"Roar!!!"
A massive roar echoed out. In Yago's blurred vision, many towering figures were closing in—it was Titans!
Yago immediately snapped awake and anxiously shouted to Lucia,
"Aunt Lucia! Run! The Titans are coming! Hurry, run!"
Lucia seemed not to hear him at all. Her fingers had already been cut open by her own body, blood streaming down, yet she kept digging at the stones.
"Mom! Run!"
That cry of "Mom" seemed to awaken Lucia. She stared blankly at Yago. Behind her, an ugly Titan with a long nose had already drawn close. Lucia resolutely raised a wooden stick, turned to face the Titan, her voice trembling.
"I will never abandon my child!!"
Her slender figure looked so tiny before the nine-meter-tall Titan.
Unfortunately, Titans cannot understand human words. It crudely grabbed Lucia and slammed her hard against the wall. Lucia was knocked unconscious, blood flowing down from her head.
The Titan grabbed her and was about to stuff her into its mouth.
"No!!!"
Yago roared in fury. A violent power inside him seemed about to burst from his chest.
"Damn Titans! You killed Uncle Vige! And now you want to take Aunt Lucia too! You all deserve to die!"
Yago clenched his right hand. The nail of his little finger emitted a metallic sheen and pierced straight through his palm.
Rip—!
Yellow lightning surged around Yago. One white bone after another emerged from his chest, and vivid red muscle rapidly covered them. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic skeletal Titan formed—though somehow it only formed halfway and then stopped.
Bang!
With one punch he smashed the long-nosed Titan flying away. With the other hand he caught the unconscious Lucia. Yago's legs were a blur of torn flesh, yet they were recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, while large amounts of steam billowed out.
Yago's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, clearly having expended enormous stamina.
Looking at Lucia in his giant hand, Yago finally breathed a sigh of relief. Straining to move the shattered Titan body, he turned his head and saw a Titan with a huge mouth stuffing a human figure into it.
"Aunt Carla!"
Without hesitation, Yago used the last of his strength to drive the Titan's hand and smash it into the big-mouthed Titan's leg. The Titan lost its balance and toppled over. Carla fell to the ground and also lost consciousness.
Eren and Mikasa, one on each side, were being carried away at full speed by their uncle Hannes from the Garrison, one tucked under each arm.
Eren beat on Hannes with his fists as tears streamed down his face. His mother had been seized by those hateful Titans right before his eyes! Right now, Eren hated Hannes for being useless, hated himself for being useless—and hated the damned Titans most of all. A powerful feeling seized him, making his hatred for Titans incomparable. He would wipe out every last Titan. Not a single one would remain!
"Roar!!"
Yago used all his remaining strength and flung the big-mouthed Titan away.
"Ah!"
Yago struggled out of a heap of flesh and blood. After he left, the Titan's flesh rapidly began to evaporate. His two legs had already fully recovered. Yago hurried to where the hand was and rescued Aunt Lucia, then carried her small body on his back and went over to Aunt Carla as well.
Worry rose in Yago's heart. Though he was stronger than ordinary children, what could he do? As a child, he couldn't possibly save two unconscious adults at the same time.
Fortunately, heaven leaves a way out. After several bursts of high-pressure gas, a few soldiers in Garrison uniforms arrived beside Yago.
"Mrs. Carla, and Mrs. Lucia? Child, are they all right?" one Garrison soldier asked with concern.
Doctor Grisha had once stopped a major epidemic and saved many lives, so many people in the Shiganshina District knew the Grisha family. Lucia was usually very gentle and kind to everyone, and her husband was an elite of the Survey Corps, so quite a few soldiers recognized her as well.
After Yago explained the situation, the Squad Leader of this Garrison squad assigned two men to take Yago and the others to the pier for evacuation.
The omni-directional mobility gear kept spewing gas, and Yago felt a sense of confusion inside. How had he turned into a Titan?
Very soon, the Garrison escorted them to the pier of the Shiganshina District. By now, the entire pier was packed with civilians trying to flee for their lives.
The Garrison soldiers barely managed to maintain order. Since they had been personally escorted by the Garrison, Yago and the others quickly boarded the crowded ship.
Lucia and Carla had already awakened. Yago and Lucia supported Carla, whose leg was injured.
Armin rubbed his eyes, hardly believing what he saw, and hurriedly pushed Eren, who was sitting on the ground in a daze.
"H-hey, Eren, I think I saw Aunt Carla… and Yago and Aunt Lucia too," Armin said uncertainly.
Eren suddenly lifted his head, his eyes still filled with tears. Following the direction of Armin's finger, Eren froze. "Mom!!"
He rushed over at once. Mikasa was also extremely shocked and hurried after him.
"Eren! Mikasa!"
Carla burst into tears of joy as well. She had thought she would never see these two children again.
Mother and son embraced, deeply moving. Yago seemed to feel something too. He looked up at Lucia.
"Aunt Lucia…"
Lucia smiled softly, stroked Yago's head, and said gently,
"Yago, my child… you can also call me… Mom."
"Mom!"
Hearing this, Yago threw himself into Aunt Lucia's—no, from now on, Mom Lucia's—embrace.
"Yago, thank you so much. Thank you for saving my mom!"
Eren's eyes were red, his tears not yet wiped away, as he thanked Yago through sobs.
"No need to thank me. I didn't really help much. It was still those Garrison uncles who saved us,"
Yago waved his hand.
Yago didn't dare tell anyone about his Titan transformation, because he himself didn't know whether it was good or bad. He could only take things one step at a time.
...
On the other side,
Inside an abandoned building, three figures gathered together.
"Reiner, did you feel it? Just now there was the presence of an intelligent Titan in the city!"
"Impossible. How could these devils place the power of the Coordinate on the outermost area? Later, I'll use the Armored Titan to destroy that wall. We'll blend in amid the chaos!"
"Break the wall? But there are still so many people…"
"Bertholdt! Now is not the time to hesitate! They are all damned devils! Don't show sympathy for devils. Annie, what do you think?"
"...."
"Good! Then we'll act exactly as I said!"
"But, Reiner, we—"
"That's enough, stop talking! We are warriors!"
....
"Fire!!"
With the order given, the Garrison's artillery fired. Heavy shells blasted Titan after Titan into fragments.
But there were simply too many Titans. The Garrison had already ordered the gates of Wall Maria to be lowered. Even though many civilians outside hadn't had time to escape, for the sake of the greater picture, they could only be abandoned.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Heavy footsteps shook the ground. A yellow-brown figure gradually appeared before the eyes of the Garrison soldiers.
...
Chapter for the review, thank you