Classroom of The Elite x AOT: Wax Wings

Vol 3.5 - A Fool's Game

...

The air gave off a repugnant smell, yet it was much better than the cramped, tension-filled one of the armoury. It was trading one evil for another, considering what was laid out in front of them.

Reiner moved toward the direction of the citizens and saw the massive crowd he was supposed to trample to death and eventually make a breakthrough towards Wall Rose...This line of thinking would kill over...a million people.

A vast majority of the population lived within Wall Rose, including the families of so many comrades he had come to know.

No matter his loyalty to Marley—Reiner Braun truly couldn't do it. Shattering Wall Rose would mean sanctioning the population to death and starvation. No matter their technological advancements during wartime, the Titans were simply too much.

He hated to admit it but he had grown attached to these people. Being undercover for 5 years does that to you, he supposed.

'How could people that evil exist?'

People with no sense of morality. Now he may seem hypocritical; committing a small-scale genocide for the sake of his goals but...

"Reiner. Annie said she's coming up soon."

The blonde's contemplative state ended, snapping his head towards his comrade.

"Mhm. I've been looking at the crowd...They appear to..."

"Y-yeah! T-they're thinning out around..."

Relief.

It seemed that somehow, those monsters were allowing the people to leave safely. The crowds were thinning, and despite the countless deaths still happening, they could rest easily that there was a small chance their fellow Cadet's families were alive. It took a large burden off their shoulders.

"Realy!?" Jean's frantic voice came up from behind the duo. "Oh! Oh, thank God! That means mom's...hoohh..."

"Sit down, Jean. I'm sure your mother is fine." Bertholt tried to comfort his friend, catching him as his legs buckled and having him sit on the rooftop tiles.

"Haah...Haah...Haah....How did it all come to this...?"

The teen held his face in his hands, taking deep breaths, muttering curses and whispers of despair. The thought of losing his mother, not to Titans, but to monsters in human skin—or even both threatened to break the ever-confident Jean Kristein's mind.

Reiner looked at him with a moment of pity before moving on to his next target.

"Come on! Let's move!"

"Get back to the Wall! Protect the citizens!"

"Mother! I'm coming!"

"Please be alive! Please be alive!"

"Let's go quickly!!"

"We'll leave together!"

Ignoring his comrade's voices, he walked along the roof, towards a certain Mikasa Ackerman, leaving Bertholt to console Jean. Mikasa appeared more tense than usual. He decided that from the tenseness on her face and the fact that she was in the rearguard with the elite squad, probably seeing the initial OFTL take over and leaving her post to find Eren assumedly.

The Titan the two were now observing, the one that made way and bought them time for their retaking of the armoury.

It was being cannibalized, and overpowered by the multiple Titans now assaulting its body. They tore off its two arms and shoved it against a building, now feasting on its barely conscious corpse.