Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

"Oh." Suzuhara Toji responded indifferently, preparing to casually reveal his identity as the pilot of Unit 3 when his friend was at his most excited.

"Ah, I'm so curious! Who is the pilot of Unit 3? I heard from Dad that this Unit 3 is special; it seems to use some very advanced technology, and its performance will exceed everyone's expectations... Ah, we won! Five hundred yen! Let's go back quickly!"

Distracted by Kensuke Aida, Toji Suzuhara couldn't directly reveal his identity as a driver, so he could only pretend to be nonchalant and finish the last bite of his ice cream. Carefully examining the remaining stick, he saw the five characters "まいどあり" (maidori), and a bad feeling welled up inside him.

"Tch! What bad luck!" Suzuhara Toji casually threw the wooden stick on the ground, stomped on it twice, and feeling that he had trampled the bad luck under his feet, he put his hands in his pockets and walked back the way he came with arrogance.

The next day at noon, the new No. 3 machine began its first simulation experiment.

At this moment, all the staff members were full of energy, including the driver, Suzuhara Toji.

Upon learning that Shinji Ikari, the third Child, had been appointed as the pilot of Unit-01, they felt as if struck by lightning. Compared to the general public, these researchers and staff truly understood the significance of Shinji Ikari as the strongest pilot.

Without him, the repeated invasions by the Angels would have been a complete disaster if they had relied solely on the First Child, Rei Ayanami, and the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu. He was the one who truly secured victory.

They didn't know if the new pilot could fill the void left by Shinji Ikari, but in terms of performance alone, Unit-03 would far surpass all existing mobile suits.

"The insertion plug is now in place. Begin the first stage of connection."

"Main power supply is plugged in normally. Operating voltage exceeds critical value."

Reports from the technical staff at each stage indicate that the first phase proceeded smoothly. MAGI continues to use both Japanese and German in its reports, as two-thirds of the researchers are from the European branch.

Ritsuko Akagi unbuttoned her collar. Whether it was the stuffy air or the overwhelming pressure from the new mecha, she felt suffocated. Looking at the black and white mecha before her, she felt a sense of dread, as if she were facing an Angel.

Moreover, wasn't the original Unit-03 a black machine? Looking at the white parts that had merged into the machine, Ritsuko Akagi knew that these were parts belonging to the remains of the Embryo Angel. After half a month of adjustments, this Angel remnant, which possessed extremely strong adaptability, indeed adapted to the Unit-03 machine, and even merged into it perfectly.

Her womanly intuition made her want to stop the experiment, but she was not the one in charge of the experiment; it was Dr. Shamash, who had been transferred from the European branch and was the real authority on Project Marduk.

Although he was handling the case of the Third Apostle's rampage, Ritsuko Akagi, who knew the inside story, knew it wasn't his fault. Because Gendo Ikari wouldn't allow the experiment to succeed, it couldn't possibly succeed.

At this moment, the bald Dr. Shamash stared intently at the black and white Unit 3. After receiving a reply from the technicians at each stage, he nodded heavily.

"Initiate the second phase of the link," Dr. Shamash excitedly gave the order.

At this moment, all the staff members on duty straightened up and began working in an orderly manner.

[Connecting the pilot and Unit 3.]

[Circuit connected, everything normal.]

[Pulsation and resonance are normal; synchronization rate is normal.]

Inside the cockpit of Unit 3, Suzuhara Toji, who was piloting Unit 3 for the first time, saw the scenery transform from the original red cockpit into a mosaic bathed in white light, resembling a warm white world surrounded by AT fields, which ultimately formed the scenery of the external test field.

Then a crimson light enveloped him, and the originally orange-yellow LCL liquid was quickly stained an ominous red, enveloping the pilot.

However, the researchers in the central control room knew nothing about the situation inside the cockpit; even the system feedback showed a healthy green indicator.

All neural connections are normal, all 2550 values ​​are within acceptable limits, and harmonic values ​​are at normal levels.

A blinding crimson light shot from the pilot's eye sockets, and countless scarlet tentacles rapidly spread to every part of Unit-03 as the researchers in the central control room manipulated it. Just as MAGI had said, at the moment when all 2550 values ​​passed, an unknown will completely took control of the machine.

The new apostle, with the help of NERV, has gained a complete physical form.

"Breaking through the absolute threshold, Unit 3 has successfully started up!"

This time, it wasn't a system announcement, but Dr. Shamash's excited cheers. At that moment, thunderous applause erupted in the central control room.

After losing their strongest pilot, Shinji Ikari, a profound sense of insecurity and fear lingered in everyone's hearts. They desperately needed an excellent pilot and a superior mobile suit to fill the void left by Shinji's passing. And Unit-03, having successfully fused with the remains of the Angel and completed Project Marduk, was their new ace!

At this very moment—

A blinding light shot out from the eyes of Unit 3, and the spiritual pressure belonging to the apostles descended upon this area in an instant. The thirteenth apostle, the angel Baldir, was finally born into the world!

