Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

“Lilith…Adam…equal…life…miracle…”

“Study Him…and we…will master…a man-made god!”

Find me... Save me... Save you all... Save this world

"Li...Li? Wake up, I need you..."

Too many complex messages flooded her hazy dream, and when Rei Ayanami opened her eyes, she saw a man silently watching her from the other side of the glass.

“Ikari-kun…” she whispered unconsciously as she looked at Gendo Ikari outside the glass.

"Li, your body has almost recovered. Now I need you to take action."

Gendo Ikari adjusted his glasses; though his tone was gentle, the orders he issued were ruthless.

"...I'm ready at any time."

The blue-haired girl inside the glass jar spoke softly, her eyes, as red as berries, fixed on Gendo Ikari.

And so, the girl, indifferent as a machine, left the incubation tank, donned her battle armor, and entered the Zero unit that had once rejected her.

Gendo Ikari ignored the fierce opposition from his subordinate Misato Katsuragi and disregarded Ritsuko Akagi's professional concerns about Rei Ayanami's current situation.

"You failed to bring back the third suitable candidate." He simply rejected everything with this cold statement.

—Because they were unable to bring another fourteen-year-old boy to the battlefield, they had to force a wounded girl to fight and sacrifice her life on the battlefield.

Gendo Ikari's intentions were indeed those of a scumbag and cruel individual, yet everyone remained silent. The despicable adults numbed themselves with the idea that this was a necessary sacrifice to protect the world, while those who knew Rei Ayanami believed it was simply her mission as a clone.

Despite all objections, Unit-00 launched. The yellow giant, still wrapped in bandages, was ejected from the ground, and standing before her was the Fourth Angel—the Day Angel—which resembled a flying red shrimp.

The UN forces' resistance was as futile as ever. Missiles exploded outside the AT field, artillery shells were deflected into the surrounding mountains, and fighter jets were torn to pieces by the light bands. This arsenal of weapons, launched at will from the UN, seemed solely to demonstrate SEELE's immense wealth.

The air raid sirens blared through the skies of Tokyo-3, and citizens once again rushed into air-raid shelters. Some looked back at the red-browed monster that had easily bulldozed everything in its path, praying that the purple giant would appear.

The Day Angels advanced with incredible speed, and the billions of defensive structures that had been painstakingly repaired after the Water Angels' attack were flattened and destroyed in droves.

These weapons, costing billions, have once again become stumbling blocks on the Angels' path forward. They are worthless and useless, seemingly only meant to highlight the importance of EVA, wasting humanity's vast resources and funds on paths that are easily destroyed.

"Huh? Why is it this yellow one that's going to attack this time? Where's the purple one from before?"

"Idiot, it must be a different machine!"

"How am I supposed to settle accounts with that bastard who drove the purple mecha?"

On a nearby mountain, a student wearing glasses and holding a camera was filming this precious and shocking scene with another person, while Unit-00, facing the Day Angel, immediately began its operation under NERV's command.

Wielding two high-energy heat whips bound by AT fields, the Day Angel quickly locked onto Unit-00 in front of it and then pounced.

The Angels and EVA, who share the same origin, once again turn on each other.

However, the battle was completely uneventful, and Unit-00 won in a mere hundred seconds.

Unit-00 seized the Angel of the Day's scorching whip and quickly neutralized it with its own AT Field. In the instant that the Angel, unable to continue attacking due to its physical structure, was unable to defend itself, Unit-00, despite the pain of being whipped by the scorching whip, plunged the high-vibration particle blade in its hand into the Angel's unsuspecting core.

Simple, straightforward, and the victory seemed almost inevitable.

EVA deals with the Angels much like humans deal with mindless beasts; given enough tools, humanity will always prove why these weaklings are the primates of Earth.

With the appearance of the Cross of Light, symbolizing the death of the apostles, cheers erupted throughout the base, and even Gendo Ikari breathed a sigh of relief.

The two boys on the hillside, after this utterly uneventful fight, looked at each other and said something similar.

"What? We can still win without that purple one."

"Then we don't need him anymore!!!"

It seems that it wasn't just them; many people at the NERV base thought the same thing.

After all, if eliminating the Apostles could be so easy, then there would be no need for that uncontrollable Third Child.

Before she could finish speaking, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded at MAGI within the NERV base. Immediately afterward, Ritsuko Akagi, who was on observation duty, looked at the rapidly rising energy readings on the screen and exclaimed in alarm:

"Warning, First Child! An abnormal, unknown reaction has occurred in the energy readings within the Fourth Angel. Evacuate immediately—"

Before the command could be finished, the cheers abruptly ceased. In astonishment...

363 >>

Si interrupted them directly

"No need to say anything." Shinji turned and walked back towards the field. "You've come looking for me, it's definitely not for anything good. So, what do you want?"

Ritsuko Akagi coughed, resuming her businesslike tone: "The Fourth Angel is expected to arrive in Tokyo-3 within the next three days. We need you to go into battle."

"Oh." Shinji didn't even turn his head. "The usual."

"This time I will demand more money and supplies, and most importantly, I want global broadcasting rights. I want to declare my doctrines to the world."

“You…!” Ritsuko Akagi choked, clearly speechless at this absurd request.

Misato Katsuragi quickly smoothed things over: "Shinji-kun, we know you have issues with NERV, but haven't the supplies already been delivered? They'll be delivered as usual this time, don't worry. As for the global broadcasting rights, that's not something NERV can decide..."

