[Operation "Holy Incineration" begins.]
[Unit-01 arrives at coordinate point α; Unit-00 and Unit-02 arrive at coordinate point β.]
[United Nations, Third Strategic Air Wing takes flight.]
Inside the command center, the operation was unfolding systematically. On the display, dozens of dashed lines could be seen moving from various bases, flying at full speed toward Third New Tokyo City. The three EVAs had also reached their designated coordinates.
'What a ss. And what kind of ridiculous na is that?'
Misato Katsuragi thought, her head throbbing as she coordinated tens of thousands of military assets.
"Looks like we'll have to redraw the map again," Ritsuko Akagi said, standing leisurely by with a cup of coffee. "Fortunately, the Seventh Angel is in the suburbs, so it shouldn't cause too much property damage."
"I'm still the one who has to write the reports. That boy gives orders easily, but he dumps all the aftermath on ." Misato rubbed her temples, feeling a headache at the re thought of the mountain of paperwork awaiting her.
"Isn't that our purpose for existing? We can't just dump everything on Shinji-kun to handle." Ritsuko shrugged, her expression turning serious as she looked at the screen.
"I think I finally understand Shinji-kun's style. This person demands absolute success. Even if it ans taking risks, he ensures the Angel is thoroughly annihilated. What a terrifying, deep-seated hatred."
'Hatred? Hell, the Angels are the victims here; look at how miserably they die.'
Misato wanted to retort but remained silent, acknowledging the truth in the statent.
Destroying the Angels ant protecting humanity. It was precisely because of this intensity that she—and indeed the entire NERV organization—could trust Shinji Ikari implicitly. He left no room for error and was direct; as an enemy, he would be terrifying, but as an ally, he was incredibly reassuring.
"Shinji, the UN military is ready. 1 hour and 2 minutes until arrival."
"Understood."
The response ca through a "SOUND ONLY" feed. Unit-00 and Unit-02 had visual feeds, but regarding Shinji's peculiar situation, the technical departnt had given up on "fixing" it, accepting his "Machine Spirit is displeased" explanation. Everyone knew what he was trying to hide, but as Gendo Ikari had stated, the greatest enemy at this stage was the Angel. The
Angels were unimaginably powerful, and they had to rely on Shinji to solve them; everything else was a minor detail.
"Asuka, Rei, prepare to move to the second coordinate point. Does everyone rember the plan?"
"Understood." Rei never wasted words. Unit-00's left arm hadn't been installed yet, so she held a massive shield with only her right hand.
"Uh, do you think we should reconsider Misato-san's proposal?" Asuka licked her dry lips, her eyebrows twitching. "Your plan is too dangerous. If the MAGI's calculations have even the slightest error, we'll be—"
"To ensure the mission's absolute success, assuming the risk of KIA is a basic requirent." Shinji controlled Unit-01, walking forward with a chainsword in his right hand and a "bolter" in his left. "Besides, according to the MAGI's calculations, the success rate is as high as 37%. That's quite good. Combined with my preparations, I'd say there's zero risk."
'37%... is that considered high?!'
Asuka was montarily speechless. Of course, she didn't know that for an Astartes, a tactical terminal would clearly display results like "one chance in a thousand" or "inevitable death." Those silent killing machines wouldn't say a word; they would just pick up their weapons and head to the drop pod.
"Hey, you really don't want to do synchronization training with ?"
"If that training could be successful, of course, that would be no problem. Hmm, when we're free, let's train according to the Major's request. Cultivating rapport is beneficial and harmless."
"Ha! Who would want to train with you? Dream on!"
"Ikari-kun, can I train?"
"No, no, no! You aren't in the plan; I'll do it!"
"But didn't you just refuse?"
"You heard wrong! Don't you dare fight for it!"
Misato and Ritsuko exchanged glances, seeing the smiles in each other's eyes. The relationship between the three was truly getting "better." Having soone who lacked any sense of tension made the atmosphere much more relaxed.
