Chapter 1336
Hikari: Aha!
As Choi Myung helped Rei Ayanami, the infirmary was filled with the cool, pungent scent of disinfectant. Rei lay on the white sheets, her red eyes fixed intently on the person beside her. Choi Myung was adjusting the IV drip, his movements steady and meticulous, each turn perfectly controlled, as if afraid of hurting her. His shadow, cast by the pale light, stretched long, enveloping the bed like an invisible barrier, isolating her from all the noise and danger of the outside world. Rei gently turned her head, her cheek pressed against the cool pillow, her gaze never leaving Choi Myung's face. It was as if simply looking at him made the unfamiliar, changing feeling within her less frightening.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the corridor, Hikari had already set his sights on Kaworu.
Kaworu Nagisa leaned against the window in the corridor, his silver-white hair gleaming softly in the lamplight. His red eyes gazed at the gloomy sky outside, his mind still calculating how to continue his pursuit of Shinji Ikari. He hummed a tuneless tune, his fingertips lightly tapping the window frame, quite content. Then, he suddenly felt a gaze, as if locked onto by some high-precision scanner, creeping up his spine to the back of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
Kaworu saw the way Hikari looked at him, and it was truly terrifying.
He slowly turned his head, meeting the eyes hidden behind glasses at the end of the corridor. Hikari stood there, the hem of his white lab coat swaying gently with the airflow from the ventilation system, a data panel still in his hand, now hanging limply at his side. His gaze was fixed directly on Kaworu, not on a person, but on a rare treasure, a walking, talking, flawless experimental specimen. His eyes burned with a pure, undisguised scientific fervor, frighteningly bright, as if piercing through skin to see directly into the core of Adam's soul.
After all, in Hikari's eyes, this was the most ready-made apostle.
The Seventeenth Apostle, the Free Angel, possessing the soul of Adam, the way soul and body unite, the mechanism of energy operation, the composition of life forms—all of this was an unprecedented subject for Hikari. In the Land of Light, he had studied countless cosmic life forms, but the Apostles, beings existing between living beings and conceptual entities, this unique structure directly originating from the source of life, was practically the ultimate enigma tailor-made for his scientific career. The silver-haired boy before him was not human in his eyes, but a living, breathing encyclopedia waiting to be read.
Let's investigate this.
Hikari's lips curled into a slight smile, the standard smile of a scientist eyeing a perfect test subject. He took a half-step forward, the soles of his shoes scraping lightly on the floor, a sound exceptionally clear in the silent corridor, like the approaching footsteps of a predator. Kaworu's hair stood on end; his back slammed heavily against the window frame, leaving him nowhere to retreat. For the first time, genuine fear surfaced in his red eyes. He had seen Choi's murderous intent before—a direct, decisive danger—but Hikari's gaze was far more terrifying—a relentless determination to dissect him, slice him, and analyze him piece by piece under a microscope.
Oh dear! Although the Land of Light loves peace...
Although Mange directly killed hundreds of millions of Baltans with a single Specium Ray, right?
Hikari seemed to realize he had been too blatant, coughed lightly, and tried to tone down the fervor in his eyes, adopting a relatively gentle expression. He recalled the teachings of the Land of Light, the admonitions about respecting life and maintaining peace, and his professional ethics as a scientist. He shouldn't stare at an intelligent life form like that, shouldn't treat it as a mere specimen; it didn't align with the spirit of the Land of Light.
However, this research still needs to be conducted.
Hikari silently added to his thought, his gaze never leaving Kaworu. He adjusted the angle of the data panel, as if recording the temperature data in the corridor, but his eyes remained fixed on the silver-haired boy, his mind racing to formulate an experimental plan. Taking a small sample of soul shouldn't be a problem, right? Or perhaps a quick scan of the energy spectrum? At the very least, a vial of blood would do. The Land of Light certainly loves peace, but when it comes to scientific research, a little research shouldn't violate any principles, right?
Kaworu watched the approaching figure, a dry swallow escaped his throat, and the smile on his face froze completely. He suddenly felt that he might rather face the chainsaw of light that led to his death than Hikari's test tubes and needles.
Hikari leaned forward, his eyes behind his glasses were frighteningly bright, and a syringe had appeared in his hand, gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the corridor lights.
“Mr. Hikari, I am now…”
Kaworu shrank back, his back pressed tightly against the cold window frame. He opened his mouth, trying to use his usual elegant tone to maneuver, his mind racing as he calculated how to escape, how to fool this research madman. He wanted to say he was busy, that he had an appointment with Shinji, that the soul structure of the Angels wasn't suitable for the Land of Light's instruments, but what came out of his mouth was a dry, tentative question, his voice as dry as sandpaper. "I understand, don't worry, I'm just drawing some blood for research. If you'd like, some meat is fine too... Old Cui knows a special healing fist technique."
Hikari leaned forward, his eyes behind his glasses were frighteningly bright, and a syringe had appeared in his hand, gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the corridor lights.
He spoke casually, as if discussing the weather, a smile that sent chills down Kaworu's spine playing on his lips. The syringe twirled in his hand, reflecting dappled light, and his statement, "Old Cui knows a special healing martial art," came out with perfect ease, as if Cui Ming's fighting style, capable of turning people into mincemeat, were some legitimate medical procedure.
"..."
Kaworu's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time, his red eyes filled with blankness. He looked down at the syringe, which was clearly thicker than the one used on Lilith, then looked up at Hikari's sincere face, his mind buzzing. What was this? A polite approach followed by force? Or a combination of coaxing and deception? After drawing blood, they'd cut flesh, and after that, they'd have Choi Mind come to "treat" him—after this whole process, what would he have left?
Kaworu Nagisa wondered, "Aren't you going a bit too far?"
He screamed inwardly, his smile freezing completely, even his usual composure shattering. Was this excessive? This was more than excessive; it was blatant dismantling! So what if he was an apostle? Should apostles be studied like this? He was the seventeenth apostle, the Angel of Freedom, a noble being possessing Adam's soul, not a pig waiting to be slaughtered in a market!
“Mr. Hikari,” Kaworu Nagisa forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, his voice cracking, “I think… the blood of the Angels might not meet the scientific standards of your Land of Light… and I’ve been anemic lately… really… drawing too much blood will make me dizzy…”
"Anemia?" Hikari's eyes lit up even more, as if he had discovered a new continent. He leaned forward slightly with excitement. "Great! Anemia means that the hematopoietic function is active, and the cell regeneration rate must be very fast! This means the sample quality will be even higher!"
Kaworu closed his eyes in despair.
He felt he might be going to die here today. (End of Chapter)