EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 45 The Seventh Apostle Attacks——!
——The Apostles are coming!
Although there is no evidence yet... an unprecedented ominous premonition... lingers in Shinji Ikari's heart.

This is a feeling I never had every time the apostles attacked me before.

There's no need to witness it... just like the pungent smell of disinfectant in the air can make people think of the oppressive and uneasy feeling of a hospital.

"Stupid Shinji..."

Asuka seemed to be still in shock from the sudden situation and snuggled up in Shinji Ikari's arms like a little bird, a rare gesture.

She was caught off guard and nearly fell. The momentary feeling of weightlessness brought back some memories that she absolutely did not want to touch again...

But, Shinji Ikari really did what he said on the hospital rooftop that day... when I was about to fall... he grabbed me.

"Asuka...can you stand still? Let's go to the command room—"

It was not until Shinji Ikari let go of her with a gloomy face that Asuka left his arms reluctantly.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something tsundere like "How dare you hug me in such a mess?"... but when she saw Ikari Shinji's face, which looked as if he was facing a great enemy, she said nothing.

"—All personnel! First combat configuration! Repeat! All personnel! First combat configuration!"

When the shrill alarm sounded, Shinji Ikari and Asuka had already arrived at the command room.

As the general manager, Fuyutsuki Kozo, and the commander of the operations, Katsuragi Misato, watched the huge and terrifying monster on the monitor with great vigilance...

"NERV's third surveillance satellite has displayed the surveillance footage from fifteen minutes ago!"

"This is the Seventh Apostle...!"

It was not like the previous apostles who appeared directly on the land... The screen showed the scenery of outer space.

It was a dark brown sphere, a giant thing that distorted and devoured even the light. It didn't resemble anything from the real world... It was like a disaster outlined with shadows and lines.

Of course, NERV did not sit idly by. As soon as it detected the enemy from outer space, a large number of NERV's satellites immediately flocked to the orbit of the Seventh Angel.

The sheer amount of ammunition loaded without regard for cost, the saturation firepower that was enough to raze several cities to the ground... caused a violent explosion that almost covered the entire apostle.

But——the killing weapons that have only been developed by current human technology...are simply unable to break through the Seventh Angel's AT force field that completely disregards the laws of physics.

It couldn't even slow its downward momentum or change its trajectory... It was as if mocking the insignificance of mankind... No resistance could shake this twisted disaster.

"Because... thirteen minutes ago... the fourth and fifth satellite arrays were completely destroyed... and all surveillance satellites were destroyed... For the time being, the latest apostle intelligence has been lost. Even the N2 aerial bombardment is ineffective... Ha, ha, completely... meaningless..."

Technical analyst Aoba bitterly reported the situation to Katsuragi Misato... After all, that was the epitome of human spaceflight civilization. While they couldn't count on them to defeat the apostles... they couldn't even buy them a minute...

In front of the apostles, science, which is the pride of mankind, seems so small and ridiculous... making Qingye's despair grow stronger and stronger.

Just when Qingye's hands were shaking involuntarily as he typed on the keyboard due to the immense fear surging in his heart... a hand gently rested on his shoulder.

"—!"

Aoba, already paranoid, was almost frightened and turned around palely... and found that it was Shinji Ikari, the pilot of EVA Unit-01, with whom he had never even spoken privately...

Honestly, Aoba finds it absurd and ridiculous to entrust the fate of the entire human race to a few fourteen or fifteen-year-old children... But science cannot explain why the EVA cannot be started with a different driver, so he can only let nature take its course.

So… Aoba actually never really liked these innocent little kids. Even though their status in NERV was far superior to his, Aoba still had a sense of superiority as an adult looking down on children…

Therefore, Aoba never expected that it was Shinji Ikari, the child he despised, who would run behind him before his sanity was about to disappear... and put his arm around his shoulders as if to comfort him, showing his presence.