On a yacht in the port area, Shinji Ikari looked at the blinding red light rising in the direction of Tokyo-3, as if a red sun were blooming on the ground.

He raised his champagne glass to the distance, wishing him good fortune in battle.

Episode 103: The Colossus Descends on Tokyo

Shinji Ikari silently gazed at the red light in the distance, taking a sip of wine from the glass in his hand.

The young man leaned against the stainless steel armrest, leisurely sipping a glass of chilled champagne—a cheap contraption from the yacht's refrigerator, but he still savored it. After watching the blinding red light shoot straight into the sky from the center of Third Tokyo in the distance, the crowd stirred after a few seconds of silence, and a cold, upward smirk played on his lips.

This feeling was incredible. The draft he had envisioned in his mind was reproduced in its entirety by flesh-and-blood, rational, and soulful humans.

"You'd be happy to see those who betrayed their oaths suffer, wouldn't you, Shinji?" Mana Kirishima silently stood beside Shinji Ikari.

Shinji Ikari had long sensed a little tail following him, but he never expected it to be this seemingly well-behaved classmate. In terms of skill alone, such stealth was something no middle school student could accomplish.

She was also a spy tasked with getting close to him by the organization behind him. But Shinji Ikari showed unusual tolerance for her face, which resembled Rei Ayanami's. However, he scoffed at the slanderous remarks she made about him in her sticky words.

"Foolish thoughts. I am not happy that humanity as a whole will suffer calamity. But for NERV, which bears the hopes of all humanity today, to commit such a foolish act, how utterly foolish must one be to allow an apostle to shine so brightly—"

It was indeed dazzling, but it was precisely because of this dazzlingness that Shinji Ikari felt uneasy. He knew that this was merely the foolish act of those in charge, yet it had caused innocent civilians to suffer.

If things had gone as expected, there would have been nothing to be surprised about—but once you see the end, there's an indescribable sense of drama.

If I had to describe it, it would be a sense of realism.

The tragic scene just now wasn't a fabricated story acted out by actors. Although it was indeed orchestrated by those foolish and incompetent people at headquarters. Although Shinji Ikari had long anticipated this outcome, the novelty and the sense of immediacy of it actually happening made him involuntarily curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

“But you’re smiling, Sir Knight,” Kirishima Mana said softly.

Shinji Ikari didn't know how to answer Mana Kirishima's question, so he took another sip of the cheap champagne he was holding in his mouth. Indeed, the most surprising thing was this glass of champagne.

"...Why is that? I've drunk much better wines before...and I never realized how rich and flavorful this cheap champagne tasted back then."

Shinji Ikari stared intently at the wine glass with a serious expression, then turned around and threw all communication devices that could reach him, including his cell phone, into the sea.

He wouldn't kick them when they were down, but he wouldn't offer any help either. He would just quietly watch how those people would end up when the new battle began.

"Do you need to throw me down too? But I'm not carrying anything with me," Kirishima Mana asked.

Shinji Ikari sharply scrutinized the girl before him. The girl raised her arms and began to spin on tiptoe, touching the ground with only one foot.

"If you don't believe me, I can search you, Shinji." The girl tilted her head, smiling ambiguously yet exuding a swan-like elegance and composure.

That open and honest attitude even made the well-informed Shinji Ikari raise his eyebrows.

"As long as you're not afraid, because the place we're going next could be Disneyland in Tokyo-1, or it could be a deserted island with no communication equipment. If something bad happens, it will be too late to beg for mercy."

Mana Kirishima didn't answer, but instead proved her choice with her actions. She skipped and hopped onto the deck, and proactively retrieved the underwater anchor. Shinji Ikari couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the girl's graceful figure.

Many people are destined to have trouble sleeping tonight.

The urgent alarms blared throughout Hakone, while Unit 3, having completed its startup, broke free of its restraints and roared to the sky like a wild beast reborn.

"Abort the experiment! Cut off the circuit!" Ritsuko Akagi quickly issued the order.

Although Dr. Shamash was in charge of the experiment, Ritsuko Akagi quickly took control at this moment.

"Unable to be cut off, a high-energy reaction has occurred within the body!" Maya Ibuki shouted.

"How could this be?! Could it be?!" Ritsuko Akagi's eyes widened.

The third unit, having broken free of its restraints, had a ferocious appearance, and the energy nodes that were all too familiar to the development department staff lit up one after another from various parts of its body.

The light particles were released, accelerating the energy and transforming it into flashes of light. The spiraling stream of light that shot out engulfed the top of Hakone along with the surrounding darkness.

In the instantaneous boiling and evaporating heat wave, everything within a radius of several kilometers was swept away.

The absolute fortress that neither the Thunder Apostle nor the Void Apostle could breach was torn apart from within at this moment.

"Spectral detection shows blue, target confirmed, the Twelfth Apostle!"

Maya Ibuki shouted, and everyone in the monitoring rooms should be thankful they weren't working on-site. Otherwise, the shockwave from the apostle's descent would have sent them to hell first.

