"Annie! We're almost there! Hang on!" Bertolt yelled, his grip tightening on the rope looped around Annie's Titan form. He and Reiner, standing on her shoulders, worked to keep the rope taut, steadying themselves as Annie continued her desperate sprint toward Wall Maria.
The pure Titans roared behind them, drawn to Annie's screams of pain as Reiner and Bertolt choked her Titan form, forcing her to maintain their grueling pace. Sweat dripped from Reiner's brow as he glanced back, heart pounding. The horde was closing in.
"Reiner! She's out of gas!" Bertolt's voice cracked with panic.
"I know!" Reiner snapped, but his eyes betrayed his mounting fear. Their original plan—switching Titan forms—was in shambles since Marcel had been eaten the night before. Annie was running on sheer willpower, but she had already exceeded her limit.
"Just a little farther," Reiner prayed silently, watching Annie's movements grow sluggish. "Please, Annie. Hold on."
"I see the wall!" Bertolt shouted, pointing ahead. Relief washed over them, but it was fleeting.
"Okay! Annie, switch!" Reiner commanded. In an instant, Annie's Titan collapsed, her unconscious human form falling into Reiner's arms as he transformed into the Armored Titan.
With the wall looming closer, Reiner barked his next order. "Bertolt, breach it now!"
But before Bertolt could shift, a blur launched from the top of the wall, descending with terrifying speed. The figure struck Bertolt in the gut, the impact so forceful it sent him flying off Reiner's shoulder. Bertolt's body crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Reiner froze, his Titan eyes wide in shock. Before he could process what was happening, a small figure hovered before him, seemingly defying gravity.
"Thank you for your hard work," the girl said softly, her voice eerily calm. "Now, sleep."
She placed her palm against the Armored Titan's forehead. A radiant light pulsed outward.
As the light erupted from Niikaz's hand, Reiner's Titan body convulsed violently. "Wha—what's… happening…?" he gasped, his voice weak and shaky. He could feel his strength draining rapidly, like an unseen force was ripping something vital from within him.
The Armored Titan's thick plates began to crack and crumble, falling away piece by piece as steam hissed from his body. Reiner's muscles trembled uncontrollably, his Titan form disintegrating under the pressure. He could feel it—the very essence of his Titan power being forcefully stripped away.
Moments later, Reiner collapsed to the ground, his Titan body fully reverting to human form. He tried to move, to make sense of what had just happened, but his vision blurred, and his limbs refused to obey. A single thought surfaced in his fading consciousness before he succumbed to the darkness.
The battlefield fell eerily quiet. Below, the pure Titans snarled and clawed at the air, unable to reach the Scout Regiment. On the wall, Captain Levi's voice broke the silence.
"Mission complete. Let's move out."
Using their maneuver gear, the squad quickly ascended the wall, carrying the unconscious Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie. Niikaz, her task complete, was carried effortlessly by Hanji as they regrouped.
From the safety of the wall's height, they watched the Titans below, their hungry eyes fixed on the fleeing Scouts. But for now, humanity had won another battle.