EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 160 158. Ikari-kun, remember to come back

The black and white striped apostle flashed for a moment, and when it was observed next time, it had appeared right above Unit 2 as if time had been deleted.

"Detected the Apostle's AT position!"

The detection personnel in the command room shouted immediately.

Asuka stared at the Angel above, Unit 2 drew out its particle knife, bent its hind legs slightly, and prepared to meet the attack.

But after several seconds, the Twelfth Apostle did not move.

This made the alert Unit-2 look like it was performing a one-man show.

What are you doing!
Is this thing just a decoration?
As soon as Asuka had this thought, she noticed the changing perspectives around her. She immediately looked around and saw that the attack should come from the sky - no, from under her feet. She keenly noticed something was wrong. Unit 2 looked down and saw a sticky black shadow sticking to the bottom of the fiery red body. A strong suction was swallowing the body.

——It should have been just the shadow of an ordinary apostle.

But now it has "come back to life".

"That's not scientific at all!"

Asuka said in her heart.

Without thinking too much, she controlled Unit 2 to maneuver and make an evasive move. Asuka turned on the power at full capacity, but still couldn't stop the downward resistance, as if she was fighting against the gravity coming from herself. How can a person lift herself up? But at this time, she just needed to use the force!
The apostle's attack was instantaneous.

By the time she realized what was happening, Misato Katsuragi in the command room couldn't help but break into a sweat.

In the blink of an eye, Unit 2 suddenly jumped from the building next to it, instantly rising several dozen meters high. At the same time, Unit 2 stabbed the particle knife into the interior of the armed building, and the weight of the entire machine pressed down on it, causing the building to shake.

Fortunately, the Third New Tokyo was designed as a combat city when it was first established.

The buildings here are of excellent quality.

It is no problem to support the weight of a machine.

"Hmph, that's all."

Asuka climbed on the armed building and sneered at the sneak attack launched by the apostles. Unit 2 was like some small animal with twin ponytails, using the particle knife as a support point on the building, as agile as a rock climber.

"Only a fool would be swallowed up so easily."

But the crisis has not been resolved.

The ground has turned into a dark swamp. With Unit 2 as the center, the area of ​​six to seven hundred meters is completely covered by the shadow of the apostles. All the buildings in it are sinking into the shadow at an alarming speed.

It seemed like there was a different space in there!

Seeing this, the two EVA machines providing support nearby also reacted immediately.

Shinji Ikari's attention was no longer on the phantom in the sky. He realized that the black shadows on the ground might be the true body of the Twelfth Angel. This trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west... The apostles are bringing more and more surprises to mankind.

But how should the apostles deal with such a situation?
The visible enemies in this world are not that scary, because they can all be eliminated through physical means. But this invisible shadow is more terrifying than any visible enemy.

Swords and guns can kill humans, but can they kill shadows?

Shinji Ikari tried to fire two shots at the shadow, and with a bang, a perfect ten rings! ——Because no matter where he shot, it was a shadow. This assault rifle designed for EVA is enough to collapse a building with one shot. But the bullets shot at the apostle were like a drop in the ocean. The moment they touched the shadow, they were sucked in. There was no reaction at all. What was going on inside the shadow?
"Asuka, retreat immediately!"

Katsuragi Misato gave the order.
"Don't let a tentative contact turn into a tentative attack."

"I know!"

Asuka also realized that something was wrong, because in the blink of an eye, there were only a few places within a few hundred meters that could accommodate Unit 2. It was really weird, was this a scenario where a flood swept the world, and the whole world was flooded, and only a few places with high altitudes became the last hope of mankind, but this small armed building was not Mount Everest!

We must retreat from this planet...from within this few hundred meters before the flood completely submerges the land.

If it is thousands of meters.

It might be a little difficult for her.

But for Unit 2, this distance of several hundred meters is as simple as a few takeoffs and landings.

Asuka was confident about this. The moment the particle knife was pulled out, Unit 2's right leg immediately exerted force and the body moved like a rabbit, as if it was flying, and landed smoothly on the outer wall of the second armed building, and then continued to repeat this operation.

