Chereads / On The Bench / Chapter 67 - Cry

Chapter 67 - Cry

She wasn't strong enough.

That thought tore its way through Mikasa Ackerman's mind as she carved through the spine of a Colossal Titan before it reached the Crimson Wall.

She hadn't been fast enough to escape the trap.

Mikasa wove in front of another Titan as Eren's fist impacted Great Red in the side. The shockwave sent many of the unprepared attackers stumbling in the air. Mikasa just kept up the attack without pausing.

She hadn't had the ability to escape Dimension Lost, spending who knew how long wandering in that deep mist.

A copy of Purgatorio sliced hamstrings as she dove low, causing a pile-up that she used to carve through four more spines.

And now, finally free of the Longinus, Mikasa laid eyes on Eren for the first time since falling asleep in his arms.

And knew she could not fight him.

Mikasa escaped the cluster of Colossal Titans, putting herself against the Crimson Wall to watch Eren fight again as she cooled off.

Seeing him like this, fighting the strongest being in the world toe to toe... It confronted her with the truth.

Eren was beyond her now.

It was a bitter realization, one that should have been obvious since she learned of his past in this world.

Unlike her, who had everything she needed and chose a peaceful life, who had decades of peace to dull her edge, Eren was fresh from the Rumbling when he arrived and had been trapped in his war the entire time.

Eren had been struggling, fighting, and improving himself since he realized what sort of world he was in. 

He'd always been that way, always worked harder than everyone, always sought advice from anyone who could give it. Eren had always given his best effort to improve himself, even when those efforts failed him over and over again.

Eren was never satisfied until he had the strength to accomplish his goals.

Mikasa Ackerman was not like that.

She might not have been born strong, but she had been the strongest ever since she took up that small blade.

She'd dedicated herself to her friends and family, trying to use that strength to keep them safe. And she had trained, tried to improve herself, just like everyone else.

Still, it didn't change the fact that Mikasa Ackerman had been the first-place cadet in the 104th, beating out Titan Shifters, Warriors, and those who had put forth much greater effort than her just because she had been born an Ackerman.

She simply lacked the hunger Eren had.

Even at the end, when the Walls fell and Eren began the Rumbling, excepting the difficulties of reaching him, it had never been a lack of ability that stopped her from fighting Eren.

Merely a lack of willingness.

Now, despite having a willingness to fight Eren, to do it all again and kill her heart a second time, Mikasa Ackerman discovered, for the first time in her life, that she simply did not have the ability.

All her training, powerful weapons, and even the rudimentary grasp of Touki she had achieved wouldn't be able to scratch Eren as he was now. 

Trying to interfere in that fight in any way would simply get her killed, accomplishing nothing.

It was bitter.

It was terrifying.

It was so... freeing.

The acrid taste of weakness. The helpless realization that she could only watch. The fact that all Mikasa could do was kill Titans, yet never be the one to end them permanently...

It was all overshadowed by the tide of relief she felt.

Even as she fought with all she had to stymie an unending tide to provide just a little relief for the boy who was now the only Wall protecting her loved ones, Mikasa was forced to confront a truth about herself that she had been burying since Eren had asked her as a simple question.

Mikasa did not want to do it all again.

She could. She would.

Because she had ceased living for Eren alone and now lived for so much more, Mikasa could once more kill her heart if that was what it took.

But Mikasa didn't want to.

Mikasa never wanted to kill Eren.

She never even wanted to fight him.

All of Mikasa's strength had only ever been meant to help those she cared about.

Now, she could do just that.

Every Titan she killed here directly helped those she was trying to defend. One less Colossal smashing down the Wall meant a few more seconds that Issei could hold out.

Seeing the boy alive was another relief Mikasa couldn't put into words.

Not only because she didn't want him to die and didn't want those children to feel the loss of a loved one, but because his survival meant Eren hadn't killed someone he called a friend. Hadn't put himself through that once more.

