The peaceful days did not last long; the sky over Tokyo-3 tore open once again.
This time, despair came from above.
The Eighth Angel, Sahaquiel.
A gigantic, colorful eyeball that looked like it had grown wings was plummeting straight down from outside the atmosphere.
It did not display complex attack methods, because it was, in itself, a super bomb capable of destroying half of the island nation.
"Target is free-falling towards Tokyo-3! Estimated impact time is two minutes!"
Inside the NERV Command Center, the red alarm lights cast a crimson glow over everyone's faces.
"This mass... if it hits, the entire Lake Ashi area will be vaporized!" Misato Katsuragi stared intently at the countdown on the screen. "We can't let it land! All units, sortie!"
By the shore of Lake Ashi, three EVAs stood in a triangular formation.
Fierce winds howled, caused by the pressure differential from the Angel's descent.
Looking up, the black dot that was originally the size of a grain of rice had now become a colossal, sky-obscuring shadow, its terrifying pressure suffocating.
"It's here." Shinji Ikari's voice was steadier than that of a fourteen-year-old boy.
"That size... are we supposed to catch it?" Asuka swallowed hard. Although she had just regained her confidence, the instinctive fear remained when facing a catastrophe-level monster like this.
"Not catch it." eva unit-01 assumed the starting posture of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, and a brilliant blue aura erupted. "It's to neutralize the impact."
"Prepare for contact! Five, four, three..."
BOOM—!!!
A massive shockwave erupted the moment of contact, instantly leveling the surrounding forest.
The ground beneath the three EVAs cracked inch by inch, and the terrifying kinetic energy seemed intent on crushing their very bones.
"HRAAAAH!"
The synchronization rates of the three pilots instantly soared.
It wasn't just brute force.
The AT Fields of the three units did not opt for a head-on collision. Instead, using high-frequency oscillation, like countless tiny ball bearings, they frantically wore down and guided the downward kinetic energy of the Angel.
"Deflect it to the left!" Shinji roared.
Rei Ayanami and Asuka understood instantly. eva unit-00 and eva unit-02 exerted force simultaneously, cooperating with eva unit-01's core traction to forcibly twist the devastating descent trajectory.
The Angel, which should have plummeted straight through the earth's crust, slid uncontrollably sideways, like a giant who had stepped on a banana peel.
As if sensing danger, a semi-Angel, resembling a bio-skeletal humanoid, emerged from the colorful eyeball core, its outstretched arms transforming into spikes that thrust towards eva unit-01.
However, Shinji Ikari was no longer the inexperienced weakling he had been at the start.
The moment he noticed the enemy's transformation, he controlled eva unit-01 to twist and dodge. Simultaneously, he unleashed a powerful, rotation-charged palm strike, breaking through the AT Field's blockade and delivering a solid slap that knocked the attacking semi-Angel completely askew!
"Now!"
In the next moment, the angel core, moving along its deflected trajectory, was firmly captured by eva unit-01, whose arms blazed with blue aura, and pulled.
The eva unit-00, which had been ready, thrust its high-vibration particle knife forward, accurately plunging it into the massive core.
"Die... now!!"
Accompanied by Asuka's roar, eva unit-02 flashed into position.
eva unit-00 retreated tacitly, yielding its position so that eva unit-02 could land a stylish, powerful high whip kick onto the bottom of the knife hilt, driving the rapidly vibrating sharp blade completely into the angel core!
CRACK!
The crisp sound of shattering was exceptionally pleasant amidst the roar.
The Eighth Angel exploded in mid-air into a spectacular, bloody firework display, transforming into massive quantities of red liquid that poured down, washing over the three steadfast steel giants like a heavy rain.
Inside the command room, Misato let out a long sigh and slumped into her chair.
"These kids... they really have gotten stronger."
In this way, her job had become considerably easier... A few days later, in the NERV Senior Staff Conference Room.
Gendo Ikari sat at the end of the long table, behind him the projection of SEELE's cold, black monoliths.
"The American Branch has lost eva unit-04 during experiments in Nevada," Gendo Ikari stated, his voice devoid of emotion, as if merely commenting on the weather. "According to the newly revised international agreement, NERV Headquarters will remove the clause limiting each country to three EVAs. unit-03 will be transferred to Headquarters for activation experiments."
"unit-03..." Ritsuko Akagi frowned slightly, looking at the report in her hands. "Is it this urgent? The pilot selection hasn't been finalized yet."
"You don't need to worry about the pilot; I already have a backup candidate," Gendo Ikari said, tapping his finger lightly on the table. "Besides, since it's a redundant unit, we might as well use it for some meaningful data collection."
Hansen, sitting on the other side, was toying with the teacup in his hand. When he heard the words "unit-03," his eyes lit up slightly.
Of course he knew what was hidden within that unit.
The Ninth Angel, Matarael.
A parasitic Angel resembling micro-fungi, it had likely already silently taken over unit-03's control system.
According to the original script, Asuka would volunteer to pilot this unit, only to be infected by the Angel, brutally dismembered by eva unit-01's dummy plug system, and ultimately suffer a fate of total physical and mental collapse.
"Heh."
Hansen chuckled softly and drained the water from his teacup.
Since he was here, this kind of nauseating tragedy would absolutely not be allowed to happen.
The Ninth Angel, huh?
Then let's just treat it as evolutionary nourishment prepared for that girl, Asuka... The cicadas' chirping was annoyingly loud.
Tokyo-3 Municipal First Middle School, Class 2-A.
"Stand, bow."
Following the class monitor's command, the students sparsely took their seats.
Suzuhara Toji was napping, slumped over his desk, while Aida Kensuke was staring blankly out the window with his camera.
"We have a transfer student joining us today."
The old teacher adjusted his glasses, his tone flat, which did not generate much interest from the students.
After all, in this apocalyptic reality, transfer students were as common as stray cats.
Until the moment that boy walked into the classroom.
The air in the classroom seemed to freeze for a moment.
What kind of boy was he?
He wore a perfectly ordinary white shirt and black trousers, yet he possessed hair as bright and pure as moonlight.
His skin was pale, almost translucent, and his ruby-like eyes held a sense of compassion and gentleness that seemed to see through all things in the world.
He stood at the podium, and without needing to speak, his transcendent aura instantly silenced all whispers.
"My name is Nagisa Kaworu."
He wrote his name on the blackboard; the handwriting was elegant and strong.
"I hope... we can all become good friends."
His gaze swept past countless faces, then, without hesitation, landed directly on Shinji Ikari, who was sitting by the window in the back row.
Then, he revealed a smile bright enough to eclipse the sun.
"Especially you, Shinji-kun."
The eyes of all the girls in the class instantly turned into X-rays, stabbing in unison toward the bewildered Shinji.
"Huh?" Shinji pointed to himself, looking confused.
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