Crackle!
A bonfire had been built on the open ground, and the wood inside crackled in the intense heat.
The searing flames seemed intent on burning everything nearby to ash.
Arthur and Mikasa stood before the fire, watching it in silence.
"Mikasa, why don't you step away for a while?" Arthur knew what came next would be deeply upsetting for her, so he tried to persuade her.
"No. I want to stay with you." Mikasa refused his suggestion and simply clutched his hand tightly.
"...All right." After a moment of silence, Arthur nodded.
Then he began throwing the four beasts' bodies onto the fire, one by one, letting the flames burn them to ash.
Arthur stared at the bonfire. Reflected in his eyes, the flames blazed like the fires of vengeance.
After disposing of the beasts' bodies, Arthur prepared to give Kane and Yumiko a proper burial.
"Come on, Mikasa. There's one more important thing we need to do."
"All right." Knowing Arthur intended to give her parents a proper burial, Mikasa nodded obediently.
Arthur led Mikasa into the house.
Kane's and Yumiko's bodies still lay inside.
The two went in together, their eyes still filled with profound sorrow as they looked at Kane and Yumiko.
"Mom... Dad..." Looking at her parents' bodies, Mikasa could not hold back her tears.
Arthur gently drew the crying Mikasa into his arms, giving her someone to lean on, then softly patted her back to comfort her.
Only after crying for a while did Mikasa calm down.
Then the two wiped the dirt from Kane's and Yumiko's faces and hands and changed their coats, preserving their dignity one last time.
Arthur then carried their bodies to the grave he had dug in the yard, fashioned simple coffins for them from wooden boards in the house, and laid the couple to rest.
After covering them with a white cloth, Arthur began filling in the grave.
Arthur had dug the grave deep. He had only been able to dig it after the pain in his shoulder had eased considerably.
He was afraid the wild dogs and wolves in the forest might dig up their bodies, so he had buried them deeper.
Arthur and Mikasa took turns shoveling earth over them.
Arthur then found a suitably sized wooden board and used his dagger to carve the words "In memory of our father, Kane Ackerman, and Yumiko Ackerman" into it.
Mikasa laid the wildflowers she had picked before her parents' grave.
"Dad, Mom, I'll take good care of myself. Please don't worry about me."
Mikasa whispered softly to her parents' grave.
She wiped her eyes, which had no tears left to shed, and gently stroked her parents' grave marker as though she were touching their cheeks.
"Mikasa..." Arthur felt an ache in his heart as he watched.
Then Mikasa turned to look at Arthur. After what had happened, she truly understood how cruel this world could be.
She knew she had to become strong. If she kept relying on Arthur's protection, something like this would inevitably happen again someday.
She made up her mind to grow stronger, strong enough to protect her only remaining family-Arthur.
"Whoa!" A voice rang out just then.
Still on high alert, Arthur instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist, only to freeze when he saw who had arrived.
It was Dr. Grisha and Eren, who should have arrived much earlier.
"W-what happened here?!" Grisha stared in shock at the four charred bodies lying on the nearby bonfire, then at the blood covering the ground and the wreckage of the little yard.
Eren stared blankly at it all as well. He had never faced such a shocking sight before.
"Eren, don't look." Grisha hurriedly covered Eren's eyes, not wanting his son to see such a bloody, brutal scene.
"Dr. Grisha, you're here." Arthur's voice carried resentment and reproach.
If Dr. Grisha had arrived sooner, perhaps at least Yumiko could have survived.
"Yes... Arthur, can you tell me what happened?" Grisha asked, his expression complicated.
Though he had already guessed the broad outline of what had happened, he still wanted to confirm it.
"This is what happened..."
Arthur gave Grisha a rough account of the tragedy that had unfolded a few hours earlier.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If only I'd come a little sooner..." After hearing the truth, Grisha looked at Arthur and Mikasa and fell silent. He had never imagined that his delay would lead to something like this.
If I'd arrived sooner, could this tragedy have been prevented?
Weighed down by that guilt, Grisha stared blankly at his palms, his expression full of anguish.
Standing beside Grisha, Eren looked at Arthur and Mikasa, both bearing injuries. He had gathered the gist of what had happened from Arthur's account.
The thought of the atrocities those scumbags had committed filled him with righteous fury.
Eren gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, staring fixedly at the criminals' charred bodies. His young eyes held a murderous rage that did not belong to someone his age.
"Scumbags should all go to hell."
Eren spat the words viciously.
"Eren!" Hearing his son's words, Dr. Grisha froze for a moment, then his expression changed and he hurriedly rebuked him.
"Am I wrong?! If it weren't for them, Arthur and Mikasa's family would be fine!"
Eren did not stop, but continued shouting in anger.
"Enough!" Seeing the savage look on his son's face, Grisha hastily shouted at him.
It was the first time Eren had ever seen his father lose his temper like that. Looking at his angry father, he finally closed his mouth.
"I'm sorry. I lost my composure." Looking at Arthur and Mikasa, Grisha realized he had lost control and quickly apologized.
"Do you have anywhere else to go? It isn't safe here anymore."
Grisha posed the question to them both.
Arthur and Mikasa exchanged a glance and shook their heads. All they had now was each other.
"How about this? Starting today, you can stay at my house. We have plenty of beds. As Kane's friend, I should do my part, too." Unable to bear the sight of the two young children, Grisha made the offer.
"Wouldn't that be trouble for you?" Arthur asked.
"Not at all." Grisha shook his head.
"Arthur, Mikasa, from now on, my home is your home too. Come home with us." Eren stepped forward and spoke as well.
Eren's words filled both Arthur's and Mikasa's hearts with warmth.
"Yes. Let's go home together," Arthur and Mikasa said in unison.