Thump, thump, thump — BOOM —
Muffled explosions echoed, occasionally accompanied by light blooming in the night sky as burning steel fell like teors.
Two EVAs were configured in a vanguard and rearguard formation. Unit-01 was crouched behind a mountain peak; Shinji's fingers tapped lightly against the control sticks, as if playing a symphony of war.
Tracer rounds flew overhead, the shockwaves from high-explosive ordnance shattering rural cottages like building blocks. The rice fields were cratered, yet the Angel moved like an unstoppable machine—annihilating any threat within range according to its threat priority while steadily advancing.
'Hoo, the scent of war.'
This scent had been his daily life once, but it was unexpectedly rare now. The Angels averaged an attack every 20 days, making it impossible for the pace to be anything but slow.
[Angel, distance 300.]
The tapping of his fingers ceased. The sound of heavy footsteps reverberated through the thick armor and reached his ears, and the bloody tallic scent of the LCL fluid was invigorating.
[Angel, distance 200.] [Third Fleet, cruise missiles arrived.]
A hundred "stars" appeared in the sky; they were Tomahawk cruise missiles loaded with 500-kilogram warheads. However, just as they reached the halfway point, a burst of light erupted among the missile swarm.
"Asuka, move."
Amidst the sequence of intense flashes, the crimson-painted Unit-02 suddenly poked its head out from behind a hill, the Gatling gun in its hands unleashing a long serpent of fire.
Dak-dak-dak-dak-dak...
Shell casings fell like rain. The polygonal AT Field scattered light like a prism, and the warheads were annihilated before the soul energy, but soon, a tear was ripped into this "Wall of Sighs."
'AT Field neutralization.'
Unit-01 lunged out, positioning itself perfectly within the neutralization zone. As a patch of explosions blood from the Angel's chest, the steel giant sprinted forward.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The earth was left with a trail of footprints. Shinji kept his eyes locked on the target. Seeing it pull its body back amidst the barrage, the Yin-Yang mask flared with light, and it simply raised its left hand.
BOOM.
The explosion paused the sprint for a heartbeat, but Unit-01 pushed forward like a shield-bearer through the firepower. The chainsword dragging behind it roared, grinding against the concrete ground and throwing off dazzling sparks.
Fire support, a straight sprint, and then—
SWISH!
A heavy, powerful cleave blocked the beam back. Israfel folded its slender hands, watching the chainsword strike its three-pronged hooks.
"Great strength. So those hooks are the primary weapon?"
Shinji glanced at it. The test of strength lasted only a second before Unit-01 abruptly retreated, performing a nimble roll to the side.
Dak-dak-dak.
The body had just cleared the space when artillery shells arrived. The Angel quickly pulled its arms together and hopped back on its toes.
Whirrr—
The chainsword grazed the Angel's soles. Within two exchanges, Shinji had grasped the traits of this xeno.
"Like the Fourth Angel, it's a lee-specialized type. No, its lee technique is even better."
Just then, a shadow covered the monitor. The Angel's right claw swept over like it had no bones—its destructive power far exceeding its beam—sweeping over the top of Unit-01's head.
lee combat tests reaction speed above all else, and that happened to be Shinji's greatest strength.
Unit-01 sprang up from the ground, seeing the Angel twist its body 180 degrees in mid-air like a rubber man. When the left claw followed up, Shinji raised the left shoulder, slamming the shield directly into it.
SCREEECH.
With the piercing sound of steel being ground away, the hook beca lodged in the center of the shield. Unit-01's power seed to surge tenfold; he twisted his waist and rotated his body, throwing the Angel directly away.
THUD —
With a dull sound, half of a small hill was crushed under the impact.
"Cover ."
"I know that!"
Asuka dropped the empty Gatling gun and grabbed a rapid-fire rocket launcher, unleashing a violent barrage on the Angel that had just fallen onto the mountain top.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Blood and gore splattered everywhere. Israfel, just attempting to rise, was blasted back down. Then, the dust cloud in front of them was torn apart by a massive shape—a giant foot filled the entire field of view.
KABOOM!
