Cracks spiderwebbed across the Ghost Night's armor, and crimson gas hissed from the fractures, a visual testament to the strain the machine was enduring.
"What's going on?" Hayato, Reika, and Sakura simultaneously voiced their unease, a shared sense of foreboding settling upon them as they observed the Ghost Night's unsettling transformation. Their years of combat experience had instilled in them an intuitive understanding of impending danger.
Tarou Sayama, fixated on the data displayed on his left screen, watched in grim fascination as the Ghost Night's performance metrics surged. The word "Enhancement" flashed prominently above the mobile suit's schematic, confirming his suspicions.
Inside the cockpit, the operating computer worked feverishly, calculations cascading across the display as the power system, thrusters, and every other component of the Ghost Night were pushed to their absolute limits.
"Let's see just how potent this Enhancement function truly is," Tarou Sayama muttered, a predatory glint in his eye as he prepared to unleash the Ghost Night's newfound power.
With a burst of previously unseen speed, the Ghost Night lunged toward Hayato's Thunderbolt Gundam, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
"So fast!" Hayato exclaimed, caught off guard by the Ghost Night's sudden acceleration.
The Ghost Night reached the Thunderbolt Gundam in an instant.
The Ghost Night immediately drew a Beam Saber and swept it toward the Thunderbolt Gundam's waist.
The Thunderbolt Gundam blocked with its Beam Saber.
"What?!" Hayato exclaimed, an alarm blaring in his cockpit. The data showed that the enemy MS's output far surpassed his, and the Gundam's arm output load was nearing its limit.
The Fujimoto sisters immediately came to his rescue.
The Ghost Night immediately lifted its leg and kicked the Thunderbolt Gundam away, then instantly avoided the shots from the two Gundams.
"Damn it, it's too fast, I can't aim at all." Reika said.
"Damn it, what kind of MS is this? It's practically cheating." Sakura followed.
Had Hayato not been securely strapped into the Thunderbolt Gundam's cockpit, the force of the kick would have sent him tumbling violently. Even so, he felt a sharp tightness in his chest, a consequence of the sudden impact.
Hayato suppressed the discomfort in his chest, immediately controlled his Gundam to regain balance, and then rushed to support his companions.
The Ghost Night rushed in front of the RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4, slashing its Beam Saber downwards. The RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4 used its Beam Saber to block the attack.
"Damn it, he's completely suppressing us." Reika said.
Sakura immediately rushed to rescue her older sister.
The Ancestral Gundam Five held its Beam Saber and swung it at the other side of the Ghost Night.
The Ghost Night drew another Beam Saber with its other hand and blocked the Ancestral Gundam Five's swinging Beam Saber.
"How is that possible?!" Both sisters exclaimed at the same time.
The Ghost Night held a Beam Saber in each hand, blocking the combined attack of the two Gundams.
What shocked the two girls even more was that their two Gundams were being suppressed by the opponent.
The Ghost Night suddenly moved to the side, and a Beam ray sliced through the spot where the Ghost Night had just been.
Hayato had arrived to provide support.
The Ghost Night fully engaged its thrusters, rapidly rushing in front of the Thunderbolt Gundam, instantly circling to its rear.
"Die!"
The Ghost Night's two Beam Sabers slashed directly in an X-shape.
Fortunately, the Thunderbolt Gundam had a pair of shield attachments, which temporarily blocked the Beam Sabers, allowing Hayato to escape immediately.
The pair of shields were cut in half, and Hayato pressed a button to discard the remaining two half-shields.
The Fujimoto sisters only arrived at this moment.
"This speed and agility are too fast." Reika said.
"A mere Pirate Group actually possesses such an advanced MS." Sakura followed.
"Here he comes." Hayato said.
The three of them focused intensely, not daring to make the slightest mistake.
The Ghost Night, like a crimson meteor, rapidly rushed towards the three Gundams, able to instantly change direction.
