The Trash Returned from Warhammer

Ah, another day of ”peace” through nuclear fire.

When ten suns rose simultaneously, radiating a brilliant, destructive light across the world, the heavy rain vanished in an instant, and the dark clouds were swept away into nothingness.

Dozens of kilometers away, the ground deep beneath the surface trembled slightly. Misato Katsuragi stared at the monitor with her mouth slightly agape, experiencing a strange sense of the aesthetic beauty of human civilization’s destructive power. Of course, she couldn’t see anything; there was only blinding white light.

”Th-this is fine, right?”

At the thought that all three EVAs were enveloped in that radiance, she felt as if she were raising a madman. Was this really a combat plan a human being could come up with?

”It should be fine. The explosive yield and the energy concentration coordinates were all calculated by the MAGI. More importantly, the parameters were all within the defensive range of the three EVAs’ AT Fields.”

Ritsuko Akagi was much calmer. While sipping her coffee leisurely, she murmured in wonder. Shinji-kun wasn’t a madman; he was more like a scientist—every insane move he made was within the bounds of data.

Against the various weapons of humanity, raw physical durability was useless; only the unreasonable nature of the AT Field could provide defense. As it happened, the Seventh Angel’s AT Field was weak, and it had foolishly relied on its ”immortal body” while concentrating its AT Field into its claws for offense.

’Perfect timing, accurate calculations, not a moment of hesitation. It makes me feel like I’ve met a kindred spirit.’

As if on cue, the intense light faded rapidly, revealing land that resembled the surface of the moon. Trees, houses, and even the weeds had been wiped clean, leaving behind nothing but parched, barren soil. There was no trace of the Angel; even the weapons that had pierced them had been reduced to a heap of twisted scrap metal.

The tension in the command center eased. Makoto Hyuga began to tease, ”Well, that’s two chainswords destroyed in a month. Major, you’re going to have to ask for more funding from above.”

”As long as we can defeat the Angels, what’s a few hundred million dollars? If the UN military isn’t happy about it, they can go handle it themselves.” Misato sounded confident, hearing the cheers erupting across every channel. Of course, that was impossible; ever since the Angels learned to actively eliminate sources of threats, N2 Mines had become mere fireworks that often ended up killing their own forces.

”But the map for the Sagami district has to be redrawn again. Plus, the Agriculture Association is going to cause trouble, aren’t they?”

”Doesn’t matter. I’ll just pull a few more late nights to rush the reports. Everyone in the Operations Department will be working overtime with me, by the way!” Misato listened to the groans, hands on her hips, watching that ”lunar surface.”

A giant shield, still smoking, was tossed aside. The purple giant slowly stood up, looming over the devastated earth.

Operation success. Target annihilated.

Shinji tugged at the collar of his plugsuit. The temperature of the LCL fluid had exceeded fifty degrees Celsius, baked by the intense heat released by the N2 Mines, but for him, this temperature felt like a warm bath—it hadn’t even reached the level of a ”sacrifice.” No matter how powerful the xenos were, they could not escape the judgment of the Emperor’s sword; this will was unshakable.

THUD —

Unit-01 stepped onto the scorching, charred earth. Every light footfall caused chunks of land to collapse. As he approached another crater, communications finally restored, and he heard voices.

”I’m burning up! Hey, Rei, can you get up already? Unit-00 is so heavy.”

”I cannot. The internal power supply is depleted; I must reserve the remainder for emergency protocols.”

”Did that guy teach you that, too?”

”Yes, Ikari-kun taught me.”

Asuka pulled at her collar, suddenly pouting. Her expression changed slightly, losing its aggressive edge and softening just a little. When Unit-00 had dived to protect her, it had used its own frame as a second layer of shielding to block most of the blast.

”Rei, it’s really hot, isn’t it?”

”The LCL fluid has indeed caused intense burning sensations, but it will not cause specific physical damage to my body. If you are worried, we can go to Dr. Akagi for a check-up later.”

”Hey, don’t be so serious at a time like this!” Asuka scolded, but then she lowered her voice: ”DANKE (Thank you).”

”Second Pilot, what did you say?”

