Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

“But the ignition system isn’t perfect yet,” Ritsuko Akagi said. “Are you planning to use EVA?”

Mari Makinami is still with Shinji Ikari. Asuka, who had fainted, has been awakened, but it will still take some time before she can pilot an EVA to fight the enemy.

"All ships, first combat configuration," Misato Katsuragi ordered.

"Switch to combat command system. Key personnel proceed to the combat bridge." Ritsuko Akagi obeyed the order and returned to her seat.

“Received, checking the full exhaust system,” the African American woman with braids replied.

"Concentrate the ship's main control system onto the anchor bolts," Shigeru Aoba responded.

"Roger that, preparing to descend. Fuel nozzle confirmed, countdown begins," the burly man with the buzz cut replied.

"All personnel, to your positions. I repeat, to your positions."

"Ignition power is being injected into the main engine system, and there is still 5% to go before the critical value."

"If they launch a saturation attack, our ship will be doomed if it gets hit!" Mari leaned against the window, looking at the Angels so close at hand. "Why hasn't Misato-chan asked me to pilot the EVA yet? Is she trying to manipulate me too?"

But the sudden push caused Mari to shift her position, quickly sliding down to Shinji's side. Only then did she realize that she wasn't being attacked, but that the ship had taken off.

It was breaking free from the pull of gravity, tearing through the honeycomb-like barrier of the sea, and soaring into the sky headfirst and rear-up. But then, from that crimson pillar of light, four black ribbon-like objects shot out and wrapped around the main wing of the Ship of Hope.

However, Mari was completely unconcerned about the fleet's current situation; she quietly gazed at the boy in front of her.

After learning the truth of what happened back then, he remained silent, gazing out the window with a faint joy in his expression. It seemed that the withering of all things meant nothing to him, but being able to hold Rei Ayanami's hand was incredibly important to him.

At that moment, it was as if the boy with the pleasant scent was standing right in front of her. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether the person before her was the tyrannical warrior from before or the frail boy.

At this moment, a deafening roar rose from the sea below, because as the apostles shot out black ribbon-like objects that entangled the Ship of Hope, they also entangled themselves.

Millions of water droplets danced on the sea surface, and the sea, which was originally sealed by the barrier, suddenly turned into raging water. Deep whirlpools appeared on the sea surface, caused by the high-speed swimming of a giant creature. As the Hope Ship, which was soaring in the sky, dragged the damaged main wing with all its might, the behemoth underwater also revealed its form at this moment.

It was a squid-like creature, with four jet-black ribbons extending from beneath its simple oval head, frantically contracting as it approached the Ship of Hope. And there were three more of these terrifying creatures.

The M61 aircraft cannons and anti-tank missiles on the Hope Ship continuously exploded with dazzling flashes of fire, blue blood seeping from its pitch-black body, and parts of its spine were torn open by the explosions, revealing its pale white spine. But it still climbed upwards without slowing down, because its orders were to destroy the ship in front of it at all costs, even if the price was its own death.

From this angle, their attack first struck the conference room. Mari didn't know if it was a coincidence or intentional, but as she watched the menacing, demon-like creatures rapidly approaching, she couldn't help but grab Shinji Ikari's arm and try to escape.

"I can't stand it."

Shinji Ikari gently patted Mari's arm, and surprisingly, she actually quieted down when she looked at his profile. Shinji calmly put his hands back in his pockets and then turned his gaze forward.

The windows of an entire wall shattered simultaneously, and the apostle's hideous black ribbons of matter scattered along the path they had traced on the wall. Then, the wall exploded, and a foul-smelling sea breeze rushed in.

The thing that shattered glass, tore through defensive layers, burst into flames, and charged in—it was all the same thing. The four ferocious apostles, now looking at this monstrous creature up close, felt as if they were facing a demon from hell.

Even though they were so close, he simply raised the corners of his lips slightly.

Behind them, even more surging thunderous waves shook the night sky, and behind the baring-toothed apostles, an even more exaggerated ultimate terror revealed its purple form.

—Awakening Unit-01.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, leaving only Shinji Ikari and Unit-01, which looked as if it had fallen into a horde of demons. Then, when time began to flow again, all that remained were severed limbs and remains, and a torrential downpour of blood.

It wasn't that time stood still! It's just that Unit-01's speed was so fast that Mari's naked eye couldn't even catch its attack. By the time she came to her senses, the battle was already over.

Shinji Ikari stood amidst the rain of blood, four golden crosses rising behind him like summer fireworks fourteen years late.

154: Riddler, get out of the new world!

Mari had never seen such ruthless and merciless killing, as if the angel of judgment had pointed the spear of fate at your brow, pronouncing your death.

In Shinji Ikari's hands, the so-called Angels were nothing more than slightly larger dregs. Pity, compassion, and other similar emotions did not exist in this man; the creatures that stood in his way were already favored by death. This was the authority bestowed upon him by the Emperor; killing was not a sin to him, he was violence itself.

It was unbelievable that the once soft little puppy had become such a behemoth. Mari suddenly realized a crucial point, or perhaps in his eyes, NERV and WILLE were no different; they were both possibly betrayals of humanity.

