Mia huddled on the ground, unable to stand up.
"You are the real Lux" "Thank you for your efforts"
——The kind tone of Sarah and the Speaker were shattered in this deafening gun battle.
Tears flowed from her closed eyes.
Are they going to kill me here?
Because I'm no longer useful?
Because I know the lies of the Speaker and others?
"Miss Mia."
She opened her eyes and saw Lux crawling towards her from under the window, and then sat down next to Mia, hugging her knees like her, but smiling at her with squinted eyes.
"do not be afraid."
Mia couldn't help but shed tears again, her heart filled with guilt.
It was me who deceived her and put her in such danger, but she didn't blame me at all. Instead, she came to comfort me.
Such a good person, I would actually want to kill her.
Lux gently held Mia's hand, as if coaxing her: "...Don't be afraid."
The warmth from the palm of her hand suddenly seeped into Mia's heart.
In Mia's mind, Lux has always been a person who lives inside the screen, and her understanding of her is limited to her delicate appearance. Now she looked at Lux with tears in her eyes, and realized that she was wrong.
Lux is of flesh and blood like her, will die if hit by a bullet, and is also an existence that no one can replace.
Even if I am not as beautiful as Lux, I should still have many advantages, but I never value these. I just think that I am small and insignificant, so I cruelly abandon that self.
How could I give up so easily? Why don't you love yourself well?
Mia realized this for the first time under the threat of death across a wall.
At this moment, Kira, who fired back from the window, suddenly shouted sharply: "Run!"
Lux reacted quickly, grabbed Mia and ran outside. Mia was pulled by her and rolled behind a pillar. An explosion occurred immediately behind them, and the strong wind blew their hair.
Mia clung to Lux as she saw Aslan leap from behind the cover and shoot the man who threw the grenade at them.
Noel also jumped down from above at this moment.
Counterattack against the opponent's shots.
The two of them cooperated very well.
But there are also many enemies.
The sound of gunshots and grenade explosions was particularly jarring inside the opera house.
At this time, several dead bodies were already lying in the theater.
Kira and the other girl continued to cover and shoot from behind the pillar.
Aslan and Noel shuttled through the hail of bullets, their movements as quick as lightning.
Only then did Mia truly see the abilities of Zavod's top elites.
With the tacit cooperation of the two, the men who were shooting with guns were hit and fell to the ground.
Soon, or maybe it took a long time.
The gunfire inside the opera house gradually decreased until it disappeared.
The opera house that was supposed to be filled with singing was now covered with countless corpses, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke.
At this moment, the sound of an engine gradually approached in the air, startling Mia again.
"Little brothers, are you okay?"
As the external loudspeaker sounded, a shining golden MS slowly landed.
Watching the machine land in the center of the theater, Mia was at a loss.
"Take Lux and the others away quickly!"
After being urged unceremoniously by Noel, the driver of the MS seemed a little displeased: "...I got it."
Then he saw the golden mobile suit bend down and extend his big hand in front of Lux.
"Princess, please."
"Quick, get up."
Kira, who was guarding Fleur and Lux, urged.
Lux glanced at Noel, who was still on guard and patrolling the surroundings, and the uneasiness in her heart disappeared, and then gracefully stepped onto the MS's hand.
Fleur also stood up with Kira's help.
Then, Kira reached out to Mia: "Come, you come too."
Mia looked at his hand in confusion. The boy named Kira smiled very peacefully, without feeling any reluctance or any unpleasantness at all.
Mia thought again of that rainy night, when Aslan's hand stretched out to her was just like this one.
--You still have time?
Can I do it all over again?
Can you openly face these people?
Sitting on MS's palm, Lux was looking at her with a smile.
Despite hesitation, Mia decided to reach out her hand, but at this moment, a small flash of light appeared in the corner of her sight, and a human body injured by a grenade moved.
That's the muzzle!
"--Danger!"
The muzzle of the gun was pointed directly at Lux, and neither Aslan nor Kira noticed.
At the moment when Mia suddenly pounced on Lux, two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously in the opera house.
The bullet grazed Mia's cheek and hit the audience seat not far away.
The hot stinging sensation made Mia cover her cheek subconsciously.
Noel also relaxed his guarded nerves at this time.
Inside the Archangel.
Noel and others returned to the Archangel one after another.
Mia was also admitted to the emergency room.
Lux and others stood at the door waiting anxiously.
Although Noel's appearance saved Mia from death, the last bullet still grazed Mia's cheek.
Soon, the doctor came out.
"How's Mia doing?"
Lux and others quickly gathered around and asked anxiously.
"It's nothing serious. Her cheek was not directly hit by the bullet, it was just a scratch. Although there may be scars on her face, with the current biotechnology, the scars can be eliminated."
The doctor's words made Lacus and others feel relaxed.
It would be nice to be able to treat it.
"Can we go in and see her?"
Aslan also asked at this time.
When Mia collapsed in pain, Aslan was the most worried.
The girl's plaintive voice cut into his chest.
Fortunately everything turned out for the better.
