Dong—dong—dong—
The bell rang throughout Trost District, a relief to the bloodied soldiers—it meant civilian evacuation was complete, and they could finally retreat.
Whoosh—!
Lillian landed on a rooftop, barely steady when a figure ran toward him.
"Lillian, are you okay?"
"It's nothing." Lillian looked up, noticing the red marks at Krista's eyes, and gave her a small smile. "Yeah… it's really nothing."
"You should be relieved now," Ymir said, walking over with a sigh. She glanced at Lillian. "You don't know how many times Krista's been mumbling about you—and she even cried—"
"Ymir!" Krista's small face flushed bright red. She quickly covered Ymir's mouth to stop her, stammering, "Because… it's really dangerous." Her eyes welled up again, filled with sorrow. "So many of our fellow trainees… they're all… dead…"
"…."
Lillian patted her shoulder silently.
He scanned the area. Most of the surviving members of the 104th trainees were clustered on the roof of a taller building, trying to hide from the Titans. Searching around, he noticed Armin sitting alone in a corner, hands clutching his head, trembling all over.
He was the only one by himself.
Looks like Eren and the others were eaten, Lillian thought. As expected, that part of the story couldn't be changed… though really, compared to "storyline," it was more accurate to call it Eren's "fate."
There's a saying: personality determines destiny—and it makes sense here.
In the face of enemies, people might logically judge whether to fight or flee, but personality also plays a decisive role, producing very different outcomes. Eren's personality is clearly "tatakae (fight)."
His hatred for Titans and confidence in his own strength had clouded his judgment, making him charge at Titans without hesitation. But humans are no match for Titans. Even elite Survey Corps members, when confronted with Titans, would prioritize fleeing and only fight when escape is impossible.
Eren, at least the current Eren, thinks in one word: kill. He doesn't consider running—only confronting head-on. In such circumstances, his death was inevitable.
People often say, "The more afraid you are of dying on the battlefield, the faster you die; the braver you are, the longer you survive." That's nonsense.
In reality, veterans' role is to guide rookies forward, because maybe only one out of ten will survive the charge. Experienced soldiers dodge when possible or engage in specialized strikes—never needlessly sacrificing themselves.
So it was normal that Eren was eaten. If he hadn't been, that would have been abnormal. Even without trying to save Armin, he would have been quickly devoured. Historically, there were others like him, such as the former Survey Corps leader Keith, now a training instructor.
It's because their strategy is "charge and kill" that the Survey Corps suffers heavy losses during expeditions. Eren is slightly smarter than them, but not by much. That's why someone like Erwin survives better.
In short: without a protagonist's luck, those who blindly charge often die miserably.
"By the way, what about the supply squad?" Marco asked the group. "We're out of gas—we need a refill."
"Supply squad?" A nearby trainee sneered. "Those guys are too scared to come out! We're really unlucky. We survived until retreat, but now we don't have gas—stuck here to die! Ha!"
"W-what…?" Marco was incredulous. He couldn't accept it.
"I guess we'll have to take our chances!" Connie stepped forward, shouting, "Let's see if we can kill the Titans over there! Staying here will end the same—soon they'll all gather here!"
"Even so… can we do it with our current numbers?" That trainee said coldly. "Most of the vanguard seniors are dead. We…"
"Don't worry." Lillian suddenly interrupted, looking toward the outer wall, where someone was approaching at high speed. "The blades of humanity—the Survey Corps—are here."
"Yeah…"
"That's right! With Captain Levi, it's doable!"
"Where is he now?!"
Hearing this, the trainees immediately felt a renewed sense of hope and excitement.
At that moment, Survey Corps Commander Erwin and his team landed on the rooftop.
"Commander Erwin…"
"You're trainees, right? Well done."
Erwin was covered in blood, no doubt having slain countless Titans—but also having lost many men.
Lillian looked at the Survey Corps soldiers behind him. Even after splitting some to defend the inner wall, only about thirty remained—likely the rest had fallen.
Erwin scanned the weary trainees and immediately grasped the situation.
"You're running low on gas, right?"
"Yes, Commander Erwin," someone replied angrily. "Those cowardly supply troops are hiding at headquarters, refusing to come out! We can't get any supplies!"
