Chapter 363 - 364: The Archangel Is in Mortal Peril

Chapter 363: Chapter 364: The Archangel Is in Mortal Peril

[Holy crap]

[You’ve got guts!]

[They really aren’t afraid the ship will fall apart, huh?]

[Barrel-rolling to dodge fire during atmospheric entry]

[My hands are sweating just watching this]

[All I can say is, thank goodness the Archangel is using a temporary bridge right now. If they were in the outside bridge, their heads would’ve been roasted]

[Feels like the Archangel is done for. After a maneuver like that, even if it didn’t fall apart, the inside is probably wrecked]

[Logistics is cursing up a storm right now]

[But that was damn cool]

[This helmsman is incredible. He’s pulled off several god-tier maneuvers and forced the situation back from the brink]

[Everyone aboard the Archangel should kowtow to the helmsman]

[Kowtow once? Kowtow ten times!]

[Who fired those missiles?]

[Wasn’t that way too sudden?]

[They foreshadowed it so much earlier that I’d have been disappointed if nothing happened]

[They were raising FLAGS left and right, I’m dying]

[The dialogue practically spelled it out. They got incriminating dirt on Blue Cosmos, so of course someone wants to silence them]

[How did they know? Wasn’t the fleet wiped out?]

[Bro, they fought for hours. It’s completely normal for a few survivors to escape. Blue Cosmos acts tough, but of course some people ran]

[The Archangel spent time after leaving to patch up the bridge, treat the wounded, and wait for the Strike to bring the Astrays back. That was more than enough of a head start]

[That’s miserable. Even the Earth Alliance is an enemy. I feel like the Archangel is screwed even if it gets back]

After showing what had happened here, the scene switched to another location.

"Flay?"

After meeting Sai and the others, Kira had been preparing to return to her room, secure herself, and wait for the descent.

The Archangel was about to land on Earth. Kira had not decided what she would do afterward, but no matter what, she could finally leave this place.

But...

Leave this place?

Leave the Strike?

Would it really be all right if she had no power?

Kira fell into thought.

Power...

Taking one side in a war could not protect her.

But neutrality could not protect her either.

Only fighting.

Only through fighting could she protect herself.

If she left the Strike behind... then she...

"Power... that belongs... to me..."

While Kira was lost, she happened to see Flay, who looked equally lost.

Why was Flay still here?

Kira instinctively wanted to avoid her, but at that moment an alarm blared over the broadcast.

"Flay!"

Kira did not think. She immediately rushed over and grabbed Flay.

Then the Archangel began its barrel-roll maneuver.

"Ah!"

If Kira had not caught her, Flay probably would have been injured just now.

"Kira...?"

Had Kira... protected her again?

Flay raised her head in confusion.

They had returned to Earth, and gravity was gradually returning as well.

Flay ended up pressed directly on top of Kira.

"Kira..."

Right.

Only Kira could protect her.

"Only Kira... only Kira..."

Flay lay on top of Kira.

"Kira..."

"Flay...?"

"Kira, you protected me again..."

Flay wrapped her arms around Kira.

That hateful woman.

Take Kira... away from that woman...

[Holy crap, I take back what I said. This woman really should die sooner]

[She’s so annoying]

[Why is Lacus okay but Flay isn’t?]

[There isn’t even a shred of love on Flay’s side]

[This is pure exploitation, right?]

[Guys, Lacus’s situation is hard to say, but Flay is straight. I feel like she’s about to get forcibly bent]

[???]

[Holy crap, now that you mention it, Flay really did seem completely straight at first. Now she’s already developing twisted feelings]

[She really got forced into being bent]

[For a second I thought 逼 was the vulgar noun, not the verb "to force"]

[Holy crap, supermod mute plus message deletion?]

[Encountered a supermod, mighty as a demon god. Fought with everything I had and still couldn’t win]

"It’s finally over. What happened just now...?"

Kuzzey awkwardly straightened his clothes.

Sai beside him had already gone outside.

The moment they stepped out of the room, waves of groaning could be heard from the corridor.

Quite a few people had been injured during the maneuver.

During descent, the Archangel’s windows had been completely sealed. By now, though, the windows had reopened.

But when Kuzzey saw the scenery outside, he was utterly stunned.

"This is... a desert?"

"Kuzzey, come help!" Cagalli had shown up at some point. The moment she saw Kuzzey, she hurriedly called him over.

"Right, right!"

A lot of people had been injured, so everyone had to help with rescue and treatment.

After giving Kira’s friends a little screen time, the scene returned to the Archangel’s crew.

The Archangel could enter the atmosphere directly because the entire hull was coated with a special heat-resistant layer.

The Laminated Armor helped, but not much.

Laminated Armor could rapidly spread heat throughout the hull. In a sense, it was an extremely efficient heat-spreading plate.

But during that barrel roll, almost the entire Archangel had been exposed to heat, so that advantage became negligible.

Fortunately, the outer armor peeled away, the coating evaporated, and the insulation held. In the end, the Archangel survived.

But survival came at a price.

The Archangel was now in very poor condition.

If a structural framework such as the "keel" had been damaged, the ship might not even be worth repairing anymore.

Fortunately, after the intelligent system completed its self-check, the Archangel’s condition was still acceptable. At the very least, it could still travel.

"Where did we land?" Murrue asked.

"...North Africa. ZAFT territory." Neumann exhaled. "Sorry. I still..."

"No, it’s fine. If anything, we’re alive because of you. Thank you very much, Neumann."

At least they were alive.

"In a sense, this might even be a good thing. ZAFT territory means Blue Cosmos can’t interfere with us easily," Mu said.

"But what about Admiral Halberton..."

Murrue looked deeply worried.

"Our condition is terrible. I suggest we don’t necessarily have to go to Alaska. We should first look for the nearest Earth Alliance sphere of influence," Badgiruel offered.

"But..."

Murrue fell into thought.

The two of them belonged to the same unit, the Fifth Special Division of the Second Space Sector.

But Badgiruel did not have much of a relationship with Halberton, while Murrue was different. Murrue had been Halberton’s student and could be considered one of his protégés, whereas Badgiruel was not.

Murrue wanted to return to Halberton, but Badgiruel’s priority was keeping the Archangel safe first.

"Also, ZAFT probably already knows that we descended here," Badgiruel added.

Murrue smacked her forehead.

The situation was even worse than they had imagined.

(Earth Alliance military ranks)

(Halberton is a rear admiral...)