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 - Night in the Forest of Giants — The One to Whom You Can Show Your Weakness —
The air outside the walls was nothing like the air within.
The smell of grass, the smell of earth, and somewhere far off, the sense of something moving. Each time the wind blew, the grassland stretching as far as the eye could see rippled in waves. The sky was endlessly high, and clouds drifted slowly across it.
Rivai Akkaman, swaying with the motion of his horse, gazed steadily at the scenery.
Half a day had nearly passed since the fifty-seventh expedition beyond the walls began. The roughly three hundred members of the Survey Corps advanced north across the land outside the walls, deployed in the "long-range scouting formation" devised by Commander Eruvin Sumisu.
The long-range scouting formation placed soldiers wide across the field and deep in columns, advancing while maintaining distance from one another. The gaps between mounted soldiers were set at the very edge of visual range. If a Titan appeared, it could be spotted early and the information relayed to the rear. Since Eruvin introduced this formation, the Survey Corps' survival rate had improved dramatically.
Rivai rode slightly behind the center of the formation, right at Eruvin's side.
"Rivai, what's the situation on the right wing?"
Eruvin's low voice carried on the wind. Rivai turned his gaze rightward. In the distance, the small figures of mounted soldiers dotted the landscape. The flag signals indicated no abnormalities.
"No problems. No sign of Titans so far, either."
"I see."
Eruvin gave a short nod and returned his gaze to the front. His profile was calm, as always, revealing nothing of what he was thinking. His blond hair stirred in the wind, and his deep blue eyes fixed on the distance.
Rivai stole a single glance at that profile.
(...I still can't get yesterday out of my head.)
The words spoken in the commander's office before the expedition.
*I need you. Not as a soldier—but as one human being.*
Every time he remembered those words, something stirred deep in his chest. Not as a soldier, but as one human being. It was what Rivai had quietly wished for, deep down, for three years. But now that it had been put into words, he had no idea what to do with it.
(You're always like this.)
(You always go and land somewhere past where I expect.)
Rivai gripped the reins anew and forcibly cut off his thoughts. This was the middle of an operation. Not the time to be dwelling on distractions.
Just then, the sound of hooves approached from behind.
"Commander! Rivai!"
A voice bright enough to grate on the ears. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Hanji Zoe rode up alongside Rivai on his opposite side. Her chestnut ponytail whipped in the wind, and behind her glasses, her brown eyes glittered fiercely. An old scar from a Titan bite marked her right wrist. She was a squad leader of the Survey Corps—and the organization's foremost eccentric.
"What is it, Glasses? What about your post?"
"I came to deliver a message, and I figured I'd have a little chat while I'm at it!"
Hanji turned toward Eruvin, grinning.
"Eruvin, the scouting squad on the right wing reported just now—they spotted what look like multiple Abnormal Titans to the east. What do you say? Can I go do a little tracking investigation?"
Hanji's words came out in a rush. When it came to Titans, this woman could not be stopped.
"Abnormal Titans! Their movements are completely different from normal ones. They run, they jump, sometimes they even trample their own kind. If we can figure out the reason behind that abnormal behavior, we might get a huge step closer to solving the mystery of Titan ecology!"
"Hanji."
Eruvin's voice was calm.
"I understand how you feel. But right now, maintaining the formation takes priority."
"But—!"
"Tracking Abnormal Titans is not the objective of this operation. If the formation breaks during a chase and we get surrounded by a horde of Titans, everyone will be put at risk. You understand that, don't you?"
Eruvin's blue eyes looked straight at Hanji. It was the face of a commander who would tolerate no argument.
Hanji pursed her lips.
"...Fiiine. I get it. If it's a commander's order, I have no choice but to obey."
"I'm sorry. I do value your research spirit highly. But right now—"
"I know, I know. I'm a soldier too, after all."
Hanji said this and turned her horse around. But as she left, she glanced at Rivai and grinned.
"See you, Rivai. Take good care of the commander, okay?"
"...What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing? Just a greeting."
Hanji rode lightly back to her post.
Rivai glared at her retreating back.
(That four-eyes definitely knows something.)
"Rivai."
"Yeah, I know. Formation check, right?"
Rivai urged his horse faster. Leaving Eruvin's side, he kept his eyes on the surrounding soldiers.
The wind had grown stronger. The smell of the grassland reached deep into his nostrils.
Outside the walls, the world stretched endlessly.
And everywhere, death walked alongside them.
---
Shortly past noon, Rivai halted his horse alone at the edge of the formation.
He drank from his canteen and gave water to his horse. The sky was clear, the sunlight beating down mercilessly. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
(It'd be nice if we could keep going without anything happening.)
(But it won't be that convenient, will it.)
Rivai's premonitions were always right.
Just then, a scream rose in the distance.
"Titans!!"
He looked toward the voice. The left wing of the formation, several hundred meters away. A mounted soldier was waving desperately. Behind him—black shadows.
Titans.
Three. No, four. All small normal-types, but the soldiers' panic was considerable. In expeditions beyond the walls, those who lost their lives the instant they encountered a Titan were beyond counting.
Rivai tossed aside his canteen and leapt onto his horse.
"Tch... what a pain."
He gripped the reins hard and spurred the horse to full speed. The wind struck his cheeks. The green of the grassland streamed past the edges of his vision.
