"You... out... sider..."
The Founding Titan opened its mouth and spoke, completely astonishing Asahi, Kenny, and the four members of the Survey Corps—Erwin, Levi, Mike, and Hange—who were still arriving.
Especially the Survey Corps. They had "interacted" with Titans for too long and confirmed that Titans fundamentally could not speak, partly because they had no intelligence, and the other part because they lacked vocal cords. The Titan's structure, from mouth to stomach, was just a large, continuous passage, fundamentally lacking any complex structure that would allow Titans to speak, aside from meaningless shrieks.
This was true even for special Titans transformed by Titan Shifters.
However, Erwin thought deeper. The existence of the Royal Family was something Asahi had told him. According to his description, the Founding Titan was indeed controlled by the Royal Family, controlled absolutely. The reason Frieda was restricted was only because her ancestor had done so. The Founding Titan cannot control the Royal Family; only the Royal Family can control the Royal Family.
"Then, is it possible... that the Royal Family's control over the Founding Titan is so great that they can even modify the Titan's physical structure?"
"If that's the case, creating a vocal cord wouldn't be difficult, would it?"
Erwin continued to ponder this issue while moving. Since learning that Titans were transformed Eldian people, killing Titans was removed from the list of optimal things to do. Instead, the focus shifted to whether there was any chance of turning them back into normal humans.
Here, Erwin seemed to see hope.
While all three men—no, four men including the armored Kenny—who were still engaged in the battle maintained extreme seriousness, only Hange was shouting incessantly, her face flushed, constantly firing gas, much like a fan meeting their idol.
And in a way, that was true. This was the first time she had seen something so massive; she loved massive things. And it was a Titan; she loved Titans too.
"Asahi, catch that thing for me!!!"
Hange screamed loudly. Asahi, however, paid no attention to her. At this moment, his vision was solely focused on the colossal body of the Founding Titan.
"Out... sider... de... stroyer... must... die..."
Every word spoken caused a surge of air pressure. The Founding Titan raised its hand and slammed it down. Asahi, quick as a flash, dashed several dozen meters in less than a tenth of a second, evading the range of the colossal hand's impact. He activated his ODM Gear; the grappling hook struck the Founding Titan's bicep. The compressed gas in the cylinder blasted him upwards.
BOOM!!!
An entire area was crushed, imprinted with the gigantic handprint on the ground, accompanied by a fierce tremor. Asahi successfully landed on the Founding Titan's arm and began moving along it. Sensing danger, its other hand reached out, intending to smash him, but the Survey Corps had arrived.
"Attack!"
Erwin shouted. Along with Kenny and the other three members of the Survey Corps, they assaulted the Founding Titan's raised arm. They instantly inflicted countless cuts, only to find that they couldn't fundamentally damage it because its body was too large.
Erwin knew beforehand that their mission was solely to distract the Founding Titan. To buy Asahi an extra second of momentum.
Just like now, Asahi's speed increased to the maximum. He became a streak of afterimage, running directly to the Founding Titan's shoulder while it was momentarily distracted. He leaped off the shoulder, spinning his body toward the nape of the Founding Titan's neck.
"Got you."
A thought flashed through his mind. Titans, while incredibly strong, are also incredibly weak. They are strong because of their terrifying regeneration and massive bodies. They are weak because they possess one inherent weakness: the nape of the neck.
The Founding Titan's reaction was also extremely fast. Don't be fooled into thinking its movement was slow; that was only an effect caused by the difference in size. Its speed completely matched Asahi's.
With a turn and a swing of its arm, the Founding Titan created a massive air current that blew away the two grappling hooks flying in the air, about to pierce the flesh on its nape. At the same time, the arm struck Asahi.
Bang!
He was hit and sent flying like a cannonball, his body penetrating several layers of structures, finally plowing a long path on the ground.
Asahi shook his head. That blow was indeed indescribably powerful due to its size and the momentum it generated, but it was like a human swatting an insect flying in the air. The swat was extremely powerful, but lacking direct contact, it couldn't instantly crush the target.
However, his constitution was not like an insect, nor was he flying, so the damage he took was potentially lethal, though he simply wouldn't die.
His entire arm armor was shattered, including the weapon and the ODM Gear components. Most of the armor on his body was also severely damaged by the close-range impact. He had about ten broken bones, and his internal organs were also bruised by the near-impact shockwave.
Despite this level of damage, Asahi stood up without showing any sign of pain. His physique was specially forged for self-healing, maximum resilience, and physical strength. This was nothing to him.
But taking down the Founder at this moment was a major problem.
On the other side, the five people were still constantly flying around to confuse the Founding Titan, buying him time. However, they only dared to confuse it and not approach, otherwise, a hit like Asahi's would absolutely crush them.
He looked at the scene and spoke to the system.
"System, give me something that can slice that thing."
"Type."
"A sword... or something similar."
A bare katana appeared in Asahi's hand. Its entire body was black. He pulled the sheath off; the blade inside was also black, completely different from the bright white metal blades typically used.
This thing didn't even reflect light. It clearly looked like an assassin's tool.
50 points were deducted. Quite expensive for a weapon with no effects. But the system never inflated its prices. This thing was not only sharp to the extreme limit of forged weapons, but it was also incredibly durable and hard due to the special metal it was forged from. Saying it could cut steel like mud was an understatement. Just a light cut would make his body bleed.
"It's pretty good."
Asahi muttered. Although he had been accustomed to using his fists for a long time, the feeling of holding a weapon was still magical.
Asahi held the sword. He flew straight toward the Founding Titan.