In a world where humanity cowers behind three great walls, the Survey Corps stands as the last, desperate hope against the man-eating Titans beyond. Among them is Captain Rivai Akkaman—a short-tempered, obsessive neat freak from the underground slums, rumored to be humanity's strongest soldier. Three years ago, Commander Eruvin Sumisu descended into the darkness to offer him a hand, and Rivai has fought by his side ever since. But on the eve of the 57th expedition—the largest and most dangerous
The Vow Beyond the Walls - Confession in the Commander's Office — As One Human Being —
The air before dawn was cold as a blade.
Rivai Akkaman walked the corridors of the Survey Corps headquarters alone. Only the sound of his boots on the stone floor echoed in steady rhythm through the silence. The flames of the candelabras along the walls flickered, casting his small shadow against the stone.
In his right hand, he clutched a letter.
More precisely—he had been clutching it, or rather, his fingertips had been unconsciously worrying at its creases, over and over, as if to confirm the folds. The paper felt strangely hard. No—it wasn't the paper that was hard. The sensation in his own fingertips seemed somehow numbed.
*Tch... Why the hell am I so nervous?*
He cursed inwardly.
But the thing pulsing deep in his chest wouldn't stop. That letter, left at his bedside last night. *"Come to my room before tomorrow's departure."* Just that—a few short words—and he couldn't get them out of his head.
Eruvin Sumisu.
The 13th Commander of the Survey Corps. The man who had pulled Rivai up from the Underground. And the one Rivai had carried feelings for—feelings he couldn't put into words—for three years.
*He went out of his way to summon me with a letter.*
Normally, orders were given verbally. Battle instructions, reprimands—all delivered directly in that low voice. That was the kind of man Eruvin was. But this time was different. He had called Rivai with words written on paper.
*Something's going on.*
Rivai stood before the door to the commander's office at the end of the corridor. A heavy wooden door. The brass handle was well-maintained. But to Rivai's eyes, that door looked larger than usual—and farther away.
He let out a small breath.
The white puff dissolved into the cold air and vanished.
Rivai clenched his fist.
*Don't falter. I am Rivai Akkaman.*
He told himself this, and knocked.
Knock, knock.
The dry sound echoed through the quiet corridor.
"Enter."
A low, composed voice came from within.
Rivai slowly pushed the door open.
The commander's office was dimly lit by lamplight. Outside the window, the sky was still sunk in deep indigo. Dawn was not far off.
In the center of the room stood a large desk. The walls were covered with maps of expeditions beyond the walls and documents on Titan ecology. And beyond the desk stood Eruvin.
His blond hair was neatly swept back, his brows thick and well-formed. His deep blue eyes looked straight at Rivai. His tall frame—six foot two—seemed like a wall itself in the lamplight.
"You came, Rivai."
Eruvin's voice was calm as ever. But Rivai sensed something—a faint tension, perhaps—lurking beneath it.
"Yeah."
Rivai answered shortly.
"...So. What do you want?"
Eruvin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the corner of the room.
Rivai followed his gaze.
There was a figure there.
"Yo, Rivai."
Hanji Zoe sat in a chair by the window.
A messy chestnut ponytail. Uneven bangs, and behind her glasses, brown eyes blazing with ravenous curiosity. An old scar circled her right wrist—teeth marks, from a Titan.
Hanji Zoe, Squad Leader of the Survey Corps. The organization's foremost eccentric, who poured an abnormal passion into Titan research.
"Why the hell are you here?"
Rivai scowled openly.
"Oh, how cold. I was summoned by the commander too, you know."
Hanji grinned. There was something knowing in that smile.
"...Eruvin. What's going on?"
Rivai turned his gaze back to Eruvin.
Eruvin exhaled quietly.
"I asked Hanji to be present as a witness."
"A witness?"
Rivai's voice sharpened slightly.
"Now, now, don't make such a scary face."
Hanji rose from her chair.
"Eruvin, are you really going to say it?"
