Chapter Summaries

Zero and Shinji returned to the Eva world, where Serizawa upgraded Unit-01 and gave Zero new transformation equipment before departing. Shinji went home and reunited with Asuka.

• Zero and Shinji returned from Z's Earth to the Eva world, and Zero decided to seek help from other Guard warriors to fix its tilted axis.
• Ritsuko repeatedly asked Serizawa to mentor her, while Misato asked whether her deceased father could be revived and learned that it was unlikely without his preserved soul.
• Serizawa linked Unit-01 to Shinji's Palaj Bracelet, allowing Shinji and Zero to pilot it with less Psychokinesis, and Shinji tested the improved controls.
• Serizawa gave Zero a custom Zero Riser and enhanced Ultra Warrior Capsules, then warned everyone to beware of Devil Splinter before leaving for the Land of Light.
• Misato took Shinji home, where Asuka hurried to greet him and welcomed him with a teasing insult.

Shinji gave Ritsuko the advanced mecha and weapon blueprints from Jugglus Juggler’s world, while Zero put Shinji and Asuka through brutal jeep training to improve their combat synchronization. Exhausted but closer, Shinji and Asuka fell asleep leaning against each other as Kaji arrived.

• Shinji gave Ritsuko the USB drive, and she found blueprints for advanced armor, weapons, thrusters, and fuel that could improve the Evas.
• Shinji asked Zero to train him, and Asuka joined them as Zero brought them to a training space.
• Zero equipped Shinji and Asuka with restrictive Training Armor and chained their wrists together, then ordered them to jump over his oncoming jeep in sync.
• After repeated collisions, Shinji and Asuka learned to jump together and cleared the jeep, but Zero struck them with his cane and declared the attempt incomplete.
• Zero ended the drill after their synchronization improved, unlocked their armor, and sent them home, where the exhausted pair fell asleep leaning against each other.
• Kaji visited and asked Zero whether Shinji and Asuka had grown close; Zero said he would work to bring them closer still.

Shinji and Asuka grew closer through breakfast, a run to school, and a prank on Kensuke and Toji, while Shinji experimented with Ultraman’s capsule. The chapter ended with Asuka feeding Shinji a piece of meat as a reward, as Zero watched from a distance.

• Shinji woke up beside Asuka, who had fallen asleep in his arms, and she slapped him before Zero explained that he had done nothing.
• Zero taught Shinji to cook Dragon Country dishes and shared memories of his time in Shencheng.
• Shinji and Asuka ran to school together, where Shinji used Ultraman’s capsule to fire an Ultra Cutting Beam and learned that using its powers consumed energy.
• Asuka threw away the love letters in her shoe box, and Shinji later used the capsule’s Ultra Water Flow to soak Kensuke and Toji and scatter the candid photos they were selling.
• At lunch, Asuka fed Shinji a piece of meat as a reward, while Zero watched and joked that he was being served dog food.

Shinji and Asuka trained with their Evas and endured Zero’s five-hour sparring session, while Unit-01 received a new Capsule-based upgrade. The next morning, Misato woke them with news that an Angel had appeared.

• Rei told Shinji and Asuka to attend synchronization training, where she said she was beginning to feel alive and no longer wanted to obey orders forever.
• Hikari’s recording revealed Unit-01’s Capsule upgrade, and Shinji examined the abilities available through Ultraman Jack’s Capsule.
• Asuka’s synchronization rate reached eighty-five percent, Rei’s reached sixty-five percent, and Yui confronted Gendo about Rei’s identity.
• Zero made Shinji and Asuka spar with wooden staffs for five hours, and Shinji won forty-eight bouts to Asuka’s forty-four.
• Shinji and Asuka collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep together, then Misato rushed in the next morning to announce that an Angel had arrived.

Shinji and Asuka fought the Seventh Angel, the Music Angel, and destroyed it by striking its two cores simultaneously. As the operation ended, a mysterious red-eyed figure searched the crater and concluded that what he sought was not there.

• Shinji, Asuka, and Zero rushed to NERV headquarters, where Gendo ordered Unit-01 and Unit-02 to deploy because Unit-00 was still under repair.
• Ritsuko equipped Unit-01 and Unit-02 with thrusters, and the Evas flew to the coast to confront the Music Angel.
• Asuka split the Music Angel with a spear, but it regenerated as two Angels, while Shinji discovered that both cores had to be destroyed at the same time.
• Shinji and Asuka coordinated their attacks, then used thruster-assisted kicks to shatter both cores simultaneously, killing the Angels.
• Zero praised the pilots and reduced their training to two hours, while a red-eyed figure searched the crater and said what he wanted was not inside the Angel.

