While Shinji indulged in moral torment, events around him were gaining momentum. The news came from the United States that an entire branch of NERV was destroyed as a result of the test of Eve-04 with an experimental S2-engine, repeating the structure of the core of the angel. The development of the autopilot system for Evangelions has entered the final stage. Eves under his control could perform the simplest actions, and if necessary, fall into a state of berserk.
Soon, a new Eve-03 was delivered to Japan from the United States, the pilot of which was to be Toji. Over the past time, 'minion' really became friends with Shinji and no longer blamed him for his slave status and the death of his sister. In the end, everything was fine with him. How much does an obsessive need to be happy? Following the base instincts of the body was enough. And Toji didn't have any problems with food or sex.
The first launch of Eve-03 was decided to be held away from the Geofront in the vicinity of the city of Matsuhiro. After the incidents with the three Eves and the Eve-04, Gendo did not really trust US-made products, so he decided to insure himself. This precaution was not superfluous. After Toji was placed inside the robot, the procedure of starting the main circuits and synchronization began. But as soon as the body of Eve awoke, along with her came to consciousness angel hidden inside.
In fact, this creature was a modification of the same infection that had recently been discovered in the three Evangelions that had arrived from the United States. Only here the evolution of bacteria took a different path, and the body of Eve-03 was absorbed by the angel. After that, Eve trashed the research station and started walk on foot toward Tokyo-3.
Ikari Gendo called the pilots and ordered them to intercept the angel, without specifying that it was actually a captured Eve-03 with Toji still alive inside. So, when Shinji saw who he needed to destroy and felt the master-servant's connection to the pilot, it became obvious to him that his father was demanding that he kill his friend.
Before, when Shinji sacrificed someone, he didn't see the death itself. For him, it was just some kind of transition of an abstract person from state A to state B. But now he realized that he would have to kill someone he knew personally. And taking into account all those moral torments that he screwed himself up, it could have led to a nervous breakdown
So, while Shinji was trying to get an answer to the question 'to waste or not to waste', Asuka and Rei joined the fight. But the angel was not so simple. By this time, he had already formed an S2 engine in his body, so that he could withstand the power of the demons. In just a few strokes, he knocked out Eve-00 and Eve-02, then headed for Shinji.
Meanwhile, my 'patient' addressed to me with a stupid question that I had been waiting for from him all this time. More precisely, I did not just wait, but gradually led him to it, instilling the necessary thoughts and images.
"Schizophrenia! Is my sacrifice should be Toji? Do the demons want me to kill him?” - He cried, being one step away from hysterics.
"No, of course not.” - I said. - "Haven't you figured it out yet? Last time, you sacrificed the most valuable thing you had - the soul of your mother, who was imprisoned in the body of Eve-01.”
"What... What?"!! WHAT???!!!!!!!!! My mother's soul?!!
"Yes, you fed her to the demons.”
"A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!"!!!!!
This wild scream marked the complete destruction of Shinji's psyche. In this state, he could agree to anything and was completely unable to think logically. For the first time since he had piloted the Eve, he really intercepted the robot's control. After that, Eve-01 fell into a state of berserk, but the source of his rage and wild anger was the pilot himself. Eve leaped forward, pounced on the angel, and began to beat it, breaking through all kinds of protection and armor. Like a wild beast, Shinji unleashed his rage in a deadly battle, thinking only of how to kill his opponent. How to kill everyone. How to destroy this whole world! This was exactly the state I wanted from him.
“Shinji.” - I began my speech in the voice of the tempting devil. - "You can still get your mother's soul back. You can even bring her back to life by giving her a new body. You just need to make a sufficient sacrifice.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Who? Who should I kill?” - The pilot roared, ripping the guts out of the angel's torn body. - "Him?" - The next blow smashed Eve-03's head, spilling its brains all over the area.
"Those who are to blame for all this. Angel infected Eve-03 when it was created in the United States. It was a deliberate diversion. Therefore, you must sacrifice the entire population of this country. Just use this ritual, and your mother will come back to you.”
