EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 174 172. Unit- Corrupted by Dragon Genes
Was the spy Kirishima Mana caught?
After all, they were classmates. I didn't expect that... Ikari Shinji couldn't help but think that he was just a bystander watching the fun, but he was just missing a small stool. But maybe he was just sick, so he asked for leave. He couldn't think too badly.

Shinji Ikari didn't take the leave issue to heart, but Asuka had a serious look on her face, probably still pondering Kirishima-san's "big conspiracy".

He was planning to go to the electronics store and buy a TV after finishing training today.

There is not much entertainment in the apartment. Although couples will not feel bored when they stay together and can spend the whole day together, Shinji Ikari feels that it seems to lack a certain sense of home. In another month or two, it will be New Year. He will buy a TV and a game console and controller of this era. In his spare time, he can also teach Rei Ayanami to play games such as Super Mario - he always has the illusion that he is teaching a girl bad things.

Of course, he also wanted to play.

After class.

The three pilots went to the headquarters as usual.

After defeating the 12th Angel, Ikari Shinji had not visited Unit-01 as usual. He was going to fight the robot this morning, but was stopped by Ikari Gendō. There was nothing else to do in the afternoon except training, so he went to Unit-01's hangar.

There were few staff members here, and the giant was buried in the orange-red pool as usual.

Its pressure became even greater.

The purple and green armor radiated a sharp and cold light under the light, like an ancient beast about to wake up. The faint sound of the wind in the air was like the breathing of the beast, making people afraid to look directly at it. Ikari Shinji subconsciously held his breath. He suddenly felt that there seemed to be something different about Unit-01, but the appearance of Unit-01 was no different from when he first came to Tokyo.

Strange things...

Suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, Shinji Ikari walked in the sky corridor.

"Although I said thank you that day, I still want to say thank you again today. I wonder if you can hear me..."

Shinji Ikari said softly.

He looked at this EVA machine that belonged to him alone.

Shinji Ikari certainly didn't think that Unit-01 would have any unusual reaction to his arrival, unless he called out to his mother's spirit again. But if he called out to his mother here, the staff at the headquarters might have to work overtime again today. He had no intention of playing a prank, so he just observed Unit-01's head sticking out of the pool.

And just then.

In the distance, a tiny golden dot was reflected by the light into his eyes.

Ikari Shinji was stunned.

For a moment he thought it was something metallic reflecting the light, but the lights in the hangar weren't bright enough to do that, so he had to get a little closer to see what it was.

——That golden color is not an illusion.

The golden light was faintly visible in the purple and green armor on the head of Unit-01.

Unless you look closely, it is extremely difficult to spot.

Because that was the location of Unit-01's eyes, Shinji Ikari's body stiffened and an inexplicable chill rose up his spine. He realized the source of the golden light - Unit-01 was looking at him with its eyes open. No one would perform much better than him if being stared at like this by an eighty-meter-tall giant.

Is it awake now?

He took a deep breath and tried to relax his body, because he knew that Unit-01 would not hurt him. This pressure was just the aftermath of the giant's unintentional creation.

The source of the chill in his body was not as simple as the fact that Unit-01 was awake or asleep.

But...

What's with the golden light in Unit-01's eyes?

Could it be that it was this color before, but it had never opened its eyes? Ikari Shinji denied this speculation, he believed that his memory would not be wrong. Before Unit-01 went berserk and defeated the 12th Angel, the color of the eyes of this EVA was quite normal.

In other words.

Was Unit-01...corroded by the dragon genes in him?

He once dissolved part of his body into Unit-01, and then refused to merge with the runaway Unit-01.

After the accident in the experiment of exchanging organisms, Shinji Ikari mastered this method. But he never expected, really never expected, how could such a thing happen? Did Unit-01 absorb the dragon gene in him and grow golden eyes? What kind of words would it have, and would it turn into a dragon and head for the path of falling into the abyss... When he thought of such an outrageous thing, Shinji Ikari's heart began to sink.

What he was most worried about was the negative impact this would have on Unit-01.

People are always afraid of the unknown.

An 80-meter-tall Deadpool, with scales all over his body and a long tail behind him, can drive people crazy just thinking about it. Once he turns into a dragon, is there anything in the world that can stop him? It's not that he doesn't believe his mother, but the professors at the academy have said that dragonization is dangerous. After a hybrid turns into a dragon, it is no longer the same person. It becomes a Deadpool who craves flesh and blood. There is no other choice but to kill him.

Unit-01...what will happen in the future?
Ikari Shinji felt a little uneasy.

The golden spot did not occupy the entire pupil, but the sign it represented was extremely ominous. To this day, we have not received any news about Unit-01's eyes, which means that not many people in the headquarters have noticed it, but the change in Unit-01's eyes cannot be concealed for long.

Shinji Ikari had no choice but to call Ritsuko Akagi. "What's wrong, Shinji-kun?"

