|Before you read|
Be warned - compared to most fictions, this one has a high load of tension and despair. Especially in the first chapters the protagonist will be on the brink of death for more than one time. If you tend to strongly identify yourself with the you-perspective, it might be rough. However, there are no typical formats of Reader inserts. In the first place, I chose the perspective because it allows to better feel with the protagonist.
The story takes place at the time of the military training of the 104th cadet corps. However, the plot will be mostly independent from the Original with the protagonist as a newly introduced character. The only assumed major change is the very first appearance of the Rogue titan being outside rather than inside Wall Rose.
Mature rating for swearing, gore, near-death and lots of angst.
That said, I hope it's enthralling!
Chapter 1 - Choice
Year 850. Ever since the breach, the main task of the Scout's regiment is to establish supply stations inside the titan-infested Wall Maria and to gather any information about the ever-fearsome titans. The preparations for the 56th expedition were not yet completed as an urgent and unsettling information was passed to the Survey Corps. Garrison soldiers of Wall Rose had spotted clouds of rising steam in the distance – a phenomenom well known from the death of titans. To investigate their miraculous cause of death, a special unit squad was immediately sent out to the outskirts of Wall Maria.
However, soon enough you find yourself overwhelmed by an unexpectedly high number of titans. As the last survivor, you need to fend for your life
„Damn it...!" you hissed silently.
You felt your heartbeat knocking hard against your chest, pounding in your throat as if trying to escape. Your mouth was dry as sand from the heavy panting, contrastingly oddly to the sweat that soaked every wrinkle of your body. Your legs cried in pain and felt as if they were about to combust every moment.
If there was one thing for sure, then that you couldn't take this much longer.
You gritted your teeth in anger. You had lost your orientation long ago, as it was your first expedition in this region. But still you had no choice but running on and on in hope to find any kind of shelter that would ensure your survival for the day.
You were torn out of your thoughts as the tree to your right was smashed under a massive limb. Its falling branches cut your way, forcing you to turn left. Another blow then missed you by a small margin.
Damn bastard! Your squad had clearly underestimated the number of titans you would encounter here. But after all, it was Erwin's fault. Of course it was necessary to send out an investigation team as soon as possible, but the insufficient preparation had demanded its price. The blood price.
Worst of all, you knew that this guy may not be the only one on your heels... It was a crowd of six titans that had crushed your squad. Even though your comrades managed to kill four of them before being devoured, there was another of the upper class somewhere around. You had lost sight of it ever since you had entered the forest, but chances were high that it wouldn't stop its pursuit any time soon. Moreover, this 5 m class here was surprisingly agile. Not agile enough to avoid crashing into trees, but neither its endurance nor its grotesque grin seemed to be affected by it. Ever since you ran out of gas, that bastard had managed to catch up with you, leaving you no other choice than to dump your gear. Your blades were depleted anyways during the last confrontation, so that its attachments were nothing but dead weight restraining your movements.
Three more hours. Judging the sun's position, you had to survive three more hours to make it. Under the cover of night you would find a way back to the wall. You had to find one… somehow…
You jumped over a fallen trunk and slipped behind another large spruce as you moved on in stagger to avoid the falling wood and flesh. The only good thing about titans was their predictability and immense dumbness. Every jump of your follower ended with a face-crush in a trunk. However, you constantly risked being injured or trapped by the falling trees as well. And eventually you'd run out of breath or trip. If you wanted to make it alive, you had to find a safe place soon. A sort of trap would also suffice for the time being. Just anything to slow it down and win some space. But the chances of any suitable structure were dwindling. There were no rocks, caves or crevices to be seen. Actually, there was nothing but damned trees as far as the eye could see.
You turned your head to see the misshapen titan getting on its feet once again, fir branches tugged into the chest like a hedgehog's spines. Yet it didn't give a shit about them. Given their wit of a stone, it is almost a miracle that this species had even made it this far.
