Attack On Titan- Wings of liberty*

Meanwhile, all the other cadets were fighting their own battles. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the acrid smoke rising from the burning ruins. Screams of terror and the shattering of buildings echoed across the devastated town as Titans lumbered through the chaos, their grotesque forms casting shadows on the streets below.

Armin had barely managed to get Eren's mother to the safety of a boat at the evacuation point. She clung to him, her hands trembling, tears streaking her face.

"Armin, please, let me go! Eren is alone out there!" she pleaded.

But Armin's resolve was firm. "I'll get Eren back. I promise."

Leaving her sobbing on the boat, Armin ran back into the chaos, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. The streets were unrecognizable now—piles of rubble and broken carts lined his path, blood pooling where people had fallen.

When he arrived back at the place where he had last seen Eren, the scene was empty. Silent. Like death itself had swallowed all traces of life.

"Eren!" Armin shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. He ran through the rubble, stumbling over bricks and debris, searching every corner.

But there was nothing. No sign of his friend.

'Eren is gone. Eren is gone because of me,' Armin thought, his stomach twisting into knots. 'Mikasa trusted me. I should've stayed. I should've fought harder.'

The weight of failure pressed on his chest, suffocating him. Dragging his feet, Armin returned to his squad with a glum face, his body shaking as exhaustion and guilt threatened to swallow him whole.

---

Meanwhile, chaos ruled the streets. Soldiers from every corner of the city fought tooth and nail to defend the civilians. Some shouted orders as they slashed at Titans, others screamed in pain as their bodies were crushed. Smoke swirled into the sky, ash falling like snow.

Jean, alongside several other cadets, managed to direct a group of survivors toward the wall, guiding them through the back alleys to avoid the larger Titans.

"Keep moving! Don't stop!" Jean yelled, his voice hoarse as he glanced nervously over his shoulder. A smaller Titan lumbered after them, its grotesque face locked in a permanent grin.

Connie darted forward, grabbing a child who had tripped. "Get up! Get up!" he urged, hoisting the child onto his back before sprinting ahead. Sasha provided cover, from a nearby rooftop, her hands steady despite her labored breaths.

"We're almost there!" Jean shouted again.

But then the ground trembled. A massive shadow loomed over them—a Titan, easily fifteen meters tall, stepping into the alley. Its hollow, beady eyes locked onto the group.

Jean's face turned pale. "Run!"

The cadets scattered, a chorus of screams breaking the air.

---

Mikasa had been cutting through Titans with single-minded focus. The fluidity of her movements made her look almost inhuman, her blades flashing in arcs of silver as she tore through neck after neck. But in the brief moments between attacks, her eyes darted through the streets, searching for one person.

Eren.

When she finally found Armin, he was sitting slumped against a broken wall, his head in his hands. Mikasa's heart clenched. She landed in front of him with a soft thud, dropping to one knee.

"Armin, where's Eren?" she asked, her voice urgent but steady.

Armin froze. The words stuck in his throat like knives. He couldn't bear to look at her.

"Armin," Mikasa said again, softer this time.

He shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes. "I… I'm sorry, Mikasa. Eren is dead… because of me. I shouldn't have left him alone. I should've fought harder. I shouldn't have listened to him."

The world around them seemed to go quiet. Mikasa's face went still, her expression unreadable. But her dark eyes burned, flickering with a storm of emotions.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "Eren… can't be dead."

Armin finally met her gaze, choking back a sob. "He's gone, Mikasa. He's gone…"

Mikasa closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. But when she opened them again, the fire in her eyes reignited. "Then I'll find him."

---

On the battlefield, something monstrous happened.

A Titan—one of the fifteen-meter ones—suddenly roared in pain, its body jerking violently as a fist smashed through its skull. The other Titans turned, drawn to the commotion, but what they saw was something none of them had ever faced before.

Another Titan—with a muscular build and a determined stance—was attacking its own kind.

Soldiers paused mid-battle, stunned by the sight. This new Titan ripped through the others with savage precision, throwing punches and tearing limbs as if it had a purpose.

"What's happening?!" one soldier cried out.

"Is it… fighting for us?" another whispered, his voice full of disbelief.

The Titan let out a guttural roar as it brought down another of its kind, sending a shockwave of dust and rubble into the air. From a nearby rooftop, Jean and Sasha stared in awe.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Jean muttered.

It was only when the new Titan collapsed to its knees, smoke pouring from its back, that the truth revealed itself. The nape of its neck split open—and a figure emerged.

Eren.

His classmates' eyes widened in shock as they saw him stumble from the Titan's body, his face pale, his breathing ragged.

"Eren…?" Armin whispered from a distance, barely believing his eyes.

Mikasa, who had been watching from a rooftop, immediately launched herself toward him, landing beside his trembling form. She dropped to her knees and pulled him into her arms.

"Eren!" she cried, her voice breaking.

Eren's eyes fluttered open. "Mikasa… Armin…"

The officials arrived shortly after, having witnessed the event from afar. Soldiers began murmuring in unease as the truth spread through the ranks—Eren Jaeger had turned into a Titan.

"We can't allow this to exist," an officer growled. "He's dangerous. We need to eradicate him before he becomes a threat."

Mikasa stepped in front of Eren, her blades drawn, her expression deadly. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me."

Armin joined her side, shaking but resolute. "He saved us. He's not the enemy."

The soldiers hesitated, unsure of what to do.

--- A FEW MOMENTS BEFORE ----

The Scout Regiment returned from their expedition. Erwin's sharp eyes swept the chaotic battlefield ahead of them. Titans were everywhere, but so was something far more shocking.

Levi's gaze narrowed as he spotted the anomaly—a Titan… fighting other Titans.

"Is that Eren?" he muttered, adjusting his grip on his blades.

"There's no time for rest," Erwin said, his voice calm but firm. "Advance, soldiers! You have a new duty. Engage!"

Levi shot forward like lightning, his movements precise as he descended on the battlefield. There was no rest for humanity's strongest soldier—not when there was still hope, and not when there was still a fight to win.