With Cornelia isolated and most of the Britannian Knightmares wiped out in a landslide orchestrated by Zero, the battle turns in the Black Knights' favor. Further solidifying their advantage is the appearance of Kyoshiro Tohdoh, the most skilled Knightmare pilot in the JLF, along with his comrades, the Four Holy Swords, who engage with Cornelia's guard as the viceroy attempts to fall back.
With the Britannians' command structure in disarray, Lloyd, Cecile, and Suzaku petition Euphemia to let them deploy and assist Cornelia. Even though the other commanders are reluctant, Euphemia gives Suzaku the green light to engage.
Kallen and Zero corner Cornelia in a trench, and it seems the princess is doomed. The Lancelot, however, appears just in time to rescue Cornelia from certain death. The Lancelot also proves to be an even match for the agile Guren, and manages to fend it off. With the battle now becoming one of attrition, Zero orders the Black Knights into retreat. Suzaku, on Cornelia's orders, pursues Zero, disabling his Burai and cornering him.
C.C. appears and walks up to the Lancelot, touching it and delivering a psychic assault upon Suzaku that causes him to see his late father, Prime Minister Kururugi, distressing him greatly. When Zero touches C.C.'s shoulder while trying to tell her to get to safety, he inadvertently enters her mind and sees her memories. The additional psychic shock causes Suzaku to panic and fire wildly, riddling C.C.'s body with debris.
Cornelia orders her units to retreat: they have been defeated this day. As the Black Knights celebrate their victory, the question lingers on where Zero is...
Lelouch is resting in a cave with C.C., watching her recover from her grievous injuries faster than a normal human. He recalls how she survived getting shot in the head in Shinjuku, and ponders as to who, or what, exactly C.C. is. It is also revealed that Lelouch learned C.C.'s real name while he accidentally entered her mind, but the two agree to continue to call her C.C.
With the battle concluded, a group of Britannian researchers in Narita working on "Code: R" come across a gravely injured Jeremiah. Kallen finds Zero and C.C. in the cave, with Zero explaining the mysterious green-haired woman is an "important friend". Zero tells her that he doesn't know why snow is white, but he knows that it is beautiful.
