A young boy watched the horrifying sight in front of him, a couple of ducks flying above in the air, reflecting in his eyes. He saw the giant red hand grasping the top of the walls of Shiganshina like an animal digging their claws into flesh and bone.
The ten-year old then saw that face. The skinless, gargantuan, awful face that peeked over the walls and looked down on them like insects. Its head, neck, and the very top portion of its upper body escalated past the 50-meter wall's height, showcasing how abnormally and scarily big the creature was, even for the standard of its kind. Without warning, the creature kicked the gate open, boulders flying through the air and crashing into the town within, crushing any structure or poor soul that was unlucky enough to be right in its crash site. The danger was just beginning though. The colossal's carnivorous brethren entered in the destroyed opening, looking to feast with permanent grins on their face that never seemed to change, ruthless glee emitting from their expressions. They hunted down townsfolk, getting their giant hands on whoever they could that were trapped and couldn't get away in time.
The boy, despite all the fear and dread that filled his core, ran towards where the breach was located. His very home was located there and he ran like he never ran before. He didn't care how much his feet hurt or how much air his lungs needed after a sprint like that.
All he cared about was making sure that his mother was all right.
Alas, that was never meant to be. As he feared, his house was one of the many spots that were in the line of sight of the falling rubble. His mother was crushed underneath the boulder, her legs supposedly broken and unable to get herself free. No matter how hard he and his adopted sister/best friend tried, the latter known for her unnatural strength for someone of her age, they couldn't lift the wood beam that had ensnared her. What made matters worse was that one of the man-eating giants was on the path of their house, and was heading right for them.
A family friend, who was a soldier a part of the regiment in charge of defending the walls known as the Garrison, came up to them and vowed to save all three of them when the mother pleaded for him to take her kids to safety. He drew his flesh-paring sword and towards the giant, ready to strike them down and pay his debt to the man who saved his family's life by saving his own. However, as soon as he stopped and stared at the face, he saw that smile. That god-awful smile showcasing all of the beasts' teeth with a dead look in its eyes. It stared at him, looking down because of its ginormous height.
All the courage that was in the soldier drained out of him like water. He sheathed his sword and ran back, grabbing the kids. The girl he carried under his right arm, the boy he held over he shoulder with the other. The boy pleaded for them to go back, but the soldier kept running, taking him further away from his mother. The brave, young woman reached out her hand, calling out to her children to live on for her. Unbeknownst to any of them, the woman was about to call out for them again, only this time to not leave her. She held her tongue though, not wanting to risk her kids' lives to come back and save her again. Even though her legs weren't actually broken.
The boy could only watch as the colossal, non-colossal beast digging through the wreckage like an animal clawing through the dirt to find prey. The monster grabbed the boy's mother, the lady doing everything she could to get herself free by repeatedly bashing her fist on the monsters' giant hand. To no avail, the beast grabbed her with its other hand and broke her back, killing any tiny chances of her survival that she had left, and herself as well.
"Wait, stop it! NOOOO!"
The boy screamed out with fury, a heart wrenching wail escaping his lungs as he tried telling the giant to stop what it was doing, only for his cries to go ignored. The girl turned around, not being able to bear what was about to occur, but the boy didn't. He continued watching as the beast clamped his jaws on his mother, biting her in half and devouring her. His eyes reverted to shock, unable to show anything else as he tried to comprehend what he just witnessed, keeping his eyes on the monster that ate his monster while he was being taken away.
That was the last the boy saw his mother, and when his whole life changed forever.
A loud crash was heard and all the passengers saw the cause of that sound. Another variant of their mortal enemy. A heavily-armored specimen that was able to knock down the gate connecting their hometown to the rest of the walls with a single charge. Not even cannon fire was able to stop it. It let out a breath of steam after it's done its task. With the gate now down, the man-eating monsters could not only break into their town, but the rest of the wall that they were connected to, essentially making the outer region of their caged home now under their domain, losing a third, and the biggest of their territory.
Everyone on the boat was filled with fear, clutching their heads or putting them in between their knees as the reality of the situation hit them. Many of them were in denial, trying to convince themselves that what was happening wasn't happening, others were trying to calm themselves and other passengers down, while many didn't say anything at all.
The child could only watch as his world was torn apart and plunged into hell. The words Hannes said were still ringing in his head. When he bashed his head after failing to save his mother, being thrown to the ground for his actions. He didn't relent, trying to punch the man in his face when he caught his fist and looked at the boy with tears streaming out of his eyes.
"You couldn't save your mother because you were too weak… I couldn't save her because I'm a spineless coward!"
Tears poured down his face. He looked down and saw how his tears fell down and landed on the open palm of his hand. 'Is this the only thing the weak can do? Cry?' He gripped his hand into a tight fist, shaking uncontrollably as he remembered all the fond times he had with his mother, and how he could never have those moments ever again.
The boy clenched his teeth, getting up and walking over to the railings of the boat. His friends noticed this and one of them tried to get up after him, but his grandpa dissuaded his grandson, letting the boy have his moment. His fingers clench into the wood with an iron grip.
"This ends now!" His friends watched as he lifted his head up and they saw the tears of anger and sadness pouring out like mini waterfalls, and the gritted teeth baring out like fangs that accompanied them.
"I'm gonna put a stop to this!"
The young boy growled out, as he vowed to eliminate the creatures that dared to be known as humanitys' greatest predators and put them in this life and death scenario where each day may as well be a countdown to the next stage of their demise.
No. More.
The training of the most recent cadets was about to begin. The instructor started to go into his usual routine, screaming at the top of his lungs as he told the cadets that this will be the most grueling and intense experience any of them have ever faced yet. By the time the training will go under way, he promised that by the end of it every single one of the recruits will hate his guts.
One of the cadets stood straight, not being intimidated by the instructor's harsh voice and scrunchy face. He looked on, his expression hardening as his resolve remained strong and steady, never once daring to go out.
"Yeah, I'm ready alright. And when I'm done, all the Titans will come to hate me too…"
Eren was about to commence the opening test. The one he failed many times at the beginning much to his horror. The brunette suffered many hits to his head for each failure that he endured. He was mocked by his peers after declaring that he would destroy all the titans on the night before, something that they didn't hesitate to throw back at him. He didn't pay them no mind, but that didn't mean things immediately looked up. He tried asking his classmates Jean and Connie for help, not hesitating to swallow his pride because he knew he needed help. But they weren't all that helpful.
Connie just bragged about how it only comes natural to him, while Jean wanted to know how Eren was able to keep his dignity after making a boast like that. To make things worse, Connie threw Eren's words back at him about how if you don't have what it takes to make the cut, you'll be on your merry way, making the cadet sound arrogant than he actually was when all he did say it how it is and was not at all cocky than people make him out to be. In fact, when seeing the cadets that immediately dropped out to work in the fields, he remembered being unsure and somewhat worried about the whole thing as he pondered why the cadets wanted to work in the fields. Not that he condemns them for going a different route, just puzzled.
He went to a couple of the other cadets, Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover, who were among the first to get the opening balance test with his best friend Armin. At first they were reluctant since it was very hard to give advice due to the nature of the test. However, after talking with them and their experience regarding their mortal enemy, later sneaking out to take a nightly walk to the lake nearby the training grounds. Eren grew closer to the two and thanks to their conversation, encouragement, and further practice, he felt more confident on being able to pass the test.
"I did it!"
Eren cheered at finally passing the entrance exam. It was revealed that his buckle wasn't working right, which is why he had trouble sitting up at first. Now, not only did he have the natural talent to sit up like the others, but he actually was able to go a bet beyond that and still sit up for a limited time with a broken belt, something that impressed his peers greatly.
"I can do it Mikasa! You don't have to worry about me!"
Later on that same day, the Instructor was riding his horse while the cadets began their ODM gear training. Eren was getting a feel for the device, doing a couple of flips before launching himself in the air.
"Listen up, take a look at the best of your class!"
Eren was lined up with his fellow cadets, the ones that were able to brave the harsh training that they needed to survive. It was the day of their graduation, where all their training
As for Eren himself, he was among the Top Ten, the best cadets that their class had to offer. He himself was ranked among the fifth, surpassing many of his classmates and five other cadets that had a natural talent in some aspect of training that put them ahead of their peers, only four ranking above him. But that didn't matter to him.
"This is it, our time is now." Eren's eyes narrowed with resolve.
"Titans. Be ready."
Later on that same day, the graduates were celebrating, finally glad to be done with the three years of grueling training and deciding which regiment to join: The Garrison, the ones in charge of protecting the walls. The Survey Corps, the ones who were brave enough to venture into uncharted territory to take back what was once humanity's, and the Military Police Brigade, the ones who keep law in order, protect the king, and are only reserved for the Top Ten cadets of each class.
The Top Ten were all celebrating, a couple of them happy to live a life of luxury. Eren wasn't having the same sentiments. One of his friends, Thomas Wagner, was shocked when Eren told him that he would be joining the Scouts. He didn't train for three years to live the easy life.
He honed his skills to kill Titans. Simple as that.
Thomas didn't share the same thoughts and feelings, screaming that they couldn't win until he noticed that he was attracting attention and calmed himself down. Thomas ushered that they couldn't win against them, that this was their way of life now.
They can't beat them.
Eren wasn't having it however. He challenged those claims, saying that it's better to take things lying down without a fight? He argued that things were tough, but they weren't ignorant anymore. They know better now, they know how to deal with them. They aren't the same they were five years ago. It was time for them to strike back. Humanity's future lies outside the walls and he will clear the way. As long as at least one of them has that mindset, they aren't finished yet.
All the cadets looked at him, some with worry, some unsure, others stunned. Eren couldn't take it anymore, the tears that appeared during the ending of his speech when he remembered about all the talk he was forced to hear saying that humanity inside the walls didn't stand a chance. He left, Armin and Mikasa following him while the others either pondered his words and went back to what they were doing originally.
The graduating cadets were doing work among the walls, taking care of the maintenance of the cannons located on top. The boy was shocked when he realized that many of his fellow graduates was planning on joining the regiment that he always dreamed of joining since he was child, but was the least popular and didn't have that much people joining them due to the legion having the highest death count of the three due to how they operate which meant they were always coming into contact with humanitys' main enemy.
The boy chatted with the other cadets, realizing that most of them were moved by his speech from the previous night that encouraged and motivated them into joining that regiment that may have the highest casualty rate, but also had the best chance at fighting back against their predators and taking back was what stolen from them, both inside and outside the Walls. One of their classmates, a kooky and cheerful girl named Sasha Braus who was also part of the Top Ten of the class that year, snuck in some meat from their superior's office, which was considered a crime due to how rare the food product was ever since the fall of the outer walls, which meant limited place to raise livestock. She brushed it off, saying that once they get back their major piece of their territory. Once the other cadets heard this, all of them except for the boy asked for a slice, shocking him. Everyone got back to work and the boy gained a confident, happy smile, looking across the town below.
"This is it. We didn't start this fight, but we're going to be the ones to finish it." Unfortunately, the timing could not be more impeccable and dire. A large bolt of lighting shot down in a split second and soon, a colossal figure appeared before them. A very familiar colossal figure.
The cadets were frozen with utter shock in being face-to-face with the giant beast. A large blast of steam knocked them off, forcing them to use their equipment to attach themselves to wall to avoid falling to their demise. One of them didn't get lucky, but thankfully the cadet from earlier released herself and ran down the wall, shooting another hook that pierced the foot of the graduate, injuring him, but keeping him from falling any further.
The boy looked down and saw that the gate was completely destroyed… just like last time.
"They're gonna get in, they're gonna get in, THEY'RE GONNA GET IN!" Another cadet shouted, reminding everyone of what happened five years prior, including the boy who remembered those memories.
He recalled the death of his mother, and the vow he made.
"This ends now." He repeated. The boy gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes.
"This is it, people!" All the other cadets turned toward the boy when hearing his voice.
"DO OR DIE!" The boy unsheathed his swords, the sound of screeching metal ringing through the air when they came out of their containers. The young soldier scaled up the wall with the grappling hooks attached as a natural part of his equipment.
"Mountain Cannon Squad 4! Take out the Colossal Titan! This is our chance, don't let it slip away!" With one final swing and expel of the gas system, the teen launched himself in the air and spun around in the air, expelling gas that formed into a circle to slow down his descent. He landed on the top of the wall, looking up to meet the monster that destroyed his hometown and caused their current predicament.
The young soldier stared down the giant behemoth, its eyes locking with his, both parties ready to throw down.
"You… It's been a while…"
He lied there, dazed and on the verge of blacking out from all the blood lost from his severe injuries.
He remembered looking up at the sky five years ago, bored out of his mind. His best friend came up to him with a book in his hands and an ecstatic expression plastered on his face. The boy started telling him all about the book his grandfather had that was kept secret from the military. The boy didn't seem interested in what his friend was excited about, but that quickly changed when he started telling him the contents of the book
Snow fields covered with sand…
Rocky regions with flaming water…
An entire body of water that was filled with more salt than you could imagine…
All of these existed outside the walls…. Walls that only served at their forced home and as protection from the very reason they and no one else living inside the titanic structures could see these beautiful sights.
The boy stared in wonder as his friend continued on. The outside world. The place just outside of their home that was so close yet so far. The boy smiled, hoping that one day, they would be able to see them.
….
The boy looked up and with a determined gaze, lifted himself up. His friend was sliding down the throat of the giant cannibalistic monster. Just when he was about to meet the grim reaper at a young age, he felt a hand grabbing him. He looked up and saw the boy, lifting the jaw of the beast open with one arm and managing to get to his location at an insane speed even with a severed leg. He threw his friend to the roof, safely out of the monster's mouth. He mentioned that he can't die here, not until he saw what was outside the walls, saying that his friend showed him that.
His best friend screamed his name, trying to reach for the boy's outstretched hand. But it was too late. The humanoid beast's mouth slammed shut, cutting the arm right off and swallowing the boy whole. His best friend could only scream hysterically, not believing the fact that his only friend for a long time since childhood was now dead, which was the last thing the soldier heard before being swallowed whole.
The boy opened his eyes, not knowing that what he was about to see was a horrible sight that no one would ever get the chance to witness. Not that they would mind going through life without ever seeing this horrific sight.
He was in a pool of stomach acid, accompanied by the chewed up remains of the cadets that weren't so fortunate as he was when he got devoured. Eren screamed at the top of his lungs, terrified at what he was seeing. Limbs, torsos and heads littered the foul pool, floating up in down the stomach acid like washed up leaves and twigs. The boy perked up when he heard a voice behind him.
The boy turned around and saw a young girl's head, pleading for her mother until she sank below the acidic depths. The boy cried, his tears mixing in with the blood lines that dripped from his head.
They were prepared, they trained for this. How could this have happened?
"Our dreams, our hopes, our futures!"
Summoning his anger, he raised his severed arm.
"Damn you all to hell! I refuse to die like this! I will kill with my bare hands, do you hear me?!"
"WITH MY BARE HANDS!"
And just like that, that's when everything changed.
A hand shot out of the beast's throat, escaping through the mouth. They stumbled and fell down to the ground. Its back started to spasm, bumps coming up everywhere in various sizes as if something was trying to break free from its cage.
Its back broke open, releasing another of its kind free. But this one was different. With a loud breath, it let out a resounding howl that vibrated all over the town. Another beast came up, the same one that was the reason the new monster was injured before. It took a large step forward, crushing the back of the neck of the monster, killing it with one blow.
"This isn't your world. Not anymore."
The monster launched up and lunged at the new specimen. The new monster variant uppercutted the mouth with their right arm, destroying the head of the smaller beast. When it collapsed to the ground, the rogue monster started stomping on the nape of the beheaded beast.
"Get up, let me kill you again and again and again." The rogue kept stomping on the nape, not being satisfied for a while until he finally stopped.
"You're dead. All of you."
The boy woke up, a dazed and creepy smile on his face that he was aware was plastered on there. When he heard voices, he snapped out of his stupor and looked around him, surprised and terrified by what he saw.
His childhood friends were by his side, his best friend was by his side that was his sitting near him to support the boy if he needed to be while his adopted sister was standing in front of them, ready to defend the two with her life if need be.