It meant Eren was trying to avoid repeating the same mistakes and heartaches of the past.

And so was Mikasa.

If nothing else, the proof that Lillith still existed meant he wasn't yet willing to repeat the genocide of the Rumbling.

Mikasa Ackerman barely understood what was happening. She had no idea of the implications, the cause and effect, or even what plans Eren had put in motion.

She didn't know if she'd still be required to be the one to stop Eren once the situation changed.

All Mikasa Ackerman knew was that, for the moment, she didn't have to fight Eren.

She was free of the final duty the man she loved had imposed on her.

********

He couldn't hold on.

"Is there-GAH-any-thing else ghrk-u can urgh!!!?" Issei cried desperately through the pain, his attention pulled in a thousand different directions by the Colossal Titans.

Those were the only words he could get out before he was overwhelmed.

Despite the Ultimate class devils doing their best, the Rumbling had reached the Crimson Wall.

Titanic fists battered against red scales.

Thousands of legs, each larger than most buildings, reared back in simple kicks that could destroy cities.

An omnipresent oppressive heat boiled against Issei's flesh which had become the only barrier between his friends and certain death.

"Can't. I, am weak." Ophis said simply. 

She was on top of the impossibly vast Wall, watching Eren's fight with Great Red with unblinking eyes from beyond the atmosphere.

Whenever Eren hurt the Dream, Ophis would throw a tiny fist forward as if she were the one hitting him instead.

Every time Great Red hurt Eren, Ophis would pout as if the monstrous dragon was being unfair.

The entire situation would have been cute if Issei hadn't felt like he was dying.

And he had quite a bit of recent experience with dying to say with absolute certainty he wasn't exaggerating.

Not even the sight of the Female Titans trying to attack him could draw his attention from the simple fact that he was losing.

Ophis was already doing her best, feeding all the power she had left into him as she watched the fight.

Asia's Balance Breaker was also helping, healing him as best as she could.

And it wasn't enough.

Issei was stronger than he'd ever been, stronger than he could ever have hoped to be when he first developed this technique.

Yet he couldn't hold on.

There were just too many attackers.

Thousands of enormous blows rained down on him every second, each powered by Touki stronger than Sairaorg's had been and accompanied by a searing heat.

Issei was Boosting dozens of times a second, every moment multiplying his power to a point he'd never be able to achieve on his own, yet he was forced to expend those Boosts faster than he could pile them up.

The central premise of the Crimson World Wall was just a method to buy time to amass power to transfer it to someone who could deal with the situation, whatever it was.

Issei sacrificed his mobility, attacking power, and initiative for the peak efficiency at growing Ddraig's power. He released small bursts of that power, just enough to perfectly counter an attack, to save more power from trying to endure a full-power attack.

It was a game of efficiency.

So long as Issei accumulated more power than he spent, he could keep Boosting forever.

Wall Fall was just the point where his body couldn't handle any more power, and he had to transfer to someone else.

And he was spending more than he gained.

Issei was battered, bruised, and bleeding within his Wall. Every wound Asia healed was replaced with two more.

Every second, he endured more blows, his body taking the damage as he mitigated them as best as possible. He healed from Asia's gear, keeping him in the fight for longer, only to take more damage.

Issei's head hurt.

His body hurt.

A thousand enormous red gauntlets clashed with a thousand and one white fists.

A dozen more emerged to block the accidental attacks from the devils.

Grafiya's glaciers were shattered before they could crash into the Wall, even as they destroyed a dozen Colossal Titans.

Diehauser Belial used the Wall as a springboard, launching himself at a new target, and Issei had to counter the force of that jump.

Surtr II's flames joined the blasts of steam searing his flesh, and Issei had to pad that part of the Wall lest it be consumed by the giant's fire.

Their attacks were large but occasional water splashes, intermittent compared to the unending downpour of the Titans' fury.

Even tiny drops can carve through rock given enough time, let alone this storm of violence.

Still, the stone could endure the rain. 

