"The War Hammer Titan... it has finally appeared!"
Erwin, Levi, and all the Special Forces soldiers equipped with ODM gear came to an abrupt halt.
"Suppress the Titan! Do not let it escape!"
The soldiers surrounded the War Hammer Titan from all sides.
One after another, they pulled long-handled objects from beneath their cloaks and assumed combat positions, silently preparing to execute a previously agreed-upon maneuver.
The War Hammer Titan carefully observed its surroundings. Then it extended one hand, from which unstable hardened matter emerged. The silver substance expanded at incredible speed, taking shape until, in barely a second, it became a gigantic hammer nearly ten meters long.
With a powerful swing, it wielded the weapon. The air roared beneath the force of the blow, but the hammer never struck the nearby buildings.
The Armored Titan's legs shook the earth as it charged forward like an enraged bull.
The impact was so brutal that it knocked the War Hammer Titan off its feet and slammed it into the ground.
Without giving it time to react, the Armored Titan firmly grabbed it with both arms, completely immobilizing it.
Seizing the opportunity, the soldiers of Paradis Island raised their right arms and pulled the rings on the objects they were holding. Nearly three hundred flares shot into the sky at the same time, exploding into a cloud of red powder that slowly drifted downward, like crimson snow covering the battlefield.
At the same time, at the harbor and aboard the merchant ships, everyone saw the signal.
Hange looked up at the sky.
"They found the War Hammer Titan that quickly?" Petra murmured as she watched the signals in the distance.
"It's going even better than I expected." Hange then turned her gaze toward her masterpiece.
Standing before her was the Jaw Titan, barely five meters tall, equipped with the dorsal armor she had personally designed.
The armor consisted of a metallic shell molded to fit the Jaw Titan's anatomy perfectly. It covered its torso and back, extending to protect the nape of its neck. Mounted on the rear was a turret powered by an electrical system fed by batteries that, together with spare units, could remain operational for nearly an hour.
The most critical areas had been reinforced with Titan hardening, ensuring that the structure could withstand even intense bombardment.
"It's perfect! A genuine work of art! Only the brilliant Lady Hange could have created something like this!" Petra said, applauding with a smile.
With her hands resting on her hips, Hange proudly admired her creation, so excited that she was almost ready to burst into laughter.
However, when she turned her head toward the harbor engulfed in flames, her smile gradually faded. A sigh escaped her lips as melancholy replaced her euphoria.
She had spent her entire life fighting Titans.
She had devoted years to inventing weapons to exterminate them, not to turn them into instruments of war.
She had never imagined the day would come when she would work on something like this.
Even now, she still questioned herself.
Had she made the right decision when Gale showed her those blueprints?
She had no answer.
After discovering that countless human beings existed beyond the Walls and that Titans themselves were being used by other humans, her convictions had begun to waver.
She felt lost.
And yet, she could not deny reality.
Paradis Island had prospered. The land where she was born was stronger than ever, and its people enjoyed a better life than any previous generation.
Perhaps, after all, the world was not divided between good and evil.
Perhaps things had never been that simple.
The only thing she could do was remain steadfast on the path she had chosen. Even Erwin had made his decision long ago, so all she could do was keep moving forward.
But even so...
Damn it, she was still furious!
She still wanted to know what it felt like to become a Titan!
"Why wasn't I the one who inherited the War Hammer Titan...?" Hange grumbled through clenched teeth.
After complaining for a few seconds, she focused on work again.
Together with the other technicians, she opened the panels of the Jaw Titan's dorsal armor and moved away the mobile workbenches surrounding the structure.
"Ymir, you can lie down now. The armor is ready. Let Eren and Dina get in first!"
"Alright." Ymir obeyed without complaint and lay down in position.
Dina climbed the metal ladder and was the first to enter the inner compartment. Eren followed close behind.
Once inside, she extended her hand and helped him settle into his seat.
The interior of the armor was equipped with six seats.
Eren and Dina occupied the central positions, the most protected locations in the entire structure, while the other four seats were oriented toward the four cardinal directions: east, west, south, and north.
Mikasa, Hange, and the two artillerymen, Artur and Arlot, boarded.
Artur and Arlot were their star marksmen, having distinguished themselves during the "Recovery of Wall Maria."
The marksmanship of their hunter clan was truly terrifying; nearly seventy percent of the adult men, along with some women, belonged to Paradis Island's sniper regiment.
One of them was responsible for forward artillery fire, while the other handled rear fire support.
Mikasa, a member of the incredibly powerful Ackerman clan, was tasked with loading the shells.
As for Hange, she was the developer of the Jaw Titan's armored form, serving as a technical advisor to ensure that the armored turret operated flawlessly and handling emergency repairs whenever necessary.
Hange was the last to fasten her safety belt. She locked the armor's hatch from the inside and sat on the Jaw Titan's left side.
After making sure everyone was securely seated, Hange enthusiastically used a megaphone to call out to Ymir outside the armor:
"Let's go, Ymir!"
"Am I a ship or a tank to you?" Ymir could not help complaining.
"No, much better than that!"
"Take it as a compliment."
Ymir held her breath, focused her attention, and controlled the Jaw Titan's limbs as it gripped the deck of the merchant ship, its well-defined muscles contracting.
Crack!
She jumped, and the merchant ship rocked three times beneath the Jaw Titan's explosive strength.
...
A few minutes later, the Jaw Titan emerged from the shadow of the Colossal Titan and charged at full speed through the streets of Marley.
Sixty years.
It had been sixty years since Ymir had last set foot on Marleyan soil.
Her claws dug into facades, rooftops, and walls as she advanced. Each leap left deep grooves in the stone, while a rain of shattered bricks and broken tiles fell behind her.
The streets were in chaos due to the sudden war that had struck the heart of Marley.
Refugees running toward the ships screamed in terror.
Some stumbled and fell, blocking the path of those trying to escape.
Children cried as their parents desperately dragged them away from danger.
But Ymir did not slow down.
Nor did she try to go around them.
Instead, she used the Jaw Titan's incredible explosive power to leap over them.
Again and again.
She seemed to be dancing through the devastation left behind by war.
After spending more than sixty years trapped in the form of a Pure Titan, she knew every muscle of her Titan body better than any other inheritor of the Nine Titans.
Her mastery over a Titan's strength and movement was unparalleled.
Every jump was precise.
Every landing flawless.
She avoided obstacles with an agility impossible for a creature of that size while maintaining breathtaking speed.
The place that many considered chaos was her stage.
Throughout her life in the internment zone, she had never known freedom.
Within that underground religious organization, she had spent most of her time hidden beneath the earth, far from the sky and sunlight.
How many times had she dreamed of walking through the bustling streets of Marley?
Even if she arrived more than sixty years late...
At least today she had fulfilled that wish.
The Jaw Titan shot toward the flare signal emitted by the mobile unit like a bullet, reaching nearly two hundred kilometers per hour.
She was close now.
Very soon, she would see the War Hammer Titan.
Her mission was simple: bring Eren and Dina to it.
Nothing more.
However, just as she pushed off for another leap, a burst of gunfire struck her body.
The bullets did not come from anti-Titan weapons. They were ordinary rounds, far too small to cause any real damage.
She barely felt them.
But that was not what caught her attention.
From above, she could see soldiers and military vehicles converging from every direction.
The Marleyan army was mobilizing.
That flare was not only guiding the forces of Paradis Island toward the War Hammer Titan.
It was also showing the Marleyan army exactly where they needed to gather.