I was looking for images for this chapter, but I found this instead. I think it's funny.
And you wonder why I'd simp for a side character.
God if you're listening to me, you'd drop her dump truck on MY FACE!!
________________________________________________________________________________
I carefully examined the wall, turning over the strange device in my hand. It appeared to be some sort of stone, but my vast knowledge of Petrology turned a blank. It looked like stone, however, not at the same time.
Stabbing it with a hunting knife made from ultrahard steel didn't put a dent in the wall, it just broke a perfectly good knife.
"Harder than steel, yet still stone-like," I muttered. Maybe there was a titan that could create materials. That feeds into the theory of there being more than one titan within the walls before Wall Maria fell.
But that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, for the two titans, who presumably were collaborating, to start fighting.
Maybe the person who held the titan that created the walls disagreed with Frieda over something. Since Frieda can control the minds of Humanity, the Wall Titan, as a placeholder name, wanted to retake the wall, maybe.
Then there was a dispute and they fought one another, or something along those lines.
I'll have to visit the Reiss Chapel. Maybe there are answers there.
Further analysis using an X-ray revealed intriguing anomalies within the wall structure. Approximately three feet deep into the wall, there was a distinct transition to a muscly and bony substance.
"What...?" I muttered.
Were there possibly humans within the walls? Like some sort of mole people? Did they use human bodies as a foundation? Perhaps not, that's a bit too grotesque, even in a world full of man-eating monsters.
So...
This revelation sheds some light on why the Church of the Walls is adamantly against any tampering with the walls. There is some sort of meaty thing within them. I wanted to get a better idea of what it was.
"Praise the Walls, Kiyotaka..."
BZZURT!
I grappled onto the wall, waving the small X-ray device over nearly every inch of it...
...What the...
That shouldn't be right...
"I guess that theory is out of the window..."
I took out a small rudimentary transmitter and spoke a few short words into it.
||𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑: 𝐖𝐀𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒||
Moonlight filters through the dense canopy, casting silver beams that dance among the foliage. Tall, majestic trees stand watch, their branches swaying gently in the nocturnal breeze.
The forest floor is carpeted with lush ferns, their fronds unfurling like delicate fingers reaching toward the sky. Mushrooms of various shapes and sizes dot the ground, their caps glowing softly in the moon's glow.
"EREN!"
"D-Dad! DAD! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"
Amidst the undergrowth, small creatures stir. Fireflies twinkle, their ethereal lights flickering in a mesmerizing rhythm. Crickets serenade the night with their melodious chirping, while owls hoot softly in the distance.
Occasional rustles and whispers break the silence as unseen creatures move through the undergrowth.
"EREN LISTEN TO ME!! GET TO THE BASEMENT! YOU HAVE TO ̵̥͉̯͍̠̭̼̾ͅS̶͕̹̩̫̦͓̝͚̙͉̖͈͔̮̫͆́͆̂̚͠͝ẽ̸̛̺̼̫͉̰̜̮̈́̔̏͒̈͘t̴̨̘͇̗̟̺̩̣̺̦̪̳̺̯͑̀̀͆͊̽͠͝h̴̛͓̬̠͆̑̆͌͆͗̀̆̏̓̈́̈͘͠r̶̡̬̫͈̝̓͌̂̿ǐ̵̡̡̢̨̮̠͎͈̭͔͂̋̓̂̈̈̋͊̆̉̃͜͝d̷̗̭̘̟̪̮͚̓͐̈͛a̴̢̛̯͔̳̼̲̠͇͈̻̝̩̱̾̈́͋͑͒ͅ ̶̡̣͍͔͔̣̩̣̒̈́̄͝F̵̨̨͙͔͇̞̻̻͊̎̀̈́̅̒̀̾͑̄̄̈̓̕ị̴̡̛̳͈̫̯̯̜̩͉͈͚̯̈́̇̽͒̅̋n̶̢̟̼̻̻̫̘̹̙̬̙̿̃͆́͊̍̾̚͘n̸̨̥̼̪̳̱̖̮̆͑͆̔͋̊͌̑̈́̔̇͑͜į̵͈̠̺̭̟̤̜͚͗͐̓͘ͅȩ̶̛̟͓̘̩̬͇͚̰͕͇̹̄́̌͋̃̌̑̚͝ ̶̱̱͔̺͖̺͐̈́͂̽̈́̋͋̏̊̾̀͝͝͝͠R̵̢̨̛̛͇̱̼̗̭͇̺̫͖͚͋̊̈͒̈́̋͛̓̊̅͆̈́͜͝i̴͔͎̟̓̇̒́̃̉̂̌̿̚n̶̡̙͓͇̳̓̓̈́͋̔͘g̴̡͇̥̺̩̱̟̼̯͋͋̽͐̋̇͋̇̍̄̋͝ͅs̵̛̛̮͉̗̰̬̙̹̹͖̖͇͙͉̐̑͊̊̈́͂͗͊̐͒̒͝͠m̸̥̓̓̀̋͑ṷ̶̏ţ̴̡̱̻̮͉̘̺̯̼̟͚̹̬͋́̄̆͊̈́̚͜͠ȟ̸̦̮̬̝̱̭̍̊̑͂̅͐̔̐̈́!!"
