Lara (Long-Fic Levihan | Armin Arlert X OC)

Chapter 58 - Look Back

"Bastard!" exclaimed Jean. "He's really back..."

The Armored Titan strode towards them.

"What do we need to do to kill him at once?!" wondered Jean.

"I believe that, somehow," said Lara, as everyone gathered on a rooftop, "when Bertholdt went to check if he was alive, he must have warned him to protect himself from the explosion that the Colossal Titan would cause. This way, Reiner would have enough time to regenerate a little and be able to fight again..."

"Lara's right..." said Armin, watching Bertholdt closely.

"But," continued Jean, indignantly, "what can we do against such an enemy?!"

Everyone was exhausted and very scared. You could see the redness on their faces due to the Colossal Titan's steam.

"Hey, Armin!" exclaimed Jean. "I think we'll have to bet everything on saving Eren."

"He's... Thinner," said Armin, almost to himself.

Everyone looked at him, confused.

"What did you say, Armin?" asked Lara, approaching him.

"The Colossal Titan has gotten a little skinnier," he replied, still looking at Bertholdt.

Indeed, when they stopped to look better, the Colossal Titan now had skinny arms and looked rather rickety.

Then, Armin suddenly turned to Lara.

"Yours and Hange's theory was correct!" he exclaimed.

"Which one?!" asked Lara, laughing nervously.

Armin looked at each of them.

"Do you guys remember the experiments Hange and Lara made with Eren? He could only transform up to three times. And he's just a fifteen-meter Titan. So, a sixty-meter one like the Colossal Titan must use a lot more energy to transform."

"That's true..." said Lara, staring at a fixed point, trying to recall. "When Bertholdt uses that steam, I bet he's consuming everything except his skeleton to produce it!"

"Exactly!" agreed Armin. "Therefore, the Colossal Titan cannot withstand a battle of attrition! That's the conclusion you both came to!"

"You're right..." replied Lara, her hand on her chin. "I remember now... My mother and I spent almost a whole night racking our brains to come up with this theory..."

Lara turned to him.

"Good job, Armin!" she winked and gently smiled at him. "I knew I wasn't wrong in my decision."

He blushed a little, giving her a shy smile.

"But wait," said Jean. "What do you mean with all this, Armin?"

"I have a plan!" he replied, looking confidently at everyone. "I want you all to distract Reiner. Eren and I will take down Bertholdt."

Lara's eyes widened and she grabbed Armin's arm.

"No way!" she exclaimed. "I'm coming with you! It's too dangerous for just the two of you to go and we don't know if Eren's able to fight!"

Armin kindly placed his hand over Lara's, who was still holding his arm.

"No," he replied, looking into her blue eyes. "Stay."

Lara opened her mouth to say something, but Armin interrupted her.

"Please," he gave her a sad smile. "Let me fix my mistake. I have failed you, as your Officer."

Lara shook her head in denial, incredulous.