Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

171: Children understand everything; the new apostle appears.

As the words were spoken, Hikaru's heart nearly jumped out of her throat in fright, but Sakura Suzuhara seemed completely oblivious to what was wrong. She happily returned to her own bed, picked up her bedding, moved it to Hikaru's bed, and then slowly rolled into the bedding, mimicking Hikaru's actions by wrapping herself tightly in the blankets.

So that's how we sleep together. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief. If we were really sharing a blanket, Hikaru felt like he would suffer social death tomorrow.

"Ha..." Hikaru Toki suddenly covered his mouth. Perhaps realizing that Sakura Suzuhara wasn't in the same bed as him, Shinji Ikari also broke through to the final step. If Sakura Suzuhara were still standing by the bed, she might have been able to see Shinji Ikari's mind peeking out from behind Hikaru Toki's back.

But Sakura Suzuhara didn't; at that moment, she was holding Hikaru Toki's hand, whispering something to him—

Sakura Suzuhara looked at Hikari Horiki with some curiosity, "Hikari-neechan, why is your face so red?"

Hikaru Tōki quickly exclaimed, "Radiant!"

Suzuhara Sakura asked suspiciously, "Why did it turn yellow again?"

Dongmu Guang: "It's coated with wax to keep out the cold!"

"Then why..."

"No reason, get some sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow!"

Hikari bit her lip tightly. She didn't know how Shinji Ikari had managed to do it. He could cultivate the Great Compassion Mantra of Yin and Yang without making a sound. Hikari couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. Could it be that his real name was Monkey D. Shinji, and that he also possessed a golden cudgel?

If it weren't for Suzuhara Sakura in front of her, she really wanted to lift the covers and see what was going on.

Hikaru Toki had forgotten exactly how he fell asleep, only remembering that in his exhaustion and blissful state, he always covered his mouth, afraid of making any noise.

In her dream, she saw herself floating on the ocean, struggling to swim forward, with Shinji Ikari, wearing a straw hat and the Turtle Hermit style martial arts uniform, chasing after her. With every swing of her arm, he would grin maliciously and fire a rubber machine gun; with every sway of her legs, he would roar and unleash his Ruyi Jingu Bang (Monkey King's staff). Finally, exhausted, she lay in the sea, and he transformed into a giant octopus, dragging her to the bottom and imprisoning her in Bikini Bottom. Next door were many other girls, including Asuka and Rei Ayanami, and even Hikari, to her horror, saw the figure of Naruko Yokoshima, the teacher who had already been dismissed.

"What a terrifying nightmare," Hikaru Tomaki muttered as he opened his eyes.

In the same hotel room, the warm morning light shone on his face through the white gauze curtains. Hikaru felt sore all over, even though he hadn't done anything too outrageous or made any unusual moves last night.

"Hikari-neechan, you're awake. The foreign lady who swapped rooms with me asked me to remind you not to forget to apply sunscreen, the UV rays are very strong here," Suzuhara Sakura's voice rang out beside her.

Hikaru Toki threw back the covers, revealing the crease where Shinji Ikari had lain. His own bed was a mess of blankets. But his clothes for the day were neatly folded at the head of the bed, with a white sticky note attached: "Class President, I'm heading back now. I ordered Chinese breakfast for you: seaweed rolls, rice noodle rolls, and spicy soup. Considering you're from Kansai, I chose sweet tofu pudding for you."

The sticky note is very clean and tidy; it's obviously written by Shinji Ikari. Unlike other Japanese people who would add cute cartoon characters to their sticky notes, this one is just clean and tidy handwriting.

Suddenly, Hikaru realized that the sticky note was on the desktop, and Sakura Suzuhara must have seen it too.

She glanced sideways at Suzuhara Sakura, who had finished dressing and was now fully made up, and tentatively asked...

"Sakura-chan, did you hear any strange noises last night?"

"Strange noise? What do you mean, Hikari-neechan?" Suzuhara Sakura asked, puzzled.

Seeing Suzuhara Sakura's expression, Hikaru Toki felt relieved. She waved her hand and said, "It's just noise. I sometimes have some involuntary twitching or fidgeting at night. It's a bad habit of mine, so it might make a bit of a commotion. I was worried it might disturb you."

Sakura Suzuhara poked her chin with her index finger, trying hard to think, "Oh, really? You and Shinji were making so much noise when you were doing it, I didn't notice."

"Huh?" Hikaru Toki stared in disbelief.

Seeing Hikaru's expression freeze on her face, Sakura Suzuhara chuckled softly. It was like seeing her older sister make a fool of herself, or like seeing a self-righteous elder clinging to outdated ideas only to run into a wall with her.

"Don't treat me like a child. I'll be starting junior high in a little over a month. And even if I'm in elementary school, I already know all the basics. The girls in my class are all discussing their boyfriends' techniques on the train..."

"Okay, okay, okay, let's skip this topic." Hikaru clasped his hands together. "Let's have breakfast instead. We can't keep Asuka and the others waiting."

After breakfast, I met up with Asuka and the others. Looking at Asuka and Rei Ayanami sitting in the lobby chatting and laughing, it seemed that their relationship had improved a lot after spending the night together.

