You didn't even need to aim. The Colossal Titan's neck was so massive that hitting it was inevitable.
One gunshot.
That was all it took.
The behemoth faltered, collapsing forward. Its immense body crashed face-first into the earth, burying the Armored Titan beneath its weight once more. Steam roared from the exposed nape, hotter and denser than anything Zeke had ever seen—thicker even than the vapor from his own transformations.
"Pah—pah—pah! Just from a sliver of the neck, that much gas?" Zeke coughed, batting the scalding mist away with one hand. "Incredible. If Titans had anuses, Bertholdt would've just… farted a nuclear bomb."
The battlefield hissed like a boiling sea. Zeke pressed forward, forcing his way through the smog toward the fallen Colossal Titan.
The giant's body hadn't disappeared; instead, the transformation had exposed the fragile human hidden within. Steam curled around the open wound as Zeke climbed the charred surface of its back.
When he reached the nape and saw Bertholdt's unconscious form lying half-buried in flesh, Zeke froze for a moment, surprised.
"…As expected of the Colossal Titan," he muttered. "Even with an anti-Titan sniper rifle, I couldn't pierce more than halfway through. His flesh is thicker than Reiner's so-called armor."
The rifle's bullet had left a tunnel in the Titan's muscle, but it hadn't even torn Bertholdt's body.
Zeke steadied his weapon, pointing it at the boy. "Goodbye, Bertholdt."
Pulling the trigger would've been the simplest answer. A soldier's duty was to finish the fight without hesitation.
But then a memory flickered.
Bertholdt, shyly handing over his rations during training. His quiet smile, his kindness.
"…Shit." Zeke grimaced. The finger on the trigger trembled. "Damn angel. All for a piece of dry bread?"
He couldn't do it. Not to that kid.
With a low growl, Zeke slung the rifle aside and reached with both hands, dragging Bertholdt out of the flesh. The moment the boy separated, the Colossal Titan collapsed into vapor, releasing a tidal wave of steam that burned across Zeke's skin.
"I really hate steaming," he hissed, teeth clenched.
Clutching Bertholdt, he leapt free.
The ground rose up to meet them with a quake as they landed—right on top of the unconscious Armored Titan.
Reiner's shoulders and neck, pink and tender from half-healed wounds, steamed faintly.
"Cute," Zeke muttered almost mockingly, before raising his gun again. One clean shot tore through Reiner's armor at the shoulder, splitting enough of the plating to drag the warrior's mangled human body free.
Now burdened with two unconscious warriors, Zeke hauled them toward a safer corner. His steps were steady, deliberate.
Then he turned back. Annie.
What remained of her was surrounded.
Pure Titans, their vacant eyes gleaming with mindless hunger, shuffled closer. With only half her body intact, Annie clawed along the earth, dragging herself with trembling arms.
Tears blurred her vision. Her breath came in sharp sobs.
For the first time, the unshakable Female Titan knew fear.
Her strength was gone. Her pride was gone. She was just a girl waiting to be eaten.
Bang.
Bang
Bang.
Bang.
Four shots cracked through the air. Each bullet tore through the skull of a Pure Titan, dropping them in bloody heaps. The last of them collapsed at Annie's feet, smoke curling from the wound in its head.
"…Captain…" Annie whispered, but her voice faltered. Guilt and fear churned in her eyes as she looked at Zeke. Were they still comrades after this? Or just enemies waiting for judgment?
Zeke knelt, slinging his rifle over his shoulder before scooping her into his arms with surprising gentleness.
"Girl, you're so light," he said with a faint grin.
"…" Annie stared. Of course I'm light. I'm missing half my body.
He carried her back to the others, setting her down near Reiner and Bertholdt. When she saw them lying broken and unconscious, her eyes widened in shock.
Both defeated?
Reiner, Marley's strongest shield, torn apart. Bertholdt, the towering Colossus, brought low.
She had believed the three of them together could crush any foe.
She had believed Zeke's Beast Titan was weak in close combat. That's why she'd gone in first, expecting an easy victory. But he had endured, waiting for her exhaustion, then crushed her utterly with those devastating arms.
Her own carelessness she could admit. But Reiner? Bertholdt? How could they both fall?
Reiner's armor had always been unbreakable. No one dared spar with him in training—his defense made fights pointless and painful. And Bertholdt? The Colossus didn't spar. He was an apocalypse given form, a Titan so massive he could swat opponents away with a single step.
Yet here they were. Defeated.
Annie shivered. Reiner and Bertholdt were lucky—they could sleep, unconscious, unaware of how terrifying Zeke was.
She wasn't afforded that mercy.
The Beast Titan's captain stood calm, expression unreadable, moving with chilling precision. His silence was heavier than any roar.
"…Why don't you kill us?" Annie asked at last, voice trembling.
"Because I need to ask you something first," Zeke replied evenly. He set their limp heads in a row against the stone railing, straightening them with deliberate care. "After that, I'll decide."
"What… what do you want to ask?"
"Not yet. When they wake, I'll ask all of you together."
Annie's heart sank. His reprieve was worse than execution.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, horror seeping in as she watched him adjust their positions.
Zeke finished aligning the last head, stepped back, and raised his rifle to sight along the line. He smiled faintly.
"I'm running out of bullets. So I'll conserve them… and try to kill all three of you with one shot."
...
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