Chapter 145: But, He Still Wasn't Strong Enough!
Paradis Island Coastline, on a small, fast-assault ship of the Mid-East Allied Forces.
The captain watched Eren's astonishing combat prowess through the reinforced glass of the bridge. A command crackled over the radio from the Marleyan flagship: "Exterminate the enemy Magical Girl at all costs!"
It was a suicide order.
Although they knew they were cannon fodder before they even set sail, the reality of impending death was still hard to face. He thought of his family at home, waiting for the generous compensation, and of his country, which would be able to live in peace, even if it was under Marley's colonial rule. After all, the power of Magical Girls and the war potential they brought was something his nation could never hope to match.
The captain's face was ashen. He finally slammed his fist onto the control console. "God-damned Marleyans!"
…
A young girl, from a remote Marleyan colony, had only just become a Magical Girl. She trembled as she watched Eren effortlessly cut down several of her comrades. She and two other terrified girls combined their power, trying to create a binding spell to lock Eren down. A sliver of courage had just begun to swell in her heart.
But before she could even feel relieved, a green blade of light tore through their hasty defense.
"No—!"
She only had time to let out a short scream. Her vision spun. The last thing she saw was the pink gem on her chest, the one that had promised her and her family "glory." It was now covered in a spiderweb of cracks. With a pop, it exploded into a cloud of light.
I don't want to die… I just wanted to live with my little brother… Her final thought, as her consciousness faded, was of her frail younger brother on their barren land back home.
The fragments of her Soul Gem scattered. Far away in Marley, that same little brother was happily eating his dinner. Because his sister had become a Magical Girl, his life, with Marley's support, had been completely transformed. He was eagerly awaiting her triumphant return, awaiting the day they could live this wonderful, peaceful life together.
…
The battle descended into a brutal slog. Eren, tireless, charged through the enemy ranks again and again, his momentum unstoppable. Floch, in a mad frenzy, tore at any enemy that came near, his form a vision of savagery.
However, there were too many enemies. The allied conventional ships were a countless, dark mass, pressing forward despite their losses, using their sheer numbers to close the distance. And a steady stream of Marleyan Magical Girls, following their orders, reinforced the line.
An old Paradis soldier, manning a coastal cannon, had been watching for so long his movements were stiff. He watched Eren tear through the enemy's attacks, only to be swarmed by new foes, watching the explosions of multi-colored magic. His eyes were no longer fearful, just numb.
"Eren… he's still fighting…"
"What can us useless bastards do… but watch…"
He pressed his forehead against the cold steel of the cannon, his shoulders shaking.
The battle line, slowly but unstoppably, was pushing towards the coast of Paradis.
"Eren! Watch the east! A squadron of high-speed Marleyan aircraft is breaking for the shore!" Floch roared in panic.
Eren's eyes narrowed. He was forced to split his attention, changing direction to intercept the "stragglers" trying to bypass him and hit the island directly. Green light flashed as several Marleyan attack drones exploded in mid-air.
But in that split second of distraction, several magic-artillery beams lanced out from the Marleyan capital ships, striking from what had been his blind spot. Eren twisted his body violently. His energy shield blocked the fatal blows, but the sheer impact stunned him for a moment.
Beads of sweat trickled down his temple. His breathing was heavier now. The high-intensity, continuous combat was a massive drain, even on him. The near-imperceptible gaps in his attacks began to lengthen. The fluidity of his evasive maneuvers began to show the slightest hint of sluggishness.
"Enemy fleet in range!"
"OPEN FIRE—!!!!"
The vanguard of the allied fleet had finally entered the effective range of Paradis's coastal artillery. Hange, in the command post, shrieked into the comms.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dozens of modified, heavy cannons roared at once. Shells, trailing long plumes of smoke, arced towards the enemy ships.
At the same time, behind the coastal defense line, three giant figures rose.
Louise's Female Titan!
Daz's Colossal Titan!
Samuel's Armored Titan!
They roared, hurling massive, pre-prepared boulders at the aircraft and ships.
And from a different part of the coastline, a golden flash of lightning. "EREN—!!! I'M HERE!!!" Grisha Jaeger roared as he, too, joined the barrage, lending his meager support to his son and his island.
Paradis, the cornered beast, was finally fighting back, even if it was insignificant to Marley.
For a moment, several smaller ships in the allied formation—mostly those from small nations forced to the front—were hit directly. They burst into flames and began to sink. A frigate from a small western nation took a direct hit to its bridge. Flames and smoke shot into the sky. Inside, the dying screams of the crew could be heard: "We're done for! The Marleyans sent us here to die!"
A few conventional aircraft, unable to dodge in time, were smashed by the boulders and scattered as debris across the sea.
"We hit them! Our shells are hitting!"
"We can fight too!"
"The Titans are in the fight!"
The Paradis soldiers, seeing that their meager counter-attack was actually effective against the enemy's cannon-fodder vanguard, let out a brief, wild cheer. A spark of hope was rekindled, if only for a moment.
However, when the truly monstrous steel battleships of the Marleyan main fleet slowly sailed into range, their hulls glowing with a visible, sea-blue, magic-deflection shield, the cheers died.
Paradis's cannon shells struck the shields and merely fizzled, sliding off harmlessly. The boulders thrown by the new Titans were shot out of the sky by precise, rapid-fire magic-artillery long before they reached their targets. The smiles on the soldiers' faces froze. Their backs, which had just straightened with hope, slumped in despair.
The technological gap, the chasm in power, was a cruel and undeniable reality. Paradis's limited counter-attack was pathetic in the face of Marley's true fangs.
The sun began to set, dyeing the sea a bloody crimson. The battlefield had become a true meat grinder, filled with wreckage, smoke, and turbulent magical energy.
Eren was still fighting. His green light was the brightest, and loneliest, beacon in this hopeless battle. He had shot down countless aircraft, crippled dozens of ships, and slain over a hundred of Marley's Magical Girls. Wherever he went, the allied conventional forces scattered, and Marley's second-rate Magical Girls were no match. He was truly powerful, a terror to his enemies.
But there were just too many of them. The encroaching battle line was a tightening noose, choking the life out of him. His movements were now visibly tired. The light of his Soul Gem had dimmed considerably.
He was strong. But he still wasn't strong enough.
He was nowhere near strong enough to fight the malice of the entire world, all by himself.
…
High above, on a distant vantage point, a pure white creature with long ears and red eyes watched it all. Kyubey. It made no move, showed no expression. It simply stared with its emotionless red eyes at the brutal battlefield below, and at the emerald-green figure, now pushed to his absolute limit.