Yang Hui and his two companions departed without encountering any obstruction.
Andrew Waltfeld stood by the window, watching their figures recede into the distance.
"Andy, is that boy really only sixteen?" Aisha Tyler asked.
"Who knows? Maybe there's an ancient monster living inside that sixteen-year-old body?" Andrew joked, unwittingly brushing against the truth.
Yet Aisha found herself half-believing his jest. Though such scenarios belonged in fiction, everything Yang Hui had demonstrated so far unsettled this battle-hardened veteran—it bore no resemblance to ordinary teenage behavior.
"He's dangerous."
"Hence his fourth-place ranking on the Pull in or Kill List," Andrew remarked, waving the PAD containing Yang Hui's dossier.
"Aren't you concerned?"
"...No need for that, Aisha." Drawing her closer, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "We're soldiers. Executioners. Death could claim us any day—inescapable, inevitable. But..."
Though Yang Hui's figure had vanished from view, Andrew's gaze remained fixed on the horizon as if still tracing his silhouette.
"...Meeting our end by his hand might not be such a bad conclusion."
"Mmm."
"You could still run away."
"I'd rather die."
"Ha! That's why you're the most magnificent woman, Aisha."
...
While no major battles erupted between Earth and space, minor skirmishes persisted without cease.
By contrast, PLANT's homeland remained an untouched paradise, sheltered from war's ravages.
"Ugh... Where...?"
In the hospital room, Athrun's eyelids fluttered open. He tried raising a hand against the glaring light, but his limbs lay heavy as lead.
"Athrun! You're awake!"
Turning toward the familiar voice, he saw his mother's tear-streaked face hovering above him, her features drawn with exhaustion.
"Mother? How did I...?"
"You're at the homeland hospital. Oh Athrun, thank goodness you're alright..." Lenore Zala choked back sobs behind trembling fingers. As a Zala family scion, Athrun's enlistment in ZAFT Forces had been inevitable. She understood—yet understanding didn't equate to acceptance, especially not when seeing her son return unconscious and gravely wounded. Regret gnawed at her for not having resisted his decision.
Simultaneously, she felt gratitude—that divine favor had spared him from death's grasp.
"So... I'm back home?" Fragmented memories resurfaced—the angels delivering divine retribution, then he and Creuset...
Wait! Captain Creuset!
"Mother, how long was I out? Where's Captain Creuset? The others? What was the battle's outcome... Gh—!" Athrun's urgent questions dissolved into a hiss of pain as his attempt to sit up strained unhealed injuries.
"Don't get agitated, Athrun. Lie down quickly. The doctor said you still need bed rest." Lenore Zala immediately helped Athrun lie back down. Although PLANT's medical technology was quite advanced—capable of saving anyone who wasn't dead or missing limbs—Athrun's injuries were extremely severe. Numerous fragments had pierced his body, even damaging his internal organs. If not for the decent medical facilities on the Vesalius, he wouldn't have survived long enough to receive treatment back home.
"Mother... how many days was I unconscious?" Athrun pressed.
"T-ten days."
"What? Ugh—"
"Athrun! Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine." The sudden movement had aggravated his wounds, forcing Athrun to reluctantly lie back down.
"Stay still. I'll call the doctor."
"Alright, thank you, Mother."
Lenore Zala returned quickly, bringing not only the doctor and nurses but also Nicol, who had coincidentally come to visit Athrun.
"Athrun!"
"Nicol..."
"It's so good to see you awake. This is wonderful."
"What about Yzak? Dearka? And Captain Creuset?"
"They're all fine. Captain Creuset woke up two days ago and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. Yzak and Dearka are also recuperating back home. Since both you and Captain Creuset were severely injured, it seems the higher-ups are planning another major operation. The entire Creuset Team is on standby, awaiting new orders. Also..."
"What else?"
"Well..."
"Apologies for interrupting, but may I examine him first?" The doctor, who had been standing quietly, interjected.
"Oh, of course. My apologies." Nicol quickly stepped aside, realizing he'd gotten too excited upon seeing Athrun awake and forgotten about the medical checkup.
"Thank you, Doctor."
After a brief examination, the doctor delivered good news.
"Mr. Zala is recovering well. However, we'll need to take some scans later to assess his internal healing. But there's no need to worry—given his current condition, he should fully recover in another two or three days."
"Thank you very much."