The Titans were chasing the fleeing soldiers. One of them caught up to a soldier's horse and raised its massive hand to strike.
Rivai stood up on his horse's back.
He fired the anchor of his vertical maneuvering gear toward the Titan's shoulder.
*Shhk!*
The metal claw bit into the Titan's flesh. At the same moment, compressed gas erupted, launching Rivai's body into the air.
Cutting through the wind. The ground fell away. The Titan's enormous face loomed before him.
Rivai drew the ultra-hard steel blades from both hips. He reversed his grip.
(The nape of its neck. Ten centimeters wide. That's where I cut.)
A split-second judgment. No hesitation.
Rivai's body passed through the nape of the Titan's neck.
The blades severed flesh.
*Shhrak!*
The back of the Titan's neck split deep. Fresh blood sprayed, and the Titan's massive body slowly pitched forward.
*Doooom!!*
The Titan crashed to the ground with a tremor.
Rivai kicked off the fallen Titan's back and leapt to the next one.
The second. The third.
Rivai's movements were like a dance. He manipulated the wires of his maneuvering gear with precision, evading the Titans' attacks by a hair's breadth while cutting through their napes with exact accuracy.
The fourth Titan reached out toward Rivai.
Rivai kicked off its palm and spun his body in midair.
The blade in his reversed grip sank deep into the Titan's nape as if drawn there.
*Zan!*
The Titan's movement stopped.
Slowly, it crumbled.
Rivai landed on the ground.
The smell of blood hung in the air. Steam like vapor rose from the Titan corpses.
Rivai wiped the blood from his blades with a soiled cloth.
"...Filthy."
He muttered under his breath.
Just then, he heard hooves from behind.
"Rivai! I saw that! Amazing! That was too amazing!"
Hanji came galloping up. Behind her glasses, her eyes shone brighter than ever.
"What's so amazing. You were just told not to leave your post."
"But your fighting style never gets old no matter how many times I see it! You hold the blades in reverse grip and cut while spinning, right!? What's the principle behind that!? A normal soldier couldn't spin their body like that! Your sense of balance should go haywire, and to begin with, cutting through Titan flesh with a reverse grip would require tremendous muscle strength! Wait a second, does that mean—"
"How should I know."
Rivai cut Hanji off.
"My body moves on its own. That's all."
"Your body moves on its own!? Fascinating! Tell me more about that!"
"You really are persistent."
Rivai sighed in exasperation.
"More importantly, what about the injured?"
"Ah, no problem. One person fell off their horse and got some scrapes. Nothing life-threatening. Thanks to you getting here so fast, zero casualties."
"I see."
Rivai remounted his horse.
"Then get back to the formation. I'm reporting to the commander."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Hanji pulled up alongside Rivai's horse.
"But you know, Rivai. When it comes to the commander, you really do get heated."
Rivai glared at Hanji.
"What are you trying to say."
"Nothing? Just an observation."
Hanji was smiling brightly. But behind her glasses, her eyes held a serious light.
"Shut up, Glasses."
"Yeah, yeah, shutting up."
Hanji laughed and slowed her horse, returning to her post.
Rivai rode toward Eruvin.
(That four-eyes definitely knows something.)
Something stirred restlessly in his chest.
---
Night fell.
The Survey Corps made camp just before a forest region outside the walls. Near the entrance to a place called the Giant Forest, they planned to advance into the woods by morning.
Campfires burned here and there. Soldiers tended to their horses, maintained their equipment, each passing the time in their own way.
Rivai sat some distance from the fires, servicing his vertical maneuvering gear. He checked the remaining gas, inspected the blades for nicks. This was equipment that meant life or death. He couldn't cut corners.
(Today was on the better side.)
They'd encountered Titans, but zero casualties. For the first day of an expedition, that was an excellent result. But he couldn't let his guard down. Tomorrow they would push deeper beyond the walls than today. The number of Titans would only increase.
Just then, footsteps approached.
"Rivai, do you have a moment?"
Hanji stood with the campfire light at her back. Her usual flippant smile was gone.
"What is it."
Rivai answered without stopping his work.
"I have something to talk about. Come over here."
Hanji walked toward the edge of the firelight.
After a moment's hesitation, Rivai stood and followed.
The edge of the campfire. No one else around. In the distance, the voices of soldiers could be heard.
Hanji turned her firelit face toward Rivai.
"You—about Eruvin. Are you serious?"
Rivai's hands stopped.
"...What, all of a sudden."
"It's not sudden. I've wanted to ask for a while. I saw what happened in the commander's office before the expedition, too."
Hanji's voice was quiet.
"Are you taking that confession seriously? Eruvin said he needs you—not as a soldier, but as one human being. That was his true heart."
Rivai couldn't answer.
Feelings he'd locked away deep inside for three years. And she'd seen through them this easily.
"...It's none of your business."
"It is. I'm quite fond of those two, you know."
Hanji gazed into the fire. The flames flickered behind her glasses.
"Eruvin always carries too much alone. As commander, for humanity's future, he kills his own emotions and makes ruthless decisions. That's the kind of person he is. But really, he must want to show someone his weakness."
Hanji turned toward Rivai.
"You're at his side. You've watched him closer than anyone. So you don't have to say anything. You don't have to answer. But please—support him. He carries too much alone."
Hanji's voice was earnest.
Rivai couldn't say a word.
Hanji said nothing more and returned to her post.
Ri
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