"Yes! They did it!" Zero was overjoyed as he watched Shinji and Asuka walk down the mountain hand in hand.
Now he had something to brag about when he returned to the Land of Light: he had helped his host find a girlfriend.
"Congratulations, Shinji! Congratulations!" Zero congratulated him.
"Mm... thanks." Shinji still hadn't recovered from his embarrassment.
"Asuka, if Shinji ever treats you badly, just tell me. I'll make sure to set him straight!" Zero's spectral form wrapped an arm around Shinji as he spoke to Asuka with a mock-serious expression.
"Hmph... idiot Shinji is still on probation..." Asuka lifted her chin and huffed in front of Zero.
"Congratulations, big brother. Um... and sister-in-law." Rei dropped a bombshell.
"Aaaaah! Who are you calling your sister-in-law?!" The remark dealt Asuka a devastating blow.
"Hey, wait. In that case, I can call you sister-in-law too. Hello, sister-in-law!" Zero followed her example.
"You're all idiots!" Asuka dragged Shinji away.
"My brother must have found happiness." Rei sighed as she watched the pair walk away pressed close together.
"Don't worry, Rei. You're so pretty, I'm sure the day you find happiness isn't far off either." Zero's spectral form stayed behind to encourage her.
Meanwhile, in the secret laboratory SEELE had built for Seb, Hayato was using a precision machine to manufacture something terrifying.
Hayato compared the Devil Splinter that had fallen from the Embryo Angel with another splinter he carried, then broke into a sinister grin.
"It's actually a splinter of Arch Belial. What a lucky find!"
He took out a canister of red liquid containing purified Belial genes extracted from Geed.
He poured the liquid into the machine and placed both splinters inside.
He cranked the lever, and the machine spewed out clouds of red smoke.
A Capsule dropped out of the