[Unit-01 has reached the designated coordinate point.]
The purple-armored steel giant stopped. Four N2 Mines had blasted a massive crater, and coupled with the heavy rain from the previous day, the Angel was essentially soaking in a giant lake. High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft sent back images; the Angel had recovered over
80% of its body and rged into one. To use Ritsuko's analogy, it had eaten its own damaged tissues to regrow a brand-new body.
Step one: Divide it in two.
"Is the high-energy protective shield ready?"
"'Raven' has taken off and will air-drop at the scheduled ti."
"Good."
Shinji didn't waste words. He steered Unit-01 forward. As soon as he reached the edge of the lake, the dormant Angel reacted instantly; its leaning body snapped upright.
Splash...
Rainwater poured down, cascading off the Angel's smooth skin and Unit-01's angular armor. It felt as if only these two behemoths remained in the world, staring at each other in silence. Lightning streaked across the sky with a low rumble, brightening the gloomy world for an instant. In that mont—
Unit-01's eyes flared, and the Angel's mask erupted with intense light.
BOOM — THUD —
The explosion of a beam and the dull thud of massive feet cracking the earth followed in succession. The shockwaves from the AT Field released tore through the curtain of rain.
Unit-01 tilted its head, watching the beam graze its armor and explode in the distance. The roaring chainsword swept horizontally with the impact, tearing through the Angel's AT Field like paper. He raised the bolter to fire, but the Angel tilted its body backward as if it had no spine, lying flat into the water.
Thump-thump-thump...
Artillery fire rumbled; the lake erupted in massive sprays. Then, the surface bulged, and the Angel flipped upside down, kicking up with its sharp, claw-like feet.
Skreee.
Bright sparks showered from the chest armor as the kick glanced off the chin. Shinji gripped the chainsword in reverse, cleaving the entire lake surface in two.
"As expected, it's getting smarter."
The slash mark on the water hadn't even closed yet when the Angel darted away like an acrobat. It used its hands and feet to jump out of the crater, moving erratically along the edge. It wasn't fast, but it had learned not to clash head-on with Unit-01, pushing its incredibly flexible body to the limit, pausing briefly before jumping away—until the very mont Unit-01 emptied its magazine.
THUD —
Using all four limbs, the behemoth, larger than the EVA, pounced directly at him, crashing into his AT Field with a bang.
The force remained unchanged, but the limbs it had used to pounce suddenly expanded, concentrating all its AT Field strength into the four pairs of claws, forming an 'X' in the air. It tore a hole through the absolute defense, its outstretched limbs looking like it wanted to give Unit-01 a warm embrace.
BOOM!
But at that mont, a fireball exploded against its chest, stalling its pouncing body.
"You're a fool after all. Who told you I was out of ammo?"
The bolter fired its final round, then Shinji discarded the weapon. He lunged with the chainsword in both hands; the concentrated AT Field was unbreakable, cleanly slicing the Angel into two halves.
"Step one complete."
Unit-01 stood in the water. Within two seconds, the Angel had split into white and red bodies. Facing the incoming chainsword, they split left and right, leaping to the edge of the crater to look down at Unit-01. Shinji watched them back; the sight of the Israfel variants holding hands was quite comical.
SWISH —
He swung the chainsword, shaking off the gore from its teeth, then strode forward, parting the waves to intercept them.
The white-skinned Angel imdiately stepped forward to engage. It tried its best to parry with its claws, but when the chainsword forced it to the ground, Unit-01 withdrew rapidly.
BOOM!
A fireball erupted where he had just been standing. The red-skinned Angel had no intention of ganging up; instead, it kept its distance, using beams to cover its companion.
'Coordinated long-range and lee, huh?'
Shinji narrowed his eyes. If the Angels had charged together to gang up on him, he would have had the capability to achieve a double kill in an instant. The difficulty of this battle was whether the Angels would give him the chance.
