Chapter 155 187: One After Another.

[The Thirteenth Angel: Silence.]

Inside the helicopter, there was dead silence. Meanwhile, in the secret underground base and the shelters of world leaders, the scene was identical.

This battle was different from previous ones. Because it had taken place outside the perimeter of Tokyo-3, information control was impossible. Virtually anyone in the world with a modicum of influence could watch the entire process. And the result?

It left everyone with complicated feelings.

The Angel's sudden shift in behavior had triggered widespread panic. If the framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls had been broken, there was no point in anyone busy-work like disaster relief or economic recovery; they should just dump every spare resource into building more EVAs. Who cared about the Third Impact? The destructive power of the Angels was effectively a mobile Impact in itself.

With Zeruel's sheer intensity—destroying a major city in under half an hour—Unit-01's overwhelming, crushing victory had snatched back a sense of security.

However, they had also witnessed a more terrifying monster.

The Angel's blood dripped from the purple armor. The giant stood half-hunched, its crimson electronic eyes scanning the surroundings, causing a tremor to ripple through the souls of everyone watching.

A Zeruel of that magnitude had been physically torn to pieces. If anything, the Angel looked like the victim. Those unaware of what an EVA truly was found it impossible to comprehend how such a feat was achieved, and even those who knew what they were were stunned by this display of "violent aesthetics."

The only good news was that no matter how strong an EVA was, it still required a human pilot. Rumor had it the Third Child was a boy under fifteen. As long as he wasn't sitting inside Unit-01, he was still something they could deal with.

"Shinji, that guy... he made it so bloody again."

Misato Katsuragi didn't overthink it, she just pointed at the screen with a bewildered expression.

"He seems to have become much stronger?"

"Yes, to a point where even I can't understand it anymore."

Ritsuko Akagi was equally baffled. She couldn't even tell if Unit-01 had gone berserk or not.

'Was he cheating, or not quite cheating? No—Shinji-kun himself is the bug. Is this what 'man and machine as one' looks like?'

"He did this on purpose. He's calming the masses while asserting his own existence."

Ritsuko's eyes turned fanatical. Compared to power she couldn't understand, she preferred Shinji's meticulous logic.

"A very clever moment. Because of the Angel's transformation and the questionable status of the Dead Sea Scrolls, no matter how powerful he is, those old men have no choice but to swallow their pride and accept it. Hmm, is he laying the groundwork to replace them?"

"Telling the world that they can live without SEELE, but they cannot live without him and Unit-01?" Misato finally understood.

"Of course. By using Zeruel as an example, he's proving to the world that no matter what your goals are, you must use power to achieve them—and Shinji-kun possesses the greatest power. SEELE is going to have to hold another meeting."

Ritsuko thought for a moment and smiled.

"But he's also quite gentle. He didn't let Asuka and Rei be the reference points, which would have made the effect even better."

'Bad woman.'

Misato pouted and glanced at the screen, seeing someone sitting there with their mouth wide open, staring in silence. In the past, Misato would have worried that this "glass cannon" had shattered again, but one look at her expression now and she knew.

When the gap is too large, you can't even "shatter" if you want to.

"Logistics team, what are you staring at? Get started with the decontamination procedures!"

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"Did you... did you see that?"

A hundred kilometers away, Asuka, deployed in Tokyo-3, finally regained her senses, though her mind was still in turmoil.

'Wasn't Zeruel supposed to be strong? How did Shinji finish it off in three strokes? Was it a fake? No, no, that AT Field strength could immunize against all my attacks.'

Asuka might have a sharp tongue, but she had basic logic. It just proved that the idiot was too strong—he had torn Zeruel to pieces head-on, and the Angel hadn't even had room to resist.

"I saw it. The invincible Ikari-kun has annihilated the Angel. The fate of humanity has been extended once again."

'I'm not asking you to praise him!'

Asuka was about to protest when she heard a cold, detached question.

"Why, are you unconvinced?"

'Of course... uh, actually, I guess I'm not that unconvinced.'

Her pride remained intact, but her competitive spirit had been warped since the moment she met Shinji. It was a self-inflicted humiliation, so she simply twisted it into "German Winning Theory": Don't worry about how I won, just as long as I win.

Asuka glanced at Unit-01 through the high-altitude recon drone's camera. A swarm of fire trucks was rushing in for decontamination; the ground was so covered in chunks of meat that she would vomit if she looked too long.

When the gap is too large, it doesn't hurt your self-esteem anymore; she was just feeling a bit depressed.

"I suddenly realize we're both pretty useless. We might as well just leave the Angels to the invincible Shinji-sama."

Asuka emphasized the word "we."

"You can't say that. No matter how strong Ikari-kun is, he cannot be in two places at once. Furthermore, the Angels are growing stronger."

Rei Ayanami's expression remained icy. As the vessel for Lilith's soul, she understood the "Great Upheaval" better than anyone.

It wasn't an auditory hallucination or a strange dream; it was a sensation. It was as if an invisible hand were guiding something, correcting a destiny that had deviated from its tracks.

"That is why he must become strong—to gain the upper hand in this race. Anyway, the fate of humanity couldn't get any worse, so we might as well go all-in with Ikari-kun."

Asuka was stunned. She knew Rei had a sense of the big picture, but she hadn't expected her to elevate it to the level of humanity's fate.

