Silence.
Wind.
The faint scent of blood.
Subtle movements among the leaves.
These are the few details I can grasp at this moment.
Though I won't deny that this state of rest has its charm: the cool breeze against my face, the gentle movement of my hair in rhythm with the air, the brief tranquility before the storm.
But, as always, peace never lasts long.
"I get that a rookie like me doesn't get told anything, but..."
Eren's voice interrupts the calm. He stands on another branch, several meters away, his expression tense, his mind filled with unanswered questions.
"Even the veterans were left in the dark..."
Aurou sighs, visibly irritated.
"Just shut up." His tone is dry, lacking patience for Eren's unease.
But he doesn't stop.
"Are you saying the Captain and Commander don't trust us?!" Petra immediately confronts him, her voice filled with indignation.
Annoyance.
Even in a moment this serious, they keep acting like children.
"Eh... No, but... what if that's what happened?" Eren hesitates, but holds his ground.
"You...!" Petra grits her teeth in frustration, visibly upset.
It's my turn to intervene.
"If you weren't included in the operation, it simply means you didn't meet the requirements." I exhale slowly before continuing. "Besides, regardless of the objective of this mission, your role wouldn't have changed."
A brief silence follows as they process my words.
Aurou nods slowly. "I see... There's no doubt about that." His tone is calmer now, more resigned. Then he turns to Eren with a stern expression. "Got it now, Eren? So shut up."
Petra seems to reflect for a moment before sighing. "So that's how it is..." Her tone still holds some disbelief, but her frustration eases. "Since they think the spy infiltrated at the same time Wall Maria was destroyed... the Commander used the suspects as bait."
"Five years ago..." Eren's gaze darkens. "Was there really a spy...?"
"Maybe the same one who killed Hange's Titans..." Erd wonders aloud.
...
...
"Ah... That was when Commander Erwin asked me..." Petra murmurs.
WHO DO YOU THINK THE ENEMY IS?
"If we had answered his question... maybe he would've let us take part in the real strategy..." Erd says. "Though I still have no idea what the right answer was..."
"Well, I already knew what to say... but I didn't want to take a wild guess. You guys know why, don't you?" Aurou smirks.
Petra looks at him blankly. "Why not?"
"Whaaat? You really don't know?" He starts in a mocking, arrogant tone. "Well, you guys just aren't at my level. And why do you think that is? Because you're not in my shoes."
"Ugh, are you still trying to act like the Captain? He'd never say something that stupid..." Petra scoffs, disgusted.
"They're among us." I interrupt, drawing everyone's attention. "That's the answer."
...
...
...
Seconds.
Minutes.
Time passes without change.
From this distance, the situation remains a mystery to us. We can't see what's happening or hear clearly, so we have no choice but to hold our position.
Through small talk and jokes, the squad tries to ease the tension in their own way. They laugh, argue, exchange words with a forced lightheartedness. It's a useless distraction, but a necessary one.
Then, the atmosphere shatters.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A gut-wrenching scream tears through the air.
It's a mix between a bestial roar and a human cry of agony, resonating with such intensity that it chills the blood.
Pain? Fear? Maybe.
After all, regardless of its current form, that thing is still human.
But...
I don't think so.
This isn't a cry of desperation—it's a last resort.
It's completely cornered.
"W-What was that...?" Eren asks in a hushed voice, his gaze rising toward the sky.
A dense column of steam spirals upward, followed by a flare shot from within.
The squad's faces light up with relieved smiles.
But my expression darkens.
"Looks like it's over." Gunther speaks with clear happiness before everyone turns to look at me.
I remain composed and give the order in a firm tone.
"Return to the horses. Prepare for withdrawal."
...
"You heard him. Let's go see the bastard who was inside that Titan." Aurou spits, a mix of satisfaction and eagerness in his voice.
"LET'S GO!"
We descend from the branches, moving swiftly through the trees, maintaining a constant speed. I take the lead, keeping a slight distance ahead, ensuring no one falls behind.
"Did they really manage to pull that person out...?" Eren asks quietly, uncertainty written all over his face.
"Yes! We did it thanks to you, Eren!" Petra responds enthusiastically, her smile radiant.
