The moment the Orb fleet opened fire, war was officially declared. The exchange of artillery between warships was matched by the chaotic melee of MS units clashing in space.
"Whoa! That was close!" Several stray shots impacted the GN Field of the Astray Gundam Red Unit, sending ripples across its surface. "But that Quasi-GN Drive and GN Particles Yang Hui cooked up are really something."
As he spoke, the Red Frame swung its Red Dragon Pack around, transforming it into a Mechanical Longbow. Drawing the bowstring, GN Particles gathered at its center.
Inside the cockpit, Lowe's screen displayed over a dozen red enemy markers locked onto targets.
"Take this!"
Releasing the bowstring, a massive beam arrow shot forth—initially appearing to miss all targets. Just as enemies dismissed the Red Frame as a paper tiger, the thick beam suddenly split apart. Dozens of slender beam arrows pierced through every locked target with precision.
"Heh, pretty cool huh?" Lowe boasted cheerfully.
Beep beep beep—
"Oh crap!" At that moment, a cloaked Nebula Lightning Gundam had slipped behind the Red Frame. By the time the alarms blared, it was too late to turn around.
Swoosh—
A flash of blade light crossed space as two gleaming Sword-Type GN Dragoons carved an X-shaped wound across the Nebula Lightning's body before it exploded.
"You got careless." The Blue Frame now stood back-to-back with the Red Frame as Gai Murakumo delivered his stern rebuke.
"That's why I've got you watching my back!" Lowe remained all smiles, his trust in Gai absolute.
"..." Gai responded with silence—the epitome of "few words, deadly actions." Releasing his Sword-Type GN Dragoons, they joined the other GN Dragoons in a lethal ballet across the battlefield. Though beautiful and graceful, these were hellish butterflies of death—each flap of their delicate wings claiming another life.
"Tch, as if..." Not to be outdone, the Red Frame unleashed another volley from its Mechanical Longbow, downing over a dozen enemy units before folding the weapon away. In one fluid motion, it drew both the [Kikuichimonji] and [Kotetsu] from its waist, bisecting two enemy machines with silken cuts. "...the Red Frame's just for show either!"
Nearby, the Outframe Gundam Purple whipped its Chain Sword like a deadly lash, shredding several approaching enemies to scrap. Simultaneously, its [Voiture Lumiere] gathered GN Particles around the circular emitter above its head. The rapidly spinning beam disk sliced through space with such intensity that—had there been air in space—the screeching noise would have pierced eardrums.
"You... aren't worthy to dance with me."
Her icy pronouncement delivered, the beam disk shot forth along an uncanny trajectory—radiating elegance even as it exuded death. Unlike others who charged headlong into battle, the Purple Frame remained at the conflict's epicenter, calmly observing the entire battlefield.
"Too slow."
To Mina's eyes, aside from a few aces, the MS units were locked in indecisive skirmishes with enemy forces. Only the warship artillery exchanges clearly favored Orb's side—thanks to the overwhelming advantage of GN Fields. While Orb's salvos erupted against enemy hulls in violent explosions, hostile fire merely created harmless ripples across their protective barriers.
The overwhelming advantage brought by the technological gap allowed the Orb Military to secure victory in advance. However... Mina wasn't entirely satisfied. In her view, this was the first battle of Orb's space forces—it needed to deliver a shocking performance rather than grinding down the enemy like two millstones waiting for the other to collapse.
"Amagi."
"Chairman Rondo."
"Activate the Qilin's Lohengrin cannons. Target... my Mobile Suit."
"What!? Chairman Rondo! This is—"
"Charge the Voiture Lumiere. Tear through the enemy formation in one strike."
"But..." As the captain of the Qilin, Amagi truly hesitated to carry out Mina's order. He knew about the Voiture Lumiere technology and the capabilities of the Outframe Gundam Purple... but firing a massive cannon at his direct superior? That was practically suicidal!
"No 'buts.' Execute immediately."
"...Understood."
Suicidal or not, Mina's tone had grown severe. If he didn't comply, someone else would soon replace him—and then carry out her orders anyway.
The Qilin's side hatches opened, revealing the pitch-black muzzles of two massive Lohengrin Positron Buster Cannons. Light shimmered as photons gathered, then erupted with a deafening roar. Empowered by GN Particles, a torrent of blue, white, and red energy surged forth, tinged with the orange hue of life itself—before slamming into the back of the Purple Frame.
Strangely, the energy torrent that should have engulfed the Purple Frame came to an abrupt halt behind it. Two translucent, light-drenched sails unfurled from the Mobile Suit's back, absorbing the "roar" of the positron cannons and converting it into pure energy. The sails gleamed brighter and brighter, until the Purple Frame itself radiated like a divine being descending from the heavens.
"All units! Clear the path!"
"Ark of Heaven!"
Orb's MS units immediately disengaged from their opponents, retreating from the Outframe Gundam Purple's forward trajectory. In the next instant, the Purple Frame vanished—transforming into a golden greatsword that cleaved the chaotic battlefield in two. Every obstacle in its path was shattered by the golden blade, ultimately annihilated by the overwhelming energy.
"Eva—"
Mina's target wasn't just the entangled MS units—it was the enemy fleet positioned at the rear.
Seeing the golden-purple Mobile Suit erupt into motion, the enemy ship captains immediately issued evasive orders. But they barely had time to utter the first syllable before the golden-purple blur appeared before them. Their vision whited out in an instant—followed by the loss of all consciousness, as they and their ships were reduced to cosmic dust.
One ship, two ships, three ships...
The radiant Purple Frame showed no signs of stopping, zigzagging at terrifying angles until an uncountable number of warships had been obliterated. Only then did it gradually decelerate, finally coming to rest within Orb's formation.
But it moved no further—because Mina had already lost consciousness, a trail of crimson blood trickling from the corner of her lips.
"This woman... is downright insane."
The elite units—Astray Gundam Red Frame, Blue Frame, and Dark Strike Gundam—immediately returned to escort the Outframe Gundam Purple Frame back to the Qilin. Given the extreme acceleration earlier, even with the Purple Frame's numerous anti-shock measures, Mina's internal organs must have been displaced. If she wasn't rushed back for treatment, she might die in the cockpit.
"Still, she turned the tide," Gai Murakumo remarked.
Everyone in the Orb Military knew that while Mina had unleashed a devastating attack—costing the enemy a thousand while sacrificing a thousand of their own—resulting in the fleet losing its Commander, the Orb Military's discipline was far superior to that of ordinary forces.
Especially since Mina had anticipated that using the [Ark of Heaven] could paralyze their command structure, she had prepared accordingly. The Orb Space Forces adhered to a strict protocol: if the commanding officer was lost, the next-ranking officer would automatically assume command.
Moreover, Mina had risked her life to shift the balance of victory. Filled with determination, every member of the Orb fleet vowed not to let her sacrifice be in vain.
"Crush them!"
(End of Chapter)