Originally watching with amusement, C.C.'s forehead quietly underwent a change.
Ever since learning there were other worlds beyond her own,
C.C., who possessed eternal life and couldn't die even when cut by swords, burned by fire, or cremated to ashes, had grown weary of existence and held two wishes.
The first was to see whether going to another world could free her from the GRASS that haunted her like a nightmare.
Fortunately, this wish had been fulfilled upon arriving in the CE world.
Her other wish was to end her own life.
But while this wish seemed simple, when it actually came down to it,
C.C. discovered that what appeared straightforward felt incredibly difficult.
Initially, C.C. thought people around her like Wang Hu would prevent her suicide attempts.
So when Lelouch assigned her to Lacus' side as both a monitor and informant,
she was easily swayed by Lacus' few persuasive words. To break free from Wang Hu's control,
C.C. decisively switched sides to join the pink-haired woman's faction.
She assumed that by escaping Wang Hu's influence, ending her life would become much simpler.
Yet not only did C.C. fail to die, she reverted to her C World demeanor - observing the world with detached amusement.
Strange, isn't it?
But when you hold a blade to your own neck, or point a gun at your head,
you might understand the tremendous fear of self-destruction and what kind of psychological pressure it creates.
Then you might comprehend how much mental preparation those seeking death must undergo.
Logically, someone like C.C. who has lived so long and witnessed so much
should find dying simple, but the saying "the longer you live, the more you fear death" holds truth.
And the deepest desire in C.C.'s heart, though she continually denies it,
is to genuinely pursue life without relying on GRASS!
Just as her amused gaze rested on Lacus, C.C.'s expression suddenly turned grim.
Her body began shaking uncontrollably with irregular tremors, like someone experiencing an epileptic seizure.
With a "thud," the slender-framed C.C. collapsed to the ground.
"Miss C.C.?" Lacus, who attended to every detail in her conduct, quickly turned at the sound.
Seeing the unusual state of this former member of Wang Hu's faction, though aware of the urgent situation -
particularly needing to contact the East Asian Army immediately -
Lacus temporarily set aside pressing matters and hurried to C.C.'s side, lifting the green-haired beauty.
This action revealed something startling.
"What's this?"
The pink diva stared in astonishment at the crimson, abstract bird-like mark that had appeared on C.C.'s forehead.
It is well known that Coordinators typically possess excellent memory, let alone someone like Lacus who ranks among the elites even among Coordinators.
She was absolutely certain that C.C. normally had no such tattoo on her forehead—and what kind of tattoo came with a shimmering special effect like that?
"GRASS, GRASS, He is coming, He is coming!"
Clutching Lacus's clothes tightly as she held her, C.C. struggled to endure the intensely uncomfortable dizziness swirling in her mind.
Wide-eyed, she stared at Lacus and declared, "Go attend to your own affairs, or else!"
"Or else something you definitely don't want to see will happen!"
"East Asian Alliance—they want to meddle in the Forbidden realm! They've actually made contact with something untouchable in this world!"
"What do you mean? What Forbidden realm?"
Her beautiful eyes flickering rapidly, countless thoughts raced through Lacus's mind. Although this woman C.C. had aligned herself with her side, she had revealed absolutely nothing about her own background. As for the intelligence regarding the East Asian Alliance, partly due to certain reasons and partly to demonstrate her magnanimity, Lacus had refrained from pressing for details. But seeing C.C. in her current state, Lacus deeply regretted it. If only she hadn't called off the investigation when her subordinates failed to uncover any useful information back then—she should have dug deeper, unearthed every last detail. Then she wouldn't be so caught off guard now.
But...
Looking down at the suffering C.C. in her arms, especially focusing on the unusual mark on her forehead, Lacus was a decisive person. She knew perfectly well what should and shouldn't be done under the current circumstances.
Gritting her pearly white teeth, Lacus gently set C.C. down and called over a few attendants to watch over her. Then, she strode toward the stage her subordinates had prepared. After one last glance back at C.C., she poised herself to part her red lips and deliver her proposal to the East Asian Alliance.
Yet, just as Lacus was about to announce her initiative, a shadow as vast and oppressive as a storm cloud descended over Creuset's heart.
"Damn that Wang Hu, damn the East Asian Alliance! What earth-shattering thing have they created this time?"
"Why, why, why does it feel like the whole world is against me?"
Having dealt with Wang Hu far too many times, and judging from their history of encounters, Creuset—who had started with nothing to lose—had ended up losing everything, even to the point of once losing his cloned body. Now, after finally managing to suppress Wang Hu with the help of the Library and its technology that defied common sense, and believing he had killed him, Creuset absolutely refused to accept that his nemesis could stage a comeback!
"If I could crush you once, I can crush you twice!"
