The Trash Returned from Warhammer

The slaughter machine roared to life. The massive mech sprinted across the carrier deck, each step carving deep indentations into the steel, before leaping off the edge just like a carrier-borne fighter.

Thud—

The carrier ”nodded,” its bow plunging into the sea, while Unit-01 soared into the air, leaping directly toward the battlefield hundreds of meters away.

As if sensing the incoming threat, Gaghiel suddenly ceased its frantic struggling. It didn’t open its mouth to strike back, instead plunging headlong into the depths.

Pfft!

The long spear pierced directly into the base of its neck. The bleeding was torrential, driving the Angel into an even deeper frenzy as it dove toward the ocean floor.

Shinji was mildly surprised. If it had relied purely on instinct, it would have opened its mouth to bite, exposing its core—which would have been convenient.

”Hold on tight.”

”Huh?”

Before Asuka could react, she felt a powerful push against her back. Amidst a churn of bubbles, only the pitch-black abyss of the seabed remained outside the cockpit. She had no choice but to grip her progressive knife with both hands to keep from being thrown off.

A high-speed dive. The water resistance created a violent drag; a moment of carelessness would see them flung away. Shinji remained expressionless, his brain processing at full speed. The Sixth Angel wasn’t overly strong, but its massive size and the absolute advantage of the terrain were problematic. Even now, as it swam swiftly along the bottom—

Unit-01 banked sideways, watching a mangled giant tail whip past. This alien entity even possessed the ability to counter-attack while in motion.

”Its core is in its throat; we need to find a way to attack it.”

”I know! But it’s impossible!” Asuka retorted. Two EVAs were currently pinned to the Angel’s back like javelins, but Gaghiel wasn’t stopping, making it impossible to adjust their posture. And there was a more troublesome issue.

”The umbilical cable is reaching its limit!!”

The EVA was still tethered by a cord. With a total length of barely a kilometer, once they hit the limit, the recoil would fling them off.

’Tch. This issue has to be solved.’

Shinji had long been annoyed by this cable that severely hampered mobility. Listening to Misato Katsuragi’s countdown, he immediately ordered:

”Take the underwater rifle from Unit-01’s back. Disengage and provide cover for me.”

’Why does it have to be you covering me and not the other way around?’

Asuka’s dissatisfaction was secondary; she knew not to be willful in battle. She hurriedly grabbed the rifle from behind Shinji.

”And then?”

”Find your own opportunity.”

Shinji pushed the control stick. Unit-01 curled tightly against the Angel’s back. The giant tail swept overhead, and the cable reached its breaking point.

External power, disengaged.

The plug ejected. Unit-01 remained immovable, but Unit-02 was jerked away by the recoil, flying off the Angel’s back.

Suddenly, the Sixth Angel’s back was empty, giving Shinji more room to maneuver. He scanned his surroundings. As Misato’s intel suggested, the fleet had entered ”land”; the water was only 300 meters deep, and they could see many submerged buildings.

In theory, the Angel could keep moving forward until Unit-01’s battery ran dry, but—

A.T. Field neutralized. Psychic energy released.

Pfft, pfft, pfft.

Unit-01 gripped the spear with one hand to anchor itself, and with the other, it drew its progressive knife, slashing maniacally at the Angel’s back like a butcher. Unlike Unit-02’s strikes, his intangible psychic energy acted like a ten-meter-long greatsword, leaving the Angel’s back a bloody ruin.

’Deeper. Just a bit deeper. You’ve gotten smart, have you? I can still cut through to your core from your back.’

Gaghiel struggled even more violently. Seeing the tail couldn’t hit the enemy, it dove toward the seabed and flipped its body, trying to scrape the ”parasite” off against the submerged architecture.

’Death throes.’

Shinji was forced to stop slashing, pressing himself flat against the Angel’s back. Thud, thud, thud. Buildings from before the Second Impact were smashed to dust, but he kept his eyes locked on the tactical map.

”Asuka, are you ready?”

In the distance, Unit-02, which had been flung away, was now resting on the seafloor, trudging laboriously through the abandoned city. Gaghiel had chosen a battlefield that maximized its advantages, but Shinji had chosen his location with careful consideration.

Asuka tilted her head, seeing bubbles and clouds of blood dyeing the sea deep red. She looked at the map: a friendly identifier was rapidly approaching.

