Chapter 60: The Beast Titan
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The Following 15 chapters are available for Patrons.
Chapter 61 (The Crimson Bow and Arrow), Chapter 62 (Ape Vs Lion), Chapter 63 (Historia, The Winged Titan), Chapter 64 (Battle Between Brothers), Chapter 65 ('Here's Kenny'), Chapter 66 (The Paths), Chapter 67 (Sasha's Pleasure), Chapter 68 (King Eren?), Chapter 69 (An Angel and A Devil), Chapter 70 (The Ackerman Blood), Chapter 71 (Eren's Love), Chapter 72 (Blood of the Eldians), Chapter 73 (Father and Daughter), Chapter 74 (King Eren and Queen Historia), and Chapter 75 (Eren and Historia's Night) are already available for Patrons.
Eren
"So that's the whole truth!" Sasha almost shouted, her voice echoing throughout the common room, her village accent returning, but it seemed she quickly remembered and slipped back to the accent she used now within a second.
Eren nodded without much thought. Mikasa and his girlfriends were sitting beside him around a large square table; Armin and Mina were sharing a moment outside. Eren knew he had been missing her, and from the way Mina had kissed him in front of everyone, he knew she had missed him too.
After the trial ended, Captain Levi instructed Eren and his friends, except Annie, to spend their time in the Survey Corps Headquarters' common room. Since Annie was still seen with suspicion, Levi Squad followed her around everywhere; thankfully, it seemed Petra had become friends with Annie. Eren had heard them exchanging words with one another, so Eren was glad Annie wasn't exactly alone with strangers.
After walking into the common room, they were greeted by their friends from the Training Corps and many other members of the Survey Corps. Eren had been confused at first when he saw Sasha and Connie standing there; he understood why Jean was there but not them.
Jean explained that due to what had been happening the last week, the second in command had been the one to start the ceremony, where the soldiers would decide which Military Branch they would join. He then explained how all those before him had decided to join the Survey Corps. To make sure the future is a better one.
Eren didn't know how to feel when he saw the many soldiers who had joined the Survey Corps because of him. Even Captain Levi commented that the number of soldiers that had joined the Survey Corps this year was more than doubled.
'What is that look, Brat?' Levi asked him with a hushed voice.
'Captain Levi, those people, they all joined because of me. They joined the Survey Corps. If they die, not 'if' I know some of them might die, then is-' 'Don't go down that road, brat.' Levi interrupted whatever word he wanted to say, causing Eren to look at Levi, who instead pointed at the soldiers in front of them.
'Those brats you see joined because they see a brighter future, and in their eyes, maybe you are that bright future. I myself don't know that truth yet, brat. Whether you are a bright future or a new hell, those soldiers are old enough to realize what they are getting into, their joining the Survey Corps means they might die. Hell, some of them might die in the first expedition. You don't know the future, no one does. The only thing we can do is make the decisions and make sure their deaths weren't for naught, so as long as you keep making sure the hearts they gave weren't for nothing, then their sacrifices weren't for nothing.' Captain Levi had told him.
After Jean and Floch explained everything to Eren, it was Eren's turn to explain some of the truth about the outside world and a little about how his power works. Now, Sasha seemed completely lost and confused, as did Connie and a few other cadets. Many of them had known Reiner; hell, everyone in the Training Corps had known him, and despite knowing for a week now, many of them were still trying to comprehend everything.
"So, Bertholdt and Reiner really are the ones that tried to kill us all," Sasha murmured under her breath, but loud enough that everyone could hear her; she looked as if she was still trying to come up to terms with the reality that Reiner had tried to kill them all. The same Reiner that everyone considered a friend, the same Reiner that everyone considered a big brother, someone they knew they could rely on, that same Reiner had tried to kill them.
'It's my fault your mother got eaten by a Titan.' Eren remembered his words; he growled, his hands turning to fists.
