Reid's sarcastic remark about Code Amelias being a "genius" made both Haman and Teletha nod in agreement, as they too had just gotten their fill of the drama.
This Code Amelias had suddenly revealed a lot of information that neither of them had known before.
For instance, the previous administrator was named Aplodia, and Reid had not obtained full permissions, and so on.
But that was about the extent of it. Haman indicated that if she didn't stop Amelias, the girl would end up spilling all her secrets.
In any case, Haman felt that she had already profited greatly from this attempt to probe Reid, having gained so much secret information for free.
Next, it was time for the main course. After being ambushed, she couldn't expect to test the strength of Reid's team herself, but she still had other business to attend to on this trip.
Although Chang Wufei and McGillis had both suffered losses to varying degrees earlier, it was no big deal. What she needed to do now was to properly test Ange.
Thus, Haman once again held Loli Amelias in her arms to cover her mouth, then spoke over the comms.
"Alright, Reid, you and Amelias have chatted enough. Let me have a chat with big sister Ange as well."
The moment Reid heard this, he had a bad feeling. While Ange wasn't easy to fool, she would absolutely not back down from Haman.
As expected, Ange, who had been silent until now, spoke with a hint of mockery.
"I wouldn't dare accept the title of 'big sister' from Queen Haman. I heard from Reid that you had already conquered the Earth Sphere in your original universe. Is it true that a person's ambition can never be satisfied?"
Haman knew Ange was mocking her for being greedy enough to want more, even after having already conquered the Earth Sphere.
However, Haman didn't consider herself greedy. She had merely had a new world opened up to her because of Reid; what was wrong with wanting to advance further?
So, Haman replied directly, "I do have ambition. However, that doesn't stop me from finding a man worthy of me. Ange, I was a bit dissatisfied with my loss in our last simulated battle. How about another round today?"
Ange didn't flinch at the suggestion and replied directly, "That's exactly what I was thinking. I've been wanting to give you a real beating since last time. I'll knock down as many husband-stealing vixens as you can throw at me."
Hearing this, Reid realized the two were about to have a real fight. He quickly interjected, "Don't—"
Before Reid could get another word out, two domineering and stern shouts of "You, shut up!" lodged the rest of his words in his throat.
At this moment, Reid could only think, One mountain cannot contain two tigers; the ancients did not deceive me. And in his case, it was clearly two tigresses.
No, it was a dragon and a tiger. What was playing out now was a dragon-versus-tiger fight.
Following Haman's "Just you wait," the New Danuu's Child soon opened its modified head flight platform, which now served as an MS catapult, and a Qubeley holding a long spear was launched.
(Please imagine the mobile suit with a primarily white color scheme.)
Reid took a closer look. That posture, plus the physical pincer shield on its left arm—this mobile suit was actually a Butterfly Shadow Qubeley.
At this moment, Reid couldn't tell if this mobile suit had been summoned by Code Amelias or if Haman's team had coincidentally modified it to look this way.
Therefore, Reid decided to observe a little longer. In any case, he would absolutely not allow anything to happen to Ange. He had already notified Xia Yulan to have the Blade Angel Gundam return stealthily.
If a real problem arose, Reid would have Xia Yulan immediately shoot down the Tir Na Nog in front of him.
Furthermore, Reid had also notified Noin and the others to activate their special systems for a quick and decisive battle.
In fact, if the Archangel hadn't already engaged the Neo Zeon forces, Reid would have wanted to recall them immediately.
Haman's side was unaware of Reid's small maneuvers. As long as the Archangel didn't turn back, they probably wouldn't be too nervous.
So for now, the stage was left to Ange and Haman.
Reid knew that if he didn't let these two fight it out, Ange would definitely not let him off easy later.
Thus, as tensions between the two reached a boiling point, he piloted his mobile suit to fly between them and said, "Sparring is fine, but no lethal force. If I see any, I will intervene immediately."
This wasn't a question from Reid, but a notification. Ange heard the tone in his voice and knew he wouldn't back down on this matter, so she didn't object.
As for Haman, she could confirm through her Newtype resonance that if she dared to oppose Reid's words, he would personally come down and administer "family discipline" to her first, so she didn't object either.
However, Haman also confirmed at the same time that if she and Ange were in danger simultaneously, Reid would definitely save Ange first. There was no doubt about that.
But Haman wasn't discouraged. Her goal was to become an administrator like Reid, or even a being superior to him, while Ange could only ever survive under Reid's protection.
When that time came, Reid would naturally understand that she, with her equal authority, was the optimal choice for a partner.
So, after Reid moved his mobile suit away, leaving the stage to Ange and Haman, Haman directly established a Laser Communication link with the Ice Phoenix Gundam, initiating a private chat between the two.
"Sister Ange, I'm so envious. Reid really does care about you the most."