Mia finally escaped the fate of being manipulated by others.
"Can."
The doctor nodded and smiled.
After receiving the reply, Lux and others hurried in after hearing the words.
At this time, Mia's head was half wrapped in gauze. Looking at the people coming in, Mia smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Listening to Mia's tone, Aslan felt completely relieved.
"Now, I feel the same sadness and anger as you all."
The next day.
A broadcast went around the world.
Speaker Durandal's sad expression appeared on countless screens.
"The year before last, we experienced a war, and we swore at that time that we would never let such a tragedy happen again."
His earnest statement. Not just in the colonies, there are thousands of people on the earth who are listening to his words.
"However, the fall of Julius 7 made our efforts in vain and started the war again. As the war continued to expand, we had to taste the same sorrow again."
Speaker Durandal stretched out his arms and asked the crowd: "Really, what is going on? It would be too stupid for such a tragedy to happen again."
"One of the reasons is undoubtedly the existence of LOGOS. These people who create hostility, instigate terror, advocate war, and profit from it have long been attached to the dark curtain of history, doing their business of death."
When he said this, Durandal paused for a while, and his tone suddenly became high-pitched: "However, we finally eliminated them!"
At this moment, countless people were inspired and rejoiced.
Even the members of the Archangel and the Lord Angel, who knew Durandal's true identity, felt a little stirring in their hearts.
The crew members gathered on the bridge watched the high-spirited speaker declare to the world: "Because of this, I want to reiterate again-"
"Let's begin."
Masuo whispered.
Lux nodded beside Noel and answered.
Fleur quietly took Kira's hand and the ring on her fingertips shone brightly. Durandal in the picture was undoubtedly the performance of a perfect politician.
Kira smiled and patted Fleur's palm, and listened to Durandal's speech with everyone.
"——From now on, we will face another bigger enemy, and we must defeat it and liberate ourselves from its control!"
The trump card that Durandal has been hiding in the palm of his hand is about to be revealed now.
That was also the result of his clever maneuvering, leaking, ignoring, manipulating, and the final answer.
Killing and hatred, an infinite vicious circle;
Repaying kindness with hatred, a future opened up among thorns.
"You may or may not have noticed that wars are inevitable in the history of mankind because mankind has its biggest enemy——"
Durandal looked at the people on the other side of the camera, his eyes showing pity: "——That is the ignorance and desire that we have been unable to break through for a long time!"
Lux's face also showed a solemn expression at this moment.
Durandal denies everything in this moment - and with it the possibility of humanity.
At the same time, Thalia was watching the broadcast at Daedalus Base and felt stunned.
She felt that these words were not just a memorial to the victims, but more like a declaration of victory in the war.
The crew members on the bridge also looked puzzled, feeling that the speaker's change of topic was too abrupt.
"After leaving the earth, running towards the universe, and deciphering various mysteries of the human body and potential, human beings still do not understand human beings, do not understand themselves, and cannot see tomorrow - first of all, this uneasiness;"
Under her gaze, Durandal sighed: "Furthermore, expectations are equal, or even more, and more abundant - endless desires! These two elements make up who we are now! The seeds of struggle, the people All the problems you have with other people are here!"
Of course he's right.
If humans had no desires, there would be no need to fight.
But, that’s how humans are, isn’t it—?
"However, these issues are finally coming to an end - we have been able to put an end to it."
Thalia watched with suspicion as Durandal proudly announced: "At this moment, there is a way to overcome all this!"
His high-spirited expression was so unfamiliar, unlike the man who had had skin-to-skin contact with her.
I saw Durandal looking straight ahead again: "And all the answers are already in your bodies."
Thalia held her breath.
"...Gilbert!"
She suddenly understood Durandal's true intention all the way, but it was too late.
"Through it, we can understand others and ourselves, including tomorrow..."
She regards the conquest of LOGOS as the ultimate goal, and perhaps everyone has been indoctrinated with this idea - thinking that a successful conquest will end the war.
But they were both wrong.
Durandal has already planned the next path.
Conquering LOGOS is only the first stage. By doing this, he can eliminate any obstacles that may be encountered in the future, and gather the trust of the whole world. Then comes his real purpose - to advance towards the final stage of the plan.
"...This is the only way to prevent tragedies from happening again and again."
Thalia watched the broadcast screen motionless.
She thought of the young Durandal who spoke about his ideals with passion, the answers he had been looking for and the rejected hopes, as well as the knowledge and skills he had gained along the way - it turned out that he had put them all in one place.
I should have discovered it earlier, because I was familiar with his youthful ideals, and even though I rejected his outstretched hand, I still love him deeply to this day.
When he proposed to break up, he just smiled calmly and extended his hand to say goodbye. He didn't say anything bad or shed tears, so he didn't notice how deep his despair was.
Was it that past that planted dark intolerance in his bright ideals and inspired hatred of the world?
She hoped it was just her over-imagination.
And now, he swears revenge against his lover’s selfishness and unfair fate:
"I hereby declare that I will implement the Destiny Plan as the last defense strategy for the survival of mankind!"
