This was Athrun's request to Nicol.
It wasn't that Nicol didn't trust his teammate, but he instinctively recalled that time.
When Wang Hu was piloting the Aegis, back when the four of them were piloting Gundams with absolute superiority.
Even with their entire squad's combined strength, they had been toyed with in Wang Hu's palm.
All because their opponent was extremely skilled at using their own attacks.
To turn around and harm his own teammates.
As the saying goes, lessons learned from the past can guide the future, so Nicol involuntarily held back some of his strength.
"Nicol?"
Athrun, who had charged into the fire net, paused slightly, but soon realized what Nicol had thought of.
A warm current surged in his chest - he knew full well this was his good friend worrying about him and putting his safety first.
Even if it might give Wang Hu an opening, in his friend's heart, his safety was the top priority.
"So..."
His vacant eyes firmly fixed on the Lightning Z Gundam piloted by the enemy Wang Hu, which was about to make contact with his Beam Boomerang just ahead.
Athrun swore he wouldn't let his friend down, wouldn't let down all those who had high hopes for him.
"Come on, Wang Hu! Right here, I'll shoot you down!"
Over the public channel, Athrun issued his challenge to Wang Hu before him.
With evasion capabilities that appeared no inferior to his opponent's, the Justice Gundam raised its shield with its left hand, wielded a dual-beam saber with its right, and closed in aggressively!
"Oh?"
Having dodged the beams fired by Nicol's Destiny Gundam and blocked Athrun's spinning beam boomerang with his shield.
Wang Hu faced the fiercely charging Athrun, who carried the demeanor of a desperate man.
Unexpectedly, he chose to retreat and avoid confronting him head-on.
After all, this was the officially recognized strongest pilot. While his brilliance and battle records might not match Kira's glory.
The current Athrun was still young, not yet reaching the heights he would achieve during the Third War.
But...
"Shall I play with you a little?"
He glanced at the space battleship lying on Orb's Mass Driver.
Just hearing the name of that battleship - Kusanagi - made Wang Hu feel nauseated.
However, limited by certain reasons, Wang Hu himself couldn't act too overtly.
So using the ZAFT Forces, such as the two before him, became a good alternative.
"He's retreating!"
His spirits suddenly lifted. For Nicol, this was the first time in this battle he had seen the Kirin Wang Hu facing his friend Athrun.
Actually adopting a retreating response - in his view, this was a precursor to victory.
So he took another look at his friend's Justice Gundam performing within his fire net.
Seeing his friend handling it with ease, no less capable than Wang Hu!
Gritting his teeth, for victory, for being able to eliminate that nightmare in their hearts today.
Nicol gradually intensified the Destiny Gundam's fire net, slowly increasing the intensity attempting to restore it to its previous state.
"Nicol!"
With a knowing smile, Athrun understood that his performance had boosted his friend's confidence.
In that case!
For those behind him, Athrun grew increasingly aggressive, pressing Wang Hu step by step.
The previous attack had proven effective, so Athrun had no qualms about repeating the same move.
After all, it didn't matter if it was a white cat or a black cat – as long as it could catch mice, it was a good cat.
Retrieving the returning beam boomerang, Athrun once again seized the opportunity to hurl it toward Wang Hu.
"Why haven't they launched yet?"
While dealing with the two opponents before him, Wang Hu remained focused on the Kusanagi on the ground.
Since the Uprising Army under his command had initiated the attack, Li Chengzhi and his forces had been advancing at an astonishingly rapid pace.
Shouldn't the Kusanagi have launched and headed for space much earlier under these circumstances?
"Huh?"
Distracted by his observation of the situation below, Wang Hu nearly suffered a direct hit from Nicol's beam due to a momentary lapse in concentration.
"Now's my chance!"
A cold glint flashed in Athrun's eyes as he piloted the Justice Gundam, determined not to let such a perfect opportunity slip away.
With the beam boomerang in hand, Athrun selected a tricky angle and calculated its return trajectory precisely.
While throwing the boomerang, he simultaneously ejected the large multipurpose combat backpack from behind to assist in flight.
"Clang!"
Wang Hu once again used his shield to deflect the incoming boomerang.
However, the Justice Gundam's large multipurpose combat backpack had already flown right up to his face.
Not only did the backpack block his line of sight, but it also relentlessly fired deadly beams and autocannon rounds at Wang Hu.
Temporarily unable to retract his shield due to the powerful momentum of the boomerang, the Lightning Z Gundam couldn't reposition it in time to block the attacks from Athrun's combat backpack.
But this didn't stump Wang Hu. His mind operated like a quantum computer.
Whether it was Athrun's attack patterns or Nicol's assault routes,
they all unfolded in Wang Hu's mind like slow-motion footage, allowing him to analyze each frame with perfect clarity.
Did everyone think the Lightning Z Gundam only had enhanced firepower and mobility?
They must not forget about the bio-computer installed in the Zeta Gundam – a device that had previously been inaccessible to Wang Hu.
But after Wang Hu returned to the East Asian Army and during the Zeta Gundam's enhancement process,
the East Asian Army's technicians fully unlocked this groundbreaking technology, granting Wang Hu complete access to utilize it as he pleased.
"What?"
Athrun, piloting the Justice Gundam, had been certain this was his chance to deliver a devastating blow to Wang Hu.
To his astonishment, Wang Hu seemed to have activated some cheat code – his already astonishing speed increased severalfold.
