As Kaito clenched his fist, he felt an deeper connection with the coursing blood within him. A innate blood-lust surged through his mind, but he reined it in. He couldn't give in to it, not yet.
Unknown to him, his eyes briefly sparkled with a mysterious yellow hue which leaked from his eyes a bit before vanishing.
What happened earlier, during the battle, he hadn't expected it. His blood had responded to his need for power. It turned more primal, more savage. Currently his muscles felt more robust, and his senses seemed heightened, even more than before. He could hear noises from over half of the city. The silent cries of people trapped within wreckage, the dreadful mournings of people being eaten alive, the sloshing noise of mindless titans, everything was registering in his mind at once.
It was as if his very bloodline had undergone an upgrade from its previous 'grunt' level.
It took him more than a few minutes to gain any semblance of control over his senses. For his mind, one unused to handling so much information, it was more of a curse than boon, at least currently. Even his normal senses used to take efforts to control, not to say of its upgraded version.
He focused on a single sound, which was drawing nearer and nearer. From the nonrhythmic pattern of footsteps and its heaviness and the sound of flesh flapping, most likely a mindless titan.
Instinctively, he reached for the ODM gear trigger at his waist, only to find nothing. His gear, most likely thrown into tatters during the fierce battle, was nowhere to be seen.
"Darn it," Kaito muttered, a wry smile playing on his lips.
The ugly face of a bearded titan appeared from behind a house and loitered toward him.
"Brute way, it is"
Stretching his shoulders and assuming a battle-ready stance.
The blood within his veins raged, and with a burst of explosive strength, the muscles in his legs propelled him away from the cracked ground. The air resonated with the force of his takeoff, and the ground splintered where he was standing moments before.
Kaito landed on the edge of a roof. His body was bathed in blood. Behind him stood the titan, with a big gaping hole, straight through his chest and coming out of its nape.
THUMP
Its colossal body toppled over, crashing into a small building and spreading dust all around.
The blood on Kaito's body vanished as his body absorbed it. A black trouser appeared over his lower body, hiding his manhood within.
As he looked at his current attire, the long crimson overcoat and the black trousers, he mumbled, "This looks cool but won't do"
With a thought, the clothes morphed into the standard attire which the cadets wore.
After that, Kaito traversed the town with a series of powerful leaps, moving from one building to another, taking care not to wreck too much while jumping. His enhanced abilities allowed him to cover the distance effortlessly, and now even more than he anticipated sometimes.
As Kaito approached the inner walls, he noticed small figures dotting the colossal structure. On zoomed-in inspection, these figures revealed themselves to be the cadets, their faces etched with the weariness of battle as they scaled the towering wall. His keen eyes scanned the faces, searching for familiar ones among the sea of determined climbers.
There, amidst the ascending cadets, Kaito spotted Armin and Mikasa laboring to carry the fainted Eren, who had supposedly 'died.'
"Tch, I missed the trio's reaction." It would have been a funny one.
Other familiar faces like Connie, Christa, Reiner, and Jean had climbed up and were still making their way up. Sasha was nearing the top, just about to complete her ascent.
However, Kaito couldn't spot Annie or Bertholdt, likely already descended on the other side. Not exactly the helping type, acting or not.
"Well, we have a small issue now," he mused aloud.
Standing atop a building about 100 meters away from the wall,he thought about the problem.
Climbing the wall without ODM wasn't any difficult task, maybe it was in past, but now, far from it. But its lack would undoubtedly raise eyebrows and bring too many questions for him. Moreover, his side of the wall was teeming with Titans, adding an additional layer of questions he would have to answer about how the hell did he safely escape them.
Surveying his surroundings, Kaito's eyes fell on some broken furniture strewn nearby. An idea came in his mind.
On the top of Wall Rose
Jean extended his hand to a cadet who was on the verge of reaching the top. The cadet gratefully grabbed it, and with a pull, they were both on solid ground. A quick exchange of thanks, but Jean remained silent, his thoughts preoccupied with the events that unfolded earlier.
His mind still struggled with disbelief of recent events
'How can I believe that... the abnormal titan... and more than that how the hell did that suicidal bastard get inside of that thing? And there was that other titan too...'
Connie's voice cut through Jean's contemplation, pulling him back from the whirlwind of thoughts. "Do you think Kaito's survived?"
Connie's question hung in the air, and Reiner, his forehead creased in concern, answered, "We can hope, but chances are low... That thing... it was something else entirely."
The weight of uncertainty pressed on them, the mystery of Kaito's fate was shrouded in the aftermath of the abnormal titan's appearance. And it had also disappeared soon after they had refuelled and begun their retreat.
The presense of titans didn't allow them to go and search for Kaito, much to Sasha and other's dismay.
After much arguing could they convince them to head back, but then the Titan-fighting titan came in their view. fatally injured, it toppled over, but what happened soon after had left all the cadets questioning their own eyes.
From its nape, Eren had emerged...
Currently, the group stood together, grappling with the unknown.
"First that colossal and armored titan, and now this! Where the hell are these things popping out from!?" Connie voiced the frustration that simmered within all of them.
Christa, her brow furrowed, joined the conversation with a heavy sigh. "These Titans... it's like they're evolving or something. First the Colossal and Armored Titans, and now this abnormal one. It's not following the usual patterns."
Jean, still lost in his thoughts, finally spoke up. "Kaito... he was in the thick of it. I last saw him fighting that red Titan."
Christa added, "It's unsettling. I've never seen Titans behave like that before. It's like they were drawn to him."
Sasha, who had made her way to the top, joined the group. Her voice was heavy, some tear marks till lingering on her cheeks "Well, wherever Kaito is, he's not the type to go down without a fight. We've seen him pull off crazier things."
Connie, still frustrated, rubbed his temples. "I just want to know what the hell is happening. Titans aren't supposed to be like this... . It's like they're playing a sick game."
Reiner nodded in agreement. "We need to get back to the higher ups, report what we've seen. Maybe they have some answers. But we've got to be prepared for the fact that this isn't over. Not by a long shot."
The group, now united in their uncertainty, started making their way back down the wall on other side.
THUKK
The sudden sound startled the group, and their eyes widened as a fist-sized stone crashed into the edge of the wall right near where they were standing. The impact shattered bits of the wall in its wake, leaving them all alert at the unexpected occurrence.
Jean instinctively covered his head, and the cadets around him took a step back, eyes fixed on the source of the projectile. A cloud of dust billowed from the impact point, obscuring their vision momentarily.
As the dust settled, they collectively held their breath, scanning the surroundings for any sign of what had just happened. Tension hung in the air, the aftermath of the abnormal titan still fresh in their minds. The city below seemed to echo with uncertainty, and the cadets, were now on high alert.
Jean, recovering from the instinctive cover, observed the distant light with a furrowed brow. Connie's question hung in the air, "Is someone there?"
Jean took charge, "Christa, bring binoculars."
Christa hurriedly ran off to fetch the binoculars. As the group anxiously waited, Reiner voiced his bewilderment, "The stone, did someone fire it from a cannon or what?"
Sasha, always sharp-eyed, interjected, "You sure it was a stone?" Reiner nodded with certainty.
Christa returned with the binoculars, and as she focused on the distant fire, a perplexed expression crossed her face. "Uh, guys? It's Kaito, and he's... waving!"