-Chapter 7: The Battle of Shiganshina Part 2-

Somewhere in the Shiganshina District

The sounds of screaming citizens attracted numerous titans scattered throughout the district. However, it also seemed to attract a certain marked warrior that was currently taking the fight to the titans. As a group of fleeing townsfolk were set upon by a group of the dopey eyed man-eaters, one of their numbers was set upon by a glowing figure. It screamed as it was pushed onto a building before being silenced by a thunderous blow to the head, the source being a glowing morning star wielded by the large man.

The other titans turned to the newcomer, seeing him as a tastier meal. Before they could reach him, the large man threw his weapon at one of the titans, decimating its head. The resulting shockwave caused the other titans to be pushed back, falling over themselves, some on top of one another. The townsfolk were left in awe at the sight, seeing a man not only stand up and fighting those monsters, but actually winning was something else…that or they were shocked by the fact that he was almost entirely naked.

The marked man lunged towards his downed opponents and finished them off with multiple strikes from his godly weapon, turning their heads into red paste. One of the titans however was quick to get up and lunged at the man. However, it was faced with a swift punch to the mouth, sending it back to the ground as blood and teeth fragments flew in the air. Its body twitched and emitted steam, trying to heal the injury, however it soon met its end with a swift blow from the man's weapon. Seeing the threats dealt with the marked man looked to the townsfolk, who looked back in shock at the man's glowing eyes.

"No time to gawk people, get to safety, now!" He shouted. The townsfolk quickly picked themselves up and continued to run towards the interior gate. One of them, a father holding onto his child looked back and offered his thanks. "Bless you sir! Thank you!" Maverick nodded in acknowledgement before making his way up a building.

He looked around and saw another group of giants making their way across the district. He set his sights on the one that was lagging behind and quickly sped towards it, picking up momentum as he jumped from roof to roof. Soon he began to spin in the air, turning himself into a rapid whirlwind. The lumbering giant slowly turned its head as it heard something approaching, only for its entire head and upper chest to explode into bloody chunks as the superhuman projectile blasted his way through it. Maverick rolled onto another roof and jumped towards the other two giants, just as they were turning their heads. As he descended from the air, Maverick grabbed Skullsmite with two hands and brought it down onto the giant's head, turning it into bloody chunks. The force of the impact sent the warrior flying into the air once more.

As he ascended, he noticed the last giant was looking to the sky and soon it too jumped into the air and opened its mouth, hoping to catch its mid-air meal. Slightly surprised by the creature's agility Maverick quickly threw Skullsmite at the giants gaping maw. Its head exploded as the weapon made contact and went crashing back down onto the earth, sending dust and blood into the air as a result of the shockwave it caused.

Maverick soon landed atop a roof, nearly destroying it in the process. He held out his right arm as the markings glowed and the morning star returned into its creators' hand once again. As Maverick set out to hunt more giants, he suddenly heard a woman's banshee-like screeching.

He ran towards the sound of the scream and saw a long-limbed giant looking over a building. It lifted its arm to reveal a woman being lifted by her head, her legs kicking the air as she struggled. Maverick ran with no hesitation as he lunged towards the smiling beast and performed a mid-air drop kick as he collided with the giant's face. It showed no reaction as its cheek exploded, or as it tumbled onto the ground, followed by a trail of teeth and blood. The woman in its hand continued to scream as she was flown into the air, only to be caught and set down by a set of glowing muscular arms. She looked to her savior and was shocked by the glowing ethereal blue eyes and naked physique. She backed away with a flushed face as she eyed the man head to toe. Maverick paid no mind to the woman's ogling as he noticed a shoe on the ground and saw that the woman was one shoe short.

"I believe this is yours?" He spoke in a calm tone as he held out the footwear towards the woman. She stared at it for a few seconds before taking it in both hands as she looked at the large man once more in awed silence.

"The path is clear for the moment, so you'd best get going ma'am." He soon started to climb up the building behind her, using the window frames as leverage and reached the top of the roof. He looked back to her one last time before offering her a smile. "And don't you worry about that giant, it isn't gonna bother you anymore, not while I'm here." He turned around and walked out of sight displaying both the Survey Corps symbol on his cloak, as well as his naked posterior, causing the woman to flee towards the interior gate with a flustered look.

Maverick made his way to the other side of the roof and looked down to see the giant he had just drop-kicked earlier still on the ground, its body trapped as it was impaled by a sharpened pillar of a collapsed building. Its limbs twitched as it tried and failed to pick itself up, its face steaming as it tried to regenerate the ripped flesh that was once its cheek. Maverick couldn't help but give the creature a smug look as it made eye contact with him and tried to reach for him but failed as its arm failed to reach him.

"Now, was that any way to treat a lady? Hmmmmm?" He asked the giant in a mocking tone. It didn't respond as it merely grunted and moaned. It continued to try and reach, but to no avail.

"Ohhhh…it seems you've fallen, and can't get up…" The marked man continued to smile as he watched the giant fruitlessly try to remove itself out of the pillar.

