The Trash Returned from Warhammer

The warm sea breeze blew through his hair. Shinji leaned his hands on the railing, gazing out at the deep blue ocean, while his peripheral vision remained locked onto the man beside him.

Ryoji Kaji, inspector for the NERV Inspection Department, with a private relationship with Misato Katsuragi.

Shinji didn’t know him personally but had already guessed his intent. It was nothing more than another probe by SEELE. Some of the changes in him were too abrupt to be hidden—nor did he feel the need to hide them. Of course, he wasn’t overly cautious; the agents sent to test him last time had already been slaughtered by his hand. He almost wished SEELE would step out from behind the scenes and onto the stage. Resolving them and integrating all human resources to fight the Angels would be the most efficient tactic.

’Uh, this Shinji-kun is quite difficult to deal with.’

Meanwhile, Ryoji Kaji was feeling a bit lost. As an agent with maxed-out social skills who had read countless people, the more he interacted with Shinji, the more unique he found him. Silent, rational, and calm—it felt as if any word spoken would be seen through. Kaji couldn’t help but view him as a peer.

”I heard you’re living with Misato?”

”Yes.”

”That must be hard on you. Her temper...”

”Miss Misato is informal in her private life, but she is a reliable comrade-in-arms. She carries out my orders without the slightest error.”

Shinji interrupted him. This method of guiding the conversation was too clumsy, and he didn’t feel like talking in circles. ”Major Kaji, you didn’t seek me out just to ask about Miss Misato, did you? Speak plainly.”

’Well, he’s direct, too.’

Kaji scratched his cheek. If he didn’t use Misato to circle around and slowly persuade him, was he supposed to ask directly: ”What exactly did you experience to cause such a massive personality shift?”

”Uh, the Intelligence Department is curious about you. They feel the first group of guardians failed their duty and provided false information.”

”Minister Mark asked similar questions. You can find him for detailed intelligence.”

”I’ve seen it. They said you changed suddenly due to some kind of ’Emperor’ psychological suggestion.” Kaji spread his hands, looking half-skeptical. ”That’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it?”

If the first long-term monitoring reports from the Intelligence Department weren’t faked, Shinji Ikari had completed his metamorphosis in just three days behind closed doors. Even traveling to another world shouldn’t be that fast.

”There are many far-fetched things in this world. But seeking the unknown represents destruction and requires a corresponding price. Do you have that resolve?”

Shinji’s gaze was sharp, as if carving open Kaji’s mind. It made Kaji’s scalp tingle, and he naturally understood the subtext.

’I can tell you the reason, but do you dare listen? Can you pay the price?’

’Huu—’

Kaji took a breath. This wasn’t exactly a threat, but a test of a trade—telling him plainly to bring intelligence in exchange, with no guarantee of safety. As a specially trained spy, he had no reason to fear a child, but the words at the tip of his tongue turned into a rakish laugh.

”Hahaha, never mind then. Minister Mark has already closed the case. This was just personal curiosity.”

’Boring.’

Shinji withdrew his gaze. Honestly, his experiences in 40K weren’t something worth hiding—no one would believe them anyway. It was even more far-fetched than Angels randomly appearing on Earth. If it could be traded for intelligence on SEELE, it would be a bargain. Even if these people believed it, so what? Would they stop fighting Angels? Use his hand to contact the Emperor? That was too fanciful—or rather, a death sentence.

In short, where he came from didn’t matter. What mattered was that no one blocked the road ahead.

The atmosphere fell silent. This contact clearly couldn’t continue. Just as Shinji was admiring the scenery and Kaji was looking for a way to retreat, a shrill alarm suddenly echoed over the fleet.

Enemy attack???

Shinji’s expression shifted instantly, and his phone began to ring.

”What happened?”

”A Los Angeles-class attack sub on the perimeter suddenly sank. A neighboring Kilo-class sub has lost signal.” Misato’s voice was urgent and laced with confusion. ”The Pacific Fleet isn’t equipped with deep-sea probes. We can’t confirm if it’s an Angel yet.”

Angels had distinct energy signatures, but if they were shielded by the deep sea, they couldn’t be detected from a distance. The fleet was deploying into an anti-submarine formation. Sailors ran across the decks, and several anti-submarine helicopters took off in a hurry.

