The Scylla's bombardment directly pierced through the outer wall of the space colony. Combined with Athrun's evasive maneuver to avoid the cannon fire... the entire colony was torn open with a massive fissure under this dual impact.
The pressure differential between inside and outside collapsed, and the rushing atmospheric pressure hammered down upon the Aegis and Assault Suit, pushing both mobile suits toward the void of space—and Athrun seized this opportunity to charge forward again.
"Earth Alliance MS—I will end you here!"
Athrun gripped the control sticks tightly, his eyes fixed on the Assault Suit on the screen as if they might bleed.
Having caused the deaths of two teammates in succession... this hatred was not something easily dismissed.
Knowing that the Mobile Armor's ambush tactics were no longer effective against the Assault Suit, Athrun abandoned mobility altogether and shifted directly to close-quarters combat to seek an opening.
The crimson Aegis, instead of stabilizing to avoid losing control, rode the atmospheric current to launch a sudden burst forward, its two amber Beam Sabers slashing down in a furious assault!
"Damn, is this guy insane?! So desperate to chop us up?"
Xia Chuan was startled by the frenzied aggression. At that speed, any miscalculation—crashing into the colony wall or nearby debris—would likely knock out the pilot, even if the PS Armor kept the mobile suit intact.
Lu Tianming clicked his tongue softly, a fierce glint in his eyes. He stomped his foot, activating the Wings of Light to stabilize the mobile suit while preparing to counter with a thrust of his own blade. But then the Aegis seemed to jolt as if struck by something.
The rapidly advancing crimson frame lost balance completely, its offensive posture collapsing as the entire mobile suit shot past the Assault Suit like a meteor, hurtling deep into space.
"Hey, was that covering fire timely enough?"
A gruff voice came over the comms, slightly breathless and tinged with relief—it was Mu, who had rushed to provide support.
Xia Chuan instinctively glanced toward the Moebius Zero—it hadn't even been fully equipped, carrying only two Wire-guided Cannons on each side in its hasty deployment.
"Sorry I couldn't back you up when you needed it most."
Mu's tone carried clear regret... after all, he hadn't been there during the toughest part of the earlier encirclement, and now firing a single shot at the end made him seem like he was just padding his record.
"No worries, perfect timing beats early arrival any day."
Lu Tianming replied with tactful humor.
And he wasn't wrong... continuing to trade blows with that mad dog Athrun would have been troublesome, especially with the risk of him activating burst mode if not taken down in one strike.
Given the circumstances, this might have been the optimal outcome.
As that thought crossed his mind, he glanced back—the Aegis showed no signs of returning, probably due to depleted energy.
Wait... energy?
"Damn it, Xia Chuan, we're at the energy warning level! Get back now!"
Seeing the energy gauge nearing empty, Lu Tianming quickly cut off the comms with Mu and urged Xia Chuan while maneuvering his own mobile suit to retreat.
"Huh? I didn't realize—"
Xia Chuan had been too engrossed in the fight to monitor energy consumption. The moment he spoke, the cockpit abruptly darkened with a sharp click.
The PS Armor on the Assault Suit faded almost instantly, and the Wings of Light behind it dissipated in an instant. The entire machine, like a soulless puppet, drifted into space under the force of air pressure.
Mu, watching from the side, froze for a moment before letting out a helpless laugh:
"Pfft... Looks like this guy went too hard and forgot to check his remaining battery."
He then pressed a button nearby, opening a communication channel with the Archangel:
"Perfect timing. Let's head out and retrieve the Assault Suit—after all, this space colony is already in shambles from the earlier battle."
——————————————
Lu Tianming lay sprawled in the cockpit of the Assault Suit, watching the disintegrating space colony through the display.
Although the PS Armor had run out of energy, the Assault Suit itself could still move—but seeing the Archangel heading out as well, he didn't see much point in making the effort to return.
It was nice to just relax and enjoy the view.
"Compared to animations, seeing a space colony collapse with your own eyes feels completely different..."
Xia Chuan couldn't help but muse aloud.
The massive space colony, riddled with holes from the earlier battle, was gradually breaking apart due to air pressure leaks and structural damage. Mechanical components drifted away from the central axis like layers of bamboo shoots being peeled.
Some escape pods, detecting the colony's collapse, began ejecting outward. These pods would be launched to nearby areas or elsewhere, sending out distress signals.
The escape pods weren't particularly spacious—cramped interiors packed with people and limited resources, with no view of the outside... Waiting aimlessly for rescue in such conditions was its own unique torment.
How many of them would actually be rescued in that state?
Lu Tianming couldn't say.
Perhaps that was part of why he hadn't chosen to hide in an escape pod initially, opting instead to risk seizing the Assault Suit.
"Hey Lao Lu, look at that escape pod shooting out—like the colony's shedding its seeds or something."
Xia Chuan's sudden dumb remark completely broke Lu Tianming's train of thought.
"...You look at this grand scene and all you can think of is 'shedding seeds'?"
Lu Tianming facepalmed. The problem was, now that Xia Chuan mentioned it, the more he looked, the more accurate the comparison seemed. Any sense of tragic grandeur vanished from Lu Tianming's heart, replaced by an urge to laugh.
"Just admit I'm right... Hey, how should we count our battle results this time? I took down two, so I should get MVP, right?"
Xia Chuan suddenly remembered their pre-battle agreement—something about the MVP getting to be "dad."
"Why are you so hung up on that kill score system? It dehumanizes people's contributions, don't you get it?"
"Come on, count on your fingers how many times I saved you with positioning. What do you even know besides forward slashing—"
Lu Tianming crossed his arms and immediately launched into a battle recap with Xia Chuan.
At first, Xia Chuan retorted smugly: "What's wrong with forward slashing? Doesn't it take skill? I refuse to believe I contributed nothing!"
But after going through the entire recap, he realized... aside from forward slashing and activating the Wings of Light during Awakening, he really hadn't done much else.
Whether it was using the Shield to block Scylla or employing the Rocket Anchor to grab a human shield, both seemed to be Lu Tianming's responsibilities.
The kid was sweating bullets now. Originally intending to shift blame, he had instead ended up being held accountable like a scolded son.
Just as he stammered, preparing to continue his excuses, a sudden alarm sounded. The two—or rather, one human and one machine—immediately ceased their argument and simultaneously turned to look in the direction of the alarm.
Only to see... a life pod flying straight toward them?
Lu Tianming stared at the life pod heading right for his face, then recalled Xia Chuan's earlier analogy. He couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Xia Chuan? How come this 'son' of yours is being flung right back at your face?"