Attack On Titan: Pure Blood

Chapter 18: Aftermath & Eren Jaeger's trial

It had taken a whole day to eliminate all the titans that were trapped inside Trost after closing the breach. During that time, the cannons did not stop firing for a single minute. Many of the titans that were at the foot of the wall were eliminated by the cannons, while the others that were in the middle of the city were eliminated by the Scout Corps, who did not have a single casualty, showing that in their ranks were the soldiers most capable of taking on the titans. Unlike the soldiers of the Garrison Troop and the newly graduated cadets, of which 207 died or went missing in the line of duty, along with 897 wounded.

For the first time, humanity had defeated the titans, but the lives lost in battle had been too many.

Victor was very aware of that. The price that was paid for victory was too high. Some even went so far as to question whether it was worth the loss of so many lives to reclaim a city.

But of all the lives lost, in Victor's mind there was only one that really mattered to him. He felt sorry for the lives of others, yes, but personally he only cared about one.

His friend. Marco Bott.

Two days after the hole was closed, and the soldiers had finished collecting all the corpses that plagued the city of Trost, they set out to incinerate them to avoid a pandemic.

Now, as he watched the pile of corpses burn, Victor could only think of that freckled boy who had been his friend, the first person to extend a friendly hand to him when he decided to begin his training to become a soldier.

'Since I enlisted, I always knew that I would have to give my life if the situation required it. And now, this is probably the time. But if with my death I can get another person to be saved, then... I will do it. That way, my death will have a purpose.'

'Your death was not in vain, Marco' thought Victor, looking askance at Jean, who was at his side with a slight frown of sadness as he watched the pile of corpses burn 'Jean is alive. You saved his life at the cost of yours. And if he is still alive, your death will not have been in vain.'

He turned to watch the pile of corpses burn, remembering all the deaths he had seen. The light from the campfire reflected off his glasses, making it impossible to see the grim look in his eyes.

'This is the hell in which I decided to come... A hell full of titans and corpses of my companions. I knew that this is what awaited me, but I did not know that it would be of such magnitude. I guess... I was naïve.'

Beside him, Jean had similar thoughts after seeing Connie cry while holding his head.

'Everyone regrets it. If I had known that this hell awaited us, I would not have become a soldier. I am so exhausted that I am unable to think of anything else. Decisions I regret...'

Jean stepped forward, kneeling to grab some charred bone fragments that partially turned to ash when he picked them up.

"Marco... I don't even know which of these are your bones anymore," he muttered to himself, although those who were close to him could hear him.

He closed his eyes tightly, remembering the last moments of his best friend, who sacrificed himself to save him. He remembered how Marco bled to death on top of a roof, longing to see the sun once more while the rain that fell from the sky dragged his blood.

A question crept into his mind at the thought of that:

Who would be next?

He turned to look at his companions, all of whom had a gloomy look on their faces. He couldn't help but wonder which of them would be the next to die.

'If I hadn't become a soldier, now I wouldn't be thinking about which of us will be at that bonfire next time.'

'And you plan to sacrifice all that information, all those sacrifices that have been made so far, to sit idly by and do nothing while the titans threaten us with our complete extinction?! Don't fuck with me!'