Chapter 218 217 - Fury
Friday was once again the day when fans of Attack on Titan stirred up a storm, both online and offline.
At that moment, there was only one thing everyone wanted to know: who, exactly, was the true identity of the Female Titan captured at the end of episode twenty?
Was it someone who had already appeared in the story? Or was it an entirely new character, prepared to turn the plot upside down? After the capture of that titan, what new layers of the world would be revealed? Would the secret behind Eren's ability to transform into a titan also come to light?
Kageyama Yazaki spent the entire day trapped inside those questions.
In truth, ever since he had watched the anime for the first time a few months earlier, he had become a fanatical admirer of Attack on Titan. He was not merely someone who followed the series; he lived inside it. Every day, he spent at least two hours arguing with critics online, defending the work with everything he had, and theorizing with other fans about where the story might go next. It had become one of the greatest pleasures in his daily routine.
At eight o'clock that night, episode twenty-one of Attack on Titan finally aired.
The opening, surging with power, "Guren no Yumiya," remained the kind of song he could listen to over and over without ever growing tired of it. And after so many episodes, Kageyama had grown so accustomed to the cruelty of the titans that he could now calmly watch scenes of people being devoured while drinking cola and eating barbecue.
Online, a strange expression had even begun to spread: "Attack on Titan food." Many fans recorded themselves eating while watching the series' most brutal scenes, as if that were some kind of proof of their love for the anime.
Sora himself found it a little grotesque, but to the fans of Attack on Titan, it had almost become a ritual of belonging. A true fan needed the stomach for it.
All the anticipation that had built up over the week was shattered from the very beginning of episode twenty-one.
More than ten members of the Scout Regiment had to sacrifice their lives before the Female Titan was finally pierced by the steel cables prepared in the trap. Bound from every direction, she lost the ability to move.
Levi landed gracefully on her head, his eyes sharp, filled with killing intent he did not even bother to hide.
Then, a bizarre scene began to unfold.
The Female Titan let out a deafening roar, drawing the mindless titans wandering through the forest toward her. Before millions of viewers watching on television, an image appeared that no one had expected to see so soon: titans devouring another titan.
Everyone was already used to seeing titans devour humans. But seeing titans devour a titan was an entirely different experience.
Kageyama could only admit that eating barbecue and drinking cola in front of that scene had reached a whole new level of intensity.
Fortunately, any viewer with even a trace of common sense would understand that this part of the plot was not about the Female Titan committing suicide. It was probably nothing more than a strategy to escape unharmed.
In other words...
The Armored Titan could destroy walls. The Colossal Titan could release steam. The Female Titan could summon mindless titans with a roar.
And Eren, the protagonist?
Why did all the other humans capable of transforming into titans possess special abilities, while Eren seemed to have nothing but brute strength? Even in that aspect, he did not appear able to compare with the Armored Titan, who was practically a monster built for battle.
Kageyama fell into thought for a moment.
Could it be that Eren would still undergo some kind of evolution?
In the anime, the mindless titans rushed forward in a swarm and devoured the Female Titan's body.
Kageyama believed this was only a temporary defeat for her.
However, within the story itself, Commander Erwin's expression changed drastically. In a heavy voice, he spoke to his subordinates.
"If the Female Titan escaped... and if she had been wearing vertical maneuvering equipment from the start, then now that she has abandoned her titan body... what will happen to our squad?"
Kageyama blinked.
In the next scene, Eren appeared under the protection of Levi's squad in the forest. A figure emerged among the trees and approached him.
At first, both Eren and the four Scout Regiment soldiers escorting him mistook that person for Levi.
But soon after, that figure attacked and brutally killed one of the squad members.
Kageyama's anger exploded at once.
That treacherous Female Titan really thought Eren was easy prey?
She could transform into a titan, but so could Eren. On top of that, Eren was surrounded by several elite soldiers from the Scout Regiment.
Who did she think was about to devour whom?
Besides, after Eren transformed into a titan, he could not simply do it again right away. The Female Titan had just abandoned her own body using that roar, and now she could still transform once more?
