Chapter 153 185: No Questioning Allowed.

This day was destined to be recorded in the annals of history. With a single, nimble turn, the Angel of Might—Zeruel—triggered a cataclysmic shift.

All of humanity's resistance was built upon the foundation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The seventeen Angels were supposed to follow their instincts to merge with Adam, triggering the Third Impact. They were not supposed to appear two at a time; they were supposed to attack at intervals. Wherever Adam was, the Angels would go.

What the S² Engine was, where the Angels' weaknesses lay, how to defeat them to usurp the Fruit of Power, and how to use rituals to unify the fragmented Fruit of Wisdom—these were all outlines provided by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

For conspirators, they could use this framework to craft their "own" scripts. For various nations, investing in Tokyo-3 and NERV was a guaranteed win; they only needed to concentrate their energy on building a single fortress to shield all of humanity from Angelic invasion. The cost-benefit ratio was staggering.

But for some unknown reason, the Angel had suddenly broken through the framework and stopped playing by the rules.

To the nations of the world, this was no less than a bombshell. If Angels could destroy at will, then Tokyo-3 had no value. Germany was the first to demand the return of Unit-02.

Similarly, for SEELE, it was a bolt from the blue. The plan they had spent their lives building wasn't just facing a control issue now; the entire skyscraper was collapsing from its roots.

"What on earth is going on? Can someone tell me why the Thirteenth Angel isn't heading toward Tokyo-3?"

Chairman Keel smashed his fist onto the table, never having been this agitated.

He had to be. He had originally thought Gendo Ikari might be using SEELE to further his own script, testing him back and forth, only to find that the very framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls had been breached.

Gendo Ikari watched the irritable old men coldly. For some reason, he felt a faint sense of dark satisfaction. He hadn't attended a Committee of Six meeting in a long time; these old men thought they could cast him aside, yet after all their maneuvering, they still had to come begging to him.

It was only natural. The Dead Sea Scrolls concerned the "eternal life" of these old men. Previously, while things hadn't exactly been smooth, they were at least within controllable parameters. They never expected such a massive error to emerge suddenly.

'It must be his doing.'

Gendo thought of Shinji. His lips moved, but he had no way to say it aloud. Completing the Human Instrumentality Project was his wish as well; he wouldn't let father-son sentimentality get in the way, but some things were simply too far-fetched.

Unless the Twelfth Angel were resurrected to tell everyone what happened, no matter how wild one's imagination, they couldn't conceive how defeating an Angel could cause a cataclysm. As for kidnapping Ritsuko Akagi—the old men might get their answers, but he would certainly die.

"Gendo, do you have any thoughts?"

The five old men looked over in unison. Gendo Ikari maintained his pose, fingers interlaced.

"No. NERV's current mission is to kill the Angel. Do you gentlemen truly believe I am manipulating the Angel?"

"We do not suspect you, but the script hasn't been smooth since the Third Angel. I want to hear your perspective," Keel said in a heavy voice. He wasn't blind; the old men reviewed the records constantly when they had nothing else to do, and they could find some clues.

Shinji Ikari. Ever since this boy arrived in Tokyo-3, the script had begun to warp. But as for how he did it, they couldn't figure it out. They couldn't exactly claim Shinji Ikari was controlling the Angels.

"Do you suspect him?"

"It is not suspicion. It's that every review identifies him as an uncertain variable. We need your guarantee," Committee Member Julian explained.

'A guarantee? Tell you everything and then go to my death with him?'

Gendo didn't bother explaining. He tapped the tabletop twice with his fingertips. Several projections instantly popped up in the dark meeting room.

It was Zeruel making landfall. An army lying in ambush dropped N2 depth charges—this was the UN forces' "Operation Corona." Hundreds of dark bombs were dropped from all directions.

Some were real and some were decoys, but the number of N2 bombs used had reached a historic high: a total of 80. Clearly, the Japanese government was desperate.

