Rod stared blankly at the syringe before him. He didn't understand.
"Historia! Why! What on earth are you doing?!" Rod roared in fury, his voice even louder than the scream he let out earlier when his left hand was blown apart.
Historia shouted back excitedly,
"No! I refuse to be your puppet! What royal blood, what power of the gods! It's all bullshit—liars and selfish monsters! You clearly possess overwhelming power, yet you just stand by and watch Titans trample humanity. I refuse to become someone like that!"
"Ymir was right. I'm a hopelessly bad child, so I don't care at all about any so-called mission or responsibility!"
Historia's words made Eren lift his head in shock. The Historia before him was completely different from the one he knew before.
After speaking so passionately for so long, Historia's small face had flushed red.
Perhaps the obedient child Historia once was had merely been a protective shell. This Historia, openly releasing her emotions, was her true self.
"To reject temptation even when faced with absolute power… what an interesting little girl," Kenny said, taking everything in, feeling somewhat moved.
Rod lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes empty, his right hand slowly reaching toward the syringe in front of him.
At this moment, Historia also jogged up to Eren on the platform.
Seeing Eren still sitting there in a daze, Historia tugged at him.
"Eren, hurry up and leave this place with me!"
But the petite Historia wasn't very strong, and she couldn't pull Eren up at once.
"Historia, your father is right. Without everything my father did, maybe the world would be better. Eat me and save humanity. I don't want to keep living in this pain anymore," Eren said with a tortured expression.
Historia finally snapped. She slammed a hard flick onto Eren's head.
"Eren! You idiot! Coward! Selfish jerk! You actually want to dump something this troublesome and difficult onto a girl like me?! I despise you!"
"And Mikasa too—if I ate you, Mikasa would definitely rip open my stomach and drag you out! You're just trying to get me killed, aren't you?!"
Under Historia's nonstop scolding, Eren was dragged down from the platform in a daze.
At that very moment, several figures rushed rapidly into the cave.
"Eren!" That voice—no need to listen closely. It was Mikasa.
She flew straight to Eren and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Eren, your forehead—who did this to you?!" Mikasa instantly noticed the wound on his forehead.
A terrifying killing intent burst out from Mikasa, sending chills through everyone around her.
Seeing that both Eren and Historia were safe, Armin finally let out a sigh of relief.
As for Ymir, she had already darted over to Historia's side.
Yago, who entered with the others, began observing the situation.
A middle-aged man with a defeated look lay on the ground. His left hand seemed to have turned into a pile of mangled flesh. He was probably that Reiss noble—Historia's father.
As Yago was observing, he suddenly felt someone poke his waist.
Turning his head, he saw Annie's small face filled with vigilance as she pointed in a certain direction.
Yago followed her gaze—it was Kenny, clutching his abdomen.
Yago's muscles tensed instantly. Both he and Annie knew Kenny's strength well.
However, Kenny didn't seem inclined to make a move right now. He was just silently watching from the side.
Just as the standoff continued—
Boom!!!
A massive explosion sounded from the cave entrance. Smoke from the blast even poured into the cave.
Traute, looking utterly disheveled, emerged through the smoke. Without sparing a glance at the king sprawled on the ground, she went straight to Kenny's side.
"Tch, what a mess," Kenny muttered. Seeing his subordinate Traute finally stirred some reaction in his otherwise vacant eyes.
Traute tried her best to conceal her injuries and pretended to stay calm.
"They're all dead. We couldn't stop the Survey Corps. Everyone else is dead." Though her words sounded steady, the trembling in her voice betrayed her inner turmoil.
Hearing that the Central Military Police Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad he had personally trained had been wiped out completely, Kenny's heart fell into chaos. After all these years, he had to admit that as he aged, the emotions he once despised in his youth were slowly beginning to affect him.
Or perhaps it started the moment he coveted Uri's power, yet became friends with Uri instead.
From the time he rescued a child from a brothel in the Underground City and personally trained him into a younger version of himself…
From the time he served the royal family and personally executed Historia's mother, only to see young Historia lying atop her mother's body, crying bitterly—Kenny had realized in terror that an almost imperceptible trace of compassion had taken root in his heart.
How terrifying. Kenny the Ripper had no need for emotions. A Kenny with emotions was fragile beyond belief.
...
Soldiers bearing the Wings of Freedom poured into the cave, blades and firearms aimed at Kenny and Traute. Other soldiers rushed forward and dragged the dazed Rod Reiss up from the ground.
Commander Erwin, his face resolute, entered alongside humanity's strongest soldier, Levi.
"Kenny, surrender. The Reiss family's conspiracy has completely failed," Levi said as he looked at Kenny.
The corner of Kenny's mouth twitched into a smile.
"Levi, still as naïve as ever. I once told you—if a person is alive, they must have a goal. Without a goal, what's the point of living?"
Levi frowned.
"Retreat!"
Kenny suddenly fired his gun, drawing everyone's attention. While the Survey Corps froze for a split second, he took Traute with him and escaped through a hidden door.
"I'll chase them!" Levi drew his dual blades, activated his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, and several members of Levi Squad followed their captain without hesitation.
Erwin and Hange stayed behind. The situation was basically under control. Eren and Historia were safe—the operation had been a success.
Jean, Sasha, Connie, and the other new recruits all gathered around Eren and Historia.
"That's great, Historia. I'm so glad you're okay."
"Eren, what happened to you? Aren't you able to turn into a Titan? How did you end up in such a sorry state? This is killing me!"
Yago and Annie exchanged a glance and temporarily lowered their guard.
"Wait… can I see my daughter one last time?" Rod, held down by two Survey Corps soldiers, begged with his head lowered.
Historia heard him and pushed her way past her companions, walking over to Rod.
"Why, Historia? That is the power of the gods."
"Father, I already told you. I don't want to become that kind of hypocritical god. I just want to be myself."
Rod raised his head, his face twisted with ferocity.
"You! You are the shame of the Reiss family! But this power—you must accept it!!!"
Slash!
Unbelievably, the crippled Rod suddenly shook off the two Survey Corps soldiers restraining him and lunged toward Historia.
Before everyone's shocked eyes, a syringe slipped out from Rod's right sleeve. He viciously plunged it into Historia's shoulder and pushed it in all the way.
(A/N: This is where I altered the original plot, which means a lot of the later draft content had to be heavily revised. The original plot leaned a bit too much toward canon and felt rather flat. When writing fanfiction, you've got to do something different. Hope you all enjoy it (?????))
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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