As a muffled roar came from beneath the Fate Titan's faceplate, the Attack Titan was slammed into the ground for who knew how many times.
Boom!!
The massive body smashed a huge crater into the earth.
"Hah!"
The Attack Titan propped himself back up with one hand once more, his chest heaving violently as huge amounts of steam poured from his mouth.
But the ferocity in those green eyes had not diminished in the slightest.
Inside the nape, Eren was drenched in sweat, and at the same time felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Over the years, he had never once slacked off. If anything, he had trained with insane intensity, because Eren understood better than anyone how important the power he carried was. From his brother Zeke, he also knew exactly what the power of the Founder represented.
Yet the Titan standing before the Attack Titan was like an insurmountable mountain.
Just what kind of monster was Yago?
Could such absurdly powerful Titan abilities really exist?
If Eren hadn't already met the Founder recently, he would've suspected the Founder itself had somehow been stolen and shoved into Yago's body.
"Ehhh~ it's over. Squad Leader Eren's gonna lose. My meal tickets~~"
One of the watching soldiers let out a miserable wail.
The soldier beside him grinned smugly and said,
"Hahahaha! Told you not to get greedy. I said we should trust Commander Yago. Now I'm rich! Don't worry though~ once I cash in these meal tickets, I'll treat you to a feast."
...
On the other side, Pieck stared at the nearly exhausted Attack Titan on the field, then at the Fate Titan, who still looked completely relaxed.
She sighed in amazement.
"He's ridiculously strong... good thing I surrendered fast enough back then."
Porco, standing beside her, looked displeased.
"Does surrendering make you proud or something?"
Leaning lazily against the railing, Pieck smiled and turned her head toward him.
"Little Poko, sometimes staying alive is what gives you hope. Once you're dead, everything's really over."
"Besides, didn't you surrender too?"
Porco: "..."
His expression darkened slightly.
That was true.
Just like Pieck said, once you died, that was it.
He didn't want to die such a meaningless death.
Across the ocean, his family was still waiting for him. He still had to take care of their parents in his brother's place.
Beside them, Annie pushed Hitch off herself before helplessly saying to Pieck,
"Pieck, I'm still standing right here, you know. The way you're talking makes it sound like none of you were sincere at all."
Hearing that, Pieck immediately raised both hands as if surrendering.
"No no no, Annie-chan, don't misunderstand us!"
"I was just trying to persuade Poko, that's all. The two of us were absolutely sincere when we defected."
"And besides, I really do look forward to the world Yago-san talked about... a world where the Eldian people rise again."
"Woohoo! Just as expected! Yago's definitely gonna win!"
"Sasha, your brain finally worked for once! We made a killing this time. Tonight we're eating barbecue!"
Connie rubbed his hands excitedly while staring at the small betting booklet in his hands.
Beside him, Sasha smugly flicked her ponytail.
"Of course! Hahaha! Let's go to Nicolo's new barbecue restaurant tonight!"
Jean covered his face, unable to bear looking at the smug expressions on the two idiots.
He muttered,
"You morons. If the Captain or the Commander finds out you started a gambling pool, you two are dead."
Jean absolutely refused to admit he was jealous of that massive pile of meal tickets.
And he definitely refused to admit that he himself had bet half his savings on Eren—the guy he found annoying no matter how he looked at him.
Unfortunately, Eren really was irritating.
It had taken a lot for Jean to lower his pride and trust him for once.
What a pain in the ass!
...
Back on the battlefield, the Fate Titan slowly raised one arm.
The clawed fingers hooked provocatively toward the Attack Titan.
The taunting meaning behind the gesture was overwhelming.
If not for the faceplate blocking the expression, Eren probably would've seen the Fate Titan looking unbearably arrogant with its nose practically pointing at the sky.
Even so, Eren was furious.
The Attack Titan smashed both fists into the ground and let out a savage roar.
Every muscle in his body tightened like a fully wound spring before he suddenly lunged forward.
Inside the Fate Titan's nape, Yago chuckled softly.
Eren was still as simple-minded as ever.
Just a little provocation and he immediately exploded in anger.
Not a bit of improvement.
Facing the incoming Attack Titan, the Fate Titan merely lowered its center of gravity slightly, bending its body and raising both hands.
It looked exactly like a butcher preparing to catch a fat pig charging straight at him.
Bang!!
Just as expected, the Attack Titan slammed directly into the Fate Titan.
The tremendous impact force dragged the Fate Titan's feet across the ground, carving out two deep, massive trenches.
"Mmph! You've got some strength."
"But... that's all."
A crimson glow flashed in the Fate Titan's eyes.
A muffled roar came from beneath the mask as both hands instantly grabbed the Attack Titan's shoulders.
Then—
Crunch!
The bone claws on its fingertips sank deeply into flesh.
Scalding blood immediately burst out alongside thick steam.
As for the Attack Titan, because of his exhaustion and the Fate Titan's sudden counterattack, Eren completely lost the ability to resist.
"Sigh, it's over."
"Eren still needs more training. But honestly, the kid's already outstanding."
"At this level, even two or three full squads of soldiers probably couldn't do anything to him."
"As for Yago... he's just a monster."
Mike watched the battle and gave his conclusion.
"Not necessarily. Eren still hasn't used his greatest trump card yet."
A strange voice suddenly sounded from behind Mike.
Mike froze briefly and turned around to see who had spoken.
Meanwhile, Levi's brows visibly furrowed in annoyance the instant he heard the voice.
In the crowd behind them, sunlight reflected brightly off a pair of round glasses.
Golden hair and a thick beard almost appeared translucent beneath the sun.
Zeke!
Mike looked shocked seeing Zeke casually walking over in broad daylight.
After all, he still remembered very clearly the Beast Titan that had nearly gotten him killed before.
But since Zeke could openly appear here, it proved the rumors from earlier were true.
So while Mike was surprised, he wasn't overly shocked.
Zeke walked over to Levi's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
Levi irritably glanced up at him before looking back toward the Attack Titan, who was in an utterly hopeless position.
That brat Eren still had a trump card?
"Eren! Go back and train a few more years!"
Yago let out a wicked laugh, preparing to end this battle whose outcome had already been decided.
But at that exact moment—
A sudden change erupted.
The Attack Titan abruptly gave up resisting, allowing the Fate Titan to tear apart his shoulders.
Instead, he opened his mouth wide enough to reach his ears, inhaled deeply, and then—
"ROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!!"
An unprecedentedly terrifying roar exploded from the Attack Titan's mouth.
Even the air itself seemed to tremble from the sound.
At the same time as the roar, a bright light flashed through the Attack Titan's green eyes.
"This—! This is!?"
Inside the Fate Titan's nape, Yago's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
The instant the roar entered his ears, it felt as though someone had smashed his head with a heavy club.
But what truly horrified Yago was what happened next.
"Hey, hey, hey! Eren! How the hell did you do that!?"
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