Chapter 36

All that covered Annie's vision was just a huge flaming sphere. A single point of light, which overshadowed any darkness and revealed everything that was hidden.

And just below that, was Zirken, lifting the massive sphere of energy composed only of fire, a flame that raised the temperature of the entire surrounding region and melted the snow that had accumulated there.

'Is he holding that...on his fingertip?' - Annie, completely shocked and without reaction.

"Run away! Now!" - Zirken.

It was at that moment that Annie realized the urgency of the situation and immediately ran away, shaking the ground with every step she took. She knew that if she was hit by something as powerful as that, even grazed, she could die instantly.

From afar, even from the camp, everyone saw the huge light, whose heat could be felt even not being close and even blinding if they stared at it too much.

"W-What is that?!" - Soldier.

"Is the s-sun going down?" - Soldier.

"Get down on your knees and start praying!! The creator is here to inflict humanity's ultimate punishment!!"

"Keep quiet and wait for orders from superiors!!"

The disbelief was clear on everyone's face, especially the cadets who performed the test near that location.

"Th-That's...!" - Reiner.

With a deadly expression on his face, Zirken stared at the pool of blood on the floor. The rest of his clothes were on fire and turning to ash by the second, but they made it look like Zirken wore a cloak completely composed of the hottest fire.

(Take a deep breath)

"And here I decree your death..."

In a single aggressive movement, Zirken lowered his arm to the ground.

"Cruel Sun."

As fast as its movement, the gigantic flaming sphere mercilessly departed towards the beast. No matter what got in his way, it would all be reduced to mere ashes drifting through the air.

Upon touching the ground, all that followed was a huge explosion sound and a beautiful show of lights and destruction. Zirken saw it all as he landed on top of a tree that was farther away.

After a few more seconds of pure destruction, only a large crater filled with magma remained where the attack hit. There weren't even any remnants of the monster Annie had faced moments ago.

"He sure has been reduced to nothing... I hope." - Zirken.

As if he didn't feel any fatigue, he leapt towards what was left of the battle. As soon as he landed, he noticed a small black spot moving slowly through the lava.

[Preparing for specimen extraction similar to the evil god...

Approximation is required!]

'So that was responsible for turning a simple bear into an almost immortal beast, huh?' - Zirken.

Without any hesitation, Zirken took the first step and walked quickly into the small lake of magma. The instant he reached the strange black stain, a small white portal appeared in front of him, sucking the stain into himself in a single second.

[Analysis started!

Expected waiting time - 29:59]

'Analyze? Wasn't that the evil god's shard?' - Zirken. 

Not receiving any answers to his questions, Zirken just shrugged and hurriedly left the room before any cadets or soldiers approached.

He leapt through the trees as he headed in the direction Annie had run. However, he didn't even notice or remember what the impact of his attack could generate on a snow-covered mountain...

After a few minutes of searching, he noticed the silhouette of someone leaning against a tree.

"I found you." - Zirken, stopping in front of Annie.

"?!" - Annie.

Unlike what he'd expected, Annie's face reddened as her wide eyes stared at her crotch area.

"What's it?" - Zirken.

"You're naked..."-Annie, as she turned her head and looked elsewhere.

"Huh?"

Zirken immediately remembered that his clothes had been incinerated and quickly covered his cock with his hands.

"My clothes must have burned from the flames..."-he replied, his face also blushing.

Memories of the fight and the damage that had just happened filled Annie's mind again.

"What was that?" - Annie.

"The what? A dead bear transforming into a powerful, near-immortal beast? My powerful attack that practically wiped out your existence? Or you transforming into a female-looking titan?" - Zirken.

"!!" - Annie.

Shock washed over her face again. She had forgotten that Ezir saw her transform into a titan due to how shocking his attack was.

"I-That's..." - Annie.

"If you really want to know everything, you have to be willing and tell me everything too. After all, I'm not the only one here with surprising strength." - Zirken.

'Shit!' - Annie

"Are you really comparing your strength to mine?" - Annie.

"Not our strengths, but the secrets behind them." - Zirken.

Annie's mind once again filled with thoughts. This time, she was trying to find some way to escape the situation or at least ensure her survival from now on.

"(Sigh) I don't think there's much to run to... I wouldn't even be able to kill you or make you forget everything you saw..." - Annie.

"Did you really consider killing me?" - Zirken.

"..." - Annie.

"I understood..."

Zirken's expression only showed sadness for a few seconds, but then he composed himself.

"Right! Are you going to tell me about yourself?" - Zirken.

"First you." - Annie.

"I wasn't the one who changed first, so..." - Zirken.

"..." - Annie.

"..." - Zirken.

"Tsk." - Annie.

"I'm not from this land, I'm from a much farther place..."

Annie decided not to tell everything, just the essentials. She knew she had no choice but to trust him, but she also didn't want to have to involve him in her plan. After all, she didn't know what Reiner and Berthold would do if they found out how much Ezir knows about her.

"I see... So to sum it up, this place is called the island of paradis, you come from a kingdom called Marley that is far away from here, you came on a quest to find another titan just like you and your titan transformation has to do with this other titan?" - Zirken.

"Why don't you seem the least bit surprised by this?" - Annie.

"Oh? It's because I already knew everything!" - Zirken.

"..." - Annie.

"..." - Zirken.

They both stared at each other for a few more seconds, until Annie broke the silence.

"There is?!"

"That's right! And I also know that Reiner and Berthold are the armored and colossal titans that destroyed Wall Maria."

"..." - Annie.

"I already expected that you would try to hide information from me, but you shouldn't do that my dear Annie~ " - Zirken.

"..."

"..."

Annie needed some more time to process what she'd just heard.

"Crap..." - Annie.

"How do you know all this? You mustn't be Marley's, as I've never seen a child the least bit like you since I entered the walls."

"I think I better tell you everything from the beginning..."

Meanwhile, in another place close to where the battle took place...

A hand appeared in the midst of a large amount of snow. The amount of snow present was unusually high compared to a few minutes ago.

After a few more moments of struggling to get up, two boys rise from the snow. Their breaths were ragged, probably from the effort they made to get out.

"What the fuck just happened?! At first it felt like the sun had just come down from the sky and then an avalanche landed on our heads!" - Eren.

"Must have been the bang that light made when it hit the ground.." - Armin.

"Do you have any idea what that was, Armin?"

"I also have no idea..." - Armin, while making a thoughtful expression.

"But we have to get out of here, Eren. We're still in danger of another avalanche falling on us." - Armin.

"Okay. Let's look for Mikasa too, I hope she hasn't been swallowed by the snow!" - Eren.

'Even if that happened, I think her chances of surviving would be much greater than ours, Eren...' - Thought Armin as he hurriedly walked.