"Don't you worry my giant, dim-witted, friend. Your hardships are over…" He spoke in a sweetened tone like a mother would to a newborn. He backed up a bit to give himself a running start, before jumping off the roof at a high altitude and holding his morning star downward as he descended towards the giant's face. The dopey eyed giant showed little response as the last thing it saw was a spiked ball heading straight for it and a glowing man staring at it with a wolfish grin stretched across his face.

-oOo-

Meanwhile, the Survey Corps had finally arrived at the scene after refueling and rearming themselves. They separated into multiple squads in order to deal with the scattered titans. The group led by Keith, found themselves having to assist members of the Garrison Regiment who had attempted to fight off the invading titans. Judging by the large amounts of half-eaten corpses it seemed that the Garrison was not having an easy time.

"The Garrisons doing a real bang-up job…" Levi said as he watched them either freeze up and flee or get themselves eaten. Erwin wanted to reprimand his subordinate but couldn't help but somewhat agree. The Garrison had grown lax in the last couple of years, and they had never truly faced titans in open combat before. He supposed it was only natural that they would be caught unprepared for a situation such as this. He was soon brought out his thoughts as Keith shouted out orders.

"Alright people, this is just like earlier in the forest, except the Garrison are acting as the bait this time! We'll swing around them and slice of their leg joints, then straight for their napes! Nice and quick, no heroics, Got it!?" The squad leaders nodded in agreement. "Alright! Miche, your squad will take on the titans gathered on the left side. Zoë you got the ones on the right. Erwin, we'll take the center!" The squads flew to their assigned areas and sped on towards the scattered titans.

The Scouts quickly encircled around the lumbering giants who were too distracted by the frightened civilians and Garrison troops, and sliced off their joints to disable their movement, followed by a rapid two bladed strike to their napes which brought them down for good, they accomplished this all in the span of a few seconds, before flying off towards the next targets. As they approached the next set of titans, Erwin looked to his subordinate and gave him a silent command. The shorter scout knew what that meant and nodded before speeding off towards the lumbering man-eaters. As one reached out its arm to grab him, he performed a mid-air maneuver, turning his body into a flying buzzsaw, and spun around the titan's arm, slicing it into pieces. He made his way around its back before finishing it off with a slice to its nape. He didn't stop to look at his work as he quickly fired his hip attached cables to another titan's leg.

He once again sped off utilizing his spin maneuver with enough force to slice off the leg completely, causing the titan to fall forwards. Levi quickly reattached his cables to the titan's neck and swiftly ended its existence before turning his attention to the next titan. In a swift motion he spun around the titan's entire body, slicing off bits of its flesh, causing it to stagger and struggle to keep itself upright, it didn't suffer long as it felt the flesh around its nape be removed and fell forward on its face.

Levi glanced at the trail of steaming corpses before falling back in line with the group. Despite seeing him in perform this maneuver many times, Levi still found a way to impress his seniors.

"He isn't humanity's strongest for nothing…" Keith thought, before his musings were interrupted by the sound of thunderous explosions in the distance. "Commander, look." Erwin pointed towards the source of the sound. Off in the distance a glowing figure was moving across the district, decimating any titan it came across. "It seems our friend is making short work of the titans here..." Erwin said.

Ah yes, their new friend. How could he forget about the man they had found beyond the walls, a man with strange glowing tattoos around his body, as well as the strength of a god, and that was capable of going toe-to-toe with the titans with no use of maneuvering gear. Judging from the smoking trail he left behind, he was clearly in no need of assistance.

"Yes…seems he's making good on his word." No other words were said as the group continued on, towards another group of titans further up that were proving to be too much for the Garrison.

"Have to wonder though…how long can he keep this up. Sure, he's got that big, spiked club, and his strength is practically superhuman! But he's out here with no back up or maneuvering gear. Does he really think he can take on the entire horde?"

-oOo-

"*COME ON YOU DOPEY EYED MUTANTS! DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOUR FOOD FIGHTS BACK?!*"

The fleeing citizens as well as the defending Garrison could only look on in shock at what they were witnessing. A large, musclebound, naked man with glowing tattoos came out of nowhere and saddled himself atop a muscular 15-meter's head and using its long hair he began to steer it into other titans, crushing them under the weight of his new titan-mount or finishing them off with the spiked weapon he held. Even stranger besides his lack of clothing was the unknown language he spoke in. While many took this as their chance to run to safety a few others stayed to watch the spectacle, such as two Garrison members atop a building.

"Y-You're seeing this too, r-right? I-I'm not just dreaming?" A Garrison trooper spoke to his senior member as they sat atop a roof.

"Nope…And I aint drunk neither…this is really happening" He replied, they continued to watch as the stumbling titan swung its fist, causing it to punch a fellow titan in the face, which seemed to make the large man atop cackle with glee.

"W-Where the hell did this guy come from?" The junior asked, as he watched the man pull on the titan's hair to keep it in control.

"Heard from some folks that the Scouts found him outside the walls. If you can believe it." His senior responded. He overheard a few of the townsfolk earlier speak of a "man from beyond the walls" but he didn't think that a man like THIS existed. His junior looked in shock at the information.