If not for the thunder and lightning.

The intermittent splash of attacks from the devils and the steady beat of the Titans' fists were accompanied by the swell of a tsunami, relentlessly battering Issei's Wall with the force of Eren's battle with Great Red.

The shock wave of the fist on the Dream's scales that pounded against his body.

The jagged shard of that psychedelic material carved into Issei's side after passing through the flesh of Titan and devil alike.

The tornado of magic, a whirlwind of power and broken space that drove devils to flee as it butchered hundreds of Colossal Titans before stopping against Issei's Wall, grinding into him as it raged.

Issei could last against the Ultimate devils for days.

Issei could endure the battering of the Rumbling for hours.

Issei could weather the intermittent aftereffects of Eren's fight for several minutes.

Against any of them alone, his enhanced Boosting rate would more than compensate for losing power from defending, allowing him to reach his peak and achieve Wall Fall.

Against all three?

All of it, the storm, the rain, the swell battered at the rock that was Issei Hyoudou, threatening to shatter him and pull him under.

And he was desperately fighting to stay whole.

To endure even as he cracked and weakened.

Issei was not a Rook anymore.

His new body, made from Great Red's flesh, might be much greater than a human's and even a devil's, but it lacked the specialization in defence he was so used to.

The pain was only bearable because the soul-rending agony of Samael's poison was fresh in his memory.

Issei floated in a hazy consciousness of blood, pain, and violence.

Ddraig's power worked best by compounding. One Boost to someone stronger was worth a hundred Boosts to someone weak.

So what happened when there was practically nothing left to Boost?

If a Boost turned forty thousand into eighty thousand, it also only turned one into two.

With all his Crimson Wall, Ophis, and Asia's help, Issei could Boost a handful of times a second.

And it didn't matter when all it did was turn one into two thousand. Not when Issei received over that number in kicks in that one second.

Not even the relief of Dawn's Affection could stir Issei from the fugue he fell into.

One more minute.

One more second.

He just needed to hold on for a little longer.

Just a little longer.

...Issei Hyoudou fervently wished the battle would end. That this day, which began with him crashing through his kitchen window, would end.

That he could drop his Wall, return home with his girlfriends, and spend the next century or two not fearing for his life.

He wanted to rest. To sleep. To do ecchi things with women he loved.

But he couldn't.

He needed to hold on.

Issei felt the dip in power every second.

The initial burst he had gained, the well he had dug before the Rumbling reached him, was starting to run out.

If that happened, the Titans would breach his Wall. 

He would die.

His friends would die. 

He'd fail. 

Again.

A third failure could not be allowed. Not under any circumstances.

Not when the second had cost his Senpais' souls.

So Issei held on.

As best as he could, Issei held on. 

Even as his power waned, as darkness crept at the side of his eyes, he stopped being able to counterattack.

Drop by drop, Issei's well had run dry.

Yet he held.

One more second.

One more second.

One more.

One more.

One.

More.

Second.

... Issei couldn't see anything.

Once more, he had returned to that state of nothingness.

Only he felt everything.

All the pain.

...He wanted it to end.

He wanted to go back to school.

He wanted to return to those halcyon days of laughter, perversity, and ignorance. 

Where his greatest worry was if Asia would like the next date he planned or what sort of play Xenovia decided was normal to talk about in the middle of class. 

Where Senpai was just an otherworldly source of wisdom.

Where friends could laugh on a beach surrounding a bonfire and look out to where the sea met the sky.

Issei Hyoudou wanted to be happy.

...

...To regain that happiness, he needed to endure.

...To reach that beach, he could hold on.

...For that smile, he would live.

And, in the darkness of pain, with only the hazy memories of smiles and laughter to push him forward, Issei Hyoudou endured the violence of a cruel world.

The storm crashed against the Wall...

And broke first.

That empty well's final few drops of power started to swell again.

********

Akeno Himejima wasn't thinking.

She had entered a state of pure reaction, of movement without thought.

