Chapter 187: Free Angel

Chapter 187: Chapter 219: Free Angel

Chapter 219: Free Angel

Facts have proven that Kaworu Nagisa is the strongest Angel encountered so far.

He may not possess the Armisael’s terrifying AT Field, the Ramiel’s beam that pierces through everything, or the Bardiel’s ability for infinite evolution, but he understands humanity too well. Or rather, he is indistinguishable from a human.

[Angel detected, confirmed as the Free Angel.] [Self-destruct collar failed. This is… interference from an AT Field.]

?

[Third defense gate opened automatically, all equipment malfunctioning.]

The central command center erupted with sirens. Everyone stared blankly at their screens; the various defensive systems they had set up were completely useless.

Kaworu Nagisa had spent too much time with humans, and to him, the First Branch felt like home. Did one really need to encounter resistance to “return home”?

His pace was relaxed and elegant. He didn’t need to use violence to break through like his kin. He strolled casually, and everywhere he walked, the local systems simply failed.

The tightly sealed alloy doors opened automatically. The soldiers behind them pulled their triggers, but their metal storms were all deflected by an AT Field. As soon as the Angel walked past, the heavily armed soldiers immediately fell into a deep sleep. When the cameras zoomed in, one could see the smile on the handsome boy’s face; a moment later, the screen would turn into a blank, white void.

‘How could this happen?’

Chairman Keel was also quite bewildered. He completely failed to understand what Nagisa wanted to do. Aside from the forced trip to Tokyo-3, the Free Angel had always been obedient. Why would he suddenly defect?

‘Even if he was defecting and breaking free from control, he had already succeeded just moments ago. Why come back?’

SEELE had just been in a meeting, analyzing Nagisa’s behavior and pondering how to trick him back. Now, there was no need to rack their brains anymore.

“What is He trying to do?”

“I don’t know. The Angel refuses all communication.” The commander stared at the screen and suddenly shouted: “Bad! He’s trying to invade the Central Dogma.”

Similar to NERV Headquarters’ Terminal Dogma, the First Branch had a “Central Dogma,” with top-secret information hidden deep beneath that even NERV wasn’t privy to.

‘Is he trying to take the clone bodies?’

Chairman Keel’s face was full of suspicion. By common logic, this seemed to explain why Nagisa had returned. With those clones, he would be almost invincible.

“No choice. Deploy annihilation operations. Put the third clone into the cryo-chamber; we cannot let it appear again until the script is finished.”

SEELE had long prepared a contingency plan. They had never trusted Nagisa; he was merely a card they intended to play.

“Understood. Unit-07 and Unit-09, launch! Annihilate the Free Angel!”

The green and silver EVAs activated, heading straight for the Central Dogma to intercept him. To guard against Nagisa “revolting,” both of these units had pilots already prepared.

“By the way, where is Unit-01?” Chairman Keel wasn’t panicked. Even if Units 07 and 09 couldn’t stop him, he still had a trump card.

The Third Child hated evil with a passion. Once he arrived, surely Nagisa wouldn’t be able to turn the world upside down? The only trouble would be silencing him afterward; the Human Instrumentality Project must not be known to that boy.

“Unit-01 has reached the waters off Alaska and is applying to enter the battlefield.”

‘The Third Child is still as brave as ever.’

Chairman Keel thought for a moment, then shook his head: “Reject the application. Unit-01, stay on standby. Let us try to resolve this ourselves.”

He didn’t want his strongest trump card to develop too much self-awareness. The Third Child only needed to follow the script obediently; there was absolutely no need for him to ponder why the Fourth Child was an Angel, or why there were so many secrets buried beneath the First Branch.

But can they resolve it?

Nagisa moved as if in an empty land. Wherever he went, the heavily invested defense systems paralyzed. Just as he entered the Central Dogma, the wall in front of him suddenly shattered, and a silver-painted EVA charged into the hollow, with a massive muzzle pressed directly against him.

The diameter of the electromagnetic rifle’s barrel exceeded 305 millimeters, yet the boy kept his hands in his pockets, completely unperturbed.

“Nagisa, why did you betray us?” A girl was shouting hysterically, like an innocent girl encountering a heartless lover.

“Iris, I have always been an Angel. How can you talk about betrayal? I just don’t want to cooperate with them anymore.” Nagisa remained gentle and calm, without further explanation. “There is no body of Adam here, so I cannot trigger the Third Impact, but what I am doing now will certainly be beneficial to humanity.”

“Beneficial? You betrayed us, and you dare say it’s beneficial?”

“Yes. Just as I said when I was reading with you last time, there are some things your eyes cannot distinguish. You firmly believe SEELE will protect humanity, but the truth may not be so.”

The pitch-black muzzle was still aimed at him, but the trigger remained unpulled. Clearly, the secret child pilot named Iris was also thinking. The Free Angel possessed a unique charm. He was born with the ability to influence others to stop being blind followers and to learn to think for the truth.

“Inject the serum. Order Unit-07 to blast open the Free Angel’s AT Field immediately, then activate the self-destruct collar.” Chairman Keel made a prompt decision, giving the pilot no time to think.

