Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

Although no attacks other than explosions were observed, there was a strange sensation of being caressed by a gentle breeze on the Absolute Domain he had deployed, but neither the visually observed images nor the systems in his cockpit displayed any warnings.

It's as if there's some kind of peculiar attack that can't be observed with the naked eye, nor is it physically manifested, but it does attack one's own domain.

It might not even be an attack; it could be some kind of subtle reconnaissance ability, or perhaps just a disruptive skill like the Sky Angel's electromagnetic pulse... Even Shinji Ikari couldn't fully understand the abilities of the unfamiliar Bird Angel.

"A reflected wave has been detected from the target area. The second wave of attack is imminent!" Iga Hitomi, who was in charge of observing the target, issued a warning from the ground command center.

"This is troublesome. I didn't expect this bird angel to be so sensitive," Ritsuko Akagi said. "This means Unit-01 will never be able to reach Him."

"Although its attacks are ineffective against Unit-01, they do disrupt its trajectory, and it... seems to be consciously retreating!"

"What the hell? Are all apostles this cunning these days?" Aoba Shigeru pushed up his glasses, incredulous.

Space offers no foothold, so even if Unit-01 is invincible, it cannot launch an attack. No matter how strong it is, it can only sigh in despair.

But at that moment, a dazzling blue light rose from the ground, like a summer fire sweeping across the starry sky, and struck the bird angel in the distance.

It was Asuka piloting Unit-02, the positron cannon in her hand still emitting a faint blue glow. The Bird Angel's entire attention was focused on Unit-01, which was giving it a sense of deadly danger, completely ignoring Unit-02, which was still far away and hadn't even entered the battlefield yet. This created an excellent opportunity for Unit-02 to attack.

This shot also deflected her trajectory, but there was no need to worry, because Unit-01 had already cut off all remote navigation and was completely under Shinji Ikari's control. All the staff at the ground control center were working to support Unit-02 in the attack.

"Prepare to enter the final combat trajectory, reverse the nose, and begin turning around!"

"Forward angle confirmed, within error correction range! Relative velocity recalculated, coordinate altitude reconfirmed, all normal!"

"The trajectory has been finally corrected."

"Roger that, POD2 has moved to the intersecting orbit! 180 seconds until target contact!"

After firing a shot, Asuka gripped the joystick tightly, ready to unleash her Absolute Territory at any moment to counter any potential retaliation from the Bird Apostle.

But it didn't, because even though the Bird Angel wanted to punish this fool who dared to harass it, most of its energy was still focused on Unit-01. Five orange-red beams of light materialized again, and the second wave of attack, interrupted by Unit-02's shot, began to build up again.

However, the same technique was ineffective against Unit-01.

--boom! ! !

A colorful field formed beneath Unit-01's feet. Like a high jump, the unit's knee joints unleashed extraordinary power, causing Unit-01 to vanish from everyone's sight, leaving only a long, dark purple streak. Unit-01, which could easily surpass the speed of sound on the ground, now moved through space, its presence like a purple lightning bolt crisscrossing the starry sky.

The Bird Apostles' attacks rained down on the incoming machine, shaking the surrounding天地 (heaven and earth) with their meteor shower-like assault. Like shooting blue feathers of light, the Bird Apostles' immense power twisted them into spirals. They simultaneously pierced towards Unit-01, who made no attempt to dodge. Her domain was an indestructible shield, carrying her through all obstacles.

Although she was trying to get into the battlefield, Asuka couldn't help but look back at Unit-01, watching it charge towards the Bird Angel, which was dozens of times larger than itself, amidst the energy surge.

The sight of the car speeding by made her dizzy, but also exhilarated.

Compared to the observers on the ground, Asuka, who was also a pilot, was able to barely catch their figures due to her synchronization with Unit-02.

It is lightning, it is blue light, it is a re-enactment of mythology.

