Chapitre 986: 62
"How does she look like?" Levi asked as they were almost done discussing their plans to counterattack.
"Pieck is only four meters tall, her titan form has a head like a duck, but her advantage is that she's too durable. I once saw how she could stay in her Titan Form for a whole month without coming out of her Titan." Annie explained, but her words made Hange's eyes go as wide as her glasses, a blush appearing out of nowhere on her face, creeping out Annie, who instinctively took a step backward; she didn't know why, but she suddenly felt very uncomfortable by her presence.
"How can she do that? How does she feed herself? How does she shit?! ho- ahhhh-" Hange's onslaught of incessant questions finally ceased as Levi stretched out his arm and firmly clasped her ear, resembling a disapproving parent disciplining a wayward child. His face displayed an unmistakable air of boredom as he gazed at Hange, seemingly unimpressed by her curiosity.
"Not now four eyes, we can discuss that later," Levi said, annoyed, letting go of Hange's ear, causing it to turn a deep shade of red due to the pain endured. Responding to the discomfort, Hange attentively massaged her ear, simultaneously displaying her discontent with Levi's actions by pouting at him, resembling the demeanor of a disgruntled child. Annie cleared her throat, silently urging them to regain their composure.
"As I was saying, Pieck can transform many times before she gets exhausted. One way to defeat her is to damage her human body inside the nape." Annie explained, looking slightly downwards, feeling a pang of guilt in her heart that she was saying such things about Pieck; she hoped there was a way to spare her and convince her to get on their side.
"Well, that is easy; we can just cut her legs off," Levi commented bluntly, his hands brushing against the handle of his sword. Annie shuddered at the thought of doing that to Pieck. She secretly hoped she would be the one to fight her; she knew she could change her mind.
"What about the Beast one?" Levi questioned.
"Zeke's Beast Titan looks like a monkey," Annie answered, but she quickly saw the confusion evident in their faces; even Hange rubbed the top of her head in confusion.
"What the fuck is a monkey?" Levi asked, sounding irritated.
Oh, right, Annie thought, only now remembering that they had no way of knowing what a monkey was. Annie didn't feel in the mood to explain what a monkey was in great detail, so she decided to do this more easily. "His Titan Form is 22 meters tall, his body is covered in fur, he has long arms, and his way of fighting is throwing rocks or other objects against the enemy. I have seen him being able to destroy Reiner's Armoured Titan with a single throw of his rocks." Annie explained. Her words made the Commander have a thoughtful look on his face, but none of them seemed too concerned.
Annie remembered when Reiner was ordered to transform, just to see what Zeke's attack would do to him; his rocks had torn Reiner to shreds, and one of the rocks had almost killed him.
"What about close combat?"
"In close combat, he's just average, nothing special; his throws are his most dangerous weapon," Annie answered the Commander's question. '
Annie still wondered why Captain Mike was so set on riding with her against the Titans. She knew he was their second-strongest soldier, but she was certain that she could defeat the Titans by herself without much difficulty. Just as she prepared to use her ODM Gear to fly away and transform far enough away from him, Mike spoke.
"Cadet Leonhart, you stay close and transform only if I need your help." Mike suddenly ordered. As the Titans menacingly closed in, Annie found herself on the brink of voicing her dissent. However, her words were stifled by the imminent danger that loomed closer, with the Titans mere meters away from a nearby towering building—Captain Mike's swift and expert maneuver utilizing his ODM gear. With flawless precision, he propelled himself upward and soared towards the heavens. Annie's thoughts swirled frantically, contemplating the intentions behind Captain Mike's move. Before she could decipher his motive, a radiant burst of golden light struck Captain Mike, electrifying the atmosphere.
Annie, her eyes wide with astonishment and confusion, stood rooted to the spot as she observed with increasing bewilderment how the bones magically created, followed by the intertwining of muscles, before her stood a Lion Titan. Gasping, Annie recoiled slightly as the immense beast landed firmly on the ground, resulting in a thunderous vibration that propagated through the earth, causing minor cracks to ripple through its surface. With an elegant yet daunting grace, the Lion Titan propelled itself forward, exhibiting both raw power and swift agility as it leapt towards the approaching Titans. Displaying incredible strength, the Titan swiped its massive paw through the air and, with a single motion, obliterated the head of one of the Titans, reducing it to a mere explosion of debris. With an undeniable ferocity, the Lion Titan crushed its powerful jaws down onto the nape of another approaching Titan, swiftly ending its existence. The resulting violence unleashed a torrent of blood that erupted from the lifeless Titan's neck, splashing out with the force and intensity of a roaring waterfall.
