Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

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Ship of Hope, in the interrogation room.

The gaunt old man sat upright at the long table, watching Misato Katsuragi rush in, having hurriedly opened the door.

"You've arrived, a little later than I expected." Fuyutsuki Yukizo smiled at his former subordinate.

“Commander Fuyutsuki, I respect you as an elder, but that’s no excuse for your insolence,” Misato Katsuragi walked to his desk, pulled out a pistol, and pressed it against his forehead, her voice as cold as ice. “Tell me what happened! Did you control the resurrected Ava?”

Theoretically impossible, but Misato Katsuragi's first suspicions were still about Yukimasa Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari.

Since he can control mass-produced EVAs, it's not impossible for him to control these defective EVAs and the Wanderers as well.

"Do you think I caused the changes outside, Katsuragi? You're still as reckless as ever." Fuyutsuki Yukizou showed no change in expression as he faced the pistol pressed against his forehead. "I told you I wasn't hiding anything, it's just that you didn't get the key information."

"It's either you or Gendo Ikari. Do you really want to destroy the world before you're satisfied?!"

“Destroying the world is not difficult, but rebuilding it is. The world, like time, is irreversible.” Fuyutsuki Yukizo’s gaze was profound. “You are too afraid of Ikari, just going back and forth between him and me, but unfortunately, Ikari is already dead. In that state, being killed means that even the soul does not exist.”

When Fuyutsuki Kosuke revealed Gendo Ikari's death, he remained unfazed. It seemed that, in his view, Gendo's life or death was of no consequence.

"Then what is the root cause of this anomaly? Judging from your expression, you should know, Professor Fuyutsuki."

Perhaps it was too late; Fuyutsuki Yukizo stared at the lights behind Katsuragi Misato, his gaze not on her.

"The Dead Sea Scrolls record the story of this world's future. Since it's a story, there will naturally be protagonists. Shinji Ikari, whom you are most familiar with, and Gendo Ikari, who is feared, are both characters destined to shine on the world stage. But there are also special individuals. Long after Dr. Kyoko Zeppelin died in 2004, that special individual, like the Rei Ayanami series, was prepared as a sacrifice for the Instrumentality Test."

Misato Katsuragi's eyes narrowed.

"Her name has been stripped away; only her information remains in the Shikiha series. The Asuka you know is just a copy of her. That girl, like Yui Ikari, was fused into the two control panels of Unit-03. This was all part of Gendo Ikari's plan."

Gendo Ikari's death also filled the gap in another control panel, which was originally intended to be sacrificed to Kaworu Nagisa. However, Gendo Ikari was quite suitable.

"If she took her mother's surname, her real name should be—"

"—Soryu Asuka, please."

The moment Fuyutsuki Yukizo finished speaking, a tremor came from beneath his feet, as if it were the prelude to an earthquake. Katsuragi Misato's expression changed drastically. An earthquake was not unexpected, but she was on the Ship of Hope, in the air. The sheer ferocity of this spatial tremor made it hard to imagine what a hellish scene the Third Neo-Tokyo on the ground must be like.

Outside, Unit-01 blazed like a blazing sun. Just as Shinji Ikari had said, no matter how many of these defective units there were, they couldn't alleviate his frustration. The defective units, swept up into the sky, were no longer recognizable. The sky filled with pieces of corpses and rain of blood truly painted a picture of hell.

Shinji Ikari's gaze was calm, like a hunter waiting for his prey to come to him.

The original location of Hakone suddenly rose upwards, and a thin, long torrent of black energy shot straight into the sky. The pressure released from the ground caused cracks in the surrounding space, plunging the entire crimson world into darkness in a way that destroyed everything in its path.

The cataclysmic upheaval leveled the Hakone volcanic crater, and even buildings boasting blast and earthquake resistance collapsed in large numbers. The battleship Yamato, which had run aground on the west coast of Yomi-hirasaka New Island, slowly slid away from the shore and fell into Lake Ashi.

Shinji Ikari narrowed his eyes slightly; this level of entrance was enough to make him take it seriously.

The black space peeking out from the cracked earth further tore apart the surrounding space, and the location of Third New Tokyo Hakone itself was gradually eroded by countless cracks. The city, which had just been reclaimed, split open like clay, and a huge beam of light shot straight toward Shinji Ikari in the air.

A soft, mocking laugh escaped Shinji Ikari's lips. He didn't employ any particularly flashy techniques; he simply hurled his spear of light at the beam of light. A twisted torrent of black energy erupted, piercing through the object that had appeared on the ground.

After the darkness was swept away by the light, what appeared in people's sight was the black moon that broke through the earth.

In that space filled with skeletons and skulls, the first thing that catches the eye is Unit-02, pinned to the skeletal ground by two Spears of Longilus. Shinji Ikari's expression is calm, because he can sense that there are still signs of life inside the machine, and it is not even weak.

