When they saw the monster with their own eyes, they immediately panicked.
So this monster is the enemy of mankind.
"Pull back! Reestablish the formation!" Erwin commands his soldiers to act quickly before the titan can approach us.
This titan will catch up to us in a flash just by glancing at that speed. Suddenly, Levi pulls up next to me on his horse. "Hop on, you idiot! Why are you just standing there!?"
I hurriedly take his hand to hop on, and he cracks the rein to make his horse spur forward with its heels.
"You two! Stay in formation!" Erwin is ahead, stealing a glance back at us. "There's no telling when the other titans will appear, so don't break formation!"
"It's a 12-meter class and it's coming this way, sir!" a female soldier of the Survey Corps shouted from beside and we heard another one screeching at the top of his lungs.
"Another one appeared!" he informs us. "A 15-meter class on our right!"
"We'll distract it!" Mike signals us to split for now and Erwin follows with the plan.
"Lead it to the forest!"
The formation starts to split apart and Mike along with a few soldiers leads the 15-meter titan into the nearest forest. This is too risky, and what will they do next?
"Erwin, are you really going to let them go that easily?" Levi didn't seem to like this plan they came up with at the last second.
"Do not worry. Mike may be reckless, but he's not stupid. We have no choice but to kill them since we're too close and escaping would be impossible at this point!" Erwin explains to Levi and now Levi is silent.
"If you need me to kill the titans, why didn't you say so sooner?"
"Levi?" I blinked at him when he abruptly pulled on the rein to turn the horse around, and this time, we were charging at the titans.
"Levi!" I scream at the top of my lungs in great fear. "Are you trying to get us killed!?"
Levi ignores me as he switches to his gear and entrusts the rein to my care. He then stands on his horse. "You stay here! Keep charging at the titan in front of us!"
"Levi! You can't handle that titan alone!"
"I can handle anything!" Without another word, Levi jumps off the horse to pump up his gas tanks, which sends him flying in the air at such speed. At any rate, he'll get eaten if he's careless.
"Soldiers! Transfer to 3DMG and assist Levi!" Erwin orders his men to fight alongside Levi and now, the titan is close to snatching him in the air. Levi boosts up his gas tanks once more to go higher in the air to dodge the titan's attack, then he grapples into each of its eyes perfectly. As I am getting closer to the titan that Levi is fighting against, he leaps over its head to finish it off by slicing its nape.
He did it... he just slaughtered a titan within seconds!
"SINA!"
I hear Levi calling out my name, but right when I turn my head, a titan jumps in the air to slide across the ground to attack me. I let out a scream as I fell off the horse, but unfortunately, the titan in front of me caught my fall with its gigantic, meaty hand.
"ARGH!" I cried at the excruciating pain as the titan squeezed me, nearly crushing my insides. As I was being crushed, the titan started opening its wide mouth with countless teeth.
Their jaws... they are designed for devouring humans.
So this is death in front of my eyes.
The titan lifts me to its face, opening its mouth wide enough for me to fit inside. But, I don't want to die a meaningless death. Levi wouldn't be able to make it since his gas tanks are too low on gas. This is a chance for me to prove that I can defend myself.
From my sleeve, I slid out the knife and as I got closer to the titan's face, I immediately stabbed it in the right eye.
As expected, the titan screams out of agony and I fall out of its grasp with the knife still in my hand. Maybe this was a bad idea because I was falling at least twenty feet in the air. Am I going to die?
"You idiot!" I finally open my eyes to find myself in Levi's arms as he catches up to his horse with the gear. "Why did you get that close!?"
Despite how low he was on the gas, he still managed to save me from falling to my death. The gas tanks will give up any second now and there is possibly no way for us to catch up to his horse.
I decided to argue back at Levi. "It's your fault for leaving me with the horse!"
"But who fired the signal flare!?" he glared back, and I sank into his arms feeling embarrassed and frustrated at the same time.
"Okay, you got me there..."
Luckily the gas ran out by the time we got his horse back and this time, I was at the front while he sat behind me, controlling the rein this time. This is the only way to keep me safe and I appreciated him for saving me earlier. It amazed me that Levi proved to be a good horseback rider and was able to switch from using his mobility gear to riding a horse with ease.
We finally catch up to the Survey Corps and the titans are still chasing after us. Looking back, the horrifying smile on their faces gave me chills. The way they run is strange as they shake the surface of the world.
"Don't look back," Levi says behind me, understanding how afraid I am right now. After that painful experience of being held by a titan, it made me feel weak and hopeless. Such situations are unavoidable if we fight, not having the slightest idea about the enemy. "Good work, soldiers! We will now retreat!" Erwin tells his soldiers to retreat. "All nearby squads! Join the formation!"
