Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

191: The De-urbanization Movement, the Battle Ends

Nagano Prefecture, Second New Tokyo City.

After the former capital was destroyed by the first N2 bomb, the Japanese government completely submitted to SEELE's rule and established the Second New Tokyo City in Nagano Prefecture, modeled after the former Old Tokyo.

The Prime Minister's residence, resembling a palace, felt too spacious; the over fifty-meter-high ceilings made the humans inside seem incredibly small. Only a giant pendulum clock caught the eye.

"Yes, the Apostolic Cross was confirmed three minutes ago." The female secretary, whose voice sounded quite like Ritsuko Akagi, stood in front of the Prime Minister and bowed slightly.

"The Apostle Cross, indeed, was emitted by that terrifying EVA. Just as SEELE said, NERV is secretly carrying out the Human Instrumentality Project, with the aim of triggering the Third Impact that will destroy all of humanity. It's outrageous." The Prime Minister sighed, took off his glasses, and took out a silk handkerchief to wipe the lenses.

"Normal people can't have the thoughts of madmen. Humans are probably the only creatures that can hate themselves."

"The last problem we face now is that EVA. Notify the Self-Defense Forces to help the mass-produced units quickly destroy the last NERV unit."

"So, the next step is to figure out what to do with the NERV headquarters facilities. Should we commission Germany or Seres to redevelop them?" the secretary asked.

The Prime Minister put his glasses back on and gave a cold laugh. "The result will only be that we'll be at the mercy of others. We'll have to cede territory for twenty years, just like old Tokyo."

At this moment, the government, SEELE, and the Strategic Self-Defense Forces on site all realized that this last crimson machine was the final obstacle in their way.

The first three units had their heads crushed, bodies torn apart, and spines severed by Unit-02. The remaining six units combined could not suppress the blood-soaked crimson storm before them. Every sword strike swung by the complete Evangelion before them carried the severed limbs of mass-produced units.

“vierte! (German: fourth).” Asuka’s left hand pierced through the chest of the white mecha in front of her, ripping out its heart along with part of its spine. She laughed maniacally, crushed the heart, and drank the blood.

"Fire! Create an opportunity for those white machines!" the captain roared.

Hundreds of flashes of light converged on the direction of Unit 2 at the same moment, interspersed with anti-ship missiles. The combined attack of the Strategic Self-Defense Force's ground and air forces made it seem as if they were at war with the world, with the sky filled with barrages.

The shells struck the giant sword and the armor plates on the surface of the machine, scattering dense sparks, but failed to damage the machine in the slightest. The crimson Unit-02 descended the steps slowly but steadily. Asuka and Unit-02 reached an unprecedented level of synchronization, the machine emitting a buzzing sharp sound, and powerful energy flowed from within the machine to every part of its body.

Wielding her greatsword, she parried and slashed, parried and slashed again, miraculously turning the tide amidst the encirclement of numerous mass-produced machines. Asuka's attacks were extremely fierce, yet she had never felt so relaxed.

She seized another black greatsword and used its sharp edge to push aside the blood-stained mass-produced machines behind her. The two black greatswords shone brightly in the sunlight, gleaming like the blazing sun.

Overjoyed, Asuka manipulated Unit-02 to spin the giant sword like a windmill, creating a massive sword circle.

At this moment, she finally understood the power that the foolish Shinji had unleashed in that desperate situation. With her mother by her side, she was invincible. Her mother's protection allowed her to control the berserk machine with a rational mind. The skills she had honed during her training in Hamburg, Germany, and Hakone, Japan, naturally came to mind and were naturally used in battle.

But suddenly, a stunning reversal occurred. Behind her, or rather, right beneath her feet, the first white mass-produced machine, whose head she had crushed and body torn apart, suddenly opened its arms and embraced the second machine's leg. Without hesitation, Asuka swung her sword and sliced ​​it in two. But this brief opening allowed the two mass-produced machines in front of her to seize the opportunity, swinging their giant swords at the crimson machine before them.

But it was no use; the warm yellow, diamond-shaped concentric force field blocked the sudden attack with absolute defense.

"As expected of brainless inferior products, just like that idiot Shinji. Did you think I wouldn't activate my domain?" Asuka sneered.

She raised her sword and slashed at the heads of the two mass-produced machines before her, hoping to annihilate two more this time. Her power was running low; she had to hurry… *Crack! Crack! Crack!* The domain emitted a soft cracking sound, and Asuka's eyes widened in shock!

—The Spear of Longylus?!

The air was filled with the sharp, baby-like laughter of the mass-produced machines. The two giant swords that had been blocked by their own AT field quickly changed shape, transforming into spiral spears in the blink of an eye that easily pierced through their own domain, penetrating their shoulder blades on both sides.

"I'll kill you! You bastards! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all!"

