In the dimly lit operations analysis room, Ritsuko Akagi sat in a seat resembling one in a movie theater, watching Misato Katsuragi report on the operation against the Eighth Angel from the stage.
"According to the patrol fleet's report, the Angel that fled has returned to the waters near the Kii Peninsula. It is moving erratically, and we cannot determine its course yet."
Fled-a word that sounded utterly incompatible with an Angel-came from Misato Katsuragi's mouth, yet not a single person present questioned it.
Because that was exactly what had happened. The instant the Orange Music Angel dissolved into a pool of blood, the White Music Angel jumped into the sea and left without so much as looking back.
Even the footage being projected gave everyone in the analysis room the impression that the Eighth Angel had panicked and had no idea where to run.
The personnel who had participated in the operation looked at Shinji Ikari with an almost devout reverence in their eyes. Seven or eight out of every ten were members of the Child of God Worship Society.
Once Misato Katsuragi finished, Ritsuko Akagi took the stage. She was responsible for explaining the intelligence on the new Angel.
Although frightening an Angel into fleeing was an unprecedented feat, made all the more inspiring by the publicity department's creative embellishments, the Angel that had escaped still needed to be dealt with.
"According to the technical department's analysis, the Eighth Angel's biological structure possesses a unique dual-core system, along with two S2 Engines capable of operating independently. It can also separate and recombine its body through phase transfer."
"When its body separates, its smallest combat unit consists of two independent entities that maintain tactical coordination through energy resonance. When combined, it assumes a combat form with a complete defensive