"Just doing my job. I'll arrange the scans and notify you when everything's ready."
"Alright."
Lenore Zala followed the doctor and nurses out of the room. She needed to discuss further details, and since Athrun and Nicol seemed to have military matters to discuss, she decided to give them privacy.
"Nicol, what were you about to say earlier?" Athrun asked once they were alone.
"That unknown mobile suit—do you remember it?" Nicol's expression turned serious.
"I remember. How could I ever forget?" Athrun's mind flashed back to that moment—shifting from frustration to shock, then to sheer despair in an instant. Even now, safe and sound, the memory sent chills down his spine.
"It's about that unknown mobile suit. We've identified its origin," Nicol revealed.
"Really? What is it? A new Earth Forces MS?" Athrun asked urgently.
"No, that's not it," Nicol shook his head. "They're mercenaries. The organization is called [Celestial Being]."
"Mercenaries?" Athrun frowned.
Having his suspicions denied, Athrun felt a wave of relief. If those had truly been the Earth Forces' new MS models, then ZAFT and PLANT would be in grave danger. Not only would it render their mission to seize the four G Weapons meaningless, but it would also mean the Earth Forces had already developed MS operable by Naturals—and that power... was truly terrifying.
Yet the idea that those unknown MS belonged to a mercenary group was hard for Athrun to believe. While mercenaries possessing MS wasn't unusual, most were either inferior units pieced together from wreckage or outdated military models. Those machines clearly represented cutting-edge technology—something far beyond what mercenaries could feasibly deploy. Unless...
"Those mercenaries... called [Celestial Being], right? Has their background been investigated?" Athrun asked.
"That's the biggest issue. Intelligence has exhausted all efforts but still can't trace their origins," Nicol replied. "Members unknown, origins unknown, mission records unknown. Apart from the four brand-new MS, there's no trace of them—like they appeared and vanished out of thin air."
"How is that possible?" This revelation made it even harder for Athrun to accept. He knew a little about ZAFT's intelligence division—it was no less capable than the Earth Forces'. With operatives embedded worldwide, how could they find nothing?
"Strange, isn't it? Not a single trace. But..."
"But what?" Athrun pressed urgently.
Nicol glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then leaned in close to Athrun's ear, whispering just loud enough for him to hear: "I overheard my father say they suspect [Celestial Being] might actually be backed by Orb."
"Eh? Or—"
"Shh!"
Athrun nearly exclaimed in shock, but Nicol quickly stopped him. These were baseless speculations, and given the delicate relationship between PLANT and Orb, such rumors couldn't be spread carelessly.
"How...?" Athrun still struggled to believe Nicol's claim.
"Intelligence couldn't find [Celestial Being], but they did discover that the Earth Forces are also searching for them. That rules out Earth Forces backing them. Eliminating us and the Earth Alliance, only Orb would have that capability," Nicol explained.
"I see... Wait!"
At that moment, Athrun suddenly recalled his conversation with Wang Liu Mei after returning to PLANT for questioning by the Supreme Council.
"Athrun, did you think of something?" Nicol asked. Not only was Nicol's father a member of the Supreme Council and a high-ranking ZAFT officer, but as a ZAFT soldier himself, Nicol had every reason to be concerned about [Celestial Being]—because...
Encountering them now would be like throwing oneself into Death's embrace!
"N-no, nothing."
One thing had become clear to Athrun: the unknown MS that had instantly overwhelmed both him and Creuset had been piloted by Yang Hui. But he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.
"Alright, Athrun, don't be too hard on yourself. No one could've done anything against that monster." Nicol thought Athrun was just worried about their other comrades and blaming himself for the failure, so he tried to comfort him.
But then, an unpleasant voice rang out at the hospital room door.
"Hmph! Cowards comforting each other? How pathetic."
"Yzak!" Nicol was furious. Athrun was still seriously injured, and here Yzak was, mocking him without any regard for their camaraderie.
But the next moment, Yzak and Dearka walked into the room, placing a bouquet of flowers and a fruit basket on the cabinet.
"What's this?" Athrun asked.
"This... this is... Hmph! Why ask so many questions? Just take it!"
"Pfft—"
"Dearka! You bastard!"
"Sorry, sorry, couldn't help it."
"Ahahaha..."
"Stop... stop laughing! You bastards! Stop laughing!"
(End of Chapter)