"Eh... but I didn't do anything."
"You trusted us, and that's enough." Her eyes shine with pride as she continues. "Making the right decision is always difficult, but you did it."
"Hey, Petra! Stop babying him." Aurou turns mid-air, looking at them with a smirk. "What did he do to deserve all this praise? All he did was panic and turn red. He was just bait."
"Ugh..."
"Though, well, the fact that he's still alive is an achievement... but even that's not guaranteed until the expedition is over." He speaks in his usual smug tone. "Listen up, brat: until you're safe and sound behind the Walls, the expedition isn't over."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Eren frowns, annoyed by his attitude.
"Well, guys..." Erd interrupts with a mischievous grin. "If I remember correctly, you two..." He turns to Petra and Aurou. "Peed yourselves on your first expedition. Quite the pair of brave soldiers."
...
"GYAAAAAAHHH!!" Petra shrieks in horror.
"EHHH!?" Eren exclaims, shocked by the unexpected confession.
A faint smirk forms on my lips.
"DON'T SAY THAT! WHAT IF HE LOSES RESPECT FOR US?!" Petra looks at him in indignation, her face red with embarrassment. "HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIX THIS, ERD?!"
"I only told the truth." Erd shrugs, amused. Then, he turns to Eren. "And just so you know... I never wet my pants."
"IDIOT!" Aurou yells, visibly irritated. "I HAVE THE HIGHEST KILL COUNT! DID YOU KNOW THAT?! DROP IT ALREADY, I'M WARNING YOU!"
"A soldier's worth isn't measured only by their kill count." Erd responds with a wise tone.
"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN IDIOT!"
"IS IT SAFE TO BE ARGUING WHILE FLYING?!" Eren exclaims in concern.
"ERRRRRDDDDDD!!"
Gunther's voice booms from my side.
"ARE YOU ON A PICNIC OR WHAT THE HELL?! WE'RE OUTSIDE THE WALLS, FOR GOD'S SAKE!" He pauses for a second to calm himself, then drops a dry remark "Anyway... Eren didn't wet himself. And Kiyotaka is our Captain, and he graduated less than a month ago."
Silence.
Low blow.
No one responds.
At that moment, a new flare rises just a few meters from our position "Oh... it must be Levi's signal." Gunther looks at me, expecting confirmation.
I nod without saying a word.
He fires his flare into the sky, and we set our course toward Levi's signal "Let's regroup." I speak loudly, making sure everyone hears. "Stay alert and behave yourselves."
I move to the middle of the formation, ensuring I keep just the right distance to react to any unforeseen circumstances.
Suddenly, Gunther furrows his brow "Hn? Levi?" A hooded figure moves from the left with abnormal speed.
"No... it's not—"
He can't finish the sentence.
The silhouette propels itself from below with deadly precision and, in one motion, drives both swords through Gunther's neck.
His head barely stays attached to his body by a torn thread of flesh, and his body hangs lifeless from his cable.
...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"¡¡¡GUNTHER-SAN!!!"
Eren's scream is heart-wrenching as he approaches, only to find his lifeless body unrecognizable.
Aurou reacts immediately, grabbing Eren by the hood and pulling him away with force "¡¡EREN!! DON'T STOP, KEEP MOVING FORWARD!"
We move in a closed formation, protecting Eren as Petra screams in desperation without stopping "¡WHO DID THIS!?"
"¡¡PROTECT EREN!!" orders Erd, gritting his teeth.
I observe the scene closely, my thoughts cold and calculating.
So this is how things are.
"Everyone, keep formation." My tone leaves no room for doubt. "We're fighting against a changing Titan."
"DAMN." grunts Aurou, his voice filled with anger and fear. "KIYOTAKA, WHAT DO WE DO NOW!?"
I forget the uncertainty. There is no time for doubt.
"Forget the horses." My voice is calm, but firm. "We need to get to the Commander and the others. No matter what, don't let them catch Eren. They die if necessary."
Petra grits her teeth, desperation marking her face "Is it the one inside the Female Titan... or are there more of them?" Her voice shakes with rage. "DAMN IT! THE NERVES ARE MESSING ME UP...!"
