Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

The people, who thought it was just a temporary power outage, were unaware that danger was about to strike.

At that moment, on Mount Ontake in Tokyo, young people who were picnicking and camping on the grassy plain at the foot of the mountain seemed to hear something strange. When they looked in the direction of the sound, all the blood in their bodies rushed to their brains.

Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, a gigantic spider-like creature emerged from behind the mountain. Its long, slender limbs touched the ground, and its seemingly effortless movement caused a deafening roar in the valley. Flocks of birds and beasts that inhabited the forest flew rapidly into the distance.

"An apostle! It's an apostle!" the youths screamed in terror.

Following the Ninth Apostle, the Fetal Angel Sandon, the Tenth Apostle, the Rain Angel Matter, also revealed himself in Tokyo.

But He did not cause any harm to the young people camping and picnicking at His feet, or rather, humans were too insignificant for Him to be worth attacking. Instead, He strode confidently and boldly toward the Third New Tokyo City with a pace that appeared slow but was actually incredibly fast.

Chapter Seventy: In the Still Darkness

Inside the elevator, which is currently paused.

"It's okay, it will definitely switch to the backup power supply soon."

Asuka stood with her hands on her hips at the corner of the elevator, remaining calm and unperturbed about the current situation.

She had complete trust in headquarters. However, Shinji Ikari stared at the display screen, where even the buttons indicating the floor numbers were off. In the darkness, his pupils flickered dimly, like a warning light flashing overhead.

The familiar smell of blood vaguely awakened his dormant heart.

In the darkness that descends upon underground Hakone, fear silently breeds and spreads.

Meanwhile, in the control room next to the first test site, the room suddenly plunged into darkness, and the researchers were briefly thrown into panic. However, with the on-site command of Vice Commander Fuyutsuki Yukizo, the group, as if finding their backbone, resumed their work in an orderly manner.

"No, the backup power can't be connected!" Hyuga Shiro shouted as he looked up from his workstation.

"How could this happen? Are there any other connecting lines?" asked Fuyutsuki Yukizo.

"Only 1.2%, and that's from older lines after number 2567, so stability can't be guaranteed," another staff member replied.

Fuyutsuki Yukizo made a decisive decision: "Support all the remaining electricity to MAGI and Central Dogma."

“Vice Commander, this will affect life support throughout the entire building.” Hyuga Shiro hesitated upon hearing this.

“It’s alright, this matter is the most important right now.” Fuyutsuki Yukizo’s brows revealed a ruthless glint. “I’m not unaware of the consequences of doing this, but if the power supply to these two locations is insufficient, the resulting disaster could be far greater than you imagine.”

Compared to other regions, the Three Sages System and the Central Dogma are clearly more important. Their safety is a matter of life and death for the world. But these two are areas he can control, and at this moment, Fuyutsuki Yukimasa is more worried about the chosen ones in another region.

He had a feeling that this power outage wouldn't end so easily. If it wasn't aimed at them, then who was it?

"It's less of a power outage and more of a deliberate disconnection." In the central control room on the other side, Commander-in-Chief Gendo Ikari also concluded, "This underground Hakone city is a fortress city that can be self-sufficient even if it is cut off from the outside world. Such a complete loss of power is theoretically impossible."

"Someone must have cut it off on purpose," Ritsuko Akagi concluded.

"I'm afraid their goal is to investigate this place," said Fuyutsuki Yukizo. "Does the other party want to deduce the structure of the headquarters through the restoration process? It seems they have very high authority within the Three Sages System."

“That’s really being too clever for his own good, letting MAGI send the wrong instructions, making it difficult for him to understand what’s going on,” Ritsuko Akagi said.

"Whatever the reason, it would be terrible if an apostle appeared at this time." Fuyutsuki Yukizo frowned deeply.

However, according to Murphy's Law, if something can go wrong, it will, no matter how small the chance. At this moment, the Three Sages System, finally restored to power, finally sounded its belated alarm.

[Detection radar detected an unidentified object, predicting its landing site to be in the vicinity of the former Atami.]

Meanwhile, the General Headquarters of the Imperial Army and the Comprehensive Security and Control Center also received news of the apostle's attack. However, they remained inactive.

It wasn't that they were colluding with those shady characters; it's just that they were unaware of the internal workings of Third Tokyo. They preferred not to do anything, even if it meant potentially making a mistake. By not doing anything, they avoided making a mistake.

"It's probably an Apostle, oh dear, that's really scary." Military representative Kazuya Tsurumaki stood in front of the big screen, looking unusually relaxed compared to his tense encounter with the Water Apostle last time.

"Let's go on high alert for now, that's the rule. Anyway, NERV is responsible for confronting the Angels, so let's not act rashly and disrupt their plans."

"Yeah, that's fine, anyway, it has nothing to do with us."

Inside the elevator, after a long wait, the two drivers, who were suspended in this indeterminate position, began to try to save themselves.

