Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

"Don't worry, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Misato will treat us to steak in four hours. And I'll sing you a lullaby tonight." Shinji Ikari's voice carried a faint smile.

"Is this an agreement?" Rei Ayanami placed her other hand on the back of Shinji Ikari's hand.

"Yes." Shinji Ikari smiled.

Rei Ayanami silently watched him, listening to his gentle smile, and her heart relaxed involuntarily. Because she could sense that Shinji Ikari hadn't lied to her, there seemed to be no need to worry so much, and her anxiety and unease faded away. The light above cast their shadows on the wall, as if they were overlapping.

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All EVAs are in the charging slots, and the power supply is sufficient.

[Backup power supplies for all units have been installed. Battle duration estimated at five minutes.]

[The connection to the new Gotemba substation is complete; the external power supply to Unit-01 has reached 105%; and the backup power extension cable has been installed.]

On the Tokyo grounds, Unit-00, located downstream of the Edogawa River to the east, Unit-01, located on the shore of Lake Fuji to the west, and Unit-02, located in Saitama Prefecture to the northwest, are all in position.

Because of the exaggerated coverage area when the Apostle descended, this time the machine was simply lifted to the ground and placed in position.

In particular, the exaggerated power consumption of Unit-01 was taken into consideration, which meant that Unit-01 was the closest to the predicted core landing site in this operation, and there were no plans to extend the cable for it, although it might still break during actual combat.

Although the Sky Angels are more threatening, this operation was much quicker than the nationwide mobilization required for the Thunder Angels. After all, it was the Evangelions who would truly be able to fight the falling Sky Angels.

All drivers are ready, vital signs are normal, and the final mental health check results were normal.

Shinji Ikari, dressed in a black combat suit, was lying in the cockpit, his eyes closed in a rare gesture.

It wasn't fear or tension; strangely enough, he always felt a great sense of security whenever he was in the cockpit.

There was no tension, no worry, only a sense of sheltered happiness. He had heard this feeling from Rei Ayanami before; she said she felt the same way when she was by his side.

Unit-01 is to him what he is to Rei Ayanami.

"Your Majesty, is it you who are watching me?" Shinji Ikari habitually gripped the rose rosary hanging around his neck.

In the central command room, a rapidly moving red dot finally appeared on the display screen.

"Target confirmed, 25,000 meters from location," MAGI's system's synthesized female voice announced.

"It's finally here." Misato Katsuragi looked at the red dot that had finally appeared on the monitor after a day. "EVA, all units, prepare."

Her voice also reached the cockpit of each EVA. And the mobile suits, like athletes preparing to start on a track, crouched down with their hands touching the ground.

"The target can only be ballistically calculated using optical observation, so MAGI can only guide it up to 10,000 meters. However, the simulation data may be incorrect, and it is still unknown whether the field of the air Angels near the ground will affect the communication channels, so you will have to rely on your own judgment. Everything depends on you and EVA."

"The apostle is approaching, 20,000 meters from the location," MAGI promptly notified. "Calculating the target trajectory, the input function is..."

"Alright, let's begin the operation," Misato Katsuragi gave the order.

In an instant, the three machines located in three different positions simultaneously sped off in the direction guided by MAGI.

A crimson figure stirred up a storm, traversing Saitama Prefecture in a straight line northwest of Tokyo. By the time the air was torn apart, the shockwave was released, and the surrounding area resounded with a deafening roar, it was already after the aircraft had swept across the land.

At the center of the vortex is Unit 2, which is moving faster than the speed of sound, and its target is Hinode Town, a suburb of Tokyo further west, which is the location that MAGI calculated the fall point for the air apostles.

Piloted by Asuka, Unit-02 took off from the highlands of Saitama Prefecture like an arrow, without slowing down for a moment. Ten seconds later, it broke the sound barrier, and the crimson machine shot forward like a laser beam without violating the laws of physics.

Asuka had been worried about whether she could match Shinji Ikari, and whether her Unit-02 could surpass Unit-01. But with Misato Katsuragi's order, those worries vanished.

At this moment, Unit-02, just like Unit-01 before, broke the sound barrier, and its travel distance reached 20 kilometers. This alone proves that Asuka, who pilots Unit-02, is a top-notch pilot.

The shockwave swept through towns and countryside, shattering windows of buildings within hundreds of meters of the town due to the sonic boom and impact.

If Misato Katsuragi hadn't evacuated the population beforehand, the number of casualties would likely have reached an astonishing four figures. These Evangelions, capable of contending with Angels, are also destroyers of human civilization, capable of inflicting immense harm on vulnerable humanity with the slightest misstep.