The three Gundams were suppressed, unable to help each other.
The RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4 had its left leg cut off, the Ancestral Gundam Five had its right arm severed, and the Thunderbolt Gundam had all its mounted weapons destroyed.
The Pirate Group leader had suddenly gained the upper hand, which should have greatly boosted the morale of the other pirates, but unfortunately, several other Gundams had already charged into their ranks, wreaking havoc, causing many of them not to notice the leader's current situation.
Tarou Sayama, who had gained the upper hand, looked extremely excited. As he was about to destroy several Gundams, an alarm suddenly blared, and he saw a Beam ray heading towards him from above. He immediately moved the control stick to dodge the Beam ray.
He saw another Gundam rushing towards him.
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't that kid being a bit overconfident?" Tarou said.
The GP01 Gundam Zephyranthes, holding a shield in one hand and a Beam Saber in the other, charged towards the Ghost Night.
The Ghost Night, as before, rushed towards the Gundam Zephyranthes like a crimson meteor. As it closed in on its opponent, it instantly circled behind it, preparing for a decisive blow.
Hayato and the others wanted to help, but the distance was too great, and the two MS were so close together that none of the three dared to shoot.
They could only watch helplessly as their companion was taken down by the enemy.
But what happened next almost made their eyes pop out.
The moment the Ghost Night circled behind the Gundam Zephyranthes, the Gundam Zephyranthes also moved instantly, turning around and sweeping its Beam Saber horizontally towards the Ghost Night's cockpit.
The Ghost Night had to use one Beam Saber to block the Beam Saber. The Gundam Zephyranthes fired its 60mm Vulcan Cannons from its head, momentarily affecting the opponent's screen, then used its shield to block the opponent's other Beam Saber, and finally lifted a leg to kick the Ghost Night's cockpit.
Fortunately, the Ghost Night's cockpit was quite sturdy, otherwise Tarou Sayama inside would have been flattened.
Tarou Sayama was instantly bewildered. He thought the Enhancement function had stopped, but upon checking, he saw it still had one minute remaining.
"This guy just got lucky." Tarou Sayama felt it was just a momentary mistake on his part and immediately charged towards the Gundam Zephyranthes.
The subsequent battle made Tarou Sayama's jaw drop.
As the two MS engaged in close combat, they crossed paths multiple times, neither side gaining the upper hand.
Tarou Sayama's forehead was constantly beaded with cold sweat, and the more he fought, the more alarmed he became. He couldn't imagine his opponent; if his Enhancement function were to end, he didn't know how miserably he would die.
Suddenly, the Zephyranthes Gundam retreated to the side.
Tarou Sayama didn't immediately understand what was happening, but then he saw a light in front of his screen and heard an even more intense alarm blaring in his cockpit, with the light in front of the screen growing larger and larger.
He realized he was locked on and couldn't dodge, so he could only immediately use the particle cannon on the Ghost Night's right shoulder.
Two Beam speeds collided.
The alarm blaring in the cockpit informed Tarou Sayama that the Ghost Night's particle cannon thrust was inferior to the opponent's, and the Beam heading towards him had already broken through his particle cannon.
Tarou Sayama immediately moved the control stick to make the Ghost Night evade to the side. The massive Beam grazed past him, but its intense heat directly melted the particle cannon on the Ghost Night's right shoulder, and a portion of the right shoulder armor also melted away.
Tarou Sayama felt a chill down his spine. If he had been a little slower just now, he would have definitely been engulfed by that powerful Beam. Checking the Ghost Night's current status on the side screen, its right shoulder was damaged, and its responsiveness was weakened.
The alarm blared again.
The Gundam Zephyranthes was attacking him again.
Fortunately, the Gundam Zephyranthes only had one Beam Saber, which prevented him from being at a disadvantage due to his inflexible right shoulder.
However, after several close-quarters engagements, the Ghost Night's Enhancement function officially ended.
"This is bad!"