The boy watched in terror as many soldiers had their blades at the ready, their faces full of fear and anger, on the edge of striking him down like the monsters those swords were specifically designed to kill with.
The section commander screaming at him was deranged and hysterical, clearly not thinking clearly as he was overwhelmed with fear and anger at the boy. The lady next to him was callously remarking that they were resisting, even though it was painfully obvious that the kids were just scared and confused, having no clue what was going on and were on edge from the fact that they were surrounded by a bunch of equally scared and confused soldiers that were thinking straight and wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they were set off, which wouldn't be so hard to do so.
When the section commander asked him what he was and the boy gave his answer, he had his men fire a cannon at him anyways. Seeing no choice, his sister tried to get him up the wall by hoisting him over her shoulder as his best friend looked on in shock.
The boy remembered the words his father relayed to him back then when he suddenly got this mysterious key that he's been hanging around his neck ever since discovering it. The same key that led to the basement that his father always kept hidden from everyone, even his family.
Hearing his dad's voice echoing through his head, he shrugged off his sister's grasp and grabbed her and his best friend, holding them close to him. Biting his hand, he summoned a large skeleton from the waist up that had only a single eyeball in the left socket and some muscle formed around the left arm and part of the chest in that direction, stopping the cannonball from making contact with its intended targets.
The boy separated from the body, explaining to them about the situation with the key and how to handle this. He presented two options: Either he can survive out on his own and go to Shiganshina by himself, or he can use his new Titan powers as an asset to help the military if his friend could convince the soldiers to stand down and listen to what he has to say. He'll respect his friend's choice either way.
His best friend looked shocked, not believing that the boy would place his trust in him with an important decision like this. However, he could tell from the looks on his friends' faces that they absolutely trusted him, and didn't think of him as a burden one bit unlike he thought. They even reminded him of when they got a family friend to rescue them during the initial attack on their hometown.
His face filled with conviction, the friend got up and saluted, declaring that they are still humanity's allies and wished to use the boy's powers to seal the hole in the wall with the large boulder located in the town. Despite the declaration, the commander didn't listen to reason and was about to give the order to fire off another shot until a hand grabbed his arm.
The hand belonged to none other than the commander of the regiment that protected the walls: The Garrison. He complimented the friends' proud salute and soon met with the trio of friends up on the walls to hear out what they have to say.
After some time, he made the announcement that they were going to retake the town that was being invaded, currently using the boy's Titan powers.
The boy marched up and gave a salute, not knowing if could be able to seal the hole in the wall by lifting that boulder, but he had to try.
He has to be a hope for humanity.
The boy was being chained up, locked into his cell. He was transported out to the court where his fate will be decided. One regiment wanted to examine his remains, the other wanted to use his powers to help retake the walls. It turned into an intense argument between the two sides before a report got out of the boy accidentally attacking his sister while transformed, which she had to admit since lying would only make things worse, horrifying him.
When they accused the girl of being a monster the same as the boy, and that they should deal with her as well. This angered the boy, who finally shouted and got a word in after being forced to stay silent for so long. He rattled on about them being cowards, talking big and hiding behind someone else while they hold all the power. He shouted at them to stop with all that and to just put their faith in him.
A musket was at the ready and was about to shoot him. But someone else beat to the punch… or in this case, to the kick.
The strongest soldier that humanity had to offer started to brutally kick the boy mercilessly, not letting him catch a break. Everyone was horrified, and the girl was angered greatly, but was held back by her best friend due to realizing what was truly going on.
The teen was breathing heavily, blood dripping from his nose and mouth at the same rate as a waterfall. He was stomped on by a boot, forced to the ground. The strongest soldier started to talk about his discipline being better applied through pain. He kicked him some more times until he was stopped by the opposing side. They argued it wasn't safe, as assaulting him could risk angering him and transforming on the stop. With another kick, the soldier dismissed that while grabbing his hair and remarking about how they wanted to dissect him. He went on about the boy's feat while transformed but he could still take him down, going on about how you have to be sure you can kill the beast before you taunt it. The commander of the regiment raised his hand and proposed that they can do a test run of the boy's powers and see if he's fit to be an asset to the military. With that said, the boy was handed over to the regiment of his childhood heroes for the time being.
It was revealed later that the whole thing was an act to allow the judge to hand the boy over to the regiment. Humanitys' strongest asked if the boy resented him for what happened, with the boy denying it much to his liking. The scientist was taking a look at the injured boy, who then noticed that his broken tooth was already growing back.
The blast came out of nowhere, knocking everyone back. The boy was trying to free himself from the giant arm he created that he still had no idea how he did it. He heard his captain's voice and tried to explain himself, but he only saw a more dire site.
The boy could only watch as the soldiers of the squad he was placed in were, by his own worst fears, glaring at him with their blades unsheathed and ready to kill him for seemingly going out of control.
They yelled at him, asking and demanding him questions he himself was asking, threatening to kill him if he dared tried anything. One of the soldiers, the only female of the group, told the captain to stay away for his own safety, but he refused, saying that they were the ones that needed to step back. All of the shouting was too much and the boy yelled at the top of his lungs, telling them all to be quiet. The scientist ran up screaming, ecstatic and over excited about what just occurred. After burning herself with the bare muscle, the boy pulled himself out finally and the arm started to dissolve. The captain asked if he was alright, which the boy replied that he wasn't.
Later, the boy and the captain were having a conversation. The boy admitted that he didn't know how little they trusted him until now, which the captain revealed was part of the criteria he had for his squad. He talks about how you aren't considered a real scout until you come back alive, but there are so many unknown factors it's a miracle any of them can make it back. Be quick, and get on the move, be ready for anything. But even with all of that, the squad wasn't a bunch of heartless machines, what happened today, the captain guaranteed that everyone of them was conflicted.
The scientist wanted to see them, as she found a possible solution for the incident that occurred earlier. She showed the spoon, which was still intact despite the amount of heat and pressure it was subjected to. After conversing with the boy on past incidents of transforming, the scientist concluded that for one to transform, they didn't need just to draw blood, but also have a goal in mind, the goal in this case was to pick up the spoon, which summoned the arm.
The boy was stunned, but one of the squad members asked if what he was getting here was that the boy didn't transform on purpose. When the boy confirmed he did, the squad members nodded to each other and bit the hands in the same way the boy does to shift, stunning almost everyone else.
They said it was their way of apologizing, if the boy could find it in his heart to forgive them, commenting that they were impressed he could sink his teeth that hard without screaming. One of them said they had to deal with one they have and make the best judgment call as possible, it was their job to keep the boy in check. The female admitted they were scared, but also admitted that it was no excuse and that the boy had every right to hate them for it. She then said that they are all doomed if they can't trust each other, the same way the boy is if he can't trust them.
She pleaded for the boy to trust them.
He looked forward, prepared to take his first step as a member of the regiment he's always wanted to join ever since he was the same age as those very kids, much less in the same position.
When the bell was rung, the gate was opened, and the commander's voice ringed out, he steeled himself and got his horse ready to move, going in tangent with the squad that was tasked to watch over him that was flanking all his sides with the captain right in the front.
The regiment rode through the abandoned town located right outside the gate. The boy asked his superior if any of his friends had a chance to defeat a Titan, to which the soldier snarkily replied that they should be because otherwise what was all that training that did for. He then was about to go on a rant saying how all the rookies, including the boy himself, were in the big league now, so they better be ready for anything…. He was cut off after accidentally biting his tongue…. again.
When the commander gave the word, and the signal with his arm, the soldiers split up to go into proper placement for the formation that was now the norm for the brigade that would allow them the highest chance of success while also lowering the casualty rate as low as possible.
The boy kept his head forward, the youngest members of the squad other than him on each of his sides. They rode for a bit, but it wasn't long until the sun was starting to behave strangely, which they could tell when the sunlight started to fade between its normal glow to a more dimmer light. This caused the squad to look up and take notice of the celestial objects' abnormal nature.
"What the hell is going on there?" The man from earlier exclaimed.
Before they knew it, a sudden flash glowered over the area, encasing the squad as they were transferred from the Titan-infested fields to a location that was beyond their imagination.
Eren woke up with a fright, gasping for air. He breathed heavily, erratic at first then slowing down to his normal pace.
"I hate remembering her like this." He said to himself quietly. Eren held his hand to his head, getting up from the floor. The memories flooding back to him and recalling those experiences were draining.
It's been a day since he left the mountains and Snowdroffodils behind. After that incident with the wendigo taking over him, he needed time to rest and collect his thoughts. The whole experience still left him shaken.
'Wendigos can possess anyone, but they have the stronger connection to any human that practices cannibalism. That one was able to control me almost instantly. If that's the case, then did I really…?'
Eren didn't want to think about it. The thought terrified him greatly. Even with his reluctance and hesitancy, he couldn't stop pondering over it. The reports of his transformation during Trost when he was devoured by that elderly, bearded titan showed no signs of him actively going out of his way to eat the other cadets. In fact it was the complete opposite, his attention was only focused on eradicating any titan that came his way.
Though there was that instance where Eren attacked Mikasa after losing control when transforming completely for a second time to carry that big ass boulder to the gate, he was knocked out afterwards and when Armin woke him up, he was in total control and managed to carry the heavy rock to the gate, sealing it and securing humanity's first ever victory against the titans.
'If those instances aren't it, then where, how, and why?' The question would always be in the back of his head no matter how hard he tried to not think about it, which would only be more clear in his head, apparently enough.
'No. I can't think about it now, I still have a job to do.' Eren got up and gathered his things, leaving the campsite he found that was relatively warm after exiting the mountains. He walked away and continued making his journey to find the mystical artifact that could possibly get back to his home.
Past the icy mountains, the snow was beginning to disappear, and before it a lush green meadow filled with various flowers and plant life began to bloom all around the environment. Despite the greenery, it was still relatively cold outside. But thankfully it wasn't as unforgiving as the temperature was back in Snowdroffodils and the surrounding area.
Eren walked around, admiring the scenery around him.
"To think all of this was outside the walls all this time." He breathed. Although the land inside the walls had their fair share of mountains, it paled in comparison to what his eyes had the pleasure of seeing right before him.
The thought of the walls made him somewhat homesick. He hated how much of a cage it was, separating them from their predators and the rest of the world.
He shook his head, walking down the path that led down the mountains. From what the ruins of the Wendigo's resting place entailed, the next part needed to locate and access the Rogue Vagabond wasn't that far off from Snowdroffodils.
The soldier hoped that the items were what all the intel he gathered said they were. He didn't want to waste anymore time trying to search for them if the locations end up being red herrings. Eren wanted to get back to the Walls as quickly as possible, and the longer he had to search, the longer it would take to return home. Not to mention, he is less likely to run into any of his friends or superiors. He still had no idea where they were or what they were doing at the moment.
'I hope they are doing okay.' Eren scrunched his face in confusion.
"I still don't understand how I, of all people, am on their own." It didn't make any sense to the young brunette. It was puzzling enough that the sun was acting strangely and then all of sudden the whole legion was split apart just like that.
'I don't know who got here. It's possible that some of the Scouts didn't get transported here by the sunlight. But if that's the case, how many of us ended up here and how many of us were left behind? Were we all separated, or was I the only one?"
Eren felt lonely with that last thought. He never had that many friends to begin with, and in the case of the military, it's always a guaranteed risk that you would never be able to keep those friends for very long. In their situation, it seemed a lot more likely you were going to lose someone you love or were close to a titan than you would if you were fighting against other humans.
'But in this world, you go about it both ways. You can either lose someone to a person that is just like any other human, only they have abnormal powers that would honestly give the impression that that they were a different species altogether, or you lose someone to one of the many powerful creatures that roam this place, death at every corner with powers and abilities far beyond the natural capabilities and skills of any animal, or even any titan.'
Eren's run in with Kinvinaris proved to him how outmatched he and anyone on the Scouts were. Although his Titan form allowed him to win the fight, it was clear that one, if he didn't have it, he would've lost, and two, Kinvinaris was hibernating not unlike bears and his strength was greatly diminished from all that time sleeping and even then, he still proved to be a match for his Titan body. And that's not even taking into account his encounters with powerful wizards like Rave and Silver, the latter being much stronger than the former and a testament to how powerful these people can be, plus the fight against the Wendigo that almost left him a prisoner of his own body. That last one still made him shake whenever he thought about it.
'Even with all that though, is this world much better off than ours? The power, the magic that's located here, allows you to do horrible things. But it can also allow you to do amazing, wonderful things as long as you use it properly.' His new Demon Slayer Magic may have come from a dark source, but it didn't matter where and what its origin was. As long as he used his magic correctly to fight for the good of mankind and all those that need help, then that was all that mattered…
Right?
Speaking of which, Eren made it a note to find the time to continue practicing and honing his branch of Slayer Magic. Kinvinaris did a good job teaching him the concepts and the basics of his brand of Demon Slayer Magic specifically, but he had to be the one to develop and evolve it beyond its normal limits. The soldier also made it a point to note down that "dual-element" mode he acquired during his fight with Silver. Fire and Ice, as odd as it seemed, proved to be a deadly combination when used right, holding the dangers of hot and cold temperatures at their most extreme. Strangely, he couldn't activate it on a whim like he could with his normal magic. He might have to look into that later…
Though his magic was awesome and he's grateful he has it, especially with such a powerful variant, Eren knew he couldn't rely on it. The more he depended on his magic, the more he neglected the other means of combat that were at his disposal. He still needed to train himself into perfecting the art of combat with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. He was placed in the Top Ten, and even the Top Five of the 104th Cadet Corp, but there was still a lot of room to improve, especially if he wanted to catch up and surpass the cadets that surpassed him. The last thing he needed was to get a kill, a strike, or something and then his hooks overlap with each other, make him trip up, and fall to the ground. Eren wanted to save himself the embarrassment and the potential danger in case he wasn't out of the clear yet.
Plus, there was still his Titan abilities to take into consideration. After the previous five transformations (two of them not even being full body transformations, and one of them being completely accidental that almost got him killed), he needed more work to master it. There was so many factors to consider relating to what he can currently do: How long can he stay in his Titan form until he's burned out, how many times "can" he shift into Titan before burning out, what parts of his Titan body can he summoned by itself and can he manipulate them on their own, how fast can he heal from his injuries especially severe ones in both human and Titan form, what other applications does his intense healing factor hold, what was the physical limits of his Titan form, are there any attributes that the Titan form hold that can be applied to his normal human state besides advanced regeneration, can he still eject himself from the nape while still being in control of his Titan body, is there any way he can control the steam that's the result of the abnormally high body temperature Titans possess that's a ironically a normal part of their biology, and is there anything else his Titan powers can give him other than what he already knows? That last part puzzled him the most.
'Is this all I have to offer, or is there more that I'm not aware of yet?' As impressive as his Titan powers are, he knew better than to say they are the most powerful, at least in their current state. Although Eren may have been taught in Fire Demon Slayer Magic, that doesn't mean he's not knowledgeable about other types. Kinvinaris didn't have records on every single type of Magic in existence, but his library holds text that talks about other Magic variants the rivaled and maybe even outclassed Demon Slayer Magic. Eren knew that if a powerful mage knew where to aim, he would've been dead in no time, and for the large-scale destruction magics, they wouldn't even have to worry about having good accuracy to annihilate his Titan body in one blow.
'I've have so much to do, so much to consider. Can I really do it?" Eren shook his head. He wanted to forget about all that for the time being. He took a glance around his surroundings and took in the stellar atmosphere.
What still amazed him was that he was in a completely different world at all! He and Armin always dreamed of exploring the world outside the walls, but to think that there would be other worlds other than theirs was just mesmerizing! He still couldn't believe it, even after all he'd been through so far.
"I wonder what else this place has to offer. Hopefully, it won't be anything too bad, but that's me being rosy." He knew better than to think the world was just all rainbows and sunshine, even if it looked like that on the surface. His mindset and experience left just as cynical as it did ideal.
Eren was brought out of his thoughts when he saw that he was near the end of the mountain range.
"If the next part to locate the Rogue Vagabond is here, I'll have to search every inch of this place. Leave nothing unturned."
