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

They didn't issue any commands or give any warnings; they simply started acting simultaneously—as if an invisible hand was directing them, or as if they were different parts of the same will.

In New York, the wheel-shaped creature composed of countless eyes began to spin. With each rotation, countless rays of light shot out from its "eyes." Those rays fell on the ground, on the crowds, on the buildings—no explosions, no flames, nothing at all.

Those who were touched by the light suddenly stopped.

The scene shifts to a group of police officers and soldiers herding a group of Escalius believers together. These officers and soldiers, recently ordered by the government, have been searching for these believers, violently kicking down their doors, looting their belongings, humiliating their wives and daughters, and finally herding them together like pigs, ready to execute them with guns drawn. (Author's recommendation: I hope you enjoy the story of "Traversing the Heavens, Can You Be Smarter Than Me?" on the book club forum.)

Just as they were about to execute him, angels descended, and their light shone down.

Their movements stopped abruptly, then their vision went blank, and then everyone saw it.

On these motionless people, the transparent figures screamed as they were pulled out of their bodies and, no matter how much they struggled, were unable to stop themselves from being taken into the angel's body.

No one knew what they would encounter, but this boundless imagination led them to imagine countless tragic endings.

The next moment, the same voice resonated in the hearts of almost everyone around the world.

"Those who harm those who repent will surely suffer sevenfold retribution!"

"May your sinful soul be tormented forever!!!"

A penitent? Who is a penitent?! Who are the people we should not harm, and where are they?!

Soon, the world learned that those followers of Escalius, those who named their religion after the traitors, those whose doctrines were filled with repentance and atonement, were the ones who could not be harmed!

The answer pointed to by a deeply sinful soul is even more cruel and direct.

The governments of the United Nations, or rather, all the officials and public servants, and the violent institutions of the major countries controlled by SEELE, are sinful souls.

This number is undoubtedly enormous. After the second impact, SEELE members, whose tentacles had infiltrated every industry in the world, were virtually everywhere.

Regardless of whether they are good or evil, the sins they committed in serving evil are the reason they must be judged.

Of course, unless their sins are extremely grave, they will be returned to their bodies to atone for their sins. But before that, the world must undergo the judgment of these angels.

Countless similar cases have occurred in thirteen major cities around the world!

London, the sphere enveloped by countless wings slowly unfurled, revealing human faces beneath. Those faces were smiling, weeping, screaming, praying—then they opened their mouths and began to sing.

The singing was exactly the same as the singing on the communication channel. And those who heard the singing stopped.

Then he knelt down and started singing.

With the same voices, singing the same songs, and wearing the same expressions—expressions that are not human—they sang sacred ballads, yet the pain on their faces seemed as if their souls were being torn apart.

In Moscow, a humanoid figure made of pure flame raised its hand and gently waved it, and the Kremlin vanished.

Paris, Berlin, Rome, New Delhi, Cairo, Brasilia—every capital city, every landmark, every center of power—

Thousands upon thousands, millions of people in the institutions that rule the world are being slaughtered and destroyed in droves.

And above the Second Tokyo City, the six-winged fiery figure finally appeared in full.

Seraphim – Seraphim.

The closest existence to God, the most blazing flame, the purest destruction.

The being that gave it its form bestowed upon it this appearance, and perhaps this signifies that it was given the most powerful force.

It lowered its head, if the outline of the condensed flames had a head. It looked down at the bustling city, at the fleeing people, at the huddled survivors, at the soldiers who held weapons but dared not fire.

Then, heavenly fire descended upon the city.

All flesh is like grass, and all their beauty like the wildflowers of the field. The grass will wither and the flowers will fade, for the breath of the Lord breathes upon them.

"Why? Why are you destroying us?"

Amidst the raging flames, a child, perhaps having lost all his family, stands on the rooftop, hysterically questioning the heavens. He is engulfed in flames yet remains unburnt; born among sinners, yet innocent.

The seraphs tilted their heads slightly, and then, thirteen heavens around the world...

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They sang folk songs at the same time.

And in this hymn, all the living people witnessed that scene.

That person named SEELE, who claimed to be the Soul Throne who stole the power and dignity of the gods, committed unforgivable sins.

The souls of three billion people, countless animals, the destroyed earth, the polluted ocean, and the sin of cruelty against the righteous!

"Three billion people in this world are all burdened with sin." Tsurugi's voice echoed in the souls of everyone present.

“You must all be put to trial. If you are innocent, you may live; if you are guilty—”

"Your soul will be condemned to eternal damnation!!!"

On the path to godhood, you must also kill, kill, kill! :274. Heretics deserve to die more than heretics!

Thirteen apostles, thirteen angels

They descended upon the capitals of the thirteen major countries represented by the thirteen members of SEELE, and then began a highly efficient purge.

The AT stance originates from the power of the mind; its essence is the ability to control the soul and matter with the mind, and then project it outward through energy.

So when Tsuruga drove these thirteen apostles and gave them the shells of these so-called angels, they followed Tsuruga's orders and changed their AT positions, performing a 'mind scan' on everyone as he requested.

Dongjiang, on the other hand, links their souls together, allowing them to form a big data network to sift through the thoughts and ideas of these three billion people, while he makes the final judgment at the central hub.

This method was exceptionally effective; the inherent characteristics of the AT position made it completely irresistible to the human mind. Once all their thoughts were transmitted to the Apostles, Tsugumi easily selected those he wanted to kill and torture.

For Tsugumi, the greatest value of the Apostles and the AT stance is no longer their combat power, but their ability to directly test the mind and spirit.

