Chapter 19: Titan vs. Titan... Chaotic Battle

The only sounds people could hear were the collapse of buildings and the tremors shaking the ground.

The eastern district of Stohess, Wall Sina, had become a battlefield for three Titans.

The soldiers standing atop the walls, the citizens watching from afar, and the Survey Corps members poised to attack... all witnessed an utterly bizarre scene.

At first, they had assumed the black Titan was connected to the Female Titan. But now, they questioned whether the two were enemies.

The next moment, as these thoughts raced through their minds, one of the Titans (Eren) was sent flying through the air.

His right shoulder was completely shattered, his steaming body crashing into the open ground and demolishing it.

After sending Eren flying, Haruya seized the Female Titan, who had tried to exploit the opening.

His black right arm clenched into a fist.

Then, he raised a single finger, pointing to the wall behind the Female Titan... a silent command for her to follow him over it and escape.

The Female Titan paused. But before Eren could recover, she shifted back into a combat stance.

...

'So it's still going to be like this, huh?'

Even if he helped Annie, she wouldn't immediately abandon her goal of capturing Eren. That meant the only option left was brute force.

Thanks to that, Haruya already had a plan. But before he could act, a crushing blow to his waist sent him hurtling sideways.

His foot slammed onto a stone bridge as his left hand braced against the ground to steady himself.

The wound on his waist slowly regenerated, but the attack hadn't come from Annie.

It was Eren.

Even with part of his right side missing, his arm dangling limply, Eren refused to surrender. He roared at the sky, his fury erupting like flames in his eyes.

A massive surge of steam burst from his body... 'Is his regeneration speeding up?!'

Before Haruya could finish the thought, Eren charged at Annie. The two Titans, one resembling a demon and the other a warrior, clashed violently in the streets.

Eren led with a right hook, but Annie dodged effortlessly, deflecting the blow with her forearm.

As his fist veered off course, Eren followed up with a devastating left uppercut.

The sheer force of the punch shattered the bones and flesh of his own fist, but it also broke Annie's defending arm in a single strike.

Unshaken, Annie coolly grabbed Eren's shoulder with her other hand, preparing to flip him with a backward kick.

Eren anticipated the move. He lunged forward, his jaws clamping onto Annie's left arm, crushing bone and muscle alike.

But he was a fraction too slow...

Annie's kick connected with his abdomen, sending his massive body soaring like a soccer ball. Though his airtime was brief, Eren still managed to retaliate mid-flight, his foot slamming into Annie's head.

Annie instantly hardened her skin to avoid having her skull crushed.

The ground trembled as Eren crashed into the rubble. Annie advanced toward him, her steps deliberate.

Haruya remained still, 'Maybe letting things play out wouldn't be so bad...'

But then, Eren stirred. He didn't charge at Annie.

Instead, he rushed straight for Haruya.

"Huh?! What the—?!"

The sudden shift caught him off guard, but he reacted instantly.

Ten seconds had passed. If there was any danger, he'd use 'Armament Haki' to protect himself.

Yet Eren didn't attack. He just dodged Haruya... 'Running past me instead?!'

'No… This has to be a trap!'

Even knowing it was a ruse, determined to capture Eren, Annie gave chase.

As Haruya moved to intercept, Annie halted abruptly. In one fluid motion, she pivoted and delivered a crushing kick toward the left side of his head.

Haruya barely blocked it with Armament, stumbling back as the force sent him reeling. He watched as the crystallized fragments around Annie's foot slowly peeled away.

He shook his head, signaling that she shouldn't pursue Eren... but the gesture was meaningless.

Annie dropped back into her fighting stance.

'So this was Eren's plan all along...'

Pit them against each other, let them exhaust themselves, then swoop in with reinforcements to capture both.

Haruya wanted to explain, but words failed him...

As Annie launched her second attack, he swiftly retreated.

A building shattered under her kick, collapsing into rubble and debris.

'Should I force her to retreat?'

But if it took too long, Eren and the others would exploit the opening and capture them both.

Haruya didn't want to waste another Save. He couldn't afford to lose time or chances.

With a low stance, he lunged forward, but instead of attacking Annie, he dashed past her, snatching a soldier attempting to maneuver with ODM Gear and hurling him away.

