Chapter 235: Turn Amuro into Light
As the ground split apart, a massive beam of light suddenly shot up from beneath the earth, aimed directly at the path the two had just been flying along.
Had they not sensed something amiss before the beam was fired, they would have been engulfed by it without a doubt.
"What was that?"
"No idea... but it feels terrifying…"
Amuro muttered to himself, clearly perceiving something fearsome through his Newtype senses.
Eli felt it too.
Even while piloting the mass-produced model Gaplant, Eli could still sense the hatred buried underground—an overwhelming malice like a black hole.
"Memories…"
Eli picked up on a fleeting thought transmitted from whatever was hidden beneath the ground.
"Launch the Garuda-class immediately!"
"Easier said than done—it still needs at least ten minutes!"
There was only one runway available for the Garuda-class to taxi down.
And given the massive size of the Garuda-class units, they had to reach the runway's end to build up enough lift for takeoff.
Even if both Garuda-class ships launched in the tightest configuration possible, the time required would be more than enough for whatever was buried underground to intercept and destroy them.
"We'll hold it off!"
Looking at the fractured earth and the slowly rising mound of soil, Eli switched the Gaplant back to MA mode and flew beneath NT-X, with the two machines beginning to circle above the shattered terrain.
At the same time, the Rem team aboard the White Chaser stepped onto their flight platforms, forming a defensive perimeter at the front of the runway.
And as for why the White Chaser, despite not being assigned to descend to Earth, was equipped with flight platforms?
Well—don't ask.
Boom!
A plume of smoke shot up—clearly, the being beneath the ground had finally reached the surface!
Through the haze, an enormous silhouette was projected.
The full length of the Gaplant in MA mode was twenty meters, extended to thirty-one meters with the auxiliary thrusters.
Yet, standing before them now was a new machine that stood thirty meters tall—but its bulk far exceeded that of the Gaplant!
Vmm!
A beam pierced through the smoke, once again shooting toward Eli and Amuro!
While the smoke obscured vision and sensors, the powerful Newtype presence radiating from the two pilots was more than enough for the enemy to lock onto them.
Clank—!
Eli made a snap decision, detaching the Gaplant's auxiliary thrusters. With the reduced weight, the machine gained a bit more speed, while the booster itself—still accelerating—charged straight into the smoke!
A massive object like that could deal considerable damage even to a battleship, let alone an unidentified enemy machine.
The enemy would be forced to abandon their pursuit and destroy the incoming thruster first.
And if they used a MEGA particle cannon to destroy it, the resulting shockwave could deal a serious blow.
The difference between an ace pilot and an ordinary one wasn't just in their control—it was in how they thought about battle.
But Eli didn't take pride in that.
Because he already had a good idea of who—no, what—their enemy was.
Judging from the rectangular shadow and its hovering movement across the surface, the answer was obvious, wasn't it?
Then—another object emerged from the smoke—a pair of massive hands!
The two hands reached out and caught the incoming thruster, pushing the enemy machine backward, leaving a deep trench in the earth.
As it exited the smoke, its true form was finally revealed to all.
The first things to catch the eye were its iconic V-fin and twin eye sensors!
"A Gundam? No, wait, that's not right…"
Even Amuro—arguably the most authoritative Gundam pilot in the Federation—was stunned by the sight before him.
Not because it was a Gundam—after all, this was Jaburo, and Gundams in development, under construction, or still in the proposal stage numbered beyond counting.
What shocked Amuro was the size of this Gundam!
It was clearly a transformable unit—it had just been a rectangular block moments ago.
Now it had transformed into a Gundam—standing a terrifying forty-one meters tall!
That was twice the height of the NT-X.
"Amuro, dodge!"
At Eli's warning, Amuro instinctively leapt from the Gaplant once more.
And that's when he noticed—the Gundam had both arms aimed directly at them. The tips of its fingers weren't humanoid digits—they were gun barrels.
No doubt about it—these were all beam cannons!
Ten beams burst out in a scattered spread, covering their entire position!
Eli and Amuro managed to dodge them all, relying on their lightning-fast reflexes and agile mobile suits.
But the Rem unit behind them wasn't so lucky—two machines were struck by the beams.
Fortunately, Eli had never skimped on equipment for his direct subordinates. Even the Rem units were outfitted with shields coated in anti-beam layers.
That wasn't enough to fully block the beams—but it was enough to protect the area around the cockpit and ensure the pilots' survival.
"Amuro, we need to end this quickly!"
After ordering the others to retreat, Eli glanced at the dwindling fuel reserves on his panel. Gritting his teeth, he turned to Amuro and said:
"That machine ahead of us… it's a Psycommu Gundam."
If he was right, the pilot inside was none other than Murasame Kaede—that tragic figure with a sorrowful past and fate.
A cyber-Newtype created by the Murasame Institute.
Eli had indeed considered bringing the Murasame Institute under his control.
But being allowed to manage the Augusta Institute was already a concession granted by Revil—the Federation would never permit him to control another Newtype research facility.
Besides, Eli hadn't even begun laying groundwork on Earth yet. Both Jamitov Hymen and the Titans had already been forced to move their operations offworld.
That was also why the Titans had no choice but to use airborne forces to carry out their plans.
Though it was unclear when the Murasame Institute had joined forces with the Titans, Eli had a fairly good grasp of the flaws in this Psycommu Gundam's design.
"Draw her attention—I'll find an opening to break in!"
"Her?"
Amuro noticed the pronoun shift in Eli's words, but didn't ask at this critical moment.
In fact, Amuro had already realized what was going on.
How do you draw the attention of a Cyber-Newtype pilot?
The answer was simple!
"Answer me, NETIX!"
The green eye-lights of the NT-X flashed with a beam of light.
The Psycommu system embedded within the frame began to activate!