CHAPTER - 20 { A Curse }

Wuss!

Vlad, Rose, Vector and Mike all rushed at the blinded Female Titan.

Vlad looked towards Vector and nodded his head.

Then, he and Vector shot their hooks on the tree trunks below the Female Titan's thigh level.

"Fall motherfuker!"

Shouted Vector as he and Vlad crossed their paths before the Female Titan.

Ting!

The strings tightened when the Female Titan ran in it resulting in its heavy fall.

Boom.

With its back completely vulnerable, the Female Titan laid on the ground.

Wuss!

Rose and Mike swung towards its nape. Mike gripped his blade handles and cut the fingers of the Female Titan which blocked it's nape.

"Haaaaa!"

Rose roared as she slid on the Female Titan's back and positioned her blades to slash on the nape.

Boom!

Suddenly, the Female Titan raised it's back causing Rose to go upwards and fail to kill it.

"Shit!"

Rose immediately shot the hooks of her ODM gear on a tree trunk and escaped a quick elbow from the Female Titan.

"It healed its eyes!"

Shouted Vlad as he pulled back the hooks into the shooters. No way could he have missed the eyes of the Female Titan which stared at him just a moment ago.

'It was deliberately luring us for a chance! Now I am interested in who the person inside it is…"

Thought Vlad while climbing on a tree and staring at the Female Titan.

Finding that a precious chance has been used up with no success, the Female Titan dashed forward towards the centerline.

"Don't let it escape!"

Vlad jumped from the tree branch and swung behind the Female Titan giving it a chase.

"The rear squads have arrived!"

At the back, Mike notified as multiple soldiers were following behind their squad.

But Vlad was not very satisfied with how the progress was. He only glanced at the back then focused on the Female Titan.

"What's the situation?"

The rear squad captain asked Mike. After listening to the information, the captain nodded his head and signaled the rear squads.

"We kill this titan here! Everyone, hurry!"

The captain ordered his and the rest of the squads. Rose showed a displeased expression.

"Rose, back down…"

Said Vlad as he stopped advancing. Rose was confused but obeyed his orders.

And so, Vlad's squad now were behind the rear squads.

"Let's go!"

Only after they got a distance from the rear squads did he command the squad to move.

"But why did we stop?"

Asked Mike. Vlad didn't reply immediately, he first glanced around them.

"There are titans approaching from the sides. It's that Female Titan, it seems to be able to command other titans…"

Listening to Vlad, Rose, Vector and Mike showed grave expressions on their faces.

Even with the giant trees, if the number of titans were too many then they would be stuck here.

This Forest of Giant Trees will be their grave.

"What's the order, Captain?"

Asked Mike as he came behind Vlad. Rose also wanted to know their next actions.

As for Vector, he didn't really care what they were going to do as long as he could kill some titans.

"We wait…"

Replied Vlad with an indifferent face. The squad then didn't engage in any kind of offensive attacks.

What surprised Vlad and the squad was that the Female Titan showed a new level of power.

It already killed half the number of soldiers of the rear squads. The captain's face was ugly and also very furious.

"Newbies! What the hell are you all doing! Join in now!"

The captain ordered furiously to Vlad and his squad which was staying behind and watching without helping the rear squads.

"Vlad, we need to help them or later we will be punished severely by Commander Erwin."

Rose looked a little annoyed and irritated at the captain for ordering their squad.

This captain himself was maintaining distance from the Female Titan and just observing.

Rose could easily understand this person's motive. He wanted to get the credit for commanding and killing the Female Titan.

"We don't have a choice! He's the senior, we can only obey his order for now."

Said Vector while pulling out his blades from the containers. Vlad nodded his head and signalled for advance.

* * *

'Them again…'

The Female Titan's eyes glanced at Vlad and his squad.

'It's very problematic. I barely managed to get away from them last time. Now there's more people…'

It jumped and kicked from a tree trunk while swinging its arms as three soldiers were caught by surprise.

Slam!

Instantly, the three died on the spot. Vlad could have been the forth one if he hadn't stopped in time.

The Female Titan once again leaped in the air and spun her body as she extended her right leg.

Bam!

Another soldier was kicked and crashed down on the ground getting her head burst.

"Bitch, let's fuck you up!"

Licking his lips, Vector swung in the exact moment the Female Titan landed on the ground and got on its back.

"Hey bitch! Look at me!"

Rose and Mike swung in front of the Female Titan and tried to distract it while giving Vector a chance to kill it.

Vlad stood on a tree branch as watched. In his mind, the Female Titan was done for.

But-

"I will be the one to kill it!"

"Captain, stop!"

The captain from before swung towards Vector who was just about to slice the Female Titan's nape.

Even his own squad members tried to stop him but the captain had truly lost his mind in greed.

"Bastard!"

Vector was kicked by the captain. As he got in position, the captain roared and slashed his blades.

Tang!

But unfortunately, something happened that widened the captain's eyes.

The Female Titan's nape was covered in a super thick and hard layer of transparent crystal.

The Female Titan moved and grabbed Vector and the captain tightly by its palms.

"No! Vector!"

"Damn it!"

Rose and Mike swung at the Female Titan but were at a distance so they could only stare as it crushed Vector and the captain.

"Ahge!"

Blood flowed out of Vector's mouth, nose, eyes and even ears. His face was entirely purple as he died a painful death of getting crushed alive.

On the tree branch, Vlad watched everything. For him, all these happened in slow motion.

While this happened, why didn't he act?

Because Vlad was unable to react. Never did he expect that this ability to see the world in slow motion could be a curse.

'Vlad, why do we live?'

He could hear Vector's voice in his mind. Asking him why there was even humanity to begin with in the presence of titans.

'I don't know.'

That time, Vlad replied in a straightforward manner without any further thoughts.

'To enjoy life! What more? Can those stupid mindless titans even understand what beauty is? That's the reason why I am happy? Yes, this is the answer to when you asked whether I was happy or not.'

The white lines in his black eyes which were not easy to recognize now grew thicker.

Far thicker than it was. Now his eyes couldn't be hidden anymore.

Even his vision range was shorter to a huge extent. With a cold and dark aura, Vlad stood not moving on the branch.

"Prepare to die… Titan!"