“Understood, injecting serum.”

The mechanism inside the entry plug activated, injecting a tube of serum into the back of the blonde girl’s body. The drugs hijacked her consciousness, adding a heavy shackle to her freedom. These children were merely tools, and they lacked Shinji’s strength to tear through shackles. Veins bulged on Iris’s forehead, her face turning hideous, as if she were undergoing a bestial transformation.

“Stop talking! I’m going to… kill you!!”

Da-da-da!

Fire spewed from the muzzle. A polygonal light screen unfolded, deflecting the massive bullets. Nagisa kept his hands in his pockets, feeling the pain of the pilot before him, and shook his head with a touch of regret.

‘As expected, compared to Shinji-kun, you lot are nowhere near his level. In order to guard against me, you’ve become completely unscrupulous, treating two innocent children as one-time consumables.

Besides, freedom really is a luxury that only the strong deserve to enjoy.’

BOOM—

At the same moment, the wall on the other side shattered. A silver-painted EVA thrust half its body in. Amidst a screeching sound like a beast, a power sword identical to Unit-01’s slashed down from overhead.

Nagisa tilted his body nimbly, letting the giant blade sweep past him. Then he raised his hand, his pale palm solidly blocking a combat knife larger than his entire torso. With a casual wave, the dozens-of-meters-tall steel giant was sent crashing into the wall with a bang.

However, under the influence of the drugs, both pilots had gone mad. Their synchronization rates skyrocketed along with their coughing of blood, and they ignored the pain, turning back to attack.

In such a cramped area, Units 07 and 09 were locked in a melee with the Free Angel. Walls were slashed open, and stray bullets destroyed the facilities. They encountered the problem Shinji had envisioned back then.

Nagisa was too small; for an EVA, dealing with him was like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito. His personal AT Field was also not weak, making it hard to hit him. Of course, he couldn’t do much against the two EVAs blocking his path either; a hundred-fold size difference was no joke.

“I apologize, Iris, Reno. I cannot delay too long.”

The boy maintained his gentle appearance, raising his right hand.

Snap.

With the sound of his fingers snapping, an invisible AT Field expanded outward, passing by the two blocking EVAs and heading deep underground. The pure white giant standing silently in the hollow received the signal, and its fingers began to twitch lightly.

[EVA Mass Production Model 1-24 nerve connection established. Reading from -0.1 to 73.15. Puppet system loaded, pseudo-S2 engine activated.] [EVA Mass Production Models, startup.]

‘Ah???’

Chairman Keel looked up abruptly, seeing the anomaly appear on the main screen. In the most spacious hangar at the very bottom of the fortress were stored 24 white-bodied, man-beast-like machines. Some were not even fully built yet.

It took only an instant from being a stationary statue to waking up. They began to move, struggling frantically like a group of crazed wild beasts.

“Restraint device at maximum power! Forcefully eject the entry plugs!”

The heavy mechanical arms pressed down immediately, but accompanied by the sound of twisting steel, they couldn’t hold these beasts back at all. The latter even opened their mouths, using sharp teeth to bite at the restraint devices.

[Restraint device damaged.] [Entry plug cannot be ejected. Second attempt, no, still refused.] [EVA Mass Production Models berserk, rejecting all commands.]

‘Things have gotten serious.’

Cold sweat broke out on everyone’s foreheads. The Mass Production models were SEELE’s final trump card. They were not only the sacrifices for the ritual but also the force to ensure Unit-01 ascended the altar.

To increase the success rate, they had been increased from the original plan of 13 units to 24.

In the script, the EVAs were responsible for removing Angels, while the mass-produced models were responsible for initiating the ritual. It was precisely because of these monsters—equipped with pseudo-S2 engines and nearing the status of artificial Angels—that SEELE tolerated Gendo Ikari’s petty tricks. But then again, that black pot should have been carried by that man anyway.

What drove the mass-produced EVAs was the Puppet System, and the data for the Puppet System should have come from Nagisa and Rei Ayanami. But Shinji had halted NERV’s development of the Puppet System, and copying Nagisa’s data in its entirety was inherently extremely dangerous.

“Is he going to take these Mass Production models to trigger an Impact?” Chairman Keel had already braced for the worst, watching the monsters he had personally created break free from their restraints, unfold their snow-white wings, and soar into the sky, rushing toward freedom.

At this moment, SEELE’s script had completely gone bankrupt. They couldn’t exactly go up to Nagisa and ask for a reconciliation, or to return the mass-produced models that were indispensable to the ritual.

“Immediately deploy Unit-01! Annihilate the Angel!”

Chairman Keel lived up to his reputation as a great man who had left his mark in history; it only took him a few seconds to quickly adjust his mindset.

It didn’t matter if the secret was exposed. Nagisa had to be intercepted deep underground. As long as his AT Field was broken, the self-destruct collar could be activated, and the mass-produced models, once their control was lost, would naturally remain behind.

The order was transmitted through a classified channel. Above the ruined hollow, overlooking the intense battle, Shinji, who was observing from afar, pressed his headset.

“Received.”