Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 68: Last Stand of the Ripper

Hanji gritted her teeth as she dodged a volley of gunshots. For one, brief moment, the Scout Regiment was able to move forward. Success seemed almost inevitable. Now, they were either at a standstill or on the retreat after a calculated move from the opposition. With Annie trapped and Levi and Mikasa missing, they had lost their most powerful players. Those that tried to cut the cables were rewarded with gaping holes for their troubles. To make matters worse, the MPs brought out a couple of catapults and were launching explosive barrels at them. Any Scout unlucky enough to be too close was burned alive, dying a slow and painful death. This mission was being sent to Hell on a silver platter.

She shook off the negative feelings that threatened to consume her and focused on the task at hand. Giving in to despair was something she couldn't afford to do. Not with the fate of the country and their lives on the line. But how were they going to break through the line of seemingly never-ending gunfire? If only they had their own set of explosives to even the odds.

Wait a minute. Hanji's eyes drifted down to the floor. Military Police and Scouts alike coated the ground with their bodies. However, her gaze was more focused on the guns and the barrels used to reload them. It was a crazy idea, but when had that ever stopped them? Of course, relaying the plan would be difficult. She didn't want the MPs to know what they were up to. Thankfully, the mental link between her and Annie was still working. "Can you still hear me?"

"Yeah," she answered, sounding pained. Losing her foot, getting trapped, and having her eyes gouged out did the trick. "You have a plan?"

"Tell Connie, Jean, Sasha, Armin, and Moblit to gather the ammo from the dead MPs and try to find some oil," Hanji explained, narrowly dodging some rounds.

If the Female Titan could have smirked, she would have. "I see where you're going with this."

Out loud, Hanji yelled, "Soldiers, stand your ground! The fate of humanity rests on our shoulders! Don't give a fucking inch!" Inwardly, she hoped this plan would work. If it didn't, then everything they worked so hard for would be for nothing.

Mikasa wasn't sure what to think as she followed Levi into the tunnel. She was grateful that the captain saved her life, but she also felt shame for not anticipating Kenny's intervention. Because of her weakness, a Scout was shot to death and Eren was no closer to being rescued. On top of that, she couldn't go back the way she came without getting blasted for her troubles. The only move left was to kill Kenny.

Seeing that man in the flesh made her skin crawl. Like everyone else, she had heard the infamous tales of Kenny the Ripper, a serial killer that terrorized the Districts. Sure, she was no stranger to monsters in human skin, but he was... different. He was someone who took pride in his atrocities, revelled in them. Mike's corpse was strung up for the world to see, and Kenny treated it as a work of art. There was no place in the world for a creature like that.

The two pursued him into a larger space that was quite different from the rest of the caves. Whereas blue, reflective crystal was the norm, this area had many colors in the form of crystalized canvases. All had one thing in common: a beautiful woman whose hair was almost as bright as the sun. From child to adult, they told a story. They reminded Levi of the stained-glass windows he saw from the churches of the Wall Worshippers. What completed the scene was a blue statue on the far side of the area. It was about three to four meters tall, and it was the same woman from the pictures. Some would interpret her expression as a maternal one. Others, like Levi, could only see it as her looking down at them.

This was a shrine to Ymir Fritz, the so-called goddess of all Eldians and Titans. Considering the friends they've lost thanks to the Titans, Levi and Mikasa felt no reverence for her. Besides, they had a bastard to kill. They only had a moment to see him take aim towards the one object in the shrine that didn't belong: a barrel.