Aozaki Aoko [652-653] (Patreon)

Chapter 652: Cleanup Work

With Touko's familiar shriek, the Angel's cross-shaped fiber attack blew a hole through the fourth barrier wall along the Styx main axis. The alarms in the Bethany Base no longer served any purpose—everyone was used to them by now.

"Maximum-power mag-lock failure, capture system destroyed!" the operator shouted a status update.

Behind her, the branch chief clenched his jaw, watching the Third Angel being chased down by Unit-05 on the screens.

"It seems their target isn't Unit-05," Touko said to the chief. "Or rather, once they realized destroying Unit-05 was hopeless, they changed objectives. They're trying to use that device to force the Third Angel to escape the Bethany branch and steal our research!"

"Authorize the use of micro N2 aerial depth charges!" the chief barked, furious. "Don't let the Third Angel escape. Destroy it here if you must!"

"Roger!" While giving chase, Mari Makinami snapped a salute in the video feed. "Micro N2 aerial depth charges—full volley!"

The launch bays on Unit-05α's shoulders and legs snapped open in perfect unison. Dozens of micro-missiles swarmed out, accelerating toward the fleeing Third Angel ahead.

As humanity's most powerful weapon in this world, the N2-series bombs were famed for being "efficient," "clean," and "easy to use." The micro N2 aerial depth charges set the entire Bethany Base shaking; even those in the command room had to grip the rails tightly to keep from falling.

But the Angel's AT Field, which had just been pierced, regenerated immediately. The micro N2 missiles could break the AT Field once, but they couldn't inflict sufficient damage on the Third Angel itself.

"Target still active. Micro N2 aerial depth charges confirmed ineffective!"

Though the volley failed to wound the Angel's body, the fact that conventional armaments shattered the AT Field spooked the "AI" within the puppet system. It immediately controlled the Third Angel to activate the "halo" above its head, unleashing a powerful beam attack to slice through over a dozen layers of armor overhead, cutting a direct channel to the exterior of Bethany Base.

After all, at its current speed, the Angel would eventually be caught by the relentlessly pursuing Unit-05.

"Target breached the Limbo Zone, entering the Acheron!"

"Damn it!" The branch chief slammed his fist on the console. "The Third Angel can fly. If it reaches the Acheron, it can break into the high atmosphere immediately!"

"No, that's still a ways off!" Touko shouted, glancing at Mari on the screen. "Mari, it's time to use 'that'!"

"Got it!" Mari reached the lower end of the channel the Angel had cut and looked up at the fleeing target. "Jump system, activate!"

From Unit-05 Alpha's back—beneath the N2 reactor—came the whir of machinery. Two rocket-like nozzles extended and blasted blue flame.

In tandem, the thrusters built into the soles and shoulder restraints fired. The giant, dozens of meters tall, shot skyward like a rocket.

"Orah! Don't even think about escaping!"

Mari piloted Unit-05, spear of Longinus-simulacrum raised, and charged straight at the Third Angel. Controlled by the puppet system Black Coffin, the Angel clearly hadn't anticipated that Unit-05 could fly. It failed to dodge in time and was run through the spine, pinned to the outermost giant curse pillar of the Acheron sector.

The Third Angel struggled to pull out the imitation spear, but such weapons are absolute counters to both Apostles and EVAs—even knockoffs are no exception.

It still wasn't completely helpless. Seizing the opening when Mari tried to close in for a capture, the Black Coffin puppet system forced an activation of the halo and fired a cross-shaped beam.

The beam did pierce the AT Field and hit Unit-05's body, but it failed to penetrate the chest armor completely. Touko had already inscribed wedge-shaped runes identical to those on the curse pillars into Unit-05α's JA equipment armor, providing powerful resistance against both Angel beam weaponry and the L-Field.

It did slightly weaken Unit-05's AT Field—but that was something sheer will could overcome, as Mari promptly demonstrated.

