AUTHOR'S POV:
The scouts moved through the forest in the middle of the night, holding flashlights. Hoods up, they continued in silence.
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Levi glanced back when a soldier behind him cried out in surprise.
"Whoa!" The soldier cried out, trying to calm his horse as his flashlight went rolling on the ground.
"Hey! You've gotta light up the ground!" Levi scolded him.
"S-Sorry." The scout replied quickly.
"We're not at the foot yet?" Levi asked to Dirk. "It's almost dawn."
"Once we're over this mountain, Shiganshina's right there." Dirk responded, shining his light on the small folded map in his hand.
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"Sorry you're stuck with my horse." Eren and Faye said in unison as Mikasa and Armin were guiding their horses.
"You two are supposed to be saving your energy." Mikasa responded in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, we know." Eren replied.
"She's right." Connie spoke up from behind them. "Rest up, Eren, Faye."
"Don't say their name, idiot" Jean chided him.
"Oh, yeah, sorry." Connie replied.
"Assume this place is swarming with enemies." Jean said then noticed something and his expression twisted in surprised horror. "Titan on the left!" He said loudly. "Everyone halt!"
"Light up the area!" A scout said.
Three beams of light hit the silent Titan, who sat against a small pile of earth, not moving a muscle. The sound of blades being unsheathed cut through the air.
"It's alright." Hange said. "He's fast asleep. This lad must not be one of those new types that move at night." She let out a low chuckle. "That's too bad. Let him be."
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Eren stared at the Titan as they walked past it. "I can't believe we didn't see it until we were so close to it."
"Yeah, I'm with you there. This moonless night must be protecting us." Hange theorized. "Light from the moon is reflected sunlight. The new type of Titan... We think they use that minuscule amount of reflected light to move. Using the new moon was the right move." She looked ahead. "There's no guarantee we won't have a repeat of before. That lad may be one of those 'Moonlight Titans' for all we know." Light reflected off her glasses and she smiled, her tone pitching as she said dreamily. "Hope we capture one someday!"
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Behind her, Eren stared at the grass in front of him. His hand, which gripped the flashlight, trembled.
'I'm shaking? Why? What am I so scared of? Shit...' Darkness surrounded Eren completely as he began to descend into uncertainty. 'If I screw up retaking Wall Maria because I'm like this, what then?! How many people will lose hope forever?' There won't be a chance like this ever again! Am I not cut out for it after all? Doubt filled his inner voice. 'Someone like me? How can I save humanity? Someone like me? How?' His left hand gripped the wrist of his right arm, which kept shaking.
"Eren..." Mikasa said with wide eyes.
"What are you shaking for?" Armin asked, leaning in. "Are you scared?"
"Huh?! I'm not scared!" Eren said defensively, brows furrowed.
"Look at your hand, Eren." Faye said.
"This is... It's cold!" Eren said. "My hand's freezing!"
Mikasa watched them without a word.
"Really? My whole body's been shaking this whole time." Armin said, holding up his trembling hand for display. "See?" Eren and Faye looked at him. "Eren, have you ever been afraid of Titans? Normally, everyone's terrified of them. Like me... The first time I faced a Titan, I couldn't move a muscle. But... there I was... And you pulled me right out of a Titan's mouth." He remembered Eren gripping his wrist to keep him from sliding further into the Titan's mouth. "How were you able to do something like that?"
After a few moments of silence, Eren finally answered. "I remembered... the time you showed me that book. Up until then, I never once thought about what was outside the Walls."
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A young Eren sat infront of the Walls, watching the clouds.
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"I just spent every day staring at the clouds and the sky."
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Armin and Faye ran up to Eren, showing him a book.
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"But then, I heard your story and looked into your eyes. You were seeing an awesome dream."
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Little Armin smiled, explaining the book giddily to his best friends. Faye was staring in awe.
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"But I had nothing. That's when I knew. I wasn't free."
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The three of them poured over the book between them.
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"Trapped in a small cage in a huge world, my freedom stolen by those logic-defining beings."
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Little Eren lay in his bed, the sheet pulled up to his nose, wide awake.
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"When I realized that, I couldn't forgive them."
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He clenched the sheet tightly with furrowed eyebrows.
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"I don't know why, but when it comes to taking back freedom... Yes... Strength flows through me." Eren said and removed his hand from his wrist. No longer did his hand shake and he smiled. "Thanks for that," he said, voice steady. "I'm good now."
"Mmm." Armin said nodded while Faye and Mikasa smiled.
"I bet, by this time next year, we'll be looking at the ocean." Eren said.
Mikasa stopped, checking their surroundings. "I recognize this area. I think... we came here for firewood."
Eren and Faye looked up at the trees.
