Mutation 17

Watching the Unicorn Gundam move, Orphee's voice carried a trace of agitation at being taken lightly.

He was piloting the Covenant Gundam, a machine built for special operations, yet his opponent had him completely pinned down in a head-on confrontation.

He tried to break through on the Unicorn Gundam's left. His thrusters delivered a brief, powerful burst, turning the Covenant Gundam into a blurred red streak as he tried to slip past the white barrier and attack the Eternal behind it.

Yet no matter how he maneuvered, that white machine always reacted half a step ahead.

Every lateral movement, every slight adjustment of its thrusters, blocked all his attack routes with perfect precision.

The Covenant Gundam was fast, but the Unicorn Gundam was faster—and its movements were simpler and more effective.

There was not a single wasted motion. Every movement served just one purpose: keeping Orphee outside the Eternal's firing range.

Orphee felt as though his every input had been read in advance. The feeling was suffocating.

"Where the hell are you looking?" Orphee hauled harder on the control stick. The Covenant Gundam's engines roared under the overload as he tried to force his way through that white defensive line.

The Covenant Gundam was a customized machine developed by ZAFT using its latest technology.

Its Quantum Virus System could infiltrate a mobile suit's electronics in a short time and, combined with the machine's stealth capabilities, enable flawless infiltration and assassination.

It had been designed to deliver the deadliest blow from the least expected direction, at the moment an enemy least expected it.

Although it also carried a high-output Beam Saber and Beam Rifle to handle unexpected situations and fight head-on, its true value lay in winning through those unconventional tactics.

In a close-range, head-on duel with no room for tactical