Blitz Gundam's Surprise Attack

Meanwhile, deep within a hangar at Artemis Fortress.

Char La Flaga suddenly sensed an icy, deeply unpleasant presence brush across his awareness like a serpent's tongue.

It was not physical cold, but a fluctuation originating on a mental level—something akin to killing intent, or rather, intense malice.

It was as though a pair of invisible eyes were hidden deep within the shadows of the fortress's structure, staring fixedly at his location.

Almost instantly, he concluded that something unknown and hostile was quietly approaching.

"...Has it finally come?"

Char murmured inwardly, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes. By now, his work was nearly complete; only the final few crucial steps remained in the procedure to remove the last lock on Blaze Gundam's operating system.

Before this, he had even harbored faint concerns.

He had worried that some unpredictable turn of events, or a mistake in the enemy's internal decision-making, might cause those ZAFT soldiers from P.L.A.N.T. to abandon their attack on Artemis Fortress.

After all, this place was known as one of the Earth Alliance's strongest space fortresses, protected by the Light-Wave Defense Belt. A direct assault would come at an enormous cost. If the enemy chose to withdraw, his carefully prepared escape plan might fall apart.

Now, it seemed his somewhat unnecessary concern had been nothing more than needless worry.

The enemy was acting exactly as he had expected, and he could finally relax ever so slightly.

Truthfully, Char was deeply unwilling to threaten others so casually.

Just as when he had pressured Garcia earlier, he had never intended to interfere with the man's hair growth and make him go bald, though Char himself had no idea whether Garcia had actually been trying to regrow his hair.

"W-What!? What's happening!?"

Just as Char was mulling over such trivial matters, a deafening explosion erupted without warning from some distant part of the fortress!

Then, as though triggering a chain reaction, the entire massive facility began to shake violently!

The metal deck beneath their feet groaned under the strain, while the overhead lights flickered wildly, as if they might go out at any second.

The metal framework along the hangar walls creaked amid the tremors, like a fragile toy being shaken recklessly by an invisible giant hand.

"Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"

"Where did that explosion come from?"

"Quick! Stay alert! Stay alert!"

The hangar immediately descended into chaos. The Artemis garrison soldiers who had surrounded Blaze Gundam and watched Char like hawks could no longer spare him any attention, all of them falling into panic.

Garcia's face turned deathly pale. He nearly crawled on all fours in search of cover.

Char paid them no heed. He completely ignored Garcia and the others, who scurried about like headless flies beneath Blaze Gundam's feet.

The instant the explosion occurred and the alarms sounded, he had already completed the final unlocking procedure.

Without hesitation, he kicked the technician still inside the cockpit out. The poor technician let out a brief cry and tumbled to the floor.

"Y-You bastard!? What do you think you're doing!?" Ignoring the pain, the ejected technician shouted furiously from outside, trying to stop Char.

But to Char, it was all like a breeze whistling past his ears, utterly irrelevant to what he was about to do.

He closed the cockpit hatch with a backhanded motion, completely shutting out the noise and chaos outside.

In an instant, the cockpit sank into silence, broken only by the faint sounds of the life-support system and instrument lights. Char drew a deep breath, his fingers dancing rapidly across the control panel.

With his input, the originally gray-white armor of Blaze Gundam instantly shimmered with a radiant sheen.

Energy coursed through the lines of its armor before stabilizing. The distinctive low hum of PS Armor arose, declaring that this secretly developed high-speed assault MS, built during the same period as Strike Gundam, had fully awakened.

The engine let out a low roar. Its heavy metal feet struck the hangar deck with booming thud, thud sounds, every step seemingly shaking people's hearts.

At that moment, a trace of doubt rose in Char's mind. Could Mu... his bargain-bin brother, along with the others aboard the Archangel, safely escape the potential trap that was Artemis Fortress?

Although he remained burdened by countless worries deep down—worries for Mu, and for the warship carrying Jiliang and the other Heliopolis survivors—he was not entirely indifferent.