It will probably bring it further than you though. Looking to the front again you found yourself reaching the edge of a large glade.
"Shhiiiit!"
You quickly examined your environment to decide which way to go next. It was all too clear that a wrong choice would probably be your last one. But alas, once again there was no hint of a structure that could be used. A small group of rocks lay scattered on the clearing, but it was too small to work as suitable shelter. Despite that, there was nothing else to be seen than trees and more trees - mainly beech and spruce and occasionally oak or maple. A yew tree was there as well, but there was no chance to make anything useful out of trees except for climbing them. And the lack of time wouldn't allow said option.
Your surveying gaze came to a sudden halt as you finally came up with an idea. It was anything but safe and you couldn't recall any report that had tried it before. But you were given no other option. You had to try at least. Perhaps fortune was still on your side today.
You turned to see that the titan more stumbling than walking, obviously impeded by the wood stuck in between its joints. In a cunning and almost evil smirk you nodded to yourself. Yes… it would work with toxin - or more precisely taxin in this case. If they possessed a blood system, surely they had a nervouse system, too.
"HEE DUMBASS! Come and get me!"
You gathered your remaining strength for a last leap towards the yew. Finally, this would be the last jump of your froggy persecutor.
Just as you reached the center of the clearing however, you stopped dead.
There was a movement in the woods in front of you. In foreboding, you watched the canopies shaking and breaking to the sides as heavy footsteps drew closer and stepped into the clearing. Out of all the damned dumbasses in the world it was the 14 m bastard with short, brown hair and a malformed nose - the very one that had devoured your comrades. Unlike most titans that showed more or less screwed grimaces, the facial expression of this one was blank and almost concerned. Its dark and dull eyes now focused on you without any further movement, as if it evaluated its options. Undoubtly, this one was an abnormal of some sort. Normal titans wouldn't have changed their direction to cut you off. And if that was not enough, the smaller lad behind you had made its way to the clearing's edge by now as well - grinning as always.
If your chances to survive were small so far, now they went infinitesimal. Still, you'd do everything to make their time as miserable for them as possible. It was the least you owed them.
"Your're going to regret this, bastards! GYAAAA!"
You flexed your legs to run once more, but before you could do the first step the abnormal answered with a deafening bellow of ist own, forcing you to plug your ears as your mind went blury for a moment. More than that, just as you were about to take off the hands, a second, even more incisive shriek racked your eardrums. This one was much higher pitched and came from a different direction. It almost seemed as if that bastard had called for reinforcement.
A rush of heat shot up your neck in both self-hatred and distress. If there was one thing worse than a witless dumbass, it was a witted one.
At regathering your composure, you turned your head from one titan to the other. Hard to say which one was more dangerous, the massive or the quick? In any case, you had far too few advantages to advance first. Now that you thought about it, standing cornered in the middle of an open clearing without any gear or weapons, you had no advantage at all…
The smaller lad flexed its legs for another jump when you felt a footstep on the other side. In the fraction of a second, you considered the few options you had left, then leaped towards the big guy. It was already bending over, the arm extending in its reach for you. Instead of successfully grabbing you however, its arm crashed into the jump of the froggy titan, its impact causing both to topple backwards.
With a quick jump to the side you escaped the fall of their massive bodies, then clenched your fists in anticipation for the yew to settle it.
… but it seemed like fortune was not on your side today.
You watched the bodies falling in unison but missing the doom of a venomous embrace as they crushed another fir instead – their thunderous fall feeling like a nail in your coffin.
The grinning titan recovered fairly quick but struggled to disentangle itself from the abnormal's hug. Without another thought, you used the occasion to make a run for a large oak on the clearing's edge. The only advantage of the clearing was that the trees tend to develope expanded branches when standing solitarily. Climbing this one was relatively easy, given your battered condition. But still, you were not quick enough.
