The Trash Returned from Warhammer

”Huh?”

The voice was so sudden that it startled everyone. Ritsuko Akagi’s lips twitched slightly; she nearly spat out the word ”absurd.”

The data was perfectly normal, and the unmanned submersibles couldn’t even reach the target. Yet Unit-01, perched at the crater, claimed to know what was happening 1,800 meters below?

Did you open a ”Heaven’s Eye”? Or do you possess supernatural powers?

If this were the era of the Third or Fourth Angels, Shinji would have been cursed out by now. But this was the Eighth Angel; trust built upon piles of corpses was unshakable. Misato Katsuragi actually hesitated for a split second.

”Shinji, do you mean the Angel is ’fishing’? That it deliberately set a trap waiting for us to jump in?”

”Precisely.”

”Then how do you know?”

”Don’t worry about that. Just execute the order. The Angel has already been stirred.”

No one dared to move. Several unmanned submersibles had already been expended, and the various preparations had burned through billions of dollars. Who would dare to issue the command to abort?

Who knew when the Angel would hatch or where it would be swept by the magma?

”Execute the order! Hoist Unit-02 at maximum speed! Prepare for combat against the Angel!”

”Misato, are you crazy? You dare to abort the mission without any evidence? You’re the Operations Director; you’re the one who will be held responsible!”

Misato turned her head and looked quietly at Ritsuko. The latter’s face was filled with incomprehension, but Misato nodded heavily regardless.

”Yes, I will take responsibility. Because I trust Shinji’s judgment.”

[Motor reversing.]

’Huh? What’s going on??’

Asuka, of course, heard the argument outside. Before she could voice any opinion, she felt a violent jerk and began to ascend rapidly.

She was just about to complain when she heard the ”beep-beep” of the alarm. The data source was the two unmanned submersibles below.

[Biological wavelength expanding rapidly.]

’What?!’

Everyone was stunned, staring at the screens in unison. The data on them was skyrocketing; they could even see a rapidly expanding shadow.

The Angel wasn’t dormant—it was waiting for an EVA to come down?

Ritsuko’s forehead was instantly covered in sweat. If Unit-02 had truly reached the 1,800-meter depth, it would have been no different from certain death. In such an ultra-high pressure, ultra-heat environment, combat was simply impossible.

”The Angel has learned to set traps? How... how is that possible?”

”It’s all thanks to Shinji, otherwise we’d be in trouble today.”

Misato breathed a long sigh of relief and shouted, ”Maximum motor power! Get Unit-02 up here now!”

’Has combat instinct already evolved to this level?’

Shinji listened to the whirring of the motors, his expression very grave. He had seen all sorts of strange Xenos in the Chapter Librarium, but he had never seen an evolutionary speed like that of the Angels.

From a clumsy puppet at the start to understanding techniques, tactics, terrain, and now even learning how to ambush. The biggest difference between it and humanity was merely a lack of creativity.

Aside from the Fifth Angel (Ramiel), whose combat power was formidable, the rest weren’t truly strong. The real test would be the day a humanoid Angel with an ultra-strong AT Field appeared.

Faking dormancy, baiting an EVA to approach, and then annihilating it in the environment a thousand meters underground...

”Fortunately, you ran into me.”

[Angel approaching, speed is very fast.]

[Submersibles self-destructing. We cannot let it reach Unit-02.]

A fish-like monster with long, narrow arms was accelerating. The ultra-high pressure and ultra-heat seemed to have zero effect on it. It soon appeared within Asuka’s line of sight.

Even now, the girl’s mind was a bit dazed; she felt as if she had just taken a walk past the gates of hell.

’If I had gone down just now, the Angel would have had a hundred ways to kill me...’

”No! Misato, pull me up!”

As she screamed, the pre-positioned submersibles exploded, bursting into two plumes of shockwaves in this searing ”deep sea.” But soon, the Angel surged right through the blast waves.

Perhaps it was ”morning grumpiness,” or perhaps it was the rage of a long-planned scheme failing—those long arms reached out directly. Asuka didn’t just scream; she quickly jettisoned her ballast weights.

With the weight lightened, her ascent speed increased again. A manta-ray-like black shadow swept past beneath her feet. At that moment, the hair on Asuka’s body stood on end.

The Angel wanted to kill her; it absolutely would not let Unit-02 leave.

”Don’t even think about it!”

Asuka pulled out the Progressive Knife strapped to her leg. She never lacked the courage of a cornered beast. Scanning her surroundings, she saw the shadow circle back. Soon, the expression on her face froze.

The Angel had no intention of dueling her. Instead, it ascended rapidly, its target being the thick cables—rendering Unit-02’s Progressive Knife useless.

[Unit-02, depth 700.] [Depth 600.] [Angel attacking again. Target is the cables.]

”Damn it.”

Misato’s face twisted. She instinctively shouted, ”Asuka, let go! Hoist the capture device at maximum speed! Turn on maximum power!”

In this moment, no one dared to hesitate. The device originally held by Unit-02 was hoisted; once activated, it formed a convergent force field, positioned right in front of the Angel.

Sandalphon’s head split open, revealing a giant mouth like a sandworm. Those densely packed sharp teeth were enough to bite through the cables, but it crashed right into the force field. It failed to bite the cables, though its massive body slammed into them.

