EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 142 Unit-01 VS Virtue

"0, huh..."

As Shinji Ikari listened to the information reported back by Maya Ibuki, a slight smile crept onto his lips with excitement…

An inexplicable competitive spirit burned fiercely within me.

To beat him... and you can't rely on Ultraman, who's practically a cheat...

To break free from the cold, mechanical calculations of winning odds, to win with human hands, with human strength...
"!"

The instant the eleventh Angel's eyes flashed again, Unit-01 suddenly accelerated... thanks to Shinji Ikari's near 100% synchronization...

My upper body was completely exhausted... a dense gravitational potential energy, like that of a collapsing building—

From the upper body falling to the waist, then from the waist down to the knees... in the instant when almost the entire body collapses to the ground, all the downward potential energy is converted into forward momentum!

In an instant, accompanied by a violent roar... Unit-01 disappeared.

The asphalt road was crushed and cracked by the powerful trampling; the mere air currents from each step sent trucks flying in the parking lot…

Using a technique called "footwork" accumulated by mankind over thousands of years, Shinji Ikari made Unit-01 move like a ghost... with a speed that surpassed human dynamic vision, zigzagging towards the Eleventh Angel!

The moment his front foot stepped out, he was scorched by the intense heat behind him…

Behind him, towering flames and heat waves surged one after another... He didn't even need to turn around to know that the Eleventh Apostle's cross-shaped beam of light was sweeping over him in waves.

The apostles who possess the fruit of life...the heretics who lack the fruit of wisdom.

Like a wild beast, it relentlessly pursues its elusive prey, driven by instinct...

Even without an attack trajectory, it doesn't matter. As long as the opponent is still an Angel who only possesses a ferocious nature and no rationality, I can use Unit-01's agility and my combat skills to neutralize the Eleventh Angel's offensive!
“Amazing…!”

Everyone in the command room, who had just been stunned by the Eleventh Angel's overly powerful attack, was now marveling at Shinji Ikari's ghostly and elusive mobility.

Faced with the prospect of being engulfed in flames by the slightest mistake, Shinji Ikari was able to predict the landing point of each of the Eleventh Angel's attacks with the ease of a leisurely stroll.

Furthermore, Ibuki Maya can see from the readings on the panel that Shinji Ikari's heart rate and blood pressure are both maintained at a slightly above-average level!
What incredible mental fortitude! In this situation, he was able to calmly and composedly take each step towards the optimal solution!

"...!"

Close!
Once again, death came within a fraction of a second... by a hair's breadth!
Unit-01 has finally advanced to the point where it can reach the Eleventh Angel with another leap...

The price was that behind Unit-01 there were four huge holes emitting a pungent odor.

The earth was scorched, the metal was liquefied, and the molten iron, with its pungent and acrid smell, left one terrifying claw mark after another on the once vibrant green belt!

This is the apostle, the apostle who brought a unified end to all life in the old era... and faced with such a cruel angel—!
Baring its fangs!

He drew a high-frequency particle dagger from his shoulder—the only anti-AT field weapon in his possession that allowed for swift action without compromising mobility!
Even though I know it's highly likely to have no effect, but...

He plunged the high-frequency blade in his hand fiercely towards the side and rear of the Eleventh Apostle...

The area behind the neck, with a 180-degree field of vision, is the biggest blind spot for living beings...!
"AT Field!!"

"...!"

It was a strange, unprecedented feel...

If the feeling Shinji Ikari experienced on his right hand when speaking of the previous Angels was... "hard".

It's like trying to poke granite with a stick—a hardness that makes you feel ashamed of your own overestimation of your abilities and your futile attempt to stop it.

So at this moment, the feedback from the customization and the tactile sensation in your hand is... "rejection"!
If I had to describe it... it's like holding an enormous magnet in your hand.

Then, forcibly using your hands... try to poke the two ends of the same level together... it's exactly the same... a strong and powerful repulsion!

"...!"

"High-frequency short knife! Damaged!!"

Under the overwhelming force of Unit-01 and the unprecedentedly powerful repulsion of the Eleventh Angel's Absolute Territory, even the most advanced weaponry of human technology—the rapidly spinning high-frequency particle dagger—sounded cracking.

The fire gradually died down...

The rotation gradually stopped...

