This Is a Trial

After a fierce exchange of fire in Tokyo-3, the bombardment finally subsided for a while, and the fighter jets began to retreat.

As they looked down from high above, the pilots felt an indescribable sense of terror and oppression.

Though they were still some distance from the enormous black creature, that suffocating pressure bore down on them all the same.

The immense humanoid life-form radiated a presence as terrifying as a demon king crawling out of hell.

Yet something about it also inspired a sense of holiness.

What a grotesque creature!

"The target is unharmed and is currently advancing toward Tokyo-3."

Combat footage streamed across the command room's enormous screen. The generals in United Nations Forces uniforms watched it all through surveillance equipment far removed from the battlefield, their brows furrowed.

"Air power alone cannot stop the target's advance."

"This is the decisive battle. Commit the entire Fourth Division from the rear as well."

"We must eliminate the target, whatever the cost."

The United Nations Forces immediately launched a second wave of attacks.

As bombers and missile vehicles unleashed their payloads, the roar of explosions rang incessantly in everyone's ears.

Towering flames engulfed the city, but all the generals could do was pound the table in fury.

"What's going on? Those were direct hits!"

"The armored battalion has been wiped out. Are guided weapons and artillery useless too?"

"No, this level of firepower isn't doing anything!"

Yes, it was utterly useless!

The weapons of war that humanity took such pride in, confident they could crush any carbon-based life-form, had no effect whatsoever on the eighty-meter giant.

In fact, a closer look revealed that it was not that those weapons could not harm the humanoid life-form. They could not even touch it.

When the deadly munitions struck, they seemed to collide with an invisible barrier, a defense that shielded the giant from every attack.

As time passed, the dazzling flashes and billowing smoke from the explosions gradually dissipated.

The enormous figure slowly emerged from the haze.

Perhaps "He" was a more fitting way to refer to this being. He had not suffered so much as a scratch.

White light gathered above His head, forming an even more solid halo!

The behemoth, weighing thousands of tons, rose into the air as though freed from gravity, while bony organs concealed within His elbows sprang out.

White lances of light shot through the giant's forearms and out of His palms, piercing several fighter jets before Him and turning them into a rain of fire!

Was this truly an angel sent to punish humanity? Despair welled up in people's hearts.

Yet Gendo Ikari, seated behind the generals, was different.

The middle-aged man rested his hands on the table, hiding half his face behind them. The corners of his mouth rose slightly in an inscrutable smile.

A weathered voice came from behind Gendo Ikari. His deputy commander, Kozo Fuyutsuki, gazed at the enormous screen and said in an even tone:

"As expected, it has deployed an AT Field. Even firepower from the United Nations Forces sufficient to flatten an entire town cannot harm this Angel."

Gendo Ikari kept his gaze on the command room without turning around, the lenses of his dark, round glasses reflecting the light from the screen.

"Only when they deploy their final trump card and realize that everything is futile will it be time for NERV to take the stage. First, they must understand their own powerlessness," Gendo Ikari said.

He had barely finished speaking when another commotion broke out in the command room.

"The target is unharmed and is still advancing toward Tokyo-3!"

"Damn it, we have to stop Him. Use that!"

"That? Here? Right now?"

"Right now!"

"Understood. Initiating the operation according to the established plan."

Fifteen minutes later, on a highway in Tokyo-3.

Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi had no idea that the generals in the command room were already tearing their hair out.

Misato Katsuragi

"My navigation's broken. This is the road into Tokyo-3, right?"

"I only just got here. Shouldn't you know the roads better than I do, Miss Misato?"

"Hehe, never mind. Yes! We made it out!"

Not long after leaving the seaside town, they saw the retreating air units and the Angel walking into the mountains.

Then a pillar of fire covering a radius of several kilometers shot into the sky, and the scorching shock wave flipped the Renault as it sped down the highway.

Fortunately, they seemed to hit an invisible wall as well. After rolling less than two and a half times, the little sports car finally came to a stable stop.

Whether it was sheer luck or not, they could not say. The heat wave had stung their skin when it first hit, yet after the car tumbled across the dunes, they had somehow escaped without any serious injuries.

"That was close. Thank goodness the car still runs. I've still got twelve loan payments left. If it got totaled now, I'd really be in trouble."

"A Renault Alpine A310?"

"You know cars too, Shinji? Good taste!" Misato Katsuragi looked at the boy, the corners of her mouth lifting proudly.

"I just never thought they'd actually use their final trump card, an N2 Mine. That area will take a long time to recover."

"It's a weapon comparable to a nuclear bomb, with the greatest penetrating power of any conventional weapon. It should at least slow that Angel down."

"That... monster is called an Angel?" Shinji Ikari asked.

"That's right. The Fourth Angel, Shamshel Sachiel. That's the name we gave Him. You don't look scared at all. Good for you!"

"From your photograph, I thought you'd be a shy, timid sort of kid. This is good. Keep it up. You might be dealing with them pretty often from now on."

Misato Katsuragi started the car again. Watching the wheels of her Renault turn, she could not help breathing a sigh of relief.

One trip out had nearly cost her both her life and her car. Fortunately, they had made it through the scare with only minor damage, and she found herself growing increasingly fond of the boy beside her.

"Shinji, you really are my lucky star. I thought we were dead back there. I never imagined we'd make it out."

"Though the Lord brings grief, He will show compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love."

"You're religious too, Shinji?"

"No. I only believe in myself."

"I don't really get it. Are all kids like this these days?"

Misato Katsuragi felt a headache coming on. She was exuberant, even excessively boisterous, but Shinji Ikari seemed utterly unaffected by her mood.

She followed Shinji Ikari's gaze and saw fighter jets in the distance heading toward the site of the explosion.

"Are you interested in Angels, Shinji? They're life-forms hostile to humanity, born to destroy the humans who stole a taste of the Fruit of Knowledge."

"That sounds very religious. But is it all right to tell me this? Information that isn't on the news should be kept secret from the public, shouldn't it?"

"You don't need to worry about that at all. These big guys are exactly why we brought you here."

Misato Katsuragi smiled at Shinji Ikari, freeing one hand to put an arm around him and give him a little shake to help him relax.

"I see. Is this a trial before reaching the Divine Throne?"

Shinji Ikari recalled the myths he had read. In some, trials had to be endured before a legend could be forged.

"What?" Misato Katsuragi froze.

"Nothing. I'm just... looking forward to it a little," Shinji Ikari said, looking out the car window.