Garrison Regiment Headquarters, Underground Supply Station.
"Please wait, Captain!"
Three young Trainees anxiously blocked the path of the bearded man in charge, Kitz Weilman, and his three deputies.
Behind the Soldiers was the underground tunnel leading into the interior of Wall Rose.
"Captain! If you leave and the Titans really break in, we few supply Soldiers won't be able to hold this place."
The female Trainee's voice was full of pleading: "Captain! Please, stay here."
Duty and obligation had long been swallowed by fear in Kitz's mind. He threatened in a low voice, "Get out of my way immediately. Don't waste time here."
"The vanguard district has suffered heavy casualties, and the front lines are understaffed. I must rush there immediately to organize reinforcements."
Hearing Kitz's words and knowing they couldn't stop him, a Trainee simply mocked him: "Is the Captain going to organize that so-called 'unit' while watching us die from the safety of the inner gate?"
Kitz's expression changed, and he said with feigned confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"I am merely acting according to regulations."
"I am simply following the law!"
The more Kitz spoke, the more confident he became. Finally, he roared at the Recruits in front of him:
"Even a military court cannot convict me!!"
The female Trainee tried to persuade him again: "But, if this place is overrun..."
"Shut up!"
Kitz drew his blade directly at the three Trainees!
"If you obstruct me any further, I will execute you on the spot for defying a superior's orders!"
The three Trainees dared not interfere any longer.
Kitz left this Hell directly with his confidants.
Leaving all the Soldiers in the Trost District behind.
Holding onto the railing and watching the scene below, the corners of Lock's mouth slowly curled up.
The stage has been set... all that's left is to wait.
He looked at the black bundle leaning in the corner nearby and rubbed his palms together vigorously... In the top-floor office of the headquarters, many supply Soldiers were gathered.
The three Trainees announced to everyone present that the commander had abandoned the city and fled.
Someone suggested with a trembling voice, "Let's leave too..."
Others remained rational: "There are still so many comrades outside. Do you want to get them all killed?"
But even more people retorted, "The Titans have surrounded this place. Without a captain to clear them out, we can't even leave, let alone support them!"
"If the supply room is breached by Titans, we'll be trapped here to die!"
At that moment, Lock walked into the office, spread his hands, and said to everyone, "What a shame, it's already been breached. A lot of little guys have entered the supply room now, and those who stayed below have already been eaten."
"We can't leave anymore."
Looking at the hopeful eyes across from him, Lock dealt them a final blow: "Don't count on me. My skill with Omni-Directional Mobility Gear is just average. The only reason I ranked second was because of the scores I pulled from other subjects."
Everyone finally fell into utter despair... After telling them to stay quietly in the top-floor office, Lock went to the lower floors alone.
Lock was observing the Titans.
He lay on the edge of the elevator shaft, poking his head out to lock eyes with a fellow over three meters tall at the very bottom.
Looking at the other's terrifying face, which looked like a mix of hyperthyroidism and Down syndrome.
Lock still greeted it with a smile: "Hey! How long has it been since you turned into a Titan? Were you sent here from Marley?"
"Do you know Grisha Yeager?"
The creature stretched its arms toward Lock, but unfortunately, it wasn't tall enough.
Lock was pleased and said, "Don't be in a hurry. When Eren comes, I'll go down and play with you."
"How about that?"
Boom!
Dust fell from the ceiling like snow.
Lock knew that there must be several 14 to 15-meter class Titans smashing against the walls outside.
He had no intention of going out to face them.
Since he had already graduated, he never wanted to use the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear again.
It had been three years, and he still hated the thing.
It was as if it were naturally incompatible with him.
If it hadn't accounted for such a high percentage of the final exam, he might have surpassed Mikasa to take first place with a few extra credit points.
It was strange; he didn't know what the god who sent him to this world was thinking, putting a boxer in a place that tested aerial abilities even more.
Wasn't he completely useless then?
Oh, well, not entirely.
As long as he became a Titan, wouldn't it be fine?