Suddenly, Sasha's emotions overwhelmed her to the point where she couldn't contain herself any longer. "To think, I-I-I-" A deep, mournful sob escaped her lips, causing her to reflexively cover her mouth with her hand. Her words faltered in her throat, attempting to convey a sentiment she struggled to express. Once bright and full of life, her eyes were now clouded with tears, their redness evident on her flushed cheeks. Her voice trembled with intense vulnerability, like fragile glass on the verge of shattering.
Witnessing Sasha's anguish, Eren instinctively rose from his seat, momentarily forgetting everything around him. Without hesitation, he moved swiftly towards her. As she threw her arms around him, tears streamed down her face, transferring onto his shirt, gradually dampening it. At that moment, Eren grappled with the right words to say, aware that mere words couldn't easily erase the pain Sasha felt. However, he stroked the top of her head soothingly, attempting to provide comfort and assurance that she wasn't alone in her struggle. Gradually, Sasha began to loosen her grip, her tear-streaked face now adorned with a grateful smile. She slowly lowered herself back into her chair, slumping down like a sack of potatoes.
"Eren, what is the plan now?" Floch asked, sitting alone around a table.
"The plan now is to feed Bertholdt and Reiner to two potential candidates. After that, we will retake our territory and then deal with the outside world." Eren said firmly, his eyes almost glittering like gems. Floch nodded in agreement, knowing Eren would talk more with them in private about his plans.
"Eren." Jean suddenly called his name from the other side of the room; leaning against the Wall, Eren looked at him, the one from all of them he knew he could rely on. Jean might be smug sometimes, but he was someone Eren knew would always be honest with him and wouldn't try to sugarcoat it.
"During the Battle, you fought for us and saved many of us. There are many inside the Walls who see you as the Hero." Jean said as he approached Eren, who stood his ground, looking back at Jean.
"I don't consider myself a hero."
"You shouldn't; I don't believe Heros are real; in our world, someone who thinks like a hero would be torn apart until there is nothing left. This world is not kind to that sort of people." Jean said, stopping in front of Eren and looking him straight in the eyes.
"I joined the Yeagerists because I believe you can make a better future for us. Eren, all this might be overwhelming to you, but always remember that you are not alone in this Shit world. You might be a Suicidal Bastard, but I chose to believe in you, and so did hundreds of others." His hand was now resting on Eren's shoulder; Eren could feel the eyes of everyone in the room.
"Eren, can you reassure us all that the hearts we will give will be worth it? If you can do that much, then I will gladly give my life." Jean's words struck deep in Eren's heart; countless people he had never known were counting on him, not just his friends but everyone from this Island.
"I Promise." Eren claimed firmly, his voice echoing, grabbing everyone's attention in the common room. "I won't claim to know the future, and I won't say that we all will be alive in the end, but I can promise you all that I will make sure we will survive. One day, our children will get to walk outside without the fear of the Titans, without the fear of an enemy nation suddenly attacking. Since the moment we are born, we are free. And our children will live Free."
"Yahh!!" Amidst a thunderous uproar of cheers coming from the common room, filled with both Survey Corps members and seasoned veterans, their voices echoed through the air. The atmosphere surged with overwhelming support for Eren as comrades showered him with their vocal encouragement. And amidst this veritable symphony of celebration, Eren's eyes caught a glimpse of Captain Levi, observing him from a distance. For the first time, a flicker of impressed danced across the usually stoic face of the captain, leaving Eren feeling an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.
Later
After his little speech in the common room, he excused himself to walk into a less used part of the Headquarters, in the oldest part of the building. Eren had seen him, appearing in small flashes, but he had been there with Captain Levi.
Eren had been confused at first, but from the small flash he had seen, he knew he had seen Marley and had been there.
As Eren turned a corner, he stepped into a dimly lit room that immediately gave off an air of antiquity. The walls were covered in a thick layer of dust, and spiderwebs adorned every corner, indicating that this room had not been frequented for quite some time. Amongst the disarray, Eren noticed a few old ODM Gear units haphazardly strewn about the floor. Judging from their dilapidated appearance, these gears had long surpassed their functional days.
