The night roared with chaos as flames licked the sky. The town that had been filled with harmony and happiness during daylight hours was now engulfed in an inferno, reduced to smoldering ruins beneath billowing smoke.
The sole consolation was that no lives had been lost—everyone had evacuated before disaster struck.
This had been their home. Many who joined the Resistance Organization had families residing in Tassil. As they gazed at the distant flames, despair and grief threatened to consume them—until they saw their loved ones standing safely beyond the fire's reach, prompting tears of overwhelming relief.
"Elder! Are you unharmed?" A voice trembled with joy as the elder emerged from the crowd, supported by children. Like others, she had initially feared the worst.
"I'm fine. Everyone is safe."
"Eh?"
"They gave advance warning—told us they'd burn the town and urged us to flee."
"What did you say?" Resistance members and their allies—including Mu and Natarle Badgiruel—stared in stunned disbelief.
"The fires were only set after we'd all escaped. Just a few minor injuries from falls, nothing serious."
"How could..."
"Fortunately, Lord Yang Hui warned us beforehand. We managed to relocate some food and water supplies, though all ammunition and fuel are lost. The remaining provisions can only sustain everyone for a week."
"Yang Hui?"
All eyes turned to Yang Hui. Cagalli and the Archangel crew exchanged puzzled glances, bewildered by his sudden connection to events.
While rank-and-file Resistance members remained confused, leaders like Sayibu—aware of Yang Hui's true role—shot him grateful looks. With outsiders present, however, overt expressions of thanks were impossible.
"Yang Hui! What did you do!?" Cagalli's imagination had clearly run wild, leading her to accuse him of orchestrating the entire tragedy as she stormed toward him.
"You heard the explanation, didn't you?"
"You bastard!" She swung a fist at his face, only for her wrist to be intercepted midair.
"Now now, little lady. Did you forget about this bodyguard?" Lyle's teasing tone belied his grim expression.
"Let me go! I'll make him pay—release me!"
"Enough, Cagalli!"
As Cagalli continued struggling, the elder sharply rebuked her outburst.
"But Elder! Yang Hui is—"
"You don't actually think I ordered ZAFT Forces to attack these people?" Yang Hui's expression twisted with incredulity.
"Didn't you? How else would they have found this place!?"
"..."
Yang Hui seriously considered knocking the girl unconscious and burying her in a ditch. What warped logic connected him to the ZAFT assault? Simply because he'd advised relocating supplies earlier?
"Fine, let's say it was me." He had no intention of explaining—not with Mu and Natarle present, and certainly not to Cagalli, whose reckless impulsiveness made her the last person who should know about Wang Liu Mei's intelligence network.
"I knew it! You—let me—I'll—"
"Everyone, stop!"
"Elder..."
"Cagalli, you've wronged Mr. Yang Hui. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't even have the last bit of food and water left. Do you want us to repay kindness with enmity?"
"So... it really wasn't him?"
"No."
"Uh..." Cagalli felt embarrassed. After all this fuss, she'd misunderstood Yang Hui. "Then... why didn't you explain yourself?"
That's right! It's all Yang Hui's fault for not explaining! Not mine!
"Heh, why should I explain myself to you?"
Not only couldn't he explain, but Yang Hui also wouldn't bother explaining to Cagalli. In her eyes, if she thought you were wrong, then you were wrong. No matter how much you explained, she'd still think you were wrong.
"You—!"
"Can we all calm down?" Mu stepped in to mediate. "Shouldn't we be focusing on what to do next?"
"That's true, but..." Sayibu, the leader of Desert Dawn, looked troubled. He had no idea what to do now. Ammunition and fuel weren't the main issues—they could always stop resisting. But how were they supposed to solve the problems of food, water, and shelter?
Buy them? They didn't have enough money. Steal them? They couldn't bring themselves to harm their own people.
"There must be a way, as long as we're still alive," Mu continued.
"What do you mean?"
"This is just retaliation for last night's incident, isn't it? The fact that you only suffered this much shows how merciful the Desert Tiger is."
"What did you just say?!"
At these words, Cagalli flared up again, and even the people around them glared at Mu with displeasure.
"'This much'?! The entire town was burned down! How is someone who does something like that 'merciful'?!"
"Ah, my apologies if I offended you," Mu quickly backtracked, realizing his mistake. But he still held his ground. "But they're the regular army. You should understand—if they really wanted to, the losses would be far greater."
"That guy is nothing but a cowardly scoundrel! Burning the town while we were away and thinking he's won? We've been fighting bravely all along—we even took down a BuCUE not long ago! That's why this coward only dares to use such underhanded tricks! 'Desert Tiger'? He doesn't deserve the title!"