"What happened?" Asuka leaned over.

At this moment, Shinji Ikari used brute force to dismantle the control device inside the elevator, revealing the intricate internal circuitry.

Because of the power outage, there's no need to worry about electric shock. Shinji Ikari said, "There are three power supply systems: main, secondary, and backup. But to have them all go out at the same time is even more unusual than winning the lottery." Although Shinji Ikari spoke with a smile, his pupils were devoid of any warmth.

He vaguely heard a sound and looked up alertly. It was as if some kind of earthquake was rapidly approaching his location.

It was as if a thousand cavalrymen were trampling on the ice, or as if armed thugs were attacking him.

"It feels a bit cold. What's that sound?" Asuka heard something too. Shinji wrapped his coat tighter around himself and took it off. The air, which should have been warm after the ventilation system stopped working, was instead filled with a cold draft that seeped in through the gaps in the elevator.

Outside lies a deep elevator shaft. Some say you can tell the size of a building by its elevators. A typical office building has only three or four elevators in its shaft, with an area of ​​no more than twenty square meters. But the smallest elevator shaft in Hakone can accommodate more than a dozen elevators simultaneously, with an area exceeding one hundred square meters. Within these one hundred square meters stand hundreds of high-strength angle steel columns, with steel beams running through the middle of the columns.

These high-rise buildings use ultra-high-speed elevators, with metal cabins traveling up and down at a speed of eight meters per second, brushing past each other at a short distance. The Hakone itself is a futuristic city that only exists in science fiction novels.

And from this unusual elevator shaft, an army actually emerged.

At that moment, a deep red elevator arrival announcement lit up the profound darkness—an elevator indicator light. The elevator doors opened silently, and the shadowy figures entered the pitch-black gloom in an orderly fashion. Apart from the faint sounds coming from the ventilation ducts, there was only deathly silence.

And that restless, murderous aura that permeated the air.

A faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood drifted into Shinji Ikari's nostrils along with the cold wind seeping through the cracks, instantly waking every dormant cell in his body.

"What happened?" Asuka's eyes narrowed, and her body instinctively made her take a half step back.

Her eyes flickered, and in an instant, the gentle and refined fool in front of her seemed to have suddenly become a different person. At this moment, every smile and every look in his eyes was permeated with a bone-chilling cold that sent shivers down her spine.

Her body's survival instinct urged her to stay away from the man in front of her, even though reason told her that the man in front of her would not hurt her.

"Looks like something fun is coming. Guess what it is?" Shinji Ikari put his index finger to his lips, his mouth curving into an unbelievable smile.

Shinji Ikari couldn't explain it to Asuka, or rather, he didn't know either.

But at that moment, in that instant, he felt the enemy surging towards him like a tidal wave. Every cell in his body was jubilant, yearning for wails and screams.

He reached out and gripped the rose rosary in his arms, reciting a prayer—

“I offer my blood to the emperor. I pray that this will relieve his thirst…”

Meanwhile, in the central control room of Hakone in Third Tokyo, the management team, trapped there, finally panicked.

The Three Sages System MAGI, having finally completed its basic awakening with power, was sending them two extremely ominous messages.

The first was the news of the apostles landing in the old Atami.

Secondly, there is the possibility that an unknown force took advantage of the power outage to invade Hakone.

Chapter 71: Blood Sacrifice to the Emperor

Upon hearing news of the intruders, Misato Katsuragi's expression changed drastically. She actually pulled a large-caliber revolver from her leather jacket: "What organization dares to invade Hakone? This is an act of betrayal against humanity!"

“There are too many, and too many people who don’t like NERV.” Fuyutsuki Yukizo frowned. “But since they’ve invaded, they must have made sufficient preparations.”

Moreover, the intrusion occurred through the seventh channel, a secret known only to the higher-ups. This quickly confirmed a very ominous suspicion.

“Don’t worry, NERV isn’t just an organization that can only fight off Angels. It took into account the security of external invasions from the very beginning. Even if it’s a standard invasion, as long as the power is restored, the Three Sages can operate in safe mode and completely seal off Hakone in less than ten seconds. The remaining enemies will then be trapped like turtles in a jar,” said Ritsuko Akagi.

The alarms continued to flash, but MAGI, having restored power to the Three Sages System, could only monitor the area near the Central Dogma region and could not determine the enemy's exact location. This sense of powerlessness was unbearable; how long had it been since they had experienced it? For the management, who had lost control of Hakone, they felt like decapitated dragonflies, still able to fly forward, but only as an unconscious bodily response.

“But the problem now is that we can’t restore power. What worries me is that their target is the qualified individuals!” Fuyutsuki Yukizo said coldly.

Misato Katsuragi's expression changed instantly. She pulled out her phone and dialed: "MAGI, put Hakone into full lockdown mode, notify all broadcasting stations that can still broadcast, and instruct all staff to protect the three pilots... Damn it, why is there no signal!"