After a few more hours of walking, Eren stumbled onto something that was quite the sight to behold.
It was a big town named "Lithopsosis" that was connected to an enormous lake, with massive beautiful waterfalls accompanying the environment that only made it more pleasing to look at. The structure of the town was somewhat surreal, as there were many bridges and layers that stacked up on top of each other and seemed all over the place. There were water mills all over the area to help collect and regulate the water from the lake, boats parked near a section of the lake that had wooden platforms with pillars underneath them that Eren assumed where the docks that Kinvinaris taught him about that were used to tie down the boats and have an area for owners for boaters to place them when not in use.
The two things that got Eren's attention the most were the two, giant windmills that he assumed acted as the landmarks of the entire town. The way they moved with the assistance of the natural wind blowing around the region made the structures all the more mesmerizing to him. The other was a bunch of strange pathways that extended from the land and crossed over the air into many different caves that were all around the town.
"Are these the railways for vehicles Kinvinaris told me about?" Eren heard about these tracks from the demon's teachings, how they were used to transport a string of connected vehicles called "trains" that acted as another form of public transportation, but were only limited to the path the train tracks led them toward. There was another way to use them however, and the soldier figured that this was the other purpose for those railways. Eren was aware of them, they were used to transport the cannons on top of the walls so that they weren't stationary.
"Guess this must be used for the mines." Eren figured. "If that's the case, this must be a mining village." The realization hit him head on. 'Miners usually look for rare ores and gems, then the next piece for the Rogue Vagabond has to be here!'
Being filled with excitement, Eren ran in, looking for anyone that could help him get into the mines. He looked around in wonder and took the time to bask in the amazing architecture of the city.
The teen didn't see anything indicating the head of the mining operations yet. He saw a couple of the townsfolk just hanging about and went up to them.
"Excuse me." Eren began, getting the others' attention. "Do you know who's in charge of the mining operations here?" One of them, a tanned bald man wearing glasses, a teal long-sleeved shirt, and black pants. He gave a soft smile.
"Ah, a traveler. Are you interested in learning about famous mines that our town is known for?" Eren was a bit put off by the chipper tone of the middle-aged man. He nodded anyway. The man smiled and pointed in the direction that was north of the tone, on the upper levels. Eren turned his head and gasped when he saw the structure the villager was directing towards.
It was a big two-story building, made out of stone and iron with wooden accents near the support beams. It had a cubicle design, almost resembling the tower one would see in a medieval castle or fortress. A large sign that read "MINERS INTER-RAILWAY" was plastered on the top of the building, with two minecarts on railways full of coals and a pickaxe and shovel intersecting right in the middle, accompanied by a sturdy, elongated balcony that covered the entire second floor. The windows were decorated with stained glass in various designs, from common tools such as pickaxes and shovels, to common and rare minerals that a miner would find during their expedition, like coal and iron, to gold, diamonds, and emeralds. And to top it off (as well as to give a kiddy, fun touch), there were littles mini minecarts traveling down a set path of little railways that went in different directions all over the building.
Despite its somewhat gritty design, Eren couldn't help but look at the building in awe. It reminded him of the castle-like headquarters in Trost… which was under attack and when he found out that he's not really as human as he thought he was.
"Hey kid, you okay?" The other man asked, looking around 10-15 years younger than his fellow townsfolk. He wore a white shirt with a blue jacket and matching colored pants. He had spiky hair, pale black in color, that ended in the air at the top of his head. Eren snapped out of his stupor and looked at the men.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Eren said hastily. He could tell they didn't really buy it. That didn't matter however.
"Thanks for the directions. I'll be going now." The soldier made his way to the building, leaving the townspeople behind. They watched as he jogged towards the building, giving off peculiar expressions.
"Odd kid." The younger man stated. The older man didn't respond. He just continued looking at the running form of the young soldier, and gave an unsure smile about the whole thing.
Eren remained jogging until he reached the building. He stopped just in front of it, taking another look of the structure up close. He admired the decor of the architecture one last time before walking inside.
Inside the building, he saw multiple lanes that were lined up in rows, in between two openings that led to the outside. Eren figured that this is where those multiple railways he saw leading into the caves started at. The scout noticed that there were counters up ahead with people lined up.
"So this is what it looks like on the inside.." Eren gazed at the lines that were forming. He noticed that many of them were carrying tools and equipment needed to go into the mines, "I'm guessing you have to check with the workers before you can go mining. Makes sense. If you aren't qualified in the eyes of those who work here, you won't be able to go in." Although the two were completely different occupations, Eren couldn't help but compare the conditions to mine to meet the requirements that one needed in order to be able to apply for joining the military, and even then if you didn't have what it takes, you're out.
Eren saw one of the employees that didn't look to be occupied. He walked up to the man who noticed his presence. He had tanned skin, with a black hair neatly combed over and a trimmed mustache matching in color. The man noticed him walking up and greeted.
"Hello there, young man. Are you interested in mining today?" The man asked politely.
"Actually." The man perked up at the different response than he was expecting. "I would actually like to ask you a few questions if you have the time, sir."
"Well, what kind of questions do you have?"
"What is this city all about? What does mining have to do with the way of life here? How does one go about going into the mines here?" The man wasn't expecting that.
"So, you're a traveler that's visiting, I assume?" Eren nodded. "In that case, I'll be happy answering your questions." He turned to where the other workers and the customer were at, Eren following suit.
"Our Lithopsosis is one of the biggest mining spots in all of Fiore. People come around here to gather the biggest jackpots they can discover. When this land was discovered, our founders had also realized that it was home to one of the largest mines in the world." The man started. "Any mineral from the standard coal to the rare diamond can be found in these mines, that's what makes it a popular tourist attraction as well as a famous spot for miners. The Miner's Inter-Railway is owned by the current mayor of the town, who runs the company and looks over the entire town." Eren was getting more intrigued.
"Have there been any kind of treasures found in these mines?' The man put his hand under his chin and thought about it.
"We have had a few noteworthy discoveries over the last 3 decades." He turned back to Eren. "What is it you're looking for?" Eren took out his journal and showed him the entries containing the cave drawings he found back at the Wendigo village near Snowdroffidlis. The man was interested to say the least.
"Now what is this?" He asked.
"I'm looking for an artifact that I think might be able to help me. I've been searching for it all over the country and I found a cave with these drawings." Eren answered him, pointing at the three items he needed. "The artifact is really well-hidden. Whoever hid it made sure to go to great lengths so that its location isn't discovered easily. I tracked down a potential clue to where it is in a village a bit far from here. It was in a cave that had these drawings: a dagger, a gemstone, and a chain." Eren took out the dagger and showed it to the man, who was getting more curious as the teenager explained further. Eren put the dagger away and continued.
"Since this is a town all about mining, I figured I could find the gemstone I need to locate the artifacts' location. Will you be able to help me with this?" The man pondered for a moment, taking everything in.
"While I'm intrigued about your expedition, I'm not sure I'll be allowed to let you through. You don't look like a miner, nor have the proper tool to get through the caves." He said.
"I know I'm not a miner, but I didn't come here for that. I came here to get a specific gem and be on my way. I may not look like it in your eyes, but I can handle myself." Eren argued. He didn't tell the man, but he didn't really need miner equipment to be able to get the gem out if it was buried underneath a pile of rock. He has other methods up his sleeves that will do the job just fine… as long as he's careful.
"You got spunk kid, I'll give you that." The man sighed. "However, even if you are of age and you can handle yourself in the mines, I wouldn't be allowed to let you through. There's been a lot of trouble lately that's been making the mine more dangerous to go into than ever before. Only adults and experienced miners are allowed to have a set of minecarts to go in, and even then, there's a limit on how many can go, how many supplies and carts they can take with them, and how long they can remain in the mines for." The man answered. Eren was surprised about the sudden news.
"What about-" The soldier was cut off when he and the worker saw the other employees leaving their posts. They were all heading outside of the building, and looked like they were in a rush to do so too.
'What's going on?' Eren asked himself. The man left his post and beckoned Eren to follow him. The soldier was surprised to see a large group of people gathered outside the building. It looked like the whole town was here. They all had worried looks on their faces. Some of them were even shivering with fear.
'What's wrong with the townspeople?' Eren thought, stooped at seeing the frightened faces before him. He turned to see a stout man wearing a business suit and fedora who had a laid back and authoritative aura around him. The crowd stopped talking almost immediately when the man appeared.
"Mr. Mayor!"
"He's here!"
"Thank goodness."
"I hope everything is alright." The crowd continued talking among themselves until the man who was revealed to be the mayor lifted his arms up to signal for their attention. Once they stopped, he spoke.
"My dear citizens. It brings me great heartache to tell you that there's been another attack on our miners. The whole crowd gasped.
'Attacks?' Eren pondered. A few of the mayor's guards came in with a couple of rollers that were covered. They stopped them by the side of the mayor, who looked disheartened and was separately trying to get himself together.
"Our reconnaissance team found these in the mines." The mayor spoke grimly. The guards uncloaked whatever was hidden underneath sheets and the whole town, including Eren and the worker, grimaced.
There were three corpses. Their bodies were horrifically withered, as if the life was drained out of them. They were also covered almost head to toe in a string-like substance, one more severe than the other two. Upon close inspection, one could even see two large holes placed randomly throughout their body.
'Those markings. Are they bite marks?' Eren pondered. The mayor took a moment for everything to sink in, then resumed his speech.
"This has gone on long enough. I will not risk the safety of my town or anyone visiting any longer." He breathed heavily as he said his next sentence.
"I will shut down the mining operations." This greatly shocked the crowd and they didn't hesitate in being vocal of their disagreement.
"Mayor, you can't!"
"What's going to happen to us?"
"Mining is part of our culture."
"I have made my decision!" The mayor bellowed, silencing his town. "We can't afford to lose anyone else to those monsters in the caves. I'm just as upset and disappointed as the rest of you, but holding on a tradition that's been around for generations is not worth risking countless lives on a daily basis!"
The town was at a loss for words. They weren't happy about the recent deaths, but they also weren't happy at the fact that the main selling point of their town would have to be shut down for good. They were finished.
Eren took everything all at once. He was concerned, and curious about what was going on. The boy turned towards the worker. "What's this all about? What are these monsters he's talking about?" The man sighed and figured it wouldn't hurt to tell him since it wouldn't mean much in the end.
"About a couple months ago, one of our mining teams came back with dire news. They said they were attacking a group of monsters that ambushed them. They were giant beasts with large fangs, giant multiple legs, and just as giant eyes. They killed almost the entire team, with only two members surviving." The man explained. Eren was following along, until he heard the description of the monsters.
"Wait. Are you telling me that the monsters that attacked the miners were giant spiders?" He asked incredulously. The man nodded.
"Yes, and as you can tell, they aren't your average house spider. These beasts are about as big as a full grown human, probably even bigger. They come in different colors that are believed to be based on different kinds of gems, but they all came from the same species. Some people believe that they are the spirits of the gems that have come to life to take revenge on the miners for disturbing their homes and taking away their natural resources."
"But, what about a wizard guild? Can't they help defeat them with their magic?" Eren asked. The man shook his head.
"We tried at a couple points to ask help from wizards before, but they didn't stand a chance. Not only are these beasts powerful, they are also incredibly resistant to magic. I believe only very powerful wizards would be able to take them down, but no ordinary mage could defeat one of them, let alone a whole cluster." The man argued. "It's believed that these spiders are an ancient subspecies that have evolved over time from their exposure to magic and now they hunt anything, mainly those with magic power such as wizards or other magical creatures, to drain their magic and feed themselves." Eren gulped at the graphic description. He knew people were disturbed at best because of the arachnids to downright petrified of them. But to think there would exist an abnormal species of them like this.
He was brought out of his thoughts when a young girl that was around his age with long, ginger hair that reminded him of one of his squad mates, and light golden eyes that wore light gray blouse and a brown skort that with black stockings and tan boots.
"Mr. Mayor. You can't do it. There must be another way for us to take care of those pests and not sacrifice our way of life or our people." The girl argued. The mayor sighed.
"I'm sorry Bellona. But I made up my mind. The mines are being shut down immediately." Bellona grunted. She turned towards her fellow townsfolk. "Come on everyone, we can defeat those spider freaks if we go at them together. We can't just let them take over our town!" The crowd looked reluctant. They wanted to help, but they couldn't muster the courage or confidence to take them on because they weren't sure if they were able to.
"Maybe it's for the best."
"We'll have to find something else from now on."
"There's no way we'll be able to defeat them."
"Is that all?!" Bellona shouted, catching everyone off guard. "So what? We just take it like it is and abandon everything. We aren't as ignorant as we were before. We know their weaknesses and what we're dealing with. Our miners have located where the nest could be. If we take down the Queen, there isn't anything the spiders can do anymore. They'll be wiped out before long!" The girl tried to argue. Her words did get them to ponder on whether to act, but they were still unsure. The soldier was surprised and admired at the girl's conviction and bravery. He was also empathetic to the girl's situation. He knew it better than anyone.
"I'll go." The people gasped when they heard a voice and turned towards Eren. Bellona, the mayor, and the man turned to him in shock, the crowd following suit.
"Who are you?" Bellona asked.
"Young man, what are you saying?" The mayor questioned. Eren walked toward the mayor.
"My name is Eren Jaeger. I'm on a journey to find an artifact. I came here to this town in hopes and at finding something that can aid me on my quest. I'll be able to help you take down these magic spiders if you'll allow me." The scout told him. The girl wasn't so sure.
"What's in it for you?" Bellona questioned. Eren turned towards her and matched her gaze with his own.
"Like I said, I'm here for an item that can help me locate an artifact. Regardless of whether it's here or not, I'm going to leave all of you hanging like that. I would've helped either way." Eren spoke up. Bellona looked at him suspiciously for a few moments until she glowed up.
"Awesome. Thanks a lot for being willing to help us." Her smile faded when she realized something. "Wait, but what about you? How are you going to defeat them?" Eren smirked. He lifted his head and took a deep breath.
"Fire Demon Rage!" A stream of blue fire erupted from his mouth, rocketing in the air and creating an explosion. The whole town was flabbergasted at the whole spectacle.
"Woah, what kind of magic is that?!" Bellona shouted in excitement. Eren smiled at her enthusiasm.
"It's Fire Demon Slayer Magic. I'm what is known as a Demon Slayer." Eren explained. The others were awestruck. Many of them were muttering to themselves and others about the kind of magic the brunette wielded and the power that felt radiating off of it.
"Young man." The teens turned toward the mayor. "Eren was it? Would you be able to lend your services and help out our city by ending the spider menace?" Eren sweatdropped a little from the choice of words, but nodded anyway.
"Yes sir, I would." Eren turned towards the crowd. "Let's just say that I can relate to what you and your people are going through, and I'm not the type to turn my back on those that need help." Eren faced the mayor with resolution and determination.
"I will defeat these spiders and your city and its people will be free at last." The mayor was filled with gratitude at the young man's declaration. He teared up a bit, but wiped away his eyes and got down to business.
"Thank you again Eren. We are forever grateful." The mayor turned towards the crowd and asked them to return to the normal business, which they did, but they were pumped that they might have a shot killing the Queen and her babies. The mayor asked Eren to follow him back to the Miners Inter-Railway to discuss how the operation would go.
"Everyone listen up." The mayor ordered. Eren, Bellona, the worker from before, and other people such as experienced miners and employees of the Inter-Railway company paid attention.
"Our objective is simple: Destroy the Queen Spider and her spiderlings. However, as we all know, it is easier said than done. These creatures are no pushovers and one of them alone is enough to cause trouble. In a clutter, they are nearly unstoppable." He began.
"But, as Bellona mentioned earlier, our constant encounters with the arthropods have allowed us to gain valuable information that will make us better prepared to deal with them." Taking out a square-shaped lacrima, he sat it down on his desk and a screen appeared. It showed them seven different pictures: One big image with a question mark accompanied by six smaller ones that each showed a different image of a spider.
"These spiders don't just have characteristics: All of them possess traits that different spider species are known to have all at once. These arachnids are closely related to each other despite their differences and we can tell based on their glossy, colorful appearance. We have identified at least six known variants that each take on abilities that a single type of spider is recognized for." He zoomed in on the first mini image.