Annie could do nothing but watch in awe; she couldn't understand what was happening anymore. The one in front of her was definitely a Beast Titan, but she was certain that Zeke still held the Beast Titan, and no one in the Survey Corps had told her that Zeke was captured and fed to Mike.
How is this possible? Did Eren or someone else find a way for an Eldian to have Titan Powers without the need to consume the current holder? Annie thought, trying to make sense of what she was seeing; she had never heard of this being a possibility. Suddenly, she thought of something else that made her eyes go wide.
Wait, if they have found a way to give Eldians Titan Powers, how many others in the Survey Corps already have this power? Annie asked herself as Mike killed the third Titan before him, but nine more Titans suddenly appeared on the horizon and started running towards Mike.
Is this why they are not hurrying to feed Bertholdt and Reiner? Annie asked herself; it suddenly made sense. She found it a little odd that Reiner and Bertholdt were allowed to live for as long as they already had, she had been certain that both of them would have been consumed by someone by now, but if the Eldians in Paradise had a way to have Titan Powers without the need of cannibalism, then it made sense why Berthold and Reiner were still alive.
Suddenly, Annie remembered their orders from Commander Erwin if they encountered the Beast Titan. Reacting swiftly, compelling her to urgently rummage through her garments until her fingers grazed the familiar texture of the flare gun securely tucked away at her waist. Without hesitation, she grasped the weapon. She swiftly directed the gun towards the heavens, aligning its barrel with the vast expanse of the sky, and decisively squeezed the trigger. An intense burst of scarlet pierced through the air in an instant, ascending with speed into the sky.
Mike
The Lion Titan stood on all fours, his massive frame radiating sheer dominance. Without hesitation, he launched himself into a thunderous sprint, his formidable muscles propelling him forward with incredible speed. As his paws collided with the earth beneath him, the ground quivered and trembled in response, unable to withstand the force of his every step. The sheer magnitude of his stride caused fractures to spread through the ground, resulting in cracks snaking through the once-solid terrain. The nearby trees, usually towering and unyielding, swayed and quivered like mere toothpicks. With a ferocious determination gleaming in his eyes, Mike's lethal jaws clamped down on the unprotected head of a pure titan, effortlessly severing flesh and bone. The impact was cataclysmic, as the Titan's skull shattered like fragile glass, disintegrating into a cascade of fragmented remains scattered into the wind.
Mike felt guilt, but he quickly suppressed it. He knew the Titans he was killing were their own people, but at this moment, he had no other choice; even Commander Erwin had made it clear to kill all the Titans they found inside the Territory and not spare them. While Mike disagreed with that decision, he knew the only way to turn them back to normal would be to feed a current Titan Shifter, and trying to lock them up instead of killing them could result in any of them dying.
Mike saw the Titans surrounding him from all sides. He quickly backed away but saw a figure appearing in the distance. Three Titans attacked him at the same time, and Mike quickly jumped upwards, away from their attacks. Landing on his fours, Mike squinted his eyes; he saw a strange Titan; he stood 22 meters tall, with long arms covered in fur.
Mike quickly concluded that he must be the Beast Titan, gritting his teeth when he noticed that he was in a position like he was about to throw something.
Shit! Mike cursed quickly, taking cover behind two pure titans, their massive figures shielding him from the impending danger. Meanwhile, a cacophony of loud whistle noises pierced through the air, resonating in his ears like a chorus of bells, indicating the imminent arrival of numerous projectiles. The sound grew increasingly intense.
The two pure titans in front of Mike were torn apart and obliterated in a gruesome display of carnage. Blood splattered everywhere. The force of the projectiles caused the earth beneath him to erupt, sending shockwaves through the ground. Like giant pillars succumbing to the sheer power of the blasts, several trees collapsed around him, their branches crashing upon the once peaceful landscape.
A single projectile found its mark, ripping through the air with deadly precision, colliding with Mike's paw, tearing it into unrecognizable bits, causing unimaginable pain, and leaving him stunned.
This is way too fast! Mike thought, alarmed, and disregarded his injured paw, but he saw that it was already healing, evidenced by tendrils of steam escaping from the wound. However, his attention swiftly shifted - the pure Titans surrounding him coordinating their attacks. Mike, knowing he couldn't win against all of them, quickly started running away, ignoring his injured paw. His desperate escape was swiftly punctuated by the piercing sound of approaching loud whistles. Reacting instinctively, he propelled himself upwards, narrowly evading a barrage of projectiles that mercilessly obliterated the ground he had once occupied. Just as he thought he had managed to avoid the immediate danger, fate dealt him a devastating blow - an errant rock struck his stomach with brutal force, resulting in an eruption of crimson resembling a cascading waterfall, as blood gushed forth from the wound.