"Dare I ask who you actually are?"

"Just an ordinary middle-school girl."

'Yeah, right. You definitely have a huge background.'

Asuka wasn't stupid. She asked uneasily, "You won't eventually 'cheat' like him, will you?"

"I don't have Ikari-kun's strength, and Unit-00 lacks that capability."

'Then I can rest easy.'

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the giant transport plane slowly approaching in the sky, dangling a black-gray EVA beneath it.

At Gendo Ikari's request, EVA Unit-03 had been delivered to Tokyo-3. After witnessing the terror of Zeruel, SEELE couldn't afford to be stingy. If Unit-01 were defeated, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Breaking through Tokyo-3 wasn't the issue, but if Zeruel rampaged across Japan, other nations would spiral out of control. They just hadn't expected Unit-01 to grind the Angel into dust so directly.

"It's Unit-03. I hope that stalker didn't come with it."

"They wouldn't dare send him again."

Rei didn't explain who "they" were, also looking up at the EVA in the sky. "They don't know about Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida either."

"Then who is going to pilot it?" Asuka was even more curious. Her "German Winning Theory" was still missing a stepping stone.

"The Dummy System, I suppose."

"Hmm? Wasn't that development terminated?"

"Dr. Akagi said that was only terminated at headquarters."

Rei wasn't sure, but she guessed who else could provide the necessary data besides herself. "It doesn't matter. An extra EVA is a good thing. Future probing battles can be handled by Unit-03."

'That's true. Doesn't that idiot always complain that our 'PDF' combat strength is too poor? A little extra cannon fodder makes me safer.'

Perhaps because daily life had become too spectacular, Asuka was a bit afraid of death now. She was preparing to maneuver Unit-02 back underground to wait for Shinji to return for a good meal, when she saw Unit-00—having already stowed its sniper rifle—standing perfectly still.

"Let's go! We didn't do anything useful anyway, so let's wash up and sleep."

"Wait, why is Unit-03 starting up?"

Unit-00 raised its hand. Asuka looked over in confusion and saw that the EVA was indeed moving.

Accompanied by the screeching of twisting steel, the black machine struggled. Amidst the pilot's shocked exclamations, it broke free of its restraints, pulled out a short spear hanging beneath the wing, and ran the "Raven" transport plane through.

BOOM—

A bright fireball erupted in the sky. Citizens who had just left their shelters looked up, wondering how the battlefield could be over a hundred kilometers away. The Central Command staff were also stunned; they had just been hugging and cheering.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

At that moment, a piercing alarm sounded. The passive detection arrays hadn't failed.

[Biological wavelength detected as Blue. Angel attack.]

[All citizens, enter shelters immediately.]

"Angel alert? System failure?"

Asuka whipped her head around. Her first reaction had been that the Dummy System had malfunctioned—why was the alarm triggered?

Everyone was slow to process this. Previous Angels had appeared with at least ten-day intervals; they had grown accustomed to that rhythm. But this time, it hadn't even been five minutes.

BANG!

Rei had already opened fire. A projectile streaked across the sky, only to be slapped away by the short spear. Then, with a heavy THUD, EVA Unit-03 landed in the old district. It raised its head, its pale yellow electronic eyes bloodshot.

'Huh? It's really an Angel???'

Asuka felt that familiar sensation instantly. She watched as Unit-03's arms suddenly elongated like noodles, throwing the short spear in its hand toward her. Watching the spear rapidly enlarge on her monitor, she crossed her arms instinctively, but fortunately, Unit-00 flew over and kicked her to the ground.

BOOM—

A high-rise building disintegrated instantly. Rei raised her rifle, her expression grim.

"Ikari-kun was right. The Angels haven't broken the framework; the target is still Tokyo-3."

"Then why didn't they all come together?"

Unit-02 hid behind cover, clutching an assault rifle. She poked her head out and saw that Unit-03 was crawling on all fours like a hound.

"As I said, they haven't broken the framework. Only one Angel pursues Adam at a time. This is good news, actually—they've only made adjustments within the framework to perform a tactic as advanced as 'luring the tiger away from the mountain'."

Rei turned and ran; she needed to find a vantage point. She only reminded her:

"Ikari-kun is forced to deal with Zeruel. This time, we will be the ones to protect our home; we will definitely earn his praise."

"Who cares!"

Asuka poked her head out and fired a burst. The thick shell casings smashed a nearby phone booth to pieces. Her face was flushed with excitement.

'The stage that belongs only to me has finally arrived!'

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"As expected, the Fourteenth Angel follows right on the heels of the last. A very sophisticated tactic, indeed."

Shinji received the report. He didn't even look at the pile of gore at his feet, nor did he show any sign of surprise.

Over ten thousand battles—easy ones, desperate ones—what hadn't he seen? To an Astartes, surprises were as normal as breathing. True experts simply made all their preparations in advance.

"Leaving Unit-00 and Unit-02 behind was the right call. We can infer a lot of interesting things from this."

"You aren't worried at all?"

"Rei and Asuka aren't that weak. They are warriors, too."

"Then why are you rushing back in such a panic?"

Unit-01 had finished decontamination and leaned forward like a sprinter.

BANG—

With an explosive roar, it bolted toward the northeast. Shinji's brow furrowed.

"Facing the Angels as they are now, they aren't that strong either."

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