The small hill was flattened by this "Leo Kick." Light gathered in the mask, and with a slap, Unit-01, pinning it down, swiped the Angel's grotesque face away. The roaring chainsword sank deep into its thoracic cavity.
It tore through muscle, bypassed the abdominal core, and pierced through the other side. The hemorrhage was massive, staining the surrounding rice paddies a blood-red.
"Huh? Is it over? Tsk, didn't look like much after all."
Asuka stared blankly. Though she talked tough, she knew in her heart this Angel wasn't simple. The hooks were the primary weapon, and coupled with that rubbery body and lightning-fast reactions, she wasn't sure she could have won. When she magnified the image, she understood instantly.
Looking at the cut, Israfel had no organs or bones; its body was composed entirely of muscle. No wonder its flexibility was top-tier—it was essentially a "rubber man." As for how it could move without bone support?
'Well, the AT Field is omnipotent.'
.
.
.
'Is it over?'
Unit-01 stood over the Angel. Shinji felt no sha in using overwhelming force; if possible, he would have used orbital bombardnt to annihilate the Angel from a thousand miles away.
'This has to be the weakest Angel so far. Good lee ability, and the rubber-man body is interesting, but the AT Field is too weak—not even worthy of using psychic powers.'
Unit-01 slowly stood up. Then, his expression changed.
'Wrong.'
The chainsword roared again, startling Asuka, who had been running over to celebrate. She thought, This guy is so brutal, he won't even spare the corpse. But monts later, her eyes widened.
Cut into two, with even its core shattered, Israfel suddenly moved. Its upper body bolted upright, clapping its hands against Unit-01's head like a thunderclap. Fortunately, the chainsword was faster; with a thwip, it punched back into the Angel's chest, pinning it firmly to the ground.
[Angel, active again.]
"Huh?"
The applause in the command center went silent. They watched Unit-01 retreat rapidly as the Angel's "corpse" began to squirm.
The severed lower half stood up, rapidly growing a new torso, while the pinned upper half crawled up, regrowing two slender legs.
They were identical, save for the mask which had changed into a three-hole face, and the paint job which shifted from black to white and orange. There wasn't a single injury left to see.
"Splitting and proliferation? It really does have a special trick."
Shinji's expression was cold. The mont he realized he hadn't touched the "Warp" (Subspace) earlier, he knew the Angel hadn't been eliminated. This xeno had actually learned how to stage a sneak attack; if he hadn't deduced this from the results, he would have been backstabbed the mont he lowered his guard.
"Hey, what do we do now?" Asuka looked back and forth, unable to understand how the Angel had suddenly beco two.
"Continue. No matter how many there are, annihilate them all."
Shinji would not be swayed. Unit-01 began its sprint imdiately, his eyes burning like fire. He was clearly playing for keeps now.
'AT Field burst.'
THOOM!!!
As the final step landed, the ground within a hundred-ter radius cracked entirely. His speed surged instantly, and a knee strike slamd into the core of the Angel on the left.
CRACK.
The imnse force created a shock ring behind the Angel's back; the ruby-like core shattered on the spot. He pressed his hands against the Angel's shoulders, perford a backflip, and leapt toward the second Angel.
A fireball rose from its body, blasting away the pouncing claws. Taking advantage of the gap, Unit-01 rode onto the Angel's shoulder, raising its hands to pin down the claws closing in from both sides.
"Fire."
BOOM!
The incoming rocket accurately struck the Angel's core. In an instant, the strength in its hands vanished, and it collapsed to the ground.
"We won!"
Asuka cheered—this was her first kill. But monts later, Shinji poured cold water on her.
"No."
The white-skinned Angel stood up. The core that had just been shattered regrew. The Angel knew no fear and felt no pain; the mont its recovery function kicked in, it charged out. The red-skinned Angel pinned under Unit-01 also reacted.
It used its limbs like a boneless creature, and four claws closed in. Fortunately, a rocket flew in and sent it staggering. Shinji took the opportunity to disengage, simultaneously kicking the oncoming white-skinned Angel away.
"Is this guy immortal???"
Asuka gasped for air, dropping the rocket launcher with zero ammo left. Looking left and right, she had exhausted all her ammunition.
"I don't know, but this trick is indeed difficult to deal with."
