Athrun's actions were purely born from love turning into hatred.
From his love for Kira grew hatred for the Assault Suit.
Due to previous misunderstandings, the moment he saw the Assault Suit, he immediately thought of it as "the product of the Earth Alliance exploiting Kira" and "the fruit of Kira's blood and sweat." His mind conjured images of how his once pure and kind best friend Kira had been mercilessly exploited to create this thing.
His anger boiled over uncontrollably.
In the original story, Athrun's mindset was probably similar to now, but back then, Kira was piloting the Assault Suit, so he couldn't bring himself to attack it, protecting it fiercely all the way.
Now that the Assault Suit was no longer tied to Kira, he stopped holding back and charged forward like a mad dog, relentlessly targeting the Assault Suit—though his primary goal was the Archangel, he hadn't lost his sanity. To attack the Archangel, the Assault Suit was a hurdle he had to overcome.
After breaking through the Archangel's defense line with a standard shield block and beam rifle shots, he immediately deployed the Beam Sabers from the mechanical claw blades on his arms, crossing them as he slashed toward Lu Tianming.
"Use the greatsword to face him head-on! We have the reach advantage—no fear!"
Lu Tianming shouted while pushing the control stick and giving instructions.
Xia Chuan, already in sync with him, leaped into action the moment he received the order. Without regard for Athrun's moves, he swung the massive Armor Schneider horizontally, aiming to slice the Aegis in half.
Longer reach means greater advantage—we have the upper hand now!
Seeing the Armor Schneider coming straight at him, Athrun clicked his tongue in frustration. He had intended to use the Aegis's mobility to catch the Assault Suit off guard. If he could seize the initiative, the Assault Suit would struggle to counterattack with its cumbersome greatsword.
But seeing the opponent neither flinching nor evading, instead retaliating with a heavy slash in a clear intent to trade blows, he knew his gamble had failed.
If he collided head-on, he'd be sliced in two before his Combat Knife could even reach the enemy.
So he didn't persist. With a sharp twist of the control stick and a press of a button, the Aegis smoothly transformed into Mobile Armor mode. Using the momentum from earlier, it veered off, narrowly dodging the attack and brushing past the Assault Suit.
Seeing the Aegis retreat, Lu Tianming didn't give chase hastily—the Aegis's mobility was among the best in the G Series. Without long-range weapons, pursuit would be futile.
Especially in Mobile Armor mode, where the unit transformed into a streamlined, aircraft-like form, its speed was exceptionally fast.
It was better to hold their ground and coordinate with the Archangel for combined long and short-range attacks, maximizing their chances of victory.
—But the enemy clearly had other plans.
Just as the Assault Suit was about to land back on the Archangel's deck, a GINN equipped with a heavy particle cannon fired a shot from a distance, targeting its landing trajectory.
Lu Tianming reversed thrusters, halting abruptly in mid-air to avoid the heavy particle cannon's blast range. But the enemy had no intention of letting the Assault Suit off—two more consecutive shots followed, sealing off its escape routes and perfectly coordinating with the Aegis, which had turned around and was charging back from behind the Assault Suit.
"Damn Earth Alliance, just fall already!"
An increasingly frantic Athrun, almost blinded by rage, charged at the Assault Suit. He was desperate to eliminate it quickly, neutralize the Archangel, and ensure Kira's safety.
The longer this dragged on, the higher the risk of Kira being accidentally injured...
At this thought, his heart burned with anxiety. Combined with the fact that the Assault Suit was now trapped in friendly forces' blockade, this was the perfect moment to seize the opportunity and capture it in one go!
The Aegis in Mobile Armor form suddenly extended its four Mechanical Claws, lunging forward like a predatory octopus!
"Damn it! Athrun is going to use that move!"
Xia Chuan urgently exclaimed. He didn't need to think to know what Athrun intended—using the four Mechanical Claws to grab the enemy, then piercing through them directly with the central Siren Beast Cannon. This was the Aegis's signature technique!
Once caught, it was almost equivalent to a death sentence!
