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

"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...

364

In the distance, beneath the cross of light, a human-shaped figure slowly rose to its feet!

It was a giant formed and dominated purely by light. The moment it appeared, it instantly pierced through Unit-00's AT field and then tore off Unit-00's arms like tearing off a chicken leg.

Just as easily as Unit-00 defeated the Day Angel, except that the former was a victory of technology, while the latter was an absolute difference in strength.

After tossing the unresponsive Unit-00 aside like trash, the giant of light held a spear of light in its hand and then slowly turned its head.

Misato Katsuragi stared at the camera, at the giant formed of pure white light within it, a giant that seemed to be gazing back at them. Clutching the last keepsake her father had left her, she was pale and breathing rapidly.

"The white giant... exactly the same, exactly the same as fifteen years ago!"

The path to godhood requires endless killing! :255. Facing the Giants of Daylight

The Fourth Apostle was defeated, but at the moment of its death, a giant of light was born from its remains.

This outcome was an absolutely outrageous turn of events that no one had anticipated!

As for who did it? Well, it was Tsurugi.

By directing the S2 mechanism, these apostles' bodies can be transformed using the power of jealousy, and they can briefly revert to the state of Adam.

These first ancestral races were incredibly powerful in their original state, especially Adam, who represented the fruit of life and possessed the ability to launch a shockwave that could destroy the planet's biosphere. The apostles they gave birth to, strictly speaking, were merely a secondary species born from the combination of life forms within the Earth's biosphere.

"In the end, he's just a wild beast."

Tsugumi, who chose to break away from Shinji and control the Angel of the Day, commented as follows.

"But she's still cuter than those people!"

Perhaps to prevent the first ancestors from creating overly powerful beings from the union of their seeds of life, Adam and Lilith were not only released separately, but each also had its own shortcomings.

The Adam lineage, representing the pinnacle of life, lacks the wisdom and thought that should exist, while the lives born from Lilith, representing spirit and soul, are as fleeting as fireworks.

Because of the mission of the Holy Spirit, Tsugumi cannot control his own body, but when he harnesses the power of the Adam lineage, he can unleash a power that is close to what the humans of this planetary circle call godlike.

However, because it was controlled by Tsugumi, the Titans born from the Day Angels were more similar to human beings in appearance.

"Ha, before the real savior appears, let's bring more despair to these ignorant sinners."

Controlling the enormous white, pseudo-Adam-like apostle, Tsugumi looked down at the Third New Tokyo City below.

To prepare for the enemy, this entire fortified city had now been transformed into a defensive structure resembling a metal tomb. Tsugumi looked down at these heavily armed defensive facilities, but her eyes saw something more concrete and abstract through them.

The color of sin that transcends body and soul.

“What a grave sin…” Tsurugi said, squinting as she looked down at the city.

His rank of "the innocent" allows him to see the truth of all evil in the world, and also draws all evil toward him.

He didn't quite understand the latter meaning, but for him who had chosen Shinji Ikari as his vessel, perhaps this was the answer.

After all, Shinji Ikari is the protagonist of this world, and also the center of that vortex of sin and story. His mother chose him, and the world's focus is on him. And for Tsugumi, who chose him, all the mistakes are converging on him as well.

The people of Third New Tokyo City are deeply sinful, but this sin does not stem from their personal moral character, but from the fact that they have chosen the wrong side!

In Dongjiang's view, Seele's moral standards were on par with magicians, and the things they did were no different. The sins of these three billion humans and countless lives were not only theirs, but also the sins of all surviving nations on Earth today!

Whether out of ignorance or collusion, they sided with the sinners, and therefore they too must bear the consequences of their sins.

Therefore, it is necessary to select a savior. A savior who bears the weight of endless sins is also necessary to complete the mission of the Holy Spirit of Dongjiang.

However—when he looked down, although he felt the weight of the sins, he always felt that the concentration of sins mixed in there was not just as simple as slaughtering three billion humans and exterminating almost all living things.

What other terrible things have these people done?

The next moment, countless cannon shots poured down on Dongjiang.

With Unit-00 already destroyed, NERV headquarters, as if waking from a dream, immediately activated emergency measures, and all anti-aircraft interception systems near the central area were activated!

At the same time, four N2 missiles were flying towards it simultaneously!

A massive barrage of artillery fire rained down on the giant of light standing in the sky, but Tsurugi only erected a position with a spectral dispersion concentric polygon.

Countless cannon fire disappeared as if they had entered another world. The potential of the AT Field, which combines the essence of life and soul, is incredibly powerful. Its upper limit is definitely not the level that was easily broken by a certain primordial light gun as rumored. Its poor performance is more due to the incompetence of the apostles themselves.

The AT position established by Tsurugi, with the soul of the Holy Spirit and the body of the First Ancestor, is powerful enough to reject all attacks.

"No, the Fourth Apostle's AT stance has been greatly strengthened—it has now exceeded the level of a rejection-type apostle!"

As the N2 missile exploded in front of the complex and overlapping AT field, sparks flew but it couldn't penetrate it at all, Communications and Intelligence Management Officer Shigeru Aoba said, turning around.

“That apostle’s AT field strength has exceeded the limit and is approaching the strength of the First Apostle…” Ritsuko Akagi said with a grim expression as she looked at the results given by MAGI’s statistics.

"Close the gates to the Central Dogma District, continue to stop them, attempt to retrieve Unit-00, and—find the Third Child!"

