Titan
Beneath the walls of Trost District.
Bertolt's eyes were filled with struggle. His mind replayed his conversation with Reiner from the day before.
"Reiner… there are tens of thousands of civilians in Trost District. And tomorrow, the Survey Corps will be on the walls carrying out their mission. We…" Bertolt said through clenched teeth, unable to bear it.
"Bertolt, we are Warriors of Marley. Everything we do is for humanity. They are descendants of devils—there's no pity for them. Tomorrow, you will breach the wall. We don't know where Marcel is, but he'll appear at a critical moment," Reiner interrupted sharply, though a flicker of hesitation passed through his eyes.
"My mission is only to find the Coordinate and the Founding Titan. I won't take part in tomorrow's attack on civilians," Annie said coldly, glaring at Reiner with open disdain.
"Annie, this is to force the Founding Titan to reveal itself. Don't you want to see your family again?" Reiner pressed.
Annie clenched her fists, then slowly released them.
"If the Founding Titan appears, I'll act."
Reiner relaxed slightly. Bertolt lacked conviction; he always followed the group's decisions. After a long sigh, he agreed.
After agonizing struggle, Bertolt's desire to return to Marley and see his family ultimately overpowered his sympathy for his comrades.
He looked up at the towering wall.
Then, resolutely, he bit into his own hand.
A flash of yellow lightning split the sky.
A massive, grotesque, blood-red head materialized above the wall.
He did not trigger a "nuclear-like" explosion—his final shred of conscience held him back. He only needed to breach the wall and allow large numbers of Pure Titans inside to draw out the Founding Titan.
He had no intention of slaughtering all his fellow 104th Cadets.
The moment the enormous crimson head appeared out of thin air, everyone froze in terror.
Chen Si had just begun to move when a massive chunk of stone shot toward him. With one swing, he split it in two; the fragments slid past him.
At the same time, a violent gale roared across the wall.
The Colossal Titan had smashed a massive hole into the wall—nearly eight meters high, more than enough for Pure Titans to pour through.
Chen Si drove his blade into the wall and fired both grappling hooks deep into the stone.
The others reacted too slowly. Eren and the rest were blown off the wall by the wind. Fortunately, after three years of training, they regained control midair and shot their cables into the wall, narrowly avoiding death.
One soldier, Samuel, was less fortunate. Struck in the head by debris, he was dazed and sent plummeting straight down by the wind.
"Samuel!" Connie shouted—but it was too late.
At the critical moment, Sasha retracted her cables and sprinted straight down the wall at a ninety-degree angle. Just before Samuel hit the ground, she fired a hook into his leg and managed to pull him to safety.
Chen Si couldn't help but think—if she had missed…
"Artillery Squad Four! All units prepare for battle!" Eren's roar echoed from below.
Bertolt saw that only Chen Si remained standing atop the wall. Everyone else had been blown to the opposite side.
"Chen Si… don't blame me," Bertolt muttered, a harsh light flashing in his eyes.
The Colossal Titan's enormous arm swept forward like a colossal excavator, shaving off an entire layer of the wall's surface and thinning it considerably.
Chen Si closed his eyes slightly. Lightning coiled around his body.
His hand tightened around his blade.
His heightened perception locked onto the Colossal Titan's nape.
In an instant, he opened his eyes.
A piercing blue light flashed.
He transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward the Colossal Titan.
"What—?! How is he so fast?!" Bertolt gasped, raising the Titan's massive hand to grab him.
Chen Si accelerated instead.
He maximized his electrical output and pressed his gas trigger fully down.
He became a storm of lightning, racing up along the Titan's arm.
Blade after blade flashed.
The Colossal Titan's enormous arm was sliced into dozens of segments, chunks of flesh raining down onto the wall and ground below.
Eren stood atop the wall, stunned.
Chen Si was overwhelming a Titan.
"Is that Captain Levi?!" a Garrison soldier exclaimed in shock.
"No—he's wearing a trainee uniform. That must be this year's top graduate! He's actually dominating a Titan—unbelievable!"
Across the streets, civilians trembled at the sight. Many instinctively began praying for the valiant soldier in the sky.
Among them stood a simply dressed young woman. Watching the godlike figure descending from the heavens, she whispered:
"That's Chen Si-chan…"
Her eyes were filled with worry—and pain for him.
After shredding the Titan's arm, Chen Si continued toward the nape.
He thrust his blade fiercely.
The Colossal Titan's enormous body was too sluggish to react in time.
Chen Si narrowed his eyes, as if anticipating something.
Just as his blade pierced the skin—
A torrent of superheated steam exploded outward.
He managed only to carve a narrow strip of flesh before being blasted away.
His face and arms were scorched, blackened with burns.
Arcs of electricity flickered across the wounds.
They healed visibly, right before his eyes.
As expected.
His lightning granted him regenerative abilities akin to a Titan's.
A faint smile curved his lips.
I'm truly invincible now.
Alarm bells rang in Bertolt's mind.
Chen Si was forcing him to expend steam.
And the Colossal Titan's steam had limits—it consumed its own flesh to generate it.
Seeing Chen Si hovering in the air, Bertolt grit his teeth and intensified the steam release. His Titan body visibly shrank.
Chen Si felt the last remnants of electricity in his body.
He expelled both his remaining lightning and gas simultaneously, inching forward against the scalding steam.
Eren, seeing his struggle, charged toward the Colossal Titan—only to be blown back instantly, crashing onto the wall.
"Damn it! I can't help him!"
"We're too weak…" Mina said bitterly.
"Come on, Top Graduate! You have to win!" Connie shouted.
Through the storm of steam, Chen Si suddenly accelerated.
His blade swept toward the Titan's nape.
"Well then, Bertolt… show everyone your true face."
Eyes closed, he drove his blade deep into the flesh at the nape.