Chapter 106 138: Defeating an Angel Bare-Handed!

[Angel: Silent]

Everything happened with such jarring suddenness. One second, the staff were pounding their keyboards so hard sparks were flying; the next, the Angel's intrusion abruptly ceased. The red indicators that had already flooded into the Casper-3 stage receded like a ebbing tide, leaving Shigeru Aoba and the others staring at each other in bewilderment.

It was like a tug-of-war where the opponent on the other end suddenly vanished into thin air; it would be strange not to be dazed.

On the other front, the progressive knife in Unit-00's hand froze in mid-air. Asuka, who had been gritting her teeth and fighting back tears in preparation for the pain of a severed limb, blinked in confusion.

"Don't hesitate! Cut it off quickly! We can't let it contaminate Unit-02!"

"But... Ikari-kun has defeated the Angel."

"Don't comfort me! I told you to cut, so just—wait, uh..."

Asuka suddenly realized that the central corridor, which had been flooded with red light, had instantly plunged into darkness. The glow formed by the countless bacteria had vanished entirely.

Yes, it was all gone. Unlike previous Angels, it didn't even leave a physical corpse behind. Everything was so silent it felt as if the previous desperate struggle had been nothing but a dream.

Amidst this unsettling silence, Unit-00 raised its progressive knife with both hands.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Cutting your arm off. Didn't you tell me to?"

"The Angel is gone! What are you still cutting for?"

The sound of their bickering drifted into the Central Command Post, finally snapping everyone back to reality. Because MAGI had been compromised, everything had felt so unreliable until this moment.

"The Ireul is... just gone?"

"All sensors operating normally. System self-check initiated."

"No biological waveform matching an Angel. Confirmed: the 11th Angel is silent!"

"It's Shinji-kun! Shinji-kun took out the Angel!"

'Truly gone? This is unscientific.'

Listening to the cheers around her, Ritsuko Akagi began to doubt her own professional qualifications. She had built the EVAs with her own hands as the ultimate weapons for deciding the fate of the war against the Angels; every tactic revolved around the EVAs.

Shinji Ikari was strong—he could even solve Angels without Unit-01 going berserk—but every victory had been built upon the foundation of an EVA. This time, however, he hadn't even piloted Unit-01, yet he had still eliminated the Angel.

"Wait, let me wrap my head around this. Even if the Ireul's life state is different from other Angels, it shouldn't be something solvable by human power. That infinite evolutionary capability could cause direct harm to a human in seconds, yet Shinji-kun went solo into the depths of Block B and solved it?"

'How did he get in? Wasn't it blockaded? Wasn't it flooded?'

When power transcends the limits of imagination, only bewilderment remains. Gendo Ikari, however, felt a strange sense of slight relief.

He didn't understand how it was done either, but if the boy was this ridiculous even outside of Unit-01, then losing to him wasn't an injustice.

"Ikari, are you sure you don't have superpowers? Or did you perform some strange modification on Shinji-kun behind my back?"

Fuyutsuki spoke with a bizarre expression. He used to think Shinji Ikari had a heart of steel; now it seemed he was steel inside and out.

"Do not speak such nonsense. Set all relevant combat data to Top Secret. Modify the record of the victory over the 11th Angel—say that Ritsuko Akagi wrote a program to accelerate the Angel's evolution, inducing its self-destruction."

"I can do that, but setting aside whether we can hide it, are you planning to protect Shinji-kun?"

Fuyutsuki finished his question only to see Gendo staring at him hollowly. After a moment of thought, Fuyutsuki gave a bitter smile.

This was self-preservation. Even he suspected Gendo of performing strange modifications on his son; if this incredible news got out, Gendo would be the first one to take the fall. After all, even a "superpowered" person needs a source. Besides this all-powerful father, where else could it come from?

Lilith or Adam—take your pick.

"But the situation with SEELE is strange. After kidnapping me, they gained a breakthrough. Why hasn't there been any follow-up?" Fuyutsuki stared down at Ritsuko. Logically, she should have been hauled in for a "chat" by now.

"I don't know. Ever since he arrived in Tokyo-3, everything has become strange. Not just for me, but for SEELE as well."

A hint of confusion appeared on Gendo's face. That was the reality: the more one knew, the more confused one became. Just as he was certain Shinji had nothing to do with the 12th Angel, he completely failed to understand how the boy could kill an Angel with his bare hands.

Gendo rested his crossed hands against his forehead and lowered his head, murmuring to himself.

'Perhaps... it is time to hand over all the burdens to him?'

.

.

.

"I told you a long time ago, just believe in Shinji."

Misato threw her arms around the still-stunned Ritsuko. Ritsuko envied Misato's ability to simply stop thinking.

'It's better to be a fool.'

You don't have to think about the "why"; you just choose to believe and that's it. But "smart" people like me are worse off than fools; other than self-torment, we know nothing.

She felt that Shinji's existence was much like a "God-Emperor." Don't try to understand him, don't try to study him—just choose to believe and entrust your fate to him.

"I'm starting to believe Shinji-kun is truly omnipotent."

"Haha! I told you! You insisted on researching every detail, but he is simply the strongest."

Fine, he was indeed strong beyond common sense. Gendo Ikari didn't even have the right to be compared to him.

Ritsuko suddenly thought of something. She looked up at the man in the high seat, and seeing the confusion in his eyes, an extreme sense of pleasure erupted in her heart.