The attacks of the bird angels and the silhouette of Unit-01 hurtled through the vast universe, each collision producing a deafening roar. They chased each other, even suddenly changing direction and moving freely, defying the rules.

But to be precise, it was Unit-01 that was unilaterally chasing after the Bird Angel.

Even the Angels could sense the danger posed by Unit-01, or perhaps it was precisely because they were Angels, the ultimate life forms, that they were able to sense that deadly killing intent.

Therefore, Alar had absolutely no intention of engaging in close combat with Unit-01, and quickly retreated to the side the moment Unit-01 approached her.

"You think you can save your life like this? Don't be delusional." Shinji Ikari sneered from the cockpit.

As Unit-01 raced forward, light gathered in its palm, and the unparalleled spear of light from another universe reappeared in this world.

"This is the Light Nail of the Water Apostle?" Maya Ibuki exclaimed in astonishment.

Hyuga Makoto clicked his tongue in disbelief. "This is a nail? Can this even be considered a nail?"

This chase in the sky was witnessed by countless people.

Not only nations and organizations, but also companies, institutions, and individuals are watching this battle with civilian telescopes. As Unit-01 hurtles through space at cosmic velocity, light gathers in its palm, forming an unprecedentedly enormous spear of light.

Standing at the end of the light, calling upon the victor—it symbolizes divine retribution.

The light was so dazzling that it stole the light from the surroundings, leaving only this one radiance in the entire world.

The moment it was thrown down, it turned into a rain of light that filled the sky.

Platinum light permeated the dim starry sky, like a meteor shower, and each raindrop was a spear of light, carrying an incomparably sharp momentum, piercing through the wings of the bird angel. At this moment, the whole world seemed to hear the lament of the apostle.

The Gun of Light from Unit-01 was not fatal to the enormous size of the Bird Angel, but the pain of being pierced by thousands of scorching light spikes was far worse than the torture of being slowly sliced ​​apart on earth.

The Nail of Light reacted with the bird angel's flesh and blood, causing an explosion that sent a semi-transparent blue shockwave scattering outwards, resembling splattered blood.

Or perhaps, His blood is blue.

The Bird Angel collapsed on the asteroid belt, but its massive form still stretched for kilometers. Unit-01 descended from the sky, hurtling across the asteroids and hurtling onto the Bird Angel's torso. At that moment, it exuded divine majesty and demonic terror, a bloody and cruel aura enveloping the Bird Angel's entire body.

--boom! ! !

Another violent explosion occurred, but this time it was the Bird Angel and Unit-01 that were thrown apart by the impact.

Just now, the bird angel instinctively expanded its domain, and its domain collided with Unit-01, just like pouring freshly washed vegetables into a pot of boiling oil, causing them to explode.

"Domain?" Shinji Ikari let out a mocking sneer from the cockpit.

His hands rapidly condensed and converged, while Unit-01 itself charged headlong into the Angel before it. In the realm of domain warfare, He arrogantly crushed the entire world.

This time it's a clash between different fields.

The bird angel's feathers blazed once more, and its domain expanded continuously. A domain exceeding five kilometers in diameter collided with a domain only five meters in size. At the edge where the two domains met, a layer of energy was clearly visible, with tens of millions of volts of white-purple static electricity and turbulent energy currents swirling at tens of thousands of degrees. The bright areas resembled exploding stars, while the dark areas looked like cracks in the world.

Countless rhomboid fragments disintegrated, and at the center of the Bird Angel's magnificent domain, Unit-01 easily blasted a breach, smashing through all the defensive layers and landing on the Bird Angel's body.

The Bird Apostle's domain wasn't weak, but it was poorly designed. If it could compress to the same width as Unit-01, or even last a few more seconds, the strength of a domain primarily depended on the density of the soul contained within it... and the user's will.

Unit-01 descended from the sky, its feet like sharp claws piercing into the Bird Angel's body, and it stood firmly. But the moment the limbs made contact, the spear of light that had been gathered in its palms instantly disintegrated.