"S-Shit really? No way…T-Then is there others like him out there?" He asked.

"Who knows, maybe…Ya know, it's kinda funny." The senior said as he let out a chuckle.

"Hmmm? W-What do you mean?" The junior questioned.

"I mean look at him. Completely surrounded, no gear, no clothes besides the cloak, and yet he's fighting them off, even riding one of the freaks, like they're nothing. And yet here we are, decked out in gear, made specifically to kill titans, sitting on a roof, scared shitless." His hands shook, unable to grip the hilt of his sword. The senior Garrison took a deep breath through his nose before exhaling out his frustration.

"And let's say that there are others like him out in the world, if they're as powerful as HIM…" He paused as he tried to find the exact words.

"What does that say for us? The people inside the walls?" Before the junior garrison could answer, they suddenly heard the sound of hooks clamping down onto the side of the building and soon the wires retracted to reveal a few members of the Survey Corps led by Hange Zoë, who immediately called out to the marked man.

"~Yoo-hoo, Maverick!~" She called in a sweet-sounding tone. The man turned his head around to return the greeting.

"Hange and friends! Good to see you've finally joined the fight!" He said as he waved his mace wielding hand towards the gathered group of scouts. Hange returned the greeting while the others offered the man a few nervous nods.

"Seems like you got things handled over here huh?" Hange said as she approached the titan rider, despite the panicked concerns from her assistant.

"Oh yes, especially with this little freak…" Maverick said, pointing to his man-eating mount who was desperately trying to reach out to the bespectacled woman.

"Heh, guess you're right. By the way! Just what language were you speaking earlier? I heard bits of it on our way here and in the forest-" She spoke before being interrupted.

"Squad leader, is now really the time?" Her assistant asked.

"Now, now, I'm sure our new friend here can spare a few questions." Maverick simply shook his head as he pulled on the giant's hair. "Apologies Hange, but I'm going to have to agree with uhhh…" He said looking in the direction of the man next to Hange.

"M-Moblit, Moblit Berner."

"Moblit, right. Like he said Hange, now's not the time." Hange's' face fell into a disappointed look. "Aww come on now, don't give me that look. Listen, as soon as we deal with these giants, I'll tell you ALL you want to know alright?" Hange's eyes practically sparkled as she nodded vigorously, while Moblit looked at the man with an expression that said;

"You fool, what have you done?"

"I'll hold you to it!" Hange said as she shot her hooks onto another building and flew off, squealing in glee along the way. The rest of the scouts followed minus Moblit who looked to Maverick with an uneasy expression.

"Something on you mind, Moblit?" Maverick asked as he continued to wrangle his unruly mount. Moblit continue to stare at the man with a sorrowful look.

"You made a very big mistake…" Was his only response before heading off to reunite with his group. Maverick looked confused before looking around seeing that were still a few citizens and soldiers staring at him.

"Why are you all still here? You all could have been near the interior by now!" He screamed. Almost instantly the civilians were brought out of their stupor and continued to flee. Maverick sighed before glancing at the sight of more giants in the distance.

"No rest for the dam wicked it seems…" He thought. He pulled on the giant's hair, steering it into the direction of his next targets.

-oOo-

Evacuation Boats, Wall Maria Interior

"Leave all your valuables behind! We need to make as much room for the boats as possible!" Shouted a member of the Garrison as he tossed a bag of valuables down a ditch alongside other packages and bags. Seated on the boat Armin looked to the crowd as he desperately searched for his friends.

"Armin, its best you get to your seat, were leaving soon." Armin turned around to see his grandfather who had a concerned look on his face. "I will grandpa, just as soon as I see my friends get on." His grandfather nodded and made himself comfortable in his seat as Armin continued to look. He soon spotted said friends making their way through the crowd. Followed by a garrison soldier who held a woman in his arms while shouting at the crowd.

"MAKE WAY DAMMIT, MAKE WAY! I GOT A WOUNDED MOTHER OVER HERE!" Hannes screamed as the crowd gave his group room, two of the stationed soldiers approach the four. "Shit, get a stretcher and a medic hurry!" He shouted to his comrade, who quickly left to retrieve one alongside another trooper. "What the hell happened to her?" The Garrison member asked. Hannes struggled to get the words out of his mouther before muttering his response.

"Titan…she got grabbed by a damn titan." The Garrison member had a look of absolute shock as sweat formed on his head. "H-How is she still alive?" He questioned. Everyone knew the moment your got grabbed by one of those lumbering monsters that's it, you're done, end of story, just what made her so special?

Hannes had a distant look in his eyes as the events from earlier flashed before his eyes as he unconsciously responded with a choice set of words.

"Someone swooped down and turn the titans head into paste, and caught her before she fell…"

The Garrison member stood silent for a moment before he heard the other garrison members return with a makeshift stretcher as well as a medical officer. "It was the best one we could find on short notice." The arriving soldier spoke. Hannes sighed before slowly placing Carla on the stretcher. She fidgeted as she was lifted towards the boat, Eren and Mikasa following suit.