She had originally intended to get revenge; destroying the Rei Ayanami clones was part of that. But at this moment, Ritsuko suddenly lost interest in petty revenge.

A new thought took root:

'I was blind. I mistook this man for someone to rely on. He is so weak that he actually needs to sell me out just to protect himself before a group of old men.

And Shinji-kun, despite being his son, is so powerful. Defeating an Angel with his bare hands compared to dealing with a bunch of senile old men—the difficulty isn't even in the same dimension!'

Without comparison, there is no pain. Just as she was despairing over betrayal, tearing away her intellectual disguise to seek revenge like a hysterical woman, a person a hundred times stronger than Gendo Ikari had appeared.

This person was strong beyond common sense, able to defeat an Angel empty-handed. This person was unimaginably steadfast, showing no wavering even after seeing the secrets of this world. Most importantly, unlike Gendo, he didn't need to use cold ruthlessness to highlight his strength; he didn't need to treat anyone as a tool.

Yes, only the weak need to betray others. Why was Shinji-kun so gentle toward Rei? Why did he show no loss of composure upon seeing the mass of clones?

It was because he was too strong. He had no need to discard his dignity or personality, and no need to betray Rei.

Something awakened instantly. When the black-haired youth rode the elevator into the command center, her gaze was nothing short of fanatical.

'Did I overdo it a bit?'

Shinji caught that fanatical gaze, but he wasn't shocked. He had seen similar looks many times before.

Whenever an Astartes fell from the sky, stepped out of a drop pod, and shredded heretics with a hail of bolter fire, the ravaged citizens of the Empire would cast similar looks toward the Emperor's Angels. If the Astartes accepted applications, countless people would likely clamor to join.

They didn't understand the price one paid to become an Astartes, but that strength was enough to be etched into the soul.

'A power-worshipping personality? Makes sense. There is no one in this world more powerful than I am.'

He saw through Ritsuko's thoughts in a glance, though he found it ironic. Every adult around him seemed to be weirder than the last. Misato felt fatherly love from him, and now came the power-worshipping Ritsuko. Still, it was for the best; they could collaborate without worry from now on.

"Technical Department, go collect samples. Though the 11th Angel was tiny, there are still remains."

The Technical Department staff all looked at Ritsuko. She waved them off decisively: "Do as he says. Shinji-kun's orders are my orders. I will personally analyze the samples once they are collected."

Fine. After the Operations Department, the Technical Department had also fallen.

Was the Commander of NERV just going to sit there and watch?

This classic display of "insubordination" was playing out again, but it was becoming NERV's daily routine. Perhaps out of concern for his pride, Gendo Ikari left quietly with Fuyutsuki; they still had to get busy covering up the information.

Indeed, it felt a bit like being cuckolded and then having to help find an excuse for it. But no matter how infuriating, it had to be done—otherwise, they would be the first ones to take the blame.

'A good feeling.'

Shinji wouldn't spare a thought for Gendo. He felt everything was moving onto the right track. He didn't even need to say many things; others would be forced to do them anyway.

"Wait, Shinji-kun."

Just as he was about to leave, Ritsuko called out to him. This woman, mature to the extreme yet radiating intellect, walked over slowly. In her lab coat and black stockings, the smile on her face and the fanatical look in her eyes made her incredibly charming.

"Do you still need my guidance for the cleanup?" Shinji asked with a frown, not giving her charm a second look.

"I'll have the analysis report ready very soon. Why don't you wait here for a bit?"

'Going all out. That is the attitude I want.'

Shinji liked this. The final stage of his recent plan was to get Ritsuko to help with everything she had; this level of proactivity had already transcended the scope of a psychic seed. In a way, he had Gendo to thank again.

Following betrayal was a new, insurmountable mountain to rely on. The two events stacked together produced an extraordinarily good effect.

"Very well. I will wait here for two hours."

"Don't just stand there. Watch me work from over there; I might even need your guidance."

Ritsuko pointed toward the high seat, causing many people to show expressions of shock.

The Central Command Post was structured in a "tri-con" layout; there was indeed a place that could monitor everyone's work, but that was...

Shinji thought for a moment. He had never considered Gendo as the Commander anyway. Aside from the Emperor, no one could command an Astartes. Since it was the most efficient spot, it didn't matter.

"Fine."

He pressed the elevator button to go to the highest point. Then, under gazes that were either fanatical or stunned, he sat firmly in that chair.

"Ritsuko, have you lost your mind?"

Misato finally reacted. She thought Ritsuko was the one who cared most about the rules.

"Look. There is no need for a forced, mature silence, nor any need to use a specific posture to hide weakness. If you ask me, Shinji-kun should be the one sitting in this seat."

Ritsuko raised her hand, her expression slightly manic. It was a complex emotion—a weakling's fanaticism mixed with a touch of vengeance. Her dark eyes seemed to glitter.

Misato was speechless. She felt her best friend had gone through too much in just a few days, leading to some mental instability. She followed Ritsuko's gaze. The youth showed no embarrassment whatsoever; he didn't even need to use cold glares to supervise everyone.

His mere presence made one feel secure. This security was built upon the piled corpses of Angels. No matter how much was said, nothing beat hacking the enemies of humanity into pieces.

'Huh. Maybe she has a point.'

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