Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

However, a slight smile appeared on his lips when he saw the changes at Gendo Ikari.

"The stage is set up, all that's missing is the main character's appearance. Now that things have come to this, wouldn't it be a shame to miss out on the play that Gendo Ikari has worked so hard to present?"

Kaworu didn't respond. He just gritted his teeth, pondering the trouble that going to the appointment might bring.

What's staring intently is Shinji Ikari's unfathomable smile, a smile that leaves one unable to make a decision.

"I'm very curious about what's hidden behind the story."

Shinji Ikari turned around and walked towards the elevator shaft as well.

"Little Dog! Don't go! Gendo Ikari's hopes can never be for anything good! He will definitely deceive you again!" Behind her, Mari gave the same conclusion as Kaworu Nagisa.

Mari, in the cockpit, saw Shinji Ikari's departing figure and quickly reached out to try to stop him. However, the only intact right hand of Unit-08 seemed to touch something hard the moment it got close, causing colorful ripples to appear in the air.

It was Kaworu Nagisa, who unleashed his Absolute Territory at that moment. Although he didn't know what would happen at the appointment, since it was Shinji's decision, he wouldn't allow anyone else to interfere.

Kaworu turned to the side, raised his right index finger and pointed it at the Absolute Territory in front of him. The rapidly expanding Absolute Territory pushed the pink mecha aside. Only then did he slightly pat his chest and say, "Excuse me." Then he turned around and jumped down the elevator shaft next to him.

After Kaworu jumped down the elevator shaft, the entire room visibly shook. Debris kept falling from the ceiling, eventually burying the elevator shaft.

"This is tough, they're all so arrogant!" Mari scratched her head.

Despite being responsible for attracting NERV's attention, she first happened to run into Gendo Ikari, who was all alone, and then she happened to meet Shinji Ikari. Asuka, who was responsible for persuading Shinji, is still running around inside NERV like a headless fly.

She didn't have time to stop Shinji Ikari, because along with the cracked ceiling and walls, several white machines appeared before her eyes.

— EVA mass production model.

Its chest and shoulders were narrower than those of a typical Evangelion, its mouth was wider, and there were almost no signs of restraints on its body. Its fluid movements gave Mari a chill. But the biggest difference was in its head. Rather than resembling a human, it looked like a streamlined whale.

"Ugh, how disgusting! This humanoid yet inhuman appearance is giving me the uncanny valley effect." Mari shuddered, but her hands didn't slow down at all as she used her sonic spear to pierce through the white mass-produced model charging at the front, fighting and retreating at the same time.

"Princess, princess, I am a frog!" She connected to the channel with her left hand.

"Stop being a frog, you bespectacled catgirl, just say what you want to say!" Asuka's voice immediately rang out in the cockpit. Judging from the hurried footsteps, she was probably running down a corridor. "It's all that idiot Shinji's fault! I haven't been back for so long, I almost got lost!"

"Guess who I just saw? Commander-in-Chief Gendo Ikari! If we hadn't split up our forces, I feel like the two of us together could have taken him down and wiped out the final boss in one fell swoop!"

"Can't you do it alone? You're such a waste."

"Oh right, I just saw Wang-chan, and also the Sixth Child I saw before."

"Baka smoked chicken?! Why didn't you stop him?!" Asuka's voice suddenly rose several decibels.

"How am I supposed to stop him? He can destroy a mass-produced company with a single blow and suppress an EVA with a single punch. He's invincible, whether he's in the sky or on the ground. I'm just a pitiful and helpless bespectacled girl."

"Are you mocking me?" Asuka frowned, because it seemed that only her Unit-02 was the EVA that was suppressed by Unit-01 with a single punch.

"Absolutely not! If I lie to you, may my brother-in-law die a horrible death!" Mari said confidently. "I'm not going to waste any more time talking to you. I'm surrounded by mass-produced types right now, and I need to find a chance to escape. Right now, Wang-chan, the Sixth Child, and Gendo Ikari have all gone in a certain direction. I'm guessing it might be the former First Test Site. You should be familiar with that, right?"

"I understand. Is there anything else? I'm in a hurry!"

"The fleet over Misato is also being besieged by EVA Mark.44A aircraft carriers and is in a difficult situation. They can probably hold out for another ten minutes. In ten minutes, both the EVA and we must return to the fleet, otherwise we will inevitably be trapped here."

"I understand." Asuka hung up the phone.

Mari took a deep breath. As her roommate for fourteen years, she understood the princess's determination.

Meanwhile, outside, the Hope Ship, responsible for the rendezvous, floated on the outside of Hakone using an anti-gravity system. Suddenly, Ibuki Maya noticed a blue dot of light.

"The enemy is coming!" Ibuki Maya suddenly raised her head and shouted.

It was a single wisp, not just one, indicating that, similar to the previous encounter with naval-type artificial EVAs, they were being presented in large numbers.

