At 0100 hours, the Celestial Being forces began their armed intervention.
Gundam Exia descended from the sky, like a deity arriving at the center of the battlefield, stirring up dust and debris as it weaved through the crossfire of both sides. Any MS that came too close would be mercilessly severed by the GN Sword.
At first, upon seeing Celestial Being's arrival, both sides of the conflict tacitly set aside their prejudices and rushed to encircle Gundam Exia, attempting to use their numbers to counter it.
However... it was not just Gundam Exia that had joined the battle.
A pink beam pierced through the entire battlefield, and the three Long Nose units caught in its path were penetrated as effortlessly as tofu meeting a hot knife.
Just as everyone turned around, several more pink beams followed, tearing a large gap in the encirclement of the Long Nose units.
"Sniper!? Where is it coming from?"
"The radar isn't responding!"
"Damn it! It's a mobile sniper!"
"Two Gundams! Damn it!"
"We... can't win!"
As the instigator, Gundam Dynames, under the cover of Optical Camouflage, continuously changed positions, disrupting the enemy formation with just a few shots while completely extinguishing the enemy's arrogance.
"Shh~ what a rabble, I haven't even exerted myself yet. Lyle, you might not need to make an appearance," Neil teased.
"That won't do! Now that I'm here, I have to get in on the action!"
Lyle's communication had just ended when, from another direction on the battlefield, Gundam Cherudim, wielding dual pistols, engaged in fire suppression while reuniting with allies. The entire encirclement resembled a meat pie, and he was a sharp knife cutting through it.
"Setsuna, formation S22." After Gundam Cherudim reached Gundam Exia, he initiated communication with Setsuna.
"Understood."
With the fire support from Gundam Dynames and Gundam Cherudim, Gundam Exia charged even more fiercely, its GN Sword swiftly and ruthlessly reaping the lives of enemies. No matter how Gundam Exia leaped and dashed, Gundam Cherudim ensured they were back-to-back, always guarding against enemies from behind. Meanwhile, Gundam Dynames, lurking in the distance, kept its muzzle shining, aiming to eliminate any enemies attempting to approach the two from the sides or those trying to flee.
"Don't even think about running! Our three-pronged attack is enough for you to brag to the three major nations," Neil muttered to himself as he watched the Long Nose units, now locked on, fleeing in panic.
"This side is child's play; I just hope nothing goes wrong on the other side," Lyle remarked.
"It won't. Don't forget Myer-San is in space."
"Yeah, but we're about to land on Earth, so we should take the opportunity to relax a bit."
...
"Gundam Kyrios, Gundam Virtue, Gundam Rasiel, ejection complete."
"Arrived in the Lagrange 4 area, 0042 until mission start."
Receiving reports from Feldt and Christina, Sumeragi directly issued the order to commence the mission. Except for Allelujah, who felt a mix of nostalgia and complexity about returning to the old place, everyone else maintained a relaxed and comfortable demeanor, even though the Human Reform League had nearly wiped them out before.
Because...
The arrival of Celestial Being naturally alarmed the garrison forces of the Human Reform League's colonial satellite—Lagrange 4, as over a dozen Iron Man units surged toward them.
"Go, Allelujah, sever ties with the past," Yang Hui said.
"Understood."
"Tieria, leave these garrison forces to you and buy time for Allelujah."
"...What are you going to do?" Tieria questioned irritably.
"Of course, I'm going to watch the show. This level of conflict shouldn't require my intervention, right?" Myer provocatively teased.
"Tch, just buying time?" Tieria knew his weakness was being goaded, but he wouldn't change.
"As long as you don't blow up the colonial satellite, do as you please."
"Understood." With permission granted, a barely perceptible smile crept onto Tieria's lips. Buying time? That was not what Gundam Virtue was meant to do; his task was to bombard, explode, and annihilate completely!
Moreover... the Human Reform League had made him feel quite stifled before!
Sure enough, just as the Iron Man units of the Human Reform League were about to engage Gundam Kyrios, the firepower of Gundam Virtue had already engulfed four Iron Man units.
