Freiheit | eren x levi

Act 30: Schuld

"Eren, you fucking idiot!"  The short king bellowed. 

He looked up at Eren, hesitating if he should use his 3DMG to land on his shoulder or defend him if anyone was planning to kill him. Everyone down below were now yelling at one another and trying to steer clear of the titan who just appeared before them.

The ground was shaking but everyone still continued to fight. The other titan shifters were now running towards Eren and kicking away anyone who were about to aim for the nape his neck. A lot of the soldiers on the ground seemed to recognize Eren and started to advance.

Levi muttered a handful of curses as he flew with his maneuver gear and landed ungracefully on the titan's shoulder. Eren seemed very dazed and confused but it seemed like he killed a few enemy soldiers by the way his eyes had some kind of angry fire. He stood steadily as he leaned closer to speak into his gigantic ear.

"Eren, you're a moron."

There was a few Rose soldiers aiming their flaming arrows at him, but of course they did nothing to him. A few Maria soldiers looked stunned from the ground, realizing that the titan before them was the boy who used to be their prince. None of their eyes had any hatred or anger anymore; they showed pure sadness and empathy. Some of them began to shout orders to each, and Levi was stunned when he heard what they were saying.

"Protect His Majesty!"

"Don't let The Prince get harmed!"

After all this time... did they actually still care about Eren?

Eren started running swiftly, causing Levi to fall but he held on tightly to his shoulder, hanging on for dear life. He was violently kicking at enemies as he raced his way to the castle, shrieking a roar so loud it made the earth tremble.

"Eren, stop this! You're losing control, you dimwit!" The King screamed at him but Eren didn't listen to what he was saying, he was too busy making sure anyone who belonged to Maria or Sina didn't get hurt. Arrows rained the sky and just when Levi thought it was all over, the enormous titan hand that belonged to Eren deflected it with just one flick of his wrist. The ugly turmoil happening down on the ground started to ease down a bit, meaning the amount of Rose soldiers were disappearing but Levi could see that a lot of them were actually retreating to the forest. The King felt triumphant and let himself smile a bit.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" Hanji shouted.

He let his guard down for maybe a few seconds and now his life was possibly in danger. Before he could turn around to see who Hanji was yelling about, a nimble looking man flew to Eren with his maneuver gear and without The King noticing first, shoved him off Eren. It all happen in a split second but it felt like the world had slowed down and he couldn't hear anything else but the titans roaring.

His cape was flowing in the air and he could hear the whistle of the end as he approached the ground. He couldn't say a word and he couldn't yell any more commands. His hands were wavering in the cold, bright sky and he's never felt so helpless, but even so he felt so free.

He closed his eyes and only one thing came across his mind.

I fucked up.

---

The rest of the day felt dense like honey and dead like night. Eren was in the first aid  room where a lot of people could be found, huddling into a tight ball in the corner of the room and muttering to himself. He couldn't catch him in time and it was his fault, if only he sensed someone on him sooner. Everyone already had their attempts to try to reassure him, but they were no use. He knew Levi was going to live but he couldn't forgive himself for the fact that he didn't catch him even when he was right before his very eyes.