Chapter 47 79: I, Asuka, Am the Winner!

The experiment failed, development of the Dummy System was temporarily halted, and news of Commander Ikari's serious injuries spread like wildfire.

Strangely enough, beyond a few remarks about how unlucky the Commander was to be the only person injured, the news failed to garner much sympathy within NERV.

The people in the Technical Department were just notorious for burning through the budget—people wondered why they bothered.

The Third Child was already incredibly strong; why on earth go through the trouble of creating a "Dummy System"? As long as he and Unit-01 were around, the Angels would be wiped out sooner or later. Once that happened, NERV would be disbanded, and everyone could return to enjoying a peaceful life.

The sentiment was quite telling; Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 had earned too many battle honors, and the vast majority of NERV staff were just hoping to "finish this war and go home to get married." None of them felt that humanity needed "salvation."

Misato Katsuragi hurried in once she received the news, and seeing that Shinji and the others were fine, her heart finally settled. Rumor had it she'd had quite an argument with Ritsuko Akagi afterward.

The current situation was looking excellent: Unit-03 and Unit-04 were nearing completion, and with the additional budget for Unit-05 and Unit-06, Tokyo-3 would eventually become an impenetrable fortress. The Angels would be slaughtered in time, and there was simply no need for these flashy, unnecessary gadgets.

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari had already begun to doubt himself, nearing the point of a total mental breakdown.

Shinji put down the phone. As an EVA pilot, he had his fingers on the pulse of everything happening at NERV. When he learned that Gendo had locked himself in his room to "self-reflect" after waking up, he felt a strange sense of pleasure for reasons he couldn't quite name.

"I won't be back today. You three can handle dinner on your own."

Misato rushed out, clearly already running late.

"Business trip?"

Misato smoothed the wrinkles on her grey stockings and slipped into her heels. "Yeah, to Mount Asama. According to the Seismological Research Institute's report, the Special Recon Team seems to have found something. Ritsuko and I need to go check it out."

The Special Recon Team was an outer circle of NERV tasked with actively searching for Angels. Up until now, humanity had been relying on Tokyo-3 for passive defense because no one knew where the Angels' lairs were. Without a target, there could be no offensive.

"Angels?"

"Not necessarily. The Special Recon Team has had false alarms before; we have to go see for ourselves." Misato put on her red beret, looking every bit the elite officer despite her messy personal habits.

"Asuka has a cold. Look after her, and don't make her angry."

"No problem."

Misato knew that when Shinji promised something, his word was gold. She gave him a thumbs up.

'A reliable man.'

Thud.

The front door closed. Shinji continued to flip through his documents—in fact, this was the very report from the Special Recon Team. Needless to say, he was "keeping it safe" as well. He read to the end and set it aside.

The signal source was inside an active volcano. Even if it were an Angel, he would absolutely not enter combat there. Fighting for his life against an Angel under thousands of degrees of magma would be utterly reckless. After killing so many Angels, Shinji had identified a pattern: Angels had their own "comfort zones," usually related to their growth environment. Going into the deep sea to fight a fish-angel would be pure insanity.

If he could confirm this, it would prove that Angels were gestated in the material world before following their instincts to Tokyo-3.

He rubbed his face thoughtfully. He wasn't in a hurry. A living Angel was useless to him; he had to shatter their cores to briefly connect to the "Warp" and harvest psychic energy. Anyway, all Xenos were detestable—they all had to die sooner or later.

'If I keep expanding my power like this, perhaps one day I'll be able to tear through the barrier between reality and the negative universe. Hm, still, I need to plan this carefully. I need to make sure there aren't any Chaos Gods hiding in the negative universe.'

His way of thinking had shifted slightly. If he were still in the 40th Millennium, trying to shatter barriers and create rifts would have earned him a bolter round to the head from his own Chapter brothers before he could even start.

'And SEELE... those people are too composed. Are they really just going to let it go?'

He hadn't forgotten about the embryo. SEELE had nearly turned the ocean upside down, and many people from the American and Pacific fleets had vanished, which fully proved the

importance of that embryo. Yet, they weren't being hysterical as he had expected, nor had they reached out to NERV headquarters.

Either they were too stupid, they were setting a trap, or the embryo wasn't irreplaceable.

Shinji thought of these three possibilities and sighed, slightly frustrated. He had hoped to follow the trail to uncover the old men hiding in the shadows.

'No rush. As more Angels are exterminated, you won't be able to hold back for long.'

