Chapter 45:
Nerv Japan Hakone

 

MISATO FORCED HER WAY through the pandemonium to get to the balcony. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from a sentry posted there and looked through them.

The dark shadow of Yomotsu Hirasaka was peeking through the clouds beyond the mountain range in the distance. Beneath it, a giant being of light held the landmass on his back. Neither had breached the atmosphere so far.

The mere sight of it was enough to throw anyone into a panic.

“It’s huge…but…”

Even amid the confusion, the scene sparked dread in the sole survivor of the Second Impact. Aside from its Eva-like silhouette, the being she observed was only vaguely humanoid. But what was it, really? She couldn’t tell whether it was Super Eva as Shinji’s other body or that Shinji had become the giant himself.

Shinji-kun, are you still in there somehow…?

“W-we’re done for!” one of the younger security personnel was running around madly. They didn’t know whether to fear the being of light or to trust it.

In any case, it was clear that humanity was out of options. Neither the Aten’s Hammer or the ballistically propelled N2 warhead Iphiclus Javelin could stop the descent of the lunar landmass.

 

The wind was strong. A strange tide moved in from the southeast. There was a rumbling in the air as fighter jets cut across the sky from Mount Daikan Airport. They were headed south, where the object was supposed to have fallen.

“Attention, citizens of Tokyo-3. Evacuate to the shelter areas immediately. We are looking into appropriate anti-Angel measures for the occasion. Please await further orders. All personnel, to your stations.”

Aoba broadcast Misato’s orders through the intercom. In all honesty, if Yomotsu Hirasaka crashed into the Earth at its current speed, no underground shelter would be safe. The landmass would rupture the Earth’s mantle and turn it inside out.

Still, evacuation was the best Misato could do for the citizens of Tokyo-3. She bit her lip and continued staring at the screen as memories of the giant of light who’d taken everything she held dear played in her head. That giant had been faceless, but this one…

You’re in there, Shinji-kun. Give me that much, at least.