Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

“If all you’re thinking about is this yellow garbage, I don’t think I need to worry about your mental health,” Shinji Ikari said.

Shinji Ikari certainly wouldn't do anything to Rei Ayanami, at least not to this factory-reset version of her; he had no such intentions whatsoever.

He brought Rei Ayanami back only because of Kaworu Nagisa's instructions.

Although he didn't know what would happen next, Rei Ayanami was clearly the most crucial pawn. As long as he had her in his grasp, no plan could bypass him.

Therefore, Shinji Ikari does not intend to separate from Rei Ayanami for the next few days.

But to his surprise, the storm came even faster than he had anticipated.

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In the vast space, millions of wires of various colors intertwine and go in different directions. The walls are filled with huge old-fashioned computers, and ancient transistors gleam faintly in the darkness. Magnetic tape memory rolls and makes a soft clicking sound.

Deep in Hakone, in a place second only to the final dogma area, lies the main server room where MAGI is housed.

Perhaps it's true that they're family; Misato Katsuragi sneaked in here with Ritsuko Akagi's ID card in her mouth.

She lay on the dusty cement floor, an ID card dangling from her mouth, her hands typing on the keyboard. Green codes flashed by, and the results she had investigated for half her life were now presented to her.

“So that’s how it is. This is the significance of the Second Impact.” A breath of hot air escaped from Katsuragi Misato’s teeth.

The truth she had been searching for her whole life was now laid bare before her. For a moment, Misato Katsuragi was unsure of her own feelings. She glanced at the time: 5:59. It was almost morning. She would check the E-Project information and the committee's plans one more time, and then go home.

If Shinji Ikari woke up in the morning and found that Ikari wasn't there, he would be nervous, right?

She thought again of Rei Ayanami, whom he had brought back last night. Was it really okay for two young people to sleep together at night? But upon further reflection, it wouldn't be bad if something really happened. At least in this oppressive, gray world, there would be a place where souls could find refuge.

As the clock struck six, a piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire server room.

"We've been discovered?" Misato Katsuragi gripped her sidearm tightly and stood up quickly. But as she looked around the main control room, which was covered in red warnings, she, as the operations manager, quickly realized that something was wrong.

All nine departments of NERV sounded the highest danger alarm. At this moment, in the nearly abandoned operations department, the staff, whose morale had been low recently, were in complete chaos.

"Communication in the sixth domain is unavailable!"

"The direct line to the Gora Defense Line is not operational!"

"Unidentified intruders are attacking the northwest gate! They've brought tanks right up there!"

"Switch the left side to blue emergency communication mode! Even if we turn on the satellite, it doesn't matter!" Unable to contact Operations Chief Misato, Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki rushed to the scene to take command. "That's right, what about the situation on the right!"

"The entire mesh data line connecting to the outside world has been unilaterally cut off." Shigeru Aoba pulled up an image and projected it onto the big screen, where all the honeycomb-like lines were highlighted in an emergency yellow.

"Is the target MAGI?" Kozo Fuyutsuki frowned.

“All external terminals have been compromised; their target is MAGI.” Shigeru Aoba looked up and reported to Kozo Fuyutsuki.

“As expected, only MAGI could hack into MAGI.” Fuyutsuki Kozo nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, the intruder is Matsushiro’s MAGI Unit-02.”

“No, at least five MAGI-type aircraft invaded simultaneously,” Aoba Shigeru replied. “They are Japan’s Matsushiro No. 2, Germany’s Berlin No. 3, Germany’s Hamburg No. 4, the United States’ Massachusetts No. 5, and Seres Beijing No. 6.”

If it were just Matsushiro from Japan, it might be possible that the Japanese government coveted NERV and wanted to seize it before the world could react. But the fact that MAGI from five countries launched invasions simultaneously suggests that the Human Balance Committee was involved.

After the Second Shock, SEELE became the true behind-the-scenes controller of the world.

Although Fuyutsuki Kozo realized this day would come after his rejection, he didn't expect that the SEELE group wouldn't even wait a day.

"So hasty? The enemy's forces are five times stronger than ours, and the situation is perilous," said Fuyutsuki Yukizo softly.

A black armed helicopter churned through the mist as it flew in the morning sunlight, circling once before turning back and disappearing into the brightly lit skyscrapers of Tokyo-3, like a black fish swimming towards the stars. On the balcony, Shinji Ikari watched this scene, then spat his mouthwash into the sink beside him.

"So she's not home, Misato." Shinji Ikari returned to his room, opened the door, and looked at the empty bed without any surprise.

He was genuinely surprised by SEELE's unwavering determination to capture NERV. Although he hadn't heard the alarm, he had sensed the hostility directed at him half an hour earlier.

About thirty hostile individuals were lurking at the stairwell, outside the door, in the neighboring dormitory, and on the rooftop.

But they haven't taken any action after half an hour. Are they waiting for orders from their superiors?

"Shinji, what happened?" Rei Ayanami came out of her room, her scarlet eyes fixed on Shinji Ikari standing in the doorway. "It's very noisy outside."

"It's alright, don't be nervous." Shinji Ikari smiled and patted Rei Ayanami's head. "Go to the bathroom and wash up first, you can come out in five minutes."

