Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

Almost no one noticed Shinji Ikari's sudden change in mindset, except for Kaworu Nagisa, who could sense the chilling aura emanating from Shinji.

"So, you can be considered enemies?"

"If you still don't know... Buzz!!!!" The commander named Kitakami Green was about to speak when he was so horrified by the piercing sound from the broadcast that he slumped back in his office chair.

The broadcast malfunctioned, as if electromagnetic interference had been severely disrupted at that moment. Even normal voice calls were forcibly interrupted, and a piercing sound pierced through eardrums and stung everyone's nerves. This reminded many of the Void Apostle of the past; the electromagnetic interference that enveloped an entire planet was the omen of His descent, as if something terrifying was about to arrive.

This interference even caused the three mechs participating in the battle nearby to pause.

But there was nothing. There were no Angels, no EVAs, only Shinji Ikari slowly taking a step towards the countless special forces soldiers locked on his brow. These detainees in black combat uniforms instinctively retreated, because the aura emanating from Shinji Ikari was terrifying, somewhere between an enraged Angel and a proud Judge.

The spiritual pressure belonging only to the apostles was evenly distributed across this land, and it also pressed down on the hearts of everyone.

The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, and the sound of his footsteps seemed to pound on everyone's heart, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

Until a gunshot rang out, it was a soldier who had locked onto Shinji Ikari and pulled the trigger in a fit of rage. However, the bullet that flew out did not penetrate Shinji Ikari's brain. It just hovered between his eyebrows and collided with the beautiful concentric diamond-shaped force field until it was exhausted and fell to the ground.

"It's fortunate that you're enemies. If you were still allies, I would still be a little hesitant." Shinji Ikari slowly looked up at the sky and exhaled a long breath, which even shimmered with a faint mist in the sunlight.

What's in the sky? Asuka suddenly realized this, and she looked up following Shinji Ikari's gaze, but all she saw was the blinding sunlight.

"Princess, get out of the way!" Mari's urgent voice shouted over the channel.

Asuka had no time to react, but Unit-08, controlled by Mari, rushed to her side and raised its hands to unleash the Absolute Territory at its maximum extent.

Suddenly, the white clouds parted, and some massive, high-quality object descended from the sky. A powerful shockwave swept across the entire island. From a distance, it looked like a blazing white meteor streaking across the sky from a height of sixty kilometers above the ground and falling onto this small island in the ocean.

The purple mecha descended from the sky, exuding both swift violence and unparalleled elegance.

“—Unit 1!” Misato Katsuragi took a deep breath.

For the past fourteen years, she had longed to obtain this EVA, but when it finally appeared before her, it was as if she had seen an apostle descending from the sky.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, as if the heavens and earth were a single finger pointing at everything, and the boy with his hands in his pockets in Unit-01's arms. At this moment, the shockwave swept across thousands of meters, but only the few dozen square meters of open ground beneath his feet remained unscathed.

"As expected, no matter which world I'm in, Unit-01 will always answer my call." Shinji Ikari pressed his left hand against his right shoulder, stretching his muscles.

There was neither ecstasy nor rage; he simply looked down at everyone with an arrogant and self-assured air.

"You killed them?!" Kitakami Midori screamed hoarsely in the restored channel. "Do you know how many people died from that shockwave?!"

"Shut up, woman! The moment they pointed their guns at me, it was an unforgivable crime—a capital offense!"

Then, he pointed to the sky with his right hand, gazing at the distant ships, and a scarlet color appeared in his pupils, similar to that of Kaworu Nagisa and Rei Ayanami.

"God from the machine."

----------

PS1: I recommend a Jujutsu Kaisen fanfic.

What, then, is the essence of sorcery?

The answer is—[a lie].

Yayoi Tsukimi, who thought she had been reborn into a peaceful and harmonious slice-of-life anime, discovered the truth of this world at a chance fan meeting...

Resentment, curses, cursed spirits, barriers, sorcerers, the Panxing Cult, and new humans—!

In this world fraught with danger and a generation teeming with heretics, can one truly survive by relying solely on a newly awakened cheat ability?

What has risen may sink, and what has sunk may rise. The abominations await rebirth amidst the curse, decay permeates the very bones of the higher realms, and the final moment will surely come.

Everything was preordained; I found myself in this town!

134: Deus Ex

—Deus ex machina.

Behind him, the blood-red sea roared like a dragon's cry.

The boy stepped forward again, and the disintegrating armor formed steps for him to climb, allowing him to return to his Soul Throne.

Shinji Ikari stood upright in place. At that moment, the joints of the armor on the surface of Unit-01 disassembled one by one, surging him into its embrace and swallowing the boy's body. The machine that had descended from the sky once again welcomed its pilot, a sacred golden light shining in its eyes, which resembled those of a gas lamp.

The horrific scene from fourteen years ago flashed before her eyes again, and Misato Katsuragi shouted, "Asuka! Mari!"

But at that moment, a sharp, cold light pierced the sky. It was Asuka piloting Unit-02 Kai. Under the pressure of Unit-01, only she stood firm, shouting, "Stop with the useless stuff! Shinji, don't get too cocky!"

