Year 850. The Colossal Titan appears once more.
Trost District is breached. Large numbers of Titans pour inside.
Chen Si pulls the trigger, gas blasting continuously as he speeds toward the very front lines. He calculates the timing in his head—he wasted too much time on that idiot earlier. Eren's squad may already be suffering heavy casualties.
Gritting his teeth, he increases the gas output and accelerates.
He isn't some saint who expects to save everyone. All he can do is try his best. After three years of training together, it's impossible to feel nothing. Besides, the people in this world are genuinely more simple and sincere—easier to care about.
Three Titans charge toward him.
Chen Si pulls the trigger again. The gas output feels weaker, but an arc of electricity flickers along with it. Maintaining his speed, he flashes past two Titans' napes, slicing cleanly through them, then dives straight toward the third.
The first two collapse instantly, steam rising from their bodies. The third Titan's head is severed entirely.
Without looking back, Chen Si continues forward.
That third one… did it not die? No time. Save the others first.
He presses the trigger again. The gas output is much lower now—he's almost out.
He's been fighting at high intensity, consuming far more than usual. He never conserved even a little—always going straight for maximum speed and clean decapitations.
Electric arcs begin crackling across his entire body as he pushes himself forward even faster toward the front lines.
What Chen Si doesn't know is that the Titan head he just severed flew high into the air—and smashed straight into someone invisible.
Kawa Sawano stares in horror as the Titan head inexplicably hurtles toward him. He curses Chen Si wildly in his heart.
He had been tailing Chen Si, looking for a chance to trip him up—but without ODM gear, he couldn't keep up at all.
Now he only regrets wasting time chasing women instead of learning ODM skills. He regrets even more following Chen Si.
As the massive head crashes toward him, he squeezes his eyes shut in terror.
A gust of wind passes.
He's unharmed.
The head passed straight through him.
Overjoyed, Kawa realizes that while invisible, he seems immune to Titan attacks. A twisted grin spreads across his face. He can now enter the Titan battlefield. He'll make Bertholdt blow Chen Si to pieces.
"Ahhh!"
A piercing scream echoes.
"Armin?"
Chen Si accelerates toward the sound and quickly spots the blond boy frozen on a rooftop.
In the distance, a member of the 34th squad is being crushed in a Titan's grip. Eren lies on another rooftop, missing a leg, his life uncertain.
Chen Si lands beside Armin, gripping his blade. He closes his eyes slightly, legs apart, center of gravity lowered—like a samurai bowing to the earth.
"Breath of Thunder…"
"Chen Si?" Armin trembles, finally snapping out of his daze.
"First Form…"
With eyes closed, Chen Si's awareness locks onto the napes of six Titans.
"Chen Si, run! Everyone in the 34th is dead! This is hell!" Armin screams through tears and snot.
"Thunderclap and Flash…"
"Chen Si, you—" Armin's mouth hangs open as Chen Si's entire body becomes wrapped in lightning, violent arcs exploding outward.
"Sixfold!"
The instant the word leaves his mouth, Chen Si's eyes snap open, brilliant blue light bursting forth. His body transforms into a streak of lightning, carving six jagged arcs through the air.
Five Titans fall instantly.
Chen Si deliberately avoids the one closest to Eren—mostly because it's farther away, and he doesn't have the energy to spare.
The soldier who had been gripped by a Titan is already crushed nearly beyond recognition, barely clinging to life.
Chen Si moves to strike the sixth—
Suddenly, a seven-meter Titan lunges toward the unconscious Mina.
He forcibly changes direction midair, twisting ninety degrees to intercept.
The sudden shift costs him—he fails to finish the sixth Titan. His lightning energy doesn't replenish in time. His speed falters; he only manages to sever the seventh Titan's arms.
"Armin, stop just standing there!" Chen Si shouts through gritted teeth. I swear, how is he this stunned?!
Armin finally reacts, maneuvering with his ODM gear to grab Mina and pull her away. He glances back at Chen Si—
And what he sees makes his eyes split with horror.
The Titan, back turned to Armin, bites toward Chen Si midair. Chen Si's energy is nearly depleted; exhaustion floods over him.
At the critical moment, Chen Si swings and slices through most of the Titan's neck. The Titan's bite shifts—but its jaws still close on his hand, tearing it off.
Momentum carries Chen Si crashing through a nearby window. Glass shatters as he falls into the house and loses consciousness.
Armin sets Mina down. Finally summoning courage through tears, he charges forward and slashes at the Titan, whose neck hangs by a thin strip of flesh.
Steam rises.
But Chen Si is nowhere to be seen.
From Armin's angle, he thinks Chen Si has been devoured.
"Chen Si! Chen Si! Where are you? You're okay, right? Chen Si…"
Armin collapses to the ground in terror. He cannot believe someone as powerful as Chen Si could just die like this.
How could this happen… How could this happen… How could Chen Si die…
If Chen Si were awake inside the house, he'd probably be speechless. At least look inside the building!
Armin's pupils tremble. He stands there in a daze—
A Titan suddenly grabs him and swallows him whole.
"Chen Si… I swear I'll kill all of you Titans…"
Nearby, Eren sees what he believes to be Chen Si's death. Grief and fury surge within him. Seeing Armin about to die, he leaps on one leg from the rooftop and throws himself into the Titan's mouth, yanking Armin out.
Armin is hurled away, watching in despair.
"I can't die here! Titans… Armin… I still have to see the outside world…" Eren stretches out his hand, eyes filled with longing and unwillingness.
"Eren! Hurry—no!" Armin screams, tears bursting forth.
With a sickening crunch, Eren's arm falls out of the Titan's mouth. His body is swallowed whole.
A horrifying scream echoes across nearly half the defense district.
Most soldiers have long grown numb to such cries.
At the rear, Mikasa—who had just watched Carla safely enter behind the walls—hears the scream. She turns toward the distant front lines, unease filling her eyes.
Brother… please be safe.
"Hey! Armin! Snap out of it! Where's your squad?" Connie shouts, shaking him.
"My squad…" Armin's eyes are unfocused.
"Why are you the only one here? And why are you covered in… what is this?" Connie rubs his fingers together in confusion.