The rock strata beneath Third New Tokyo's Underground City still trembled. Fractured support pillars toppled at crooked angles, and rebar pierced the broken concrete like grotesque bones.
LCL and metal fragments pooled into thick sludge across the ground, making a teeth-grating crunch underfoot.
The air reeked of ozone and burning debris, every breath carrying the suffocating weight unique to a battlefield.
Asuka's Unit-02 · Integrated Form knelt on one knee, its crimson armor covered in spiderweb cracks.
Unit-00's white frame was in even worse shape. Most of its head armor had fallen away, exposing the sensors flashing red beneath.
The two EVAs braced against each other, holding their Pseudo-Spears of Longinus out in front to fend off Victor and Torwart's alternating assaults.
"Damn it! These two monsters are ridiculously strong!"
Asuka's furious shout came through the comm channel, her teeth audibly clenched.
"Rei, hang in there!"
Rei Ayanami's voice remained calm, though a trace of urgency slipped through. "Sorry."
Unit-02 · Integrated Form could hold its own against either Victor or Torwart alone. She and Unit-00 were holding Asuka back.
"I'm not blaming you, idiot!" Asuka snapped.
But there was no helping it. In terms of performance, Unit-00 fell well short of her unit, Victor, and Torwart.
No sooner had she spoken than Unit-00 deployed a diamond-shaped AT Field, barely blocking the particle beam Torwart fired.
The instant the field collided with the energy beam, cracks spread across the barrier, and the immense impact hurled Unit-00 away.
Its frame slammed into the rock wall with a dull crash. A mass of rubble broke loose, burying half of Unit-00's legs.
Victor kicked off the ground and leaped, raising the double-ended sword form of the Pseudo-Spear of Longinus high before slashing straight at the Integrated Entity's core cockpit.
Asuka Shikinami's pupils contracted