The walls of Trost had been smashed open with several cracks by Eren's immense power, but the breach had now been perfectly sealed.
Strong gusts of wind brushed across everyone's faces.
Chen Si's bangs were blown back into a slicked-back style, while Mikasa's long hair fluttered in the breeze. She gently tucked a strand behind her ear, watching Eren's back with quiet relief.
Chen Si noticed Mikasa's expression and sighed inwardly. It seemed her feelings for Eren had truly become more like those between siblings.
"Everyone… died for a reason…"
Rico, usually cold and composed, had tears filling her eyes for the first time. She held them back, raised her signal gun, and fired into the sky.
"Today… humanity has, for the first time, defeated the Titans."
"Yeah…" Ian let out a bitter smile. The tension he had been holding finally snapped, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Squad leader!"
"Ian!"
Rico and the elite squad rushed over in alarm.
On Wall Rose, at headquarters:
"Yellow smoke confirmed! The operation… seems to have succeeded!" Anka exclaimed in surprise.
"Woohoo!"
"We won! We actually won!"
The usually cold and disciplined commanders on the front lines were now cheering wildly like children.
Pixis allowed himself a faint smile.
"Send more reinforcements immediately! Rescue the elite squad! I want as many of my men alive as possible—do you understand?!" he roared.
"Yes, sir!" Everyone responded as the command system sprang into action.
Below the walls of Trost:
"The remaining Titans are coming! Prepare to ascend the wall!" Ian ordered.
"To the wall!" Rico followed up.
"Retrieve Eren, then withdraw immediately," Mikasa added.
Chen Si looked toward the nape of the Attack Titan—Armin was already digging Eren out.
It had to be said, Armin's role was crucial. Neither Chen Si nor Mikasa could wake Eren, but the moment Armin arrived, Eren regained consciousness. Armin truly lived up to his reputation.
"Withdraw immediately! I have some matters to settle," Chen Si shouted.
"What? You're going off on your own again?!" Jean yelled.
"Brother!" Mikasa called out worriedly.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon!"
"And hey—you, the glasses-wearing beauty—take care of my Mikasa."
As his voice faded, arcs of electricity crackled around him as he shot into the air toward the gate of Wall Rose.
"That guy… does an Ackerman even need protection?" Rico muttered, recalling Mikasa's overwhelming combat ability. Then she glanced at Mikasa's blades. Why is the quality of her weapons so good? she thought irritably.
"…Did he just call me beautiful?" Rico's face flushed slightly.
"Huh?" Jean stared at her in shock.
"What's wrong, Jean?" Connie asked.
"I curse this world…" Jean said bitterly.
"Ah! They've fused together—I can't pull him out!" Armin struggled, trying to free Eren, but his lower body was stuck.
"Then we cut him out."
Rico decisively swung her blade, slicing off Eren's leg. Eren fell free along with Armin, both crashing to the ground.
"Wait!" Mikasa cried out in alarm.
At that moment, six Titans surged toward them, reaching out with massive hands.
Armin stared in terror at the approaching hands, trembling.
"Eren! Armin!" Mikasa cut down one Titan, but the remaining four were already upon them. Her face paled in shock.
Suddenly—
Eren, just regaining consciousness, saw a figure streak forward like a phantom. In a flash, the napes of four Titans were severed, their bodies collapsing instantly.
Steam rose as a cloaked figure bearing the Wings of Freedom landed atop a Titan's corpse, back facing the group.
"Mikasa… who is that?" Armin asked blankly.
"That's… the Wings of Freedom…" the weakened Eren murmured.
"Hey. Brats. What's going on here?"
Levi turned back, his signature deadpan expression fixed on his face.
At that moment, a series of rumbling sounds echoed again. In the distance, Titans were collapsing one after another.
"Th-this is…" Armin stared in shock.
Eren was equally stunned.
A graceful figure approached as if taking a leisurely walk, moving with feline elegance. Around her, Titans began clawing out their own napes, collapsing one by one.
Winyaad slightly raised her eyes, the gray vortex within them slowly fading.
"The Survey Corps is back! That's Captain Levi and Miss Chris! Thank goodness!" Armin cried with joy.
Winyaad brushed her brown hair behind her ear. She had just finished clearing Titans elsewhere and had already heard that Chen Si had openly used his abilities in front of everyone. Since that was the case, she no longer intended to hide hers either.
Until now, only Levi had known about her power.
Her awakened ability: Soul Control.
She could control a human for 50 seconds, up to five humans simultaneously for 10 seconds, or control a Pure Titan for 5 seconds—up to five Titans at once for 2 seconds.
All abilities had a cooldown of five minutes.
It was, without a doubt, an overpowered skill.
At the base of Wall Rose:
Sawano Kawa pulled Bertolt into a blind spot between buildings. After waiting for the cooldown, he activated invisibility again and brought him to the base of the wall.
"Bertolt! Are you transforming or not?! Damn it! This is the third time!" Sawano Kawa hissed angrily, keeping his voice low. "Are you trying to tell me you've lost your Titan power?!"
"I… I don't know… I really don't know why I can't transform…" Bertolt replied in panic.
Deep down, he lacked the resolve to transform. At the same time, he feared that he might truly have lost his Titan power—and what would happen if he returned to Marley having failed the mission.
Sawano Kawa's expression darkened.
His original plan had been to use Bertolt's transformation explosion to kill all the high-ranking officers on Wall Rose, then take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the barracks, kidnap Carla, and return to Marley—using her to threaten Eren into not initiating the Rumbling.
Now, the entire plan had fallen apart.
He could only gamble now—sneak in and abduct her by force.
After witnessing Chen Si's godlike power, he felt nothing but contempt for his own system.
Why… why is his ability so strong? Why is mine so useless?!
The sound of omni-directional mobility gear suddenly reached his ears.
"Form up!" Erwin's command rang out.
The Survey Corps moved in three-person squads, using the specialized formation Erwin had developed to efficiently hunt Titans, slaughtering them across Trost.
One blond, middle-parted man with a beard did not join a formation. Acting alone, he struck three times—killing three Titans in an instant—before lightly landing atop a nearby rooftop and flying off again.