"I just… wanted to try it."
Eren wiped the remnants of wine from his lips, grimacing. As expected, grown-ups' liquor was not something easily tolerated.
We arrived beneath the banners of Wall Rose. Commander Pixis stood at the forefront, while Eren and I stood slightly behind him on the right. Below us, a sea of soldiers—tens of thousands—waited, morale drained and hearts uncertain.
Pixis's gentle expression faded. Clearing his throat, he raised his voice with the force of a true commander.
"Attention, all troops!"
The soldiers' scattered murmuring halted at once. Their eyes turned upward to the wall, every back straightening as the presence of command settled in.
"I will now explain the operation to reclaim Trost District! The goal of this mission is to seal the breach in the wall!"
Skepticism still lingered below.
Many of them had no idea what had occurred—no knowledge of Eren's Titan power, nor of my half-human transformation. Annie and the others who had witnessed it were under strict orders not to speak of it. To these men and women, the idea of sealing a gate with sheer force must've sounded like fantasy.
"To explain how we plan to seal the breach, allow me to introduce two special soldiers!"
"Cadet Eren Yeager and Cadet Sandra Gant!"
At Pixis's call, Eren and I stepped forward. From the edge of the platform, we could now be seen clearly by the soldiers below. Together, we raised our fists and delivered the salute of offering our hearts.
"Eren…? Sandra?"
From below, Connie's voice rang out in disbelief. Others followed suit, their faces full of shock.
"Yeager is the result of a top-secret Titan transformation experiment! And Gant is the successful product of a classified half-human transformation experiment!" Pixis proclaimed boldly.
It was a fabrication, of course—but a necessary one.
To protect us, and to lend our presence credibility, Pixis had crafted this lie.
"Yeager is capable of manifesting a Titan body at will! Gant can surpass human limitations and transform into a half-human combat form! Both possess the ability to act through conscious control!"
Down below, as they struggled to keep up with Pixis's declaration, Connie's brain all but short-circuited.
"Huh?? Wait, I don't get any of that… but that's not because I'm dumb, right?" he turned to Ymir, utterly baffled.
"Shut up, idiot," Ymir snapped.
"Yeager, once transformed into a Titan, will lift the boulder near the front gate and use it to plug the breach! Gant, in her half-human form, will guard Yeager from attacking Titans! The rest of you will support her and hold the Titans at bay!"
As Pixis laid out our roles, Armin was behind the scenes, speaking with the Commander's aides about the finer details of the battle plan.
"You're saying there's no need to engage the Titans directly?" one of the male officers questioned as Armin outlined the strategy over the maps.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm just a cadet. I shouldn't interrupt—" Armin began nervously.
"No, it's fine. Continue," the officer encouraged him.
"Yes. Titans are more reactive to large groups. If we gather our troops along the wall and use them as bait, we can lure the Titans away—perhaps even without having to engage them directly," Armin explained confidently.
"And once lured, they can be targeted with cannons, minimizing casualties. But we also can't rely on Sandra to protect Eren alone. We should assemble an elite team to shield him during the operation."
"Battling any Titans that breach the perimeter will be unavoidable. That's where Gant and the elite team come in," Armin concluded, sketching quick lines and arrows across the map of Wall Rose.
"Understood. Let's rework the plan around this," the officer nodded.
"But this plan only works if Eren can actually lift that boulder, and if Sandra can transform reliably. If either of those fails…" Armin hesitated.
"It's true," the officer admitted. "Sending soldiers into danger without clarity on those key factors is a hard thing to accept. But I also understand Commander Pixis's intent."
"Time is of the essence," the female officer added, speaking for the first time. "Titans continue to pour into the city. The longer we wait, the slimmer our chances of success."
"And the more likely Wall Rose itself will fall…" the male officer added grimly.
"There's one more thing…" the female soldier said, glancing at them.
"If fear is what drives humanity forward—then we may have already reached our limit."
————————————————————————
Below the wall, soldiers whispered to each other in conflicted tones.
"Lifting that boulder to seal the breach… does that mean… humanity can finally control the Titans?"
Some were starting to believe Pixis's speech. But many remained crippled by fear.
"You're lying!!"
Daz's voice rang out loud and sharp.
"You're just using this made-up nonsense to throw our lives away! What do you think we are—blades you can discard when they go dull?!"
"Are we just… weapons now?"
"They're deceiving us, I'm sure of it!!"
"This is a suicide mission!"
"I'm out!"
"Same here!"
"I won't die for this!"
Voices rose into a chorus of panic. Some soldiers began openly declaring desertion—choosing treason over death.
"Wait! You all know that's treason! You'll be executed!"
"I want to spend what time I have left with my family!"
"You're making this decision with full awareness?! I'll execute you myself!"
Wilm—the very officer who'd tried to have us killed—unsheathed his blade, ready to cut down fleeing soldiers.
Watching the chaos unfold below, my heart twisted.
They couldn't believe in us—not yet.
And truthfully… even I wasn't certain I could do what they were asking of me.
"I give the order now!!!"
Pixis's voice thundered.
"All soldiers retreating from this mission shall be granted full amnesty! If humanity allows itself to be paralyzed by fear of the Titans… then we'll never fight again!"
His words sounded like an acceptance of their fear.
But what came next—was the real blow.
"And anyone—anyone at all—who wishes their parents, siblings, and loved ones to also experience the terror of the Titans… LEAVE. NOW!!"
That struck them like lightning.
The soldiers turned back, one by one, hesitating…
And then—quietly, solemnly—they returned to formation.
"I suppose… it's time I tell you all a story. From four years ago…"
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