Chapter 50: Ayanami Quatre
Chapter 50:
Ayanami Quatre
Ayanami Quatre
Q
UATRE HAD ARRIVED
at the Atlas Mountains with the mutant Eva-0.0 only shortly earlier. Captured in Kaji’s arms, she sensed Armaros’ arrival and was shaken.
Her Eva flapped its black wings to evade another shot from behind. The positron shell whizzed past, etching fleeting traces of light on its A.T. Field before flying off somewhere above the horizon line.
In pursuit of Quatre was Eva Euro-II, which had a body like Asuka’s Eva-02 and Allegorica wings with arrays of graviton floaters. When Quatre’s Eva-0.0 had teleported here from Cyprus, the bright white European Eva had kept up the chase.
The situation was disheartening to say the least. Her chest was heavy and full of hurt, both figuratively and literally.
The Q.R. Signum—Armaros’ scale—had been fired into her Eva’s chest, bringing about rapid, unpredictable changes to the giant’s body, and Rei Quatre felt a throbbing, burning pain, as if the scale had been shot into her instead.
“That sound,” she intoned, Armaros’ thoughts spilling out from her lips. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. “The heartbeat…must not be. The testing ground… The stage… Everyone left on the surface of the Earth…will receive your demise… The Great Flood—”
Quatre grunted with pain. Eva-0.0’s arm had attempted to grab the Q.R. Signum out of its chest, only to be blocked by the A.T. Field.
The Kaji-vessel spoke softly into her ear. “That won’t work. You can’t remove it yourself. Focus on the enemy behind us.”
The pair wasn’t inside the Eva’s entry plug, but standing on its hand in front of the Q.R. Signum.
Eva Euro-II spread its wings and came to a halt in midair, then broke off its pursuit of Unit Quatre and began flying toward Armaros.
“Why in the world…?” the Kaji-vessel said. Whatever the reason for Euro-II’s behavior, now he’d been given more time to do his work. “Fly us to the Ark. I want to see what’s going on.”