Nocturnal animals emerge from their hiding places. A timid fox darts through the shadows, its fur blending seamlessly with the darkness. Owls perch high in the branches, their golden eyes gleaming as they watch for unsuspecting prey.
"STOP IT DAD! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
"I...This is important, Eren! Please! I've made a mistake! Just listen to me! Y̶̮̅̒̈́̈́̚Ő̵̧̢̰͕͙̺͓̦̳͍͈̏̄̑̾̽̆̈́̽̋͊̚͜͝U̸̧̯̭̱̭͔̩̥̺͝ ̵̧͓͙̟̫̜̜̦̲̟͇̹̂̊̔͛̓̋́̒̈́͑̄Ḩ̴̛̮̺̩͔͉̤̙̖̲̮͎̪͎̝̗̎͂͗̈́̏̈́̈́̅̓̈́͘Ä̵̧̫̣̘̘͇̩̯̰̲̮̱̩̬̜̤͈́̈́̓͜͝V̷̯̖͇̰͛̐̇E̶̢̯͙͔̪̦͉̱̮̥̰̠͚̒̿̒͊̋͋̔̾̾̈́̍́̔̕͝͠ ̵̛̰̰̲͕̊̈́̋͂̎̾͌̏̈́͛̎͋́̋̈́̈̕Ţ̸̝̟̜̬͈̗͇̞͔̟͉͚̎́͆̈́̊̾̓̈́O̴̧̧̢͔̻͙̫̬̹̰̰͚̗̠̥͚̜̊̓͛̍͜ ̷̨̢͓̘̯͍̘̭̲͈̝̱̼͉̌̒̉͠ͅḞ̴̟̯̲̺̺̃͌̆͆̌̍̾̏̓ͅĮ̵̢̙͇̮̼̺̎͗̈́͒̋̽̌̒͋̏̀́͌̌̒̕͘͝͝ͅŅ̶̧̬͍̮̥͕̬̻́̔̇̈́̂͊̄̈́̍͌͂̀̀̿͒̚̕̚D̸̢̗͔͈̭͙̜̗̲͇̝̳̪̤̙̄̊̈̄̀̋̀̎̿͛̑̅͘ͅͅ ̵̙̫͇̖͒͗̈̀͆̎̌̋̒͛̃͗͜͝H̴̨̳̙͈͎̟̫̱̗͎͍̻̳̀̂̇̚I̷͖͌̎̈́͂͗͂͝M̵̨̧̨̝̪͎͉̹̯̼̠̮̰̩͈͈̳̙̖̘̮͔͉͗͒̿̈́̉̽̓͋!̵̡̢̺̱̳̦͐̐̌̓̔͐̃̎͂̉͆̇͛́̈́̇̃̏̀̎̋͝ͅ!! NO MATTER WHAT!! GIVE ME YOUR ARM!!!"
||𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑: 𝐖𝐀𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒||
The winter of 848 brought an unprecedented cold spell within the walls, surpassing previous years. This extreme weather strained the already limited food supply, despite efforts to expand food production.
Newly established bread factories and advancements like chemical fertilizers and mass-produced horse-drawn plows, courtesy of the nobles, struggled to meet the increasing demand for food.
With a population of 1,250,000 people and limited farmland, it was becoming difficult.
However, despite these challenges, there hadn't been any revolts yet, which gave the government confidence to exclaim that "Humanity's courage will prevail!"
Levi, Humanity's Strongest Soldier and now a Squad Captain, pondered these issues as he sipped his hot tea.
His responsibilities had grown since his promotion, and he would have preferred to attend to them rather than be stuck in a meeting with all the Section Commanders discussing the upcoming 48th expedition beyond the walls which would be held after the snows melted and ground hardened.
The discussions in these meetings had become repetitive for Levi.
The same strategies, objectives, and plans were reiterated: establishing supply bases, transporting materials, and identifying and eliminating titans, all aimed at eventually reclaiming Wall Maria.
This explained why the Scouts were now launching more than one expedition per year, a change from the previous schedule of one every two years. These newer expeditions were smaller in scale and resulted in fewer casualties, which improved the Scouts' reputation and secured increased funding from the government.
Levi wasn't naïve, though. He understood that the government's support for the Scouts was primarily driven by their goal of retaking Wall Maria and reclaiming the noble-owned land. Without this incentive, the government wouldn't have backed the Scouts in the same way.