But now, there was simply no way to evade. After dodging two heavy particle cannons, the distance between the two mobile suits was less than ten meters, leaving almost no room for avoidance!
Lu Tianming didn't speak, instead biting his lower lip lightly, his eyes bloodshot—the strain of continuous combat was beginning to affect his physical condition and emotions. He had neither the mood nor the spare capacity to respond to Xia Chuan.
But his attitude was clear—if he couldn't dodge, then damn it, he wouldn't!
He twisted the control stick halfway and slammed the propulsion pedal to the floor. The Assault Suit abruptly turned sideways, using its forearm shield as protection as it charged straight toward the Aegis.
You want to grab me? I'll come to you myself! Let's see if you can catch me!
"What?!"
Athrun was startled. He hadn't expected Lu Tianming to charge forward instead of retreating.
But he quickly realized Lu Tianming's intent. Although the Siren Beast Cannon was powerful, it was also at its most vulnerable just before firing—the cannon's muzzle was almost completely unprotected, exposing its weakest point to the enemy!
The Assault Suit charging at full force, the Aegis sprinting at top speed—coupled with the mere ten meters of buffer between them, the outcome was inevitable.
Boom!
The two mobile suits collided like crashing cars. The unprepared Aegis was sent spinning and plummeting downward, while the Assault Suit, shielded by its Shield, sustained noticeably less damage—though it was still thrown backward by the impact before gradually coming to a stop.
"...This guy is way too daring."
On the Bridge of the Archangel, Mu, who was assisting there, couldn't help but marvel at the Assault Suit's risky collision.
But to come up with a solution in such a situation—this guy really kept his cool under pressure, showing the potential of an ace pilot.
He was about to say that this very risk had bought them a buffer opportunity—when he saw the GINN that had just fired at Lu Tianming discard its particle cannon and charge toward the still-staggered Assault Suit, attempting a sneak attack.
"Archangel, can't you provide fire support for the Assault Suit?!"
Murrue asked anxiously. Although the GINN's weapons couldn't penetrate the Assault Suit's defenses, they could buy time for the Aegis to launch another attack.
If this cycle couldn't be broken, the Assault Suit might remain trapped in this perilous state.
"Impossible! The Archangel is already struggling to defend itself right now!"
Badgiruel bit her lower lip and replied—she wished for Lu Tianming's safety more than anyone, but at this moment, they were truly powerless.
Many of the Archangel's weapons couldn't effectively aim or lock on, relying solely on the automated operating system for interception.
In such a situation, the Archangel could only barely manage to deal with the harassment from another GINN—as if to confirm her words, a missile coincidentally struck the Archangel, causing a violent shudder.
"What about the Zero? It should be repaired by now after all this time! If the wire-guided cannons can't be fixed, forget them! Just make sure the main unit is operational!"
Mu clicked his tongue lightly and pressed on.
"In that case, it can sortie immediately!"
Hearing this, Mu felt a wave of relief—at least Lu Tianming wouldn't have to bear the pressure alone.
Just as he turned to rush toward the hangar, a sudden cry came from behind:
"The Assault Suit is being pinned down again!"
He spun around to look and saw that the Aegis had learned its lesson this time, combining its four mechanical claws into one, making the entire machine drill forward like a bore. Meanwhile, the GINN maintained its distance, harassing from mid-range—retreating when the Assault Suit charged forward, then pursuing with missiles, heavy swords, and machine guns the moment it turned away, creating an opening for the Aegis to launch a surprise attack.
Watching the Assault Suit fall into another encirclement, Mu grew frantic. He stepped forward and snatched the communication terminal's phone:
"Tianming, evade their assault, evade it! I'll be there to support you soon! Just create distance for now—even if you take a hit, it's fine. The Assault Suit can withstand it!"
With that, he turned and dashed into the corridor behind the bridge, sprinting with all his might toward the hangar.
Completely missing Lu Tianming's ensuing furious roar, which sounded almost deranged:
"Evade their assault?!"