Chapter 209: You You You You Can Speak German!!??

The Emperor’s Astartes have been tempered by ten thousand battles, while the Angels of the negative universe’s will are like mere children.

Admittedly, the Angel’s authority could be considered powerful and bizarre even in 40K, but so what? The Astartes are not at the absolute pinnacle of combat power in the galaxy, yet they can still crush all enemies of the Imperium. What do they rely on if not an endless stream of tactics?

“You really should just be a couch potato. When it comes to the application of tactics, no one on this Earth is Shinji-kun’s opponent.”

Ritsuko watched Unit-01 step down from the air, sighing uncontrollably. She had already experienced Shinji’s combat style many times.

Like a clock, from making contact, probing, intelligence analysis, and battlefield planning, to finally launching a fatal attack, he organized the Angel with absolute clarity from start to finish. He would coldly calculate every bit of combat power; he would not hesitate to pay a huge cost in casualties for a certain possibility; and he would place every comrade-in-arms in the most suitable position.

Everything was a mix of real and fake, illusion and reality. Unit-00, Unit-01, Unit-02, and Unit-03 were all feints, yet they were all also main attacks. Each step was not something thought of on a whim, nor was it like a gambler’s brainless “all-in.” It was supported by extremely meticulous thinking and theory.

“I’m not learning it, am I?” Misato muttered. Sometimes she would suspect that Shinji possessed “future vision.” Otherwise, how could he dodge the irradiation from space by jumping left and right?

“You can’t learn it. Just focus on execution. Your execution was quite good just now,” Ritsuko praised, then looked with a slight headache at a group of wailing and shouting old men.

A group of people were stunned stupid. Unit-01 was actually able to hover in the air, and then throw a long spear hundreds of kilometers, piercing an AT Field with a strength of level 13.

This didn’t conform to physics. Good God, Newton would jump out of his coffin and kick my ass hard.

“I’ll leave the cleanup to you. I have to deal with these old guys who haven’t seen the world.”

‘Tsk, in the end, don’t we still have to return to the question of the AT Field being omnipotent?’

Misato curled her lips, having no interest in participating in this academic discussion. She looked at the god-like Unit-01 on the screen, thinking to herself that this wasn’t even his full power. One had to know that the current Unit-01 hadn’t even acquired the S2 Engine and become a true god yet.

‘If you can crush them with tactics, why use cheats?

But I really want to see what this guy Shinji is like when you take tactics out of the equation.’

–

–

–

Shinji didn’t know about Misato’s curiosity. If he did, he would only tell her: when an Astartes launches an attack with the determination to return his soul to the Golden Throne, that posture is the most terrifying. Tactics established the status of the Astartes, but a desperate, final strike is what creates miracles. In ten thousand years of history, there has never been a lack of such heroes.

“Ikari-kun, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”

Unit-01 hadn’t even landed on the ground when Unit-03 ran over. Rei Ayanami was very worried; she clearly saw the Bird Angel’s continuous irradiation. If Shinji had been contaminated just after completing his replenishment, it would be troublesome.

“I still have some auditory hallucinations, my heart rate is 20% faster than usual, and it’s hard to focus. It’s fine; it will take two days to eliminate the influence.” Shinji scrutinized his own mind. He wouldn’t be careless even without Rei Ayanami’s reminder; after all, he had seen with his own eyes loyal Astartes turn into bloodthirsty maniacs and fall into Chaos.

“Is it really no problem?”

“Everything is within my control. In the end, this kind of mental pollution is intense but low-level. It clearly opened a gap, yet it had no follow-up guidance.”

Shinji immediately began to speak in a serious tone about the difference between the negative universe’s will and the Dark Gods of Chaos, and how human subjective emotions influence the will. He listened so intently that Rei Ayanami was stunned, until Unit-02 ran over and interrupted.

“Hey, I was also irradiated, why don’t you care about me?”

“That wide-area irradiation of yours was just a surface touch, and you have the Unit-02 machine spirit protecting you. What is there to care about?”

“But I still have Ode to Joy playing in my ears right now.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just go back and get some sleep?”

“You’re treating us differently!”

Shinji, as usual, didn’t participate in their bickering. He tilted his neck and looked at the sky. This angel was probably the cleanest of those who had died, and its fall also represented the total collapse of the original world line.

‘It should be at the end of its rope by now, right?’

Shinji recalled the Angels who had died by his hands: physical type, energy type, erosion type, and now a mental type. Especially after the Bardiel (Power Angel), the negative universe’s will had intervened directly and bestowed blessings.

More intelligent instincts, more flexible tactics, a more powerful AT Field, and now it had even used mental pollution from outer space orbit. Shinji didn’t even know what other tricks this “God” could pull out.