Misato Katsuragi clenched her teeth, her face pale, but that was all the orders she could give and the remedies she could offer.

Despite being called a commander, her abilities and capabilities were indeed quite limited.

She turned to look at her boss, Gendo Ikari, who was still pretending to be deep and serious with his hands glued to his mouth, but Misato Katsuragi could sense the panic in her boss, who seemed to have everything under control.

After all, who could have predicted such a sudden change?

Their only hope now is Shinji Ikari and Unit-01, but ironically, they don't have each other's emergency contact information.

The giant of light on the screen has completely destroyed all obstacles on the path to NERV headquarters.

He raised his hand, and a spear of light, just like the Water Angel's, was released. However, unlike the Water Angel, he condensed the spear of light in his hand and then threw it toward the ground like a javelin.

The instantaneous destruction upon landing blasted out a trench several thousand meters long and hundreds of meters wide, stretching all the way to NERV headquarters.

hum! ! !

A pure white halo appeared above the apostle's head. The AT field, repelling gravity, propelled this enormous entity into the sky, heading straight towards the central dogma district.

After giving her final orders, Misato Katsuragi ignored everyone's advice and chose to leave the base and head towards the small town outside the city!

Misato Katsuragi's Renault A310 bounced wildly on the gravel road, the chassis scraping and emitting a piercing metallic screech, but she couldn't care less about the car she'd bought with a 32-month loan. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, her nails digging into her palms, her eyes fixed on the white sky ahead.

That giant—and fifteen

365

The white giant that looked exactly the same as before was getting further and further away in her rearview mirror, yet it was like a nightmare she could never escape, fixed firmly on her retina.

Fifteen years ago, in Antarctica.

She watched her father press the detonator, watched the white giant rise from the light, and watched the world collapse before her eyes.

And now, history is repeating itself.

"Damn it... damn it!!!"

She jerked the steering wheel, the tires skidding on the gravel, nearly plunging into the roadside ditch. But she didn't care; she just slammed on the gas, speeding towards the church in the mountains.

She needs to find Shinji Ikari.

It wasn't for NERV, it wasn't for the mission, it wasn't even for the world—she just wanted to grasp onto something, anything that would convince her that this time, the same thing wouldn't happen again.

By the time the church came into view, it was already completely dark.

It wasn't the darkness of the night, but rather the dazzling light emanating from the white giant that cast shadows over everything around it. The church's outline appeared and disappeared at the boundary between light and darkness, like an ark floating in chaos.

Misato Katsuragi jumped out of the car, staggered towards the church, and then stopped.

The open space in front of the church was packed with people—the elderly, women, children, and young people. The hundreds of refugees were all gathered there, silent and motionless. They simply stood there peacefully, heads tilted back, gazing at the top of the church.

Following their gaze, Misato Katsuragi saw a black figure standing on the dilapidated roof of the church.

Shinji Ikari, dressed in his black priest's robes, the silver cross on his chest reflecting a blinding light under the white glow. He stood with his back to the light, facing those who looked up at him, his arms slightly outstretched, like a statue standing between light and darkness.

Sunlight, if it could still be called sunlight, streamed down from the broken roof, casting dappled shadows on him. The wind was strong, blowing his robes and hair, but he remained motionless, as if he had stood there for a thousand years.

No one spoke. Then, Shinji leaped from the rooftop, drifting down as lightly as a feather, his black robe unfurling in the air like a pair of enormous wings. He landed in the middle of the crowd, and the refugees automatically parted to make way for him toward the church entrance.

He walked up to Misato Katsuragi and stopped.

“Miss Misato,” he said, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather, “you’ve arrived.”

Misato Katsuragi opened her mouth, only to find herself unable to speak. She wanted to say "angel," to say "the white giant," but all the words stuck in her throat, turning into a trembling gasp.

Shinji Ikari looked at her; her eyes, without her glasses, were surprisingly clear. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I know,” he said. “I know everything.”

In that instant, Misato Katsuragi felt an urge to cry, not from fear, but because—she didn't know why. It was just the warmth of that hand on her shoulder, the calm, gentle gaze in the boy's eyes, that suddenly made her feel incredibly at ease.

Shinji Ikari withdrew his hand and turned to look at the refugees.

“Children,” he said softly.

At the front of the crowd, the children who always listened to his stories stepped forward. They looked up at him, their eyes filled with no fear, only a pure gaze, like looking up at the stars.

“Father,” the little girl said, “are you going to fight that glowing monster?”

Shinji Ikari crouched down to look her in the eye.

“Yes,” he said with a smile.

Will you come back?

Shinji Ikari's smile was as gentle as the spring sunshine. "I will come back."

He said, "Because you are still here."

The little girl nodded, as if she had heard the most obvious answer in the world. She took something out of her pocket; it was a small cross, carved from wood, roughly made with rough edges.

“This is something I made,” she said, presenting it to Shinji Ikari. “It’s for you. Father, if you wear it, you will return safely.”

Shinji Ikari took the wooden cross and looked down at it for a long time. Then he took the silver cross from his chest, gently placed it around the little girl's neck, and hung the wooden cross around his own neck.

“This is an exchange,” he said. “You keep this for me, and I’ll keep this for you. When I come back, we’ll exchange them back.”

The little girl looked down at the gleaming silver cross and nodded vigorously. Shinji Ikari stood up and looked at the silent and uneasy refugees.