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"I can see the base of the mountain!" A man's voice came from ahead. "There's signs of a trail!"
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"It's so close," Eren said, exchanging a look with Mikasa and Faye.
"I can hear the river." Mikasa said, observing.
"Finally, we're back..." Armin said. "The first time... since we fled from here..."
"Back to our home..." Faye said.
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The soldiers were close to the edge of the forest.
Past the forest was a green, grassy fields.
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Slowly, the sound of horse hooves thundering across the grounds rose in volume during the early morning.
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"Be on guard for Titans hiding in the shadows!" Erwin ordered and threw out an arm to the side. "Our operation begins now! All troops, switch to the 3D gear!"
The soldiers stood on their horses and began to take to the skies. Wires pulled the soldiers, taking them over the Wall.
Balancing on his horse, Levi pulled out his swords and shot into the air.
Erwin landed in a crouch atop the Wall. Behind him, over a dozen soldiers appeared.
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Erwin and the scouts were in a meeting room.
"There's two gates we must seal- the inner and outer." Erwin said, pointing at the map of Shiganshina on the blackboard. "With that, Shiganshina will be isolated. We'll exterminate any Titans left inside. If the enemy knows our plan, they'll go straight after Eren, but... We'll have hoods covering the faces of all hundred of our soldiers. By the time they find out who Eren is, we'll have the outer gate plugged."
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Eren scaled the Wall and stood, looking out into the distance of his former house. His hands shook.
Armin, Faye and Mikasa also stared when they landed on the Wall.
"Don't stop!" Levi told them as he ran past them. "Head for the outer gate!"
"Roger!" Eren said took off after him, Armin, Faye and Mikasa following.
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Armin stopped, noticing blackened residue near the edge of the Wall.
'This is... the remains of a fire?' Armin raised his arm to grab Erwin's attention. 'They're here... and close! Bertolt and Reiner!'
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Scouts including Eren and Mikasa flew alongside the Wall, toward the outer gate.
'Our house is right around there.' Eren thought, eyeing a neighborhood near the water. 'That's where... we left everything behind.' He looked back to see Mikasa flying, gaze focused ahead. 'It's okay... I'll take it all back!'
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At Wall Maria's outer gate, soldiers peered through spyglasses, acting as lookouts.
"This is all too strange... Not a single Titan in sight?" Hange said, standing next to Levi.
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Two soldiers were stationed at the base of the hole outside Wall Maria.
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"But we have to keep going." Levi said to Hange.
"Yeah, there's no reason to call it off." Hange said.
She searched through her jacket's inner pocket and pointed the flare gun at the sky, firing off a green smoke round.
Trails of green smoke began to float up around the Wall.
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'I can do this!' Eren flew determinedly toward the smoke. 'No... We can do this! Because we've all been special since the day we were born! We're free!'
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Everyone had their eyes on Eren.
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He hovered far above Wall Maria. Biting his hand, he transformed.
Blue lightning erupted with a resounding boom, shaking the ground.
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Bertolt was peering through a few holes with light pouring through.
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Reiner was surrounded mostly by darkness and narrowed his eyes at the blue light flashing before him.
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Mikasa, Armin, Faye and the others watched, bracing at the waves caused by Eren's transformation.
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Stiffening and cracking sounds accompanied the Attacking Titan before his skin began to harden, taking on a blue tint.
With a cry, Eren yanked himself out. The edge of his field of vision began to darken and a shape began to fall toward him.
Mikasa cradled his neck, helping him to his feet and taking him up. Behind them, large veins of bluish crystal covered the hole where Wall Maria's outer gate had once stood.
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"Don't let your guard down! Keep on the lookout!" Hange ordered while Levi kept an eye out.
"Roger!" A scout said and ran off.
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"Eren!" Hange called out, running over to them as the two landed on the Wall.
"How's your 3D gear?" Mikasa asked
"It's fine." Eren replied, inspecting the machinery. "But I did manage to lose my cloak." Mikasa placed hers around his shoulders. "Thanks." He got to his feet, adjusting the cloak and pulling up the hood.
Mikasa grunted, a small nod.
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"The hole?!" Levi called down to the soldiers below.
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"Success!" A scout on the inside of the outer gate confirmed, shooting off a green flare.
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"It's plugged alright!" A soldier outside the gate verified as well, also firing a green flare.
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"We did it!" Hange said with a smile. "Eren, you okay?"
"No problems here. I'm ready like we trained." Eren replied.
"We'll head for the inner gate! While we're on the move, remember to hide your faces!" Hange said and ran of with the other soldiers including Mikasa, Eren and Faye.
"I really plugged the hole?" Eren spoke out loud while running. "And that easily...?"
"You did it, Eren." Mikasa said.
