Chapter 112.1 : Strong Will!

[In the command post, though everyone was taken aback by the second plane's quick failure, the order could not be halted!]

[Ikari Gendo spoke calmly: "Initiate the first unit and activate puppet mode!"]

[However, in the next second, the technician in the headset informed him that the first unit rejected puppet mode and couldn't be activated!]

Off-screen, Ikari Gendo's eyes flickered with a realization as it dawned upon him.

If Shinji Ikari wasn't in the cockpit and wasn't in danger, this mode wouldn't function at all!

"Has he started to awaken?"

[As the No. 0 unit had its arm torn off by the No. 3 unit earlier, Ayanami Rei took the initiative to enter the No. 1 unit and attempted to pilot it!]

(However, the nervous system link couldn't even reach 1%!)

[It appears that the No. 1 unit refuses to be piloted by anyone other than Ikari Shinji!]

Ritsuko Akagi, the chief officer of NERV's technology development department, was one of the few who knew the secret of the first unit.

She turned her head to glance at the main control room, hoping to discern something in Ikari Gendo's eyes as he watched the footage.

Unfortunately, he remained impassive.

[The angels continued their assault, and Ayanami's eyes gleamed with enlightenment as she turned to pilot the No. 0 unit with the damaged arm into the battlefield!]

[Knowing she couldn't match the opponent with the Zero unit, she made no attempt at defense, holding a potent tactical missile and charging toward the angel!]

[And just as she neared, the AT field, resembling an orange matrix, illuminated in front of the angel!]

[The transparent barrier was incredibly robust, rendering the bomb utterly useless before!]

[Now, she had to rely on the tactical missiles to breach the force field!]

[Mockingly, the angel didn't attack, finding the Zero unit's approach as amusing as watching a clown perform.]

["AT.Field is fully open!"]

[With Rei Ayanami's cry, the AT field also lit up on the arm of Unit 0!]

[All energy was injected into the arm!)

[The next moment, the arm carrying the tactical missile pierced the angel's location and struck the red orb!]

[That red ball was the angel's infinite power source!]

[In an instant, the air collapsed inward, then abruptly expanded, giving rise to a bright and violent fireball, invisible to the naked eye, soaring from the ground!]

[The intense shockwave resembled a rapidly expanding transparent eggshell, shattering everything within a few kilometers!]

[Simultaneously..]

[All humans in the entire island area felt the ground shake, witnessing a mushroom cloud rising thousands of meters high, intermingled with pillars of fire, ascending into the sky!

[In the command post, everyone awaited the outcome.]

[Under normal circumstances, the angels, devoid of their positional protection, would likely leave nothing behind under such a tactical missile!]

[The explosion center reached temperatures of tens of millions of degrees Celsius, an energy capable of shredding everything!]

In the command post, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

If the angel's AT field could be breached, then in future encounters, there would at least be a solution!

At present, no one believed the angel could survive a tactical fusion missile!

Simultaneously, many felt a twinge of regret; the Zero unit was effectively sacrificing itself and couldn't endure!

But as the flames dwindled.

In the command station, both in reality and on the screen, everyone fell silent, their faces extremely pale.

[Above the ground, the air ripples like magma due to the searing heat.]

[And there stands the Apostle, a hellish messenger!]

[It... unharmed!]

[In front of it, only the charred humanoid wreckage of Zero remains, kneeling on the ground!]

[If not for the Apostle blocking it, the Zero machine would have nothing left!]

[As for Ayanami Rei, inserted into the bolt, she has lost all signal with the command, her fate unknown!]

[In the command post, despair blankets everyone's faces!]

["Now, there's no way to halt the opponent's advance!"]

[And when the Apostle touches "Adam" sealed beneath the underground city, the third shock will occur—the moment marking the end of mankind.]

[In the world of EVA, researchers analyzing data halt, their faces a mix of horror and confusion.]

[The second machine was annihilated within seconds!]

[The No. 0 aircraft deployed tactical missiles, but in vain!]

[The power of the Apostle is so overwhelming that it breeds despair!]

[Amidst the Ultimate's defense and attack prowess, what's the point of data analysis?[

[Merely drawing an inevitable conclusion? It's absurd!]

[Even the usually lively Asuka bows her head. At this moment, she feels worthless!]

[The pride of being an EVA pilot has vanished!]

[Yet, in front of the main console, Ikari Gendo remains composed, a trace of anticipation in his indifferent eyes.]

[Perspective change—Shinji Ikari halts on his way to the shelter, gazing at the red sky with trembling eyes.]

[Beside him, Kaji Ryoji, appearing with a stubble face and holding a water bottle, says:]

["Shinji, all we can do now is wait here. There's something only you can do, something only you can decide."]

["No one can force you. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself. Just don't let yourself regret it!"]

[In the distance, a violent roar echoes—the sound of the Apostle breaching the 24 layers of defense!]

[Ikari Shinji's eyes gradually firm up, as if he's made up his mind!]

[The next moment, he sprints in the direction he came from!]

[Outside the screen, a subtle affirmation glints in Ikari Gendo's eyes.]

[However, others in the command post remain in despair. Even if Shinji returns to pilot the first machine, it's another life not yet saved.]

[There's no salvation. No one can defeat the Apostle before them. The end has been sealed!]

[But Asuka's perception of Ikari Shinji has improved. At least, facing death, he stands tall, not a coward!]

[In the Shinigami World, Captain Yamamoto Shigekuni's eyes reflect disdain.]

[He scorns cowardly individuals who only firm up when faced with the realization of something about others or themselves.]

[In a certain corner of their hearts, the essence remains unchanged.]

[He admires people like Renjiro in the Demon Slayer world, Whitebeard in the pirate world, and Uchiha Madara in the Hokage world.]

[A will and belief unshaken by the external world, originating from within.]

[This is what a strong person should possess!]

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