The change had happened far too quickly. Not only Misato Katsuragi, but even Asuka—who had remained silent until now—couldn't help being shaken.
"Doll… how could you just die like that?"
Still in shock, Asuka finally forced out those words days later, her voice bitter and pained.
"No… that's not right!"
But just then, Ryota Kitazawa suddenly shouted, his voice echoing with urgency.
At that moment, Kitazawa's entire face was tense, his brows drawn together in a sharp, grim expression—so serious it was frightening.
"Kitazawa-kun… what's wrong? Don't tell me you've lost your senses from the shock?" Misato and Asuka, startled by his sudden outburst, immediately asked with uneasy voices.
Rei Ayanami had just been absorbed into the Tenth Angel. Could it be that Kitazawa had been driven mad from the blow? If that was the case, the two of them wouldn't know what to do.
After all, Kitazawa was their pillar of strength. If anything happened to him, it would be as if the entire sky came crashing down.
"No… It's just—something's off. But I can't quite say what." Kitazawa's eyes were locked onto the monitor, his voice low and steady. "I think… the Rei Ayanami we just saw… wasn't the Rei we know."
"What?"
Both women froze, staring at him, not understanding what he meant.
"No, what I mean is… let me put it this way. I once taught Rei some combat techniques. But did the way she fought the Angel just now really look like the Rei we know?"
"This…"
Misato and Asuka exchanged glances, silent. They didn't know how to respond, but they couldn't deny that Kitazawa had a point. They were both aware that he had trained Rei in combat before. And after spending so much time with her, they were familiar with her abilities. The pilot of Unit-00 just now… had been pitifully weak in battle.
It was completely unlike the Rei they knew.
"Then… Kitazawa-kun, what exactly do you mean by saying that Rei wasn't the Rei we know?" Misato, her face pale, quickly pressed the question. What worried her most was still the ongoing battle against the Tenth Angel, Zeruel. If it managed to break into Terminal Dogma, humanity would be finished.
But she couldn't understand—why was Commander Ikari so adamant about not letting Kitazawa sortie? Was it still because of those incidents in Russia and China?
"That… I can't say for sure right now. Just keep watching. You'll understand."
Kitazawa faltered. He knew that if he tried to explain further, it would only get more confusing. After all, the truth of his being a time-traveler was far too unbelievable for them.
"…Fine."
Though still unsettled, Misato and Asuka let the matter drop. The battle at hand was more urgent.
With Unit-00 disabled, the fighting on the surface had completely spiraled out of control. The Tenth Angel now lashed out with both arms, slamming violently into Tokyo-3's underground facilities.
Inside the shelter, screams rang out as the entire GeoFront shook violently, like an earthquake tearing the earth apart.
"Target is breaching the first main entrance! Repeating—target is breaching the first main entrance!"
And then, the Angel's towering form appeared within the GeoFront, hammering furiously against the reinforced ground above Terminal Dogma—the one place an Angel could never be allowed to reach.
But just then, the monitors displayed an impossible sight.
A giant Evangelion, clad in blue armor, seized the Angel and engaged it head-on.
Everyone could see it clearly—there was no mistaking it. It was Unit-01.
Unit-01 had appeared!
"Who… who's piloting Unit-01?"
Misato and Kitazawa exchanged a stunned look, disbelief flashing in their eyes.
They were sealed within the underground shelter, cut off from reliable intel. That only deepened their anxiety.
For Kitazawa and the others, this battle unfolded entirely beyond their grasp—they were nothing but spectators.
It was utterly unthinkable. Someone was piloting Unit-01 against the Tenth Angel? Could this be the successor Commander Ikari had spoken of—the one meant to take Kitazawa's place?
But then… who was it?
The question weighed heavily in Kitazawa's chest, filling him with a sense of dread. He couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
As the battle escalated, the entire GeoFront was left in ruins, on the brink of collapse. Unit-01 was clearly on the losing side, driven back again and again.
Suddenly, a flash of light burst from the Angel's eyes, striking Unit-01's arm with brutal force. A stream of crimson fluid gushed forth—the arm had been severed cleanly.
A sharp, anguished scream rang out from inside the Eva's entry plug.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
The cry, raw with pain, echoed through the battlefield—and into Kitazawa's ears.
This… this feels… familiar…
Eyes wide, Kitazawa murmured to himself in shock, unable to make sense of the recognition clawing at him.
But the fight didn't end there. On the contrary, Unit-01 only grew wilder, battling the Angel with increasing ferocity.
Seizing the Angel, it leapt high into the air, bursting back onto the surface.
"DIIIEEE!!"
The pilot's furious roar continued, Unit-01's remaining fist pounding mercilessly into Zeruel's form, as if determined to tear its arms off by the roots.
Power levels: 4%… 3%… 2%…
"No! Unit-01's power supply is almost depleted!" Misato's face went ashen. If Unit-01 shut down now, it would be a disaster.
The moment the counter hit 0%, Unit-01 slowed to a halt—completely immobilized without power.
"This is bad!"
Cries of alarm rose from Misato, Asuka, and the rest of the NERV staff.
But Kitazawa alone stood frozen, his expression one of shock.
Because he finally remembered why all of this felt so familiar.
"Ikari… Shinji!!??!!??"
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