Unit 2 roared to the sky, surrounded by mass-produced units laughing as if they were crying. They picked up the giant sword that had fallen to the ground and held it in their hands. In an instant, it transformed into the gray-black Spear of Longierus and stabbed towards Unit 2's body.

"Idiot Shinji!" Asuka shouted.

She didn't know why she was calling out Shinji's name at that moment. Just like in the parallel world next door, Asuka, who was supposed to be launched into space to retrieve Unit-01, instinctively called out his name the moment before she was entangled by the mass-produced aircraft.

He clearly couldn't do anything, and he clearly no longer existed.

Then a beam of light descended from the sky and pierced through the body of the nearest mass-produced machine.

If time were slowed down several times, people would see the spear of light rising in the distance at a speed dozens of times faster than sound, like a beam of light shooting down the sun. As it fell, it pierced the body of one of the mass-produced machines, triggering an explosion. The blazing white light was like the sun rising prematurely.

However, only Unit-02, which had deployed its Absolute Territory, remained unaffected. Asuka glanced sideways at the Third Neo-Tokyo City, where the Light Gun had been thrown.

It wasn't just Asuka; the Strategic Self-Defense Forces, and even those mindless mass-produced machines, were all looking in that direction.

An apostolic cross of immense size rose from afar, its rays reaching the clouds and stretching for tens of thousands of meters.

When this extraordinary event occurred, everyone realized that something great was coming. The Apostolic Cross, which stood between heaven and earth, suddenly split in the middle, stirring up the clouds and mist, and dyeing the entire sky dark pink.

The separated apostle cross transformed into dazzling wings of light, and at that moment, the shockwave spread outward in that direction. Those who witnessed this involuntarily clutched their chests, feeling as if their souls were being pulled away.

"EVANGELION Unit-01." The captain who had given the order to attack clutched his chest. "It's like a demon."

"...Idiot Shinji?" Asuka called out uncertainly, not daring to raise her voice too much, for fear of disturbing the god before her.

A fierce wind swept through the myriad forms of nature, hurtling towards the gray tornado. Heavy footsteps echoed within the moving storm, and only a giant with orange eyes could be seen slowly approaching. The wings of light unfurled from its shoulders were so vast they blotted out the sky.

This scene creates an illusion, as if what lies before one's eyes is not Unit-01 at all, but a god from the primordial era, who has traversed desolate planets and flourishing worlds, breathing in harmony with the starry sky. After a journey of millennia, traversing the vast universe, he returns to this world.

Time seemed to stand still; neither Unit 2 nor the eagerly awaiting mass-produced units made a move. But the Strategic Self-Defense Forces below were in trouble.

For unprotected humans, what they were seeing was undoubtedly an apocalyptic scene: howling winds, torrential rain, and a sky shrouded in light gray clouds from which fire rained down.

The officials roared for the evacuation of personnel, as the battlefield before them was clearly no longer one that humans could intervene in.

Most Self-Defense Force members escaped the disaster, but many were still affected by this indiscriminate natural calamity. The most tragic were the Self-Defense Force members who stormed the underground world; they were too close to the disaster and were the first to perish.

No one cared about the lives of these invaders, except for those in Second New Tokyo who gave the orders.

When Unit-01 arrived at the battlefield, Asuka realized just how enormous the Wings of Light were upon closer inspection, but Unit-02's battery was completely depleted. So she could only slump in the cockpit, watching Unit-01 stand before her.

Unit-01 coldly surveyed its surroundings and gently pulled the Spear of Longinus from the ground.

"You guys really do prefer using these cheap knockoffs."

The revived mass-produced units spread their wings and hovered in the sky. They looked at Unit-01 with fear and timidity, not daring to move forward.

Strangely enough, Shinji Ikari didn't sense any malice from these mass-produced mobile suits. In stark contrast to their vicious and cruel attitude towards Unit-02, these mass-produced mobile suits with white wings and ugly faces treated him with the complete opposite attitude.

It doesn't matter; for Shinji Ikari, their very existence is a mistake.

In a divine state drastically different from that of parallel worlds, Unit-01 wields a replica of the Spear of Longinus and locks its sights on the white doves in the sky.

"It's a failure, a complete failure," Chairman Kiro said softly.

"Through the fragmented self of the pilot of Unit-01, humanity is restored. The third act of gratitude is no longer possible," said Monument No. 6.

"It seems we can only wait for the next cycle." President Kiru nodded and removed the visor from his face.

This is a relic that will not disappear even across time loops, passing down past memories to prevent repeating the same mistakes upon starting anew. It just so happens that in this world it takes the shape of this device—

The person who wears it becomes the new SEELE. But the price is that the knowledge accumulated in the relics will gradually overwhelm the self-awareness of the person wearing the blindfold, turning them into a monitor who carries out the Human Instrumentality Project.

