Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Crimson Outlier Turned Dark

Clutching his battered waist like a warrior whose kidneys have taken a beating, Hao Ren grabbed the Red Astray in its figurine form once again. The black magic markings on his arm blazed crimson, and the Red Astray itself seemed to be corrupted, its red and white paintwork gradually darkening to black, threaded with blood-red magical veins.

Damn it! This skill can’t be controlled at all!

If he tried to cut a steak, would the knife slice through the meat, the plate, and the table all at once? If he slipped and cut his, well, little buddy, he’d lose the will to live.

Speaking of which...

If he, ahem, got a little too enthusiastic, would that part become a Noble Phantasm too? It was a weapon of sorts, after all...

Wait, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad...

Hao Ren’s brain was clearly on the verge of a short-circuit.

Despair! I despair at this future where even my dinner knife and my little buddy might turn into Noble Phantasms!

Looks like I’ll have to wear gloves from now on...

Bringing along his three female companions, Hao Ren arrived at the maintenance hangar.

“Hey, kid! Who are these three girls?” Kojiro, the uncle who had just finished checking the Assault’s data, greeted him.

“He’s our master, uncle,” Nemesis answered ahead of anyone else.

The uncle instantly fell into awkward silence, scratching his head. “Kids these days really play wild, huh? Well, I’m not in any position to say anything…”

“It’s a crime to go after girls under fourteen, you know.” The uncle pulled Hao Ren aside, speaking in a low voice with an arm around his shoulders.

Given Nemesis’s current appearance, she really did look like a loli. The misunderstanding cut deep!

“See through it, but don’t say it.” Hao Ren thought to himself, I’m not a lolicon! It’s just that the girls I like happen to be lolis!

“So, kid, what are you doing in the hangar? There’s probably going to be a battle soon.”

“Just watch.” Hao Ren didn’t bother to explain. He activated and enlarged the dramatically transformed Red Astray.

Red… or maybe it should be called the Black Astray now.

Under the astonished and delighted gazes of the staff, the Black Astray finished expanding. Hao Ren, with a flourish, drifted into the cockpit.

But then...

Where was the control panel? And was every cockpit really this spacious? It felt like he’d just entered a dimensional rift.

Suddenly, Hao Ren’s vision sharpened.

“Huh? Why do you all look so tiny?” He tried to rub his eyes, only to hear the clanking of metal.

Before him was a black, blood-marked metal hand...

It seemed he had merged with the Black Astray.

Hao Ren blinked; the Black Astray’s blood-red electronic eye flickered in sync. He adopted a sword-drawing pose, and the Black Astray drew the fully blackened “Chrysanthemum Ichimonji” blade.

If one had to describe it, Hao Ren’s state now resembled that of the protagonist in “Energy Warriors,” piloting the “Earth Energy Warrior”—the shift from joystick to full-body motion control.

This was the triumph of the wi*l!

“Kid! Where did you get this monster?” Kojiro’s jaw dropped.

“Secret!” Hao Ren replied, giddy with pride.

“You really are full of surprises!” Another fighting force to protect the Archangel—how could that be bad? The uncle chose to ignore Hao Ren’s strange antics.

“Enemy sighted! Battle stations! All personnel with military rank, report immediately!” Looks like it was time to rendezvous with Captain Kira and the others.

Three more people appeared in the Black Astray’s cockpit, each cradling snacks: Nemesis with her candied apple, Maya with a lollipop, and Xiao An with a taiyaki.

Bored, Hao Ren stuffed potato chips into his mouth; the Black Astray mimicked the motion, metallic clinks echoing.

“What’s that?” At last resolved to protect the Archangel, Kira stared, dumbfounded, at the noisy Black Astray.

“Whoa, seriously? Since when did the ship get another one of these things?” Mu nearly bit his tongue in surprise.

“Hey, Kira, Mu, I’m joining the fight this time too,” the Black Astray said, wiping its mouth—the voice on external speakers. Where did this thing get a sound system?

“It’s Long,” Kira said, already numb to the bizarre. Anything involving Hao Ren was no longer surprising.

“Three mobile suits and one mobile armor—this is going to be a real brawl.” Mu fastened his helmet, a bit overexcited.

“Möbius Zero and the Flag, report to the launch catapult.”

“Well, I’ll go on ahead then.” Flashing a victory sign, Mu climbed into his beloved machine.

Kira hurried to his own suit as well.

“Don’t worry—the Archangel will be fine.” The Black Astray patted the Assault’s shoulder, then gave the lolicon a gesture, signaling him to follow.

“Mu La Flaga, launching! Don’t let the ship sink before I get back!” Mu launched first, off to attempt a sneak attack.

“Strike, standing by. Aile Striker equipped.”

Kira drew a deep breath—this was the first time he’d entered battle purely by his own will, and he was nervous.

But seeing Hao Ren goofing around with the girls on the little screen in the upper right, Kira suddenly wondered if he wasn’t being a bit silly. The odd tension faded away.

Kira also chose to ignore the fact that Hao Ren’s cockpit was full of girls.

Some of Hao Ren’s antics really were brainwashing.

“Nasca-class warship ahead! Launching mobile suits—enemy units, one in total.”

“Kira Yamato, Gundam! I’m going!” Kira’s Strike shot from the catapult—a classic scene!

“Wait up! Someone’s still here!” Seeing the launch bay about to close, Hao Ren quickly patched his video signal to the bridge to complain.

“Black Flame?” Murrue was incredulous.

“You bastard! Where the hell did you run off to just now?” Baccue roared. No wonder—Hao Ren hadn’t been on the Archangel either.

“Tch. Mind your own business. You’re not my mom. I went through all this trouble to get another mobile suit—it’s all for the Archangel, isn’t it?” Hao Ren, full of nonsense, rubbed his eyes, nearly poking out the Black Astray’s electronic eye.

“Mom? Do I look that old?” No matter the woman, they all cared about their looks and age. Being called “mom” left Baccue in a daze, muttering to herself.

“Mobile suit?” The others were startled; an officer quickly switched the feed to the launch bay cameras. The sight of one black and one white mobile suit made their eyelids twitch.

“Three heat signatures approaching from behind! Distance: sixty-seven—it’s mobile suits! Identifying… X-series: Duel, Buster, Blitz!” Hao Ren couldn’t help but want to ridicule Blitz—its designer must have watched Gundam SEED.

“They’re deploying all the stolen G-weapons into battle?!” Murrue, could you stop stating the obvious? If not for combat, what, were they going to hatch little G-babies?