"Believe in yourself." Faye said.
"The hole from then..." Eren trailed off, remembering the day the Collosal titan broke the Shiganshina gate.
"Not yet!" Levi's voice pulled Eren out of his head. "No matter how much you plug it, they'll break the Wall as long as they live. Until we kill Reiner, Bertolt, and any other enemies, the operation to retake Wall Maria won't end."
"Right, of course" Eren replied.
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At the base of the Wall, Armin was on the ground checking discarded items.
He sniffed the three mugs in his hands. 'Smells good... What is this drink?'
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"The outer gate was a success," Dirk commented, standing with Erwin at Wall Maria's inner gate, watching the twin green smoke trails rise from where the outer gate used to be. "Still, it's odd... There's no attack coming. On the contrary, we've not seen a single Titan so far. Were they not prepared for our sudden assault?"
"We can only hope, but... Considering what Arlert discovered..." Erwin said.
"Hmm?" Dirk said and he and Erwin commander looked to Armin who landed before them.
"I looked into it. I'm pretty sure someone was camping." Armin reported, crouching before them. "The pot was cold and lights were scattered on the ground. They were drinking something like black tea." He stood up. "Also, there were three cups with drops of black liquid in it. At the very least, there were three people atop the Wall."
"Th-Three, you say?!" Dirk said.
"Was the metal pot completely cool?" Erwin asked calmly.
"Yes." Armin replied.
"I find that odd." Erwin said.
Armin brought up his hand to his chin. "Agreed."
"Th-The pot?" Dirk asked, lost.
"We charged here at full speed using horses and 3D gear," Erwin started to explain. "Had they noticed our approach by sound or by sight, they'd have two minutes to react. A pot in use wouldn't cool in just two minutes. They had to have known we were coming for five minutes or more," he said. "Meaning they've had plenty of time to prepare for us."
"But... how?" Dirk asked.
"Th-There must be a scout in addition to the three on the Wall..." Armin said. "No, we have to assume there're many more enemies in hiding."
"For now, locating the enemy is our priority. Arlert, with that brain of yours, you've saved us from disaster countless times." Erwin said. "Right now is one of those times we need you."
Armin didn't seem too confident.
"Take as many soldiers as needed." Erwin waved over a group of soldiers. "Find out if the enemies are hiding near the inner gate or not. As of now, you obey Armin Arlert's commands," he told the group while the teen looked at him, unsure. "Continue the search!"
Armin stared nervously at the stern faces of the men and women before him.
"R-Roger!" The group said in unison to the commander's order.
"We searched the Wall thoroughly!" One male soldier said loudly to Armin.
"What are your orders, Arlert?!" A female soldier asked him.
For a couple of seconds there, Armin froze up, gritting his teeth.
"Send one group to each side of the Wall!" Armin ordered. "Search all the buildings near the inner gate! Report any findings with an acoustic shell!" He stopped and added, "A-Alright?"
"Roger!" The soldiers replied and began to pour off the Wall.
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"Another big gamble of yours?" Dirk guessed, eyes following the group leave.
"No," Erwin replied. "he's proven himself. He's one of our greatest weapons."
"Eren's coming to plug the inner gate." Dirk said and turned to look at the side. "What now? Pause the operation until we find the enemy?"
Erwin opened his eyes. "We continue. We'll lose a prolonged battle in enemy territory. For us, our only chance is with a decisive battle. Besides, if this is all according to the enemy's plan, we'll just have to live with it. In any case, they're not the only ones hiding something." He touched a tube-like metal object half-hidden beneath his cloak.
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'What do I do?' Armin thought, hanging from the Wall as Eren and his group flew alongside it, heading toward the inner gate. 'Eren's coming to seal the inner gate... And we don't know where the enemy's at! Why haven't they shown even though we plugged the Wall?'
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Soldiers searched through the broken houses.
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'Why can't we find them no matter how much we search?' Armin touched his head, anxiety clear on his face. This is bad... What now? If we fail... that'll really be the end! It's over. Everything... They always attack us in unthinkable ways we always fail to predict. We're always at a disadvantage because... we simply know nothing about Titans! Always...?' He glanced up and recalled the Colossal-type Titan they'd seen.
Armin fired off an acoustic shell.
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The groups returned to the Wall.
"Did you find them, Arlert?! Where are they?!" A male scout asked.
"Not yet! Everyone, search the Walls!" Armin ordered.
"I told you we already did!" A female scout said.
"There's nowhere to hide!"
"Inside the Walls!" Armin countered, taking them and the commander, who stood at the edge of the group, by surprise.
"Inside the Walls?" The female scout said.
"Yes!" Armin gave a firm nod. "There must be a spot where someone could stay inside for a long time!"
