"Minovsky particles have been dispersed..."
Looking at the communication devices, which were now completely jammed and useless, Black Flag—piloting the Agrissa—frowned.
"...Take note: although the anti-interference coating set by my skill allows electronic instruments to resist the effects of Minovsky particles, its level isn't high. It can only withstand a certain threshold. Radar and standard communications are now completely offline."
At that moment, a bracelet-like object on Black Flag's wrist flickered. The voice of the team's mechanic, "Wrench," came through the device. Clearly, this creation sourced from the Lord God could still function normally even within a Minovsky-rich environment.
"In other words, that Penelope, piloted by who-knows-who, could appear at any—"
Before the voice over the comms could finish, Black Flag spotted his target: the Exia, flying with stiff, labored movements.
"I've found the target on my end. Group up on me immediately. Let's finish this fast!"
Having lost the team's primary gunner, Black Flag wasn't certain he could quickly seize the Exia using only this Agrissa. But now, he had no choice but to push through.
"Damn this mission..."
Black Flag grit his teeth and pulled the trigger on his control stick. From the hull-like component of the machine, an Enact raised its linear rifle and opened fire continuously on the Exia.
"...What?"
Setsuna, who had long since reached his physical limit, felt the vibration of the machine and took nearly a full second to snap back to reality.
"An ambush... that MS is?!"
In a daze, he saw the Agrissa ram into the Exia like a juggernaut ship, sending it tumbling.
"Ugh, ahhh...!"
Without any buffer to soften the fall, the Exia crashed into a sand dune. The massive impact forced a pained, choked sound out of Setsuna's throat.
"So many people died because of you!"
The Agrissa, which originally looked like an Enact mounted on a barge, deployed its stowed components—several spider-like legs that slammed into the ground around the Exia.
"I want to live too! So why can't you just hurry up and die!!"
Venting the pent-up frustration in his heart, Black Flag pressed a button without hesitation.
A blue light suddenly pulsed from the Agrissa's spider-like legs, and a spherical blue plasma field formed between them. A violent electrical shock surged through the Exia, descending directly upon Setsuna.
"Gwahhh... ahhh!!"
The intense pain, combined with his physical and mental exhaustion, plunged Setsuna into a state of delirium. Vaguely, he felt as though he had returned to the past—to the time when he was still a child soldier.
Green light particles seemed to descend from the heavens, and that Gundam he had dreamt of for so long appeared to be hovering there, watching him.
Subconsciously, Setsuna manipulated the Exia's controls, reaching out his hand toward the sky blocked by the silhouette of the Agrissa.
-----------------------------------
"Why won't you just die!"
Seeing that the pilot of the Exia was somehow still alive within such a high-intensity plasma field—and was even attempting to operate the machine—Black Flag roared, "I... I have to stay alive with them!"
He adjusted the intensity of the plasma field once more, and just as he was about to override the AEU's power limiters on the system:
Two pale purple beams descended from the heavens, striking the rear section of the Agrissa's "barge" with pinpoint accuracy.
"The Penelope? Now?!"
Looking at the error reports flooding the Agrissa's monitors in an instant, Black Flag grit his teeth and controlled his Enact to decouple from the Agrissa, soaring into the sky.
As the Agrissa was destroyed by the Mega Particle beams, the previously stable plasma field collapsed instantly. Intense electrical currents danced across the desert along with the flying debris from the Agrissa's explosion.
In the glow of the fire and the arcs of electricity, Setsuna did not see an "Angel" radiating green light particles descending from above.
Revealed before his eyes instead was a "Dragon" trailing crimson light, "roaring" in the night sky as it relentlessly pursued its prey.
"Why?! Why!!"
Black Flag spun around, raising his linear rifle and firing continuously at the Penelope as it danced through the night. "I only wanted to survive! Why, over and over again..."
But unfortunately, since Roz had deactivated his external speakers, Black Flag would receive no verbal response.
"Captain! My readings show your anti-interference coating's integrity is dropping rapidly! There's something near you continuously releasing Minovsky Particles!"
Amidst the roar of the Penelope's Minovsky Flight unit, the voice of Wrench came through Black Flag's bracelet, sounding borderline panicked.
"Get out of there! Otherwise, your machine is going to shut down!"
"The Penelope is right here with me!"
Looking at his cockpit view, where the previously clear images were rapidly devolving into a blurry mess of mosaics, cold sweat began to pour down Black Flag's forehead.
Almost instinctively, he spotted a bright red "mosaic" and rapidly increased the machine's altitude.
A Beam Magnum shot streaked past beneath him. Purple high-energy electricity grazed the legs of his custom Enact, slicing the slender limbs clean off.
Looking at the dark-red Enact that had managed to evade the direct hit of the Beam Magnum, Roz furrowed his brow slightly and adjusted the aim of his muzzle.
Roz pulled the trigger again. A stream of red light, carrying purple high-energy electricity, surged toward the now legless Enact.
"Ugh, ahhh...!"
Black Flag diverted his machine's orientation with everything he had, barely dodging the red beam's main path.