"Send your elite members to eliminate the Titans surrounding them!"
"Captain Levi can handle it! Where is he?!"
The trainees all shouted in confusion, but Erwin raised his hand. His invisible presence immediately silenced everyone.
"Captain Levi is currently leading his elite to guard the inner gate," Erwin said. "The Armored Titan could appear any moment, so they must remain there—they can't assist here."
"As for gas, we can share some with you."
With that, Survey Corps soldiers stepped forward, removing the gas canisters from their belts. Unlike trainees, every Survey Corps expedition uses horses and carts carrying resources, including gas and blades.
Thanks to the intel from Lillian's note, the Survey Corps hadn't gone far and had preserved their gas. After the previous battle outside the gate, they had replenished and arrived fully stocked.
This was excellent news for the trainees—they no longer had to risk going to headquarters or remain trapped on the rooftop.
With gas replenished, spirits were restored. However, Marco glanced toward headquarters, hesitating, and asked Erwin: "Commander Erwin… what about the supply troops trapped at headquarters? Are we abandoning them?"
Everyone froze at his question.
"They should be abandoned!" someone said. "They were too scared to do their duty and nearly got us killed! Are we supposed to risk our lives for them?"
"Exactly. We cannot take the risk."
"I don't want to face Titans anymore…"
Before Erwin could respond, the other trainees answered in unison: two words: No rescue.
Marco felt a pang of sadness hearing this, his eyes looking to Erwin with hope.
Erwin said, "Right now, we don't have the resources or time to do that."
"…."
"The area around headquarters is filled with Titans 8 to 15 meters tall. If we go there in our current state, the losses would be even greater," he explained. "Our priority must be the safety of the inner city, trainees."
With that, he led the Survey Corps soldiers toward the inner gate. The trainees followed.
Lillian glanced at the disappointed Marco and patted his shoulder. "Commander Erwin is right. You understand that, don't you?"
Indeed, trying to rescue the supply troops at headquarters now would be reckless and a waste of lives.
Although Erwin's approach seemed somewhat cold, it was precisely this rationality that allowed him to reduce casualties during expeditions. Only those who can make hard choices and bear the consequences can truly accomplish something.
"I understand. I just… feel a little sorry."
"Don't worry. They'll be saved."
It all depended on when Eren could successfully transform… which should be soon, right?
The Survey Corps and the trainees arrived at the walls of the inner city. Levi and Hange, stationed there, were slightly relieved to see Erwin unharmed—but their expressions darkened as they noticed nearly half of their soldiers were gone.
"Many lives lost again…" Hange said, troubled.
"They were valuable sacrifices," Levi replied. "Thanks to your efforts, Erwin, 90% of the civilians managed to enter the inner city safely."
Erwin nodded. "Good. Looks like the Armored Titan hasn't appeared this time."
"Yeah… I was planning to slit that bastard's neck myself, but ended up waiting in vain for an hour."
"Then—"
"Roar!!"
A roar, not of any human, echoed across the city. Instantly, everyone turned toward the sound. From their vantage point, much was clear at a glance—like the long-haired Titan punching other Titans away.
"That is…"
"A Titan attacking Titans?"
"An abnormal Titan?!"
Everyone watching was shocked. Lillian deliberately glanced at the trio of soldiers. Indeed, in their eyes was a glimmer of recognition: That's it.
If Titans possess intelligence… Erwin, recalling his earlier deduction, made a snap decision: "We need to investigate that Titan."
He selected a few Survey Corps soldiers and instructed them to follow. "You don't need to fight—just observe."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers leapt from the walls and rushed toward the scene. Lillian watched the long-haired Titan wreak havoc, thinking that the story was finally back on track. The earlier attempt to refill gas at headquarters was just a "side quest"—unimportant.
The key was only the intel that Eren could transform into a Titan.
Lillian reflected that he had speculated on the author's intent: if the story's purpose was to reveal "Eren's Titan transformation," then it must be paired with "the city falls and people die" to create drama and tension.
Having Eren eaten during an expedition outside the walls alone would lack impact and wouldn't fully justify his motivation for revenge—so it was discarded.
Thus, the fall of Trost District existed to set the stage for Eren to demonstrate his power—a cruel yet effective setup.