Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

Compared to Mari's joy at finding the treasure, Asuka was filled with panic. Her eyes were fixed on the direction where Unit-06 had knelt on one knee—Unit-13, which had also fallen there. With an appearance strikingly similar to Unit-01, and covered in wounds, seeing it completely shattered Asuka's fear.

"Hurry, we have to go back! This is a trap!" Asuka's sharp voice rang out in the cockpit of Unit 8.

The Central Dogma shook, and rubble and a pale white skull rose slowly with some kind of ripple, striking the outer shells of Unit 2 and Unit 8 with a dull sound.

Shikinami Asuka didn't know why it was a trap, or who set it, but the fear from her natural enemy made her soul tremble.

Mari's call echoed in the cockpit. Asuka pressed her forehead in the cockpit, a figure flickering in her mind, as if some sealed god was trying to break free of its shackles.

The pain and high pressure could knock her unconscious at any moment, but Asuka still retained a last shred of consciousness. She sensed a familiar presence descending from the sky... as if an old friend had come.

----------

----------

The white doves that had landed on the eaves seemed to be startled and flew into the sky. Shinji Ikari, standing under the telephone pole, watched this scene unfold.

"There is a legend in this land that flying white doves signify the beginning of a reunion."

A refreshing voice sounded from behind. Shinji Ikari turned around and saw a handsome young man standing in the golden morning light, wearing a blue crew neck sweater and casual trousers, with neat white tousled hair, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You knew I would appear here?" Shinji Ikari asked.

Kaworu Nagisa extended his hand to Shinji Ikari with a smile, "Come on, I'll show you around your village."

Before them lay a village surrounded by several black pillars; Kaworu had mentioned there were several more villages like this. Shinji followed Kaworu down the stairs, and a cherry blossom petal drifted by, landing on the back of his hand.

It must have come from the rows of beautiful kapok trees planted on the outskirts of the village, drifting in on the wind. As if lured by the petals, Shinji Ikari looked out the open window. It was like discovering a hidden gem, a prosperous town appearing before him.

"Good morning, Kaoru-chan. Are you up so early to work?" A slightly plump middle-aged woman with a headscarf greeted Kaoru.

“Yes, Mrs. Matsukata. Today is the day the credit union distributes eggs. Your son, Konno, is growing a lot, so don’t forget to pick one up.” Kaworu Nagisa smiled.

"Nagisa-kun? We're going up the mountain today to check the equipment and water source. The weather forecast says it might drizzle around noon. Shall we come together?" A girl walked over from the side. She had long, flowing hair, and although she was dressed simply, she was very clean. Her pretty face was slightly flushed, and she lowered her eyes, not daring to look directly at Nagisa Kaoru.

"Have you forgotten? I'm Suibo. I was your partner when we were checking the equipment three days ago..." The girl's voice grew softer and softer as she saw that she wasn't getting a response.

"Hey, isn't this Kaworu?" At that moment, an elderly man with a buzz cut, wearing a gray shirt and hunched over, greeted Kaworu Nagisa from a nearby alley. Then his gaze fell on Shinji Ikari beside him. "You look familiar, are you..."

“You seem to have a good relationship with Li Lin here,” Shinji Ikari said, raising an eyebrow.

Although he had a good relationship with Kaworu, Shinji Ikari didn't think Kaworu was the kind of person who could get along well with others. However, judging from the scene before him, Kaworu was clearly very popular here.

“WILLE had a woman named Miri who helped arrange it. I’m an outdoor handyman, not a specific job. I occasionally help credit organizations distribute eggs and daily necessities.”

Shinji Ikari nodded slightly, went over to help the old man lift the plastic bag, and said with a smile, "Murakami-sensei, you forgot about me."

"Who are you?" The gray-haired old man adjusted his glasses, feeling that the young man in front of him looked somewhat familiar.

"You taught me Chinese when I was in Class 2-A. I am Shinji Ikari." The boy smiled broadly upon their reunion.

"I'm showing a friend from another village around today, you guys go ahead." Kaworu nodded to Honami, who was still standing there waiting for him.