Suddenly, she screams loudly, her sword ready "SHOW YOURSELF! YOU HAVE NO HONOR, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU A FAIR CHANCE!"
There's no other option.
I'm sorry, Levi's Squad.
If I could, I'd do everything to ensure your survival, but I can't intervene until it's absolutely necessary. Not yet.
Besides, if they couldn't even kill her with Captain Levi among them, it means she's still hiding a trump card.
Suddenly, a blinding flash tears through the sky, followed by a roar that shakes the earth.
The ground trembles beneath us as if the world itself reacts to the threat. An immense column of steam rises between the trees, enveloping the silhouette that slowly begins to rise within the mist.
The seconds stretch into eternity as the fog dissipates, and then we see it.
Two cold, blue eyes shine through the steam.
The Female Titan has returned.
"SO IT'S REALLY HER!! SHE'S COMING FOR US!!" screams Erd, his hands tightening around the hilts of his swords.
The titan wastes no time. It charges toward us in a frantic sprint, its massive footsteps shaking the ground.
Eren's face fills with despair "Shit... SHIT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!"
He puts his hand to his mouth "IT'S TIME TO DO THIS!! I'LL FIGHT HER!!"
"¡¡DON'T DO IT!!" shouts Erd, stepping in immediately. "THE FOUR OF US WILL HANDLE HER, EREN. GET TO THE COMMANDER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE."
"¡¡I'M GOING TO FIGHT TOO!!" Eren responds, his voice trembling with rage and helplessness.
"IT'S BETTER IF YOU DON'T! USING YOUR POWERS IS TOO RISKY!"
"WHAT THE HELL, YOU LITTLE PUNK!!" Aurou steps up, glaring at him. "YOU DARE DOUBT OUR SKILLS?!"
Eren opens his mouth to respond, but then Petra looks him straight in the eyes "Is what he said true, Eren...?" Her tone is softer, deeper. "Don't you believe in us?"
Eren holds his breath.
His gaze moves over each of the squad members. Their determined faces. Their firm stances. Their unshakable conviction.
Gritting his teeth, he closes his eyes for a moment and then shouts with all his might:
"!!I BELIEVE IN MY SQUAD'S VICTORY!! GOOD LUCK!!"
With those words, we turn toward the enemy.
The titan continues its charge, getting closer and closer. We can't let it reach Eren.
I step forward and take position at the front.
"Let's go... Every meter counts." I breathe deeply and give the order. "WE NEED TO BUY TIME, NOT KILL IT."
And with a roar of compressed gas, we're launched toward her.
Erd is the first to attack. He dives forward, zigzagging through the air with surgical precision.
The Female Titan reacts with abnormal speed, attempting to crush him with a swipe. But Erd uses a large amount of gas to change direction at the last second and dodges the strike.
That's the key moment.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Petra and Aurou emerge from the vapor screen created by Erd and strike at the titan's eyes with their blades.
The eyeballs explode in a flash of blood, and the beast stumbles, completely blinded.
I don't waste time.
I close the distance and with a precise move, I cut the muscles in the knees that support its arms.
The titan, deprived of its sight and upper limbs, has no choice but to lean against a tree to avoid collapsing.
It will probably try to regenerate its vision first. Then it will look for a way to destabilize us.
We won't allow it.
"Cut the heels and keep your distance. If we do this right, it's over." I say as the titan's arms fall limp.
Erd takes position. His gaze is filled with determination as he ignores my order and rushes directly toward the neck, his cables gripping the titan's neck muscles.
I can only watch when—
!!!CRUNCH!!!
A nauseating sound resonates in the air.
The titan regenerates one eye in a fraction of a second, and before anyone can react, it drags Erd into its mouth and bites him in half.
The blood spills into the air like crimson rain.
The top half of Erd's body hangs for a moment before his severed torso falls into the void.
"¡¡ERD!!!!!!!!!!!" Petra screams in terror from below, her stance unsteady from the desperation. "W- WHAT—?! WHAT IS GOING ON!" Her voice shakes, her breathing erratic. "SHE SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE YET!!"
She tries to retreat, but the panic paralyzes her for a moment "IT CAN'T BE...! Not even...!! IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN 15 SECONDS!!"