"Eren, Mikasa!" Hannes shouted as he waved to get the kids attention. Eren and Mikasa turned to look at the man whose eyes had reddened as a despondent look began to form.

"I-I….I'm sorry I was useless to help her! I wasn't strong enough to face that titan because I wasn't brave enough! I'm sorry you had to rely on someone else, instead of a soldier who was trained to protect the people!" The children, as well as everyone gathered looked in shock as Hannes shouted to the world about how useless he was in this moment of crisis. Members of the Garrison could only look down in shame as they too thought about their own inadequacies. As Eren and Mikasa followed the soldiers onto the boat they were called out by a familiar voice.

"E-Eren Mikasa! Over here!" They both turned to see Armin and his grandfather waving at them.

"Armin!" They both shouted as they rushed to hug their friend. Armin's grandfather could only chuckle as he saw the sight, only to turn and see the soldiers lower a woman down onto the boats deck followed by the medic who began to examine her.

"Thank God, you made it!" Shouted Eren as he separated from his best friend. Armin looked sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah, I found my grandpa on the way to the boats." Armin gestured to his grandfather who tipped his hat in response. "H-Hello Mr. Arlert." Eren greeted causing the old man to smile. "Good to see you two kids safe and unharmed…your mother on the other hand." He looked to the direction of the woman passed out on the stretcher accompanied by the medical officer. Armin to noticed and his eyes widened in shock.

"W-What happened Eren?!" He looked to his friend who stood silent as he sat near his comatose mother.

"When we ran to my house…W-We found her trapped under, her legs were crushed." Eren struggled to speak as he tried his best not to cry. Both Armin and his grandfather said nothing as they let the boy continue, while Mikasa rubbed Eren's back in support.

"W-We tried to get her out, b-but we just couldn't, we weren't strong enough. T-Then a t-titan came…" Eren couldn't hold the tears in as he told the next part. "Mr. Hannes came and went to go kill it…B-But then he came back and grabbed us, and l-left my mom to die!" Eren breathed through his nose trying to control himself, Mikasa continued to rub his back trying to calm him down. "I-It lifted her out of the rubble, it was s-so close to eating her!" His voice was on the verge of breaking before suddenly a small smile began to form on his face.

"Then he came…"

"He came and killed that titan…and he saved her…"

"He saved my mom…"

A grateful smile was on Eren's tearful face, slightly creeping Armin out, before his found his nerve and asked.

"W-Who, Eren? Who saved her?" The boy looked to his friend before rubbing his face with his arm to get the tears out of his eyes before responding.

"The man from beyond the walls Armin. He saved her…"

Armin's eyes widened. The strange man that Eren described earlier in the day, that was found by the scouts outside the walls, saved his mom from a titan. Before he could process this, he heard screaming and shouting from the people down below.

"HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"THERES STILL PEOPLE HERE DAMMIT!"

"WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?!"

"I'm sorry, the boats are at full capacity! There's not enough room!" The soldier shouted. This did not sit well with the people still not on board.

"STOP, YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"AT LEAST TAKE THE CHILDREN FOR GOD'S SAKE"

"There's nothing more we can do, I'm sorry! Send her out quick!" He motioned for the ferry to begin its departure. This caused the people not on board to go into a panicked frenzy. A few tried to jump to reach the boat, only to slip and fall into the waters below.

As the trio looked down at the people panicking, they heard a faint voice behind them. Turning around they saw that Carla was slowly waking up as her eyes fluttered and slightly opened.

"E-Eren….M-Mikasa…." She spoke in a quite tone, still suffering from her ordeal.

The children tried to rush to their mother's side but were stopped by the medic as he spoke in a calm but firm tone. "Hold it son, I still need to stabilize her." Eren kept his distance as he spoke to his mother. "Mom! I'm here, can you hear me?!"

"E-Eren...w-where are we?" She spoke in a confused tone, as if she was waking up from a hangover.

"W-Where on a boat in the interior mom, were safe!" Carla smiled as she kept looking upwards.

"Oh…Good…H-How did I get here…Eren?"

"Mr. Hannes carried you here..." Eren answered.

"Really… I could have sworn there was...someone else though…" Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a sharp pain in her legs as the medic wrapped a makeshift splint around them.

"Y-Yeah, it was the man that the scouts found, he saved you from the titan, Ma!" Eren said as a few passengers looked at him with confusion.

"Ohhhh…I remember...the glowing eyes…." Carla's eyes slightly widened as she recalled the memory. Before anything else could be said the sound of cannon fire was heard echoing across the interior wall.

-oOo-

"What the fuck are you aiming at? You had a clear shot!" Shouted a Garrison captain to his cannon crew, who had completely missed the approaching titan.

"These cannons are antiquated sir! They weren't built with accuracy in mind!" A crew member shouted back.

"You seriously giving me fucking lip? Reload it and get your shit together!" He screamed. Before the crew could reload, they suddenly heard the sounds of the inner gate beginning to close.