It wasn't that the Bird Apostle's attack was extraordinary, but rather that a completely unknown attack surged into Unit-01's interior.

Finally, at this moment, the bird angel revealed His true authority.

For a fleeting moment, Shinji Ikari in the cockpit felt a tingling, electric sensation coursing through his body. It was the closest he had ever come to killing the Bird Angel, and also the Bird Angel's final, desperate counterattack. A tremendous pain shot through his back, an agony so intense it felt as if a drill had pierced through him, slicing open his skull and pouring boiling hot oil into his brains to make them boil.

Shinji Ikari was completely unaware of his own existence. When the illusory light shone on his head, a kaleidoscope-like scene descended upon him.

Fear, memory, knight, time travel, return, battlefield... a tyrannical heart, rules, anger, arrogance, humiliation, torture, the joy of killing.

Shinji Ikari's face was contorted in agony, yet he still gripped the control stick. Despite this torture-like ordeal, his will remained unchanged.

"So that's how it is. Your true ability is... mental attacks." Shinji Ikari licked his lips.

180: Completion, Spirit, Severing Immortality

Shinji Ikari did not fly into a rage. On the contrary, the pain brought him pleasure. The bird angel's mental attack was closer to corruption, and the kaleidoscope-like fragments of memory also made him recall his past.

The bird angel intended to completely dispel the spirits of the creatures lurking on its body with overwhelming mental pollution, but it didn't last long. Its even more ferocious will dispelled all the mental pollution that had seeped into Shinji Ikari's mind.

Then Shinji Ikari once again unleashed his Absolute Territory, enveloping his entire body, and with both hands, he conjured spears of light that he plunged into the body of the Bird Angel.

"The Apostle's health bar is really thick," Hyuga Makoto said.

The serious atmosphere in the control room was suddenly broken, and everyone's eyes were drawn to Hinata Makoto.

"Health bar?" Ritsuko Akagi frowned. "What health bar?"

"It's a description of the health points of some monsters in the game, specifically the feeling that the health points of certain bosses seem endless," Hinata Makoto immediately stood up and said.

Because it was a space operation, involving the use of certain specific equipment, command of this operation was relinquished by Misato Katsuragi to Ritsuko Akagi. Makoto Hyuga didn't want to provoke this cold-faced, unpredictable department head.

“An Angel, huh? Its health bar is indeed very thick,” Ritsuko Akagi said. “The current Angels are getting bigger and bigger, and their recovery speed is also ridiculously fast. Fortunately, it is our Unit-01 that is facing it. If it were our NERV weapons, I doubt that even if the attack could break through its absolute domain, it might not be as fast as its recovery.”

"The problem with Unit-01 now is how to destroy its apostle core. With the Bird Apostle's enormous size, is its apostle core still the same size as the normal one?" Ibuki Maya asked, turning to look at Akagi Ritsuko. "If that's the case, it'll be quite troublesome to find it."

Ritsuko Akagi pushed up her glasses. "Perhaps," she thought. But in her opinion, Shinji Ikari might not want to destroy the Bird Angel's core, but rather to completely subdue it, capture it, and then... consume it.

If it's just for making up for deficiencies, would it be feasible to use artificial Angels or mass-produce EVA cores?

Of course it's feasible, but doing so would only provide the function of unlimited energy, completely closing the door to Godhood for Unit-01.

Doing so would only pollute the purity of Unit-01 and Shinji Ikari. Their originally noble and sacred bodies would be mixed with those crude and shoddy things, and their strength would only decrease rather than increase.

Just like the line from Gendo Ikari that I've quoted countless times—after tasting the fruit of knowledge, humanity has only two paths to take. To be destroyed by the apostles who ate the fruit of life; or to destroy the apostles, take their place before God, submit to our wisdom, and become children of eternal life.