"Then let's go talk!" Shinji bent down to tie his loose shoelaces, chuckling without turning his head.

"What a ridiculous world! Humanity's destruction is imminent, yet they're still scheming against each other and even limiting funding for saving humanity. With such hopeless incompetence, it's no wonder that humanity in this world is wiped out!"

After saying that, he turned around, picked up his hoe, and continued working.

The wind blew across the fields, ruffling the hem of his priest's robe. He stood there, his back to the two women from NERV, facing the people working in the land.

Then, he walked back to the furrow, bent down to pick up the hoe, and continued turning the soil.

It seemed to him that this was far more important than saving the world and facing the apostles.

"Let's go." Ritsuko Akagi sighed and tugged at Misato Katsuragi's sleeve. "We should go back."

Misato Katsuragi nodded, followed her as she turned and left. After a few steps, she couldn't help but look back.

Shinji Ikari was still hoeing the ground. The others were still doing their own work. No one looked after them, no one saw them off, as if they had never been there at all.

……

Shinji, do you want to go to school?

"Lord Tsugumi, is there any point in me continuing my studies?"

"It's not necessary, but you will meet a lot of friends."

Are those friends necessary?

"No, they don't mean anything."

"Then I don't need it."

Glug glug glug～～～～

Bubbles made a sound as air was expelled from the lungs, and before my eyes was the dim green glow of light shining through the solution in the water.

"We...cannot...cut...off...the body..."

"He is... an existence... beyond the Dead Sea... of light... a being..."

“Lilith…Adam…equal…life…miracle…”

“Study Him…and we…will master…a man-made god!”

Find me... Save me... Save you all... Save this world

"Li...Li? Wake up, I need you..."

Too many complex messages flooded her hazy dream, and when Rei Ayanami opened her eyes, she saw a man silently watching her from the other side of the glass.

“Ikari-kun…” she whispered unconsciously as she looked at Gendo Ikari outside the glass.

"Li, your body has almost recovered. Now I need you to take action."

Gendo Ikari adjusted his glasses; though his tone was gentle, the orders he issued were ruthless.

"...I'm ready at any time."

The blue-haired girl inside the glass jar spoke softly, her eyes, as red as berries, fixed on Gendo Ikari.

And so, the girl, indifferent as a machine, left the incubation tank, donned her battle armor, and entered the Zero unit that had once rejected her.

Gendo Ikari ignored the fierce opposition from his subordinate Misato Katsuragi and disregarded Ritsuko Akagi's professional concerns about Rei Ayanami's current situation.

"You failed to bring back the third suitable candidate." He simply rejected everything with this cold statement.

—Because they were unable to bring another fourteen-year-old boy to the battlefield, they had to force a wounded girl to fight and sacrifice her life on the battlefield.

Gendo Ikari's intentions were indeed those of a scumbag and cruel individual, yet everyone remained silent. The despicable adults numbed themselves with the idea that this was a necessary sacrifice to protect the world, while those who knew Rei Ayanami believed it was simply her mission as a clone.

Despite all objections, Unit-00 launched. The yellow giant, still wrapped in bandages, was ejected from the ground, and standing before her was the Fourth Angel—the Day Angel—which resembled a flying red shrimp.

The UN forces' resistance was as futile as ever. Missiles exploded outside the AT field, artillery shells were deflected into the surrounding mountains, and fighter jets were torn to pieces by the light bands. This arsenal of weapons, launched at will from the UN, seemed solely to demonstrate SEELE's immense wealth.

The air raid sirens blared through the skies of Tokyo-3, and citizens once again rushed into air-raid shelters. Some looked back at the red-browed monster that had easily bulldozed everything in its path, praying that the purple giant would appear.

The Day Angels advanced with incredible speed, and the billions of defensive structures that had been painstakingly repaired after the Water Angels' attack were flattened and destroyed in droves.

These weapons, costing billions, have once again become stumbling blocks on the Angels' path forward. They are worthless and useless, seemingly only meant to highlight the importance of EVA, wasting humanity's vast resources and funds on paths that are easily destroyed.

"Huh? Why is it this yellow one that's going to attack this time? Where's the purple one from before?"

"Idiot, it must be a different machine!"

"How am I supposed to settle accounts with that bastard who drove the purple mecha?"

On a nearby mountain, a student wearing glasses and holding a camera was filming this precious and shocking scene with another person, while Unit-00, facing the Day Angel, immediately began its operation under NERV's command.

Wielding two high-energy heat whips bound by AT fields, the Day Angel quickly locked onto Unit-00 in front of it and then pounced.

The Angels and EVA, who share the same origin, once again turn on each other.

However, the battle was completely uneventful, and Unit-00 won in a mere hundred seconds.

Unit-00 seized the Angel of the Day's scorching whip and quickly neutralized it with its own AT Field. In the instant that the Angel, unable to continue attacking due to its physical structure, was unable to defend itself, Unit-00, despite the pain of being whipped by the scorching whip, plunged the high-vibration particle blade in its hand into the Angel's unsuspecting core.

Simple, straightforward, and the victory seemed almost inevitable.

EVA deals with the Angels much like humans deal with mindless beasts; given enough tools, humanity will always prove why these weaklings are the primates of Earth.

With the appearance of the Cross of Light, symbolizing the death of the apostles, cheers erupted throughout the base, and even Gendo Ikari breathed a sigh of relief.

The two boys on the hillside, after this utterly uneventful fight, looked at each other and said something similar.

"What? We can still win without that purple one."