Tokyo-3 lived up to its reputation as a fortress city built to intercept Angels. In an instant, the entire city became an enormous, efficiently running machine.
As orders came down from the command center, the buildings that had stood aboveground were covered in layers of metal plating and retracted deep underground at astonishing speed.
At the same time, clusters of armored combat structures armed to the teeth rose from the ground, serving as weapons platforms and fortresses.
Massive slabs of armor rose from underground, forming temporary defensive lines and passageways.
They were also enormous launch platforms in their own right, with towers equipped with countless large linear cannons and missile arrays.
"Central area and administrative sectors one through seven, retraction complete."
"The government and relevant departments have been notified."
"The target is still advancing. The anti-air interception system is currently operating at forty-eight percent."
"What about noncombatants and civilians?" Misato Katsuragi asked.
"We've received confirmation that the evacuation is complete," communications and intelligence officer Shigeru Aoba answered immediately.
Perhaps their victory against the Fourth Angel a few days earlier had boosted everyone's confidence. Every member of NERV's staff was brimming with fighting spirit.
But Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi had long since accepted reality.
Even equipped with the most powerful weapons humanity currently possessed, the city's thrilling opening salvo was nothing more than a dazzling, hollow show.
Just like what was playing out on the screen-
Wave after wave of concentrated artillery fire and screaming missiles struck the target, but they could not even slow Shamshel's advance. All they did was kick up dust.
"What a waste of taxpayers' money." Ritsuko Akagi spoke regretfully, her hands in her pockets.
"Nothing we can do. Some people in this world just can't feel at ease unless they're wasting ammunition." Misato Katsuragi frowned.
They had discussed funding just two days earlier. Both the operations division and the technical division were short on money.
How much did a single cannon cost? And how much did a missile cost?
Rather than showering an Angel with these useless weapons, they would have been better off funding the technical division's development of new EVA equipment.
Fortunately, they still had a trump card money could not buy.
"The government has requested an EVA deployment," Shigeru Aoki said, ending the call.
Misato Katsuragi glanced at him. "They never stop talking, do they? We'd deploy the EVA even without them telling us."
"What about Shinji? Where is he now?" Ritsuko Akagi turned to Misato Katsuragi.
Misato Katsuragi answered calmly, "Shinji has reached the First Hangar. Rei is ready for combat too, and can join the battle at any time."
Ritsuko Akagi frowned slightly. "Rei's physical condition barely allows her to undergo synchronization testing, and her second synchronization test with Unit-00 hasn't even begun. Can she deploy?"
"She's the backup. She'll only take over if something happens to Shinji," Misato Katsuragi said. "This war will decide whether humanity survives. We can't neglect preparations just because they carry risks."
Standing beside her, Ritsuko Akagi silently studied her friend, who suddenly seemed somewhat unfamiliar, and felt that she herself was rather childish by comparison.
First Hangar.
"Entry plug, activate."
"Inject LCL."
"Disengage launch module."
Inside the cockpit, Shinji Ikari exchanged looks with Rei Ayanami outside, who stood ready to replace him at any moment. He truly could not understand why this girl liked looking at him so much.
As he pondered it, a crisp female voice came through the communicator and echoed through the cockpit.
"Shinji, are you ready to deploy?" Misato Katsuragi asked.
"No problem. Ready anytime," Shinji Ikari answered casually.
Shinji Ikari felt very comfortable, though he could not say why.
He was clearly inside a cramped, enclosed cockpit, yet he always felt a peace like being freed from confinement, as though echoes from his soul were reverberating in his ears.
It was just like being held in that woman's arms on the day he had come into this world.
The moment Shinji Ikari raised his head, realization struck him. It had to be because the girl in front of him looked like his mother, and he had seen her every time he boarded Unit-01!
Girl, you've caught a god's attention...
Shinji Ikari was growing more and more interested in Rei Ayanami.
"Deploy."
Shinji Ikari's calm, confident voice came through her headset, soothing the lingering tension Misato Katsuragi had felt before the battle.
With the deployment order given, the underground transport system carried Unit-01 along its familiar route, and the lift raised it to the surface.
Aboveground in Tokyo-3, two boys were hurrying up a long flight of steps toward the summit of Mount Takao on the city's outskirts.
Their portable television was still broadcasting emergency warning news, but the screen showed only a few brief lines of text, with no other footage.
They did not know where this unknown creature had come from or what it looked like. All they knew was that someone would pilot a giant mecha out to fight it.
"Before I die, I want to see it at least once."
"Do you really have to?"
"Will you help me?"
His friend's words echoed in Toji Suzuhara's ears. He watched Kensuke Aida racing ahead, worry written all over his bandaged face.
"There's just no stopping you. You really do let your desires run your whole life."
"Because if I miss this chance, I might regret it for the rest of my life." Kensuke Aida, whose head was also wrapped in bandages, held up his video camera as he spoke.
Both boys seemed to have trouble controlling their mouths when they spoke, air leaking out around their words, while their faces still throbbed faintly.
At first, Toji Suzuhara had been unable to quell his anger toward Shinji Ikari. Even from his hospital bed, he had declared that he would teach the new transfer student a lesson.
But as more and more classmates visited, they all inexplicably kept talking about "Lord Shinji."
After receiving a god's baptism, brimming with love for humanity, the two boys suddenly felt as though the world had become unrecognizable.
Their classmates' tireless spiritual indoctrination over the following days, like cultists trying to recruit them, had even given them the illusion that Shinji Ikari might be someone truly great.
Strange though it was, out of respect for their classmates and concern for their own safety, they could hardly express any dissatisfaction they still felt toward Shinji Ikari.
Otherwise, they might end up like the other classmates sent to the hospital-lost lambs led astray by the devil.
Of course, the most important thing was that Toji Suzuhara had heard his little sister was receiving better medical care... Perhaps the god really was merciful.
Toji Suzuhara's expression was conflicted.
Kensuke Aida soon found an ideal filming spot at the summit with a sweeping view.
They saw an enormous crimson Angel entering Tokyo-3 in the distance.
"This is amazing! Sneaking out was totally worth it. You'd never see anything this spectacular on the news."
Kensuke Aida held up his video camera excitedly, exclamations of wonder spilling from his mouth, while Toji Suzuhara could only stare blankly at the enormous, unknown red life-form in the city.
Amid the roar of artillery, the Fifth Angel, resembling a gigantic flying cockroach, gradually rose upright from where it had been hovering horizontally in midair.
The Day Angel.
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