Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

"Understood." Maya Ibuki nodded.

As the 00 and 02 cockpits, symbolizing Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu, returned to the elevator platform to discharge LCL fluid, the 01 cockpit, symbolizing Shinji Ikari, descended another 0.5 meters.

“We’re already quite close to the danger zone. Should we continue?” Ibuki Maya couldn’t help but turn around several times to look at Akagi Ritsuko, who was in charge.

At this moment, the control panel finally sounded an alarm, but it was not due to Shinji Ikari's mental burden (contamination) being too heavy. It was just that the depth of his descent, which had reached the danger threshold, caused the Three Sages System, which was responsible for monitoring, to instinctively issue an alarm.

"With such stable mental resonance and synchronization rates, maintaining such stable mental values ​​under these circumstances is like being a chosen one born to pilot an EVA," Ritsuko Akagi exclaimed with a smile. "Let the Third Child return; the experiment can be concluded now."

Everyone was surprised by this result, because it was clear to everyone that the third eligible candidate was still in a very comfortable position, and the alarm was just a natural alarm sounded by the Three Sages System.

However, in the development department, Ritsuko Akagi is the boss. When the boss speaks, the researchers under her naturally have no objections.

"Thank you all for your hard work, especially Captain Ikari, you did an outstanding job. Of course, Asuka, you were also excellent; this deep dive improved your mental resonance by seven points compared to the last one." Ritsuko Akagi walked up to the three of them.

"What? I can actually dive even deeper! Don't compare me to this porcelain doll. Do you really think that's all I'm capable of?" Asuka rubbed her shoulder, her face full of displeasure.

Unexpectedly, Ritsuko Akagi nodded. "I know that. Based on your mental feedback at the time, it should be able to drop another 0.3 range, but we don't need to take that risk. We just need to know the approximate value of the mental resonance."

The right answer is to avoid taking risks.

To be honest, piloting a Knight Titan mech and piloting an EVA are essentially the same thing, and NERV is equivalent to the logistics force of the noble knights.

In peacetime, no one dares to risk the safety of the chosen ones, especially the Third Child, Shinji Ikari. The safety of the chosen ones is crucial to the survival of human civilization; after all, theoretically, the total number of chosen ones among four billion humans wouldn't exceed fifty. And to date, only four chosen ones have broken into double digits.

The first Child was Rei Ayanami, the second Child was Asuka Langley Soryu, the third Child was Shinji Ikari, and the last Child was Mari Elantrias Makinami.

Information about the Fourth Child, Mari Makinami, remains shrouded in mystery, with only some basic data leaked. Her synchronization rate, mental resonance value, and piloting skills are all unknown.

However, Ritsuko Akagi remembered that she was one of the few pilots who had single-handedly annihilated an Angel. Before her, the only pilot capable of eliminating an Angel alone was Shinji Ikari. This immediately elevated her status.

Back to reality, Asuka completely disregards Ritsuko Akagi's good intentions.

"Hmph, it's because of your careless attitude that my skills have improved so slowly! You'll be the ones who regret it sooner or later, and I'll definitely surprise you!" Asuka put her hands on her hips and strode angrily toward the locker room.

“Ignore her, that’s just Asuka’s personality.” Misato Katsuragi shrugged. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll head back now. Those two kids still have classes.”

It was the same blue Mazda, already waiting at the exit. Of the twelve phases, only nine remained. With a whistle, the gate slowly opened, and Misato Katsuragi floored the accelerator, speeding off into the tunnel ahead. A fleeting halo of light once again engulfed them.

"I haven't congratulated you on your promotion to captain yet. Now you have the same rank as Asuka." Suddenly, Misato Katsuragi smiled.

“You were also promoted to major, but seeing your somewhat dejected expression, I’m starting to hesitate about whether to offer to celebrate.” Shinji Ikari pretended to be conflicted and frowned, but then pulled out a gift he had prepared beforehand from his pocket. “Let’s celebrate our 100th day of knowing each other. We can open it when we get back.”

"You've gone to such lengths; if it's just a ring, I wouldn't accept it."

“It’s just a small thing. After all, you wouldn’t want the celebration to be for a so-called rank promotion, would you?” Shinji Ikari wasn’t really clear about Misato Katsuragi’s thoughts, but he could vaguely sense that it was related to her father. She didn’t care much about rank promotions and even harbored a subtle hostility towards them.

Misato Katsuragi reached out and put the gift box, which seemed to be able to hold only a ring, into the pocket of her leather jacket, driving with one hand. "Your mind is always so sharp, but instead of caring about an old aunt like me, you should care more about Ms. Shikinami who's having a tantrum."

“Asuka.” Shinji Ikari reclined his chair and looked up at the azure sky. “Speaking of which, she is the truly untouchable porcupine.”

"If Asuka heard you say that about her, she'd probably throw a tantrum and keep arguing with you like a cat with its fur standing on end."