"Whew, that was close! I almost became a flat-chested girl!" Mari kneaded the big breast she was so proud of inside the entry plug, then shot a very unfriendly glare at the Third Angel.

"Game over!"

Mari drew a second high-frequency vibro-knife and plunged it into the Angel's red core, putting an end to its eternal life.

All remaining "flesh" of the Third Angel began to rapidly collapse, liquefying into vast quantities of red fluid. A sea of blood spread across the Acheron sector's surface, dyeing the entire exterior of Bethany Base a blood-red.

"Target ceased activity. Operation complete!"

The blonde operator's voice echoed in the command room. Everyone exhaled in relief at the outcome.ity's first battle to the death with an Angel had finally ended in victory.

Though this Angel wasn't exactly "pure," events had largely followed the script of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which eased the minds of the Committee observing from the shadows.

"No—do not relax yet!" The general manager suddenly shouted, snapping everyone back to attention. "Everyone on base—assemble in the conference room. We are conducting a full internal audit. I want that damned spy dragged out!"

"I don't think we'll need to go to that trouble," Touko said, shaking her head under the chief's puzzled gaze. She pointed to a corner of the main console's display. "Who authorized that plane to take off? And who's on it?"

"NERV Germany Branch special operations officer, guardian of the fourth Child, Unit-05's pilot—Ryoji Kaji," the operator replied after a flurry of keystrokes.

"Place Unit-05's pilot under… temporary house arrest in her own quarters," the chief said, rubbing his temples. Even now he didn't want to make things hard for a child who had just fought tooth and nail for their victory. "Also, meet all her material needs as best as possible. We'll decide next steps after confirming she's clean. Sigh…"

Touko said nothing. She looked out over the Acheron sector now stained blood-red and at the mechanical remnants left behind after the Third Angel A's collapse, and found herself grudgingly satisfied.

The Angel-modification tech had almost certainly been transmitted to Gendo through the communication device in the Black Coffin puppet system. But the good news was the bastard hadn't gotten a living Angel. Replicating the Third Angel's condition would be next to impossible.

Although the Committee might still insert the Ninth Angel into Unit-03, capturing a standard-form Angel was undeniably difficult—at least with NERV HQ's current EVAs and pilots. And Touko wasn't about to let Asuka "make it happen."

Chapter 653: 

The Third Angel A's entry plug was preserved…

Aoko and Touko would maintain a delicate balance between the Committee and Gendo until they obtained what they wanted.

Meanwhile, unnoticed in a corner of the world, Touko activated a remote-control spell. The spider puppet hidden on the outer side of Ryoji Kaji's aircraft engine detonated.

The tilt-rotor burst into a flicker of flame. The spy fought with everything he had to pull up the clearly stalling craft, but with one engine gone, all he could do was attempt an emergency landing.

In a forgotten corner of the world, a plane fell from the sky. It didn't explode, but the severe deformation and damage meant it would never fly again.

Siberia's blizzards and endless forests awaited him. Returning to civilization would not be easy for Ryoji Kaji.

—Section Break—

"How did the operation at the Bethany branch go?" Kouzou Fuyutsuki asked as he studied a shogi record and set up pieces, not looking up.

"Humanity's first full victory over an Angel," Gendo replied impassively. "Unit-05's combat capacity is notable."

"You know that's not the 'victory' I meant," Fuyutsuki said, setting the record aside and glancing up at Gendo.

"Total annihilation," Gendo said. "The special ops team lost contact with HQ immediately after releasing the Third Angel. Someone took them out."

"…The timing is too convenient," Fuyutsuki murmured. "Is someone inside the Bethany branch cooperating with us? That spy, perhaps?"

"Yes, without a doubt," Gendo replied. "But the one helping us wasn't Ryoji Kaji. His aircraft crashed in Siberia."

"Nothing else to show for it?" Fuyutsuki frowned. He knew about the secret unit; those men were the most loyal agents he and Gendo had cultivated. To lose them so murkily was bad enough—bringing back nothing would be too steep a price.

