"Full speed! Get into the city before the Titan catches up!" Franz bellowed, raising his flare gun and firing into the sky.
A column of red smoke burst upward, signaling danger.
The carriage jolted violently, and Zeke along with the three "children" toppled backward. For a terrifying instant, they nearly tumbled out—but Zeke's reflexes kicked in.
He gripped the side of the cart, pinning Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie with one arm, forcing them back into place.
The Survey Corps riders whipped their reins, horses surging faster toward the city walls.
"Hold on tight!" Isabel shouted, glancing at the recruits as her horse pulled alongside the wagon.
"If the Titan catches us, we're dead!"
"Y-Yeah!" The four of them latched onto the carriage.
As his body steadied with the rhythm of the cart, Zeke's eyes lifted to the sky, where dozens of red smoke signals stained the horizon. His breath caught.
Smoke… this battlefield reeks of the past.
Memories stabbed at him. The last time he had seen such a sky, he had been the Beast Titan, standing tall over broken humans. The Survey Corps had charged him then, trembling yet unyielding. Their guns spat smoke instead of bullets, their blades glinted faintly through the haze.
His stones had crushed them, one after another. But through the veil of smoke, a thin figure had flashed forward, blades slicing close enough to graze the back of his Titan's neck.
That single moment had burned itself into his soul. That blade had become his nightmare.
Zeke's hand instinctively flew to cover the back of his neck.
"Captain… Why are you covering your neck?" Bertolt asked cautiously.
"It's nothing." Zeke forced a stiff smile. "Just bad memories…"
"Captain, fight!" Reiner shouted, panic bubbling in his voice. "The Titans are catching up—the horses can't outrun them!" He and Annie bit down on their hands, ready to transform.
Smack!
Zeke slapped both of them across the head. "What's the rush? We have the Survey Corps!"
"They'll protect us?" Reiner scoffed.
"Hey! Why are you hitting the kids again?" Isabel called from her horse, glaring. Even while fleeing for her life, she still scolded him like an older sister.
Zeke quickly shoved the Titan shifters' heads down and smiled sheepishly. "Ahaha, just… calming them down."
"Yes!" Isabel agreed earnestly. "Right now, the most important thing is to stay calm. Calm!" She fumbled at her saddlebag, pulling out a smokescreen canister.
But her hands trembled. The canister slipped. Clatter. It tumbled to the ground.
Her composure fell with it.
"Why are you so nervous?" Reiner muttered. "Aren't you Survey Corps?"
Whack! Another slap.
"This kid," Zeke seethed, "no manners at all.
You don't speak to girls like that!"
Flustered, Isabel yanked out another canister, fingers fumbling as the horse jolted. "I-It's my first time on an outdoor survey!" Her voice cracked. "I was supposed to be on logistics duty… who knew the rear line would run into a Titan?!"
Reiner's eyes widened in horror. "First time?! We were assigned to a squad of rookies?!"
Smack!
"You're rookies too!" Zeke hissed, veins popping on his forehead.
Still, even among panic, Annie remained level-headed. "Captain. The Titan's closing."
Zeke patted her head with mock composure. "Just watch. Let's see what the Survey Corps can do."
Reiner groaned. "If we trust our lives to these rookies, we're finished."
"I get it!" Bertolt said suddenly. His eyes shone with sudden inspiration. "The captain wants to observe their battle methods. Only by knowing the enemy can we win!"
Zeke blinked. Then nodded sagely. "Exactly."
Good boy, Bertolt. Always making excuses for me.
"I understand now," Annie said calmly.
Reiner just sulked, nursing another bruise.
Then it happened.
Boom! A Titan's foot smashed into the rearmost cavalryman.
The soldier—Tom—was hurled skyward, face frozen in despair. His horse bolted.
"Tom!" Isabel screamed, yanking her reins.
"Don't stop!" Franzroared. "Ride forward—" His words cut short. "Shit!"
Because Isabel had stopped. She turned her horse, iron resolve in her tear-bright eyes.
The Titan stooped, massive fingers curling around Tom's fragile body. His scream split the air.
"Ahhh—!"
But before those jaws could close, a wire hissed. Isabel fired her grappling hook, soaring upward.
Twin blades flashed as she carved into the Titan's arm.
Blood sprayed. The monster roared.
"Wha—?!" Reiner gasped. "The devils… they can fly?!"
Smack!
"That's called a 3D Maneuver Gear, idiot!" Zeke barked.
"Still, it's insane!" Annie muttered, eyes wide despite herself. "Blades? Against a Titan? What kind of backward nation relies on swords instead of muskets?"
But then—miracle.
The Titan's arm fell limp, severed muscle dangling. Isabel swung on her wire, catching Tom midair. She anchored to a tree, absorbing the momentum, cradling the soldier safely in her grasp.
"T-Thank you…" Tom sobbed.
"Don't thank me yet," Isabel said, her voice trembling but steady.
Because behind her, another figure streaked upward. The soldier vaulted high above the Titan's nape, blades glinting silver.
Shrrk!
The swords carved deep into the back of the neck. Flesh split open in an instant. The Titan let out a guttural howl before collapsing like a felled tree. Steam hissed from its body as it disintegrated into nothing.
The cart rocked as the three Marley warriors gaped, mouths hanging open.
Annie's eyes were wide for the first time. "Impossible… cold steel… killed a Titan?!"
Bertolt's voice cracked. "They… they're human. Just humans! And they killed it…"
Even Reiner, bruised and battered from slaps, was too stunned to protest.
And Zeke, despite himself, felt that old chill crawl across his spine. The nightmare of the blade had returned.