Chapter 287: The Sky in Tears 2
But Dearka quickly saw the warning on the Buster Gundam's monitor—he had been targeted and locked on.
Drenched in cold sweat, he stared at the twin high-output beam cannons on the Archangel, already gathering power.
He had no intention of dying here, and in the end, he had no choice but to surrender.
Dearka opened the Buster Gundam's cockpit, stepped outside, and raised both hands toward the Archangel.
On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue finally relaxed when she saw Dearka surrendering.
Natarle stared in disbelief at the blond, dark-skinned Dearka raising his hands on the display. "He's… surrendering?"
Rain poured from the sky, heavy drops striking Dearka's face and making his expression even darker.
Murrue looked at him standing motionless in the rain, thought for a moment, then ordered Natarle, "It seems the Buster Gundam's pilot truly intends to surrender.
Lieutenant Baccello, arrange soldiers and a transport vehicle and get the prisoner and the Buster Gundam brought back to the Archangel as soon as possible."
"Understood, Captain Murrue. I'll arrange it right away."
Soon, an MS transport vehicle and a crane truck arrived with over a dozen soldiers.
Under their instructions, Dearka quietly climbed down from the Buster Gundam. He was handcuffed and temporarily detained inside the transport vehicle.
The others quickly recovered the Buster Gundam and rushed back toward the Archangel.
As for Kira and Athrun, the heavy rain did nothing to dampen their fighting spirit—the two continued to battle relentlessly.
Both used their shields to block each other's beam sabers, clashing again and again in a stalemate.
"Kira! You killed Nicol! You killed Nicol! You killed Nicol!…"
Athrun had fallen completely into madness, shouting as he attacked.
The moment the High-Mobility Strike dodged away from him, Athrun transformed the Aegis into its MA mode and fired the fixed multiphase energy cannon in its torso without hesitation.
Thankfully, Kira reacted fast and made the High-Mobility Strike dodge—the red-and-white beam streaked past him.
At that moment, the Android Tolle arrived on the battlefield and attacked the Aegis with beam fire, green bolts screaming toward it.
Following the script, Nami had the Android Tolle shout, "Kira, I'll help you!"
Kira jumped when the Android Tolle suddenly appeared. With Athrun in a berserk frenzy, even Kira was barely holding on.
He quickly shouted, "Tolle, no! Stay back, it's too dangerous here!"
But the Android Tolle ignored him—its mission was to die.
It continued flying the Skygrasper forward, unleashing missiles, beam fire, and machine-gun rounds all at once at the Aegis.
Athrun frowned. That irritating Skygrasper dared interrupt his duel with Kira.
He hurled the Aegis's shield at the Skygrasper with full force.
The Android Tolle adjusted slightly so that the shield struck only the Skygrasper's fuselage—if the cockpit were hit directly, explaining how he "survived" would be impossible.
The hit caused the Skygrasper to explode midair, bursting into a massive fireball.
Kira stared at the destroyed Skygrasper, stunned.
He couldn't believe the Tolle who had laughed and comforted him just yesterday… had died in front of his eyes—killed by his best friend Athrun.
Meanwhile, on the Archangel, Miriallia also noticed the Skygrasper's signal vanishing from the radar.
Kira cried out in anguish, "Tolle!"
Tears shone in his eyes as something within him finally erupted.
"Athrun!" Kira screamed in anger and grief, charging forward with the High-Mobility Strike.
Using his shield to block the Aegis for a moment, he swung his beam saber upward, slicing off the Aegis's left arm.
He followed with a side kick to the Aegis's face.
But Athrun refused to yield. He stabilized the Aegis, ignited the boosters, and widened the distance in an instant.
As he ascended, he shouted, "I'll kill you, Kira!"
And just as the Aegis's energy neared depletion, the seed within Athrun burst as well.
The Aegis's movements sharpened drastically. Its right-hand beam saber and the beam blades on both feet extended as Athrun charged Kira.
He mirrored Kira's earlier feint—then kicked upward, slicing off the High-Mobility Strike's left arm.
Even with his arm severed, Kira didn't falter. He pressed in with his beam saber and struck down the Aegis's head in a single blow.
Even headless, Athrun didn't retreat. He hurled himself forward, swinging at the High-Mobility Strike's cockpit. Kira reacted in time and pulled back.
But as before, the cockpit was still slashed open, exposing Kira inside.
"Athrun!"
"Kira!"
They screamed each other's names, attacking without pause.
Finally, Athrun transformed the Aegis back into MA mode, seizing the High-Mobility Strike in its claws.
Tolle felt something was wrong. He checked the Aegis's energy reserves—sure enough, it had slightly more than before; it hadn't fully run out yet.
Thankfully, he had prepared for this; otherwise, Kira would be in serious danger.
Just as Athrun prepared to fire the fixed multiphase cannon, its muzzle beginning to glow, Tolle had Nami cut off the Aegis's power supply.