"Heat source detected… It's a CGUE!"
Mu clicked his tongue. "Tch. So they were hiding more after all."
As the Archangel turned and charged toward the Nazca-class, a CGUE accompanied by three GINNs burst out of the Nazca-class once again.
Without question, this was ZAFT's reserve force.
"Lohengrin, prepare to fire!"
Whatever else happened, they might as well open with a Lohengrin blast.
With AI correction, Lohengrin's hit rate had improved by an absurd degree.
Even so, cold sweat still streamed down Murrue's forehead.
Charging straight at Creuset's flagship was an extremely risky move.
"Boom!"
But at that very moment, the Archangel came under attack.
"Nani?!"
"Attack from above! Orange GINN—it's the Magic Bullet of Dusk!"
"Damn it, the Magic Bullet of Dusk has us pinned down!"
Kira could only hold off the three Gundams.
Kira was strong, but her current situation was basically the world's number one fighting the combined attack of numbers two, three, and four with worse equipment, while the other side had better gear on top of that.
The fact that she could still keep them suppressed was already incredible.
That left the other GINNs free to surround the Archangel completely.
Just then, the hatch opened again.
Flay. Again.
"Huh?"
Flay dragged Lacus in by force. Her face was deathly pale, while only her eyes shone with a sick, vicious light.
"—I'm going to kill this woman!"
Flay screamed at the top of her lungs.
Everyone on the bridge froze.
"If you dare attack my dad, I'll kill her! Go tell them that!"
Flay shrieked like a wild beast.
But it was already too late.
On the Archangel's monitor, Yzak had already aimed his gun at the escape pod.
Then—
One shot blew it apart.
"No… no! No!"
Flay screamed.
This time…
She truly had nothing left.
Overcome by dizziness, Flay lost consciousness on the spot. Her body drifted in the zero-gravity environment until Lacus caught her.
"No!"
Kira's eyes went wide.
—How could this happen?!
Why?!
They were so close!
The Archangel had just sent a signal saying they would break out after recovering the escape pod!
So why did it turn out like this?!
"Idiot!"
After the escape pod exploded, the Strike facing him suddenly froze in place.
Perfect!
Yzak raised Duel's beam saber again—
"Enemy unit detected! A new GINN?!"
Things were bad aboard the Archangel too.
The two Laurasia-class ships launched more GINNs.
These were the last GINNs the enemy had.
Creuset Team had finally thrown everything it had into the fight.
"Come on, there are still more?!"
Cold sweat poured down Mu's face.
At that moment, Natarle made up her mind as well. She grabbed Lacus and prepared to transmit on an open channel.
"—Announcement."
But another voice suddenly spoke first.
"The Archangel is currently sheltering refugees from a neutral nation. If you intend to continue attacking the Archangel, first allow the Archangel to release the refugees and take them into your custody."
It was Inori's voice.
"The Gundam Astray Blue Frame is back?!"
Murrue looked forward.
Just moments earlier, as Duel was about to slash the Strike, a beam had struck Duel directly from behind.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Yzak made Duel back up two steps as he searched for the enemy.
"Warning. This unit has insufficient energy. If you do not comply with instructions, this unit will take decisive measures."
"Huh?"
Kira, still lost in grief and emptiness, suddenly heard that voice.
She immediately realized it was Inori.
Then an ominous feeling rose in her chest.
"Inori! Inori!"
Kira tried to contact her.
But the communications system had been damaged by the earlier attacks.
"It's that one! The blue machine!"
Buster spotted the machine.
The blue Astray.
"…Wait! Inori! Wait!"
Kira sensed what was coming.
The so-called "announcement" had startled them.
Even so, ZAFT's soldiers paid it no heed.
"Refugees from a neutral nation? You think a trick like that will save your lives?!"
"Pathetic, Naturals!"
"Die!"
"Even if they're refugees, they deserve it!"
"You were the ones who chose to cooperate with the Earth Alliance first!"
The Blue Frame had come from behind and was very close to the two Laurasia-class ships and three GINNs.
Even now, the blue machine was still advancing at high speed.
At that moment, the GINNs charged it.
The Blue Frame effortlessly evaded their attacks. At the same time, its wire-guided gunbarrel pod fired three rounds in succession.
"Bang!"
The cockpit was hit directly.
There was no way to evade.
"Nani?! Isn't that the Strike's move?!"
When Yzak saw that terrifying maneuver, he immediately realized something was wrong.
Wasn't that kind of movement supposed to belong to the Strike?
No. No, that was wrong. Very wrong!
The Strike was moving differently today than it had before!
"Negotiations have broken down. Assessment: Master is currently in danger."
"Assessment: peaceful resolution is impossible."
"Assessment: Annihilation Mode, activate."
This was no longer the minor skirmishing from before.
This was true annihilation.
"Murrue-san."
A moment later, Murrue received a transmission from Inori.
"Inori-san, you're back?! Um, what about Cagalli? No, wait, right now—"
"—I need Authorization."
Inori said it plainly.
"What?"
Murrue did not understand.
"I need Authorization to access the Archangel."
"What are you planning to do?!" Murrue asked.
"Execute the Annihilation Directive. The Archangel is capable of executing it."
Access Privileges?
What exactly were Access Privileges?
"…The Archangel can be saved, right?" Murrue asked.
"Yes. Cagalli-san has already been rescued. She is waiting outside the battlefield."
The Gold Frame had no combat capability left at the moment.
"Understood. I… authorize you… to temporarily take control of the Archangel until the battle ends."
"Understood."
In an instant, every control panel in front of Murrue stopped responding.
CIC lost control as well.
The defensive barrage the Archangel had maintained continuously ceased as well.
"Here's my chance!"
Miguel's eyes lit up the instant he saw the Archangel stop firing.
He charged in again, attempting another attack.
But at that moment, the Archangel's silent guns suddenly fired.
It was not a barrage. It was not even a burst of attacks. Instead, several shots seemed to appear at random points in space.
"Idiot!"
Miguel easily evaded the first shot and prepared to fire.
Then he discovered that he had somehow moved directly into the path of the second shot and had no choice but to evade again.
But by then, his GINN had already been thrown off balance.
"Nani?!"
When the third round appeared, Miguel had nowhere left to evade.
"Bang!"
The Archangel's shell punched straight through the GINN's cockpit…
"Miguel?!"
"…Miguel!"