Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

Shinji Ikari took a sip of water but didn't give chase. He knew that the mission to slay the aliens would unite his comrades in battle.

The time it took to confront the aliens was even faster than he had imagined. After school, while he was jogging outside, he suddenly received a phone call from Misato Katsuragi.

"Shinji, the cruiser Kana on alert has sent a message: a huge hidden life form has been discovered off the coast of the Kii Peninsula. The wavelength is being analyzed, and it is likely an Angel."

Author's Note on Launching the Product!

Hello everyone, I am the one who makes wine and flowers:

As usual, I'd like to start by thanking all my fellow readers for their support. The new book has faced many setbacks, with several chapters being blocked, but thanks to everyone's help, it has finally reached the point of being available for purchase, and I can finally write freely.

Without further ado, let's talk about the extra chapters that everyone is concerned about.

Because the author is a struggling accountant with fragmented time, only four chapters can be released at launch, which will be combined into two long chapters of 4,000 words each (the second chapter should be released around noon, as I'm already extremely sleepy). However, the conditions for extra chapters are very lenient: if the first subscription exceeds 2,000, an extra chapter will be added for every 200 subscriptions, with no upper limit.

Anyway, at worst, I can just spend a few weeks working hard to pay it off.

The data will be provided in the update the next day, but after thinking about it, it would be quite ridiculous if there wasn't much... But joking is fine, I'll just keep playing Don't Starve, waaaagh!

Chapter 55: I will strike as the vanguard!

"I'll send you the information now. Don't move. I've already sent someone to pick you up."

Misato Katsuragi didn't ask Shinji Ikari for his exact location because his phone had a built-in GPS system. Although Shinji Ikari was usually quite capricious, he still needed to obey orders during wartime.

"Is the enormous life form lurking on the seabed off the Kii Peninsula similar to the Fish Apostle?"

"It's unclear yet. But this time we plan to take the initiative!"

Shinji Ikari could hear the confident tone in Misato Katsuragi's voice on the other end of the phone, and smiled. "What do you plan to do?"

He was still strolling around Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Tokyo-2. The summer festival was approaching, and he had just bought a carload of gifts at the mall, which he had already had delivered to the school warehouse—everyone in his class would receive one. But getting to Hakone was a bit of a tight schedule. The Kii Peninsula was Japan's largest peninsula, and it seemed unlikely he would have enough time to launch a preemptive strike before landing.

"—I will launch an attack as a pioneering pilot!"

The crimson-red Vanguard Unit 2 had already been loaded onto the transport plane. Asuka, sitting in the cockpit, excitedly crouched low, her gaze sharp and fixed ahead. In her view, this was her first encounter with the Angels since arriving at Tokyo headquarters, and having her lead the charge was a testament to her status as an ace pilot.

Unfortunately, his partner was not Shinji Ikari, but Rei Ayanami, who piloted Unit-00.

"Even though it's not Baka Shinji, it'll be fine with me here. Let's get along well, First Girl." These words, spoken in school, were transmitted once again through the channel to the cockpit where Rei Ayanami was.

But Rei Ayanami simply lay quietly in the cockpit, without even responding.

"Shinji Ikari is currently in Shinjuku, Tokyo 2. Time is of the essence, and he is temporarily unable to participate in the counterattack against the Angels. You will now serve as the vanguard and main attackers." The voice of the operation commander, Misato Katsuragi, rang out in the cockpit.

"The coastal population is too dense. To prevent further collapse, we need to destroy the target as soon as it surfaces and reaches the shore. Rei Ayanami's Unit 00 and Asuka's Unit 2 will take turns attacking the target and engage in close-quarters combat."

"I could have handled the first battle on Japanese soil all by myself. Two against one wouldn't really show my strength," Asuka muttered.

"Obeying orders, following commands, and completing tasks with high quality are the driver's responsibilities," Rei Ayanami said calmly.

In the central command center, Misato Katsuragi sighed upon hearing their replies; their teamwork was extremely poor. However, there was nothing they could do. Even if they dispatched the nearest vehicle, it would still take over an hour for Shinji Ikari to arrive in Hakone and pilot Unit-01 to the designated location to engage the Angels.

Now we can only rely on the two of them; I hope they can get along well.

The Kii Peninsula is a peninsula jutting out from central Honshu into the Pacific Ocean, and is the largest peninsula in Japan. It encompasses the entirety of Wakayama Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, and southern Mie Prefecture. While commonly believed to derive from Kii Province, it is actually a collective name for the ancient Kii Province (a province under the tributary system) and Ise Province.

That is precisely why it is necessary to immediately dispatch aircraft to intercept them, otherwise the residents behind will hardly be spared.

As the transport plane carrying EVA arrived at the designated airspace, and with the command to open the control tower, two figures, one yellow and one red, landed on one knee in the sea near Wakayama Prefecture, causing a great earthquake.

"Here it comes!" Asuka gripped the control lever tightly, her gaze sharp.

She is indeed an ace, possessing not only excellent synchronization but also extremely keen insight.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the nearshore waters, and countless bubbles rose from the seabed, as if a volcano was active underground. In an instant, the water erupted, and a colossal, humanoid creature appeared before them.