"Mm." Rei Ayanami nodded, but the instant she nodded, a violent explosion rang out, the shockwave whipping through her hair. A group of heavily armed personnel burst into the room through the blasted opening.

"First Child confirmed, capture confirmed; Third Child confirmed, prepare for elimination." The captain, holding a photo and comparing it to Rei Ayanami in front of him, nodded slightly, then pressed a pistol against Shinji Ikari's head.

"I'm sorry, this is your fate. Don't blame me, kid."

189: Between the Old and New Worlds

In September 2015, the last Angel, Kaworu Nagisa, died, ending the struggle between humans and Angels. This conflict between the Son of Lilith and the Son of Adam ultimately ended with a victory for humanity.

But as Fuyutsuki Kozo said, after the battle between humans and the apostles ended, the first thing to break out was a war within humanity itself.

Also in this month of the same year, on the mountain plains near the Third New Tokyo Hakone Mountains, hikers carrying trekking poles traversed the Hakone Mountains from New Odawara Port. Although the battle between humans and Angels had just ended, the area around Tenjo City remained a restricted zone because the special agency NERV held a unique political position, with the entire Hakone Mountains essentially serving as its autonomous region.

The sun had not yet risen, and the east was faintly beginning to lighten, with a thick fog covering Lake Reed. The sea was also shrouded in fog, until the faint roar of engines could be heard from within it.

The commotion didn't come from the road, but from the mountains and forests, from all directions. Countless tank units—Type 5 medium tanks, STA-1s, Type 61 tanks, Type 4 self-propelled guns, Type 5 prototype II—looked like a steel curtain slowly being pushed towards you from afar. If you climbed to a higher vantage point, behind them, the outline of the United Nations Pacific Fleet could be seen emerging from the fog.

The hikers attempting to traverse the Hakone Mountains stared in astonishment at the scene before them, while one of them pulled out his phone, opened TikTok, and began filming.

The passing Self-Defense Forces paid no attention to this, because this was SEELE's punishment of the disobedient intelligence agency NERV for SEELE, who controlled the world behind the scenes. Perhaps there were gentler methods, but the old guard at SEELE couldn't wait any longer.

The secret resolution of the Human Completion Committee was to dispatch the Pacific Fleet and the Japanese government's Strategic Self-Defense Force to launch a surprise attack on Hakone.

Another, more secretive decision was to send the Super Fortresses to the Japanese battlefield, where they would use tens of thousands of N2 bombs to blast open underground cities and clear the way for the Self-Defense Forces. The person in charge of this operation was Kazuya Tsurumaki, an old friend of NERV.

“By now, our team should have captured the first eligible candidate.” Kazuya Tsurumaki sat on the plane, side by side with the special envoy sent by Kiro Lorenz.

"How much time do we give the Onimusha squad to evacuate?" the envoy asked.

The Third New Tokyo City was shrouded in mist in the early morning. Looking out the window towards the Third New Tokyo City, the modern city with its courtyards was enveloped in fog, like a dead city waiting to be revived.

Soon, it will become a blazing inferno city.

"Two hours is more than enough. We will launch a full-scale attack on NERV in two hours," said Kazuya Tsurumaki. "Killing the Third Child is equivalent to losing one unit. With the First Child in our hands, we will only have Unit 2 and the unconscious Child. We will surely break through Hakone within twenty-four hours."

"Very well, then I will await good news." The envoy smiled.

After the communication device was connected, a hissing sound came from the other end of the microphone three seconds later. However, this was not a phone call; being able to communicate normally was already sufficient.

"Moshi moshi. Onimusha, is the mission complete?" Tsurumaki Kazuya asked.

He could vaguely hear the sound of a corpse falling to the ground from the other end of the phone. Tsurumaki Kazuya frowned slightly. Killing the Third Child at this point meant that the time for retreat was running out.

"A demon! This is a demon!" came the terrified scream from the other end of the microphone. "It's definitely not human! That damned Gendo Ikari, he actually keeps an Angel!"

"An apostle? What on earth happened?" Tsurumaki Kazuya frowned. "Answer me!"

The screaming team member didn't reply. Soon, new members joined the channel: "Lieutenant General, bullets and grenades are useless against him! The third candidate is most likely an Apostle!"

"Most likely an apostle. Do you have a prejudice against apostles?" A new voice rang out again.

Let's rewind two minutes.

The captain of the Oni Samurai squad, responsible for retrieving the First Child and killing the Third Child, pointed his gun at Shinji Ikari's head. He felt no remorse for killing the Third Child, who looked like a boy. It was all because he was the pilot of Unit-01.

But suddenly a piercing scream echoed from the room as he flailed his bloodied arm. He was about to fire, but his hand was gone; his right hand, which had been gripping the gun, was melting like rubber exposed to intense heat, revealing stark white bone beneath.

In truth, he didn't need to give orders. Gunfire erupted like thunder behind him, and a dense barrage of bullets rained down on the eerie boy from both sides. The Onimusha squad members, trained in battlefield combat, executed a perfect crossfire the instant their captain was attacked. These dozens of men were all equipped with MP7s, firing 5.7 caliber steel-core bullets at a rate of 950 rounds per minute, emptying their magazines in an instant.

