"Arthur, why did that Titan do something like that?" Mikasa, who stood right beside Arthur, was also startled as she watched the strange Titan continue to brutalize the corpse.
It stomped on the dead eight-meter Titan over and over, as though venting its rage.
"I don't know. Let's watch a little longer." Arthur wasn't sure what the strange Titan was trying to do. This was another bizarre phenomenon he had witnessed besides the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan.
The strange Titan scattered chunks of the eight-meter Titan's corpse everywhere, reducing it to a heap of pulp. Then, seemingly done venting its anger, it suddenly raised both arms and roared at the sky.
"Roar!" Its thunderous cry seemed to proclaim its might and unstoppable power.
"Could it be an Abnormal Titan?" Christa guessed from beside Ymir.
"We can't rule that out." Ymir stared fixedly at the strange Titan as she gave an absentminded reply. Her expression was grim, as though she were thinking about something.
After it had roared at the sky for a while, three Titans appeared and headed toward it, seemingly drawn by its cries. Among them was a six-meter Abnormal Titan.
"Roar!!!" At the sight of the three Titans approaching, the strange Titan let out an enraged roar and charged straight at them.
The instant it closed in, the strange Titan smashed one Titan's face to pieces with a jab, then finished it off with a kick.
Next, it seized another Titan's hand and yanked hard, tearing the arm clean off with brute strength. It then swung the severed arm like a weapon, smashing it into the one-armed Titan's face.
"Bam!" The one-armed Titan suffered a devastating blow that caved in a large portion of its head, leaving a horrifying, revolting sight.
Some of the less strong-stomached soldiers couldn't help vomiting at the sight.
"Roaaar!!" The strange Titan roared again, opened its enormous, bloody maw, and sank its teeth into the one-armed Titan's nape. Its jaws clenched, ripping the flesh straight out of the Titan's neck.
Seeing the strange Titan go straight for a Titan's weak point left everyone even more astonished.
"That thing actually knows to attack the nape!"
"Does that mean it's intelligent?!"
"It should only attack Titans, right? It won't come after us, will it?"
The soldiers all began talking at once. Some looked terrified of this unknown creature, some wondered why the Titan behaved this way, and others were relieved that it only attacked its own kind.
Could it really be intelligent? But it doesn't seem like it, either. Some of its behavior is downright crazed. Arthur stared at the strange Titan, turning over possibilities in his mind.
By then, only the six-meter Abnormal Titan remained before the strange Titan. Crouched on all fours like a frog, it simply stared at the strange Titan without reacting.
The strange Titan didn't act rashly, either. The two Titans seemed to have entered a standoff of the sort normally seen only between humans.
"Roar!" After waiting a moment, the strange Titan roared angrily and charged at the Abnormal Titan. The Abnormal Titan suddenly pushed off with both feet, launching itself into the air like a frog with astonishing jumping power.
As the Abnormal Titan leaped toward it, the strange Titan abruptly dodged aside, avoiding the attack. Then it grabbed both of its opponent's feet and slammed it into the ground.
"Crash!" Under the tremendous force and weight, the road where the two fought was reduced to rubble. A huge cloud of dust rose and concealed them both.
The sounds of fighting continued within the dust cloud, only stopping a minute later. Just as everyone began wondering who had won,
a towering figure emerged from the dust. It was the strange fifteen-meter Titan.
It held the now-headless Abnormal Titan in one hand. Raising the corpse, it hurled it to the ground, then roared at the sky again like a victor.
Everyone watched the strange Titan in silence as it stood there like a god of war. They hadn't expected it to be so powerful.
"Arthur, do you think we could use this Titan to get into Headquarters?" Mikasa, standing beside Arthur, voiced her idea as she watched the strange Titan.
"What makes you think that?" Arthur asked curiously.
"I think this Titan's targets are other Titans. If we can lead it toward Headquarters, we could use it to clear out the Titans surrounding the building. That would save us energy and reduce our casualties," Mikasa explained.
Arthur thought Mikasa's reasoning made sense. If this Titan truly had no interest in humans, they really could put it to use.
To test Mikasa's theory and see whether this unusual Titan would attack humans, Arthur prepared to risk himself and try it out alone.
When Mikasa heard that Arthur intended to go alone, she immediately regretted speaking up. Why had she made such a suggestion? Wasn't she disregarding Arthur's safety?
"If you go, we go together! I absolutely won't let you act alone." Showing a rare forcefulness, Mikasa gripped Arthur's arm tightly and spoke with firm resolve.
"All right." Arthur looked into Mikasa's determined eyes, fell silent for a moment, then agreed.
Hearing him agree, Mikasa sighed in relief, a hint of delight appearing on her face.
The two then explained their idea to Armin and the others.
Apart from Armin, everyone found it hard to believe they had come up with such an absurd idea, and none of them agreed to let the pair risk their lives.
"Everyone, I think Arthur and Mikasa's idea really could work. You all saw how that Titan showed no mercy to its own kind. If we can make good use of it, we'll have a much better chance of reaching Headquarters," Armin said calmly.
After listening to Armin and taking another look at their situation, everyone could only reluctantly agree.
Under everyone's worried gazes, Arthur and Mikasa used their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to approach the strange Titan and observe it.
With no other Titans around, the strange Titan began wandering again.
"Mikasa, be careful and don't get too close. We don't know whether this Titan is hostile toward humans," Arthur warned her.
"Okay, Arthur. I understand." Mikasa nodded.
The two slowly approached to observe it, first making some noise from several dozen meters away to draw its attention.
But the strange Titan merely glanced at them before continuing to wander.
"Let's get a little closer," Arthur told Mikasa.
The two closed the distance again.
Everyone watching from afar had their hearts in their throats. Their faces were tense, and they all feared the Titan might suddenly attack.
"Whoosh!" The pair swept past the Titan's eyes.
The strange Titan didn't attack. It merely gave them an impatient look before ignoring them again.
After confirming a few things, the pair immediately returned.
As soon as they landed, everyone crowded around them, their faces filled with excitement and surprise.
"It looks like this Titan really has no interest in humans." Arthur pieced together his observations and confirmed what set this Titan apart.
"Oh, yeah!"
"That's great!"
Everyone burst into cheers.
"This really is a surprise." Jean hadn't expected to encounter a Titan with no interest in humans, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"In that case, we can use this Titan to retake Headquarters." Armin watched the Titan, putting his mind to work again as he thought through a clever plan.
"Right. Now we just need to get this Titan moving toward Headquarters," Arthur said with a nod.
Everyone then began planning how to guide the strange Titan to Headquarters. After working out a detailed plan,
they sprang into action again at Arthur's command.
Arthur, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and the others formed a guiding team, repeatedly drawing the strange Titan's attention.
With everyone doing their utmost to guide it, the Titan spotted Headquarters in the distance and the Titans along the way. At the sight of those Titans, it roared as though it had encountered sworn enemies and charged straight at them.
Everyone was overjoyed to see the plan working.
Arthur hurriedly ordered everyone to regroup, then follow in the strange Titan's footsteps, letting it clear the way as they steadily advanced toward Headquarters.
The strange Titan kept attacking the Titans along their route, sparing Arthur and the others a great deal of trouble along the way.
Relying on the strange Titan like this, they soon reached the outside of Headquarters.
While the strange Titan drew the attention of the Titans outside Headquarters, Arthur led everyone crashing through the building's windows and straight inside.