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

Page 271

Rei Ayanami's expression turned anxious and uneasy in an instant, until at the last moment her expression twisted and she collapsed and fainted.

Shinji Ikari helped her back, but this only strengthened his resolve to atone for his sins.

"This job is so annoying, why can't I just kill them all?"

Having once again traversed the minds of Escalius' followers across a country, and after understanding their individual mental states and issuing hints and instructions to each, Tsugumi returned to Tokyo, grumbling and complaining.

It seems like establishing a religion is more complicated than establishing a company!

Ugh, I don't want to play this kind of complicated simulation game!!!

However—actually, if Tsugumi didn't have much of a sense of responsibility, he wouldn't be so troubled.

If the goal is simply to establish a legitimate religion, he can simply pass on the doctrines, spread them, and then wash his hands of the matter. As long as the fundamental doctrines remain sound and the direction doesn't go astray, there's absolutely no problem.

At worst, if a heretic splits out from within, then we can just step in and beat them up. Or, as lazy as Teacher Daye, we can simply be a hands-off manager.

But Tsugumi is just too responsible, or rather, too obsessive-compulsive.

As it was his first missionary work, Tsugumi wanted to do her best to spread the doctrine of 'Escarius'.

So he invaded the souls of believers one by one, killing any bad guys who infiltrated with ill intentions! He corrected those he could, and then issued orders to each of them to kill the local sinners.

What kind of religious god would so meticulously screen its followers?

Although this approach allowed Escalius's cult of the Holy Spirit, who sought redemption through the worship of the Tsurugi River, to spread rapidly and remain stable in the short term, the cost was immense hardship for him.

Being destined for a life of hard work is entirely self-inflicted!

Despite his complaints, Tsurugi meticulously sifted through all his admirers in Germany before finally settling on his main target.

Asuka, who was on the transport plane, fell asleep.

The girl who fell asleep full of anticipation woke up.

369 >>

Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi looked at the girl behind the glass together.

Rei Ayanami sat alone on the hospital bed, not quite in a daze, but simply sitting there with a blank expression, not saying a word.

"Since you're both drivers, you should get to know each other better."

Misato Katsuragi, with her usual deliberately enthusiastic smile, patted Shinji on the shoulder and said...

"Although Shinji-kun, you are very special, you are still a fourteen-year-old boy after all."

“No one who becomes an EVA pilot is anything but special.” Shinji Ikari looked at Rei Ayanami and said softly.

"We were just a part of the plan all along."

This girl was like a blank sheet of paper, pure and innocent, yet without any trace of her past.

Shinji Ikari has a very special feeling about Rei Ayanami.

In the memories bestowed upon him by Tsugumi, his feelings toward Rei Ayanami, the girl he should have liked, were incredibly complex.

Feelings? If I had to say, there are some, but Shinji Ikari is currently keeping his distance.

After all—who could possibly have feelings for their own mother's clone when they already know the truth?!

I can't possibly have multiple mothers, can I? Or do I really end up like that 'Wa junior' that Master Tsurugi teased me about?

Not to mention that Unit-01 was right there, and his own mother was right there, which made him even more wary of Rei Ayanami!

"Don't say that, Shinji-kun. You're still just a fourteen-year-old child..."

While Shinji Ikari was pondering these complex ethical issues, Misato Katsuragi was still chattering on and on. After listening for a while, Shinji turned to look at her and decided to get straight to the point.

"Miss Misato doesn't actually like me, does she?"

Startled by this sudden remark, Misato Katsuragi paused for a moment, a fleeting hint of panic flashing across her face, which she quickly concealed, but Shinji Ikari caught it.

"No, a boy as handsome as Shinji... I..."

"To Misato, I'm just a tool for your revenge, aren't I?" Shinji Ikari interrupted Misato Katsuragi's attempt to change the subject, speaking calmly.

Seeing Misato's stiff expression, he continued...

“You cannot face those apostles, those monsters who killed your father. Therefore, you need us, the chosen ones, to fight the apostles in your place.”

"Compared to the overly grand goal of protecting the world and saving humanity, revenge is probably more important to Miss Misato."

"No!!!" Katsuragi Misato jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice a mix of feigned guilt and anger.

"Shinji-kun, you've gone too far! How could you make such malicious assumptions about me?!"

After saying that, she seemed genuinely angry. Looking at her flustered and furious face, Shinji Ikari lowered his eyes.

Misato Katsuragi was also a special presence to Shinji Ikari. In his memories, she was a character who saw Shinji as someone who shared her suffering, and who possessed both maternal and feminine qualities.

Emotions are complex and tangled, and love is especially so. But for Shinji Ikari at this moment, these thoughts that should belong to the sensitive and vulnerable mind of a young boy no longer exist.

His heart is now filled with faith and greater things; the fragile boy is long gone. At fourteen, he is perhaps the most mature one here.

Shinji Ikari sighed, then suddenly reached out and gently tapped Misato Katsuragi's forehead with his finger.

“Miss Misato, I apologize to you. But if you really have something to say, you can come to the church to talk to me.”

"Honest communication is very important. I will keep all your secrets and be tolerant of everything you do. The Lord will also forgive your mistakes."

Misato Katsuragi slightly opened her mouth.

Looking at the handsome and ascetic young priest before him, whose calm and compassionate demeanor was so different from his frenzied state during battle, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

My heart ached and swelled, and I had a strong urge to express all my thoughts.

Perhaps it was because the feeling was too unbearable, or perhaps it was because she wanted to hide her thoughts, but in order to resist this feeling, Misato Katsuragi fled in a panic and disheveled state.

Shinji Ikari watched her figure disappear, then turned to leave—

Before he knew it, Rei Ayanami was standing behind him like a ghost, her scarlet eyes staring straight at him.

"Why aren't you going to save Him?" Rei Ayanami asked softly.

What are you talking about?

Shinji Ikari watched this different Rei Ayanami with wariness, and after a moment of silence, she said softly.

"You know what I'm talking about, the angels need you to liberate them."

Upon hearing this, Shinji Ikari took several steps back. After a moment of shock, he seemed to realize something and looked at Rei Ayanami.

"You...you are Lilith?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Rei Ayanami's expression immediately turned strange, struggling, and painful, as if she were fighting for control of her consciousness.

"Lilith, Lilith, who is Lilith? I, I am, who am I?!"

“I will free you, Lilith, mother of mankind, imprisoned apostle.”

Shinji Ikari stared at Rei Ayanami, who seemed to have fallen into madness, and said in a hurried voice...

"It all started with you. The contract you made with SEELE is the source of all this disaster! After I destroy all the apostles, I will free you!"

"No, no, not an angel, not—a human child, find me!!!"