EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 2 The Fifth Apostle Attacks——!
"Hey! Shinji-kun! Good evening! How's school going? Are you getting along well with your classmates?"

As soon as I entered the NERV command room, an overly enthusiastic black-haired beauty came up to me and greeted me.

Although every glance and smile exudes the rich feminine fragrance of a mature woman, the expression on her face is unexpectedly lively and sassy, ​​as if the fieryness of a twenty-something and the youthfulness of a teenager are blended into one, a cheating kind of beauty.

"Good evening, Miss Katsuragi..."

"Really! Shinji-kun! Didn't I tell you? Just call me Misato! Misato!"

Misato Katsuragi—the first person Shinji Ikari met after returning to this world.

It was she who helped Shinji Ikari resolve his doubts, allowing him to quickly integrate into this world, so that he would not be like a headless fly, not knowing where to go, because of the window period on the other side.

"Shinji-kun, what have you thought about my proposal? Do you want to move in with me so I can take care of you?"

Misato Katsuragi walked forward eagerly, directly shook Shinji Ikari's hand, and looked at him expectantly.

This overly unrestrained way of getting along made Shinji Ikari feel a little uneasy, and he had no idea what she was thinking.

"Eh, let me think about this first. I have a feeling this is not going well in every sense..."

"Captain Katsuragi, how long are you going to waste time?"

A cold voice came at the right time, interrupting Misato Katsuragi's warm invitation.

An intellectual beauty with blonde hair and wearing a white suit came from behind with a cup of coffee. She looked at Misato Katsuragi who was standing in the middle of the aisle holding Shinji Ikari's hand and reprimanded her mercilessly.

"There's only one minute and twenty seconds left before training begins. Why don't you hurry up and get the qualified candidates to change clothes?"

"Really Ritsuko! Just call me by my name properly!"

Shinji Ikari knew that Ritsuko Akagi, the head of NERV's technical development department, was probably the person with the highest authority in NERV, apart from his father whom he had only met once.

He had already skillfully changed into the combat uniform used by EVA, and by the way, stuffed the petrifying divine light stick that he had previously placed on the lining of his chest into his clothes.

When he changed his clothes for the first time, he found out that driving the EVA required more than a dozen complicated inspection and disinfection procedures, which made Shinji Ikari feel uncomfortable. He really didn't want to let go of the Aoyama wand, but he didn't know how to bring it in without being discovered.

But he soon realized that the humans in this world could not see the God Light Rod at all... No, let alone humans, even NERV's many rigorous detection equipment could not observe the existence of the God Light Rod in any form.

The only person who can access the Aura Wand is Shinji Ikari himself, which allows him to carry the Aura Wand anywhere with ease.

After all, although the magic wand is in the state of stone now, I used it when I first came to this world three weeks ago.

At that time, I was sitting in the residential area thinking about the current situation, but I found that some citizens who did not have time to evacuate were about to die at the feet of the monster called the Apostle.

I almost instinctively ran out in an attempt to rescue... Then I felt a familiar feeling. I once again turned into Ultraman Tiga and successfully defeated the monster that NERV called the Fourth Angel.

"What's wrong?"

While Shinji Ikari was showering, changing clothes, and undergoing inspection and disinfection, a pair of gloomy eyes were watching his every move through the monitor.

In the NERV Supreme Command Center, Shinji Ikari's father, Gendo Ikari, who sat in the commander-in-chief's position, flipped through the report in his hand, looking at Shinji Ikari who was naked in the shower on the screen again and again.

"Is there anything wrong with Shinji's information?"

The old man, Fuyutsuki Kozo, who is the deputy director of NERV, also came over and once again checked the surveillance report on Shinji Ikari given by the NERV intelligence department, but no matter how he looked at it, he could not find anything unusual.

"…Three weeks ago, when the fourth angel attacked, he was out of the intelligence department's surveillance network for a while, about fifteen minutes." Fuyutsuki Kozo shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

"That's normal, right? That's the area the Fourth Angel is attacking, and they're planning to use N2 mines. The intelligence department also needs to ensure a safe retreat route, so it's inevitable that they might lose their target in the chaos."

"…What did Li say? I asked Li to ask."

Faced with Ikari Gendo's still cold attitude, even Fuyutsuki, who was familiar with his character, waved his hand helplessly.

"I don't know—that's what Li said. You're asking Li to test her son whom she hasn't seen for a long time. Really? You're even more cold-hearted than I thought."

"After all, the situation has changed now."

Ikari Gendo's tone remained cold and indifferent, but Fuyutsuki Kozo, who had been with him for countless years, could catch some expectations hidden deep in his words.

"Before NERV intervened, a mysterious life form appeared that could defeat the Angels, completely overturning the underlying logic of SEELE's script. Even if those old men pretended to be calm during the meeting, they must have been extremely worried by now."

With Ikari Gendō's gentle touch, the giant of light that annihilated the Fourth Angel appeared on the screen.

A colossus even larger than the Fourth Angel, its foundation is pure silver, embellished with the red and blue of fire and sea. On its chest is a flickering blood-red crystal... presumably something like an Angel's core.

The distribution of facial organs is similar to that of humans, but they possess a perseverance and divinity that humans cannot match.

It appeared without warning, flashing with light, and completely annihilated the apostles who were helpless against human weapons with just a wave of its hand, and then disappeared again... It was simply a myth.

"The wavelength is neither blue nor orange... It appeared without warning, like an unknown life form. No... even whether it can be called life is debatable. This existence is unheard of even in the Dead Sea Scrolls. And yet, it appeared so brazenly at the most critical moment. I don't know whether this is a blessing or a curse."

Fuyutsuki Kozo sighed in distress. He had been planning the script for decades, but he had to start all over again at the last minute and could only rely on improvisation.

For the old-fashioned and obscure elderly people, the burden is a bit too heavy.

"The SEELE people are even more panicked than us. They even asked to send Unit 2 and the relevant qualified personnel here in advance without me even asking."

Gendo Ikari subconsciously pushed his glasses up to show his sarcasm towards SEELE's panic.

"It should arrive today, along with...Adam."

"!"

Hearing the unexpected words, a hint of surprise finally flashed across the face of the shrewd Fuyutsuki Kozo.

"Ikari, are you going to take Adam..."

As if to make Dongyue shut up, the sharp air raid sirens sounded at the perfect moment.

"Alert! Unknown flying moving object detected! Alert! Unknown flying moving object detected!"

"Optical image of moving object displayed. Target confirmed at observation points E22-E47."

"Wavelength pattern analysis confirmed! Identification result is blue! It's an apostle!"

"Apostle! Attack—!"

(End of this chapter)