But the Beam Magnum's attack isn't limited to the beam itself. The purple high-energy discharge struck the Enact's torso directly, shearing the machine in two.
"AARRGH!"
A wretched cry of agony escaped Black Flag's lips. The cockpit had been split in half by the high-energy current, leaving him exposed to the open air.
What caused him the most pain wasn't the violent impact or the exposure; it was his right leg. It had been grazed by the high-energy current.
Charred flesh exploded within the remains of the cockpit. Blood, raw and half-cooked meat, and bone fragments were smeared across the interior like a scene from a gruesome horror game.
As the remains of his machine slammed into the desert sand, Black Flag grit his teeth against the pain and reached for the storage locker, desperate to find a medkit.
"Captain! Captain, are you still alive?!"
Over the Lord God watch communication, Four-Eyes' voice sounded terrified.
"Shadow-Blade and Wrench have arrived! They're engaging the Penelope now!"
"I'm still alive..."
Black Flag sprayed hemostatic agent onto his spurting stump and began wrapping it in gauze.
"Run! The number of Hellions doesn't mean a thing in front of the Penelope!"
-----------------------------------
"Dammit... Penelope!"
Wrench grit his teeth as he led a squadron of Hellions in a desperate charge against the Penelope. The Hellions' 20mm machine cannons roared, and the missile launchers on their legs spat out a swarm of air-to-air missiles that converged on the massive machine.
Shells and missiles detonated against the PS Armor. Though the vibrations were violent, Roz's current physical constitution allowed him to ignore the impact entirely.
Such fierce firepower naturally drew Roz's focus; he instinctively raised the Beam Magnum and pulled the trigger toward the source of the barrage.
Purple high-energy discharge, carrying a crimson beam, tore straight into the Hellion squadron. Numerous units were struck by the red beam and instantly vaporized; the surrounding high-energy electricity shredded the nearby Hellions, turning them into a rain of scrap metal falling into the desert.
Wrench had pulled his machine up early, narrowly evading the strike. A single shot had decimated his squadron, and the Hellions' counter-attacks hadn't even scratched the Penelope.
But as long as they could draw the Penelope's attention, it was worth it.
Unseen, a single Hellion appeared behind the Penelope, gripping its Sonic Blade in a reverse-hand style, lunging toward the machine's back.
"Go! Let this bastard taste a 10x Critical Backstab!"
Seeing the Hellion on the verge of success, a grin instinctively spread across Wrench's face.
This was their original plan to deal with Roz: use the continuous pressure from the three superpowers and a squadron of Hellions to distract him, then let Shadow-Blade use his stealth skills to get behind Roz for a "Backstab" decapitation. This tactic had never failed them; it had even greviously wounded powerful foes in the past.
Though the superpowers' assault had faltered and the Penelope hadn't been worn down, the core of the plan was proceeding smoothly—or so they thought.
But reality isn't a game. They had skill-based motion correction; Roz did not need it.
Two massive Beam Sabers (functioning as beam cannons) suddenly tilted up from the shoulder binders, aiming directly at the Hellion behind him.
In the horrified eyes of Shadow-Blade, Wrench, and Black Flag, two thick, pale-purple beams erupted from the shoulder mounts, accurately striking Shadow-Blade's raised right arm and left shoulder.
"...Your killing intent was too obvious," Roz muttered.
His hands didn't stop moving for a second. The Penelope pivoted slightly, and its left-arm Multi-Purpose Shield slammed into the armless Hellion. A pale-blue Beam Saber extended from the shield's tip, impaling the machine.
Then, before the eyes of the distraught Black Flag and Wrench, the Hellion was sliced clean in half from top to bottom, exploding in mid-air. Their "trump card" was dead, without even the time to utter a final word.
"AARRGH! You bastard!"
Feeling the vibration of the Lord God bracelet on his wrist indicating a teammate's elimination, Wrench roared, forcing his Hellion toward the Penelope.
"Die! Machine Overload!"
With Wrench's scream, his olive-drab Hellion suddenly pulsed with a red light, its speed nearly doubling as it rocketed toward the Penelope.
Roz could almost hear the structural screams of the red-glowing Hellion as it pushed past its limits.
Air-to-air missiles, linear rifles—every weapon available opened fire. Wrench gripped his Sonic Blade in his left hand, closing the distance.
The overloaded Hellion's speed was formidable, but its basic design meant it could never match the Penelope's agility in high-speed maneuvers.
Roz ignored the missiles and shells impacting the Penelope. After a brief moment of lead-aiming, he pulled the trigger of the Beam Magnum.
The red-glowing machine couldn't turn in time. Under Wrench's terrified gaze, he flew head-first into the Magnum's beam. Along with its remaining ammunition, the machine vanished into a spectacular firework display in the night sky.
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Seeing two targets—beings who moved and acted with abilities far beyond common logic—successfully eliminated, Roz felt a slight weight lift from his shoulders.
Regardless, that's two more down. Hopefully, I can wipe out the rest during this three-nation joint exercise...