Limings and the Land of Light scientists restored the Adam Embryo to giant form to study it, then returned it to its embryonic state and secured it. Hikari encouraged Limings to tell Zero that he had developed the Zero Riser and enhanced Capsules, while Taro remembered Tregear; Limings ended by praying for Zero's safe return.

• Limings and Hikari oversaw an experiment that used energy beams to restore the Adam Embryo to giant form while the Space Garrison stood guard.
• Adam briefly moved and spoke to the Ultramen, but the scientists found almost no life or soul readings and soon completed their data collection.
• The drones withdrew the energy, returned Adam to embryo form, and Hikari took it away for high-security storage.
• Hikari asked Limings why he had hidden his role in developing the Zero Riser and enhanced Capsules, and Limings said he feared Zero would risk himself to honor his work.
• Hikari urged Limings to tell Zero himself, and Limings agreed.
• Taro remembered Tregear as the original Ultraman comforted him, while Limings silently prayed for Zero to return safely.

Shinji and Asuka’s feelings for each other grew stronger as they prepared for a school trip to Okinawa. After Kaji tricked Asuka into thinking Zero might take Shinji away, she admitted she did not want him to leave, and Shinji reassured her that he cherished the people around him.

• Shinji watched Masked Rider Kuuga with Zero, who asked about his preparations for the school trip to Okinawa.
• Asuka shopped for a swimsuit with Kaji, who teased her by claiming Zero planned to take Shinji to another world.
• Asuka hurried home, and Kaji clarified that Zero would only take Shinji away to protect him from harm.
• Asuka returned angry, and Zero provoked her by commenting on her swimsuit; Shinji stopped her by embracing her.
• Asuka asked Shinji not to leave for another world, and he reassured her that he cherished the people around him.
• Misato came home, saw Shinji and Asuka embracing, and teased them as lovebirds.

Shinji, Asuka, and Zero missed their school trip, but spent the day swimming while NERV investigated a suspected Angel inside a volcano. A mysterious figure found the embryo and began changing it, planning for it to emerge the next day.

• Misato told Shinji, Asuka, and Zero they had to remain on standby instead of going on the school trip, and Zero continued telling them stories about his past battles.
• Shinji and Asuka saw their classmates off, then went swimming with Rei, where Zero raced Asuka and easily beat her.
• Fuyutsuki and Yui reviewed a suspicious shadow detected inside a volcano and sent Misato to investigate it.
• Misato ordered the probe deeper into the magma until it broke, transmitting an image of an Angel embryo before failing.
• A mysterious figure appeared at the crater, found the embryo, and fired a black beam into the magma to alter it for an attack the next day.

NERV launched the Evas to capture the Angel embryo, but the Angel hatched before the mission began. Shinji, Asuka, and Rei appeared to destroy it, only for it to revive transformed by a Belial Splinter.

• Gendo persuaded SEELE to pursue the live Angel specimen, while Yui observed that events were following the plan.
• Ritsuko briefed Shinji, Asuka, and Rei on the capture mission, but Misato learned the Angel had hatched and escaped the volcano.
• Shinji led the fight, restraining the Angel while Unit-02 fired missiles and Unit-00 struck it with a laser, apparently destroying its core.
• Ritsuko detected the Angel's revival, and Zero identified a Belial Splinter inside it.
• The Angel transformed into a monstrous Belial Splinter-enhanced form as the Evas watched in alarm.

Shinji and Zero fought an Angel empowered by Belial’s fragment, and Zero ultimately defeated it by using the New Generation capsules to transform into Infinite Form. After Zero flew away, a mysterious figure collected two glowing fragments and thanked him.

• Shinji used Ultraman’s Ultra Barrier to protect Unit-02, and Asuka struck the Angel with it before Shinji’s Ultra Slash failed to damage its shell.
• Shinji fired the Specium Ray with support from Unit-02 and Unit-00, but the Angel survived and pierced Unit-01 with its tentacles.
• Shinji transformed into Ultraman, but Zero’s attacks could not overcome the Angel’s powerful defenses and rapid healing.
• Shinji used Zero’s Riser and the New Generation capsules to transform Zero into Infinite Form.
• Zero severed the Angel’s tentacles, battered it with the Zero Hundred Fist, and destroyed it with the Eightfold Destruction Beam before flying away.
• A mysterious figure gathered two red-glowing fragments from the Angel’s remains and thanked Zero.

After defeating the Angel, Zero took Shinji and his friends to a hot spring, where he recalled Ultraman Jack and the Five Ultra Oaths. He then warned NERV that a Belial Splinter had empowered the Angel and asked them to search for more, while Shinji received Yui’s blessing to prepare a surprise with Asuka.