But Char knew even more clearly that now was not the time to hesitate. If he failed to act decisively at this critical moment, the ZAFT Blitz Gundam that had slipped in amid the confusion would surely wreak havoc throughout the base, perhaps even directly threatening the Archangel, which was urgently preparing to launch. He had to stop it.

"If you don't want to be crushed into paste, get out of my way right now!"

Through the external speakers, Char delivered a warning so stern it was almost cruel to Garcia and the others, who still stood not far ahead of Blaze Gundam, frozen by fear and confusion.

His electronically processed voice was cold and emotionless, filled with unquestionable intimidation.

Hearing those words and seeing the enormous war machine before them, its armor gleaming with energy and radiating terrifying pressure as it prepared to move, Garcia and the others were frightened out of their wits, their faces white as paper.

They screamed and scrambled away to either side, crawling and rolling in panic, terrified that one step too slow would leave them ground to dust beneath those heavy metal feet.

With the obstruction ahead cleared, Char did not hesitate any longer.

He shoved the control lever forward, and the thrusters on Blaze Gundam's back instantly erupted with blazing light.

"Blaze Gundam, Char La Flaga, launching!"

Amid the engine's thunderous roar and blinding light, the MS renowned for its speed and assault capabilities burst through the hangar doors like a crimson Meteor, charging fiercely into the chaotic world outside, already set ablaze by war.

The moment he took off, the scene before him made Char frown slightly.

The fortress's corridors and several sections were already engulfed in flames. Flashes from explosions lit up the distance from time to time, and the air reeked of smoke and burning metal. Just as he had predicted, Blitz Gundam had successfully breached the outer defenses and infiltrated Artemis Fortress, carrying out destructive attacks everywhere to create chaos and cripple the fortress's critical systems.

What baffled and alarmed him most, however, was that despite such a direct internal incursion, Artemis Fortress's vaunted internal defense systems and stationed MA forces still showed no signs of activity, much less of organizing an effective counterattack. Either Blitz Gundam's infiltration and attacks had been extraordinarily successful, or... there was a serious problem within the fortress itself.

"Ah, found you!" Char's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, rapidly scanned the chaotic battlefield. He knew that besides stopping Blitz Gundam's destruction, his more important task was to buy the Archangel precious time to launch. During that tense search, he finally caught sight of the black figure that flickered in and out of view using Mirage Colloid while moving at high speed and attacking—Blitz Gundam!

Almost the instant Char spotted Blitz Gundam, the other side seemed to notice this suddenly appearing unknown high-performance MS painted bright red as well. Blitz Gundam stopped attacking the surrounding facilities and swiftly turned its agile frame toward him, its black body exuding an ominous air in the firelight.

I can't let it get near the Archangel's dock!

Char knew full well that his purpose was to stall for time, to tie down this troublesome foe with stealth capabilities until the Archangel could safely escape this perilous fortress.

He rapidly sorted through the next steps in his mind, calculating the distance between them and their relative speeds. Before the opponent could fully assess the situation and launch an attack first, he decisively drew his weapon.

Blaze Gundam's right hand steadily raised its standard Beam Rifle, energy beginning to gather at the muzzle. Without any unnecessary movement, Char aimed at the swiftly moving Blitz Gundam and pulled the trigger repeatedly without hesitation!

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Three high-energy green beams tore through the air like arrows of vengeance, streaking at astonishing speed toward where Blitz Gundam might appear!

Blitz Gundam's pilot was clearly an experienced ace as well. Faced with this sudden, precise barrage, he immediately evaded.

The black machine traced an eerie arc through the air, barely avoiding a direct hit from the beams.

Now!

While Blitz Gundam was busy evading the beams and its movements stalled for a brief instant, Char's hands moved like lightning.

With an exceptionally nimble motion, he instantly switched the rifle in his right hand while his left hand drew the Beam Saber hilt stored on the charging rack on its back. A blazing energy blade snapped out with a soft hum.

Then, the thrusters on Blaze Gundam's back and legs went to full power. Like an enraged cheetah trailing a long tail of flame, the crimson machine pounced at Blitz Gundam, which had only just completed its evasive maneuver and had yet to regain its footing!