Her voice had suddenly turned serious.
Rivai looked at Hanji's face. The flippant smile from moments ago was gone. Behind her glasses, her eyes were fixed on Eruvin.
"Yeah."
Eruvin nodded quietly.
"...I see. Got it. Then I'd better not get in the way."
Hanji said this, then turned to Rivai.
"Rivai, you'd better brace yourself."
"...Hah?"
Rivai couldn't help but retort.
"Fufu, well, you'll understand once you hear it. See you, you two."
Hanji waved airily and left the commander's office.
The door clicked shut.
Silence fell over the room.
The lamplight illuminated Eruvin's face. His expression was calm as always—unreadable.
Rivai looked at Eruvin.
*What the hell is this?*
*Calling even Hanji here—what is he planning to say?*
Deep in his chest, his heart was pounding loudly.
"...Rivai."
Eruvin spoke.
"In tomorrow's battle, I may ask you to do something reckless."
The low voice resonated through the quiet room.
"Reckless, you say."
Rivai furrowed his brow.
"Yes. Depending on the situation, I may send you into a death zone. I may also assign dangerous missions to your squad."
"...That's nothing new. That's how it always is."
Rivai snorted.
For a Survey Corps soldier, charging into death was routine. Every expedition beyond the walls, someone died. That wasn't unique to Rivai.
"True. You've always followed my reckless orders."
Eruvin looked steadily into Rivai's eyes.
"...But this time is different. Tomorrow's operation is on a different scale from anything before. I may end up giving an order that gets you killed."
Rivai listened silently to Eruvin's words.
"That's why, before that happens, there's something I absolutely must tell you."
Eruvin's voice dropped slightly.
"Something to tell me."
Rivai echoed the words.
Eruvin slowly approached Rivai.
One step, then another.
The distance between them shrank.
The lamplight caught Eruvin's blond hair, and Rivai's black hair.
"Rivai."
Eruvin stopped directly in front of Rivai.
"I need you."
Rivai held his breath.
"Not as a soldier."
Eruvin's blue eyes captured Rivai's gray-blue ones.
"—As a person."
It was a quiet voice, but clear.
Rivai's mind went blank.
*...What the hell is this guy saying?*
His heart was hammering against the inside of his chest.
Thump, thump—so violently he could feel it himself.
Rivai was at a loss for words. No—more precisely, he felt he had to say something. But he couldn't find the words.
Three years, fighting side by side.
Chasing this man's back, following this man's orders, cutting down Titans again and again to protect this man.
And now those feelings had come back to him—from the mouth of the man before him—in a completely different form.
*Not as a soldier, but as a person...?*
A scene from the Underground flashed through Rivai's mind.
Beneath the royal capital, Mitras. The sunless slums of Kirsche—a place where people without citizenship papers crawled through the garbage heaps to survive. Rivai had been born there, raised there.
*I'm a thug from the Underground.*
*You're the Commander of the Survey Corps.*
*Our stations are too different.*
Rivai bit his lip.
*Are you mocking me? Or testing me?*
Something churned violently in his chest.
"...Tch."
Rivai clicked his tongue softly.
"Save your jokes."
He could hear his own voice trembling.
"Eruvin—do you even know what you're saying?"
Rivai looked away from Eruvin.
"I follow your orders and cut down Titans. That's all I am. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Rivai."
"You know it. I'm trash from the Underground. If you hadn't picked me up, I'd have died in a sewer by now. And you're telling me you need me 'as a person'? Don't make me laugh."
Rivai spat the words out.
Eruvin watched him silently.
"...I'm not joking."
His voice was quiet.
"Rivai, I am not the kind of man who says such things as a joke. You know that better than anyone."
Rivai bit his lip.
*...Yeah. That's right. That's the kind of man he is.*
Eruvin Sumisu didn't make pointless jokes. Every word he spoke carried meaning.
"Tomorrow, if I don't come back."
Eruvin's voice continued quietly.