"Oh dear, you really know how to cause me unnecessary trouble."

Shinji Ikari stood there silently, watching the crimson seawater once again engulf the severed limbs of the artificial Angels. He turned his head to look towards the battle bridge, his pupils a crimson-purple similar in color to Unit-01.

The entire crew on the battle bridge remained silent, having witnessed the carnage. The Angels, deadly to the fleet, were like beasts awaiting slaughter before Shinji Ikari.

"Amazing!" the researcher with Zhuangzhuang's mother's hairstyle exclaimed softly.

"They shattered all four targets in an instant; I didn't even see the trajectory of their attack." Kitakami Midori bit her lip, somewhat unwilling. "I'll definitely watch the slow-motion replay of the battle later."

"It was really close, I almost did it, I thought I was going to die." The muscular man wiped away his cold sweat with lingering fear, but then smiled at Shinji Ikari. "But this third boy is even more interesting than Kaji said."

"This is Unit-01, Shinji Ikari who has returned from the Negative Universe. With his power and temperament, could he have been promoted from ANIMA to Angel?" Ritsuko Akagi frowned slightly, but then looked in the direction of Misato Katsuragi. She believed that Misato knew this third boy better than she did.

Misato Katsuragi expressionlessly removed her dark red sunglasses, showing neither joy nor anger. Only after a few seconds did the corners of her mouth slightly turn upwards.

She knew those words were spoken by Shinji Ikari to her, but she saw no need to explain them to anyone else. She continued issuing post-battle orders to the people in the command center with unwavering confidence.

In the conference room, where the walls and glass were all shattered, Mari skipped over to Shinji Ikari's side. "After fourteen years, do you and Misato still have this kind of understanding?" Mari asked curiously from the side.

Only she and Ritsuko Akagi could see the unspoken understanding between Misato Katsuragi and Shinji Ikari. Despite not exchanging a single word, they completed their battle plan with perfect telepathy.

"Fourteen years? It's just a blink of an eye for me," Shinji Ikari said calmly.

“Indeed, you just keep your eyes open and closed.” Mari didn’t catch the meaning in Shinji Ikari’s words. “But I’m quite surprised that Misato still believes in you like this. In these fourteen years, it’s possible that Princess wasn’t the only one who cared about Wan-chan. To be honest, you’ve been too cold to Princess. Actually…”

Shinji Ikari automatically ignored Mari's words; she was too verbose, and sometimes he really didn't know what her true nature was. Was she a middle-aged woman with the heart of a young girl, or a young girl with the heart of a middle-aged woman?

Shinji Ikari didn't care about that; instead, he quietly used his temporarily granted Level 2 access (MAGI) to look up information about the future.

Thirty minutes later——

The wreckage of the four artificial apostles has been salvaged, and the four most important shattered energy cores have been retrieved. With this, Misato Katsuragi declared the mission complete. Although our losses were severe, considering the Hope Ship's first proactive sortie, the results were impeccable.

The combat personnel withdrew from the scene, handing over post-battle handling to the logistics forces. Key personnel evacuated from the battle bridge and lined up in front of the deck. The operational procedure dictates that the state of combat readiness is not considered complete until all personnel have withdrawn from the battle bridge.

And the character that cannot be ignored is the third boy, Shinji Ikari.

His fate is uncertain, given the power he wields. Should he be reinstated, or should he remain seen as an uncontrollable force capable of destroying the world?

“Of course we’ll accept him. After all, he’s just an innocent child. But his placement is a big deal.” The African-American woman with braids applied colorful eyeliner in front of the mirror. “But we don’t have the final say. We’ll have to see what the boss decides.”

All eyes turned back to Misato Katsuragi at the top. Whether as Shinji Ikari's former commander and guardian, or now as Wille's captain, the final decision rested with her.

Misato Katsuragi had already made up her mind.

And at this moment, they finally saw Shinji Ikari's figure again, in the image shown on the screen in front of them.

A young man stood leisurely by the window of the broken conference room. Behind him, the purple Unit-01 stood quietly, its expression like that of a god who might be resurrected at any moment, even though it was still.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shinji-kun." Suddenly, the figure of Katsuragi Misato appeared in the projection. Or rather, it was a picture of all the personnel on the battle bridge.

The past and the future gaze at each other across the screen at this moment.

At this moment, Misato Katsuragi actually took off her signature dark red sunglasses, and her cool, bare face made Shinji Ikari miss Misato from his hometown.

"The arrangements for you are still quite complicated because your identity is too special. Most people don't want to see you pilot Unit-01 again, but everyone witnessed your performance just now, so..."

"Stop it. I hate self-righteous idiots." Shinji Ikari's voice clearly echoed inside the battleship's bridge. "Lord Misato, in my mind you are now no different from an idiot."

Misato Katsuragi's eyes widened, and not only her, but everyone else had a similar expression.

An extremely ominous premonition arose in Misato Katsuragi's heart, because even as Shinji Ikari spoke these words, he still made no attempt to hide the sarcasm on his lips.