"Heh." Yang Hui responded to Cagalli's tirade with a cold laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!"
"I'm laughing at your naivety—and your stupidity."
"What did you say?!"
"Nothing. Just stating facts."
"You—"
"Sayibu!"
Just as Cagalli was about to clash with Yang Hui again, a member of Desert Dawn came looking for their leader.
"What is it?"
"Come with us!"
Sayibu followed his comrades, leaving the others behind. The remaining group glared at Mu and Yang Hui with hostility. Even though they knew Yang Hui's identity, they still disliked his attitude. After all, it was Wang Liumei who had helped them—not Yang Hui.
...
"What's going on? What happened?" Sayibu asked urgently as soon as he reached his comrades.
"They haven't gotten far! If we leave now, we can still catch up!"
"What?"
"They just attacked the town—their ammunition must be running low! We should pursue them! How can we swallow this humiliation?!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Instead of wasting time, go help bandage the wounded! Stay with your wives and children—that's what matters most!" Sayibu scolded. Mu's words were harsh, but they reflected reality. Though their Resistance Organization could trade blows with the Desert Tiger, it was only because their enemy didn't take them seriously. If the Desert Tiger truly focused on them, they wouldn't spare the townspeople, and wiping them out would be effortless.
Skirmishes in normal times were one thing, but now they wanted to chase after a regular military unit? Were they all in such a hurry to die?
"What's the point of that!? Look!" someone protested angrily, pointing at the burning Tassil behind Sayibu. "Tassil is finished! Our homes are burned to ashes, and there's barely any food left. Do you expect us to just sit and cry with our families?"
With that, the man stormed off, ready to drive out and fight the enemy to the death.
"Don't tell me... you want us to be the Tiger's dogs, Sayibu?"
The words cut deep into Sayibu. Everything he had done, everything he had thought of, was for his people, for his comrades. Yet now he was being accused of wanting to collude with the enemy—something he couldn't accept.
"We'll go together!" Cagalli stepped forward, addressing everyone. "We can't just let the burning of our town go unpunished! We've beaten the BuCUE before—we can do it again! Let's chase them down and take revenge!"
"Cagalli's right! We must avenge this!"
"Revenge! Let's go together!"
It was too late to stop them. Cagalli's words had ignited the fury and hatred in their hearts. If anyone tried to hold them back now, even their own families would be seen as enemies.
"Sayibu, we'll go together! We can defeat them," Cagalli encouraged.
"Cagalli! You—"
"Or... do you really want to side with that despicable man?"
"..."
In the end, Sayibu's fighting spirit was also roused. He stopped trying to dissuade them and instead resumed his role as their leader, leading them all forward.
"Move out! For revenge!"
"Yeah~!"
...
Yang Hui, Lyle, Mu, and Natarle Badgiruel stood at a distance, watching everything unfold and observing their departing figures.
"Is it really okay not to stop them?" Mu asked Yang Hui. "They're walking into certain death."
"I can't stop them. And I don't have the right to."
Just as he had told Flay, he had no right to stand in the way of someone else's vengeance.
"So what now? Just watch?" Natarle asked.
"Want to help? Contact Murrue. She'll probably agree."
"And what about you?"
"Me? Lyle and I are just two people. What can we do?"
With that, he left with Lyle in the opposite direction, leaving Mu and Natarle with conflicted expressions. Truthfully, they weren't in a position to clash with the Desert Tiger's forces right now. But Desert Dawn had helped them, saved them—they couldn't just watch these avengers march to their doom.
"What should we do?"
"Contact the captain. We'll go assist them."
"Huh?" Mu looked at Natarle in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"No, I'm just a bit surprised. Shouldn't you be suggesting we retreat at a time like this?"
"..." Natarle Badgiruel showed neither embarrassment nor rebuttal, instead looking in the direction Yang Hui had departed. "Perhaps... I've been influenced by someone."
"Haha, that's true. But..." Mu also turned his gaze toward the same direction. "I don't think he'll just stand by and do nothing."
"Exactly."
...
After privately exchanging a few words with the elder, Yang Hui boarded the vehicle with Lyle to catch up with the convoy that had departed earlier.
"You're not seriously planning to get involved, are you? I don't think two 9mm pistols can do any damage to a BuCUE," Lyle remarked sarcastically.
"Of course not. We're going as spectators."
"Huh?"
"Murrue will definitely send Kira into battle. I want to see how much he's grown."
"That's all?"
"What else?"
"But what about Cagalli..."
"Let her experience it firsthand—just how cruel war truly is."
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