While Shinn was defecting and destroying five Black Knights in short order, Mu was also engaged in combat with the two Black Knights in his vicinity.
The Legend, which had originally been facing off against the Strike, had come to a halt. It was unclear what Rey was thinking inside his cockpit.
Mu was more than happy to see this; after all, a one-on-two was always easier than a one-on-three. He maneuvered the Strike, gripping its ship-cutting sword, and suddenly swung it toward his flank.
A Black Knight had appeared beside the Strike at some unknown moment, its heavy slashing sword just beginning to rise.
Under the Strike's abrupt counterattack, the Black Knight could only hastily change the direction of its blade to block the slash.
The other Black Knight didn't just stand by and watch. It rapidly flew behind the Strike, drawing the heavy slashing sword from its back.
Although the power of the Black Knight's beam rifle couldn't match a Beam Magnum, it was still significant. Firing at this range would inevitably risk friendly fire; flanking the Strike with melee combat alongside its teammate was the optimal choice.
However, Mu was the premier pilot of the Moebius Zero. The pods on the Strike's propulsion pack suddenly detached, rapidly swiveling their muzzles to fire continuously at the Black Knight.
The fierce fire-net of mixed live rounds and beams forced the Black Knight approaching from behind to temporarily retreat from the brunt of the assault.
This provided Mu with the perfect opening to launch an offensive.
The Agni beam cannon had appeared in the Strike's left hand at some point, its muzzle pressed against the body of the Black Knight that had just blocked the sword slash.
Before the Black Knight could react, Mu pulled the trigger without hesitation. The red-and-white beam bombarded the Black Knight's torso at point-blank range. Under such high-power, close-range fire, the FT Armor served almost no purpose, and the machine was instantly pierced through.
The Strike performed a barrel roll, moving away from the destroyed Black Knight and flying toward the last remaining Black Knight on the field.
Mu raised the ship-cutting sword. Watching the Black Knight as it continuously dodged the attacks from the wire-guided pods, he increased the output of the propulsion pack. Thick flames propelled the Strike at extreme speed toward the enemy.
The tip of the ship-cutting sword easily pierced into the Black Knight's torso, and the machine was shoved backward by the Strike.
Immediately after, the four wire-guided pods flew to the Strike's side, firing continuously at the dazed Black Knight.
The barrage of combined live rounds and beams rapidly shattered the Black Knight's FT Armor. A large number of components went flying under the bombardment of the pods.
Mu fluidly delivered a front kick, shoving the riddled Black Knight away.
The mangled Black Knight turned into a firework in space, its parts scattering in every direction as it exploded.
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At this moment, the battlefield where the ZAFT unit was located remained a scene of utter chaos. Under the influence of beams and missiles saturating the sector, it had become a forbidden zone where no one else could interfere in their struggle.
A machine trailing a blue streak of light traversed this restricted area with elegance, appearing as if it were performing a magnificent dance. Though the NT-D mode had not been activated to expand the armor, the blue light visible through the gaps in the plating grew increasingly intense, as if it were about to transform into blue flames.
"So fast... the Unicorn is even faster than it was with the MA components!" Inside the cockpit of the Cal-re.A, Ingrid was frantically operating the Dragoons, her forehead drenched in sweat. "If we keep chasing it like this, we might be the ones to run out of steam first."
Orphee's expression was extremely grim. "We must cut it off and bring it to a halt!"
"...Drive it toward me." Shura's voice rang out over the comms.
Shura piloted the Destroy, lifting off from the deck of the drone support ship and flying toward the Unicorn. As he operated the controls, this heavily specialized Destroy emitted red particles from the rear of its thrusters, forming a cloak-like curtain of light. This was a new technology equipped on the Destroy; only one prototype had been manufactured before the "Foundation Great Retreat," and it had been installed on Shura's machine. The particle cloak could not only intercept some beams but also produce a cutting effect similar to a beam sword by swinging the cloak during rapid turns.
Seeing the Destroy and the Cal-re.A flanking the Unicorn from front and back, Creuset, sitting in the cockpit of the ZAFT unit, could not help but frown.
He noticed that eight non-wire-guided Dragoons were also joining the pursuit; given the Unicorn's powerful ability to seize control of equipment, this was clearly a hidden danger. Thinking of this, Creuset maneuvered the ZAFT unit to wave its arms, blanketing the Unicorn with countless beams.
With wolves in front and tigers behind, the beams had formed a cage, trapping the Unicorn within. Without a doubt, the bird soaring through the universe had reached its most perilous state.
Yet, Roz felt no panic. Instead, he felt a strangely eerie serenity as his hands gripped the control sticks. Sometimes, crisis is an opportunity.
The ZAFT unit, Cal-re.A, and Destroy all wanted to shoot down the Unicorn, but was Roz not also thinking of annihilating them?
