"I heard your prayer."
Shinji Ikari piloted Unit-01 as it raced through the city. Only after it passed did the shock waves rip up the surrounding blocks, bursting into ring after ring of white air.
Only then did Misato Katsuragi realize that Arael's trajectory had shifted toward Shinji Ikari's location. She hurriedly addressed Hyuga Kou at the console:
"Build an emergency route, modules 605 through 675."
In command mode, Misato Katsuragi was as efficient as ever. Without even needing MAGI's assistance, she instantly prepared the best route to the landing point for Shinji Ikari.
At Unit-01's feet, blocks of the steel city rapidly rose, countless metal plates instantly forming a curved track.
At its current speed, Unit-01 no longer needed to worry about curves or angles. It traversed the sloping track as easily as level ground, drawing ever closer to the Angel.
"Next, sections 1072 through 1078! Prepare to raise them!"
Several more metal buildings rose. Unit-01 made a series of great leaps across them, then glided through the air without coming down.
Unit-01 seemed to hover in midair-or, more accurately, it was flying!
Shinji Ikari launched Unit-01 off the last high-rise, shattering the metal section beneath its foot.
A white ring of pressure spread outward. Rather than falling back to earth, Unit-01 shot straight into another mountainous area.
"It's flying! Is that really Unit-01?!"
Seeing the purple machine shoot through the air without even needing anything to push off from, completely defying the laws of physics, Misato Katsuragi wondered whether her eyes were deceiving her.
"It's just a simple application of the AT Field. Haven't Shamshel, the Day Angel, and Ramiel all clearly demonstrated flight? What's so surprising about it?" Ritsuko Akagi remained perfectly composed.
The other Angels they had encountered had not demonstrated the ability to fly, so