Following the impact of the Hyggs beam, the remaining pilots regroup and attempt to break into the enemy placenta. With her Guardian in bad condition, Ren Honoka entrusts Nagate with her last bullet and asks him to use it to defeat Benisuzume for her... (more) sake. Nagate then stays behind to confront it, while Samari and the others break inside the Gauna to destroy its main core. Nagate's battle with Benisuzume is fierce, and he is knocked down just to be rescued in the nick of time by Izana who is injured by the Gauna in sequence. After resuming the battle, Nagate runs out of ammo and in a last effort, fires Tsugumori's left hand carrying the bullet he gained from Ren to destroy it. Meanwhile, Samari's platoon manages to destroy the Gauna's main core, opening the way for the anti-planetary missile to obliterate the target. Back to Sidonia, Nagate pays a visit to Kunato upon learning that he intends to quit being a pilot and despite not forgiving him for what happened, expresses his desire to have him by his side to defend their home and Kunato leaves him without giving an answer. After Ren thanks Nagate for attending to her request, he leaves to visit the Shizuka/Gauna hybrid again, unaware that she was moved somewhere else.