(The previous Chapter 599 was actually Chapter 598. This one was the real Chapter 599.)
By the time the dust settled, every MS that was supposed to fall had fallen. In the distance, the Gaw-class assault carrier became a brilliant burst of sparks amid a chorus of cannon fire. Risking further bombardment, the red Zaku stopped beside the orange Zaku, which lay on the ground after having its head, arms, and legs severed.
Char boldly opened his cockpit hatch and slowly slid down, landing beside the orange Zaku's cockpit door. He opened the cockpit from the outside and saw Karma, his face pale and despondent, screaming himself hoarse in heart-wrenching anguish.
Though Karma looked utterly defeated, as the youngest son of the Zabi family, he still possessed the pride befitting his station. His hate-filled eyes remained fixed on Char, who stood above him, as though he wanted to devour him alive. In a voice choked with suppressed fury, he roared, "Char! You plotted against me! Char! I actually took a Federal Army spy and traitor hiding in Zeon for my best friend! Char, damn you!"
Char looked at Karma for a long time without speaking. At some point, Ramba Ral and the thirteen MS had gathered around them. At some point, too, the artillery fire in the sky had vanished entirely. Only Alto, Michel, and Luca continued circling overhead in their machines.
"Federal Army? Heh. No, I was never with the Federation, and I never joined them." Several minutes later, Char removed his helmet and mask, then looked coldly at Karma in the cockpit. "But Karma Zabi, do you know how many chances I had to kill you? Yet every time, I gave up. I wanted to regard you as my friend too, but the name Zabi that you bore