"You're so slow, Hikaru-chan." Asuka leaned forward slightly, raising her eyebrows provocatively. "You were the one who told me to get up before seven, but you're just lazing in bed!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Let's hurry up and get out of here, lest we keep Shinji waiting!" Hikaru Toki glanced at Sakura Suzuhara and quickly changed the subject again.

"Don't worry too much about him, he's just our personal driver, hmph!" Asuka crossed her arms and snorted coldly.

The four of them walked out of the hotel together and the first thing they saw was a black Mercedes parked at the edge of the red carpet.

Mercedes-Benz has always been a leader in the automotive industry, with its slanted A-pillars, imposing shark-nose grille, and powerful waistline and rear. Shinji Ikari is currently sitting in the driver's seat, but compared to yesterday, his expression is slightly more serious.

Hikaru was the first to see Shinji Ikari with such an expression, because at school he always had that dashing, debonair image. Rei Ayanami also sensed something was wrong, but Asuka walked confidently to the side, the concierge opened the back door for her, and she was the first to get in.

"Come on in! Where should we go first today? According to your plan, we should go to Katsuragi Castle Ruins first, right?" Asuka waved to them enthusiastically.

"Let's go, let's have fun first. Even if it's the sword of Damocles, it will take some time to fall." Shinji Ikari said with a smile. At least before Misato Katsuragi called, he felt that finishing one attraction first should be no problem.

The Third New Tokyo City, the New Command Post.

The alarm sounded throughout the building and the monitoring personnel rushed to the screen, then notified Misato Katsuragi, the wartime officer in charge, as well as the heads of other departments.

"Identifying target spectrum, beyond observation distance, target temporarily set to orange!"

"All personnel are on full combat readiness, preparing for air counterattack!"

Episode 172: Bird Angel Alar, Asuka's Tomorrow

When Misato Katsuragi arrived at the command center, Shigeru Aoba had already projected the target's image onto the large screen.

"Identifying the target apostle using images is the maximum telescopic distance," said Shigeru Aoba.

"Why does it look so blurry?" Misato Katsuragi leaned closer to the screen, frowning.

"There's no other way. The target is currently hovering in satellite orbit, and an image of it has already been captured. The third monitoring satellite detected the target using light, and the display screen is set to maximum data."

It was an apostle that glowed all over and resembled a bird, but because it was too far away, the blurry image did not give any of the staff a sense of oppression.

"It looks like a child's doodle. My niece's Zapdos drawing is more vivid than this." Hyuga Makoto chuckled and scratched his head, but when he turned his head, he was met with Katsuragi Misato's serious face.

“Neglecting any Angel is a breach of the safety of human civilization, Hyuga-kun.” Katsuragi Misato turned to Ibuki Maya, who also had a serious expression; “Ibuki, explain this to this idiot.”

“Based on the distance between the satellite and the target, this newly appeared fifteenth apostle is the longest apostle in history. We shouldn’t underestimate Him just because of the image quality.” Ibuki Maya nodded.

Makoto Hyuga's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Bigger than the Sky Angel? No way! A fully extended Sky Angel is fifteen kilometers long. Even Unit-01 is only the size of one of its eyes. When it dies, it covers several mountain peaks."

Not only Hyuga Makoto, but many of the staff present were incredulous. The enormous size of the Sky Angel was undeniable, yet the blurry bird-like life form on the screen claimed to surpass it.

"It is indeed smaller than the Sky Angel in terms of size, but its wingspan exceeds that of the Sky Angel." Ibuki Maya's voice was soft, her bangs hanging down, obscuring her eyes, as if worried that her voice would be too loud and disturb the terrifying creature in the sky. "What's even more frightening is that it is more cautious than the Sky Angel, hovering in a high satellite orbit 35800 kilometers above the Earth. We can't even attack it with N2 aerial bombs like we did with the Sky Angel last time."

"I have almost no ability to counter it, it's a bit of a headache." Misato Katsuragi said, hands on her hips and rubbing her forehead in distress.

"At such a high altitude, even satellites wouldn't be able to image the ground, right? So what is it doing there?" Hinata Makoto asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Perhaps it's looking for the best opportunity to land and approach?" Misato Katsuragi crossed her arms, unsure. "Or perhaps it possesses some kind of attack range that exceeds the rules? Even at this distance, it can still attack targets on the ground?"

Maya Ibuki said, "The Angels cannot be understood by common sense. Even using the data of previous Angels, it is impossible to predict the true abilities of the next Angel. For example, before the appearance of the Lightning Angel, no one would have thought that Angels would have such a life form; before the appearance of the Sky Angel, no one expected that its ability could cover an area that could cover the entire Earth; there is also the Terror Angel who was erased from the records, the Night Angel who used the field reversal that only existed in the imagination, and the Power Angel who broke through all defense layers in one blow. Therefore, it is not impossible for the new Angel to have the ability to strike ground targets across tens of thousands of kilometers."

Even so, Ibuki Maya still felt it was somewhat fantastical. Was it truly possible to achieve a strike range exceeding the Earth's diameter, or was it not an attack in the conventional sense?

