EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 118 Doll

"...Asuka..."

"...Asuka...my lovely daughter..."

—There is sound.

—A sound that evokes nostalgia.

"You are special...you were made special...your specialness still exists..."

"So...you absolutely mustn't let your mother down..."

—No…don’t…!
Don't say that! Don't look at me like that!
"You absolutely... absolutely... cannot lose to that woman's child..."

—No!! Stop!
—Don't come in again! Don't...peep into my heart anymore!
"The mental image is distorted to an irreversible degree... A mental reversal of EVA Unit-02 has been detected! Asuka's mental circuits are a complete mess...!"

In the NERV command center… Ibuki Maya, looking at the psychological state of Asuka displayed on the instruments… anxiously reported to Katsuragi Misato.

"Can we get them to come back?!"

Misato Katsuragi stared at the screen. The moment the light shone on them, Unit-02 and Unit-01 froze in their movements.

"No... all communication is completely unresponsive... even the internal imaging data of the insertion device has been blocked..."

"I'll go bring them back...!"

Rei Ayanami was determined to force her way through the corrupting light emanating from the Tenth Angel, but was met with a sharp shout from Mari Makinami, who had just arrived at the command room.

"Stop! Idiots! Didn't you see that Unit-01 was also swallowed up by the Angel?! If you just step into the range of that beam... you'll just end up like those two."

Mari roared at Rei Ayanami with utmost seriousness… Now that Shinji Ikari’s communications had been cut off, she couldn’t let the situation worsen.

"But……"

Rei Ayanami's voice was filled with sorrow... She could only watch helplessly as Unit-01 and Unit-02 were in danger, and she couldn't do anything about it?

Mari and Toji Suzuhara also arrived at the base, but faced with a distant enemy... the Tenth Angel, who launched an attack using methods beyond physical attacks, a method that was breathtaking... they were at a loss, not knowing how to fight back.

"...How is Wang-chan doing? Is she in the same situation as the princess...?"

Mari walked quickly to the control panel and glanced at the readings on the monitor.

Unit-01…Shinji Ikari's mental images and psychometric readings…showed the same degree of distortion as Asuka…but unlike Asuka…whenever this number approached the threshold of personality collapse…

It will magically jump back to the standard line... then continue to twist towards the critical point... then jump back again... repeating endlessly.

"Is that so... Wang-chan... you're still fighting..."

From this contest of inner strength, which has nothing to do with external combat power... Mari realized that Shinji Ikari was far from giving up.

“…Miss Misato, I trust Shinji. So…it shouldn’t be time to use a spear yet.”

"...A spear? What are you talking about?"

The word made Misato Katsuragi frown upon hearing it for the first time.

"...Ah, really...You didn't know? Hmm...Gendou's personality...it's normal that he wouldn't tell you."

Mari was taken aback for a moment, but then she understood... How could someone like Gendo Ikari possibly tell his subordinates everything about a disposable gadget?

"...I suggest we not take any unnecessary actions...Let Suzuhara-kun and I stand by...and wait for the right moment."

"Maria... what kind of fighter jet are you referring to...?"

“The apostle's further decline, or... Shinji…”

"EVA Unit-02! Beginning berserk mode...!!"

Before Mari and the others could even react... Asuka, whose spirit had been corrupted to its very core, was already screaming and wailing in agony. "No, no!!!"

saw...

I saw my mother—

Soryu·Kyoko·Zeppelin——

My own mother... who was unwilling to fall behind others, and had a strong will...

Actually—I knew it myself…

Her mother's husband...abandoned her.

Yes, not "father"... but... mother Kyoko's husband... because... that man... has no blood relation to me [Asuka]...

Kyoko... was unable to conceive and give birth... which led to her husband's infidelity and departure... and she even had a child with her mistress first.

As a result, Kyoko, who suffered a severe emotional blow, chose to use her own eggs and high-quality sperm purchased from a sperm bank to undergo in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

That product—was Asuka herself.

Harboring the obsession that he absolutely could not lose to that woman…the mistress's child…the “special” child created by his mother, Kyoko…

Kyoko placed all her obsessions on Asuka.

"We absolutely cannot lose to that woman's child..."

—How ridiculous, Mom…

—Didn't I lose from the very beginning...?

—That child…was born surrounded by love and hope, under the care of his biological father and mother.

—But what about me…?
—I'm just a child who has never tasted love...you created me to compete with...to prove you didn't lose...

--doll
"Aa ...

With a loud bang... the restraints on the jaw of Unit 2 were forcibly released.

It opened its mouth to vent its inner sorrow... Unit 2 let out a roar—a howl like a wild beast...

But it's not like the Beast Mode of Mari Makinami Unit-08... a roar used to express fighting spirit, but rather...

A sorrowful wail, a mournful cry…

"Sniper equipment disengaged...!"

Unlike the still calm and silent Unit-01... Unit-02 roared to the sky while flailing its arms in agony...

He threw away the scope and slammed the equipped Yangzi cannon hard onto the ground...

"High-frequency particle short sword, equipment...! No, Asuka...!!!"

Then… he pulled a knife from the armor on his shoulder… gripped it tightly like a lifeline, then aimed it at his own neck… and stabbed it down hard…!
"Damn it! Neural connections are weakened...! Cut them off immediately! Quickly!"

EVA is still closely linked to Asuka's nervous system... If Unit-02's head is severed by herself in this state... Asuka's neck will also shatter!
"No! Unit 2...rejects all login responses! Silence all signals...!"

Ibuki Maya wailed almost in a sob…

Meanwhile, Misato Katsuragi was caught in her most anxious dilemma—should she... send Unit-00 into the Angel's light field to stop Unit-02's suicide...?

However, Rei Ayanami wouldn't dwell on it... just a moment before Misato Katsuragi gave the order—

Unit-00 has charged headlong towards Unit-02 without hesitation!
(End of this chapter)