Shinji's further actions were predictable. Without hesitation, he activated the ritual, after which many portals to the world of Chaos were opened in North America, from where hordes of demons emerged. In just a few seconds, the entire population in the continent were destroyed. In return, Eve-01 received a constant reinforcement, which brought her to a new level of power.
With just one flick of the finger, Eve sprayed the remains of the angel to a bloody pulp, while leaving the capsule with Toji intact. And after another couple of seconds, a new body of Ikari Yui was formed from the flesh of Eve-01, where a happy demon put her soul. After all, demon just exchanged one soul for almost four hundred million souls. The size of the 'profit' simply defied description.
Seeing the familiar image of his mother from childhood, Shinji immediately teleported out without even noticing it. Along with the strengthening of Eve-01, its pilot also strengthened, which received a percentage of its power. So now Shinji could perform real miracles, pushing through reality with just an effort of will. However, for this purpose it was necessary to have a steel will, which this mattress did not have in principle. He was teleported solely because he had no understanding of what he was doing or how he was doing it.
For all initiated people, 'resurrection' of Ikari Yui was a real shock. Ordinary people were shocked by the very possibility of bringing a person back to life. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi was horrified by the return to the world of the living of her rival in a relationship with Ikari Gendo. In the past, she set up the 'dissolution' of Yui during the experiment and now was waiting for revenge
Ikari Gendo panicked, because now he had no hope of controlling Eve-01, which his wife's soul was supposed to provide. Of course, he was glad to have her back, but the plan to become a God from such a miracle was bursting at the seams. But he wanted it so much.
However, it was quickly discovered that Ikari Yui is not the ideal woman that Shinji imagined her to be. Yes, she loved her son. But her greatest love was the Human Instrumentality Project. So, within a couple of days, she began actively brainwashing her child on the importance of following Gendo's orders, following their Grand plan, and so on. And, of course, she wasn't going to scold his son because of the fact that he brings people to sacrifice to demons. For the sake of the Plan, she was willing to agree to more than that.
Although Shinji's mind was in turmoil, he still had some ability to think logically. It didn't take long for him to realize that the resurrected mother was trying to isolate him from the society of friends in order to have the sole right to brainwash him. My caustic comments also helped him realize this simple truth. So, within a week, Shinji was completely disillusioned with the miracle of resurrection. But his conscience began to torment him even more for the millions of ruined lives. In fact, all these people died for the sake of a miracle, the value of which even for him was in doubt.
In general, the sudden death of the population of the entire North American continent was taken by the population of Earth surprisingly calm. Yes, there was a lot of panic and useless disputes, but after the Second Blow, people got used to the fact that everything was bad. And the attacks of the angels convinced them that it would be even worse. So, when this 'worse' happened, no one was particularly surprised. The death of people was blamed on the angels, which on the one hand added NERV points, because they were engaged in destroying these angels, but at the same time it caused a new wave of claims, because they clearly did not cope with their work.
Meanwhile, while all these passions raged, Toji gradually returned to normal life. He remained alive, and the demon in his body took care of restoring health. But since his Eve was destroyed, he could no longer be a pilot. And he didn't really want to, to be honest. However, he remained a loyal minion of Shinji, and this role suited him well.
About a couple of weeks later, events in the world and in the NERV itself came to a boiling point. First, although the masses did not panic, the governments demanded to 'find and punish' at least some guilty in the destruction of the population of the United States and Canada. And second, Ikari Yui and Gendo finally realized that Shinji does not want to be under their control, and instead prefers to spend his life in the company of demons.
To appease some and subdue others, the Ikari family decided to arrest the pilot of Eve-01 and put him in a prison cell. For politicians, this was presented as a punishment of guilty, and for Shinji it was explained as the desire to protect him from unwanted communication. However, Shinji fell into a depression and did not want to do anything. So, a prison cell, where he was not bothered by friends and women, seemed to him not so bad option. The only thing that irritated him was the daily visits of his mother, who consistently tried to brainwash him and incline him 'to the side of good'. Not least, he was annoyed by these visits because every time Ikari Yui appeared, I started playing the violin with the most annoying melodies I could remember or come up with.