"Shiro Amada..."
Hearing Shiro Amada's anguished cry, Eli fell silent.
He couldn't understand why Shiro, who had as much reason as anyone to hate Zeon, was so overcome with emotion because of Aina.
To dismiss it as simple love would be to belittle the feeling.
There was no point dwelling on what he couldn't understand. Dealing with the threat posed by the Apsalus was the top priority.
"Lower your unit and cease all operations. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety."
Seeing that the two had fallen silent for the moment, Eli spoke again, hoping Aina would surrender of her own accord.
With a Beam Rifle trained on her and Shiro urging her to surrender, Aina couldn't help wavering.
If she surrendered now, at least she could escape this endless war, day after day... couldn't she?
Aina wasn't suited for the battlefield.
Her hand, which had been resting on the control stick, slowly reached toward the Gundam marked "08" on the screen.
She believed that was the unit Shiro Amada was piloting.
Maybe this was for the best...
"I..."
"Aina, can you hear me? Aina!"
Just as Aina was about to surrender, the communications link—which had been cut off by the high concentration of Minovsky particles—miraculously came back to life!
The voice coming through was Ginias's!
Aina snatched her hand back as if shocked and gripped the control stick.
"...Aina, can you hear me... You must raise the Apsalus at once and head to... Norris has already..."
Aside from Ginias's first words, which interrupted Aina's decision, the rest of the message came through only in broken fragments.
It was as if everything had been arranged by fate.
"I heard you, Brother..."
Aina lowered her head, letting the helmet of her G-suit cast her face in shadow.
"I'll do my best, for the sake of your dream."
She pressed the pedal. Like a caged bird, she took control of the cage that bound her and prepared to soar into the sky.
"The attempt to make her surrender has failed. Attack!"
The moment Aina pressed the pedal, the Apsalus shook violently.
Already battered by multiple hits, the Apsalus trembled as it was forced into motion.
Even the Minovsky Particle Flight Unit beneath it began to crackle with purple arcs of electricity.
Faced with this, Eli actually breathed a sigh of relief.
At least she wasn't trying to threaten him by self-destructing anymore.
Now all he had to do was destroy the massive Mobile Armor completely!
With that thought, Eli acted without hesitation. He bent his unit's knees and crouched on top of the Apsalus.
Then, steadying his unit as best he could, he aimed his Beam Rifle at the Apsalus's cockpit once more.
Even though he had been moved by the love between Shiro Amada and Aina, who had managed to overcome their opposing sides, Eli wouldn't let that make him hesitate now.
Pink particles gathered at the muzzle again, and the shot was almost ready to fire!
But just then, a faint flash of lightning crossed his brow once more.
A sense of danger flooded Eli's mind!
He immediately turned his head, and his unit moved with him.
He saw a unit that looked seven or eight parts like a Zaku burst through the clouds. It held a glowing red blade and charged at Eli in a slashing stance!
Eli immediately tried to shoot it down with his Beam Rifle, but the enemy was far faster than he'd expected.
He pulled back on the control stick, making his unit retreat a step and evade the enemy's swift slash.
But the enemy unit was clearly no pushover. It changed the course of its blade at once, aiming for—
The Beam Rifle!
The fully charged Beam Rifle was cut in half with a single slash.
Eli immediately let go and thrust out his left arm to shield himself from the rifle's explosion.
His gaze followed the enemy unit. He saw it raise its left arm and slam into Shiro Amada's unit, knocking him off the Apsalus. Both units tumbled down together.
"That's... a flight-type Gouf? No, that can't be right. The timing doesn't match..."
Though Shiro Amada had been knocked off by the enemy unit, Eli didn't panic. Instead, he immediately compared it with the units he remembered.
After all, the Apsalus had already taken serious damage. Even if it forced itself higher, it would still be within the limits of what the Gundam Ground Type could handle.
Eli crouched his unit and drew the Beam Saber from its lower leg with his right hand, leaving it unlit for the moment. He kept his left arm guarding his chest, ready for anything.
He still couldn't remember the unit's exact model, but it was definitely a Gouf.
Perhaps it was an early model of the Gouf Flight Type.
In fact, that was exactly what it was.
"Miss Aina, are you all right?"
Norris sat in the cockpit of the Gouf Flight Test Type and called out to Aina.
The Gouf Flight Test Type hadn't originally been part of Ginias's development plans. But escorting such a massive Mobile Armor with Dopp Fighters hardly inspired confidence.
That was why Ginias had brought the Gouf Flight Test Type over from North America, intending to finish developing it himself.
So far, though, all they'd done was replace its machine guns for hands with general-purpose manipulators. Before they could make any further adjustments, Norris had taken it into battle.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that the Apsalus..."
"That doesn't matter. I'll take care of the enemy. You just focus on operating the Apsalus, Miss Aina!"
Unlike Ginias, Norris didn't make demands of Aina.
He knew she couldn't take any more pressure.
Just as the Apsalus couldn't withstand any more strain!
Norris stamped on the pedal and pushed the control stick forward.
The stabilizers on the Gouf Flight Test Type's back unfolded, then tilted downward to provide greater lift.
At the same time, the four thermonuclear rocket engines on its backpack and the two more built into its massive legs roared to life at full power!
With all that thrust, its thrust-to-weight ratio quickly exceeded 1, and the sixty-ton Gouf climbed rapidly!
"I'll protect Miss Aina!"
Norris stared at the screen. For the moment, all he could see was the Apsalus's battered armor.
But soon, he would be able to see what was happening above!
"Ratatatatat!"
Before Norris could confirm the situation, a barrage of gunfire came streaming toward him.
Fortunately, the Gouf Flight Test Type climbed fast enough for the barrage to pass harmlessly beneath its feet.
No—not entirely harmlessly. One bullet grazed the outer armor of its right-leg thermonuclear engine, making Norris break out in a cold sweat.
"Instinct? That's terrifying."
Before you continue