Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ran analyzed Unit-01’s AT Field and concluded that concentrated attacks could exceed its defensive limit, while the others held back to avoid harming the unconscious Shinji Ikari. He had Mwu relay the weakness to the pilots and stayed off the battlefield as they continued fighting.

• Xiao Ran observed that Unit-01’s spherical AT Field weakened its defense compared with a concentrated, one-sided field, and that raising it briefly left Unit-01 unable to attack.
• Xiao Ran reasoned that the AT Field could be overcome by an attack exceeding its damage-negation limit or by another AT Field, but the pilots’ reluctance to injure Shinji Ikari kept their attacks restrained.
• Xiao Ran recognized that the others’ loyalty to their companions was valuable and chose not to force them to destroy Unit-01.
• Xiao Ran had Mwu tell the pilots about the AT Field’s defensive limit so they could suppress Unit-01 more quickly.
• Xiao Ran decided not to sortie because he had no need to test Unit-01 himself.

After Unit-01 was disabled and the battlefield briefly quieted, a new Angel appeared and the Victory Fleet rushed to intercept it. As Xiao Ran launched to investigate, a massive rift opened above Tokyo-3 and a horde of DRAGONs emerged, leaving the fleet shocked and unsure whether the creatures had allied with the Angels.

• Kouji Kabuto used Great Mazinger to break Unit-01's AT Field and stop its rampage, allowing NERV to recover it.
• A new Angel appeared near Tokyo-3, and Amuro led the fleet's units to intercept it.
• Xiao Ran launched the Darkness Sky while considering NERV's aims and whether Gendo Ikari might become an enemy.
• A huge rift opened above Tokyo-3 and released countless DRAGONs.
• Bright and the others wondered whether the DRAGONs had targeted the fleet or were working with the Angels.

DRAGON appeared alongside an insect-like Angel and attacked it, while ignoring the pilots caught in their crossfire. The chapter left Amuro and the others scrambling to evade the barrage as they realized the DRAGON treated them like air.

• Ange, Gido, Setsuna, and Ryoma reacted with confusion to the DRAGON appearing alongside the Angels, while Setsuna and Ryoma sensed no hostility from them.
• Vivian said she felt the DRAGON had appeared because of the Angel, and Salia relayed her impression to Xiao Ran through Mwu.
• Xiao Ran agreed the DRAGON likely came for the Angel, though he sensed neither goodwill nor hostility from them.
• The DRAGON unleashed a vast barrage of attacks on the Angel, filling the sky with lightning and magical-looking beams.
• Amuro and the others were caught in the DRAGON's attacks as they intercepted the Angel, and Shin complained while Athrun explained that the DRAGON were ignoring them rather than targeting them.

Xiao Ran watched the DRAGONs attack the Angels while ignoring the Victory Fleet, and he ordered his pilots to withdraw and leave the DRAGONs alone. He suspected the DRAGONs were native to this world and connected to the Angels, while the Angel continued fighting back against their overwhelming assault.

• Xiao Ran sensed the DRAGONs were indifferent to the Victory Fleet, ordered the pilots to retreat, and forbade them from attacking the DRAGONs.
• After the pilots withdrew, the DRAGONs unleashed their full firepower against the Angels, confirming they had previously held back.
• Xiao Ran recalled Renard’s remarks about DRAGONs, gods, and another world, and considered whether the DRAGONs knew the Angels threatened Third Tokyo City.
• Xiao Ran speculated that AmbriO might connect several worlds, but judged that Gedim or the Great Evil might be the greater threat.
• Xiao Ran saw the besieged Angel tear DRAGONs apart with its energy whips as the swarm continued attacking.

Shin, Kira, Gido, and the other pilots joined the DRAGONs in fighting the Apostle after realizing the creatures were humans protecting Earth. Xiao Ran charged Darkness Sky’s weapon beyond its limits and fired a beam at the Apostle, leaving the battle’s outcome unclear in the blinding light.

• The pilots watched the Apostle tear apart the DRAGONs, who continued attacking despite their losses.
• Shin charged the Apostle in Shining Destiny Gundam, and Kira and Gido followed as the other pilots joined the battle.
• Ange entered the fight and unleashed her ultimate move, empowering her special PM with golden light.
• Xiao Ran gathered an enormous amount of energy in Darkness Sky’s weapon while the other fighters and the DRAGONs cleared a path.
• The Apostle swung its energy whips at Darkness Sky as Xiao Ran fired a blue-and-gold beam that struck it and filled the area with white light.