"These feelings will end without ever reaching you."
Rivai raised his head.
Eruvin's blue eyes were looking straight at him.
"That's why I wanted to say it now."
Those eyes were calm as always, sharp—and somewhere in them, sorrowful.
Rivai's breath caught.
*Is he seriously prepared to die?*
*Is he seriously considering the possibility that he'll die in tomorrow's operation?*
Anger surged up from deep in his chest.
No—not just anger.
Fear.
A bottomless fear that he might lose Eruvin.
Rivai clenched his fist.
His knuckles went white.
"...You dying?"
The words came out strangled.
"I won't allow it."
Rivai looked into Eruvin's eyes.
"Absolutely not. If you're going to die, I'll die first."
Eruvin's eyes widened slightly.
"...Rivai."
"So you come back alive tomorrow, no matter what. That's an order—from your Captain."
Rivai's voice was low, but powerful.
Eruvin stared at Rivai's face for a while.
Then, slowly, the corner of his mouth softened.
"...You're strong, Rivai."
For the first time, a gentle smile surfaced on Eruvin's face.
A serene expression he never showed ordinarily.
Rivai felt something tighten deep in his chest at that smile.
*...That's not fair. Making a face like that.*
Rivai looked away.
"...Is that all you wanted to say?"
"Yes. Thank you for listening."
Eruvin nodded quietly.
"...Tch. Don't thank me. You won't get anything out of it."
Rivai said it to hide his embarrassment.
Eruvin gave a small laugh.
"That's fine."
A quiet air flowed between them.
Outside the window, the sky was beginning to brighten.
The night was ending.
The morning of the 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls was almost here.
---
The area before the gate was filled with the soldiers' fervor.
Utopia District, the northern gate town of Wall Rose. Located about nine miles southwest of Survey Corps headquarters, this gate served as the departure point for expeditions beyond the walls.
The sky was spread with thin clouds. The wind was cold, and the soldiers' breath turned white.
Survey Corps soldiers stood in formation beside their horses. All wore omni-directional mobility gear, with ultra-hard steel blades at their hips.
The 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls—a mission staking humanity's survival.
On the soldiers' faces, tension and resolve mingled.
Rivai stood before the assembled soldiers.
Behind him was Eruvin.
The commander would now give his pre-departure speech.
"...Commander, preparations are complete."
A female soldier ran up to Eruvin and reported.
Orange-brown short hair. Large amber eyes. A small silver earring in her left ear.
Petora Raru. A member of the Special Operations Squad led by Rivai—the Rivai Squad. Nineteen years old. Serious and deeply responsible, her respect and trust for Rivai ran deeper than anyone's.
"Ah. Good work."
Eruvin nodded quietly.
"Captain Rivai, is there anything I can do?"
Petora called out to Rivai.
"Nothing. Get back to your post."
Rivai answered brusquely.
"...Yes."
Petora looked for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she gave a small nod and returned to her position.
Rivai turned toward Eruvin.
"Hey, Commander."
Rivai grabbed Eruvin's arm.
"...What is it, Rivai?"
Eruvin looked slightly surprised.
"One thing I'll say."
Rivai rose on his toes and brought his face close to Eruvin's ear.
"When you come back, tell me the rest."
A whisper—low and quiet.
Eruvin's body stiffened for an instant.
Rivai pulled back from Eruvin's ear and looked up into those blue eyes.
"...Yes. I promise."
Eruvin nodded quietly.
His voice carried firm resolve.
Rivai released Eruvin's arm.
Something unspoken passed between them.
"...Those two. Something definitely happened."
A short distance away, Hanji was whispering into Petora's ear.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Petora tilted her head, puzzled.
"Just watch. That atmosphere between them—it's not ordinary."
Hanji grinned, watching Rivai and Eruvin.
"...You think so?"
Petora looked at Rivai's profile.
His mouth, usually twisted in a scowl, now looked—just slightly—soft.
*...Captain. Something's different about him today.*
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