"Oh hell no! I'm not getting left behind!" shouted a soldier as he abandoned his post followed by a few others who chose to cut their losses. "Hey, get back here dammit! The captain shouted.

Inside the interior gate controls Hannes was shouting at the stationed soldiers regarding the gates closure. "What the hell are you doing?! There's still people on the outside, we have to give them a chance!" The garrison soldier remained stone faced as he responded.

"We can't leave the gate open any longer, less we risk the titans getting into the interior! If this gate is compromised, it won't just be the district that falls! Wall Rose won't be able to support the large influx of refugees that will result from this crisis!" Hannes couldn't believe what he just heard as he continued to make his point.

"Are you fucking hearing yourself right now? That's not an excuse to abandon these people!" Before he could continue the sound of cannon fire and screaming erupted.

-oOo-

"Thanks for the ride..." Maverick spoke towards the steaming corpse of his now departed improvised mount. It had proved to be far to unruly, thus it had to be put down. Still, it did crush quite a number of giants, so it wasn't completely useless. Looking around, he found that he had somehow managed to ride all the way back towards an area near the interior gate. The sound of cannon fire brought his attention towards said gate as he saw a few titans closing in.

"Dammit, they just keep coming…got my work cut out for me." Before he could make his way to assist, he stopped and looked up as that gut feeling came back once again, seemed like something was going to go down soon. He quickly made his way atop a roof and observed the district, trying to pinpoint where he thought the danger would occur.

"Alright where ya gonna strike, huh?" He didn't wait long as a large 15-meter figure came into view. It was another giant, however this one was vastly different from the rest in its appearance. Its skin reminded him of the great statues of old, with seemingly gold-colored muscles covering bits of reddened body. Its features were sharp and hardened, like a look of perpetual anger. Topping it off was the glowing eyes that narrowed forward, unblinking and resolute.

It made it was across the street, either unaware or ignoring the marked man that was observing it.

"Looks like we got another special one…" Maverick thought as he watched the new giant approach the interior gate. It stopped however, as instead of walking straight for the gate it backed up a bit, before getting into a sprinting position and quickly setting off for the gate. Maverick widened his eyes as his view quickly switched between the sprinting giant and the interior gate. He quickly set off to intercept the giant as it picked up speed.

"Shit…he's gonna ram through the gate! Bastard KNOWS what he's doing too!" He couldn't forget how he saw the giant get into a running position before charging. It knew that the gate was important, it was intelligent, it was aware of its actions, which made it a priority target.

Maverick raced across the rooftops, practically flying with each step. However, he realized that he wasn't going to catch up, as the giant had a greater head start, that and having to maneuver around the flying debris it created was a serious detriment to his speed. He heard the sound of cannon fire from the interior gate and was surprised to see the cannon shots bounce off against the golden giant's skin.

'Oh, for fucks sake, he's got armored skin too?!' He shouted in his mind as the saw the giant continue at the same speed, undisturbed by the cannon blasts. Suddenly, an idea formed in Maverick's mind as he eyed his glowing morning star.

'Well, if cannonballs won't cut it then maybe…'

In a quick burst of godly energy, Maverick jumped into the air, holding his mace with two hands. It began to glow, like a shining star in the night. Maverick screamed once again in his native tongue as he swung his weapon.

*"FLY SKULLSMITE! FLY!"*

Will all his might he swung the morning star in an arch that he hoped would intercept the sprinting giant. Skullsmite spun through the air like a glowing buzzsaw, flying at increasing speeds, smashing through both buildings and giants that were in its way. Despite these roadblocks the weapon did not lose momentum, if anything it seemed to increase in speed, as if the destruction it caused fueled it as it made its way towards the sprinting giant.

-oOo-

The Garrison soldiers stationed in front of the gate had stopped firing the cannons, seeing as their shots merely bounced off the incoming titan. "W-What the hell?" one questioned as the titan was quickly making its way towards them. They decide to cut their losses and quickly ran for dear life towards the closing gate. Unfortunately, they were far too slow compared to the sprinting beast that was almost upon them. In a desperate last act, the Garrison captain screamed at the top of his lungs for the gate to be closed.

"CLOSE THE GATE, HURRY!"

The titan was getting closer…

"ITS COMING THIS WAY!"

And closer…

"OH GOD, NO!"

And closer…until…

"CLOSE THE GA-EHHH?!"

In those few seconds away from death, the captain noticed something glowing in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see a glowing object soaring across the sky. It flew at rapid speeds, straight in the trajectory of the running titan. The titan too noticed the glowing light, however all it could do was watch as the bright object quickly collided with its body.

*KRACLANG*

A loud thunderous crackling sound was heard as the titan's entire body was blown away to the sidelines, mere seconds before reaching the inner gate. Its armor like skin cracked and shattered, almost the entire left side of its upper body was decimated as a shower of blood, skin fragments, and torn flesh splashed in all directions. The titans body skidded across the district, smashing through buildings and other titans alike, before finally stopping as it crashed into a large building, a scorching trail of steaming blood and rubble left in its wake.

