This night would be remembered for generations—etched into the minds of those who survived the sudden Titan attack within Wall Sina.
For many, it was the first time they had seen such monsters up close. For others, it shattered the illusion of safety they had long clung to.
"The Survey Corps really are the only ones who can deal with Titans!"
"That's right! The Military Police only know how to bully civilians. They're useless when it actually matters! And the Garrison—hah, they should stick to repairing walls!"
"I don't get it. The government pours resources into those units while the Corps fighting beyond the Walls starve for supplies! Is this what they call leadership?"
"Forget it. What I can't figure out is how the Titans appeared inside Wall Sina in the first place. There was no alarm—no breach!"
"I didn't hear anything either. They appeared out of nowhere... in the noble district, too. Maybe someone wanted to send a message."
"I just hope this doesn't happen again. If the Survey Corps had a larger presence inside the Walls, I'd actually feel safe for once."
"That's impossible. They're still recovering from the last operation to reclaim Wall Maria. The Corps took massive losses. And instead of replenishing their ranks, the government funneled funds into reconstruction and the Military Police again. It's ridiculous."
"Tell me about it…"
The streets still smoked with the scent of blood and ash. Bodies—what was left of them—were being gathered beneath a cold moon.
Commander Neil Deker of the Military Police looked on with a furrowed brow as his men cleared debris and dragged corpses out of the rubble. His face was twisted with irritation. The rumors spreading through the inner districts were already out of control.
"Damn it… this is going to turn everything upside down."
He glanced toward the advancing convoy—Survey Corps scouts, their cloaks tattered but their formation disciplined. At their head walked Commander Erwin Smith, silent and composed, his expression unreadable even as he passed through the wreckage.
The contrast was hard to miss.
While the Military Police stood frozen, bickering and fumbling with orders, the Survey Corps had been the first to act. They moved swiftly, killing every Titan that appeared inside the wall. They had saved hundreds of lives before the Garrison even arrived.
Neil clenched his jaw. The facts were undeniable. The Survey Corps were far more capable.
For most within Wall Sina, this attack was their first brush with true terror. It shattered the myth of absolute safety. The idea that Titans could never reach them—gone in one night.
Wall Sina was not invincible.
"Commander Zachary has arrived!" someone called out.
Neil turned as Premier Darius Zachary, head of the military, strode into the devastated district, flanked by high-ranking officials. The man's face was stern, the lines deepened with exhaustion. His eyes swept over the carnage—collapsed mansions, bloodstained cobblestones, the mangled remains of guards and nobles.
The silence was suffocating.
Buildings could be rebuilt. Dead officials could be replaced.
But fear—fear would linger.
Once the illusion of safety is broken, it can never be restored.
Hours later, in a hastily erected command tent near the site of the attack, Zachary convened a closed meeting.
Erwin stood by the wall, silent, his eyes fixed on the map spread across the table.
Neil Deker stood opposite him, visibly tense.
Zachary's voice broke the silence. "What's the current report?"
Neil hesitated, then spoke. "According to our investigation… more than a dozen Titans appeared suddenly tonight. No breach in the wall was detected, and there was no warning from any gate. The damage among the upper districts is severe. Logistics, agriculture, armament—all their senior officials were wiped out."
"All dead?" Zachary's brow furrowed.
"Yes, sir," Neil said grimly. "And… we couldn't even recover their bodies. Most were devoured."
The Premier leaned back, exhaling slowly. His eyes showed no sorrow—only calculation.
It was a disaster, but one that might have power.
For decades, many of those dead men had been key backers of the Military Police and the royal administration. Their deaths weakened the government's political backbone overnight.
Neil understood it all too well. His fists tightened behind his back. The Survey Corps will rise after this.
They had fought the Titans. They had saved lives.
And now, they would gain influence.
Meanwhile, the Military Police—pampered by luxury and untouched by real battle—looked incompetent before the people.
He stole a glance at Erwin. The man's expression hadn't changed, calm and unreadable. His silence unnerved Neil more than any words could.
Could it be him? The thought flashed through Neil's mind before he shook it off. No. As much as he distrusted Erwin, smuggling a dozen Titans into Wall Sina was impossible. The walls and gates were under constant guard, and the Garrison maintained strict records of movement.
Still… something about this felt deliberate. Coordinated.
"So how did these Titans get in?" Neil muttered.
No one answered.
Far from the city, a hooded figure moved quietly through the crowds of evacuees leaving the capital. Grisha Yeager kept his head down, his pulse steady, though tension flickered behind his eyes.
When the last of the people had passed through the gates, he turned back once, gazing toward the smoke rising over the inner district. His lips tightened.
"This is just the beginning," he whispered.
On a crumpled scrap of paper in his pocket was a list of names—men and women who had corrupted the system from within. There were over thirty, but Grisha had managed to contact nearly all of them before the night began.
By now, most were dead.
It had cost lives—innocent ones, too—but the plan was in motion.
"With their influence gone, the rest will fall soon enough…"
He murmured the words to himself as he slipped away into the darkness.
When he reached his home in the quiet district of Wall Sina, the lamps were still burning. His wife's voice called from the next room.
"You're back late, Grisha."
He forced a small smile and stepped into the bedroom. "There was a patient outside the district. It took longer than expected."
Carla frowned. "You're filthy. Go wash up before you touch anything."
"…Right," he said quietly.
Behind the weary routine of husband and wife, shadows deepened. Outside, the faint tolling of the bell marked the passing of midnight.
Elsewhere, across the capital, the sleepless night dragged on.
Nobles trembled in their estates, whispering theories of betrayal and divine punishment.
Commoners gathered in the streets, recounting what they had seen—huge, skinless creatures tearing through the mansions of the powerful.
"So that's a Titan…" someone murmured, staring blankly into the firelight.
"It's worse than I imagined."
"To think the Survey Corps fights those things outside the Walls every day…"
Understanding began to spread. Admiration, too. The Corps, once scorned and mocked as reckless fools, was now seen as humanity's true shield.
Meanwhile, distrust grew toward the other branches of the military. The Military Police, bloated with privilege, had failed to protect even the nobles they served. The Garrison had been slow to react, more focused on procedure than survival.
And above them all, the royal government trembled.
If Titans could appear inside Wall Sina without warning, then nowhere was safe. Nowhere.
Even among the city's elite, the realization dawned like a curse: the walls that had guarded them for a century were not eternal.
At dawn, the first light revealed the full devastation. Craters where homes once stood. Streets soaked in blood.
Erwin stood at the edge of the district, watching soldiers collect the remains of what few could still be identified. Behind him, Levi and Hange arrived with a small detachment, their expressions grim.
"Any findings?" Hange asked quietly.
"None," Erwin replied. "No breaches, no movement from the outer gate. It's as if the Titans simply… appeared."
Levi's gaze swept over the carnage. "Then whoever's behind this knows how to bypass our defenses. That's worse than any wall breach."
Erwin's eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts already turning ahead. "We'll prepare for a council meeting tomorrow. Zachary will demand answers, and the people will demand protection. We'll give them both."
The wind caught his cloak, lifting the wings of freedom into the air as he turned back toward headquarters.
For the first time in years, the people of the Walls saw the Survey Corps not as fools chasing glory beyond the horizon—but as the last hope of mankind.
And for Erwin Smith, that was exactly the foothold he needed.
---
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San