Did she truly think she was invincible?
At that moment, Erwin's narration began to sound like an explanation given to his subordinates, but in truth, it also organized everything for the audience.
"If the Female Titan knows how to conserve her strength, perhaps she can still transform a second time..."
With a single sentence, all of Kageyama's indignation was crushed.
A yellow light tore through the sky. A violent gust swept across the forest. In the next instant, the gigantic body of the Female Titan appeared with terrifying force, charging toward Eren and the three remaining members of Levi's squad who were protecting him.
Eren would transform into a titan and fight her.
Kageyama's heart began to beat faster with the rising soundtrack.
He could not suppress his excitement.
After seeing Eren transform to fight mindless titans, the moment had finally come to see him fight another conscious titan.
In Japan, audiences had long been familiar with giant monsters, tokusatsu, Ultraman, Godzilla, and mecha like Gundam. But that did not make it any less thrilling to watch two colossal beings clash with such brutality.
Only the plot did not follow Kageyama's expectations, nor those of many other anime fans.
"No. We will find a way to defeat that Female Titan. All we need to do is attack with the full strength of our main force..."
Although Levi's subordinates had not received much focus until then, they accompanied Eren not only to protect him, but also to keep watch over the boy capable of transforming into a titan.
They could not allow Eren to throw himself into battle on impulse and end up defeated or killed.
But after the groundwork laid in the previous episodes, the audience had already grown attached to those elite soldiers of the Scout Regiment. Especially the gentle Petra.
In Attack on Titan, there were two characters widely recognized by fans as among the most intelligent in the entire series.
One was Erwin, commander of the Scout Regiment.
The other was Armin, the protagonist's friend.
In that scene, the three remaining members of Levi's squad continued protecting Eren while they were pursued by the Female Titan.
At the same time, Erwin, who had survived the siege caused by the Female Titan, realized the flaw in his own strategy: he had been too cautious.
If he had fully taken Eren's combat power into account, perhaps the Female Titan would never have managed to escape during the first offensive.
Meanwhile, Armin also arrived at an unsettling conclusion. When Eren had transformed into a titan to seal the wall, no other conscious titan had appeared to stop him. That meant that, for the enemy, the fact that Eren's identity as a titan had been exposed was more important than preventing the breach in the wall from being closed.
And there was another, even more disturbing detail.
The only people who knew that the titan who had sealed the wall was actually Eren in disguise were those he had saved in the supply depot at the beginning, along with his fellow trainees.
Among them, there was at least one enemy capable of transforming into a titan.
The people present back then were Eren's companions, his closest friends, almost a family to him.
The analysis of Erwin and Armin brought the tragedy of that episode to its highest point.
Erwin blamed himself for failing to account for Eren's combat ability, considering it an error in judgment. Armin, in turn, deduced that the person attacking Eren was probably someone familiar to him.
Meanwhile, at the scene of the pursuit, Eren and Petra's group remained under Levi's command.
Eren nearly lost control after seeing a comrade killed. On the verge of biting his own hand to transform, he was already one step away from joining the battle.
However, the other three looked at him with expressions that seemed almost deranged. They, too, were grieving the loss of their comrade at the Female Titan's hands, but there was something even more painful in their eyes.
Are you doubting our strength?
Is that it?
"In your eyes, are we really that unreliable?"
The disappointment in Petra's gaze pierced Kageyama's heart like a blade.
No, Eren. Do not fall for Petra's fragile expression right now.
Do not trust only their strength. Transform into a titan and fight beside them.
Kageyama's heart sank.
He knew this kind of suffocating atmosphere far too well.
In Sora's previous works, whenever a character showed this kind of emotional omen, the ending was usually tragic.
Believe that you will win. Good luck...
At that instant, the hesitation inside Eren vanished. He chose to trust Levi and... the three companions standing before him.
Why did you believe them, Eren?
Damn it!
Transform already!
Kageyama roared silently inside his own head.
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