The tongue was cold on his cheek. Levi almost squirmed at the moist touch. What the fuck was this crazy woman doing? How dirty was her saliva? The hairs on the back of his nape stood up.

Disgusting.

He remembered how last night the woman struck his cheek and then now she licked it? What a fucking sicko.

Levi pushed Andromeda away and stood on his feet. Immediately, he fished for his handkerchief and wiped the wound this nutcase licked. "What the hell?" he asked her, pissed.

The woman's eyes widened and she seemed to finally realize what she had done. She backed away from him and stood up, too. Her gaze was unfocused and she seemed to tremble a bit as she put one hand over her mouth. "Why?" she asked so softly he almost didn't hear it.

"We don't have time for your fucking fetish. There are two more inside." The fire was hot on his skin and he was sweating buckets. He looked further inside and took off, once more braving the fire and carrying one of the last two unconscious soldiers.

At last, Andromeda helped by taking the other soldier and they both exited the fiery hall.

Once in safety, Levi asked if everybody survived and how were their injuries. It wasn't looking good. The soldiers were already wounded from titan attacks, and now many of them looked worse. He clicked his tongue and went to where Erwin stood. "What the hell happened?" he asked him.

Erwin motioned somewhere to his right. "It's Gerald." Then, as if uninterested in the cause of the fire, he said, "I already asked a team to bring the big hose. There they are." Near them, a group holding the hose was sprinting. Immediately, the Commander instructed them how to put off the massive fire. The blaze hissed and tried to fight but the water was strong enough to defeat it bit by bit.

So, the perpetrator was Gerald. Levi knew him. Had shared tea more than once with him. The man was in his early twenties and had been in the Scout Regiment for less than a year. He had a kid back inside Wall Rose and a young wife waiting for him to come back. Why did he start the fire?

"Hoi, moron. What the hell's in your mind? Why the fuck did you want us all to get fried?" he asked the trembling arsonist.

Tears ran from Gerald's bulging eyes and snot drooled out of his large nose. He answered with long, deep breaths, "We are all doomed! Every single one of us. The titans will tear our limbs, bite our bodies, and eat us all! We should die now. Before they come and get us. Before it's too late. Let us die now, Captain Levi. Let's die together!"

"Bastard." Levi's brows met. "You stupid fart. Have you completely lost your fucking mind?" His strong fists curled at Gerald's collar and he pulled the hysterical man closer to him. "Where is the soldier who swore to dedicate his heart for the sake of humanity? Are you really so much of a scoundrel that you'll kill your comrades who could actually live and survive? And what about your family? Can you face them now looking like this? Totally defeated by fear. A whining snotty pig."

Gerald's reply was to quiver and cry some more. Levi was not satisfied. He pulled him even closer and shook him. "Answer me, bastard!"

"Levi, that's enough." Someone grabbed his arm. He looked at who it was and saw that it was Hange. She said, "Erwin is going to punish him for what he's done. He's going to be dismissed and sent back to his town with a criminal record. He'll serve jail time for a while."

Even though he was still pissed off, Levi released Gerald from his hold. "Good. I'm not losing more men because of a moron like him. He's lucky nobody died or I would have made sure he joined them in the grave." Levi didn't mean it. Deep inside he knew why the man's mentality broke. He knew he couldn't blame him, but what Gerald did was still wrong. The lives of their comrades were important.

"Get going," Hange ordered the sobbing soldier who scrambled away. Then she told Levi, "It'll be hours before the fire is completely put out."

"Yes," the Captain replied. They walked along the halls, inspecting the damage done by the fire. The injured soldiers were being tended to but the worst problem was their supplies. A great amount of their food and gears were burned to crisp. Levi knew that they could not continue their mission any longer. Catching titans would be impossible to do. They had no choice but to go back empty-handed. Another mission failed with many casualties. Was this really the fate of humanity? To be forced inside a cage and perish if they want to be free?

What a load of shit.

"Hey Four-eyes, do you think the supplies that were saved are enough for the journey to Trost?" Levi asked.

Hange adjusted her thick eyeglasses. "I'm not sure but we don't have a choice anyway."

She was right. Even if the supplies were at a minimum they had to make it last for the journey back to Wall Rose. He only hoped there wouldn't be more casualties. With a few gears, they could only pray that they won't encounter many of those freaking titans.

"Say," Hange suddenly said, "I just noticed, but, why is Andy staring so much at you? Did you do something funny to her in the fire? Did you try to touch her tits or something?"

"Huh?!" How could the stupid four-eyed abnormal think that Levi had tried to take advantage of someone? "She's a weirdo," he said and then told her, "She was stupid enough to try to touch ignisias the night before and then slapped me hard when I saved her from being poisoned. And then, earlier, the creeper licked my wound."

"Sorry, what?"

"She slapped me-"

Hange inched closer to him, her eyes suddenly bright. "No. After that."

"The nutcase licked my fucking wound."

"And?"