"What an idiot, Asuka." Shinji Ikari chuckled contemptuously, his gaze falling on Unit-03, who stood with its arms crossed over its chest in the gaping hole of Lilith's missing head, like a victim.

Although it resembles a statue, the only machine qualified to fight him is... no, Shinji Ikari's gaze is fixed on the yellow and black machine next to him—EVA Unit-06, a machine born with the form of a god, suspected to be one of the four Adams.

In this world, the near third impact, which he himself had triggered, was ended by Kaworu Nagisa piloting this machine, so its strength was beyond doubt. Before his very eyes, the yellow and black Unit-6 transformed into countless black, thread-like objects that shot into the sky, remarkably similar to the beam of light from before.

Shinji Ikari gripped the Spear of Light tightly; this strange, alien form finally brought back a long-lost feeling.

The No. 6 machine, which had soared into the sky, could no longer advance even an inch, because a hand that reached out from behind pierced through its core. The next moment, it exerted its strength and tore apart the fluid-like substance in front of it.

The black, thread-like objects reassembled into the shape of Unit-06 and crashed to the ground, tumbling over. Shinji Ikari coldly watched Unit-06, which had just appeared and then disappeared, without any pity in his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the person who had appeared behind Unit-06.

It was Unit 13. Blood was flowing freely from the hand that had pulled out the core of Unit 6. In the attack he had just made, he had casually grabbed the core of the opponent... A huge, round, crimson core was pulsating in his hand!

It's an Angel! Shinji Ikari didn't have time to think about why Unit-06 was here or why it had become an Angel before he saw Unit-013 drink up the core in front of him.

"Shinji Ikari, it's time to settle the score!"

226: original

The air currents between heaven and earth pulsed rhythmically, howling and creating storms, as if some kind of Titan or god was swallowing heaven and earth. With each breath, it inhaled a large amount of air, and when it exhaled, the crimson light of the sky rippled.

In an instant, the damaged Unit-03 was transformed, and the same death-like pressure, like that of Unit-01 standing tall in the sky, surged out from the four-armed purple machine like a tidal wave. Its hands were outstretched like a cross, like a suffering saint.

“So this is where Unit-06’s purpose is,” Ritsuko Akagi said, looking at the third-degree super-divine awakening form of Unit-01 above her head, which was equivalent to, or rather, surpassed Unit-01. “From the beginning, Unit-06 existed as a sacrifice for Unit-01. Now, it has completed itself. This is the result that Gendo Ikari originally wanted.”

Standing beside the Black Moon was a dazzlingly white figure. The original purple had faded from its body, leaving only an unsettling white. It was a holy being, both beautiful and ferocious. The three dazzling halos behind it and its sacred posture told people what level of holiness it had reached. The purple deep in its eyes was also transforming into a captivating golden-red, and the crimson glow of the sky fell on its body as if it were draped in a golden-red brocade.

His skin split open, and his slender arms stretched out rapidly. A second pair of arms, covered in blood, unfolded once more. He was covered in blood from this rebirth, but the wounds on his back healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, restoring him to a perfect state.

White is its original color. At this moment, it and Unit-01 are completely different. The newly born Unit-01 breathes towards the sky, and roars from the bottom of its heart.

A deep doubt lingered in Ritsuko Akagi's eyes, for such a perfect posture required the collaboration of two souls who trusted each other and could resonate with one another. Even if the deified Gendo Ikari were sacrificed as a second control panel, was you sure Asuka wouldn't tear him out of the machine and grind him into mincemeat because of his resonance with Asuka?

Who else? Ritsuko Akagi felt she might have overlooked a crucial factor.

It wasn't until the vast torrent of energy transformed into wildly dancing lightning serpents in the sky, like the nails of judgment cast by the archangel Remiel, symbolizing divine mercy, tearing a golden gap in the sky, that everyone became aware that there was an even more domineering presence on Unit 13.

The light spike of punishment was held firmly in Unit-01's hand. Only after the light spike disintegrated in his hand did the face that resembled Unit-01 look up at the purple giant in the sky.

"I won't interfere with your completion process, but that doesn't mean you can remain silent, you defective product!" Shinji Ikari's voice rang out from the sky, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder. He didn't launch a sneak attack; the attack just now was merely a casual strike. If the resurrected Unit-01 13 couldn't even withstand such an attack, then so be it.

Instead, he looked with great interest at the white Unit 13 that had lost its original color, and asked, "And what did you mean by 'taking stock' earlier?"

The soul within Unit 13 remained silent, instead revealing a faint smile. From behind it, the new Unit 2, pinned to the surface of the Black Moon by the Spear of Longinus, burst forth with a ghastly green light from its four eyes, instantly expanding to a colossal form hundreds of meters tall, its hands reaching out to grab Unit 1 in mid-air.

