Marcel slaughtered the Garrison soldiers who approached him with reckless abandon, madness filling his eyes.
"This is what you brought upon yourselves, demons!"
"Go to hell!"
A bolt of lightning shot straight toward Marcel's face. His mask shattered instantly. One massive claw reached toward Chen Si with astonishing speed. Chen Si's figure flashed aside, and the house beneath him was instantly smashed into rubble by Marcel's strike.
Chen Si looked at the blade in his hand. He had been continuously channeling electricity into it to keep it from breaking. The armor of Marcel's version of the Jaw Titan was comparable to that of the Armored Titan. Chen Si's electrical power was steadily draining.
Although Chen Si possessed Ackerman blood, his combat experience was far inferior to Levi's. Up until now he had relied mostly on the brute force of his bloodline and his lightning control to fight Titans. But now, facing the battle-hardened and incredibly swift Jaw Titan, he could no longer dominate as easily as before.
Feeling his electrical energy rapidly fading, Chen Si knew he couldn't drag the fight out any longer.
In an instant he transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot straight toward the Jaw Titan's nape.
The Jaw Titan hurriedly covered its neck.
Seeing this, Chen Si spun rapidly in midair. Sliding along the Titan's arm, he redirected his attack and slashed at its legs instead. Burn marks spread across the Jaw Titan's arm as Marcel panicked. Before he could react, Chen Si severed both of the Titan's legs.
"Nice work!" Jean shouted excitedly.
"This gives us a chance to kill it!" Connie and the others, who were still fighting nearby Pure Titans, felt their spirits lift when they saw Chen Si's success.
"Haha! So this 'armored Titan' isn't so tough after all!"
"With Chen Si here, we'll definitely win!"
The soldiers' morale surged.
Having lost both legs, Marcel crashed onto the street. The impact caused his arms to spread open, exposing the nape of his neck.
Chen Si seized the opportunity and unleashed all his remaining power, thrusting his blade toward Marcel's nape before he could react.
"Damn it… it's empty!"
Chen Si suddenly realized that the nape had already opened—and Marcel wasn't inside.
At that moment, Chen Si's electrical power was nearly depleted.
Suddenly, another bolt of yellow lightning struck down.
Out of thin air, a brand-new Jaw Titan appeared in the sky.
It was Marcel—transforming for the second time.
No one knew the storm of shock raging in Marcel's heart. He could hardly believe a human could be this strong.
The newly appeared Jaw Titan slapped Chen Si away with a single blow.
Chen Si was instantly sent flying.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He smashed through three houses in succession, raising a massive cloud of dust, before finally crashing into a building near where Eren stood.
"Everyone form a defensive circle! Protect Chen Si and Eren!" Ian shouted with all his strength, issuing the order.
The soldiers immediately surrounded the house where Chen Si had fallen as well as Eren's position.
"Chen Si!" Historia's eyes were already wet with tears. Ignoring several nearby Pure Titans, she rushed desperately toward the place where Chen Si had fallen.
Annie's face was streaked with tears. She turned away. She wanted to fly over immediately to check on him—but remembering Chen Si's warning, she painfully forced herself to hold back.
"Chen Si… lost?" Connie stared with his mouth open in disbelief.
"Even he couldn't deal with that thing?" Jean said in horror.
Boom!
Another thunderous crash echoed through the battlefield.
Eren, who had been carrying the massive boulder, collapsed under its weight.
Without having experienced the trauma of losing his mother, Eren lacked the overwhelming hatred that could drive him to push beyond his limits. The will of the Attack Titan alone wasn't enough. After walking so far already, he had reached his absolute limit.
Hearing the explosion, Mikasa climbed the clock tower again.
But she no longer saw the lightning-fast figure weaving through the battlefield.
A terrible premonition rose in her heart.
When she looked at the completely unharmed Titan, overwhelming hatred surged within her.
"Mikasa! What happened?!" Armin shouted.
"Eren failed. Chen Si is missing," Mikasa replied.