Levi furrowed his brows. "And what?"

"Did she like how you taste?"

What the fuck? Levi was royally pissed. She told the abnormal to shut up but the woman didn't take the hint.

Her palms hit his back. "I knew you were popular with the girls even though you're short. But I didn't think someone would actually have the courage to lick you."

Levi gave up. He didn't like where the conversation was heading. He just ignored Hange and went to where Erwin stood. As he walked away, his eyes strayed to where Andromeda was and their eyes met. Even though there was quite a distance between them, he could clearly see the beautiful translucent gray orbs of the mysterious lady.

+0+0+0+0+

At first light, the Scout Regiment set off on their journey home. Luckily, they still had their horses. Food was scarce so not everyone was able to eat breakfast. Including Levi. His stomach rumbled but he ignored it. He had encountered worse hunger in the Underground when he was younger. The few gears saved were given to the most skilled, so Squad Levi had their full gears on. Because they were the strongest among the other troops, they were expertly distributed among the formation. Only Petra was assigned near the portion of his side.

Before their travel, Petra had tried handing him a piece of bread but he refused to take it. Their priority was the injured. They must be sure they were strong enough for the journey home.

"But you will fight, Captain," Petra had said, worry etched on her face.

"I'll be fine," he assured her.

There it was again-the look of complete awe on the soldier's face. Levi knew it wasn't just a normal awe. Everybody in the Scout Regiment knew that Petra had feelings for her Captain. Levi wasn't an expert in the love department, having no girlfriends before, but there were times when he allowed himself to think that he could someday try to have a romantic relationship with a woman. Why not?

But the question was who. Who would he allow in his heart? Another soldier? Someone within the wall? Could he survive this perilous world long enough to spend a lifetime with his partner? Would his partner survive with him?

Ah... Petra. She was strong. She could survive. And she obviously liked him. Maybe... just maybe, it could work between them two.

But, for the time being, Levi pushed those thoughts from his mind. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

The ride across Adelheid was almost peaceful, with only a few slow titans trying to catch them. But the problem was when they entered the forest. Already, a bunch of titans seemed to be waiting to ambush them. It was impossible to escape the fucking freaks. They needed to fight them.

"Petra! Take the 3-meter," he ordered his squad member and told another armed soldier, "You, take the 4-meter. I'll handle the 7 and 10 meters. Don't let them get inside the formation!"

"Yes, sir!" both the soldiers replied.

Levi used his gear to fly through the trees. Then, once above the 7-meter titan, used his gear again to pierce the titan's back to balance himself and go closer to it. He twisted his body and spun in the air. As he landed behind the titan, his blade expertly sliced through its nape. Another perfect kill.

Titan blood splashed on him and he irked at the dirt. No time to wipe them now. He used his gear again to go closer to the 10-meter titan. With his skills, it took less than a minute to kill his prey. He looked around him. More titans were surrounding them.

He dashed toward three more titans and while dodging the two, killed one. He let his gear pierce one eye of the other and then flew through the trees. He jumped to the back of the titan, expertly slicing its nape. One more.

"Captain Levi!" The armed soldier from before came to his aid. But as the man approached him, another titan appeared and bit half of the man's body.

Fucking titans!

Enraged, Levi attacked the titan and quickly killed it.

"Shit," he exclaimed. More casualties. His heart quivered for the loss of soldiers. Loss of comrades and friends.

With the number of swarming titans, the Scout Regiment's blades would all be dull before they exit the forest. Where the hell was Erwin and what was his command?

As he looked around, he saw an abnormal titan running in Petra's direction. The female soldier was so busy fighting another titan that she didn't notice the one approaching her.

"Fuck." Levi flew through the trees. Petra was by the cliff, fighting for her life and unaware of the other danger near her. "Petra!" The woman couldn't hear him, too busy saving her own life. When she noticed the titan, it was already close to her, hands outstretched to grab her.

Levi was at full speed. With his skill, he was able to successfully land on the titan's back and unalive it. However, his gear malfunctioned and as the titan went down the cliff, he wasn't able to use his gear to fly back to safety.

His eyes widened and in a quick moment, he was tumbling down the steep ravine.

"Captain Levi!" He heard Petra shout but he knew she was already far from him. He tried to at least balance himself and shield his head, hoping that the trees and bushes would cushion his fall.

Then, something enveloped him and the next thing that happened was him waking up in the middle of the night. His body ached and he was full of bruises but at least he had no broken bones. His only wound was a slice on his head. Apart from that, he was okay.

He stood up and realized he was under a tree near a river.

Water.

He hadn't drunk a drop for hours. Dragging his aching body, he walked toward the waters.

There, he saw her.

He could only make out her silhouette against the dark. She was naked, her long black hair cascading down her back. She might have felt his gaze because she turned and faced him, the moonlight revealing her face.

It was Andromeda. Bathing on the fucking river.

Upon seeing him, the woman immediately hid the rest of her body in the water.