"Target location confirmed, Eighth Apostle Slaver, please provide instructions." Rei Ayanami's indifferent voice rang out in the control room.

"Initiate the attack," Misato Katsuragi decided immediately.

Without hesitation, or even before Misato Katsuragi gave the order, Asuka, piloting Unit-02, shot off like an arrow, leaving only her voice still ringing in the channel.

"First Girl, you cover me, I'll take the lead and take care of this big guy!"

Rei Ayanami, who had planned to attack in shifts as scheduled, had to switch weapons and equipment, unleashing depleted uranium machine gun fire at the Eighth Angel near the shore to draw its attention. At that moment, Unit-02 had already drawn its sonic spear, which was as tall as itself, and approached the Eighth Angel's side.

Without further ado, Unit 2, the strongest melee unit, swiftly cleaved down with its spear. Its seemingly imposing and massive body was sliced ​​in two like tofu the instant it touched the blade.

The Sonic Spear, along with the High-Vibration Particle Blade and the High-Vibration Battle Axe, belongs to the High-Vibration Weapon Series, the ultimate weapon of the final battle. Like the High-Vibration Particle Blade, the spear blade separates molecules upon contact with matter, thus achieving a rapid strike against the enemy.

In the blink of an eye, the menacing Eighth Apostle was already torn apart.

"How about it, number one girl?" Asuka's slightly boastful tone rang out in the channel, "Battles should be quick and decisive, and also elegant and beautiful."

The outrageous Angel like the Fish Angel was an exception, and Asuka believed, and had reason to believe, that she would still shine brightly even at headquarters. This time, she would definitely make that bastard Shinji look at her with new eyes!

In the dim light, I seemed to hear the tearing sound of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

When she glanced to the side, she witnessed the Eighth Apostle, who had been torn in two, reconstructing its body from the inside. The Eighth Apostle, which had been a single entity, had become two completely independent individuals due to the separation of its body.

However, in the blink of an eye, the offensive and defensive strategies shift.

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"What?! This kind of form is just too despicable!"

In the dark screening room, Misato Katsuragi held a steaming latte, frowning as she watched the battle scenes being replayed on the screen.

Asuka, wearing a white lab coat, was also holding a steaming latte, but she was unusually silent; Rei Ayanami was also silent, but she was quiet to begin with, and no one could tell that she was feeling down.

"At 10:58:15 this morning, the target was split in two by Unit 2, and then Unit 0 was attacked by the left-side Angel A after the separation... It sank two kilometers off the coast of Suruga Bay. At 58:20, Unit 2 was trapped in the coastal mountains due to the attack of the right-side Angel B and stopped moving."

Commentator Ritsuko Akagi gently paused the video, along with the footage of two mechs that had stopped operating, a truly pathetic sight.

"Seriously, First Girl, as a support, don't you know how to adapt to changing circumstances? You should have immediately opened fire to cover me when you saw things were going wrong!" Asuka instantly turned her attention to Rei Ayanami beside her.

"The mistake was that you were too hasty and didn't attack according to the battle plan. The original battle plan was to take turns attacking and suppressing the Angels until they showed a weakness. Forgive my bluntness, but Captain Shikinami completely lacks teamwork skills and is far inferior to the Third Child as a partner," Rei Ayanami said coldly.

"What?! Shinji and I teamed up to pilot Unit-02 and kill the extremely troublesome Fish Angel underwater, and you're saying I don't know how to cooperate! It's you who completely lacks flexibility!"

"Similarly, the Third Child and I cooperated perfectly to kill the Thunder Apostle. This fully demonstrates that you acted recklessly and selfishly, and are not a qualified comrade-in-arms at all."

"You're still arguing! You've completely disgraced NERV headquarters!" Misato Katsuragi slammed her hand on the desk, scolding them sharply.

The Misato Katsuragi who commands during wartime has a completely different temperament from the Misato Katsuragi in her daily life. Under the pressure of their superior, both candidates remain silent, sitting coldly in their seats like two icebergs.

"Alright, alright, try the souvenirs I brought first. It's Kikufuku from Kikusui-an, a Sendai specialty that's super delicious! I especially recommend the edamame and cream flavor!" Shinji Ikari walked from the back row between the two conflicted girls and handed them two gift boxes. "They're still warm, and of course, there's one for you, Misato."

Misato Katsuragi received Shinji Ikari's so-called gift in a daze; it was indeed still warm, but she was somewhat disoriented.

"Weren't you supposed to be in Second New Tokyo? How come you're in Sendai again?" Misato Katsuragi looked up in surprise at the man she hadn't seen in a long time.

Shinji Ikari opened the exquisitely packaged cardboard box and, in a feeding-like manner, tore the daifuku in half and stuffed it into Misato Katsuragi's mouth. "Because the battle was already over when I got the news, so it wasn't my business. I just went to Sendai for a stroll. I queued for a long time to snatch the Kikumizu-an family's Kikufuku, so you can praise me a lot."

