Zzzzing!!! Pzzzzzt—!!!

The Genesis laser, blocked by the GN Field created by the GN Sword Bits, began to spread out like an umbrella. I had been a bit worried whether the GN Field alone would be enough against Genesis’s immense power, and had thought about using other functions or abilities as backup, but it was holding up better than expected. It seemed that even as GN particles were worn away, the Triple Drive system replenished them immediately.

’Wow~ isn’t it beautiful?’

The Genesis laser spread and dispersed around the GN Field, coloring the surroundings in a spectrum of colors, as if we had stepped into a rainbow.

KABOOOM!!!

After holding on for a while, a massive explosion occurred at Genesis, and the pouring laser gradually diminished and then disappeared. Athrun and Yzak had finally succeeded in destroying Genesis.

—"To think it could block that..."

—"What is Celestial Being’s technological level..."

As people were marveling, Lacus sent a transmission with a tearful voice.

—"Jin, are you alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine."

—"I’m so relieved you’re safe. If I lost you, I would..."

Hearing her say that, I could feel how much Lacus liked me. Having a girl you’re seeing worry about you like that naturally feels good. Since there would be two years until Destiny began after this war ended, I should probably take Lacus on some dates during that time.

While we were exchanging transmissions, fierce fighting was happening elsewhere. Rau Le Creuset was piloting the Providence Gundam better than expected. But being overwhelmed was inevitable, given his opponents were the Freedom and Raphael Gundams.

Zing—!! CRASH!!!

The DRAGOONs launched by the Providence Gundam were frequently shot down before they could fire more than a few shots. Any opening was immediately exploited by Nicol’s Zabanya Gundam’s sniping. Perhaps trying to conserve his DRAGOONs, Creuset only operated them close to himself, but he couldn’t stop them from being steadily destroyed.

CRASH!!!

—"Guh!! Damn!! If only you Celestial Being bastards weren’t here!!!"

As things didn’t go his way, Creuset began blaming everything on us. He wasn’t entirely wrong. Thanks to us, the war hadn’t gone as he planned, and more people had survived than in the original.

"Judging by your voice, I can tell. Creuset, I’ve seen the data on you. You were born a clone and can’t live long due to genetic disease, right?"

—"You took the research data from Mendel, didn’t you? Yes, that’s right! Because I am a being born of human greed, I have the right to judge this entire world!"

"Nonsense! You think you’re the only one who’s unhappy and are doing this, but there are many people born into worse circumstances than you. That doesn’t mean they all become as extreme as you. Some of them work hard and live their lives. Besides, you’re in a relatively good situation. The genetic disease caused by cloning can now be treated with Celestial Being’s science and technology."

—"Wh-what?! Is that true?!"

At my words, Creuset seemed shocked, and the Providence Gundam briefly ceased fighting. The Freedom and Raphael also stopped fighting, keeping their guard up.

"Yes. You’ve been destroying your own future to live."

—"..."

Creuset was silent for a while. This was actually a gene therapy technology that Nano had. This technology could even solve the problem of Coordinators’ descendants.

—"How can I believe you?"

"Why would I lie? Look around you. The war is already ending. Genesis is destroyed, and the Earth Alliance seems to have run out of nukes, as they’re not firing anymore. And since you’re about to be subdued anyway, I have no reason to lie."

It was true. Thanks to 2B and A2, most of the Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors that had been fighting were already subdued. The Kämpfer and GN-X units that had been fighting the Boosted Man trio had also rejoined after subduing them, so it wouldn’t take long to finish up.

—"Are you saying everything I’ve done so far has been meaningless? I... I..."

Creuset had been justifying his actions based on the fact that he was created by others’ desire and destined to die young. But my words were shaking the very foundation of that justification, and his logic was losing ground.

"You’ve just been wallowing in self-pity, whining about how unhappy you are."

At that, Creuset was again silent for a long time.

Just then, transmissions came from 2B and A2.

—"Jin, all Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors have been subdued."

—"Only the ships remain. What should we do?"