Without waiting for the smoke from the Dendrobium's self-destruction to fully clear, Creuset fixed his gaze on a flicker of red within the haze. The Dragoons of the Red Mantis once again unleashed endless volleys of Beam Rifle fire toward what was likely Wang Hu's location. The Beam Cannons on his shoulders and abdomen, along with the high-powered Beam main cannon, fired relentlessly without pause.
Even though he had lost the firepower support of Nicol and Heine.
However, the firepower displayed by Creuset alone created a scene no less intense than the combined efforts of the previous several individuals.
"No way? He's still alive?"
Just as Creuset was unleashing his full assault, Dearka also noticed something unusual in the earlier smoke.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Even more unwilling to accept this reality than Dearka and Creuset, Yzak was screaming madly inside the cockpit of his Qilin.
Yet the world does not operate according to the will of these individuals. Admittedly, they had tried hard enough to eliminate Wang Hu.
But how could their efforts compare to the culmination of the East Asia Military Science Academy's masters, who had gathered knowledge from three worlds and were backed by the technological support of the Homeworld?
"By the name of Kirin Wang Hu of the East Asian Army, I command: Nu Gundam, indestructible! Nu Gundam, swift as lightning! Nu Gundam, fierce as fire!"
A voice rang out from within the smoke.
Under countless Dragoons beam attacks and wave after wave of main cannon beam bombardments, that glimpse of East Asian red in the smoke was not suppressed—instead, it grew brighter and brighter, becoming too dazzling to look at directly.
With the firepower Creuset displayed, to be fair with a bit of exaggeration, even a massive meteor might have been shattered by his attacks.
Yet his assault was like raging waves trying to sweep across the world, only to crash against a dam built by united wills.
Though it stirred towering waves, it ultimately could not harm the people protected behind the dam.
The power of GRASS, even with the full efforts of East Asian masters across several worlds, had not been fully replicated. But this thing, which seemed to steal the highest administrator privileges—through long-term research, the East Asian masters had cleverly grasped a tiny fraction of its mysteries.
Though it couldn't operate across wide areas like the C World, couldn't affect multiple humans, and couldn't directly influence the course of human history, they thought: then let's apply it to a single individual.
Leveraging Wang Hu's exceptional Newtype mental power, the GRASS system developed by the masters already had a hint of the flavor of the λ-driver system from the Full Metal Panic world.
Even if it wasn't as overpowered as the λ-driver system from that world, they had still taken the first similar step.
Even if it couldn't profoundly impact the entire world, when enhanced on Wang Hu's cutting-edge unit, the Nu Gundam, it was enough to make Creuset and the others jaw-droppingly astonished.
"What is that thing?"
Staring at the Gundam that had cleared away the smoke and reappeared before his eyes, Yzak angrily banged his head against his Qilin's control panel.
"Hey, Yzak, come out and see a god."
Looking at the heat gushing from the Nu Gundam's heat vents and the East Asian red covering its entire body, Dearka let out a dry, bitter laugh.
I knew it wouldn't be that simple, he thought somewhat despairingly.
"Wang Hu! You damn bastard!"
Having faced many setbacks, his resilience had grown stronger. Creuset was actually the quickest to react among them.
Immediately launching the two beam claws from his Red Mantis, he refused to believe that Wang Hu was truly unkillable!
"This feeling?"
In the cockpit of the Nu Gundam delivered by the East Asia Military Science Academy, Wang Hu slowly raised his head.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes shimmered with a crimson bird-shaped pattern identical to the one on C.C.'s forehead, clearly visible.
"I can feel the will of the world."
He muttered these words to himself.
The red beam shield protecting Wang Hu's Nu Gundam from attacks faded away.
At the moment Creuset's beam claws were about to strike, the Nu Gundam left behind an afterimage that was pierced by the enemy's attack, while its true form had long vanished to an unknown location.
"An afterimage? No, there's radar detection!"
Only after striking empty air did Creuset belatedly realize something was wrong.
Unbeknownst to him, the Nu Gundam's afterimage was actually the MEPE metal stripping effect created by the massive heat generated from operating the GRASS System - named by the East Asian Army - which required additional cooling units and further heat dissipation through the mobile suit's armor.
"Where did it go? Where?"
Creuset's eyes darted across the multiple screens in Red Mantis's cockpit as he fully activated his spatial awareness, desperately trying to locate Wang Hu's current position.
"I'm right here, Creuset."
A voice like thunder exploded in Creuset's ears, followed by the crimson Nu Gundam appearing directly in front of Red Mantis.
"Do you think you have me cornered?"
At this critical moment, Creuset increased the energy output of his beam shield while simultaneously recalling all the deployed Dragoons.
"I'd say yes."
As he spoke, one after another, the stacked Dragoons mounted on Nu Gundam's left shoulder - belonging to Wang Hu - began to disperse.
(End of Chapter)