Xiao Ran and the allied fleets defeated the Apostle, while the DRAGONs’ sacrifice convinced everyone that they were fighting to protect the world. After the battle, Xiao Ran suspected the DRAGONs were humans from this world, and Cruze received word that the missing people and the woman’s piece were in the DRAGONs’ world.

• Xiao Ran’s beam pierced the Apostle’s AT Field and killed it, then continued into Tokyo-3’s underground space and caused a massive explosion.
• Xiao Ran returned to the Burning Legion, where Mwu confirmed that the battle was over and no more Apostles had been detected.
• Xiao Ran told the fleet commanders that the DRAGONs should be treated as comrades and suggested they were humans originally from this world.
• Bright said NERV had arranged for the fleet to rest in Tokyo-3’s underground core, which Xiao Ran feared his attack had badly damaged.
• In the Western Calendar World, Cruze told the woman that their new friend had found the missing people and that her piece was with them; she identified their location as the world of the DRAGONs.

Cruze and Jill discussed DRAGON’s limited contact and the missing Cagalli before returning to their physical relationship. Meanwhile, Xiao Ran considered DRAGON’s role in getting his group home and arrived with his companions at NERV headquarters.

• Jill asked Cruze whether he was curious about the people who disappeared from Mars and ended up in DRAGON’s world, and he said he trusted the man with them.
• Cruze said DRAGON had confirmed they would not be enemies but had withheld information about their world, and he focused on Cagalli and his mission.
• Cruze teased Jill about whether she would have strength for her work, and Jill knocked him onto the bed with her Mechanical Arm before they resumed their intimacy.
• Cruze wondered whether Cagalli’s disappearance was connected to Marina Ismail, while Xiao Ran considered how Cruze might deepen contact with DRAGON and help them return home.
• Kouzo Fuyutsuki brought Xiao Ran, Bright, Tessa, Mwu, Captain Otto, Juzo Okita, and Ruri Hoshino to the corridor outside the commander's office at NERV headquarters.

The Victory Fleet entered the vast underground Tokyo-3 and met NERV Commander Gendo Ikari. After Bright explained the fleet’s origins and difficult situation, Gendo offered NERV’s full logistical support.

• The Victory Fleet’s warships descended beneath Tokyo-3 into a vast underground space that Fuyutsuki explained was the true Tokyo-3.
• Gendo Ikari welcomed Xiao Ran and the fleet’s representatives to NERV, then created tables and chairs in his otherwise empty office.
• Gendo asked about the Victory Fleet, and Bright described its three worlds, its enemies, and Londo Bell’s status as traitors to the Federation.
• Xiao Ran sensed calmness and goodwill in Gendo Ikari, which sharply differed from the ruthless Gendo he remembered.
• Gendo recognized that the Victory Fleet lacked adequate support and promised NERV would handle its logistics, supplies, and other support.

Gendo Ikari offered NERV’s logistical support to the Victory Fleet and pledged further assistance to Mithril and Londo Bell as threats to the world multiplied. Xiao Ran was impressed by Gendo’s apparent lack of ambition and his sense of responsibility.

• Gendo Ikari promised that NERV would cover the Victory Fleet’s logistical needs, relieving Tessa and Bright of pressure.
• Gendo said NERV would also assist Mithril and Londo Bell so that wars and other threats would not hinder its defense against the Apostles.
• Tessa and Bright thanked Gendo and offered to help NERV in return.
• Xiao Ran considered how his own supplies and Renard’s Amalgam could support Mithril and Londo Bell, but focused on NERV’s assistance and whether the EVAs might join the Victory Fleet.
• Xiao Ran concluded that Gendo Ikari seemed unusually selfless and responsible compared with other versions he had encountered.

Xiao Ran won Gendo Ikari’s trust and offered NERV support from the Victory Fleet, while revealing Amalgam’s role in their plans. He warned that Renard might ally with AmbriO, whose connection to the DRAGONs and the New Chronology World remained a dangerous speculation.

• Xiao Ran thanked Gendo Ikari for helping the Victory Fleet, Mithril, and Londo Bell, and offered NERV combat and technical support.
• Xiao Ran said he could use his connections with Amalgam to ease NERV’s burden of supplying Mithril and Londo Bell.
• Xiao Ran told Gendo Ikari that Amalgam would remain a nail in the heart of evil, and Colonel Tessa explained Renard’s relationship with Xiao Ran and the Original Constitution.
• Gendo Ikari accepted that NERV might become the Victory Fleet’s friend and comrade as they worked to overthrow the Federation government and pursue peace.
• Xiao Ran speculated that AmbriO might be connected to the DRAGONs and the New Chronology World, and warned that Renard could become one of AmbriO’s allies.

