Roger felt this wasn't enough.
"You must be the strongest of this bunch, right?"
He thought, and deliberately maneuvered the Jaw Titan to lower its head toward Holst.
Holst froze. His body locked up, movement gone in an instant.
"What's this? Strike me! Go for my eyes!"
Roger almost didn't know how to hold back without giving it away—what was he supposed to do, wait until the man snapped out of it?
No choice. He lunged forward, scooping Holst into his mouth.
He avoided the teeth, careful not to kill him. He needed the man alive for what came next.
"Ahhhhhh—!"
Terror jolted Holst awake at the last second, but it was too late. His scream cut off as he was swallowed whole.
Around them, despair exploded.
"Ahhhh!!"
"Captain Holst!!"
"God!!"
"Help me! Save me!!"
Oluo collapsed, body trembling uncontrollably.
He reached out for his comrades, but none turned back.
The Jaw Titan's guttural growl rolled out. Oluo crawled desperately, tears and snot running down his face.
"Help! Save me—!"
Crack!
His hysterical screaming made him bite through his tongue. Blood spilled down his chest, staining the Wings of Freedom insignia on his cloak.
Roger sighed.
He had hoped the boy would swing his blades at the titan's eyes, giving Roger an excuse to drop down and "help" them against the titans below.
But seeing Oluo sobbing and screaming in terror, he found no words.
"If you can't overcome your fear of titans, why come outside the Walls at all?" Roger thought grimly.
At least not all of them were useless.
Miche, though shaken when he first spotted the titan in the trees, had survived thanks to Holst's cover. With his maneuver gear, he managed to escape.
But none of them expected…
Oluo was left behind.
If he hadn't screamed for help, they might have abandoned him outright.
"…Forgive me!"
Miche clenched his jaw, turning back to rescue him.
The others followed.
"Don't panic! It's only one titan!"
Miche barked, steadying them and himself. He fired his hooks into the titan's nape, gas hissing as he soared in to strike.
Roger felt the pull on his nape. He froze a moment—these people knew the titan's weakness. They were going for the kill.
He nearly reached back to yank Miche into his jaws—then hesitated.
Instead, he turned, letting the blade sink into his eye.
Slash!
Blood sprayed!
Roger roared in feigned pain, then leapt forward, hurling the titan's body from the tree.
Miche reeled in his cables just in time, avoiding being dragged down with him.
But when he looked below, cold sweat broke across his forehead.
"Why… was it so fast?"
Miche whispered.
Oluo, overwhelmed with relief, flung himself at Miche, clinging to his leg, babbling thanks.
The rest regrouped, but all saw Miche's shaken face.
"It won't climb back up, will it?!"
One leaned down, fear in his voice.
Miche murmured, "It felt… calculated. Its reflexes were sharper than mine."
"What? Miche?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
"I heard you. You think it's an abnormal, don't you?"
"…Yeah."
"And now what? Captain Holst is gone…"
Someone's despair spilled out, like cattle waiting for slaughter.
No one spoke again.
Every face sank into shadow.
Exhaustion weighed on them.
If death was certain, let it come quickly…
That was the thought on their faces.
Then—
"Look! Down there!"
Every head turned.
On the ground, the Jaw Titan rampaged as though blinded. It smashed one titan beneath its landing, then lunged forward, deliberately stumbling to roll away from grasping hands.
Roger had already counted them—four titans in total. One about ten meters, two around seven, one only four.
He wasn't sure which he'd crushed on landing, so he rolled clear to be safe.
He restored vision to one eye—never willing to fight blind.
Even half-blind, he dodged every blow with tense precision.
The three titans lunged. Roger slipped through, snarling. His eye cleared.
He pounced.
"Roar!!"
He crushed a six-meter titan's neck in his jaws, tearing through its nape.
Another four-meter rushed. Roger kicked it away.
Boom!
It fell, steaming.
He lunged at the ten-meter titan, snapping one leg with a vicious bite.
"Rooaaar!!"
The titan howled, clutching Roger's hair, but Roger dragged it down, slamming it to the earth.
All four were down—one dead, two crippled, one maimed.
Satisfied, Roger pulled free of his titan body.
At the nape, he sliced through the steaming flesh, severing the connections.
As he cut away the last link, he made the titan retch violently.
Holst spilled out.
Roger slipped through too, sliding out alongside him, both of them slick with steaming mucus.
//Check out my Patreon for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[[email protected]/Razeil0810](http://[email protected]/Razeil0810)