Beams and missiles came weaving in, effectively restricting its room to maneuver and forcing the Forbidden Gundam back, easing the pressure on Sven and Nicol.
"Damn it... Sven...!"
Gritting his teeth, Nicol used the last of his strength and barely managed to restore the Strike Gundam's balance.
But he was already in an atrocious condition. His consciousness remained hazy, and it felt as though countless bees were buzzing beside his ears. The Forbidden Gundam's successive heavy blows had produced physical impacts that had penetrated even his flight suit's G-force protection, severely injuring Nicol's internal organs and bones.
The only reason he had not immediately lost consciousness was because the formidable physique of a Coordinator, far surpassing that of an ordinary human, was desperately sustaining his life. But Nicol knew perfectly well that in his current state—with double vision and fingers going numb in waves—he could no longer engage in intense close-quarters combat.
Reason told him that he should retreat at once and return to the Dominion for rest and treatment. But as he watched Sven desperately fighting the Forbidden Gundam ahead, being suppressed time and again and pushed into peril, as he looked upon this hopeless battlefield where the Earth Forces and ZAFT Forces fought to the death, filled with blood and hatred, his gentle yet resilient heart could not allow him to do that.
"I promised you... we'd survive together..."
A trace of blood spilled from the corner of Nicol's mouth and dripped onto the inside of his helmet visor. Yet at that moment, his gaze became incomparably clear, as though he had set what little life he had left ablaze.
Although the machine was in terrible shape and half the main monitor was covered in static, the control system still seemed barely functional.
Nicol took a deep breath,