"You're the one who described the porcupine dilemma to me. Asuka is like a porcupine covered in quills, craving praise and attention from others, but when people get close to her, they get hurt by her quills. There are huge emptiness in her heart. It's painful for her to live alone, so she wants to live with someone; she hates loneliness, so she hopes someone will love her passionately and pamper her."

As a driver, it was the only way she could gain praise and attention from others, and something Asuka absolutely could not lose.

"And what about you, Captain Shinji Ikari?" Misato Katsuragi suddenly asked.

"The school is having a sports meet on Friday, and I've signed up for the high jump. If you have time, you can come to the school to watch," Shinji Ikari said slowly.

Misato Katsuragi could tell that Shinji Ikari was changing the subject, but she didn't mind. "Okay, I'll go with Ritsuko if I have time. Speaking of track and field, high jump, with your physical talent, participating in the school's sports meet is really a case of being outclassed."

"It's just about bringing honor to the class, and it makes everyone happier. Besides, when it comes to sports, the one I'm least good at is high jump."

Just then, the phone rang urgently from Misato Katsuragi's pocket. The ringtone was completely different from the pop music she usually played; it was urgent and high-pitched, as if foreshadowing something.

It wasn't until Misato Katsuragi connected to the car's communication system that Ritsuko Akagi's voice reached their ears.

"I apologize for disturbing your rest time, but three minutes ago, the Mauna Kea volcano monitoring station detected an abnormal life form approaching the atmosphere. Although we cannot determine whether it is an Apostle, you still need to return to headquarters to prepare for orders."

Chapter 81: Archangel Sahaquier, the Commander of the Sky

"It really looks like an armed violent organization!" Shinji Ikari, sitting in the passenger seat on the way back to Hakone, looked out the window and saw a heavily armed group under the silver steel gate.

Eight security personnel in black combat uniforms guarded the front entrance. After passing through security checks, they disembarked at the platform behind the station. There were four people at each of the side doors, two people on each side of the platform, and six people in the second-floor passage. All of them were equipped with light and heavy weapons and could launch a rapid attack if necessary.

“NERV has always been a violent organization. You should be glad that those who invaded headquarters during the blackout were just mercenaries who weren’t equipped with thermal detectors. Otherwise, your blind and groping tactics would have gotten you riddled with bullets.” Misato Katsuragi said to Shinji Ikari irritably after parking the car and handing the keys to the security personnel.

Half a month has passed since the blackout, but Misato Katsuragi is still indignant about Shinji Ikari's actions, and more so worried and fearful.

I hadn't noticed it before, but perhaps it was because of the recent major power outage that NERV completely exposed its ferocious side.

NERV is a UN-affiliated intelligence agency, and it is no exaggeration to say that it possesses powers beyond those of any nation. In times of emergency, it has absolute command over the League of Nations forces and the forces of its member states.

At that time, the authority held by the highest-ranking leaders of each branch will surpass that of all administrative and judicial organs of the League of Nations member states. In terms of main weaponry, they will possess the ultimate general-purpose humanoid decisive weapon, EVANGELION. Of course, this only refers to the power and prestige of each branch, excluding the incompetent headquarters.

The Japanese headquarters was arguably the most pathetic, unlike its imposing branches, and its relationship with the Japanese government and its Defense Agency was extremely strained… To digress, even such a massive multinational organization remained silent in the face of the massive blackout. It was implicitly acknowledged that the dismantled heavy industrial conglomerate was the mastermind behind it.

The fact that NERV could endure such humiliation makes the true mastermind behind it all quite obvious.

"Is the head of the security department an idiot? Why do they even need to check my identity? Don't they have a direct green channel? Get this straight, every second counts!" Misato Katsuragi complained as she got out of the driver's seat.

"The head of the security and defense department is concurrently held by Vice Commander Fuyutsuki," Shinji Ikari kindly reminded him from the side.

"I knew it. No one but Commander Fuyutsuki is as meticulous and responsible as him. He is someone we should learn from."

"Stop talking nonsense. He can't hear you flattering him here. Let's hurry up and go in." Shinji Ikari patted her shoulder, took her wrist, and walked towards the usual S36 elevator shaft.

In the monitoring room of the special supervision department, Asuka and Ritsuko Akagi, who had just parted ways, are reunited.

Asuka maintained her arrogant posture with her arms crossed. She had changed into her red combat uniform, resembling a burning flame. Her eyes were fixed intently on Shinji Ikari, who stood beside Misato Katsuragi. Although she didn't speak, she waited for him to greet her.

But in this tense and busy environment, only Misato Katsuragi spoke.

"What's the situation now?" Misato Katsuragi walked to the control panel and asked.

"The Angel has been detected in satellite orbit. It's now approaching the sixth monitoring satellite and will encounter it in two minutes," researcher Hyuga Shiro replied. "The target image has been captured. The third monitoring satellite detected the target using light, and the display screen is set to maximum data."

At that moment, everyone held their breath, and then simultaneously let out a gasp of astonishment.

"This is truly remarkable," Shinji Ikari exclaimed first, a first for the undefeated Third Child.