Approaching footfalls alarmed you to gain height quickly, but just before you could reach the next branch, a sudden force tugged you backwards. Only marginally, you managed to cling to the next branch to avoid being pulled off the tree, the clasp of your cloak pressing deep into your throat with almost incisive strength. For long, painful seconds you forced yourself to hold on, until the tie finally ripped and set you free. Like a lizard that had sacrificed its tail, you then hastily reached for the next branch to secure yourself from the next strike. Only as you deemed yourself high enough, you dared to look back again, panting and coughing from the strangulation.
In relief, you watched how the branches broke under the pull of the 5 m class. With eyes still focused on you, it scratched the bark some more times before eventually giving up the climb.
Apparently, they had a crumb of a brain after all.
You watched in a disparaging glare as it suddenly stopped staring at you and looked at the trunk instead. Then it took some steps backward.
Wait. What is it intending to…?
"HEY! Don't you dare-!"
You clung to a nearby branch as the oak was bashed by the titan's face. However, despite a few scratches of the bark it wasn't damaged too much. You sneered.
"Gjahaha! Foolish little idiot! Your airhead really isn't good for anything! You'd better look to gain some more hei-!"
Fuck. How could you've forgot about that.
Your faced flushed upon the sudden realization. With nerves swarming in trepidation, you looked to the yew only to see that there was nothing but broken fir wood in a large cavity. Slowly turning to the side, you then noticed a giant shadow crouching next to the oak - with blank eyes leveled on you.
"SSSHHHIITT!"
The world trembled as the oak was shaken by one arm of the abnormal, forcing you to refocus all your strength onto holding tight. Looking down you saw the tiny bastard still lurking at the trunk with eyes fixated on you again. But worse was the shadow that started to move in the corner of your eye. Turning your head, you found your apprehension confirmed. The abnormal was already reaching for you with its other hand.
None of your choices would lead to a glorious future. Not even to a glorious death. As things seemed to be, it was either being picked like an apple or falling into the wide arms of little ugly…
You sighed in surrender. With eyes now shut, you tried to compose yourself and accept to follow your comrades to the heavens. If there was one thing for certain, then it was your stubbornness. Not even in your death would you grant these bastards the satisfaction of hearing your scream or seeing your despair. You've done all you could, but if fortune was a bitch, so be it.
Dooming heat encased you as you felt a tense grip from your shoulders downwards. The trembling then stopped as you found yourself hoisted to the air.
Odd, isn't it? You'd think that you spend your last breaths thinking about people you love, regrets you made or moments of your childhood that were long forgotten. That's how you've always imagined it. But in this very moment, all you could think about were your sore legs, your lacerated arms and the countless bruises that pled for deliverance. You couldn't help but think that once you're dead, at least your exhausted body would stop crying for rest. Still, you tried to listen to which secrets your heart might reveal in these last moment. But no matter how hard you tried, there was nothing to be found... All you could hear was the rhytmic beat of your heart.
Bmp... Bmp... Bmp…
You were surprised on how calm you were, given your situation. Sure you were still pumped with adrenaline and anywhere from relaxed, but the never-ending run had been somewhat worse. However, now that you listened closely, you noticed that the beat changed... Not necessarily quicker, but louder. Increasingly louder. It's shape too changed a bit, the vague outlines of the thuds growing in precision until it almost reminded you to… footfalls?
As you opened your eyes in wonder, all you found was the rib-like pattern of a palate. You hadn't even noticed that your body was turned into horizontal position, but now you were undoubtly looking at the inner side of a titanic mouth.
Well, at least that explained the abnormally loud heartbeat, even though it wasn't your own.
You shut your eyes again though this time it was more of a squint than a relaxed slide. Then you waited for the giant teeth to take off your chest. At least this would be the only and last time you had to experience this, and it would be quick.
Bones cracked and splintered. Then you were released from the pull of gravity.
