The end of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the start of a new chapter. A message from the author

A shot pierced Ramiel's heart, and a terrible scream rang through the night sky.

Ramiel reverted to the original sea-urchin shape. Crimson blood slowly appeared inside that crystalline body, and the drill boring into NERV's Underground Base lost its strength before its flesh swelled and exploded.

Crimson blood poured down in thick torrents, falling like rain.

Ramiel's corpse fell from where it had hovered in midair, waiting for the research department to take it away for study.

How had Gendo Ikari managed to produce so many mass-produced EVAs later on? In large part, it was the samples collected from Angel corpses and the experiments performed on them that had allowed him to master the manufacturing process.

In the command center, Misato cheered with delight. "Yes! We did it!"

Everyone exchanged looks, unable to keep themselves from smiling.

They had succeeded again.

The sniping platform

Shinji Ikari piloted Unit-01 and lowered the badly scorched Unit-00 into a nearby lake to cool it down.

What he hadn't expected was that, after the battle with Ramiel, the battlefield was now filled with intense heat and forest fires.

Even the lake water was boiling.

Shinji Ikari held Unit-00 by the neck, trying to open the cockpit hatch behind its neck and extract the Entry Plug inside.

After several unsuccessful attempts to pry it open with his bare hands, Shinji Ikari opened the mechanism in Unit-01's shoulder, took out the Progressive Knife, and forced it open.

Meanwhile, Huang Zhetian unplugged the Power Cable from his back, exchanged a few words with the Logistics Troops, and piloted the Special Unit at a sprint toward Futago Mountain.

A little over a minute later, Shinji Ikari successfully extracted Unit-00's Entry Plug. He gently held it in his palm and slowly lowered it, then opened his own cockpit hatch