Anti-Titan bullets were limited.
But the future was full of twists, blind turns, and merciless paths. No one could say how many Titans they would cross in this short twenty-minute journey to the docks.
Fewer than thirteen—safe.
More than thirteen—and everyone would die.
Bang!
Zeke fired, another Titan's head splitting open.
"Twelve." His voice was flat, almost mechanical.
He turned to the group frozen in fear, faces pale, bodies stiff. "Do you want to stand here any longer?"
No one answered. The silence itself was suffocating.
Save yourself… or save others?
The question hung above their heads like an executioner's blade.
The silence cracked.
"To the docks, of course!"
The voice belonged to a ragged refugee who suddenly broke through the crowd, breathless, his eyes wild with desperation. He flung his words like a verdict. "Why are you even hesitating? He only has twelve bullets left—just enough to cover this road! How could you waste them on that giant monster?"
He turned to Zeke then, his face shifting from fear to pleading worship. "Hero… even if you take one or two of us with you, please—take us to the dock! Please!"
And then they came.
More refugees, pouring from alleys and broken houses, drawn by the sound of gunfire and hope. Old men, hunched and trembling. Women clutching infants close to their chests. Children whose eyes were too wide, too hollow.
They all gathered around Zeke, every gaze clinging to him like drowning hands reaching for driftwood.
Saviors were rare.
But beggars were endless.
Zeke felt bile rise in his throat. That look in their eyes—faith mixed with desperation—it disgusted him.
He forced himself to look away and snapped at Eren instead. "See? Twelve bullets can't do anything. So—we get to the docks."
Eren bit his lip, his fists trembling. His chest rose and fell quickly, and then, after a painful pause, he shook his head.
"No," he said, voice breaking but steadying with each word. "Twelve bullets… that's enough to kill the Armored Titan, right? Brother Zeke… you can kill him. And if he dies, the inner gate is saved!"
Zeke's brows drew low, his jaw tight. "And what will you do then?" His voice was sharp, scolding.
Eren faltered. He had no real plan—only conviction. But he lifted his chin anyway. "We… we'll find a way to survive!"
"You—"
Boom. Boom. Boom!
The ground shook again.
The Armored Titan had risen, his wounds steaming shut, and now he charged forward once more, toward the shattered inner gate of Wall Maria.
Zeke's words caught in his throat. His expression twisted into rage. He swung the rifle up, aimed, and shouted:
"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to my brother, you idiot!"
Bang!
The bullet slammed into the Titan's ankle again. Bone cracked, ligaments tore, and the monster collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Reiner's blank eyes peered through the Titan's skull, confusion radiating from his giant body.
"???"
Eren seized the chance, his small voice cutting sharp as a knife. "Brother! Stop playing around! If you can break his legs, why not his neck?!"
Zeke didn't even blink.
"Didn't you see? His neck hardened."
It was a lie, smooth and practiced. Reiner hadn't hardened at the first shot, but by the second—when he realized his captain had turned his weapon on him—his neck had sealed in armor. Now, even Zeke's anti-Titan rifle couldn't pierce it.
"Hardened?" Eren frowned.
"It's the muscle on that thing—hard as armor. It can't be penetrated."
Eren squinted, suspicion sharp in his young eyes. "How do you know? Have you tried? Do you… know that Titan?"
Zeke's face twitched.
His heart stuttered.
How can I explain this?
He forced a laugh, stiff and awkward. "I've killed more Titans than you've ever seen. That's how I know."
The words were barely out when the refugees erupted.
"Giant Slayer!" one screamed.
"He's a hero! Humanity has hope!"
"The Survey Corps was right—our savior is here!"
"The cheers built like waves crashing on stone. "Hero! Hero! Hero!"
Zeke's stomach churned. He wanted to vomit.
"Shut up!" he roared. "Have you all forgotten?! I only have eleven bullets left! Go! Get to the docks instead of wasting time here!"
The cheers broke instantly. Reality's shadow swallowed them whole, and panic shoved them into motion. The crowd surged away, stumbling, shoving, desperate to reach the docks.
Zeke exhaled harshly, then grabbed Eren's hand again. "Let's go."
The boy struggled, but this time his body betrayed him. He couldn't break free of the warrior's iron grip.
He stumbled forward, his thoughts swirling.
He had believed—truly believed—that Zeke could fell the armored monster with one shot, the way he'd toppled other Titans like they were nothing.
But now… Zeke's words stabbed deeper than bullets.
No matter how many times he fired, the Armored Titan wouldn't die. The last twelve shots—they were only enough to cover a retreat. Enough to save lives, maybe, but not enough to change fate.
But…
But are you really willing to do this?
Eren's gaze lifted. Above the chaos, above the smoke and rubble, nighthawks cut across the starry night.
And he remembered.
If Wall Maria is breached, humanity will retreat again—behind another wall. The cage will tighten. And once again… we'll lose our freedom.
His small fists clenched.
"I don't want…" he whispered, voice trembling. "I don't want to be a caged pig… or sheep…"
Then louder, stronger, his voice cracking with anger and fire—
"I don't want it anymore!"
He yanked his hand free from Zeke's grip. His whole body shook, but his eyes blazed.
"Brother Zeke!" he shouted. "I know you have a way to deal with him! Please—use the rest of the bullets! Kill that monster! We'll… we'll find a way to survive!"
"I don't," Zeke said flatly, coldly. Ruthlessly cutting down the boy's hope.
"Yes, you do!" Eren's words burst from his chest, fierce, unstoppable. "You're lying. I can feel it. My intuition—no, my heart—it tells me you have a way. You can kill him!"
Zeke's lips pressed into a thin line. He shook his head slowly. "You think too highly of me. All of you do. I'm just a gunman—a hunter." He reached for Eren's hand again, trying to pull him forward.
But this time, Eren stood his ground. He wrenched free with all the stubborn fury burning inside him.
"Didn't you say you'd stop everything?!" His young voice cracked, echoing against the broken stone.
He pointed toward Shiganshina, where buildings lay crushed beneath Titans' footsteps, where smoke curled from dying fires, where screams had Eren silent.
"If you keep running like this—you won't stop anything! You won't change anything!" His eyes burned, wet and furious.
"You can't save anyone. Is this what you call change?!"
And then his voice dropped, sharp as a blade cutting straight to the bone.
"What are you still hiding, Brother Zeke?"
...
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