"Outside the Walls?"
Could there really be people out there?
Keith stared at Erwin, stunned. To him, those words sounded like something straight out of a fairy tale.
After all, the kings inside the Walls, and even the revered Church of the Walls, had always preached that humanity was forced by Titans to abandon its homeland and build the three Walls to survive.
But could humans truly endure in such a harsh world outside?
Keith was doubtful. From the seventeen soldiers he had already lost, it was hard to imagine anyone surviving beyond the Walls.
Yet Erwin's resolute eyes planted a seed of doubt in his mind.
Maybe. Just maybe.
His gaze drifted over the corpses of Titans Roger had slain.
If Roger was from outside, then perhaps others like him lived out there—fierce and deadly.
If so, perhaps humanity wasn't extinct beyond the Walls. Perhaps there were even whole settlements.
And if they could be found, maybe together they could wipe out the Titans.
That would be humanity's greatest advance.
The people inside the Walls had suffered too many losses.
They desperately needed a victory to ignite hope again.
"You've done well, Erwin. Why didn't I think of it?" Keith smiled faintly, rare for him. "We'll do as you say. But I will personally oversee his interrogation."
"Understood."
With Keith's approval, Erwin didn't hesitate. He gathered the few soldiers with the most gas left and surged ahead.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The hiss of propellant echoed as they shot forward.
Their speed through the forest far outpaced the others, and in moments they reached the battlefield.
The ten-meter Titan had already fallen by Roger's hand. The smaller ones lay in heaps, all but one—an eight-meter Titan still standing.
Roger lay collapsed on the ground, seemingly unconscious, unmoving.
"Everyone! I'll draw its attention. Beck, Lylis—flank it! Mike, take the nape!"
"No problem!"
The soldiers responded. Erwin charged first, his blade stabbing into one of the Titan's eyes.
*Stab!*
The Titan roared, clutching wildly at him.
Beck and Lylis darted in, slicing through its ankles, forcing it face-first into the dirt.
*Boom!*
The ground shook. Its nape was exposed.
"Now!"
Mike dove, blade flashing toward the weak point—
But the Titan suddenly rolled, pressing its nape against the ground.
"Damn it!"
Reacting instantly, Mike fired his hooks and swung away, barely dodging its swipe.
But the danger wasn't over.
Beck, caught at its feet, was kicked skyward—snatched in one huge hand.
"Ahhh!!"
His scream tore through the forest. The Titan lifted him toward its jaws.
"No! Too late!!"
Mike had just landed, too far to intervene.
"Beck!"
Lylis didn't hesitate. She was closest—she couldn't stand by.
Gas hissed, hooks fired. She shot straight at the exposed nape, blades raised.
"Let him go, bastard!!"
*Slash!!*
Her blade carved into the flesh, a chunk flying free.
The Titan paused—
But it didn't fall. It still brought Beck to its mouth.
"Ahhhh!!"
"What… what's happening?!"
Lylis froze, horrified.
Then—*Crunch!*
The sound of teeth snapping shut. Beck's scream cut off.
"No… this can't be real…"
She stood paralyzed, staring at her comrade's headless body, drenched in blood, still clutched by the Titan. Her mind reeled, her body stiff with terror—even as the Titan's hand reached for her.
"Lylis! Move!!"
A voice boomed like thunder. Erwin.
He had burned the last of his gas to rush in. He grabbed her, yanking her clear, then roared as his blade slashed again along the earlier wound.
*Slash!!*
The strike severed half its spine. The Titan collapsed with a crash.
Steam poured from its body as it disintegrated.
Lylis, trembling, saw Erwin's face as he struck. Savage, merciless—so unlike the calm man she knew.
The Titan was dead.
Beck's body lay broken, blood pooling.
The iron stench filled the air. Lylis covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
It was her fault. She hadn't realized the Titan's nape was so deep. She had failed to save him.
Her heart drowned in guilt.
Erwin sighed, drenched in blood.
"You did what you could," he said, though he knew it wasn't enough.
By then Keith and the others arrived, their gas almost gone, movement sluggish.
Hange was the last, her gas spent from hunting earlier.
They saw Beck's body and wept in silence.
"All this… for one Titan… and we lost a man."
"How did Roger kill five alone?"
"He's not normal. He isn't human!"
No one hurt more than Keith. Each death hammered into him his own powerlessness.
"Let Beck rest."
His voice was heavy, his body weary though he had done little.
As Beck's body was lifted onto a stretcher, Erwin's eyes turned toward Roger.
There he was—sitting against a wall, awake, eyes open, watching as if nothing had happened.
"Bind him. Take him to the basement."
Erwin gave the order in the commander's stead, sharing a glance with Hange.
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