Thinking this, he stood up, clapped his hands, and looked in a certain direction through a wall, whispering, "Don't get hurt worrying about me, Annie."
..." Jean, what should we do now?"
Jean sat on the roof and shook the device at his side, knowing that the fuel gas inside was nowhere near enough for him to get back to the wall.
Covering his face, he said to Connie, "What else can we do? We can only wait here to die."
Jean gritted his teeth in indignation: "It's all because of those cowards."
Connie asked, "Are you talking about the Supply Unit? What are they doing? Have they been wiped out?"
Someone nearby immediately asked, "What about Lock? Wasn't he assigned to the Supply Uni,t too? Is he dead as well?"
Jean grew even angrier upon hearing Lock's name and said jealously, "He's not like us. He's an aristocrat. By now, he might have already abandoned us commoners and returned inside Wall Rose."
Someone cautioned, "Hey, Annie is still here."
Another said resentfully, "Tch, some 'blonde couple' they are. In the end, he just ran off alone."
Hearing this, Reiner walked over to Annie and lowered his voice, "Have you seen the reality now? Bertholdt and I told you long ago that he's unreliable."
Annie looked toward the Garrison headquarters, surrounded by Titans, and said expressionlessly, "When do we start?"
Hearing Annie's tone, Reiner finally felt relieved: "No rush yet. We need to gather more people before we act."
Suddenly, someone shouted in surprise, "It's Mikasa! Mikasa is here!"
Everything was proceeding in its original direction... Lock reached out and snatched the gun that the Trainee was about to put in his own mouth.
He took the gun, walked to a hole in the wall, shoved the muzzle directly into a giant eye behind the hole, and pulled the trigger.
A Titan's howl of pain immediately echoed from outside the wall.
Lock threw away the broken gun, took out the handles of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear hanging on both sides of his waist, attached the blades, and slipped through the hole in the wall, jumping straight off the tall building.
His finger pulled the trigger, and the grappling hook shot out, accurately hooking into the rear shoulder of the Titan whose eye Lock had wounded.
The hook retracted, and the gas jet at his lower back accelerated him.
In an instant, Lock sliced diagonally across the nape of this 15-meter class Titan.
Directly ahead, a 14-meter class Titan opened its mouth wide and lunged at Lock, who was flying toward it due to momentum.
Looking at the rapidly approaching maw, Lock knew there was no time to use the hooks to change direction.
He instantly leaned back 90 degrees in mid-air, and with the gas vents at his lower back at maximum output, his body was jerked upward, avoiding the fate of flying straight into the Titan's mouth.
His feet slammed into the Titan's forehead, and the grappling hooks on both sides shot out at close range to grip and secure themselves to the skin of the Titan's forehead.
Relying on his terrifying physical fitness, Lock braced himself and withstood the instantaneous impact from a 14-meter-tall Titan.
Gripping his twin blades, Lock stepped onto the Titan's head, retracted his hooks, and kicked off with one leg. Combined with the propulsion from his lower back, he leaped high, narrowly dodging the Titan's palm as it slapped toward his face.
Performing two and a half inverted rotations in the air, he traced a graceful arc and landed precisely behind the Titan's nape. With a sweep of his twin blades, he sliced off the Titan's only weakness.
Two heavy thuds signified that Lock's Titan kill count had increased by two.
Shooting his hooks to return to the outer wall, he went back into the office the way he had come... As his feet touched the ground, a familiar sense of security returned.
Turning his head to look out the window, the only two Titans over 10 meters tall were gone.
The office was now temporarily safe.
He stepped forward and slapped the fellow who was thinking of committing suicide.
Looking at the gazes around him that seemed to see a savior, Lock flashed his professional smile: "The rescue team will be here soon. Just stay here and rest assured."
Seeing Lock about to leave, a female Trainee with her hair in a ponytail stood up and asked, "Lock... where are you going?"
Lock reassured her, "Don't worry, it'll be fine here for now. I'm going to the underground supply station to see if I can scavenge some Gas Canisters out."
"Then... be careful."
Lock nodded, turned, and walked out of the office door.