Shinji Ikari frowned, but he didn't hold back just because it was Unit-02. A rainbow-colored rhomboid force field formed on the surface of Unit-01, but this was not a defense. The rainbow-colored rhomboid force field in front of him was like a spring, layered upon layered rocks. Everyone who had experienced the ravages of the Angels would never forget this move.

The deified Unit-02 was shattered, its massive, translucent arms dissipating into countless streaks of light that scattered across the ground. Shinji Ikari stared at the back of Unit-02—well, while EVA deification might seem commonplace now, even commonplace EVAs have prerequisites. Only when the tide recedes can the true colors be revealed, and it was then that Shinji saw the blue energy belonging to the Ninth Angel erupting from Unit-02's spine, spreading throughout its entire body.

Why could he control the new Unit-02? Why could he guide Unit-02's ascension? Shinji Ikari vaguely guessed a possibility. At that moment, the light emanating from Unit-02 as it exited its ascension dissipated, revealing Unit-01 thirteen behind it—

—He stood on the broken back of Lilith and pulled out the last crimson spear.

Completely freed from its restraints, Lilith's corpse instantly disintegrated into countless bloody bubbles that spread across the land in all directions. Unit-01, wielding two crimson spears, ignored the horrific scene around it. Despite having thrusters, it lacked aerial maneuverability and flew hundreds of meters in a near-straight parabolic trajectory, rushing towards Unit-01.

"Hey, this is going to be tricky!" Mari, piloting Unit 8 and standing on the Hope Ship, took off her glasses and looked at the dazzling light piercing the sky. "It's Original? Could she hate this world?"

It's hard to imagine that Unit-01 was unable to resist being swept up into the sky, creating huge holes in the clouds, and the sonic boom shockwaves that tore through the air cleared away the clouds in their path.

Perhaps Mari's guess is wrong. If this battle had taken place on the ground, the last surviving humans would not have been able to withstand the aftershocks and would have ceased to exist.

They spiraled upwards, like an intertwined gene chain, until the vast, seven-colored rhomboid force field rapidly expanded, finally separating the two entangled machines.

"It feels good to be back in the human world. Perhaps this is a blessing bestowed upon me by fate," the soul inside Unit 13 said.

At the same height as Unit-01, Unit-03's operator gripped dual pistols, not looking at the deadly opponent before her, but rather surveying the world below. She clearly felt the boundless power within her, the ability to alter the rules of the world with her mere will, as if she could stir up storms in the air and, upon landing, unleash magma from beneath Mount Fuji and Hakone, reducing Japan to scorched earth.

The now-complete Unit-03 surpasses Gendo Ikari's original form, becoming the final form of a machine that transcends the pseudo-divine. With the arrival of the imposter piloting Unit-02, driven by fate, the final opportunity is triggered. She inherits everything from Gendo Ikari's plan—power, knowledge, and even some memories—but everything is under her own control.

She recalled the tragedy that followed her mother's death, how she herself was sacrificed to Unit 13 and forced to become the control panel—all of which began because of a stroke of luck. But in the decades that had passed, the hatred had vanished.

"I don't hate this world, but the only person I hate is you, Shinji Ikari." Unit-01 glanced at Unit-01, its eyes flashing with golden-red light.

At this moment, Shinji Ikari, in the cockpit of Unit-01, frowned slightly, as he could hear the voice coming from the other side.

“When I was all alone, you grew up surrounded by everyone’s love. When I was training hard, everyone was looking forward to your growth.”

If the fate of the world is written by one person, then that person will surely depict their own fate with the utmost malice. She does not resent the world's cruelty towards her; what she truly resents is that Shinji Ikari, who has the same fate, has such a drastically different destiny.

Compared to her own misery, she resented the injustice of her fate even more.

"Aren't you going to say something?" the soul inside Unit 13 asked.

"What do you want me to say? What do you want me to say?" Shinji Ikari smiled. "Asuka-san."

Asuka wasn't surprised that Shinji Ikari guessed her identity, since her voice alone had already given it away. But what truly surprised her was Shinji's attitude.

"And then what? If saying sorry could make you feel better, I could say it a thousand times. But it's obvious you're planning to carry out Gendo Ikari's plan, so what's the point of saying more?" Shinji Ikari spread his hands, revealing a meaningless smile. "Besides, your suffering wasn't caused by me. It's a pity, Asuka-san, you've met a man with absolutely no empathy."

In his original world, Shinji Ikari would occasionally accompany Asuka or Rei Ayanami to watch anime. Although he admired certain anime male protagonists who were extremely gentle, they always took the blame for all sorts of mistakes that had nothing to do with them, making them very competent saints as friends.

But Shinji Ikari couldn't do it, no reason needed, he simply couldn't. It wasn't a matter of "others are hell," Shinji's arrogance stemmed from his belief that he was infallible.