Even Misato Katsuragi, who was used to seeing apostles, had a slight change in expression at this moment. "This is really unreasonable. This absolute domain is so powerful that it can distort the light around it. It shouldn't even exist."

From space, this planet where humans were born and raised is naturally incredibly beautiful, but what truly attracts everyone's attention is the enormous life form hovering above the planet. If compared with the satellites next to it, its size far surpasses that of an aircraft carrier, and its imposing presence makes the Earth beneath it seem as if it is about to be swallowed up along with the blue sky.

A colossal black life form, its shape perfectly symmetrical, hovered over the Indian Ocean. Viewed from above, it resembled two enormous hands rising from the planet, leaving all who witnessed it in awe.

If we only consider the apostle himself, there is no problem in saying that he is the largest apostle in history. His geometrically symmetrical form has achieved such outstanding development that, even in the face of the various natural phenomena distributed on the planet below, he himself is a part of nature—no, he even claims to be the complete form of nature.

But what truly terrified Misato Katsuragi was the AT field surrounding Him. Even in its normal state, the AT field was powerful enough to distort space itself. This made Misato realize that the Angel before her might be the strongest opponent they had ever encountered.

"Get closer to the target," Misato Katsuragi ordered. She needed more data about this Angel.

"Understood." Hyuga Shiro nodded.

In fact, even without Misato Katsuragi issuing an order, the Angels were already close to the sixth monitoring satellite.

"Start scanning the target shape."

"Begin transmitting radar signals,"

"Receive signal".

"Start parsing."

But just as the last sentence was finished, the image on the screen distorted slightly before going completely black.

"AT field? Can it be used like this?" Misato Katsuragi was taken aback.

“It’s probably a new way of using it. Not only us humans, but the Angels are also constantly learning and evolving,” said Ritsuko Akagi, who was standing next to him, then glanced at Shinji Ikari beside her.

Throughout the entire headquarters, only a handful of people, including Ritsuko Akagi, observed that Shinji Ikari was also constantly learning and evolving, just like an Angel.

The most typical example is when confronting the Music Apostle and the Rain Apostle, using the Thunder Apostle's AT Field Defense Mode to envelop the energy of the apostle's explosion, preventing it from causing serious impact on the outside world.

But whether he possesses new skills and abilities, Ritsuko Akagi has no idea. Because this third boy is like a bottomless abyss; he only reveals what he should reveal and does nothing superfluous.

“If all the satellites in that area are destroyed, won’t we be blind?” Misato Katsuragi complained.

"It's alright, we're mobilizing the nearby fourth and fifth surveillance satellites," Hyuga Castle replied.

But six minutes later, instead of receiving news that the apostles had returned to monitoring, they received information that the Pacific Ocean had been subjected to a suspected N2 aerial bomb test explosion.

Chapter 82: Brave Misato, Unafraid of Difficulties

After the image was transmitted to the display screen, there was another moment of silence.

Waves several meters high rose from the surface of the Indian Ocean, resembling the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. The massive shockwave created an elliptical depression in the sea surface, which was quickly filled back in by the seawater.

This is a divine retribution bomb formed from a part of the body of an aerial apostle located over the Indian Ocean. Its power is comparable to that of the N2 aerial bomb, which is why it is often mistaken for another N2 bomb test conducted by a Southeast Asian country in the Indian Ocean.

Soon after, they also learned that the second missile had landed.

"The power is truly exaggerated; it really lives up to its name as an AT field," said Misato Katsuragi.

"Not only that, but it also utilizes the principle of free fall, so that the apostle itself is a giant bomb."

"In any case, the first shot hit the Indian Ocean, but the second shot immediately landed in the Soya Strait near Sakhalin Island. It's obvious that it was corrected for errors." Ritsuko Akagi said calmly, holding her coffee, but you could see that her right hand holding the coffee was trembling slightly.

“So that means He is learning.” Katsuragi Mimi looked troubled.

They then received news that the Soviet Union had bombed the surface of the Apostle with N2 aerial bombs, yet it remained intact. This further fueled the panic among the current staff.

Even repeated bombings could not change the trajectory of the Sky Apostle. Judging from this point alone, the strength of His AT field even surpassed that of the strongest Thunder Apostle before.

Even in a probing attack, the power of the Sky Apostle was comparable to an N2 bomb. But if it were to fall with its enormous size, it would be enough to unleash a devastating force akin to the Third Impact.

"The Apostle's current location is unknown; we are currently tracking its position," Hyuga Castle shouted.

"So, what's the expected landing location?" Misato Katsuragi frowned slightly, but though she was asking a question, she lowered her eyes and gave the answer herself, "Let me guess, it'll be here."

“MAGI is calculating, but the probability of landing here is as high as 99.999%,” Ritsuko Akagi said. “At that time, Third New Tokyo will probably become the third Lake Ashi.”

"I feel it's more likely that the Fuji Five Lakes will be integrated into one, connected to the Pacific Ocean, and of course, our headquarters will also be included."