She gripped the control stick tightly, and the sonic spear mounted on the shoulder blades of the modified Unit-02 flew out with a deafening roar. The crimson machine leaped upwards, and a narrow golden beam of lightning tore through its head, illuminating this valiant and fearless figure. She swung forward with the sonic spear and the long-awaited rage, like a giant eagle swooping down.

But it was no use; as soon as it got close to Him, it was blasted away by the turbulent Heart Wall. But the moment Unit-02 landed, it charged at Unit-01 again with even greater ferocity.

At this moment, the Hope Ship, hovering near the sea, also joined the attack, aiming its cannons at the purple machine and firing. The shells took off, but the second machine fell straight down.

"Respond to me! Shinji Ikari!" Asuka roared.

The roar carried with it fourteen years of joy and resentment. That night on the sea launch platform, Asuka hadn't lied to Mari; she truly wanted to bring the idiot Shinji back, but she also resented him. Why hadn't he saved her? Why was he willing to sacrifice everything to save Rei? It was this feeling that allowed her to maintain her last vestige of humanity. Accompanied by fourteen years of solitude, this emotion had become something indescribable, deeply buried in Asuka's heart.

And this, along with the bursting of emotions, was channeled into the sonic spears gripped tightly in both hands. With unprecedented love and hatred, they pierced the absolute territory before them.

The concentric diamond-shaped, warm white Absolute Territory force field rippled like water before such an attack. Asuka roared and lunged forward, while Unit-01 turned its head to look directly at her.

But this one glance reveals the difference between heaven and earth.

The spear aimed at Unit-01 shattered instantly, the flying fragments crashing into the surrounding mountains like cannonballs. But what was truly unbelievable was the scene before them—the previously enraged Unit-02 Kai was now thrashing about with its feet off the ground, its hands gripping Unit-01's arms tightly, as Unit-01 was holding its head and lifting it into the air.

Unit-02, which had transformed into a beast-like form due to its rage, was now like a hare being picked up by a hunter, trembling helplessly.

No one saw how Unit-01 attacked; only Rei Ayanami and Mari Makinami, who were also piloting the unit, were able to barely make out the outline of the attack thanks to their high-frequency brain neural reaction speed based on synchronization feedback.

The attack arrived as expected, the fresh taste of blood choking her mouth from the LCL liquid. But compared to the mental pain, Asuka was more concerned about the hand gripping her head; moments later, her head felt like a red-hot iron. Her prized Absolute Territory couldn't even be deployed in the face of an even more powerful one.

Her frenzied beast form, raging at close range, was breached in a single blow, all her power fading away with her blood. She had never experienced such powerlessness and helplessness before, like a bird (Asuka) pierced by a hunter's gun (Ikari), unable to change its fate no matter how hard it flapped its wings.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't expect you to be this weak." These were the only words Asuka heard before she lost consciousness.

However, Shinji Ikari's words were not meant as sarcastic. He certainly didn't hold back, but he didn't intend to defeat Asuka so easily either, because he enjoyed the wonderful aura of fear emanating from his opponent as he gradually crushed them.

But he really didn't expect that the seemingly fierce No. 2 Mod would be so vulnerable!

"Is Asuka in this world too weak?" Shinji Ikari wondered. "No, perhaps it's my fault. It's just that Unit-01 in this world is too strong!"

Finally, Shinji Ikari was able to calm down a bit and savor this novel piloting experience. The wonderful feeling of power surging through his body, synchronized with the pilot, made him let out a soft hum of comfort.

But for Li Lin, who still maintained an adversarial relationship in reality, what he felt was an oppressive force, an oppressive force like a collapsing cliff that was expanding outwards. Wherever Unit-01's gaze fell, no one dared to move! Many people, even those separated by screens, did not dare to look up and meet its eyes.

"...Shinji!" Misato Katsuragi's voice suddenly shouted over the loudspeaker, "Stop! If you continue piloting Unit-01, it will lead to...!" "Misato-chan! Watch out!"

Mari's beast-like instincts sensed the approaching danger beforehand. The pink mecha stood imposingly before the fleet, swiftly unleashing its maximum Absolute Domain. Light gathered in Unit-01's palm, instantly coalescing into a spear of light similar to the Water Angel but far more sacred and radiant. Then, with a casual flourish, it slashed towards their direction.

Attacking from thousands of meters away would seem like a farcical act, but for Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari, it unleashed a world-destroying storm of lightning. The nearest destroyer cracked open, and massive arcs of light tore through its metal hull, sending fragments flying.

Then it collided with that extended absolute domain.

Three distinct Absolute Domains overlapped to resist the annihilating arc of light. This was not only the Absolute Domain deployed by Mari Makinami's Unit 8, but also the Absolute Domain deployed by the Ship of Hope itself, and Unit 9, which was originally supposed to be the opposing force.

Because Unit-01's attack was applied equally to everyone. There was no distinction between good and evil, such as Asuka and Rei, Misato and Gendo, NERV and WLLLE.

Two immense energies collided, creating a raging storm in the nearshore waters. The impact seemed poised to destroy the world.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?" Bei Shanglv lay on her office chair, muttering to herself incessantly.

