Chapter 242: Barbatos Gundam IV
Crank answered reluctantly, "But…"
Seeing Crank's unwillingness to complete his mission, Coral leaned in close to the communicator's display and shouted angrily, "But what!?"
Crank still looked reluctant as he replied, "The opposing pilot… is a child."
Coral was completely dumbfounded. He had never expected his plan to fail so miserably—undone by a bunch of kids.
Infuriated, he roared, "Children!? You're telling me a bunch of snot-nosed brats beat you? Huh!? Did I hear that right? Are you all useless trash!?"
Crank, provoked by the insult, yelled back, "They're children! They're child soldiers—I really can't bring myself to keep fighting them!
I don't believe they volunteered for this. They were forced into it!"
"So naïve!" Coral slammed his desk furiously, his voice full of contempt. "I don't care if they're kids or not—wipe them all out!
That's an order! Failure is not an option, you hear me? Kill them all, or don't bother coming back!"
Coral shouted as he cut off the transmission.
On the other end, Crank stood silently, teeth clenched, locked in a fierce struggle with his conscience.
Meanwhile, back on the CGS base battlefield, everyone was busy clearing the wreckage of the damaged Mobile Workers, searching for any remaining survivors.
Although they managed to rescue quite a few people, the majority had been killed.
Even those who were saved were mostly gravely injured and required immediate treatment.
As for the unfortunate child soldiers who perished in the explosions, most of their bodies were never recovered—they'd been burned to ashes along with their Mobile Workers.
The only recognizable remains were the indestructible Alaya-Vijnana system connectors embedded in their backs.
At the same time, the surviving members of the First Unit, enraged after the battle ended, returned to confront Orga and his group.
While most of the First Unit had been sent out by Akihiro to search for Orga, Shino, looking miserable, asked, "Hey, Akihiro, what do we do now? Gjallarhorn's got their eyes on us, and Maruba's dead…"
Akihiro, at a loss, could only shout back in frustration, "How should I know something like that!?"
He then feigned a sorrowful look and said, "For now, just grab whatever we can. Before Gjallarhorn comes back, we need to take as much as possible and get out of here."
Outside the CGS base, Atra—Mikazuki's devoted girlfriend—saw the battle had ended and anxiously drove her vehicle toward the base.
On the way, she picked up the twin girls, Cookie and Cracker, who flagged her down from the roadside and insisted on coming along. Together, they reached the CGS gates.
But there, they were stopped by members who didn't recognize them.
Cookie and Cracker shouted at the guards questioning them, "What's your problem? We're not suspicious! Go call our brother!"
Atra, who regularly delivered food supplies to CGS, hadn't expected to be blocked this time.
Holding Cookie and Cracker in her arms, she sighed helplessly, explaining, "I told you, I'm here to deliver supplies! Why won't you believe me?
Where are the regular gatekeepers? Tell them I'm here—they all know me."
Just then, Biscuit spotted his little sisters from afar. Overjoyed, he sprinted toward them, shouting, "Cookie! Cracker!"
Seeing their brother safe and sound, the twins happily ran into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Even after entering the base, Cracker clung to Biscuit, refusing to let go.
With a proud look, she said, "Hardworking kids deserve praise!" Then she lifted her head expectantly for Biscuit to pat her.
Cookie quickly followed, releasing Biscuit and holding up her head too, smiling brightly. "Me too! Me too! I want praise too!"
Watching the adorable twin sisters, Tolle decided then and there—he really wanted a pair of his own. His heart was melting just looking at them.
He made a mental note to pet their hair later—he just couldn't resist.
Finally, with Biscuit's help, Atra was allowed into the CGS base.
But her thoughts were solely on Mikazuki. Once she learned he was safe, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Mikazuki, who had been unconscious inside the Barbatos Gundam cockpit, finally woke up.
Nadi, who had been watching over him, relaxed when he saw the boy's bloodied face stir back to life. "Finally awake?" he asked.
When Mikazuki started to move, trying to detach from the Alaya-Vijnana system, Nadi stopped him. "Hold on. Don't move yet. We couldn't disconnect the link while you were unconscious."
Then Nadi stepped forward and began detaching the system connector for him.
"How many people died this time?" Mikazuki asked quietly.
Still working, Nadi replied, "Forty-two from the Third Unit, sixty-eight from the First."
Mikazuki clenched his fists. "Damn it…"
"You and that thing did more than enough," Nadi said. "Without you, it would've been worse. We might've all been wiped out."
After that, he stopped trying to comfort Mikazuki—he knew the boy wasn't the type to need soft words.
By dusk, after the system was fully detached, Mikazuki returned to the CGS base alone.
At the gate, he spotted Atra leaning against her vehicle, waiting for him.
"Huh? Atra? You came to deliver supplies?" Mikazuki asked.
Seeing the dried blood on his face, Atra fidgeted nervously. "Ah… Mikazuki…"
Without stopping, Mikazuki asked as he walked past her, "What is it?"
"Are… are you okay?" she asked softly, worry in her eyes.
Mikazuki wasn't dense—just bad at expressing himself. He could tell Atra was worried about him.
He stopped in front of her and said, "I'm fine, Atra. Thanks.
I'm busy right now. Let's talk later."
With that, he dragged his exhausted body back toward the base to report to Orga.
As she watched him walk away, Atra looked down at the handmade bracelet in her hand. Half happy, half heartbroken, she whispered to herself, "I'm such a fool… I know he's not fine, but I still…"