Chapter 188: I Am Older Than You

Chapter 188: Chapter 220: I Am Older Than You

Chapter 220: I Am Older Than You

Shinji followed almost directly behind Kaworu Nagisa as they entered the First Branch. The place was in total chaos, and naturally, no one noticed the Astartes, who had activated his psychic invisibility.

Massive warheads “whooshed” past him, impacting the egg-shaped ceiling and exploding into balls of fire. Debris and steel beams rained down; everywhere, soldiers were scrambling to find cover.

It was an intense battle.

He stood unmoved. Trusting Kaworu did not mean letting his guard down. The other party could deceive with words, but their actions could never lie. If he harbored evil intentions, the Eva-01—which had already reached the battlefield—would deliver judgment.

The control data was provided by him; naturally, the control of the mass-produced Evangelions would be seized.

Shinji did not despise SEELE for being stupid. Putting himself in their shoes, the latter had no other choice. The mass-produced Evas were necessary sacrifices. After the puppet system at NERV headquarters had been suspended from development, they had no alternatives and could only gamble.

“But you lost the bet. The issue with Kaworu isn’t whether he can do it, but whether he wants to.”

The first test arose naturally. After obtaining the 24 mass-produced units, Kaworu’s strength had already swelled, and the Eva-01 had come alone; this was the best opportunity to solve his problem.

‘Let’s see how you choose. If this is a trap, then don’t blame me for being ruthless.’

Shinji was not worried that Kaworu would take the opportunity to attack, nor did he mind pushing the Eva-01 to its limits on him. He turned his attention to the Evas, which were jumping around the central cavity like monkeys.

Unit-07 and Unit-09 had decent combat power, but it had been forced out through the use of drugs. There were many who could become pilots, but this level of intense usage proved that SEELE was also backed into a corner.

He felt a sense of empathy. If he hadn’t gone to 40K for further studies, he estimated he wouldn’t be much better off than these two peers. Everyone was just a tool; the only difference was the amount of value one held.

When it came time to use you, these big figures would not hesitate in the slightest, even if it meant squeezing the life out of you.

No wonder Misato felt guilty; this was indeed too shameless. But it just went to prove that SEELE was nothing more than a group of weaklings who only knew how to use such cruel methods.

The battle continued. Kaworu made no attacking moves, just dodging back and forth, while the two nearly insane Evas acted like a demolition crew, turning the First Branch into a mess. With the sound of twisting steel, an outer wall collapsed, and snow poured in, with flames everywhere. At that moment, Shinji saw some pure white shadows flying in from underground.

‘Oh, so these are the mass-produced Evas?’

Even though he had already seen top-secret photos, this was his first time witnessing them. He saw that these units resembled both humans and beasts; they looked quite evil at first glance. They unfolded a pair of massive wings, and their raised heads had no eyes, their crimson lips slightly parted to reveal stark white teeth.

Pure, man-made Angels—mindless monsters.

Shinji frowned in disgust. Some of these mass-produced units weren’t even finished; their bodies were only half-formed, with spines and internal organs exposed, looking even more hideous and terrifying. Yet, he had to admit, these mass-produced units were strong.

The pseudo-S2 engines, the pseudo-Spear of Longinus—the story of these mass-produced Evas was closely related to Shinji.

From the original nine units expanded to thirteen, and now to twenty-four, SEELE had matched the strength of these monsters almost in direct proportion to the power of the Eva-01 to ensure the script proceeded normally. In the script, if Shinji did not cooperate obediently, these monsters would haul him onto the sacrificial altar.

Shinji had thought about waiting until they were all completed before taking the knife to SEELE, but when these twenty-plus giant monsters flew toward him, he felt his choice was correct. Kaworu was an Angel after all; if he swelled in power too much, it would be troublesome to deal with him later.

“Eva-01, Eva-01, have you reached the battlefield? Why are you still circling the perimeter?”

A frantic voice came through the headset, leaving Shinji speechless.

‘You weren’t anxious earlier; now that the monsters are completely out of control, you know how to be anxious? Even if I were truly working with all my might for you, how could I kill Kaworu while under siege by these monsters?’

Too greedy. They didn’t want to release a single chip until the very last moment.

“Eva-01, the target has broken through the central cavity. You must intercept! Repeat, you must intercept!”

Shinji remained too lazy to reply. He watched as Unit-07 and Unit-09 bolted out of the central cavity. Both pilots had lost their minds; this was clearly a direct order from SEELE. These two Evas couldn’t stop him anyway, so rather than lose them in vain, it was better to change the mission.

‘For example, to cover the safe evacuation of a VIP? True enough. When the real fight starts later, the entire First Branch will be destroyed. What bodyguard could be more powerful than an Eva with an AT Field?’

Shinji still stood where he was, staring fixedly at the young man below. The next move of the latter would dictate whether the battle would break out.

The mass-produced units took flight like white doves, circling Kaworu. At this moment, he had attained absolute dominance in strength; not even the Eva-01 could stop him from doing anything.

“But I really do not want to be your enemy, Shinji-kun.” The youth chuckled softly, stood on the head of one of the mass-produced units, and waved his hand gently. Like a flock of surging white doves, they surrounded him and flew into the sky.

As they rushed out of the central cavity, the defensive fire shot uselessly at them. Kaworu only looked ahead, where another youth was staring at him with satisfaction.

