The fall of Shiganshina

"Roar!!!"

A tremendous roar rang out. Through Yago's blurred vision, numerous towering figures were closing in. Titans!

Yago immediately snapped to his senses and shouted urgently at Lucia, "Aunt Lucia! Run! The Titans are coming! Get out of here!"

Lucia turned a deaf ear. The stones had already cut her fingers open, leaving them drenched in blood, but she kept digging.

"Mom! Run!" The word "Mom" seemed to wake Lucia. She stared blankly at Yago. Behind her, an ugly Titan with a large nose was already approaching. Lucia resolutely raised a wooden stick and turned to face it, her voice trembling. "I won't abandon my child!!" Her slight figure looked so tiny before the nine-meter Titan.

Unfortunately, the Titan couldn't understand human speech. It roughly seized Lucia and slammed her hard against a wall. She lost consciousness, blood streaming down her head.

The Titan held her up and was about to stuff her into its mouth.

"No!!!" Yago flew into a rage. A violent power inside him seemed ready to burst from his chest. Damn Titans! You killed Uncle Vig! Now you're going to take Aunt Lucia away too! You deserve to die!

Yago clenched his right fist. The nail on his little finger gleamed like metal and pierced straight into his palm.

Crackle! Yellow lightning surged around Yago. White bones emerged one after another from his chest, and crimson muscle rapidly covered them. In the blink of an eye, they formed an enormous skeletal Titan. For some reason, the transformation stopped halfway.

Bang! One fist sent the big-nosed Titan flying, while the other hand caught the unconscious Lucia. Yago's legs were a mangled mess of flesh and blood, yet they rapidly healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, releasing clouds of steam.

Yago's chest heaved as he gasped for breath. The transformation had clearly drained him.

Looking at Lucia in the enormous hand, Yago let out a breath of relief. He struggled to move the incomplete Titan body, then turned and saw a Titan with a huge mouth stuffing someone into it.

"Aunt Carla!" Without hesitating, Yago used the last of his strength to move the Titan's hand and strike the huge-mouthed Titan's legs. It lost its balance and toppled to the ground. Carla fell to the ground as well and lost consciousness.

Their Uncle Hannes from the Garrison Regiment had Eren and Mikasa tucked under his arms, one on each side, as he ran away.

Eren beat his fists against Hannes, tears streaming down his face. His mother had been seized by that hateful Titan right before his eyes! He hated Uncle Hannes for being useless, and he hated himself for being useless! Above all, he hated those damned Titans. A powerful feeling gripped him, making his hatred for them stronger than anything else. He would wipe out every Titan! Not a single one would remain!

"Roar!!" Yago hurled the huge-mouthed Titan away with all his remaining strength.

"Ah!" Yago struggled out of a mass of flesh. Once he emerged, the Titan flesh quickly began to evaporate. His legs had completely healed, and he hurried to the hand to rescue Aunt Lucia. Carrying her on his small back, he went over to Aunt Carla.

Yago grew worried. Although he was stronger than most children, what was he supposed to do? He was only a child; he couldn't rescue two unconscious adults at once.

Fortunately, there was still a way out. With several bursts of high-pressure gas, a few soldiers in Garrison Regiment uniforms arrived beside Yago.

"Mrs. Carla, and Mrs. Lucia too? Are they all right, son?" one of the Garrison soldiers asked with concern. Dr. Grisha had once stopped a major epidemic from spreading, saving many lives, so many people in Shiganshina knew his family. Lucia was also kind and gentle to everyone, and her husband was an elite member of the Survey Corps, so quite a few soldiers knew her as well.

After Yago explained what had happened, the squad leader assigned two soldiers to take him and the women to the ferry landing to evacuate.

The Omni-Directional Mobility Gear kept releasing bursts of gas. Yago felt bewildered. How had he turned into a Titan?

Soon, the Garrison soldiers delivered them to the ferry landing in Shiganshina. The entire landing was packed with civilians desperate to escape.

The Garrison soldiers barely managed to maintain order. Since soldiers had brought them there personally, Yago and the women soon boarded the crowded ship.

Lucia and Carla had already woken up. Yago and Lucia supported Carla, whose legs were injured.

Armin rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then hurriedly nudged Eren, who sat on the ground, withdrawn into himself.

"H-hey, Eren, I think I see Aunt Carla, and Yago and Aunt Lucia too," Armin said uncertainly.

Eren jerked his head up, his eyes still brimming with tears. Looking in the direction Armin pointed, he froze. "Mom!!" He rushed straight over. Mikasa was equally shocked and hurried after him.

"Eren! Mikasa!" Carla cried tears of joy as well. She had thought she would never see the two children again.

The mother and her children embraced in a deeply moving reunion. Stirred by the sight, Yago looked up at Lucia. "Aunt Lucia..." Lucia smiled softly and stroked his head, saying gently, "Yago, my child, you can call me... Mom, too."

"Mom!" At her words, Yago threw himself into Aunt Lucia's arms-no, from now on, she was his mom.

"Yago, thank you so much. Thank you for saving my mom!" Eren thanked Yago in a tearful voice, his eyes red and his tears still unwiped.

"Don't thank me. I didn't really do much. It was those Garrison soldiers who saved us," Yago said, waving a hand.

Yago didn't dare tell anyone about his Titan transformation. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing himself, so he could only take things one step at a time.

Meanwhile,

Three figures gathered inside an abandoned house. "Reiner, did you feel it? There was a sign of an intelligent Titan in the city just now!"

"Impossible. Those devils would never keep the Coordinate Power on the outermost edge! I'll use the Armored Titan to break through that wall in a moment! We'll slip inside during the chaos!"

"Break through the wall? But there are still so many people... We-"

"Bertholdt! This isn't the time to hesitate! They're all damned devils! Don't pity devils. Annie, what do you think?"

"..."

"Good! Then we'll do exactly as I said!"

"But, Reiner, we-"

"Enough! We're warriors!"

"Fire!!" At the command, the Garrison Regiment's cannons roared, their heavy shells blasting Titans to pieces.

But there were simply too many Titans. The Garrison Regiment had already ordered Wall Maria's gate lowered. Although many civilians outside had not managed to escape in time, they had no choice but to abandon them for the greater good.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Heavy footsteps thundered against the ground, and an ocher figure gradually appeared before the Garrison soldiers.