"Since there might still be nukes left, avoid attacks that could cause large explosions."

—"Understood."

I sent an open transmission to all ships.

"The war is over. Genesis is destroyed. Only the ships remain. Everyone, return to your respective formations. I believe there is still a chance for resolution through dialogue. But if war begins again, such luck will not come twice. If that happens, both sides will face destruction. I hope you make a wise decision."

As soon as I sent that open transmission, a transmission came from the Archangel knockoff, the Dominion, captained by Natarle Badgiruel.

—"Who the hell do you Celestial Being bastards think you are, giving orders! This is the only chance to create a blue and pure world! If you’re Naturals, don’t interfere! Fire the remaining nukes now!!!"

Judging by the voice coming through, it seemed to be Muruta Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos. This guy seemed to have lost his mind.

—"Director Azrael!!! What is this madness!!! The war is over! We have no means left to fight!!!"

—Bang bang bang!!!

—"Aargh!!"

—"Shut up!!! I said shut up!!!"

—"Stop him!!!"

—"You madman, stay still!"

—"Let go of me, let go!!! Do you think you’ll be safe after this!!!???"

From the sounds coming through, it seemed Azrael had gone crazy, fired a gun indiscriminately, and was subdued by someone. Judging by the voices, the person shot was probably Natarle.

Honestly, Natarle was too valuable to die here. Compared to the foolish couple (Ramias and Mwu) who couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters, she had a clear sense of duty, was decisive, and possessed excellent strategic and tactical abilities. Furthermore, through this war, she had come to realize what was right and wrong, making her an even greater loss. Personally, I also hated to see a beautiful woman die.

So I immediately piloted my Gundam to the Dominion’s bridge, aimed my GN Sword, and advised surrender.

"Archangel-class ship, surrender immediately. I won’t say it twice."

—"What should we do, Captain?"

—"Ha, we surrender. But... not to ZAFT, to Celestial Being. That’s an order..."

—Thud!

—"Captain!!!"

Inside the bridge, the transmission was still open due to Azrael’s frenzied actions.

Judging by the situation, Natarle had been shot and was in critical condition. Despite that, her choosing to surrender to us shows what an excellent commander she was. She judged it better to entrust the Dominion’s technology to Celestial Being than to let it fall into ZAFT’s hands.

This was a choice to prevent the Earth Alliance’s inhumane actions (the Boosted Man project) from being exposed externally, and her judgment was clearly reasonable. If ZAFT found out about this, the Earth Alliance would face severe criticism, and ZAFT would likely use it as propaganda or diplomatic pressure.

—"The Dominion surrenders to Celestial Being."

Once they sent their surrender, I immediately ordered them to follow, and with the help of the Eternal’s crew, quickly subdued the Dominion’s crew. As expected, Natarle was in critical condition from a gunshot wound, and Azrael was locked up, raving mad.

"Jin!"

I had also gotten out of my Gundam to help. Lacus ran to me with tears in her eyes and embraced me. She seemed very happy to be reunited safely, and equally worried. I patted her shoulder to calm her down.

"There’s a patient in critical condition, so I’ll go check."

"I’ll come too. Let me help."

Lacus seemed unwilling to be separated from me any longer.

"Alright. Let’s do that."

I quickly moved Natarle to the Eternal and began surgery. Fortunately, the bullet had missed vital organs, but she had lost a lot of blood and was near death. But with me performing the surgery, I could save her without issue. Lacus felt some aversion to the surgery but endured and assisted, and I was quite surprised at how well she helped. As expected of an ’Accord.’

"Phew~ thanks for the assistance. Thankfully, it went well."

"I’m glad."

We laid Natarle in the infirmary and came out. Just then, an open transmission came from PLANT.

—"To all ZAFT and Earth Forces currently stationed in the area: PLANT has begun preparations for ceasefire negotiations between the Earth Alliance and PLANT member nations. The PLANT Provisional Supreme Council recommends that the Earth Forces immediately cease all acts of combat in the area."

Waaahhh—!!!