"It's freezing," Levi muttered under his breath as the meeting came to an end. Commander Erwin hadn't asked for his input, so Levi was free to return to his paperwork.
Entering his room, he found a modest space furnished with a bed, desk, and a few grooming essentials for personal hygiene. Despite his contempt for the government, Levi begrudgingly acknowledged their efforts in providing amenities like deodorant. It was a small stick of jelly-like substance that worked like magic, masking the smell of sweat and odours.
Levi made it a strict rule for his entire squad to apply deodorant regularly.
He'd also developed a personal preference for the apricot scent, which he was sure was some sort of fruit that the rich ate or something like that.
Sitting down at his desk, he began to work. Supply forums, complaints from the lower ranks, requests from the lower ranks—to think he was a big-named criminal from the underground not even 5 years ago was a bit jarring. Now he was doing paperwork like he was some sort of bureaucrat.
Hell, the world he lived in 5 years ago was nearly alien to the one he lived in now. What even is fertilizer? And why does the factory-produced bread taste better than the locally-produced stuff?
There were these things called pens that were distributed to all officers of rank in the military now. They were way better than a quill and ink. It didn't spill anywhere nor did it break as easily. Levi made it his duty to take good care of his pens, his favourites were the blue and red ones. They were high-quality and felt good in hand.
BZZURT!
BZZURT!
PUUSHRT!
During his work, Levi's ears picked up the distinctive sounds of ODM gear whizzing around headquarters, causing his eye to twitch involuntarily. No one should have been training in such cold conditions; everyone should have been indoors.
"Little shits..." he muttered. "It's probably the recruits from Wall Maria..."
He quickly donned a pair of warm gloves and stormed out of headquarters, determined to reprimand the troublemakers and instill discipline, as was his duty as a squad captain. Order and hierarchy were paramount in maintaining control within the ranks.
The wooden door creaked open, sending a gust of icy air toward Levi as he stepped out into the snow, heading toward where he suspected the recruits were causing a ruckus.
As he approached, Levi barked, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The individuals wore cloaks of pure black adorned with a peculiar tricolour symbol on their backs—blue, white, and red. Levi couldn't place the symbol, which added to his suspicion. Was this some sort of special unit that operated with the military police?
The cloaked figures seemed startled by his presence, their movements jerky as they clutched various supplies, including ODM gear.
Levi's eyes widened as realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Shit!"
With lightning-fast reflexes, he lunged toward them, aiming to subdue at least one of them and bring them into questioning. He knew he couldn't get to all of them in time, there simply was too much distance to react, however, he covered a remarkable distance in the blink of an eye.
But then...
His instincts screamed a warning as a sense of impending danger washed over him. He attempted to dodge, but it was too late.
BANG!
BANG!
Two bullets grazed his skin, drawing blood and causing him to retreat from the storage facility, narrowly avoiding further injury.
Those bullets were too fast, thought Levi. If they were standard musket rounds, he could have evaded them easily. Was it luck that saved him or simply poor marksmanship on their part? Or was it intentional?
Before he could ponder further, chaos erupted.
BOOOM!
An explosion rocked the area, destroying the storage facility, and sending debris and shrapnel flying. Levi shielded his face with his arms, feeling wooden splinters embed themselves in his thigh amid the chaos.
"Fucking hell!" he cursed through clenched teeth, gritting against the pain. He heard the frantic calls of his comrades as they rushed to his aid.
A terrorist attack?
What was going on?
They would have to delay the expedition...
Hopefully, those splinters didn't hit an artery.
||𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑: 𝐖𝐀𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒||
I approached the location while wearing a cloak and mask to conceal my identity. I was on a trip to the north of Wall Rose to investigate another murder case of a minor estate owner. This gave me the excuse to check out something interesting that had been on my mind for a while.
The Reiss Chapel.
The incident covered in 845, the same day Wall Maria fell, piqued my interest. Loads of things happened that day that were coincidences, however, this was different, given my relationship with the Reiss.
Given my knowledge of these "Human Titans," as I've dubbed them, I now knew that I was onto something with the whole titan magic powers and that the Reiss held a particular position within the walls. An important position.
A simple bandit attack, in my mind, wouldn't be able to take down Frieda, especially since she could, in theory, regenerate like a titan and control the minds of others.
Wouldn't that also mean that the weakness of a Human Titan was also the nape? How would that work? Would I kill the person inside the titan or would I simply eject them?
Speaking of Titans, my surveillance on Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover and Annie Leonheart had turned over an interesting result.
On days off their training, Annie Leonheart was observed going towards the capital of Mitras and snooping around the back alleys. What was she looking for or rather, seeking?
It doesn't raise her suspicion bar of being a Human Titan by a lot, however, I plan to change that soon. The OFTL are trained enough to carry out operations without my direct interference, allowing me to melt into the background once again.