• Zero confirmed that the Belial Splinter had vanished with the shadow, then returned to Shinji’s body as the pilots and technicians finished evacuating.
• Misato gave Zero’s forms unofficial names, and Zero corrected her before she drove everyone to a hot spring.
• At the hot spring, Zero explained Capsule Monsters through Penpen, recalled Ultraman Jack while humming his song, and recited the Five Ultra Oaths.
• Zero told Fuyutsuki, Yui, Kaji, Ritsuko, and Misato about Belial’s splinters and asked NERV to search worldwide for them using the energy wavelengths Ritsuko would compile.
• Shinji asked Yui privately for permission to make arrangements with Asuka, and Yui agreed while teasing him about becoming a father.

Shinji and Asuka visited Shencheng, where they sampled local food, toured the Bund with Huang Zhetian, the Unit 8 Pilot, and bonded over their resolve to protect people. They left for home with Zero urging Shinji to act on his feelings for Asuka, though Shinji still wanted to wait.

• Misato left for work, and Shinji transformed into Zero to carry Asuka from Japan to Shencheng.
• Zero noticed that Shencheng was smaller and less prosperous than the city he remembered, but he and Asuka enjoyed its food and bought gifts for their friends and family.
• Huang Zhetian introduced himself as a NERV Dragon Country Branch member and Unit 8 Pilot, then invited Shinji and Asuka on a sightseeing boat.
• Shinji and Asuka told Huang Zhetian they piloted Evas to protect people, and the three agreed they were comrades before parting ways.
• Zero flew Asuka and Shinji home and urged Shinji to confess his feelings, but Shinji said he wanted to wait a little longer.

Saberuno appeared before SEELE and warned them that attacking Zero could bring the Space Garrison’s devastating retaliation. He then offered to help SEELE’s Human Instrumentality Project in exchange for a secret laboratory, while secretly planning revenge against the Land of Light.

• SEELE discussed Zero’s abilities and the threat posed by the mutated Eighth Angel, with Chairman Ghir declaring they would eliminate Zero if he interfered with their plan.
• Saberuno revealed himself to SEELE and explained that Zero was an ace warrior from the Land of Light’s Space Garrison.
• Saberuno showed SEELE a vision of three Ultramen destroying a planet and warned them that attacking Zero would invite the Land of Light’s wrath.
• Saberuno offered SEELE a chance to complete the Human Instrumentality Project and requested a secret laboratory for his research with the Belial Splinter and Geed’s blood.
• SEELE approved cooperation with Saberuno, who privately revealed his plan to sabotage the Land of Light and take revenge.

Zoffy and Ultraman discussed the Belial Splinter crisis and learned that the Splinter had greatly enhanced an Angel in Zero’s world. After an unidentified invasion force was reported to be targeting that world, Zoffy discovered Ultraseven had already departed for it and tried to warn Zero.

• Zoffy reassured Ultraman that branches, allied forces, and younger Ultra Warriors were helping contain the Belial Splinter disasters.
• Ultraman praised the humans from their universe for establishing an embassy and helping planets affected by the disasters.
• Limings reported that a Belial Splinter had dramatically enhanced the Embryo Angel and that Adam was an energy-based life-form with similarities to Ultras.
• Zoffy and Ultraman considered whether humans in Zero’s world might share a connection to light and hoped Zero’s group would stop the Human Instrumentality Project.
• Ultraseven 21 reported that an unidentified invasion force planned to enter Zero’s world, but said Ultraseven had already gone there to help Zero.
• Zoffy sent Ultraseven 21 to investigate with Raylien and Alet, then tried to contact Zero and warn him.

Ultraseven was pulled through a portal while fighting aliens, and Zoffy warned Zero that Ultraseven was coming to check on him and that an alien invasion might be imminent. Zero and NERV prepared to defend the base and keep the Human Instrumentality Project secret from Ultraseven, while Shinji and Asuka ended the night on a shy note.

• Ultraseven fought a fleet of familiar aliens, but a dark figure opened a portal and dragged him away with it.
• Yui Ikari arranged for NERV to reveal Ultraman Zero's existence, prompting public debate and conspiracy theories about the alien hero.
• Zoffy told Zero that Ultraseven was coming to check on him and that unidentified aliens appeared to be preparing an invasion.
• Zero warned Yui Ikari, Gendo Ikari, and Fuyutsuki to guard against alien infiltration, and NERV raised its security and space surveillance.
• Shinji found that Asuka had laid out his bedding, thanked her as she pretended to sleep, and Zero privately teased them for being shy.

Shinji, Misato, and Zero discovered that Metron was using universe poppy hidden in cigarettes to make people in Tokyo-3 attack others. They arranged to watch cigarette vending machines so they could track the alien, but Misato mistakenly punched Ritsuko when she arrived smoking an older cigarette.