It had scattered new seeds; did it really have to wait for them to take root and sprout one by one, only to come knocking and send themselves to their deaths? That would be too stupid. Compared to linear development, war often suddenly reaches a turning point at a certain moment.

Everything has a limit. Kaworu Nagisa’s silent departure was sending a message.

‘Is it about to break out of the cocoon?’

Shinji didn’t have much joy after the victory. Perhaps only he and Ritsuko Akagi could see the deeper level of crisis in this world. Deducing from the Bird Angel’s focus on its own result, the answer was self-evident.

The moment “God” birthed its first trace of consciousness, its first order would definitely be to eliminate him. You can call it discarding the sword once the enemy is defeated, or killing the hound once the hunt is over—it conforms to the most basic instincts of a rational life form.

It would take time to modify the framework of the “Dead Sea Scrolls” and seal the Gate of Guf, but the blade to slaughter him had long been prepared.

“Ikari-kun?”

Shinji turned his head to look at Rei Ayanami. The girl had chosen to take that final step today; this might be a coincidence, or it might be inevitable. If he dragged it out any longer, there might not be a chance.

“Do you feel that the end is drawing near?”

“I…” Rei Ayanami took a breath, then lowered her head. “I didn’t feel it. I’m not as sensitive as Kaworu, but I just feel that if we miss today, I’ll regret it later.”

“A correct decision. After all, it’s hard for me to control the timing. Perhaps it’s still very far away, or perhaps a second major upheaval will arrive in the next moment. By then, I won’t have the state of mind for it.”

‘What are these two idiots talking about?’

Asuka pricked up her ears to eavesdrop. It was “the end” this, and “the timing” that. She didn’t understand it, and could only vaguely grasp that these two idiots were discussing something very important.

‘Oh yeah, they just came out of the room!’

The timeline that had been interrupted by the Angel suddenly became coherent. Don’t look at how the Bird Angel seemed very difficult to deal with; it had only been a measly three hours from appearance to fall. The sky had just turned dark.

‘Damn Angel, you almost made me forget the main mission.’

Asuka immediately couldn’t care about the logistics squad that had come to provide support. She took a step forward, and Unit-02’s four glowing green electronic eyes stared dead set at Unit-03.

She was aggressive, looked at Shinji, and then, very timidly, switched to German: “Tell me, what the hell did you two do inside that room?”

“Are you sure you want to hear the truth?” Rei Ayanami also replied in German, although she didn’t speak it very fluently.

‘Haha, win. This German hasn’t improved at all.’

Asuka “won” on the side first, and then became conflicted again. Of course, she didn’t want to hear it. In the past, she probably would have already been as twisted as if she had suffered mental pollution. Even if Rei Ayanami had told her voluntarily, she would have covered her ears and reacted violently, pretending nothing happened the next day to deceive herself.

But the me of now is different. Even Misato and Ritsuko have been defeated by me, obediently acting as my advisors.

That’s right, Asuka felt she had won big. Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi were clearly the losers. The former was ashamed, and the latter had agreed to help brainstorm—just like when she was standing by earlier, she had quietly analyzed things for her.

According to the physical examination status of the Medical Department, if they wanted to do something, that half-hour was too short for Shinji.

‘What? You ask me what? Do you know what “minting coins” means? Ahem ahem ahem,’ so this fool would at most take the opportunity to confess. I had already done that kind of thing long ago; you at most count as having a stronger sense of ceremony, and isn’t the result the same?

‘Yeah, I have Mom’s help now, so even if this fool couldn’t stand the mockery and wanted to make a move, how could I be afraid of Unit-03?’

Asuka’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s right, isn’t I afraid that this fool would knife me? Now I have Unit-02 to protect me!’

Many thoughts came through. Asuka gripped the control stick tightly, seeing bubbles churning in the LCL liquid. This was clearly Mom sending her a message. Although she couldn’t read it, she imagined Mom was encouraging her with a gentle look.

[Whoever it is, just hurry up and make this girl stop struggling. I really can’t stand it anymore.]

Shinji, who was originally discussing how to replenish ammunition with Misato, turned his head. He heard the Unit-02 machine spirit roaring. Ms. Kyoko Sohryu had been tormented recently and wished she could hang herself again. Asuka ran to complain to her whenever she was free, all about tiny, sesame-sized things. Sometimes she was surprisingly timid, and sometimes she was unusually brave, making her mother feel very ashamed.

“Truthfully, hmph, I’m super brave right now!”

“Then why are you still using German?” A curve appeared on the corner of Rei Ayanami’s mouth.

“I feel like it, is that any of your business? Tell me, did you confess to Shinji, meticulously preparing his favorite gift, and taking that step when this fool was at his happiest?”

“Yes.”

‘Ah? You really did it?’