"Let's use a landline. Since they've chosen to infiltrate, they'll definitely cut off all communication, both internal and external." Fuyutsuki Yukimasa handed over the receiver.

Misato Katsuragi anxiously and blankly took the phone receiver, but there was no phone, no signal, and MAGI could only monitor the Central Doctrine. So where were Shinji Ikari and the others?

Inside the elevator, Shinji Ikari, who had just forcibly removed the handrail from the wall, was stretching his limbs, preparing to face the approaching enemy. Suddenly, the phone next to him rang.

Even Asuka was startled when the phone rang; she had suddenly forgotten there was a telephone in the elevator. The intercom in the elevator was an emergency phone used to call for help when the elevator malfunctioned. And since the elevator system in Hakone had never malfunctioned before, she had completely forgotten about it.

"Shinji! Shinji Ikari! Where are you?" Misato Katsuragi's roaring voice came through the old-fashioned telephone receiver.

In the very end, Misato Katsuragi, relying on what she calls a woman's intuition, pinpointed elevator number four in elevator shaft 36C leading to the ground. It's possible this was the elevator she and Shinji Ikari rode in when they first came to Hakone.

Misato Katsuragi's heart pounded. Her heart had leaped into her throat upon learning of the enemy invasion, but the enemy hadn't invaded the most important Central Dogmatic District, as that was also the most heavily guarded area. So what was the next most important...? This made Misato Katsuragi turn deathly pale.

—Shinji Ikari. Not Asuka, not Rei Ayanami, or any other pilot who is also a chosen one, but only Shinji Ikari, and only Shinji Ikari.

Father, hatred, obsession, family ties... all sorts of emotions and the most important people in her life floated before Misato Katsuragi's eyes. Even her friend Ritsuko Akagi didn't dare to interrupt when faced with Misato in this situation.

Indeed, these enemies who took advantage of the power outage to invade headquarters found NERV's weakness. Compared to the tight security in the Central Dogma District, the lack of EVA pilots was the biggest vulnerability.

"We're fine, Asuka and I are together." Shinji Ikari's voice came through the microphone, his tone feigning calmness as if he was deliberately suppressing his emotions. "However, it seems there have been enemy intrusions."

"You saw the enemy? Where are they! Where are you?" Upon hearing Shinji Ikari's voice, Misato Katsuragi's heart leaped into her throat again.

"We haven't seen them yet, but there might be a few, maybe dozens? We're still in the elevator, but they should be letting me out from the outside soon."

"Are you crazy? There are only two of you!" Misato Katsuragi roared in shock.

"They're the ones who released me. Should the Titans thank those bastards for releasing them?" Shinji Ikari said with a cold laugh before hanging up the phone.

However, I should definitely say thank you.

Just then, a crack was pried open in the elevator door from the outside with a crowbar. Just as they were beginning to rejoice at the prospect of capturing their target, a strong and powerful hand reached out from the crack in the elevator door, and a fierce fist struck the intruder in the front in the chest.

The intruder who took the punch felt as if he had been hit in the chest by a cannonball. His sternum and ribs cracked as if about to shatter, and the impact crushed his chest and heart into a bloody pulp. But his death was not important; it was only his corpse that was used as a shield by his opponent, allowing the tiger to be unleashed completely.

"Be on high alert! The target has a certain level of combat capability. Weapons are permitted. Set the stun gun to maximum power." The captain warned from the darkness.

"You really underestimated me, trying to capture me alive." Shinji Ikari chuckled.

The boy surveyed his surroundings, his not-so-tall frame exuding a commanding presence. These intruders were even dressed in headquarters security uniforms, yet their expressions were all so serious, and what they carried weren't firearms but stun guns and batons.

Clearly, he was a target they had to capture alive. This is why they didn't use the firearms that posed the greatest threat to him.

But their weak weapons will not earn them the mercy of the noble knights.

These intruders exchanged terrified glances, even though their target was merely a fourteen-year-old boy. Instead, they were confronted by a ferocious beast in human form, whose malice, like a chilling wind, swept towards them as it moved.

"Not taking a gun? But I won't hold back."

In the dark, narrow corridor, only the target's voice could be heard. It was as if he didn't care whether his voice gave away his location, recklessly unleashing his malice. But the intruders wouldn't let this opportunity pass; the one at the front, still wearing headquarters security uniform, launched the first attack.

He swung his baton at the blurry figure in front of him, even though the target was only a fourteen-year-old boy. But he dared not be careless; the image of his companion having his chest broken was still etched in his mind.

But his baton missed its mark. Before he could react, his right hand, which was gripping the baton, was suddenly grabbed. The pain from the twisting of his joint made him instinctively release his grip. Then his entire head was slammed against the wall with a deafening roar that echoed through the dark corridor, making it sound like a heavy object had crashed to the ground.

But he did not die; he simply collapsed to the ground in a brief moment of unconsciousness.