"These variants are based on the Jumping Spider. As you can see, these spiders are green in color, the two eyes in the middle are the biggest which makes them have the best eyesight of all variants, and although they are small and stubby, they are incredibly agile and fast, making them tricky to deal with, let alone kill. They are also intelligent, which means they won't be fooled easily. But they are drawn to light sources much like moths, so use that to your advantage." The second picture showed a yellow spider that has much longer legs that resembled blades and a thinner body.
"These guys are tricky trappers that will construct complicated and hidden webs all over the place to catch their prey, based on the common types of spiders like the orb weavers. They don't have good eyesight unlike their green counterparts, but they make up for that by having much stronger silk, and being able to create more complex webs that make it easier for people to get caught in and harder to get out even without the sticky nature of the silk. The silk however is somewhat fragile so a strong magical blade or element will be able to deal with them effectively." Eren made a mental note about this information.
"These orange devils are the fastest of all of them, making them both difficult to hit, and to evade. They have the second best eyesight behind their green cousins, which makes them a tough adversary to fight against and an excellent predator at catching something off guard. Your best bet is to slow it down, bring it to your level, then strike hard and fast. They may be speed, but they are a glass bullet. We have some spare oil that can be used for this purpose." The mayor explained, showing an orange, much stocky spider that was still lean enough to be able to move quickly.
"These red ones take a page out of the yellows' book, but instead of setting up webs to act as traps; They are the traps. They hide within the cavern walls, the floor, even the ceiling, able to sense where its targets are. When they do, they burst through the rocks and snatch their prey, dragging back into the darkness to feed." An image of a red spider with the abdomen a whiter shade than the rest of its body appeared. The mayor's wording made some of the audience gulp. "Although they are sneaky, the best counter to them is to force them out of their hiding spots. When they're out in the open, they are much weaker and will be more vulnerable to any types of attacks." This got those people to sigh in relief.
"The next two are perhaps the most dangerous for their own reasons." The mayor brought up an image of a blue spider that looked a lot bigger than the previous ones, and a lot more sturdier due to the way minerals stacked up into a scaly-like thin armor. "These guys are the biggest of their kind, besides their Queen of course. They can take a lot of punishment and will not hesitate to return that punishment if threatened. Those little spikes act as its "hairs" that it can brush off and used as needles that will turn you into a bloody sponge. However, they are extremely slow compared to the other variants, so keep your distance and knock them down.
Afterwards, the sixth and final picture shows a purple spider that looked to be the thinnest of the six, but it had strange markings on its abdomen that looked to be very attractive. "Don't be fooled. It may look the weakest, but it's just as deadly as the others. It will use the markings on its patterns to attract those that gaze in it towards it, then it will strike. Although all the spiders are venomous, its' weaker in the other variants and you'd have to worry more about those fangs tearing you up rather than the venom in it. Not with these guys, if you get bitten, you're dead before you even hit the ground. Thankfully, they are very rare and not as durable as the others, but don't let your guard down." The mayor concluded his debriefing and the lacrima shut off. He got in front of the group.
"This will be a 10-man squad. You will be armed with flashlights, and magical weapons to be able to stand a chance against these things." The mayor turned towards the soldier. "Eren will be in charge." He announced, shocking everyone present.
Eren looked around the group, some people glancing at him and his strange gear but never coming up to directly talk to him. Seeing all the stares made Eren uneasy, but he brushed it off as he needed to focus on his objective.
"Are you sure about this mayor?" Someone asked. The mayor nodded.
"I am sure. I know this is a complete stranger. But I can see it in the boy's eyes that he has what it takes to lead us to victory and to bring hope for our town." He glanced at the boy. "Won't you, Eren?" The boy nodded immediately.
"Of course, sir." The mayor nodded back. "You will lead the squad to the location of the nest and destroy the Queen Spider so that the spiders won't ever be a presence in these parts ever again." The mayor turned back to the audience.
"You'll be aided by nine members that will back you up and help you traverse the mines. Now, I won't be sending anyone if they feel they aren't capable of taking on the task at hand. So anyone that wishes to stay behind and prepare to defend the town, you may leave."
When that line was finished, many of the company members left. When they did, nine remained, four of which Eren recognized.
"It's you two." Eren said, not expecting to see the two men he met earlier show up. The bald man chuckled while the younger man answered him.
"This is our town, and we'll do anything we can to help save it. My name is Zarek." The mayor was a bit apprehensive about him joining, but the look Zarek gave him made him cave in with great reluctance.
"I'm Angelo. It's a pleasure to meet you again, Eren." The bald man introduced with a smile, one that Eren returned. He turned to a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties with neatly combed black hair and a pair of glasses. He had a serious demeanor about him that Eren could feel right away.
"My name is Lux." He held out his hand which Eren shook.
"I'm Dove, it's nice to meet you." A friendly young woman that looked to be a bit older than him, with silver hair tied up in a ponytail. Eren smiled at her. "Same here."
Another woman that was around the same age as Lux had long, forest-colored hair and a much more composed posture. "Greetings, Mr. Jaeger. My name is Odeda." Eren could tell that she was one of the quiet types, and a bit shy if that look in her eyes is of any indication.
"I'm still not sure about this, but I will follow your lead as long as you do your job right." Eren raised his eyebrow when he saw a redhead man in his forties with a same-colored mustache and a tough exterior. "My name is Abelard."
"Don't mind him, he's high strung like that." Eren turned towards a woman with glasses and pale blonde hair that she let flowing freely. "I'm Esme."
One of them was Bellona. She gave him a grin with a sideways thumbs-up outwards. "Nice to meet you Eren. I'm glad you're willing to help us out." Eren grinned back at her. "Glad to help out."
The last member was the worker that Eren spoke with at the beginning. "I'm Asher. Are you ready to embark?" He questioned. Eren nodded resolutely.
With introductions out of the way, the villagers said goodbye to their loved ones and together, the ten got into a row of minecarts armed with weapons and supplies. Waving goodbye to the town, they traveled down to the mines, ready to begin the mission.
While traveling through the mines, Eren took the time to marvel at what he was seeing. All the different minerals and crystals that filled the mines were glowing, standing out like natural pieces of art. He was also amazed by how deep and expansive the mines were. The different tunnels that led all over place seemed like a never-ending maze. The others didn't look as amazed, but that's mostly because they were already familiar with the environment.
It wasn't long until they made it to the location they needed to be at. A large, open ravine with various tunnels and minecart rails all connecting each other. The group was on the bottom level. The minecarts stopped and the group got out to begin investigating.
"So, where do we start?" Eren asked. Zarek gave him an odd look.
"Aren't you in charge?" Eren nodded.
"I am, but remember that all of you know this place better than me. I'll be calling the shots, but I'm going to need your help exploring the mines if we're going to figure out where the nest is located." Eren explained. "Are any of you familiar with this part specifically?" Dove raised her hand.
"I am." The silver-haired girl exclaimed. "My family likes to find ores and explore around here." She looked up and took a second to admire all the railways connecting different tunnels together. "This would be a good place to start."
"Don't forget." Zarek said. "This is where the spiders are often sighted. Not much admittedly, but they usually start appearing around this area. So keep your guard up." The man warned. Lux unloaded the weapons they brought with them.
"These magical rifles and blades can help us defend ourselves." He laid them out on the floor, which were many different types of blades from swords, axes to spears, and some firearms such as muskets and handguns. "We don't have much supplies, so it's better that we avoid confrontation as much as possible. Save our strength and resources for the fight with the big girl herself." The others agreed that that was the best course of action.
"In that case. Let's get to work." Everyone turned to him. "We can cover more ground if we split up. I want two teams heading down different paths in the ravine. I'll lead one team and one of you leads the other."
"I'll lead." Bellona said.
"I think I should be the one leading." Zarek argued.
"What why?!" Bellona exclaimed. Zarek crossed his arms.
"You have good leadership skills I'll admit. But you get too excited too easily and that can make you reckless in your decision-making." The spiky, black-haired man said. Bellona puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Really? You may be a good leader as well Zarek, but you're too stubborn and don't budge even when you know you're in the wrong." The girl shot back. Zarek glared at that sentence and the two stared each other down. Eren looked at them awkwardly.
"Are they always like this?" He asked.
"Yep, those two are competitive. But they always settle things out. Watch" Asher told him. Eren wondered what he meant, then saw Bellona taking out a coin. Eren knew what was coming up and like he expected, Bellona tossed the coin in the air and it landed on her hand. She revealed what side it was and Zarek pouted while she grinned mischievously.
"Looks like I win this time." The girl turned to the soldier. "So, who will go with who?" Asher stood next to the boy.
"I'll be going with Eren." Zarek looked between them and the girl that beat him and sighed.
"Guessing I'm going with him too." He stated, going over to the other side. Abelard looked between Eren and Bellona, and silently took the latter's side.
'Well we know who he trusts more.' Eren sighed. "Who else?" The remaining five glanced between the two and made their decisions. In the end, Asher, Zarek, Odeda, and Dove decided to go with Eren while Abelard, Esme, Lux, and Angelo went with Bellona.
"Now that we have our teams, let's split up. My team will take this path down the ravine." Eren stated, pointing down from where they arrived.
"Then my team will head upwards." Bellona added.
"If you see anything. Signal us with a smoke flare." Eren ordered. Bellona put her index and middle finger to her head in a salute and waved at him.
"Sure thing." She responded. Angelo walked up to the front of his group.
"Well, everyone, let the cleansing beg-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. An orange blur, moving faster than the eye can see, came in and snatched him up. Everyone jumped and looked in shock as Angelo screamed for his dear life.
"HELP ME!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Eren immediately drew his blades and rushed towards where he could see Angelo being taken off. He stopped when he noticed that that wasn't the only orange blob. The soldier gazed up and saw that there were dozens and dozens of more that were crawling on the cavern walls. The miners looked up at them with fear and dread, gripping their weapons tightly.
"They're here already." Eren grimaced. He shook his head and shot his hook up. It connected to one of the cavern walls and he reeled himself up. The brunette saw a few of the orange spiders from a distance, looking just like what they appeared in the pictures they saw during the debriefing.
"Nasty-looking bastards." Eren muttered. They seemed to notice his presence, as one of them got back on their hind legs and sprung forwards, much faster than Eren was anticipating.
"Shit!" Eren cursed. He stopped himself in mid-air and started to move backwards, just escaping the fangs of the giant creature. Eren wasted no time, moving forward just as fast and positioning his blades to his left, swinging them with all his might and cutting the large arachnid into pieces.
Eren saw the other two about the attack, but he conjured up his demonic flames and slashed his swords vertically in the air, summoning two arcs of fire that lunged towards the spiders and exploded on impact, burning them to a crisp.
"Dammit, where's Angelo?" Eren wondered. He soon heard the screaming and saw the orange devil that scurried off with him trying to take him back into one of the caves. The man was using one of the magical blades they've been supplied with to desperately protect himself from becoming spider chow, using the blade to fend off the spider's fangs.
Eren didn't waste anymore time. He swung his way over to where the loner was taking his comrade away and lunged right at the spider. The arachnid seemed to note that he was here because it started picking up speed almost instantaneously, making the soldier miss his strike. Eren glared as he reeled himself up to the cavern walls and watched as Angelo was being taken away.
"Guess they really live up to their names of "orange devils." Eren commented. He knew he couldn't think about it too much. He still needed to save Angelo. The soldier took a look below and saw the miners fighting for their lives from the sudden onslaught.
Eren gritted his teeth at the way the squad was already getting overwhelmed. He lifted his head and saw where Angelo was being carried off. The scout knew that he couldn't rush at the beast without it just speeding up at the right time to evade his attack. Eren trailed the path that the spider was taking and knew what he had to do next.
He shot his other hook and detached the one currently set into the wall, following where the spider was going. The soldier noticed the cave the spider was taking Angelo in. He timed his attack, making sure that the spider wouldn't be able to escape him this time.
Just when the spider was about to get away with its prey, it felt its already limited vision being obscured by a surge of fog that made it stop in its tracks. Angelo was also confused by where the sudden fog came from but was glad that his eight-legged captor stopped moving for the time being. The spider saw something move in through the fog, making it turn around in different directions to better defend itself. But it was all for naught, as Eren dove forward and sunk his blades into the exoskeleton of the creature, instantly going through it and cutting into the spider deeply.
Angelo was freed and the spider soon died from the brutal attack and sudden blood loss. The miner breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the young soldier.
"Thanks for the save, Eren." Eren gave him a small smile, but it quickly faded away when he turned back to see the assault the miners were dealing with, Angelo following his gaze. He saw Zarek, Lux, and Dove taking out the orange spiders from a distance using magical firearms such as rifles and handguns while Bellona, Esme, Asher, and Abelard, getting up close and personal with magical weapons like swords, axes, and spears. While they were holding their own, it was clear that they were getting overwhelmed by the second. Eren surveyed the situation and did his best to plan out his next move.
"Angelo." The man perked up at his name. "Get to the oil and start spreading it. We need to slow those things down."
"Would that be enough?" Angelo asked. Eren grinned at him.
"If it's not, then I'll just have to heat things up." The soldier told him, raising his hand and lighting it ablaze, the miner being awed by the blue flames. Angelo nodded and ran forward, using his magical dagger to defend himself from any spiders that came his way. Eren watched him go, making sure he didn't get dragged off again. But he didn't have enough time as he heard screeching and the sound of scurrying steps from the side. He turned and saw a group of spiders crawling up the wall to his location.
"Shit." Eren cursed. He shot his other hook and detached his other one, immediately reeling himself away to safety away from the horde. The soldier wasn't out of the clear because when he turned around, the spiders were on his tail, running up the walls, railways, and coming out of the caves at an alarming rate at terrifying speeds. Eren soared through the air, switching between his different grapples to get away.
Angelo caught up with the rest of the group, his breathing slow and heavy. Asher noticed his presence and ran up to him.
"Are you alright, Angelo?" He perked up when he noticed that someone else wasn't with him. "Where's Eren?"
"He's dealing with those pests as we speak." Angelo sighed. "We need to use that oil now. Those orange devils won't be as fast and we can finish them off without much trouble." Asher understood what needed to be done.
"Abelard, Esme! Give us a hand here." The two turned over to the man's voice and when he gestured to the barrels in the minecarts, they understood right away what he intended to do.
Eren was doing his best to avoid the spiders at all costs. The wolf spider-like variants were hot on his tail. Whenever he landed on the cavern wall or one of the many mine rails scattered all over the place, they were instantly swarmed with the creatures and they forced him to jump off as quick as he landed there. This really tested his reaction speed and quick-decision making, because one wrong slip up and he was a goner.
"Fire Demon Oxygen Fist!" Eren sprinted forward, hanging on the edge of the wall as he lunged at one of the wolf spiders that was getting too close to him. The spider lunged back, but it was blown back when Eren punched it away with great force. The spider fell down to the depths of the ravine while the others closed in on him. Eren unsheathed his blades and from there, a trail of flames burst out, attacking many of the arachnids all at once.
The soldier felt one coming up behind him.
"Fire Demon Tear!" Eren sidekicked the arthropod right in the middle between where the head and abdomen connected with a flaming kick, crashing it into the walls where its dead body fell to the bottom. Eren was taking care of them smoothly, but there were still too many to deal with, let alone all at once.
Just then, Eren felt his hook starting to give way. "What the?" He looked up and saw another spider above him, except this one was green, not orange like the others. Eren widened his eyes when he realized what it was.
'That's the jumping spider variant!' Eren remembered what they were briefed on about the spiders and what their abilities… especially the green ones' intelligence. He could see the jumping spider trying to use its fangs to not only make him fall, but to destroy the hook itself to render it useless.
Eren immediately pressed the trigger to release the hook from the wall and escape the creature's fangs, leading Eren to descend to the ground. He launched the hook again, making sure to aim above the jumping spider to avoid getting caught by it. The jumping spider looked at the hook and stood back on his back four legs, pouncing on the wire like a spring. Eren gasped as he was dragged along with the cable and ended up hitting the side of the wall pretty hard, the big-eyed bastard still having his cable.