Just as Roz prepared to deliver a finishing blow to the area where the custom Enact had crashed, the sand in that sector was suddenly hurled into the sky by a violent explosion.
A blue, X-shaped particle beam, resembling a pressurized "sword ki" wave, erupted from the dust cloud and tore through the air toward the Penelope.
Roz's brow furrowed at the sight of the incoming attack. The Penelope performed a nimble mid-air roll, narrowly avoiding the projectile.
Moments later, a machine clad in a mix of black, red, and white surged out of the smoke. Its massive shoulder binders encased the unit's large sub-arms, which gripped two long katanas as it rocketed toward the Penelope.
"Why... why has everyone died because of you!"
Black Flag's voice, thick with fury, screamed through the machine's speakers. Its thrusters flared with brilliant blue light, and a faint, golden flame-like aura flickered across the hull.
"A... Gundam?"
Setsuna, watching from below, was briefly stunned by the face of the emerging machine.
However, upon seeing the unit, Roz's expression darkened.
"...A Red Astray."
He wasn't entirely sure which variant it was, but judging by the way it had just slashed out "sword ki" with twin blades... it was likely some kind of "Fantasy" type.
"What a pain..."
Roz widened the distance slightly and cranked up the output of the Beam Magnum. He fired a single, powerful shot directly at the Sengoku Astray as it charged head-on. Simultaneously, he deployed five Funnel Missiles, which fanned out to encircle the enemy.
"Don't even think about it!"
Black Flag manipulated the Sengoku Astray to slash an X-shaped, pale blue "sword ki" wave in front of him to intercept the Beam Magnum.
The Beam Magnum shot—its output nearly doubled—hit like a crimson torrent, consuming Black Flag's entire field of vision. It slammed into the blue energy wave, physically pushing the Sengoku Astray backward through the air.
"AARRGH!"
Fury and killing intent coalesced in his heart. Black Flag roared, completely ignoring the energy bars plummeting on his monitors. He slammed his remaining left foot onto the pedal, forcing the thrusters to maximum power.
Finally, the sword ki could no longer withstand the deluge of the Beam Magnum. Several stray beams from the split torrent struck the Sengoku Astray's prized twin blades, melting the edges.
For some reason, Black Flag instinctively glanced to his side. His eyes widened in shock.
The Funnel Missiles Roz had released had surrounded the Sengoku Astray without him noticing and were now closing in at extreme speeds.
The Sengoku Astray's primary arms broke their folded-chest posture. The circular motifs on its shoulder and chest armor glowed intensely as it thrust its palms outward.
Purple and gold energy swirled around the machine, but before a proper shield could form, the Funnel Missiles struck.
While three missiles were deflected by the energy, the remaining two detonated against the Sengoku Astray's frame. The violent impact and structural damage caused Black Flag's movements to falter. The X-shaped sword ki dissipated, and the machine was sent tumbling by the sheer concussive force of the Beam Magnum.
The Sengoku Astray's left arm, along with its long blade, was caught in the wake of the Beam Magnum and vaporized in a secondary explosion.
Deep, scorched gouges from the purple high-energy electricity covered the machine's torso—cut so deep the cockpit where Black Flag sat was almost visible to the naked eye.
The machine was sent flying by the explosion of its left arm, crashing hard onto the slope of a sand dune.
"Phew..."
Looking at the Sengoku Astray lying on the ground, seemingly stripped of its ability to resist, Roz let out a small sigh of relief.
When he saw the machine manifest "sword ki," Roz had genuinely been startled. Fortunately, the pilot appeared to be relatively inexperienced, allowing him to seize the opening.
'But as expected, I need to finish him off first...'
The sky was just beginning to break into dawn. Just as Roz raised the Beam Magnum toward the motionless Sengoku Astray, a cold, sharp mental wave—saturated with killing intent—appeared nearby.
Red beams fell like rain, lashing toward Roz.
While the PS Armor could withstand beam fire under high-power supply, Roz had no intention of testing the limits of the nuclear reactor's output or the armor's ultimate resistance to beam weaponry. The Penelope performed a series of mid-air rolls, evading the torrential red beams.
"I don't know where a big lug like you crawled out from, but you'd better stop thinking about the two Gundams down there."
A girl's voice drifted through the sky, laced with a touch of arrogance.
Roz maneuvered the Penelope to gain altitude, finally spotting the assailant. It was a machine radiating red particles.
Given those red particles and its specific silhouette, it certainly didn't look like an "orthodox" Gundam from the Celestial Being faction.
Roz immediately shifted his attention back to where the Sengoku Astray had been.
As expected, despite the emotional outbursts and talk of "revenge," once they regained their senses, these guys ran faster than anyone. The crippled Sengoku Astray had already vanished.
"He escaped... Was he mistaken for a Gundam just because he had an Astray's face?"
Roz frowned slightly, turning his gaze back to the machine that had ambushed him.
"...Yo, big guy! It's not a very good idea to get distracted in the middle of a fight!"
.....................