Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

A mysterious smile appeared on Shinji Ikari's face. The boy took another step forward, and the disintegrating armor formed a staircase for him to step on, allowing him to return to his Soul Throne.

Shinji Ikari stood upright, but instead of being swallowed up by the menacing purple machine that had been expected, the machine approached. At that moment, the joints of the armor on Unit-01 disassembled one by one, surging him into its embrace and absorbing the boy's body into its own.

Unit-01, which had destroyed all obstacles to reach this place, was once again greeted by its pilot, whose eyes, like those of a gas lamp, revealed a sacred golden light.

A vast amount of energy burst forth from the apostle's body.

A long-absent white halo rose in the dark and deep elevator shaft; it was the rain angel Mathilde. Under the pressure of Unit-01, she completely liberated her life form, revealing her true angelic nature.

At this moment, the Rain Apostle's response was not to flee, but to wrap its remaining six pairs of appendages in white beams of light and stab them toward the fuselage of Unit-01 in front of it.

Behind them, including in the central dogmatic section below, all the doors and windows rattled and shattered simultaneously. As Unit-01's arms clashed with the Rain Apostle's claws, the Rain Apostle's remaining twelve appendages should have easily pierced through its body.

However, the absolute domain unleashed by Unit-01 prevented Him from advancing an inch. The Rain Angel's attacks were as laughable as a child waving a pencil in front of Unit-01. The claws that were originally wrestling with Unit-01's arms were now bound and squeezed by an invisible force field, squeezing out broken flesh and limbs like sugarcane.

The pain caused the Rain Apostle to let out a sharp howl.

"Scream! Scream louder! How else can you please me, Ninth Alien!" the knight laughed maniacally.

Shinji Ikari's will in the cockpit pierced through Unit-01's eyes and pierced the face of the monstrous Rain Angel. Unit-01, with its hands free, grabbed the body and leaped down the elevator shaft.

The Rain Apostle shrieked, its remaining appendages leaving marks on the well arm. Like a drowning person frantically waving their arms, trying to grab onto something, even if it's just a tiny straw.

But the result was irreversible death!

The blood-red cross, symbolizing the death of the apostles, and the thunderous crash to the ground resounded together. The blinding light even penetrated the elevator shaft, extending along the gate corroded by the rain apostles, and down to the surface of the Third Tokyo City.

Amidst the blood-red rain that seemed to echo with the sky's weeping, planes flew through the curtain of rain.

"What's going on? What are those people in the Third Tokyo City doing?" Kazuya Tsurumaki rushed to the cabin door and looked at the blood-red cross so close to him. To be honest, this was the first time he had ever witnessed this strange phenomenon that symbolized the death of the apostles.

He had just received a mandatory order from the Unification Council: if NERV headquarters truly could not shoulder the responsibility of confronting the Angels, then they should use N2 mines, along with Hakone, to eliminate this Ninth Angel, which could threaten human civilization.

But now it seems that it's no longer needed.

Kazuya Tsurumaki stood at the cabin door, the wind whipping his hair back. Although the trip was in vain, seeing such a view made it all worthwhile.

At this moment, the clouds above the city of Third New Tokyo trembled, as if the turbulent sky was tinged with a red aurora, and blood rain fell from the sky, washing over the earth. Like fireflies, the light of blood-red crosses illuminated the raindrops, turning Third New Tokyo a fiery red.

Meanwhile, in the Central Dogmatic District, Misato Katsuragi also learned from the Three Sages System MAGI that the Rain Apostle had been killed.

“We haven’t even finished our defenses, and the Angels have already been wiped out. It feels like we’re trying to wink at a blind man.” Misato Katsuragi rubbed her forehead. “We still don’t know who did it.”

"Is that even a question? That huge Unit-01 broke free of its restraints and ran away." Ritsuko Akagi, wearing a white lab coat, stood quietly in place, seemingly oblivious to the sweltering heat. "This could be considered a kind of rampage, right? What should we do with Unit-01 breaking free of its restraints?"

"Arrange for all witnesses to sign confidentiality agreements and not disclose this information." When it came to serious matters, Misato Katsuragi's expression instantly turned serious.

"Moreover, the fact that Evangelion could autonomously break free from its restraints was unexpected by everyone, including them. The dummy system (autonomous driving system) may also be on the agenda sooner than expected."

"You mean they want to replace drivers with intelligent systems?" Misato Katsuragi's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Whether it's necessary or not depends on the experimental data, but it's unlikely to replace the third Child. However, it will restrain his behavior and prevent him from going too far astray," said Ritsuko Akagi.