"Oh... I'll go first then." Suibo said softly, shrank her head and turned to run in another direction.

The sliding door of the clinic, bearing the name "Suzuhara" on its sign, opened from the inside. In the village, where land resources are scarce, many businesses and residences are combined. A young man carrying a wooden bucket and a towel walked out of the door. He called out softly to the commissioner, Suonami, who was running away from his doorway. He had originally intended to ask when the credit organization would come next, but the commissioner had already run off with his head down.

Dr. Suzuhara looked in the direction the other party had come from and watched as two figures got into a jeep, silently glided into the main road, the taillights flashed, the engine roared loudly, and they disappeared.

"No way... Ah, no way?" Dr. Suzuhara stared wide-eyed at the jeep that had disappeared at the end of the road. "What was that just now?"

Although the Third Village is called a village, it has a permanent population of over 20,000. It has 1,300 mu of arable land and 8,000 mu of forest land, making it relatively prosperous among the nearby villages.

The green jeep, a light off-road vehicle, sped along the narrow concrete road. Kaworu was a very skilled driver, and surprisingly, he was driving fast.

Those who are loyal and righteous should come back.

Love will always come, even if it's destined to happen in the next life.

[We've waited too long, and we're crying out in despair]

She came from the tree to follow her true love from a past life.

I've personally experienced the cycle of spring and autumn.

When love reaches its deepest point, even black hair turns white.

The Jeep's stereo was playing the Seris TV soundtrack. Although the music didn't seem to suit Kaworu Nagisa very well, Shinji Ikari liked the atmosphere. Soon the music faded, and then a radio broadcast started.

"Now broadcasting typhoon emergency warnings and road condition information. According to the information released by Wille, the support organization KREDIT will make landfall at the municipal committees of the third and fourth villages this afternoon. They will bring rice, steel and basic living supplies. Please make preparations in time."

The familiar mechanical female voice was still playing on the radio. Shinji Ikari looked out the window and saw several huge black pillars standing between the lush green forest and the world outside.

“That’s Lee Rin’s technology. Shinji should be familiar with it. It’s a Hollowfication device that supplements the purification process of the L-field. You tried to use this to suppress the Third Angel and turn him into Lee Rin’s servant before.” Kaworu Nagisa said with a smile, “This is just an expanded version that can isolate the core and restore the land to a shape suitable for Lee Rin to live in.”

So that's how it is; it's this thing that allows humanity to have its last sanctuary.

Accompanied by a disgusting sound of flesh writhing, at the end of the road ahead, a reddish-brown mass below the hillside was rapidly expanding until it formed a headless behemoth.

Neither Kaworu, who was driving, nor Shinji, who was in the passenger seat, showed any signs of panic.

221: How can we stagnate?

“This is a creature that appeared later, which Li Lin called the Wanderer. In terms of shape, it looks a lot like Ava, doesn’t it?” Kaworu Nagisa said.

The third village receded further and further behind, and the dark green jeep recklessly drove towards the end of the road. Kaworu was completely unconcerned about the behemoth before him, comparable to an EVA, and the tiny jeep seemed to charge forward with the momentum of a giant.

"After the Third Impact, the buried headless EVAs suddenly began to move, but the sealing pillars set up by Li Lin prevented them from getting close. Before becoming a perfect god, every creature has its own conditions for survival. Just as Li Lin needs soil, food, oxygen, and sunlight, the Wanderers need purified land. The world in which Li Lin lives is more like poison to them."

Passing through the barrier set up by the sealing pillar, the Wanderer finally noticed Li Lin, who was right in front of him. Within the translucent red flesh, purple electricity could be seen flowing through the stark white bones. A fierce wind seemed to sweep through the area, and a heavy pressure seemed to weigh down on the land. The Wanderer raised his bony right arm, which crackled with purple lightning.

