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

But they possessed Adam—the complete First Apostle, Adam.

They put Adam's soul into an artificial body and turned him into Kaworu Nagisa, while Adam's embryo was kept firmly in their hands.

If the completion plan had gone smoothly, they would have deliberately let the triple agent Kaji Ryoji steal it and hand it over to Gendo Ikari.

After all, from SEELE's perspective, they didn't know that Gendo Ikari was a madman who did all this for his wife. At that time, all they needed was for someone to initiate the Human Instrumentality Project; it didn't matter who was in charge.

Rather than trusting the immature and ignorant fourteen-year-old boy, they preferred to trust Gendo Ikari, who was just like them.

However, after the Instrumentality Project went completely off track and the Third Child's power became too great and took over NERV, SEELE completely abandoned the contract with Lilith.

They had to implement the second plan.

Yes, their technology was indeed insufficient to comprehend the power of the Giant of Light, but Adam possessed that ability.

Adam's soul, combined with his body, and the seed of life sown by the First Ancestor, possessed an absolute life force capable of encompassing everything. He gave birth to the ultimate life forms known as the Apostles, beings who, even when torn into pieces less than three centimeters in diameter, could still be resurrected.

And such a complete Adam could naturally retain the power of the Giant of Light, through the flesh of Katsuragi Takumi, without any damage.

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The body carries energy from higher dimensions, which is then transformed into genetic factors that carry a completely new body!

After all, there's a hypothesis in SEELE's own research theories that the S2 mechanism obtains infinite energy by sliding from higher-dimensional energy to lower-dimensional energy.

So the backup plan is that simple.

Adam's soul returned to his body, absorbing the genetic material of the giant of light. Through the properties of these genetic material, their souls, Seele, were also integrated into this new and perfect divine body!

Kaworu would not refuse this request, or rather, he simply could not refuse it.

Through the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Black Moon unearthed at the foot of Mount Hakone in Japan, SEELE obtained not only the Spear of Lilith and Longinus, but also the technological authority used by the First Progenitor to control the two Seeds of Life.

They called it a contract—and it was through this contract that they established the so-called Human Instrumentality 'contract' with Lilith. Similarly, they placed this contract on Kaworu after his birth.

He couldn't refuse the old people's requests, even though he had considerable autonomy in the matter. In any case, Kaworu Nagisa, who was standing there, had already completed all the arrangements.

The reconstruction of the Kabbalah Tree of Life will remove and imprison the Giant of Light from Takumi Katsuragi's body, transforming his power into genetic material that can be carried. As for the demands he is now making, SEELE will naturally comply.

Soon, the order from SEELE reached the ears of the leaders of the countries in the United Nations.

The judgment of the thirteen angels only covered the capitals of the major UN member states and could not quickly scan all UN cities. This gave the leaders of countries not located in the capital, along with their deputies who took their place, enough time to hide.

They hid in the safest shelter, waiting anxiously day after day, only to receive a merciless order from SEELE.

"What?! All nuclear weapons have been deployed?! Are you all insane?!"

"Do you want to destroy the world?!"

"Wasn't it supposed to be Human Instrumentality, that everyone could live forever? What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Upon receiving SEELE's order, the leaders issued a series of horrified questions.

"That's an order," the elderly people at SEELE said coldly.

"Don't forget that you and we are in the same boat, sharing both our losses and our triumphs. If we lose, you will also be held accountable!"

They and their leadership team were almost entirely fostered by SEELE. As the shadow government of the world after the Second Shock, everything about them and their country was firmly controlled by the elders.

Otherwise, NERV would not have established bases all over the world, and various countries would not have formed an incredible degree of 'unity' after the impact, starting to levy taxes and amass wealth, and then spending this huge amount of money on researching those 'bio-robots', and repeatedly encountering various accidents when trying to develop non-EVA anti-angel weapons such as JA.

Resist? They never had that right!

"The Human Instrumentality Project is not over yet; we just need to eliminate the enemy who controls the Angels!"

"If you don't want to perish, you have no choice but to follow us!"

"Don't you want eternal life?"

Under the temptation and threat from SEELE, the leaders of thirteen major countries, some pale-faced, some with ruthless expressions, finally... all agreed.

They knew they were gravely guilty and that the 'god' would never forgive them!

Since the tragic end of never being able to be reborn after death is inevitable, why not take one last gamble now!

As for the ordinary people who died?

How can we be afraid of deaths when we're doing something big?!

Next, they retrieved the long-sealed black boxes and entered the password that had been passed down but never entered before.

Then, the button was pressed, and the command was transmitted.

The earth was engulfed in the flames of extinction that had been sealed for decades.

"Have we... won like this?"

Looking at the Seraphim, who had almost completely purified the Second Neo-Tokyo City, Misato Katsuragi felt a dreamlike, unreal feeling, pinching her cheek and muttering to herself.

Just a moment ago they were at odds with the world.

But in such a short time, they seemed to have already achieved an absolute victory.

"Is that reasonable?" Kaji Ryoji said lazily, lighting a cigarette in his mouth.

"Is it not natural for gods to possess the power to suppress the entire world?"

The world's three major religions did not achieve their status because of their benevolence, but because they were powerful enough to command respect.

In the world before the Second Impact, all three major religions had successfully united countless people from the lower classes and possessed enormous power. Even Buddhism, which fared the worst, was only less capable than the other two. In addition, the strength of the central dynasty it belonged to prevent it from interfering in politics as frequently as the other two.

After the Second Shock, all religions in the world were banned by SEELE. However, these guys were also believers in Gnosticism. In the end, it was just a group of believers crushing all other believers.

