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˚ * •̩̩͙ ✩ •̩̩͙ * ˚ ☆ ☾ ☆ ˚ * •̩̩͙ ✩ •̩̩͙ * ˚
Year 850
Izanami's POV
✩ •̩̩͙ * ˚ ☆ .
I can't save everyone. I can't save everyone.
I repeat the words over and over in my head while standing on top of the tall building, blood slowly dripping from my blades onto the rooftop beneath my feet. The wind brushes against my face, carrying smoke, steam, and the distant sounds of people screaming somewhere deeper within the district. For a brief moment I close my eyes, forcing myself to breathe.
I can't save everyone.
The faces of the dead still flash through my mind anyway. Soldiers. Civilians. Cadets. People I was too late to reach. But their sacrifices will not be in vain, I make sure of that. Every second we keep the titans busy means more time for the civilians to escape behind the walls. That is the entire purpose of this battle. Not to win. Not to survive. Just to buy humanity enough time.
The only thing I need to remember is to fight until the withdrawal signal appears. Fight. Kill. Keep moving. Ignore the pain in my body and the exhaustion clawing at my muscles. Only after the signal can I finally stop.
My eyes drift toward the distant walls, and a cold feeling settles deep in my chest. Even if humanity survives today, how long will it take before another wall falls? Shiganshina is already gone. Even if they somehow repair the massive hole someday, Wall Maria is still filled with titans wandering freely through empty towns and destroyed streets. Reclaiming it would take months, maybe even years, along with countless soldiers and countless deaths.
I tighten my grip around my swords.
One step at a time.
A titan suddenly lunges toward me from the street below, its massive hand reaching for the rooftop. Instinct takes over immediately. I launch forward and slice through the nape of the ten-meter titan in one clean strike, steam exploding around me as its body crashes into the ground beneath.
Then I hear it.
The withdrawal signal.
I freeze for just a second, staring toward the smoke in the distance as realization slowly settles inside me. It's over.
...and I'm still alive.
The thought feels strange. Almost wrong.
I'm far ahead of the others now, too far to even see the rear guard anymore, and a heavy feeling settles in my stomach as I realize what that probably means. Most of them are dead. The thought of returning and seeing the casualties from the cadet corps makes my chest feel hollow. Just hours ago those kids were laughing, arguing over titan kills like this was some kind of game. Now many of them are probably lying dead in the streets below me.