Xiao Ran explained how Amalgam could secretly work with AmbriO and other factions to help the Victory Fleet gain the initiative across the three worlds. Gendo Ikari entrusted Unit-01, Unit-00, and their pilots to the Victory Fleet, then agreed to provide Xiao Ran with EVA information and technical support.

• Miss Huang questioned the basis for Xiao Ran's prediction about AmbriO, and Xiao Ran said it came from a feeling.
• Gendo Ikari said the Victory Fleet was key to saving all three worlds and offered Unit-01, Unit-00, and their pilots to the fleet, while insisting that fighting the Angels remain NERV's highest priority.
• Bright accepted responsibility for protecting the EVA units and their pilots, and Gendo said Misato Katsuragi would handle the transfer procedures.
• Xiao Ran requested information about the EVA units and Angels, technical support for repairs, and permission to develop new equipment for the EVAs.
• Gendo Ikari agreed to provide Xiao Ran with what he needed to protect the world.

Gendo Ikari explained why he had accepted Xiao Ran’s request: he believed Xiao Ran knew the truth about the EVAs and that cooperation could benefit both sides. After Unit-01 and Unit-00 arrived aboard the Victory Fleet, Xiao Ran began examining the information Gendo had provided.

• After Xiao Ran and the others left, Gendo told Fuyutsuki that Xiao Ran’s words showed he understood the connection between EVAs and Angels, and that cooperation could help them control and strengthen the EVAs.
• Gendo and Fuyutsuki agreed that the Victory Fleet’s goals aligned with NERV’s, and discussed the Winged Hermits’ recent activity and its possible link to increased Getter Rays irradiation.
• Gendo withheld intelligence about the Winged Hermits, reasoning that the Victory Fleet could learn about them from Amalgam and already knew of Amalgam’s support for NERV.
• Xiao Ran arranged for the exhausted fleet members to rest while Mwu and Luo received Unit-01, Unit-00, and accompanying equipment aboard the Burning Legion.
• Xiao Ran inserted Gendo’s storage device into his computer and began reviewing its contents.

Xiao Ran reviewed Gendo Ikari’s materials on EVA and considered whether its biology and technology could benefit the Victory Fleet or help him establish a Faction Territory. He ended by wondering whether this world’s Angels were connected to AmbriO.

• Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami arrived aboard the Burning Legion with Unit-01, Unit-00, their pilots, and maintenance personnel, while Mwu and Luo handled the arrangements.
• Xiao Ran read Gendo Ikari’s materials and concluded that EVA was a living being made from Lilith’s cells, with armor that restrained its movements.
• Xiao Ran considered whether EVA contained souls and whether its AT Field or Lilith cells could be reproduced, but found no clear way to use or bring them back.
• Xiao Ran weighed the difficulty of turning the three worlds into Faction Territories and judged the Cosmic Era World to be the only plausible candidate, despite his outsider status.
• Xiao Ran regretted having used the 0079 World core and wondered whether this world’s Angels had a connection to AmbriO.

After reviewing the EVA data, Xiao Ran wondered about the EVAs' connection to AmbriO before Tetsuya asked to leave the Victory Fleet with Ryoma Nagare. Xiao Ran let Tetsuya go but would not persuade Ryoma to leave, and Tetsuya kept his reasons secret.

• Xiao Ran considered whether the EVAs were connected to AmbriO and concluded that this world would be useful mainly for its technology and pilots.
• Mwu told Xiao Ran that Tetsuya wanted to meet him, and Xiao Ran asked him to wait in the conference room.
• Tetsuya asked to leave the Victory Fleet and wanted Xiao Ran to persuade Ryoma Nagare to leave with him, warning that a greater threat would soon face the world.
• Xiao Ran asked whether Tetsuya was truly from this world and had never lost his memories, and Tetsuya confirmed it.
• Tetsuya refused to reveal why he had to leave, so Xiao Ran allowed him to go alone and told him to speak with Ryoma himself.

Tetsuya left the Victory Fleet to pursue a mission he could not yet explain, while Xiao Ran suspected Kouji Kabuto’s arrival had prompted his decision. The chapter ended with Miss Huang announcing that she, Ruri Hoshino, and First Officer Sanada had found a way to return to the Western Calendar World.

• Tetsuya left Xiao Ran’s conference room relieved that Xiao Ran had agreed to provide support if needed and had not stopped him from going.
• Tetsuya reflected that Kouji Kabuto’s arrival had made him resolve to leave, but Xiao Ran’s overwhelming power during the battle against the Angels had convinced him not to depart rashly.
• Xiao Ran accepted Tetsuya’s departure without demanding an explanation, though he remained wary of Kouji Kabuto and the reason Tetsuya had to leave.
• Naluo told Xiao Ran that Ruri Hoshino and Miss Huang had found something important, and Xiao Ran went with her to the bridge.
• Miss Huang told Xiao Ran, Ruri Hoshino, and First Officer Sanada that they had found a way to return to the Western Calendar World.

