That Little Ponytail Was Ruthless

Although the flaws in the unfinished EVA were glaring, fortunately, the pilot of Provisional Unit-05 was exceptionally skilled.

She practically turned the bizarre four-legged machine into a graceful dancer.

The teal machine charged toward the skeletal, serpentine Third Angel at the other end of the tunnel, which was racing along on the insect-like mechanical sphere structure humans had fitted it with.

Third Angel

All the gates behind the teal machine and the skeletal dragon closed, turning the sealed space into something like an ancient Roman gladiatorial arena.

The Third Angel, with not a scrap of flesh on its body, let out a piercing screech, its red lantern-like eyes fixed on Provisional Unit-05.

"AT Field, deploy."

As Maki's clear voice rang out like a battle horn, Unit-05 raised its sharp lance like a charging knight.

As she charged, her AT Field rapidly neutralized the Third Angel's AT Field.

The lance pierced the skeletal dragon's left shoulder without resistance, but the Third Angel swung its long neck and slammed its head straight into Provisional Unit-05's body.

Provisional Unit-05 immediately spun out of control, only stopping when it crashed into a gate behind the Third Angel.

"This machine's too clumsy. At this rate, I'll have to pin it down with brute force!" Maki shoved the control stick forward, and Unit-05 charged again.

But the Third Angel's eyes burst with yellow light, and its beam cannon blasted through the wall, allowing it to escape the tunnel.

It rushed into a spacious underground train tunnel without stopping, a brilliant golden halo lighting up above its head.

Neither its close-combat abilities nor the destructive power of its beams made the Third Angel particularly impressive among the Angels.

Its halo, however, was exceptionally large. A cylindrical, translucent pillar of light even appeared around it, helping it smash through the final defensive wall of the Styx and soar out!

"The target has breached the Limbo District and is now entering the River of Sorrow!"

"Get Unit-05 to do something!"

The bearded man had barely finished speaking when Maki's roar sounded in his ears.

"Don't run!"

As a provisional machine, Unit-05 differed somewhat from the finished models. For example, while the others needed additional equipment to fly, it had that capability built in.

Provisional Unit-05 spread its four legs, and the thrusters at its waist joint spat flames, propelling the enormous, semi-humanoid weapon like a fighter jet through the hole the Third Angel had opened in the wall.

The red knight's lance pierced the Third Angel's skeletal neck, and Provisional Unit-05's powerful thrust helped Maki pin it against a metal cylinder outside the base that towered into the clouds.

But the Third Angel tilted its head, and golden laser beams burst from its eyes again, instantly melting away more than half of one of Unit-05's legs.

As crimson damage warnings flashed across the interface, Maki felt the machine's pain in tandem, yet a savage grin spread across her face.

"That hurts! It hurts like hell, but it's fun. It feels great."

Provisional Unit-05's hands were shaped like pincers. Its free left pincer plunged straight into the Third Angel's mouth and seized the red core.

But its left hand lacked the strength to destroy it. Provisional Unit-05's left hand and all four legs were merely prosthetic components forcibly synchronized with it, so their strength was limited to begin with.

Sensing no danger, the Third Angel's eyes lit up again. In that fleeting flash, Provisional Unit-05's lower body was severed.

Maki licked her lips and smiled through the pain. "Yui Ikari, my dear senior, was this the kind of monster your son crushed? Kids these days really are amazing!"

Maki

Without hesitation, she abandoned the lance and seized the Third Angel's core with both pincers. Then she squeezed hard, and the red organ quickly shattered!

"Go to hell!"

"Self-destruct system activated."

"What?"

Maki had been about to declare victory when the electronic female voice stunned her. "I didn't activate the self-destruct sequence! Are you artificial intelligence or artificial stupidity?!"

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Without answering her, the electronic female voice began counting down. At the same time, explosions erupted in the base below, and the bearded man's voice could no longer be heard over the communicator.

"I knew that laid-back little ponytail was ruthless! He tampered with it ahead of time and didn't even tell me! Execute the Entry Plug ejection sequence!"

Maki gritted her teeth. The Entry Plug, already half-exposed outside the machine, ejected and slotted into a fighter-like aircraft, which ignited its thrusters and flew away from the machine.

Meanwhile, aboard a transport plane in the distance, the little ponytail she had mentioned sat in the cockpit dressed like a pilot and picked up the radio.

"Target Bethany Base has disappeared, and Unit-05 has been vaporized. Looks like the self-destruct sequence activated successfully. The pilot... also escaped safely."

The gray UN fighter jet tore through the clouds with a powerful roar.

This heavy jet fighter had vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Besides serving as one of the primary conventional weapons used to intercept Angels, it also transported NERV's senior personnel.

"So if they invited Ritsuko, why do we have to tag along?" Shinji Ikari asked, looking at the clouds outside the window.

"Someone's giving Ritsuko trouble. As her friends, of course we should go back her up." Misato Katsuragi raised her glass and drained it.

Only Misato had the peculiar taste to drink beer from a wineglass, but stranger still was the fact that this fighter jet had a flight attendant serving her drinks.

Extravagance clearly ran rampant, showing just how corrupt NERV's upper ranks had become.

"Bianca, get me a glass too," Shinji Ikari called.

The UN fighter truly lived up to its reputation as one of the crowning technological achievements of United Nations Conventional Weapons. Even in high heels, the flight attendant walked steadily through the cabin.

Ritsuko Akagi switched on her seat's reading light and unsealed the document envelope. Half a Fig Leaf emblem was affixed to its seal, indicating that the documents inside were Classified Level Two.

All three of them had just enough clearance to review the material. The envelope contained little: only a photograph and a few sheets of paper.

Ritsuko Akagi had already read the material. She let Misato Katsuragi, who was sitting nearby, read it first, then passed it to Shinji Ikari.

Shinji Ikari turned and took it, glancing at Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi. Both women were dressed very differently from usual today.

Misato Katsuragi wore a black military dress uniform styled as a long gown with a slit, while Ritsuko Akagi wore a blue women's suit with a short skirt. Both wore high heels.

"Kid, what are you looking at?" Misato Katsuragi leaned closer and asked with an animated expression.

"Nice outfits." Without a change in expression, Shinji Ikari offered his sincere, fair assessment.

"Then tonight, I'll..."

Ritsuko Akagi glanced at the two whispering together. Misato Katsuragi used to have some sense of shame, but now she could not even be bothered to make the slightest attempt to hide it.