"The Apostles are evolving to a higher level; it seems we can't act rashly," said Aoba Shigeru.

"However, the target seems quite cautious, perhaps also wary of us," Hinata Makoto said, adjusting his glasses.

Although no one explicitly stated who it was, everyone tacitly understood. If the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, were to actually descend from high satellite orbit and reach his attack range, then the real danger might not be to humanity.

In this war that has entered its final countdown, Shinji Ikari has proven that he is the absolute ace.

"Let's recall those three qualified candidates first. We'll have to cut their vacations short." Misato Katsuragi rubbed her temples. Although she said it was cut short, there was a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.

Meanwhile, some people were even more anxious about the sudden appearance of the bird angels than the new NERV command post.

That was something that SEELE had originally been certain to win—they even held an emergency meeting because of it.

"Something beyond the Dead Sea Scrolls has finally happened."

In the pitch-black room, the first stone tablet lit up, belonging to Chairman Cheru of the Human Completion Committee. This was the first time he had spoken, revealing his inner anxiety.

"According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the fifteenth apostle, the bird angel Alar, should have descended from the sky thirty-three days after the appointed day." Stone Tablet No. 5 lit up.

“And now, only one week has passed since the agreed-upon date.” The second stone tablet lit up with a high-pitched voice.

"Perhaps it has only appeared, but it has not truly descended yet. According to current intelligence, it is still hovering in satellite orbit, showing no signs of activity."

"But His appearance is already a given fact, which deviates from the path of the Dead Sea Scrolls!"

The meeting room was filled with heated debate. Even Shinji Ikari's unexpected strength and the approaching of the appointed day had not filled them with such fear.

—Yes, it was terror.

Because both the Angels defeated by Shinji Ikari and the interruption of the appointed day were consistent with what was recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls. At most, Shinji Ikari's strength in fulfilling his destiny was somewhat unexpected, but the results were in line with their expectations.

But this bird apostle, who appeared ahead of schedule, was completely unexpected. His appearance was entirely contrary to the fate of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

“But this is not the first time that the fate of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been deviated from.” Chairman Kiro, who symbolizes number one, spoke again.

In an instant, the councilors behind the stone tablet fell silent.

Indeed, this was not the first time. The last time, Gendo Ikari, who deviated from the fate of the Dead Sea Scrolls and was suspected by everyone in SEELE of writing his own external texts, was the first traitor who dared to provoke them.

"We need to figure out what's going on inside NERV, what's hidden, and Gendo Ikari's plans." The ninth stone tablet lit up. This wasn't just a meeting of the Human Instrumentality Committee, but a meeting of all SEELE members.

"Agreed," Chairman Kiro said first.

“Agreed,” said Stone Tablet No. 7.

Subsequently, the remaining stone tablets all expressed their agreement, except for the thirteenth stone tablet, which was impossible to light up.

A white seagull perched on the railing. Asuka, with a piece of bread in her mouth, leaned forward, trying to strike a graceful pose as she approached. But suddenly, all the seagulls on the shore flapped their wings and flew upwards.

"What's going on? Are they going to the dock to get some fries?" Asuka threw down her bread, staring in astonishment at the seagulls taking off, then turned and ran towards Shinji Ikari, who was not far away. "Did you take any pictures? How are they? How are they... Hmm? Not bad!"

Shinji Ikari looked at Asuka, who was leaning close to his shoulder and holding the camera, and teased her a little, "Because the model is good-looking, it might not have the same effect if someone else were used."

"I'm three-quarters German, you know. I inherited the best genes from both sides, and I'm the most outstanding person." Asuka proudly raised her chin at Shinji Ikari, revealing only her delicate profile. "Do you know the ranking of the sweetest girls in school that Makoto Isshiki from our class compiled based on information about the girls he most wants to date?"

"I know, I know. In the end, I'll shave my head and apologize by doing a dogeza in the classroom." Shinji Ikari nodded.

"I'm number one." Asuka's lips curled up, showing no embarrassment at the fact that the girls in school would be angry; in fact, she was quite proud. "By the way, would you like to know the ranking of the top students?"

"Do you really want me to know?" Shinji Ikari hunched slightly, looking at Asuka as if he were teasing a little girl. Her eyes were bright and sharp, without any hesitation. Her long eyelashes cast two shadows on her face.

"Me... do I?" Asuka blinked.

“Yes,” Shinji Ikari said.

"Oh, maybe so," Asuka gently kicked Shinji Ikari's shin, or rather, rubbed it. "Maybe it's because we're too close."

Shinji Ikari blinked, looking at Asuka, whose breath was sweet as orchids, so close to him, and the Bluetooth earpiece hanging on her ear. But he couldn't help turning his head to look at Hikari Toki, who was gazing at the cliffs and grasslands in the distance.

Amidst the anxious gazes of Asuka and the others, Shinji Ikari did not respond until his phone rang.

It wasn't just Asuka; Shinji Ikari, standing nearby, and Rei Ayanami, wearing a straw hat and squatting on the ground carefully observing the small yellow flower, all had their bells ring out simultaneously.