Attack On Titan: Pure Blood

Chapter 27: The Price of Bitter Victory

All his life, Erwin Smith had been filled with questions that had no answers.

It all started with his father, who was a school teacher. And in a history class his father taught all those years ago, it was the day that Erwin asked that would lead him down the long, hard road he had traveled to this day.

That day, his father had not given him a direct answer, and he continued teaching the class. But, once they got home, his father answered his questions. About the contradictions in the government history books.

Erwin had been fascinated by the things he told him. His childish, innocent mind was blown away by the theory his father told him that night. And it was that same innocent, yet ignorant mind that had led to his father being murdered by the government in an attempt to keep people within the walls ignorant of the truth of the world they lived in.

His father had died because Erwin had shared that information with the other children, being listened to by the Military Police.

That day, the innocent boy came to the conclusion that his father had been assassinated by the government because his knowledge threatened their luxurious lifestyle. Their gardens, their houses, their lands, their wealth, their high position in society... All of this mattered more to them than protecting humanity. And if someone threatens that lifestyle they have, the authority they have, that person would be eliminated, no matter who they are.

He learned that his father was unjustifiably killed. He was murdering for human greed and for the stupidity of his own son's.

That is the conclusion that Erwin Smith had come to.

And, because of that, he developed an unwavering belief in his father's theory. From that day on, the only goal he had ever had in his life was to prove his father right.

Knowledge about the truth of this world would change everything. And Erwin knew it very well.

It hadn't been easy. He had sacrificed, lost and left behind so much over the years. His comrades, his friends, the woman he once loved. He had lost and thrown away so much in order to prove his father right.

Now the person who could give him the answers he craved so fervently stood before him. Looking him straight in the eye with cold seriousness.

"So, Miss Leonhart," Erwin began, crossing his fingers in front of his face as he stared questioningly at the teenager in front of him. "Are you willing to cooperate with us by giving us the answers we want?"

Even if he spoke calmly, he couldn't help the curiosity that seeped into his voice as he looked at the person who could give him all the answers he wanted. The answers he had been searching for all his life.

Annie stared at the Commander in a cold, neutral way. Erwin had seen those kinds of eyes before. They were the eyes of someone with a fierce, yet grim, determination. The same eyes he saw in the mirror every morning.

Erwin's question was met with silence, with Annie refusing to speak as she continued to stare at the Commander defiantly.

"Hey, he asked you a question, bitch" Levi growled, menacingly approaching the chained girl. "You may have all day now that you're chained here like a dog, but we don't. So you better start spitting out everything you know before I start cutting, and let's see how good your regeneration is in human form."

A flicker of fear flashed in Annie's blue eyes, but she quickly stifled it as she clenched her teeth. A guttural growl emerged from her throat as she glared at the Captain.

"Wait, Levi," Erwin stopped him, raising a hand. "It's not necessary to go to such lengths... yet." He looked at Annie seriously, but at the same time with an air of diplomacy. "This would be so much easier for all of us if you just told us what we want to know. Although your actions, both directly and indirectly, led to the death of many Scouts, you began to show remorse and mercy by sparing the lives of many of us, most notably the Levi Squad."