Chapter 204 There is no need at all

In the EVA world, civilians have no press rights. The only way for most ordinary people to understand the battlefield is through official indifferent text broadcasts that have been cut to the extreme, and ordinary people will not be able to see a single frame of the picture.

So this time, the silver giant defeated the apostles with the help of Unit 1, and it did not cause any waves on the Internet.

But among the top leaders of various governments, this is news that is no less than an earthquake.

A weapon that does not possess the AT force field and is purely a product of human technology can actually possess a combat power that is no less than that of an apostle.

Everyone wanted to know where this so-called 'Life Furnace' organization came from, but when the officials asked upwards at all levels, they only got the blunt word 'confidential' from the highest-level Seele organization.

It's just that even though the silver giant has combat power comparable to that of an apostle, he does not have an AT field after all. He seems to need EVA's assistance in battle, so the importance of NERV has not decreased much, except for the addition of additional combat reinforcements.

, everything seems to be no different from the past.

Perhaps the only difference is... Unit 1 is about to lose its pilot.

"Are you still planning to drive EVA? Shinji."

On the third day after the invasion of the Fourth Apostle, Shinji Ikari, who finally recovered from the severe pain, returned to school.

After school, when students were walking out of the classroom one after another, Carl asked Shinji such a question.

Shinji was packing his handbag and was confused for a moment when he heard this: "Ah? What?"

Of course Carl knew that Shinji was not unresponsive, he was just subconsciously avoiding the topic.

So Karl shook his head and directly poked through the window and said: "As you said before, you are not a soldier... and since you are not a soldier, it is not your responsibility to go to the battlefield."

Shinji didn't expect that as soon as he returned to school, he would be directly asked about such a heavy topic by Karl. He could only say in embarrassment: "But... this is not something I can decide..."

"Were you scared when you drove EVA last time?"

Karl sighed and said: "That's what you are like... In normal times, you obey unconditionally because of other people's orders or requests, because you are afraid of other people's blame and disappointment, and you even break jars and throw them, thinking that the worst is to die on the battlefield.

But when I really get to the battlefield, I shrink back and regret because of fear and pain. In the end, every time I defeat the apostle inexplicably, this cycle will repeat again."

Shinji, who had been completely seen through, did not have the courage to become angry, but felt unspeakable embarrassment and didn't even know where to put his hands.

Carl saw Shinji's panic and discomfort, took a step forward, held his shoulders, and comforted him: "Don't worry, Shinji, I'm not blaming you...On the contrary, I'm helping you."

Shinji raised his head blankly and saw Carl's only encouraging gaze. Shinji, who had been exposed to his deepest thoughts, suddenly felt... It didn't seem to be a big deal.

After all, Karl would never hurt himself.

This was Shinji's intuition. Although his timid nature made him feel that he shouldn't be so sure, but emotionally, he couldn't help but relax his vigilance.

In other words, let go of the jade of the heart.

So Shinji murmured: "Then...what should I do?"

"What you have to do, at least, is not to cater to other people's expectations. If someone says something like 'Do you want to escape?', in order to prove that you won't escape, you have to do work that is not yours."

.”

Karl slowly raised his hand, pointed at Shinji's heart, and whispered: "You want to fight... Shinji, only this time, you are fighting for yourself."

————

NERV headquarters.

"Shinji...are you really not going to pilot Unit-1 anymore?"

Misato Katsuragi frowned, trying to be as gentle as possible in her tone, but she couldn't suppress the irritability in her heart.

Shinji Ikari, who went to the headquarters of Ikari Gendo with Misato Katsuragi, nodded calmly: "Ah, I'm very sorry... but I don't want to drive the EVA anymore."

"Winning is a matter of course. Only one person will praise me. But if I fail, I will be hated by everyone. Only one person will not blame me. Maybe I will die because of it. Only one person will come to save me...

"

Shinji showed a helpless and relaxed smile. This was the first time in so many years that he showed his true emotions and thoughts: "So, I'm sorry, I didn't come to Tokyo to leave painful memories...

"

Although he was talking about escaping, Shinji Ikari was walking with his back straight.

He stared straight ahead, his steps unusually firm.

Is this an escape? Obviously, this is definitely an escape.

But it was also Shinji Ikari who had an extremely rare and independent escape.

Misato Katsuragi didn't know what to say for a moment.

At least... She suddenly realized that after defeating the apostles twice, even she, who lived under the same roof as Shinji... had never praised Shinji.