For Tsugumi, this ability was the best way to distinguish between good and evil and whether someone deserved to die, without activating the Father or any other miracles!

After all, when the horn is not by her side, Tsuruga needs to work hard to ensure that she doesn't kill the wrong people in her judgment of the world.

It wouldn't be impossible to use the power of the Holy Spirit to examine them one by one, but that would be a waste of time. That's why he valued the special abilities of these apostles.

It's no wonder he wasted so much time collecting apostles and then slowly analyzed their power using the power of jealousy to master this method.

Haha, Mom won't have to worry about me killing the wrong person anymore!!!

Such a large-scale attack and massacre can be said to have terrified the world. Putting aside the ordinary people who were put on trial, even those in the know at NERV were shocked by the grand scale and great ability of the 'god' behind Shinji Ikari.

"Should I consider joining a religion too?"

Ritsuko Akagi jokingly said to her best friend beside her, while Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji silently showed off their crosses, with the former even giving her best friend a smug smile.

Ha, I've been a member of Iscario's group for a long time! I've been on this ship for ages!

Although my science grades aren't as good as yours, I started worshipping gods much earlier! You have science, I have supernatural powers! It's hard to say who's more useful!

Ritsuko Akagi was somewhat speechless. She rolled her eyes at the two of them, sighed, and suppressed any unnecessary thoughts in her mind.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not that I think Dongjiang is cruel or anything.

They are already mature adults, long past the age and work state where they feel tired of everything, and think, "Let's hurry up and let humanity perish as soon as possible."

Not to mention that after SEELE's shady dealings were exposed, they themselves wished they could personally skin them alive. Even before the exposure, as internal staff, they still found those arrogant guys at the United Nations extremely annoying.

Besides, they came knocking on their door demanding to take everything from them; anyone who could still feel pity for them would be a god!

However, if we really have to say something, there are far too many problems with this deity and the angels he summoned.

For example, why was he able to control these apostles? What was his relationship with Adam and Lilith? What kind of world did he plan to build after suppressing all of this? Could he be the mastermind behind it all?

Intelligent people all have the same flaw: they worry unnecessarily. Ritsuko Akagi also realized that her thoughts were far too superfluous.

Even if Tsugumi really is behind this, could the situation be any worse than SEELE winning?

Let those old fogies obsessed with Human Instrumentality win, and the best-case scenario for humanity is that they are forced to integrate into one another—it doesn't sound too bad, but Ritsuko Akagi is not happy about that.

Ultimately, the Human Instrumentality Project itself isn't such a heinous or deserving outcome. What's despicable about SEELE is forcing everyone to participate in the instrumentality process and using any means necessary to achieve its goals. In fact, given a choice, Human Instrumentality might not be the best outcome many people would have hoped for.

But now it seems that these old people of SEELE have probably given up on the Human Instrumentality Project, otherwise they wouldn't have launched such a large-scale weapon of mass destruction against NERV. However, Ritsuko Akagi is also curious as to why they chose to give up.

The only thing that could make a group of old people who would stop at nothing to survive and achieve immortality abandon their plans is a better alternative.

Although they don't know what it is, it seems that their ability to intervene is very limited.

In the end, it was a fourteen-year-old boy and the god behind him who saved the world. What will this world eventually become?

The thirteen apostles' trial of the world's sinners continues efficiently.

However, when Tsuruga presented the evidence of SEELE's and the United Nations' crimes, the world's reactions were quite different.

Most people still have enough trust in the government they have always trusted and paid taxes to. It is really hard for them to believe that a god suddenly descended from heaven and said that they were guilty of heinous crimes, and even presented such evidence.

However, many people still chose to believe or remain detached, or rather, the vast majority of anxious people simply sided with whoever won.

Those who are truly outraged by SEELE's atrocities and want revenge are ultimately a minority; the vast majority of people are still primarily focused on surviving.

Tsurugi didn't care what these people thought of him.

Of course, those who trusted Escalius completely and offered their loyalty without hesitation were the followers of Escalius.

"I knew it! Our Lord will not abandon us. Judgment has come, judgment has arrived! In this cataclysmic disaster, only the devout can survive!!!"

A ragged man waved his arms fanatically, saying that not long ago he had been persecuted and forced to walk in the street with other Escalians, dressed in rags, to be executed on the spot by UN soldiers as a warning to others.

In the blink of an eye, the situation reversed instantly. Those soldiers who were once invincible were now suffering from mental and spiritual torment, while they survived!

In this apocalypse, in this impending doom, only the chosen ones are qualified to survive and to rule over everything!

"We are the voters! We are innocent, and we will be the masters of the new world!"

The man looked excitedly at the strange and enormous angel above his head, and with fanatical joy, he addressed the bewildered believers and ordinary people around him.

"Those powerful and wealthy people deserve to die, they deserve to atone for their sins, and everything they have will be ours!"

Some of the bewildered believers simply wept, grateful for their survival, while others wailed and lunged at the soldiers, punching and kicking them.

394

They vented their violence against themselves, while another group of people were just like this man.

They pounced on the ordinary people around them, fanatically and arrogantly proclaiming that they were the chosen ones, demanding that they serve them and join Escalius.

What? You're not joining?

If you don't join us, you'll be living a life worse than death with the scum next to you!

It must be said that religious propaganda strategies based on fear are remarkably effective; almost immediately, many fearful people wanted to join them, even offering wealth or other things.

Believers like this man happily accepted the property, intending to use half to build a large church for Tsurugi, and the other half—?

A ray of angelic light shone down.