"Even if the world or I make a mistake, it is the world that needs to be corrected!" Shinji Ikari sneered as he once again condensed the Spear of Light, and a blinding torrent of energy rushed towards Unit-03's face first.

The energy surge was blocked by four autonomous floating shields in the shoulder hangar. Asuka easily blocked the attack with the Spears of Longinus and Cassius. Asuka's will enveloped Shinji Ikari through Unit-03. She looked at the incredibly familiar yet unfamiliar boy before her, and an unbelievable smile appeared on her lips—

"The final form of the apostle reflects the form of God! Hahahaha, we really are alike! The only thing that needs to be corrected is this world!" Original Asuka laughed as well.

Unit-01 at full power, with its own Fruit of Life and the immense power drawn from the Negative Universe flowing into its tightly gripped pistols, Asuka is determined to first defeat Unit-01 in front of her, collect all of Adams's containers, and rewrite this world!

Despite the all-out charge of Destiny and the King-Slaying Spear, Asuka looked on in astonishment at Unit-01, which hadn't deployed any force field. She used both hands... to grasp the tip of the charging spear!

--How can it be?!

His full-force attack stopped before it. The two pistols, representing destiny and slaying the king, hope and despair, were less than a meter away from Unit-01. Invisible platinum ripples vibrated the air until a platinum halo rose above Unit-01's head.

"Damn it! I hate unfair treatment the most! This is unreasonable!" At this moment, Original Asuka realized with horror that what she saw just now was just the normal state of Unit-01, and the rising of the aura symbolizing the Angel meant that Unit-01 had entered its full-power state!

Shinji Ikari smiled again and again in the cockpit of Unit-01. "Since you still chose to stab me after we've talked things out, then as a sign of respect, I'll go all out!"

Even the pulsating water vapor and sounds fell silent under Shinji Ikari's will. Light and heat began to engulf the surroundings, and the beam of light shooting from Unit-01's eyes was like a kaleidoscopic sword, cutting through the sea of ​​clouds and leaving indelible marks on Unit-013.

"Don't joke around! You're just a one-time awakened one! There's a qualitative difference between us!" A burning pain shot through Original Asuka's mind from her shoulder blades to her chest, but instead of retreating, she advanced. The dual pistols, which began to roar like a living creature, were gripped tightly by Unit-01 13 and swung down at Shinji Ikari without hesitation.

Shinji Ikari fell silent. Words were no longer necessary. The Light Spear he had created was ultimately no match for these two mythical weapons. After several impacts, it began to vibrate and crack, as if even this lifeless weapon was beginning to fear these two divine artifacts. The scattered fragments of the Light Spear shot towards Unit-13 like sharp blades, but bounced off the surface of the autonomously defending floating shield, as if striking the surface of some indestructible object.

But he didn't care at all. Just as the Spear of Longinus was about to pierce his chest, the two golden halos in his hands condensed and spun brilliantly.

There was no obstruction, nor could the Spear of Longinus, an invincible spear of despair, hinder it in any way. However, what horrified Original Asuka was that the attack that pierced her chest could not affect Unit-01 in the slightest. At the same time, the four floating shields on Unit-01's shoulder hangar were destroyed by the light wheel without any obstruction, and then cut and tore apart her own arm.

With her arms torn apart, Asuka didn't scream, and Shinji Ikari's eyes showed approval.

“We are indeed worlds apart, girl, as far apart as heaven and earth!” Shinji Ikari grinned maliciously, completely ignoring the hole in his chest. The domain that had been enveloping him, which was already like an iron wall, expanded again, twisting and squeezing towards Unit-03 in the opposite direction.

At this moment, Mari Makinami on the ground once again heard the sounds of Unit-03 and Unit-01. They shot into the sky like twisted spirals and crashed back to the ground like meteorites.

Despite being in a superior, divine form, it was Unit-01 13 that fell below. The only difference was between the mobile suits, but the gap between Original Asuka and Shinji Ikari was as vast as heaven and earth. Whether in terms of combat skills, their willpower, or the strength of their Absolute Territory, they were not even in the same league. Shinji Ikari wasn't stronger than Original Asuka; he arrogantly towered above all things.

“Little Dog, it seems like he really is called Wolfhound now.” Mashiro bit her finger.

Victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion, but for some reason, the unease in Mari's heart grew rapidly.

"If the revival of Original Asuka and Unit-03 was arranged by Gendo Ikari before his death, then he, who personally experienced the battle with Shinji Ikari, should know very well that even if Unit-03 evolved to its final stage, it would be impossible for it to defeat Shinji Ikari." Mari bit her fingers anxiously.

What's the point of giving Original Asuka a new lease on life? Is it just to relieve Shinji's frustration? Or is it a desperate last stand against his will? Mari shook her head. That old fox Gendo Ikari would never be that simple.