But at that moment, the rapidly falling black sphere suddenly changed. The original outer shell of the black sphere was just the absolute domain of the Void Apostle, and now countless small diamond-shaped fragments resembling a honeycomb appeared around it.

The falling apostle also accelerated its speed as its form changed, and slightly deviated from its trajectory.

This slight deflection of the high-altitude orbit results in a huge deviation of tens of kilometers from the originally predicted descent point.

"The target's absolute domain has changed, orbit altered! Landing point changed to 205!" Ritsuko Akagi shouted, manually correcting the data.

"What?! Something's not right! It's falling faster! We can't catch up!" Asuka shouted from the cockpit as well. Although Ritsuko Akagi's modified landing point hadn't been synchronized with her yet, she could tell something was wrong with her naked eye.

"Damn it! Ritsuko! I think I'm going to miss it!" Asuka shouted.

Unit 2, the closest to the landing site, couldn't arrive in time. What about Unit 1, and then there's Unit 00, even further away? At this moment, Katsuragi Miyako in the command room showed fear. She finally realized that the Angel wasn't a mechanical monster boss like in a game, and it couldn't be defeated step-by-step according to a set mechanic. It could change depending on the situation!

But at that moment, MAGI, the AI ​​intelligence belonging to the Three Sages System under headquarters, issued an alarm.

High-energy reactions detected in the Huma Mountain area to the west!

To the west, isn't that the direction where Unit-01 is located?

But before Misato Katsuragi could react, a blinding light appeared on the satellite's screen.

The sacred white-gold luster is extremely familiar to all the staff at NERV headquarters, and even to the citizens of Tokyo.

That was the color of the spear of light possessed by the first apostle to attack Tokyo, the fourth apostle, the water angel Sakir.

The high-energy reaction rising from the ground, the spear of light wrapped in divine radiance and aimed at the sky with all its might, was even more magnificent and spectacular than that of the Water Apostle.

In mythology, it is described as a spear of light that judges angels, piercing the sky in a straight line and colliding head-on with the ever-falling apostles.

Then──

The sky echoes with birdsong.

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The blocked chapter 83 has been repaired. As usual, after entering chapter 83, click the upper right corner and select "Refresh Chapter Content" to restore it to normal.

Even readers who have seen the original uncensored version can refresh and see that I've revised 800 words, which is almost equivalent to a new chapter. With the subsequent plot already determined, I can only rack my brains to add dialogue bit by bit, which is even harder than writing 2,000 words. I'm so frustrated!

Chapter 86: Annihilation Completed

"The Water Angel's destructive beam... that's Unit-01?" Ritsuko Akagi, finally able to clearly see the target's form, gaped in astonishment. "How could it be Unit-01?! Absolutely impossible!"

Ritsuko Akagi remained remarkably calm. Even as Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 repeatedly demonstrated its incredibly high synchronization rate, extraordinary piloting skills, and high-density absolute domain, even replicating the overlapping domains of the Day Angel and rapidly shifting domains of the Thunder Angel, she simply responded with an attitude of "Ha, as expected of Shinji Ikari, easily accomplishing what other pilots cannot!"

After all, he was the strongest pilot known as the savior. As one of the few who knew the inside story, no matter how outstanding Shinji Ikari was, she could only sigh that he truly deserved to be the child of destiny.

But the appearance of the spear of light completely unsettled her.

This is illogical! Absolutely illogical! How can Unit-01 use the Light Gun? This is even more absurd than a sparrow suddenly sprouting a bee's stinger to stab a Mazda's exhaust pipe!

However, she misjudged the situation.

What was misjudged was not the true form that Shinji Ikari, the pilot, should be in.

Whether he was a driver or a student, what exactly was a lonely boy like him after his mother's death and his father's abandonment? Everyone simply viewed this boy from an ordinary human perspective.

She simply misjudged the power Shinji Ikari possessed.

Even Misato Katsuragi, who spent every day with Shinji Ikari, was unaware of this.

Shinji Ikari's power is not limited to humans, or even to this world.

However, for Shinji Ikari, a former Titan pilot, the battle with the Angels was nothing more than a reminder of his past gaming experiences, aside from his unimportant aristocratic life.

Only at this moment did those who witnessed this scene realize just how powerful the strongest chosen one, Shinji Ikari, truly was.

Not just a pilot, but a humanoid miracle capable of performing far beyond the machine's intended capabilities.

Only by stripping away the identity of Shinji Ikari as a pilot can we see the extraordinary essence he possesses.