It seemed that he was about to leave the shadow's range.

Misato Katsuragi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She thought to herself that it was a good thing that Unit 2 escaped. The ability of this new species of apostle was really weird. It would devour everything within the shadow range. Although she didn't know what the consequences would be after being swallowed by the shadow, it was best not to even try. Perhaps, being swallowed would mean immediate death.

But how to deal with this apostle?
Where there is light, there is shadow, just like there is always a shadow under a big tree, there are leaves basking in the sun, and there are roots buried deep in the ground.

Could she stop the sun from shining and giving off heat?
If it really doesn't work, let's test the water with a bomb. A red button seemed to appear in front of Misato Katsuragi's eyes. While thinking about the battle plan, Misato Katsuragi paid attention to the big screen in the command room. At this time, she realized that she seemed to have opened the champagne a little too early, because Asuka had not yet left the shadow range.

The first step of the plan failed.

"What's going on? The range is only a few hundred meters, why haven't they come out yet?"

She asked puzzledly.

"It... seems to have locked onto Unit 2." Ritsuko Akagi said hesitantly.

On the battlefield.

Asuka couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

It has locked itself.

It had already traveled such a long distance, and even exceeded the task of "attracting to remote areas" that Misato had mentioned at the beginning. But no matter where I went, it would swallow me up. The black and white striped sphere in the sky was always suspended above Unit 2.

I can now be called a source of disaster, and I have only managed to survive until now by constantly moving around in buildings.

But there are only so many tall buildings in Tokyo.

If he couldn't deal with this apostle, he would be swallowed up sooner or later.

It seems to have set its sights on Unit 2!
"Hey, why are you staring at me? Even if I'm a beautiful girl, I don't like this kind of pursuit."

Asuka cried out in dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately, the apostle neither understood her complaints nor what a beautiful girl was. No matter how gorgeous her moves were or how graceful Unit 2's movements were, this shadow with a diameter of several hundred meters followed her like a maggot.

bang bang bang-

There was constant sound of gunfire from Unit-01 and Unit-00.

Without getting close to the shadow, all Shinji Ikari could do was to provide long-range support. But the bullets hit the shadow and nothing happened. The Angel didn't even open his AT field to defend. Only when the attack was launched did the reaction of the Angel's AT field be detected. What the hell is this?

Why does it feel like after two or three months, the style of the Apostle has evolved to the superpower channel, a shadow ability user, right? But the Apostle is not a shadow power master who believes in the way of balance. Even if Ninja Jie comes, he will be confused! He hates this helpless situation.

There isn't much building reserve left for Unit 2.

Until now, I have not seen the true body of the apostle. Could it be this dark shadow?

Shinji Ikari immediately dismissed this idea, because he had never seen where the red core of the apostle was. During the training, Akagi Ritsuko had talked to the three of them, and this core must exist in the apostle.

Where is it hidden?

The answer has been there all along.

"Asuka, I'm here to help you."

Unit-01 gave up the idea of ​​firing from a safe distance. He wanted to try to open the AT force field and use the particle knife for close combat. This seemed to be a very stupid choice. Can a person cut through a shadow with a knife? Anyone who knows kendo knows that this is a fantasy. But Unit-00 chose to believe it. Rei Ayanami subconsciously wanted to follow. Shinji Ikari shook his head in the cockpit.
"Ayanami, we still need your fire support."

Unit-01 pulled out its particle sword.

This place was not within the range of shadows, and the sun was shining brightly. The armored giant wrapped in purple and green bent his legs, maintaining the state of maximum output, like a horn bow stretched to the limit, and then jumped up, crossing the boundary between light and shadow in an instant.

Unit-01, attack!

At this time, Asuka over there was concentrating on escaping from various buildings, occasionally changing the cables that powered the machine, but soon such actions were forced to stop. Unknowingly, there was not much space around for Unit 2 to stand.

And the most important thing is that the armed building with cables has been completely sunk.