But now, the Instrumentality Project can only be entrusted to the next world to be born. In this world that is waiting for the end of the world, SEELE has no reason to exist.

Yes, in SEELE's eyes, humans who will no longer complete themselves or evolve according to ancient mechanisms are just beasts waiting for the end of the world.

In his final moments, Chairman Kiro suddenly remembered the young man who should have been dealt with by Gendo Ikari, Kaji Ryoji.

Although it had been dealt with, from his perspective, Kiro always felt that he was quite suitable to wear this sunshade.

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The white doves soared into the sky, but the guns they carried pierced their chests one by one, and they fell back to the ground.

Without SEELE's control, the mass-produced units should have behaved like beasts or been completely idle. However, they still knew how to run away. Even after being killed one by one by Unit-01, they did not turn around and fight Shinji Ikari to the death.

Shinji Ikari turned his head to look at the battered Asuka. Sometimes he really felt that he received too much care, while Asuka was a feminine version of herself who had no one to care for her. She could only arm herself like a porcupine, shooting out her sharp quills at anyone who approached her, whether with good intentions or malice.

"Idiot Shinji, if you're any slower you'll never see me again." Asuka controlled Unit-02 to connect to Unit-01's channel. "This is the final battle, isn't it?"

But now, things are different.

Although Shinji Ikari didn't see Asuka's face, he could sense that the thorns on her body had disappeared. She wasn't finding solace from him, but from her long-deceased mother.

“Almost there.” Shinji Ikari turned to look at the Strategic Self-Defense Forces retreating like ants. “The final reckoning hasn’t been done yet.”

"You're going to kill them?" Asuka instantly understood his intention and couldn't help but click her tongue in astonishment. "That's tens of thousands of people!"

"Not only them, but also the military and the Japanese government, the Pacific Fleet that came from afar, and everyone who gave orders must die."

Unit-01 re-condensed the Gun of Light, projecting it into the clouds and transforming it into a dazzling rain of light that swept across Japan. The ground troops who hadn't yet evacuated from Tokyo-3 were the first to suffer; the burning Gun of Light rained down on their tanks, turning them glowing red-hot within seconds. One can only imagine the condition of the people inside those tanks.

The Superfortress bomber group, which had already left Tokyo, was also affected by the beam of light fired from behind. The pilots didn't even have time to eject before they burned and crashed into the blue sea.

Japan's dream of a resurgence as a great power died, leaving only its burning bones.

Even the Prime Minister's residence in Nihon-Nippon City, Nagano Prefecture, was not spared; when the giant clock struck 9:30, time was frozen forever.

And next, it's the beginning of ANIMA.

192: If evil is a magnificent yet cruel symphony.

After the battle, it was no longer a matter for the Evangelions and the pilots.

NERV was tasked with negotiating with the outside world on their behalf.

This time, the time spent in the parallel world was exceptionally long, so long that Shinji Ikari felt he couldn't distinguish between them.

Piloting this divine Unit-01, which is completely different from his own world and the new world, also brings new physical changes to Shinji Ikari.

In the interval between the alternation of positive and negative universes, Shinji Ikari sees two similar images that lead in completely different directions.

The former arrived late. When Unit 1 responded to him and piloted it to the battlefield, he witnessed Unit 2 being dismembered and eaten. Amid the blessings of the Human Completion Committee, he transformed into the true god in Jewish mythology.

The second scene depicts a situation that should be the end of the human world. The shockwave from the underground world rises and opens up to the sky. At this moment, the one in the center of the mass-produced EVA dance circle is not EVA Unit-01, but Unit-02 piloted by Asuka.

When the final ritual of the Human Instrumentality Project was about to manifest with Asuka's Unit-02 at its center, he himself arrived at the scene in Unit-01, barely repelling the forces invading NERV headquarters facilities and intervening in the life-sacrifice ceremony.

The Tree of Life, depicted in the sky with EVA Unit-02, which was pierced by the Spear of Longinus, as its apex, collapsed, and in the end, EVA Unit-02 also destroyed the Human Instrumentality Project.

The fate that had been confined around him and Rei Ayanami suddenly expanded, not ending as the old folks at SEELE had guessed, but extending into the vast starry sky, until the universe became their stage.

The final image freezes on Unit-01 holding up its hands in a cupping motion, while Misato, with a cast on her arm, looks up from below, making it appear as if a giant is offering prayers to the clear blue sky with both hands.

"Rei Ayanami, what are you looking at?"

When Rei Ayanami heard her question, she didn't turn around, but stared intently at the melon seedlings on the ground.

"Mr. Kaji's watermelon."

To be precise, it's the melon seedlings on the vine. Even though it's already August, three more yellow flowers have sprouted from the vine. Compared to the seedlings that were already taking shape, these three yellow flowers are far too immature. Surprisingly, all four of these yellow flowers are female.