At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the falling Apostle and the rising Gun of Light.

The impact of the collision between the two extreme energies flattened the distortion of space itself, along with everything around it. The clouds within a radius of several thousand meters were instantly cleared away.

In Japan, there's a specific term for this distorted spatial phenomenon called "Kagerou," which describes the refraction of light, caused by the heat of the distant ground, making it appear as if it's dancing like flames.

The immense energies clashed in the gap created by their attacks, but ultimately the magnificent spear of light dissipated.

After all, the AT Field is also known as the Absolute Territory. It would be difficult to destroy this unbreakable wall of the heart simply by relying on destructive force. The best way is still to use EVA's Absolute Territory to neutralize the force field.

However, Unit-01, which fired the Light Spear, had already achieved its objective. The speed at which the Sky Angel fell slowed down, although it resumed its descent in a few seconds. In that brief interval, it had already reached its new target location.

Without any unnecessary words, a huge, warm white circular force field rose from above his head and collided with the falling Void Apostle.

In an instant, a shockwave that once again ravaged the already fragile earth arrived, almost like the manifestation of the Third Impact. Violent air currents spewed outwards from this place, while the immense power carried by the Sky Angel enveloped Unit-01's body.

It was also because of the complete contraction of the Absolute Territory that they were able to fight against Unit-01 below. The radio waves that had been interfered with were restored, allowing the researchers who remained at headquarters to see the images displayed on the screen.

"It's like a divine rebirth," Ritsuko Akagi murmured.

Misato Katsuragi glanced at her friend beside her with a hint of displeasure; she clearly understood the hidden meaning in the other person's words.

That overwhelmingly powerful Absolute Field, that vast, warm-white field, standing above Unit-01's head, resembled an angelic halo formed during the release of an Angel. This also meant that Shinji Ikari himself was moving further closer to the edge of becoming an Angel.

The Sky Angel lived up to its name as the strongest Angel since its debut, carrying the might of divine retribution descending from the heavens, and was actually able to contend with Unit-01. It's worth noting that before this, its brothers and sisters had only been able to easily crush Unit-01.

But at that moment, a humanoid limb suddenly emerged from the round body. The emaciated apostle ignored the barrier of the Absolute Domain and extended its crimson arms, connecting with the ten fingers of Shinji Ikari's hands as he held up the sky.

This scene was incredibly ambiguous, but everyone knew the apostle had ill intentions. Sure enough, the spiraling spear pierced through his hands, easily penetrating Unit-01's palm.

The high synchronization rate also caused Shinji Ikari pain four times greater than the normal range, but he remained expressionless, even with a hint of interest in his eyes as he observed.

"You're so good at making me feel pain, you're far superior to all your brothers and sisters before you!"

In an instant, even the apostles sensed something was wrong.

The spiral spear that had pierced the palm of Unit-01 was instantly vaporized by the platinum-gold beam of destruction. Then, it instinctively tried to pull back its hands, which were tightly clasped with Shinji Ikari's, but with a cracking sound, its entire forearm twisted at a ninety-degree angle and was forcibly torn off.

But Shinji Ikari did not withdraw his hands; it seemed that the already extremely powerful Absolute Domain had been strengthened even further under the influence of the pain. Shinji Ikari actually tore apart the Sky Angel's Absolute Domain with his own hands, and even though the forced breakthrough left his hands covered in blood and flesh, he still smiled.

At this point, a smile was no longer appropriate; it was a ferocious, maniacal laugh.

"You should feel proud and honored that you actually injured a noble prince! You bastard!"

He grabbed the head of the body that was growing from the core and forcibly ripped it off. The massive body seemed to shrink violently from the pain, but Shinji Ikari, who had already advanced halfway, had no intention of letting it go.

The skeletal hands tore open an even wider rift, allowing Unit-01's upper body to face the Angel directly.

"—die."

The enormous spear of light pierced through the Apostle from below, causing Him to curl back into a black sphere due to the pain.

When Asuka finally arrived at the scene, she was stunned and at a loss. It wasn't that she didn't know how to attack, but the scene in front of her left her unsure of what to do.

Because the curled-up black sphere enveloped Unit-01's upper body, even though the target Angel's Absolute Domain had been deactivated, she still didn't know which direction to attack, as she was worried that her attack would harm Unit-01, whose upper body had been devoured by the Angel.

But in that brief moment of hesitation, a yellow machine pounced on the Apostle, its high-vibration particle blade slicing through the black hand-shaped outer shell, which lacked absolute domain defense, revealing a wrinkled red interior.