Chapter 156: A Celebration of Humanity's Victory!
Paradis Island, a highland.
Eren stood in the wind.
He had lost count of the number of loops. It didn't matter anymore. What was the original trajectory of this world? What was the original ending? None of it mattered. In his eyes, everything was just a variation of an endless cycle of pain and failure.
He had tried every path he could think of, even contradictory choices. Gentleness, aggression, cooperation, isolation, seeking the root cause, returning to the origin… Countless possibilities, crushed in the long, repetitive passage of time, proven to ultimately lead to destruction.
But his power had grown stronger with each loop. This made a certain idea possible.
He would build a real "Paradise" for them with his own hands. He would carve King Fritz's lie into the foundation of this world. With blood, with magic, and with his own soul.
He had already eliminated the "unstable factors" within Paradis who truly knew the truth of the outside world. The Royal Family, the old nobility, the high command who held key information—all erased by him, leaving only Grisha and Ymir. The Pure Titans on the island were also completely cleared, ensuring that when he killed the Hallucigenia, the secret of the Titans would not be revealed. The basement in Shiganshina, along with all the records, had been destroyed by him. All physical evidence related to the outside world had been erased by his own hand.
He had completed all the "final preparations" on the island. The time for Kyubey's arrival was approaching.
Now, it was time to face the outside world.
Eren looked down. The emerald Soul Gem flickered with a sickly light. He transformed. A massive wave of energy was instantly restrained by him. He became a blur, diving towards the sea without hesitation, flying towards the continent across the ocean.
The people in Marley who once possessed the power of the Titans had lost it with the disappearance of the Hallucigenia. They didn't understand why. And what awaited them was a unilateral "baptism."
A prelude to indiscriminate slaughter.
Paradis Island. The celebration was in full swing. Children chased colorful balls in the streets, their laughter clear and bright. The air smelled of roast meat and wine.
A distant continent, a plaza. Pigeons fluttered into the air. An old woman looked up, kindness in her eyes. As the magical wave touched her, the kindness on her face froze. Her skin instantly withered and blackened. The grain in her hands scattered, her fingertips turning to dust.
A tavern. Jean, Sasha, and Connie laughed loudly, clinking glasses, foam splashing on the table.
Underground in a grim military prison. A prisoner was tied to a rack, covered in bloody welts. The torturer raised his whip, sadistic pleasure gleaming in his eyes. The wave descended. The torturer's body collapsed like melting wax, bones making faint cracking sounds before disintegrating. The prisoner's body also began to wither and curl, muscles tearing, turning into a blurry mass of flesh and blood, dissipating in final agony.
Paradis. The music of the festival played passionately. People danced to the rhythm, sweat sliding down their cheeks.
Another land, a country road. A young couple walked hand in hand, talking about their dreams for the future, smiles in their eyes. The wave struck. Their laughter froze. Their clasped hands instantly blackened and broke off. They rapidly carbonized and shriveled, turning into two blurry shapes that vanished into smoke.
Paradis. Mikasa and Armin returned home, chatting and laughing with Carla and Grisha, planning a surprise for Eren when he got back.
Ruins of a war-torn city. A survivor hid in a corner, clothes in tatters, eyes empty. The wave passed. Their skin rapidly reddened, swelled, and then burst. Viscera mixed with flesh and blood splattered like red rain onto the broken walls, then evaporated quickly.
Paradis. Erwin watched from a high place, the crowd surging below like a tide. He looked forward to going further outside the Walls soon to verify his and his father's theories. Hange excitedly discussed with someone, while Levi cleaned nearby with a sour face.
A prosperous fishing village port. Fishermen hauled in heavy nets filled with gleaming silver fish. The wave fell. Boats and nets disintegrated instantly. The fishermen's bodies were torn apart by invisible forces, limbs twisting and breaking, torsos collapsing like rotten sacks, flesh and blood splattering, turning into a fishy dust in the air.
Paradis. Festival fireworks exploded in the sky, the brilliant light illuminating faces smiling after surviving a catastrophe.
A distant continent, a magnificent palace. A tyrant sat on his throne, watching his subordinates throw rebels into a pool filled with piranhas. The screams of the rebels echoed in the palace. The wave penetrated the walls. The tyrant's body instantly imploded, bones shattering, muscles disintegrating into a pile of indistinct gore. The piranhas in the pool and the rebels being bitten vaporized just as quickly, leaving no trace.
Paradis. Children chased each other laughing, paper airplanes drifting into the sky.
Outside the Walls. Cities, villages, mountains, rivers—everything turned into dead, silent scorched earth without a sound.
Paradis. Jean laughed loudly, clinking glasses with Connie and Sasha, toasting to the future.
Outside the Walls. Countless lives, in their final moments of terror, pain, or pleasure, turned into the finest dust and vanished in the wind.
Then. The world fell silent.
Eren hovered above the continent that once was. Below was a grey silence of death. The twisted earth looked as if it had been trampled by Titans countless times. There were no signs of life. The air smelled of scorching and nothingness.
All human civilization outside of Paradis.
All human life outside of Paradis.
Completely erased.
Indiscriminately purged.
At this moment. Extreme exhaustion washed over him. No ecstasy. No relief. Only calm.
He had succeeded. King Fritz's lie had now become reality. Outside the Walls… there were no humans. Paradis Island had theoretically become the only "Paradise."
But he knew. The foundation of this "Paradise" was built on the flesh and blood of billions of living beings.
Eren looked down. The Soul Gem in his palm had only a sliver of dim light left. Witchification was imminent.
He looked up, gazing toward Paradis Island. The celebration there. The light there. His mother was there. His father. Mikasa. Armin. Hange. Levi. Sasha. Jean. Connie.
—Those who trusted him, waiting for him to return and share the news that "Humanity has finally, completely defeated the Titans!"
But the person he was now was no longer "Eren Jaeger." He was just a monster covered in blood. He couldn't face those comrades who had dedicated their hearts to humanity while bearing this sin.
He took one last look in the direction of Paradis Island. His former home. All the memories. All the emotions. All the unspoken apologies and farewells.
It was all about to end.
Then, he turned into a streak of light and broke through the atmosphere. Flying into the depths of space.