These apostles, inscribed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, were truly sons of God, whose status was equal to that of all humanity combined. Whether as sacrifices to open the Gates of Gaff or as gifts thrown into the bonfire before awakening, their sacrifices were the only way to achieve this.

“Through me you enter the city of endless suffering, through me you enter the pit of eternal misery; through me you enter the mortals who are doomed to eternal damnation, thus propelling my sublime Creator; I am the crystallization of divine authority, divine will, and divine love, before whom there was no eternal creation; I will endure forever with heaven and earth, and those who enter will surely lose all hope,” Ritsuko Akagi said softly.

These are all just her guesses. Perhaps Shinji Ikari just felt that the Bird Angel was too big and couldn't reach its core for a long time.

At this moment, the bird angel, whose body was tormented and covered in wounds, also let out a wail. What it did was to truly close its wings like a bird and, in a gentle embrace, take Unit-01 with it and plunge into another part of the boundless universe.

"Is He trying to take Unit-01 down with Him?" Makoto Hyuga looked in the direction the bird angel was moving, towards the sun. "But even if they are fast in space, even if I go back to sleep now, and then... brush my teeth, wash my face, and play a game of Civilization, He still can't reach this distance."

“No, He just wants to leave the asteroid belt, His target is…” Maya Ibuki shouted.

A formidable yet terrifying domain was unfolding. It was the domain of the harpy angels. Although Shinji Ikari mocked its massive size, saying it would shatter upon impact, the sheer size of the domain still created a breathtaking visual impact. The meteorites covered by the domain transformed into brilliant blue light, then shattered and rained down as light. A corner of the entire asteroid belt was completely cleared, like a blue sun blooming in the sky.

The bird apostle's wings were fully spread, and what shone from this blue sun was light that resembled sunlight.

It wasn't scorching hot, nor even deadly; it carried the warmth of the morning sun.

However, the target of the shot was not Unit-01, which was locked in fierce combat with Him, but Unit-02, which was rapidly approaching from the intersecting orbit. The reason for clearing the asteroid belt and adopting a posture of mutual destruction was entirely to prevent these asteroids from hindering the unfolding of His abilities.

"Damn it! This is an enemy directional weapon!" Hinata Makoto exclaimed.

"No, no thermal energy reaction was detected. It was a thermal wave in the visible light spectrum, something similar to an AT field, but the specific details are unknown," said Shigeru Aoba.

"Oh no, POD2's mental map is messed up! Mental pollution is starting to appear!" Maya Ibuki shouted.

"So the true ability of the Bird Angel is mental attack? Why didn't POD1 react?"

“I’ve said it countless times, what happened to the Third Child can only be considered an isolated case.” Ritsuko Akagi walked to the control panel with her arms crossed, looking at the twisted lines that resembled a pretzel, which represented the Second Child’s chaotic mental state. “It was a mental attack. Can an Angel even understand humans?”

“POD2’s mental pollution has broken through to the Y-axis, Minister!” Ibuki Maya looked at Akagi Ritsuko.

“We can’t interfere on that battlefield. Notify POD1 and hand it over to Shinji Ikari. He knows what to do,” Ritsuko Akagi said.

Shinji Ikari, currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Bird Angel—or more accurately, dismembering its enormous body—naturally noticed that Asuka was being interfered with. However, Shinji didn't hear any screams from Asuka in the communication channels between the two mobile suits—

[POD2 disconnected.]

Shinji Ikari looked at the notification that suddenly popped up, and after a moment of surprise, the corners of his mouth actually turned up slightly.

He was most aware of the pain caused by mental pollution, but what was truly fatal was the painful memories it contained that he did not want to face. Without an indomitable will, the mind of anyone attacked by mental pollution would be quickly distorted and deformed.

However, Asuka was able to hold on for three seconds without uttering a sound, and finally disconnected because she didn't want to see her suffer, which shows that her will to fight this battle was also quite strong.