Your heart jumped and nerves rippled upon the unexpected lightness. Bright light then stirred your eyes, making you marvel on how quickly death had guided you to heaven's door. You couldn't feel the extraordinary pain you had expected, but perhaps your mind had suppressed it for now and it would eventually hit you. You then opened your eyes in hopeful anticipation, only to see the blury outlines of skin rushing skywards. What the hell was-?
All the air was forced out of your lungs as you made acquaintance with the unforgiving Earth. Your world trembled by an impact stronger than any pain you had experienced before. It made the excruciating moments feel like an eternity until you finally found the strength to catch your breath again. Compared to now, the soreness of your legs were like a walk in a meadow. Oh, how you wished them back…
Panting in a gurgled breath, you tried to move your head, only to find that it wouldn't obey. You then looked up in the sky instead, as you obviously out of any options. The clouds seem to shake and double themselves as everything turned in utter confusion. They were circled by two dark shapes, or perhaps three or four as well. Though the outlines were blury, you could tell it was ravens. Or vultures? Birds, for sure. But it didn't really matter, actually. Their movements were only more cofusing.
You swallowed as you indulged in the brilliant blue. All you had wished for was to make it until nightfall, but judging the ceiling, it was still a long way to go until then. Too long for you to make it...
The remnants of your wits then tried to tell you something... Weren't… you supposed to be dead by now? You tried to follow the thought, but it was distant and unreachable, dancing like a leaf in a whirlwind. Every time you tired to grasp an idea it would wind itself out like a fish. It was futile.
Still, the distant thought reminded you that something was going on out there. You listened closely, but failed to hear anything, the ears numb as if stuffed with cotton. But there were tremours somewhere around. According to their intensity they could almost be considered trampling.
After another unsuccessfull attempt to turn your head, you tried to lift your arms and legs instead, but they didn't even twitch. Your body had finally surrendered.
Finding yourself crippled to the core you were obviously out of any options. You were utterly immobilized, and your senses refused to work as well. All you could perceive was pain and the longing of your body and mind for the soft embrace of sleep. Their argument was far too persuasive to resist the temptation. A shy smile then came to your face. It was so simple. All you had to do was to shut… your… eyes…
Softness embraced you like an old friend as you drifted off to another world. A welcoming numbness eased your pain to a dull throbbing until it was almost neglectible. Finally, after all the struggle of the day you could grant your frame its well-deserved rest.
However, it wouldn't last too long.
You were wakened abrubtly by a cruel pain that seemed to rip your eardrums. The deafening growl just reassured your ears of their regained functionality. Then without another warning, a massive weight shattered the Earth to your left, its impact shaking you up as if it was nothing less than a bear that tried to wake you with its rude paws. It took some more seconds to collect your thoughts, but eventually you managed to open your eyes again. It was impossible to tell how long you'd passed out, but with the sky still bright, so it couldn't be more than minutes.
With all the force that was left in your wracked limbs, you tried to lift your head once more, eyes widening in surprise as it worked this time. Or at least, it worked to some extent. In the corner of your eyes you percieved the 14 m titan that was standing right in front of you and looking down.
However, this time its eyes were not focused on you directly, but on something to your left...
You intended to turn your head, but in the same instant your attention was caught by a huge shadow that rose to your right – the shadow of a massive forearm. It seemed larger than any limb you had seen before, but that might be due to your unusual perspective - or due to its quite intimidating appearance, now that it drew closer to you in its rise and veiled you in darkness.
The beating of your heart stopped for a moment as the limb suddenly rushed down, barely giving you the chance to squint your eyes at your approaching end. However, the unwordly intensity of its slam was not to be felt in your bones, but rather at the spot half a meter to your right. The hand was now close enough to send heat to your shivering form.
You stared in perplexity. How... could it have missed you? You were still lying on the ground, yet you didn't achieve the slightest of a move.
