Chapter 69 101: The Ninth Angel, Attacking!

"Ugh, it's so hot! I never realized this ghost town of a place would be so unbearable without air conditioning."

The command post on the second underground level was pitch black, lit only by the dim, flickering light of candles. Misato Katsuragi fanned herself with a file, feeling as though she couldn't catch her breath.

"Well, we are hundreds of meters underground. Air circulation relies entirely on electricity."

Ritsuko Akagi was far more composed. She had simply removed her stockings and sat holding a cup of coffee. "Don't worry, the power supply will be restored soon. You won't suffocate in this steel fortress."

'Not dying to an Angel, only to suffocate because of no air conditioning at NERV headquarters—that would be too pathetic.'

Misato muttered to herself and looked around. Most of the NERV staff hadn't made it in, as the rail trains connecting to the surface were completely stopped; no one could get inside.

"Tell me, why would there be a power outage when there are three separate power systems? You don't think an Angel infiltrated us, do you?"

"There is no evidence suggesting Angels can take human form. As for the reason..." Ritsuko glanced up at Gendo Ikari, who sat in his elevated chair, and shook her head.

"We can only investigate the cause after this is over. Calm down. Don't you see that both Commander Ikari and Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki are sitting there unmoved?"

Everyone looked toward the command seats. Indeed, Gendo Ikari maintained his usual posture, with Kozo Fuyutsuki standing right beside him. Such calm leadership put everyone at ease—though, in a spot hidden from view, both men had their legs submerged in buckets of water.

"It really is hot, Commander Ikari."

"Indeed. I don't know what's going on lately; nothing seems to be going smoothly."

Gendo still had bandages wrapped around his head, looking somewhat comical, yet he maintained the dignity of a commander, acting as a stabilizing anchor that kept his panicking subordinates calm.

"It seems SEELE is quite dissatisfied with your work—first mobilizing the Strategic Self-Defense Force, now cutting off the power supply."

Fuyutsuki glanced sideways at him, looking slightly worried.

"Gendo, is there really no problem? Our plans have completely spiraled out of control, haven't they?"

As the words fell, one could see Gendo Ikari's hands clench visibly. Fuyutsuki didn't know how much rage was simmering inside him, nor how severely he had been sabotaged by his own son.

While Shinji was enjoying his daily life on one hand and fighting Angels on the other, Gendo was the one carrying all the blame. He didn't even need to think to know why SEELE was leaning on him.

Just a moment ago, he had been at the committee meeting convincing the elders to issue Directive A-17; the very next moment, that boy, without a word of warning and without attempting any capture, simply annihilated the Angel.

'If you were going to annihilate it anyway, why incite me to go and persuade the committee?'

The current Gendo Ikari had to negotiate with various government bodies, coordinate resources, and request funds from SEELE. Even at this very moment, despite the sweat soaking his entire back from the heat, he still had to remain impeccably dressed to steady the hearts of his staff.

He was working overtime every day, with not a minute of rest outside of sleeping, risking his brain to maneuver among those old men. He was exhausted in both body and soul.

'Who is the chess player, and who is the tool?'

"Gendo, you've become hesitant."

Fuyutsuki spoke, finding it difficult to understand. "You know how important the puppet system is. If we don't do it, SEELE will just perfect it themselves. How could you give up because of a single failure? What exactly happened to you?"

"Enough."

Gendo's tone deepened, though his eyes held a trace of confusion. He didn't know why, but whenever he thought about it calmly, he felt that doing this was the best choice.

"The task of the highest priority at this stage is to defeat the Angels. NERV has been infiltrated; we must appear compliant, prove our value by defeating the Angels, and then slowly seek out our opportunity. Do you think there is a problem with that?"

There was indeed no problem. He had been working harder than ever lately, almost turning into an ox; yet, why did Fuyutsuki always feel that what Gendo was doing was perfectly aligned with Shinji-kun's wishes?

Fuyutsuki felt something was strange, but for some inexplicable reason, he didn't offer a warning. Just as he was about to say something else, he heard Misato Katsuragi's sharp voice.

"What? An Angel attack? At a time like this!?"

Everyone was startled. They felt like ants on a hot pan—Tokyo-3 was completely incapacitated, and they couldn't even see what was happening outside, let alone coordinate a defense.

Subconsciously, everyone looked toward the Commander's seat.

Gendo Ikari was also surprised, but long-standing habit kept him perfectly still. A strategy immediately formed in his mind.

"Activate the wired communication network. Contact the surface observation stations and relay commands."

In this moment of tension, Gendo's calm tone quieted everyone down. They began to carry out the orders methodically.

"Angel invading the city. Characteristics, uh..."

"Use text descriptions. Can we not fight without video footage?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Have the Second Division delay it. They are stationed in the suburbs, right? Where have the pilots reached?"

"Wired communication received near Launch Port L4. The First and Second pilots have arrived. Unit-00 and Unit-02 are nearby."

