Chapter 30 - Reckoning

Sasha and Ymir joined the scene, relief visible on Sasha's face as she saw Kaito standing seemingly unharmed. In moments like these, Kaito appreciated the vampiric ability to absorb blood, hiding any external injuries.

"Sasha!" Kaito greeted with a smirk. "Looks like we're all in one piece."

Sasha, however, was still concerned. "Are you okay, Kaito? I saw that titan throw you away. That was pretty intense."

Kaito flexed his muscles nonchalantly. "I'm fine, Sasha. Not a scratch. Titans can't beat me that easily."

Christa, who had been observing quietly, seemed about to say something, but Kaito winked at her, and she remained silent.

Sasha squinted her eyes, not entirely convinced. "Thrown by a titan and not a scratch? That's hard to believe. How did it even hit you?"

Kaito shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I'm not sure. It caught me off-guard, but I managed to kill my momentum in midair. No harm done."

Sasha frowned, still uneasy about the situation. "It doesn't add up. You cut the titan's nape, right? It should have died instantly."

Kaito sighed, placing a hand on Sasha's shoulder. "Look, thinking about it now won't get us anywhere. We need to focus on the battlefield. We can figure out the titan's weird behavior later. For now, let's keep moving." Sasha reluctantly nodded the mystery of the titan's resilience lingering in the back of their minds.

The cadets numbers diminished, but their unbroken determination surveyed the aftermath of their hard-fought battle. The cost had been high and lives were lost in the struggle to secure a fleeting victory.

The Abnormal titan, now that its vicinity was clear of any other titans, set its sights on the HQ where the swarm of titans was roaming about.

In the distance, the remaining cadets emerged, trailing behind the raging Abnormal. The tension hung thick in the air as the cadets exchanged weary glances, a shared acknowledgment of the challenges they faced.

As the Abnormal approached the HQ, a fierce clash ensued. Its fists blazed like infernos, striking against the swarm of Titans as if its very punches were aflame. Connie's voice cut through the tension, "We have a chance..."

Jean seized the moment, his declaration echoing in the midst of the battlefield. "Now! This is our moment," he proclaimed with conviction. The cadets, a determined but dwindling group, rallied for a final sprint toward their destination. The HQ, a beacon of hope in the midst of chaos, awaited their arrival.

The cadets surged forward, their collective resolve driving them forward against the odds. The Abnormal titan, a fiery force in the chaotic dance of battle, engaged the mindless titans, allowing the cadets a small chance to pass through. 

The cadets pushed themselves to the limit, hoping that this desperate sprint would be the key to turning the tide in their favor. But then it happened: the sky crackled as a sudden stillness engulfed the atmosphere.

A tense atmosphere hangs in the air as the ominous miasma creeps through the ground, casting an otherworldly shadow across the once-clear sky. The blackish-red lightning, like a sinister omen, tears through the heavens, leaving an unspoken dread in its wake.

A flash of black lightning fell from the sky into the cloud of miasma.

Kaito, attuned to the supernatural currents, senses an impending catastrophe. A shiver, both eerie and foreboding, races through his being. It's a warning, a call to action that cannot be ignored. 

He could feel this, whatever it was. It was his reckoning, the hunter sent for him.

"Guys, go now!"

Kaito pierces the silence with a voice echoing urgency, urging his fellow cadets to flee. Panic ensues as they scramble toward the supposed safety of HQ. But amid the valley of buildings, where the miasma had concentrated, a grotesque anomaly emerged..

Yet, Kaito, usually nimble and decisive, finds himself inexplicably immobilized. His pleas to his body to move went unanswered, and the ground quivered beneath him, building anticipation until an abrupt silence descended.

Summoning every ounce of strength, Kaito turns to witness the impending horror. His widened eyes reflect the imminent catastrophe, and as the cadets brace themselves, the unknown threat lingers, a chilling prelude to an unimaginable event. 

A titan, but unlike anyone has seen till now. Its grotesque face, a skin with red and black veins bulging and pulsing, and the whole body adorned with numerous spiky crystal protrusions, painted a nightmarish sight. The black miasma that was oozing out of it wasn't helping much to the viewer's horror. 

And if that wasn't enough, one of its hands was larger than the other, and the fingers grotesquely mutated in ghastly claws.

Gasps and shouts filled the air as the cadets registered the seismic shift in the battlefield. 

"What in the world...?" Connie muttered, his voice barely audible over the tumultuous scene.

In the blink of an eye, chaos takes on a whole new meaning. The abnormal titan, which was fighting other titans till now, locked his eyes on the Unknown Titan like a predator homing in on its prey. There's a sickening certainty in its movements, a primal instinct steering it toward this newfound horror.

The cadets, frozen in awe and terror, watch as the abnormal titan charges headlong into the unknown Titan's direction. It's like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion, the suspense hanging heavy in the air.

But then, with a swipe that could make even the bravest flinch, the Crimson Titan asserts its dominance. Claws meet flesh, and in one brutal motion, the abnormal titan is rendered obsolete. It's as if reality itself can't keep up with the scene's brutality. 

In the aftermath of its powerful slash, the Abnormal titan, once a menacing force, crashed into a building with a thunderous impact. The cadets, caught in a moment of stunned silence, quickly snapped back to reality.

One of its hands was missing, and a giant incision marred the rest of its body, sending it temporarily out of commission