The radiant afterglow washed across the Jaw Titan's face and body—and across the corpse of Rod Reiss that it had wrenched out of the hundred-meter colossus.
The Jaw Titan threw back its head and roared, a cry of victory.
Everyone there—every human in the districts of Wall Rose—was struck dumb with terror by the sight.
Like beasts bowing to a king, they froze in place, faces tight with fear and grim awe, as if welcoming a new master.
Dangling from the Jaw Titan's grip, Rod Reiss's body was drenched in blood from face to torso. His eyeballs had been torn free and rolled to the ground; both arms and both legs ripped off, what little blood remained still leaking out.
Aside from his clothing, almost nothing could prove who he had been.
Heavy steam boiled upward. Deprived of its controller, the hundred-meter Titan began to evaporate rapidly, coiling into a fog that wrapped the whole wall.
At that moment, several uninvited observers at the base of the wall caught sight of it.
"The Jaw Titan. No mistake," Annie said, lowering her hood and lifting her gaze to Roger on the wall.
"Do we move now?" Bertholdt asked, uncertain. He knew this was the best moment to strike—top of the class or not, he still sought his comrades' assent.
"We can—though it may alert the Corps."
"I'll hold off the Corps," Annie said. "Right now, Bertholdt—use Bakuhatsu (Explosion) atop the fifty-meter wall. If it kills Roger, all the better."
"Are you crazy, Annie?!" Pieck shot back. "The walls are stuffed with uncountable Titans, each the size of the Colossal. If they see sunlight, who knows what happens! One misstep and the world ends!"
"You think I don't know that?" Annie fired back. "If Roger lives, the world faces doomsday anyway. Did you forget how Reiner died? That lunatic—Roger—wasn't killed even after Reiner's Armored Titan stomped his body into paste. If we don't use surprise now and blast him into ash, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"Even so—"
"Then I'll tie him up," Annie said. "If something happens to me, you two retreat."
"But we haven't recovered the Founding! And we've already lost both the Jaw and the Armored—going back empty-handed means punishment!"
"So…"
Annie let the word hang, eyes moving between her two companions.
Bertholdt and Pieck understood.
To avoid punishment for returning empty-handed, they could take the Jaw and Armored back—from Roger's corpse.
But the only one who could stall Roger was Annie, and her odds were slim. The best outcome would be for the Colossal Titan to reduce Roger to ash at once. Then, wherever the Jaw and Armored were reborn, it would still be better than both resting in the hands of one madman. Marley would still have a sliver of hope—a chance to bargain.
Except—
If the Wall Titans were unleashed…
"No time to hesitate. Once Roger reacts, a chance like this won't come again," Annie said, already set on transforming into the Female Titan.
Bertholdt stared at the ground, silent.
Pieck thought a moment, then finally nodded. "I understand. Go, Bertholdt. It's the only bad choice that might work. We can't let Roger run wild any longer. Don't forget—his goal is to wipe Marley out. Compared to a shrewd shifter, the Wall Titans are huge but mindless. Without the Founding's control, they're at least manageable for a while. And even if they eat the people inside the Walls, they'll need time to march to Marley."
Seeing her two comrades align, Bertholdt wavered—but the vision of a man-made hell wouldn't leave his mind.
"No. No—how could we? If I unleash them, I'm the one who destroys the world! My parents—everyone in Marley—could be crushed. No! I won't do it! You're both insane!"
"Bertholdt!"
Annie tried to steady him, though doubt tugged at her own chest.
It was a gamble.
Win, and Roger dies; the Jaw and Armored are reborn later and allowed to grow again.
Lose, and the world ends—or at least the Wall Rose front of Colossals levels it.
However you counted it, it was a losing game.
But to kill Roger—who held two Titan powers—this was the only reliable path.
"Forget it," Annie sighed. "Leave it to me."
She readied her Rittai Kidō Sōchi (ODM gear), intending to launch into the air, get behind Roger, transform in a flash, and take him in one move.
"Wait, Annie!" Bertholdt couldn't bear to see her take a near-certain death. "Think again—there has to be another way."
"…Mm."
Pieck murmured her agreement. She wasn't one to waver like Bertholdt, but she had once dragged Annie out at the risk of her own life. Watching Annie walk into the fire hurt.
And even she had no better plan.
"Maybe we can still ally with the Corps—use them to take Roger down."
"Maybe hours ago—if the royals hadn't sold us out. Not now. Roger killed the hundred-meter Titan. Just for that, he and they stand together. Next, once he tells the Corps the truth about the world—given his nose for things, and their investigations—we won't last three months," Annie said.
"Three weeks is possible," Pieck added, raking a hand through her hair in frustration.
Standing straight to talk left her uncomfortable, but lying prone wasn't an option here.
Had she gone too long without transforming to run like the wind again?
Silence fell over the three.
Another choice. Another dead end.
Their last card might just bring a worse disaster.
As they wrestled with it, a slender figure approached.
They didn't panic. Each of them wore clothing stripped from dead soldiers, and the newcomer looked like a soldier, too. Calmly, they challenged her.
"What are you doing here? It's dangerous—get away from this place."
The woman looked each of them over, confirming they were the same kids who had built a fire on the island's wasteland back then. She dipped her chin and spoke.
"Hello. My surname is Tybur."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810