With the experience from last time, Fram Nara no longer blindly trusted her X-Rounder abilities and the performance of the [Van Farsia]. Instead, she cautiously maintained a stalemate with the Luna Gundam. The whirling of her beam whip disrupted the Luna Gundam's shooting accuracy, and the [Van Farsia] successfully avoided the situation where its funnels were completely destroyed the moment they were deployed.
Moreover... Yurin still hadn't used her full strength against Fram Nara, not because she was physically exhausted, but because her heart softened.
"Can you tell me your answer now?"
"What?" Fram Nara's movements faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure, her offensive stance becoming even more ferocious. "Stop talking nonsense! I'll shoot you down right here today!"
"Is that so? Still not sure yet?"
As soon as the words fell, beams of light flashed, and the [Van Farsia]'s staff was severed. In the next moment, beams rained down like a storm, not only destroying the front sections of the five funnels but also leaving the [Van Farsia] in tatters.
Its limbs were intact, and its body remained whole, but every beam had grazed the [Van Farsia], each one just barely stripping away its external armor without damaging the internal frame.
"How... is this possible..." Fram Nara's mind went blank.
She had thought that after preparing herself, she could fight Yurin on equal footing. For a while, she even suppressed Yurin, giving her the illusion that she could defeat her.
But soon, the harsh reality mercilessly slapped her in the face, showing her the truth.
Multiple beams of fire had been fired, but apart from the staff and the funnels, not a single one had truly hit the [Van Farsia]. The contrast before and after was stark, but no one would think that Yurin's shots had all missed.
Because compared to directly hitting the target, grazing the body without damaging the internal frame was even more difficult. The slightest mistake would result in one of two outcomes: either directly piercing the enemy machine or completely missing it.
In Fram Nara's eyes, Yurin's shooting ability was no longer something a human could achieve. It was on a completely godlike level.
"Your movements are too monotonous," Yurin said softly. "It seems that Jehart really holds a significant place in your heart."
"Stop joking! How could a selfish woman like you possibly understand my goals! Lord Jehart is the hope of VEGAN, the successor of Lord Ezelkanta. For VEGAN, for Eden, I would give everything to Lord Jehart!"
With a roar, the [Van Farsia] moved, its menacing face glowing red as it charged toward the Luna Gundam, dragging a red line behind it. Its bare hand extended a beam saber, thrusting straight toward the Luna Gundam's cockpit.
Yurin wasn't skilled in close combat, but that was relative. Against the [Van Farsia]'s straightforward, reckless charge, she didn't even need to draw her weapon. She simply raised her foot to kick away the right hand, then twisted her body and delivered a spinning kick to the [Van Farsia]'s abdomen.
"Ah~!!!"
Fram Nara's scream did not earn Yurin's pity. Four more beams of light fell, precisely hitting the [Van Farsia]'s hands and feet, leaving behind bare limbs and a skeleton stripped of its external armor.
"You and I are very much alike, no, perhaps we are the same? Without grand ideals, without a homeland, existing only for one person, living solely for that one person."
"No! I don't..."
"...I just want to chase after him, just hope to stay by his side, live for him, strive for his goals, fight for everything he holds dear..."
With each sentence, the Luna Gundam would shorten a limb of the [Van Farsia], like a merciless executioner administering extreme punishment to a prisoner.
"I am not! I am for..."
"We are all the same, selfish, but if we are not selfish, we have no reason to exist..."
"Stop... talking nonsense!"
If not dying in silence, then exploding in silence, she didn't understand Yurin's true intentions. Was it just to force her to admit that she was the same as Yurin? Or was there more to the conspiracy?
But she didn't care, she didn't want to be manipulated anymore. Under Yurin's coercion, she chose to resist. What kind of person she was, it was not for others to judge!
The battered [Van Farsia] ignited its thrusters, crashing into the Luna Gundam with fierce flames, pushing it away into the distance.
"Ugh~!"
"I am not you! Jehart-sama is not Yang Hui! Don't impose your way of life on me! Bastard!"
In the midst of her roar, Fram Nara, with a fierce expression, activated the last function capable of killing the enemy. She was determined to take Yurin to hell with her, to use her life to strike down a formidable enemy for Jehart, for VEGAN.
"Jehart-sama..."
The self-destruct system activated, a 30-second countdown began. With a resolute smile, Fram Nara looked towards the battlefield where Jehart was, seeing the red meteor streaking through space, her heart's reluctance also eased.
But the distant red figure only existed in Fram Nara's sight for a second before disappearing, the entire cockpit's light dimmed.
"What... happened... why did the system stop..."
