Lagann bypassed the energy field forming around Stelle in instant, allowing Simon to reach out and grab her hand.
The strong repulsion from the Stellaron on the verge of exploding singed his hand, but he refused to let go.
"Stelle!" He called out, spiral power mending his wounds long enough for him to hug her. But the blood flow only got worse as he got closer.
"Si...mon?" Stelle blurted out, her face contorting in pain. She forced herself to stay awake by biting her lips, looking up at him through blurry eyes. "Get...away..."
She attempted to swat his hands away to no avail. She could feel the power inside her swelling up more and more, barely a thread away from losing control.
Only the unacceptable sight of Simon's suffering and that same power pouring out from within him kept the disaster at bay.
Still, Stelle didn't want to find out how much longer she could keep this up, silently conveying her intentions for Simon to get as far away as possible through her gaze alone.
"You seriously think you can hurt me, little raccoon?"
But contrary to her expectations, Simon just kept smiling at her assuredly, unaffected by the destruction happening to their surroundings and himself.
Stelle moved with great effort to speak again, but a finger landed gently on her lips.
"Shush, just answer me this," Simon whispered, leaning closer so she could hear him clearly over all the background noises. "Will you lend me your power, just this once?"
She glanced at him with barely concealed confusion, wondering what that had to do with anything.
It didn't seem like a joke to lighten the tension either, because Simon stared at her with a rare trace of seriousness, as if her answer would determine the fate of the world.
Looking at it this way, Stelle had only one answer in her heart.
"Any...time."
Simon smiled, intertwining his fingers with hers. She didn't know why, but she still responded in kind.
"Thank you, Stelle." He caressed her hair, before pulling her in with him back into Lagann's cockpit. "Now, leave the rest to me."
"Mmm..." She replied weakly, surrendering to his stubbornness. His confidence made her believe that everything would be alright.
...
The shockwave that had erupted moments ago began to recede, folding back into itself.
The world that had looked on the verge of collapse moments earlier now stood eerily still.
The ruined sky no longer pulsed with light.
The molten glow that had scorched the air was gone, leaving only silence and the faint shimmer of Lagann floating high above.
It felt as though the apocalyptic chaos had been nothing but a shared hallucination.
"Simon managed to stop the Stellaron?!" March's voice broke the silence, shaky with disbelief.
She hopped onto her toes, straining to peek at the mech hanging in the air.
The moment Lagann began its descent, she stumbled, instinctively reaching out as her eyes followed its fall.
Lagann landed with a thud that rippled through the floor
Himeko folded her arms, her expression unreadable. "It would seem he did," she said dryly, though her usual composure barely concealed the relief that softened her shoulders.
She was relieved, of course, but...
"Sorry...for the trouble..." Stelle's apology drifted out from the comfort of Simon's arms, not seeming to mind being princess carried at all.
Himeko exhaled softly, her lips curving into a faint smile.
There were times when she envied that kind of innocence, the way youth could bounce from life-threatening chaos to peace without losing its brightness.
"No need," she said gently. "All that matters is that you're safe."
March wiped at her eyes, trying not to sniffle. "Yeah! Yeah! You nearly gave us all a heart attack!"
Simon chuckled. He wanted to reach out and ruffle her hair, but his hands were still full.
March's face puffed up anyway, as if she could already tell he wanted to tease her.
"I don't mean to interrupt," Dan Heng said quietly. His gaze had shifted back toward the edge of the battlefield, toward the thing that had stopped moving. "But did you forget about someone?"
Simon followed his line of sight. The others turned too, and for a moment no one spoke.
The Doomsday Beast still stood where it had last fallen. Its vast, monstrous frame trembled slightly. Sparks flickered under its armor.
For an absurd second, it almost looked like it was sweating.
But that couldn't be possible for a creature of its caliber.
"Oh?" Simon's smile turned predatory. "Of course I didn't forget, Danny. I was just giving it time to say its last words. But alas, it seems to be scared silly."
"I see..." Dan Heng actually faltered at that, his brows drawing together.
Simon just shook his head with amusement, enjoying the banter. But as he turned back to Stelle, the humor faded.