The astonishing acceleration it unleashed far surpassed that of an ordinary MS!

Blitz Gundam's pilot had clearly not expected the opposing machine to move so swiftly or fight so aggressively.

Seeing that Beam Saber, gleaming with lethal light, rapidly closing in, he hurriedly retreated at full speed, trying to open up the distance again.

At the same time, he fired the wire-guided rocket anchor from the Gleipnir launcher on his left arm, intending to bind or restrain Blaze Gundam.

The rocket anchor, fitted with three sharp claws, shot toward Char like a venomous snake, trailing a long cable behind it.

Yet with reaction speed far beyond normal and exquisitely precise piloting, Char merely tilted the machine slightly, allowing Blaze Gundam to glide past the edge of the rocket anchor as if dancing.

And before the rocket anchor's flight path could turn under the pull of its cable and attempt to lock onto him again, Char reacted in a flash and made Blaze Gundam's left arm swing sharply!

The Beam Saber in its hand traced a brilliant arc, precisely and cleanly severing the cable connecting the rocket anchor to Blitz Gundam!

Amid flying sparks, the powerless rocket anchor fell limply away.

Having severed his opponent's restraining weapon, Char gave Blitz Gundam no chance to catch its breath or retreat.

Maintaining that astonishing charge speed, the crimson Blaze Gundam forced its way into Blitz Gundam's guard like a flash of lightning in the blink of an eye!

"Hah!"

With a low shout, Char put all his strength into bringing down the Beam Saber he had long prepared in his right hand, slashing viciously toward Blitz Gundam's cockpit!

This strike was heavy, powerful, and swift as thunder!

Yet Blitz Gundam's pilot reacted with equally astonishing speed.

At such close range and under such rushed circumstances, he somehow managed to mount a defense at the very last moment!

The Composite Armament Shield mounted on Blitz Gundam's right arm—the Trikeros Assault Shield System—was sharply raised, interposing itself in shield mode along the Beam Saber's path!

Clang—!!!

The blazing Beam Saber blade crashed violently into the sturdy surface of the assault shield.

The tremendous force traveled through both machines' frames as the two high-performance MS grappled at close range, producing piercing sounds of metal grinding and energy clashing.

Even so, the advantage remained firmly in Char's hands.

The Trikeros Assault Shield System was indeed one of Blitz Gundam's core pieces of equipment. It integrated a High-Energy Beam Rifle, a Beam Saber, and triple ultra-high-speed kinetic armor-piercing rounds, while also serving as a sturdy shield. It was an immensely complex and powerful composite weapon combining offense and defense, and another distinctive feature of Blitz Gundam besides Mirage Colloid.

But in Char's eyes, this seemingly convenient and powerful all-purpose piece of equipment possessed a clear weakness.

That was, when it was being used at full force as a shield to block a powerful close-range attack like this, Blitz Gundam could not spare a hand to use any of the weapons built into the Trikeros system!

Not the Beam Rifle, the Beam Saber, or the armor-piercing rounds.

Its left arm had originally carried the Gleipnir armed rocket anchor as well, but Char had mercilessly severed its cable just moments ago, rendering it temporarily useless.

That meant that at this moment, as Beam Saber and shield struggled against one another, Blitz Gundam had completely lost the ability to attack and was trapped in a purely defensive position!

But Char had more than one weapon!

Blaze Gundam's left hand was still free!

A cold gleam flashed in Char's eyes. He had intended to give Blitz Gundam no time to adjust its posture or retreat and open the distance. He would immediately draw the second Beam Saber from his waist, fight with two blades, and launch a lethal follow-up attack at Blitz Gundam's weak points or joints!

With Blaze Gundam's output and his own skill, he could very likely heavily damage or even destroy the opponent in a short time!

But in that flash of lightning, at the instant he was about to draw his second Beam Saber—

An utterly inexplicable, bone-deep chill surged up his spine like an electric current, rushing straight to the top of his head!

It was not the result of any logical analysis or tactical judgment, but a pure, almost beastlike instinct!

A powerful premonition of lethal danger!