“Your loyalty has been verified.”

As Shinji said this, this moment could be called the most dangerous time since his return. With Eva-01 not having arrived, in terms of the strength Kaworu had displayed, there was no hope of survival.

‘Well, even if Kaworu had suppressed his killing intent, he shouldn’t just leave like this. Underground, there are still many good things.’

The two locked eyes and passed each other in an instant. Kaworu ran toward the boundless sky; the blizzard suddenly ceased, and the firmament was so clear. Under Shinji-kun’s command, he had finally cut the shackles of SEELE and felt only—

Endless freedom.

–

–

–

[Free Angel has detached from the central cavity.]

[Radar cannot lock on; preliminary assessment of flight direction is southeast.]

‘What?’

Chairman Keel, who had just walked toward the shelter, stopped in his tracks, his face full of disbelief.

‘Why does this Free Angel specifically do things that defy logic?’

The First Branch had already been breached; to Kaworu, everything should have been for the taking.

The real Spear of Longinus, the clone, the control device for the self-destruct collar—any one of these would have been very important to him, right? Yet Kaworu hadn’t even looked; he just took the mass-produced units and ran.

An inexplicable rebellion, an inexplicable return, an inexplicable escape. Chairman Keel only felt that he had seen a ghost today; everything was beyond his predictions.

‘Is He afraid of the Eva-01? No, wouldn’t flying out like that mean running straight into Him?’

“What about Eva-01? He should be able to intercept him, right?”

“Situation unknown. We have lost the signal for Eva-01, and the observation devices are also undergoing emergency repairs.”

‘Strange.’

According to the script, Eva-01 should have been destroying the Free Angel inside the First Branch. At the very least, he should have been able to intercept him halfway.

“Step up repairs. I want to know exactly what happened.” Chairman Keel smelled an abnormal scent. He pressed the elevator down button: “Additionally, launch the shelter. The First Branch is no longer safe.”

“Understood.”

He stepped out of the elevator, and the doors behind him locked. The electronic lights turned red, and then a slight inertia was felt under his feet; the entire floor had actually begun to move.

That’s right—Chairman Keel’s shelter was actually an armored train hidden underground, with a dedicated top-secret track. If enemies invaded, he could escape rapidly.

“Regardless of whether there is an anomaly with the Eva-01, this should be fine.” He finally revealed a confident smile; clearly, he didn’t trust any fortress or stronghold, and trusted his subordinates even less.

With his mood relaxed, Keel walked wearily to the door. As a man over a hundred years old, personally directing today’s events had left the flame of his life, already like a candle in the wind, flickering unsteadily. SEELE’s wish was eternal life, so they could not fall before the dawn; that was why they were so cautious and prudent.

But the dawn was growing increasingly distant.

Keel felt his mind was a mess. He was already thinking about what to do next. The theme of the next Human Instrumentality Committee meeting would be how to reclaim the sacrifice; they had no time to rebuild the mass-produced Evas from scratch.

Fine. The Adam embryo hadn’t been found back, and now the mass-produced Evas were lost. The framework of the Dead Sea Scrolls was also wavering. How was this script supposed to proceed?

Keel couldn’t answer these questions, either. He could only rely on his obsession to take one step at a time. At most, he would cede some more benefits to Gendo Ikari. Now was the time for everyone to unite sincerely.

Click.

After passing the genetic test, the heavy door slowly opened, revealing the massive room behind it. Keel, whose life-support devices had reached their limit, walked into the room; he had to return to the culture pod as soon as possible to prolong his life.

The massive room was laid out very simply. Life-support devices with a sci-fi feel soaked in glass jars, and the ceiling was painted with the same Tree of Life pattern found at NERV headquarters. All that remained was a large desk and a bookshelf.

At this moment, the train had already passed through the electromagnetic track and arrived on the surface, speeding north across a vast, desolate landscape. The first rays of dawn at daybreak shone in through the window.

Tap.

Keel, having just walked into the room, paused his footsteps. He looked up, feeling somewhat lost. In the morning light, there was another person in this room, which was supposed to be of the highest secrecy.

White shirt, black trousers—a youth was standing behind the large desk, casually taking a book from the bookshelf and flipping through it. The atmosphere froze. Even though Chairman Keel had over a century of life experience, his hands were trembling at this moment.

‘How? How is it possible???’

One had to know that only personnel with S-level clearance could enter this entire floor, and it was even more impossible for anyone to unlock the door and walk into the room. The key was this person—

The youth lifted his head, staring at him expressionlessly. He could read no emotion in those black pupils; he simply waved his hand as if he were the master of the house.

“Chairman Keel, sit down first. I’ll chat with you after I finish reading this first edition of the ‘Human Instrumentality Project’.”

“Ikari Shinji!? How could you—” The old man’s body swayed. It could be said that of everything that had happened today, nothing had been as intense as this moment, leaving him in disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.

‘Isn’t this boy supposed to be sitting inside the Eva-01 in a bloody battle against the Free Angel? How did he get in here? No, it’s impossible for him to know of my existence.’

“Surprised? You feel that in your long life you have never encountered such an incomprehensible thing?” Shinji looked up and glanced at him, closed the thick book in his hand, and rested his hands on the desk.

“In my eyes, those hundred-plus years of yours have been a waste. Oh, I forgot to tell you—

I am older than you.”