'What a coincidence.'

Gendo frowned, but there was no time to dwell on it.

"Prepare for manual launch. Dr. Akagi, you are responsible for initializing the power. Major Katsuragi, take a team to the L4 area and provide on-site command."

The NERV staff sprang into action. Misato finally understood why the father and son had such a poor relationship, yet hadn't fully "torn off the mask." Commander Ikari was indeed quite capable—just sitting there was enough to stabilize everyone's spirits.

"Those elders are playing a bit too hard, aren't they? Are they truly not afraid that the Angels might breach NERV headquarters?" Fuyutsuki frowned. If this was a coincidence, they were incredibly unlucky.

"This is exactly when we show our value. If just anyone could handle this kind of emergency, they would cast us aside without hesitation."

Gendo stood up. He was going to the front lines himself, which left Fuyutsuki stunned. What he said was correct, but it somehow felt like that "loyalty" Shinji-kun was always talking about.

"Wait a moment—since when did you become so loyal? And to humanity, no less?"

Fuyutsuki couldn't fathom it. He knew what this man's goal was, which was arguably more selfish than SEELE's.

Gendo froze instantly, his mind a mess. 'Loyalty' was the word that boy was always obsessing over. But quickly, he found a new explanation: "No, he is not here this time. I want him to understand that NERV can defeat the Angels even without him."

It was a flawless answer, but Fuyutsuki noticed one question: from start to finish, Gendo Ikari never once asked where his son was.

.

.

.

"An Angel attack, at a time like this!"

At the same moment, Ryoji Kaji received the news. His expression turned grim and furious. For the sake of their power struggle, were they really not afraid of the Angels breaching Tokyo-3? Just how many trump cards did they have hidden?

"Shinji-kun, why aren't you worried?"

"Worried about what? Everything is arranged. Unit-00 and Unit-02 will intercept, and Gendo Ikari is in charge of command." Shinji's expression was blank as he explained, "I kept Gendo alive precisely because of his talent. Now is the time for him to be useful."

'This... who is the father? Who is the Commander? How does it sound like Gendo is nothing more than a marionette in your hands?'

Kaji blinked in confusion. He wanted to ask if he wasn't worried about Gendo using this chance to cause trouble, but along this journey, he had seen too many impossible things to bring it up. This youth had transcended common sense; it was useless to try to understand him through mortal logic.

Shinji wasn't worried. The Angel's goal was Terminal Dogma; knowing the location of Unit-01 was enough for an interception. As for Rei and Asuka, even if they couldn't defeat the Angel, stalling for time was no problem.

"Our mission is these people—the ones Gendo Ikari talks about with fear and refuses to touch."

They had reached the lower levels of the command post, a place filled with dense, tangled cables—the location of NERV's backup power supply. The door ahead was locked tight. Kaji shone his flashlight, and the problem was immediately apparent.

"The manual activation mechanism has been sabotaged, and the Logistics Department hasn't come to repair it."

"They don't dare. When Gendo's people discovered it was intentional sabotage, they retreated immediately. He doesn't dare defy SEELE's will."

Shinji glanced at it. No one was an idiot. Who else could infiltrate the core area of NERV to cut the emergency power? He even had to help cover their tracks. An officer at Misato's level wouldn't know this; she was probably still wondering why the Logistics Department was full of incompetent worms who couldn't fix anything after so long.

Snap.

Shinji snapped his fingers, and several figures emerged from the shadows. The one in the lead had a vacant expression and a long scar on his neck; it was Mark, from the Security Department.

Kaji's expression grew complex. He knew these men were SEELE subordinates, but he never expected them to act like mere servants in front of Shinji.

"How many people are below?"

"Fifty. But the exact number and identity of the 'Owls' is still unknown."

"Have they given you orders?"

"No. SEELE only instructed the Security Department to cooperate, create the illusion of a system failure, and record who approaches."

The question-and-answer session left Kaji completely baffled. It was known that these men were executing SEELE's orders, yet they revealed all their secrets without a moment's hesitation.

Shinji thought for a moment and said simply, "Continue executing SEELE's orders. Leave the people below to me. After that, carry on with the plan."

This order made Kaji break into a cold sweat.

'Isn't this exposing Mark and the others? If he lets them in, how could SEELE let them survive?'

But the next scene left him utterly dumbfounded.

"Understood."

Mark didn't even twitch an eyebrow; he accepted the order immediately, completely indifferent to his own life.

After assigning tasks to these psychic puppets, Shinji looked toward Kaji: "You go now. Erase your traces. You don't need to be involved in what happens next."

"Wait, you aren't planning on handling this alone, are you? The guards are definitely top-tier hands picked from various secret agencies."

"So, 'elite soldiers'?"

Shinji nodded gently. He pushed open the heavy blast door as if it were a sheet of paper, revealing the stairs leading down.

'If these mortals are 'elite soldiers,' then what exactly is an Astartes?'

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