"After setting out to establish a route to Shiganshina, the Scout Regiment encountered an intelligent, female Titan." "As soldier after soldier fell, the regiment rushed into a forest of giant trees, much to everyone's puzzlement." "Who can possibly stop it, if not the Levi Squad?" "!" "Another one's dead!" "We could've saved him, too!" "Choose." "Will you trust yourself, or me, these guys, and the entire Scout Regiment?" "I'll go with you!" "Fire!" "You don't mean?" "!" "They're going to take that Titan alive?" "!" "What do you think of that, Eren?" "!" "We caught that Titan!" "This is the might of the Scout Regiment!" "Don't underrate us, you idiot!" "Now do you see?" "!" "Yes!" "It looks like she's stopped." "We can't drop our guard yet." "I'm just impressed you managed to lead her to this spot." "The credit goes to the rear squad members who gave their lives fighting her." "They bought us time." "It would've been impossible otherwise." "Is that so?" "Yes." "Thanks to them we get to see who's inside this one's nape." "Let's just hope they're not wetting themself inside there..." "♪ I won't let your deaths be meaningless ♪" "♪ even if I'm the last one standing ♪" "♪ In both hands, Gloria ♪" "♪ On my back, Flügel der Freiheit ♪" "♪ Clenched determination to my left chest ♪" "♪ What slashes across is Linie der Torheit ♪" "♪ Soaring across the azure skies ♪" ""Erwin Smith"" "The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 4" "An Abnormal..." "Or is it like the Colossal Titan?" "Wait, did Commander Erwin actually...?" "Hey!" "Quit spacing' out!" "Eren!" "You can think later!" "We need to get further ahead!" "Right!" "Wait, Levi." "We need to be extra cautious." "Waves 2 and 3!" "Fire!" "Use the reserves too!" "Umm, they're starting to climb up..." "Indeed." "If they make it up this far, perhaps I'll step out of the way." "Although..." "I suspect we'll soon be given orders to withdraw anyway." "Does it have something to do with those explosions inside the forest?" "I don't know." "Mikasa..." "What do you think those sounds are?" "Are cannons being fired inside the forest?" "I didn't see them bring any cannons in, though..." "What's with all this damn noise?" "Hey, Mr. Bertholdt." "Do you know which way Christa went?" "Sorry." "I don't." "Nothing makes sense anymore." "What are we even doing now, and why?" "I wanna go home..." " Let's move away, Armin!" " Right!" "Looks like the bastard's gotten the hang of it." "It's gotten better and better at tree-climbing!" "The scary thing is that this means they can learn." "Although I'm sure it's different for each Titan too." "Armin." "They seem to be up to something inside the forest, and I think I've figured out what it is." "They lured that female Titan here to capture her." "Or, more precisely, to capture the human inside." "That was Commander Erwin's goal from the very start." "Wasn't it?" "!" "Still, I can understand keeping it from us rookies, but you guys too?" "!" "You've been Scouts a long time!" "Man, you're annoying!" "Are you suggesting the commander and the captain don't trust us?" "!" "N-No, but that's what this means, doesn't it?" "!" "Petra!" "Knock out his teeth!" "Switch his front teeth with his back ones!" "No, Eren's right." "The captain must've had a reason for not trusting us implicitly." "Like what?" "There's only one reason he couldn't trust his comrades." "There's someone in the regiment who can either turn into a Titan or is working as a sort of spy for them." "You think so too, right?" "That there's someone in the regiment..." "Mm." "I think there is." "A spy?" "Are you really sure?" "At the very least, the commander must believe so." "I assume the only soldiers informed of this operation were the ones who survived five years ago." "I see." "So that's why..." "Yep, that's gotta be it." "Get it, Eren?" "That's what's goin' on." "Mm." "In that case, it couldn't be helped." "Yeah..." "Five years ago was when the wall first fell..." "Could they be using that fact to narrow down suspects on the assumption that's when the spy got inside?" "Does that mean this person killed Sawney and Beane too?" "The commander asked me something after that happened..." "What do you see here?" "What do you think the enemy is?" "Is that what that meant?" "We might've been allowed to join the operation if we'd known the answer to that question." "I doubt any of us could have, though." "Well, I knew." "But I decided not to say anything." "Do you guys know why?" "Why?" "What, you mean you don't know?" "I guess guys like you wouldn't know, huh?" "You're nowhere near my level yet, after all." "Seriously, are you still trying to imitate Captain Levi?" "He doesn't talk like that." "If this succeeds, we might actually learn the truth about this world." "Still, even for that way too many people have died." "Do you think the commander was wrong to do this?" "He wasn't in the right, I'll tell you that." "If we'd actually been told that a Titan had inside info, we would've handled things differently." "Your own squad members, for example..." " No, it wasn't wrong." " Huh?" "How can you say that?" "Do you know how many soldiers have needlessly died?" "!" "Jean." "In hindsight, it's easy to say what should've been done." "But..." "No one can tell how things will turn out." "Yet, at some point you have to make a choice." "The lives of a hundred comrades or the lives of everyone inside the walls." "The commander chose." "He chose to throw away the lives of a hundred comrades." "Eren." "If you didn't know already, you'll soon learn why" "Erwin Smith was put in charge of the Scouts, of humanity's hope..." "It's why he even has Captain Levi's trust!" "That's assuming you survive long enough, of course." "I don't have much life experience yet but I do know one thing." "If there's anyone who can bring about change, it's someone capable of giving up what matters most." "In particular, people who are capable of abandoning their humanity when forced to rise above monsters." "Those who can't abandon anything can't change anything." "Fire!" "How do you like that?" "Now you can't scratch a single