Erd's corpse is spit out onto the ground with a disgusting sound.
Petra watches in horror as the Female Titan stands up again, its eyes completely regenerated.
"ONE EYE?!"
Her mind works frantically, trying to understand "SHE FOCUSED ON ONE EYE TO REGENERATE IT FASTER?! HOW CAN... HOW CAN SHE DO THAT?!"
There's no time for more answers.
The Female Titan turns her full attention to Petra. Her body, still off-balance after Erd's death, is an easy target.
"PETRA! GET YOUR BALANCE QUICK!" Aurou yells, desperation breaking his voice. "COME ON, PETRA, DO IT!"
But she barely manages to stabilize. Her cable is poorly anchored, her movements slower than usual, her reaction delayed by the shock. And the beast notices.
The titan jumps
Time slows down. The titan figure rises in the air like a hungry shadow, both legs together, falling with a force that could crush bones.
My mind works faster than my body can move. I need to destabilize her.
With a burst of gas, I propel myself from below. I cut horizontally through the supporting leg in a clean slash, feeling the resistance of flesh and bone under the blade. A dull roar vibrates in the air as the titan tilts slightly. It's not enough.
is inevitable.
CRACK..!!!
The entire lower half of Petra's body, from her thighs down to her feet, is crushed against a tree with inhuman brutality. Her torso tilts forward like a ragdoll as pain fills her features.
My peripheral vision registers her falling to the ground, screaming as the pain renders her unconscious.
But I can't stop. Not now.
I continue with my slash and use the tree as a new point of propulsion. I change direction in mid-air while, from the corner of my eye, I see Aurou charge directly toward the neck.
"¡¡BITCH!! DIE!!" He leaps in fury, his sword flashing like lightning in pure vengeance. The blade goes straight for the exposed flesh of the neck, a blow that should be lethal.
But then...
A metallic sound rings out as his blade shatters against the titan's tough skin "WHAT—!? WHY DIDN'T MY SWORD—!?"
There's no time for him to finish the sentence.
Annie spins on her axis and, with a swift and merciless move, slams Aurou's body against the ground.
A dry impact.
A cracking sound.
And then... nothing.
Only silence.
Aurou no longer exists. His body has been crushed in such a way that only a trace of his existence remains: his torn uniform, crumpled on the ground, and a pool of blood rapidly spreading, forming a dark stain on the earth that was once trampled by the frantic steps of battle.
Erd... is no more. Only a disfigured mass of what once was his body remains. The sight of his body split into three parts, bathed in blood, is etched as an indelible mark in the mind of anyone daring enough to look.
Gunther hangs lifeless from his cable, his neck torn, his head almost separated from his body. The corpse, hanging like a broken puppet, reflects the cold, unforgiving reality of this world at war.
Petra lies on the ground, her body bent awkwardly in the grass. There are no screams of pain. No movement. Her breath is a soft, irregular whisper, like a faint thread of life still clinging to her body. The spasms that run through her form are faint, but her skin is pale, like that of a forgotten corpse.
And there is Eren. I see him from a distance, in his eyes is the reflection of everything he has lost. His pupils are dilated, as if horror itself has taken possession of him. The tremor running through his body is uncontrollable, his breath irregular, as if he is struggling to comprehend what is unfolding before him.
Eren is completely paralyzed. His face reflects absolute terror. His mind is being consumed by helplessness, the helplessness of being unable to do anything, of witnessing the death of his friends, his battle companions, those who fought alongside him at every moment, only to be killed by a creature that even their bravest efforts could not stop.
His hands tremble, and finally, he brings one of them to his mouth, as if trying to calm the anguish consuming him. But what I see in him is not endless despair. What I see is something deeper. A new resolution is taking shape within him, one that, though he may not know it yet, will likely change him forever.
And I... I just observe. My breath steadies, my mind no longer races. This body, this blood—though everything inside me screams for vengeance, for justice—the darkness takes over my gaze, even as this body forces my emotions to their limit, my expression remains unchanged.
Indifference.
The fear and despair of my comrades no longer affect me. What has just happened is only part of this merciless game, and I know this will not end here.