Although he was already intimately familiar with the abilities of eva unit-01, the moment he truly made contact, Hansen still felt a slight thrill and raised an eyebrow.
It truly deserved its status as the only real protagonist of the entire series; its ability system boasted both impressive stats and hidden potential.
And it possessed an ultimate cheat code on the level of a "Surprise, motherfucker."
It was an excellent fit for someone like Hansen, a sly fox who loved keeping multiple trump cards up his sleeve.
A gaia Angel is still an Angel, so...
Hand it over!
[Copying abilities...]
[Successfully copied SSR-grade abilities: [AT Field] Lv1, [angel core] Lv1, [Berserk] Lv1!]
[Successfully copied UR-grade ability: [Awakening] Lv1!]
[Current ability slots occupied: 4/30.]
[Consuming origin points...]
[Ding! Copied abilities [AT Field (SSR)], [angel core (SSR)], [Berserk (SSR)], and [Awakening (UR)] have reached max level, merged into the main body as inherent abilities, and freed up ability slots!]
[Current ability slots occupied: 0/30.]
As was familiar, it melted upon entry, and the abilities from eva unit-01 were instantly analyzed, absorbed, and thoroughly integrated as part of Hansen's own power.
Interestingly, because Hansen had previously copied the Berserk state of the eva unit-01 homage from the One Punch Man world—[Ashura Mode].
His control over eva unit-01 was exceptionally smooth; it wasn't the bond between a tall pilot and a machine, but rather, he had directly become eva unit-01 itself.
At the same time, Hansen vaguely sensed the world's will, which was intangibly conveying a faint, almost imperceptible sense of closeness to him.
Clearly, obtaining the ability system of eva unit-01 had helped him truly take root in this native mythological soil, allowing him, once an outsider, to officially obtain an admission ticket to intervene in this ultimate game between gods and men.
—Interesting.
Controlling this brand-new body of eva unit-01, he felt the power surging within its massive frame.
Having completed the account takeover by entering the soul of Yui Ikari, Hansen felt like a boy in his childhood who had received the giant action figure he had always dreamed of, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yui."
In the soul link, he said softly to the soul emitting a holy radiance in his embrace.
"Leave the rest to me."
...
...
"Heh..."
In the NERV Central Command Center, Gendo Ikari, with his hands crossed in his classic pose, felt the corners of his mouth hidden behind his orange lenses curl up almost imperceptibly.
"We won."
Standing behind him to the side, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki was equally calm, a knowing smile appearing on his aged face.
Both of them appeared confident, with everything under their control.
From the moment Shinji Ikari sat into the entry plug, having known the top secret of "what is inside eva unit-01," they had anticipated this scene of eva unit-01 going Berserk.
As long as Shinji's life was threatened, that woman's soul would never sit idly by.
Plan successful!
However, the next moment, the intruder Hansen told them with his actions that the plan had changed!
Thus, the two highest authorities in the Command Center were stunned to find that eva unit-01, which had just been roaring primitively like an injured beast, had now eerily quieted down.
It fluidly straightened its massive body and twisted its giant head, the purple and green machine emitting a "creak, creak" sound of metal friction, a sound that was crisp and rhythmic.
Its posture was not at all like a beast acting on instinct; instead, it was like a battle-hardened martial arts master stretching his muscles and bones before a decisive battle, calmly and focused on moving every joint.
eva unit-01 raised its newly regenerated left hand, its five giant metal fingers slowly opening and closing, flexing its knuckles, and the rubbing armor emitted a crisp metallic crack.
An aura of a powerhouse looking down upon the world arose spontaneously, pressing heavily on the hearts of everyone in the Command Center through the screen.
On the high platform, Gendo Ikari's pupils constricted violently, and the inexplicable, heart-palpitating, and annoying sharp pain that he had felt before struck again, and it was more intense than ever!
A strong intuition instinctively made him realize something was wrong: "What... is going on?"
Seemingly sensing his confusion, above ground, the single eye of eva unit-01, flashing with violent red light, suddenly shifted slightly, locking with absolute precision onto a surveillance camera hidden in the ruins of the building.
Its giant mouth, venting hot steam, slowly split open, revealing a hideous smile that seemed to be mocking all living things.
At this moment, everyone in the entire NERV Command Center who saw this scene on the main screen felt a bone-chilling cold rush from their spines straight to their scalps!
They felt as if they had been targeted by an apex predator, their hearts skipped a beat, and their breathing stopped!
Deathly silence, despair!
...
...
Above ground, opposite Hansen, the Water Angel tilted its disproportionately small head in a dazed, cute manner.
As an Angel that possessed the [Fruit of Life] and was strong in limbs but simple in mind, its simple instincts could not understand—why the purple toy that had shattered at the slightest touch just now suddenly felt so... dangerous! Extremely dangerous!
But danger meant it needed to be eliminated.
Hum—!
A violent sound of breaking the air rang out, and without any hesitation, the Water Angel's seemingly thin legs erupted with terrifying power completely disproportionate to its size, and its figure instantly blurred!
With "boom, boom, boom" sounds, it left clearly visible giant footprints on the ground of the street, whipping up a gale as it charged straight at eva unit-01's face!
Its two long, thin arms were raised high, and in front of its giant claws, an [AT Field] instantly expanded, the layered octagonal light barriers transforming into a colorful, cone-shaped form during the high-speed charge.
Like an invincible siege battering ram from ancient warfare, it crashed fiercely toward eva unit-01's chest with its charge!
This was how an Angel solved problems: pure and direct, using brute force that transcended biological limits to flatten everything in front of it!
This blow was enough to raze a mountain of steel to the ground!
"Danger!!"
Misato Katsuragi, the first to come to her senses, exclaimed subconsciously, her mature and charming face full of tension.
Many junior staff members in the Command Center couldn't even bear to look and closed their eyes; however, the bloody scene they had anticipated, where eva unit-01 would be brutally knocked away and torn apart, did not occur.
Bang!!! A deafeningly dull sound, as if two continental plates had collided, exploded!
Colorful ripples generated by the violent collision of [AT Field]s radiated between the two giants, and the legs of eva unit-01, embodied by Hansen, only bent slightly.
Its giant feet plowed two shallow trenches less than half a meter deep into the ground, and then it firmly took root in the earth like an ancient tree with deep roots!
Its ten open fingers accurately and forcefully locked onto the Water Angel's thrusting claws, forcibly taking this thunderous, full-force blow!
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