Chapter 21
No one was happy with Rio's interference and the way he stopped the intense fight.
Even Bertolt and Reiner had been eager to witness Mikasa's full strength—part of their greater plan to understand how to stop her when the time came.
Annie was still in her attacking stance, fist clenched, eyes locked on her presumed opponent: Mikasa.
She had never expected Rio Ackerman to appear so suddenly, let alone block both incoming strikes—without budging an inch or even blinking.
He held Annie's right fist and Mikasa's left, barehanded, with an unshaken, calm expression.
His movement had been like an unsheathed sword—silent… but deadly.
Annie stared at him sharply. She felt humiliated. For a man to stand in her way so casually, right at the climax of a decisive fight—was not something she could accept easily.
She shouted angrily:
"You too, huh?! Then I want to see if those techniques work against a monster like you!"
She didn't wait for an answer.
Her right knee snapped upward toward his chin with blinding speed.
It was a deceptive move—one she'd been trained in for years by her father. One of the key strikes he had drilled into her relentlessly.
A surprise knee to the chin—meant to knock out the opponent instantly. Nearly impossible to block… if the opponent didn't expect it.
But Rio… saw it all.
From the slight twitch in her thigh muscles, the shift in her hips, the gathering force behind her knee—
His eyes tracked everything, like a slow-motion lens dissecting time itself.
And even while still gripping Mikasa's fist, Rio launched his body into the air, twisting with a sharp, fluid motion using his core strength and combat reflexes.
At the perfect moment—just as Annie's knee was about to reach his chin—he slammed his right foot into the side of her head.
"BOOOOM!"
The impact echoed through the air—moments before Annie slammed into the ground.
It had all happened in six seconds.
No one in the training yard had fully processed what they'd just witnessed.
How had he spun like that? With that speed? That precision?
It was like someone had hit fast-forward, and then suddenly paused at the moment she hit the ground—clutching her head in pain.
Her breathing was ragged. Her eyes were dazed. Her head spun from the blow.
But the anger burned hotter than the pain.
She clutched her head and screamed, her voice full of fury and wounded pride:
"You coward!! You struck me in secret! Don't you have any honor?!"
Her accusation wasn't just aimed at Rio, but at the entire idea of his sudden intervention—like she was saying: "This wasn't an honorable duel!"
Rio finally released Mikasa's fist and stared silently at Annie.
He didn't say a word.
His expression remained calm, as though nothing had happened. But his eyes… were sharp. Analytical. Watchful.
At last, he said:
"I defended myself. I saw you were going to attack, and I reacted—just as our instructors taught us."
But Annie, still furious, snapped back:
"That's because you interfered in my fight with her out of nowhere! That's why I attacked! What kind of man blindsides a girl like that?!"
In the background, the crowd started murmuring.
Connie chuckled sarcastically:
"Heh, looks like Rio forgot we're in a military camp—not a dating arena!"
Sasha folded her arms in frustration:
"Annie was fighting fair… but Rio? That was dirty!"
Even Reiner and Bertolt took the opportunity to fan the flames. After all, they wanted chaos—they wanted to see Rio fight and reveal his full power… all for their secret plans.
"That wasn't very noble of him…" said Reiner with a tone of mock disappointment.
"That's not how duels work, even if he's our squad leader," Bertolt added quietly.
The murmurs turned into stares. The judgment in the cadets' eyes was growing. Rio had become the center of suspicion.
The mood was about to turn against him—
But…
Rio didn't get angry.
He didn't stammer.
He just took a deep breath, lowered his gaze for a moment, then said quietly:
"Fine…"
"You all really know how to push my buttons…"
"Alright, then."
"I'll fight… no tricks."
The moment he said those words…
A heavy, excited silence swept over the yard.
Everyone understood what was about to happen.
Rio… was going to fight.
---
The energy in the training ground shifted after Rio's last words.
Even amid the loud voices and rising anticipation, Rio Ackerman remained still. His eyes scanned the crowd slowly—focused only on the smallest details.
He wasn't in a hurry to respond. Truthfully, he had no intention of fighting at all. He'd expected the provocation—and understood why they all wanted it:
They simply wanted to see him in action.
But he thought deeply.
He ignored the accusations, the shouting, even Annie's rage.
What he didn't ignore… was one single thing.
The gaze of Commander Keith Shadis.
Far in the distance, standing on a small hill behind the training grounds—Shadis watched intently.
His arms crossed. His stance unshaken. His eyes sharp and unwavering.
Rio narrowed his eyes toward that hilltop.
"Hmm… The commander's watching… and he didn't step in to stop this chaos… that only means one thing…"
"He wants to see me fight."
He paused to process the thought further:
"He's testing me. Evaluating my reaction… my strength… my composure… even my loyalty."
Rio lowered his gaze again.
"This isn't just some senseless fight… If I fight now—in front of everyone—and in front of him…"
"My name will stick. My image will burn into their minds. And no one will dare challenge me again."
But more than anything…
"The contribution points."
He remembered what had been said about the ranking system—and how public performance in key moments directly boosted one's ranking among recruits.
"If I want to reach the Top Ten… there's no other way."
The top ten had the right to choose any division they wanted after graduation.
But the top three? They earned a huge salary—far greater than the rest of the graduating class.
And for someone like Rio, who lived in poverty and wanted to provide a better life for his mother…
Money was his second greatest drive—right after his deepest mission: to uncover the truth behind the Titans… and the source of his own power.
He nodded softly, his decision solidified.
He whispered to himself:
"Alright…"
He lifted his gaze toward the crowd—toward Annie—and said clearly:
"You guys are really good at pushing my limits."
He took a step.
Then another. Then another.
Ten full steps forward.
His calmness was unsettling. His footsteps steady—like someone walking toward his fate without fear.
Then… he stopped.
He turned slowly to face Annie once more.
There was no challenge in his eyes. No arrogance. Just something deeper.
Resolve.
Rio slowly raised his hands—and took on a new fighting stance.
A stance that was completely unfamiliar to every cadet watching.
It wasn't boxing. Not karate. Not anything their instructors had taught them.
It was the stance of Muay Thai—the art of eight limbs.
Knees slightly bent. Elbows high. Forearms guarding the head. Hands poised for lethal strikes.
Everything about him… was dangerous.
His eyes… unmoving.
His breath… steady.
His body… still as stone.
He locked eyes with Annie, and spoke in a low voice filled with buried power:
"Alright, as you wish…"
"Come at me."
In the background, the tension spiked.
Mikasa stared in shock. Eren's jaw dropped. Connie gasped in surprise.
None of them had ever seen that stance before.
But the most shocked of all were:
Reiner. Bertolt. And Annie.
Annie gasped, her eyes widening slowly, as if she were seeing a
ghost from her past.
"No way…"
"How did you learn that?!"
She whispered in disbelief—barely audible even to herself:
"T-this stance… It's from outside the Walls… Even I couldn't master it… How did he get it?!"
To be continued…