Misato Katsuragi didn't respond further. Her intuition told her that doing so might trigger an unexpected disaster. Shinji Ikari had never been one to be bound by rules.

"But what I'm curious about now is, where is the Third Child now?" Ritsuko Akagi said softly.

At first, her heart was racing, pounding like a broken clock. Even though the apostle had been killed, the feeling of unease only intensified.

She had a feeling that this might be related to the Third Child, whose whereabouts were still unknown.

She instinctively looked towards the top, in the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, trying to get an answer from him.

But just as if the father and son, who had always disliked each other, had a rare moment of tacit understanding, Commander-in-Chief Gendo Ikari also disappeared without a trace.

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Hakone—actually, even Shinji Ikari couldn't say exactly where it was; it was a place that was impossible to reach on any map.

This was no longer a depth that the elevator shaft could reach. A young man dressed in a white shirt and casual suit pants was heading towards the deepest forbidden area through the crack created by the shock wave.

"This road is really hard to walk on. If they have so much money, why don't they build a sightseeing trail? They could make some money from ticket sales too." Shinji Ikari climbed the rock wall and jumped down from a high place, his trouser legs covered in mud.

He completely forgot that he hadn't come from the front entrance at all. Stepping through the groundwater seeping from the cracks, his custom-made Italian leather shoes were now completely soaked.

Unit-01 was parked outside. Since he was already here, he decided to take advantage of the lull in the power outage to investigate.

Following the cracks that had been created by the earthquake, I finally reached the deepest part of Hakone. I didn't sneak in through the main gate, which was heavily guarded, but rather through a crack on the side. After all, if the main gate is too sturdy, its walls will only become a new gateway for some unscrupulous people.

Shinji Ikari's goal has always been the Final Dogma District; even killing the Rain Angel was just a side effect. Rumor has it that the world's ultimate secret is hidden there.

Fortunately, Shinji Ikari managed to squeeze through the increasingly narrow crack, and while the view opened up, he was slightly taken aback.

Because a middle-aged man was standing in front of him, hands in his pockets, expressionless, blocking his way.

"If it were the owner, they would naturally come in through the main gate openly. If it were a guest, they would ask the owner for permission to come in for a visit. Only those ignorant rats would squeeze in through such dark cracks."

Even in this almost completely dark world, Gendo Ikari's glasses still reflected a certain gloomy light. His gaze was fixed on the boy in front of him from behind the lenses, and an undisguised sarcasm appeared on his lips.

"I thought you were a little more sensible, Shinji Ikari. Go back now; it's not the time for you to come here."

Chapter 77: The Final Dogma

NERV is an intelligence agency directly under the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is also an extra-legal armed group with power beyond national borders in all matters related to the Apostles. Prior to today, they had successfully engaged five Apostles, delivering an outstanding performance to the world.

However, there are also rumors that NERV possesses secrets that could lead to the destruction of humanity; otherwise, why would so many Angels be heading towards its headquarters?

For example, there is a rumor within NERV that if any Angel actually breaches Hakone and reaches the EEE area below NERV headquarters, the Three Sages System will guide the headquarters into a self-destruct state, turning the entire Hakone into the Angel's tomb.

"I thought you were a little more sensible, Shinji Ikari. Go back now, it's not the time for you to come here."

It was here that Shinji Ikari saw his long-lost father, his face bearing the same coldness and sarcasm as he remembered. Yet, Shinji couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at?" Gendo Ikari pushed up his glasses.

Shinji Ikari didn't answer. That long-lost memory, that long-lost sense of familiarity, even this condescending disdain and contempt, felt like the winds of two hundred years ago had blown back here. Shinji wasn't angry, really not angry; he even felt as if he had returned to his tragic childhood.

"Are you alone?" Shinji Ikari asked earnestly.

Shinji Ikari leaped down from the crack in the wall, effortlessly snapping off a protruding steel pipe. This seemingly natural movement caused Gendo Ikari to instinctively take a step back.

The previously heavy and chilling atmosphere vanished completely in an instant.

"You dare to talk to me like this in a place without surveillance cameras? Comrade Ikari, has no one ever told you that you're brave?"

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With the golden throne above, it's truly a blessing from the Emperor! I only intended to casually stroll in, but I unexpectedly encountered a kind-hearted guide!

After Shinji Ikari spoke with the guide, the pretentious guy, still wearing sunglasses in the dark cave, finally agreed to be the guide and led him in through the main entrance.

It's hard to imagine that beneath Hakone lies a vast underground space. Not long ago, it was ravaged by a shockwave that destroyed nearby human-made structures and swept through this area as well. Black tracks crisscross the ground, penetrating deep into the mud, each track nearly a hundred meters wide and long, as if a giant, burning plow had turned the soil.

