𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐀 | 𝐋. 𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐍

𝐈𝐈𝐈.𝐈𝐈𝐈

❝𝑵𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 - 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏!❞
— 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲

꧁꧂

VALEN INSTANTLY RECOGNIZED the young man, the sight of his broad build and cropped blond hair sending a strong jolt down her spine.

"Reiner!" Armin cried, his bangs shifting over his startled blue eyes—he'd been searching the Wall alongside Elias, hanging only around a couple of meters away. Valen's hand subconsciously found its way to her ODM grips, her fingers ready to press down on the triggers. Armin had been right: their enemies had been hiding out in Shiganshina, biding their time until the Scout Regiment came to seal the breach in the Wall.

At least two more of them had yet to reveal themselves.

Reiner flung aside the piece of Wall he'd hid behind and anchored a hook on the Wall. He had preserved his ODM gear from when he and Bertholdt had taken Eren captive months ago. There was an even harder edge to the lines of his face, his lips drawn back in a vicious scowl. This was a side of Reiner that Valen had never laid eyes on, completely unalike to the charismatic and comradely 104th graduate who'd struck a conversation with her months ago.

Levi shifted, unsheathing his blades and diving from the edge of the Wall. "Levi!" Valen yelled, scurrying to the edge.

He nose-dived down the side of the Wall, the air resistance nearly tearing his cape from his shoulders. Excluding the time when Kenny and his goons had ambushed them in the Trost District, Valen had never seen Levi move so fast in ODM gear. It was gas and fury that propelled him so quickly.

Levi closed the distance between him and Reiner, plunging one of his swords through Reiner's neck. Reiner released a gasp, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. If a slice to the back of the neck could mean the end for a regular Titan, surely it had to have the same effect on a Titan shifter, right?"

Knowing Levi, though, a sword through the back of his neck would soon be the least of Reiner's worries. Levi touched down on the Wall, beating his boots against its side, building momentum. Reiner had stilled, his arms outstretched like a ragdoll, and Levi had every intention of taking advantage. He readied his second sword, poised to sink the blade through Reiner's chest.

Levi's wire stopped whizzing, and he was harshly yanked upward.

His gear malfunctioned. Valen's body acted on its own. She backed up before dashing forward, jumping. The wind howled in her ears, nipped at her skin. With some effort, she planted her feet on the Wall. The air resisted against her moving body, slowing her slightly, but the gas huffing from her gear pushed even harder.