Chapter 22
Silence blanketed the training ground—
The kind of heavy silence that comes before a storm…
At the heart of the field stood Rio Ackerman, still and deadly, assuming a combat stance that none of the recruits had ever seen before.
His left leg was raised, bent at the knee in a precise angle, hinting at a potential sudden front kick or a low-counter defensive maneuver.
His arms were lifted in an unusual guard, elbows bent, hands close to his face and chest, covering every opening in his body like a king's armor.
His head was slightly tilted back, spine straight, perfectly balanced on his right leg, which was rooted into the ground like a stake.
Rio looked like a fighter from another land.
A land where combat wasn't just for survival… but for domination.
Annie Leonhart didn't move. She didn't even breathe.
Her eyes were locked on his stance, as if reliving something from her past—
Something she never expected to see here, within the Walls.
She thought to herself:
"This… This is impossible… That style is only known by a select few in Marley… Could it really be?!"
She glanced at Reiner and Bertolt, and saw the same shock mirrored in their eyes.
The two exchanged tense looks—clearly disturbed, as though something unplanned had begun to unravel.
Rio shattered the silence with a cold voice:
"Are you starting to feel afraid of me now?"
But Annie didn't respond.
It was no longer anger that moved her—but a deadly curiosity.
She wanted to know… to understand.
Was Rio just a gifted recruit?
Or… was he one of them?
A spy from Marley?
Or worse… a Titan shifter?
She finally spoke, her voice calm but laced with tension:
"Where did you learn that technique?"
Not a single muscle twitched on Rio's face.
But his voice came down like a hammer:
"I'll only tell you… if you can defeat me."
Annie's eyes widened, her pupils contracting.
That wasn't a challenge—
It was a condition.
"Then…" she whispered. "Let's finish this."
She ran.
Annie burst forward like an arrow, slicing through the air with graceful steps, closing the distance at incredible speed.
Her body bent expertly, as if stitching through the wind with invisible threads.
Her first attack was a sudden straight punch aimed at Rio's left cheek.
But Rio didn't flinch.
Just as her fist was about to land, he shifted his shoulder, planted his foot, and raised his forearm to block the blow—so powerfully that Annie's hand snapped backward from the recoil.
She didn't pause.
With lightning speed, she spun to unleash a low roundhouse kick at his grounded leg.
But Rio, without hesitation, lifted his left leg again, using it to block the kick in a strange technique Annie had never encountered before.
His left elbow came swinging toward her shoulder immediately after, but Annie ducked just in time and retreated.
A clash of styles.
She—of refined boxing and precision.
He—of brutal Muay Thai savagery.
The attacks came one after another.
Every punch Annie threw was either met with a rock-solid block or a sudden sidestep from Rio.
Her lightning-fast kicks were countered by his sharp knees and deadly elbows.
She was searching for just one opening…
But none existed.
Rio was a moving fortress—not just defending, but countering, deceiving, and cornering.
Then, Annie decided to end it.
She sprinted toward Rio, leapt into the air, aiming to execute a final, elite technique—
But Rio had already read her.
He surged forward,
Planted his feet,
Spun—and unleashed a spinning back scissor kick meant to end everything.
His foot slammed against the side of her head—
She crashed to the ground, balance lost, rolling slightly before catching herself on one elbow.
She grabbed her head—it hurt.
It hurt badly…
But it wasn't fatal.
She looked up at him—
Still standing.
Still calm.
Still unmoved.
"You've lost, Annie."
Rio said it with no malice. No pride.
---
Silence descended like the freezing wind.
Eyes wide.
Breaths held.
Even the air moved softly between the recruits' bodies, as if witnessing something unheard of—
Something no one had expected.
At the center of the training yard, Rio Ackerman stood tall, his head slightly lowered, eyes on Annie's body, sprawled on the ground before him.
There was no arrogance in his gaze. No smugness.
Only the stillness that follows a storm—
The quiet that tells you the final blow has landed… and the fight is over.
Annie was still on the ground.
She tried lifting her arm—but her body refused.
The strike hadn't been fatal, no…
But it had exposed a terrifying truth—
She wasn't the strongest one here.
Her blue eyes followed Rio, not with her usual glare of defiance, nor her cold calculation…
But with confusion—and something eerily close to fear.
Fear of the unknown…
Of this unshakable boy.
