Evan Cross shouted and waved his arms, doing everything he could to attract the Titan's attention.
It worked instantly.
The five-meter grinning Titan suddenly let out a shrill roar
as if the word "shorty" had stabbed its pride
and it charged straight at him.
Only then did Eren, Mikasa, and Carla finally understand.
This boy…
was deliberately acting as bait.
He drew the Titan away to open a path for them.
Eren suddenly felt like an idiot for doubting him twice.
Even Mikasa, who rarely showed emotion, felt her chest tighten.
Staring at Evan's determined back, she felt
for the first time in this cruel world
a glimmer of warmth.
Carla's tears streamed silently.
"…Silly boy… it's not worth it…"
"Mikasa! Take Mom and run! I can't let him face that thing alone!"
Eren clenched his fists, shouting with resolve.
He couldn't just stand by while the person who saved his mother threw himself into danger.
That wasn't who he was.
He was a boy of burning blood and fierce conviction.
But before he could run forward
A black-haired silhouette darted past him.
"I'll help him! Eren, get your mother out of here!"
Mikasa's voice cut sharply through the chaos as she sprinted forward.
Eren froze for a moment.
His body wanted to follow
but then he looked at Carla.
Her injured leg.
Her inability to walk.
He gritted his teeth.
He couldn't leave her.
"Both of you… come back alive."
With a final desperate prayer, he hoisted Carla onto his back and bolted down the side alley.
"How do you plan to fight?"
Mikasa's small figure quickly caught up with Evan.
Evan stiffened. "Why are you here!? I told you two to escape!"
"Eren took his mother and left. I won't abandon you."
Her voice was emotionless, but her eyes
unyielding and resolute
told him everything.
Even in front of a Titan, she wouldn't flinch.
"You're just making things harder…"
Evan felt his head ache.
Five years from now, when Mikasa awakened her Ackerman strength, he would beg for her help.
But right now?
She was only slightly stronger than a normal adult.
Against Titans, that meant nothing.
Evan, with his system-enhanced body and the transformation device as a last resort, actually had a higher survival rate alone.
Adding Mikasa meant distraction…
mistakes…
danger.
"…Forget it. First, we find a way out."
He gritted his teeth, scanning both sides of the street for an escape path.
The Titan was getting too close!
"Hey! There's a corner ahead! That church connects out the other side!"
Mikasa's sharp eyes spotted a turn just ten meters ahead of the Titan's feet.
She remembered this block.
She had lived here with Eren's family for a year.
"Then what are we waiting for? RUN!"
The Titan only needed two steps to reach the corner.
Evan instantly grabbed Mikasa's small hand and sprinted.
Their bodies were only ten years old
but their speed rivaled full-grown adults.
Evan, with double a normal human's physical strength.
Mikasa, with the dormant power of the Ackerman bloodline.
Together, their movement was explosive.
At the very last fraction of a second
as the Titan's giant foot came crashing down
They dove forward like twin hunting beasts and slipped past the impact zone!
They burst into the tall church Mikasa had pointed out.
Evan knew they had no time to rest.
The church was sturdy for humans
but for the "shorty Titan" above them, it was made of cardboard.
One slap would turn it to rubble.
They sprinted through the dusty interior, racing toward the back exit.
Behind them, the female Titan had caught up as well.
Two Titans stared down at the church
their expressions twisted into sinister grins.
And then they leapt
BOOOOM!!!
The church exploded with dust and debris.
The ceiling cracked
stone chunks rained down in deadly torrents.
Evan's reflexes sharpened to their absolute peak.
His eyes scanned like a hawk, pulling Mikasa aside again and again as rubble crashed around them.
"Not good! The entire roof is collapsing!"
Mikasa's voice trembled, something rare.
The church's upper structure wavered dangerously.
One more hit and it would collapse entirely.
But Evan didn't stop.
He kept his eyes fixed on the back door
Just ten meters away.
"Five more seconds…
Just five seconds…!"
He didn't care about anything else.
If they slowed down even once
They would be crushed alive.