An attack in Trost...?

Zeke inwardly panics as he tries to force his titan's head to heal faster, his inability to control his titan making his awareness of his human body all the more apparent... Along with the vibrations stepping towards him.

They were footsteps, he didn't know what was happening, or why, but he hoped to whatever god was out there that this person didn't know about titan physiology...

*PUUCHI!*

A hand tears through the nape and grips Zeke's shoulder, crushing the bones in it as he's forcefully torn out of his titan's body. He squirms in his captor's grip, flailing an arm to punch them while reaching the other at the pistol at his side...

Only to have the weapon slapped out of his hand, sending to the ground next to his titan's slowly evaporating body. "W-what are you doing!? Who are you!?" he shouts, trying to think of a plan to escape this... He could try to transform into a titan again, but the result would most likely be the same.

"I'm no one, but you? I have need of you." the horned man grins ominously.

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Elsewhere :

Mikasa was scowling at the merchants preventing the evacuation by blocking the path with their clearly overburdened carts. Word of the Colossal Titan destroying the gate had been spread, yet she hadn't heard anything about the other titans that should be destroying the city... Still, it was only a matter of time before things truly got bad, yet these idiots were risking lives for their luxuries?

"Hey! You can't-" *Thud!*

She turns and spots one of her fellow soldiers fall to the ground in unconsciousness with a large bruise beginning to form on his face. The woman responsible then started to undress him, stripping his equipment before storing it all in... A pouch that was clearly to small, yet still held everything.

"Hmm... It's just as he said, this place is boring..." Saeko mutters while looking over one of the replaceable blades. She then grips it and snaps it in half with ease, something that shouldn't be possible for even the strongest man around, let alone this woman...

It was only then Mikasa noticed her eyes, blood red with strange symbols in them... She shakes her head and points her sword at Saeko, eyes tracing the two katanas and one strange bandaged greatsword on her back. "Stop! You are under arrest for the assault of a soldier and the theft of military hardware!"

Saeko smiles, "Arrest me then."

Mikasa pauses, weighing her options of either arresting this woman, or leaving her be and attending to the merchants... Huh, this way she could reach Eren and the others without being court-martialed... "You're under arrest!" she shouts, stepping forwards while reaching for the cuffs she'd been handed earlier.

To Mikassa's surprise however, Saeko takes a single step back before jumping upwards, high enough that she easily lands on the roof of a nearby building, all without using 3D manoeuvre gear...

"You," she points at a nearby gaping soldier, "Handle the civilians." she states before launching herself after her target.

--------------------------------------

Saeko grins widely as she hops from roof to roof, dodging Mikasa's attempts to apprehend her. After around thirty minutes of this she'd even given up on that, now trying to slice her to ribbons.

"You're good! The best I've seen so far actually!" Saeko remarks while drawing Kakonoitami slightly from its sheath and using the exposed blade to block Mikasa's next attack. Her blade shatters against the supernatural blade, but she just clicks another one into place and continues her assault.

"Just what are you!?"

"A swordsman!" Saeko responds, landing on the flattest roof around and turning to face her opponent. "Now face me." she demands, fully drawing Kusanagi and dropping into a stance, "Do well enough and I might gift you with something."

"I don't want your gifts, I want to know what you are!" Mikasa harshly retorts, feeling like she was wasting too much time. What was happening to the others? And why hadn't they seen a single titan so far!?

Regardless of the many questions she had, she readies her two blades for combat. While she wasn't trained for this form of fighting, especially with titan-slaying swords, she was sure she'd do well enough against this woman, no, this creature.

They both step forward and engage each other at the same time, sparks flying as their blades connect. Mikasa's style was more like a beast fighting instinctually, fast and fierce yet without the grace an experienced swordsman would usually have.

Saeko blocks a slash at her throat and cuts at the other blade, slicing it clean in two and forcing Mikasa to click yet another replacement blade on. The replacements were for when your steel got dull against titan flesh, not because of them shattering against another human opponent...

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Nearby :

Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner all watch the fight between Mikasa and Saeko from a nearby rooftop. They were already all panicking due to the complete absence of other titans, even after they'd tried to summon them via Annie's female titan scream... Yet, what they were witnessing before them now, might explain many of their problems.

"I-Is this the true face of the Eldians...?" Bertholdt asks, focussing on the strange woman with almost glowing crimson eyes.

"No... Why would she be attacking a fellow 'demon' then?" Annie retorts but is just as shocked as the other two. She well knew how strong Mikasa was, yet to see her getting so easily and effortlessly beaten like that... It was scary, to say the least.

"We should go down there and help her, maybe then we'll find out why all our plans are failing..." Rainer states.

Bertholdt shakes her head, "Why? S-shouldn't we let her kill Mikasa first, then act?"

"How are we going to capture her then? Without transforming I doubt we'll do any better than Ackerman." Annie says.

"We're going. Get ready." Rainer says, using his 3D manoeuvre gear to fly over to the rooftop where Mikasa was fighting.