"Tch. They just don't know when to give up, huh?" Levi says in annoyance as the titans were mindlessly chasing after us.
"Can't we use guns?" I asked, but Levi shook his head.
"Guns are nothing but useless for restraining it. The titan can only be hurt with the blade made from iron bamboo." Levi seems to have chipped his blades, but now that we're retreating, there's no point in fighting them right now.
I then checked my surroundings. Luckily, the current number of soldiers matches the number from earlier and that means, no one got eaten by a titan. The Survey Corps is truly amazing and their skills reflect their hardcore training.
"Support squad! Join with the attack squads and withdraw and retreat!" Erwin commands us to stick together until the very end and we are now reaching for the South Gate. "Do not look back under any circumstances! Head nonstop for the Shiganshina District!"
Out of nowhere, the ground shakes heavily when something falls behind us. The thud almost sounded like trees falling, but that might not be it.
"Commander Erwin!" a female soldier called out to him. "They're throwing titans at us!"
I let out a high-pitched gasp when a titan landed right behind us, but unfortunately, it hit the horse carriage. All the weapons and supplies are left behind, and now the horse runs faster without having to carry it.
"Fucking great." Levi and the others turn their heads back to find the bigger titans throwing smaller titans to catch up to the Survey Corps. So these titans are not as idiotic as I thought... they won't ever give up.
"They're getting closer, sir!"
"Do not engage!" Erwin wishes for us to continue charging for the South Gate. "Godspeed!"
And so then, everyone cracks their reins to quicken the horses' pace and I turn to Levi who is now focused on escaping the titans with the rest of the Survey Corps.
"HELP! SOMEBODY!"
My ears perked up and forced my head back to find a male soldier on the ground after falling from his horse. The horse starts running ahead, leaving him behind and my face turns pale when a titan is going for his in the distance.
Why are these soldiers running away!? Are they not going to save their own comrade!?
I turn my body to the left and Levi starts questioning me. "What the hell are you up to now!?"
"I'm going to save him!" I scream in his face, but the soldiers try to stop me as well.
"It's too late! We can't save him, or else we'll be eaten as well!" one of the soldiers warned us, but you'll never know once you take action.
"Sina, do not do anything foolish!" Erwin warns me, but I refuse to give up on that soldier! My heart tells me it's the right thing to do!
"Then what's the point of being a soldier!?" I argue back. "Does he not mean anything to you all!?"
They all fell into silence.
"I have a plan. I'll save him myself!" I say out of confidence, but Levi gives me a stern look.
"How about try not to get eaten!?"
"No need to be hot-blooded!" I yell at him once more. "I'm jumping off before it's too late!"
As Levi used his strong arm to restrain me from doing anything stupid again, I had no other option but to kick myself off the horse which made him lose his grip.
"Damn it!" Levi hissed as he watched me run towards the soldier, who was still lying on the ground with injuries from the fall.
Though quite nervous, I have to face this myself. No matter what, this is my last chance. His horse was approaching me first, so I captured it by catching the rein and swinging myself onto the saddle. The titans are getting closer to him and I quickly turn the horse back around to catch up to him before the group of titans do.
This is not the place for either of us to die!
At full speed, I luckily got to soldier first and hopped off the seat to lift him. His left leg was broken after the fall and with all my strength, I attempted to have him get on the horse and of course, he was in a lot of pain. I try not to push it, but at the same time, the titans will catch up to us any second.
"COME ON! LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
That booming voice was coming from behind us and right when I turned my head back, Mike came toward us at powerful speed on his horse along with his soldiers, and with his crazy strength, he swept up the injured solider by the waist with one arm and throws him onto his horse. "I'll take off it from here. Try to keep up Sina!"
Is he fucking serious? Well, at least he did me a favor in such a stressful moment. I wouldn't be able to carry that soldier onto the horse in time, so it's all thanks to him. But compared to Levi, he seems to be the second best when it comes to strength. I watch Mike and his soldiers charge forward with their horses to reform with Erwin and the rest, so I make haste by hopping onto the horse. I crack the reins to get it moving and the titans behind us are dangerously close.
The titans nearly caught us with their own hands right when we took off. If I hesitated earlier, I wouldn't have saved him in time. I finally catch up to Mike and the others, then hear the injured soldier sobbing.
"Thank you... so much..." he was filled with so much fear and thought his life was over, but he was safe now. Not only that, but I also can't imagine the pain he has to endure until we return to Shiganshina District.
