Complete life

In truth, every nation had already decided to leave the Angels to NERV, but the United Nations generals kept trying to halt the Angel's advance to prove humanity's strength.

Yet, just as Gendo Ikari had said, all they could do was recognize their own powerlessness. Everything they did was futile.

When their final trump card, an N2 Mine, erupted in a towering blaze that reshaped the terrain itself, yet still failed to kill the Angel crowned with an angelic halo, panic finally set in.

"How is that possible?"

"Damn monster!"

Within the sea of fire, the Angel's injuries were only superficial, and they were healing at an extraordinary speed.

A new white skeletal mask even grew from beneath the black body originally encased in a white mask, a second head forcing its way out beneath the first.

The strange organs on either side of its thighs kept opening and closing, as though breathing like fish gills, while the wounds on its body swelled into red, fleshy growths.

This horrifying figure looked more like a demon than an angel, deepening everyone's fear of the creature before them, the being called an "Angel" that wielded the power of God.

Shamshel

"The Fourth Angel. What astonishing regenerative power," Kozo Fuyutsuki remarked.

"This is a creature that has completed its own independent evolution. All of this is only natural," Gendo Ikari said coldly.

"A creature that ate the fruit of life and gained the power of God," Kozo Fuyutsuki murmured.

"Compared to us, flawed and incomplete as individuals, they are truly complete life-forms."

Gendo Ikari stared expressionlessly at the screen, where the enormous, hideous figure was steadily approaching Tokyo-3 with heavy strides.

His face betrayed no emotion, as though neither the generals' fury nor humanity's survival had anything to do with him.

In reality, however, NERV headquarters, which housed the operations command room, lay beneath Tokyo-3, directly in the Angel's path.

That meant that if the Fourth Angel were allowed to continue advancing, he, NERV's commander-in-chief, would very likely be buried along with the base.

Yet he was indeed calm, at least on the surface. As for what lay in his heart, no one ever knew.

Before long, the generals' frustrated fury finally subsided for the moment, and they summoned NERV's commander-in-chief, who had barely made his presence felt until then.

"Command of this operation is now officially transferred to you. You have a way to deal with the target, don't you, Commander Ikari?"

"That is precisely why NERV was established." Gendo Ikari pushed up his glasses.

At that moment, Ritsuko Akagi, a technician in NERV headquarters' Technical Development Department, was climbing out of the red antifreeze coolant in a diving suit.

She watched the staff fine-tuning the enormous unit submerged in the coolant and mounting weapons on the rack, but its empty cockpit still had no pilot.

"Why isn't the Third Child here yet? Is Misato late again? Honestly, that woman!" Ritsuko Akagi said helplessly.

Just then, an electronic female voice came over the loudspeaker. "Attention, Dr. Akagi. Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi of Operations Section One and one other person have arrived at the S-36 Elevator Shaft."

"Finally."

At the S-36 Elevator Shaft, Misato Katsuragi had just pulled Shinji Ikari into the elevator.

The two had been going round and round through Tokyo-3's underground facilities. The underground transport vehicles were fast, so they should not have been late.

The problem, however, was that Misato Katsuragi had gotten lost. Shinji Ikari wondered whether she had to consult a map every day on her way to work.

Judging by her manner, she was already quite accustomed to being late.

Misato Katsuragi turned to glance at Shinji Ikari.

The boy's brows and eyes resembled the most expressive strokes of an ink painting. When he smiled, his eyes curved into gentle arcs, and when his brows lowered, they seemed capable of catching all the afternoon light.

The resemblance to his father she had first seen in Shinji Ikari had probably been an illusion, because he was simply a lovely boy.

After a moment of silence, Misato Katsuragi decided to start a conversation:

"Do you know why the commander-in-chief, your father, Mr. Gendo Ikari, asked you to come to NERV?"

"Probably to save the world. My teacher said his work had something to do with that," Shinji Ikari answered casually.

For a moment, Misato Katsuragi was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

Shinji Ikari was right. They had to save the world.

Her gaze settled on Shinji Ikari's profile. No matter how she looked at him, he was still just a boy.

An entire group of adults could not solve this problem, yet they were pushing a child onto the battlefield.

Simply because he was the commander's son, it was treated as though it were only natural.

But they seemed to have forgotten that no one had ever asked Shinji Ikari himself what he wanted.

"I thought you didn't like Commander Ikari very much." Misato Katsuragi was beginning to feel sorry for the boy before her.

"I don't like him. You could even say I hate him. I never got any of the privileges of being the commander's son, but now that he needs something, suddenly he remembers me," Shinji Ikari said.

"Actually, this isn't just about Commander Ikari. It concerns the survival of all humanity." Misato Katsuragi looked at him awkwardly.

"I understand. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come. This is my duty. How could God not love the world?"

Shinji Ikari offered a gentle, warm smile and replied softly.

Misato Katsuragi could not help feeling surprised. She studied the boy beside her with interest. "Do you think you're God?"

Calling oneself God should have sounded arrogant, yet coming from Shinji Ikari's mouth, it did not feel that way at all.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it." Shinji Ikari tilted his head and gave her a playful wink.

"I see. Is this some teenage delusion? Could it be a psychological problem caused by the commander leaving you to fend for yourself all these years?"

Misato Katsuragi nodded thoughtfully, her gaze growing even more tender as she looked at Shinji Ikari.

Although she had no children, she felt as though she had discovered the power called maternal love.

Wasn't living in a fantasy world just a way to escape reality? This poor, sweet, adorable child.

As Misato Katsuragi inwardly condemned Gendo Ikari as an irresponsible father, the elevator doors opened.

A woman in a white lab coat came into view. She had short blond hair, her hands tucked into her pockets, and a calm expression with a faint smile.

"You were taking so long that I came to check. Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi, you're a full twelve minutes late. Don't tell me you got lost again?"

"Oh, sorry, Ritsuko." Misato Katsuragi hid the map she had picked up along the way behind her back.

Ritsuko Akagi stared at her and could only sigh helplessly. Apparently, she was used to this.

"So, is he the boy?" Ritsuko Akagi turned to look at Shinji Ikari.

Shinji Ikari, who had been reading a NERV information booklet, also raised his head, and their eyes met.

"He's surprisingly... different from his photograph."