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This is not possible.
The thought assaulted Elan as his Pharact collapsed under the gunfire of Suletta's Aerial GUND-BITs. His own GUND-BITs had been shot down one by one by the Mercury pilot with a speed and accuracy of which Elan himself would not have been capable. In a last desperate effort, the boy had thrown himself into melee combat, but Suletta amputated Pharact's arms with her beam saber effortlessly.
As if that wasn't enough, Suletta cut Pharact's legs off at the knees. The Gundam collapsed to pieces like a broken toy.
With deliberate, almost theatrical slowness, Aerial approached the wreckage of the Pharact, grabbed its antenna and tore it off. Then Suletta offered it to the cameras recording the duel, just as Elan had done with Guel's Mobile Suit. A moment later, she tossed it aside as if it were a discarded piece of worthless junk.
Elan screamed at the top of his lungs.
The entire Asticassia School of Technology erupted in wild cheers.
"That was quite a duel!" exclaimed Shaddiq. Like the rest of the school, the Dueling Committee had been following the clash with excitement.
Even Secelia, who normally didn't pay much attention to the duels, hadn't been able to take her eyes off the monitors during the entire fight.
"That girl kicked his ass good and proper," said Secelia. "Elan needed to be taught a lesson. Maybe now he'll behave like a normal person, don't you think?."
Sitting on a sofa at the other end of the room, Guel said nothing. A small smile broke out on his face.
Suletta descended from the cockpit of Aerial as the holographic scoreboard showed her as the winner of the duel. She didn't even looked at it. She took off her helmet, dropped it on the ground, and walked slowly toward the Pharact.
Elan had to struggle to open his cockpit door. The emergency power systems were not working and the door had jammed due to the damage received. He had to pry the door open and only succeeded partially. In the end, he managed to squeeze through the open hole, but he had to take off his helmet. The opening was so tight that Elan cut himself a couple of times and the pilot suit tore at several points.
When he managed to emerge from his cabin, Elan looked nothing like his usual appearance. He was completely disheveled and sweat covered his face. His body still bore the marks of direct use of Permet and blood trickled down his left arm, where the door had cut him.
The worst were his eyes. Hatred burned in them with the strength of a star's heart. No student at Asticassia had ever seen that side of Elan.
Suletta was waiting for him.
Elan wanted to tell her how much he hated her. He wanted to curse her a thousand times. Swear to her that he would make her life a living hell. That he wouldn't stop until he would see the Aerial Gundam she loved so much destroyed.
But he couldn't speak.
There was something in Suletta's expression that he had not seen in their previous encounters. A determination that had been hidden by the image of a shy, very nervous girl that she normally projected. Most likely, Suletta herself was not aware that she possessed such a will to go forward.
For the first time, Elan was afraid.
"You have tried to separate me from someone I love." Suletta did not stutter.
"What... what are you saying?" Elan didn't undertood that she was referring to Aerial.
"I thought you were my friend. Miorine-san tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. And you took advantage. I don't know what you wanted to achieve. I don't know what cruel game some people are playing here, in this school. But I'm not going to be part of it."
"Poor Suletta. You haven't realized it yet. It's too late now. From the moment you meddled in the princess's life..."
Elan couldn't finish. Suletta walked up to him and punched him in the face. The blow was so hard that Elan fell to the ground. He put his hand on his cheek, surprised at Suletta's reaction. He didn't even tried to get up.
The school fell silent.
A motorcycle pulled up next to Aerial and Miorine got off. She had seen Suletta hit Elan. Miorine ran towards her.
"Suletta!" shouted Miorine.
"Don't you ever dare to threaten my family again!" Suletta did not seem to have noticed Miorine's presence.
Elan looked bewildered at Suletta, not daring to move. Who was this person so different from the one he had known? Where had this strength come from?
"You stay away from Miorine-san, Aerial and me! Do you hear me?!"
When Miorine reached Suletta's side, the red-haired girl looked like a spring under tension about to be released.
"Suletta," Miorine said, her voice barely a whisper, and tenderly took Suletta's right hand, which she still held clenched in a fist.
Suletta looked at Miorine and her expression softened. She could get lost in those eyes, in that face for hours. Her voice was a soothing balm against all the rage she felt.
"You beat him. Aerial is safe. I am safe. That's all that matters. Let him go."
"Yes, Miorine-san. You are all safe. That's all that matters." Suletta opened her right hand and intertwined her fingers with Miorine's.
"Let's go home, Suletta."
Suletta nodded. Without a glance at Elan, the pair headed toward Aerial's cockpit. The Gundam took off at full speed, leaving behind the wreckage of the Pharact and its shocked pilot.
The two remained silent for a few minutes, until Suletta spoke.
"Thank you, Miorine-san."
"For what?"
"For stopping me. I don't know what I could have done. I've never... I've never hit anyone before. It's the first time I've ever felt like this. So..."
"Full of anger?"
"Yes."
Suletta seemed to be getting back to her usual self. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she didn't look up from Aerial's controls, as if she was ashamed of what had happened.
"Let me tell you something about anger, Suletta. Sometimes, it can help you, give you strength when you need it most. The dangerous thing is to live in hate. Anger eats away at you, takes hold of you and makes you dependent on it. It's very difficult to escape its control once you have surrendered to it. But there is something more powerful than anger that can overcome its power and free those who are trapped in its grasp. You are living proof of this."
"What is it, Miorine-san?" Suletta felt her heart racing. She thought she was sure what the answer was, but she was afraid she might be wrong.
"Love. The love that is born without prejudice, without jealousy, without doubts. Pure and simple love." She laid her head on Suletta's shoulder and the pilot wrapped her left arm around Miorine's body.
"Love," Suleta repeated.
"I am very lucky that you consider me part of your family. I only hope that someday I will be worthy of that honor."
"You are worthy, Miorine-san. From the very first day. My fiancée. My friend. My love."
"My groom. My friend. My love," said Miorine.
Perhaps their future was uncertain, but they were sure of one thing.
They would face it together.