The fleeing Garrison that were blown back by the force of the impact were covered head to toe in steaming blood and dust, however that was the least of their concerns as the storm of dust that was caused by the titan began to clear, and soon they laid eyes on the glowing object that had landed in front of the interior gates slightly damaged entrance. As the steam and dust evaporated from view their eyes widened as the glowing object revealed itself to be a large, spiked weapon. The glow it emitted revealed to be a series of symbols and markings engraved around the weapons shaft and spiked head.

"W-What the fuck kind of weapon is that….?"

"I-It j-just….sent that titan back…."

"W-Where the hell did it come from?"

The captain rose from the floor and slowly approached the morning star. The weapons glow slowly began to fade the closer he got. As he attempted to reach out to it, the sound of roof tiles breaking were heard. The Garrison turned their heads to see a large naked man covered in glowing markings jump down from a building and make his way towards the weapon.

"Excuse me gentlemen." He said simply before grabbing the weapon and making his way towards the steaming trail the titan left behind. Before he could take another step an all too familiar sound was heard as a group of familiar scouts came into view.

"Shadis, Nice to see you." Maverick said as he held Skullsmite over his shoulder. Keith and the other scouts however stared at the bloody, steaming trail near the interior gate.

"W-We heard the rumblings and a god-awful sound. What the hell happened?" He questioned.

"A special kind of giant popped up, was making its way towards the gate. Most likely intending to smash through it." The scouts turned their heads quickly in shock. "D-Did you...stop it?" Keith struggled to get the words out as he eyed the marked man who was looking towards the trail of destruction.

"Not yet…" He spoke as his glowing eyes narrowed. He said no more as he followed the trail towards the collapsed giant. As he approached, he saw the extent of the damage Skullsmite caused.

Its body was slumped over a collapsed building, broken and unmoving as well as continuously emitting steam. The upper half of the left side of its body was completely gone, save for a few strands of flesh. Its armored skin was shattered and falling apart with multiple cracks forming. The remaining half of its face was maimed, its single remaining eye dangled out of its socket. All in all, the giant was not getting back up anytime soon.

Maverick slowly approached the giant and stared at it for a few seconds to see if it was still breathing. It didn't seem to show any signs of life, but one couldn't be too careful, especially since these giants showed a habit for regeneration.

In a quick motion Maverick swung down his morning star with all his might, destroying the remaining half of its head as well as its upper body. The impact sent blood and armor fragments in all directions, and soon the giants' remains began to break down and dissolve. Satisfied with the result, Maverick quickly made his way back to the interior gate to meet up with the Scouts.

Had he stayed longer, he would have noticed a small steaming figure move from his hiding spot and stumble his way out of the area.

-oOo-

"Alright that giant won't be bothering us no more." Maverick said as he reunited with the group of scouts. They stared at him with incredulous looks before turning their sights to the rest of the district. "Right well, there's still quite a number of titans still running amok, and there are still civilians out there." Keith spoke as he attached a new set of blades. "We continue forward! There are still people making their way to the gate."

Keith looked to the still standing Garrison and pointed his blade towards them. "Go and inform whoever's on the controls, that this gate will stay open for as long as possible! Got it?!"

The soldiers quickly scrambled towards the interior gate, bumping into each other along the way. Keith sighed before turning to his group, plus Maverick. "Move out!" He shouted as the scouts shot their hooks onto nearby buildings, propelling them forward toward the awaiting titans, with Maverick following behind on foot.

The group of scouts maneuvered their way towards the outer gate, swiftly slaying any titans in their way, with Maverick taking care of any stragglers before catching up with the group. Soon the small group was meet with the other Survey Corps detachments, as well as some members of the Garrison, forming a much larger battle regiment.

It was truly quite a sight to many still trapped in the district, seeing so many soldiers soaring through the sky. Even more surprising was the glowing man following right behind them. Taking advantage of the boost in numbers, the 12th commander raised his blade high as he gave out a warcry.

"DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS AND SLAY ALL IN YOUR PATH MY SOLDIERS! MAKE THEM REGRET THIS DAY! SHOW THESE BEASTS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUSH US INTO A CORNER! SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF HUMANITY!"

Keith looked to Erwin giving him a signal. Erwin nodded and pulled out a flare gun and fired it into the air, releasing a special blue flare. The united Scout/Garrison force responded with warcries of their own, raising their blades into the air. With boosted vigor they charged forth and meet their most hated enemy.

Like swarming flies, they maneuvered around the titans, slicing of limbs and napes. Maverick was no slouch in this attack as any titan that went for him found themselves without a head or limbs almost immediately. He threw Skullsmite in an arch, similar to how he handled the armored giant, and watched as the weapon decimated a large group before returning to it creator, only to be thrown in another direction. He also kept his eye out for any soldier that was unfortunate to get caught in a giant's grip, especially those who had the double roses on the back of their jackets.

After what seemed like hours of constant fighting, the united force was starting to lose its momentum. The closer they got to the outer breach the more titans would appear. Despite their best efforts they began to get bogged down as more and more titans approached.

