Aozaki Aoko [668-669] (Patreon)

Chapter 668: The Appearance of the Seventh Angel

In this timeline, the incident where Shinji Ikari and Kaworu Nagisa went to visit Yui Ikari's grave together did not happen. The reason is that after finding out where Yui's grave was, this Shinji went there with Rei Ayanami instead. The driver wasn't Misato Katsuragi, but Maya Ibuki.

The public cemetery was barren, with no greenery at all. Even the gravestones were nothing more than undecorated posts, with Yui's name and dates of birth and death carved on the base. One wondered whose terrible taste had designed such a thing.

"So this is the mother's grave?" Rei lowered her head, staring blankly at the marker. "But I don't feel anything."

"Honestly, before I received that photo from Miss Aoko, I couldn't remember what my mother looked like either," Shinji said. "It's like nothing from before I was four exists in my memory."

"And according to Miss Aoko, all these graves are empty, without even ashes," Shinji added. "They're just cenotaphs."

"Then why did you still come?" Rei looked at Shinji's face and asked calmly.

"Just to confirm something," Shinji said, looking up at the clear sky. "I came here once with my father three years ago, but I ran away quickly..."

"Ran away?" Rei tilted her head. "Are you afraid of this place?"

"Maybe I wanted to forget certain things—only after forgetting can you find the courage to keep going," Shinji said with a self-mocking smile. "But there are also things you must never forget. It's those things that led me to you, Rei."

"Let's go," Shinji said, taking Rei's hand. "Miss Maya took time off to drive us here—let's not waste too much of her time."

"Mm." Half-understanding, Rei obediently followed Shinji, leaving the crowded yet desolate cemetery.

—divider—

The reason the Dead Sea Scrolls are called a script is largely because they are accurate.

But that doesn't mean humanity can't defy this "script." Quite the opposite: as long as humans so choose, they can perform the "play" any way they like.

So why call the Scrolls "accurate"? Because the Angels act according to the times recorded in the Scrolls, and once an Angel appears, humanity must respond with necessary measures.

Like right now.

Maya was driving Shinji and Rei along the ring road skirting the mountains outside Tokyo-3. The two were quietly gazing out the window toward the red sea when the calm was abruptly shattered.

A massive warship turret came flying toward their sedan and slammed into the ground, spraying rocks; even the car windows cracked.

"W-what's going on, Miss Maya?" Shinji stared, dumbfounded, at the turret on the road behind them, wondering how such a thing had ended up here.

Maya didn't answer immediately; she was taking an emergency call from NERV HQ.

"Huh? The Seventh Angel is attacking?!" Maya said in alarm. "I'm currently with the pilots of Unit-00 and Unit-01. At full speed, it'll take about fifteen minutes to return to base. Please prep both EVAs!"

"What? You say we don't need to? Unit-05 has been deployed?" After the reply, Maya glanced at the comm device. The emergency file on-screen was marked 'Task-02.'

At that moment off the coast of Tokyo-3, a fleet of dozens of destroyers and cruisers bombarded the Seventh Angel. The "long-legged" entity strolled across the sea surface unscathed under its Absolute Terror Field.

Neither shells nor missiles could penetrate the AT Field, but the Angel's cruciform "light beam"—if it could be called that—easily blasted the ships to pieces.

On closer observation, the "beam" seemed to be a manipulation of the red seawater; the true cutting force against the ships was actually cruciform columns of water shaped by the Angel.

The Angel's design was bizarre: its "mask" had two faces, front and back, growing at the very top of its body, spinning at different speeds like a clock's minute and second hands. The body had no biological qualities—two long, thin black "legs" let it stride over the surface, while a central "pendulum" was a huge black sphere.

The problem was that this spherical structure existed both at the top and bottom. The upper sphere was red and looked more like a core.

NERV HQ couldn't yet determine whether the Seventh Angel resembled the Sixth—specifically, which of the two cores was the real one.

Unit-05 had been deployed closer to the coast on the Tokyo-3 side, and civilians had been evacuated. But even if Unit-05 hurried to intercept, it was too late to stop the Angel from destroying everything along its path.

Not that it mattered—the role of Unit-05 in this operation was merely "insurance." The true countermeasure was looking down from the sky.

"That aircraft!" Shinji looked out. A very familiar-looking plane was transporting something toward the Angel. "Is that an EVA too?!"

"Correct!" Maya answered while driving intently. "That should be EVA Unit-02 from the European branch!"

—divider—

At the same time, Asuka in the pilot seat wore a confident smile, fully focused on the battle between the Seventh Angel and the fleet below. As an EVA pilot, her first combat was about to begin.

Her confidence came not only from piloting the first mass-production-ready decisive humanoid weapon, but also from the fact that, as an artificial human, she had reclaimed her own "destiny."

She was no longer a pitiful puppet whose only reason to live was piloting an EVA, nor a helpless girl who needed to pin her emotions on others.

Asuka now had family, friends, a place to belong—and "power" in her own hands sufficient to twist fate.

Aoko had previously assured Asuka that if things became dangerous in the fight against the Angels—if there was truly no way forward—she could activate her pseudo-divinity at any time to defeat the enemy and break the deadlock, without considering consequences.

Because they were that confident: no matter what, they would win—the only question was by how much.

Chapter 669: Sealed Core

With a cascade of explosive snaps from the coupling bolts, the second EVA from Europe descended from the sky.

"Why do those Europeans always like dropping things from the air!" Misato looked at the main screen, a bit displeased. "Are they flaunting tech that's more advanced than ours?!"

"They're probably warning us," Ritsuko said unhurriedly, coffee in hand. "Because of certain past matters."

"Huh? What grudge do we have with the European branch?" Misato asked, puzzled. "You—are you keeping something from me again?"

"Nothing," Ritsuko smiled. "By the way, the team that came with Unit-02 might include someone we both know."

—divider—

After seeing Unit-05 defeat the Third Angel with JA-series gear, the French branch felt a bit "regretful" about handing the JA series over.

But since they took Unit-02 from the German branch, France figured it wasn't a total loss—win some, lose some.

Still, as the branch that designed the JA series, merely maintaining and training on Unit-02 left them unsatisfied. So while keeping Unit-02's basic loadout, they re-customized various auxiliary equipment.

One such piece is the "Gauss Crossbow" now in use.

This weapon combines part of the Bethany base's pseudo-Lance of Longinus tech with one of the French branch's specialties—Gauss weaponry—to create a ranged weapon specifically targeting AT Fields.

Though its penetration isn't on par with Unit-05's "pseudo-Lance missiles," it's absolutely cheaper and has broader application in conventional combat.

Like right now: after calibrating in midair, Asuka pulled the trigger without hesitation. The crossbow bolt, imbued with pseudo-Lance characteristics, easily pierced the Seventh Angel's AT Field and "core," and its body began to collapse.

But as a being with ADAMS-like pseudo-divinity, Asuka didn't relax. She could sense the Angel was still "alive."

The large black sphere below swung and rotated up after the red "core" above was destroyed, revealing its true nature: this was the Seventh Angel's real core.

"Hmph! Petty tricks!"

Asuka snorted coolly, adjusting her posture. The next piece of equipment was airdropped from the circling aircraft and was correcting its orientation via thrusters.

Unit-02 grabbed the new gear and twisted the black shaft. Blood-red curse-text flowed across it, forming a cruciform "siege spike" in her hands.

This weapon was produced as a spinoff of the "anti-L Field system" jointly researched in secret by Orange's Bethany base and the French branch—a "specialized anti-Angel armament" based on principles entirely different from the Lance of Longinus.

Unit-05 also had a similar weapon, but since the Sixth Angel's AT Field was much stronger than the Seventh's, Gray chose the more efficient AT-breaker—the pseudo-Lance—back then.

Unit-02 gripped the "cross" with both hands, aimed the lower spike at the Angel's core, folded the dorsal gliding wings, and accelerated into a dive.

A massive AT Field impact thundered out, followed by a shattering crack. The cruciform spike rammed mercilessly into the core. The Seventh Angel's hundreds-of-meters-tall body instantly crumbled, scattering into the red sea.

Through the spike, Unit-02 clamped onto the huge red core, then fired all retro-thrusters to decelerate, finally landing steadily at the designated zone and setting the core gently on the ground.

Strictly speaking, Unit-02 hadn't "killed" the Seventh Angel. Using the special "cruciform spike," it temporarily "sealed" the Angel's core, returning it to a pre-script "slumber." In a sense, they had captured a live Angel.

"Hey! Gray, how'd I do?" Asuka waved Unit-02's massive arm, greeting Unit-05 not far away.

"Mm, just what I'd expect from you, Asuka," Gray praised sincerely. "Welcome to Tokyo-3!"

—divider—

"I didn't expect the European branch to actually seal and retrieve an Angel core..." Ritsuko frowned as she watched European personnel busily and orderly securing Unit-02's spoils. "That's surprising. How much else are they holding back?"

"These guys really guard against us at every turn," Misato said, displeased. "Not only do we lack 'command authority' over Units 02 and 05, they're even shielding us on 'spoils' handling. Are we really going to keep infighting like this? If humanity continues like this, we might really be doomed!"

"Looks like those two pilots are acquaintances as well," Ritsuko said, glancing over at Asuka happily chatting with Gray. "The European branches are more tightly knit than we imagined."

"Long time no see, Katsuragi. You've gotten thinner. Work keeping you busy?"

A deep male voice sounded behind Misato. She suddenly felt herself pulled into a familiar embrace—but before she could react and snap at him, the person let go at just the right moment.

"Long time no see, Kaji," Ritsuko smiled at their old classmate standing behind Misato. "You look... What happened to your eye?"

"Yo, you're just the same as ever, Ritsuko."

Though Ryoji Kaji still acted laid-back, to Misato and Ritsuko he seemed more "weathered" than before—not only wearing a beard, but an eyepatch over his left eye, with a long scar faintly visible beneath.

"Hmph, what's with you? Did some woman in Europe scratch you up, so you ran back to Japan?"

Blushing and bristling, Misato needled Kaji with sarcasm.

"You might not believe this," Kaji said with a wry smile, stroking his beard. "But this eye was actually clawed by a polar bear."