Surveying the room further, Eren's attention was drawn to the sight of blades hanging from the ceiling, their sharp edges glinting in the dim light. These blades, along with the scattered wires that dangled loosely, hinted at a previous purpose, perhaps for training. Nevertheless, the room now lay abandoned, like a forgotten relic.
The peeling paint on the walls revealed a glimpse of its former elegance, now reduced to a faded memory. Once neatly organized, the wooden shelves were now mostly barren, left with only remnants of what once filled them.
"Come out. I know you are hiding." Eren suddenly said, his voice echoing in the room's silence until he saw a foot stepping out of a doorway that led to a second room; the door was no longer there.
The man had the biggest grin Eren had ever seen; he was a very tall and slim man who appeared well-built. He had short, coarse-looking dark hair that reached his neck and a thin beard along his jawline. He had wrinkles around his eyes, which were small and piercing; he appeared to be middle-aged. He was wearing a simple white shirt with a black tie and a large black overcoat that reached past his knees. He also had a bowler hat with a white band around it.
The man grinned, a gun in his hand, but Eren quickly lifted his hand to show a cut on his palm, blood still dripping from it, down the floor.
"You are willing to transform here? The building might fall down. Your friends might get crushed." The man asked with a triumphant smirk; the sight of Eren's bleeding hand didn't seem to faze him; if anything, he seemed exhilarated.
"You seem to not have noticed where we are," Eren said calmly, his voice as cold as winter wind. His words made the smirk on the other man falter as he gazed around the room.
"We are in the farthest section of the Headquarters; all my friends are on the other side of the building, so the better question is, are you willing to throw away your life for something that can never be yours, at least not in the way you are thinking," Eren threatened, his face remained calm, golden lightning danced around his calm, which made the man growl, lowering his gun, but suddenly the grin returned tenfold.
"Why are you speaking as if you know of me? And what do you mean I won't achieve what I want." The man asked, sounding intrigued, fully lowering the gun before leaning against the Wall relaxedly as if he was talking with an old friend.
"You are Kenny Ackerman," Eren said; his words didn't seem to catch the man off guard; if anything, he looked pleased.
"So you know, my name. Big deal." Kenny scoffed.
"I know more than your name, and I'm willing to make you a deal," Eren spoke, his green eyes glittering as another flash appeared before his eyes like lightning. It happened too fast, but it was enough information.
His words made Kenny step forward, tapping his hat upward with his finger, before returning his guns to their hostler.
"What Deal?" Kenny asked greedily.
Annie
"I don't understand how you can endure that midget," Annie complained for the tenth time after the trial ended. She had been sure she could finally spend more time with Eren; the time she had spent on the cell wasn't a memory she wanted to remember. So, she had been looking forward to spending more time with him and even with Mikasa, if that was possible. The annoying girl was growing on her, and Annie wanted to spend more time with them, but instead, the annoying midget had ordered her to be in his squad's company until he finished a meeting with the Commander and a few other important figures of the Walls.
Petra giggled in amusement from the other side of the room as she helped her clean the room. "Captain Levi is not the one you expected; he might be an important figure, and many people look up to him as Humanity's strongest soldier, but for those who know him. He is a clean freak, but we all respect him. His word is law to us." Petra explained with a bright smile on her face.
Annie couldn't help but groan as she cleaned her new room for the tenth time. She didn't understand why she was still cleaning; the floor was so clean that one could eat from it.
"I actually didn't expect someone like him to listen to orders as he does, I expected him to be more rebellious." Annie commented, using a napkin to clean the windows. Petra was cleaning the walls while the other three of the Levi squad were busy cleaning another part of the building. Annie didn't really care for them to be here, she liked this much more, Petra was a good company.