'Dammit it's happening again!' Keith thought. This was turning out just like the expedition earlier today. There were just far too many titans to handle, plus there was the fact that nearly half of the scouts' fighting force was either dead or shipped off to the interior.

Maverick looked around in frustration at the chaotic free for all. Things were clearly not going into their favor as more and more giants showed up, likely attracted to the large amount of people present. As he looked around, he noticed a certain building in the distance. A bell tower, quite possibly the largest in all the district. Maverick was surprising that it was still standing, he figured that one of the lumbering man-eaters would have crashed into it by now.

An idea quickly formed inside Maverick's mind, and soon he set off towards the tower smashing his way through any giant that tried to block him. Some scouts noticed this and called out to him. "Oi where the hell are you going?!" Keith shouted, but the marked man did not respond as he continued to run straight towards the bell tower. "The hell are you up too…?" He questioned as he and a few others saw the glowing man begin to climb the tower.

Maverick soon reached the top and observed the view. A large majority of giants had gathered around the fighting Scouts and Garrison as well as a few stragglers still chasing down some fleeing civilians…or munching on them. Maverick looked away with slight guilt, upset at being unable to help, before looking at the large bell inside the tower.

"Hope this works…" He said, before swinging Skullsmite towards the bell.

*CLONG*

*CLONG*

*CLONG*

The sound of the chiming bell echoed throughout the entire district. People close to the proximity of the bell we left nearly deaf as the combined sound of the bell and of the force of Skullsmite made a truly ungodly sound. The greatest thing to be affected however were the titans. The moment the sound reached them, they stopped whatever they were doing. Whether it be mindlessly wandering, chasing down townsfolk, or eating an unfortunate soul. They all stopped and looked towards the bell tower. It was then that Maverick's thunderous voice was heard for all to hear.

"*COME AND GET ME YOU SCATTERBRAINED CANNIBALS! THERES A 5-STAR RATED MEAL RIGHT HERE! COME AND GET IT!*"

The titans stood motionless before something in them changed. Their posture turned more feral and animalistic, their mouths drooled and salivated with eagerness, and their eyes, usually distant and glossy were now focused and narrowed in on the glowing man atop the tower. Seconds later the entire horde was set upon the single tower. Titans dropped whatever it was they held whether it be struggling townsfolk or half eaten corpses. They avoided or outright ignored the Scouts and Garrison they were previously fighting. They smashed through buildings without a care. The only thing they wanted now was the marked man atop the tower. Like he was the last meal they would ever get.

-oOo-

Maverick looked upon the ghastly sight of dozens of giants making their way towards him with a smile. The idea had worked and now the giants were attracted to one single thing, him. As the giants got close, they began to pile atop on another and ascend atop the tower in a sort of wall of flesh. Despite some of them falling to the wayside or being trampled on, the giants pushed on, eager to grab Maverick. The tower soon began to shake, unable to handle the pressure of a dozen bodies piling on it and was on the verge of collapse. Maverick looked beyond the pile of gathered giants and locked eyes with the 12th commander who expression was one of absolute shock. He gave the man a smirk and a salute before looking down at the sea of reaching arms and jumping into the air.

"Oh God, what is he doing?!"

"He can't be fucking serious!"

"Stop! Don't!"

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

"He's a fucking deadman…"

These were a few reactions the Scouts had the moment they saw the man from outside the walls jump down from the collapsing tower and heading straight into the sea of giant arms. However, another surprise came when the man began to spin in his decent, turning himself into a glowing whirlwind. The moment he reached the horde a thunderous shockwave erupted from the center mass of titans. A fountain of blood erupted as titans were blown back a few feet. The Scouts and gathered Garrison had to cover themselves from the steaming blood that made its way to them. When they recovered, they laid eyes upon a most shocking sight.

Inside the mass of titans was Maverick smashing and bashing away at any and all titans that reached out for him. Every limb and faces that closed in on him were turned into red paste. He used their outstretched arms as leverage to reach their heads and bring down his weapon upon them. The lumbering man-eaters were unable to grab him as he constantly zig zagged from titan to titan, practically turning into a glowing blur.

The sight left every soldier present completely slack jawed. The Scouts witnessed early on what the man was capable of back in the forest, but this was on a whole nother level. Miche sniffed the air as his eyes widened. "What is it Miche?" Erwin asked. The tall scout looked to his comrade.

"His shout...It's attracted every single titan in the district…" Erwin looked around and agreed. Titans scattered across the district were making their way towards the marked man at rapid speeds.

'U-Unbelievable…' He thought. The power this man held was unlike no other. He turned to his subordinate Levi and found him staring at the scene as well with a look of shock and awe, a rare sight for him.

"~OOOOOAHHHHHH~." An odd sound brought Erwin's attention to Hange who was viewing the carnage with shaking legs. Her assistant Moblit tried to get her out of her funk, but to no avail. "Squad Leader are you alright?" Moblit asked. Hange took a few seconds to respond as she didn't want to miss a single moment of Maverick's fight.

"Everything's peachy Moblit…."