Maybe he was under too much pressure, or maybe Shinji's subsequent expressions of emotion were not that low... But in short, he really hadn't thought about how much this child had accomplished.

Misato Katsuragi originally wanted to defend herself in her heart. She defeated the apostles with her battle command, but no one came to praise her... But even Misato Katsuragi couldn't say such shameless words.

After all, one is an adult and the other is a child.

One is in the command room, and the other is actually on the battlefield.

Misato Katsuragi could tell that Shinji was not joking or acting like a child this time. He was really under the influence of Karl and made it clear that going to the battlefield was not his responsibility, so he came to fight for his own interests.

Yes, although he is escaping, although he is a deserter in behavior...but now Shinji is more like a warrior than before, a warrior fighting for his own freedom.

But most of Shinji's courage disappeared in an instant when he saw his father Ikari Gendo's eyes that were so calm that they were almost indifferent.

Fortunately, the remaining courage allowed Shinji Ikari to express his request: "I don't want to fly Unit-1 anymore, father."

Ikari Yuantang only responded with one sentence: "If you think you can't do it, just get out."

Immediately, Shinji Ikari was kicked out.

The speed was so fast that Shinji himself didn't even react.

That's it... ok?

Although his father's attitude is very bad, to be honest, Shinji Ikari has almost gotten used to it.

The original Shinji had no one to rely on in his heart, so he would try to use his weak tentacles to touch anyone who had a relationship with him, hoping to give his soul a place to rest.

He tried to establish a relationship with Misato Katsuragi, but Misato Katsuragi only regarded him as a little boy with adolescent hormones. She would get the wrong idea and would only use the slickness unique to adults to reject Shinji.

He has tried to establish a relationship with Asuka, but Asuka is essentially the same person as him. The two little guys are like porcupines. Although they will get a little bit of the warmth that each other wants when they get together, if they get too close, they will only hurt each other.

He tried to establish a relationship with his father... Needless to say.

In the end, in the original work, only one person was willing to accept Shinji's soul, and that was a humanoid apostle named Kaoru Nagisa.

Then, as an apostle, he died in Shinji's hands, taking with him the soul of Shinji he accepted.

This is also the reason why Shinji was completely ruined in the later period... After Nagisa Kaoru died, he was almost an empty shell. He was nothing more than a human being, right?

And now, Shinji is still not strong in his heart, nor can he be said to have changed his mind. He is still the child who is more cowardly than normal.

The only difference between him and his past self is that he finally took the initiative to speak out his demands for the first time and implemented them independently.

This is at least a good start.

————

Shinji did not return to his hometown because he still wanted to go to school in Tokyo.

But his request to move out of Misato Katsuragi's house was rejected by Misato Katsuragi.

"If you still want to continue going to school, how can you live alone if you don't know anyone in Tokyo? For a child like you, at least someone should take care of you, right?"

Misato Katsuragi, wearing a tank top and shorts and drinking beer, said drunkenly.

Shinji looked at the messy environment and the kitchen utensils he had never touched before coming here speechlessly, wondering who was taking care of whom...

Living alone means one less person to cook and one less person to clean.

But Shinji, who had just refused to pilot Unit-001 again, had almost spent all his ideas. He did not dare to disappoint the people he knew a second time, so he had no choice but to continue living in Katsuragi Misato's house and work as a free hourly worker for her.

But even so, after leaving for school, Shinji was in a high-spirited and relaxed mood. He actually felt like the world was vast and free.

No need to go to the battlefield anymore...

And he will not be kidnapped by morality, his heart will not stop when he hears the siren, he will feel that only he can save the world, and he will reluctantly risk his life to go to the battlefield.

After all, Karl and the silver giant are here now.

————

Ling Boli is dead.

The appearance of the fifth apostle did not exceed anyone's expectations.

After all, the fourth apostle was only less than three weeks apart from the third apostle, so it was only natural that the fifth apostle appeared within a short period of time.

Although Shinji is not here, there is still Ling Boli and Unit Zero.

However, almost everyone did not expect that the fifth apostle's attack would be so sudden.

This apostle, who looked like a pure prismatic geometry, was hit in the vitals by the particle cannon fired from the core by Thunder Angel before he even stepped out of the three-dimensional elevator cabin the moment Unit Zero took the elevator to the surface.

.

This was originally the treatment given to Shinji and Unit-1, but now it was completely accepted by Ling Boli.
To be continued...