Asuka felt her heart prick. She lowered her head, her bangs covering her expression. Don’t look at how she usually looked open and Western-educated; for a girl of her age, a confession is a scene full of romance and fantasy.

‘Be brave, Asuka, you must be brave.’

A few seconds passed, and Asuka raised her head again, only to ask stammeringly: “Then, then how did he answer?”

Her heartbeat was accelerating. Asuka, of course, knew that her last confession didn’t count. Just as she waited for a few seconds, both expecting and fearing, she saw Rei Ayanami reveal that infuriating expression.

“Why should I tell you?”

‘Damn it, aren’t you just dangling my appetite?’

Asuka was instantly enraged and wished she could pilot Unit-02 and rush up to fight to the death. Rei Ayanami’s black-bellied appearance was too much even for Shinji to stand, so he intervened in their conversation.

“Rei, don’t go too far. Why are you persecuting Asuka? If you have something to say, just say it directly.”

Rei Ayanami shrank her head, then felt something was wrong, while Asuka showed a refreshing smile.

‘Been scolded, haven’t you? Dummy Shinji is on my side.

Wait.’

The orange-haired girl blinked her eyes and finally realized what was wrong. Her face turned red instantly, and even her tongue became tangled.

“You you you you you can speak German!!??”

‘Crap, I just blurted it out.’

Shinji snapped back to reality. The two had been speaking German the whole time, and the content had become more and more unbearable. He couldn’t help but interrupt, and of course, he used German too.

A wonderful misunderstanding suddenly unfolded when neither side was prepared, and the atmosphere became awkward on the spot.

In Shinji’s style, he had a full-scale plan, prepared to clarify the misunderstanding with the least amount of influence. He hadn’t expected that a coincidence would cause the entire plan to go up in smoke.

‘Sure enough, one must always remain vigilant. By the Emperor, please forgive my slackness.’

He instinctively prayed, then felt it wasn’t right—there was no need to confess such a trivial matter to the Emperor.

Unlike Asuka’s fake bravery, an Astartes wouldn’t avoid things because of the atmosphere. Shinji took a look at the screen and saw the orange-haired girl was very funny; her face was alternating between red and white, a look of disarray.

‘Understand.’

The taste of fear. If it were the Asuka from before, she would have probably broken down.

Shinji thought for a moment and simply nodded: “I know all Low Gothic, and naturally, German is included.”

‘Yes, he even knows Mandarin, what’s so strange about knowing German?’

Asuka blinked. Some things had already revealed clues, but she still wouldn’t give up and asked: “When did you learn it?”

“I knew it from the beginning, um, when we met at the Pacific Fleet.”

‘From the beginning, from the beginning, from the beginning…’

This sentence replaced Ode to Joy, echoing continuously in her mind. In an instant, Shinji replaced the Bird Angel, forming terrifying mental pollution.

‘Knew it from the beginning, which means he had long heard me muttering in German?’

“Really stupid, I never need anyone’s charity. Under the spotlight should be mine alone. Who wants to play house with that fool! (German)”

“Tsk, let you two run around and be lovey-dovey, huh? (German)”

“I like you just a little bit, just a little bit, it’s impossible to be any more than that. (German)”

“I just want to take a photo alone with you! (German)”

“You, you wouldn’t like older women, would you? (German)”

“Damn it, I’m going to steal a march, what can you do about it? (German)”

“Ich liebe dich (I love you).”

Various wild words she had said echoed in her mind. German was her final disguise as a tsundere. In such an unexpected situation, Asuka suddenly realized that Shinji had been able to…

‘Doesn’t that mean, doesn’t that mean…’

In an instant, Asuka, who loved to speak German, only felt her cheeks burning hot, her tongue tied in knots, and her eyes evolved into Rinnegan.

Shinji knows German, Rei Ayanami knows German, Misato knows German, Ritsuko knows German.

‘I’m so embarrassed I could die!’

.

.

.

“From one victory to another victory, sometimes I think that when Shinji is here, it’s really reliably boring.”

“Misato, you shouldn’t have masochistic traits. Are you still wanting to try failure? If you get heard by Shinji-kun, you’ll get scolded. Every time he uses his full strength.” Ritsuko sat in the command vehicle, looking outside with a hint of comfort.

This time the Bird Angel was very powerful, but the losses caused were the lightest. The entire Third New Tokyo City didn’t even have a patch of skin broken. She was already thinking about what to do tonight.

Rei Ayanami’s side was resolved; it was time to push Asuka. She was also an important prop for the “Ikari Shinji Instrumentality Project.” Why not strike while the iron is hot and use Rei to force her to move forward?

‘The bad woman is plotting a conspiracy again.’

Misato glanced to her side and knew what her good friend was thinking, sighing softly.

