The girl- the Angel is destroyed in a flash of light, one swift and lethal stroke from the lance. At once, the data feeds scrolling information about it all go dead.

"The target is … Angel destroyed. No further signals," Max says.

You are Captain Rose Holiday and your whole body is on edge. Your teeth are clenched, hands gripping the edge of a control terminal. That was it. It's done.

<span class="mu-i">It remains to be seen what form the final Angel will take.</span>

The Final Angel.

And now you know. It came to you as one of your own, a lost soul named Linda Bordeaux . The most recent of your pilots to die, and now also the last.

It was over. If the UN Council were to be believed, it was all over. The Angels are defeated. You won the war.

You don't allow this euphoria to control you. In fact, it doesn't feel real, this victory. How could it be over? This war has been your whole life. What comes next?

You'll leave that to someone else, you have other concerns. "Well done, Ethan," you say. "Standby for retrieval."

You watch as Hydra stabs its lance into the muck of the sea floor.

Max takes off his headset and gives you a brief, haunted look. You can't imagine what Ethan must be going through in that cockpit, but you won't let his grief sour this moment of triumph. Mankind stands alone.

Versetti echoes your thoughts from behind you. "The last of the demons defeated, for Man is the Lord of the Air." He stands from his chair, allowing himself a spreading smile. "Arise, O Man, in thy strength! the kingdom is thine to inherit. Till the high gods witness at length that Man is the Lord of his spirit."

"Is it over?" you ask him, too wary to look overjoyed.

He gives you a tight smile. "Not quite. Major Holiday, please take tactical control here. Maintain alert status."

"Yes, sir," your father says from his side, face unreadable.

"Captain," Versetti adds, "You've done well. My congratulations.

You don't say anything. It doesn't feel real yet. "Sir, should we stand down from alert?"

"Not until we're certain it's safe to do so," Versetti adds. "I've ordered Major Holiday to commence Special Directive One. Until further notice, Nerv 03 will be locked down from the rest of the city and all NervSec personnel will be on high alert."

"For what purpose?" you blurt the question.

He smiles. "If the Angels can look and act like us, what guarantees do we have that they aren't going to try the same thing again?"

You have no answer.

"Major, see to to things." Versetti stands and leaves the control room.

Your father glances at you but his face betrays nothing but stony determination. His eyes are icy, a cold that sends a shiver down your spine.

>Neon Terminus Evangelion
>The End of Evangelion