His eyes softened, yet still harnessed all that rage and power he'd buried since earlier.
The others felt the shift immediately.
"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, looking at Stelle.
She, who had witnessed the change in his demeanour the closest, nodded firmly. She had already agreed to lend him her power, She didn't need to ask what he planned.
Her body still ached, but she met his gaze and nodded. "I'm ready."
He smiled, a flash of warmth in his otherwise steady expression. "Alright."
Simon stepped back into Lagann, settling into the pilot seat and carefully positioning Stelle on his lap.
She leaned back against him, his heartbeat was steady, almost soothing against her back.
"Umm," March tilted her head, suspicion rising. She saw no reason for Stelle to continue fighting alongside Simon in her condition. "What exactly are you guys doing?"
Simon's eyes flicked toward her through the half-closed hatch. "Isn't it obvious?"
March blinked, thrown off by the teasing calm in his voice. "No...?"
He grinned, nudging Stelle. "Tell her."
"We're going to combine." The golden eyed girl raised a peace sign expressionlessly.
"Huh...?" March curiosity died down immediately, replaced by a deadpan look. "...and how are YOU so sure?"
"Gut feeling." She replied innocently, stroking her chin for a moment and shooting a thumbs up. "And because it's cool."
March sighed in defeat. "Forget I asked. Just...good luck."
Himeko chuckled quietly, sending them a final nod alongside Dan Heng.
The hatch sealed shut, cutting off the outside world.
Simon took a deep breath.
"Simon..." Stelle called out softly. "...are we gonna combine? is that...really possible?"
Simon smirked, answering with a hard tug at Lagann's handles that sent Lagann's system into overdrive.
A mixture of golden and emerald energies clashed in his eyes as he directed all that stored energy into the mech.
"You should know by now," He said slowly, watching the spiral display spin until it shattered and mixed with the destruction aligned imaginary energy he'd absorbed. "Making the impossible possible...is what I do!"
Outside, the fusion of golden Stellaron energy and Lagann's green spiral power turned violent, colliding again and again until one finally absorbed the other.
The energy exploded outward, then coiled back in tight streams that wrapped around the mech.
Bit by bit, the energy condensed into a larger frame beneath Lagann, steel and light knitting together, growing arms, a torso, a vast mechanical body. Lagann fit into place as the head, shining brighter than ever.
"This is Gurren Lagann! Get ready for a giga drill break, you stupid lizard and Nanook!"
Simon floored the controls, his glasses glinting in the lightshow as an oversized drill made of the fused energies manifested on the illusory mech's hand.
Stelle and the crew stared at the awe-inspiring display in stunned silence, Simon's declaration still reverberating in their minds.
He really was going to challenge an Aeon...
"Stay in the same goddamn place for me!" Simon yelled out, commanding Gurren Lagann to pluck off the sunglasses on its chest and replicate it not the usual four for each limb, but six whole times instead.
With a wide and powerful swing, the glasses flew off in impossible arcs. The doomsday beast could only stare with horror as it was pinned by the neck, arm and legs.
The last two projectiles vanished completely, reappearing in the strange, path space itself, pinning something much greater.
Nanook's attention which hadn't even registered Simon's earlier proclamation was instantly attracted by this unknown power.
A shape began to form, an overwhelming presence that made every hair stand on end.
Even the stars seemed to dim. This brief gaze solidified into a distant avatar, startling every single person on the space station and the blue planet.
Even passing ships were shocked to death by the sudden appearance of an Aeon.
"Is that the ruins author?!"
"Aeons above, we are doomed..."
"Save me, Qlipoth!"
Asta, still standing on the observation deck, stared at THEIR divine self with a little fear. It was one thing for the anti-matter legion to invade the space station, since they were merely mindless puppets hellbent on the extinction of life.
Ignoring the fact that they chose the station over the entire planet they were orbiting.
At most, the stellaron Hunters used them as a smokescreen to steal the Stellaron which somehow ended up inside Stelle.
But this was entirely different...Aeon knows what kind of scene would attract Nanook themselves.
