Just then, a soldier, driven by fear, finally pulled the trigger.
Blam!
A single round struck the armor of Unit-00, sparking briefly before fading into dust.
But the volleys came next—rat-a-tat-tat—bullets rattled across its steel shell without effect. Zeroed in like a fortress, the Eva shrugged them all off.
Unit-00 spread its immense palm and slammed it down on the soldiers.
"Aaaaah!!"
Terrified screams erupted. Some soldiers fled, many others were crushed beneath the iron hand, blood painting the metal crimson.
The sickening sound of flesh and bone being crushed echoed through the ranks.
"Oh God…"
One soldier stood frozen in horror. EVAs were supposed to defend humanity, not butcher it. He couldn't comprehend why Rei inside was spilling human blood. It was supposed to be political puppetry, victims like them just collateral damage.
Across the field, members of the Black Dragon gang were stunned. They'd brought in a mob, not an Eva. This wasn't a fair fight—it was a massacre waiting to happen. The EVA was on a different level.
Captain Kishimoto's jaw clenched with fury. Rei's arrival in Unit-00 ruined the entire plan. He'd mobilized the Army, the gang, even tanks—but now Eva had turned the tide.
He snarled:
"No—I pulled out all stops to eliminate the three NERV pilots, and you escaped, brought in an Eva. Now it's ruined."
He glared at his aide and barked into his radio:
"Mobilize all artillery and tanks to First Middle School—NOW!"
He slammed the radio handset onto the pavement, cracking it in his fury.
Within minutes, armored convoys and tanks rolled toward the school, turrets pivoted and locked on Unit-00. One blast, and the building—and Ryota—would turn to dust.
Just then, a battered blue Thunderbird drove onto the scene—the car of Misato Katsuragi—dent marked and dust-covered. She stepped out alongside Ryoji Kaji.
Misato swept a glare across Kishimoto. "Kishimoto—so this was all your doing!"
"Misato Katsuragi," Kishimoto sneered. "Even if you're the United Nations' Inspector-General, you don't frighten me. The arrest warrants for Ryota Kitazawa and the other two are from the Japanese Cabinet. They're declared high-risk traitors—so I lead this operation. If you want to contest it, take it to the Diet!"
Misato's face tightened. She'd suspected the Cabinet was involved—but Kishimoto confirming it made it real: the highest levels of government may have ordered all this, possibly to weaken NERV's position in Japan.
"But deploying tanks and artillery is excessive," Kaji interjected gently, arms clasped and voice controlled. "You didn't just intend to arrest—they planned to kill them."
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