"You want it so badly?" Eren pulled the trigger and flew at the arachnid. The cable slid until it pierced the monster's underbelly, making it screech in pain and bringing it closer to the soldier. Positioning himself correctly, the soldier was about to slice the spider in pieces until it jumped again, throwing Eren off course and leaving him dangling.
Eren grimaced when he saw the chaos that still continued below. He looked up at the variants keeping him hanging there. Those big eyes in the middle would look not that threatening in any other scenario, maybe even cute. But those were the eyes of the thing that was going to kill him if he didn't get free. The spider lunged at him, ready to sink its fangs into him. Eren was taken aback by how fast the thing was
The miners were pouring the oil, the black liquid spreading all over the land like the wildfires they would cause if someone were to lit a match, which Eren would bank on.
"It's working." Bellona cheered.
"That's one win for us so far!" Dove exclaimed. Esme didn't seem so sure.
"Look up there." She pointed. Everyone followed her gaze and they saw a small group of green spiders all lined up on the cavern walls. Without warning, they jumped forward, making a web from the trail of silk coming out of them. They watched as the webs were used to block the oil spill, and gave the orange spiders a means to get to safety and shake off any oil from them.
"Dammit. Just when we had the advantage!" Zarek complained. Angelo tapped on his shoulder and pointed upward.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Zarek was confused until he saw Eren flying up in the air with that weird equipment he calls the "Omni-Directional Mobility Gear".
"We should all be taking cover by now." Angelo suggested.
"What are you talking about… oh." Bellona realized.
"Indeed. Eren is going to send those devils back to hell." Lux mentioned. The miners ran behind the minecarts, bracing themselves. Eren saw them moving from up above and knew what he had to do next. Taking one large breath, he unleashed onto the horde below.
"Fire Demon Rage!" A large column of blue fire came out of his mouth and rocketed to the bottom. The spiders looked at the blinding light, unable to get out of the way, especially the ones covered in oil. The whole ravine was alit, a huge light covering the whole thing.
When the light dimmed, the miners lifted their heads and peeked over the minecarts to see the aftermath. They all gasped when seeing the burnt remains of the spiders, smoke emitting off of them, or at least the ones who did have a corpse. They heard the sound of reeling wiring.
"Look!" Zarek pointed up. Eren descended towards them and ran up.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, thanks to you." Bellona said thankfully. Eren smiled and looked at the others. They seemed to be alright, though some like Lux and Abelard remained stoic, not giving anything away, though Eren could sense the look Abelard was giving him.
"Does anyone know where to head next?" Eren asked, shrugging off the scrutinizing gaze he got from the redhead. He needed to focus on the objective.
"I saw some lights coming from one of the caves back there." Dove exclaimed, pointing down the end of the ravine. "Those are an indication of the spiders having a great presence there. If there is any path that can lead back to the nest it's there." She explained.
"That's our next move then. Everyone gear up!" Eren ordered. The miners got their gear, and when they were all ready, the group headed towards the cavern, Eren taking the lead.
"Yep, that is the place." Zarek commented, seeing the cave and its faint blue glow from afar.
"Our reports have shown that the spiders are always these glowing blue orbs whenever they claim an area as part of their territory. We always made sure to note them down and forbade people from getting too close to these areas." Esme elaborated.
"We need to be on our guard at all times once we enter there." Odeda suggested, speaking quickly and quietly.
"Thanks for the heads up." Eren said. He kept his hands on by the handles, ready to draw them if need be. The group was near the end of the ravine when Asher stopped. Esme and Lux did the same. The others took notice and wondered what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Eren asked. Asher armed himself with his sword and took a step back.
"We're not done with them yet." Asher said. The group was confused until they heard something off in the distance and felt the ground tremble. They turned around and saw a huge orange blob heading straight for them.
"I thought we dealt with them?!" Bellona exclaimed.
"They must have come up when the others were destroyed." Dove reasoned.
"Come on!" Zarek urged. He motioned the group to head towards the cave before it was too late. Unbeknownst to him, one of the orange variants was crawling on the wall behind him and was slowly creeping up towards his location.
"Zarek! Look out!" Bellona called out. She and Eren ran, the latter trying to conserve gas but it looked like he was going to use some because they were too far from the man's coordinates to get to him in time. The black-haired miner turned around and was shocked when he was the spider and how close it was to him. He couldn't react in time as the spider lunged at him, fangs wide open. The black-haired man could only lift his arms up in a vague attempt to defend himself. Zarek braced himself, waiting for the worst. But, that didn't happen.
Zarek felt his body be shoved to the side. He opened his eyes and was stunned to see Angelo pushed him to the side… leaving him in the line of sight for the spider.
"Angelo! No!" Angelo smiled as Zarek screamed out his name in despair. The orange devil caught the man in its fangs and they immediately dragged him away to the swarm, never to be seen again.
"Fuck!" Zarek bashed his fists down on the ground. Eren was having the same sentiments, on the verge of charging in to rescue the man again. He was stopped however when the soldier saw how big the cluster was, much larger than the initial encounter and it seemed it was only growing bigger each passing second.
"We have to go!" Bellona pleaded. All the miners and Eren nodded their heads. Eren sent his silent respects to Angelo before he made a beeline for the cave. Most of the group was already inside except for him, Bellona, Zarek, and Lux. Zarek managed to compose himself to flee, leaving only Eren and Lux as the last two remaining. Eren was right behind him, but Lux wasn't moving.
"Lux?" Eren asked. "What's the matter? Hurry up, we don't have time to waste!" Eren urged. Lux slowly turned his head over to the young soldier and much to his surprise, smiled. For all the time that Eren was here, he never saw Lux show that much expression. He was further taken aback when Lux showed two sticks of dynamite in each of his hands, and started walking forward to the horde.
"Lux, what are you doing?" Eren questioned anxiously, although he knew what the man was planning.
"Eren." The boy stopped when his name was called out. "I dedicated my life to protecting my town and its people. It broke my heart seeing my fellow citizens or any curious travelers lose their lives to these monsters when all they wanted to do was to explore more of the world that they were born in had to offer." Eren was speechless.
"I knew that you would be able to save us from this atrocity. You may not look like it, but looks aren't worth shit when your life is constantly at stake. Make sure that the Queen is dethroned for good, never able to reclaim her throne again." Lux took a match and lit it, sticking the blank end in his mouth and putting the dynamite strings to the flame, lighting them up.
"Lux! Wait!" Eren cried out, rushing over to him. The once stern man, now showing his emotions freely, turned back to him one final time, giving the boy an affirmative nod before running towards the horde and jumped straight into the middle, the spiders not wasting the chance to have what was to them free prey.
Eren could only watch as a large explosion appeared, forcing to step back. He saw Bellona and Zarek motioning him to head to the cave, which Eren did so. After taking one last spot where Lux remained, he sprinted straight into the tunnel, stopping to help the duo push a nearby boulder to block the entrance. The spiders that weren't killed in the explosion were rushing straight at them. They pushed with all their might and managed to lock the boulder in place, just as they were about to reach them.
The three stopped to catch their breaths, the recent fight taking a lot out of them. "Where are the others?" Eren asked.
"Just down the path." Bellona answered, pointing down the cavern. When the three got their breathing in control, they walked down the natural corridor, reuniting with the others.
"Are you three okay?" Asher asked. Bellona nodded.
"Yeah, we're fine Asher." The man was relieved. Though upon closer look, he saw that someone was missing.
"Where's Lux?" Odeda asked, the forest-haired woman scanning for the man. Eren got a crestfallen look on his face.
"He didn't make it." The boy said darkly. Asher and Odeda were taken aback, as well as the other miners. Dove looked sad just like Bellona, Esme pushed her glasses up, and Abelard's expression hardened.
"See? This is why I should've been the leader!" Zarek yelled. "We would still have everyone alive and we wouldn't have to place our faith in a complete stranger!" The boy ranted, Eren being discouraged and hurt by the words, but Zarek didn't care. He was mad and he was going to let it out.
"Oh please, we would've lost more people if you'd been in charge! Or we would all be dead by now! We were ambushed! That wasn't Eren's fault!" Bellona defended. Zarek looked at her enraged.
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me!"
"ENOUGH!" Asher bellowed, getting the two to stop.
"We can't change what happened. We have to keep moving and stop the spiders at their birthplace, otherwise Angelo and Lux's sacrifices would've been for nothing." He said sternly. Asher turned to Eren, giving him a knowing look. Eren understood what he meant.
"Let's go." The boy simply spoke out. The others watched as he took charge and walked up front, each taking their turns to follow him. Zarek and Abelard being the last two.
The group continued on, not encountering anything which was a good thing, but it also made some of them uneasy. Asher and Bellona were flanking Eren on his sides, Odeda in between the two further back, Dove and Esme right behind them, with Zarek and Abelard keeping guard in the back.
"So Eren." The boy perked up when the girl said his name. "Where are you from? What's this object you're looking for? Why do you need it?" Eren wasn't a barrage of questions all at once.
'Have to play it safe. Don't give too much information away.' The scout wasn't sure how they would take the truth if they even believed him.
"I live far from here, located behind three giant walls over 50 meters tall." This got the miners intrigued, including Zarek and Abelard though the latter didn't visibly show it.
"50 meters?! Wow, that must've been a lot of work!" Bellona exclaimed.
"Did you live there your whole life, Eren?" Odeda asked. The soldier nodded.
"Yeah. We just only recently started to explore outside because the conditions weren't suitable for human life outside the walls." Eren lied.
"What kind of conditions?" Zarek asked this time. Eren had to think of something fast.
"Well, the area outside has-" The soldier couldn't finish his sentence when he heard a shriek. The group looked over and saw Dove caught in something.
"You alright Dove?" Zarek asked, walking up to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got stuck in something." She answered. Zarek was going to help her until he noticed what exactly Dove was caught in.
A golden web.
"Be on your guard everybody." Zarek told everyone. He cut Dove from the silk, the girl brushing off the rest of her person.
"The yellow variants must be nearby." Dove responded. "There must be webs all over the place. Watch your STEP!" Dove shrieked as a pair of legs sprung out from the walls and grabbed her, dragging her back in the shadows.
"Dove!" Odeda called out. The others got their weapons out and armed themselves. "The red variants! Those trapdoor fucks!" Zarek called out. Before anyone could make their next move, Dove emerged from the same spot she was just sucked into, all looking battered and beaten but still alive.
"Dove! What happened?' Eren asked. The woman checked herself to make sure she was alright.
"I managed to kill the thing before it could end me for good. Tough bastard he was, but no match for me." The two smiled at each other before they turned and noticed the walls were starting to shake, and they could hear the sound of many legs moving behind them.
"Move!"
The group ran for their lives. The walls were starting to crack, revealing the red spider variants as they tried to grab at the miners and Eren one by one. They slashed at them whenever they tried, but to make things worse, the yellow orb-weaver variants made their presence known, crawling on the cavern walls and ceilings as the path grew wider and provided more room.
"I'll clear the way! Just make sure you stay away from the walls!" Eren conjured up another spell.
"Fire Demon Slithering Current!" The fire snake-like trail traveled all over the place, killing any arachnid it touched. The others fired their magical guns at the yellow and red variants, the former trying to construct more webs to trap them.
When they went through the clutter, they saw a light at the end, signifying another room.
"Come on move!" Eren urged. He shot up and sliced some orb weavers with his sword before landing on the ground and launching some fire slashes at the trapdoors. Odeda threw her spear through one of them, piercing it to a column that she was less than enthusiastic about retrieving it from.
They were almost there until they noticed that the hole the light was coming from slowly starting to become covered.
"Damn it, the entrance is being sealed!" Zarek shouted.
"The rumbling from the fighting is causing the place to cave in on itself. Everyone moves, on the double!" Asher ordered. They were so close to the hole, when all of a sudden Dove was jumped by one of the trapdoor variants. She got one off and cut it up with her ax, but one more came up on top of her.
"Dove!" Odeda screamed. She rushed to save her friend but was blindsided by the golden webs that she couldn't see until it was too late. The woman freed herself with her spear with the magic inside of it dissolving the silk. When she was free, Odeda tried to go to Dove, but she saw she was getting overwhelmed by the spiders coming at her from every angle.
"Dove!"
"Odeda, go with the others! Please!" Dove begged, throwing another spider off of her and chopping it down. "You need to escape!"
"What about you?" Odeda asked. Dove gave her a soft smile.
"I'll be okay, don't you worry about it." She said quietly. "Now go, hurry!" Odeda shed more tears, not believing what was happening. With great reluctance, the forest-haired woman left going with the others. She made it through the cavern with Eren and Asher keeping watch. They saw Dove getting overwhelmed by the spiders, with Eren about to charge in to save her with his Demon Slayer Magic. But the cave wouldn't allow him that chance as the entrance was about to be sealed off.
"Go!" Dove shouted at the boys. Eren and Asher looked at each other, then back at the brave woman. With regret, the two entered in the opening right as the entrance was sealed off. Dove smiled as she was slowly losing her strength. Her eyes closed as she faded away, slowly becoming a meal for the creatures around her.
The group watched as Eren and Asher entered, the entrance being blocked off. The miners were disheartened to lose another member of the village.
"Not again." Zarek muttered. Things were already bad enough, it didn't need to be much worse! Unfortunately they were.
A loud growling sound was heard and the group could see two large blue spiders, bigger than any they've encountered before. Their hairs were thick and deadly, and their fangs itching to chew them up.
"Son of a bitch.." Bellona muttered. One of the tarantulas used their legs to brush off the hairs, which at that size and speed, were like needles.
"Move!" Eren screamed. They all ducked out of the way and engaged the spider duo. Bellona, Asher, and Zarek took on one with their swords, while Eren, Odeda, Abelard, and Esme took care of the other one, the latter two using their ax and polearm respectively. However, their attacks were doing very little to the beasts. Their magical weapons, even the firearms, were doing much to them and although Eren's magic was doing more damage, they were still sturdy enough to resist his flames.
"Damn these bastards are durable!" Eren exclaimed. He rushed in and punched the spider head-on with a flaming fist, making it flinch but quickly shrugging the blow off and knocking him into the wall.
"We're never going to catch a break and complete our mission if we don't deal with them first!" Bellona mentioned. She missed a strike from one of the spider's legs, only to be hit with the other.
"We're not going to be able to win if we can't even put a dent in them!' Zarek responded, hacking away at the spider in front of him to no avail. Eren launched another "Fire Demon Rage" at them which did more damage, but the spiders were still showing no signs of stopping.
Esme noticed something odd about their behavior. The spiders were doing everything they could to keep them away from their sides, always shifting their bodies so that their front or back was facing their targets. Esme wondered why until she noticed that their underbellies looked a lot softer than their exterior. More vulnerable.
"Go for the underbelly!" Esme shouted, confusing the group. "That's their weak spot!" They brought some relief for the others.
"Alright! Now that's more like it!" Zarek said excitedly. The miners were able to take down their opponents, Zarek and Bellona using their swords to trip up the tarantula while Asher pierced it with his, and Odeda and Esme using there spears to stab under the spider and lifted up to allow Abelard to finish it off.
"Awesome!" Eren cheered. His excitement was crushed when the caves started to shake again. Everyone noticed it too.
"Come on! This way!" Bellona roared. She found another trail that revealed itself during the fight when she was knocked to the side by the blue spider. The group hurried and made their way to the entrance. It wasn't as cramped or big as the one they were just in but it would manage. They started running down the path when they heard a crash behind him and saw a large rock had fallen from the ceiling.
"The cave's coming down on us!" Odeda shouted.
"Keep moving! We're almost there!" Zarek replied. They were halfway across when a pile of rubble fell onto Esme, crushing her almost instantly.
"Esme!" Eren shouted, about to run back. The other miners were in despair at the thought of losing another one of their own. But they had to keep going, they had to move.
"Eren, come on!" Bellona demanded. The soldier looked at her in shock.
"But-" Eren tried to protest.
"We can't save them anymore! We gotta go now!" Zarek yelled.
"There's still time!" The soldier attempted to reason.
"I'm sorry, but we can't stay here. Stop stalling and let's go!" Odeda exclaimed. The soldier turned over to Asher to try and get some back up, but those hopes were dashed when he started talking.