The express crew didn't faring any better. Himeko's hand trembled slightly where it rested on her console.
March couldn't look away, her voice lost somewhere between awe and dread.
Dan Heng's normally calm demeanor cracked with visible unease.
It was no secret that Nanook had gazed at Stelle when the Stellaron went off, allowing her to become a destruction pathstrider.
Himeko, March and Dan Heng all thought that Simon's rage was due to him not having the same understanding of an Aeon since he was from a parallel earth.
Maybe Simon thought that Nanook was the source of Stelle's suffering after sensing THEM.
But for him to actually force THEM to send an avatar...how exactly did he accomplish this?
Needless to say, only Nanook knew the real reason. It wasn't just a matter of THEIR fleeting gaze being pinned by a mortal, but also the fact that the same mortal was using destruction path energy freely, something THEY never granted him permission to do, nor was he even compatible with THEIR path to begin with.
In fact, he was the complete opposite. Yet, he had somehow usurped THEIR power.
Simon gritted his teeth, fingers tightening on the controls. "Let's do this for the final time, Stelle!"
She placed her hands over his, her voice small but fierce. "Right!"
"Giga…" Simon shouted.
"…Drill…" she answered.
"Break!" they roared together.
The drill formed in front of them, a blazing tower of spinning light that grew until it dwarfed the space station entirely, much less the Doomsday Beast.
When it struck, it tore through everything, space, light, and sound all collapsing into a single flash.
The creature disintegrated instantly, reduced to dust in the face of sheer willpower. Even the watching ships fell silent.
But Simon wasn't done. His eyes burned with golden-green fire. "It's not over yet, Nanook!" he shouted.
Lagann suddenly detached from the energy construct holding together Gurren Lagann and the glowing mechanical body under it turned into a shooting star, drilling straight through space toward Nanook, who could do nothing but glare.
"I bet you're wondering how a mere mortal is able to restrain you! It's utterly humiliating, isn't it?" Simon laughed wildly as Lagann floated back to the station. "I can generously tell you though, that the limits of my imaginations were broken ad infinitum the moment I awakened in this world! Even an Aeon is nothing before the infinite potential of humanity!"
Everyone watched with bated breath as this bold attack seemed to get faster and faster, defying newton's law of motion and about to accomplish something that most people wouldn't even dare dream of.
Humanity...hurting an Aeon.
For a moment, it looked unstoppable.
However, it seemed that notion would remain outside the realm of possibility for the foreseeable future, as the drill began to fizzle out and its light sputtered, fading before it could reach its mark.
Simon panted, staring at the fading light with a quiet, almost peaceful smile. His reserves had unsurprisingly ran out. He didn't yet have infinite spiral power. He wasn't yet a singularity...
He had known it would end like this, but that didn't matter. He had gone further than anyone else ever could.
With a final glare, and maybe even disappointment, Nanook's avatar also vanished.
The light faded, leaving only silence.
Dust drifted through the fractured air like snow, glimmering in the faint afterglow of the explosion.
The battle was over.
The Doomsday Beast had been erased from existence so completely that most people had even forgotten about it.
Inside Lagann, the hum of its systems quieted to a fading heartbeat. Simon sat motionless in the cockpit, his hands still gripping the controls.
His breath came in short, uneven pulls. The golden glow that had surrounded him moments ago was gone, replaced by exhaustion.
Stelle remained in his arms, equally drained. Her body trembled faintly, the remnants of the Stellaron's violent energy still flickering under her skin.
And yet, when she looked up at him, she smiled. A small, fragile expression that somehow carried all her gratitude.
"We really… did it," she whispered, as if afraid that speaking too loudly might undo it all.
Simon let out a tired laugh. "Yeah," he murmured, voice hoarse. "Looks like we did."
He leaned back, eyes half-lidded, letting the silence wash over them. The cockpit smelled faintly of ozone and scorched metal. The weight of the moment pressed down on him, but not unpleasantly.
For the first time in what felt like hours, he could breathe without the taste of fire in his lungs.
Outside, the Astral Express crew watched from the ground.
