Jixo
patreon
068 The Titan of Fate
🕑 Added 2025-12-26 10:30:25 +0000 UTCA dazzling yellow lightning bolt appeared in midair, the intense flash forcing everyone to shut their eyes.
In the next instant, blood and flesh burst into the air. The blond Female Titan appeared once more in midair, lunging straight down toward Eren below.
"This is bad! Eren, run!" Oluo, who was closest to Eren, reacted first. Realizing the Female Titan's target was Eren, Oluo rushed toward him—but he was still too slow.
The Female Titan's huge hands had already seized Eren.
"Damn it! Die!" Oluo roared in fury as he drew his blades. His Vertical Maneuvering Equipment fired its anchors, piercing into the Female Titan's neck as he closed in at high speed.
Bang! The Female Titan suddenly swung her arm, smashing Oluo away and sending him crashing into Jurgen on the other side.
"Oluo! Jurgen!" Petra shouted anxiously, calling out the names of her two comrades.
Eren's entire upper body was clenched in the Female Titan's grip. He struggled desperately.
"Let go of me!" He tried to bite his hand to transform into a Titan, but his hand was also tightly crushed in her grasp. Fortunately, Eren didn't panic completely.
He immediately thought of another option—biting his tongue. Eren grunted as he bit down hard, breaking his tongue. A faint layer of yellow electric arcs instantly surfaced over his body, but he still didn't transform.
"Damn it! Why can't I transform?" Panic surged through Eren's mind. As his will intensified, the electric arcs around him grew stronger.
Crack! Blood sprayed everywhere. The intense pain made Eren's eyes fly open as he locked gazes with the Female Titan's blue eyes, less than a meter away. Eren's legs were in her mouth—then snapped clean off.
"Ah!" Eren screamed. His body went limp, the yellow electric arcs vanishing. Steam billowed from the severed legs and from the Female Titan's mouth.
After biting off Eren's legs, the Female Titan decisively grabbed him and ran.
"Chase the Female Titan! Don't let it take Eren away!" Commander Erwin immediately issued the order. The soldiers present instantly activated their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and gave chase.
Levi flew past Levi Squad with a cold expression. Petra and Eld were each supporting one injured comrade. Oluo was unconscious and gravely wounded, and Jurgen—whom he had crashed into—was in no better shape.
There was no time to let them continue fighting. Levi only left behind a single sentence:
"Don't let them die."
Among the many Survey Corps soldiers in pursuit, Levi took the lead—but a figure suddenly appeared beside him, moving even faster.
"Eren! Give Eren back to me!" Mikasa looked utterly crazed, burning through her gas without restraint as she chased the Female Titan with everything she had.
Because she was so worried about Eren, Mikasa had slipped out from the left Long-Range Enemy Scouting Formation. The moment she arrived here, she saw a scene that made her vision go black—Eren was stuffed into a Titan's mouth, and one of his legs had been bitten off.
Mikasa's fury ignited instantly.
...
The Female Titan sprinted nonstop through the forest of giant trees, gripping the heavily wounded Eren. Suddenly, it twisted its head to glance behind.
Countless soldiers cloaked in the Wings of Freedom darted and weaved among the massive trees. Though the Female Titan was incredibly fast, within the giant forest, the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment held an absolute advantage.
Just as the Survey Corps was about to catch up, the Female Titan suddenly opened her mouth to an astonishing width and let out a strange, desolate roar.
"Ah! Roar!" The eerie, mournful cry echoed throughout the giant forest. The Survey Corps soldiers behind her naturally heard it as well.
"What is this thing doing?" Levi stared calmly at the Female Titan ahead.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—the ground seemed to tremble, and flocks of birds in the distance were startled into flight by the thunderous noise.
"Something's approaching—Titans? Can this thing summon Titans?" Levi instantly grasped the situation. He had heard intelligence before that large numbers of Titans followed behind the Female Titan. No wonder none had been seen earlier—they had been concealed by her.
Levi shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Everyone, be alert! A large number of Titans are approaching!"
Before Levi even finished speaking, a Titan with a slightly twisted body suddenly burst out of the forest. Its face bore an expression resembling a pained grimace. Bang! The moment it appeared, the grim-faced Titan bit into a Survey Corps soldier.
"Abnormal! So many Abnormals!" a soldier cried out in alarm. One Abnormal after another charged out from the forest. Several Survey Corps soldiers were unfortunately bitten, and screams and shouts erupted everywhere.
Levi's gaze turned icy. He wanted to cut down these Titans, but the most urgent priority was rescuing Eren.
Commander Erwin was the first to react, decisively issuing orders.
"Second combat squad, continue the pursuit. Third combat squad and the wagon escort squad, hold back the Titans!"
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, Levi went all out in an instant. His agile figure flashed continuously, and within just a few breaths, he caught up to the Female Titan.
"You're fast, I'll give you that!" Levi barked sharply. His anchor hooked into the Female Titan's nape, his body spinning in midair as twin blades carved arcs of icy light. This was Levi's famed signature move, nicknamed the Whirling Top.
In the past, Levi had nearly dismembered an Abnormal using this very technique.
Mikasa also closed in from behind the Female Titan.
"You will not take my Eren!!!" Her strike followed immediately after Levi's.
Erwin, who was also pursuing the Female Titan, felt his furrowed brow ease slightly. The strength of two Ackermans was not to be underestimated. What concerned him now was whether the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan—once seen in the Shiganshina District—would appear.
Erwin understood that this capture operation could be considered both a success and a failure. Right now, the most critical thing was to reclaim Eren.
The Female Titan glanced back. Levi's blade was already nearing her nape.
Crack! Crack! Two crisp sounds rang out. Levi stared at the broken blades in front of him and at the crystal-like layer that had formed over the Female Titan's nape.
Mikasa's strike followed immediately—but even her sharp blades shattered uselessly against that crystalline layer.
The Female Titan's massive palm slammed viciously toward her nape. Levi quickly grabbed the slightly stunned Mikasa and pulled her out of the way.
As soon as Levi brought Mikasa onto a tree, she immediately drew her blades again, ready to charge, but Levi stopped her.
"Calm down! That thing's nape is protected. You can't brute-force it!"
Mikasa was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan.
"Eren is still in its hands! Get out of the way!"
Levi looked at the panicked Mikasa and sighed. As a fellow Ackerman, he understood her—but rescuing Eren right now absolutely couldn't be done recklessly.
"I'll draw the Female Titan's attention. You find an opening—almost sever its spine or its Achilles tendon. First, take away its mobility. I don't believe its entire body is protected by crystal!" Levi said to Mikasa.
Mikasa, having regained a bit of composure, nodded reluctantly. At a time like this, there was no other choice.
...
On the other side, the Female Titan continued running at full speed.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of gas jets firing near her ear. It had to be another Survey Corps soldier. Annoyed, she swung a palm at the figure. But just before the strike landed, the Female Titan caught a glimpse of that figure's face.
The palm stopped abruptly, eerily frozen in front of the figure.
That figure, however, showed not the slightest hesitation. Twin blades slashed down, the sharp steel plunging viciously into the Female Titan's eyes.
Instantly, the Female Titan lost her vision. Her steps faltered as she crashed into a giant tree.
Shaking off the broken blades, Yago drew new ones. His icy gaze locked onto the fallen Female Titan.
"It's you, isn't it?" Yago leapt down from the giant tree.