”Ha! I said you don’t even know how to utilize a favor, konoyaro (you idiot).” Asuka snorted and turned her head away. Hearing Rei remain silent for a long moment, she peeked out of the

corner of her eye and cleared her throat. ”From now on, you aren’t allowed to call me ’Second Pilot.’ I just called you by your name, so as an equivalent exchange, you call me by mine.”

”Understood, Asuka-san.”

”Hey, don’t add ’-san’! Don’t you think it’s weird that I’d call you ’Ayanami-san’?”

”Why? That is a respectful term.”

’As expected, we just don’t click!’ Asuka was fuming to the point of a meltdown. Suddenly, she heard a faint ”Hehe” sound and perked up her ears.

”You... you aren’t laughing, are you?”

Inside the Entry Plug of Unit-00, Rei Ayanami covered her mouth, shocked to find she couldn’t suppress the laughter. It was a complex emotion—partly the pleasure of deflecting past slights, partly the exhilaration of bantering with a friend.

’Is this what a joke feels like?’

Red eyes blinked rapidly, and her mouth turned upward silently.

”I am not.”

”Don’t cover it up; I heard you just now. You are definitely laughing.”

”Asu... ka, I have undergone professional training and should not laugh under any circumstances, unless...”

”Unless what?”

”Unless I cannot help it.”

’Fine! You idiot, dare to mock me!’

Asuka gritted her teeth, about to start an argument, when she heard the screeching sound of twisting steel. Bright sunlight flooded in from above as Unit-01 stood over them, looking down. The two EVAs were huddled together, having pooled their AT Fields to withstand the blast, a pose that looked rather ungraceful.

”What are you two talking about?” Shinji asked. In truth, with the static on the comms, he had heard everything.

”Ikari-kun, we were just talking about—”

”We weren’t talking about anything!” Asuka interrupted hurriedly. If it got out that she’d been mocked by Rei Ayanami, where would she hide her face? She immediately raised a small, angry fist.

”Did you really have to make it so dangerous? We could have eliminated the Angel by reducing the yield by a third, you know! You made me use every ounce of strength I had!”

”Of course you have to use every ounce of strength! You want to defeat Angels easily and become a hero? Is this the half-hearted attitude you bring to piloting an EVA?!”

Shinji’s single sentence blocked Asuka’s complaints. He shook his head, taking on the responsibility of the Chaplain to reinforce the loyalty of this overly flighty Battle-Sister.

”To guarantee success, pushing to the absolute limit is the price that must be paid. Loyalty is not something you merely speak of; it requires facing every difficulty—life or death—with an iron will. If you survive, you shall continue to uphold your oath; if you fall in battle, you shall return in glory to the Golden Throne...”

Hundreds of vehicles surged toward the center of the battlefield.

The cleanup and recovery teams had finally arrived. Misato Katsuragi arrived in person, prepared to embrace the heroes who had saved humanity once again. The external cables had long since evaporated, and the internal power supplies were empty. Misato stood on a vehicle, spotting the hulking behemoths from afar, but her eye twitched.

Unit-01 stood tall on the earth, its open arms as if it were giving a speech. Unit-00 and Unit-02 were knelt on the ground in a dejected posture. Because they lacked power, the three of them looked like silent, towering statues. The soldiers watched, speechless, forced to admit that on this barren land, the three giants were an incredibly imposing sight.

”Major, what are they doing?” an officer asked. He was a propaganda officer from the Second Army, responsible for post-battle recording.

Misato’s mouth twitched. She thought to herself that Asuka finally knew what was truly terrifying about Shinji. It wasn’t the pressure or the piercing gaze—it was this preaching.

Even if you couldn’t understand it, you had to listen to it like a droning, inescapable curse; it was a form of psychological torture. She hadn’t been convinced at first, either, but after being preached to a few times, her eyes had ”cleared up.” Shinji-kun could lecture without repeating himself, with such infectious intensity that he would keep going until the communication batteries ran dry.

However... Asuka was finally being treated as ”one of his own.” If she weren’t, that boy would have acted much faster than he spoke.

Misato suddenly smiled. Her original combat plan had been mixed with personal motives, but it seemed the goal had been achieved all the same. She looked at the confused officer and raised her hand, pointing into the distance.

”The Angel is preaching.”

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