Standing beside her, Misato Katsuragi couldn't respond either. She stared intently at the screen, but nothing was displayed, only the warm white light waves of the diamond-shaped force field. The three Absolute Domains barely withstood Unit-01's attack, and this was before it went berserk, yet it gave the impression that its death was imminent.

She heard a loud metallic clang coming from ahead, and could imagine that Unit 8 and Unit 9 were on the verge of collapse, using their bodies as a safety net to block Unit 1's casual attack.

“This power has already grown into the form of the firstborn son of God,” Ritsuko Akagi said softly from the side.

“It was always like that from the beginning. Even Unit-013 was just a backup for Unit-01.” Misato Katsuragi pressed her temples in distress.

What seemed like an agonizing time for the humans on board was actually just a matter of a few breaths. Unit-01 only unleashed one attack before ceasing its power, as if the pilot inside was also adapting to this brand-new machine.

Shinji Ikari, in the cockpit of the Soul Throne, was indeed somewhat puzzled. This cockpit, which was originally his own, now smelled Rei Ayanami's presence. And this Unit-01… it wasn't his imagination; it seemed truly powerful!

The problem of power shortages that once plagued Unit-01 has vanished; an almost limitless power emanates from its chest and spreads throughout its body. This results in a more abundant output, a more powerful domain, and a higher level of power delivery.

Just as Shinji Ikari was pondering, a white and yellow figure appeared before him—Unit-9, piloted by Rei Ayanami.

After realizing that the target named Shinji Ikari could not be taken away as she wished, and that he had become an enemy, Rei Ayanami reacted faster than Misato Katsuragi and the others, regarding Unit-01 as an enemy.

But the next second, Unit-01 slammed her into the mountainside, sparks flying everywhere. Rei Ayanami in the cockpit was in so much pain she wanted to roll around on the spot. This was the pain that the machine was transmitting in sync with her, as if her spine had been broken. But she still managed to keep herself piloting the machine, but the next moment she collapsed onto the pile of rubble, temporarily losing her ability to move.

However, Rei Ayanami's gaze was fixed on the purple mecha in front of her. She had already achieved her goal, because she was just providing cover for the real trump card.

Shinji Ikari, who was still standing on the intact open ground, noticed the wind.

Everyone then realized that Unit-08 had disappeared. Only Rei Ayanami, who was covering for her, could see the pink figure riding the wind from behind Unit-01. Unit-08's speed far exceeded her imagination. Like a wild beast, she used both hands and feet, completely ignoring Unit-01, which exuded a divine aura! In the instant Rei Ayanami was knocked down, the blade of the high-frequency vibrating particle sword in her mouth seemed to have already slashed towards Unit-01's neck.

But before she could even swing her slash, she was sent flying. Then, the spear of light in Unit-01's hand followed closely behind, piercing through Unit-08's chest.

Mari wanted to scream in pain, but she didn't; only a cheerful laugh came from her mouth.

She was always the kind of person who would become more resilient with each setback, but this time, she felt despair.

Mari was unable to resist Shinji Ikari's attack. It was as if the Grim Reaper in the void had pointed his finger at her forehead, ordering her to die the next moment without any explanation. She could only obey and die!

She survived entirely because the beam of light, which should have pierced through Unit 8's head or cockpit, only pierced through her pectoral muscles, thus saving her life.

"Haha, but something even more deadly is about to happen, hiss hiss haha!" Mari, in the cockpit of Unit 8, grinned from the pain. "Miri-chan, does this feel familiar? He just calmly broke through all the limits. It must be because Shinji Ikari is so special, choo!" She then sneezed.

Misato Katsuragi didn't reply to her, and neither did anyone else. For Mari Makinami, Ritsuko Akagi, and Misato Katsuragi, this was a sight they had witnessed once before, but for everyone else, it was the first time they had ever seen it—this mythical reappearance.

The Throne of Soul once again welcomed its destined master. The entire body of Unit-01, radiating golden light, was undergoing changes, with almost tangible energy flowing from its gaps. The original eighty-meter-tall mechanical creation was now growing a second time, as if it were a living organism.

A vast amount of energy burst forth from the surface of the purple body. Misato Katsuragi knew that this was the form of an angel on the verge of awakening.

“No, it already is,” Ritsuko Akagi said softly from the side.

The abundant energy swirled upwards from around Unit-01, converging into a dazzling golden halo.

The dissipated energy, mixed with the surrounding airflow, rose and converged towards the swirling, contradictory spiral overhead, transforming into a rotating, blood-red cloud that drew everything into its embrace.

"The birth of a new life that transcends the common sense of the world comes at the cost of the death of all old life forms." Looking at the sacred figure before her, Ritsuko Akagi no longer hoped that another Spear of Longinus would pierce through Unit-01's chest.

—The world will end here.

“No, it won’t.” Misato Katsuragi pushed up her sunglasses. “Because this ritual is still missing a sacrifice.”

The sacred machine, floating in mid-air, overlooks the world in the form of an angel.

Ultimately, his gaze settled on Li Lin on the ground. Looking at them, Shinji Ikari spoke softly.