Chapter 154 186: Power Is the Very Reason to Bear Fate!

"Report: Unit-01 has reached the designated coordinates."

Misato Katsuragi, sitting in the retrofitted giant helicopter, was rushing toward the battlefield. She didn't dare get too close; current Angels were extremely sensitive, and with their infinite energy, swatting her out of the sky would be a mere afterthought.

"Where is the Angel?"

"No change in trajectory. It is still advancing toward Tokyo-2. Contact in 00:17. We are maintaining close surveillance."

"Seventeen minutes. It seems it can't run even if it wants to; in the end, it's just a brainless monster."

Misato felt a sense of relief. Angels didn't possess a comprehensive command structure like humans. With the support of the UN forces and NERV, the EVA only needed to focus on combat. Plus, with Shinji's preparations, NERV was capable of projecting power across the entire Western Pacific region in a short time.

Of course, if the Angel stopped playing by the rules and went off to wreak havoc on the poor Golden Gate Bridge in Los Angeles, there would be nothing they could do about it.

"What about the First Front? Without fortress fire support, they can only rely on armored units."

Shigeru Aoba turned his head, his expression grim. Misato instantly understood his implication.

Retreated? Well, it made sense. Against such a terrifying monster, how could ordinary troops dare to face it head-on? Still, these Strategic Self-Defense Force units were truly shameless.

Zeruel was powerful—it had punched through several defensive lines, turning the meticulously planned "Operation Corona" into a joke and completely shattering the organizational integrity of the UN forces.

"Shinji-kun, did you hear that? Everything depends on you now."

Misato said this without any psychological burden, because the boy on the screen remained calm.

"Received."

"Can't you complain at least twice?"

"There's nothing to complain about. Most of the UN forces are a rabble. Without specialized training, they have no heart to resist an Angel that exceeds their power scale."

Shinji had expected this. The most elite units were deployed in Tokyo-3; the others had only seen Angels in combat footage. When such an unreasonable behemoth actually loomed near, fleeing was considered an act of bravery.

"Sometimes, you really make others feel ashamed of themselves."

Misato was helpless.

'Couldn't you just complain or show some fear to play along?'

Shinji didn't want to engage in nonsense with her. He checked the electronic map; Zeruel had entered the "No Escape Zone." At this distance, even if it tried to change targets, he could run it down.

"Unit-00 and Unit-02, continue to stand by at HQ. Remain on high alert."

"Hmm? Didn't you say the Angel was going to target Tokyo-2?"

"That was a guess. I believe the Angel still hasn't broken through its instincts. The collapse of the framework might not necessarily start from the Angel itself; certain low-level logic is still stubbornly running."

Misato didn't understand, but she didn't dwell on it. Following Shinji's orders was always the right call.

"Shinji, are you worried about multiple Angels attacking?" Yui Ikari understood him.

"No. If multiple Angels truly appeared, it would mean the framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls had completely collapsed. It shouldn't be that fast."

"Then..."

"We know from the Embryonic Angel and the Angel of Free Will that Angels have existed on Earth for a long time. There is only one going to find Adam, and this Zeruel is not looking for Adam."

Shinji took a breath. Several scenarios flashed through his mind, even the most conservative one—that there were gaps between each Angel's arrival. These gaps could be long or short, and they were not within human control.

"Let's not talk about that. Let time verify it."

Shinji gripped the control sticks. He could already see the behemoth approaching in the distance. This battle felt like a narrow encounter on a lonely road.

Across the plains lay scattered houses and paddy fields. Most residents had been evacuated. Under traffic control, there was a highway nearby, clogged with empty cars. Since it was night, the countless headlights looked like a string of fireflies.

There were no fortresses, and no UN forces to provide fire support. On the plain stood only two behemoths: Unit-01 and Zeruel. Between them lay a small town—abandoned cars, fallen signs, empty but still-lit buildings, and birds startled from the power lines.

A deathly silence hung in the air. The two stared at each other across the town. In an instant, the "eyes" on the Angel's chest burst with intense light.

Shoom—

A beam capable of leveling a mountain erupted, striking the AT Field and deflecting into the night sky.

"Hmm, it certainly exceeded ten times the output."

