The Titan… spoke.
For a long, suspended second, Levi couldn't even process what he'd just heard.
His blade was poised to strike, his anchor cable still trembling in the wind.
But those words—
"Don't stop me, Levi. You're no match for me right now."
—echoed in his mind like a slap.
The Beast Titan, after gently placing him down on the rooftop like a child, turned and galloped toward the forest, its long arms propelling it forward with terrifying speed.
The cold wind cut against Levi's face.
His expression darkened.
"…Did he just… spare me?"
For someone like Levi, who'd fought and killed Titans for half his life, being pitied by one was worse than death.
"That bastard…" Levi's jaw clenched as he drew his blades again. "He pretends to fear me—and now he looks down on me?!"
His mind flashed back to the brat from the underground—a wild kid with a messy mop of hair who used to flinch whenever Levi glared at him. That same kid who, when he finally fought back, had tossed Levi across an alley like a rag doll.
Now he'd turned into a Titan and humiliated him again.
Unforgivable.
Erwin landed beside him, slow and composed as ever—like an old man out for a morning stroll.
Levi's face flushed with frustration. "I'm going after that bastard!" he snapped, readying his maneuver gear.
"Wait," Erwin said calmly.
Levi blinked. "What now?"
"Did the Titan speak just now?"
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
"It said, don't stop me."
"Oh." Erwin nodded thoughtfully, as though that made perfect sense. Then he turned to the soldiers rushing in from nearby rooftops. "Hold your positions. Don't chase."
The troopers froze mid-flight. "What?!"
"Commander, are you serious?! That's a Titan!"
"If we let it go, it'll destroy everything in its path! The city gates could fall! Another Shiganshina—!"
Before the panic could spread, Hange landed beside them with a grin and a bloody nose, waving her sword dramatically. "Calm down, calm down! Didn't anyone notice? That Beast Titan showed restraint!"
Everyone: "???"
"Look," she pointed toward the massive trail of footprints leading out of town. "Every house it passed? Untouched. Every person? Unharmed. It avoided people."
Erwin nodded. "Exactly. It stepped around civilians—and even when it threw our soldiers, it aimed them into open air, not into walls. If it had wanted to kill, none of you would be alive."
Murmurs broke out among the troops.
"Wait, what?"
"Since when are Titans… considerate?"
"Is it… vegetarian?!"
Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. "So what's your point, Commander?"
"My point," Erwin said, meeting his eyes, "is that this Titan likely meant what it said. It wants to talk. To finish something before it speaks to us."
"Talk? With a Titan?" Levi snorted. "You sound insane."
Erwin's gaze didn't waver. "Then go and bring him back."
Levi: "…"
He stared blankly for a moment. Then: "Σ(ﾟдﾟlll) Why me?"
"Because," Erwin said simply, "he's afraid of you."
"…You're joking."
"I'm not." Erwin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you are to him, Levi—he spared you and no one else. That means you're special to him."
Levi's face twitched. "The hell kind of logic is that? I don't even know the guy!"
"Then find out."
Before Levi could argue further, a familiar, excitable voice cut in:
"Let me go too!" Hange shouted, already launching her anchor line with wild enthusiasm.
But before she could take off, Erwin grabbed her by the collar midair, lifting her effortlessly. "It seems the last beating didn't teach you enough," he said mildly. "If you chase him now, you'll just end up as fertilizer."
"Ahh—right, right! He could totally break my bones again!" Hange laughed sheepishly, dangling helplessly from Erwin's grip.
Levi sighed, retracted his blades, and adjusted his gear. "Fine. I'll bring him back."
As he launched off the rooftop, Erwin called after him like a weary father:
"Be patient with the child, Levi!"
"…"
"And don't hit anyone!"
Levi's eyebrow twitched. "You're seriously underestimating how this is gonna go."
"Just try to talk," Erwin insisted. "If you ask nicely, maybe he'll come back willingly."
Levi didn't look back. He just raised a single gloved hand—making an international gesture of profound respect—and vanished over the rooftops in a burst of smoke and light.
Hange watched him disappear, rubbing her swollen cheek. "Are you sure he can talk properly?"
Erwin smiled faintly. "Levi's actually quite gentle."
"Oh, yes," Hange said flatly. "I just wish he'd share some of that gentleness with me."
Erwin gave her a long-suffering look. "Who could possibly be gentle to you?"
"That's so sad, Erwin!" Hange wailed dramatically.
Just then, a scout flew in and landed beside them, panting. "Commander Erwin! Captain Hange! We've found a wounded boy. Orders?"
Erwin looked down. Two soldiers were dragging a limp young man with a broken arm across the ground.
The commander's expression hardened again—calm, sharp, decisive.
"Take him to the barracks," Erwin ordered. "And bring the others in for questioning. Everyone's going to want answers after this."
"Understood!"
As the soldiers saluted and carried the boy away, Erwin turned his eyes toward the distant forest—where the sound of thundering footsteps was slowly fading.
"Go on, Levi," he murmured. "Bring him back."
To be continued…