• Misato read reports of violent incidents in Tokyo-3, while Shinji, Asuka, and Zero discussed the attacks at home and school.
• Ultraseven defeated an alien in another dimension and opened a portal to the universe Zero was in.
• Kaji recounted subduing a crazed captain on his flight, and Hyuga suddenly attacked Maya after smoking a cigarette at NERV.
• Aoba also went berserk and drew a handgun, but Zero shot it from his hand; Zero then identified red granules in the cigarettes as universe poppy used by Metron.
• Gendo Ikari agreed to monitor cigarette vending machines and follow anyone restocking them, while Shinji and Zero vowed to protect people from Metron.
• Misato punched Ritsuko when she entered smoking, not realizing that Ritsuko’s cigarette came from an older purchase.

Zero confronted Metron, who planned to conquer Earth by undermining humanity’s trust, while Metron’s fleet attacked the planet. Ultraseven arrived to help Zero defeat Metron, but Hayato Noda revealed that the invasion’s outcome was part of a script.

• Shinji asked Zero why the Metron kept invading, and Zero explained that some aliens were driven by destructive desires while others could become allies.
• Rei and Asuka said goodbye to Shinji before he went to the Metron hideout, and Asuka told him she would wait for him at dinner.
• Zero confronted Metron in an abandoned building, rejected his plan to make humanity lose trust in itself, and pursued him after Metron escaped in a spaceship.
• The Metron fleet attacked Earth, and Unit-00 and Unit-02 fought the ships until Ultraseven and Windom arrived to help.
• Ultraseven joined Zero in defeating Metron with their Combined Head Blade and Double Emerium Attack, then flew away with him.
• Hayato Noda watched the battle end and said that everything had gone according to the script.

Dan Moroboshi introduced himself to Shinji and reunited with Zero before sharing his memories of Anne and encouraging them to keep faith in humanity. He gave Shinji Anne’s protective charm and a weapon containing data for Earth’s defense forces, then departed, while Hayato encountered a mysterious figure at Metron’s wreckage.

• Dan Moroboshi revealed that he was Ultraseven and Zero’s father, then reunited with Zero and met Shinji.
• After learning how Zero had joined with Shinji to save his life, Dan praised Shinji’s courage and spoke with him and Zero about trust between humans and aliens.
• Dan showed Shinji and Zero his memory of Anne accepting his alien identity, and he urged them not to lose hope or their warm hearts.
• Dan gave Shinji Anne’s necklace as a protective charm and handed him a weapon containing data for Earth’s defense forces before flying away.
• Hayato collected fragments of Metron’s wreckage, exchanged words with a mysterious overcoated figure, and disappeared as black smoke after saying the script would not change.

Zero explained his family, Capsule Monsters, and Spacium to his friends before Gendo reported a mysterious Spacium beam cannon delivered by SEELE. A deliberate blackout crippled NERV as an unidentified object approached the coast, while Hayato watched and prepared to collect experimental data.

• Zero told Asuka, Rei, and Misato about Ultraseven, his Capsule Monsters, and his human mother, leaving the group subdued.
• Aoba surveyed Metron's destruction while Ritsuko and Maya visited a dry cleaner, where the owner showed off a famous photograph of Zero fighting the alien.
• Gendo called Zero to report that a SEELE-controlled company had delivered a strange beam cannon labeled as using Spacium, but the secure call abruptly cut off.
• A power failure struck NERV, disabling backup systems and forcing Fuyutsuki to prioritize power for MAGI and Central Dogma.
• Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Zero found the base entrance locked, and Zero led them toward another way inside.
• Gendo concluded that someone had deliberately cut NERV's power as radar detected an unidentified object approaching Old Atami, while Hayato watched it and awaited experimental data.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei reached NERV’s command center during an Angel attack, launched the Evas, and defeated the creature with the Spacium Cannon. Afterward, Shinji confessed his love to Asuka, and she returned his feelings as the city lights came back on.

• Hyuga commandeered a campaign van to warn NERV that an Angel was approaching, and Gendo ordered a manual Eva launch.
• Shinji used Ultraman Jack’s Ultra Bracelet to cut through a blocked doorway, and he, Rei, and Asuka boarded Units 01, 00, and 02.
• Unit-01 struck the Angel and severed its legs while Unit-00 drew its attention, then Asuka fired the Spacium Cannon and destroyed it.
• After the power returned, Shinji confessed his feelings to Asuka on a hillside, and she told him she had fallen for him too.
• Asuka briefly thought she saw a train pass across the moon before she and Shinji walked back down the hill together.