Shinji watched the houses rise and dissolve into particles in the light. He corrected MAGI's calculations; this single beam would have been enough to pierce through more than 20 layers of armor plate at NERV HQ.

Facing such an overwhelming Angel, Unit-01 merely swept its left arm, extinguishing the residual light.

"Mother, let the world see what power truly is."

Yui Ikari did not reply, following Shinji's will to unleash this engine of slaughter to its fullest potential.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

The bolter gun spat tongues of flame. A stream of projectiles tore through the night sky. Zeruel expanded its AT Field, only to find the penetration of these bullets far exceeded scientific understanding.

Each round was coated in an AT Field, drilling forward while ignoring resistance and carrying a neutralization effect.

The Angel sidestepped, watching the projectiles graze past and flatten a nearby hill with a roar. It turned around, its eyes flashing repeatedly.

'Psychic Pre-cognition.'

Shinji had already pulled out a second bolter gun, firing into the empty air. These bullets, also coated in an AT Field, detonated in all directions a kilometer ahead.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Several massive crosses of light unfolded in succession across the plain. The shockwaves sent the car traffic on the highway flying like paper.

"So amazing. Attaching an AT Field to the bullets and using the siphon effect to detonate the beams early? How could he see that?"

Misato was completely unable to intervene; this combat transcended her understanding. Merely attaching an AT Field to a bullet in such a short timeframe was categorized as "impossible."

The Angel froze for a moment. It had shattered countless defenses on its way here, never imagining its powerful beams would be detonated before reaching the target. But Shinji clearly wasn't one to hesitate.

Clack.

A 500mm giant electromagnetic cannon was assembled in his hand. Unit-01 knelt on one knee, raising the slender, fishing-rod-like cannon. With a "Whoosh," an alloy armor-piercing shell broke the muzzle. Under the force of electromagnetism and the AT Field, it was like a shooting star, reaching the Angel in an instant.

Dooo—

With a strange sound, a more powerful AT Field expanded. The needle-like warhead dented the curtain of light. Just as Zeruel exerted all its strength to push the warhead out, a second shot rang out, and the two steel needles pierced through together.

Pfft.

A massive bloody hole exploded on the side of the Angel's face. Its massive body was knocked backward by the inertia.

The AT Field, which had been unscathed by over a dozen N2 bombs, had been pierced from long distance. Zeruel couldn't even adjust its posture before intense light flashed in its eyes.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Beams erupted, but they were used defensively, blasting the incoming "long spears" mid-air. When they looked closer, Unit-01 had vanished from its previous position, charging straight toward them.

It was too fast. The surging AT Field formed circular shockwaves; Unit-01 surged forward as if stepping on a storm. Crosses of light appeared like markers on both sides. It crashed straight through the town, crushing buildings of any material like paper.

This scene was filled with violent aesthetics. In the Angel's vision, it only saw a mecha charging forward, wielding twin swords, wearing a laurel wreath, and covered in honorary insignias—charging with infinite loyalty and hatred toward the alien.

Whoosh—CLANG!

The Angel's arms extended like toilet paper, swinging rapidly to cut, but contact with the twin swords produced the sound of clashing metal. The resulting shockwave split the town in two, leaving a bottomless chasm—and that was merely the leaking AT Field.

Fortunately, Zeruel was much more agile than Gaghiel. It didn't freeze; it didn't even retract its arms, instead springing to the side. The two giant swords struck the space where it had been floating; the earth cracked along the blade's trajectory, and a mountain a kilometer away shattered into dust with a roar.

Unit-01 stopped. The extended arms of the Angel suddenly changed from invulnerable steel to something as soft as toilet paper. In the blink of an eye, they spiraled up from its feet, binding Unit-01 within.

No wasted words. The Angel, having just turned, flashed its lights repeatedly, firing over a dozen beams.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each cross of light unfolded, leaving 100-meter craters on the plain. Seeing the AT Field of Unit-01 cracking, it hunched over, and the "bandages" wrapping it tightened instantly.

ROAAAARRRR!!!

Accompanied by a roar that sounded like a berserk state, the AT Field surged out, forming a purple halo. The "bandages" were shattered on the spot. Turning around, with regained freedom, its arms gripped the power swords and swung down heavily.

Whoosh—

Despite being hundreds of meters away, the air visibly distorted. Zeruel collapsed to the side, its left body cut by an X-shaped sword mark. Its thin, light hands became incomparably hard.