But a terrifying scene unfolded before his eyes: the dense hail of bullets fired from dozens of gun barrels seemed to float motionless in front of the boy, as if time had frozen. Shinji Ikari gently brushed aside the bullets thrusting in front of him and plunged the gun barrel in his hand into the screaming captain's mouth.

“You’re lucky. I didn’t want Heihei to see anything too bloody,” Shinji Ikari smiled.

The gun shoved in the captain's mouth wasn't being operated by any hand; it simply pulled the trigger naturally, and blood spurted from the back of the captain's head.

He shoved the gun barrel into his mouth simply because he was annoyed by the noisy, agonizing screams. But even if Shinji Ikari didn't kill him, his teammates were already disregarding their captain's safety, and a new wave of attacks swept in amidst the hail of bullets.

Not a single bullet could get within ten centimeters of Shinji Ikari. When they were still about ten centimeters away from him, the bullets stopped in mid-air, as if there were an invisible barrier there. The bullets spun rapidly on that barrier, accumulating more and more, their warheads striking it in vain, like a swarm of moths drawn to a flame.

With a muffled explosion, dozens of plumes of smoke shot toward Shinji Ikari. They had used the 40mm rifle grenades that came with the MP7 family of rifles; a direct hit from these grenades could destroy an infantry fighting vehicle.

They couldn't care less about recalling the first suitable candidate at this moment; if they didn't kill the boy in front of them, they would be the ones to die.

Shinji Ikari didn't move, but the bullets hovering in front of him moved, automatically intercepting them as if they were part of the Angel of Thunder's system. They captured all the grenades in mid-air, and the explosive force spread outwards, melting half of everyone in the room.

The vice-captain's face, illuminated by the firelight, twitched slightly. He silently slipped out the door, then sprinted downstairs like a high school student at lunchtime.

“Lieutenant General, bullets, and grenades are useless against him!” He gently pressed a button on his helmet, whispering as if afraid of disturbing a demon. “The Third Child is most likely an Angel! Definitely not Gendo Ikari’s son!”

"Most likely an Apostle. Do you have a prejudice against Apostles?" A familiar male voice sounded from behind, gently patting his shoulder.

The vice-captain turned around shakily and saw the figure that had been eliminated. Shinji Ikari smiled, pointed to his helmet, and then handed him the gun.

After a muffled gunshot, there was a deathly silence on the other end of the microphone for several seconds, until a new, unfamiliar male voice joined the channel.

"Moshi Moshi, Lieutenant General Kazuya Tsurumaki?" A young male voice rang out from the microphone.

“The third Child, Shinji Ikari,” Kazuya Tsurumaki said after a moment of silence. “The first Child is with you, isn’t he?”

Don't you care about your subordinates?

"Attacking the Self-Defense Forces is a heinous crime of treason! Hand over the First Child to me, and our newly formed AKASIMA can accept you as a pilot. Don't be so stubborn with Gendo Ikari; he's just a selfish scumbag!"

“If we only talk about the second half, I’m quite interested. But you still haven’t realized your mistake.”

"What wrong have I done? The wrong ones are you terrorist organizations that tried to monopolize Evangelion and overthrow the world order!" Kazuya Tsurumaki said emphatically. "As a warrior, you raised your sword against the soldiers of your own country. You should apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Then pray to your Emperor, but I will not forgive your sins."

Kazuya Tsurumaki hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and completely lost his earlier excitement, coldly tossing away the receiver.

“This is a bit of a problem. The First Child failed to withdraw. Gendo Ikari’s son, the Third Child Shinji Ikari, might be an Angel. He’s not as timid a child as he seems, and you can’t fool him with words,” Kazuya Tsurumaki said.

"NERV has Adam and Lilith in its hands, as well as Unit-01 and Unit-02. Its predecessor was the infamous Human Evolution Research Institute, and it might still be hiding some technology," the envoy said. "But it doesn't matter. After we conquer Hakone, all of these will be yours."

“Alright, since the recovery plan has failed, let’s not wait two hours and launch the attack directly,” said Kazuya Tsurumaki.

As the order was given, ground and air forces launched a simultaneous attack on Hakone City. Tsurumaki Kazuya's eyes gleamed as he watched the targets covered in armor-piercing tank shells, all of which hit head-on. Immediately afterward, missiles from the air forces rained down, striking Hakone one by one. The entire city seemed engulfed in a fiery inferno.

The Strategic Self-Defense Force did not seize the opportunity to advance; their current mission was simply to destroy NERV's eyes and air defense systems. A fleet of 10,000 Superfortress bombers would pave the way for their actual advance.

In the General Affairs Commander's office at NERV, Gendo Ikari showed a look of astonishment for the first time.

“It was captured by surveillance cameras in the 17th ward of western Tokyo-3. The Third Child took the First Child away last night. That means they are both outside Hakone now,” said Kozo Fuyutsuki.

"This is really going to cause me trouble." Gendo Ikari pressed his right hand, the back of his hand throbbing slightly.