The forearm's muscles tensed and rised skyward, but this time the hand stayed on the ground. Your gaze followed the tower of flesh up to the elbow, realizing now that the upper arm was hovering right above you. Following it further to your left, you found it attached to the body of another titan. It lay next to you, obviously trying to lift its chest with said arm.
This titan was huge, certainly another one of the upper size limit. But it was deviant in many ways. Though most parts of its face remained hidden by long curtains of blackish hair, you could tell that its jaw was lipless, displaying two rows of unsavory large teeth. Also, despite the strange jaw this one seemed somewhat more muscular than any titan you had seen before. And… it breathed. Deep, rattling puffs of steam escaped the nostrils and the gaps of the jaw, implying that this one's body temperature ran even higher than usual. As far as you knew they didn't need to breathe, even though they possessed lungs to roar in their retarded language. But then again, you'd been probably too busy killing them than to pay attention.
However, it wasn't even the weirdness of these features that made you mouth gape open. By far the most bewildering fact was that its attention was definitely fixed on the abnormal at its front. Not at you. Yes, this must be another abnormal – a hell of an abnormal.
You could have stared in dumbfoundedness for an eternity, but eventually you were dragged from your thoughts as the standing abnormal made a move. The earth shook yet again as it lunged forward, but then pounced its massive stature onto the titan to your side. Their arms entangled with each other in a fierce embrace as the lying titan found its head slammed back to the ground again, their impact strong enough to whirl up a blinding cloud of dust.
If there was one thing for sure, it was that you had chosen the very worst place stay. Mustering all your will, you managed to roll to your side and slowly get back on your feet. Half-limping, half-crawling you then tried to gain as much distance as possible from the brawl of the collossuses. It was a near miracle that you didn't find yourself crushed by any of the outlashing limbs as you eventually reached the treeline to collapse behind a trunk. Panting in panick, you then tried to collect your thoughts.
Did the abnormal just go for the other titan instead of you?! What the hell was going on here?
You couldn't help but stare at the scenario that played in front of you. Both of the equally sized abnormals had managed to get up on their feet again. And they were indeed fighting another. The dark-haired titan took a step backwards to gain some distance to its opponent, then darted forwards again. In a quick succession, it kneed the stern-face in the guts to topple it, then used the momentum for an uppercut that sent the jaw flying in a dozen pieces. Without giving its foe even the possibility to fall, the skinless jaw rushed forward and found its way to the esophagus. Boiling blood sprayed and streamed, staining the glade in crimson rain.
You felt an agonizing rush of satisfaction and revulsion as you watched, but above all it was amazement. This lipless titan was indeed ignoring you. All the time it would turn its back and focus its attention on the other titan.
It was probably a 14 or 15 m class as well, but it was hard to say exactly as it hunched slightly. At first, it almost reminded of a combat stance, but the amount of wounds indicated that more likely it was due to its rather maltreated state. Deep, crimson cuts crossed the whole of its broad shoulders and back, showing several traces of torn muscle. It almost looked as if lumps of flesh had been bitten out. Most striking however was its left forearm. It was... missing completely. Crimson fluid dripped out of the wound in a viscous trickle, the sight tensing your stomach in repugnance. But worse was the dismay in your mind. In all the years as a scout it was thought impossible to see a titan wounded, as they tend to regenerate oh so awfully quickly. And yet there it was, a gaping wound with no skin nor steam to indicate any healing processes.
So it was possible to wear down a titan.
In another heavy thud, the abnormal fell backwards to the earth, clouds of steam emerging from its face and throat. Silence then filled the clearing as its opponent simply stood. Instead of going for the kill, it remained standing and swaying, its gaze clearly fixated on its opponent. It then struck you. Of course, it didn't know of the weak point. As long as they regenerated, they would be forced to fight until eternity. It was almost pitiful.
Now that you thought about it, it was hard to imagine that all these injuries were caused by only the two titans that had pursued you. More likely, it had been busy with even more fights beforehand. You wondered how many titans it had fought already. Perhaps the regenerative capacities had faded with time. It was the only explanation.