The immense, overwhelming force that Unit-01 exerted on the Eleventh Angel was gradually...little by little, as if being swallowed by a black hole...being eroded by the Eleventh Angel's AT field...

Then--

"Aaahhhh!!"

The immense centrifugal force and inertia... that was the destructive force unleashed when the two poles of a magnet were compressed to their extremes!
It was launched out of sight...! The devastating impact sent Unit-01 flying almost completely out of everyone's view...! How far did it fly out of sight!?
"Umbilical cable... broken!"

"Damn it, hurry...! Calculate Unit-01's crash site! Is there any spare power source nearby that can be ejected!?"

"Apostle! High-energy reaction detected...!! Absolute Territory reading! Overload! Undetectable...!"

"Varied……!"

He tumbled to the ground in a disheveled state, the powerful impact striking Shinji Ikari's brain directly, making his brain as fragile as tofu in a water tank... constantly pounding against the inside of his skull.

"Shinji-kun! Get up—!!"

"Life support system error! Moderate concussion reaction...!!"

"cut--!"

With his brain still pounding against the inside of his skull, Shinji Ikari was completely unable to think clearly.

A dizzying array of things flashed before my eyes... My brain hadn't yet recovered enough to correctly read the information relayed from my eyes to my nerves.

Just out of sheer instinct, I jumped backward...!
Another beam of light and fire shot straight into the sky in front of Unit-01. If one did not react instinctively, one would be roasted alive in its midst.

However, it revealed a flaw for a moment.

Because... he lacked the ability to maneuver, and the towering flames obscured his vision... Shinji Ikari couldn't see the Eleventh Angel...

The ribbons that had originally hung down like two sleeves had been gathered together, and then—

"Varied…!"

When I came to my senses, I felt a burning pain in my side... along with a strange feeling of emptiness.

"Shinji-kun...!"

Misato Katsuragi's screams came through the headphones... Judging from the shrillness of the sound, Shinji Ikari didn't even need to look... he knew how dire his situation was.

The two ribbons of the Eleventh Apostle... converged, then compressed... after reaching their extreme concentration, they burst forth, carrying with them the Eleventh Apostle's AT field and the most powerful Absolute Domain among all the Apostles! It was the strongest shield... and also the strongest spear!
The strongest rejection-type apostle, with both offense and defense... the Angel of Power, revealed His most ferocious weapon to Unit-01.

Years of rigorous training... and the fighting instincts honed through countless battles allowed Shinji Ikari to react instinctively even while dizzy from a concussion...

He took a step to the side... and as a result, the attack that could have perfectly severed Unit-01 at the waist, cutting it into two pieces from the lumbar spine... only grazed its abdomen.

A deafening roar followed by a mournful wail came from behind...

The distant mountains were directly severed by the Eleventh Apostle's attack... The fractured rock layers and soil rolled down like a tide.

Even distant mountain ranges were severed, and Unit-01... merely grazed it, yet it took away almost 30% of its internal organs!
Large chunks of pinkish-white organs flowed out of the wound on his side...

"Quick! Cut off the neural connections! Reduce the synchronization rate...!"

Misato Katsuragi screamed in anguish... She knew perfectly well that Shinji Ikari had just been fighting the Eleventh Angel at near 100% synchronization...

The price of pursuing the ultimate in precision is that all the pain is reflected 100% onto Shinji Ikari's own body...

At this moment, he must be enduring torture as someone uses a sharp instrument to cut open his abdomen and remove all his organs!
Misato Katsuragi couldn't possibly stand by and watch her family suffer like this, so she immediately ordered Shigeru Aoba to lower the reading... but—

"Why, why aren't you following the orders?!"

Seeing that Aoba Shigeru and Ibuki Maya remained unmoved, Katsuragi Misato almost screamed as she grabbed Aoba Shigeru and lifted him up.

"Because, Shinji said... as long as he's still fighting, he... under no circumstances should the synchronization rate be lowered. It would prevent him from operating precisely..."

"Don't talk nonsense! Unit-01 needs to retreat immediately and let the United Nations forces try to win it over..."

"You're the one who shouldn't talk nonsense, Misato-nee..."

Shinji Ikari's feeble and weak voice came through.

"The United Nations' conventional forces... are simply... incapable of even buying time in the face of this apostle—as commander, how could you... lose your composure!!"