Unit-02 swung back and forth like bait in a storm. Asuka bit her tongue, suppressing her fear with all her might as she scrambled past the Angel’s eyes.

’So ugly.’

In that instant, she clearly saw the flounder-like Angel, its sickeningly huge abyss of a mouth, and the five-fingered human-like arms reaching forward.

”Get away from me!”

The Progressive Knife stabbed through an arm. The bloated Unit-02 kicked the Angel away. Asuka watched the Angel quickly tear through the containment field, her eyes filled with bravery.

So what if she fell into a trap? So what if she only had a Progressive Knife?

”On this stage that belongs to me alone, I will perform until the very last moment.”

’AT Field—expand!’

The invisible barrier deployed. The Angel slammed head-first into it, the resulting light patterns churning the magma. Then, the Progressive Knife stabbed directly into the Angel’s forehead.

’The Core... where is the Core?’

Even though that giant abyss of a mouth bit directly onto the helmet, Asuka continued to scan the surroundings. But the visibility was too poor, and the Angel was struggling violently. She couldn’t see it; she only heard a series of ”crack-crack” sounds as the reinforced glass of the helmet was bitten through.

Coolant sprayed into the Angel’s mouth, causing it to instinctively release Unit-02.

”It’s afraid of coolant? Right, thermal expansion and contraction! If I pump all the coolant into its body, maybe I can destroy it directly using the magma?”

Asuka reacted quickly, but the Angel reacted faster. It did indeed charge again, but just before making contact, it turned sharply and whipped its finned tail. The resulting churn of magma left Unit-02 unstable.

’It’s over...’

It was a feeling of helplessness similar to facing Gaghiel (the Fish Angel). When an Angel knows how to use its specialized body instead of relying solely on an AT Field, it becomes a true nemesis.

That moment was exactly like this one. Having suffered a loss, Sandalphon had no intention of charging again; the magma it stirred was enough to swallow Unit-02, and a single Progressive Knife posed no threat.

”Asuka, AT Field—full power.”

In her moment of despair, she heard a familiar voice. Before she could even feel joy, she deployed her AT Field by instinct.

Swoosh—Boom!

A powerful shockwave came from above, like a giant boulder plunging into water, forcibly blasting a pocket of air into the magma.

Asuka looked up. Against the backdrop of the blue sky, the purple-painted Unit-01, clutching a chainsword, jumped straight down. It fired its weapon as it fell.

’Huh? Is he crazy?’

A hail of bullets struck the shimmering AT Field. The Angel raised its arms to shield its head, ceasing its attack on Unit-02, but the air pocket quickly collapsed.

Plop.

A searing sensation washed over him. An iron will completely suppressed the pain. Shinji could only see blurry shadows, but his psychic power was already like an invisible hand, touching the connection point between reality and the negative universe.

Right there, beneath that eye-like pattern.

’Core locked.’

”Rei, fire!”

Unit-00, holding a strange firearm, immediately pulled the trigger. The ultra-high pressure airflow once again created a pocket in the magma. There was no longer any magma obstructing the path between Unit-01 and the Angel.

”Asuka, neutralize the AT Field!”

The second command followed immediately. The girl didn’t think twice; she instantly neutralized the field that had been bouncing bullets. She saw Unit-01 above her raise a harpoon.

Swoosh—

Like a rainbow piercing the sun, the harpoon flew straight for the Angel, piercing through its folded palms and pinning it right on that eye-like pattern. This caused the Angel to let out a cry like a baby, retreating rapidly.

”Trying to run?”

The LCL fluid bubbled with gas like boiling water. Shinji was unaffected. Controlling Unit-01’s fall, he stepped onto Unit-02’s arms; the added weight caused the already battered cables to snap.

Shinji didn’t even look at Unit-02 falling toward the depths; he gave a direct order.

”Push!”

Unit-02 pushed with all its might. The full-power AT Field created a vacuum in the magma. Unit-01 used the momentum to fly out, legs spread wide. Before the Angel could react, Shinji’s knee slammed hard against the hilt of the harpoon.

”Die!”

This drove the stalled spear in once more. The force was so great that even Sandalphon’s head was jerked back.

Inertia separated the two. The Angel sank into the depths, its body gradually disintegrating. Unit-01 landed perfectly back beside Unit-02, grabbing the broken end of the cable with one hand and hoisting Unit-02 up with the other.

’I...’

Never mind the Angel, even Asuka was dumbstruck. When the feeling of weightlessness had hit her just now, she hadn’t even had time to be afraid. Now her heart had landed back on solid ground. She looked up dazed.

The blue sky reappeared. The two units, hand in hand, were dragged out of the magma. Unit-00 was waiting above.

”Asuka, you did a great job in this battle.”

The steady voice came again. Unit-01, still dripping with magma, pulled her out of the abyss. Unit-00 helped her up, and a cold yet concerned inquiry came through.

”Are you okay? I’ve already called the medical team.”

Asuka didn’t answer. She slumped back into her seat, her shoulders shaking slightly. It was unclear if she was laughing or crying.

In the silence, she seemed to hear Unit-02 give an answer. The voice was so gentle, just like the mother in her hazy memories.

’No, Asuka. You are not alone.’

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