Betrayal Often Happens in an Instant

"Maybe..." Kawaki replied nonchalantly. "You can just rely on your intuition for these things."

Ignoring Kawaki's flippancy, Tsukuyo stepped back, and a few kunai appeared in her hand, ready for action.

Kawaki, seeing Tsukuyo's serious demeanor, said nothing and turned to the window. Leaning on the sill with one hand supporting his cheek, he stared idly outside at the ongoing battle.

…

Controlling the Gundam, Elizabeth cautiously checked the situation inside the hole she had punched open. Amid the floating debris and corpses of Renpou soldiers, she spotted Midojin, half-buried in the wall, still clinging to life.

「I see,」 Midojin raised a signboard slowly. 「You climbed to the rank of general just to thwart my plans.」

「Eyeing my position all along.」

Midojin raised his head, blood still dripping from his eyes. "Kawaki, do you think you can kill me with this?"

"Do you think you can change the world like this?"

Midojin suddenly opened his mouth, emitting multiple laser beams, and propelled himself into space with a powerful kick off the wall.

「Nothing will change! Neither Earth's fate nor Renpou's destiny!」

Elizabeth controlled the Gundam to dodge Midojin's continuous laser attacks. Still, within seconds, her Gundam was hit several times due to the sheer density of the beams, losing its left arm weapon.

「Even picking up discarded trash from Earth to fight me?」

Midojin's relentless beams then blasted off the Gundam's head.

"Just the main camera!" Elizabeth roared, charging at Midojin and striking him with the right arm of the Gundam.

On the mothership, Kawaki muttered, "Is this guy the Eastern Invincible?"

Turning to Tsukuyo, who was trying to break through the wall with kunai, Kawaki asked, "Hey, this wall is too hard. Any ideas?"

"Over there…" Kawaki pointed to a dark red metal door.

Tsukuyo: …

…

"Kawaki! Only you will die!" Midojin, blocking the Gundam's hand with one arm, continued, "To protect your loved ones, you betrayed and deceived them! You've abandoned Earth and Renpou! In this vast universe, you're all alone! No one cares about you, and you can't change anything."

"Die alone!!" Midojin opened his mouth again, firing an even larger blue beam at Elizabeth, blasting her Gundam hundreds of meters away.

BOOM!!! A blinding explosion engulfed the Gundam, obscuring it completely.

But just as Midojin thought Elizabeth was dead, the Gundam's mechanical right arm shot out from the explosion, grabbing Midojin.

Seeing Elizabeth through the cracked cockpit door, Midojin yelled, "Kawaki, you bastard!"

Elizabeth smirked.

Enraged, Midojin opened his mouth, firing a massive blue beam, but this time, Elizabeth was ready. The Gundam raised its shield to block the beam.

Knowing the shield wouldn't last, Elizabeth pushed the control lever.

With Midojin trapped in the Gundam's grip, his body began to tremble, and his laser attacks stopped. Yet his voice remained unfazed.

"Then I'll send you to the darkness where you have no friends!" Midojin shouted, preparing to fire another laser, but a blade suddenly pierced his head from behind!

"Friends are right here!" said Katsura, who had snuck up behind Midojin, "No matter how dark or far in the galaxy…"

Katsura split Midojin in half with his sword, "I told you! I'll protect your back!"

Seeing Katsura, Elizabeth raised a signboard with trembling hands—「Ka...」

[Katsura-san...]Elizabeth thought.

[Not Zura, Katsura.] Katsura corrected telepathically.

[No, why can you read my mind? Are you a Newtype? Why? I told you to forget me... Why? I… I'm crying...]

Suddenly, their background changed to a space filled with colorful lights.

[It must be like when a child falls and cries after a parent says, 'It must hurt, doesn't it?'] Katsura, also in tears, responded.

[It feels like a conversation between idiot Newtypes!]

[I see time…]

[No, you're ruining the mood; stop it!]

Unable to contain himself, Katsura flew towards Elizabeth, "Elizabeth!!"

「Katsura-san!!」 Elizabeth raised a signboard while extending her hand.

But at this touching moment, a laser beam from afar struck Elizabeth's Gundam, snapping them back to reality.

BOOM!!

The explosion destroyed the Gundam's left arm, leaving Katsura shocked.

"The mouse is hooked…" Midojin's voice echoed as his severed halves slowly reassembled, "I've been waiting for this moment!"

"Self-repair?!" Katsura exclaimed, "He still has this function?!"

"Fire!!" Midojin ordered his fleet, "Turn these rats into space dust!"

Lying in the wreckage, Mutsu, having escaped the prison with Kagura and the others, noticed the situation outside.

"This is bad! The fleet will…" Mutsu shouted to the Joui Patriots, "Hurry!!"

"We can't make it, Aru!" Kagura shouted in fear, "It's too late!"

As Kagura spoke, the Renpou fleet fired beams at Katsura's position. At the last moment, Elizabeth's Gundam shielded Katsura.

BOOM!!! After the explosion, everyone was stunned. All the ships had targeted Midojin!

Blasted back onto the mothership, Midojin's wrecked body trembled with rage, "You… you bastards! What… what is this?!"