However, using sonar alone could only confirm something was moving at high speed; it couldn’t identify the target.

”It must be an Angel. Who else would bother attacking the Pacific Fleet?”

Shinji’s tone was certain. He glanced at the slipping-away Kaji and simultaneously spread his psychic power. After killing the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Angels, his psychic power had grown significantly. Besides controlling others, he could spread it out to detect—though since this world couldn’t replenish psychic energy, he rarely used it this way.

’It really is an Angel.’

As his psychic sense expanded, he could faintly feel the reaction of an Angel dozens of nautical miles away. As a powerful and unique ”Warp” energy source, it was as obvious as a candle in the night.

But soon, he froze.

’Why are there two Angel reactions?’

Yes, there were two. However, the other one was extremely close and very dim. If he weren’t standing on this specific transport ship, his psychic sense wouldn’t have detected it.

An Angel had quietly infiltrated this ship.

He looked down abruptly, his heart skipping a beat. To be honest, an Angel’s individual strength was massive; even in the 40K universe, they would be powerful xenos requiring Titan-level firepower to suppress. Ordinary humans would crumble instantly before them.

But he quickly noticed something was wrong. The signal source on the ship was too weak, almost unable to affect the physical universe. After a moment of thought, he frowned and looked in the direction Kaji had left.

”Is the Angel here?!”

Just then, he heard an excited scream. Turning around, he saw Asuka, now in her red plugsuit, standing on the deck. Her hunger for battle made Shinji nod with satisfaction.

”It’s here. The Sixth Angel.”

”Great!” The girl cheered. She had waited so long for today; she had to make everyone who looked down on her drop their jaws. She narrowed her eyes and pulled out another set of red combat gear. ”Do you want to come? Watch this lady’s fighting form.”

Shinji looked at the combat suit, which had obvious female characteristics, without a trace of bashfulness.

”No. Unit-01 will serve as cover. How could one EVA carry two Adapters?”

”I said I don’t need it! Just watch.”

”The Angel is smarter than you think, and EVAs aren’t suited for underwater combat.”

’Smart? Those brainless monsters can be smart?’

Asuka paused; this was different from the data she had seen. Before she could speak, the boy walked right up to her. His serious expression made her shrink back.

”Wh-What?”

”Desiring battle is a good thing, but war allows for no individual heroism. I am not looking down on you, but surviving while ensuring victory is the primary objective.”

His eyes held a trace of sadness, as if he had witnessed many recruits fall on the battlefield. Asuka stared at him; she truly saw no disdain, only deep concern.

”Wh-whatever! Just don’t get in my way.” With that, she sprang away like a startled rabbit.

’Over-stubbornness is not a virtue.’

Seeing her leave, Shinji picked up the phone. ”Major Katsuragi, take command. Launch Unit-02. The Pacific Fleet will support in an anti-submarine formation.”

”Understood.” Misato, long used to the reversed hierarchy, replied immediately: ”Unit-01 needs 10 more minutes to be ready for air-drop.”

’Too slow.’ Shinji frowned. He wasn’t bored enough to play games with a little girl.

”Then let Unit-02 face the Angel alone first. Even with only a progressive knife, she can stall for time.”

”Alright, I’ll tell the Raven pilots to hurry up.” Misato made the arrangements and then asked: ”What about you? Are you coming to the carrier to stand by?”

”I’ll be there in a moment. I have one thing to do first.”

Shinji hung up and headed into the ship’s interior. He heard the sirens wailing and various explosions through the walls. Torpedoes, anti-sub missiles, and depth charges were exploding wildly. The resulting underwater shockwaves made the 100,000-ton transport ship rock back and forth, but he walked steadily. Soon, he spotted a familiar figure.

Ryoji Kaji was reporting something to someone over a satellite phone. Shinji didn’t eavesdrop; he walked past silently, heading straight for the energy source. He was soon blocked by a heavy door with a code lock.

The door was out of place. The truly high-security Unit-02 was sitting on the deck under a tarpaulin, yet here was a coded door using a combination of iris, fingerprint, and password—impossible to open.

’It’s in here.’

Shinji took a breath. This door had extremely high authorization. He slowly reached out and placed his hand on its surface.

’But don’t forget, breaking and entering is an innate talent of the Blood Ravens.’

