The Trash Returned from Warhammer

’No, no, no. This is completely different from the Angels I faced in the simulator.’

Asuka gripped the control sticks, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. Unit-02 used the warships as stepping stones, nimbly dodging back and forth, but the pressure was mounting.

The European branch naturally possessed a full set of simulated data, but now that she was face-to-face with the real thing, she realized that Shinji Ikari was right: the Angel was indeed ”smart.” This wasn’t human intellect, but a powerful combat instinct—an ability to utilize its own strength to the absolute limit.

A miss is as good as a mile. She couldn’t know that in the original timeline, the Angels were powerful but dull. Though they possessed some learning ability, it was far too slow; they would march mechanically toward a single goal, failing to even fully utilize their innate power.

Why would Shamshel act like a stiff idiot, never effectively using those highly destructive light whips? Why did Ramiel not exploit its range advantage, standing there like a moron as a fixed target? And Gaghiel—why would it not exploit the oceanic environment, insisting on leaping onto the deck to bite the EVA, as if its massive sword-like tail were a mere decoration? In the end, it suffered a disgraceful death under the bombardment of conventional weapons.

Asuka knew nothing of the original timeline. She only knew that the Sixth Angel was extremely cunning, moving through the sea at ultra-high speeds and refusing to be caught in a crossfire. Even the occasional anti-submarine missile hit failed to breach its A.T. Field. It was like a man-eating Great White shark, patrolling the perimeter of the fleet, rapidly depleting the humans’ ammunition. And every time it attacked, it inevitably took down a steel giant.

”Here it comes!”

Asuka bit her lip as a straight white line appeared on the sea surface. It was the massive tail held upright like a cavalryman’s saber; it didn’t even need to swing—the sheer impact of its momentum could split a warship in two.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fleet fired manically, various munitions kicking up towering plumes of water, but it was futile. Solid projectiles lost their kinetic energy the moment they hit the water, offering no hindrance at all.

”Asuka, dodge it, quick!”

”I know!”

The crimson Unit-02 bent its knees and leaped into the air. A split second later, a deafening explosion roared below as the destroyer’s ammunition depot was detonated, turning into a blinding fireball that showered the area in countless fragments.

’Dammit, I can’t hit it at all!’

Asuka’s expression twisted. She had only a progressive knife. If the Angel were stupid enough to leap out of the water to bite her, she might have a chance, but this bastard was too crafty. As the king of the deep sea, why should it bother breaching? It could simply act as a human-manned torpedo, sinking all the ships until the EVA fell into the water on its own. Once in the sea, the EVA would be at its mercy.

It was the same desire to defeat Unit-02, but this subtle shift in combat instinct led to a diametrically opposite outcome. Asuka had no counter; she could only hop from ship to ship, and her ”stepping stones” were dwindling.

The firepower grew increasingly sparse; the torpedoes were all spent. Without the hindrance of heavy fire, the Angel became even more arrogant. It didn’t even bother dodging the remaining fire, half-breaching the surface to swing its massive tail at the jumping Unit-02.

Slash—

Asuka’s reflexes were top-tier. The unit immediately curled into a ball, landing on a helicopter deck with a heavy thud, bobbing unsteadily with the destroyer.

”I can’t let it hit me, or I’m dead.”

She panted, knowing she wouldn’t have even a one-percent chance of winning if she fell into the sea. But her internal power was reaching its limit. If she kept dodging like this, she was just as dead.

”Misato, prepare the external power! Have these idiots cover me!”

There was no other way; Unit-02 had to plug in. But the Angel was circling nearby. If she was shot down mid-leap during the next jump, it would be over.

Misato Katsuragi was also frantic, constantly looking at the sky. It was a miracle that the Pacific Fleet hadn’t broken and fled by now. For them, this was a war of despair; their weapons were useless, and the Angel was ”mowing the grass,” sinking warships one by one.

”Admiral, without Unit-02, we cannot win.”

Finally, she looked at the white-bearded old man. Her solemn expression was a far cry from her usual playful demeanor. The Admiral clenched his fists. His soldiers were dying meaningless deaths. Honestly, he desperately wanted to order the fleet to disperse.

’Aren’t you NERV people so impressive? Aren’t you the experts on Angels? Then you deal with it.’

After a few seconds of silent eye contact, he reached for the comms as if in a struggle.

”Kuznetsov, Wisconsin—full speed forward! Missouri, pre-aim Unit-02’s movement trajectory! Block that monster from the core of the fleet!”

A carrier and a battleship moved immediately, their tens of thousands of tons of steel cutting through the waves. Unit-02 took the opportunity to leap toward them.

Sure enough, a pure white ”back” emerged from the sea. The Angel had targeted the airborne Unit-02. The latter had no way to dodge in mid-air as the massive tail swung toward her.

Slash—

The white shadow flashed, swift and heavy. It didn’t even need to sever Unit-02; as long as it knocked the unit into the sea, there were ten thousand ways to tear it apart.

Boom!