"Ms. Ritsuko, Unit-01 has experienced an abnormality."

"I'm going to take a look now."

Akagi Ritsuko, who was originally lazy, suddenly became serious after hearing the news. She put down her work and went straight to the hangar of Unit-01. Several staff members subconsciously followed the Minister of Science and Technology to prepare for the test data. Akagi Ritsuko took the lead and walked a few steps. She seemed to have thought of something and said to her subordinates:
"You go back first."

"Yes."

All the staff went back, and only Shinji Ikari went to the hangar with her.

At the reminder of Shinji Ikari, Ritsuko Akagi carefully observed the eye area of ​​Unit-01 and personally used instruments to test several data that he could not understand. Then he came to a conclusion that he had just guessed:
"I'm afraid it's an abnormality caused by going berserk."

"Is there any solution?" he asked.

"For now, I don't know whether this mutation is good or bad, and I can't come up with any solution." Akagi Ritsuko said seriously: "We humans know too little about the apostles. Just copying them is the pinnacle of science and technology. Even if some unknown mutation occurs, there is no way to deal with it, unless we stop driving..."

Stop driving.

This is impossible.

Both of them were aware of this, and Ritsuko Akagi had no intention of letting him stop flying Unit-01.

"After your eyes showed abnormalities last time, I extracted some blood DNA for analysis, but the results were not good. The corrosive power of this gene is too strong. Whatever is in front of it will be assimilated into its part. It may not even exist in any existing gene pool. Therefore, the progress of the experiment is quite slow." Ritsuko Akagi said, staring into his eyes.

Shinji Ikari didn't know what to say for a moment.

Those were things he brought back from another world. They came from the Dragon King who once stood at the pinnacle of power and authority in the world. The dragon slayers studied for thousands of years before they were able to barely use this power for their own benefit.

"When I first started the experiment, I even thought it was sticky magma instead of blood. The mice died after just a few seconds of being eroded by the apostles. However, after so long, although the progress has been slow, we have also gained some results."

"what?"

"Perhaps when the erosion reaches a certain extent, blood transfusion can be used to suppress it," she said.

"Exchange blood?"

"Well, although the genes of the apostle's erosion assimilated those things in the experiment, the subsequent erosion intensity has decreased, which proves that it can be diluted. Replacing most of the blood in the body, just like some elderly rich people in the world always like to replace the blood of young people, I think this should be able to suppress it, but I haven't tried it yet. But this can only temporarily solve your problem, Shinji-kun. As for the problem with Unit-01... I don't know if blood transfusion can work on it."

My problem...

Shinji Ikari wanted to say that he was fine, he ate everything he wanted, and he fell asleep at night. It was impossible for his bloodline to suddenly cross such a big limit and go out of control and become Deadpool. His bloodline was very stable, but the blood transfusion method did open up his mind. But when these words were said to Ritsuko Akagi, she had to explain the source. Besides, the most important thing now was not his problem, but the problem of Unit-01 being corroded.

Are you afraid of Deadpool who is 80 meters tall?
You will be afraid even if you die.

Shinji Ikari had no choice but to ask:
"So, we can only watch like this now?"

"Yes, Shinji-kun, unless there is a rapid progress in the experiment..." Akagi Ritsuko reached into her pocket with her index and middle fingers, as if she wanted to smoke, but she didn't care too much after quitting smoking for so long and the empty pockets made her feel helpless. "Sometimes we can only hope that science and technology can develop faster. Facing the apostles, we humans are so helpless. If Unit-01 really reaches that point, we can only try to give it a blood transfusion."

Ikari Shinji sighed.

In fact, things may not necessarily develop like that, because transforming into Deadpool through dragonization is just a possibility... I don't know what will happen when the genes of the apostles and dragons are combined.

I can only trust my mother.

He looked up at his mother. The quiet Unit-01 kept its eyes open and looked at her son. The Apostle had no such worries as "what are your eyes for?". No matter where he walked in the hangar, Unit-01's sight seemed to follow him. Akagi Ritsuko beside him was immersed in the data report of Unit-01. It seemed that she couldn't wait to go back and continue the experiment.

A few minutes later he and Miss Ritsuko parted ways in the hangar.

Although I am still worried about the future of Unit-01, life must go on.

After finishing the training and coming out of the headquarters, Ikari Shinji took Rei Ayanami to the electrical appliance store. However, he felt a little listless when he thought of the change just now. Although Rei Ayanami didn't know what was bothering him, she still comforted him a little.
"Would you like a hug, Ikari-kun?"

"Ah."

The beautiful girl didn't ask him what bad thing had happened to him, but just asked him awkwardly if he needed a hug.

The two hugged for a while, feeling the girl's warm body temperature, and Shinji Ikari felt much better. He was planning to go to the store like this, but they were stopped by a girl on the way.

"… Ikari-san, please, can you help me?"

It disappeared for a whole day.

Kirishima Mana.

(End of this chapter)