It is evening.
The sky is red, like a painted rose.
Bianca is still running, running without end.
When she reaches the place where they left the horses, she mounts the black horse, Walter, the strongest horse there.
Then she quickly goes to the rest of the horses, hitting them until they panic and scatter in all directions. But… she leaves only one tied.
'Sorry, sorry, I just don't want to die. But if one survives, one horse will be enough, right?' Bianca thinks to herself.
After agitating the horses, Bianca rides the black horse, and moments later she hears the sound of fast hooves chasing the rest of the horses.
The monsters assume there are more humans.
Bianca seizes the opportunity and gallops with all her strength.
(After three hours.)
The winter wind howls, tossing Bianca's golden blonde hair despite her ponytail.
Her face is covered with dirt.
Her golden eyes are wide, her eyelids shadowed with dark circles.
She rides the strong black horse along the road back to the walls of the Vingard colony.
"Damn, I haven't slept in a day. My heart hurts. Why is this happening to me alone?" Bianca mutters as she continues riding.
After an hour, night falls.
The atmosphere changes.
It becomes quieter, yet louder at the same time.
Bianca doesn't dare even glance behind her despite all the screams she hears.
She still remembers the enormous gap between herself and that monster, imagining that if she stopped even for a rest… she would die in the most horrific way.
Bianca pants; her vision begins to blur and her stomach growls from hunger.
"Not sleeping or resting for nearly two days, with all this stress and fear, is exhausting. It hurts. But I don't want to die, I don't want to." Bianca tries to motivate herself by remembering her goal… not to die.
After more than five hours, dawn arrives.
The massive wall appears on the horizon.
"Oi, you there. Is that Commander Walter's horse? Has the mission succeeded? Is this possible? Did they really achieve the first victory for humanity over those abominations?" one of the wall guards asks his comrade.
His companion narrows his eyes.
He pulls out a spyglass and looks through it; his eyes widen: "No, it's… not Walter, and there's no one else. It's… a single person."
The two soldiers exchange worried glances, then the first shouts: "Open the gate! Quickly!"
The others rush to open the gate.
The grinding of gears and stone overwhelms the noise of the colony and the soldiers.
When Bianca sees the gate opening, tears stream from her eyes, but she wipes them violently from her face.
As soon as she passes through the gate, she dismounts, but her legs cannot hold her, and she staggers slightly before steadying herself on the horse beside her.
An elderly man approaches.
Bianca looks at him and sees a face full of wrinkles and scars.
"Scout deputy registered under the Crimson squad, Bianca Sirle. Why are you the only one to return? Submit your report immediately. Or… (his tone drops to almost a whisper) we will consider you a traitor and execute you, you filthy commoner," the man says, his blue eyes fixed on Bianca.
Bianca stares at him and replies: "They were all annihilated, Commander. Even Mr. Walter died with a single strike. They had… something… something not recorded in any scouting mission." Her eyes widen as she speaks of that thing.
Suddenly, a scream comes from the watchtower: "C-Commander Liserfit! Something is moving toward the wall!"
Liserfit glares at Bianca, narrowing his eyes, then dashes up the stairs to the top of the wall.
When he arrives, his eyes widen: "W-what is that damned thing?!" Liserfit shouts.
The other guards look and see a monster nearly the size of the wall gate surrounding the Vingard colony.
It has black horns curved forward.
Its fur is black and red, with some yellow streaks along its back.
Its face resembles a wolf, but its mouth is full of curved teeth like saws.
Its claws leave deep impressions with each step.
Red sparks flicker along its body.
It walks with steady, deliberate steps.
One guard murmurs while cold sweat drips from his forehead and his knees knock together: "Isn't the gate itself about 50 meters high? How can this monster be that size?"
When Commander Liserfit sees it, he freezes for a moment, then begins shouting orders: "Seal the gate tightly! Send a support request to the Hunters' Guild!"
He turns to Bianca and continues: "Your words have been proven true this time. You may go."
Bianca rises with difficulty and begins walking toward the black horse to mount again, when a fat man carrying a bottle of wine slaps her hard: "You scum, even if the world ends, rats like you have no right to ride noble horses. This horse isn't yours."
Bianca holds her cheek and starts walking toward the inner gate.
'Doesn't he see I can't even stand on my own? I don't even have food while he's fattened himself on his meals, and he even has money to buy wine. Damn him.'
After a few more steps, she begins to see houses and stones again.
As she enters the inhabited area, she sees the families of the soldiers who went on the mission waiting. When they notice she's alone, a woman with luxurious clothes and brown hair asks: "Soldier, where is your commander, Walter von Crimson? Where are the other soldiers?"
Bianca lowers her head, clenches her jaw, trying to avoid the woman and the rest of the families.
Suddenly, Bianca feels something hard strike her head.
Thunk.
They have begun throwing stones at her.
She endures the pain, only letting out small, involuntary whimpers.
But what she cannot bear is their words.
"You cowardly whore! You ran alone and left them to die?!"
"Death to you, you cursed one!"
"Scum."
"Filthy commoner."
The words hurt her more than the stones ever could.
Blood runs down her forehead.
Bruises cover her body.
And… tears begin to fall as she thinks: 'Is surviving wrong? You don't know the fear I felt from that thing. Why blame me for what wasn't in my control? Would my death have satisfied you? Didn't you see that I have no one waiting for me like you do? I hate this world, I hate it.'
Bianca's vision begins to blur, her steps falter, and she suddenly collapses.
The accumulated exhaustion and blood loss are taking their toll.
Before losing consciousness, the last thing she hears is a loud explosion.
BOOOOM!!
Commander Liserfit nearly falls from the shock of the wall shaking.
"Damn it! What's happening?!"
Strong winds surge from the explosion site.
Dust swirls everywhere.
When the dust cloud clears, a huge hole appears in the wall.
Alarms begin blaring throughout the area.
In one of the houses near the wall…
Anas Yeager, heading to the kitchen and thinking about the future, hears the explosion and the alarms beginning. He walks calmly toward the window.
When he looks toward the source of the explosion, he sees red, blood-like eyes advancing from a massive hole in the wall.
His breathing quickens, his heart races.
Adrenaline surges through his body so intensely he can taste it in his throat.
Every fiber of his being screams that he must run.
But… instead, he bites his hand hard, regaining control of his body slightly, and says to himself: 'This thing is dangerous. I must handle it carefully.'
"Anas! Quickly, to the shelters!" his mother's voice deafens him before she rushes to grab his hand. They begin running with his father toward the shelter.
On the way, Anas hears a familiar voice: "Anas! Help me, please."
When Anas and his parents turn toward the sound, they see a girl with pale blonde hair, almost white, of medium height, green eyes full of tears, trying to help a woman who resembles her but with darker hair, walking.
Anas's mother rushes to the girl and the woman, helping her carry the woman: "Lily, my little one, you don't need to carry more than you can. My husband and I will take your mother to the shelter."
Anas's father rushes to a horse-drawn cart with a broken wheel, frees the horse, and helps his wife and Lily's mother mount, glancing at Anas: "Sorry, but your mother doesn't know how to ride a horse. And neither do you. So you must come to the shelter alone. I trust you."
His mother turns to Anas, her gaze sharp, her tone cutting: "Anas, help Lily get to the shelter. (her voice tightens) And please, don't die, my little one."
His father nudges the horse lightly.
Anas stares at the girl before him, sighing, thinking to himself: 'Am I doomed to always take care of this girl? When will she leave me alone?'