There was just the lightning.

Holy lighting's thunderous crash was like music, a beat she could lose herself in.

Black feathered wings carried her along the inside of Crimson World Wall, the golden thunder spears of her power raining down on the white Titans.

There was no sadistic joy in the act. The Titans could not feel pain.

It was just... just fear. And confusion. 

A disorienting blur of violence where one moment blended into another yet still was perfectly remembered. 

Like someone was taking millions of snapshots and then collating them together in a stuttering slideshow to the beat of thunder and lightning.

A flash of lightning illuminating the sky as she and Rias annihilated a rain of arrows and spears.

A roll of thunder shaking the ground in front of Gasper, directing the mass of eyes and darkness away from the Wall and toward a squad of Armoured Titans.

A waft of burnt flesh rising to her nostrils as she slightly misfired her Holy Lightning in her hurry to destroy two Jaw Titans inches from carving a chunk from Issei's fortification. Asia's healing already at work, erasing the burn on Akeno's arms.

A hiss of steam as she electrified Sona's water, sending an Attack Titan into a spasm.

Little moments that shone with perfect clarity in her memory, yet Akeno had no idea how they happened.

And through it all, the Colossal Titans loomed mere meters from her.

Those within the Crimson World Wall could see out of it, see the thousands of Titans like a white wall beyond their Crimson defence.

They could watch as enormous fists and feet battered against Issei's defence with enough strength to destroy cities.

This close to them, Akeno had to look practically straight up if she wished to see their heads and the battle the Ultimate class devils fighting up there.

If she genuinely paid attention, every few seconds, the tide of Colossal Titans would have an opening. 

A window to the battle beyond, where Eren fought Great Red.

Akeno saw none of it.

The Colossal Titans were terrifying. This close and looming they were a stark reminder of the fear she felt when first seeing Eren and felt the sheer helplessness of a bug in the face of a human.

Yet she noted them only as a background. A dangerous one, certainly. Something that would absolutely kill her if they could.

It was like being in an underwater aquarium.

You knew you were inches from enough water to drown you and whales that could kill you by accident, yet you weren't scared because you knew the glass would not break.

Akeno was afraid of the giants on a visceral level that she never thought she could feel.

But she was not scared of them reaching her because Issei wouldn't fail.

It was a baseless, senseless, foundation-less confidence in the boy she had seen grow from a helpless teenager into a young man. 

One she had traumatized and hurt yet had never sought revenge on her. 

One who had died and miraculously returned.

One who had all the power in the world yet dedicated it to protecting others.

These enormous Titans scared Akeno, but she was certain Issei would hold on.

What truly scared Akeno, what numbed her to all but the thunderous crash of lightning, was the fear of failing to protect someone again.

One attack.

One stab in Issei's back.

One failure that might as well have been a betrayal to the Red Dragon Emperor.

That was all it would take to see this Wall fail, for Akeno to once more watch someone she cared about die before her eyes.

More than one person.

Everyone would die.

Unless her Holy Lightning could help save them.

Rias. Yuuto. Sairaorg. Team Vali. Saji.

These were the backbone of the defence of the Crimson World Wall. Those who could kill Titans quickly and reliably when they drew close to Issei.

A final defence for the Wall that kept them all from the Titans.

And Akeno was one of them only because her Holy Lightning was stronger, more potent, than regular spells. The vast area coverage, the destructive power and its ability to maneuver an attack at the right angle to target the nape.

Akeno knew she wasn't the only one protecting Issei's vulnerability.

Knew that if a Ttitan managed to get through everyone, it wouldn't be solely her fault for missing it.

Yet the thought of being responsible for even one more death of someone she cared about was enough to drown out all other fears she held. That terror drove her to act, to fight.

So she lost herself in the clash of Holy Lightning, in the roll of her power as it tore through Touki and flesh.

It was the only constant in this ever-changing battlefield.

That's why it took her so long to notice.

