Chapter 51: Inside the Tunnel Network

Chapter 51:
Inside the Tunnel Network

 

INSIDE THE ROOTS of the World Tree, pitch-black winds blew Trois’ Eva-0.0 through the tunnel network. She’d used this highway before when her body was controlled by Seele/Kaji.

Even with a chunk of missing memory, Rei Trois knew that using the tunnel network was a matter of will. Places were only distant if you thought of them as distant. With no goal in mind, you’d wander the roots forever.

I need to catch up with Asuka and Armaros.

She’d barely formed an image of them when she arrived at her destination. She saw a black giant fighting against a red, feminine one.

“Safety off.”

The FCS made an inquiry about the focal length of her beam’s convergence point. Distance seemed to operate under vague rules in this place.

“Set distance at infinity. Cancel auto-identification of individuals. Use my line of sight to aim.”

The A.I. popped up a number of windows warning Trois about the dangers of friendly fire, but she dismissed them all.

The gamma-ray laser charged its capacitors to their limits to output a shot with the power of 2,100 gigawatts.

The Asuka/Eva synthesis leaped away. The mass of energy failed to focus itself on one point, perhaps due to the properties of the space, and the bright ray grazed Armaros’ right side and head. Most of the energy was deflected by her shields, but it managed to blow half her face away.

<<Aaah! It burns! It hurts!>> The black giant screamed in Hikari’s voice.

<<Where is it… Where is the spear?!>> Now it was Armaros speaking through Hikari.

The keeper of the Human Instrumentality Project was looking for the original Lance of Longinus after losing its replica. The fact that she’d yet to find it might have had something to do with Asuka distracting her will.

<<Where is it? I must put…the spear back into the sky!>>

Fused with Eva-02, Asuka was close to losing her ego again, but the cries of her best friend still pierced her heart.

<<Hi…ka…ri…>>

Trois rushed into the fight, her right hand drawing Basara from her left shoulder.

“You have to come back to us, Horaki-san! Asuka, Suzuhara…even Ikari-kun. They’re all hurting for you.”

Armaros brandished her hatchet-like melee weapon. Trois ducked, turned, and swung.

“And the same goes for me!”

Sparks flew from Armaros’ shielded chest. Trois used the momentum from her rotation to sheathe Basara after the strike. The sword cases turned red as they consumed energy from her external S2 engine. The Field Penetrators analyzed the characteristics of Armaros’ shield and began firing up the field excitation blades of Kesara-Basara.

However, the dedicated sub-A.I. estimated the penetration ability of the blades to be at thirty-five percent after attunement. While she could break through the shield, she wouldn’t be able to chop off any limbs. Trois skimmed through the data.

Her entire body is covered with Q.R. Signums, each with its own unique shield signature. They’re resonating.

Asuka attacked from behind the black giant with the Bizen Osafune, but Armaros had anticipated this move and blocked it with the hatchet. She wanted to save Hikari and was focusing too much on the entry unit as a result.

“Asuka, if we don’t incapacitate her first…!”

<<I…know…>>

Trois switched to her rifle as she waited for Kesara-Basara to finish forging.

<<Why won’t you…help me…Asuka…>>

Asuka flinched and steadied the Bizen.

Armaros used this chance to spread her arms in the dark flow. Who knew what she was thinking now?

<<Must…advance to the next…>>

“Advance? Advance what?”

<<The world…>>

Armaros thrust out her right arm.

It vanished.

Trois and Asuka were equally shocked.

What is she doing?

It looked like an optical illusion. Armaros’ gigantic body became even bigger.

<<I’ll take everything from here… Toji…Kodama…come.>>