Titans Rule, Levi Ackerman UNDER EDITING

(38) The devil.

~3rd Person POV~

Levi pushed hard on the gas, willing his 3DMG to go faster. The man who emerged from the Beast Titan had already traversed the wall and was out of his sight. He cursed himself for hesitating earlier. It wasn't like him to lose his edge and let an enemy go free, but his emotions had gotten the better of him. He felt like he was burning up from the inside- a familiar feeling that fuelled him on the battlefield. The Beast Titan was his target, and he wouldn't fail. He couldn't. He needed to avenge him. 

Scaling up the wall, Levi landed on top. Peering downwards, he took in the chaos unfolding below him. He noticed the smoke infected his lungs and the putrid smell of dissolving flesh that followed. His eyes found the source, burning houses undoubtedly destroyed by Titan shifters and their decaying bodies. Next, he detected movement just below him—the Cart Titan.  

Levi slid off the wall, letting gravity accelerate him towards his prey. Before he reached the bottom, he let off his wires and flung himself onto the roof where everyone seemed to be gathered. Ready to leap off into the air again, Levi ignited his gas. Except nothing happened. He'd run out. 

Turning to the first person he saw, he pleaded. "I'm out of gas! I'll chase him! Hand over your gas and blades!" Levi held out his hands to Eren. 

"Right!" Eren responded, fumbling with his straps. However, something stopped him. 

Eren turned around to what Levi assumed was a burnt corpse and bent over it. "Armin, that's it! Keep breathing!" 

Then, Mikasa came up onto the roof to join them. "Armin?" she called out, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. 

"Captain! Get the syringe!" Eren pleaded. Levi kept his eyes downwards, hesitating. He knew that he should give it to Armin as Erwin was dead. He knew that. Yet some part of him still hoped that he'd survived. That glimmer of hope meant that he didn't want to hand over the syringe to Eren. He could hardly believe his selfishness. 

"Make Armin into a Titan and then we'll have him eat Berthodlt!" Eren clutched his dying friend. "Hurry up and inject him!"

Levi slipped his hand into his coat, grasping the syringe case. "Yeah..." he breathed out. His mind was a mess. Why on earth had Erwin tasked him with such a thing? He was hardly in the headspace to decide on such an important decision, but he had to. He had to use the syringe now and save Armin, or risk losing someone else in the future who could be considered more useful. He hated himself for thinking that way but, it was his duty. 

Mikasa set off a red flare next to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He eyed Eren's outstretched hand and decided to hand it over. Erwin was dead, he reminded himself. They would need someone to take his place and Armin would have to do. 

However, just as it was about to reach Eren's hand, he heard a voice call out to him. "Levi!" he knew that voice as it was the only person who said his name in such a way. "The commander is severely injured!" 

Amelia had one of her hands wrapped around Erwin's waist, the other gripping for dear life onto the roof tile. Supporting Erwin's other side was a cadet that he didn't recognise. Levi's eyes widened, his heart stopped, and his breathing halted. What the fuck was he supposed to do? He couldn't let his commander die. But he'd made a promise to himself that he'd protect these kids. So he considered: was a whispered promise worth breaking for the sake of the future of humanity? 

"His stomach is completely burst and his organs are destroyed! We thought you could use the injection to save him!" the red-haired cadet spoke this time. 

Levi retracted his hand, grasping the case to his chest. "Captain?" Eren inquired. 

Levi turned away from Eren and hurried over to Erwin. He grabbed him from Amelia and the cadet, placing him down softly. Next, he checked if he was still alive.