Chapter 38:
Shinji

 

SHINJI DEFLECTED the point of the halberd with the Magorox. The Q.R. Signums covering the black giant glowed red with every swing. The scales constantly drew on Armaros for power, no matter how far they were from him.

That was why everything that used a scale ended up being consumed by it. The scales were strong enough to power a defunct Evangelion core at the cost of mental contamination. Heurtebise and Wolfpack both took advantage of the Q.R. Signums, though they each had their own ways of dealing with its dark influence.

Super Eva and Shinji, too, had enjoyed the double-edged benefits of the Q.R. Signum. It had acted as his heart when his own heart had been stolen.

It’s little more than a glorified tin can telephone now, though.

The black giant didn’t seem to care that his enemies were using his powers. Shinji wondered whether Armaros even saw humans as enemies and not mere machinery to be moved about and occasionally eliminated.

Magorox’s blade cut through Armaros’ field, but he turned his halberd around and thrust the butt of it toward Super Eva.

No, he’s going to hit Asuka!

“Gaah…!”

Shinji threw his arm around her to protect her and was immediately repaid with broken bones. Golden flames poured out of the cracks in his armor. Super Eva looked like a fountain of magma now. Even so, Shinji refused to let go of Asuka.

This is nothing!

He took the handle of the Magorox in his right hand and banged it against the Center Trigonus in his chest. He was advancing his own self-destruction by drawing more power. His left hand had gone limp, and he had to bind it with a field to prevent it from exploding.