It was dishonorable, but important. Just like how Ritsuko often talked about benefiting others and oneself, the “Ikari Shinji Instrumentality Project” was likewise indispensable to her, so Misato took an attitude of default.

“The evacuation alert is lifted. Once Kensuke Aida passes the inspection by the Medical Department, today’s operation can continue.” Ritsuko said out of the blue.

“The operation isn’t over… Oh, you mean that operation. If it’s a birthday party, let it be a birthday party, don’t use such metaphors that evoke my professional pain points.” Misato rolled her eyes. Just like Asuka, only then did she realize that today was a special day.

‘Damn Angel, you almost made me forget today’s main task.’

She also cursed. This was the style of the plot; battle and daily life often switched seamlessly, sometimes making it hard for people to come back to their senses. But then, she had a change of heart. Misato, who was originally having a headache because of the massive amount of cleanup work, immediately became excited.

Work or whatever can be done tomorrow. Today, let’s have a delicious meal and get a good sleep first.

“Don’t have that look of taking the opportunity to slack off. You have work to do.” Ritsuko looked over coldly. This violent woman was sometimes a pure slacker; does she really think of herself as an outsider?

“Oh my, let’s just celebrate simply today. Asuka has already been greatly stimulated. She has said several times she wants to correct me. Don’t stimulate her anymore.”

“Asuka needs to be forced hard, otherwise she will find endless excuses. Why tsunderes are usually the losers is precisely because they say the opposite of what they think.”

“Then you go deal with that, I’ll just drink my wine.”

“No, I’m prepared to use you as bait. She already treats you as a ‘disgraceful person.’ Being a little more disgraceful doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t even think about it! I am a guardian, at the very least!”

Ritsuko was just about to say that her status as a guardian was already unqualified, when she felt the earth trembling slightly. The “rumbling” sound came from far to near. Just as she opened her mouth, she heard a subordinate reporting in panic.

“It’s Unit-02! Unit-02 is charging towards us!”

‘What?’

The two hurriedly poked their heads out, and sure enough, they saw a crimson-painted steel giant charging toward them. She swung her arms rapidly, leaving footprints on the concrete road, her speed already elevated to the limit.

“It’s all your fault, Asuka came to silence me!”

Misato was instantly covered in sweat, hurrying the entire convoy to the side to retreat. She watched Unit-02 running wildly with its head down, and in just a few seconds, that giant right leg landed a few meters away.

The concrete cracked, mud splashed, and the shockwave was like an earthquake, making the entire armored command vehicle shake violently. Everyone in the car fell into a heap.

“A seemingly delicate girl, but in reality, all of them possess the power to destroy an army. Shinji-kun can suppress them—he’s really powerful.”

“You… you’re still flattery-ing at a time like this?” Misato rubbed her head, jumping up while cursing, and grabbed the communicator. “Asuka, what kind of madness are you having, get back here right now!”

“Misato, I don’t have the face to see anyone…”

‘Don’t have the face to see anyone?’

Misato Katsuragi was completely confused, picking up Ritsuko with one hand. “Is this mental pollution? Didn’t you say there was no problem?”

“The data is all normal. Besides, if there were mental pollution causing Unit-02 to go berserk, Shinji-kun would suppress it.” Ritsuko was also a little dumbfounded. After thinking about it, she showed a joyful smile.

“Laugh your ass off, don’t keep me in suspense, tell me quickly.”

“I think it should have something to do with Shinji-kun.”

“Asuka confessed to Shinji and was rejected?” Misato was extremely fast to react in some aspects, grabbing Ritsuko’s collar. “Didn’t you keep saying there was no problem? Shinji wouldn’t reject anyone!?”

“Hey, lower your voice. Are you not embarrassed enough?”

Misato was stunned, looking at everyone in the car. Everyone had an ambiguous expression. Maya Ibuki covered her mouth, and Shigeru Aoba had a painful look of unrequited love.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up and connect me to Unit-01. This is top secret. Whoever leaks this will go to the Security Department for tea!”

‘The two of you never avoided anyone when chatting; this is almost known to everyone…’

NERV members really wanted to retort, but seeing the clawing Misato Katsuragi, they didn’t dare to talk back, and all pretended to work hard.

For Shinji, envy was certainly there, but they couldn’t be jealous at all.

Very quickly, Shinji’s portrait appeared on the screen, still with that icy look, making Misato not dare to ask when the words were on the tip of her tongue. Ritsuko glanced at this disgraceful fellow and took the initiative to step forward.

“Shinji-kun, what did you do to Asuka? Why did I see Unit-02 go berserk?”

“I just clarified a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Yeah, I accidentally leaked the secret that I know German.”

‘What?!’

Misato and Ritsuko looked at each other, and then looked at the Unit-02 that was running far away.

‘Uh, this berserk state seems like a matter of course.’