The Lion Titan crashed heavily onto the earth, causing a tremendous upheaval of dust particles to swirl through the air, obstructing visibility. Struggling to regain footing, the Lion Titan's keen eyes caught sight of a horrifying sight: an onslaught of Titans hurtling toward it from all directions. With jaws agape and razor-sharp teeth bared, they lunged at the fallen Titan, targeting its vulnerable areas - the stomach and legs. Mike quickly pulled himself out of the nape; with a single knife swing, he cut the muscles attached to his face, wincing in pain, his cheeks ripped open; the pain was still something he wasn't used to.
As Mike ignored the searing pain coursing through his body, he continued to keep moving forward. One of the Titans suddenly caught sight of him, its immense hand rapidly closing in, eager to seize him in a vice-like grip. Reacting with lightning agility, Mike swiftly activated his ODM Gear, propelling himself away from the impending danger. He unleashed a lightning-fast slash in a split second, aiming to incapacitate the Titan's massive fingers before delivering a devastating blow to its vulnerable nape. Undeterred by his recent victory, Mike wasted no time directing his attention to the next Titan. However, just as he prepared to engage the second Titan, a sudden burst of dazzling golden lightning materialized nearby, momentarily diverting his attention.
Mike watched as the Female Titan - materialized right beside him. The Female Titan swiftly raised her leg and unleashed a single, impeccably timed hardened kick, obliterating the napes of the three Titans simultaneously. The gruesome sight of their heads soaring through the air, detached from their lifeless bodies, was both horrifying and thrilling. The ground soon became a graveyard as the Titan carcasses crashed down, defeated and motionless in her wake.
Mike's sigh of relief lingered in the air. With the sudden surge of confidence, he knew that their chances of emerging victorious had skyrocketed. The Seven Titans lunged towards Annie. Mike skillfully maneuvered his ODM Gear, dispatching the three Titans with brutal precision. Annie, using her hand-to-hand combat skills, swiftly dispatched another two. However, as Mike charged toward the remaining Titan, an unexpected cacophony of loud whistles abruptly shattered the chaotic battlefield, and he was completely exposed, as was Annie.
All the hair on Mike's body, from his head to his arms and legs, involuntarily stood up in a prickling sensation. His skin crawled with an eerie chill that seemed to seep into his bones. Time appeared to come to a standstill as if the entire world had been subdued into a slow-motion sequence. Mike's wide eyes locked onto a tiny, swiftly moving rock that brushed past his cheek.
Instinctively, Mike clenched his eyelids shut. The deafening cacophony of explosive blasts reverberated through his entire being, accompanied by the echoes of Titan bodies being torn apart. A mist of warm blood droplets cascaded from the dismembered remains, landing on Mike's body.
As Mike opened his eyes, he swiftly activated his ODM Gear, skillfully maneuvering himself to descend toward safety with utmost precision. As his boots met the solid ground, he saw the Female Titan sprawled motionless before him. Half of her face was obliterated, as were her legs and arms. Billows of steam rose ceaselessly from the depths of her grievous wounds.
Mike suddenly smelled the Titan getting closer; Mike quickly used his ODM Gear to rush towards the Trees before hiding behind a Tree; he turned to see the Monkey Titan advancing towards The Female Titan with a big grin on his face.
Zeke
Zeke saw the coward flying away towards the trees using the strange device attached to his hips. Usually, he would have tried to follow him, but his attention was on the Female Titan lying unmoving on the ground; as he approached, Zeke recognized her. At first, he had thought that Annie was dead and the Female Titan fighting against him was another woman with blonde hair, but now, as he loomed over her, he recognized her facial expression and short blonde hair; Zeke wasn't as surprised as he had thought.
From all his fellow warriors, he never trusted Annie; she had no attachments to Marley, and her father was a moron, so Zeke wasn't surprised to see that Annie had changed sides which was a shame; her hand-to-hand combat skills made her excellent for the Female Titan.
"Annie, I can't say I'm surprised to see you fighting for the Devils," Zeke said through his Titan Form, his voice coming out much deeper than it actually was. Zeke rubbed the back of his ear with his index finger as Annie glared at him, her wounds still healing.
"Screw you, Zeke." Annie spat the words with venom.
Zeke laughed with a wide, ugly grin. "Where are Reiner and Bertholdt? Are they dead?" Zeke asked, but Annie kept her mouth shut tightly, still glaring at him; before Zeke could do anything to force her to talk, he suddenly felt something stab his shoulder.