March's mouth hung open, her bow slack in her hands. "That… that was insane," she breathed, unable to process what she'd just witnessed. "He actually...he actually fought Nanook."
Himeko exhaled slowly, her hands folded in front of her. Her eyes were filled with respect and mixed with worry.
"He didn't just fight," she said softly. "He forced an Aeon to respond. That's something no human should be capable of."
Dan Heng's gaze lingered on Lagann. Even from a distance, he could sense that something had changed.
The energy surrounding Simon wasn't the same anymore; it was something deeper, heavier, even if in way less quantity than before.
"He shouldn't have been able to channel that much Destruction energy," Dan Heng said quietly. "It should've torn him apart."
Himeko nodded. "And yet it didn't."
March turned toward her, frowning. "But that's… good, right? He's fine, and Stelle's fine, and that monster's gone."
Her words were meant to be reassuring, but even she could hear the doubt in them.
Above them, Lagann floated motionless.
The faint green light along its hull pulsed weakly before dimming again. Then, slowly, the hatch opened.
Simon stepped out, carrying Stelle in his arms. The light caught on the cracks in his vest, revealing the toll the fight had taken.
His uniform was scorched, his skin marked with faint traces of spiraling light that still flickered across his veins like fading embers.
He landed gently, the ground groaning under his boots.
"Simon!" March ran up first, stopping a few steps short when she saw his expression. He looked… tired.
"Easy, March," Himeko said, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Give them a moment."
Stelle stirred weakly in Simon's arms. "I'm fine," she murmured, smiling up at him. "You don't have to look so serious."
He looked down at her, his lips twitching into a faint smile. "Can't help it," he said. "You scared the hell out of me back there."
She laughed softly, though it quickly turned into a cough. He held her closer until it passed.
"You're one to talk," she whispered. "You just yelled at an Aeon."
"Yeah, well," Simon muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "He started it."
March let out a breath that was half a laugh, half a sob.
Unfortunately, the air above them darkened, interrupting them. Like a shadow passing across the sun, it was faint.
Then, the light itself began to distort. Space rippled, bending under the weight of something vast and far beyond comprehension.
Dan Heng felt it before anyone else.
"Something's coming," he said quietly.
Himeko's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. "No… not again."
The impossible weight of an Aeon's presence pressed down on them.
Nanook's avatar loomed in the distance, a shape so colossal it defied perspective.
Every person on the space station froze. Some fell to their knees. Even the ground seemed to tremble under the Aeon's partial manifestation. THEIR gaze burned through reality itself.
Simon met that gaze without flinching. He was too tired to be afraid and too stubborn to look away.
"If you've got a problem, ," he said, his voice calm, almost casual, "take it up with me."
The air seemed to twist at his words.
Nanook's presence wavered slightly, as though examining him more closely. Almost immediately, everyone else felt the pressure withdraw.
Simon's expression hardened, bearing the full burden of THEIR gaze.
The avatar tilted THEIR head, almost curious.
For a moment, the space around them shimmered with the heat of a dying sun.
Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the presence began to fade.
"Keep your flame, mortal. Burn bright… until you are reduced to ash."
The air cleared. The light returned to normal. Nanook was gone.
The silence that followed felt heavier than any roar.
March finally found her voice. "What… was that supposed to mean?"
No one answered right away. Simon looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers as if to make sure they were still his own.
The faint spiral glow flickered once more, then vanished entirely.
He smiled faintly, almost to himself. "Guess I made an impression."
Himeko let out a long sigh, part exhaustion, part disbelief. "You certainly did," she said. "Though I'm not sure that's a good thing."
Simon just laughed softly, shifting Stelle a little higher in his arms. "I'll deal with it later. For now… I think we could all use some rest."
March nodded, still staring at the spot where Nanook had vanished. "Yeah… rest sounds good."
As they began the slow walk back toward the station, the damaged earth under their feet still warm from the battle, Simon cast one last glance at the sky.
The stars above twinkled faintly, as if nothing had happened. But he could still feel that lingering gaze.
He didn't know what it meant yet.
But it felt like a challenge.