Behind the face guard, Kenny was drenched in sweat. His body moved erratically, constantly darting straight ahead, using the scattered houses and trees in front to continuously move forward. If his direction wasn't wrong, then the current path led directly to the main gate adjacent to Shiganshina.
In reality, there was still a very long distance, estimated at seventy to eighty kilometers. But the route Kenny was taking was precisely the evacuation route used earlier. Only one day had passed since the reconstruction began, so this area was naturally deserted.
Even so, Kenny's situation was extremely perilous. His skillful use of ODM Gear was undeniable, but all that relied on the ODM Gear still being functional. More than half the gas was depleted, and he estimated it wouldn't last much longer. He couldn't shake off the Founding Titan pursuing him from behind; each of its strides covered nearly a hundred meters. Its movements looked sluggish, but only because of its immense size, and Kenny had never successfully escaped it.
"Goddamn it!"
Kenny yelled, something he had done countless times since he started running. Suddenly, he noticed a quiet town ahead.
"Good!"
Without any hesitation, Kenny used more gas, accelerating at full speed toward the town. The residents of this town had all moved to the refugee camps near Wall Rose, so he could pick any house without concern.
Clang!
Kenny Ackerman smashed the window and climbed inside, immediately leaning against the wall, panting heavily. Using the ODM Gear continuously for the first few minutes, or even ten minutes, would be fine, but the longer it went on, the greater the pressure on the body, especially when continuously moving at high speed.
To use the ODM Gear, the lower body must be "rigid" to maintain balance when dashing or looping in the air. The upper body must be "flexible" to control the body and the gear to perform complex movements like spinning, shooting, and arcing. Neither of these could be performed without a good physical foundation.
Moving at the intensity Kenny just did, a regular young soldier would likely go numb instantly. The fact that he was only physically exhausted proved the ingrained strength of the Ackerman bloodline.
This town would likely be completely churned up by the Founding Titan in the next few minutes. That's all Kenny needed. He knew that thing was hunting him, so he would let it search. He would just hide here. Conversely, when the Founding Titan destroyed everything around, he could even use the rubble to conceal himself.
Continuing to run was no longer feasible. The gas was insufficient, and even with his excellent physical condition, he couldn't outlast a Titan. Asahi didn't know when he would arrive with backup. On the contrary, being crushed by wooden beams, bricks, and stone walls was preferable. With this armor, Kenny was confident he wouldn't die.
However, he had underestimated the Titan.
Titans have a strange and incredibly irrational biological structure. One of them is the ability to "sniff out" prey. Titans completely ignore all other living things except humans, and within a certain radius, they can find humans.
The most prominent example is the establishment of the districts protruding outside the Walls, like Shiganshina. It exploited the Titan's scent characteristic mentioned earlier.
Despite the residents of Shiganshina never leaving the Walls, never showing their faces outside, the Titans still knew where to find them, clawing at the Wall day after day. Occasionally, Garrison soldiers on top of the Wall would attract their attention, but that was a minority.
CRACK!!!
The entire corner house, along with its foundation, was scooped up by the Founding Titan's hand and placed in its palm. That's right, the whole house fit neatly in its hand, acting as if it were holding an apple. And Kenny was the pathetic insect caught inside the apple.
"Don't screw with me!"
He roared, smashing through the wall and rushing outside before the entire shelter was crushed into dust. Free-falling from a height of nearly a hundred meters in the air, Kenny tensed his entire body, aiming his grappling hook precisely at the roof of a three-story building and firing. The hook accurately lodged into the rooftop.
Falling from such a height, landing directly would be no different from having his bones shattered. Kenny's intention was to use a strong force with a different angle and direction than the downward momentum, partially canceling out the potential energy created. Here, Kenny would use the grappling hook lodged in the rooftop, swinging in a half-arc to propel himself forward instead of falling straight down.
To put it more simply, it's like suddenly dropping something you're holding. Instead of letting it plummet directly to the ground, you use your foot to push it out into the air. The object will still hit the ground, but in a completely different direction, greatly reducing the damage.
Executing a swinging maneuver that could make a person vomit, Kenny tumbled onto the ground, plowing a long furrow in the road. Luckily, he didn't crash into a house; otherwise, the damage would have been greater than imagined.
The Founding Titan also spotted the "insect" that had slipped from its grasp. Its head darted toward Kenny. He struggled to stand up, his entire body feeling as if it were about to crack from the impact. The gas was down to only a quarter; he couldn't run far.
"If only I had a weapon... even a dagger..."
Kenny mumbled, feeling an inexpressible frustration. A normal mission had somehow led to this...
Just then, Kenny's pupils suddenly contracted. He saw a black dot appear in the air, catching the Founding Titan's attention and making it shift its gaze away from Kenny. Immediately after, an unbelievable sight occurred.
PHANG!!!
A sound of the air being torn echoed. From that black dot, a powerful force burst out. Kenny couldn't be sure how large it was, but it cleanly sliced off one of the Founding Titan's fingers, a finger that was even half the size of a small, ordinary house. The gigantic finger fell to the ground, crushing a section of buildings before disintegrating.
The Founding Titan looked at its hand, now missing half a finger, with surprise. It then looked at the tiny creature that had managed to damage it, not far away.
Asahi landed on a rooftop, glancing toward Kenny's direction with a sigh of relief. At the same time, he paid serious attention to the Founding Titan. Compared to all the Titans from 3 to 15 meters, or the special Titans created by transformed humans, this thing was on an entirely different level.
Kenny had misjudged. 130 meters could be considered nearly triple the height of the Wall, a terrifying difference. Asahi was also strained by this overly massive size.
But that was no reason for him to run.
Asahi's senses peaked to the maximum, adrenaline surged. This feeling of both body and mind operating at their absolute limits was reserved for a formidable opponent. He would unleash his full power in a state without supernatural abilities, for the first time in this world.