Misato Katsuragi, with something stuffed in her mouth, couldn't utter a word of praise, nor could she scold him. Shinji Ikari, watching the scene on the screen, sighed softly, "That was certainly a sorry sight. How did they manage to defeat those two aliens in the end?"

Ritsuko Akagi replayed the video: "After the two mechs were defeated one after another, the command of the battlefield was automatically transferred to the United Nations Second Front Army. At 11:05, the target was attacked with N2 mines, which successfully melted 28% of the target's constituent matter and successfully repelled the target."

"Oh, it doesn't seem too difficult." Shinji Ikari ate the remaining half of the daifuku.

“But the real trouble is its core, which may be even more troublesome than the Thunder Apostle.” Misato Katsuragi had already swallowed the daifuku and sighed. “When attacked, it will separate into two independent entities. And to kill this special apostle, the cores of both entities must be destroyed simultaneously.”

“Otherwise, He would continue to regenerate, right? The Angel’s exaggerated regenerative ability is really disgusting.” Shinji Ikari also stopped smiling and turned to Ritsuko Akagi. “Dr. Akagi, could you please give me some data on the Eighth Angel?”

Ritsuko Akagi would of course not refuse Shinji Ikari's request. At this moment, the room itself was a small combat command center, and the information data of the Eighth Angel was already on the tablet on the table.

"Then, Lord Shinji Ikari, the Slayer and the Emperor's Screw, do you have any good countermeasures?" After getting used to Shinji's rhythm, Misato Katsuragi also remembered some of the boy's somewhat chuunibyou (delusional) vocabulary. Of course, getting confused was also a common occurrence.

In terms of data, the eighth apostle, the angel of music, Slavael, is not particularly outstanding.

Still using the Water Apostle as a benchmark for combat power, it can have a quarter of its body composition melted by an N2 mine, and its soul density in an AT field is only about 70% of that level. It has yet to demonstrate the ability to immediately retreat after being injured, and its recovery ability is also the worst.

Its greatest advantage is its ability to freely separate and combine, a characteristic that grants it exceptional ranged and melee attack capabilities, as well as a very high margin for error. This prevents it from being destroyed like its predecessors, whose cores were quickly pierced by the mecha.

"It's just a little troublesome, but that's all." Shinji Ikari put down his tablet and took another daifuku from Misato Katsuragi's hand, putting it into his mouth.

"Oh, how so?" Misato Katsuragi's eyes lit up, because she knew that Shinji Ikari wouldn't make a fuss without reason.

“If we can’t destroy both cores at the same time, then let’s not destroy them.” Shinji Ikari ate a daifuku and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was filled with red bean paste. “Since the N2 mine has proven that it can destroy His constituent matter by attacking, let’s continue to attack until only the core is left.”

Misato Katsuragi seemed to understand, but she also seemed to feel a chill emanating from somewhere in the room.

“Tear their bodies apart, dismember their weapons, destroy all visible body tissues until only the core remains, and then pierce through both cores at once.” Shinji Ikari swallowed his last bite and smiled. “Actually, I’m also very curious about how many times this alien, which can only separate its form, can be reshaped while being killed repeatedly.”

"Apostles don't feel pain, do they?" Misato Katsuragi suddenly asked.

“It should be no, there is currently no evidence to prove that the Angels have pain receptors similar to those of humans,” Ritsuko Akagi replied, understanding Misato Katsuragi’s meaning. “But by the same token, the possibility that the Angels have pain receptors cannot be ruled out.”

“The fact that the Angels have encountered you probably means they’ve done all sorts of bad things.” Misato Katsuragi turned to look at Shinji Ikari, her expression cold and utterly serious.

Shinji Ikari stuffed the last piece of daifuku into her mouth.

"Shut up! The fact that you met me is truly a blessing from the emperor!"

Ultimately, as expected, Shinji Ikari's battle plan was not approved by the higher-ups.

Even though Shinji Ikari considered this the safest option, the management didn't want to take the risk. To be precise, they didn't want Shinji Ikari to take the risk.

For the average person, this might feel somewhat disconnected. Shinji Ikari, who is always in the most dangerous situations, fighting Angels at close range, is the pilot NERV values ​​most. All the other pilots combined might not even be as important as him alone.

Ultimately, they chose the operational plan proposed by prosecutor Yoshiji Kaji, which had a higher margin for error.

Chapter 56: Hearts, Overlapping

Targeting the only weakness currently exhibited by the Eighth Angel, the plan involves two well-coordinated pilots simultaneously destroying the Angel's two cores. The key to this operation is that the timing of the two EVAs' attacks must be perfectly synchronized.

—Hakone, Development Department Office.

"Are there any suitable targets now?" A lazy male voice sounded behind Ritsuko Akagi. "There must be that Third Child among them."

“Shinji Ikari is a given; his synchronization rate and piloting level are on a completely different level from the other pilots. He can be very compatible with pilots whose skills are not as good as his, but choosing another pilot is a bit more troublesome.” Ritsuko Akagi took off her glasses, placed them on the desk, and smiled at the man.