The entire crew cheered. It meant the war had ended. Lacus, again in tears, hugged me again.

"It’s finally over."

"Yes."

Rau Le Creuset, having apparently heard the transmission, immediately surrendered to us. We took his Providence Gundam into the Eternal and confined Creuset in a separate cell.

Shortly after, Yzak and Athrun returned. According to them, their return was delayed not only by destroying Genesis but also by subduing the Council with the help of the moderate forces remaining in PLANT.

Thus, we succeeded not only in saving all the major characters of Gundam SEED but also in achieving a happy ending. Of course, there were also characters we had unintentionally saved.

Now that the war was over, both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance began focusing on rescue efforts. Casualties from the fighting were unavoidable, but thanks to Celestial Being’s intervention, significantly more people had survived than in the original, so there were quite a few to rescue.

"You bastards! Do you know who I am!! Release me at once!!"

Azrael was still raging in his cell. Rau Le Creuset, locked in the next cell, apparently unable to bear the noise, sat against the wall, pressing a pillow tightly over his ears.

It wasn’t intentional, but the sight of the two men who had once shaken the battlefield—one raging, the other blocking his ears—was honestly quite amusing.

After watching for a while, I decided to send back the Dominion’s crew. Not the whole ship, but using escape pods, send them back to the Earth Alliance along with Muruta Azrael.

However, some crew members chose exile and stayed in Orb. This was because they knew that Azrael would not forgive those who had subdued him. In the end, those who chose exile were transferred to the Orb ship, Kusanagi. I told them that Natarle was too critical to move.

I actually wanted to kill Muruta Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos, immediately. I knew that if this guy disappeared, the SEED universe would become much cleaner. But I couldn’t just execute a surrendered person. Given the situation and the principle, I had no choice, but I also had no intention of just letting him go.

"So you’re Azrael, the one who caused all this chaos. You’re the leader of Blue Cosmos, I hear?"

Under the watch of the Eternal’s crew, as the Dominion’s crew were boarding the escape pods, I spoke to Azrael.

"Hmph! Finally, someone recognizes me... You! You’re Jin of Celestial Being! You traitor!!!"

"Who are you calling a traitor?"

"You’re a Natural! Despite betraying your own kind! If you hadn’t interfered, we would have destroyed PLANT!"

As expected, even in this situation, he was the same. The Eternal’s crew looked at Azrael with pity.

"My, it seems Blue Cosmos consists of nothing but such people."

Then Andrew, watching from the side, said,

"Jin, can’t we just close our eyes and kill that guy?"

"In my opinion, it’s better to let him go. As long as a fool like that is their leader, Blue Cosmos won’t be able to wield real power."

"Oh~ I see. Well, a group led by such a fool obviously has a grim future."

At that, the Eternal’s crew began to giggle. What was even funnier was that the Dominion’s crew, having clearly witnessed Azrael’s disgraceful behavior, were also bowing their heads and shaking their shoulders, barely holding back laughter.

"Wh-what do you think I am! I am destined to be the ruler of the world! You dare treat me like this!!"

Unable to control his anger, Azrael’s face turned red, and he lunged at me, swinging his fist. I lightly blocked his punch, then tripped him, sending him to the floor.

THUD!

"Gah!"

The Eternal’s crew immediately raised their guns, but I raised my hand to stop them. Then I picked up the guy, who was groaning in pain on the floor, and said,

"You’re proving your own stupidity. Consider yourself lucky you didn’t get shot. This isn’t a friendly place."

"Guh... damn it, let go! I’ll get revenge for this humiliation someday!"

When I helped him up, Azrael shook off my supporting hand and immediately boarded the escape pod. Of course, I sent him off with a generous gift of heavy radiation exposure. He loved nukes so much, I couldn’t not give him such a present.

I had initially planned to just do it subtly after a friendly chat and a handshake, but thanks to his personality, things worked out perfectly, and I was able to thoroughly dose every part of his body. He would probably show symptoms before reaching Earth and would never be able to interfere in the peace negotiations between PLANT and the Earth Alliance.