Asuka was stunned for a moment.

Even the cable is gone.

This was a complete desperate situation. The activity time of Unit 2 was reduced to five minutes, which made matters worse. Could she kill this Angel within five minutes? There was no way. She hadn't even seen the red core of the Angel, let alone defeated it.

What should I do? What should I do?
If I had known I wouldn't be the first one... Her regretful thoughts didn't even last for a moment before they disappeared. Either Shinji or herself. No matter who comes, they have to face the current dilemma. In this case, it's better for me to face it myself.

"Damn it! What bad luck!"

Why am I so unlucky every time I fight an apostle?

Asuka became more and more angry. She no longer tried to find another building to harm, but instead stabbed the shadow hard with the particle knife.

"The Apostle is hiding in the shadows, right?"

Although she was still a little uncertain, Asuka could only take a gamble and believe in this guess.

But she soon realized that she had thought too simply. The particle knife, wielded by Unit 2, made a whistling sound, like a compactor weighing dozens of tons with full power. With this knife, everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Titanic would be cut in half. However, the black shadow swallowed up the particle knife, and the strong kinetic energy did not even cause a splash.

...was the result she imagined.

Asuka was somewhat disappointed by this scene.

This apostle's ability was completely like cheating, and none of the experience in the simulation training could be used. As she stopped looking for a building to transfer to, the shadow had swallowed up everything around it, spreading to the feet of Unit 2, and even swallowed up the area below Unit 2's ankles. Next, she had to sink into the shadow, and she didn't know what was inside.

Will he die immediately?
Asuka felt calm when thinking of the word death.

"Asuka, can we continue the transfer?" Misato Katsuragi asked anxiously in the communication channel.

"There's nowhere to run."

"..."

At this moment, the female major didn't know what to say to comfort Asuka.

"Hey, wait a minute," Asuka suddenly asked in surprise on the communication channel, with a hint of joy in her voice that no one could detect: "Shinji, why are you here?"

"Ms. Misato, the apostle should be hiding inside the shadow."

Ikari Shinji did not answer her question, but spoke to the command room.

Unit-01 was currently squatting on the roof of a distant building, also within the range of the shadow, sinking very quickly, but not as fast as Unit-02, which was already submerged up to its neck. If it were to withdraw now, the Angel who had locked onto Unit-02 might still have a chance to escape successfully.

"What do you want to do? Of course I know about this kind of thing, but the situation inside is completely unknown. Fighting the enemy in its home ground..." said Misato Katsuragi.

Just imagine that.

If the Eighth Angel found in the volcanic magma before, the EVA bodies did not wear special heat-resistant suits, but fought directly in the magma, what kind of scene would it be? I'm afraid they would immediately become roasted alive.

Unit 2 has completely sunk.

Asuka only left behind the words "Shinji, why are you here?" and then lost all contact.

Shinji Ikari looked at the speed at which the black shadow beneath his feet was spreading.

"Are there any other options besides going in?" he asked.

This time it was Akagi Ritsuko who interrupted, "We need to find out the situation inside first, and then discuss a rescue plan for Unit 2. If it is really a last resort, we can only use bombs..."

"Hey, Ritsuko! I'm the Chief of Operations!"

A bomb that can destroy all the Angels should have the same power on Unit 2.

He doesn't accept this hell either.

"I have to go in and destroy the apostles. This is the only way."

The black shadow has already touched the soles of Unit-01's feet.

Shinji Ikari calmly watched it devour, there was no other way. Even if he retreated now, there was no effective battle plan against the Twelfth Angel. The Third New Tokyo would still face the same ending. In the final analysis, this ability was too cheating, and an organization whose mission was to fight against the apostles could not come up with any effective plan.

——This is an adventure!
"Shinji!"

"Don't go in!"

"Ikari-kun."

Someone said on the communication channel.

If you saw those crystal eyes, would you be able to bear it? Would you take the risk? Would you regret it? She didn't ask anything, but the two of them were truly the same kind.
"Remember to come back."

(End of this chapter)