Chapter 4

The sun began to disappear behind the mountains. As it did, the world was painted in a golden hue close to orange. On the opposite side of the golden sky, darkness rose toward the heavens, coloring the sky in two hues.

In this world, I looked up at the wall. At the very top of the wall, the 'creature' I had been waiting for all this time placed its hand.

"The Colossal Titan…"

A gigantic titan without skin, its body emitting steam, looked down on the people inside the wall. Its eyes, filled with the resolve to kill people, sent a warning through my instincts.

Run away immediately. Every muscle in my body screamed to flee. My instincts electrified my veins, urging me to escape.

The overwhelming presence of the Colossal Titan began to fill my mind with fear.

'But.'

I must not run away. If I flee, tens of thousands of people will die, just as in the original story. If that happens, reaching the goal of keeping deaths below 50,000 will become impossible in an instant.

For the sake of my future peace, running away now would be the worst action.

I forced myself to erase the fear that swept over my mind and used every ounce of strength to shout to everyone.

"Nile! Military Police! Everyone, get down!"

After shouting with all my might, I hid under the desk. Hearing my command, the Military Police hesitated for a moment but then quickly took cover behind nearby objects.

The world changed in an instant as the last soldier hid behind a wooden pillar.

Boom…!

"Ugh…!"

A massive explosion that seemed to shatter my ears shook the world.

The impact of the colossal gate being broken reached even my spine, far away from the source. The sound of debris, kicked high into the sky by the giant's foot, falling across the city echoed from all directions.

The fragile body of a young girl, my eyes began to water from the shock. Even though my head understood, my heart still trembled with fear.

Only after a long while did the tremors that shook the entire city finally cease.

As the vibrations stopped, the soldiers who had been protecting me stood up and glared at the Colossal Titan through the window.

"What the hell is that?!"

"What is that…?"

None of them could think straight in the face of the Colossal Titan's appearance.

Just like the helpless Garrison soldiers in the original story, the Military Police could only stare at the Colossal Titan and the gate it had destroyed.

At the end of their gaze, the end had begun. Numerous Titans began to enter through the gate breached by the Colossal Titan.

Even from a distance, the sight of the Titans was overwhelming. I had no idea how to fight them.

Even though I knew from the original story, the pressure running through my body made it hard to breathe.

Therefore, I knew well.

In this state of panic, my words… no, the words of a young girl would not reach the soldiers.

Therefore,

'It's time to use the status window.'

[Nike Zackly (9)

Charisma 2

Intuition 1

Luck 4

Trust of Surrounding People 3

Femininity 0

People Eaten by Titans 321 / 50000]

If the Titans eat 50,000 people, I will undergo femininity corruption no matter what.

Femininity corruption probably means my mind would change to that of a woman. And it will happen forcefully.

But if you look closely at the status window, there is a stat called femininity.

'Femininity 0.'

I didn't know exactly what would change. Would my mind gradually transform into a woman's? Or would the number of people eaten by Titans change?

I had no way of knowing now, and I didn't want to know in the future either.

But I had to know. Because what I had to do from now on was something that only a superhuman could do.

"...Let's do it."

I felt pathetic for having no choice but to make this decision. It was frustrating and unfair that I had to save people somehow, but I didn't have the power to act directly. If something like this happens again, I'll have to do this again.

I quietly opened the status window. What had appeared as a small interface in my field of vision now materialized before my eyes.

I quietly pressed the 'Femininity' button. A new window emerged in the air, covering the status window.

[By permanently increasing Femininity by 1, you can temporarily change one stat to 10. Do you agree?]

"Agree. Choose Charisma."

As soon as I agreed, I felt my consciousness go blank for a moment. A dizziness and headache so intense that I felt like I might collapse enveloped my entire consciousness.

"..."

Was this the result of my femininity stat increasing by 1? I imagined a future where I failed to achieve the goal of reducing the number of deaths below 50,000.

Something far more wretched than this experience. How many times will I have to go through this?

'Damn it, I will never let that happen!'

Denying such a future, I clenched my fists tightly. It was unbearable. Fortunately, the femininity stat was only at 1, so I could quickly regain my senses.

Relieved to have come to my senses, I took a deep breath to calm my fear-filled heart.

Phew. Thank goodness. I can't let this beautiful body get hurt.

"Huh…? What was I just thinking?"

I felt like I had just thought something I normally wouldn't. And for some reason, I felt a little more precious about my body.

I felt a love for my body, thinking it was the most important thing in this world.

Only then did I realize.

Femininity.

As that stat increases, my mind will gradually change.

...

Shiganshina District Headquarters. The strategy room that manages all the Garrison troops in this city.

"So, does everyone understand?"

Nike, whose demeanor had suddenly changed, began to explain while spreading out a map.

Despite the noise from the Titan invasion outside, the Military Police started listening to Nike's explanation.

"Let's divide into the first, second, and third squads, just like when we played together before."

Through her knowledge from the original story, Nike knew what the humanity inside the wall lacked.

Specifically, why humanity had been helplessly overrun by Titans in the original story.

"The first squad will come to the front line with me."

At Nike's words, the Military Police tensed up.

Whether it was because of her charisma stat being at 10, the Military Police lost any room for distraction at each of Nike's gestures.

As if they were enchanted by her charisma, the Military Police felt as if they were facing Nike's father, Darius Zackly, the commander of the three corps.

"The second squad will take guns and go up to the wall. On the wall, make noise with the guns to somehow draw the Titans' attention and buy time."

Will that even work? Nile, the leader of the Military Police, briefly doubted whether the Titans could be lured by guns as he looked at the musket slung over his shoulder.

It was effective against humans, but woefully inadequate against Titans.

But judging that it was possible since Titans had ears, he refocused on Nike's words.

"The third squad will use every method to ensure the refugees can escape as quickly as possible."

Using every method. The worst yet most effective command given by a superior to subordinates.

Adding just one more sentence here would probably make the refugee procession move very quickly.

"You can use all the authority of the Military Police. For now, I am your excellent superior. That's all. Anyone with questions, raise your hand~"

Nike finished her speech with a raised hand. Nile then began to ask questions.

"But what will the first squad do at the front line?"

"Well, that's…"

Nike seemed to hesitate for a moment at Nile's question.

But soon, she smiled brightly and opened her mouth.

"Of course, we'll burn them."

With fire and explosives.

To give a big blow to the Armored Titan that broke through the gate of Wall Maria. That was all that was in Nike's mind.

...

Titans began entering through the gate breached by the Colossal Titan Bertholdt.

And Reiner, transformed into the Armored Titan, penetrated through the Titans, entering Shiganshina District.

Entering Shiganshina District, Reiner clenched his fist, thinking about what they were about to do.

Already committed to their actions, there was no turning back. The Armored Titan, resolving himself, entered the gate breached by the Colossal Titan and looked at the city where people lived, then stopped.

"…?"

Originally, the Armored Titan was supposed to rush toward the city gate.

But he could only stare blankly at one side. He saw Nike flying around the houses, throwing bombs while being carried by the Military Police.

"Boom-boom bomb!"

The house destroyed by the bomb collapsed on the nearby Titan. The Titan, buried under the rubble, was left with only its face sticking out, smiling.

Ignoring the completely incapacitated Titan, another Military Police officer flying around Nike threw a Molotov cocktail at another house.

Are all the people inside the wall like this...? The Armored Titan felt something was severely wrong.