Zeke quickly looked upwards to see the coward rushing towards him with the same strange device. Zeke roared as he reached out, trying to grab him, only for him to move fast. Zeke saw as three of his fingers were suddenly sliced off. Zeke followed his movement; he was fast, but not too fast.
Zeke tried to reach out again, but he felt blades cutting through his chest before he felt a tingle on his forehead. Zeke's right arm was completely sliced off, but Zeke quickly grasped the wire with his left arm. Zeke quickly tried smashing him against the ground, only for a golden lightning to appear before him.
The Lion Titan appeared right in front of Zeke before swinging his paw, his fangs cutting through Zeke's face, slicing off his nose and right eyes; as blood gushed out, Zeke glared furiously and tried to use his left arm only for another golden lightning to struck near him, catching him off guard, a new Female Titan appeared.
Glaring at him furiously, Annie made a swift and powerful grab, tightly clutching onto The Beast Titan's left arm. With an unexpected force, she launched a crushing punch toward his face, her crystallized hand connecting with a thunderous impact that not only shattered the surface it struck but also generated a fierce gust of wind, causing a wave-like effect to ripple through the surroundings. The sheer power of her strike was so immense that The Beast Titan's face was obliterated, disintegrating into a spray of fragmented flesh and shattered bones, with his left eye violently bursting out of the damaged eye socket. The force of the attack sent The Beast Titan hurtling through the air, his massive form descending with a bone-crushing thud against the ground, displacing the earth beneath him and causing the surrounding grass and debris to be forcefully blown away.
Zeke could hear them approaching him, but he knew he wasn't helpless.
Annie
Both Annie and Mike swiftly moved towards him. Annie, with her piercing glare and simmering rage, harboring thoughts of tearing his human form apart. However, their frantic approach was abruptly interrupted by the deafening symphony of cannons thundering from a dangerously close distance. In an instant, a devastating explosion tore through the air as multiple bombs mercilessly struck both Annie and Mike simultaneously. The sheer force of the impact sent shockwaves through their bodies. Annie collapsed onto the ground, her lower half obliterated by the relentless assault. Zeke stood up in his newly transformed Beast Titan. With a primal and guttural roar that reverberated across the battlefield.
Mike quickly recognized the multiple smells approaching, and there were perhaps thirty of them running toward them. Annie pulled herself out of her Titan before biting her hand hard.
Creating another Female Titan, she quickly heard the sound of canons again, but she quickly jumped to her right, the projectiles blowing up the ground she had been standing a moment ago. Zeke quickly threw rocks at Annie, only for her to use a nearby Titan as a Shield; the Titan was blown to bits, crystallizing her fingers; she quickly sank her fingers deep into Mike's Titan nape, grasping him as she started running away towards the forest.
The Female Titan swiftly took off, pushing her body to its limits in a desperate attempt to increase the distance between herself and the Beast Titan. The adrenaline coursing through her veins fueled her determination, but her efforts were soon overshadowed by the piercing sound of blaring whistles growing louder and closer with each passing moment. With her heart pounding in her chest, the Female Titan braced herself for the unavoidable impact. In a split second, her legs were blasted apart, causing excruciating pain to surge through her body. The Female Titan crumbled to the ground, her face making rough contact with the terrain. The muddy earth and sharp, jagged rocks etched marks upon her once visage, leaving behind a trail of dirt and blood. Her trembling hand, clutching onto Mike, involuntarily relinquished its grip.
Mike
Mike quickly fired his grappling hook at her neck; with a single swing, he saw the back of her clothes; his hand grasped her by the cloth before forcefully pulling her out, and a burst of steam came out as Mike held her body in his arms, he quickly noticed that he had accidentally cut her right arm off, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.
Mike could smell them approaching his position. Mike quickly fired his grappling hook at the tallest tree; with a burst of gas from his ODM Gear, he propelled himself upwards. The Titans tried to grab him, but Mike was able to slip through their fingers, before rushing forward, away from the Titans, but they started running toward them.
Mike cursed under his breath as he kept trying to push forward, but the Titans weren't allowing him to get away. Mike glanced down at his blades; he had eight left and enough gas to kill them; despite being fifteen Titans, Mike was certain he could kill them, but just as he thought of placing Leonhart in a safe place, the Titans stopped chasing and started running back, towards the Beast Titan.
Mike stopped moving, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself, wondering what was happening, when he saw two bolts of golden lightning in the distance, followed by green flares flying upwards in the far distance. Mike sighed heavily in relief, a smile forming on his face, knowing backup had finally arrived, but as he looked upwards, he quickly noticed something he had seen only three times before.
"Historia!"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone