"In the year 845, the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan suddenly appeared and destroyed one of humanity's walls... and everyday life with it." "Humanity abandoned Wall Maria, lost 20% of its population and one-third of its territory, and was forced to retreat behind Wall Rose." "Then, in the year 850, in Trost District..." "Once again, humanity allowed the Titans to further their advance." "And Eren Jaeger, who had fallen prey to one, reappeared from inside a mysterious Titan..." "Unknown are the names of the flowers that have been trampled" "Birds have fallen to the earth and long for the wind" "Prayers won't solve anything" "Only the will to fight can change the here and now!" "O pigs who laugh at the resolve to walk over corpses to move forward" "Livestock complacency?" "False prosperity?" "Give us the freedom of dying, starving wolves!" "The humiliation of being caged is what triggers us to fight back" "We hunters slaughter prey beyond the castle walls, consumed with surging bloodlust, as our crimson bows and arrows pierce scarlet holes into the twilight" ""Response"" "The Struggle for Trost, Part 6" "I'll ask one more time!" "What are you really?" "!" "I'm human!" "I see..." "Don't take this personally." "Marco..." "I can't do this anymore..." "I can't fight Titans anymore!" "What's gotten into you?" "!" "My friends got eaten right in front of me!" "My friends got killed, yet I didn't feel any sadness or hate at all!" "Deep down, I just felt glad it wasn't me!" "But it's my turn next." "I've realized what our job is..." "It's basically fighting and fighting until we eventually get eaten!" "Well, screw that!" "I'd rather end things now!" "Stop!" "Pull yourself together!" "You aren't the only one, you know!" "We're all fighting back fear!" "Just look at Sasha!" "Even after what she went through, she's still an upstanding soldier!" "Umm..." "My stomach hurts..." "Could you please consider me one of the wounded?" " I can't go on!" " Stop!" "Stop it!" "That gag order is definitely warranted." "The situation's bad enough as it is." "If they found out about Eren..." "Cannon fire?" "!" "Why only one shot?" "!" "Look!" "Smoke!" "It's inside the wall!" " Hey!" " What's happening?" "!" "What's going on?" "!" "Did they break through the water gate?" "!" "Impossible!" "That's the sturdiest place of all!" "They must've just set off a shell by accident!" "Still..." "Why's there so much smoke?" "!" "No way..." "Is it Titan steam?" "!" "Hey!" "H-Hey!" "What the hell?" "!" "It's alive!" "Captain Woermann!" "W-Wait and see what it does!" "We can't risk getting near it!" "Stay on alert, everyone!" "Remain on standby!" "Artillerymen, reload the cannon!" "What is this?" "I-I remember hearing the cannon go off..." "After that came a tremendous sound, shock, and heat!" "And now we're inside a giant skeleton..." "Eren protected us." "That's all we need to understand for now." "Flowers, only on the inside?" "Hey!" "You guys okay?" "!" "Eren!" "What is this?" "!" "I don't know!" "But it's already starting to vaporize, just like a Titan's corpse!" "Let's get away from it!" "Can't tell if they're watching and waiting or if they're in a daze..." "The Garrison Regiment isn't showing any signs of activity for now but I'm sure they'll start attacking again soon enough." "I doubt there's any chance of reasoning with them now, after seeing this." "But there is one thing I remember now." "The basement." "The basement of my house!" "My dad said it'd all make sense if I go there!" "He's also the reason this has happened to me..." "If I go to the basement, I might figure out what the Titans are too!" "Damn it!" "Then why did he keep it a secret?" "!" "Thousands of Scouts have died trying to get that information!" "It's the only hope humanity has!" "And he just kept it tucked away in our basement all this time?" "!" "What the hell was he thinking?" "!" "And where the hell has he been these last five years..." "Eren." "We have other things to attend to right now." "Yeah..." "The smoke's clearing!" "Attack on sight!" "Let's finish it off quick!" "Hold your positions!" "I'm getting out of here." " And going where?" "How?" "!" " Anywhere will do for now." "Then I'll go over the wall and make for the basement." "After I've changed into a Titan again." "Can you really do that?" "I don't know how I'm doing it, either." "But I know I can do it!" "It's just like how I can't really explain how I'm moving my arm." "Just now, my mind unconsciously focused on stopping the cannonball." "That's why it decayed; it only had the capabilities and endurance for that." "Next time I'm gonna be an even stronger one..." "I'm gonna be a 15 meter-high one that can slaughter other Titans, like before!" "Eren!" "Your nose is bleeding..." "You look really pale, and your breathing is rough." "Something's clearly wrong!" "You're not well!" "My health doesn't matter right now!" "I have two ideas in mind." "You guys can get through this alive if you stop trying to protect me." "I've already caused you enough trouble as it is, so I'm gonna go it alone from here on out." "You can't be serious..." " I..." " Eren." "I'm coming with you." "No!" "If I don't keep up, you won't have to worry about me." "But I won't have to do what you say, either." "I'm serious here!" "Just forget about it!" "I'm not your little brother or your kid!" "What the hell?" "!" "Sir." "The cannon is almost reloaded." "What are your next attack orders?" "You will wait for my signal!" "Yes, Sir!" "For now, the Garrison Regiment isn't showing any signs of launching a close-quarters assault." "If they were, Mikasa would've sensed it faster than a stray cat." "Assuming they reload in the shortest time possible it'll take them about twenty more seconds." "I figure Eren will spring into action and be gone before then..." "Why am I reminded of that at a time like this?" "Is it... because this is the end for us?" "In the very end," "I never amounted to anything more than a coward..." "They were there to help me so many times but not once did I ever manage to help them." "How can I possibly call myself an equal friend?" "How can I possibly offer to go with them?" "I'm not even confident I can keep up..." "I guess this is the last time the three of us will ever be together..." "Eren." "I am..." "Wait, Mikasa!" "I said I had two ideas, remember?" "Armin." "I leave the decision to you." "Huh?" "Even I know how unrealistic this plan is." "The best option would be to use this Titan ability in a systematic way, under the military's direction." "I know this sounds crazy, but if you think you can convince the Garrison Regiment that I'm not a threat," "I'll trust in you and go with that option." "That's my second idea." "If you don't think you can do it, I'll go with the other idea as a last resort." "Decide in fifteen seconds." "Can you do it or not?" "I'll respect your opinion, whichever it is." "Eren..." "Why are you entrusting such an important decision to me?" "Even when things get ugly, you always make the right call, y'know?" "I figure that's worth relying on." "When did I ever do that?" "All the time." "Like that time five years ago..." "If you hadn't gone and gotten Mr. Hannes for us," "Mikasa and I would've been Titan food." "It was all in my head..." "I convinced myself that's how I was..." "I convinced myself I was helpless and a burden..." "But they never felt that way at all!" "Armin!" "We're out of time!" "They've finished reloading, Sir!" "We can fire at any time!" "These two who are willing to place their lives in my hands are the people I trust more than anyone in this world." "What more convincing do I need than that?" "!" "I will persuade them, without fail." "I'll need you to act as nonaggressive as possible." "Something's been bugging me ever since Eren started fighting as a Titan." "I haven't collected my thoughts yet, but I'll do this!" "I'll have to think as I talk!" "Halt!" "You've finally revealed your true form, monster!" "I'll do it!" "I'll give the signal to fire!" "He is not an enemy of humanity!" "We're willing to disclose everything we've learned!" "Begging for your lives won't help you!" "He's revealed his true form for all to see!" "What more is there to say?" "!" "If you insist he's not our enemy, then show me proof!" "If you can't, then we'll simply eliminate the threat he poses!" "There's no need for proof!" "That's right..." "There is no need!" "In fact, this isn't about what we perceive him to be!" "What?" "!" "I hear that countless people saw him!" "In which case, they surely saw him fighting Titans as well!" "And they must've seen the Titans swarming around him too!" "In other words, the Titans saw him as prey... just