black and gold.
Aside from those on rotation, almost everyone else was gathered around to witness this fight.
"How did it even come to this..."
Sumeragi sighed as she watched the scene, her mind drifting back to the events of just a few moments ago.
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It all started just before Shinn was about to begin his integration training with the new machine.
Our "Haji-Ti" (Tieria), upon seeing the machine designated as the Banshee Norn being referred to as a Gundam, started bristling.
As a fundamentalist regarding Celestial Being-style Gundams, his obsession with what a Gundam should be extended even to its physical appearance. Naturally, he could not accept the Banshee Norn in its "Unicorn Mode" being called a "Gundam."
Setsuna, on the other hand, just stared at the Banshee Norn in a daze, lost in unknown thoughts.
"I only recognize the Gundams of Celestial Being... I will never acknowledge your so-called Gundams. That thing isn't a Gundam at all!"
"Gundam is just a model type! Why are you being so stubborn about this?"
"The existence of a Gundam carries a special significance! Whether it's the silhouette or the power source, principles must be upheld!"
Tieria reached out and slammed his hand against the railing beside him, letting out a sharp metallic ring.
"You're just enamored with the symbol of the Gundam! Do you truly understand the meaning contained within her? Stop talking such nonsense!"
Shinn, who had long since grown out of his own "problem child" phase, was getting increasingly irritated seeing how everyone in the Celestial Being group seemed like a bunch of troubled kids.
In contrast to Tieria's fundamentalism, the inner essence of what a Gundam represented was what Shinn valued most. He would never forget the miracles the Gundams had performed during the Gryps Conflict.
"The one talking nonsense is you!"
In the end, Tieria could only mutter those words sullenly. At this point, Shinn felt his patience had reached its absolute limit.
"You guy... I'm going to correct you!"
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At this moment, Shinn sat within the cockpit of the Banshee Norn, continuously scanning the machine's armaments, various parameters, and settings.
"I see... so this is the perspective Captain Roz has when he's piloting? Incredible."
Recalling the Destiny he had piloted before—which did not feature a 360-degree panoramic cockpit—Shinn couldn't help but marvel instinctively.
"Alright, I basically know how to fly this thing."
Memorizing a few maneuvers he deemed critical and adjusting a few settings to match his personal habits, Shinn casually closed the touchscreen interface.
"Hey! Didn't you claim you were going to 'correct' me? Why are you just sitting there motionless? Can't even get the machine to move?"
Tieria's voice crackled over the comms. Clearly, the relationship between the two sides was far from harmonious.
"What's the rush? I said I'd correct you, and I will."
Shinn curled his lip and pushed the control sticks forward. "You'd better hold on tight."
"Because this is going to hurt like hell!"
The Banshee Norn began to walk slowly, then its pace steadily increased until, clutching its newly designed Beam Magnum, it broke into a thunderous stride toward the Virtue.
Even from a distance, Sumeragi could feel the vibrations traveling through the ground. It was a weight different from the lightweight Celestial Being units—a mass born of heavy armor and internal hardware—yet the machine's movements showed not a hint of sluggishness.
With a stomp on the foot pedal, the Banshee Norn transitioned from a sprint into an aerial dash. The thrusters across its body flared to life, and the electric propulsion units mounted on various parts of the frame spat out thick jets of plasma, propelling the machine toward the Virtue at a low altitude.
"Ridiculous! Charging in a straight line like that?!"
Watching the Banshee Norn rapidly closing the distance, Tieria felt a strange sense of insult and raised his GN Bazooka. Though it bore the name "Bazooka," it was actually a high-output Beam Cannon, a weapon even more absurd than a standard Beam Launcher.
Although both sides had activated training mode and weren't using real beam attacks, seeing the massive red hit-box indicator on his screen gave Shinn a clear idea of the GN Bazooka's destructive potential. He knew that if he got too close, it would be difficult to dodge. However, Shinn's close-quarters combat skills had always been superior to his marksmanship.
The Armed Armor DE, serving as a propulsion component on the backpack, pushed the machine slightly upward. Like a ballerina mid-leap, the Banshee Norn began to spin rapidly.
Then, with a spinning kick, the Banshee Norn's right leg struck the GN Bazooka in the Virtue's hands. Before Tieria could pull the trigger, the weapon was kicked aside, neutralizing his offensive.
