Attack on Titan: Secrets of Marley (SNK x OC)

Chapter 12: The Burden of Victory

While chaos continued to reign within the Trost district, the Pure Titans had not yet all been eliminated. The soldiers of the Garrison and the Training Brigades were fighting hard to defend their lives and protect their comrades. The screams of the Titans and the roars of the humans mingled in a deafening din.

A member of the Garrison, standing on a high stone platform, raised his arm and shouted in a powerful voice:

- Listen up, soldiers! We've sealed the door, but there are still Titans inside! This is our chance to regain complete control of Trost. All soldiers, attack! Exterminate these monsters and make them pay for every human life they've taken!

Gray, hearing the order, gritted his teeth. 'No choice,' he thought, taking a deep breath. He threw himself into the void, his three-dimensional equipment whistling through the air as he propelled himself from one building to the next. He blended into the mass of soldiers, his blades glinting in the light of the setting sun.

With one precise movement, he sliced the neck of one Pure Titan after another. His experience as a Marley Warrior gave him an advantage. He knew how the Titans would react, how they would move. He killed one, then another, with ruthless precision, while keeping an eye on his infiltrating comrades. If they were discovered now, it would be the end of them.

Suddenly, he felt compelled to take a break. Stopping on the roof of a house near the entrance to the district, he took a moment to catch his breath and assess the situation. Wandering Titans were still roaming the streets, looking for human prey to devour. 'How many more are there?' he asked himself, trying to calculate quickly.

Then he heard a growing hum, a familiar sound that he couldn't immediately identify. Looking up at the wall, he saw dark shapes looming over the parapet. His eyes widened as he recognised the uniforms of the Survey Corps. They had arrived! They were finally going to be able to stop this never-ending battle!

Without missing a beat, the soldiers of the Survey Corps threw themselves into the void, using their three-dimensional equipment with unequalled grace and mastery. At the head of the squadron, one soldier stood out for his supernatural speed and agility. Gray recognised him immediately: Captain Levi.

Gray looked on, fascinated despite himself, as Levi moved with lightning speed, whirling through the air like a deadly whirlwind. He cut through the ranks of the Pure Titans with frightening efficiency, slicing through their necks with surgical precision. Levi's movements were a mixture of grace and brutality, each stroke of his blade resulting in instant death.

Levi seemed invincible, his blades never stopping. Gray saw around twenty Titans fall in a matter of seconds, their massive bodies collapsing like felled trees. It was almost supernatural, the way Levi was able to read the Titans' movements, dodging them with a fluidity that defied all logic.

"How?" Gray murmured, impressed despite himself. He'd heard stories about this man in his years of training and had seen him before the attack, but seeing him fight with his own eyes was another matter. The man was a living legend, and now he understood why.

The Pure Titans, once a mortal threat, had been reduced to powerless targets by the prowess of the Scouts' soldiers. Within minutes, the majority of the remaining Titans had been slaughtered. The efficiency of the soldiers of Paradis left him speechless, and for the first time, Gray felt a pang of doubt. They were not the simple 'demons' that Marley had described.

The battlefield fell strangely silent as the last of the Titans fell, the dust settling gently around the exhausted soldiers. Gray continued to watch Levi, realising that the humanity inside the walls had more powerful weapons than he had imagined. Perhaps Marley was underestimating his enemies after all.