When Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi arrived at the Final Dogma Area with their teams, all they could see was the severed access bridge.
The white giant on the cross had been pierced by the Spear of Longinus, while the purple giant stood before it, holding the Spear of Cassius.
Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi exchanged a glance. "It's over!?"
Both let out a long breath, drenched in cold sweat. The string of upheavals that day had put humanity under considerable strain.
"Weren't you the one who agreed to let him come?" Ritsuko Akagi asked. "Why are you still so nervous?"
"That was commander mode." Misato Katsuragi slowly shuddered. "Only now do I realize how worried I was."
"With my gift, Shinji couldn't possibly lose."
"Right, but why hasn't Shinji come out yet? What's he standing there for?" Misato Katsuragi frowned slightly. "Does he want to spend a little more time with Unit-01, sitting inside it?"
"Now that you mention it, something does seem off," Ritsuko Akagi said, though she couldn't think of what it was.
No, she actually knew. Unlike Misato Katsuragi, who seemed relaxed, she had been tense the entire time.
There was one possibility she didn't dare consider-or rather, was deliberately ignoring.
"Hey, Shinji, quit playing around! Come out so we can take you for a checkup!" Misato Katsuragi shouted.
"No response? Could it be out of power?"
"Impossible. Unit-01 couldn't possibly run short of energy now!"
Ritsuko Akagi froze for a moment. Now she had no choice but to consider the possibility she had refused to think about.
Didn't that brat say he would come back?
"Bring me the mobile workstation!" Ritsuko Akagi's voice was so sharp that even Misato Katsuragi beside her was startled.
Maya Ibuki hurriedly handed the tablet-like mobile workstation to Ritsuko Akagi.