Akeno was no longer the sole musician playing to the beat of Holy Lighting anymore.

It only struck Akeno as she fried one of the few flying Titans, a hawk-like thing that was small for a Titan but had been close to plowing into an upper part of the Crimson Wall.

Her hands unleashed a tide of lightning, a curtain blocking off the white creature from clawing into Issei. It still tried to plow through, but the power discharge sent its body into a spasm that halted it. 

It gave her time to ascend, gaining a bit of height on the... Beast Titan? Jaw Titan? It could be either.

But it didn't matter because Akeno was above it, and a piercing bolt crashed into it from above, right where its skull met its neck.

She couldn't sever the spine, but enough firepower was enough to destroy it, even Touki reinforced as it was.

From her momentary vantage point over the battlefield and without another enemy in the sky, Akeno had a moment of clarity that had been lacking amidst the confusion and hast of the battle on the ground.

She could see it. The white tide of Titans on both sides of the Wall crashed into the crimson line that separated them.

On one side, the battle was below her.

Dozens of individual pieces moving, overlapping, shuffling and scrambling to either reach the Wall or destroy those trying to do so.

On the other, the battle was above her.

Hundreds, thousands of enormous beings that she had to strain to see the tops of and the... insects that flew around them, bringing the giants down.

And Akeno could see the way the battle had been shifting.

It was the colours that gave it away. 

The radiant crimson glow of the Wall had dimmed, even with the flicker of purple that permeated it.

It had been washed out by the tide of white, bleached to the point where every second, that beautiful shade of red threatened to vanish under the tide.

They... were losing.

Issei was flickering, weakening.

As Akeno watched, dozens of Colossal Titans were killed by the Ultimate Class devils, yet hundreds more landed blows to tear down the Wall.

Akeno grit her teeth, her wings flexing as she dove.

Even if they lost, it would only be after holding on as long as possible.

That's when she heard it.

Thunder.

She almost didn't realize what it meant.

Akeno wasn't the only person to use that element on this battlefield, even if hers was better than most.

Nor had Eren ceased summoning the occasional Titan within the Wall to supplement those lost. It was less often than before, as he was also supplementing the Colossal Titans outside, but it was still pretty frequent.

So Akeno almost paid it no mind.

Then the flash.

White bolts of electricity with the golden glow of Light.

Feathered wings froze in the air mid-dive as Akeno watched five Colossal Titans fall amidst bolts of Holy Lightning larger than anything she had ever conjured.

He... couldn't see her. They could see out of the Wall, but those outside could not see in.

He didn't know she was there.

But Akeno knew Baraqiel was here.

She could see him up there amidst the clouds, the lightning, and the Light.

The black feathered wings. The mechanical limbs replacing those lost in the battle against Loki.

It was him.

He was here.

More than the army of wounded yet still fighting fallen angels that accompanied him and Azazel.

More than the radiance of the Heavenly Host led by Michael descending on the Colossal Titans like the hammer of a dead God.

More than the Crimson Wall starting to glow with a red light once more.

Baraquiel, her father, was here.

That was how Akeno knew they'd win. They'd live.

It was not the reinforcements that quieted Akeno's fear.

It was the familiar beat of the music of Holy Lighting.

And, even if she still hadn't forgiven herself and had a long, winding path to go, Akeno took one more small step forward.

For the first time in her life, Akeno forgave her father.

The battle was not done yet, so they both continued to fight.

Yet the fear in both their hearts was lessened.

Only one part of that small, broken family could see the other, but both were comforted by the sound of Holy Lightning resounding from the other side of the Crimson World Wall.

********

In the long run, and in the chaos that came before and after, the meeting didn't matter. 

It lasted a few moments and had no impact on the world or the battle, and Rias never mentioned it to anyone because there was no need to.

Amidst the battle, less than a minute after the arrival of the angels, and as hope was swelling in her breast, Rias had an insignificant chance encounter.

"Have you seen my sister?!" Riser Phenex asked, eyes scanning the battlefield in a hurry.