The chapel was modest in size, resembling what appeared to be a German protestant church in its architecture. It was rather strange, having a church in the middle of Wall Rose with no one else to pray to.
I couldn't detect any other presence nearby while I scouted outside for any possible clues to what could have happened, any possible inconsistencies with the church or the ground around it were subject to scrutiny.
"The ground here..." I muttered as I observed the field in front of the chapel. There was a small divot, as if something heavy, around 3 to 4 meters across in width and around 12 meters in length had fallen onto the ground.
But that didn't give enough information to craft a theory. It could've been the ground on which the materials to rebuild the church were stationed, so I investigated further.
Creeek!
I mentally cringed at the sound the door made. It made me feel like a teenager sneaking home at 3 AM after a long night of partying and doing a whole bunch of illegal substances.
It didn't appear that Rod Reiss oiled his doors at all, nor did he invest in decorations. Wasn't this meant to be a house of worship? Or am I getting the Catholic and Protestant architectural styles wrong?
Moving on...
There was nothing of note that could be seen from a normal glance. There were several wooden pews made from spruce wood, a few windows to let the light in, and a candle stand right next to the altar.
Or rather, there were four of them.
Everything else was made out of bricks.
I checked underneath my cloak to make sure that everything was in place before pulling out my trusty hand-held X-ray, looking for some hidden entrance in the floors.
This was a classic trope in video games. From my extensive research in humanity, as well as my exposure to the world-famous "Hunter Watch," which had sold over 4.8 million copies worldwide by the late Yamauchi Haruki, you could say I was something of a gamer myself.
"Classic..." I hummed as the device detected a cavity right underneath the altar's carpet. I took out my small transmitter and let out a few beeps in Morse code before continuing onwards.
Screeeek!
The metal trapdoor screeched against my eardrums as I opened it, dust flying outside of the cavity, which now contained a staircase. Luckily the gear I was wearing spesifcly blocked out anything that wasn't air from entering my nose.
I will not be the subject of a mustard gas attack, no matter the timeline.
Please don't be a scary monster down here.
I only have so many explosives.
...
..
.
..
...
"...It's so bright..."
Speechless, that's what I was.
As my boots' soft thuds made their way down the stairs, all I could do was remain speechless. There were so many questions going on inside my head. This was something that shouldn't exist.
It reminded me of the White Room for some reason. The crystal caves kept going on and on—it was the same image over and over again for hundreds and hundreds of meters.
What was this stuff? This bluish-white crystal seems to be holding up the entire ecosystem above. Is this the reason for the poor soil quality within the Walls? Was there simply not enough nutrients the soil could absorb due to these...things?
I touched one of the pillars. It felt smooth yet... familiar. It felt like a more refined and slick version of the materials used in the walls, but this time without the colossal titans within them, presumably.
I had to know more.
My eyes narrowed while my footsteps echoed in the cavern. I ventured deeper inside, observing the same bluish-white walls and pondering multiple theories at once.
Did a titan make this? It's the only explanation...
I ventured deeper and eventually came across a curious sight. There were various shards of...the bluish-white crystal on the floor. My eyes darted around the place, searching for clues. There were none.
Only the destruction of a battlefield was present.
"I see..."
I was right. There was a battle between the two Human Titans that resided within the walls. They battled here for some reason, and their large figures crashed against the pillars, causing them to break.
The large divot from the outside of the church must have been the result of the winning party collapsing out of exhaustion then. When the titan emerged from the underground, they destroyed the church in the process.
So that means there's only one conventional entrance in and out of this place...
Did that mean Frieda won or lost, though?
Most likely the latter...but then that raises the question of why she didn't mind-control her assailant. In this type of world, control is everything. Was her assailant like me then? Or were they something different?
That's...
"What's that...?"
In front of me was a large crystalline ramp, or what appeared to be one. It stood at around 10 meters tall a the tip of the cliff and had two crystalline staircases that lead up to it.
What...
"Don't know. Say, did ya papa ever tell you not to trespass on other people's property?"
A gruff voice echoed from behind me before—
BANG!
BANG!
The bullets, or rather, buckshot, whizzed past me at high velocities.
"Hoho! You dodged that one real good! How about another round—WO—OW! OW! OW! "
I drew my pistol quickly, and in rapid succession, I fired 4 shots in my assailant's direction, two of which hit their mark on his leg and lower abdomen. No vitals were hit, unfortunately. He was moving too quickly.
How troublesome...
"Geez! We could've at least exchanged some silly banter! Name's Kenny, what's yours?"
I hid behind a pillar, fastening the straps on my mask.
"Jeez, you're no fun!"
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Words: 2827
Author Notes:
Man, I'm kind of hyped to write this fight. It's hinted throughout the latter half of the chapter, so I won't spoil it.
Also, I started watching Dragon Ball Z Abridged and A Slap on Titan.
Poundtown.
Goodbye.