MTLNOVEL Chapter 46: Chapter 47: Death Arrives
Chapter 47: Death Arrives
Why does this feel so familiar…?
Gravity Frontline?
As Eli was lost in thought, a sudden chill surged through his body. It felt as if an icy hand had brushed against his spine, and an inexplicable sense of dread enveloped him.
"Interesting, so interesting. To think there's someone like this... How fascinating."
A faint female voice murmured near Eli's ear, its chilling tone enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
It was like discovering that the hanging meat in a freezing slaughterhouse suddenly started talking.
"Death…?"
This wasn't some silly military superstition about a so-called grim reaper among the soldiers. This was the real deal.
Anyone she marked would ultimately meet their end in battle, just like the pilot of the assault steel tank earlier.
"Why no response? Can't you hear me?"
The voice of the "Death" grew closer.
"Hey~ Can you hear me~?"
Eli shivered violently.
The voice appeared abruptly and shockingly clear, as if the speaker were right next to him in reality.
Looking into the dark monitor, Eli saw his reflection in the glass.
Beside him, a hovering female figure leaned close, whispering into his ear.
"Hehe, looks like you can hear me. Fine, I won't tease you anymore. I wouldn't want an interesting soul like you to vanish just yet. Now, fight!"
As the voice dissipated, Eli suddenly realized that the lights in the cockpit had seemed extinguished, as if he'd been transported to another dimension.
It was only now that the lights returned to normal.
"Eli-san, why are you just standing there?!"
Amuro's shout jolted Eli back to reality—he was still on the dangerous frontlines.
Eli immediately raised his head to assess the battlefield outside.
The Gundam stood in front of him, using its shield to block the incoming barrage of artillery.
"Sorry, I was distracted for a moment."
"What? Distracted…?"
Amuro sounded furious, not at Eli for failing to assist, but seemingly because Eli seemed indifferent to his own life.
"If you want to yell at me, do it later. There's a serious opponent incoming!"
Eli's ears caught the sound of turbine engines spinning up.
Was it really sound?
Or was Eli simply sensing the oppressive presence approaching rapidly?
There were three distinct, heavy presences.
"The Black Tri-Stars."
Eli braced himself, raising his shield to cover his body, eyes locked onto the three incoming forces.
Soon, three familiar machines came into view.
It was the Dom!
Being at the Odessa Base meant this was undoubtedly the infamous Black Tri-Stars.
Seeing the Doms align into formation, Eli immediately understood—they were about to use their signature team attack.
"Amuro, dodge the first and stay alert for the follow-ups! Keep your distance and use ranged attacks!"
There was no time for Eli to dwell on his sudden heightened senses; his focus was on dealing with the immediate threat.
With Eli's warning, Amuro didn't recklessly wait to confront the attack. At the last moment before contact, he and Eli leapt aside in opposite directions.
The Black Tri-Stars missed their mark and immediately turned toward where the Gundam landed, intending to strike during its brief recovery window.
Eli frowned.
He couldn't count on Amuro suddenly awakening his Newtype abilities—danger perception—as in the original story to avoid all the attacks.
Even in the original, Amuro's Newtype awakening didn't prevent the final Dom's strike. It was only Matilda's heroic crash that saved him.
"This is bad."
Eli, now feeling a sense of urgency, launched his machine into a jet boost, charging toward the Black Tri-Stars from behind.
But he feared he might not make it in time.
Would he have to gamble?
"What a darling little brother. I wouldn't want him to die here, either~."
As Eli worried for Amuro's fate, a whisper echoed in his ears again.
The ominous shroud swept over him once more but quickly receded.
When Eli looked outside again, he saw the Gundam moving as if it knew the Black Tri-Stars' every move, avoiding each attack with uncanny precision.
And to Eli, Amuro's presence had never felt so vivid.
"Eli-san?"
He could faintly hear Amuro's astonished voice.
However, Amuro's crisis wasn't entirely over. The last Dom, its heat saber raised, prepared a decisive strike.
It wasn't a matter of Amuro's skill—the limitations of MS technology at the time made it impossible. Avoiding the first two attacks with such precision had already pushed the Gundam to its limits.
In that case…!
Eli raised his beam rifle, aiming at the final Dom.
This also placed Amuro directly in the line of fire.
In the past, Eli wouldn't have had the confidence to destroy the Dom without endangering the Gundam.
But now?
"Don't let this hit you, Amuro."
With a hum, Eli pulled the trigger. The pink beam shot out, melting through the Dom's rear armor. Based on experience from defeating Ramba Ral's Dom, Eli's shot didn't miss. The beam pierced the cockpit and exited through the chest.
The beam continued its trajectory toward the Gundam's head.
But Amuro, as if anticipating it, bent the Gundam's right leg, tilting the head just enough to evade the beam.
"Gaia, Ortega… I'm sorry…"
For a moment, Amuro thought he heard something.
A hallucination?
Before he could decide, two anguished cries erupted behind him.
"M'quve!"
A hallucination?
Amuro could only reassure himself as such.
He steadied the Gundam, drew his beam saber, and joined Eli to face the remaining Black Tri-Stars.
Both sides clashed immediately!
From a mobility perspective, the Doms, with their hover systems, naturally held the advantage.
But the Gundam's glowing eyes, illuminated by the fiery wreckage of the fallen Dom behind it, exuded an overwhelming aura.
As the distance closed, Eli, without prior coordination with Amuro, suddenly fired a flashbang using his multi-purpose launcher.