Ange was happy to have a private chat with Haman at this moment, and replied as if it were a matter of course, "Naturally. The bond between him and me is something a person like you, who relies on seduction to get into bed, could never understand."
Being mocked like this made Haman's anger flare up. The Funnel Pods on the back of the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley tilted up slightly, a preparatory motion for deploying Funnels.
From a short distance away on the battlefield, Reid saw Haman's small movement but didn't warn Ange. If he provided outside information now, Ange would probably just snap at him.
In Ange's mind, this conflict wasn't a war, nor was it a mission; it was the battle to establish her authority as the main partner.
After preparing to launch her Funnels, Haman smiled sinisterly.
"Sister Ange, you really hold a deep prejudice against me. Let's let our battle do the talking. How about the system starts a ten-second countdown, and we begin fighting immediately after?"
Ange, hearing this, naturally wouldn't back down. She immediately assumed an offensive stance and replied, "Of course, no problem."
Haman said no more. While activating the countdown, she maneuvered her mobile suit backward to create some distance.
However, as it flew, using the heat from its thrusters as cover, the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley had already secretly released a large number of Funnels (a full 40 of them).
These Funnels were specially made, each equipped with an Electronic Camouflage System, making them invisible.
Even Reid, who was observing the battlefield with full concentration, could only vaguely sense the approximate location of these Funnels, as he was still a bit too far away.
As for Ange, her Awakening Value was not high enough for her to sense that Haman had already deployed Funnels, but her sixth sense clearly told her that the threat from Haman's mobile suit had suddenly increased.
So, when the ten-second countdown ended and the "mock battle" officially began, Ange, without a second thought, deployed her GN Field and executed a rapid sideways evasion.
This move allowed her to avoid getting killed on the first encounter by the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's invisible Funnels.
Because when the Funnels launched their attack, Reid discovered that not only were they invisible, but their beams were not ordinary beams either; they were High-Energy Laser Cannons from the AC Universe.
Haman knew that Reid's mobile suits were all protected by Lambda Driver shields, and that Reid definitely had I-Field-related technology. Therefore, Haman had specifically replaced all the Funnels' beams with High-Energy Laser Cannons.
Although this would increase the Funnels' recharge time and shorten their sustained attack duration, as long as they didn't hit armor specifically designed against beams, like Nano-Laminate Armor, there was basically no need to worry about the Funnels hitting an enemy and doing no damage.
One had to know that the High-Energy Laser Beams of the AC Universe had excellent shield-penetrating efficiency—even the Virgo's Tri-Directional Circular Magnetic Shield couldn't block them—and the high temperatures they generated were enough to cut through and melt the Gundarium Alloy of the AC Universe.
Of course, this so-called high penetration also depended on how thick the opponent's shield was.
The power of the high-energy laser beams released by the Funnels couldn't possibly be higher than that of a warship's cannons. When they hit the Ice Phoenix Gundam's thick GN Field, they didn't penetrate it immediately.
However, it was enough to nearly cause the Ice Phoenix Gundam's GN Field to fail. If Ange hadn't been maneuvering the mobile suit to evade, another half-second would have been enough for the GN Field to collapse, and the newly built Ice Phoenix Gundam would have lost an arm or a leg.
Fortunately, once the Ice Phoenix Gundam began moving at high speed, the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's high-energy laser Funnel assault stopped instantly.
The movement speed of the Funnels was what it was; they simply couldn't keep up with the Ice Phoenix Gundam's speed.
And now, Haman's Butterfly Shadow Qubeley had to face the Ice Phoenix Gundam's counterattack.
Although the Ice Phoenix Gundam didn't have much long-range firepower, each of its weapons was lethal to the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley.
Whether it was the Magnum Beam or the GN Particle Version VSBR Beam Cannon, the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley was in a state where if it wasn't hit on the shield, a graze would wound it, and a direct hit would destroy it.
However, at this point, Reid could also confirm that this Butterfly Shadow Qubeley was not summoned by Code Amelias.
Because this Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's mobility was too low.
Due to carrying a large number of Funnels, and the fact that these high-energy laser Funnels required a massive amount of electrical energy to charge, this Butterfly Shadow Qubeley, while appearing to be of a reasonable size, was actually carrying many energy capacitors, making the mobile suit quite heavy.
Although using Gundarium Alloy from the AC Universe as its Outer Armor reduced its weight, it was still too slow compared to the Ice Phoenix Gundam.
It was only because Haman, as a Newtype, could also predict Ange's firing times that she wasn't shot down after a few shots, given her mobile suit's mobility.
For the time being, however, the two were at a stalemate.
Ange couldn't clearly sense the positions of all the invisible Funnels and didn't dare to approach the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley rashly.
This was because if she attacked from a distance while circling the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley, the Funnels wouldn't be effective as they couldn't keep up with her mobile suit's speed. But if she actively closed in, the Funnels would just have to wait at ease for her to fall into their web of beams.