"Not nothing," Gendo said, tone unchanged. "Though we failed to seize Third Angel A, we did receive the data transmitted by the puppet system while it controlled the Angel. Ritsuko says she needs time to analyze it, but I believe it will significantly aid our plans."

"Paying so much for so little—was it worth it?" Fuyutsuki stood and looked out the window, speaking almost to himself.

"Worth doesn't factor in," Gendo replied crisply. "Bethany is already ahead of us in EVA construction. We cannot allow Angel-modification to remain in their hands. If we can't have it, we'll make sure they lose it."

"…I understand," Fuyutsuki said. "Any response from the Committee?"

"The old men of SEELE care only about their script," Gendo said with a trace of disdain so faint it was hard to notice. "As long as the Apostles die in order, they won't make extra moves."

—Section Break—

"What's the damage?" Aoko lounged on the sofa and asked Touko, who was still in her lab coat, tapping rapidly on a tablet. "NERV HQ received the public battle footage too. It looked pretty intense."

"The Acheron sector is basically a write-off," Touko sighed. "I underestimated the L-Field's corrosive effect on common materials… No—call it the Angel's L-Field."

"Even the anti-L system can't hold?" Aoko blinked; that didn't match her expectations.

"It's fine under normal conditions, but the Acheron's nodal devices had their polarity completely flipped." Touko pulled up photos on the tablet and showed Aoko. "Under the puppet system, the Third Angel exhibited abilities totally different from earlier tests, heavily impacting the curse-pillar barrier. It's become the opposite of what it was. The outer perimeter of Bethany is being severely eroded by the Red Sea water. We'll probably have to pour all our recently earned resources into repairs and reconstruction… The chief's last remaining hair might not survive this."

Polarity inversion… Are the curse pillars made from some kind of black stone?

"Gendo really is useless at building and development, but he's got a real talent for destruction," Aoko sighed. "What about Mari? Will she stay at Bethany to pilot Unit-05, or…?"

"She's tired of using an EVA to do base maintenance," Touko chuckled, as if recalling something amusing. "'Every day I look for new ways an EVA can be used as a construction tool!'—that sort of thing. I don't think she'll stay long. There's also an Unit-08 waiting for her at the Shanghai branch."

"Unit-08…" Aoko pictured a pink silhouette. She knew far too little about that deus ex machina-like unit and thus didn't care much. "…I suppose it counts as a kind of insurance, though it belongs neither to the Committee nor to NERV HQ."

"The unique prudence of that Eastern great power…" Touko mused. "I have to admit they're thoughtful—and not wrong. Neither NERV HQ nor the Committee truly keeps humanity's collective interest at heart. That's why Unit-08's build differs from standard EVAs; it uses an internalized power system. Was that based on Bethany's approach? Or…"

"Probably based on the North American branch's Unit-04," Aoko said after a moment's thought. "Unit-04 was the first experimental platform for an internalized power core; its construction was already near completion. They just hadn't tested it due to the lack of a pilot. It's not surprising the Easterners could obtain Unit-04's data through other channels."

"…Whether Unit-08 can acquire an artificial core, though, I don't know," Aoko continued after a pause. "Samples of the Third Angel A-type core have never been leaked. Even when that brat Gendo intruded once, it was the same. The puppet system's data uplink alone isn't enough."

"Fair point. Besides 3A, we still have a full ADAMS in hand. Their cores differ slightly, but if I can realize core-replication tech…" Touko said. "Then we'll be closer to one of our goals."

"The NHG battleship," Aoko nodded. "Has the Committee instructed Bethany to begin spinal-core separation?"

"No," Touko shook her head. "After all, the Apostles haven't even begun their formal offensive. The battle between 3A and Unit-05 was just an appetizer—hardly even a prelude. It's about on par with the missing Second Angel, at best."

"Two years left, then…" Aoko stretched lazily, leaning back and gazing at the bright sunshine outside the new Kuonji estate. "Let's make the most of this last lull and get everything ready."