The instant the last word escaped his lips, Shinji Ikari raised his fist and slammed it hard into his temple!

"Eh?!"

Seeing Shinji Ikari suddenly self-harming on the monitor, everyone's eyes were filled with uncontrollable despair... Could it be that even Shinji Ikari has given up on himself?!

However, the next second...

"Prepare the positron cannons! Once Rei or Asuka are in position, immediately deploy them to sniping positions!"

Unexpectedly... Shinji Ikari, who was originally listless and dejected, regained his sparkle after punching himself in the face!

"...Concussion, gone...!?"

Makoto Hyuga stared in disbelief at the data from the life support system... Shinji Ikari's brain, which had been shaking uncontrollably due to the impact, had now recovered.

Could it be that the punch Shinji Ikari threw at himself just now... aimed at the moment his brain collided with his skull, applying force from the other side in one direction!
Just like how pushing a door from both the left and right sides at the same time will cause the door to freeze and become unable to open...

Shinji Ikari neutralized his concussion by beating himself—!? Does such a thing really exist in reality…!?

"call…………!"

A concussion...that's terrible, but...finally I can continue fighting.

The pillar of fire died down... Shinji Ikari stared intently at the eleventh Angel, which had drifted to Unit-01 in the distance.

He didn't continue to pursue him using the AT field or the long-range cross-shaped beam of light after he collapsed... Instead, He chose to move right in front of him...

"Eleventh Apostle! Shapeshift...!"

The eleventh apostle's upper body suddenly swelled up, and its originally tiny mouth transformed into a gaping maw capable of swallowing Unit-01 whole.

"Could it be that He is going to...!?"

"We must devour Unit-01!!!"

Yes—the eleventh apostle, acting on instinct, realized…that if he continued down this path, something bad would happen.

That was NERV's last line of defense... Once the blue-wavelength Angels entered the Final Dogma Zone... an unprecedentedly high-yield N2 bomb could reduce the entire Third Neo-Tokyo to ashes.

However, if the Eleventh Angel consumes EVA, it will be able to enter using EVA's recognition wavelength, bypassing this final self-destruct sequence.

Of course, all of this is based on…

"...!?"

This is based on the premise that Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 has completely lost its ability to resist!
With the concussion already recovered, how could the sharp pain from losing 30% of the internal organs in the side of the abdomen possibly overpower Shinji Ikari's resistance?
The instant the eleventh Angel's gigantic maw touched Unit-01, Unit-01 lunged forward...

Even the strongest rejection-type apostle possesses an impregnable absolute domain!
In order to devour Unit-01, and to overcome this resistance the moment they make contact... After being pierced by that sharp blade, Shinji Ikari fell into complete silence...

It's not that he doesn't want to act! Rather, he's looking for an opportunity to turn the tide...!
"Uhhhhhhh!!"

If ranged attacks can't break through the Eleventh Angel's AT field, then what about close-quarters melee combat?!

…Gotcha!
This time, without the AT field's obstruction! Unit-01 finally felt the sensation in its hand! It was the real, tangible feeling of gripping the Eleventh Angel's body!!

"Miss Misato-san!!"

He pinned the eleventh apostle down from the sky to the ground... He stepped on His two ribbons with both feet, trying to control all His resistance.

"...Unit 2! Unit 0! Launch...!"

At this moment, the two mechs finally arrived on the battlefield, albeit belatedly…

"Catch! You idiot Shinji...!"

The high-frequency particle chainsaw is the most powerful weapon prepared to break through the Angel's hard AT field and shell!
Unit-02 was thrown at Shinji Ikari from a distance. If it's this close, I'll use it to cut off her head... Ugh!?
With a whoosh, the massive barrier slammed into Unit-01's body...

That's an AT field?! It's so dense that it's become a visible entity... materializing into a crystal that looks like rainbow-colored glass!

It appeared out of thin air the instant Unit-01 stepped on it!

It struck Unit-01 squarely in its already severely injured abdomen, sending it soaring into the sky.

"This height is bad—!?"

How much force would it take to launch a humanoid general-purpose weapon, tens of meters tall, into the sky more than a hundred meters high with a single impact?

"Rei! Asuka! Go catch him—!!"

(End of this chapter)