"——Don't panic, we're here." Hearing this, Qingye gave a dry laugh and, like a prayer, the image of EVA flashed across his mind... Like the apostles, beings far beyond human intelligence and reason...

"Yes, yes... and... yes, we also have EVA..."

At a time like this... puny humans can do nothing... They can only pray in vain for salvation from EVA... or the Giant of Light...

"Fool."

However, Aoba's inner prayer was unequivocally denied by Shinji Ikari with a rude smile.

"Who told you about EVA... We, I mean—you, me, Asuka, Ayanami... Miss Misato, Miss Maya, Mr. Hinata... Everyone who is currently fighting in NERV and showing the courage to fight against the fear called the Angels."

Shinji Ikari's voice was not loud, and it was probably only the three analysts at the console who could hear it.

But it was sonorous and powerful, and landed heavily in the hearts of Aoba, Hinata, and Maya - it was clearly just the nonsense of a middle school student... but at this moment it landed in the hearts of the three people like a huge bell, dispelling the terror that was growing in their hearts.

"We are still here. As long as humanity doesn't give up resistance... humanity will not lose. So... calm down and do your duty. Leave the rest to me... I will protect you."

As he spoke, Shinji Ikari patted the shoulders of the three operators who were intimidated by the sheer size of the Seventh Angel, trying to boost their morale.

"…Yes! Shinji-kun!"

When they realized what was happening, the three of them realized that they had inadvertently used honorifics to address this child who was so much younger than themselves.

——That's only natural... Wait, the ones who will be on the front lines facing the apostle who seems to be threatening to destroy the entire world... are these young children.

I was just providing support from the safety of the rear... Even they didn't give up the resistance, so how could I, as an adult, be so incompetent!
Snap—he slapped himself hard, as if to spur himself on… Taking this as an opportunity, Aoba Shigeru completely cast aside his inner fear. He recognized what he should do and quickly returned to his work.

"Urgently requisitioning UN military satellites! Regenerating image data... Coordinates uploaded to MAGI! Prepare to begin recalculating the Seventh Angel's trajectory!"

Misato Katsuragi watched Shinji Ikari's actions from afar and smiled with satisfaction... Logically speaking, it should be she, the combat commander, who should boost morale.

But - facing this over-sized enemy... even I was momentarily at a loss, letting an atmosphere of unease spread throughout the command center. I never expected... to be...

"The source of the vibration has been revealed... thirteen minutes ago! The Apostle separated a portion of his own mass from his body... and then fell like an airstrike. Utilizing his immense mass and AT field, the gravitational potential energy alone... was enough to wipe an entire city off the map."

Air raid—Ikari Shinji frowned…Is this the cause of the earthquake just now?

"The first air raid didn't hit mainland Japan, but landed in the Pacific Ocean... MAGI predicts the next attack will be in forty minutes. And the time until the Seventh Angel's main body enters the atmosphere is one hour... twenty-two minutes! Target... Tokyo-3! NERV headquarters!"

"Alright! Using NERV's special authority... issue an evacuation order to the Japanese government! Mobilize all available transportation resources to urgently evacuate residents within a 150km radius of New Tokyo-3!"

Shinji Ikari grinned... Just falling into the Pacific Ocean... The vibration it caused was like an earthquake - I really couldn't imagine what would happen if something like this hit my head directly...

Oh wait...

…An inexplicable feeling of unease spread in Shinji Ikari’s heart.

Impact, fall into... the Pacific Ocean? And then... trigger an earthquake? ? Isn't that...

"Emergency! The southeastern coastal areas have been hit by a tsunami! It's speculated to be the result of the Seventh Angel's attack! Although the intensity is low... the affected area is widespread! The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has responded... due to the suddenness of the incident, all available manpower and transportation resources are being used to rescue the disaster area! I'm afraid... they won't be able to respond to our request to evacuate Tokyo-3 in time!"

"--What did you say?!"

(End of this chapter)