"Eren. We can't go back. If we do, we'll all be killed!" Asher protested. The Scout was flabbergasted at the other's willingness to leave the others so easily. He had enough of everyone's attitude.
"How can all of you ignore what's happening back there?! Are you telling me to abandon my comrades?! Is that it?!" Eren shouted with fury, taking Asher by surprise. Everyone was surprised, for that matter. He didn't respond for a moment.
"Yes." He replied calmly, but reluctantly. Eren gasped at him, looking down and gritting his teeth in frustration and sadness. Abelard remained silent for the whole ordeal.
The group continued moving on until they reached a small opening that had a pathway leading into it. When they reached it, the final rubble landed, sealing off the pathway.
"Is this it?" Eren asked. Bellona and Zarek moved about and inspected the area. It was covered with the remains of egg sacks that have long been destroyed from being hatched and many cobwebs from big to small. "Yeah, we're on the right track." Zarek confirmed.
"The nest shouldn't be too far away from here." Bellona added. Eren walked up to the front of the group, taking a peek into the pathway. After making sure everything was clear, he turned back to the group.
"Alright. Let's go." The squad ventured into the pathway, making sure to be on guard as much as possible to avoid dealing with any more encounters after what they've been through. Eventually, they reached a small clearing with a few holes in the sides, but it was safe enough for them to rest for the time being and catch their breaths.
"Are we almost there yet?" Zarek asked. Asher looked around and noticed how there were more egg sacks and webs than before.
"I believe so." Abelard was looking around, noticing how smaller the group was ever since they came here. They knew it wasn't going to be easy but that still didn't make it any better. The man glanced over to where Eren was.
He could see how hard it was getting to the young soldier. At first he didn't think much of the kid, in fact he was completely against having him, a complete stranger, lead their squad into the mines to get rid of the infestation. He would much rather have Asher, Lux, or himself be the one in charge.
But, he saw how brave and determined the boy was. How Eren faced the spiders and did his absolute damndest to save everyone. Abelard could tell that the cadet also had natural leadership skills and the charisma needed that would make the others willing to follow his orders. Hotheaded and a bit reckless, but Abelard recognized the boy had a talent for that.
The recent deaths were hitting everyone hard. However, it seemed they were hitting Eren harder than anyone even though he wasn't a native to the village.
'He took on the responsibility of leading a group of strangers to their potential deaths, all for the sake of trying to save a town that isn't even his. He risked life and limb to try and save us, even though some of us didn't have faith in him." Abelard sighed, knowing what he had to do next. The redhead walked over to where the young man was, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault." Eren looked over and was shocked to see Abelard, who hadn't spoken a single word to him throughout this whole expedition. The man was also looking at him with a compassionate look, when all he was getting from him was indifference at best and hard scorn at worse. Eren looked back down, not sure what to make of his words.
"Maybe I was being too optimistic. Maybe I was getting in over my head and held my expectations too high for how the mission will go and if I had what it takes to handle it. I took on the position of being a leader with barely any time to prepare myself for the task, and it cost people their lives. I sent them to their deaths." Eren bluntly stated.
'This wouldn't be the first time I failed either.' Eren thought. He remembered what happened in Trost, during the beginning soon after the breach. How he was in charge of one of the squads and in his blind rage and despair to try and avenge one of his dear friends that was unlucky enough to be swallowed whole by a Titan, he got injured in the process, the other members died, and he almost lost Armin before being consumed in his place.
Even after all this time, he never forgot about the lives that were lost in the struggle for Trost, both cadet and veteran that were part of the Garrison. He kept them in his brain, not wanting to forget those that gave their lives to allow him to achieve humanity's first ever victory against the titans. Among those include three males and one female. The former three having blonde hair with long sideburns, short ash blond hair hair , spiky brown hair combed back, and finally, a girl with black hair tied up in pigtails.
'It's just like back home.'
"Eren." The boy turned back to the middle-aged man. "This wasn't going to be an easy task for any of us. All of us were under the risk of dying. Don't blame yourself for that. You've done more than enough for us already." Eren turned to him, confused about what he was talking about. "You took the lead and were willing to help us even though there is no guarantee you're going to find what you're looking for. You banded us together and had us keep moving forward despite the losses we endured. You gave everyone, including me, hope that we can be free from these creature's fangs, all without expecting anything in return. You're the furthest we've ever got to reaching that hope and making it a reality. We made it this far and we need to see this mission to the end." Abelard declared, getting everyone to be awed by his speech, Eren especially. He looked over at everyone. They all had the same determined expression on them, ready to finish this once and for all. Eren turned back to Abelard and he gave the boy a soft look. Eren returned it with a resolved one.
"Get ready to move and prepare yourselves as best as you can. We're not that far from the nest so make sure you have everything you need. We might not get another chance once we're in the belly of the beast." Eren ordered. Everyone nodded and started tending to themselves, making sure that their equipment was ready and that they mentally prepared themself for the final encounter.
Eren went to check his ODM gear. There was still plenty of gas left, not having to use much during the initial encounter with the orange and green spiders, and not seeing the need to use any in the claustrophobic run-in with red, yellow, and blue variants. Abelard went over to a corner of the opening, checking his wounds and his magic ax.
But while he was doing that, no one noticed a small rock being moved from its natural position. A small pair of violet eyes emerged from the darkness and soon their owner made their move.
"AAAHHHH!" The whole team was alerted to the scream, which came from Abelard. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.
"Abelard! What's wrong?! Speak to u-" Eren stopped his sentence when he saw a growing purple color on Abelard's back, being able to be seen from his muscle shirt. The miners were shocked at what they were seeing, until Odeda noticed something scurrying back to where it came from.
"There!" She shouted, pointing to the rock Abelard was sitting in front of. Eren, Asher, and Zarek rushed to the spot and pulled the rock, seeing nothing but pitch black.
"What was that?" Zarek asked.
"Judging by the wound." The boys turned to Bellona as she and Odeda tried to attend to the redheaded man. "It's a bite mark from the purple spider. The Black Widow variant." The other's widened their eyes at the statement.
"The rarest one?" Zarek questioned. Bellona gave a small sad nod.
"Yes, and the most deadly of the six. Their poison is incredibly powerful, it can kill anything within seconds of injection." The girl answered, trying to keep back tears from falling. Odeda was also trying to keep herself together. Zarek and Asher stood by Abelard's side while Eren got in front of him.
"Come on man, we can't lose you. We already lost everyone else, and you just gave us one of those inspirational speeches to lift our moods. You can't go out like that!" Zarek pleaded. Abelard gave him a small smile.
"It'll be alright Zarek. You need to worry about yourself and your father. I know you have what it takes to fill his shoes someday, or go on your path to do whatever your heart desires. It's always been in you." The young man was taken aback by his statement. The man turned over to Asher.
"Asher, please look after everyone while I'm gone. You always looked after everyone and I know you will continue to do so until your day comes, and even after you have already left this world." The man gave a soft nod, torn apart on the inside while remaining strong on the outside. Abelard then turned to Odeda.
"Odeda. You had a great inner strength in you that needs to be recognized. You have done well supporting your comrades and keeping it together in times of crisis. I pray that you don't lose your sweet, gentle nature everyone knows you for." Abelard complimented. Odeda nodded, the tears starting to come out now.
"Bellona." Abelard referred, the girl straightening up and giving him her full attention. "You're brave, passionate, good-natured, and unwilling to give up. You are exactly what this village needs to find the small peck of light hidden in this deep darkness. Never forget that child." Bellona nodded.
"I won't!" Finally, Abelard turned to Eren.
"Eren Jaeger. You are what people need when they feel like there is nothing left to fight for. That everything is in vain and nothing will matter anymore. This is a harsh and cruel world we live in, but that doesn't stop people like us from fighting back against it until our last breath. I know you are a symbol of hope to many out there, and you have a hidden power inside of you that you don't recognize…. or maybe you do, but you still have yet to fully comprehend it. Master that power, master yourself, and you will be what you need to be to free all that you want." Eren took every single word the man was saying, his own tears beginning to pour out.
"Please Eren. Make sure that the Queen and her spiderlings are destroyed. Everyone's sacrifices can't go to waste, but I know you won't. You'll make every use of them to do what's right and save everyone. We… are all… counting on you…" With his last words, Abelard's body succumbed to the venom and he passed away. The remnants of the team were taking everything in, trying to keep themselves together. Asher noticed Eren's demeanor and tried to comfort him.
"We were all prepared to give our lives to take back our home. We miners have to work in harsh and claustrophobic conditions on a daily basis down here. We knew the risks, Eren. Don't blame yourself for all this." Asher tried to reason. Even though he could understand the logic, that didn't necessarily make the feeling of regret and guilt go away. Eren was shaking heavily, everything coming down at him all at once.
"Damnit!" Eren punched the wall next to him, hard enough for him to bleed. Not that he cared. The remaining members of the looked at him worryingly, even Asher. The forest-haired woman gazed at him with concern, but she knew that the scout needed to know about this.
"Eren." The soldier and everyone turned to the Odeda, noticing what they were referring to. There was an opening that showed a shining light glimmering from the cavern. Eren and the others steeled themselves, wiping away any tears and grabbing their gear. This was it. They walked in and prepared themselves for whatever they might find there.
What remained of the group went through the opening and what they saw was both beautiful and horrifying to them, which was appropriate considering what they've been encountering left and right constantly.
"Woah." The girl said. The others were just as stunned, many emotions both good and bad flooding their cores. Eren looked starstruck like the rest of them, though one question was ringing in his head.
"Is this really…?" He said out loud. The man, who didn't show much emotion in his expression like the others, was still surprised like his fellow townsfolk. He nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. This is the nest."
What surrounded them was thousands and thousands of eggs that never seemed to end. There were egg sacks were attached to the ground, thankfully not looking ready to hatch anytime. However, in turn, the group saw many that were broken and were hatched. They could only hope they didn't run into the deadly newborn babies that already knew how to crawl, walk, and run all at once.
Eren snapped out of his awestruck daze. "Let's go." He ordered. The others followed suit and he led them toward a path that was clearest of spider eggs, hatched or unhatched. While walking, they took the time to look around, being intimidated by the huge quantity of eggs around. One of them wanted to go up and touch them because as terrifying as they were, the eggs themselves were amazing in their appearance.
The bright, bluish glow the eggs emitted gave off a radiant feeling, like anyone who caught a glance of them were looking at a pearl of some kind. Before the miner could touch it, he was pulled back by the man who shook his head. The miner remembered what it was and what they were doing and nodded in understanding, turning around to catch up with the group.
Eren was keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary…. besides the abnormal eggs of course. He needed to know if the next piece needed to locate the Rogue Vagabond was here or not. He did not want the lives that were lost on this expedition to go to waste… not when these people decide to put their faith in him, a young teen and a complete stranger who they just met that day, to help save their way of life, their town, and their people from the arachnid invasion that had plagued them for a long time.
He needed to see this through. Many people were counting on him, and he couldn't let them down by any means.
"Hey, look!" The girl shouted, pointing at something. Everyone turned their heads to the direction she was pointing at and they were all stunned again, especially Eren.
In the center of the nest, where many decorative and deadly webs, was the second item that the soldier needed to find the Rogue Vagabond: A pink crystal whose warm colors contrasted with the cool ones filling the area that only added to the stunning appearance of the nest.
"There it is." Eren breathed. The group turned towards him.
"Is that the item you're looking for, Eren?" The man asked, Eren nodded.
"That was one of the items I saw on the engravings. It's definitely it." The newly recruited soldier confirmed. He glanced side to side.
"Is everything all clear?" He asked. The group took a look around the nest, not spotting any signs of the spiders or their queen.
"No sign of them. You're in the clear." The girl answered. Eren nodded and made his way on his own to the jewels location, going solo so as to not make much noise or accidentally touch the webs like organic tripwires.
He crawled his way up to the jewel and slowly reached for it with his hand, not wanting to risk any fast movements betraying their location. His hand was near inches away from the artifact, and without any more delay, he grabbed it and removed it from its spot.
Eren waited just in case something would happen. Making sure to keep his guard up, the soldier turned around and showed it to the group, who silently cheered at obtaining it. Eren made his way quietly down the path and made it back to the group.
"Here it is, everyone." Eren said, showing off to the miners.
"Wow, it's amazing!" The girl cheered.
"It's stunning." The man added. The rest of the miners agreed with him. Eren was happy, both with the miner's own happiness and the fact that he is now a step closer to his goal. Just when they were ready to plan their next move, they heard a loud screech that ringed across the cave. The group turned around and were horrified by what they saw.
A colossal arachnid emerged from the wide gap in the nest, making its presence known with another loud screech coming from its fangs.
The Queen has arrived.
It was an arachnid that was much bigger than any they encountered before, taking so much room it was amazing that there was still room for it to move and not bring the whole cave down on all of them. It was glowing in a bright white color that made it just as beautiful as it made it terrifying to look at. Each of its legs were covered in hardened scales that were a darker shade than the rest of its body, along with it running down its backs in lines. The group can see that the red eyes that seemed to gaze into their souls, a radiant crimson being paired up with not one, but two pairs of fangs: one on top that goes down to stab their victims from above and one in the middle with each fang on the side to tear its prey apart. It had crystalized spikes on top of its head in the shape of a crown, signifying its natural royal status. It's abdomen was made of the same material, looking like a giant white diamond.
The group was taken aback not only by the sheer size of the creature, but of the raw power they could feel emanating off that giant arthropod. Eren gritted his teeth and swallowed his fear, turning over to the miners.
"Get everyone out of the cave and don't stop running until you make it out and get to higher ground!" Eren ordered. The others looked shocked at his demands.
"But what about you Eren?" The girl asked. She already had an idea of what he had in mind. "You can't face that thing on your own! We'll help you, right everyone?" The other miners, despite their fear nodded their heads. Eren wasn't having it however.
"I know you want to and it's not that I don't want to refuse your help, but I'm the only one of us qualified enough to take on it directly. If you want to help me, get out of the caves." Eren pointed to one of the holes that led to the nest that was a different one from the one they came in. "I don't want any of you to get directly in the middle of the fight with this thing. Understood?" Eren instructed. The miners were taken aback by the boy's calmness and level-headed thinking. They all thought that the boy was being foolish, and the man was about to speak for all of them.
"Eren, please. You can't face that beast alone-" The man stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. All except for one.
"Please. Let's have faith in him for once and let him do this." The girl pleaded, knowing that Eren was firm in his decision and wasn't going to be budging. She trusted the soldier to be able to take care of himself and be able to beat this thing one-on-one, after seeing what he was capable of and what he's like as a person.
"Let's trust in him, and get out of here." The man pondered for a moment, taking one last look at Eren. He saw the determination and conviction in the teenager's eyes. It amazed him to see such a look in someone so young, and he could tell from his own experiences that the child soldier has been through so much for someone of his age. Taking a deep breath, the man relented and turned towards his people.
"You heard the man! Everyone to that cave and run like hell!" The miners took everything in for a moment and did what he said, running away through the opening toward the town. The man and the girl took one last glance at Eren. He gave them a determined nod, which made them smile before they followed the others.
He gripped the blades in his hands, and swung them downwards, taking a battle stance. The Queen Spider kept all of her eyes on him, ready to devour the human that stood against her. She lifted one of her legs and thrust it down, stabbing it into the ground.
Eren jumped out of the way, missing the leg before it stabbed into the earth. He pressed the triggers and attached himself to the cavern walls, reeling himself up to where the hook was pierced in. Eren hung by the side and saw the Queen lifting up her legs and moving her body to face him.
'This is the last time you'll bring despair to these people… Not if I have anything to say about it?' Eren thought, detaching from the wall and lunging towards the giant arachnid. The soldier fired his other and it pierced into the leg she just attacked him with. However, the hook had a hard time stabbing into the leg, even with Eren aiming for the section that didn't have the darkened armor.