He took a light breath. Recently, only one thing had piqued his interest: a classified document intercepted by the Security Department. The North American Branch was conducting startup tests for Unit-04, preparing to equip it with a prototype S² Engine.

'Interesting.'

SEELE could even replicate the S² Engine—the ultimate weapon to permanently solve the EVA energy problem. Even more interesting was that there hadn't been a whisper of this "ultimate weapon," and they weren't sharing the data with NERV HQ.

They were definitely playing their own game. And what about the vaguely described "Mass Production EVA Project"? Why was its clearance level even higher than Unit-04's?

Just as he was thinking this, he heard a click. The door to the inner room opened just a crack, and a girl wearing a surgical mask peeked through.

"Is Misato gone?"

"Yeah, she went on a business trip. Might not be back tonight."

Shinji seamlessly tucked away the documents. He didn't want to drag Asuka and the others into these matters.

"Why aren't you at school? Thinking about the meaning of life at home?"

Asuka muttered an "Oh," and ran to the kitchen for some water. She happened to glance at the calendar on the wall and slapped her forehead.

'Tsk, forgot today was Sunday. Damn it, I need a way to play this off.'

Before her groggy brain could come up with an excuse, Shinji had already walked over, filled a glass of water, and handed it to her.

"I told you yesterday not to stand under the AC vent. You wouldn't listen."

"That's got nothing to do with it! I just woke up hungry last night and went to the kitchen..." Asuka paused, her face instantly flushing red. "None of your business! Hurry up and go find Rei next door. Stop bothering me."

She stumbled after taking two steps, and Shinji reflexively reached out to steady her.

"Don't try to be tough right now. Besides, Rei went to school for rehearsal today; she's not home."

Before Asuka could answer, Shinji hoisted her up. Ignoring her surprised protests of "let go of me," he carried her to her room and laid her down on the bed.

This was his first time in Asuka's room because she always hung a terrifying sign on the door that read: "Trespassers will die."

Looking around, the room was quite tidy, carrying a bit more of a "girly" scent than Rei Ayanami's. There were all sorts of pretty dresses, skincare products filling the shelves, and pink sheets—the only eyesore was a tattered old doll by the pillow.

"Hey! Put me down! And stop looking around!"

"Assessing the situation of every soldier is the duty of a company commander." Shinji wasn't the type to be shy.

"You're not a company commander!"

"Oh, right. I'm just a Champion."

He set Asuka down. She scrambled into her covers with lightning speed, leaving only her piercing blue eyes visible, filled with vigilance.

That's when it hit her: Misato wasn't here, Rei wasn't here. Did that mean it was just him and her in the house?

'This idiot has become so considerate today—don't tell me, don't tell me...'

Shinji looked at her, watching her bury her entire head under the quilt. He didn't know what to say, but since he had promised Misato he would look after the patient, he wouldn't break his word.

Actually, in a Space Marine Chapter, Astartes looked after each other all the time.

Of course, each Chapter had its own style and level of concern. He'd heard that a Chapter called the "Sons of the People" had the most harmonious atmosphere.

"Stick your head out. You've already got a cold; isn't it uncomfortable suffocating yourself like that?"

No answer. He could only see the girl curled up under the covers, twisting and turning like a worm.

'It's true, all Astartes being male is right. Sometimes I really don't know what these women are thinking. Oh wait, I met a female Custodian once, she wasn't like this.'

Shinji sighed, recalling that particular "big sister" figure. The concept of "maidenly hearts" seemed to be extinct in the 40th Millennium—it was truly a blind spot in his knowledge.

"You rest for a while. I'll go make some porridge. If you don't feel like getting up later, I'll bring it into the room."

Still no answer. It wasn't until the door closed that Asuka stopped twisting. She peeked out with two eyes, her expression now one of complete confusion.

'Is this idiot possessed by something today?'

Shinji was usually cold and hard-nosed. Rei had once said he was gentle, but Asuka had scoffed at that entirely.

'Gentle? Shinji Ikari is probably harder than steel and fierce to boot. If you don't listen to him, he'll just use that commanding tone.'

Yet today, not only was he taking care of her, he was actually quite compliant, even willing to cater to her?

'Incredible.'

She suddenly thought of Rei Ayanami working hard at her rehearsal in school, while she could hide under the covers and be taken care of. The frustration of being sick vanished instantly, and she closed her eyes happily.

'Haha, you haven't been taken care of by him, have you? This time...

I, Asuka, am the winner.'

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