The footage had no sound. They only saw a succession of light crosses unfold, spreading from the earth and sea to the sky. Countless flashes of intense light bloomed; no one was spared, from strategic bombers to surface vessels. Ultimately, over a dozen N2 bombs broke through the Angel's interception and detonated within the bay.

The equivalent of over a million tons of TNT exploded. For a moment, nothing could be seen. A colossal tidal wave rose within the bay, howling as it submerged the land. The meeting room was pin-drop silent. Everyone stared fixedly at the screen. After a full half-minute, a chorus of sharp intakes of breath rang out.

The bay was gone, but the Angel was still floating on the turbulent sea. It paused for a few seconds, then continued forward.

"Unscathed!?"

"Yes. MAGI has performed the calculations. Accounting for decoy targets, it would take 817 N2 bombs attacking simultaneously to ensure a kill."

Gendo's voice lacked any emotional inflection as he tapped the table:

"This is the most terrifying part. The Angel has no intention of destroying humanity. If it wanted to, we couldn't stop it."

It was true. The Angels only wanted to merge with Adam; triggering an Impact and destroying humanity was merely collateral damage. But if they changed their minds—the Earth is vast; how could they defend it with just a few EVAs?

"Gentlemen, I assume your wish isn't to be eliminated by an Angel. No matter how sturdy a fortress you hide in, it is as flimsy as paper before this kind of power."

Again, words that pierced the heart and left no room for rebuttal. The sturdiest fortress in the world was Tokyo-3. That went without saying.

"You mean we shouldn't pursue the cause?"

Chairman Keel regained his composure. Looking at the second projection, a giant Raven transport was carrying EVA Unit-01 toward the battlefield. He couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.

The most miserable thing in the world was that they didn't even have the right to investigate. No matter what cataclysm occurred with the Angels, these monsters had to be eliminated—and the one wielding the blade was not this group of old men with one foot in the grave.

"Yes. Only an EVA—or more accurately, Unit-01—can defeat the Angel. If Shinji Ikari refuses to act, even NERV HQ cannot be held. Discussing the Dead Sea Scrolls is simply laughable at this point."

"If you want to talk about suspects, you'd be better off suspecting that Angel of Free Will."

Whether the framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls was broken or not, they had to defeat the Angel. It could be said that if Shinji chose to walk away now, they would have to beg on their knees for him to come back and pilot the EVA.

They all knew his strength was abnormal, but in the current situation, nothing less than that strength would do.

As for questioning him, the old men had no answers. Kaworu Nagisa had already returned, and the entire process had been under surveillance, yet they still couldn't clear the suspicion.

What if the Angel of Free Will discovered that the one locked in Central Dogma wasn't Adam and passed this news to the other Angels? Wouldn't that also explain it?

"We will increase surveillance on him. The deal is struck; there will be no similar incidents in the future."

"So, what was the deal?"

Keel considered for a moment and revealed the truth. Gendo instantly understood why these old men suspected Shinji.

The Angel of Free Will had gone to such lengths just to make friends with Shinji. it was nonsensical, even bizarre. He even entertained the thought that Shinji had leaked inside information to the Angel, though he dismissed it a moment later.

Shinji might be hard to read, but his loyalty was unquestionable. He would never gamble with the fate of humanity.

"Things might not be that bad. Perhaps the Adam embryo is in Tokyo-2, and the Angel of Might discovered it?"

Committee Member John suddenly interjected, easing the heavy atmosphere slightly.

Right. It could be because of the Adam embryo.

For a moment, they preferred that the Angel trigger the Third Impact to destroy humanity; at least that would mean their script wasn't wrong, just that there was a hitch in execution. That was acceptable.

"Stop talking such useless nonsense. Regardless of the reason, the Angel must be eliminated. If Tokyo-2 is destroyed, the world will descend into chaos."

Keel slapped the table, clearly more rational.