This was Haman's open conspiracy. She knew she couldn't beat Ange in close combat even with her mind-reading abilities, so she directly chose to use the high-energy-consuming Funnels as a deterrent, making it so Ange didn't dare to engage in close combat at all.
But by the same token, the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley was also helpless against the Ice Phoenix Gundam zipping all over the field. The Funnels couldn't stray too far from the main body, and her Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's speed couldn't keep up with the enemy Gundam at all. The Beam Cannons on its arms couldn't break through the shield, and if she tried to give chase, she would just get kited to death.
But being unable to do anything head-on didn't mean Haman didn't have a few tricks up her sleeve.
The long spear in the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's hand was actually a Funnel Spear. Because of its large size, it could be equipped with more advanced brainwave-reading devices, allowing it to be controlled from a greater distance.
So, Haman prepared to pull a fast one on Ange. She deliberately made it seem like the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley was getting desperate from being unable to catch the Ice Phoenix Gundam and being unilaterally attacked, and threw the long spear in an attempt to stop the Ice Phoenix Gundam from increasing the distance.
Ange's vigilance had been raised by Haman's initial sneak attack, and she was afraid that this long spear might also be hiding some secret weapon to trick her.
Thus, the Ice Phoenix Gundam was seen swerving away from the Funnel Spear as if it were the god of plagues, executing a vertical downward dash to bypass it, turning Haman's plan to use the Funnel Spear for a sneak attack into dust.
However, at this point, Ange's patience was also wearing thin.
She also knew that it was extremely difficult to hit a Gundam piloted by a top-tier Newtype with just the three cannons on her mobile suit.
Therefore, to end this battle, she still had to rely on close combat.
And so, Ange used her ultimate move: the Trans-Am System was activated.
After activating the Trans-Am System, the Ice Phoenix Gundam was instantly dyed red by high-concentration GN Particles, its speed increasing explosively, and it then charged straight for the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley.
Haman was startled by the Ice Phoenix Gundam's sudden burst of speed and immediately controlled her Funnels to fire a barrage of high-energy lasers in front of her mobile suit, forming an interception net to prevent the Ice Phoenix Gundam from getting close.
However, Ange had never intended to attack head-on.
This charge was just to bait out an attack. Ange knew that Funnels couldn't store much energy, and these high-energy lasers that could pierce her GN Field could fire two or three volleys at most.
So, the Ice Phoenix Gundam, leaving afterimages in its wake, didn't even reach the front of the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley before it veered off to the side and flew away.
Its speed was so fast that Haman couldn't even lock onto the Ice Phoenix Gundam with her mobile suit's systems. The high-energy lasers defending her front naturally all missed.
At this moment, because the Ice Phoenix Gundam was moving so fast, Haman had the illusion that Ange was everywhere at once.
She didn't dare to gamble on which one was the real Ange, so she could only use her Funnels to perform an omnidirectional sweep to force the Ice Phoenix Gundam back.
But just as Ange had predicted, after three volleys, most of the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's Funnels went silent. They had to return to the mobile suit to recharge and could no longer provide interception.
After a few more probing maneuvers, Ange confirmed that the annoying laser beams around Haman's mobile suit were gone. Seizing the last few seconds of the Trans-Am System, she raised her shield and charged from the flank.
Haman had long anticipated this situation, and Ange's intention to attack was too obvious. So, Haman swung the Beam Saber in her right hand and blocked Ange's assault.
The Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's mobile suit output couldn't compete with the Trans-Am-activated Ice Phoenix Gundam, and it was pushed backward.
However, Haman also seized the opportunity. The shield on the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's left arm split open from the middle, turning into a pincer that clamped down on the Ice Phoenix Gundam's right leg.
Moreover, Haman had deliberately held back two Funnels, not firing them before. Now was the perfect time.
Just as Haman thought she was about to win, she noticed the screen of her mobile suit flashing with a golden light.
Since there were only two Funnels, and they were too close, even with Ange's Awakening Value, she could sense their presence.
So, Ange directly raised her shield against these two Funnels, and what's more, she deployed the shield, revealing the Yata-no-Kagami Shield inside.
The next second, the high-energy lasers directly hit the Yata-no-Kagami Shield and were instantly reflected back at their source.
At the same time, the Ice Phoenix Gundam kicked out with its left foot. The Foot Blade sliced off the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's left arm, freeing its own right leg.
However, the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley also used the explosion of its arm to create distance. At this moment, the Ice Phoenix Gundam's Trans-Am time ended, and the two mobile suits once again entered a standoff.
Since many long-time readers feel that I didn't add this scene well, let's just skip through it quickly.
After finishing the final battle of 00's first season, we'll fast-forward directly to the timeline of SEED's second season. In any case, I've pretty much finished writing the content that needs to be added in the middle of SEED.