They pierced toward Unit-01's chest like blades. The latter leaned slightly, the blade grazing the giant shoulder armor and grinding out bright sparks. Then, with a single sweep of the greatsword, the Angel's arm was swatted to pieces like a fly.

As the pale fragments danced in the air, Unit-01 leapt high and landed heavily. The horizontal swing of the greatsword passed under the soles of Zeruel's feet, but as it floated, it was impossible to dodge the second strike.

CLANG!

AT Fields collided directly. The other power sword didn't just slice through those thin blades—it hacked into the Angel's chest. The two sides stalled for an instant, and then a more massive AT Field blasted Zeruel away.

BOOM!!!

It landed right in the center of the town, the residual shockwave leveling every house in the area, countless fragments tossed up by the updraft.

Zeruel struggled to raise its upper body, blood flowing from its mouth, watching the purple giant slowly approach.

The eagle emblem on its chest emitted a golden glow in the night. The Saint Raven blood-tears emblem on its shoulder armor was soaked in the Angel's blood. Beneath the laurel wreath, crimson electronic eyes flickered, and the twin swords ground out bright sparks against the earth.

"The world is watching, isn't it?"

"Hmm, do you want to eat it? To obtain the S² Engine? Then no one in the material universe would be able to oppose you; you could stay in Unit-01 forever."

"It is not yet time. If I can obtain an S² Engine by devouring an Angel, I have a better target."

As Shinji said this, he swung a sword, detonating a beam. In the fleeting glare, Unit-01 appeared even more ferocious and terrifying.

Zeruel had already scrambled to its feet, its wounds mostly repaired. Such terrifying regenerative ability was hard to fear, however, because something even more terrifying was slowly approaching. Even a blind man could see who the hunter was.

"Mother, what is my synchronization rate at now?"

"Why ask this all of a sudden? Does synchronization rate still hold any meaning for you?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow, and Unit-01 paused. Right now, he felt as if he were back in 40K, fighting in power armor. He could no longer feel any latency. Even without this super-strong AT Field, he could mince this powerful Angel into scraps.

"True."

Unit-01 bent its knees, its feet sinking into the earth as lightly as stepping into sand. "In this battle, I want to teach the world a lesson."

THUD!!!

With a dull, thunderous roar, everything within hundreds of meters was launched into the air. The crumbling mountain in the distance collapsed completely.

Unit-01 vanished—or rather, it disappeared for an instant. While the light was still flickering in Zeruel's eyes, a palm had already pressed against its face. The massive inertia forced its body backward. Its arms, mostly repaired, lashed out upward.

It poured every ounce of its AT Field into the strike, refusing to believe Unit-01 could block it. Shinji didn't bother to block. He clamped his arms together, watching the twin blades graze his shoulder armor. He stepped forward, driving the greatsword into the Angel's abdomen, pinning it to the ground.

He let go, pulled his gun, and with the rat-tat-tat sound of gunfire, the Angel's core was covered by a layer of highly resilient skin. But there was no room for it to adjust. Unit-01 threw the gun away, gripped the greatsword stuck in the Angel's abdomen, and chopped it into two halves like a guillotine.

The bleeding was massive, instantly dyeing the ruins of the town red. The Angel turned its back, whether it was trying to escape or something else, but Shinji didn't care at all.

Pfft.

The second sword pierced the back of its heart. The third sword lopped off both arms. Then, the twin swords plunged into its body, tossing the remnant of its torso into the air like a kebab.

Unit-01 held its head high, watching Zeruel—dying, unable to even release an AT Field—being dragged down by gravity. The twin swords hung low, the AT Field clinging to the blades distorting the air. Shinji's eyes burned with pale flames.

"I want to teach the world—"

Swish-swish-swish-swish...

Dense, countless flashes of sword light illuminated the night sky. All that fell were chunks of shredded meat. Unit-01 leaned forward, its head armor split open, and bit down on the core, which shone like a ruby.

ROAAAARRRR!!!

With a roar that shook the heavens and earth, it bit the Angel's core until it exploded. A swing of the twin swords, and the high heat radiated by the field evaporated the blood on the blades until they were spotlessly clean.

"Power is the very reason to bear fate!"

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