And the agility displayed by the Gundam he was piloting!
"Tch."
The Lightning Z Gundam, which never moved with the stiffness typical of robots,
now gave Athrun and Nicol the distinct impression of watching a living, breathing human.
Executing a deep backbend maneuver, Wang Hu piloting the Lightning Z Gundam managed to slide beneath the Justice Gundam's flight combat backpack in an impossibly short time.
Like those elite agents in movies weaving through infrared laser grids,
Wang Hu's Lightning Z Gundam performed gymnastic moves that would put professional athletes to shame, effortlessly evading Nicol's suddenly intensified barrage.
By the time his opponents registered his position again, Wang Hu had closed in to a distance Athrun never anticipated – catching him completely off guard.
"Is this the same ability that Kira and I possess?"
Unable to come up with any other explanation for Wang Hu's sudden outburst, Athrun could only think of this one.
"Courtesy demands reciprocity."
Gazing at the Justice Gundam now at point-blank range, Wang Hu chuckled lightly as the Beam Cannons on the shoulders of the Lightning Z Gundam leveled into position.
At such close range—practically face-to-face—Athrun should have had no way to evade.
And with the Justice Gundam's PS Armor powered by nuclear energy, even if this strike couldn't take his life, it would surely make him suffer.
"Damn it!"
With vacant eyes, Athrun executed an emergency maneuver. Meanwhile, Nicol, from behind, couldn't just stand by and watch his friend take the hit head-on.
In a tactic to relieve the besieged by attacking the base, Nicol frantically unleashed a barrage of fire at Wang Hu, who stood facing Athrun.
"Boom!"
Even though Athrun's Justice Gundam had dodged urgently, at such close range, he couldn't avoid the attack completely.
The armor on his left shoulder was instantly destroyed under Wang Hu's assault.
Nicol's rescue attempt arrived too late, like distant water unable to quench a nearby fire.
"Swish, swish, swish."
Holding his beam saber with one hand, Wang Hu performed a whirling dance, unleashing the long-unused Sword Beam technique. His defense was so tight not a drop of water could pass through, turning Nicol's beam attacks into dazzling fireworks in the sky.
Witnessing Wang Hu's counterattack, Nicol felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
He had been careless, forgetting that his opponent always had this unstoppable, unorthodox move.
In other words, didn't that mean the enemy was a natural counter to his own Destiny Gundam!
Without time to dwell on it, Nicol glanced toward the Justice Gundam, which was now plummeting downward.
"Athrun!"
He shouted anxiously and, without a second thought, flew toward Athrun.
"Oh?"
Observing Nicol rushing to rescue Athrun and seeing the Justice Gundam falling straight down without any change, as if Athrun in the cockpit had been knocked unconscious by his strike, Wang Hu inside the Lightning Z Gundam curled his lips into an ambiguous smile.
"Still a bit naive. Rather than resorting to such petty tricks, it'd be better to improve your actual strength."
After muttering these words, Wang Hu decided to grant Athrun's wish.
The Lightning Z Gundam transformed into MA Mode mid-air and dove down sharply.
Moving several times faster than Nicol, it headed straight and unabashedly toward Athrun's Justice Gundam.
"Athrun, Athrun, have you passed out?"
Watching helplessly, Nicol was frantic with worry. Beneath his full-coverage helmet, he gritted his teeth so hard it seemed his silver molars might shatter.
He stared in despair at the enemy on his screen, who had started later than him but easily overtook him and was rapidly closing in on the still-unconscious Athrun.
"I won't let you succeed, Kirin Wang Hu!"
As if struck by lightning, Nicol's mind raced. His finger on the trigger moved swiftly, firing beam after beam infused with his determination toward the Lightning Z Gundam, whose thrusters were aimed his way.
Yet, Nicol's attacks were as futile as stones sinking into the sea, having no effect on the speed of the Lightning Z Gundam controlled by Wang Hu.
"Athrun!Nicol screamed wildly inside his cockpit, hoping to awaken his friend's consciousness with his voice.
Little did he know that Athrun, whom he believed to be unconscious, was actually inside the free-falling Justice Gundam's cockpit.
Watching Wang Hu who had already taken the bait, Athrun couldn't contain his joy.
With a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, Athrun silently calculated the distance, confident that this carefully laid trap would succeed.
The opponent would surely suffer at least one strike from him!
"Now!"
The Beam Boomerang that had been thrown earlier and knocked away by Wang Hu's shield perfectly timed its return, attacking Wang Hu from the side.
To evade the boomerang's assault, Wang Hu shifted backward and to the right—exactly as Athrun had anticipated.
"Next comes the large combat backpack. Wang Hu will perform a somersault spin to dodge, ensuring his field of vision remains unobstructed."
"This allows him to monitor his surroundings promptly, but during the instant of the somersault, brief as it is, there's still a visual blind spot."
"And that millisecond-long gap is my opportunity!"
Inside the Justice Gundam, Athrun waited silently, with extreme patience.
"Here it comes!"
Thrilled that his opponent's actions aligned perfectly with his predictions, Athrun watched as Wang Hu indeed executed the somersault evasion.
His heart nearly leaped out of his throat. Immediately, Athrun deftly manipulated the Justice Gundam's controls.
Even as the mobile suit continued its descent, he made only minor adjustments to the Beam Rifle's muzzle orientation to save time.
"Go, Justice Gundam!"
(End of chapter)