"Damn. Its body is that durable?!" Eren exclaimed, watching as his grappling hook pathetically fell after failing to stab into the leg. "It's like the Armored back home." Eren muttered. He glanced down to his blades that were forged from material found in Earth Land to make up for his normal ultrahard steel blades being destroyed in his fight with Kinvinaris. The Titan Shifter used his other to reattach to the wall and figure out a different move. He looked over and scanned the arachnid, looking for a weak spot of any kind. But as soon as he turned around, he saw the queen right in front of him at blistering speeds he didn't think imaginable.
The soldier barely shot himself out of there in time before her fangs clamped down on them. Eren looked down on the spider, which gazed up at him from below.
"That was close! How fast is this thing?" Eren gasped when the queen opened her maw that was in between her dual paired fangs and shot a stream of poison out. The soldier fired his other hook and swung himself out the way, the poison hitting the ceiling and immediately dissolving it like acid.
"Does she have the abilities of all the variants rolled into one?!" Eren exclaimed. The Queen was about to shoot out another stream, which he countered.
"Fire Demon Rage!" Eren shouted. The two elemental beams collided with each other, leaving behind a small blast along with the acidic venomous residue. Eren fired another "rage" at the spider, which she effortlessly blocked by crossing her front legs. The scout narrowed his eyes, putting his hands out.
"Try blocking this!" Eren shouted, his hands glowing in a blue fiery aura. "Fire Demon Slithering Current!"
The flames flew out of his hands, moving in wavy, unpredictable movements. The queen was going to defend her front again when she noticed that the flames weren't aiming for her there. She watched as they moved around her legs and were seemingly moving in random patterns. Her eyes knew better and just when they were going to strike her, she moved her back legs to defend herself like before, surprising Eren.
"So she has the green jumping spider's intelligence." Eren noted. Speed, Strength, Armor, Poison, and Intelligence. The scout figured she would be able to jump, dig through tunnels effortlessly, and be able to create webs as well. That was proved correct when the Queen sunk into the ground all of a sudden like it was a very fast quicksand. Eren's eyes bugged out and he hovered to the ground and saw a large hole where the queen was.
"Where did she go?" The soldier heard something and looked up. He saw the ceiling of the nest breaking apart, eventually collapsing to reveal the queen, now high above to prevent Eren from retreating to the higher ground and using it to his advantage. Eren grimaced when he saw the queen opened her maw again, but instead of venom, it was silk. Eren jumped out of the way before the sticky substance could hit him, but that jump was followed by him shooting a hook near the circulars walls and reeling himself away from the silk spit the queen was firing at him.
Eren slashed his right sword, sending another flaming arc at the spit. It burned it and was heading for the queen's head, but she just knocked back the flames with her legs again.
"Damn It. I'll never be able to do some damage to her if she's going to block everything. I need to get rid of those legs." Eren looked over the legs, trying to find a fault in their structure that he can exploit. It was hard to see from where he was, but he looked closely at how the legs looked, specifically the little dents in between the legs.
'Those must be to connect everything together. If I can get rid of those…' Eren knew what to do now. He gripped the operating devices in his hands tightly, pulled the top trigger and fired its corresponding hook, making it attach to the cavern walls. He flung himself up and angled his blades to cut properly. The queen tried to attack him with on of her legs, but he was able to easily maneuver out of the way, shooting the other hook into the ceiling to steady his body to attack the target properly.
The scout was about to sever the sections where the legs are attached to when he saw the white arachnid lift up her other leg and pointed it at him. Eren watched in surprise as silk shot out of the tip and hit him, sticking him to the ground of the nest.
"No!" Eren cried out. He tried to burn his way out of the natural trap, but found himself unable to.
"Why can't I burn this stuff away?!" Eren shouted. He heard the low but high-pitch growl and looked up to see the queen slowly making her way towards him, not sprinting right away.
'Is she savoring her prey?' Eren thought. The way the spider looked at him, while slowly crawling towards him in a way that was more creepy with how all her legs moved, with her four fangs clanging against each other with a ringing sound of clashing metal that was horrifying to hear. With how the queen was behaving, Eren figured that was the case. He could even see the venom drip from her fangs like toxic saliva.
"What's with this stuff? Can it neutralize magic?" Eren couldn't feel anything. No heat, no fire, nothing. With the queen spider on her way, Eren was trying to reach his blades as an alternate means to free himself, but the way he positioned, his hand couldn't reach his blades nor turn properly to cut free if he had it in his hand.
"Damn it. I can't die like this!" Eren screamed, the queen closing in on him. He wriggled and writhed, trying to escape the tough and soft substance to no avail. Eren looked down, his bangs hiding his eyes.
Eren thought about all the deaths that occurred on this mission. Angelo and Lux sacrificed themselves to give them a chance, Dove and Esme were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Abelard was assassinated without anyone being able to intervene.
He was in charge of them, and they still were killed. He was lucky that Asher, Bellona, Zarek, and Odeda are alive and were probably out of the caves by now. But that didn't make the deaths of the others any less weighing on Eren's mind.
"I thought this world was different." He muttered.
"I thought that despite how bizarre it looked and acted, it was a place that one could settle in without having to constantly worry about what day they are going to die." The queen opened her mouth, fangs near.
"But." Eren stopped. He gritted his teeth and his blood started to heat up. "No matter where you are, no matter what coat of paint it's in." The queen was about to have her next meal.
"IT'S STILL ALWAYS THE SAME CRUEL WORLD!"
Eren clamped down on his jaws, biting his tongue. A bolt of electricity appeared before the queen and made her take a step back. The soldier destroyed the web and flew into the air with his ODM gear. Taking advantage of the queen's moment of confusion, the scout attacked her relentlessly.
"Fire Demon Rage!"
"Fire Demon Oxygen Fist!"
"Fire Demon Tear!"
"Fire Demon Twisted Grasp!"
"Fire Demon Demented Spread!"
"Fire Demon Nuclear Palm!"
"Fire Demon Slithering Current!"
The soldier made use of his newfound status as a Demon Slayer, launching spell after spell at the queen, causing major damage now that she wasn't blocking. But he wasn't done. Using his ODM gear, Eren swung his way over the vital sections of the arachnid's legs and carved into them, moving and swinging faster to deal more pain and avoid being attacked.
Eren landed in front of the towering she-beast, the tower struggling to keep herself up as her legs were damaged thanks to the cut.
"So that wasn't enough huh?" Eren spoke out, addressing the queen. "That's fine by me. I still have a lot more rage in me I need to let out. And when I knock you down." Eren brought his right hand to his mouth.
"You're not getting back up." He bit into his hand, drawing blood.
The miners made it out of the caves, taking the minecart back to Lithopsosis. The whole town was waiting for them, standing in front of the "Miners Inter-Railway" building with the Mayor in front of them. When the miners stepped out of the building, the crowd roared with excitement, the mayor having a big, white smile on his face. He ran up to the ground.
"I'm so glad you made it back home. How was the mission?" The mayor asked ecstatically, only for that ecstasy to go away when he saw the expressions on his miner's faces and notice something missing.
"Where are Lux and the others? "Where's Eren?" The mayor asked, concerned. Bellona walked up to the mayor.
"The others… didn't make it." Bellona said softly. The mayor was shocked by the news. "What about Eren?"
"Hes-" Bellona was interrupted when the mountain sides around their village broke apart, revealing the Queen Spider in all her terrifying glory… and large, naked humanoid with a weird and scary jaw that had long black hair and pointy ears that was wrestling with the arachnid. The villager just watched as the two were going at it at each other, throwing strikes at each other every chance they got. The towns were surprised… and horrified by what they were seeing.
"What is that thing?!"
"Why is it naked?"
"Is it here to eat us?!"
"No, it can't be. Look, it's fighting the queen!"
"It could just be saving us for itself."
While the town was talking amongst themselves, the group just gazed at the giant. They were confused on where it came from, though Bellona was curious about something.
"Did Eren transform into that?" The orange-haired girl asked. Was it some kind of Transformation Magic? Like a variant of some kind? Asher continued looking at the creature, not keeping his eyes off him. He took in all the features of the weirdly human-like nude creature. Despite its resemblance to humans, there were clear distinctions other than the obvious 15-meter size difference. For one, it didn't have any visible genitals. The other was that the facial features that it bore were extremely jarring, having a mouth with no lips and had a "double jaw" of sorts due to having two more rows of teeth located where the cheeks would be, aligning neatly with the upper row of the normal set. His eyes were sunken, he had pointy ears, and he had long hair that reached down to his neck.
While the creature had a striking appearance, the thing that caught the man's attention was the fact that he felt no magic power coming off from it, unlike earlier when he was using that blue fire to fight against the spider.
'What is this power?' The man thought, wondering if it was a type of Magic, or something else.
Eren faced the giant spider, keeping his arms up in a battle stance. He didn't want to transform into a titan, but knowing that magic wouldn't be able to do much against her on its own, he decided to go for the big guns. Literally.
Eren pulled his arm back and punched the queen in the face, knocking her back a bit. The queen staggered, getting her bearings and retaliating with one of her dagger-like legs. Eren caught the leg and threw her back. But the Queen tipped him over with her back legs, cutting the bottom in the process. The Attack Titan got back on his feet, the wound healing completely.
"Is that you Eren!" Eren looked down to see Bellona shouting for him. The soldier was surprised that she guessed it was him already. As much as he didn't want to, he knew that not telling them that this was him would make things worse. Eren held up his hands to confirm it was him, making the miners sigh in relief.
"Thank goodness." Zarek breathed.
"So is that a Transformation Magic spell?" Odeda asked.
"I don't know, but if Eren transformed into that, our odds of getting rid of the spiders for good just went up drastically." Bellona responded. Asher didn't say anything, only continuing to observe.
Eren repeatedly hit the spider, who was blocking his punches with her legs. Eren ended it with a kick, making her back up a little. She counterattacked with a venom stream, only for the titan to shift his body to the side to avoid the lethal attack. But that left him vulnerable to another. The queen followed that up with a line of webbing ejecting from her legs like needles and wrapping them around his legs.
The Queen yanked the webbing, draggin Eren and making him let out a little shriek as he was pulled under her. She started biting at him, trying to pierce him to the ground using her bladed anatomy. Eren grabbed the legs, and moved his head to avoid it getting chomped by the arthropod.
The titan kicked her underside, making the Queen shriek and stumble allowing Eren to land a few more punches on her. He went to punch her again, but the spider grabbed his fist and chewed it off, then spit another venom stream which sprayed all over Eren, drawing a diagonal arc from bottom right to top left. The soldier tried to block the stream with his left arm, but it ended up being dissolved as well.
"Ohhhh, that's not good." Bellona winced.
"Will Eren be okay?" Odeda asked. Even if he won, he would still be severely injured afterwards and might have to live with those wounds for the rest of his life.
"He'll be okay. Look." Zarek pointed out, getting the others to look at the 15-meter again. They could see that the wounds were healing at an extremely fast rate, albeit with some difficulty because of the acidic venom.
"Well, I'll be damned." Bellona muttered. Asher was both surprised and greatly pleased that Eren had that power, worried for the boy's safety after that last move.
The queen stabbed at the titan, shoving him while leaving a small hole in his chest. Eren landed on his back with a loud thud. He lifted his head up and looked at the white spider. 'I need to end this quickly.' He thought. The corner of his eyes caught something, something that looked like a blur. It was purple.
'Wait, is that?' Sure enough it was a purple spider.. the same purple spider that killed Abelard.
'You're not getting away.' Eren darkly vowed. He grabbed the purple spider and crushed into his palms, catching the queen off guard. Eren threw the remains at her, hitting her in the eyes. The queen wailed, furious at the death of one her children and the pain in her eyes from the venom sack exploding. Eren rushed up to attack her again, but one of the Queen's legs stabbed his back and lifted him up, catching the titan shifter off guard.
The Queen was furious, she had no intention of letting this weird giant human walk away alive. She's going to enjoy eating him alive, from the feet first. Eren wasn't going to let her. He smacked her in the jaw and bit on the exposed section of her leg, making her howl in pain. She uppercutted him with her other leg, stabbing in the chin. The spider threw the scout to the side, the impact hard enough to leave a large dust cloud in its wake.
The town gasped, worried that Eren was just beaten. The miner held on to hope that he was still alive, Odeda even praying. The Queen stood there, watching the cloud in case her foe wasn't dead yet.
Taking everyone by surprise, including the spider, her own leg was thrown at her, skewing the half side of her face. The Queen cried out in pain and agony, which was followed by the powerful roar of Eren's Titan as he lunged at her, punching her so hard she crashed into the other mountains, luckily far from the town so no rubble would fall on them.
The Queen chewed her own leg off, pulling it out and throwing it to the side. She was beyond angry now. She sprinted at Eren with such blinding speed he couldn't keep up, tackling him to the ground. The white arachnid repeatedly slashed at his body, leaving behind many slash marks while constantly stabbing his sides with her second pair. She even tried to chomp at his head, but Eren was holding her back despite the onslaught. The Queen lifted the transformed soldier up, hitting him with her legs in the head and sending him flying.
Eren was thrown back against the side of one of the other mountains, his Titan form bleeding profusely. His head was beaten in, showing some of the skin underneath along with some brain matter and parts of the skull. The large hole in his chest had steam emitting from it at such a rate that it looked like the hole was shooting the steam itself. Speaking of which, all the slash and bite marks that plagued his body were trying to heal, but even with the enhanced regeneration, Eren's Titan was on the verge of collapsing from all the damage it sustained.
The soldier slouched against the stony structure, not looking like he was able to get back up. The residents looked on in horror, watching as the giant arachnid was closing in on Eren, intending to use him as a food source: Either for herself or her children, or both. Bellona couldn't take it anymore as she cried.
"EREN!" The orange-haired woman screamed. She did not want to watch the only person that has ever helped them getting devoured alive. She turned around and sat down, her hands clutching her head with her trembling hands, fear filling her core and showing on her face. Zarek and Odeda felt the same, their expressions showing their deep fear and sadness for the scout.
The other villagers looked on as the Queen was about to finish off the soldier for good. Asher looked at him with worry, hoping that he would get up in time.
"Eren.. Please get up." The bearded man pleaded internally. Everyone feared the worst. Their last line of defense was beaten and now they were next. It was over, they lost.
But that wasn't the case.
Eren sat there, covered in the organic tissue to the point that only his upper body was visible. A string of tissue connecting from his face to the rest of the biotic interior. He didn't move a muscle, trying to recover his energy. At the same time, he was seriously injured from the fight with the gigantic eight-legged arthropod.
His Titan body was incapacitated for the moment, so he couldn't move to get out of the way or defend himself. On the inside, although Eren himself hasn't taken any actually damage to his human body, he was exhausted for trying to keep up with the spider's absurdly peak speed and strength, not to mention all the things he had to do to avoid getting killed right off the bat from facing it with both his ODM gear (which was still thankfully attached) and in his Titan state.
As he stayed there, Eren's mind started to wonder….
"Wait, Levi. Hold on a second."
"What is it?"
"It's dangerous, what if he gets angry and turns into a titan?
…
"It seems as though self-harm is the only requirement. A clear goal in mind is needed to transform."
"I think you may be right. The same thing happened during the cannon fire. But… I transformed into a titan by picking up a spoon?"
"That's insane."
Eren's eyes shot open.
'Why… Why am I remembering that now at a time like this?!" Eren gritted his teeth, his familiar anger flowing through him in spades. It wasn't stopping though. Like a river, every aspect of rage he felt towards the titans, the circumstances he and humanity inside of the walls had to face and endure because of them, which only got worse in recent years. The amount of lives that were lost when they were herded like cattle in that pen they called their home, civilian and soldier alike.
And the ones that lost their lives to those damn spiders who think they are at the top.
'Ah who gives a shit?!' His face was slowly becoming more assimilating with the muscle tissue, covering his eyes by each growing second, but not fully blocking them… yet.
On the outside, he lifted his damaged titan body, slouching and hanging all over the place to the point he risked falling over again. But that didn't matter to the soldier. All he cared about was one thing and one thing only.
The town noticed Eren getting back up and were happy that he wasn't down for the count yet.
"He's up! He's up!" Bellona cheered, throwing her hands in the air, jumping up and down. The town joined her, except Asher who was keeping his eye on the transformed soldier. While he was relieved like everybody else, the way that Eren got up seemed off compared to the movements he showcased before.