Xiao Ran learned that the team might return to the Western Calendar World by reproducing DRAGON’s cross-world spatial waveform, but testing the jump carried the risk of losing their only chance. He proposed sending a selected group back while the Burning Legion stayed to aid NERV, then the chapter shifted to a tense standoff on a distant planet, where a blonde woman asked when the promised assistance would arrive.

• Miss Huang explained that DRAGON produced different spatial waveforms for jumps between worlds and within a world, and First Officer Sanada said calculations and testing were needed to identify the correct waveform.
• Ruri Hoshino warned Xiao Ran that Akihito Tenkawa was their only A-Class Jumper and that they could not confirm a jump’s success without contact with the Western Calendar World.
• Xiao Ran decided the waveform had to be tested and proposed refining the analysis before gathering everyone to decide how to proceed.
• Xiao Ran suggested that the Ptolemaios and Nadeshiko return with selected pilots while the Burning Legion remained in the Universal Century to help NERV.
• On a distant planet surrounded by warships, a blonde woman asked the red-clad woman when the promised assistance would arrive.

Naza and the Overlord Legion remained trapped on Iskandar, where Starsha refused to hand over the Universe Restoration System or trust Naza completely. With Gamillas and the Hostile Legion surrounding the planet and the Burning Legion unresponsive, the two sides continued to depend on each other for protection.

• Naza sat with Starsha Iskandar on Iskandar, surrounded by Gamillas warships commanded by Desla.
• Starsha warned Naza that her protection might not last and refused to entrust her with the Universe Restoration System.
• Naza recalled how the Overlord Legion had fled the Hostile Legion to Iskandar after failing to contact the Burning Legion.
• The Overlord Legion and Starsha maintained a stalemate with their enemies by protecting one another, though Starsha kept her distance and concealed the system’s location.

The Overlord Legion remained trapped on Iskandar, unable to escape Gamillas and the Hostile Legion while searching for the Cosmic Restoration System. Fardes concluded that only outside help from the Burning Legion could break their deadlock, but the Legion had no news of them.

• Naza judged that forcing the Overlord Legion to flee would lead to certain death, so the Legion stayed on Iskandar and waited for the Burning Legion.
• Fardes despaired over the Legion’s lack of a way out, their ignorance of the Cosmic Restoration System’s location, and the need to earn Starsha’s trust.
• Fardes questioned why the mission had become so difficult and wondered whether the Burning Legion was responsible for the abnormal increase in difficulty.
• The chapter explained that Xiao Ran’s identities and influence made the mission easy for the Burning Legion but had pushed the Overlord Legion’s mission to hell difficulty.

The Victory Fleet discussed whether the DRAGON Jump fluctuation could return them to the Western Calendar World and learned that Ruri Hoshino’s analysis gave them an estimated 85 percent chance of success. They considered risking their single attempt to check on the Western Calendar World and determine whether Boson Jumps could carry them between worlds.

• First Officer Sanada explained that the unusual fluctuation from the DRAGON Jump might be a key to returning to the Western Calendar World.
• Miss Huang told Tessa, Bright, and Captain Otto that the team had confirmed the fluctuation could enable a return, but they had only one chance to test it.
• Miss Huang proposed returning, or sending part of the fleet back, to check the Western Calendar World and test whether another fluctuation could bring them back to the Universal Century.
• Ruri Hoshino said the worlds appeared to share a special Boson Network Node and estimated an 85 percent chance of a successful return using an A-Class Jumper.
• Tessa identified the two questions the jump could answer: whether returning was safe and whether Boson Jumps could cross between worlds.

Xiao Ran planned to split the Victory Fleet, sending a team to the Western Calendar World while he and the Burning Legion remained in the Universal Century. Luo revealed a modified device that might let the two groups communicate across worlds, leaving its operation to be tested after the jump.

• Bright, Miss Huang, and Tessa discussed the need to travel to the Western Calendar World and asked who would return.
• Xiao Ran proposed sending the Nadeshiko and Ptolemaios with selected pilots and units while he and the Burning Legion stayed in the Universal Century.
• Tessa agreed to the plan, and Bright said he would reassign the Gundam Squad before departure.
• Xiao Ran urged the team to maintain contact with DRAGON and continue researching it as a safeguard.
• Luo presented a Cross-Dimensional Communication Device modified from captured Gedim units and assigned the returning ships to test it.