Before the Wanderer could even launch an attack, its entire body was shattered into countless pieces by the oncoming impact. Kaworu Nagisa turned his head to look at the expressionless Shinji Ikari. It wasn't him who had made the move; only Shinji Ikari would employ such a simple, brutal, and subtly aesthetic approach to violence.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling beam of light, as long as a river, shot out from Shinji Ikari's fingertips. The beam, carrying its lingering power, spun and cleaved the wanderer in two at the waist. Blood splattered onto the road that had remained unchanged for fourteen years, flowing down along the black and white lines.

In a few dozen seconds, the jeep crossed the empty road, and ahead lay the purified world. The wanderers around approached the jeep speeding along the road. This time, it wasn't Shinji Ikari's turn to make a move, because Kaworu Nagisa openly displayed his spiritual pressure as an Angel, causing the approaching wanderers to warily scatter in all directions.

They are headless wanderers, buried EVAs, resurrected spirits of the dead; merely displaying their power is not enough to dispel them. Only the spiritual pressure from the mental realm can make them realize that a higher, more divine being resides within the jeep before them.

A second later, having completely crossed the sealed boundary, the stuffy air, as if from a basement that hadn't been opened for decades, rushed towards them. Outside the village were huge, wandering enemies, and beyond those enemies lay a new world of turbulent change.

Ahead lay countless wanderers, while behind them lay a village protected by sealing pillars.

"Li Lin is truly a resilient creature," Kaworu Nagisa remarked.

No matter how painful the struggle, all living things must eventually die. It is cruel and merciless, devoid of any ideals; this is simply how the world is. However, even if all that lies ahead is suffering and desert, Li Lin still seeks the meaning of life.

"Is this all you learned in the Third Village?" Shinji Ikari looked up at the ten villages behind him. "What a boring statement."

The ten villages, arranged in a staggered pattern, resembled the outline of a tree of good and evil when viewed from a third-person perspective. If there had been more time, Shinji Ikari might have been interested in exploring the meaning behind it. Unfortunately, the tranquility of the villages was shattered by the sound of alarms. The high-decibel sirens echoed from one village to another. Someone had sounded the alarm, and for several seconds, the piercing alarm reverberated throughout all ten villages.

Kaworu turned on the radio, and sure enough, the reason for this warning came on: "Attention all listeners, an earthquake is approaching. Please immediately go to an open area to take refuge and evacuate immediately. Residents who cannot evacuate in time should protect their heads with nearby items such as blankets, pillows, bags, etc., and immediately crouch down in a safe triangular space to take shelter."

A faint, loud noise came from the west, accompanied by faint thunder. Kaworu didn't look any further, because a helicopter was heading this way in the distance.

“Let’s go back. It seems something big has happened,” Kaworu Nagisa said.

An hour later, on the island superstructure of the Ship of Hope, Shinji Ikari gazed at the distant Red Sea.

Captain Katsuragi was having a meeting with Wille's group of officers in the conference room. Shinji Ikari wasn't interested; he just needed to know what had happened.

According to Mari, the pilot of Unit 8 who escaped from the abyss, an anomaly occurred just as they were carrying out Wille's orders to retrieve Unit 13, which had been lost within the Final Dogma. Asuka first issued a warning of a trap and a retreat, and then the damaged Unit 13 revived, drawing the Spear of Longinus to tear apart the encirclement of Unit 8 and Unit 2. In the end, only Mari managed to escape under Asuka's cover.

As for Asuka and Unit-02, they were both trapped in that final dogma; rationally speaking, Major Asuka, the second Child, should already be dead.

This matter was hotly debated within Wille, but most believed that Gendo Ikari was not completely dead. Many people had witnessed the divine presence flowing beneath his body, and many thought that he might have become an apostle.

"What do you think? You know him best, don't you?" Kaworu Nagisa said.

"Becoming an Angel is nonsense. As things stand, there's no room in the world for him to awaken. That half-baked one-eyed guy is just a clumsy imitation of Adam's clown." Shinji Ikari didn't hold back his sarcasm towards Gendo.

"But you didn't question the possibility that Gendo Ikari might still be alive."

Shinji Ikari's expression remained calm. "It's just a possibility that if he were still alive, I would kill him again."

