"Why the hell should I join some eternal religion just to see my father?"
"It's an order from the Commander. I'm sorry."
"What a joke. I don't believe in any damn gods — if there were gods, my mother wouldn't have died..."
Shinji was in the full grip of teenage rebellion, screaming his defiance at the staff.
He assumed it would be the same as always — he'd drive them off, get a moment of peace for himself.
But this time he was wrong.
Insulting the sect was a grave sin. Even the Commander's own wife had paid for it. What chance did a son have?
"Alas... rebellious fool. Insulting the gods is a serious crime. Since you are an unbeliever, you will have to apologize with your death..."
"Yes, but since he is the Commander's son, please teach him a lesson gently."
"He doesn't know hardship. Doesn't understand how today's peace was won."
"Bring it."
The two priests grinned and advanced on Shinji.
At that, the boy finally felt real fear.
No father's privilege to shield him.
No special treatment.
Nothing but his own weakness.
"No... don't come closer... don't come closer..."
Shinji was terrified.
Even his voice had turned shrill.
But his screaming brought no rescue. Over the next ten minutes, he endured the deepest humiliation — body and soul crushed, his value stripped away, beaten until he understood exactly how cruel the world was.
When Shinji finally came to, it was already dusk. He opened his eyes and stared at the pale hospital ceiling, only then realizing where he was.
"Patient, you're awake? Well... your injuries appear to be healing fine, but... could you please settle the medical bill?
Or contact your family!"
Medical bill?
He's talking about me?
Shinji blinked. Then it hit him — the world had changed.
He'd never had to worry about money before. There was always a healthy balance in his account.
He'd never had an accurate sense of what things cost.
But now, everything was different. Because of his own rebellion, money had become impossibly distant.
Shinji gritted his teeth and pulled out his bank card.
The balance: frozen.
He was thrown out of the hospital.
Severely humiliated for being unable to pay — treated like a stray dog begging for scraps.
Don't come around here peddling garlic or whatever.
Shinji wanted to cry. His body ached all over. One leg was numb. Pocket empty. Stomach growling.
It wasn't until late at night, when he finally made it home, that the landlord had stripped the place of everything.
True despair.
The suffering of ordinary people — he'd never known it until now. And it broke him.
At that moment, a voice spoke in his ear.
"How does it feel? Without your father's privilege, can you even support yourself? This time it was a small punishment and a great lesson. Insult the religious cult again, and I'll break your third leg..."
"I... I want food."
"Look up."
"I want food. I join the cult!!!"
"That's right. Hahahaha..."
...
On the other side, Gendo felt relieved when he heard his son was unharmed.
The adjutant beside him said: "You're so ruthless — so cruel to your own son. Aren't you afraid of giving him a psychological scar?"
"You wouldn't understand. For the sake of the cult's development, what is one insignificant son? If he truly refused to submit, I could kill him and let his true spirit reincarnate."
"Ugh..."
This man was cold as ice.
His heart truly was merciless.
But these days, people's convictions were not firm.
With the vigorous development of the religion, more and more people had joined it.
Officials and civilians alike.
All became believers.
The rapid spread was outrageous.
The reason for this was the current climate.
However, most of those who joined were people whose lives had left them dissatisfied.
Until one day.
An alarm blared.
The first apostle had awakened.
The Third Apostle: Water Angel — Sakir.
A monster in human form.
Roughly one hundred meters tall.
With rapid regeneration abilities and superhuman intelligence.
This massive creature walked across the surface of the earth.
Surveillance cameras broadcast its image to the entire world.
The alarm sounded. State-of-the-art unmanned fighters scrambled...
Loaded with the latest weapons. Ground forces deployed in support. They hammered it for thirty minutes straight — and it remained unscathed.
In return, Sakir destroyed the Federation's N2 weapons with a single blow.
ROAR!
Sakir raised his head and bellowed.
Buildings within a one-kilometer radius exploded into fragments.
The people hiding in the underground city watched the Water Angel rampage, paralyzed by terror.
Could humans really defeat this terrible existence?
Hundreds were screaming.
"Hurry, send something stronger — if that thing comes down here, we're all dead!"
"One roar levels buildings within a kilometer. If it fires a full attack, what kind of power are we talking about?"
"I don't know. I'm terrified. Oh, oh, oh..."
Emotions were running at fever pitch.
Meanwhile, the believers who had joined the Eternal Cult watched the Water Angel with undisguised contempt.
At that moment, a priest hidden in the crowd stood up.
He held a ball of light.
He spoke to the people in a magnetic, gentle voice: "Do not be afraid, everyone. The Chief Priest of our Eternal Cult will defeat this monster shortly."