Rias barely took a moment to look at the man who had been a figure of her nightmare for years.

The destruction of Agreas and attack on Lillith had only begun less than half an hour ago, despite its twists and turns.

It would make sense that the Underworld would send what they could to help. Sona had probably put out the call as soon as possible. They had been flowing into the battlefield in fits and starts, unable to really change the tide, but now it was becoming apparent.

Those not strong enough to have been on Agreas or fighting the Rumbling, yet still influential figures in their own right, would be flocking to help if they had any sense.

The initial killing field, the area Eren had first attacked where the refugees had arrived, was pincered between Lillith and Issei and still saw the bulk of the fighting on this side. 

But the Crimson World Wall stretched for a long distance, and the reinforcements spread along it as a few of the Titans tried to flank the devils.

Rias even thought she had seen her mother and father outside the Wall, helping with the Colossal Titans, though she couldn't be sure as the urgency of battle claimed her attention again.

Riser Phenex was only one of the new arrivals as they steadily trickled in in fits and starts. He and his Peerage would be helpful, if only as more bodies to take up the Titans' attention off Issei.

Looking at the man now, Rias was amazed to realize she felt... nothing.

Riser had never been the reason she'd been so unhappy. Just a target that was easy to understand and hate. Rias still didn't like him, but she didn't hate him either.

He had just been an obstacle to her dream of living as she wished.

In the confusion of the last few hours, the terror of Issei's disappearance, the grief at his death, the terror of the battle, the horrified realization at what Sona had done, and sheer, rapturous joy at seeing Issei alive, on top of the confusing mix of anger, guilt, love, hatred, awe, and fear that the sight of Eren brought her...

Riser Phenex just... didn't matter.

Rias Gremory had moved past him.

Rias' freedom, her way of life, her dream, had a different enemy.

So she didn't mind helping a concerned brother looking for his little sister on a chaotic battlefield like this.

"Check near Irina," Rias nodded toward the sole angel fighting within the Wall. "I saw them together not too long ago."

"Thanks!" Riser said, paying her no more mind as he shot off toward the angel.

Rias' last conscious thought of Riser that day was a bit of wry amusement at how he flinched whenever Akeno unleashed her Holy Lightning.

Then, it was back into the fray, defending Issei from Eren's relentless attacks, fighting to survive.

...And trying to ignore thoughts of what tomorrow would bring if they did survive.

Because Rias couldn't... the world couldn't return to how it was after this.

Amidst the ongoing fighting, Rias felt something change in those few minutes after she exchanged words with her ex-fiance.

Something she couldn't put her finger on, not directly, yet still niggled at the back of her mind as she tore through Titan after Titan, staying around her Peerage as best she could while also covering Issei's back.

It was Koneko who caught on as Rias swopped down to finish off the Sheep Titan the Rook had in hold.

"...Getting brighter," the Nekoshou said as the Titan in her grasp dissolved.

Rias took a second to process what her laconic Rook meant.

That's when it clicked.

Since Eren's battle with Great Red had destroyed the sun, they'd been fighting in the twilight of the Underworld.

More than enough light for devils to see by, but still not anything that one would call bright. 

It also heightened the confusion on the battlefield, with the bright lights of fire, lightning, Light and other magics shining all the more for the contrast.

But now, the entire area was as bright as a sunrise, and Rias didn't take long to realize the cause.

The Crimson World Wall was shining, every second glowing brighter and brighter hue of red.

The Boosted Gear took one second to turn one into two. But turning a trillion into two trillion also only took one second.

And, with the reprieve of two new armies killing Colossal Titans faster than Eren could spawn them, ones with more precise forms of attack on top of that, Issei found himself able to defend against the aftershocks of Eren's battle with the power no longer spent on thousands of enormous fists.

The Colossal Titans were still there, attacking him, but they were not the overwhelming tide they once were. Eren was not producing them as fast as they were being destroyed anymore.