'No choice. Initiate Plan B.'
"Unit-02, sortie!"
"Coming!" Asuka leapt from behind cover, charging into the battlefield with a lance. The Angel's response left her dumbfounded. The red-skinned Angel, which had been harassing him with beams, abandoned its counterpart and turned to run. Asuka froze, and Misato Katsuragi, watching from the command center, broke out in a cold sweat.
Shinji was right—the Angel was trying to create two separate battlefields to ensure they wouldn't be destroyed simultaneously. Even if Unit-02 could defeat the one it chased, how could they ensure both cores were destroyed within two seconds?
"These monsters are truly a pain; each one is more cunning than the last."
"Perhaps the Angels are evolving, too?" Ritsuko muttered, unable to comprehend it. "That shouldn't be possible. The Angels, possessing the Fruit of Life, are organisms that act on instinct. They shouldn't have the capacity for evolution."
Misato didn't care about that; she imdiately ordered: "Unit-00, sortie! Don't let that red one run too far. Shinji, are you okay?"
Without the harassnt, the Angel stood no chance against Unit-01 in a one-on-one. Shinji had already severed one of its arms. He glanced into the distance. The red-skinned Angel was "running away." As long as its core wasn't shattered, it didn't matter how many pieces he turned it into; they would regenerate infinitely. He had no idea how long this battle would drag on.
And don't forget, the EVA's energy and the pilot's stamina were limited. If it dragged on into a ssy war of attrition, the enemy would have a chance to turn the tables.
"Let's begin. Establish bombing coordinates. Asuka, Rei, pin it down!"
Shinji kicked the Angel over and plunged the chainsword through its core. The Angel paused for a mont, then the core reconverged and it struggled violently. Unit-01 stepped back, swapping in a new magazine.
Bang.
Another bolt shattered the core again. Seeing the Angel lie back down, he looked toward the horizon.
Unit-00, holding the massive shield, had already intercepted it, and Unit-02 launched a sneak attack from behind. But one had to rember, the Angel's inherent strength was imnse. Shinji could suppress it, but that didn't an Asuka could; she was locked in a back-and-forth struggle. If he followed his standard combat procedure, he would have had to run over to help, but as soon as he left, the Angel in front of him would regenerate. It was pointless.
But, how to put it?
After shooting the reconverging core to bits one more ti, Unit-01 looked up at the sky and raised its left hand. A massive shield fell accurately into his palm, and he hid his entire body behind it.
"Take cover! Here cos the present!"
Behind the shield were ten small, pitch-black dots. Their thrusters fired, splitting them evenly into two groups. Unit-02 had just pinned the red-skinned Angel to the ground when it looked up and saw these things, screaming instantly.
"Quick, Rei, defend!"
She didn't need to be told. Unit-00 dived, pinning Unit-02 to the ground. The two EVAs huddled together behind the shield, concentrating all their energy along with Shinji.
'AT Field: Full Power!!'
This bizarre scene clearly made the Angels pause. One was impaled by a chainsword, the other pinned to the ground by a lance. As the primary threat (the EVAs) suddenly retreated from the fight, it revealed a much more terrifying threat source—like pulling back a curtain.
The timing was impeccable. By the ti the "true mastermind" appeared, the Angels had no ti to detonate them prematurely. Humans were surprisingly cunning; the greatest threat hadn't been the EVAs from the start.
'When forced, use lee combat; when dominant, bomb the hell out of them.'
Shinji watched as ten suns blood in the sky simultaneously, reveling in the pleasure of overwhelming his opponent with sheer intellect.
'Didn't you say you need to destroy both cores within two seconds?
No problem. In less than a fraction of a second, I will use ten tal-hydrogen bombs with gaton-level yields to ensure your cores—along with your flesh—are...
Reduced to ashes!'
'If an Angel isn't killed the first ti, it will slowly learn.'
That was Kozo Fuyutsuki's own assessnt.
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