The battle raged on fiercely. Beyond maintaining constant high-speed maneuvers to evade the spherical wormholes, they also had to keep an eye on their comrades—because...
"That bastard Claire! I warned him repeatedly..." Yzak's Slash Zaku Phantom was being relentlessly pursued by a blue Zaku Phantom. His weapon systems had locked onto it, yet he hesitated to pull the trigger.
The pilot of this Zaku Phantom was the reported [Blue Wolf]. The green crystals around its chest cockpit hatch were visibly spreading outward, creeping further with each passing moment.
Meanwhile, the other reported pilot, [Lightning], lay motionless on the ground with only half a leg remaining—the rest of his body nowhere to be found.
"Damn it!" Yzak's hair stood on end as a chilling sense of death enveloped him. Instinctively, he tried to yank the control stick to escape his current position.
But... [Blue Wolf]'s weapon had already locked onto him. As an ace and veteran, he knew that even if he dodged the spherical wormhole's grasp, he wouldn't evade [Blue Wolf]'s shot.
Just then, a blinding high-energy cannon blast pierced through [Blue Wolf]'s abdomen. Yzak's Slash Zaku Phantom immediately jetted away from its position—only for a black spherical wormhole to appear the next second, swallowing its right leg whole.
"Haah... haah... haah..." Yzak panted heavily, relief washing over him at his narrow escape. But reality granted him no reprieve. His mobile suit suddenly shook violently as the cockpit screen filled with the image of a black Zaku Phantom—and then...
The black Zaku Phantom shoved the Slash Zaku Phantom aside with one hand. In that same instant, a spherical wormhole emerged, consuming half of the black machine's body.
"Dea—"
Yzak recognized that Zaku Phantom immediately—it was Dearka's unit. Just as he had been celebrating his survival, Dearka had saved him a second time... at a cost. With half its body gone, Dearka's Zaku Phantom could no longer fight—its cockpit now exposed, revealing Dearka himself.
Yzak nearly cried out, but remembering [Blue Wolf]'s fate, he swallowed his words. Without hesitation, he grabbed the wreckage of Dearka's machine and sped toward the three warships.
As for the gap left by their retreat, Gundam Virtue—the closest to their position—shifted sideways to cover the opening within its firing range.
"BOOM—!"
A torrent of energy split the sky, cleaving the air in two. As Gundam Virtue rotated, its sweeping barrage annihilated multiple enemy units.
"Tch."
Tieria cursed under his breath, frustrated that the results fell short of expectations. But he dared not speak further, maintaining maximum speed while clearing enemies with his beam cannons.
"This can't go on, Yang Hui!" Lyle, now defending three positions alone, felt the mounting pressure and couldn't help glancing toward Dawn Gundam's location.
Meanwhile, Dawn Gundam continued weaving through a relentless barrage of spherical wormholes, its bits scattering recklessly to eliminate enemy after enemy.
Whether it was years of honed tacit understanding or his Brain Quantum Waves detecting Lyle's thoughts, Dawn Gundam locked eyes with Gundam Cherudim mid-dodge—and nodded. Then...
"TRANS-AM!" X4
The Dawn Gundam, Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue simultaneously turned crimson, their GN Particles billowing out more densely than ever. The four mobile suits left long afterimages as they weaved through enemy forces like phantoms.
"Is this... their trump card? Trans-Am!"
"Trans-Am!" x2
Witnessing Yang Hui and the others activate their Trans-Am System, Kira, Athrun, and Creuset immediately followed suit. Their mobile suits turned red as their Quasi-GN Drives spun at maximum output, GN Particles pouring out recklessly while they vanished in streaks of light.
Seven elite aces activating the Trans-Am System simultaneously created a terrifying effect—the remaining enemy forces, which had numbered over half their original strength, were being wiped out at visible speed.
"All units, assist the ships in clearing assimilated ground forces. Exia, Cherudim, Virtue—with me to eliminate the enemy commander!"
"Roger!" xN
The electronic command reached everyone instantly. After the last enemy machine was destroyed, all units except the designated trio turned their weapons groundward. Beams, shells, missiles—every available projectile rained down in a storm of explosions. Within the fiery blasts, countless small black wormholes flickered briefly—each representing one assimilated human eliminated.
Meanwhile, the four Gundams arrived before the Royal Astray Gundam. Immediately, Dawn's bits, Cherudim's beam shots, and Virtue's beam cannons converged on its position. Flames, explosions, dust, shattered debris, and shockwaves instantly engulfed the Royal Astray Gundam.
The devastating assault, a cataclysm of energy, should theoretically have annihilated anything in its path. Yet the pilots remained vigilant, constantly shifting positions even as they attacked.
As expected—yet still shocking—the counterattack came not as spherical wormholes, but as pure black streaks. Flowing like whips, sharp as blades.
"What?!"
Two streaks sliced through fire and smoke, even parting the air with a piercing "zizz" as they lightning-struck toward Exia and Virtue.
"So fast!" Tieria gasped, desperately maneuvering Virtue to evade. But speed had always been Virtue's weakness. The black light's attack was too swift—even with Trans-Am active, Virtue couldn't fully dodge. As evasion became impossible, Tieria deployed Virtue's proud GN Field defensively. Yet...
"Shhk—"
The black streak pierced the GN Field like a hot knife through butter, cleanly severing Virtue's right arm in one smooth motion.
"What?!"
Tieria's expression darkened. He'd always held absolute confidence in GN Drives and Particles. Now, facing the festum's attack, his defenses had been breached without resistance—a crushing blow to his convictions.
"Fall back!"
The Gundam Virtue had lost an arm and half its weaponry, significantly weakening its combat strength. Its performance had also degraded considerably, making it difficult to maneuver against the Royal Astray Gundam's attack speed. It would be better to return to the ship for repairs and resupply before rejoining the battle.
Meanwhile, the Gundam Exia, targeted as the other objective, managed to evade the lightning-fast attacks thanks to its superior mobility and Setsuna's innate reflexes. However, even he was shocked when the Gundam Virtue's GN Field was sliced apart in an instant.
"Spherical wormhole deformation." Yang Hui's expression darkened as he observed the Royal Astray Gundam emerging through the parted smoke. The massive sword in its hands had split into two single-handed blades, each edge now enveloped in a black light wormhole. The shimmering energy trailing from them was unmistakably a deformed spherical wormhole.
From his knowledge of Soukyuu no Fafner, spherical wormhole deformation attacks only appeared in later stages. Any festum capable of using such attacks was far beyond grunt-level. Which meant...
The Dawn Gundam signaled to the Gundam Exia and Gundam Cherudim. Understanding immediately, both Mobile Suits vanished from their positions in the blink of an eye.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "TLGod" on Patreon!"
Thanks!