"He might make you think that, but Captain Levi follows every order from Commander Erwin; once I heard from Mike that Captain Levi was once a thief in the Underground City," Petra answered. Annie raised an eyebrow at that; she didn't expect Humanity's Strongest Soldiers to come from that place.
So he follows orders because he wants to prove that he's no longer a thief from the Underground City, but instead, someone anyone can rely on, Annie concluded as she looked at her own reflection in the mirror she was cleaning.
In a way, it reminded her of Reiner, how often he used to preach about loyalty to Marley, all that speech, to hide that he wasn't really fit to be a warrior, he never was, and he had hoped that running his mouth all day long about loyalty to Marley would secure him a place. After all, Loyalty was everything.
"Annie, what is it like in Marley?" Petra suddenly asked Annie who stopped cleaning; for a moment, she thought it would be better to keep cleaning and ignore the ginger girl, but Annie wanted them to have more trust in her. After betraying Reiner and Bertholdt, she knew this was her new home, and being hostile towards them wouldn't give her any favors, especially after promising the Commander that she would work for them. Annie didn't want to imagine what Eren would do if he ever learned the truth about what she had done that day.
"It's a prison, Petra. Everyone outside of the walls calls you a 'Devil'-" Annie went on and explained how the Eldians were treated in the mainland, how the Eldians were used by everyone since hiring an Eldian was much cheaper than a normal worker from Marley. How beating up and even killing an Eldian wouldn't get someone in trouble unless they were Warriors or Candidates for the Army, and even then, they would mostly get a slap on the wrist. Annie told her how there was no graveyard for the Eldians to be buried. When an Eldian died, their bodies would be burned, and that was it, their ashes thrown in a garbage somewhere, Annie had much more to tell, but she stopped when she saw Petra on the verge of tears, her eyes cloudy and red.
Annie looked away, focusing on the window she was cleaning; suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry for what you went through in Marley. I won't try to say I understand what you went through, but no one will ever call you like that here; you are welcome here, and one of us." Petra promised. Annie couldn't help but feel gratitude; she wanted to say that she didn't deserve her kind words, she didn't deserve her tears; if not for Eren, Annie knew she wouldn't have betrayed her fellow Warriors, Eren had been the one reason, not because she was a good person now.
Annie knew what would happen if Eren learned the truth. It wasn't his rage that scared her; it was the thought of him not looking at her with love that truly scared her; she never wanted that to happen; she had decided to keep the truth from him and keep it that way forever. That was the one truth that Eren should never learn.
"Thank you, Petra." Annie finally said, relieved, knowing she could rely on someone else besides Eren, Mikasa, and Mina.
Before Petra could return to her work, she abruptly became aware of a cacophony of hurried footsteps that grew louder with every passing second. The sound, originating from the external corridor, reverberated ominously through the walls of their room. Just as the anticipation mounted, the door suddenly yielded to a forceful thrust, granting entrance to Omoi.
"Petra, Leonhart. Come quickly to the Common Room, Captain Levi is awaiting us."
"What is happening?!"
"Wall Rose has been breached."
Annie's eyes widened upon hearing that, and her heart skipped a beat. She knew this would happen sooner or later, but she was prepared.
They didn't take long to gather in the Common Room, Veterans and the new cadets. When Annie entered the room, it was crowded, way too crowded; Commander Erwin stood above everyone.
"We have received news that Wall Rose has been breached," Erwin informed everyone. Annie quickly found Eren amongst the crowd; she couldn't help but notice that his green eyes seemed to be glittering somehow.
Commander Erwin's words caused everyone to panic a little, but Erwin quickly cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. "I know the situation seems dire, but don't forget that we have a new hope. With his help, Humanity was able to claim their first Victory. This new hope is Eren Yeager." Erwin spoke; Eren stepped forward to stand beside the Commander, and the crowd cheered for Eren.