And once Issei stopped losing power every moment, he could start building a reserve.

And that snowballed.

The glow had been subtle at first, a ramp up from nothing, but once it reached a certain point, the exponential nature of Ddraig's power took over, and it went from a bright glow to an incandescent light in seconds.

Rias realized what was going to happen before she heard the words.

[Wall Fall]

For a brief moment, Rias wondered who Issei would give the power to. Issei's transferred boosts didn't put any strain on the receivers, so it could be literally anyone. 

Yuuto again? Or maybe someone like Grafia... no, they had to be inside the Wall. Sona perhaps? She'd know what was the best play. Or Sairaorg, to stack buffs on their strongest fighter?

At that moment, Rias tried to think of who would be the best recipient. Whoever it was, they would have to do something to make up for the loss of the Wall separating the Colossal Titans from everyone else.

Then Rias felt it.

Power.

More power than she could have ever dreamed.

More power than her brother held.

More than Ddraig had in his life.

Rias didn't know it, but this was the power of the Red Dragon Emperor if his body was made from the flesh of the Dream and bolstered by a fragment of the Infinite.

Issei, with Ophis' help, would have reached Wall Fall much sooner if his new peak wasn't so high. What he'd lost in defensive ability from no longer being a Rook was more than made up for in capacity for growth.

And he'd transferred all that power to Rias Gremory.

For a moment, Rias just... hung there, in the air, unsure.

Eyes were on her. So many eyes.

Not the Titans'.

The loss of the Crimson World Wall had ceased the smaller Titans' frantic charge, and they immediately returned to attacking everyone around them.

The Colossal Titans began to step forward, enormous feet ready to crush and burn all in their path. The heat was already starting to rise.

And right in front of them, right where the Wall once stood, a young man with brown hair grinned up at her from his prone position on the ground while Asia's hands glowed green and gold against his chest.

He was already chanting.

Rias grinned back, joy, pride, and triumph swelling into a crescendo in her soul.

Issei Hyoudou and Asia Argento were made for each other, and Rias decided right then and there. An OTP, if there ever was one.

Together, they had turned a one-time-use technique already strong enough to be the backbone of an entire faction into something repeatable.

Something fantastical.

Issei reaches his limit, passes power to whoever needs it, and passes out. Asia then heals him, and he sets up his Wall again, as the first person with power battles any attackers.

Together, those two could make as many temporary Red Dragon Emperors as they wanted!

Rias Gremory reafirmed that she had the best Peerage as billions of tiny black stars filled the sky with her laughter.

She stretched the control she'd been practicing for the last year, using every ounce of it she had to turn this enormous well of power she had been gifted into those few seconds Issei needed to restore his Wall.

Angel. Fallen. Devil.

They all froze in place as the air was saturated with the Power of Destruction like tiny water droplets.

Rias' grin was wild and free as she let her power flow.

It was a good thing she had such large targets, wasn't it?

She would not miss.

Black rain fell.

And so did the Titans.

Every. 

Single. 

One.

It was like... an old movie, one without colour or sound. Grainy was perhaps the best way to put it. 

Black tears in reality carving lines in the world.

Those effervescent black dots, small bundles of Destruction, carved scars from above and below, right and left, in front and behind.

Enormous white humanoids were suddenly filled with a flickering darkness before they just... ceased.

That wasn't the end of the battle, of course.

For one, Rias only summoned her Black Rain within her eyesight for fear of hitting allies she couldn't see. It was enough to obliterate the army of white Titans, but it was not complete.

For another, the source of the Titans was still present.

No sooner had Rias destroyed the Titans than the lighting beat heralded more of Eren's army.

Rias destroyed those, too.

For a few seconds, it was a race as the King did her best to buy just a little more time. A few seconds for her people, her friends, to breathe and rest.

Then Issei finished his chant.

The Crimson World Wall rose to separate Eren from his would-be victims for the second time.

And Rias...

She didn't know why she did what she did...