Although not in the meeting room, Shinji Ikari, in his current state, is still fully aware of everything happening inside. While there is much controversy surrounding the self-activating Unit-03, most of the executives agree on the plan to retake Gendo Ikari.

Although no one has been seen yet, Wille has already assumed that Gendo Ikari, who is still alive, is behind it all. And the earthquake that affected the village is also his responsibility. Even though these suspicions are baseless, all the surviving humans are paranoid about Gendo, believing that he must be responsible for anything bad.

Footsteps sounded from behind, and Sakura Suzuhara, wearing glasses, came up in front of Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa. It was the first time she had seen this legendary figure, and she nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.

After taking a deep breath, she nodded to Shinji Ikari, "Lord Shinji Ikari, the captain invites you in."

The not-so-spacious conference room was packed with people, the executives whispering amongst themselves, their voices rising and falling. Everyone fell silent when Shinji Ikari pushed open the door and entered.

Makoto Hyuga, Shigeru Aoba, Maya Ibuki, Midori Kitakami, Hitomi Kaga, Takahashi… familiar or unfamiliar faces alike turned to look at him. Shinji Ikari, however, ignored everyone and focused his gaze on Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi, who were sitting at the very top.

"The Third Child, Lieutenant Shinji Ikari," Misato Katsuragi announced first, stating his rank in this world, before solemnly stating the results of their discussion, "After deliberation, we have decided..."

Before Misato Katsuragi could finish speaking, the immense mental pressure she felt rendered speechless.

“I don’t need any big shots who give me orders. Haven’t you figured out your place yet?” Shinji Ikari sat in his chair, frowning as he surveyed everyone before him. “If you’re all such clueless good-for-nothings, then you have no value.”

Shinji Ikari's spiritual pressure wasn't targeted at Misato Katsuragi alone; it indiscriminately weighed on everyone's soul. He wasn't threatening; if these so-called Wille executives were truly so dense and incompetent, he wouldn't mind eliminating them and replacing them with a new batch.

It's like a bunch of scoundrels wanting the warlord to be their henchmen just because there are many of them. Shinji Ikari wants to shove their heads in the ground and let them grow mushrooms first.

Recalling that bloody and chilling century, he led his disciplined support forces across star systems and fleets, striking directly at the enemy's lair. The orders from his superiors were as hard and heavy as iron… Shinji Ikari didn't want to encounter those clueless idiots.

Shinji Ikari frowned at the thought that a bunch of clueless good-for-nothings actually wanted to order him around. If it weren't for some familiar faces present, Shinji would have killed everyone in front of him the moment Misato Katsuragi uttered the first word, and then promoted new officers from the next level.

As Shinji Ikari withdrew his spiritual pressure, the remaining executives finally caught their breath and began to breathe again.

"Simply destroying Unit 13 isn't enough. Our plan is to advance our position towards Tokyo-3, where Black Moon is located, allowing the development department to investigate Black Moon's anomalies up close. We need you to resolve this issue at a crucial moment." Ritsuko Akagi always spoke concisely and succinctly.

"Are you sure?" Shinji Ikari asked. "The Black Moon is the Seventh Heaven. Do you really have the ability to study it?"

“There is no absolute certainty.” Ritsuko Akagi shook her head. “But we cannot give up exploring just because we don’t know the target. If we rely on one person’s strength to maintain the safety of the world, then the Apostles, who are born as ultimate life forms, are more suitable to be the masters of this world than humans.”

"Then why should I believe you can do it?"

“Just look at Wille. The current development department is filled with the top researchers and scientists of the old century, even more powerful than NERV back then.” Ritsuko Akagi paused. “And then there’s Fuyutsuki-sensei. Although we know nothing about this, he definitely knows the inside story.”

Will Vice Commander Fuyutsuki help you?

“We still have you, so we definitely will. Once we capture New Tokyo, he certainly won’t stand idly by; at that point, he won’t have a choice.”

Seeing this, Shinji Ikari finally smiled with satisfaction.

"Very well, then let me see what you're made of."

----------

----------