Now that a true god has emerged, capable of defeating SEELE, he naturally intends to suppress the world.

Misato Katsuragi understood, of course, but the matter was resolved so quickly, and she felt as if she hadn't exerted any effort at all, which inevitably left her feeling empty inside.

"Ugh, it's over already? How boring!!!"

Asuka, on the other hand, didn't have so many worries, loudly complaining about her boredom and regret at not being able to show off her skills.

Then--

MAGI's piercing alarm blared in the command center, and red warning lights flashed wildly, illuminating everyone's faces in a flickering light.

"What's wrong?!" Misato Katsuragi suddenly turned around and looked at Ritsuko Akagi.

Ritsuko Akagi stared at the screen, her face ashen. Her lips trembled, and her fingers flew across the keyboard as if confirming something impossible.

"Global... Global Dead Hand System activated." Her voice was as dry as sandpaper. "MAGI satellites detected launch signals for over four thousand nuclear warheads globally. Intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, strategic bombers—all launched. Almost simultaneously, all nuclear-armed nations launched their entire stockpiles!"

Nuclear weapons, a distant term, represent a product of the era before the Second Impact.

The invention of the N2 non-nuclear bomb is touted as an indication that humanity has moved beyond the barbaric practice of using nuclear weapons to deter each other and is moving towards a future. However, it does not mean that these weapons have disappeared.

They were sealed away simply because they weren't as effective against the Apostles as N2, but when it comes to dealing with people, nuclear weapons are far more powerful than N2!

Now, SEELE, facing its demise, seems to be desperately trying to drag the whole world down with it!

The command room was deathly silent.

"The target is..." Ritsuko Akagi paused, her voice lowering even further, "all major cities worldwide. New York, London, Paris, Moscow, the Second New Tokyo—every city with a population exceeding one million is within the strike range."

"That's impossible!" Misato Katsuragi exclaimed. "Simultaneous launches? How could all countries launch at the same time—"

“It’s SEELE.” Kaji Ryoji’s voice came through, the cigarette he was holding now extinguished. “They’ve already taken control of the command systems of all nuclear-armed nations. Or rather, they were always the ones standing behind those nations.”

"What are they trying to do?!" Asuka's voice shrilly. "Are they insane?! Are they trying to destroy the world?!"

“They don’t care anymore,” Ritsuko Akagi said softly, staring at the screen. “They understand what’s happening now.”

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The situation is such that conventional methods are no longer effective against us. Therefore, they have chosen the most extreme approach.

The basis of nuclear deterrence is the conclusion in game theory that a lose-lose situation is better than a lose-lose situation. What we are seeing now is simply the result of this conclusion being put into practice!

On the screen, countless red dots are spreading across a global map. Those red dots represent nuclear bombs, destruction, and hundreds of millions of lives being pushed into the abyss of death.

North America, United States, New York.

The Statue of Liberty still stands on the sea, its torch held high, as if still guarding something. The skyscrapers of Manhattan gleam silver in the sunlight, the streets deserted; when the angels descend to judge, people have already taken refuge in shelters or simply huddled in their homes, awaiting their fate.

The first nuclear bomb fell silently, only with light.

A light even brighter than the sun.

The light engulfed Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn, and everything. Skyscrapers vaporized instantly in the intense heat, steel melted, concrete crumbled, and the entire island was wiped off the map in seconds.

The shockwave spread outwards, creating a tsunami hundreds of meters high that swept towards New Jersey, Long Island, and Connecticut.

Then came the second one. The third one. The fourth one.

Washington, D.C., was razed to the ground; the White House, Capitol Hill, and the Washington Monument—all vanished. Los Angeles burned in flames, the San Francisco Bay Area was boiled, Chicago became a massive crater, and Seattle, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans—

City after city was reduced to ashes in the baptism of nuclear bombs.

Within twenty minutes, most of the countries across the North American continent were reduced to burning ruins.

Europe, London, on the banks of the Thames.

The hands of Big Ben stopped at the moment the nuclear bomb fell. The Houses of Parliament collapsed, the London Eye melted, and the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral shattered in the intense heat. Millions of people vaporized in an instant, without even a chance to scream.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower twisted, melted, and finally collapsed at the epicenter of the nuclear explosion. The artworks and architecture in the Louvre vaporized along with the buildings, and the bells of Notre Dame fell silent forever.

Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Vienna, Warsaw, Kyiv, Moscow—

Cities were ablaze, every inch of land trembled. Thousands of years of European civilization were reduced to ashes in the flames of nuclear bombs. Churches, palaces, museums, libraries—buildings that carried human memories and glory—all vanished.

All that remains is scorched earth and wounds that will never heal.

The angel high in the sky did not stop the destruction; he merely returned the souls of the innocent to their Lord.

The monarch is chosen by the people, and the monarch must bear the sins of the people, while the people must also bear the consequences of the monarch's choice.

More nuclear bombs were approaching other cities and other places, while Tsurugi only sent a message to his saint, which arrived along with the Spear of Longinus that had flown off the earth.

——God help those who help themselves

I only save those who save themselves.

Even on the path to godhood, there will be endless killing! :276. Human Instrumentality Project dodging nuclear bombs

Hundreds of millions of lives have already been lost in the devastating blow of SEELE's mutual destruction.

Meanwhile, more nuclear bombs are crossing the Pacific Ocean, Siberia, and the deserts of Central Asia, heading towards every major city in Asia.

Seoul, Pyongyang, Hanoi, Bangkok, Jakarta, New Delhi, Karachi, Tehran, Baghdad, Riyadh, Tel Aviv —