No. That would be an excuse.

Rias knew why she did what she did.

It was the fear and stress.

It was petty vengeance for everything Eren had put her and her family through.

It was for the still unprocessed grief of Issei's death.

It was a simple high of power, of joy, and of feeling like she finally had some control over her life.

It was because Rias Gremory still felt like Eren Yeager had stolen something precious from her.

And she wanted to take it back.

Rias made a choice to seize back the freedom to decide how she'd live her life.

All of those reasons were true. There were definitely more.

Reasons. Justifications.

They didn't matter in the end.

What mattered were actions.

What mattered was the coalesced ball of destruction, formed far beyond what Rias' normal range would be, that launched at Eren as he fought with Great Red.

That ball, a tiny black dot on the horizon, left her right before the Wall rose again.

Containing as much power as Rias could pack, it flew toward its target.

There was very little hope of hitting Eren at this range, even at the speeds it was going.

It might hit Great Red instead. Or even pass by harmlessly.

Rias took the attack not because she thought it would win the battle but because she needed to do it. For herself, more than anything else.

All this time, Rias had been reacting, the passive victim, while Eren, the Chaos Brigade, and even Sona dictated her future and that of her family.

Rias needed to seize something of her own will.

A meaningless gesture of defiance that only served to make Rias feel better, even if it accomplished nothing of value.

It didn't.

That tiny black dot flew straight and true, searing across the horizon through debris and torn space.

The battle between dragon and Titan moved, rose and fell in the air, yet that tiny bundle of destruction continued to advance.

Eren grasped Great Red by its neck with one hand, the other raising a thin white blade shaped like his sword.

The world would never know whether it would have been enough to sever the Dream's neck.

A tiny black dot slammed into the back of Eren's hand.

Even with all the power Rias could give it, the attack barely damaged Eren as he was now.

It just blew a few fingers off his hand that were quickly healed, and the dropped blade dissolved.

It seemed to startle Eren, though.

Almost by instinct, the Titan turned to look at the direction of the attack.

Even from this distance, Rias saw green eyes searching, roving the battlefield for his enemy.

But Eren couldn't see her from beyond the Wall.

Rias realized what she had done before it happened.

Saw it the coiling of Great Red's neck.

Understood it in Eren's moment of inattention.

Dreaded it as the Dream twisted its draconic maw to bite into an exposed weakness.

Great Red bit into the back of Eren's neck, tearing the spine from his body in a bloody chunk and swallowing it with a meaty gulp.

Eren's body fell, and the world shook with its collapse.

Great Red roared.

Rias closed her eyes.

Devils, fallen, and angels all began to cheer.

Rias shook with grief yet did not cry.

She had decided to live with whatever the consequences were when she chose this path.

Rias never wanted Eren dead. Never forgot that he still owed her an answer.

Never forgot that Eren was every part of her dream as any of her Peerage.

Yet the path of freedom is paved in corpses.

Determination warred with a sense of loss as devils, fallen, and angels all began to cheer.

"DON'T!!!"

The voice was loud but not loud enough to be heard over the cheering and across the vast battlefield.

"THE TITANS!!!"

A few people heard the words of the woman with the red scarf.

"THEY'RE STILL HERE!!"

Some even prepared to continue the battle with the white giants without her warning, not understanding the implications of their continued presence.

"HE'S NOT DEAD!!"

Only a few people heard her.

But everyone saw the titanic left arm burst from Great Red's roaring maw.

An enormous shower of blood, bone, scales and fangs rained down on the psychedelic ground.

Great Red's body began to bulge and contort as if ready to explode any second.

Those with better eyesight noticed no light in the Dream's massive eyes.

Just the vacant void of an empty body.

Another white arm burst from Great Red's shoulder, where long serpentine neck met bone, showering the area with more gore and red scales with its eruption.

A Titan's hand grasped the opening and rent as if to pull itself free from the corpse.

And that was when a devil appeared with a laugh on that titanic hand.