They were indeed a group of EVAs, with strange appearances, resembling the design of drones before the impact.

"It's EVA No. 44A, which is designed for air combat, attacking from the four o'clock and eleven o'clock directions," Kitakami Midori reported.

"The straight-line formation ahead is amazing. They've formed their own community, like a new species," Maya Ibuki exclaimed.

"Perhaps, just like humans replacing dinosaurs. After humans are completely wiped out, they might become the new rulers of the Earth." Ritsuko Akagi, wearing a white lab coat, looked at the familiar scene before her. "It must be Vice Commander Fuyutsuki manipulating things. Let me experience your methods again. Head north, connect me to Mari. We don't have much time left."

Despite their brief incursion into Hakone, Ritsuko Akagi absolutely did not believe they could achieve victory.

From the very beginning, the disparity in strength between Wille and NERV was enormous. Even Hakone, perched high in the sky, didn't belong to NERV's current headquarters. Yet, even so, Wille found it incredibly difficult to attack Hakone.

Sometimes Wille is able to stay because their existence is part of the NERV project. Even their trusted aces—Asuka and Mari—are just spare parts and sacrifices.

The dilapidated Hakone, the first test site.

The sound of the tide, like ocean waves, echoed here.

The crimson liquid soaked Shinji Ikari's leather boots. Shinji was no stranger to this place, because it was here that he first met Unit-01.

What appeared before him was a dark red eggshell.

An incredible roar erupted from within the eggshell, as if restraining thunder. A sweltering, humid wind burst forth from the crack in the shell. A dozen seconds later, a torrent of red liquid gushed from within, crashing against the ceiling and turning into a rain of blood. The pink, oval outer shell, resembling an eggshell, shattered, and a machine strikingly similar to Unit-01 slowly rose from the water.

"The final executor has finally completed his task." Fuyutsuki Yukizo looked at the scene before him with deep emotion, feeling as if he had witnessed a god descending to earth.

The liquid inside the eggshell was foamy and had a temperature close to human body temperature; its color was blood-red.

Gendo Ikari remained standing on the platform at the edge, silently watching the birth of Unit-03. His cross-shaped pupils were empty, devoid of any light.

As a beam of light fell upon the person behind him, he turned around and stared at Shinji Ikari, who had arrived three minutes earlier than expected.

“Alright, all the tools are ready now.” Gendo Ikari looked down at Shinji Ikari, who was standing under the light. “Take this with you first.”

At that moment, a dark red object was tossed in front of Shinji Ikari, who bent down and picked it up. It was the same thing that had appeared around the necks of Kaworu, Mari, and Asuka—the DSS collar.

"Go pilot Unit 13 and remove the spear from Lilith's body. That way, you'll have another chance to go back in time."

"What about Wille, who has infiltrated headquarters?" Shinji Ikari asked.

"You don't need to worry about this, and this isn't headquarters anymore."

But just as the words fell, a deafening sound rang out again from the outside. The PrbnowBox area collapsed completely, and the protein walls destroyed by the machine connected the two spaces together.

The crimson Unit 2 and the yellow Unit 9 descended from the sky, embracing each other as they crashed to the ground. If one ignored the deadly attacks they were about to inflict, they looked like the most passionate lovers.

If Unit-03 hadn't gone berserk, perhaps Asuka and Rei could still be friends. Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs."

Then dozens of small, dark blue artificial apostles pounced on Unit-02, binding its body tightly like chains. With the help of the artificial apostles, Unit-09 finally stood up, drew the high-vibration particle blade from its rear armor, and plunged it into Unit-02's abdomen without hesitation.

At this moment, the result is already obvious—

NERV successfully imposed sanctions on the rebellious Wille.

165: Stubbornly persisting, defying time

A low, muffled groan echoed from inside the machine, causing Shinji Ikari to furrow his brow. The sound had changed several times as it traveled from the cockpit to the outside world, carrying a resolute tone born of suppressed pain, making it sound somewhat unfamiliar to Shinji.

But Rei Ayanami inside Unit-09 showed no mercy; she continued to mechanically execute orders. The nine mass-produced units, like dark blue steel nails, tightly bound the joints of Unit-02. Rei Ayanami once again drew the high-vibration particle blade carried by Unit-02, stabbing it mercilessly before spinning it away.

Blood gushed from Unit-02's wound, forming a massive waterfall of a strikingly different brownish-purple. This attack had destroyed her backup power source, meaning that unless Unit-02 went berserk like Unit-01, it would be completely trapped in the enemy's lair.

Unit 9 stood quietly at the edge of Unit 2. Rei Ayanami, inside the cockpit, silently watched the tragedy unfold, her expression blank. Her pupils were empty, as if it had nothing to do with her.

The lights shone down from above, this time landing on Gendo Ikari once more. The man, who had put his sunglasses back on, waved his hand dismissively, indicating that Rei Ayanami could drag the troublemaker away. But at that moment, Shinji Ikari chuckled softly, "Interesting," he muttered.

