Chapter 49: Containing the Armored and Colossal Titans

Hearing Reiner's words—

Bertholdt and Annie both mentally put a question mark.

"Hey, Reiner, what are you thinking!?"

Bertholdt was nearly in tears.

Don't lose it at a time like this!

But Reiner just shook his head.

"If he cooperates and leaves with us, great. If not, we'll sever his limbs and take him by force. If the situation spirals out of control, Bertholdt, you use the Colossal Titan to clear the area. Annie, use the Female Titan to get us to the wall. Once we're at the wall, we'll use ODM gear to climb over quickly. Then, outside the walls, I'll transform into the Armored Titan and carry us out of here."

Hearing Reiner's plan, Bertholdt finally relaxed.

As long as he wasn't losing his mind.

This plan was quite solid.

The Female Titan was highly mobile, second only to the Jaw Titan in speed (though it lacked the Cart Titan's endurance).

With the Female Titan's speed, they could reach the wall quickly. All three of them were Marley-trained warrior candidates, highly skilled in using their Titan powers.

Even if they transformed, they wouldn't damage their ODM gear.

Once outside the walls, the Armored Titan's speed would be sufficient. The military inside the walls wouldn't have time to react.

With the plan set—

Neither of them noticed Annie's strange expression.

Annie recalled a classic moment from the Attack on Titan manga.

"I go Armored, he goes Colossal, he kicks, I tackle. You come with me, and everything's fine."

A textbook reenactment?

"Annie, it's time!"

Reiner snapped Annie out of her thoughts.

She nodded, pulled out a water flask from her waist, and unscrewed it, pretending to take a sip.

Glancing at the two, she raised the flask.

The two immediately understood her meaning.

Just like warriors drinking before battle—

A toast at this moment set the atmosphere. Reiner and Bertholdt took out their own flasks.

The three clinked them together.

"For home!"

Reiner said solemnly, then drank from his flask.

Bertholdt smiled and was about to drink as well but something felt off.

Why was Annie acting so normal today?

In the past, she would have remained cold, quietly executing the mission, uninterested in anything else.

Suddenly, Bertholdt recalled Annie's three-day disappearance.

The suspicion instantly deepened.

His hand froze mid-movement, and he shouted,

"Reiner, don't drink it!"

But it was too late.

The moment Reiner swallowed, the world around him spun, and his body lost control. The special drug from Earth acted far faster than anything in this world.

Bertholdt panicked, but Annie lunged at him, trying to force the flask to his lips.

At that moment, Bertholdt decisively raised his hand—

And bit down on it.

Seeing this, Annie had no choice but to switch tactics.

She grabbed Reiner with one hand—

With the other, she flicked the hidden blade in her ring. The sharp hook shot out, drawing blood!

In an instant, two golden bolts of lightning crashed from the sky, roaring over the desolate landscape.

"What's happening!?"

"Thunder?"

"Wait, what is that!?"

The trainees of the Training Corps all turned toward the direction where a golden lightning bolt had struck.

There, two massive figures suddenly appeared, sending everything around them flying.

"The... the Colossal Titan!!!"

Someone screamed.

That sixty-meter-tall figure, towering even above the walls, with its entire body covered in exposed red muscles and no skin, was simply too conspicuous.

And too unforgettable.

Because it was this very being that, years ago, forced the people within the walls to once again remember the fear of being ruled by Titans.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Eren stared at the distant Colossal Titan, twisting and struggling desperately, muffled sounds escaping from his mouth.

Aside from his shock, his first reaction was to charge into battle.

However... at this moment, Eren's limbs were firmly restrained by four people, lifting him off the ground.

His mouth was stuffed with a piece of rag.

The ones holding him down were Mikasa, Armin, Christa, and Ymir.

"A Titan! It's the Colossal Titan!"

Armin stared at the massive figure, eyes wide in shock, quickly connecting the dots; those pillars, and the strange reactions from Ymir and Christa.

"You knew the Colossal Titan was going to appear!?"

He turned to Ymir.

However, both Ymir and Christa were equally stunned at the moment. They had only been following Haruto's instructions.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Eren struggled with all his might.

Seeing the Colossal Titan appear but being unable to fight, it was more agonizing than death.

Mikasa held onto one of Eren's legs with a firm grip.

Watching Eren's reaction...

A fleeting image of that pink potion flashed through Mikasa's mind.

Maybe... she should use it on Eren.

"Will Haru be okay?"

Christa looked anxiously at the distant Titans. Haruto had told them to flee, yet he had stayed behind.

At this moment, Christa even wanted to run back and help.

But Ymir held her back tightly.

"He'll be fine. He's ridiculously strong, like a monster. He knew this would happen, there's no way he'd get into trouble."

Ymir's words carried a reassuring tone.

But her voice lacked its usual calm and carefree nature. She was trying to reassure Christa... and perhaps herself as well.

Meanwhile, inside the Colossal Titan, Bertolt was utterly panicked.

"Why, Annie!? Why are you betraying Marley!?"

He shouted furiously inside the Titan's body.

But the Colossal Titan couldn't speak, and his voice couldn't reach the outside.

Compared to the Colossal Titan, the Female Titan; standing at just fifteen meters seemed much smaller and less noticeable at the moment.

Annie had grabbed Reiner and was retreating quickly.

Fighting the Colossal Titan as the Female Titan was a losing battle. And at this point, there was no need for her to fight at all.

Zzzzt…

A harsh metallic screech echoed through the air, followed by another, and another.

Hundreds of soldiers wearing the Wings of Freedom insignia shot into the air, charging toward the Colossal Titan.

Only two figures veered toward Annie's Female Titan.

Haruto moved as if he had teleported, appearing on Annie's shoulder.

"Sorry, he was too cautious."

Annie spoke inside the Female Titan.

She knew Haruto could hear her.

Haruto simply waved a hand.

"No big deal. We took one down, and even if both of them transformed, it wouldn't matter."