A large movement on the other side caught your attention. Turning your head just in time, you noticed your froggy persecutor leaping forward onto the leg of the wounded one, driving its grinning teeth deep into the calf.
A high-pitched shriek then racked your ears - one that was conspiciously similar to the one you had heard before. The titan quickly noticed the unwelcome passenger. In a single, swift movement and almost effortlessly, it kicked it into a nearby spruce, followed by a wild roar as its hair lifted on the scalp.
What the - A roar of… rage? Was your mind playing tricks of you?
With two large steps it closed in to the clearing's edge, then lifted its foot to bring it down fiercly. With more scornful growls it then continued stomping on its victim's torso and head, ripping apart flesh and bones and staining the ground in sizzling pools of red.
You found your mind aching in denial, but there was no doubt the longer you observed it. This creature… it was hard to even consider it a titan. It was like an atrocious manifestation of humanity's anger. A brutal beast, a behemoth with bloodlust for its own brethren.
It was magnificent in a maleficent way.
You found yourself absorbed in the scenery. The titan was continuing its rauceous stampede. Even after hitting the vital point sooner or later, the titan didn't show any sign on cutting short its rampage. In the end, it was too distracted to even notice the Stern-face approaching from behind. Enthralled, you watched how it bent its legs, then leaped forward for a heavy thrust. Too late did the raging titan notice the approaching footsteps. Just as it turned its head, the tackle met its aim, causing it to topple forward - right into the yew tree.
"watch oou-..!" The words slipped without you even noticing it. In the end, it was only a broken gasp.
Your heart sunk as a thick yew branch cleaved its way into the titan's waist where there were no ribs to hinder its advance. Then a second, slightly smaller branch followed. Even though this titan was huge and abnormally powerful, you couldn't imagine that it would deal with both the injuries and the deadly poison.
The titan barely caught its fall with one foot but didn't move any further then. Then it froze completely, crippled by either shock or the poison itself. Even though its eyes were still hidden under the curtains of hair, you could imagine how they shut close in surrender.
Just as you expected the titan to collapse, it threw its head up in a cavernous roar. With a quick blow of the forearm it cut the branches to free itself from the tree's claws. Then it turned and gifted its foe with a shoulder ram to force it to the ground once more. This time it didn't hesitate in its pursuit with reeling yet determined steps.
The wounded titan stepped over the laying body before it had time to get up again. Then it threw itself onto its chest, nailing its arms down to the ground with the weight of its knees, trapping and immobilizing it quite skillfully in doing so.
It would have been easy to say that the titan had the situation under its full control. That every single action was deliberate, like the result of years of practice. A closer look however revealed a different image. It was written in the deep, choked grumble, the slightly hanging neck and the way it had plumped down onto the abnormal, as if its knees had buckled under their own weight. This titan was not utterly superior, no matter the additional strength of its muscles and rage. In the end, it too had its limits. And it would cross them at any moment.
One more time it roared, but this time right into the abnormal's face, coating it in blood and spit. Then it waited. For several, long moments it only stared at its face without making another move. You almost expected the titan to collapse as the lipless skin tightened and contorted to a grimace of strain. Slowly but gradually, it then lifted its remaining right hand to wrap it around its victim's throat, the crippled movement indicating the beginning effect of the taxines.
In the next moment however you were proven wrong in your assumption. Steam started to emerge from the whole its body as the arm muscles tensed until they seemed to be bursting every instant. Then, another wild roar escaped its fiery throat, fanned by strain and rage and interrupted only by the loud cracks of bones - first of the neck's spine and then of the enwrapping fingers themselves. Finally, the throat ripped apart in a fountain of boiling blood.
You ducked instinctively as the giant head was tossed into a stand of spruces right next to you. Then your mouth gaped open.
With seemingly no effort the titan lifted the palm of its hand and finished off the weak point of the lying corpse - as if it was its daily office.