"Ah, suck it up would you? It's just a broken leg." Mike teases and we finally catch up to Erwin and the others. Thank the walls Levi is still here with us and it is strange to find him this calm and collected in a situation such as this.
"Mike, I thought you led the titans elsewhere. Why did you come back with more?" Erwin asks with great concern and Mike abruptly laughs nervously. "You see, Commander Erwin, these titans just won't listen to me."
"I told you he's stupid," Levi mumbles under his breath to Erwin and our only option is to outrun them on our horses.
The Survey Corps had finally gained some distance from the titans and we were almost there. We can see the walls from here, and above us, the soldiers quickly spotted us.
"OPEN THE GATE! THE SURVEY CORPS ARE BACK!"
I was relieved to hear the bell ringing from afar and the Survey Corps made it back safely. Looking back now, we lost the titans and my shoulders drop after taking a deep breath. I was the last person to make it back into the walls and the soldiers shouted from above.
"CLOSING THE GATE! LOWER IT QUICKLY!"
Right when I looked forward, there was a huge crowd surrounding us, the sound of people cheering for the Survey Corps' return. For the first time in history, the Survey Corps returned in one piece. Nobody died.
"Alina! You were amazing!" one of the soldiers praised me for the first time. "We're sorry for doubting you. You were braver than all of us out there."
I was blushing at their comments but now is not the time. Right after our return, the first thing that came across my mind was to search for a medical team since the injured soldier with Mike was suffering, so I shouted. "Medic! He needs a medic!"
"We'll handle it from here!" the Garrison soldiers from the gate carried a stretcher and I assumed they were the medical team, so I let Mike carry him over to their care.
"W-Wait!" the injured soldier cries out to me right after I hop off the horse. "Thank you... again. I was so stupid back there. I owe you my life."
"You're safety is most important to me. I'm just glad to help you." I gave him a reassuring smile, which made him tear up even more. "Will I see you again?"
"Sure," I promised, and that's because I am determined to become a part of the Survey Corps. I then return his horse as they all leave together with the medical team and turn around to find Levi approaching me on his horse.
"We need to talk." his voice was cold, meaning this would be serious and I took his hand so he could give me a lift. I take a seat behind Levi, putting my arms around his strong body. The thought of risking my life and getting nearly eaten by a titan really made me shudder with horror. Levi could smell my fear and his mind started racing when I gave him a slight squeeze. He lets out a heavy sigh. "Were you able to get what you were looking for?"
I raise my head at his question. Erwin must've told him my intentions from the outside. "You said you had a reason for seeing a titan. Was there anything to be gained from it?"
"Yes..." my voice shrinks, feeling guilty ever since I fired that flare gun. If I hadn't been fired, the mission wouldn't have been withdrawn. I got in the way of everything.
"Wow! It's the Survey Corps!" a young boy in the crowd stares at us with glistening eyes. "They're so awesome, aren't they Mikasa!?"
"Eren, we have to go." the girl with a red scarf drags him back, begging him to keep on moving.
I stare at the boy named Eren, who was smiling at me this time in admiration and it was one of the brightest smiles I've ever seen. This boy must have some sort of passion, so I smiled back.
"Hold it right there!"
The Survey Corps stops their horses for some unknown reason. Up ahead, there was a group of people stopping us from going any further and I gasped when it turned out to be the Military Police.
A tall man, which I assume is the leader, takes a step forward.
"I am the Military Police Commanding Officer in charge of the Shiganshina District! And you're Commander Erwin of the Survey Corps, isn't that right?"
Erwin probably doesn't have the slightest clue as to why the Military Police is here, so he asked. "What business do you have with me?"
"Oh, pardon me." the Military Police officer apologizes, then points his baton over in my direction. "I am here to request that you kindly hand over that girl sitting behind that gentleman."
Levi was shocked when the officer was pointing over at me, so he turned his head back. He could see the fear in my eyes, but I didn't want to hold back anymore.
"No! I've done nothing wrong!"
"Don't listen to her." the officer dismisses me. "That girl is a threat to humanity. Last year, we were expecting her execution until the day we learned about her escape. She also smuggled to get to the Shiganshina District and was under suspicion of serious crimes. That girl, Sina Vogel, is the titan's child."
My blood boiled at his words when he was describing me as a monster, but after seeing a titan for myself, I knew he was wrong. Even after a year, the Military Police still searched for me. My life will be over if Erwin or Mike decides to hand me over to them.
Erwin turns his head back to face me, and it's almost as if he knows something... about me.
"You're the titan's child?" Erwin asks, but I remain silent this time.
If I continue to speak, it might just add more gas to the fire. I then noticed Levi staring at me with a pale face, worried about my fate.
How does he know about the titan's child?