Chapter 7 A Survivor

On the Walls of Trost

The air was tense.

A cold wind rolled across the top of Wall Rose, carrying with it the distant echoes of a world that had long since turned into a nightmare. The sun was beginning its slow descent, casting long shadows over the stone battlements where the Garrison soldiers stood watch.

In Paradis Island, the three military branches were the Garrison, the Military Police and the Survey Corps.

The last two were responsible for protecting the interior (Wall Sheena and Inner Districts Of Wall Rose) and the exterior, respectively. While the Garrison stood guard over the walls.

Unlike in years past, there was no idle drinking. No careless laughter.

Not after Wall Maria fell.

Not when everyone knew the Colossal Titan could return at any moment.

Instead, a heavy silence hung over the wall, broken only by hushed conversations. Whispers of yesterday's failed expedition.

"An entire flank… gone. Just like that."

"The Scouts barely made it back inside the walls. Again."

"At this point, why do they even keep going out there?"

"It's suicide. A thankless job."

Hannes leaned against the battlements, arms crossed, listening to the murmurs around him. His face was set in a grim expression, but his eyes betrayed his unease.

The Survey Corps had set out the previous morning with over a hundred soldiers.

Less than half returned.

He had seen it himself—the battered remnants of the Scouts dragging themselves back through the gates. Bloodied. Hollow-eyed. Haunted.

"Damn fools," one of the younger soldiers muttered, shaking his head. "If it were me, I'd never step outside these walls."

"Then be grateful you were born a coward," another snapped, his voice bitter.

Hannes sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The truth was, despite their grumbling, none of them truly hated the Scouts. They feared for them.

Because deep down, they all knew—

If the Survey Corps failed, then humanity had already lost. It would be fine previously when they hadn't seen hell.

Not now. Not anymore.

Ever since the breach of Zhiganshina and the Fall of Wall Maria, The Garrison had grown disciplined.

They were no longer the lazy loungers who did nothing but drink booze all day long. But now everyone wished they still were.

Because like Hannes once sad to Eren, if they are drinking and lounging, it meant everyone inside was safe.

Now, the Garrison was no longer the safest military department. They had transitioned from mocking the survey corps soldiers each day to worrying the most about their expedition progress.

Each time, feeling more and more disheartened.

Hannes had known some of those Scouts. Some were good people. Brave, even. Dumb as hell, but brave.

It was said that in the last expedition, the Leftmost flank was completely decimated. The only proof being the signal flare one.managed to fire before probably getting eaten alive.

It had been a day now. Practically, no one expected anything and had all come to the same conclusion.

This Expedition's Second Brigade had all …

"HEY!"

A sharp sound cut through the evening air— a distant scream.

Hannes's brow furrowed. He lifted his head, looking toward the horizon. The other soldiers barely noticed, still lost in their conversation.

"Did you hear something?"

"Huh? Tch, have you had too much to drink on the job, Hannes?"

But then it came again. Louder. Clearer. Desperate.

"OPEN THE GATE!"

The air on the wall seemed to freeze. Bottles lowered. Conversations died.

"Did you hear that?" one of them asked, tense.

Another silence, then—

"There! Someone's outside the walls!"

They rushed to the edge, scanning the barren landscape beyond.

Their eyes widened.

"Is that—?"

A lone figure was sprinting towards the walls across the open plains, their ragged uniform flapping in the wind.

It was the most unbelievable of all things. A Scout.

"Am I hallucinating?" one soldier murmured.

"If you are, then I am too."

"That person doesn't seem to be wearing ODM gear, right?"

"No … No horse either".

Hannes squinted in disbelief, his vision sharpening as the figure drew closer.

In the distance, Ilse Langnar ran with all her might. Her uniform was in tatters, her hair disheveled, and her body barely holding together from exhaustion. It had been a full day without a wink of sleep.

If not for Seiji who had literally transported her this far, perhaps she would already be collapsed on the floor. Now, however, home was right ahead.

She was still screaming.

"Open the gate! Please!"

The soldiers on the walls were baffled.

Hannes felt a chill crawl up his spine. No ODM gear. No horse. From the looks of it, no weapons either.

Just how the hell did this person survive out there?

"Oh my God! This is incredible, somebody actually ….".

The voice of the chattering soldier which was practically bubbling with excitement suddenly froze. It was the same for all of them.

Whatever awe or surprise they showed vanished into thin air. Why? Because …

THUD!

Then, in the distance behind her, the ground trembled. Ilse who was running felt her, blood run cold.

That sound …. She knew that sound.

On the walls, the soldiers gasped.

A Titan.

No—several.

Lumbering figures emerged over the horizon, their grotesque forms illuminated in the dying sunlight. At first, only one or two. Then five. Then seven.

'… No, No, No … Not again, Not again …'. Ilse screamed internally, seeing the figures appearing in the distance. Instantly, her face seemed to be drained of all blood as she turned and ran with renewed vigor.

