"Nicol!" "You bastard, how dare you attack Nicol...!"
Luther naturally didn't reveal that he had actually gone easy on Nicol, for whom he held some 'favor,' in response to Dearka and Yzak's panicked shouts over the public channel. Instead, he dialed up the mockery.
"Though you call yourselves Coordinators, in the end, you're nothing more than Oldtypes! How foolish to try such petty tricks before a Newtype! But don't worry, you're next!"
Faster than Luther's deliberate taunts were his continuous assault maneuvers in the 'Time Observer':
First, Luther had the Funnels, which had long finished charging but were held in reserve, fire a semi-volley of three from each side. The sudden surge in firepower easily disrupted the furious, full-force covering fire from the Buster Gundam under Dearka's control—which, compared to Creuset's, seemed as clumsy as a disabled person—causing two or three significant points of damage and outright destroying its 94mm High-Energy Converging Rifle.
Next, Luther maneuvered the 'Time Observer,' effortlessly dodging the Beam Saber strike from the Duel Gundam piloted by Yzak—which, fueled by rage, appeared full of openings in Luther's eyes—and still managed to slash the Duel Gundam's left shoulder with a Heat Hawk despite Yzak's desperate evasion. Following up, he 'washed the face' of the Duel Gundam's head with the Zaku Machine Gun, then delivered a Zaku Kick to its shield, worsening the left shoulder damage and kicking both the Duel Gundam and Yzak away.
Just as he was about to deploy the other half of the Funnels for a finishing blow, Luther had to execute a drastic evasive maneuver to avoid the 580mm "Scylla" Multi-Phase Energy Cannon precisely fired by the Aegis Gundam. Athrun, having sortied again from the Vesalius and seeing the critical situation, had transformed into Mobile Armor Mode.
"Athrun, are you trying to take me out too?!"
"Yzak, retreat! I'll handle this here!"
In response to Yzak's unreasonable outburst after nearly losing his life and his damaged mobile suit, Athrun calmly offered a 'suggestion,' which clearly wounded Yzak's pride.
"Don't order me around! We're equals! I can still fight! Dearka, cover me!"
"That's right, just like that! Don't run off like your cowardly Captain Creuset! I'm just getting started here!"
Instead of Athrun, who knew Yzak's temperament well and thus remained silent, it was Luther who responded to Yzak with a fresh wave of sarcasm.
Having just suffered a major loss from Luther, with many of the Duel Gundam's observation and targeting systems now malfunctioning, Yzak also found himself at a loss for words this time.
In the end, Yzak could only let out a furious shout and, ignoring the Duel Gundam's 'minor issues' and the injury to its left arm, charge forward again, firing his 57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle while stewing in silent rage.
On the other side, after being rescued by Dearka in his equally damaged Buster Gundam, the momentarily dazed Nicol and his damaged Blitz Gundam neither retreated alone nor attempted another sneak attack using the "Mirage Colloid" System. Instead, they used the 50mm High-Energy Beam Rifle in the Assault Shroud to provide covering fire for Yzak and the Duel Gundam at the forefront.
With his main weapons damaged and his primary means of attack lost, Dearka's Buster Gundam attempted to provide fire support for Yzak and the Duel Gundam using the 350mm Anti-Armor Shot Launcher and the 6-Tube 220mm Missile Pod.
Seeing the situation from the rear, Athrun, whose Aegis Gundam could not immediately reuse the 580mm "Scylla" Multi-Phase Energy Cannon, decisively transformed completely into Mobile Armor Mode to close the distance at high speed, all the while contemplating how to best intervene.
Even though the situation had become a simultaneous confrontation with the four elite pilots and their four Gundams, Luther was naturally undaunted. He was long accustomed to fighting outnumbered in exercises and simulations, and his own machine, the Newtype-Use Custom Machine 'Time Observer', possessed performance that was not inferior to a Gundam.
Against the missiles fired by the Buster Gundam, Luther effortlessly shot them down one by one using either the Zaku Machine Gun or his Funnels.
As for the Duel and Blitz Gundams, both were damaged, and the current shooting skills of Yzak and Nicol were merely at the level of proficient pilots. Thus, the beam rifle fire from these two Gundams, which were not particularly known for their firepower to begin with, could only slightly restrict Luther's tactical maneuvers.
As the Duel Gundam closed in to melee combat distance again under covering fire, a natural opening appeared when it attempted to lower its sole remaining right arm, holster the 57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle, and draw its Beam Saber. Luther naturally seized the opportunity without hesitation, piloting the 'Time Observer' to draw its Heat Hawk, ready to strike the Duel Gundam once more.
Although Yzak barely managed to evade the Heat Hawk, Luther immediately followed up with a skilled Zaku Kick. Yzak once again narrowly avoided a hit to the chest cockpit, but his remaining right arm was struck, suffering mechanical damage. This essentially rendered him combat ineffective.
As for the "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS on the Duel Gundam's head, which continued firing at full capacity even as the mobile suit was knocked back and sent flying, most of its shots were evaded under Luther's control. The few that did hit only succeeded in adding to the maintenance crew's paint touch-up workload.
After all, although it lacked Phase Shift Armor, Luther's 'Time Observer' was constructed from smuggled Luna Titanium Alloy—also known as Gundanium Armor. The same model of CIWS used on the Duel Gundam, also found on the Strike Gundam, struggled to penetrate even a GINN's armor. Firepower of this level posed no threat whatsoever to the 'Time Observer'.
Therefore, after kicking the Duel Gundam away for the second time, Luther piloted the 'Time Observer' to pursue once more, intending to shoot down Yzak for good before Athrun in the Aegis Gundam could arrive.
In this moment of crisis for the Duel Gundam and Yzak, Athrun, piloting the Aegis Gundam in its Mobile Armor Mode, fearlessly intervened at full speed, forcibly inserting himself between the two machines that had once again closed to melee range. With the Beam Sabers on its four limbs swinging in a chaotic yet controlled pattern, he barely managed to repel Luther and the 'Time Observer'.
"Izak, your mobile suit is done for, retreat now!"
"Tch! I'll remember this grudge. Next time we meet, you better be ready!"
In the Duel Gundam's cockpit, with warning alarms blaring incessantly, Yzak finally stopped being stubborn. After leaving that harsh remark, he shook off the support of the Aegis Gundam, which had reverted to Mobile Suit Mode, and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, during the intense battle earlier, the Buster Gundam had exhausted all available ammunition in its efforts to cover Yzak and the Duel Gundam. Thus, Dearka also turned his machine around, preparing to escort Yzak's retreat.
As for the Blitz Gundam, under Nicol's control, it continued holding up its Assault Shroud to maintain suppressive fire while moving closer to the Aegis Gundam, ready to coordinate with Athrun for a pincer attack.
However, Luther had no intention of playing along with the four aces' plans. After all, compared to Nicol, Luther felt absolutely no psychological burden about shooting down Yzak.