However, this was merely the aftershock of the battle between Unit-01 and the Rain Angel, not the shockwave caused by the Rain Angel's death.

Few people realize that Shinji Ikari actually improves after each battle with the Angels. However, since he already looks down on the many Angels of Destruction as a near-ultimate being, even if he becomes stronger, it only means that he can destroy the aliens he speaks of with even more ease.

In the deepest part of Hakone, Shinji Ikari perfectly replicated the scene when he killed the Music Angel. He used an absolute force field that completely surpassed the Angel to restrain the shockwave caused by the Angel's death, so that this destructive energy only flowed in the palm of Unit-01.

It can even effectively direct energy in a certain direction.

And this rift, powerful enough to tear apart the final dogma, is Shinji Ikari's masterpiece.

Gendo Ikari walked ahead, clutching his fractured right arm, and couldn't help but be impressed by Shinji Ikari's exquisite control over his power.

With an absolute domain that transcends normal limits and the skill to manipulate it with precision, Gendo Ikari had many questions he wanted to ask, but he knew that Shinji Ikari would not tell him.

Just like now, his ego is excessive.

During this time, Gendo Ikari unusually resonated with the psychologists he had dispatched. It perfectly illustrated the saying, "A scholar encountering a soldier—reason is useless." Outside, Gendo might be the Commander-in-Chief of NERV, the powerful thirteenth prince, and the father of the Third Child. But here, Shinji Ikari wouldn't reason with you; all he needed to do was obey, obey, and obey again.

Because Shinji Ikari is truly ruthless, and even enjoys it while fighting.

If you were walking alone at night and encountered a lunatic who was hitting you while smiling, you would obediently listen and then try to escape.

The final dogmatic zone seemed to still have power, and the ground was made of obsidian, with serpentine inscriptions etched into it, and red light flowing in the grooves. The pattern formed by these deep grooves resembled a bizarre tree of life, branching out and branching again, constantly forking and converging, finally flowing into the gate that sealed off all sides in front.

Without needing Shinji Ikari's prompting, Gendo Ikari stepped forward and opened the door in front of him.

[—Identity confirmed, the final door to the Central Dogma District has been unlocked—]

As the inscriptions on the door slowly lit up, the pattern formed by the intersecting inscriptions was not the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but an inverted triangle formed by a ring-tailed serpent with seven eyes.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the ultimate world you want to see." Gendo Ikari took the lead and stepped inside.

The door, split into four parts, slowly detached like a blood-red spiral of DNA. Shinji Ikari stepped forward, entering the interior of the Final Dogma. Here, the world was dark and chaotic, like the primordial universe. Gendo Ikari stood inside, staring straight ahead like a pilgrim.

"Wow, this is really something," Shinji Ikari murmured in amazement.

Before him, at the center of the final dogma, stood a humanoid white giant.

It was a colossal creature with only an upper body, its skin pale, and its face covered by a mask with seven eyes. Although it had a humanoid form, it lacked any male or female characteristics; in fact, it only had half a body, as if it had been severed at the waist.

But growing from the wound were countless arms and legs, as if they were trying to take root in the soil. His arms were outstretched and nailed to the cross, his head bowed, just like Jesus nailed to the cross.

It is also like the blood-red cross that appeared when the apostles suffered.

"This is Adam, the First Angel, the creator and destroyer of life on Earth," Gendo Ikari said in a deep voice. Even Shinji Ikari hadn't expected Gendo to explain the true identity of the white giant before him.

“Adam?” Shinji Ikari’s eyebrows lifted slightly; he was familiar with the name.

"Yes, it was in Antarctica that humanity came into contact with Him, which triggered the Second Impact that wiped out half of humanity. And that is why the apostles have been trying to attack this place again and again."

Gendo Ikari adjusted his glasses and looked up at the white giant before him.

"The prophecy states that if the apostles come into contact with Him, it will trigger the Third Impact, which will destroy the world. That's why I sent you from Tokyo-2 to pilot the EVA."

Chapter 78: The Last Apostle

"Don't be so self-righteous. I pilot Unit-01 because Terra needs me to pilot it. It has nothing to do with the will of any organization or individual," Shinji Ikari said.

Whether in the past or present, whether in the world of knights or in Holy Terra, if piloting a mobile suit to fight off aliens is his mission, then Shinji Ikari accepts it with honor.

Even if he were to die in battle while fighting the aliens, Shinji Ikari would gladly accept it.

The power of the nobility is inherent, and their responsibilities are constant.