"Open The Gate! Please Open The Gate!" The desperation in her voice was alarmingly obvious.

The adrenaline came in full force, pumping away all exhaustion as the female raced against time for her dear life.

Unfortunately, the Titans had already noticed her.

Their massive forms staggered forward, drawn by her very cries.

In the distance, a blurry silhouette materialized on a tree. The panicked cries from afar fell into his ears, causing him to halt.

Instantly, Seiji turned on his Sharingan. The insight multiplying rapidly until it spotted he figures in the distance.

Honestly, they were too big to miss. Titans.

'Not far enough, it seems'.

Earlier, Seiji had put no effort into hiding that he wasn't from Paradis Island From Ilse or concealing his features. From his perspective, he saw no apparent need to do so.

After all, he never planned to get in through the front gate to begin with. Why? Since when do Ninjas ever use the front door while on missions?

Not to mention the troubles that would come with it if he decided to follow her. Interrogation, constant surveillance, harassment. Perhaps it would resort to a full-blown fight with him slaughtering everyone in sight with a classic plot of the opposing side underestimating the enemy and trying to force an arrest.

Unnecessary and uncalled-for. Seiji wasn't brainless. Hence, he left and decided to infiltrate wall rose by climbing the walls directly.

The Garrison didn't guard every area of the walls. Just a central point, and would occasionally move around to conduct equipment maintenance on the wall cannons.

As for the aftermath of revealing himself, it didn't concern him. With Transformation Jutsu (Henge No Jutsu), he could become anyone he wanted to be.

Trying to locate him would be next to impossible in this world. Plus, even if they wanted to look for him, their search priority would be outside the walls.

Now, it seems like his job wasn't done yet.

"Screaming? You Idiot".

The young Uchiha thought with a frown. The girl's screams had drawn the Titans right to her. He began contemplating his next course of action. Then, he tapped his wristbands and infused chakra.

PUFF!

Two puffs of smoke emerged. Seiji let out a breath as he leaped back the way he came.

Meanwhile,

On the walls, Hannes moved.

"Open the damn gate! Now."

But before the soldiers could react, a hand shot out, blocking him.

Kitz Woeman, another garrison member and a named attack on Titan character.

Just like Ilse, a side character who luckily had one more scene to play.

"Kitz, what is the meaning of this?"

In his line of sight, the cowardly officer's face was pale.

"You can't do that Hannes. She's leading the Titans right to us. It will only worsen it".

His fingers clutched at his sword hilt like it was his only tether to life.

Hannes turned sharply, shouting, "We have to let her in!"

"No! We can't risk it! If the Titans get too close, they'll breach the gate!"

"We don't have time for this!" Hannes snapped, trying to push past him.

Kitz grabbed him roughly by the collar, shoving him backward. Hannes stumbled, but caught himself, glaring at the man.

"Damn it, Kitz, that's a person out there!"

"She's already dead!" Kitz barked, eyes wild with fear. "I won't let you endanger us all just because of one foolish girl!"

Two Garrison soldiers stepped forward, grabbing Hannes by the arms before he could advance. From their actions, they obviously shared the same sentiment.

"Let go of me!" Hannes struggled, his voice raw with frustration.

Outside the wall, Ilse ran with everything she had left.

Her legs screamed in protest, every muscle burning with exhaustion. Her breath came in ragged, desperate gasps. The wind roared past her ears, carrying the guttural moans of the Titans behind her.

She didn't dare look back. She didn't need to. She could feel them.

The vibrations of their massive footfalls rattled her bones. The hot, nauseating stench of their breath filled the air. She knew they were closing in.

"Please! Open the gate!" she screamed again, her voice hoarse.

She saw the figures standing on top of the walls. She saw them watching. Why weren't they opening it?

A deep shadow loomed over her. A Titan was close—too close.

She risked a glance back and saw it. A massive hand, reaching for her.

Ilse's heart stopped.

This is it.

Then—something whistled through the air.

A blur of silver spun past her, slicing through the sky.

The Titan's hand, just inches from grabbing her, jerked violently before it suddenly fell away. The massive figure staggered, its entire body locking up before collapsing face-first into the dirt with a resounding crash.

Ilse's eyes widened in disbelief.

A Fūma Shuriken was embedded deep in its nape.

More shadows surrounded her. The other Titans were closing in.

Then, it happened again.

More shurikens—spinning, cutting, killing.

One Titan collapsed mid-step, its knee severed. Another had its eyes gouged out before the final spinning blade tore into its nape. The monsters fell like puppets with their strings cut.

Ilse barely had time to process it.

"What…?" she gasped, the scene of how she nearly got eaten last time replaying in her mind.

Instantly, her eyes darted in all directions, looking for him yet finding nothing.

Luckily, she was smart enough to understand that now wasn't the time to dwell on this.