Gendo Ikari frowned slightly. He didn't know what Shinji Ikari was laughing about at this moment. Was it because he saw his former friends fighting each other, causing him to lose his mind?

But the next second, deafening gunfire erupted from the control room higher up.

The sudden gunshot left Gendo Ikari with no time to activate his domain; in an instant, his newly worn sunglasses and the Heavenly Spirit behind them were completely blasted apart.

"Long time no see, Commander." A familiar, sharp voice rang out from above. "Dr. Akagi asked me to give you his regards."

Only then did everyone see the figure standing there clearly. The red bird stood at the edge of the central control room, its sharp gaze fixed on Gendo Ikari, whose skull had been pierced by a bullet.

—— Shikinami Asuka Langley.

"You knew all along that the pilot inside wasn't this Second Child?" Kaworu Nagisa asked with some surprise when he saw Asuka's appearance, glancing sideways at Shinji Ikari beside him.

“Being a qualified pilot isn’t such a rare quality; what’s truly rare is being an excellent pilot,” Shinji Ikari indirectly answered Kaworu Nagisa’s question.

Gendo Ikari picked up his sunglasses from the ground, but they were so broken they were unusable. Only then did he look up at the figure above him.

“Shoot first, then ask questions… You’ve become more decisive than before, Second Chosen One,” Gendo Ikari said. “To be able to move freely inside Hakone, someone must have given you a back door.”

At this moment, he shifted his gaze from the woman in front of him and looked sideways at Kaworu. His first suspect was this apostle.

From the moment the plan began, unexpected things kept happening to him. Gendo Ikari suspected that he had already realized the flaws in the plan he had been given and had chosen to lead Shinji Ikari away from his path.

"I guess too many people dislike you. After returning to Hakone, my privileges were restored. Although I'm not religious, I really like this saying: 'Those who do not speak have no faith, and those who do not keep their covenants have no religious integrity.' You should have gone to hell long ago, Gendo Ikari!" Asuka said coldly, inserting the magazines into the guns, loading them, crossing her arms, placing both guns on her shoulders, and raising them to fire.

Gunshots rang out incessantly, and bullets relentlessly bombarded Gendo Ikari's body until it was torn to pieces.

Even so, Asuka was not careless at all, until another wall broke open and a pink mecha broke through the fence under the siege of mass-produced models, throwing a gray spear at the shattered Gendo Ikari.

In an instant, Gendo Ikari, who had no time to recover, was pierced into the ground by the gray spear of Longinus. He looked at the gray spear that had pierced his body in astonishment. It was the object in front of him that was restricting his body's recovery.

"A replica of the Spear of Longinus, a weapon that can also pierce through the Absolute Territory and effectively kill Angels. Although it is not as sacred as the original, you are not an Angel either." Makinami's mocking voice rang out in the testing ground.

"I see." Gendo Ikari looked at his body, which was torn apart like a spider web. "What a pity."

Even so, he was still able to turn to Shinji Ikari with the calmest attitude, "So it was you."

At the last moment, he finally realized that the root of the problem was not Wille, nor Kaworu Nagisa, but Shinji Ikari in front of him.

The Hakone stadium teetered precariously beneath his feet, and his father lay before him, his chest pierced, yet his serene smile revealed that none of this occupied his thoughts. Despite the imminent threat of death and destruction, his smile remained unchanged.

The Shinji Ikari standing before him was definitely not the boy he knew from fourteen years ago.

He said no more, and the absolute domain that held his form together collapsed, finally revealing the essence hidden beneath the "shell".

At this moment, someone restored the permissions, allowing the Hope Ship's Three Sages System to miraculously connect to MGAI's local area network and see the scene unfolding at the First Test Site.

Beneath its shell lies a torrent of energy composed purely of divinity. Even without the constraints of its physical form imposed by the Absolute Domain, it can still float above Unit 13 in its human form.

"He's already beyond the comprehension of common sense, but it's too late." Mari sighed.

“Although it cannot be understood by common sense, it can be broken down into its different components. He no longer needs a physical body bound by the Absolute Territory to survive, possesses the characteristics of an Angel, and still retains his human identity,” Kaworu Nagisa said in the First Test Site.

"At the moment his body shattered, you could see that his insides were completely empty, with no organs, blood, or nerves present. But he was still human. He probably completed this step a long time ago and sacrificed his soul to Unit 13."

As the energy torrent that Gendo Ikari embodied gathered into the mouth of Unit-01, the machine, which resembled Unit-01, suddenly opened its scarlet eyes.

Elsewhere, on a semi-transparent platform inscribed with the Tree of Life, the vanished Fuyutsuki Kosuke reappeared. He too saw the awakening of Unit-03 through MAGI's broadcast, but his face showed no joy.

"Without the two most crucial pilots, it will be very difficult for Unit-01 to achieve the 3+ Awakening that surpasses Unit-01, Gendo Ikari."