like they see us!" "That's an irrefutable fact, however hard you look at it!" "He has a point..." " A Titan, on our side?" " That's crazy!" "Prepare to attack!" "Don't be taken in by their clever ruses!" "Their behavior has always been beyond our understanding!" "It's entirely possible they'd take on human form and use human language to deceive us all!" "We can't let them have their way anymore!" "It's no use..." "He's abandoned all logic..." "He's afraid to think..." "Eren!" "Mikasa!" "As a soldier, I have long sworn to give my heart for the restoration of humankind!" "Nothing would make me happier than to die for that cause!" "If we combine his Titan ability with our own remaining manpower, we can retake this city!" "For humanity's glory, in what little time I have left to live," "I will continue to advocate his strategic value!" "Captain Woermann." "I believe his words are worth consid..." "Silence!" "However much they beg for their lives, they're still traitors..." "To dispose of those who violate the rules..." "That is the duty of a soldier!" "That's enough." "I see you're still as delicate as a young deer despite your size." "Commander Pyxis!" "Can you not see that soldier's splendid salute?" "I've only just arrived, but I've been filled in on the situation." "You're in charge of the reinforcements now." "Something tells me we ought to hear these people out, you see..." "According to the Scout Regiment's reports, it was believed that the Titans would appear from the south." "Indeed, it was Shiganshina District, on the south side of Wall Maria, that the Titans attacked." "As a result, the fortified city of Trost on the south side of Wall Rose was deemed their next most likely target." ""Trost District, Inner Gate"" "Dot Pyxis..." "The top officer in charge of Trost and the entire southern territory, and the man given full authority for the defense of humanity's most vital region." "Nope, none at all..." "I certainly wouldn't mind being gobbled up by a beautiful girl Titan..." "And he's also known for being a full-blown eccentric." "What is the commander thinking?" "!" "Taking those freaks up there without a single bodyguard!" "I don't know." "He's never been one to make much sense." "Sir." "We've finished reassembling the troops." "Right." "Good work." "I see." "And visiting this basement will make everything clear?" "Yes..." "Do you believe me?" "Seeing as you, yourself, are unable to provide validation, for now I'm simply keeping it all in mind." "But I do believe I can tell when someone is being sincere or not." "I will personally guarantee your safety." "Cadet Arlelt, was it?" "Yes, Sir!" "Earlier, you mentioned that with this so-called "Titan ability"" "it would be possible to retake this city." "Do you truly believe that?" "Or was that just a desperate plea for your life?" "Well..." "Both." "I was going to suggest that Eren, in Titan form, could take that giant rock and use it to block the wrecked entrance." "It was just an idea I came up with on the spot..." "I just wanted them to see the possibilities of Eren's ability and how it could help solve the situation we're in..." "Of course, I was desperate to survive, too!" ""Desperate to survive..."" "There's nothing more credible than those words." "What do you say, Cadet Jaeger?" "Sir?" "Can you plug the hole?" "Well..." "Uhh..." "I'm not sure." "Right now, I don't really understand any more than the rest of you." "Maybe I can." "Maybe I can't." "I don't know." "I don't feel I can risk giving an irresponsible answer..." "Ah, yes." "My apologies." "I asked the wrong question." "Will you do it or not?" "I'll do it." "I'll do it!" "I don't know if I can plug the hole or not." "But..." "I'll do it!" "Your dreams are where your heart is" "They're more fragile than life itself" "Over and over you cast them aside, only to find more" "Now, rest in peace" "Pounding impulses defile the things we wish for and the more we forget the more we remember again" "In this beautiful, cruel world all I can do is ask why we're still alive" "Oh, with our strength...and our weakness... what are we going to protect if there's no sense to anything anymore?" "Despite having fled out of fear once before, the soldiers choose to stand on the battlefield again." "Eren makes up his mind:" ""I'll be everyone's hope."" ""Idol"" "The Struggle for Trost, Part 7"