After the Battle 4

Jiliang and Canard Pars.

Xia Ya's blue eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sharp with scrutiny, analysis, and even the ability to peer into one's soul.

He looked at Canard—the man who, until mere hours ago, had existed in his mind as a revenger who, to kill Jiliang Yamato, had endured blood-and-tear hardship and endless humiliation, surviving through hellish battlefields with the fierce obsession of a demon from the underworld.

His very existence was the most vicious curse and denial of the concept of the "Ultimate Coordinator."

Xia Ya could effortlessly imagine how this man had spent countless days and nights chewing on his hatred, tempering his piloting skills in its flames, his sole reason for living being to utterly erase Jiliang and everything she represented.

And yet now, that vengeful specter who should have been filled with madness and the desire to destroy was awkwardly offering Jiliang a chilled drink bought from a vending machine.

The lines of his profile remained sharp, but in those eyes that had once burned with fury, Xia Ya could even catch something in his somewhat stiff movements and lowered gaze... no, it was not an illusion... an emotional display that could only be called "tender affection."

How could that be possible?

A powerful sense of absurdity welled up within Xia Ya.

Could human nature truly change so swiftly and completely?

Could a soul driven by hatred for half its life be purified and redeemed in the course of a single battle?

Such a fairy-tale development instinctively put him on guard.

"Are you concerned?"

A soft voice, gentle as moonlight, quietly sounded beside him.

Xia Ya paused, returning from his thoughts. Turning his head, he found Lacus Clyne standing silently at his side at some unknown point, her long pink hair casting a soft halo