The moment she finished speaking, she launched herself into the air and disappeared from Armin's sight.
Armin collapsed to his knees.
"How could this happen… this is all my fault…" he murmured painfully, clutching his head.
On top of Wall Rose – Command Headquarters
"Urgent report from the front line! Chen Si is locked in a fierce battle with a newly appeared armored Titan. The soldiers on the front line are suffering extremely heavy casualties! Eren collapsed under the weight of the boulder!"
"What?!"
The entire command staff erupted in shock. Despair spread across every face.
"Commander, we must retreat! If this continues, everyone will die there for nothing!" Anka urged urgently.
"Wait… wait a little longer! If both Chen Si and Eren fall, humanity will have no hope left!" Commander Pixis said. For a moment he seemed to age years, yet he forced himself to remain firm.
He knew that if they lost this battle, humanity would truly be doomed.
"Ian, we have to retreat! Otherwise we'll all die here today!" Rico shouted while holding her blade behind her as she launched herself into the air to kill another Titan.
Despair filled Ian's eyes. He glanced at the collapsed Eren and knew resistance had become meaningless.
Just as he was about to order a retreat—
"Squad Leader Ian! Wait five more minutes! Just five minutes! If nothing changes, I'll cover everyone's retreat!" Mikasa said firmly, determination flashing in her eyes.
Today, she had decided she would fight alongside Chen Si until the very end.
Ian stared at her for a moment.
"…Alright! Then we'll let these five minutes decide the fate of us all! Soldiers—fight!" he shouted, raising his blade.
Historia and Mikasa arrived at the building where Eren and Chen Si had fallen.
Annie stayed further away, but she continuously killed the Titans approaching Chen Si.
Mikasa cut down several Titans in quick succession. The blade in her hand—given to her by Chen Si—remained completely intact.
Holding the sword, she launched herself toward Marcel.
The killing intent in Mikasa's eyes reached its peak.
Spinning through the air at incredible speed, leaving only afterimages behind, she struck again and again—shattering the armored scales on Marcel's arms and back with Chen Si's blade.
Driven by rage and hatred, Mikasa's mind suddenly filled with countless combat techniques—fighting methods, hunting skills, killing instincts.
Her bloodline awakened to its peak.
The whirlwind of her spinning attacks tore through half of Marcel's body.
His Titan form exploded apart, shredded into pieces.
Marcel stared at Mikasa in disbelief.
"How is this possible? Even Chen Si couldn't defeat me… and you're just a woman?!"
"Die!" Mikasa shouted.
Her momentum hadn't slowed. Lightning suddenly crackled along the blade in her hand as she slashed straight toward Marcel's nape.
Marcel urgently hardened the nape—but it shattered together with the hardened armor.
Shock filled his mind.
How… how can her blade break through my hardening?!
Gritting his teeth, Marcel's eyes flashed with madness. He stopped defending his nape and shifted his consciousness into his torso, forcibly regenerating an arm to grab Mikasa.
Mikasa realized he was trading injury for injury.
But she no longer had time to dodge.
Her blade plunged into Marcel's nape.
As the giant hand came closer and closer, memories filled her mind—
Chen Si scolding her, Chen Si smiling gently, Chen Si teasing her, making her angry…
Brother… there's something I've kept in my heart for a long time…
Goodbye…
Mikasa slowly closed her eyes.
A tear was blown away by the wind and fell into the eye of Eren's Attack Titan.
"Soldiers, fight!"
"Today we'll fight with Eren until the very last moment!"
"Marley… damn you to hell…!"
The voices echoed into Eren's ears.
"Tatakai…"
"Tatakai…"
"Stand up… Eren!"
A distant voice echoed like something from ancient times—majestic, yet strangely familiar.
Eren's green eyes opened once again.
Lightning crackled outside the house.
Ding! Congratulations to the player for achieving the "Hundred Titan Slays" achievement. Electrical energy has tripled. New skill obtained: Thunderclap. Template upgraded to: Lord of Lightning. Next template: God of Thunder. Unlock condition: One Thousand Titan Slays.