Creation began on 04-11-19

Creation ended on 04-12-19

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Grimoire of Evangelion: Intellectual

So far, just one mission for her from the Clover Kingdom didn't get her far with the Golden Dawn, so Yui sought to expand upon her knowledge of the magical arts. The royal library was said to have an extensive archive on magic and instructions on how to increase mana manipulations more effectively, something it didn't seem like many of the Magic Knights were taking advantage of.

Strange on how this is a library, and yet there's hardly anyone here, thought Yui as she found five books worth her time and began to read one of them. Knowledge is power, and yet it's a power that not many of the knights seem to embrace.

-x-

"…Why does it seem like Yui is trying to do something on her own?" Fuyutsuki suspected as everyone in Gendo's office saw the magic picture of the chronologically-younger Ikari woman sitting alone inside a library.

"Maybe she's just trying to individuate herself from the rest of the group she's in," Kaji suggested, pointing to a picture of Shinji, Tenshi and Suki talking outside on some street. "She certainly seems to lack the chatty nature that her siblings and son demonstrate. And it doesn't seem like she knows what happened with Shinji and Suki."

"Either she doesn't know…or she doesn't think that it was serious because Shinji can do magic," Gendo stated his opinion; he was willing to believe in the latter since it didn't seem like Yui was concerned about their son.

Misato turned the page in the album and saw a picture of Shinji with Suki practicing more magic against each other…and another picture where it seemed as though Yui was still at the library or was visiting again.

-x-

"…Weren't you here yesterday?" Yui heard a man ask her as she brought the five books she borrowed back.

He was around her height, bald, hazel eyes and wore a brown shawl over a blue shirt and pants.

"I was," she answered him. "Who are you?"

"Friends call me Wong…instead of Wan Shi Tong of the Tong family."

"Wong…like…like a nickname or something?"

"Unfortunately."

"Yui Ikari."

"Of House Ikari?"

"Yes."

Then Wong looked over the five books, making sure they were in order.

"Let's see…you've brought back…The Basics of Water Magic, The Basics of Earth Magic… Beginner's Guide to Fire Magic? Understanding Wind Magic? And Study of Mana Manipulation?" He checked each of them, and then looked up at Yui. "You read all of these in less than a day?"

"Yes, I did," she answered him; it wasn't hard to go through five books in a single day when she had nothing else to do.

"Come with me, please," Wong instructed her, walking away.

She followed him to a different section of the library that seemed separated from the rest of the building, with a different series of books on displays and on shelves.

"This section is reserved for Senior and Grand Magic Knights," he explained to her as he stopped by a shelf and pulled out a book, "but at my discretion, others may use it. The books here have understandings on magic other books only tell you on the surface."

Yui took notice of a number of books that were floating in a ring in the middle of the room, lined by three chains.

"Uh, what are those books over there?" She asked Wong.

He looked over at the books and answered, "Those are the books accessible to the Wizard King. I guess you could say that they're his private collection."

"So they're forbidden?"

"No form of magic-based knowledge, with the exception of Reincarnation Magic, is forbidden, only certain practices revolving around such knowledge."

Yui took one of the books off the ring and opened it, citing how it was written in a language reminiscent of some of the old ones she was familiar with…and noticed that at least three pages were missing from it.

"This book is missing three pages," she informed Wong.

"That's the Book of Chronos, the study of Time Magic," he explained to her, carrying over five books. "The last librarian in charge of this section failed to stop a mage that went rogue from ripping two spells from that book that became known as some of the lost spells…before the mage relieved him of his heart and head."

Setting the books down, Wong took the book from Yui and put it back on the ring.

"I'm the guardian of these books now, and I would know if any of them were to be taken…and the culprit responsible, regardless of their status, would find themselves relieved of their hands before they ever left the building."

"Right," Yui responded, no doubt intimidated by him, and noticed the five books he chose were of the same types of magic and mana manipulations she had previously read, but were more advanced, and picked them up. "Well, thank you for your discretion on allowing me to read the books of this section…and the brief history of the previous librarian's fate and the two missing spells…and the threat upon my life if I tried to take a book I wasn't supposed to. Thank you very much."

She then left out the room and went to find a desk to sit at to begin reading one of them.

-x-

"…Yikes," went Asuka, seeing the picture of Yui quickly walking away as the bald guy replaced the book she took down. "That man must be some kind of strict custodian."

"Yeah, or just someone that wants people to respect the rules of a library," suggested Kaji.

Gendo disregarded their opinions and turned the page, but unfortunately pulled about three pages with it, revealing…darkness and malevolence.

"What the…" Misato went, seeing Shinji locked in some sort of conflict, his face half-smeared in gore. "Go back, go back!"

She quickly returned to the page Gendo turned to and found five pictures that were a blessing over the fright they saw Shinji in. In the top photo on the left showed Rika at home, probably eating alone, with the second photo under her showing Yui reading one of the books she had in her possession in her Steel Sanctuary, appearing to be practicing some sort of fire manipulation. The top photo on the right side displayed Suki in her room writing something at her desk, possibly a letter or even a report if they were taking anything they did serious. And the last two pictures beneath displayed Shinji and Tenshi, apparently engaged in some sort of training exercise.

"What is Shinji doing with his uncle?" She wondered aloud.

-x-

While there might've been a rule against squads working together, there were always loopholes when it came to certain members of families on opposing squads willing to help each other get better. This was why Shinji and Tenshi were meeting in Hage to improve some of their spells; the village was neutral territory and neither was looking to answer to their squad mates why they were working to get stronger when they were already.

"So, Shinji," went Tenshi, holding up his sword, "you mind telling me exactly what happened yesterday? I take it your first day as a Magic Knight didn't give you the sort of excitement you were thinking about, as you had to face several people that singled you out."

Shinji, brandishing his own sword and Guardian of the Void, looked at his uncle and expressed, "They saw me as a threat, and I'm just starting out. How can I be considered a threat to someone if I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet? I haven't even overcome my limits yet. I must've used a few spells in my grimoire to deal with the Midnight Sun, and I felt drained of energy."

"The energy requirements of certain spells can leave you weakened, which is why you must have a deep reserve of mana when facing anyone that is stronger than you suspect they are."

"Royals and nobles have access to a larger pool of mana than those of most commoners."

"Bloodlines and social lineage mean nothing unless control is enforced. You can be a royal or noble of the highest degree, but unless you have control over your magic, none of that matters. People that have either neglected such teachings or have been denied such have a harder time learning to use their magic than those that have spent their whole lives studying it. In the end, control, discipline and conviction…make a big difference to anyone learning in the magical arts."

Clash! Their swords crossed and Tenshi had Shinji on his left knee as he tried to get up.

"Try to focus on your breathing exercises," he told Shinji. "Mana consumption is like breathing. When you run too far and fast, your lungs run out of air and your heart beats harder."

Shinji did as instructed, breathing in through his nose and out his mouth.

"Slowly, Shinji, calm yourself."

Slowly, Shinji felt his heartbeat slow down, like he had recovered from running a mile someplace and steadily rose back up to his feet.

"Good…now try a spell on me. Any spell."

Shinji's grimoire flipped a few pages and a spell activated.

"Light Sword Magic," he uttered, and his sword began to glow intensely. "Heaven's Blessed Rage!"

The light display was so intense that Tenshi had to back away, dropping his sword in the process.

"Aaaurgh!" He groaned when the light show ended as his vision corrected. "That was impressive, Shinji…for a spell you just used for the first time."

Feeling as though he had the wind taken out of him, Shinji inhaled through his nose and out his mouth to restore his energy, watching as his uncle charged towards him with his sword held high.

"Blood Slash Magic," he yelled as his sword began to glow red, "Demon's Inner Rampage!"

Before Shinji could block with his sword, Guardian got in between them and tail-whipped Tenshi off his feet.

"Guardian of the Void protects," it spoke up, lowering its head to Tenshi in the form of intimidation. "Yield or be slammed upon."

Tenshi, realizing that he couldn't make a move while the creature was so close and leaving him at a disadvantage, dropped his sword and uttered, "Wise ass."

Guardian pulled away and then offered his right claw to him, helping him up.

"Something tells me that Guardian of the Void is more powerful than he seems right now," Tenshi expressed to Shinji.

"An Anti-Magic creature may be capable of a lot more than we realize," Shinji responded, "but only time will tell…and future development. Shall we continue?"

"Yes."

Tenshi picked up his sword and walked back a good distance so that they'd both be evenly leveled, their grimoires glowing and floating beside them.

"I hope you're ready to get serious, Shinji," he told his nephew. "I'm about to show you the strength and scope of my Spirit Magic."

"Bring it, Uncle Tenshi," Shinji responded, brandishing his sword while Guardian raised his claws. "After my experience with the Third Eye, I aim to get stronger!"

To be continued…

A/N: For now, I'll stop here and progress on other works. Let me know what you think. To those that thought of the new character Yui encountered, he is a combination of both the character from Doctor Strange and the spirit from Avatar: The Last Airbender, based solely on their names.