CHAPTER - 25 { Hidden Devil }

"Rwwhhh!"

Eren, even though his leg and hand were cut off by Annie, continued to bit on her toe.

"Arrrhhh!"

Annie roared as she brought down her clenched fist covered with a layer of hard crystal on Eren's head.

Smash!

'Annie, your father is the only one on your side.'

Many words from the past surfaced in her mind as Annie roared louder and louder while smashing Eren's head.

Smash!

After multiple punches, Eren's jaw and forehead were curved in and unable to hold on.

Seeing this, Annie turned and started running towards the direction of the Wall.

Behind her, Eren's Titan Form' eyes glowed in deep green light as the smoke rose up.

"I'll… kill the titans…"

Inside, Eren's body was wrapped up in the titan's flesh. An insane smile formed on Eren's half exposed face.

"Every last one of them!"

* * *

As Annie ran in her Female Titan form, she felt danger from behind her.

There was also a weird sound coming from the same direction: it was from behind her.

When she turned her head and looked back, her eyes caught the sight of a disaster.

Boom!

The huge Titan body engulfed in orange flames with the deep red cracks in the muscles, chased her.

"Raaawwhhh!"

The Titan rushed towards the Female Titan even if it had to crawl on the ground due to it missing a leg.

Crash!

The Titan grabbed on the Female Titan's back as both of them broke through a stone bridge.

Their bodies dragged on the ground destroying tens of stalls and killing many civilians as well as soldiers in the path.

"That's…"

Hange spoke with surprise, around her were Jean, Armin and her squad members. At that moment, even Mikasa arrived.

"Eren!"

Mikasa wanted to head towards Eren but Hange stopped her due to a serious reason.

"Don't! Right now, we don't know if Eren can recognize you…"

The savage Titan pushed the Female Titan on the ground heavily while trying to bite her nape.

The Female Titan struggled to save her nape, she shook her body and kicked the savage Titan far away on a building.

Boom!

The savage Titan crashed and destroyed the building with its huge and heavy body.

The Female Titan somehow managed to stand up on its feets. Its fingers turned sharp with crystal coating.

"Arrrhh!"

It ran towards the Wall and jumped on it. The sharp fingers dug in the Wall.

"The Wall!"

"Does she intend to climb over the Wall?"

Hange and the other got off the building and headed towards the Wall.

"Rwwaahh!"

The savage Titan burning in flames ran and jumped. It grabbed on the Female Titan's legs.

The Female Titan shook its legs and kicked the savage Titan off her as it resumed climbing.

* * *

"Go…"

Rose and Mike heard the words as they both stepped over and slowly descended down the Wall.

Press.

The hooks shot out of the shooters and pierced in the Wall.

Rose and Mike pulled out their blades from the containers and held them in front.

"Mike, this is the time…"

Said Rose. Mike stared at the Female Titan with cold eyes not giving a bit of emotion.

Wuss!

Both of them swung outwards and then dived inwards towards the Female Titan's arms.

Slash!

The sharp blades ran through the hard flesh and bones of the arms tearing them apart completely.

The Female Titan watched it with its eyes wide open as both of its arms were cut off.

Its eyes then saw the man staring back at it with cold and unforgiving eyes.

The huge body of the Female Titan started falling down the Wall.

'Annie, I was wrong.'

'It's too late to ask for your forgiveness. But… There's one thing… I want to ask you.'

Boom!

The Female Titan slammed on the ground cracking up stone blocks.

"Rwwaahh!"

The savage Titan which had waited, leaped up on the fallen Female Titan furiously.

'You can make the whole world your enemy…'

It punched down and separated the remaining left arm of the Female Titan off from the body.

'I'll destroy the entire world!'

Eren inside the Titan, said with a bloodthirsty voice giving off intense killing intent.

'Even if the whole world hates you, your father is the one person who is on your side!'

The Titan opened its mouth and moved closer to the Female Titan's nape.

"Crap… He'll eat the girl inside, too!"

Hange said with panic as sweat flowed down her forehead.

"Don't, Eren!"

No matter how much they shouted, Eren inside the savage Titan was unable to hear none.

'I am free…'

Eren bit the nape and pulled back a thick amount of flesh from there exposing the vulnerable body of Annie stuck in the Female Titan's flesh.

'So promise me… That you will return…'

The last words from her father, Annie listened to it with tears flowing down her closed eyes.

Due to the appearance of Annie, Eren stopped suddenly as if realizing something.

His eyes were widely staring at Annie's figure, her closed eyes letting out a stream of tears.

"What happened?"

Seeing Eren's movement come to a stop, the soldiers were surprised but then a loud sound erupted.

Bright light dazzled Eren and the soldiers which came from Annie's body.

"What!"

"They're fusing?"

Armin narrowed his eyes and stared at the Titan's bodies which were sticking together.

Eren shouted out, then his eyes fell on Annie's body which seemed to attract the crystals forming around the nape.

"Unfortunately, the future has changed the moment I saw it…"

It was then that a voice rang near Eren's ears, a shadow flashed by his side heading towards Annie.

Slice!

The sharpened blades sliced off the flesh sticking on Annie's body like cutting butter.

"You have to answer many things, Annie. I can't let you drift away forever…"

Vlad pulled her body and shot the hooks on the Wall. Pulling the strings back and releasing the high pressure gas, Vlad leaped from the Female Titan's back.

The light had stopped and Eren was also pulled out of his Titan Form by Levi who arrived just a second behind Vlad.

"She was the Female Titan!"

Rose and Mike didn't know it so their shocked faces didn't surprise Vlad.

"I don't know."

Replied Vlad, he slowly came down the Wall together with Rose and Mike while holding the unconscious Annie in his arm.

"Calm down, Mike."

Vlad glanced at Mike, who was struggling to let go of his hand on the blades.

"I, what am I supposed to do?"

Mike asked with a confused and agitated expression to Vlad.

"For now, stay away in silence and think calmly. Will killing her be of any use for Vector or Humanity?"

Said Vlad with a solemn voice. Mike lowered his head and stopped following behind Vlad and Rose.

"Commander."

Vlad stood before Erwin, he then handed Annie's body to him with an indifferent face.

"Vlad…"

Jean, Armin and the soldiers from the same batch as Vlad, looked at him.

"Good work, soldier Vlad."

Erwin nodded his head at Vlad. Annie was then taken away for check ups.

"Ohh, thank you! You save the girl in time or else something must have definitely happened!"

Hange ran over to Vlad and slapped him on his back with an excited smile.

"Senior, I will take my leave…"

Saying so, Vlad turned away from Hange and walked towards the direction of the dormitory.

Rose didn't follow him and stayed back to talk with Armin and the rest as they were acquaintances.

'It was tiring. What a long day!'

Vlad walked alone on the road, even though his new ODM was fine, he didn't use it.

The civilians were showing varieties of emotions, grief, sorrow, anger, hatred, pain, etc.

Blood spots and dead bodies were almost everywhere on the path that Vlad walked.

But there was something weird. Vlad stopped and turned to look to his left side.

There was a huge glass wall that reflected everything before it.

In the reflection, Vlad found what the weird and wrong feeling in his mind was.

"I… Am I smiling?"

Yes, a smile was present on his face from the moment he had parted from Rose and the others.

The cries and screams of the people around him excited his soul and calmed his mind.

'Who exactly are you?'

Vlad asked a question to the reflection of him who was smiling from ear to ear.

'I am… You.'