It felt more unnatural. More ragged, more unhinged, more sloppy.
More….animalistic
"None of that matters…. not while I feel like THIS!" Eren's snarl morphed into a sadistic grin, his emerald eyes becoming a ghastly sapphire. He stood straight up, looked in the spider's direction, but directly in its many eyes. The arachnid herself stopped when her prey seemingly sprung back to life all of sudden, which caught her by surprise, and also intrigued the powerful creature. She tilted her head at the strange behavior of the large, abnormal human.
"Right or wrong, it doesn't matter! Just kill! Consequences be damned… DAMNED!" The muscle tissue attached to his face started to open up, revealing thin, glowing orange lines that spread all over the interior of the titan. These lines were reminiscent of the color and feeling of lava. They didn't stop at just the insides. All the scratch and bite marks Eren suffered from the spider's razor legs and sharp fangs were giving steam at a much faster rate than before. They also weren't closing up, only releasing more steam. The red sign of the blood became a heated orange, radiating intensely.
"What's going on with Eren?" The girl asked, her tone sounding scared and her body shaking a little. The man narrowed his eyes, worry and scrutiny emitting from them.
"I don't know." He said finally, the girl looking at him confused.
"No matter what I'm in, no matter what place I'm at or what inhabits it…" The teeth of the human-like beast started to morph, changing from the clean white, square shape they were always in, into a more darkened, edged form. His nails followed suit, growing longer and shifting from ordinary human nails to razor-like claws that you would see on a wild animal.
The townsfolk stopped cheering when they finally noticed the changes Eren was going through. They were getting frightened by the appearance that Eren was now bearing, making him even more horrifying than he already looked.
"IT'S ALWAYS A CRUEL WORLD…"
The Attack Titan roared with fury, making the entire ground shake along with the town. All the residents covered their ears and grabbed on to something to hang on. The Queen Spider shrieked back, meeting his challenge. The two colossal behemoths stared each other dead in the eyes, intending to finish the other off by any means necessary. Eren gritted his teeth as he felt the volatile energy flow through him.
"I… will… KILL THEM! Every last one!"
Eren howled one last time before charging in at the spider. The Queen immediately shot a stream of acid at the flaming titan, but to her surprise he didn't even react to the attack. Eren pounced on her, flipping her over and exposing her weak underside.
Eren repeatedly punched the spider, hitting her with newfound strength that he didn't have before. He even teared at her with his claws. The Queen tried to get him off by stabbing him in the side of the head with her sword leg. But the titan clamped his jaws and ripped it off, making blood rain. The villagers were astounded by what they were witnessing. Although Eren had the advantage, they could tell that he was losing it.
"Incredible." Odeda said. She hoped Eren would be okay and that he wouldn't attack them in a blind rage.
Eren lifted the spider up not unlike she did a few seconds ago. The titan and the spider looked into each other's eyes, one with righteous anger, the other with little life in them. Eren cocked his arm back, energy flowing through him like he never felt before. Doing a final strike, Eren launched the spider, sending her crashing into multiple mountains with one punch and causing a shockwave that rattled the village and its inhabitants, even breaking a portion of the town off.
With one last roar, Eren claimed victory. He fought literal tooth and nail for the win, people lost their lives, and part of the town was destroyed. But he did it, he finally did it.
The townsfolk took everything in. The spider queen was finally dead. They were free. They were free.
"WE'RE FINALLY FREE!" The girl roared. The whole town erupted in celebration. Some cried tears of joy, others were dancing around, and some just took the time to bask in the moment. Whatever they were doing, the town was just happy that they were finally free from the spider's reign.
The man gave off a soft smile, a lone tear escaping his eye. 'We've won.'
That smile faded when he saw the smoke clear and Eren lying unconscious. He ran up to him, calling out for his comrades.
"Bellona! Zarek! Odeda!" The others heard Asher's voice and turned to see him with Eren. The others instantly knew what was up. They ran to where Eren was and began to check up on him. Asher carried the boy in his arms, while looking at the carcass of the Queen.
"You did it Eren, You really did it."
Eren squinted his eyes, the eyelids fidgeting a bit more until they slowly opened up. The soldier sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Uh man. What happened?" The boy held his hand to his head. It throbbed in pain, not lasting for long. When the headache settled, Eren looked around the room, noticing the bed he was in and the unfamiliar environment around him.
"Wait." Eren thought back to what happened yesterday. "The town!" He jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room. He found himself in a hallway with a stairway at the right end. Going downstairs and exiting out the door, he saw something surprising.
The Mining Inter-Railway building was completely demolished. Only the bottom portion of the first floor remained. Eren looked around and saw that more of the building was destroyed, along with some of the support columns and the platforms. Thankfully, the rest of the city wasn't in ruins, but Eren wondered if anyone was hurt during the chaos.
"What about the others?" Eren turned around and saw the townspeople with supplies needed to reconstruct the town. One of the citizens noticed Eren and called out to the others.
"He's awake!" The people acknowledged the soldier and their faces brightened up, smiles present. The orange-haired girl grinned happily from seeing the brunette.
"Eren!" She ran up and hugged him tightly, so glad and grateful that the person that saved their town was alright. Everyone else came up and gave their thanks to the soldiers. The mayor came up and greeted the boy.
"Thank you so much, young man. Because of you, our town can now live in peace without having to worry about which one of us is going to die the next day!" The mayor exclaimed, albeit a bit morbid. Eren nervously smiled from the mayor's sentence. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the man smiling softly at him.
"You did good kid, you did good." Eren was still shocked by all the praise he was getting. It was a jarring contrast to the scorn and fear he usually gets. He turned and saw Zarek and Odeda walking up to them.
"Nice to see you up and around man, I was worried we would lose you." Eren stiffened as he remembered that this was not a clean victory.
"Are Angelo and the others?" The two gained sad looks.
"We'll be holding a memorial for them in honor of their sacrifice." Odeda answered him. She smiled as she looked up at him. "Please don't be sad, Eren. This is a hard loss for all of us, but they wouldn't want us to be in despair for long. They would want us to celebrate our victory and freedom from the spiders." She reassured. Eren smiled from the comforting words. Bellona soon walked up to Eren with something in her hand.
"I think this belongs to you." Eren widened his eyes at what was in her hands. It was the gem he needed to locate the Rogue Vagabond. Eren gladfully took it.
"Thanks Bellona." He responded. Bellona cheerfully smiled with her eyes closed. "We kept it secured until you woke up. Congratulations on getting what you needed." The soldier nodded, looking back down at the gemstone in his hands.
Later, they held the memorial in honor of Angelo, Lux, Dove, Alebard, and Esme. Everyone attended and they paid their respects to them and the victims of the spider attacks. Afterwards, Bellona checked up on Eren to see how he was doing.
"Are you alright, Eren?" She asked. Eren turned to her.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just.. trying to take everything in." Bellona can understand where he was coming from. She couldn't understand why, but she had a feeling that this wasn't the first time Eren has been through something like this before. The girl wanted to ask him, although she figured it was best she didn't. Bellona wsa curious about one thing and that was that weird, human-like beast he transformed, though she could tell Eren wouldn't open up about that.
Speaking of which, Eren was thinking about that as well. He revealed his Titan form to the people of this world. He was still anxious about it and the circumstances, but was grateful that the village didn't know anything else beside what they saw. They thought it was a type of Magic that they didn't know before, which Eren went with because he didn't know how to explain that it was a completely different power separate from Magic.
After the memorial, Eren stood at the edge of the town's entrance with the whole town behind.
"Safe journeys, Eren." Asher exclaimed.
"Be careful out there." Odeda added.
"Don't go dying on us, you here?" Zarek stated.
"Good luck with your quest!" Bellona cheered.
"You're welcome here anytime my boy. I bid you well on your adventure and your goals." The Mayor said.
"Thanks again, everyone! I'll be sure to try and visit sometime!" Eren replied. The town waved him goodbye and he was on his way. When Eren was a good distance from the village, he took out the dagger and the gem.
With two items down and one item left, Eren was more determined than ever to reach his objective.
Nothing was going to stop him now!
Power of the Titans:
Eren;
Attack Titan;
Berserk Mode; This is a unique form that is almost exclusive to inheritors of the Attack Titan. When a user is on the verge of collapsing from wounds inflicted to their Titan body and/or they suffer from major exhaustion, the healing factor will start to override, increasing the regeneration process to a much higher speed than before.
This causes the body temperature of the user's Titan to skyrocket as a result of the heightened regeneration speed, making any open wounds that user has suffered on fire and turning orange in an appearance similar to lava. Not only that, but the user will grow these lines on their own without the need of open wounds, and if the Titan body has any missing limbs, they will burn and give off the same glow as the lines.
The users' Titan body will undergo other changes. Their skin will darken, their teeth and fingernails will sharpen into deadly fangs and claws, and their eye color will change from their usual appearance as a result of the regeneration factor altering their biology.
The user's Attack Titan will gain increased strength, speed, stamina, and endurance for a short duration, allowing them to perform physical feats that they would otherwise have trouble with. The increased temperature of the Titan affects all aspects of their biology, and when storing the new energy, they can release it through a melee attack to cause major damage and destruction.
However, this mode is used as a last resort and can only be triggered by feelings of extreme anger of the user while on the verge of exhausting their Titan form. They can still take damage and if they aren't careful, risk getting more injured than before, severely weakening them in the process. It's also easy for the user to completely lose control and assimilate more with their Titan form, greatly increasing the risk of the user becoming one with their Titan body. But it is possible for the user to still have control over themselves even while in this state.
Any features that are unique to an inheritor's specific Attack Titan that isn't shared with other Attack Titans will also be amplified while in this state. The other Titans of the Nine can harness this power, but not to the fullest unlike the Attack Titan unless they train their Titan form to access more of the mode's power. At this stage, they can only harness small amounts of the energy from this state. Abnormals can also at some points have this same ability, but it is rare, and they would most likely have to have the serum of the Attack Titan running through their veins to be able to access it.
So far, these are the only known traits of the Attack Titan, their Berserk Mode, and what its features are. Further research is in order to identify more of this ability, as well as the more of the capabilities the Nine and Titan in general are capable of.
Be on the lookout for further updates…
Author's Note:
Howdy.
This was the hardest chapter I had to write yet.
I apologize for the long wait. Had to take care of some things going on in my life, and I didn't want to rush myself to get it out on a self-imposed due date. That's the reason why the author's note in the last chapter was so short: I was running by the clock, and I didn't have enough time.
So with that said, I like to discuss Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 right here.
Chapter 14 was definitely quite the chapter for me to write, having to take care of three fights all at once and making sure they end satisfactorily. I hope you enjoyed them, and the changes I made to accommodate the Aot characters.
Now for some of them, they were stuff I had planned before, mainly Levi vs Bluenote, and the Special Ops Squad aiding Erza. I did say before to not expect the Aot characters to make the fights easier, and that goes for the Ackermans, especially Levi. As strong as he is, he is not invincible. His genes can only take him so far, and there are plenty of Fairy Tail characters that can mop the floor with him, Bluenote being one of them. Not only was he on the same level as Gildarts at this point in time, but Gravity Magic itself or any gravity-based power is a good counter to ODM gear users, since all they would have to do is lower the gravity and force them to the ground. Only very powerful people would be able to resist it, like Natsu did when he face Bluenote again at the beginning of the final series
As for the Azuma fight, I wanted for the Special Ops Squad to have their moment to shine since I've grown to like their characters (I was already a fan of them, but I liked them even more when going back and rewatching the episodes). I get the need of characters dying to show the consequences of the world they are in and to raise the stakes, but there is that risk of killing off potentially amazing characters whose development are just starting or before they even start, and I know a lot of Aot fans will have a lot to say about characters that shouldn't have been killed off, or least very early on as they had more to offer to the story. For me, the Special Ops Squad is one of them. I'll go more into them at a later date, but for now, I will say that I love all of them, and no, not just Petra because she's a cute girl…. though she is one of my favorites and I do love her but you get what I mean.
Now that change I made regarding Erza using Azuma's stolen magic against him, I knew I had to elaborate on how it was able to be pulled off. I said it before that this is one of the more infamous "power of friendship" moments that a lot of fans criticize, especially for Erza. I didn't think how it was done wasn't completely ridiculous, because we know that magic is the extension of the mage wielding them, and magic itself has shown to be able to have a mind of its own somewhat, as well as be made of many mental, emotional, and spiritual components to be able to be used in the first place. It's not that ludicrous to think that Fairy Tail wizards' subconscious would remain in their magic, and combined with how big a part emotions play, they would band together to back one of their own up and resist control. It's not a perfect solution, but it does make more sense than just "I have faith in my friends, so I can now use your magic against you just like that even when I couldn't control any part of it earlier." Again, I think the problem with some of these events isn't so much the event and its execution, but rather how it's explained, or the lack of an explanation.
Now for this chapter, I wanted to take my time. Trust me, I would've released this sooner, last month even, but I can't because of that damn mental block from my OCD. Plus, I didn't want to rush myself to meet a deadline, ruining the quality of the chapter. I said it earlier and I'll say it again: I have no intention of leaving this story. I'm seeing this through til the end and I want to be able to complete it so people can enjoy this story in its entirety. I have big plans for this fanfic that will come in the future. All I ask is that you be patient with me. Believe me, I've been in your position before, and I'm trying my best to have a more consistent schedule unless I need to take a break between chapters. It may be a long while between chapters every so often, but just know that I'm still working on it, and doing my hardest to get something out, and have it be the best it can be. I have my own life and I'm trying to balance that out with writing this story. This chapter in particular was one of the more challenging ones just because of it being much longer than I anticipated.
As for the contents of this chapter, I wanted to try and add on to the world of Fairy Tail, since the whole thing is fantasy from beginning to end, I want to do my own concepts to it. It's why I added the Wendigos and the whole myth surrounding them to Earth Land, as they are mythical creatures from folklore, and their story ties in well with both Fairy Tail and Attack on Titan. The magic-feeding spiders and mine-based town in this chapter were based on the Minecraft where you encounter the Spider mob and their Cave Spider counterpart that poisons the player and a video by Boylei Hobby Time where he does a diorama of a gold mine that had a hidden monster that was a giant spider. I'm a major animal buff and spiders are no exceptions…. even though I know a lot of people don't like them, so apologies for any arachnophobes I've triggered.
I also wanted to reintroduce a concept that appeared once in the very beginning of the Aot anime that was never really brought up again: Berserk Mode. I always felt that Isayama could've done more with Titan biology and their powers, and I feel that along with this was a missed opportunity. I get that it was supposed to be grounded in realism to fit the tone with the rest of the series, which is why it's underpowered compared to other power systems in other anime/manga, or other media in general. But I do believe that they already have the potential to be the strongest power in fiction, and technically speaking, they already are. I'll get into that later, but for now I want to talk about the Berserk Mode.
Long time fans of Attack on Titan might be aware of the fact that this wasn't part of the original manga. It was an addition that was made for the anime adaptation. As cool as it was, it never appeared again at any point later on in the show and it unfortunately added on to the flanderization of Eren being nothing of a rage-fueled maniac that screams "KILL THE TITANS" at the top of his lungs every second. He was a hothead and is known for a great anger, but he wasn't that. Not at all. I'll talk about that later, but I wanted the Berserk Mode to show up and a more prominent appearance, being an example of how far Titan biology can go. This will be the first of many plans I have when it comes to expanding the Power of the Titans/Nine Titans, Coordinate/PATHS, and Titan biology in general.
I got some more questions and things regarding my story from reviewers, so I will try my best to answer them.
Emrys Akayuki: Believe me, I'm well aware of that fact. I tried to make the Scout's reactions as realistic as possible while not going overboard and having them overreacting in a sense. I am going to go back to previous chapters and see if they need any fixing up so that the story flows better, including this one if needed, but I want to focus on future chapters before worrying about rewriting old ones
Chaotic Monarch and Guest: Yes, there will be pairings in this story. As for what those pairings will be, you'll have to wait and find out
I'll try to get Chapter 16 as soon as possible, but don't expect anything. Thank you for reading and until then.