"You say that so easily. That priest is actually going to act!"
"That's right — this monster just destroyed my home!!!"
"Your anger, your hatred — don't point it at me. Why not resent your own incompetence? Look at you. Can a follower of the Eternal Cult cry?
You should hate the Water Angel Sakir.
The officials released information about these apostles long ago, but some of you only mocked it.
Now it's really here — and all you can do is scream.
Why not join the cult..."
The crowd slowly fell silent.
Did they dare to hate the Water Angel Sakir?
Even that screaming was driven purely by fear.
The priest saw everyone had quieted down and smiled: "Look — the messenger of God appears immediately..."
At that moment, the heads of state began questioning the Dongying headquarters.
Why wasn't EVA being deployed?
Wasn't the appearance of an apostle the perfect opportunity to test the EVA units?
In his office, Gendo said to everyone: "Tell them they don't need any tools to deal with the apostles. I can handle this myself!"
"What did Commander Gendo do? What exactly did he do? This isn't funny..."
"Is he going to fly a plane? Or use heavy weapons? What we need to look at is a strategic weapon like EVA..."
"Warn him — if he persists like this, the headquarters of Dongying will be destroyed!!!"
The heads of state heard Gendo's reply.
One by one, they were blown apart.
Was this man out of his mind?
How could manpower compete with that monster?
Just as they fell into fury, the broadcast on the screen changed.
The camera angle shifted to Gendo's launch pad.
At that moment, he was wearing a suit and tie, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
A perfect example of what was called a suit gangster.
"Contact the officials at Dongying headquarters. The moment Gendo dies, quickly take over the headquarters. Don't let our efforts go to waste."
"Yes!"
...
In the eyes of everyone watching.
Gendo looked at the frenzied Water Angel Sakir, stepping into the void one step at a time.
As if there were a ladder before him.
The monster Water Angel Sakir, on seeing this tiny bug approaching him — this ant-like existence — was taken aback.
You don't want to survive?
Hmm.
He extended his arm.
And slapped it directly at Gendo in mid-air.
BOOM.
A deafening roar.
Countless buildings collapsed again.
ROAR?
Water Angel Sakir stared at his own arm in confusion. He couldn't understand why this weak existence could withstand his attack.
"Hey... what's going on?"
"He blocked the Water Angel's attack!!!"
"He's not wearing any devices — doesn't have any tools. Is Commander Gendo also an apostle?"
"No way — how could the Commander be an apostle!!!"
"Then how do you explain what just happened?"
...
The crowd watched Gendo wave his arm. Sakir, who had almost been sent flying, staggered. His eyes twitched in disbelief.
They had to be dreaming.
A monster that even the most powerful missiles couldn't destroy.
And he waved his hand and knocked it back?
This had to be a dream.
At that moment, Gendo finally made his move. His hands shifted, forming a treasure-bottle seal.
"The Art of Destroying God — Thousand Purple Thousand Red. And the Art of Extinguishing the Heavens."
His voice was indifferent.
Clearly heard by all present.
Then a pillar of fire flooded over the Water Angel Sakir.
"ROAR...."
A terrifying gust howled across the ground.
But the purplish-red flame continued to burn Sakir's body.
Sakir thrashed wildly, trying to escape the flames.
But no matter how hard he tried.
His body was being eroded continuously.
At that moment, Sakir glanced at Gendo. The core in his chest suddenly blazed bright. Realizing he couldn't win, he tried to detonate himself directly.
But how could Gendo let Sakir succeed?
"Water System Divine Art — Poruo Heaven — Ten-Thousand Zhang Water Prison."
The purplish-red flame continued to burn.
In the next instant, a massive cage encased Sakir.
The core, already shattered to half its size.
Was frozen instantly.
Divine power made dying difficult.
The enormous azure water column.
Hundreds of skeletons pierced through its limbs.
Frozen in place like a specimen.
At that moment, Gendo took a puff of his cigarette.
"Phew... whee..."
"Wretched things past their prime deserve to perish..."
He stretched out his hand and made a gesture. Sakir's body shattered instantly — trapped inside the massive water prison.
Nothing remained.
Except the fiery red core.
How could the terrible destructive power of a god compare to that of a mere apostle?
At that moment, the entire world fell into silence.
An apostle of humanity's ancestor — killed by a human being with bare hands.
We always thought we lived in the age of technology?
It turned out the path of evolution had always been wrong!!!!
On a mountain more than ten kilometers away, Rei — who had originally intended to act — retracted her palm and hummed softly: "You've still got some skill..."
She was only out for a walk.
Unexpectedly, an apostle had appeared.
———
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