Immediately following this, the Armed Armor DE switched off its propulsion and rapidly pivoted forward. Its tip-mounted cannon and the Beam Magnum in the Banshee's hand both pointed directly at the Virtue.
Seeing himself plunged into a crisis by just a single move, Tieria's eyes widened in shock. Instinctively, he activated the Virtue's GN Field. A particle barrier—completely outside the scope of the exercise—suddenly materialized, knocking the Banshee Norn backward.
Though the sudden change startled Shinn, he quickly stabilized the Banshee Norn's posture and landed firmly facing the Virtue. Shinn manipulated the controls, detaching the Armed Armor DE from the back and mounting it onto the left arm. He held it before him, deploying the internal shield.
Several beams from the Virtue's shoulder cannons struck the beam shield projected from the Armed Armor DE, letting out two sharp ding-ding sounds indicating blocked hits.
"If I remember correctly..."
Seeing the attack hit-box from the Virtue fade, Shinn recalled the information he had seen on the touchscreen and began his maneuver.
Compared to previous models, this new Armed Armor DE was wider and flatter, possessing a certain thickness with sharpened edges. The new Beam Magnum was also flatter, featuring a transformation mechanism with an extended grip and guard.
Coincidentally, at the tail end of the Armed Armor DE, Roz had specifically left an interface designed for the Beam Magnum.
What he needed to do next was simple.
The orientation of the Armed Armor DE flipped, its wide tail rotating toward the Banshee Norn's fist. The Beam Magnum slotted into the reserved interface.
With a mechanical snap, the grip—previously perpendicular to the barrel—aligned with it, sliding deeper into the internal housing of the Armed Armor DE.
Locks secured the transformed Beam Magnum in place. The sharp edges of the DE unit deployed and locked, combining physical blades with beam edges to form a massive, greatsword-like weapon.
"Now we're talking!"
Seeing the greatsword—an image practically etched into his DNA—Shinn felt his blood begin to boil. He licked his dry lips and slammed down on the pedals.
The Banshee Norn's backpack thrusters roared, pushing the machine into a high-speed slide that brought it directly in front of the Virtue.
Before Tieria could react, the combined "Greatsword" swung in a rising diagonal slash from the lower left to the upper right.
Carrying immense kinetic force, the Greatsword shattered the Virtue's pride—its GN Field—under the incredulous gazes of the Celestial Being group (save for Lockon).
Shinn wasn't about to give Tieria time to recover. In combat, taking it easy on an opponent was an act of irresponsibility toward oneself and one's teammates. Using the momentum, the Banshee Norn shifted its stance, and the Greatsword came crashing down onto the Virtue's head.
CLANG—!
Accompanied by a sharp sound, and to the shock of the onlookers, the Virtue was sent flying by the Banshee Norn's strike.
"Waaaaagh...!"
Tieria's cry of distress echoed over the comms as the massive impact registered.
Having completed the sequence, Shinn felt a strange sense of cathartic relief. But the combo wasn't over.
"I'm not done yet!"
Watching the Virtue tumbling through the air, Shinn maintained his follow-through posture and pulled the trigger on the Greatsword's handle.
The cannon at the tip of the transformed Armed Armor DE erupted with the firing indicator of the Beam Magnum, accurately sniping the mid-air Virtue.
Ping.
The Virtue crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. It did not move again.
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This integration exercise for Shinn's new machine was over. It had lasted less than ten minutes. Though Shinn wasn't sure how effective the "correction" had been, he figured that defeating a "pure-blood Gundam" using a machine Tieria didn't even recognize as a Gundam would, at the very least, serve to recalibrate Tieria's warped perspective.
Of course, there was always the possibility that Tieria would become even more extreme, but Shinn was confident he could simply pin him to the ground and beat him again if necessary.
"LOST."
The red notification, marked by VEDA, flashed across the monitors in the Virtue's cockpit. Tieria stared at the sign, looking completely stunned.
It was an utter defeat. Without question, he hadn't even managed to mount a decent counterattack before being crushed by the opponent's storm-like assault.
Even the GN Field, which he had instinctively deployed despite it being outside the exercise parameters, had been easily shattered before he was sent flying.
While he desperately wanted to ask how the opponent had broken through the GN Field, there was another matter that felt far more significant to Tieria right now.
"Defeated... by that machine and that man..."
Tieria slumped back into his pilot's seat, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the screen. "If I am wrong... then what exactly is a Gundam...?"
Finding the answer to that question would likely take Tieria quite a long time.
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