Shinji watched the two Angels shoulder-to-shoulder and imdiately ordered: "Unit-02, withdraw from the battlefield."
"Huh? Then what about you?" Asuka was dumbfounded.
"Withdraw. That is an order. Everyone retreat ten kiloters."
Seeing the white-skinned Angel charging wildly, Shinji pressed the control stick.
'AT Field: Full Power.''
BEEP—
A phase space unfolded, forming a polygonal wall of light. The Angels hit the "air wall" like they had struck a solid object, unable to make any progress. One began attacking the wall with its
claws frantically, while the other dropped to all fours and began circling around the flank like a hunting hound.
AT Field defense could only focus on one side. This was a flanking maneuver, and its crawling speed was incredibly fast.
"Notify the UN military. N2 Mine deploynt. Coordinates: Unit-01."
"What?" Misato sounded like she hadn't heard clearly.
"Do it."
Shinji offered no explanation. No matter how clever the Angels were, they lacked human wisdom; that combat instinct was still clumsy, and Unit-01 had already drawn all of its aggression.
CRACK.
The AT Field was finally torn open. One Angel pounced like a dog off its leash, while the other stopped abruptly and closed in from the side.
Shinji's eyes rolled across the monitor. Unit-01 did not retreat but advanced instead, lowering its body to let the unbreakable hook claw swipe over its head before wrapping its arms around the Angel's waist.
BAM —
His feet sank into the ground, and like a wrestler, he threw the Angel to the side, using its body as a human shield against the firing line of the red-skinned Angel.
PFFT.
The Angel's steel claw pierced through itself and into Unit-01's chest. At that exact mont, the two Angels, now lined up like a shish kebab, simultaneously looked up.
Four massive N2 Mines detonated directly above the heads of the three behemoths in a circular fra.
[N2 Mines, Detonate!]
Fireballs filled the screen. Electromagnetic interference created a layer of static. Misato Katsuragi's eyes widened, her hand gripping the crucifix on her chest.
"What about Unit-01? Is it okay?"
"Electronic interference. Optical signal acquisition in 5 seconds."
Gendo Ikari, high above, was also holding his breath, staring fixedly at the screen—until a slender black shadow walked out from the raging inferno. Only then did he exhale, along with everyone else.
Scatheless. It walked slowly out of the flas like a demonic god, behind it, two charred husks of Angels.
"The Angels are silent for now. Have the probes work with the MAGI to calculate the details. I want to know exactly where the true core is. I don't believe in 'immortality'."
Another instance of Shinji overstepping his bounds, but Gendo wasn't angry. He looked at Kozo Fuyutsuki beside him, answering the man's silent question with his eyes.
'Why do I choose to tolerate this?'
It had nothing to do with self-esteem. It was simply because in the face of such a formidable Angel—
'Only he has a chance of victory.'
Announcent
Hello everyone!
As always Thank you for your support!
I'm happy to announce a new Fanfiction! There are already 40 chapters!
COTE: I've beco a substitute
Mikage Touji transmigrated in the world of Classroom of the Elite with no explanation and entered the class 1-A, well at least he as a cool power even if a bit weak for now.
Until Ayanokouji Atsuomi asked him: "Is this you?" referring to a photo of Kyotaka.
"How could I possibly be that gloomy guy in there?!"
"Drop these useless excuses, Kiyotaka. Did you think that by changing your na and getting plastic surgery, you could escape my control?
Your enrollnt materials are completely fabricated; not a single person can prove you ever existed. Furthermore, the timing of your appearance completely coincides with the ti and place of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's disappearance. And you're still saying you aren't Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Pfft..." It turns out that when people are truly speechless, they really do laugh.
"If you're looking to cause trouble, take a left out the door and find a police station. And another thing..." Mikage Toji helplessly spread his hands. "The one you are looking for is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What does that have to do with , Mikage Toji?"
[Harem - No Ayanokouji - Sakayanagi Arisu in class D.
I really recomnd it even if it doesn't have Hikigaya XD it's very funny and the first girls are not the usual ones (Spoiler: Morishita Ai, Yamamura Miki and Shiraishi Asuka)
Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting on buyacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting
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