Her limbs trembled…
Muscles stiffened…
And she couldn't get back up.
Then, Reiner and Bertolt rushed to her side, kneeling quickly.
Reiner placed a hand gently behind her back and asked in a quiet voice:
"Annie… Are you okay?"
She didn't reply.
She just nodded faintly, trying to catch her breath, lips trembling from the shock.
Together, they helped her up by her arms—she could barely stand.
Her eyes still locked on Rio, who had now turned away in silence.
His hair had loosened during the fight, dark strands falling over his face, brushing his neck.
He raised his hands, calmly gathering the strands, tying them neatly into a tight bun at the back of his head, securing it with a black leather cord.
A simple gesture—
Yet so full of presence that everyone watched in silence.
Then he spoke, his deep, calm voice carrying clearly through the rain:
"Everyone… return to what you were doing.
Training isn't over.
Back to your places."
He didn't need to shout.
He didn't need to repeat himself.
The moment his words ended, the recruits moved—
As if awakening from a dream.
They returned to their pairs…
Sasha and Connie exchanged stunned glances before stepping away.
Jean stared at Rio for a while, biting his lip before returning to his spot.
As for Annie, she didn't dare speak.
She had fought many before—
And her father had taught her how to take down the strong.
But Rio… wasn't just strong.
He was beyond strength.
Calm, intelligent, composed, leaving no openings.
He wasn't like a fighter…
He was like a professional.
Rio slowly raised his head to the sky.
He stood alone at the edge of the field as the first raindrops fell onto his forehead.
He took a deep breath, as if inhaling the purity of the clouds before the soil would sully it.
The gray sky had swallowed the entire horizon.
No sun remained.
Not even a hint of warmth.
Only the sound of thunder in the distance—
Warning that the heavens had opened their gates…
And the rain was coming.
And come it did—
At first lightly, dampening sleeves and shoulders…
Then turning into a downpour that struck the earth with violent rhythm, almost daring everyone to move, not to stay still.
Just then—
Heavy footsteps approached from afar.
Commander Keith Shadis finally emerged, striding firmly across the training field, his long coat flapping behind him, rain pounding his stiff cap.
He shouted, his voice cutting through the roar of rain:
"The hand-to-hand combat training is now officially over for today!!!"
A moment of stunned silence swept through the cadets…
Until they began to realize what he had just said.
"Now… we return to titan dummy training!
It's time to get used to killing them, before you face them for real!"
The recruits formed into orderly lines—soaking wet, but their eyes were no longer dull…
There was something in Shadis' voice—an unexpected fire.
Like he'd chosen to awaken hunger in them… not fear.
He walked between the rows, voice rising:
"This time… the one who slays the most titan dummies with the sandbags on their necks…"
"…will receive a special dinner tonight!
A feast—of meat and delicacies!"
Everyone froze.
That wasn't just motivation.
That was a promise of real meat.
And in a camp where all they were given was light broth, a small piece of bread, and a smear of cheap honey—
The word "meat" was enough to ignite their eyes, and stir their empty stomachs.
Sasha Blouse, who stood near Connie and Jean, jolted upright.
She shouted, eyes wide in disbelief:
"Really?! Meat?! You mean I can eat until I'm full?!"
Connie laughed dryly, shaking his head:
"Only if you win, genius! Don't forget who else is here…"
But Sasha only heard one word: "meat."
She was in a full-blown feral state, her eyes glowing, muscles tense, heart racing.
She whispered, charged with primal energy:
"I'll be number one… I won't let anyone touch even a scrap of that meat!!"
Meanwhile, Rio still stood motionless.
Rain drenching his shoulders.
His eyes watching everything in silence.
The excitement, the chatter, Connie mocking Sasha, the clumsy plans, the wild rivalries… none of it moved his expression.
But he did think to himself:
"Hmm… Meat? Looks like Shadis knows exactly how to make humans give everything they've got."
Commander Shadis reached the end of the rows, turned to face them all, and declared with strength:
"Tomorrow, at sunrise…
We meet in the giant wooden titan field.
If you want to leave here bearing the title of Soldier
…
You'd better be ready!"
Thunder rolled across the sky.
The speech ended, and the recruits began to scatter.
Some spoke of tomorrow's strategy.
Others practiced their maneuvering in the corner.
And some traced invisible maps in their minds, plotting where their strike would land.
To be continued…