Not far from Tartaria's coastline, a one-on-one battle was taking place on what should have been a vast, empty expanse of sea, surrounded by nearly ten MS units.
The combatants were a black modified Flag and Celestial Being's Exia Gundam. Nearly ten Flags had surrounded the two machines, completely sealing off Exia Gundam's retreat routes. No matter which direction Exia Gundam tried to leave from, it would be pincered by Flags from two directions.
The Flags responsible for blocking Exia Gundam kept their distance. Other than cutting off its path of advance, they showed no intention of attacking. At most, they merely fired along Exia Gundam's projected route.
The only black Flag within the encirclement, however, showed no mercy. It used its linear rifle to fire at Exia Gundam's vital points, forcing Exia Gundam to turn back and defend itself.
The pilot of that black modified Flag was Graham. The other Flags here all belonged to members of the Special Investigation Team he had selected to investigate Gundams. Every one of the ten had skills above elite level but below ace level, completely locking Exia Gundam within a confined area and leaving it unable to move freely.
"Damn it." Setsuna was already breaking out in a cold sweat inside Exia Gundam's cockpit. From the moment he had been surrounded, he had felt constrained at every turn. The enemy seemed to know Exia Gundam's weaknesses, completely avoiding close combat and even deliberately firing at its most critical area—the Solar Furnace on its back.
Moreover, judging from the attitude these Flags were displaying, it was as though they were deliberately binding Exia Gundam within this area, which made no sense at all.
Setsuna muttered under his breath as he relied on Exia Gundam's mobility to dodge and weave within a limited space,