"Cadet Yeager has reassured me that he can seal the Wall again; one of his Titan abilities allows him to do that, so yes, the situation is dire; the Titans are approaching, but just like in Trost. Humanity achieved Victory over the Titans." Erwin stopped mid-speech, raising his fist upwards. "Will we achieve victory again?"
"YES!" The crowd cheered; Annie had to admit the man knew how to give speeches. Commander Erwin saluted, as did everyone else.
"Give your Hearts!"
"GIVE YOUR HEARTS!!"
After the speech, Erwin told everyone they would all be split into groups. Annie learned that she would be with the Mike Squad, much to her dismay, but if everything went smoothly, they could finish this mission soon and return to their home.
Eren will be with the Levi Squad, while Mikasa and Armin will be assigned to the Hange Squad. After the speech was over, Erwin called for Annie in his office.
Once she entered, she saw that Eren, the midget, the one she suspected to be Mike, the Crazy Lady, and Commander Erwin were already in the office, waiting for her; the Commander was sitting behind the table, his hands clutched together in front of his face.
"Cadet Leonhart, who do you think was able to breech the Wall?" Commander Erwin asked her, his voice firm and calm, but still made her shudder as she closed the door before making her way to the table.
"The only ones left on the mainland are Zeke and Pieck. None of them have the ability to destroy a wall, the only way I see them being able to breach the Wall would be with an advanced new weapon that I haven't heard of, but I don't think the Wall is really breached, at least not how Bertholdt and Reiner did." Annie informed him with a grave voice. The moment the Commander informed them that the Wall was breached and not one of the four gates but a random part of the Wall in the South, Annie understood what was happening.
"Why?"
"Because as you know, the wall is full of Wall Titans, this is why Bertholdt and Reiner attacked the gates, the one segment where you can destroy the wall without the fear of Wall Titans waking up, but destroying the wall in a random location, then the chances of waking one or several Wall Titans would be high, I don't see either Zeke or Pieck going that e route," Annie explained, but the more she explained, the more their faces grew paler, especially Eren's face was red with rage, his green eyes glittering with rage she had never seen before.
"Annie, who are the Titans inside Wall Rose territory then?"
"The population itself. Zeke is able to turn Eldians into Pure Titans with his spinal fluid in gas form, one scream, all those that breath in that gas will turn into Pure Titans, and all the pure Titans will obey him. The ones fighting against us are probably our own people." Annie informed them, and Eren's eyes went Red with Rage.
Far Away - Three Hours Later
Zeke, in his Titan Form, unleashed yet another bone-chilling scream that reverberated through the air as the unsuspecting villagers from the nearby village witnessed this terrifying spectacle. Their once peaceful presence was abruptly disrupted, and to their horror, an inexplicable transformation began to occur. Each individual slowly started to emit an eerie yellow glow, enveloping their bodies entirely.
A malevolent grin crept across Zeke's face, his deep satisfaction derived from the success of his plans to manipulate and control the people around him. As he prepared to issue commands, ready to set the Titans into motion, his attention was abruptly diverted by the appearance of several green flares illuminating the distant horizon.
'Huh, so they finally decided to fight back; it doesn't matter. Their techno-' Zeke's thoughts interrupted when he saw yellow lightning in the distance; Zeke quickly grabbed a large boulder nearby, breaking it into pieces, preparing himself.
'Is the Founder already here? How did they find me so fast,' Zeke thought, but his words hitched in his throat at the sight in front of him as a Titan was approaching his formation, running in all his fours. The Titan that was quickly catching up to them wasn't the founder. Instead, it was a Titan that looked like a Lion.
'Another Beast Titan?!! How??'
Note: Eren is slowly and surely gaining more and more support. His speeches and actions are giving him more power, but in this chapter he also talked with Kenny, which is a really important part of the story. Anyway, Pieck and Zeke are about to have huge problems soon, but their problems are nothing compared to what the Marleyans on the island will go through. But let's not do spoilers for Now.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone