Aozaki Aoko [686-687] (Patreon)

Chapter 686: Turning Up the Heat

Unit-03 was dismantled and recovered, its pilot sealed and isolated by NERV HQ, and all of New Tokyo-3 reverted to the old routine of relying on civil crews to repair the damage.

In the battle with the Ninth Angel this time, no explosives were used—there wasn't even the standard-issue Angel self-detonation at the end—so the plan to redraw Lake Lake Aishi on the map wasn't needed.

The U.S. branch had nothing to say about Unit-03 getting shipped to Japan only to go sideways again—or more likely, they knew perfectly well what was inside Unit-03 to begin with. After all, the Committee has tons of facilities in North America. Hardly unusual.

Although the Japanese government expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. at the U.N., neither the Committee nor the U.S. government took that toothless blame-shifting seriously; they didn't even bother to pretend to apologize.

Even if NERV HQ still holds relatively high clout among the branches, it's an extraterritorial organization independent of the Japanese government. Japan's demands have nothing to do with them, and Gendo certainly isn't one for patriotism.

All in all, after a round of offstage chaos, everyone managed to return to a rare stretch of orderly daily life, loosening their taut nerves for a moment.

At school, Shinji didn't tell Kensuke the truth; he only said Toji Suzuhara was injured during the Unit-03 activation test and needed to recuperate at NERV's hospital, so visits wouldn't be possible for a while.

Kensuke didn't press, but as a veteran, he noticed the not-very-good-at-lying Shinji had held some truth back.

Given NERV's nature as a special agency, secrecy clauses are normal, so he didn't show any dissatisfaction.

Still, Kensuke—who'd always dreamed of becoming an EVA pilot—couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment. Even the doofus right next to him got chosen; why is he the only one still utterly ordinary?

Everyone else returned to life by the book, but Aoko and Touko got busy lately—so busy they sometimes needed to rely on clones to clock in.

A long-absent familiar face, the replica Teardrop Asmi, was released from Aoko's body to substitute for her at NERV.

After being steeped in it for so long, Asmi handled Aoko's daily work with ease. She even liked the AI department's work environment; she was "working like a person" with great gusto—so much so that even Maya wondered if Aoko's work enthusiasm had gotten a bit too high.

Aoko herself dove into an undeveloped zone within Land of Sapphire Flowers, simultaneously building several factory facilities above and below ground.

But calling them "factories" alone might be inaccurate. Aoko referenced design features from Bethany Base and NERV HQ to transform the area into a super-base that integrated EVA cultivation plants, a starship dock, and an occult lab—basically copying a NERV base into a demi-plane.

The size of Land of Sapphire Flowers's space isn't a concern; it's actually been slowly expanding.

Moreover, by channeling power from the Myther Energy Core, Aoko can cast a ninth-circle spell to artificially expand the demi-plane's internal space and even transmute some materials with magical energy.

However, this can't produce every raw material. Some materials used for building EVAs still need to be sourced from the EVA world, requiring advance preparation.

Of course, this isn't fully built yet; it's only in its early form. Most industrial equipment was "frugally requisitioned" by Touko from Bethany Base and placed here, only enough to maintain basic functionality.

The EVA world is the most technologically advanced among the many worlds Aoko has experienced. If this loop ends with the world's total collapse, many products will be hard to acquire for a while, so she has to plan ahead.

Step one was cloning a MAGI system into the demi-plane.

As a mature, top-tier supercomputing system in the EVA world, MAGI is installed in national research institutes and NERV branches alike. It wasn't hard for Aoko to obtain key components; even the fully bionic human-brain core processors were mass-produced. Suffice it to say Naoko Akagi was ruthless as a scientist—she didn't mind the hardware modeled on her brain being distributed worldwide.

On that basis, Aoko used the "DeepThought" large model to automate the demi-plane base's operations, allowing a minimal staff to keep the entire installation running.

Energy is no problem thanks to the Myther Core. And Touko, using magecraft at Bethany Base, has already gotten control of a number of engineers responsible for N2 reactors. When it's time to bail, these "precious talents" will be whisked away with Bethany Base's legacy.

That's right—bail. Although the surface situation looks decent, this is the world's last calm.

With the Ninth Angel sealed inside Toji Suzuhara, things look quiet. But the "strongest rejection-type" Angel—the Tenth, aka "Virtue"—is already on its way to New Tokyo-3.

Aoko's group could brute-force kill the Tenth Angel, but that would be meaningless—just doing the Committee or Gendo a favor.

One of their goals in this world is to acquire its EVA-tech legacy. Angel cores and EVA units are pretty much in the bag.

But the starship construction is still lagging. Before Gendo triggers the Near-Third Impact, the old farts at NERV are taking their sweet time, which annoys Aoko.

At Bethany Base, the ADAMS core and skeleton separation are complete, but construction of the NHG starship using the ADAMS skeleton as keel hasn't advanced. Still, Aoko understands: the starships, as "Guardians of Mortal Flesh," are mainly for opening doors and converting the Black Moon—stuff that happens much later in the script. SEELE has no reason to do it now.

But Aoko and company don't want to wait, so they plan to use Gendo's Unit-01 awakening plan to manufacture a Near-Third, turning up the difficulty on SEELE and accelerating all those items that still only exist in slide decks into actual production—making it easier for them to swoop in and lift the goods.

Chapter 687: The Time Has Come

Since the failure at Bethany Base, Ryoji Kaji's life has been rough.

Whether it was that little "accidental" crash in Siberia, or intel gathering after returning to HQ, nothing matched his previously smooth-sailing espionage career. He couldn't tell where it went wrong—he just wasn't reaching his goals.

"Is the goddess of fate telling me to retire and spend time with Misato?"

Wearing a single eyepatch, Kaji straightened up and tapped his lower back, easing the fatigue from bending over at work.

This was a watermelon field he'd planted and tended on royal land near NERV HQ, officially for researching and restoring plant species from before Second Impact—but in truth, just his hobby. He "borrowed" the seeds from a lab under a NERV-affiliated organization.

Lighting a cigarette, Kaji crouched and patted the watermelon nearest to him. The tone sounded nice—probably close to ripe. He'd pick it tonight and bring it to Misato as a gift.

On his way back to Misato's apartment, Kaji carried the ripest, prettiest watermelon, humming an unknown tune, looking thoroughly content.

It seemed that being a fruit farmer made him happier than being a spy. Maybe when it was all over, he'd take Misato back to the countryside and live the leisurely life he'd always dreamed of—maybe they'd even have a child.

No, that was impossible. After a moment, Kaji rejected his own fantasy.

In a daze, he recalled his past. He remembered that his hometown—and the family and friends there—had long since vanished into smoke because of Second Impact.

…

["Next stop, Kami-Gora. Kami-Gora… please exit from the left…"]

The train's broadcast repeated the arrival announcement. Shinji and Rei Ayanami sat with large bags of groceries in hand.

Today was supposedly the day Toji Suzuhara's little sister, Sakura, was discharged. Apparently, injuries and illnesses hard to treat outside were merely "a matter of putting in some effort" at NERV's hospital. So Shinji planned to take his sister, Rei, to Toji's home and cook a feast with Toji's mom.

He'd promised Sakura last time, and Shinji doesn't like breaking promises.

"Now the government is issuing an emergency statement…"

Red warning lights suddenly lit up in the train car—not a good omen in New Tokyo-3, though the locals seemed used to it lately.

"According to emergency regulations, this train will stop at the nearest shelter station. After disembarking, please proceed to the designated location to board the evacuation cable car…"

"Shinji, is this…" Rei looked at him, face solemn.

"An Angel!" Shinji's expression soured. "Why now of all times?! Damn it!"

The train slowed with the alarm broadcast and finally pulled into Kami-Gora, the nearest station. Passengers hurried out in an orderly rush, heading toward the evacuation cable car.

A middle-aged salaryman in a suit saw Shinji and Rei and urged them to evacuate, but Shinji declined.

"Thank you, but there's something we have to do."

Shinji's earnest gaze seemed to convince the office worker, but before leaving he still repeatedly reminded the two to be careful. You could tell he was a conscientious, decent man.

That stranger's kindness hardened Shinji's resolve. Because of Toji's ordeal, he'd nearly quit piloting EVA. But seeing good people struggling to live their lives under threat from Angels, he decided to grit his teeth and pilot again.

"Shinji! Where are you and Ayanami right now?!" Misato barked over the phone, the background a cacophony of a command room in crisis.

"We just left the station and we're trying to get back to NERV HQ!" Shinji and Rei had to leave their carefully chosen groceries on a station bench and sprinted for the exit. "Is there any way to get us back faster?"

"Stand outside the station and don't move. Someone's on their way to pick you up!" Misato urged. "Europe Branch's two EVAs are engaging, but the situation isn't good!"

Not good? She means Units-02 and -05? How?

Shinji drew a sharp breath, shocked by Misato's intel. He knew those two European pilots' capabilities well. If not for them, Toji might already be dead.

And yet, even with both of them, they were on the back foot against the Tenth Angel?

How strong was this opponent?

…

"Tch! This guy's shell is tough as hell!"

Asuka tossed aside her emptied gauss arbalest, grabbed an EVA shotgun, and moved in to try to neutralize the Tenth Angel's A.T. Field at close range and hit the core body.

On its approach to New Tokyo-3, the Tenth Angel had already vaporized all UN forces and NERV automated defenses along the way.

Facing the deeply buried NERV HQ, it pierced all twenty-four layers of special armor with a single cross-shaped beam and entered the underground cavity.

That level of power was worlds apart from other Angels. "Strongest" wasn't just a title.

The emergency interceptors were the oft-victorious Units-02 and -05.

The instant the Angel appeared in the subterranean space, it was hit hard: not only Asuka's gauss bolts from Unit-02, but also piles of N2 air-dropped depth charges from Unit-05's launch racks.

Even with two EVAs neutralizing simultaneously, the Tenth Angel's strongest A.T. Field among Angels held firm, leaving it unscathed as it tried to crush Units-02 and -05 with layered, compressed fields.

…

On the Moon at Tabgha Base, the blue-gray EVA Unit-06 stood on the lunar surface.

"The time has come."

The gray-haired boy, Kaworu Nagisa, stood atop Unit-06, venting the air from his plugsuit, fully suited up.

He gazed up at the blue planet, as if seeing—across 380,000 kilometers—the person he'd vowed to bring happiness to.