The nine 406mm guns let out a thunderous roar. The Angel’s position was impossible to track, but the ballistic computers had calculated Unit-02’s trajectory, aiming exactly at the space behind her.

”Good shot!”

Asuka cheered as several massive fireballs erupted behind her. The white tail was blasted back, staining a large patch of the sea red. Perhaps due to its massive size, Gaghiel’s A.T. Field wasn’t particularly strong. It paused, then quickly dove back into the sea to circle back for an attack.

The Angel certainly didn’t understand the fire rate of 406mm cannons, but it realized that with these ”little boats” providing cover, its current tactic had failed. It immediately switched to a simpler, more direct approach.

”It’s coming back!”

Misato looked through her binoculars, seeing the white line on the sea and Unit-02 landing on the deck of the nearby carrier. ”Power plug ejection, now!”

Thud—

The plug was launched. Unit-02 reached out, grabbed it, and slammed it into its back. As the countdown, which had only ten-odd seconds left, stopped, Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head and saw the white line was already within reach.

Not good.

There was no time to jump. At that moment, a carrier with an angled deck sailed forward at full speed, interposing itself like a wall across the path of the white line.

BOOM!!

With the screech of twisting steel, the 65,000-ton hull was actually lifted from the water, and a large portion of its side caved in. But the damaged giant tail also failed to slice through this steel titan, becoming wedged in the middle of the carrier.

Asuka’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected the carrier to block the blow with its ”flesh.” The white monster was stuck in the twisted steel, unable to move forward or back. What was even more shocking was that she saw this rapidly sinking ship was still fighting back.

Rat-tat-tat.

The AK-630 CIWS fired point-blank at the Angel. Sailors in striped shirts acted like madmen, grabbing automatic rifles and firing at the monster countless times larger than themselves. A piercing roar came over the comms:

”Whole fleet, fire on me! FIRE ON ME!

I’m going to kill you!!”

The girl felt a ball of fire explode in her heart. Unit-02 leaped with all its might, drawing a graceful parabola in the sky.

Thud—

She landed accurately on its back, driving the progressive knife in. Then, she felt as if she were riding the back of a mad bull. The waves were mountainous as the Angel struggled manically, tearing steel like paper. Gaghiel wasn’t stupid; it wanted to drag Unit-02 into the depths. Asuka roared in unison, neutralizing the A.T. Field while stabbing frantically.

”Do you see? This is the courage of humanity.”

Shinji stood on the deck, before a boiling ocean. Sailors were jumping overboard like dumplings; burning, mangled warships crowded the sea, yet the sound of cannons never stopped. Tracer rounds cut through the sky, slamming hard into the Angel’s body.

This scene was so familiar. Why did he never look down on any single soldier? Because Shinji knew that in the endless wars of that dark galaxy, the true backbone of the Empire was those countless, fragile Imperial Guardsmen. They extended the life of humanity with their lives, blocking powerful xenos with their bodies of flesh and blood. Every victory was built upon a foundation of hundreds of millions of sacrifices.

That moment was exactly like this moment. No matter the world, humanity never changes. Cowardice and strength, courage and glory.

’Surely, you understand now.’

He looked at the frantically stabbing Unit-02. Without crushing the core, the Angel would not die. Most of its body had torn free from the steel constraints, and blood stained the sea. But at that moment, a battleship arrived at full speed from the side. Along with the half-sunken carrier, they sandwiched the Angel between them.

Boom—

Accompanied by the thunderous roar of cannons, the USS Missouri was practically pressed against the Angel, blasting away the massive tail that had risen to strike Unit-02.

It wasn’t enough—nowhere near enough. Unit-02 had only a small combat knife; she could stab all day and not kill the Angel. The fact that she could stay pinned to its back was already a feat.

Shinji looked up and saw a giant purple machine falling from the sky. Four engines fired in reverse, spitting long tail-flames that slowed the meteorite-like descent. Assisted by the computer, thrusters all over the unit adjusted its posture.

”Unit-01 distance to coordinates—three seconds.” ”Two.” ”One.”

THUD!

The Nimitz-class carrier, with a displacement of over 100,000 tons, rocked violently like a small skiff. Fighter jets parked on the deck were tossed into the sea.

”Unit-01 has reached the designated coordinates.”

”Entry plug ejected.”

Shinji turned his head, the lingering blast of wind blowing his black hair. He saw the silent engine of slaughter kneeling on one knee, the entry plug popping out behind it, waiting to be activated.

”Have you found the Angel’s core?”

”When Gaghiel opened its mouth to bite earlier, a core reaction was detected in its throat.”

”Good.”

Shinji leaped into the cockpit. With the sound of mechanical rotation, the screen lit up. A steel hand reached into a container that had dropped with the unit and pulled out a harpoon-like long spear.

’Underwater combat equipment loaded. Supercavitation thrusters operating normally. External power input.’

Just as Gaghiel managed to shove the two warships aside and force its way into the depths, he gently pushed the control stick. The eyes of the slaughter machine flared with light.

”Unit-01, begin the slaughter.”

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