itch or move a single muscle." "And you probably never will again." "The more your wounds heal, the stiffer your joints will get!" "Still, why haven't they extracted our esteemed guest yet?" "What are Levi and Miche doing?" "!" "So she has the ability to cover portions of her body with hardened skin..." "Much like the Armored Titan I've heard about." "Will it weaken if we continue an ODM sword assault?" "There's no time to try." "In which case..." "Sir!" "Prepare to blast it." "Blow off the target's hands." "Yes, Sir!" "However, there's a risk our standard artillery could take out everything on the inside as well." "Then let's attempt to sever the wrists instead." "Fire an all-out salvo on my signal." "Understood!" "Hey." "Just come out already, will you?" "We don't got time for this." "Say, what do you think's gonna happen to you now?" "Do you really think you can get out of this situation?" "I wish you'd pay some thought to the trouble you've caused us." "You killed our men in all sorts of different ways." "Was it fun?" "Well, I'm having fun now." "I take it you're the same way." "If there's anyone who knows how I feel, it's you." "Oh, right." "There's one thing I need to ask." "Will you be fine if your limbs get cut off?" "They'll go grow back, right?" "I'm talking about your actual body." "Can't afford to have you die on us, after all..." "Damn." "You startled me there." "Were those her death throes?" "Erwin." "I smell them." "Which direction?" "All directions, all at once!" "Lots of them!" "What the?" "!" "They're rushing into the forest all at once!" "Why are they suddenly ignoring us?" "!" "What?" "!" "Does this mean they're all Abnormals?" "!" "Doesn't matter!" "Don't let 'em through!" "Commence combat!" "What was that all of a sudden?" "!" "Please, wait!" "I've heard screams like that before!" "In the forest where I'm from!" "It's the sound a cornered animal makes when it's ready to give up everything!" "I was taught the end of a hunt is when you have to be most careful!" "So you want me to be careful?" "Please be a hundred times more careful than normal!" "You will die if you don't take the forest seriously!" "I'm from the mountains too, actually..." "You're a vegetable farmer!" "You wouldn't understand!" "I see." "Sasha's hunches are often right." "And it's usually only before something bad happens..." "Armin said Eren might be in the rear of the center rank, as I recall..." "Hurry with artillery!" "Erwin!" "The first wave is coming from the east!" "They're close!" "Wagon defense squad!" "Intercept them!" "They're ignoring us?" "!" "Are they Abnormals?" "!" "Three Titans have broken through!" "Captain Levi!" "Hey, you..." "You just did something, didn't you?" "It went for the female one?" "Titans coming from all directions!" "All soldiers, commence combat!" "Defend the Female Titan at all costs!" "No!" "All soldiers, withdraw!" "Redeploy the formation!" "Return to Calaneth District!" "We've been bested." "What's with that pathetic look of yours?" "This goes to show that the enemy was prepared to throw away everything." "I never imagined our target would resort to Titan cannibalization to dispose of information..." "After all that blustering we did in the courtroom, this is how it turns out..." "If we waltz back there now, who knows what'll happen to Eren or us..." "We can think about that once we've returned." "For now, we need to focus on returning without sustaining any further losses." "For now." "The steam is impairing visibility." "It could hinder smoke signal communications." "I'm going to get my squad." "Wait, Levi." "Replenish your gas and blades first." "We're low on time and I have enough to last already." "Why?" "That's an order." "Do as you're told." "Whatever you say, Erwin." "I'll trust your judgment." "The withdrawal signal." "We're all to withdraw and return to base on horseback." "Right!" "What?" "Is it all over?" "All right!" "We can go home!" "Just what's going on?" "Is Eren all right?" "Looks like it's over." "Let's get back to the horses!" "Prepare to withdraw!" "You heard the man." "Let's go see what the bastard riding inside it looks like." "Did they really find out who it is?" "All thanks to you!" "Huh?" "But I didn't do anything." "You trusted us, remember?" "Things turned out this way because you chose to stick with us." "Making the right call is a pretty hard thing to do, you know!" "Hey, now." "Quit pampering' him, Petra." "How was he any help?" "All he did was whine like a pathetic little brat." "I guess making it back alive might be considered praiseworthy, but only after the mission's done and over with." "Just so you know, twerp, an expedition ain't over 'til you're back home." "Yes, I get it already!" "Oruo!" "Petra!" "For a couple of soldiers who cried and pissed their pants during their first battle, you've really grown!" "Don't mention that!" "Are you trying to make him lose respect for me, Eld?" "!" "Whoa, she really did?" "!" "It's the truth." "And, just so you know, I never pissed myself, Eren." "You idiot!" "I'll have you know I have the highest kill count!" "I'm the best, you moron!" "There's more to a soldier's merits than just kill counts!" "Shut up, you idiot!" "Ms. Petra!" "Does that mean it sprayed everywhere in midair?" "!" "Knock it off!" "Are you on a picnic or something?" "!" "We're outside the walls, you know!" "Also, I never wet myself either, Eren!" "Oh." "That must be a message from Captain Levi." "We're rendezvousing with the captain!" "Stow the chatter until we're home!" "Erwin." "Why did you have Levi replenish his supplies when there's no time to waste?" "The female was eaten." "But did you see the person inside get eaten?" "I didn't." "Are you saying?" "!" "Yes." "If, as you deduced earlier, we're dealing with a type that remains able-bodied after de-transformation..." "And, if said person had equipped themselves with ODM gear in advance that means they're now wearing one of our uniforms..." "Captain Levi?" "No..." "It's not!" "Who are you?" "!" "M-Mr." "Gunther!" "Hey!" "Why?" "!" "Mr. Gunther!" "...and have blended in with the rest of us soldiers."