’Wait, it’s really coming back?’

She paused. Shinji had given her these coordinates, but the ocean was endless—how could he guarantee the Angel would return this way?

”Are you sure it will pass through here?”

”Certainly. Prepare to fire.”

Shinji answered without hesitation. This had nothing to do with gambling; it was simply because the container was on the carrier. Since the Angel was targeting the contents of that box, it would follow its instincts and approach, provided it couldn’t eliminate the guards.

”Ten seconds to contact.”

Unit-01 crushed through yet another building, plowing a shallow trench into the seafloor with its back.

”Eight seconds.”

Unit-02 hid behind a collapsed skyscraper, already ”hearing” the rumbling impacts.

”Five seconds.”

She peeked out, seeing only churning blood—impossible to aim. But that didn’t stump Asuka. She locked her eyes on the tactical map, using Unit-01 as a reference point and calculating the margin of error.

”Three seconds.”

Rumble—

A skyscraper several dozen stories tall was smashed to pieces. A massive dark shadow obscured the faint sunlight. Unit-02 leaped out, raising the underwater rifle.

A.T. Field neutralized.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

Bullets like short swords pierced the waves, detonating on impact as high-explosive warheads turned into clusters of water-balls. Dozens of rounds slammed head-on into the Angel’s skull.

It still wasn’t fatal, but it forced Gaghiel to instinctively rise toward the surface. Unit-01, no longer compressed by the seabed, straightened its back.

”Miniature depth charge, three-second delay.”

He reached to his waist, pulled out a disc-shaped bomb, and jammed it directly into the wound he had carved earlier. It seemed meaningless, but it was the perfect placement.

Unit-01 pushed off hard, detaching from the Angel. He watched the giant fish dive forward another hundred meters, then—BOOM!

A massive plume of blood-red water erupted from the seabed. The force was so great it sent a pillar of water shooting toward the surface.

”Did... did we get it?”

Asuka’s eyes were wide. There was no ”deus ex machina” shock here, just sheer, icy rationality. The fluid, seamless sequence of actions left her speechless. Everyone could understand what he did, but nobody else could have performed it.

”Not quite yet.”

Following his cold tone, an A.T. Field expanded underwater, its ripples piercing through the surging waves. Only then did he ignite the thrusters on his back. Dense bubbles surged; Unit-01 was also rising rapidly, moving away from Unit-02.

”Wait, what are you doing?”

Shinji didn’t answer. He saw the torso of the fish severed from the inside. He dove into the center of the blood cloud and thrust his spear with all his might.

A.T. Field, maximum output!

With the A.T. Field gathered behind him into spiraling rings of water, Unit-01’s speed transcended scientific limits. It soared as if flying through the sky, surging toward the surface.

”USS Ronald Reagan, reach the coordinates! All hands abandon ship!”

Misato heard the Admiral’s shout, staring fixedly into the distance. The oil-slicked surface of the sea suddenly bulged, and a gargantuan object burst through.

Splash—

First came Gaghiel. Even though its torso was severed by the internal blast, the remnant was still as massive as any other Angel—like a flattened ray. Following it came the pitch-black spear, and Unit-01, stained red with blood, also erupted from the sea.

’Huh? Is... is he flying?’

Misato couldn’t understand how the underwater thrusters could function in the air—it was unscientific—but regardless of her thoughts, Unit-01 burst out like a fisherman, harpooning Gaghiel and crashing down onto the USS Ronald Reagan.

Boom—

The 100,000-ton steel titan groaned and sank, its flight deck collapsing. Not just the jets, but even the bridge was crushed like a pancake as the ship rocked like a rowboat. The impact of the giant creatures was immense. The tens of thousands of crew members stared, stunned, as Unit-01 knelt on one knee, pinning the ”ray” firmly to the deck.

The Angel did not give up. It had lost the ability to move, but it opened a massive maw capable of swallowing Unit-01 whole.

”I’ve been waiting for you to open your mouth.”

Shinji leaned forward. The abyss-like mouth was lined with sharp teeth, and its bite force could easily tear through steel.

Snap.

The spear handle snapped in two, but he jammed it forward, wedging the massive jaws open. Even as the metal began to warp, Shinji used that time to plunge his body inward, right in front of the crimson core.

He raised his progressive knife, and there, before everyone’s eyes—

From the inside out, he sliced the fish!

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