Meanwhile …

".... I said unhand me, you bastards. That's another human being …".

"Stay down Hannes". Kitz yelled, punching him in the face. "I don't want to fight you. But I will not let you let the Titans inside humanity's walls again …".

The man raised his fist again, yelling loudly. Under all that feigned anger and responsibility was a deep-seated fear and dread.

"If you still resist, I will have no choice but to deem you a traitor, and punish you on the …".

It happened then. At that moment, a three - edged bladed weapon tore through the air towards the Garrison area.

SQUELCH!

Blood splattered all over, staining the floors and faces of Hannes and the two soldiers binding him.

"... Ugh …". Kitz words were stuck in his throat, his eyes shifting towards his raised fist.

Well, what was left of it.

A wet, sickening thump echoed on the stone.

Something rolled across the floor.

A hand.

His hand.

Kitz let out a choked gasp, his knees buckling as he stared at the bloody stump where his wrist used to be.

Pain crashed into him a second later.

He screamed.

The Garrison soldiers were all frightened. Especially the ones holding Hannes.

"... What … What just happened?"

"Damn! What was that?"

Hannes was dumbfounded, not understanding what had just happened. However, he didn't dwell on it.

Running to the edge of the wall, he jumped off, and used his maneuver gear to go downwards.

"Stop him!" Kitz roared through his pain, cradling his mutilated wrist.

The remaining soldiers hesitated to take action. For Hannes, this was enough.

Using the grappling hooks and arriving below, he roared.

"A surviving scout is outside the walls. Open the gates. Quickly!"

Below the Wall

Ilse collapsed against the gate, her chest heaving.

Her hands trembled, clutching at her uniform, her mind reeling from everything she had just witnessed.

The gears rumbled as the gate opened. Her weary, panicked eyes lit up with light.

In the distance, Seiji watched everything. Then looked towards the walls with his Sharingan where Kitz was still holding his severed hand.

'… In the anime, I never did like that guy'.

He turned his gaze, Ilse had been pulled inside.

'… Let's not do this again anytime soon …'.

The boy thought before disappearing.

---

Inside Wall Rose, Trost District gates.

The moment Ilse was pulled inside, she was surrounded by dozens of eyes.

"Oh my God .".

"I can't believe my eye. Someone actually survived out there all alone".

"No horse. No Maneuver gear either".

"Is she from …".

"If she survived, where's the rest of her brigade?"

"Isn't that question idiotic? You expect more than once person to come out of the wastelands alive?"

".... Yeah. I can see her standing there, yet I still can't believe it".

Hannes pushed everyone aside.

"Here, drink something".

He said, handing her a bottle of water. The girl took it immediately, chugging everything down without care for her image.

".... I guess you must have had a rough time out there. Who are you soldier?….".

Ilse didn't respond until she finished drinking.

".... My. My name … is Ilse Langnar, and I'm from the 34th expedition team ….".

Instantly, gasps filled the place.

"It is true".

"A survivor …". It was one thing to speculate and another to hear it straight.

Hannes nodded. Seeing her attempting to get up, he tried to stop her.

"... You've been through one hell of an ordeal. We should get you to a doctor and …".

"There's no time". She cut in abruptly again. "I have important news about the Titans to give to Commander Erwin. New information that needs to be .... brought to light, alongside the … discovery of … of. …".

Her words slowed to a drawl as she spoke as everything in her line of sight grew blurry.

'… Why … Why am … I suddenly so …'. Fatigue washed over her instantly, yet she didn't know why. Unable to fight the intense feeling of exhaustion, her eyes closed as it all went black.

Hannes face was shocked at what he heard. New knowledge on the Titans? Luckily, he didn't listen to that bastard Kitz.

Then …. he watched as the spirited young girl suddenly closed her eyes slowly and fell.

'Damn. She must be mentally exhausted'. He thought, catching her while ordering. "We need a horse to get her to a hospital. I'll take her. Someone else head to the Survey Corps Headquarters, and inform their leader of what you've just heard. One of their own returned from the outside alive".

"... Ugh …". It happened then. The sound of Maneuver gear fell into their ears as two soldiers stationed on the Garrison wall came down.

One of them holding a fainted man with a stump of an arm that was wrapped in a garrison corps jacket to slow down the bleeding.

Kitz.

Hannes froze. "... Also, get this man to a hospital as well".

"... Yes …".

Meanwhile, a certain figure stood at the top of The walls Trost, watching the whole thing intently.

His eye insight enabling him to see from a height of 60 meters so clearly. Seiji watched as Three horses were brought over.

"Hyah".

Departing soon after, with two horses moving in the same direction which was towards the general hospital.

Hannes carrying Ilse, and a nameless soldier carrying Kitz.

In another direction rode the third horse with an irrelevant garrison member. Quite likely riding to the direction of the Survey Corps HQ.

In that same direction, Seiji chose to follow.