At that moment, the Luna Gundam drew its Beam Saber for the first time in battle, beheading the [Van Farsia] with a single strike, sidestepping the charging [Van Farsia] with its cockpit, watching it explode in space, the remaining fragments a testament to its existence.
"It seems this child still needs guidance, otherwise... she will walk the path of self-destruction."
Yurin murmured softly to herself, seeing her past shadow in Fram Nara. Even if treated as a spare part, forced into an MS, no matter how scared, even in the face of death, the desire to see Yang Hui again.
Now it seemed how naive she had been back then, she didn't want Fram Nara to walk the same path, this was... the sympathy of kindred spirits.
...
Under Jehart's control, the Gundam Legilis had reached its peak performance, surrounded by bits, sitting like a god high in the heavens.
Yet even so, the Flag Gundam weaved back and forth, always finding gaps in the fire blockade, like a nimble fish swimming through the vast ocean.
The relentless barrage of fire from the high-speed movement continued to carve a path for the Flag Gundam, as the swarm of tiny, ant-like bits failed to completely ensnare the Gundam like a fish in a net.
Not only that, but the Flag Gundam executed countless irregular right-angle maneuvers in space—sudden stops, sharp turns, and instant accelerations—making it impossible for Jehart to predict its movements.
"Hmm? Flam's signal disappeared? Could it be…"
The signal from [Van Farsia] was lost, causing the Gundam Legilis to momentarily freeze.
And in that very moment, the Flag Gundam seized the opportunity. Graham, ever the opportunist, was hard to shake off once he had a chance.
"Don't look away during a battle!"
"Bang~!"
A sword strike landed on the Gundam Legilis' shield, and the [Blade of Downpour] unleashed its power, severing both the arm and the shield in a screeching clash of metal.
"Damn it!"
The [X-Rounder Launcher] was mounted on the shield, and in that moment of carelessness, Jehart lost his most powerful weapon. The halo vanished, and the god had fallen from his throne, descending to the mortal realm.
Chest, tail, palm, beam rifle—Jehart fired everything as he retreated, disregarding energy consumption, trying to drown the Flag Gundam in a torrent of beams.
"Naive!"
The Flag Gundam immediately transformed into its MA form and moved away from the spot.
The Gundam Legilis' relentless barrage of fire pursued, but the Flag Gundam executed a series of bizarre and exaggerated maneuvers, causing all of the Legilis' shots to miss.
"Damn it, is Graham a monster? How can he keep up these movements…"
"Beep beep beep…"
"Don't even think about it!"
The Flag Gundam closed in, and the Gundam Legilis drew its blade to counter, locking the two in a stalemate.
"I've waited decades for you to grow up! As long as I can fight to my heart's content, what does it matter if I die!?" Graham's impassioned voice echoed in the cockpit, leaving Jehart momentarily stunned.
"I didn't realize you thought so highly of me~!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Gundam Legilis forcefully pushed the Flag Gundam's blade away and fired its chest beam cannon. The Flag Gundam used the momentum to flip away, while the Legilis' tail rose, its tip glowing with a golden light of destruction.
"Not enough!"
The Flag Gundam's back erupted with flames, propelling it forward in an instant and causing the Legilis' sneak attack to miss.
"Damn it!"
Jehart cursed under his breath, but it was too late. As the Flag Gundam flipped, two cold flashes of light struck the Legilis' raised arm, severing its remaining left arm into three pieces, which exploded.
"Damn it, is this Graham's true strength?" Jehart silently berated himself. Even with the most advanced Gundam, he couldn't defeat Graham, who was slightly inferior to Yang Hui. Did that mean he could never surpass Yang Hui?
"Beep beep beep~"
At that moment, several more ally signals disappeared, including Zannald and his fleet, and…
"Dole, Orfa, Dit…"
Thinking of the three who had supported him from the beginning and had accompanied him all this way, now fallen in battle, along with the recent disappearance of [Van Farsia]'s signal, tears welled up in Jehart's eyes beneath his mask.
But he couldn't give up now, because their goal had not yet been achieved, they had not failed, and he was still alive. He had to carry on with the will of his fallen comrades, no matter how difficult or lonely it was, to realize the [Eden Project].
"Don't lose focus!"
"Bang~"
"Ugh~!"
The Flag Gundam attacked again, but Jehart's face was as cold as frost, his eyes utterly calm. The tail of the Gundam Legilis left afterimages as it struck the Flag Gundam away. Jehart then pushed the Gundam to its full power and retreated toward the La Gramis Fortress.
Since the MS battle was lost, he would mak
e up for it in fleet command. He was no longer just a warrior but a commander, bearing the hopes of the entire VEGAN on his shoulders. He... could not afford to lose again!
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