Annie seemed to catch on. After a brief glance at Haruya, she sprinted after Eren.

A swarm of soldiers closed in from behind. To keep Annie from being overwhelmed, Haruya resolved to eliminate any human interference.

"According to Petra's observations, the black Titan's hardening ability has a cooldown! Force him to use it, then strike the nape!"

The announcement laid bare Haruya's weakness. A combined force of Survey Corps and Military Police descended upon the battlefield.

Spotting soldiers trying to flank him and aid Eren, Haruya acted.

He ripped a nearby chimney from its foundation, hurling it (along with chunks of debris) at the encroaching troops. Even if it didn't hit, it would slow them down.

Then he charged.

Soldiers attacked from all sides. This time, they avoided anchoring their gear directly into his body... but to get close, they had no choice.

Covering his nape with his left hand, Haruya swung his right arm in a wide arc. One soldier who was still recovering from the earlier impact was too slow... Haruya's palm struck him mid-air, the force alone enough to make him cough blood before he even hit the wall.

But then, dozens of anchors embedded themselves into Haruya's flesh.

"Don't let him escape!"

Haruya ignored them, his gaze locking onto another direction where a group had already slipped past him.

At the same time, soldiers assaulted him from the front, the rear... every direction was swarming with enemies!

Mimicking Annie's earlier leap, Haruya kicked off the ground, but the soldiers had predicted this. They retracted their anchors mid-flight.

"Now!"

Seizing the opening, a second wave of soldiers surged forward.

By the time Haruya landed, several were already within striking distance.

'I have to use Armament!'

'But... what if this is another trap?'

His mind raced, but the conclusion was instant. He twisted his body, disrupting their movements, then snatched a soldier out of the air.

He crushed the tiny human form against the ground, then rolled right, flattening another soldier attempting to sever his leg muscles.

Blood painted the battlefield.

Two blurring figures darted past... one sliced through the tendons of his left arm, fully exposing his nape.

"This is it!"

The third member of Levi Squad lunged for the kill.

«Armament Haki»

Blackened skin enveloped Haruya's nape as he shut his eyes, but he'd misjudged...

Blades pierced his eyeballs. Petra and Oluo struck true before retreating.

Haruya slumped against the wall, his right arm the only limb still functional.

'Damn it…'

But then, the whirring of ODM Gear filled the air. One set moved faster than the rest.

Next, his neck muscles were severed just like the Female Titan's predicament in the Giant Forest...

"Good! Watch for localized regeneration, he might restore one eye first!"

Petra's command was sharp. Haruya couldn't regenerate quickly.

She only said that because she'd seen the Female Titan focus recovery on specific areas.

So, before the soldiers could strike again, Haruya deactivated his transformation and ejected from the Titan's body.

He dove through a shattered wall into a nearby house, his movements sluggish, his stamina nearly depleted.

The room was a mess; scattered belongings, abandoned food.

'Do these people living trapped inside the Walls truly feel content with their lives?'

"What?!" Outside, the soldiers reeled in shock.

Haruya gritted his teeth and bolted in the opposite direction.

After a brief pause, the entire battalion gave chase.

"I've got a little stamina left. A second transformation is possible, but it won't last long. Better to split it into three bursts."

Then, with a whistling sound, the floor beneath him exploded.

'They're already here?!'

He leaped down the stairs, heading toward Annie's last known position. In these tight streets, the ODM Gear was nearly useless against a human target.

Plus, if they feared a second Titan transformation, they wouldn't act recklessly.

No civilians were in sight, so the soldiers fired another volley.

Haruya wiped the sweat from his brow, disgusted by the metallic taste in his mouth.

A quick check confirmed no major injuries.

'At least the Titan's power speeds up healing...'

*BOOM!*

A sudden deafening impact resounded.

'Did Annie lose?!'

He didn't want to Load a Checkpoint here. He wanted to gamble.

Exhaling sharply, Haruya raised his right hand...

*ROAR!*

The ground quaked as his Titan form erupted, crushing everything nearby. His expanded vision caught Annie (the Female Titan) on the verge of being subdued.

"No more wasting time."

Ignoring the soldiers behind him, Haruya broke into a full-speed sprint...