Rout

The Dom's melted armor had even splattered onto the Ground Type's chest armor, making an already somewhat demonized figure within Zeon seem even more menacing.

"Whir! Whir!"

The two Beam Rifles could hardly suppress the two remaining Doms. But the cherry-pink beams kept grazing past their machines, putting tremendous psychological pressure on their pilots.

"Hurry up and retreat!"

Ramba Ral immediately assessed the situation and ordered his subordinates.

But the fact that Ramba Ral was still alive was already something of a miracle.

The upper half of his Dom had been pierced by a beam. Its head had lost its connection and gone completely dark.

There were two reasons Ramba Ral had survived: Amuro's firing angle was restricted, and the Dom's massive frame placed its cockpit lower down. The beam had still damaged the cockpit to some extent, however. The screen had shattered, and a shard of glass had even lodged in Ramba Ral's right shoulder, where blood was now pouring steadily.

The combined combat strength of those two Gundams far exceeded what he had imagined.

Come to think of it, had they been holding back in their earlier battles, too?

Ramba Ral thought bitterly.

Had receiving a new machine made him arrogant? He knew perfectly well that the two in front of him were warriors known as demons.

"How could you... How could you leave you behind..."

One of his subordinates dodged the Gundam's rapid double shots while trying to get closer to the Ground Type.

But every time he tried to charge forward, a beam came from that direction, each shot timed perfectly for the moment the Dom's pilot was about to press down on the pedal.

It left the Dom's pilot in an awful position. No matter how badly he wanted to save his captain, he didn't dare let himself get distracted and risk being shot down, too.

"Listen to me. As long as you make it back, there'll still be a chance to rescue me. If we all die here, then there'll be no hope at all!"

"But..."

"No buts. Fall back now. That's an order!"

Both subordinates fell silent.

But hearing the beams grow increasingly sparse, Ramba Ral could tell they were retreating.

A moment later, the deformed cockpit hatch of the Dom blew open with a bang. Ramba Ral struggled to support his injured body, straightened as best he could, and stood in the cockpit doorway, facing the Ground Type just a short distance away.

Eli had just confirmed that the last two Doms were fleeing into the distance. He switched off the Ground Type's Beam Saber and saw Ramba Ral staggering out.

Ramba Ral removed his helmet and met the Ground Type's cameras with a direct stare.

In this way, he was asserting his dignity to Eli.

"Lieutenant Eli! Lieutenant Eli! Bright's orders are to capture Ramba Ral alive. Do you copy?"

Just as Eli and Ramba Ral were locked in a staring contest on the screen, playing a game of who would look away first, Sayla's frantic voice came through the cockpit.

"Understood. I'll take Ramba Ral into custody."

With that, Eli drew the handgun he carried and opened the cockpit hatch as well.

Of course, unlike Ramba Ral, who was dressed in a flight suit, Eli was wearing the kind of field flight suit they used in Southeast Asia.

In short, the moment Eli opened the cockpit, Ramba Ral got a good look at his face.

"So... you're just a kid..."

Because Ramba Ral was injured, they didn't take him straight to the brig. Instead, they brought him to the ship's infirmary.

But when Eli arrived at the infirmary with his handgun pointed at Ramba Ral, he couldn't help pausing at the sight of the blonde woman inside.

It was Sayla Mass.

Recently, Sayla had been serving as a communications officer on the bridge, and Eli had forgotten that she had originally served as a medic aboard the White Base—and that she aspired to become a doctor.

So of course Sayla was in the infirmary now, ready to treat Ramba Ral.

"Would you mind stepping outside? The patient needs a quieter environment."

Sayla, already wearing a mask, spoke to Eli, who was escorting the prisoner, as calmly as she could.

"He's a prisoner. What if he suddenly makes a move? If he takes you hostage, the entire ship could be in danger."

Even outside his machine and without the system's enhancement, Eli could sense how unsettled Sayla was.

At first, the White Base crew hadn't known who the unit pursuing them belonged to. But the Southeast Asia Base had been able to confirm through cross-checking and intelligence that it was Ramba Ral.

Of course, Eli, who knew the story, was another matter. Even if he was certain, saying so outright would sound absurd.

Given that, Eli could guess why Sayla was so desperate to send him away with an excuse that made no sense at all.

She wanted to confirm their identities with Ramba Ral, so she could find out whether her brother, Casval, was safe.

"Even if he's a prisoner, he's still a patient. Just listen to the doctor!"

Sayla's voice grew unmistakably urgent, to the point that Ramba Ral gave her a strange look.

Perhaps he was wondering when Zeon had managed to plant such an obvious spy aboard the Trojan Horse.

Sayla glared at Eli in irritation. With no other choice, she motioned for Ramba Ral to sit on the bed, then set about removing the glass shard from his wound and bandaging it.

"Please don't stand by the bed. You'll cast a shadow."

Sayla's request was perfectly reasonable, so Eli obediently moved to the wall. He still kept his handgun in hand, aimed at Ramba Ral at all times.

Eli was turning something over in his mind.

After the war, Sayla, as a Deikun, had been confined to Earth by the Federation, leaving her no choice but to live near the Mediterranean.

Whatever the Federation's reasons, that was still a waste of a political asset.

If that was the case, perhaps he should find a way to...

No. Since when had he started thinking about how to change this world?

Eli shook his head, trying to push the rambling thoughts out of his mind.

"Mm..."

At Eli's sudden movement, Sayla—who had been about to remove her mask and reveal herself to Ramba Ral—stiffened all over.

But when she saw that he had merely made an inexplicable gesture, she cautiously signaled Ramba Ral to look at her face again.

Ramba Ral was confused, but after making sure Eli wasn't paying attention to them, he endured the pain and looked at Sayla as she removed her mask.

The next instant, his pupils contracted sharply.

"You are..."