Natural Strength || Levi Ackerman x Reader

Chapter 5: Destruction

Setting off early in the morning seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a smooth ride for the most part with multiple titan slayings on the west side and no casualties thus far. But it was only when it was time to go back to the wall that titans were spotted moving through a breach and entering the vicinity.

"Let's go! We can't waste anymore time out here!" Levi orders.

You hold the reigns with one hand while your sword is in the other. The titans don't appear to be paying attention to what's behind them and their numbers don't seen large, so it's safe to assume the attack has been happening for a while and the Scouts inside have been handling the situation.

"Captain, how long do you think Wall Rose has been breached?" you ask, keeping your eyes on the task at hand.

"It could have been since we left. We've been too far away to see it all this whole time," Levi answers on your left.

The squads move faster, and by the time you enter through the giant crack in the wall, the remaining titans have somehow been delt with, but there's something wrong and it's not just the dead bodies. You can feel it. You dismount your horse after seeing no other threats in the current area and Levi joins your side.

"Does something feel off to you, Corporal?" you question.

"Yeah," Levi mumbles, scanning the grounds with narrowed eyes.
"Why is everyone exceptionally frightened? It can't be just the titans."

You're confused as well. Yes, the cadets and soldiers are horrified at the sights of fallen comrades and witnessing titans first-hand, but there seems to be an ominous tension that's never arisen before.

"Go help fallen comrades and the newbies in coping with their losses. Do whatever you can," Levi orders both his and Hanji's squad as said woman joins his other side.

"We need to speak with Erwin as soon as possible. Even the veteran soldiers look traumatized," Hanji points out, finally sporting her perfect professionalism.

The three of you climb onto your steads once more and gallop into the destruction of what was once a quaint district until getting to the other side safely. Erwin is found sooner rather than later on his way to speak with The Garrison commander, but is far more adamant on sharing what he knows with his top brass.

"The Colossal Titan struck down the outer gate, and many casualties of The Garrison have been recorded as well as a couple of our own. But thanks to some effort, no civilian lives were taken," Erwin reveals and it looks as if the next thing he's going to convey is tough for him to say. "It appears that a cadet, Eren Jaeger, is a titan."

Your face is blank as the information hits you and you shift your attention to Levi and Hanji. Levi looks completely unaffected by the news while Hanji is on the verge of exploding.

"How is that possible!?" Hanji exclaims in excitement.

"He can transform somehow. He took down at least twenty titans, then proved he wasn't dangerous. Commander Pixis took him on top of the wall along with his two friends to discuss their options. I'm not sure what he's planning," Erwin explains.

You look back at the soldiers who are injured and others looking emotionally just as rough and scarred. A commotion at one part of the wall catches your attentions and you gesture to it to your superiors. It seems that Commander Pixis has come up with his own plan at the time.

You stand with all the other soldiers as Commander Pixis gets everyone's attention and begins his course of action concerning Eren Jaeger. You don't have much reaction considering the things you've seen in the past, but according to Pixis, Eren will be able to plug up the hole using his titan form and sheer strength.

There's a small uprising of soldiers and cadets that are completely freaked out by the prospect of protecting a titan and choose to be cowardly and flee from responsibility.

"What's our plan?" you ask aloud.

"Levi's squad will stay back unless it gets too out-of-hand. You're the Special Operations Squad for a reason with the most valuable members and only when things go to hell will you engage," Erwin asserts.

"I'll gather them on the north wall away from where Commander Pixis seems to be gathering his troops to distract the titans on the other side," Levi confirms.

You walk through the fray of soldiers getting into position on the wall. It's easy for the others in the squad to meet up with the two shortest people in the whole area and you all use your gear to get up the concrete. You first check the carnage on the other side and the large amount of titans already prepared to devour any human who gets too close.

You watch as Levi sits on the edge of the wall and you take a seat next to him. Petra ends up sitting on your opposite side while Oluo takes Levi's free side and tries to sit exactly like him, effectively almost taking a tumble down the wall. Gunther and Eld stay standing and alert as per usual. You notice you're probably the closest ones to the breach.

"I understand that we're low on soldiers, but we should be out there fighting the titans ourselves. That's what the Survey Corps specializes in exclusively," Petra says.

"Commander Erwin isn't willing to sacrifice our lives unless absolutely necessary. He's hesitant with the other squads as well. There's only a couple more months before our new recruits arrive and he's planning to move that up as it is. Isn't that right, Captain Levi?" Oluo says, basically begging for the Corporal's approval.

"Yes," Levi replies dimly. "I agree, Petra. I would rather be killing those bastards instead of sitting on my ass, but we have an order to follow."

"We could give diving scores for each cadets' slay of a titan to pass the time," you suggest randomly.

Your comrades laugh at the joke in the time most needed, but of course, Levi will not let any emotion show in the presence of others. You're always the one to break the tension but it's obvious he's a little too focused.

The awaiting mission that is quite literally on Eren Jaeger's shoulders is a tough one. You hate being on the sidelines, but you know the time will come when Levi's squad has to step in and wrangle together the impending havoc.