Perhaps it was the confusion of being born, or perhaps it was the favor of fate.

Despite being born from within Hakone, the apostle appeared before the world with a triumphant stride.

However, everyone who sensed this anomaly was terrified by the aura that seemed to merge with nature, yet they did not immediately flee. Because what appeared before them were clearly humanity's Evangelion, this hesitation would undoubtedly bring even more cruel harm to Tokyo-3.

A shockwave has occurred in the Matsushiro area; the extent of the damage is unknown and is currently being assessed. Spectral analysis indicates the target is blue, confirming it to be the Twelfth Angel.

At this moment, in the command office in Hakone, the two commanders-in-chief and deputy commanders also learned of the current information through the Three Sages System.

Fuyutsuki Yukimasa and Ikari Gendo's expressions hardened, because they knew that the real test after dismissing Shinji Ikari had only just begun.

"Immediately dispatch a rescue team and the newly formed Third Platoon to the scene. Make sure to handle the situation before the Self-Defense Forces arrive!" Fuyutsuki Yukimasa quickly gave the order by picking up the phone.

"Notify Misato Katsuragi to immediately dispatch the First and Second Child EVA pilots to engage the enemy. We must not allow the casualties to continue to escalate!"

Even without Fuyutsuki Yukizo's orders, Katsuragi Misato immediately summoned Asuka and Ayanami Rei, who were still on duty, to prepare for battle. Meanwhile, they kept a close eye on the unknown Angel that had taken over Unit-03 through the roadside surveillance cameras.

But her movements abruptly stopped. Not only her, but everyone, including the NERV employees opposite her, froze at that moment. Because in that instant, the so-called apostle they spoke of slowly turned his head. The moment he was stared at, his heart nearly stopped. The spiritual pressure symbolizing the descent of an angel was overwhelming, like a mountain collapsing, making it hard to breathe.

Then, a white light emanating from the mouth of the black machine swept across the city before them.

The display screen showing the apostles suddenly turned into a static screen, losing all trace of them. But quickly, MAGI activated satellite surveillance video, simultaneously connecting it to the display screen in the monitoring room.

But in those brief few seconds, the town centered around Matsushiro had been transformed into a living hell.

"Where are Rei and Asuka?" Misato Katsuragi asked anxiously.

"Stop rushing me! I'm here!" Asuka roared, and the crimson machine sprang out from the elevator shaft, launching an attack the instant it encountered Unit 3.

It was still the most commonly used high-frequency particle weapon series, the sonic spear. Before the apostle-transformed Unit 3 could react, Unit 2, which sprang out from behind, viciously plunged the spear into Unit 3's chest from behind, splattering blood everywhere!

"Well done, Asuka!" Misato Katsuragi couldn't help but applaud her.

Although she initially wanted to stop Asuka from acting rashly, because the devastation caused by Rei Ayanami's solo actions when confronting the Lightning Apostle was still vivid in her mind, this situation was different from that time with the Lightning Apostle.

While the Thunder Apostle was powerful, his appearance was still traceable. However, the unknown Apostle attached to Unit 3 appeared suddenly. There wasn't even time to evacuate the crowd, resulting in the deaths of countless innocent civilians without a moment's hesitation.

"Of course! Don't you know who I am?" Asuka laughed, trying to sever the Angel that had pierced Unit-03's chest in two.

But at that moment, she discovered that her sonic spear was immobilized. Unit-03's body acted like a trap, firmly clamping the sonic spear that had pierced her. With unexpected agility, Unit-03 delivered a flying kick to Unit-02's chest, creating a deafening roar that shook the earth. The two colossal figures separated, but this time it was Unit-03 that initiated the attack, slamming Unit-02 to the ground.

Misato Katsuragi was dumbfounded. From a joint perspective, this was absolutely impossible; even an Angel should be logical. How could it launch a counterattack after being severely injured from behind by Unit-02? Yet the black machine was crouching, its armor plates opening and closing like the muscles of a beast.

Without any weapons, Unit-03 simply shattered Unit-02's visor with its fists. Amidst a burst of seemingly endless energy, its palm emitted a blinding light. This familiar scene caused Misato Katsuragi to experience a kind of hallucination, as if she saw the Water Angel's figure overlapping with Unit-03 before her.

"Get out of the way! Asuka!" Misato Katsuragi shouted.

"Damn it! Move!" As her frenzy subsided slightly under the danger, Asuka desperately tried to dodge, controlling Unit-02, but her entire body was bound. The seven-colored Absolute Territory, symbolizing an Angel, restricted Unit-02's form from all sides, leaving her with no escape. Then, a massive fist slammed into the crimson mecha.

The sharp wail of the silvery protective barrier shattering, combined with the sonic boom of the fist tearing through the air, created a duet.

Asuka didn't even have time to scream before she was blasted into the building behind her by the explosion. Under the massive 80-meter-tall size of Unit-02, the reinforced concrete building crumbled like a dead tree, and Unit-02 crashed into the wall of the building behind it with its remaining force.