"How do you know that?!" Dirk asked.
"It's a hunch." Armin answered, eyes down.
"Do you have any idea what sort of situation we're in?!" Dirk asked and grabbed his shoulders. "We don't have time to waste on hunches!"
"Think about it!" Armin implored. "The enemy always attacks us using Titan powers in ways we never imagine! If we constrain ourselves to common sense and reason, we'll never be able to gain the upper hand!"
The group was startled when Erwin suddenly fired off a red smoke signal.
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Eren's group stopped, suspended from the side of the Wall.
"The signal to halt the mission!" A scout informed.
"All troops!" Hange said to the soldiers behind her. "Scatter and stand by atop the Wall!"
"Roger!"
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"There are times to be strict and times to be flexible." Erwin said and lowered his arm. "Adhere to the principles you vowed while giving everything you've got. Obey the chain of command. The reason we are here is to claim victory!"
Taking charge, Armin began directing the group. "Break into two groups again and search the surface! Especially above the gate! Commence the search!"
At first, they gave him dumbfounded looks but obeyed a second later.
"Rog... Roger!"
The soldiers began testing the Wall, tapping their swords against the stone.
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"What are they doing?" Connie muttered, standing back to back with Jean and Sasha. "Should we really be waiting like this?"
"Yeah." Jean said, "So much for our surprise attack..."
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Off to the side, Eren watched with Mikasa, Faye and Levi. 'Armin... Did you figure something out?'
'I think he figured it out.' Faye thought.
Levi observed without a word.
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Looking left, then right, Armin lowered himself. The sound of metal tapping against stone continued around him as the soldiers slowly continued their search.
'A position to react, no matter when Eren appears... A position able to see everything...' Armin thought.
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Erwin stared intently as Armin lowered himself.
'If there is such a place...' Armin thought to himself. 'It has to be in the Walls. If the enemy has no idea we know about the Titans in the Walls, and they think we'll never see it coming... Or possibly...?'
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To Armin's left, a male soldier blinked at the sound that resulted from his blade meeting the stone.
The soldier fired off his acoustic shell. "Here! There's a cavity here!"
From inside the Wall, Reiner removed the piece of wood, startling the soldier, and thrust his sword through the man's chest.
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Eren, Faye and Mikasa flinched, Erwin too, while Levi moved at once.
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The soldier fell and Armin cried out when Reiner revealed himself.
"Reiner!" Armin yelled.
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Reiner didn't have time to react as Levi came down, piercing his neck with his sword, stunning the five soldiers watching.
Running down the Wall, Levi stabbed Reiner in the chest with his left sword, pulling away his right hand and leaving the blade in the his neck.
The whites of Reiner's eyes disappeared as his pupil's appeared.
At once, Levi shoved Reiner down and pushed himself away, letting his wire take him away as Reiner slammed into the ground.
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"Shit!" Levi cursed, crouching near Armin.
"Captain?!" Armin called out.
"Is that another Titan power?!" Levi said.
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Reiner's body began to writhe.
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"So close!" Levi said in frustration. "But I couldn't finish him!"
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Blue lightning shot out from Reiner's body.
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Eren, Faye and Mikasa were staring down.
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Steam poured in thick waves from the Armored Titan.
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"Keep on the lookout!" Erwin told the soldiers. "Locate his allies!"
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Suddenly, blue Lightning struck behind him.
The ground began to tremble as countless transformations created a crescent-shape of blue crackling light behind Erwin.
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The steam cleared, revealing the Beast Titan, on one knee, surrounded by Pure Titans.
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The soldiers stared in disbelief at the Titans.
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The Beast Titan lifted a large boulder and braced before sending it toward Wall Maria.
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"Boulder incoming!" Erwin yelled at the projectile headed toward them. "Get down!"
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A cloud of dust explored and the ground trembled when the boulder hit the Wall with a resounding boom, frightening the horses of the soldiers on the ground nearby.
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"What the-?!" Marlo cried out.
They turned toward the source.
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"Did he miss?" Dirk asked.
"No." Erwin said, looking down. "That was good aim. He plugged the entrance. Now the horses can't pass."
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The hole was blocked by the broken remains of the boulder.
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"They'll aim for the horses and surround us in order to block our escape and annihilate us here."
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The Beast Titan straightened.
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"We're both hoping for the same thing. To settle it here once and for all." Erwin said and unsheathed his sword. "Humans or Titans?!"
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The Beast Titan grinned.
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The Armored Titan began to rise.
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"Which side will live?! Which side will perish?" Erwin said.
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Eren glared.
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The Beast Titan with five or so dozen Pure Titans was facing Wall Maria, standing in the grassy field just outside the town located at the north side of the Wall.
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'It's time to settle a scores.'
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