-

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[The USS Bonhomme Richard has sunk]

[The USS Cyclone is taking water on the starboard side]

[The entire submarine detachment is unresponsive]

The Admiral was sweating profusely, staring outside in horror. His precious warships were exploding and capsizing; sailors were jumping into the sea like ”dumplings.” Various torpedoes and depth charges sent pillars of water into the sky, but the enemy beneath the waves ignored them entirely, systematically eliminating the fleet from the perimeter like peeling an egg.

”What kind of monster...”

The Admiral slumped in his seat. All the naval tactics he had learned in his life were useless. This was the reality of the UN Forces—most had no experience fighting Angels, and the relevant data was top secret.

Yes, this was the Angel.

Misato had no time to comfort the Admiral. Her forehead was also covered in sweat as she cursed Shinji’s ”crow-mouth.” The Angel had actually come and was using the terrain perfectly. It stayed underwater without even showing its true form; they could only tell from the sonar that the Sixth Angel was massive.

’The most troublesome part is that, like the Fifth Angel, it knows how to use tactics.’

She bit her thumb. Gaghiel was circling the perimeter like a shark, occasionally sending up water-blade-like waves that sank steel warships. On the open sea, an EVA had zero mobility and was trapped on a lonely island.

”Miss Misato, when is this Angel coming over?!” Asuka was fuming. She had finally caught a chance to prove herself, but the Angel was just ”observing” from the outskirts.

”How should I know? Wait—it’s coming for you.”

Misato’s voice shifted as if she had some sensory ability. The water line on the surface suddenly changed its patrol tactic, charging in a straight line toward the center of the fleet.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even denser firepower was unleashed. The sea erupted in towering water columns as if boiling, but it was useless. Instead, the warships blocking its path were split in two, turning into brilliant fireballs. Ammunition depots detonated, and steel fragments sprayed everywhere. Asuka watched the shadow beneath the water with a grim face, preparing to neutralize the A.T. Field, when a giant pale blade burst through the waves.

’What... what the hell is that?’

It was a tail, but because it was so massive—likely over two hundred meters—it came crashing down with a thunderous roar.

Slash—Boom!

Unit-02 reacted quickly, jumping onto the bridge of a nearby destroyer, bobbing up and down like it was on a piece of duckweed. But the transport ship was unfortunate—it was sliced clean in half.

”Shinji!”

Misato panicked, her face flushing red. The Angel was indeed coming for Unit-02, but how had Shinji been caught in the crossfire?

”I’m fine. The transport ship was evacuated in advance.”

The voice from the comms made her breathe a sigh of relief. She looked up and saw several helicopters taking off, but her heart quickly leaped into her throat again.

A giant white monster appeared on the surface. It looked like a massive fish. Its fins churned up waves like tsunamis as it slowed down rapidly, then swept its tail toward the sky.

Shinji pushed the flight stick, feeling the storm swirl over his head. A few unlucky helicopters were swatted out of the sky. Fortunately, as the Angel breached the surface, the entire fleet opened fire.

76mm, 127mm, 130mm, and even 406mm cannons let out thunderous roars. Various anti-ship and anti-air missiles spat tongues of fire, adding a layer of brilliant barrage to the boiling sea.

Pushing the throttle to the limit, the rotors humming, Shinji flew close to the sea’s surface. He saw Unit-02 neutralizing the A.T. Field. Various shells blasted the Angel until it was bleeding everywhere, forcing it to dive back under.

’Huge body, but the A.T. Field isn’t strong. It’s better at using its physical mass to tank damage?’

With just one glance, he identified the Angel’s characteristics. Then—he looked at the briefcase beside him and reached a conclusion.

’It’s coming for me—no, it’s coming for the thing in this box. I just opened the box to look, and the Angel immediately changed tactics, charging directly as if maddened.’

On the surface, it was attacking Unit-02, but in reality, it was targeting him. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have needed to breach the surface to strike with its tail.

”Since you want it so badly, I definitely can’t give it to you.”

Like an ace pilot, Shinji flew low over the sea toward the carrier. He yanked the nose up, climbing suddenly, and performed a tail-spin that left the crew stunned—the tail rotor brushed right past the bridge windows.

”Unit-02, cooperate with the fleet to surround the Angel. Once coordinates are set, air-drop Unit-01 immediately.

I will execute it personally.”

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