*SMASH* *SPLAT* *CRUNCH*

"Just peachy…."

The assistant turned to face his superior before a look of shock formed on his face. Hange held a mesmerized look on her face, her cheeks were flushed and practically red as a tomato, her eyes sparkled through her goggles, and a drooling smile stretched across her face. However, that was not what Moblit was concerned about. No, he was more concerned about the trail of blood that was streaking down from her nose.

"H-Hange, y-your nose is bleeding…" Hange touched her upper lip and offered a quick glance to the bloody finger, before turning back to watch the one-sided slaughter.

"So it is Moblit…"

*SMASH* *CRUNCH* *CRACK*

"So it is…."

-oOo-

Maverick was completely in the zone as he continuously ripped through every giant he saw. They tried so desperately to grab him, hoping to stuff him into their grotesque mouths, only to scream and moan in pain as their arms turned into steaming stumps, and then saw darkness as their heads were liquified. Despite their varying sizes and numbers, they were of no challenge to Maverick.

Sure, they could regenerate, but that's all they got going for them. Some were a bit smarter than the rest, observing him first and trying to catch him while out of his eyesight. They didn't factor that his battle sense would warn him of the incoming attack, as he would jump out of the way and quickly turn the oddball's head into mush.

The thought that these mindless giants were responsible for humanities near downfall upset the man, the fact that they were called "titans" was insulting. He had met and fought titans before in his life, and these inbreeded mockeries didn't hold a candle to any of them. But the most difficult part of all this was seeing the carnage these creatures left behind. Half-eaten corpses of men, women, and children scattered across the district, with looks of terror on their tear-stricken faces as carrion birds picked at the remains.

The thought of the suffering these poor souls faced in their final moments at the hands of these creatures set something off in his head, as he began to fight far more ferociously. His strikes were more rapid and savage, he moved like a blur from giant to giant, practically smashing through them as their upper bodies exploded. He didn't stop despite the copious amount of blood and steam that began to engulf his vision, the outstretched hands and lunging faces were more than enough to tell him where the enemy was. If these abominations thought that they were going to get him with cheap jumpscares, then they were in for a VERY rude awakening.

*SMASH* *CRUNCH* *SLASH*

He'd show these titans just what kind of a person they were dealing with…

*BASH* *SMASH* *CRACK*

He would show that he was not trapped inside with them, no…

*SMASH* *CRASH* *THRASH*

The titans were trapped inside with HIM…

-oOo-

Maverick's one sided slaughter continued for minutes on end until he suddenly felt he was hitting nothing but air. His glowing eyes widened as he regained his focus, feeling the rush of battle leave his body. His body shook with minor exhaustion as he set Skullsmite down to steady himself.

His "Berserk Mode", as he called it, was always a useful ability, albeit it always tended to leave him in a daze. As he took deep breaths to calm himself down, he looked to see that the sun was already setting on the horizon, just how long had he been fighting for?

As he pondered this thought, he caught sight of the Scouts as well as the numerous townsfolk and Garrison troops looking up at him in utter shock, pointing fingers and muttering towards him. He couldn't quite hear them very well as he stood at a high altitude. Why was he so high up? He clearly remembered being at least equal in altitude with the Survey Corps. Once he looked down however, he realized just what it was that everyone was staring at.

He was standing atop a pile of steaming, twitching, and headless corpses of every giant that had breached the district.

-Maverick the Titan Slayer: A Study-

Skullsmite: The signature weapon of the Titan Slayer himself. A star shaped morning star capable of decimating the heads of titans with minimal effort, hence its name. Maverick claims that the weapons god-like power resides in the enchantments and "runes" he engraved into it that allow him to transfer his power into the weapon. Regarding its creation, he claims weapon was made with a material known as "obsidian." A type of hardened rock that is extruded from ruptures in the earth known as "volcanoes." Upon further questioning he claims that he crafted Skullsmite under the tutelage of a renown smith during his time in a land known as "Greece."

Battle Frenzy: Also classified as "Berserk Mode" by the Titan Slayer himself, it is an ability that gives Maverick a significant boost in his strength and battle prowess. First recorded instance of this abilities use was during the Attack on Shiganshina in the year 845, when Maverick utilized said skill to decimate the titan horde inside the district. However, a known setback is that it leaves the slayer in a dazed state, as a portion of his strength is spent during his frenzy. Regarding the origins of the Berserk Mode, Maverick claims he was taught of this inner ability under the guidance and training of warriors known as Berserkers, seasoned fighters and champions hailing from a group of north-born tribesmen known as the "Norse."

AN: There we have it. The titans that breached the wall have been culled and the interior gate was protected, thus saving Wall Maria. All thanks to the efforts of Maverick as well as the remaining Survey Corps…and a few Garrison. How will the people of the walls react to this historic event? How will those in charge react to the news of an outsider inside their walls? How will a certain trio of kids react to the news? Find out next time!

Edit 3/17/22: Changed Hange's rank to squad leader, as well as changing how the armored titan shows up. Changed it to match how the trio entered the district in the manga.