My Hero

Chapter 9

"Woah! Captain Levi is amazing!" I heard a girl's voice a little ahead of me. She was too focused on what the Captain was doing, and as a result, she didn't even notice the titan approaching behind her.

'You idiot!' I thought and moved towards her quickly. She finally turned around and screamed upon seeing the titan about to grab her from the rooftop she was on. I had moved close enough, so I hooked myself to its nape, used as much speed as I could manage while diving down, and sliced a big chunk from the back of its neck. The cut was deep, and my whole body ended up being covered in titan blood. "Damn, this is disgusting". I held back from vomiting.

The girl was on the verge of tears. "Thank you so much!"

I looked at her. The titan's blood had started to evaporate. "Next time, you might not be so lucky. If you don't want to die, get a grip and focus on the mission!"

"Y-yes!" Next thing I knew; she was actually crying. Good grief. She suddenly seized her sobbing and looked extremely terrified.

"What the..." I followed her gaze and barely managed to jump away before a titan could smash its fist against me. As a result, it made a big hole in the roof. The sudden impact caused the girl to lose balance and fall down. 'Was that...an abnormal??' The thought ran through my mind. I quickly made use of the grapple hooks before my body hit the ground and hurried back to her. But what I saw in front of me paralyzed my body. Another titan had made its way there as well, while the previous one held the girl tight in its hand. She was kicking and struggling, screaming for help. I prayed to make it on time. But I was too late. I successfully cut down the titan, but the girl was already dead, her body severed in half. The other one managed to grab me and bring me closer to its mouth. Its huge lips were stretched out in a smile. The irony. "Not like this... God damn it, not now! Not like this!" I shut my eyes, and in the next few seconds, it felt like time had slowed down. I heard the distinct sound of a blade cutting through skin, and the titan's hand around me loosened its grip. My body slid down, and a pair of arms caught me just in time.

"Shortie, are you alright??" My body was overtaken by panic, and I failed to answer him. It was only when we made it to a safer place and he let go of me that I couldn't hold it in any longer and threw up, coughing hard, my eyes glazed with tears. I was angry, extremely angry at myself for being so weak. Jean petted my hair softly and pulled me into a gentle embrace. "It's alright, everything is fine now."

---

"Why... why is everyone dying like this?" The scene unfolding in front of Eren was nothing less than gruesome. No, this was nothing like what he expected. They were supposed to be victorious—kill all the titans and make it back safe and proud of themselves. That was simply wishful thinking on his part, nothing more than pure naivety. He clenched his hands in fists and ended up doing the exact same thing Captain Levi warned them against—he acted rashly, overtaken by his emotions.

"I will... KILL THEM ALL!"

---

Commander Erwin Smith was keeping watch over the mission on top of Wall Rose. He was barely able to keep still. He detested this role—staying behind and observing instead of being part of the actual fight. When did he stop fighting and begin to only lead missions as a commander? He used to be fine with this, but not anymore. Erwin remembered Levi's words clearly, and he did plan on listening to him, but when he caught a glimpse of Desi being captured by a titan and almost facing her death, that was it for him.

"I can no longer just sit and watch. I need to fight with everyone else!" And with that, he jumped down the wall and took off, maneuvering around the houses. "Let's see if I've lost my touch."

---

Eren was lying on top of one of the houses. While he was in the air, an abnormal titan had jumped out of nowhere and bitten his leg off. He was trying to get up and was summoning all of his will to do so. And then he saw him. Armin was shaking in fear, about to be devoured by a titan. "No... No, Armin, run away...ARMIN!"

---

Me and Jean took care of the titans around us and left in search of the rest of the Survey Corps. I was feeling a bit better, even if I was still pretty shaken up. Nonetheless, I knew I had to keep going and overcome myself in order to become stronger. I kind of understand Captain Levi a bit more now. It was no wonder he kept such a straight face all the time and seemed like he was completely heartless, even if that wasn't true at all. That was how he was able to keep going and face all the horrors of our world. No wonder he was humanity's strongest.

Suddenly, both I and Jean exclaimed in a loud voice. "ARMIN!"

I used more gas than usual to move faster, in an attempt to get to him as quickly as possible. The titan opened his mouth and dropped Armin inside. "No, no, no, not again!"

"Desi, watch out!" Jean pushed me away, and I ended up on top of the house on my left. I somehow managed to land on my feet, and I saw Jean make a swift maneuver to escape the clutches of a titan that apparently followed us from behind. I quickly moved my gaze back to Armin and saw him being thrown out of the titan's mouth by Eren, who was now in his place. In a matter of seconds, the titan closed his mouth and swallowed him.

"Wh...at...?"