Final arc: Closing in
With a loud bang, the Hardening sphere became deeply embedded in the remaining Pyramid base. As if sensing this, cracks appeared on the surface of the sphere.
A pair of fair, delicate hands emerged from the crack, pressed down on both sides of the crack, and tore it open with force! Two figures staggered out of the sphere.
"Cough... cough cough!" Annie's face was pale, and she was soaking wet, as if she had just crawled out of the water. Her golden hair clung tightly to her face, and her chest heaved violently as she gasped for breath and coughed. Clearly, her journey inside the sphere had not been pleasant.
Behind Annie was Pieck, who was also pale but in much better spirits.
The Beast Titan's all-out throw successfully sent the two of them beneath the Fate Titan. Pieck couldn't help but look up, squinting at the spinal skeleton above their heads, which was wrapped with dense red blood vessels and blue nerves, and the half of the Titan's body connected to the top of the skeleton.
"Annie, can you still hold on?" Pieck reached out to help the somewhat weak Annie up, who shook her head weakly. "I can't..." A sudden roar interrupted their conversation.
Looking around, they saw dozens of Jaw Titans and Cart Titans with bloodshot eyes, running wildly towards them at breakneck speed.
Pieck took a deep breath and immediately shielded Annie behind him, saying, "Annie, make sure you hold on tight!"
Boom!! A dazzling golden lightning erupted, and steam filled the surroundings. Annie suddenly felt her feet lighten, and she lost her balance uncontrollably, landing hard on her bottom on soft flesh.
Amidst the steam, the colossal figure of the Cart Titan suddenly burst forth, its long, flat head tilted back, its thick limbs moving swiftly. On the shattered Pyramid ruins, the Cart Titan moved as if on flat ground, easily using one Hardening fracture after another to leap onto the massive, nearly 100-meter-high spinal column.
Stepping on the jagged spikes covering the spine, as if climbing a ladder, the Cart Titan rapidly approached the Fate Titan at the top of the spine. On the back of the neck, Annie struggled to maintain her balance, hanging steadily.
Approaching the Fate Titan was no easy task. Below the Cart Titan, dozens of equally swift red-eyed Jaw Titans and Cart Titans were also relentlessly pursuing it. Furthermore, above the Cart Titan's head, large, white bulges abruptly appeared on the surface of its massive spine.
"Trouble is coming, Annie, get ready!" the Cart Titan spoke in a human voice, and on the back of his neck, Pieck's small face wore an unprecedentedly solemn expression.
With a splat, Annie pulled out Dagger and slashed a deep gash across the back of the Cart Titan, then plunged her entire arm into the gash.
"That hurts, Annie. Could you at least say hello next time?" the Cart Titan complained, but his speed was anything but slow.
Sizzle! The piercing cut in Annie's arm felt scalding heat, and a sharp pain shot through her brain. But Annie only frowned slightly. Compared to rescuing Yago, this was nothing. The Cart Titan's powerful healing ability began to show. The cut Annie made healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. But strangely, Annie's arm was not forced to split open. Instead, it seemed to be rooted and fixed in the Cart Titan's body.
In the blink of an eye, the Cart Titan had already reached halfway up its massive spine. However, looking at the Red-Eyed Intelligent Titan emerging from the large white bulge on its head, Pieck knew that the road ahead would be difficult.
Roar!! Above their heads, a red-eyed Beast Titan with a mane-covered neck and a goat's head roared and charged at the Cart Titan.
"Sorry, Ksaver- senpai." Pieck seemed to recognize the ram- Titan in front of him, but despite recognizing it, he showed no mercy when he attacked. The Cart Titan pushed off with all its might, using the reaction force to leap up and dodge the ram-headed Titan's attack. Then, it opened its huge mouth and bit the ram-headed Titan's nape.
With a ripping sound, as it tore off a large chunk of flesh from the back of the neck, the Cart Titan kicked the Sheep Titan's body downwards, catching several red-eyed Jaw Titans and the Cart Titan that were chasing below off guard and sending them crashing down.
Without wasting any more time, the Cart Titan continued climbing upwards.
However, the closer one gets to the top of the spine, the more numerous and challenging the Red-Eyed Intelligent Titan become.
Bang!! The Hardening meteor hammer covered in spikes grazed the Cart Titan's head and smashed one of its ribs. The immense power sent a chill down Cart Titan 'Pieck spine.
Above, a War Hammer Titan with a head resembling a triangular helmet yanked hard, pulling the flail with its chain attached to its tail back.
A crimson gaze peeked through the gaps in the triangular helmet, and the red-eyed War Hammer swung its meteor hammer in a wide arc, its speed increasing rapidly.
"Damn it!" Pieck cursed under his breath and quickly jumped in another direction. Just as the Cart Titan leaped up, the flail smashed the skeleton it had just landed on.
The threat wasn't just the War Hammer Titan wielding a meteor hammer; above, below, and behind, more than a dozen Red-Eyed Intelligent Titan were all eyeing them menacingly. At this moment, the Cart Titan had already brought Annie to the top of the massive spine, less than thirty meters away from the Fate Titan connected at the top.
Whoosh!! The meteor hammer came hurtling in again, forcing the Cart Titan to dodge awkwardly. One foot landed on a skeleton, and roar!! A red-eyed Jaw Titan had been baring its teeth and waiting for its chance, roared and jumped onto the Cart Titan's back, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth to bite.
Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang out, and two puffs of blood mist exploded from the eye sockets of the red-eyed Jaw Titan. Losing its sight Jaw Titan roared and wildly waved its claws and teeth.
Annie held a pistol in one hand, the muzzle still emitting faint smoke. Just then, the Red-Eyed War Hammer Titan's meteor hammer came hurtling down again, and the Cart Titan, entangled by the Red-Eyed Jaw Titan, had lost its best chance to dodge and could no longer avoid it.
Since there was no way to dodge, Pieck's face hardened as the Cart Titan opened its mouth and shouted, "Annie! Dodge!" Then the Cart Titan rolled over, grabbing the Red-Eyed Jaw Titan clinging to its back and pulling it to face it.
Boom!! Without any surprise, the flail smashed directly into the head of the Red-Eyed Jaw Titan. Instantly, the Red-Eyed Jaw Titan and its head were pulverized like a watermelon. Even more terrifying, the flail continued its momentum, slamming heavily into the chest of the Cart Titan. Inside the back of its neck, Pieck's eyes widened, and she almost spat out a mouthful of blood. She could feel the terrifying impact even inside the back of her neck.
The Cart Titan's chest caved in after the heavy blow, and its massive body tumbled, nearly falling off the skeleton beneath its feet.
The Red-Eyed War Hammer Titan pulled back his meteor hammer, swung it around in a wide arc, and attempted to attack the Cart Titan again.
*Thud! Red-Eyed War Hammer Titan suddenly paused, lowered its head, and a blood-stained fist emerged from its chest, solidified into layers of Hardening.