My Hero

Chapter 37

What was this situation? Was it actually happening to me? The small space I was in felt so stuffy that I might have even been sweating. Does Eren ever experience the same? My whole body was trapped in there, apparently connected to the Titan I was in control of. 'Alright, keep calm, Desi.' I had no idea how I did it, but I wanted to get out as soon as possible. But first—my gaze followed the Female Titan—I wanted to see if I could make myself useful with this unexpected surprise. Later, I would have a chance to look for answers to all of my questions. Or at least I hoped so. All in all, I had nothing to lose.

---

"D-Desi..."

Jean sat on the ground, where the impact of her transformation had left him. He studied her Titan form in both horror and confusion. Why was she even able to do this, and since when? Had she been hiding it from all of them? No, he refused to think that way. The Desi he knew wasn't capable of betraying them like this. But he was mostly taken aback by her appearance. It was entirely different from any other titan he had ever seen, including the titan shifters he knew of. In the afternoon glow, the skin looked like it was...shining a bit. It reminded him of a crystal. Her titan form was a bit shorter than those of Eren and Annie, but muscular enough. It had her dark short hair and the same lively green eyes. Although, right now, they looked more like she was panicking. Jean stood up. "Hey, Shortie!! Can you hear me??"

---

"Huh? Jean?" I turned to my side and saw my friend, who was attempting to get my attention. He hooked himself up to my Titan body and landed on my shoulder.

"Shortie, you have a lot of explaining to do once we're back. For now, let's focus on the mission. Do you think you can control this thing?"

I nodded reluctantly. I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but there was no better time to try. 'Oh, this is actually pretty easy.' My body—well, the titan body—felt quite light and agile.

'Alright, let's get the female Titan!' is what I thought, but I actually had no idea if I could even be a worthy opponent.

---

"What the... Why is Desi...like me...?" Eren, along with the rest of the group, only stared in shock after their friend. Eren looked down at his hand—it was shaking, covered with wounds, and bleeding from all the attempts to transform himself. He clenched it in a fist, feeling both irritated and disappointed. Armin took him out of his dark thoughts.

"Come on, everyone. Let's follow them. Desi might just be what we need to turn the tables. We need to go help her and Captain Levi!"

Everyone agreed and followed after Armin, even Eren, whose reluctance was more than obvious. Hitch and Marlo had just arrived when they saw the new Titan and the Scouts leaving after it.

"What the hell... Just how many titan-shifters do these damn Survey Corps have in their ranks??"

"Come on, Hitch, we need to go help."

"Are you out of your mind?? I'm not going there. I'm sitting this one out."

"Suit yourself." Marlo left her alone and followed after the rest.

'And where the hell is Annie?' Hitch thought.

---

'That wasn't Eren's titan form. It looked similar to the female Titan. But who else can turn into one of them??'

"Commander Smith, we have a situation!" One of the survey scouts went back to report the new mission development. Erwin Smith's attention turned to him. "Sir, we have a new titan shifter amongst the Survey Corps."

"Who is it?"

"It's Desi, sir."

"Wh...at?" Erwin Smith felt his heart stop for a moment. His little girl... could turn into a titan. What kind of sick joke was that? But among those kinds of thoughts, a different one emerged. Both her and Eren's abilities could bring him closer to finally achieving his life-long dream.

"Commander... Why are you smiling?"

"Huh? What?" Erwin Smith hadn't even realized what sort of face he was making. He cleared his throat. "What about Eren?"

"He can't transform, sir. He tried multiple times."

"I see. In that case, go back and assist Desi in any way possible. We need to make sure the female Titan is captured today."

"Yes, Sir!" The scout left Erwin alone with his versatile thoughts. It took him only a couple of minutes before he decided he couldn't just stand there and wait.

"I need to see it for myself."

But just as he was about to leave, Nile Dok emerged from behind him. "Erwin, you need to come with me."

Ah, yes, the commander feared that moment ever since they decided on today's mission.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now, Nile. My soldiers need me."

"It's a direct order from the Premier, so don't even think about disobeying it. Besides, you are the one who told me they would be just fine even without you. Come quietly; I'd rather not hurt you."

Erwin Smith didn't hide his dissatisfaction but decided against protesting. "What about the mission? Are you just going to leave everyone like this?"

"Of course not. I will help them in your place. I might not be as crazy as you, but I can lead them just fine. Take him away." Nile Dok gestured for two Military Police members. They handcuffed Erwin Smith and walked away with him. Nile Dok sighed. "Such a mess... What the hell did you do this time, Erwin?"

---

Captain Levi had noticed the transformation but was already preoccupied with chasing after the Female Titan. He presumed the brat Eren had finally decided to be useful, so he didn't even think of looking back. Instead, he kept landing attacks on her. She was obviously growing more and more tired, so it was only a matter of time before she could no longer pose any threat. But the deed was already done, and there were many destroyed houses on the Female Titan's path. At least he didn't notice anyone dead, which was a relief.

---

"You can do this, Desi. I just need to be careful not to hurt Captain Levi, and everything will be perfectly fine!" Or at least that's what I kept repeating to myself. It still felt horribly weird, but that was only normal. It wasn't every day I turned into a damn titan. "Yes, I can do this!!" I encouraged myself, but what actually came out of my titan's mouth was a roar—a loud one. Both the female Titan and Captain Levi turned their attention to me.

---

"Who is she?" From inside the Female Titan, Annie was both confused and worried. Another female titan, whose existence she wasn't even aware of. And what was wrong with her skin? It was unlike anything she had seen so far. "Doesn't matter. If she attacks me, I'll crush her to pieces."

---

"Who the hell is that??" Captain Levi studied the new Titan. His expression showed nothing less than pure shock, mixed with irritation. "Just how many of the damn brats can turn into these creatures?? Tch, are we raising titans inside the walls or something??" But then he saw Jean on her shoulder, and everything became clear. The new Titan ran past him and charged towards the female Titan, which took a defensive stance. "Alright, Desi, show us what you've got." Captain Levi signaled for the rest of the Survey Corps, which had just reached him. "Our new task is to keep Desi safe and capture the Female Titan. Let's go!"

"Yes, Sir!"