Armin suddenly lifted his head. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his pupils trembling as he looked at Mikasa.
Mikasa stared back at him. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She seemed to understand something—but she was still waiting for Armin to say it himself.
"Our Training Corps Squad 34… Thomas Wagner, Nac Tias, Milieus Zeremski, Eren Yeager… they completed their mission. All of them died heroically in battle. And Chief Chen Si, who came to support us—after consecutively killing six Titans—also fell in glorious combat…"
Shouting those words seemed to drain every last bit of courage from Armin. He lowered his head, bracing himself against the ground with both hands, not daring to look at Mikasa again.
From afar, Annie parted her lips slightly, then closed them again. Chen Si… you broke your promise.
"How could this happen…" Marco said in disbelief.
"Chen Si actually died?" Reiner muttered, stunned. Eren Yeager is dead too? Good thing we didn't act recklessly… It seems the mission target has changed.
"What…" Sasha stood frozen, overwhelmed with sorrow, memories of sneaking food together in the training camp kitchen flashing through her mind.
"Squad 34 was completely wiped out… even Chen Si…" Jean clenched his teeth.
"Chen Si killed six Titans and still died. If we went up against them…" Connie's courage drained away instantly. "…we wouldn't stand a chance."
"I'm sorry… Mikasa… I was too scared… When Chen Si saved Mina and Nac, I… and Eren died trying to save me… I just stood there and did nothing… I'm sorry!" Armin wept bitterly.
The last light in Mikasa's eyes vanished completely.
Her entire body trembled faintly. She touched the blade Chen Si had given her and slowly crouched down.
"Armin, now is not the time to grieve. Stand up." Her voice was expressionless.
"Marco. If we eliminate all the Titans gathered at headquarters, everyone can return to the supply station, replenish gas, and get back to the wall, correct?"
A chilling aura radiated from Mikasa—like a valkyrie descending upon the battlefield.
"Y-Yes… that's true. But the number of Titans gathered there—even Chen Si met his end. I'm afraid…" Marco said, cold sweat forming on his brow.
"No. Chen Si never needed to die. He died because he chose to save you useless people. That's always how he was—risking his life to protect those who couldn't even protect themselves."
A memory flashed through Mikasa's mind—Chen Si during the snow mountain training, alongside Historia. She gritted her teeth.
"I'm strong. Stronger than all of you. I'll clear the path alone. Without burdens, I can kill every Titan there myself. You people don't just lack strength—you only hold Chen Si and me back. And you're cowardly on top of it."
She drew the blade Chen Si had given her and pointed it at them.
"You can just stay here quietly chewing your fingers, crying for your mothers. Even if you came, you'd only be a burden."
Her words were merciless.
She hated herself for arriving too late. She hated those whose weakness had dragged Chen Si into danger. But even so, she could not allow herself to do nothing.
The boys could only stare at her, sweating as she vented her fury.
"Mikasa, how can you say that? That's too harsh."
"There are so many Titans. Are you really going alone?"
"That's impossible! Not even ten people could do it—we'd just be throwing our lives away!"
They protested one after another.
"In this cruel world, fighting is the only way to survive. If you lose, you die. If you win, you live. But if you don't fight, you die without question."
The words echoed in Mikasa's mind—something Chen Si had once said while fighting human traffickers. She threw them back at the group.
Mikasa pulled the trigger. Gas burst from her gear, and without another word, she shot into the sky.
Everyone hesitated as they watched her leave.
"Mikasa, your communication skills are awful. That's not how you motivate people," Jean muttered.
What he didn't know was that while she had meant to spur them on, most of her words had been pure resentment.
"Damn it, Chen Si… it's all your fault!" Jean ground his teeth.
"Oh? Are you guys really going to prove Mikasa right and act like cowards? Since when did we learn to let a comrade fight alone? I'm ashamed to stand with you!"
Jean shouted—a far more effective provocation—before launching himself into the air alongside Connie.
"That coward turned out to be surprisingly gutsy," Reiner remarked.
Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie followed. Marco sighed and went after them.
"Cowards! Scaredy-cats! Idiots!" Sasha cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled at the remaining hesitant soldiers before firing her gear and flying off.
"Hey! Didn't Chen Si say that 'idiot' means even dumber than a fool? Brothers—are you willing to be idiots? I'm not!" another soldier shouted before taking off.
"Goodbye, idiots!"
"Screw you, you're the idiot!"
"Charge!"
"Goodbye, Mom…"
The soldiers were fired up—some shouting to steel their nerves, others speaking what sounded like last words. The rooftops were soon filled with streaking figures.
Mikasa led the charge.
With the blade Chen Si had given her, she cut through Titan napes with almost no pause—like slicing tofu—pressing forward at the very front, one Titan after another falling behind her.
"We're low on gas! We need to finish this quickly and reach the objective!" Jean shouted as he followed closely behind her.
"Mikasa's incredible… How can anyone reach that kind of speed?" Connie said in awe.
No… Mikasa's using gas too quickly. At this rate, no matter how strong she is, without mobility we won't even qualify to fight Titans.
Armin's heart filled with worry. He knew Mikasa was being driven purely by rage.
And just as he feared—
Mikasa suddenly dropped straight out of the sky, landing hard on a rooftop. The blade flew from her hand.
"Ow… that seriously hurts…"
Chen Si slowly came to.
"Wait—my hand! My hand!" He quickly looked at his left palm. Seeing it intact, he let out a sigh of relief. He checked the rest of his body—four limbs present. The fifth limb… yeah, still there.
He slowly stood and looked out the window. The air was thick with the smell of blood.
"As expected… my electric power gives me the same regenerative ability as a Titan. Even severed limbs can regrow. I just need to sleep to recover."
He calculated that he had likely been unconscious for about ten minutes. His electric energy replenished from zero to full in roughly ten minutes. Regrowing a hand probably required extra energy—so perhaps he had slept a few minutes longer.
That meant he had been out for no more than fifteen minutes.
Fortunately, before losing consciousness, he had cleared most of the Titans in the area. Otherwise, he might have woken up inside a Titan's stomach.