This... was just the beginning.
"GN Cannon units, separate." Continuously operating, Tieria's eyes were filled with colorful streams of light.
The two GN Cannon units detached from Gundam Virtue's back, moving in two different directions, forming an equilateral triangle with Gundam Virtue, encircling the remaining Iron Man units in the center.
"Gundam Virtue, commence annihilation of the enemy."
Like the command of the Grim Reaper or the judgment of Yama, the four GN Cannons in the triangular formation fired simultaneously, a torrent of pink beams swallowing the remaining Iron Man units in an instant, leaving them no chance.
"Annihilation complete."
"Hey, hey, hey, Tieria, don't get too excited; that's not your character," Yang Hui's communication suddenly came through, causing the heated Tieria to cool down instantly.
"Tch, mind your own business." He muttered under his breath, then closed the communication, standing guard at the entrance to Lagrange 4, waiting for Gundam Kyrios's return.
"Is it really like that?" Yang Hui mused as he watched Gundam Virtue on the screen, unaware that even Tieria himself had a smile of excitement on his face.
...
With the garrison forces annihilated, Gundam Kyrios advanced without encountering any obstacles, arriving directly in front of the Superhuman Institute, its GN Missile Launcher locking onto the building ahead.
But... Allelujah hesitated to pull the trigger.
"It hurts so much... really hurts... please... let me go... let me go..."
"Please... I don't want to... it hurts so much..."
"Spare me... spare me..."
In front of the Superhuman Institute, the sounds of countless anguished wails and piercing screams invaded Allelujah's mind, like countless steel needles stabbing at him.
"I sense... my kind... right in front of me... this evil place... I won't hesitate... I am... Gundam Meisters!"
With passionate self-encouragement, but feeling the children's screams and the wails of his kind, Allelujah still couldn't pull the trigger.
"Is it really... necessary to kill them? Right... I could also take them in..."
"Naive."
"Hallelujah!"
"How can you take them in? How can you nurture them? What kind of life do we lead after escaping the facility? Heh, stop daydreaming about impossible things!"
"But... if we just kill them, they are so unfortunate..."
"Unfortunate? You think they are unfortunate? Those in the facility wouldn't think of themselves as unfortunate."
"One day they will awaken..."
"Do you think that woman on Into the Array feels unfortunate? She doesn't, right? Don't impose your one-sided thoughts on others! No matter how many pretty words you say, your kindness is ultimately hypocrisy! Pretending to be kind just to satisfy yourself!"
"They are still alive!"
"Alive after being modified! And one day they will come to kill us. Stop sympathizing with the enemy! Or do you want me to do it for you? You push aside what you don't want to do and then shirk responsibility?..."
As soon as those words were spoken, Hallelujah immediately recalled the painful memories sealed deep in his mind. It was the same back then; he didn't want to do it, so Hallelujah did it for him, killing the same batch of self-destructive failures like himself, then pretending to forget about it.
"...I'm going to make my move. I don't care what others think; I fight to protect my own existence!"
"Such things..."
"Then why did you come here?" Hallelujah sensed Allelujah's spirit gradually crumbling, teetering on the edge of a precipice, and intensified his persuasion.
"I am... a member of Celestial Being..."
"Here to kill, right?"
"No! As a Gundam Meister!"
"You want to kill based on your identity? Pulling the trigger should be based on feelings, on self! Without mercy! Allelujah!"
"Ah~!!!!"
With a painful roar, his finger pressed down hard on the trigger, and the missiles flew like a flock of peaks, turning the towering building before him into a sea of hellfire.
Evil was consumed by flames, filth buried under ruins, and pain found release.
On the way back, Hallelujah let out a hearty laugh: "Hahaha! Amazing! This is my true self! Things are getting interesting!"
Though Hallelujah laughed heartily, tears flowed uncontrollably, and it was unclear whether they were Allelujah's tears or Hallelujah's tears.
(End of Chapter)