As a small section of the beam cage dissipated, the red-cloaked Destroy charged forward, raising its heavy slashing sword to strike him. The support rack behind the backpack quickly ejected the telescopic ship-cutting sword into the Unicorn's right hand, while the Armed Armor VN on the left expanded into high-frequency vibration claws, revealing the blue psycho-frame within.
The ship-cutting sword and the heavy slashing sword clashed. Their respective beam edges collided, sending particle beams splashing everywhere. Shura's offensive did not end there.
Seeing the first strike fail, the katar on his left arm was covered in particles, glowing with a red light as he swung it toward the Unicorn.
Roz watched the unique "Black Knight" before him. The Unicorn swung the ship-cutting sword that had just knocked aside the heavy sword and slammed it into the incoming katar.
"Ugh... impossible, such high output!" As the katar's attack was blocked, leaving the machine's center wide open, Shura's pupils shrank. After only a brief moment of contact, he already felt that fighting the Unicorn was far more difficult than he had imagined.
Seeing that it was too late to swing the heavy sword again, Shinn grit his teeth and pressed a button on the control stick. Two beam sabers extended from the tips of the Destroy's feet as he kicked toward the Unicorn.
Regarding such a kick, Roz certainly had something to say. Even compared to Athrun, who excelled in melee, Roz was superior when it came to fighting with a mobile suit's legs. The Unicorn fluidly delivered a kick to the Destroy's knee, knocking the machine away and sending it spinning through space.
"Uaaaaagh..." Feeling the impact of his attack being intercepted and the disorientation of the spin, Shura's expression became increasingly distorted, reminiscent of someone suffering from "Torrington Syndrome."
"Aaaagh... Unicorn!!" Shura screamed. The spinning machine dragged the red beam cloak along with it, turning into a buzzsaw as it cut toward the Unicorn.
Two pure white Armed Armor DE units extended to the Unicorn's shoulders. The particle cannons at the front of the components fired without even needing to aim; two blue particle bursts forcibly halted the Destroy, which had been spinning like a giant top just a moment before.
"What are you doing with all those fancy tricks?" Roz curled his lips and extended the "wicked" Armed Armor VN, precisely seizing the Destroy's torso armor.
A normal machine would have been scrapped the moment the high-frequency vibration of the Armed Armor VN took hold, but the Destroy was a machine specifically specialized for Shura's close-quarters combat. In other words, its FT Armor and frame were tougher than those of a standard Black Knight.
As the Armed Armor VN gripped the Destroy, the beam cage deployed by the ZAFT unit began to dissipate. The Unicorn then dragged the Destroy out with it.
Though carrying another machine slightly reduced its mobility without NT-D active, it was enough. Thus, in Creuset's sight, the Destroy had charged into the beam cage like a mad dog, only to be dragged out by the Unicorn like a dead one.
Under the gazes of Orphee and Creuset, the Unicorn swung the ship-cutting sword in its right hand. Like a butcher hacking through bone, it slammed the blade into the Destroy's waist, strike after strike.
"Cough... Prime Minister Orphee! Now is the chance, activate Requiem!" Amidst the violent impacts, Shura realized he could not survive. But before dying, he felt he could drag the Unicorn down to hell with him. Thinking this, Shura maneuvered the Destroy into its final struggle.
The Destroy's thrusters reversed direction, spraying fierce flames toward the Unicorn's path to slow its advance. His left katar tried to swing out, only to be smashed aside by the ship-cutting sword.
Clang, clang, clang... The sound of the Destroy's outer armor being battered and the violent screams of the machine's metal fatigue rang in his ears, yet Shura fixed his gaze in one direction.
"Ingrid, set the bombardment coordinates!" Seeing the Unicorn in the distance, its speed significantly slowed by the Destroy's interference, Orphee grit his teeth and spoke.
"Understood. Bombardment coordinates set. Requiem is ready!" Ingrid's expression was one of profound grief. Based on the radar data, she quickly estimated the coordinates and sent them to the distant Requiem garrison.
This was an opportunity Shura had bought with his life; the Destroy was utterly powerless before the Unicorn. This bombardment could not afford to fail.
"Fire!" Orphee issued the command without hesitation, maneuvering the Dragoons to open fire on the Unicorn.
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Far away on the moon, at the site of the Requiem ruins that were supposedly abandoned.
Following the sound of mechanical grinding, and under the astonished gaze of Admiral Halberton—who was still stationed near the moon—the original debris collapsed and was cleared away by massive hatches, revealing a gargantuan device hidden deep within a shaft.
Pre-set turret batteries deployed around the shaft, emerging from the sand and soil to open fire continuously on the Earth Alliance forces remaining in the vicinity.
Intense energy swirled within the device before finally erupting into a pillar of light that shot into the sky, striking a "macaroni-shaped" space station hidden by a Mirage Colloid system. The beams and rays refracted within this station, finally bending at an angle and surging toward their destination.