NERV's phones were ringing off the hook. If they couldn't hold the aggro, nations would have to save themselves. Endless bickering and confrontation would only make the script spiral further out of control.

"Gendo, the Thirteenth Angel must be resolved. Whatever you want, we will give you. Is that understood?"

"I want EVA Unit-03 to replace Unit-00."

Gendo Ikari made his demand decisively. Seeing the old men nod one after another, he added: "But once the seeds of suspicion are sown, how shall we face the questioning from various nations?"

"We will help you. At the very least, we must make the nations believe that the Angel disaster is limited to Japan. There is no need for them to waste resources within their own borders."

Hidden by his palm, Gendo's mouth curled into a smile. For the first time in a long while, he felt a surge of pleasure.

His goal was achieved. After being suppressed by Shinji for so long, he could finally use his intellect to crush others. Before, the situation was such that a pig sitting in the Commander's seat would have sufficed; his value had been diminished.

But the terror of Zeruel had woken the old men up.

'I am still useful. The mastermind is, after all, the mastermind.'

Even the task of bickering with various nations had to be done by him.

As for how to defeat the Angel? Wouldn't just handing it all over to that kid be enough?

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[Operation Corona failed. All attacks were ineffective.]

[MAGI is calculating the AT Field strength of the Thirteenth Angel. Conservative estimate is over ten times that of the Third Angel.]

[Shinji-kun, new orders are in. NERV has taken over full command and can mobilize all UN forces' resources.]

At the same time, Unit-01 was on its way to the battlefield. Information poured in, and the boy handled each piece methodically.

"As expected, SEELE is panicking. They don't even have the energy to consider how the Dead Sea Scrolls went wrong."

Shinji already knew about the emergency committee meeting because SEELE's peripheral members were also inquiring. The old men were more afraid of death than anyone. They had originally planned to push Tokyo-3 to the front while they hid behind the scenes to plan.

Now that the Angel wasn't biting the bait, who knows if one would appear over their heads one day, making the old men and their bunkers equally laughable.

"The situation isn't that bad. The framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls hasn't been breached; the Angels have just been granted a greater degree of freedom. Hmm, like the 'tactics' you talk about."

Yui Ikari was privy to the inside information. If the Angel truly wanted to destroy humanity, it would be better off going straight to America; by the time Unit-01 got there, it would be far too late.

"A mere tendency is terrifying enough. Consider it a wonderful misunderstanding; it benefits me anyway."

Shinji spoke unhurriedly. NERV obtaining full command was equivalent to him obtaining command.

The world's meager resources should be held by a professional.

"Actually, I have a question. Since the Adam embryo is in your hands, why didn't you do this sooner?"

Indeed, simply stuffing the Adam embryo into some city would have made the Angels rush there and made SEELE jump in fright. They didn't know what happened inside the Negative Universe.

"Mother, I never take risks, and I certainly never use the fate of humanity as a stake to plot power plays."

Shinji had his own bottom line; he wouldn't be "too clever for his own good" and flip the car. At that moment, a piece of information popped up in the cockpit. He glanced at it and nodded with satisfaction.

Had Kaji Ryoji already started tracking from Saionji's terminal? If the upheaval grew larger, SEELE's frequent meetings in a short period would allow them to be caught by the tail.

"But aren't you taking a risk now? The strength of this Angel of Might is quite extraordinary."

Shinji didn't answer his mother's question. He glanced at the electronic map; he had reached the designated coordinates. He pressed a handle, releasing the locking mechanism.

[Unit-01 has reached coordinates. Locking mechanism released.]

[Thruster counter-thrust.]

A sensation of weightlessness, similar to an orbital drop, came over him. The giant mecha landed on the ground with a "Boom," causing the earth to crack. It looked up at the weapon racks falling like petals from a celestial flower. Once they landed, the hatches opened.

Unit-01 reached out and took a bolter gun. With a "clack" as it chambered a round, its electronic eyes emitted a faint red light.

"Slaughtering xenos isn't a risk."

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