This titan… it… knew of the weak point. It… it was.. intelligent! But why… why did it not finish them off earlier when it had the chance? It didn't make any sense!
All you could hear now was its deep and exhausted breath. Strains of saliva dropped behind the curtain of hair that had fallen forward in a crooked posture. Dark blood hemmed out of the countless wounds of its torso and limbs, surpassed only by thin but perpetual stream that poured out of the left arm's open elbow, staining the grass in a crimson pool.
Still sitting on the now evaporating, headless body, the titan slowly examined its broken hand, then tried to straighten its spine. Halfway up however, it halted for a moment as it noticed the two spikes that were blocking the movement. It almost looked surprised to see them there, still piercing through the whole of its abdomen.
Without any hurry, the titan grabbed the thick end of the larger branch and started to pull, shrieking silently as waves of purple blood poured out in the process.
It held for a moment as it started to quiver. You could even watch how the shaking intensified with every meter that the branch was pulled. Perhaps it was the friction that set free the yew's taxines after all. Against every anticipation, your plan had worked, even though the pleasure in it failed to appear somehow.
Eventually, the titan managed to pull out the whole branch despite the shaky hand. Holding its full length of four meters in front of it, it then stared it down at if it had never seen a branch before. For several more moments it did nothing but stare, breathe in quick and flat chops and quiver over the whole body. Finally, its gaze lowered to peer to the second, smaller branch in a short moment of revelation, before the eyelids sunk shut and whole body fell backwards to the ground.
The heavy tremour of its fall wakened you from your spell.
You… were still alive. It semmed impossible that there was even the slightest chance of surviving all these titans. One bigger than the other. One stronger than the other. And all of that without any gear and weapons.
Perhaps fortune wasn't a bitch after all.
For the first time since what felt like hours, you got onto your shaky feet. Your body was still affected by uncountable bruises and your head and neck wouldn't stop aching any time soon, but miraculously it seemed like nothing was broken so far. Undoubtly, this was your best chance to escape. Perhaps your only one, in fact.
You looked up and noticed that the sky was starting to darken slowly. If you could find shelter to pass the next two hours, there was still a chance of surviving this day. You then took a closer look to investigate your environment in full. The idyllic clearing you had entered was now a battlefield, or rather the shattered remnants of one. All the trees in a wide area were broken, twisted or knocked to the ground – firs, beech and oaks all the same. The yew was tilted to one side but still standing, even though half of its branches were missing… The side that had collided with the wounded titan.
You tried to suppress it, but in the end couldn't help but peek at the lying body. It was still trembling. Probably the last surge of its nerves before eventual surrender. Hopefully, it would soon find its end. Hopefully, the venom would work.
You unintentionally sighed as you turned your back. There was something that pulled at you, though you couldn't quite put the finger on it. This titan, though it was a killing machine like all the rest, almost seemed to have a sort of character. Its fury and doggedness called to mind an animal rather than a soulless, moving corpse – a beast, but still a creature with limited emotion and instinct.
One after the other, you stepped into the protection of the trees as your thoughts grew dull and gloomy. But soon enough you were forced to halt and plug your ears by a sudden shriek. Your nerves then rippled in bewilderment.
Was this… a cry of… pain? Is it even possible for a titan to suffer?
You turned your gaze back to the glade. Bollocks! Noone has ever heard of a titan that showed perception. They used to give a shit on how much damage was caused.
You shook your head in an attempt to clear your scrambled mind. What was the matter? It's a titan, there was no doubt about that. It would be on top of you by now if it only had the strength to do so. In the end, it wouldn't be any different to all the other titans.
However, the more you listened to the pressed squeaks, the more they reminded you of pained whining. This concussion must have been more intense than you'd expected.
You took a deep breath.
"Damn it…."
You scrunched your face in a last mental revolt until your shoulders eventually fell in surrender. Then you turned around again to face the dying titan.