"Titans are pouring into the city!"
Amidst countless screams and images of people running away, Eren and Mikasa ran against the flow, frantically heading home, because their parents were still there.
On the way, they witnessed many horrific scenes. Fortunately, they encountered Carla, who was also running in a panic.
"Mom!"
Eren shouted happily, but he was stunned by his mother's next words.
"Your father is still inside the house! Both of you, run and hide! I'm going to save Dad."
Saying that, she ran off. Of course, such words couldn't convince the two children. Eren followed, and Mikasa, uncharacteristically, didn't object, anxiously sticking close behind.
"Only one turn left! Our house is right there!"
When the three of them arrived, they saw Grisha struggling to pull Asahi out of the rubble. Witnessing his family willingly enter this dangerous area, he snapped.
"Carla! What are you doing? Get the children out of here! This place is about to be overrun by Titans!"
"But... but you..."
Eren and Mikasa stood still, stunned. For two ten-year-olds, situations like this were beyond their ability to process. As for Carla, she originally wanted Grisha to leave with her, but seeing his anxiousness to save the man, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
If they continued to be stuck in this dilemma, things would go very, very wrong.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The footsteps of the Titans made the ground shake. They grew louder and louder, signaling that the Titans were getting closer.
Carla was forced to make a decision. She grit her teeth and ran right next to her husband to help lift the wooden beam. The two children also ran along.
They, from the adults like Grisha and Carla, to the children Eren and Mikasa, were all in panic. And panic in a critical situation was no different from stepping into the grave.
Grisha knew Asahi was trapped inside because he saved him, so he tried desperately to save him. Carla couldn't leave without her husband. The two children were confused, only knowing to cling to their parents.
This absolutely cannot stand!
"Doctor Yeager, Grisha Yeager! Take your family and leave! Immediately!"
"No, I..."
"I said, leave!"
At the final statement, Asahi projected his aura towards the entire Yeager family, causing them to flinch and release the log in shock.
"Grisha, there's no need to feel guilty. I can take care of myself, and I won't die."
"Grisha, choose. Me, a person you just met. Or your family!"
The doctor trembled upon hearing this. Asahi's words snapped him out of his panic.
That's right, he was forced to choose.
Either stay here and die for nothing with his family, all due to a complex of guilt. Or abandon him so his family could be safe.
This choice was truly cruel, for Grisha, for this kind-hearted family. But it was better to do this for their safety.
"Dad..."
Eren tugged at Grisha's sleeve, his face filled with confusion. He wasn't the only one; Mikasa and Carla next to him felt the same way.
His decision would be the life-or-death decision for those around him.
To reinforce his resolve, Asahi retracted his arm back into the rubble, as if giving up all hope.
"Go."
"I... I'm sorry!"
Tears streamed down Grisha's face. He stood up, hugged Eren. Carla grabbed Mikasa and ran.
"No, Dad! Why aren't we saving him!"
"He... he is a Survey Corps soldier! A hero! We... we can't do this..."
"Eren..."
He couldn't speak, he could only keep running.
The family of four blended into the city's chaos, retreating toward the interior.
As for the ruined wooden house, Asahi certainly did not give up as Grisha thought. He tried to exert force, intending to toss off the wooden beams and bricks that were crushing him.
Crack!
The sound of the strongest wooden beam cracking rang out. Because of the excessive movement, his body felt like it was about to disintegrate. If it were a normal person, they would have likely died suddenly from the extreme pain, but Asahi used his sheer willpower to hold his body together like glue, preventing it from falling apart.
Snap!
The hardest beam finally broke in two. Unfortunately, another part of it was crushed by the gigantic rock slab, which weighed at least tens of tons. With his current strength, it was difficult to push it away.
Rumble! Rumble!
Just then, the sound of Titan footsteps appeared nearby, heading right toward his position.
The situation was critical.
Asahi came up with a plan. He used the only arm that could move freely and began to demolish the structure.
Smashing wood, breaking stone, he wanted to eliminate all obstacles hindering his movement.
Bang!
Asahi threw a punch directly at the part of the rock slab that was crushing him, causing it to crack and break off a small chunk, slightly reducing the pressure on him. Enough for him to drag himself out.
Asahi trembled as he struggled to stand up. His legs, having been crushed for too long, had blood pooling, which was rapidly being self-healed by the life force within him.
"Hah... hah..."
Wearing only the tattered clothes the Survey Corps had put on him earlier, Asahi stood tall before the massive creature that was only ten meters away.
The Titan reached out its hand. Unlike previous times, the human before it showed no terror; the only thing it received was a cold, impassive expression.
A sword appeared in his hand, something that had been dust-covered for who knows how long, now drawn by Asahi.
Swish!
His movement was as fast as thunder. A single swipe of the sword cut the Titan's reaching fingers into two pieces.
It hunched over, retracting its arm in surprise, or at least that's what Asahi thought. He didn't linger. His body vanished from the spot.
Slice!
Asahi had leaped directly in front of the Titan at a speed the naked eye couldn't catch. The sword plunged straight into its eye, then dragged down, splitting its face in two.
And then, the strange thing happened.
The fingers he had severed and the face he had split began to smoke profusely. With his superhuman vision, Asahi could see them rapidly regenerating at a speed far exceeding human recovery capabilities.
Moreover, it wasn't just simply closing an open wound; even the completely severed cuts were regenerating. Notably, the finger he had chopped off was growing back, while the detached part was evaporating.
"What the hell..."
Asahi now somewhat understood why humanity had to hide inside the Walls. The terror of this thing came not only from its immense size but also from its absurd regenerative abilities.
Even so, what did it matter?
He didn't believe this thing could regenerate forever.
The Titan lunged to attack Asahi again. Unfortunately, its movements were so sluggish and slow that it seemed to be moving in slow motion before him.
Piece by piece, the flesh on its body was sliced off like a prisoner undergoing the torture of lingchi (death by a thousand cuts). Asahi moved constantly, flickering in and out of sight, quickly cutting away almost the entirety of its body.
Elsewhere, Keith Shadis ordered the Survey Corps soldiers to continue fighting to buy time for the residents to evacuate. He, himself, headed alone toward the Yeager house using the specialized gear that aided the Survey Corps' movement.
And there, the Survey Corps commander witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A man wearing cloth clothes, yet radiating an immense sense of mystery and oppression that made him feel breathless. He was standing before a Titan's corpse that had been brutally cut into a hundred pieces, smoking heavily.
Only four words appeared in his mind: Absolute Overpowering!
"Hey."
While Keith was still stunned, Asahi's voice rang out, the sword still resting on his shoulder.
"It looks like you know how to kill this thing quickly. Show me."
"If I have to do this to every single one, it will take too long."