Chaos

Yago stared fixedly at the Abnormal Titan before him, gripping his sword handles tightly.

At last, the Abnormal Titan moved first. It sprang more than ten meters into the air and lunged at Yago.

Whoosh! Yago immediately activated his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, and the cables pulled him clear of the Abnormal Titan's attack.

Crash! The Abnormal Titan slammed into the roof where Yago had just been standing, making the entire house shudder. Yago steadied himself, his eyes sharp, and pulled the triggers. His anchors shot toward a house beside the Abnormal Titan, and before it could react, he hurtled toward it.

He raised both swords and slashed down, severing half of the Abnormal Titan's arm. Enraged, it swung its other hand at the roof where Yago stood.

Yago sprinted out of the way. While the Titan's arm was still regenerating, he aimed his sharp anchors at its nape and fired. Unfortunately, the Abnormal Titan reacted too quickly. It opened its enormous mouth and lunged straight at him, trying to bite him.

There was no turning back now. Yago steeled himself, blasted gas behind him, and spun several times in midair. The blades on his legs spun with him, creating two deadly arcs of steel.

Slash! Blood sprayed, splashing Yago's face with the Titan's scalding blood. The Abnormal Titan howled and covered its injured eyes with its intact hand. Yago naturally refused to waste the opportunity and swiftly flew behind it. Unfortunately, his blades were badly worn. That was the price of their sharpness: the blades themselves were too thin and light, making them prone to wear, dulling, and damage. Yago snapped off the dulled blades, drew two fresh ones from his sheaths, and cleanly sliced away the Abnormal Titan's nape.

The Abnormal Titan swayed and fell, but Yago's gaze remained grave. More and more Titans were gathering in the distance. Something was terribly wrong. Titans were visible almost everywhere in the vanguard sector. It seemed the vanguard troops were probably done for, and the other cadets had likely fallen into danger as well.

He returned to Lisa's side. She was still a little dazed, seemingly unable to process that the terrifying Abnormal Titan had been slain by the cadet standing before her.

"There's no time, Miss Lisa. Forgive me!" Without waiting for Lisa to react, Yago scooped her up around the waist. Fortunately, she was not wearing a long dress or anything of the sort, which would have made carrying her awkward.

With Lisa in his arms, Yago immediately activated his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and sped toward Wall Rose's inner gate. The inner gate was the only passage from Trost District into Wall Rose. It also had ample heavy artillery and was primarily defended by the rear guard.

Having just slain a Titan, Yago inevitably smelled of blood. The pungent odor finally brought Lisa back to her senses, and she could not help studying the boy before her. He had short black hair and eyes like stars. Titan blood still stained his face, though it was rapidly evaporating.

He's a handsome boy. Still, Lisa was sensible. She would never take the stories in those plays seriously. Offering herself in marriage to the hero who saved her sounded utterly fanciful. Besides, she still...

Nevertheless, Lisa was deeply grateful to this young cadet. If she had the chance, she would certainly repay him properly. As Duke Vald's only daughter, she had that much confidence. Even if Yago wanted to join the Military Police Brigade, a word from the Vald Family would be enough. With his formidable abilities, however, he did not seem to need that sort of help.

Carrying Lisa, Yago soon caught sight of Wall Rose's inner gate, but something seemed wrong. So much time had passed that nearly all the civilians should have been evacuated by now. Yet at least a thousand people were still gathered at the gate.

Moreover, a Titan's corpse lay evaporating in an open space nearby.

Yago leaped down and landed steadily among the crowd. Seeing that he was a soldier, the surrounding civilians made room of their own accord, and he set Lisa down.

Lisa bowed in gratitude. "Thank you for saving me."

Yago waved it off, but there seemed to be an argument up ahead. He pushed through the crowd and saw a cadet wearing a red scarf holding a blade against a portly merchant's neck.

"Mikasa?" Yago exclaimed in surprise. The cadet threatening the merchant was indeed Mikasa. Several burly men stood nearby with hostile looks, while two sweating Garrison soldiers tried to mediate.

At that moment, Dimo Liebus was caught in a dilemma. As chairman of Trost District's merchant association, he was used to every Garrison soldier treating him with the utmost respect. Now, merely because he wanted his goods to pass through the gate first, this cadet was actually holding a blade to his neck!

If he had not seen her effortlessly slay an Abnormal Titan, Dimo would have dearly liked to teach this young cadet a harsh lesson.

With neither side backing down, Dimo resigned himself to compromising. After all, he was afraid this reckless cadet really would strike. Just then, Yago, who had learned what was happening, approached with Lisa.

"Chairman Liebus, please don't make this difficult. Let the civilians through first. If you suffer any losses, the Vald Family will compensate you."

Dimo looked over. Naturally, the merchant association's chairman recognized Duke Vald's daughter. Since she was offering him a way to back down gracefully, he had no reason to refuse.

"As you wish, Miss Lisa." Dimo then ordered the wagons moved aside.

Yago found a captain in the rear guard and explained the situation. Upon hearing that she was Duke Vald's daughter, the captain immediately took the matter seriously and prepared to send several elite soldiers to escort Lisa inside Wall Rose.

Yago then found Mikasa and asked why she was here. She shook her head and said she had been assigned to the rear guard.

When the Garrison squad leader beside Mikasa heard that Yago had slain six Titans, including an Abnormal Titan, he invited Yago to join the rear guard.

Yago declined. "I'm sorry, but I've already completed my assignment. Now I need to find the members of my own class."

Although disappointed, the squad leader could hardly object. Yago said goodbye to Mikasa and prepared to head to the front lines to reunite with the 34th Class. He was also very worried about Annie.

Mikasa still had duties to carry out and could not simply leave her post. Only after all the civilians had evacuated would she be free to act.

So, as Yago prepared to leave, Mikasa caught hold of him and said, "Yago, please, if you see Eren, keep him safe!"

Yago smiled. As expected, Mikasa was still worried about Eren. Still, with Thomas in command, there should not be too many problems. "Don't worry, Mikasa. Leave it to me."

But just as Yago was about to leave, another voice stopped him. "Excuse me, um... I still don't know your name?" Yago turned back helplessly. Lisa looked a little embarrassed; she really did not know this cadet's name.

"Yago. Yago Norman. Miss Lisa, keep yourself safe. Until we meet again!" With that, Yago swiftly launched himself off the ground and toward the rooftops.

"Yago Norman? I'll remember that. The Vald Family always repays its debts. My name is Lisa Vald. If you ever need help, just come find me in the Royal Capital!" Lisa called after his retreating figure.