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Suddenly, Roz felt a piercing sting in his mind; his brain was frantically blaring a danger warning. Moreover, the further he advanced, the more violent the stinging became.
Without hesitation, Roz brought the machine to a halt. The Unicorn's sudden emergency stop caused Shura to slam hard against his seat.
But by now, Shura could no longer care about the pain. He discarded the weapons in his hands and gripped the Armed Armor VN that was latched onto the Destroy. At that same moment, the Unicorn's ship-cutting sword finally sliced the Destroy in half; a massive amount of parts tore away from the Destroy, drifting into the void.
Yet, Shura acted contrary to logic—instead of pushing the Unicorn away, he pulled the Unicorn toward him.
"Cough, cough... come to hell with me, Unicorn!"
A metallic, bloody taste filled his throat. Shura licked his lips, laughing maniacally within his still-intact cockpit. He activated his mind-reading mode, wanting to see what Roz was thinking in his final moments, hoping to find fear and despair.
However, all he read was a massive, violent rage, though its target remained unclear.
Feeling the stimulus in his brain grow even more intense, Roz's eyes widened. He slammed on the pedals, and the Unicorn pushed against the Destroy's pulling force, retreating a distance.
In the next instant, a beam of mixed white and green light descended from the heavens, accurately striking Shura's Destroy and a portion of the Armed Armor VN.
Roz watched as the Destroy was vaporized under the Requiem's strike, and the caught section of the Armed Armor VN exploded along with it.
Roz maneuvered the Unicorn into a sudden retreat, shaking off the Destroy's severed arms that were still clutching the mangled Armed Armor VN.
But the Cal-re.A's Dragoon attacks followed immediately. While Roz's attention was occupied by the Requiem, the Cal-re.A circled to the Unicorn's flank. Drawing a red beam saber, it slashed down under the cover of the Dragoon fire.
The Unicorn swiftly evaded the Dragoon beams, but facing the Cal-re.A's point-blank slash, Roz instinctively raised the left arm.
This was exactly what Orphee had hoped for. The red beam saber hacked directly into the damaged Armed Armor VN. Seeing the Armed Armor VN go offline and show signs of an impending explosion, Roz could only release the locks and jettison the component.
Sure enough, shortly after being discarded, the Armed Armor VN detonated, its internal psycho-frame shattering into a cloud of fragments.
Roz retracted the folding ship-cutting sword and deployed the Armed Armor BS on the right arm. Blue beams swirled between the fins, surging out like striking serpents toward the Cal-re.A.
Suddenly, wire-guided claws that had appeared from nowhere flew through the air, one of them latching onto the Armed Armor BS.
Alarms blared in the cockpit. Creuset truly could not seize control of the Unicorn itself, but he only needed to hijack the control of the Armed Armor BS.
Seeing the Armed Armor BS beginning to overcharge, the Machine Spirit Girl took the lead and released the lock on the component before Roz could even act. The energy raging within the fins detonated the Armed Armor BS.
Witnessing this, Roz instinctively wanted to retreat from the encirclement to reorganize his offensive posture.
However, the ZAFT unit, which had appeared behind the Unicorn at some point, extended four arms. Before Roz could react, it seized the Unicorn in a tight grip.
"Bzzzt... Catching you was no easy feat, Amuro."
Creuset's voice came over the comms. "But just as birds must eventually fall, this is the moment of your descent."
"I admire your abilities; the miracle of the aurora is truly mesmerizing..."
While Creuset rambled, the Cal-re.A recalled its Dragoons and flew directly in front of the Unicorn, raising its red beam saber. Clearly, Orphee intended to pierce the Unicorn's cockpit directly.
"But unfortunately, I have believed from the very beginning that current humanity does not deserve miracles."
Having said this, Creuset looked intently at the Unicorn he had used every ounce of strength to capture. "So, please rest in peace, phantom beast of miracles."
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The machine was pinned, and the enemy was launching an attack directly in front of him; by any metric, this was a dead end.
"Huff... we aren't stopping here yet, right, Unicorn?"
Looking at the scene before him, Roz spoke softly as he sat in the cockpit.
"This isn't our end point..."
The synchronization between his consciousness and the Machine Spirit Girl was rising continuously. Roz didn't know what realm they would finally reach.
However, at this moment, he felt an immense sense of peace.
"Fly with me one more time, Unicorn."
"Soar beyond this scorching sky, stained red by the fires of war."
The Machine Spirit Girl appeared beside Roz. She reached out to hold his right hand as it gripped the control stick, offering him a gentle smile.
"Beyond the sky, there is still a future."
Her tender voice rang clearly in Roz's ear.
In the sight of Creuset and the pair of Orphee and Ingrid sitting in the cockpit of the Cal-re.A, preparing to strike:
The Unicorn, held fast by the four massive arms of the ZAFT unit, erupted with blue flames.
.....................