Unlike his previous outbursts of anger and shirking responsibility, he was simply expressing his inner thoughts. Then, almost instantly, her unease struck him squarely as Shinji calmly wove together his words.

"Don't consider me one of your own just because we've teamed up briefly. Comrades aren't cheap commodities." Shinji Ikari's lips curled into his usual cold smile again. "You've taken the liberty of including me and my Unit-01 in your operational plans. You deserve to be punished. But for Misato's sake, I'll allow you to overstep your bounds for now."

"But you are now..."

"There are no 'buts.' I need to see this world for myself to understand, and I can't just listen to one side's story. Besides, my first impression of you isn't good," Shinji Ikari said calmly. "In the end, it's just an internal human conflict between you. Stop talking big. Until the dust settles, neither of you is on the side of justice."

Perhaps these words contained sarcasm, but they were indeed very powerful, and Misato Katsuragi's unease was completely struck.

But at the same time, another emotion was growing in Misato Katsuragi's heart: relief. Looking at Shinji Ikari, who had the ability to think independently, she felt a sense of accomplishment, like "my daughter has grown up."

"Next, I'll go check out NERV. There's another guy there who I find interesting." Shinji Ikari turned and walked into the shadows, his colors seemingly fading away.

But then, as if remembering something, he walked back to the screen with a displeased expression, pointed at the camera, and said, "And stop being a riddle teller. If you keep hiding your true intentions and not speaking like a human being, I'll smash the heads of all you scumbags to pieces!"

A few minutes later, a deafening sound that tore through the air reached the Indian Ocean. Units 9 and 6, which were preparing to launch a surprise attack on Wille, suddenly returned, simply because their target for this operation had suddenly disappeared.

The black and red machine looked up at the fleet of hope that had taken off again and soared over the Indian Ocean. Kaworu turned his head to look west: "Farewell, Shinji. I look forward to meeting you again."

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Third New Tokyo City, Hakone.

"Now, can Hakone still be called Hakone?" Shigeru Aoba sat in the helicopter, looking at the massive chasm torn open by the Power Apostles. It led directly from the ground to the underground world. "A third of the headquarters facilities have been destroyed, and the central dogmatic area has been exposed. This was something we would never have dared to imagine before."

"The entire Third Tokyo City was also severely affected. Let's think about how to explain this to the public." Kenzaki Kyoya, sitting next to me, was also taking notes on the disaster situation. "But, it's so good that we survived."

Inside Hakone, inspections are still underway.

"The underworld is ruined now too."

Riding through the only usable elevator shaft, Ritsuko Akagi led the development department executives to the underground world. "Fortunately, with the existence of the Third Boy, we may not have to face the day when it is activated."

The underground world, spanning 20,000 square kilometers, was a scene of devastation. Vast stretches of precious forests lay fallen, and those still standing were ablaze. The mountains and rivers fared even worse, utterly ravaged. Hundreds of meters long black trenches crisscrossed the ground, penetrating deep into the mud, each mark bearing the lingering glow of the apostles, as if turned over by a giant, burning plow.

The Underground World was originally designed as an ark for humanity to prevent the destruction of the world. It preserves the ecological environment of the earth, and the seeds of plants and animals from all over the world are also preserved in the neighboring Sector Seventeen.

"The damage to EVA Unit-02, as well as the hidden losses from activating Beast Mode, have pushed it beyond the limits of cell division. It will take a very long time to fully recover."

“Fortunately, MAGI is still transplantable, and we can start the transplant tomorrow,” said Maya Ibuki.

“But we can’t transplant it here.” Ritsuko Akagi sighed, her eyes filled with reluctance. Hakone wasn’t just the result of her mother’s efforts with her five friends; as one of the older members of the second generation, Ritsuko Akagi also participated in the creation of Hakone, the underground supermarket specifically for fighting the Angels.

"It's only a matter of time before they order its abandonment," said Hitomi Kaga, First Technical Development Division, Technical Development Department, NERV Headquarters.

"There's no other way but to activate the backup second command post first." Ritsuko Akagi rubbed her temples.

"Even without MAGI, do we still need to use it? Won't it be too inconvenient?" Ibuki Maya nervously gripped her sleeve; she couldn't imagine life without MAGI.

"Tell the logistics department to clean it up; we'll need it this afternoon," Ritsuko Akagi said.

"The chair is small and the sensors are sluggish, it's very uncomfortable to work there," Ibuki Maya said, still somewhat reluctant to leave.

Rumors circulate that the technology in the underground world of Hakone is at least twenty years ahead of normal civilian technology, but only those who have worked there truly know that the difference is far more than twenty years.

Moving to that old-fashioned second command post all at once would be unbearable for anyone.

“It’s good enough that there are any usable ones, stop complaining,” Ritsuko Akagi said. “The evolution of the Apostles is becoming more and more perfect. I can’t believe how exaggerated the next three Apostles will be.”

“But we still have a third boy.” Ibuki Maya hugged the tablet and followed closely behind Akagi Ritsuko like a little tail.