The titan moved first.
It didn't roar.
It didn't warn.
One moment it stood between the buildings—
the next, the street exploded.
A massive steel limb slammed down where Team 7 had been standing seconds earlier, pulverizing asphalt and flipping cars like toys.
"MOVE!" Akira shouted.
They scattered.
Ren ran toward it.
"REN—!" Kaito yelled.
Too late.
The titan's claw came down like judgment.
Ren braced instinctively, both arms up—
BOOM.
The impact shattered the street beneath him. Shockwaves ripped outward, tossing debris into the air. Ren's boots carved trenches through concrete as he was driven backward.
But he held.
Ren grinned through gritted teeth.
"That all you've got?!"
Akira's stomach dropped.
Idiot.
The Misoke twins advanced in silence.
Twin A grabbed the titan's ankle.
Twin B struck.
The blow landed with the force of an artillery shell. Metal folded inward, the titan's leg tearing clean off as fragments rained down.
For half a second—
Hope.
Then the titan's body rejected the damage.
Metal tendrils erupted, stitching the limb back together in seconds.
Ayla's eyes widened.
"It's regenerating—"
"Too fast," Kaito said sharply, eyes flicking across the titan. "We can't out-damage it.""Destroy its entire sensory unit—blind it!"
The titan raised its arm again.
Ren barely rolled away as a blow crushed the space he'd occupied.
Akira moved.
He sprinted up a fallen bus, kicked off the hood, and leapt.
The world narrowed.
He landed on the titan's shoulder.
Heat pulsed beneath his boots.
He struck the glowing sensor cluster with the car hood.
KRRSHHH!
Sparks erupted. The crimson scanner shattered.
The titan staggered.
"Nice!" Ren shouted.
Akira didn't smile.
The titan swung blindly.
A massive arm clipped Akira midair.
Pain detonated across his ribs as he was hurled into a wall.
Stone cracked.
Air vanished from his lungs.
He slid down, gasping.
So fast…
Freeze
"Ayla!" Kaito shouted. "Chain—now!"
She didn't move.
Her hands trembled.
The city felt too big.
The monster too close.
Danger always triggered her deepest fear.
She was always like this... She was strong but
Akira pushed himself up.
He staggered to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Breathe," he said quietly. "You've got this."
Her breath stuttered—
Then steadied.
She nodded once.
Bind
The Misoke twins moved in sync.
Twin A heaved the embedded chain upward.
Twin B caught it and hurled it skyward.
Ayla leapt.
Silver flashed.
The chain wrapped around the titan's limbs, torso, and core in a blur of motion.
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!
The titan toppled like a falling building.
The ground shook.
It tried to move but resulted in a failure.
They scanned the area for the dreamer.
Ren ran.
Endlessly form house to house.
Akira watched him go, chest burning.
This wasn't victory.
It was only the beginning.
END OF CHAPTER 5