Hey guys. Long Time.
Encountered a Few blocks with this, so I started working on another story to clear My head.
Lots of em by the way.
Warmup Chapter then. Enjoy.
_____
"It's probably just a last-minute resistance by the enemy. The squad should be—"
"Department Leader!"
A shout from outside. A horse-riding guard pulled up to the window.
Her head snapped toward him.
"What?"
The words that followed sent a chill through the air, everyone noticing the slight anger in her voice
"An unidentified vessel is approaching…!"
Her eyes widened instantly.
"What?"
"From our rear, ma'am. A horse-drawn cart is closing in on us at high speed." The soldier responded immediately.
She stiffened. "How far?"
"A few hundred meters," the soldier answered without hesitation.
Her grip on the armrest tightened. "And the ambush team?"
"No sign of them. The cart is the only thing on the road."
The atmosphere inside the carriage darkened. Everyone sitting had their expressions change drastically.
'Dammit.' Especially "Lord Reiss" sitting in the middle. The others didn't utter a word, but the tension in their postures was evident.
"It seems your ambush squad has been ambushed," Lord Reiss muttered bitterly. "Tell me, is this still part of the plan?"
The brown haired woman didn't reply, her gaze flickering.
The enemy was much more difficult than she thought.
The plan had been simple: lure the unknown adversary out using Rod Reiss as bait. According to intelligence, their target was a single individual—a lone operative cautiously investigating the Reiss Family and the events of four years ago.
The reports suggested they were elusive, having repeatedly evaded Military Police surveillance. Nevertheless, their Primary goal was clearly stated in the report.
Rod Reiss.
Just from this alone, it could be deduced that the Target knew that the King on the throne was a fake.
The how was irrelevant. What they were sure of was that despite knowing this, the enemy hadn't stopped. After the Chapel was burned down, It had gradually become deserted. Only being visited every once in a long while. There were no patterns to these however as it happened once every Two to Three months.
This trap had been formed on that basis. Making the news to seem accidentally leaked while testing whether the enemy hidden in the dark would take the bait.
Now, they had taken the bait.
That was supposed to be the hard part.
Instead, the hard part had just begun.
'Did they always plan for this? Or did someone leak our setup?'
She exhaled, steadying herself.
"Ma'am, what are your orders?"
She closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them with a cold, calculated expression.
The enemy certainly didn't come unprepared. Neither did they come alone.
"I give you full authority to handle this situation."
"Yes, ma'am."
Without hesitation, the soldier turned his horse and galloped back toward the others. The remaining guards immediately followed, pivoting their mounts to face the approaching cart.
"On my Mark, switch to Omni Directional Gear …. Now."
In unison, the soldiers reached up, gripping their cloaks. Fabric rustled as they tossed them aside, revealing maneuver gear strapped to their waists.
Not standard Military Police equipment.
Not Garrison gear.
Not Survey Corps blades.
This was Anti-Personnel Control Squad gear—designed for killing humans, not Titans.
Instead of swords, firearms were mounted on their harnesses. Rifles loaded with precision rounds, capable of tearing through flesh in an instant.
A weapon useless against a Titan.
But against a human?
Lethal.
A series of sharp clicks echoed as grappling lines fired, hooks burying themselves into nearby trees. Gears whirred. The soldiers lifted off their horses, launching into the air with seamless precision, their training evident in their perfect aerial control.
"The number of enemies is unknown," the squad leader murmured. "Stay sharp."
Hand gestures followed. Commands that didn't need to be spoken.
Moving at incredible speed, the APCS members raced toward the incoming cart, guns at the ready.
Then—
"Hold on…"
One of the soldiers narrowed his eyes.
"At the back… What is that?"
Another followed his gaze.
"Is that a—?"
The sight ahead sent a shock through the entire squad.
Black.
Glowing.
The skeletal framework of an impossible construct flickered against the night sky—an eerie, ash-dark light, pulsating like dying embers.
It wasn't fire.
It wasn't Titan flesh.
And standing at the very center of the anomaly—a single figure.
The air grew heavy.
And in that moment, a deep, primal instinct crawled up their spines.
-----
Seiji's POV
"So this is the Third Power …"
The Cart rode on. Looking at the condensed, Seiji took a deep breath. Ever since he awakened his Mangekyo, he always wondered what color his Susanoo would take on.
Now, he had the answer.
Ash and Black. The Former being the regular color of his Chakra. The latter?
'Not what I was expecting'. Everyone's chakra signature differed. As a result, everyone had different colors of Chakra. Most just looking similar but having different colors of intensity.
For Seiji, his heart was set on the White Chakra Version of Susanoo. But from the looks of it, that wasn't happening anymore. He'd have to settle for ….
The familiar sound of Maneuver gear fell into his ears.
'More?'
Turning his head, he saw more soldiers arriving. The difference being these ones had ODM gear. However, theirs differed greatly from the ones he had seen on Levi.
No swords, no sword carders, and the grappling lines shot out from the tubes around their wrists instead of their waists.
"Modified gear? Isn't this The squad run by Kenny? …"
He couldn't remember what exactly the name of their branch was. Neither did he want to.
With his Sharingan, Seiji could examine these people close up. And without exception, all of them had horror clearly written on their faces.
"Captain, what Is that thing?"
A female asked as she looked at Seiji covered in the stage one Susanoo Ribcage. Just looking at it alone unsettled her greatly.
Not just her. Never before had any of them seen anything like it.
"I have no Idea."
"Is that a human inside it?..."
"Who gives a shit? Everyone, open Fire."
Like before, a rain of bullets pelted onto Seiji's Susanoo, bouncing off the body and failing to cause the slightest damage.
'Here we go again'.
Seiji's eyes flickered, the crimson glow of his Sharingan intensifying as he flexed his fingers. The Susanoo's skeletal fingers responded in kind, shifting in a way that seemed almost unnatural—like something beyond human understanding.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunfire was relentless. The APCS soldiers moved with precision, strafing through the air with their maneuver gear, forming a loose encirclement around him. But it was useless. The bullets ricocheted off the ribcage, sparking harmlessly into the night.
Seiji exhaled. 'This won't go anywhere at this rate…'
The young Uchiha didn't understand what they were doing out here, nor did he understand why they had fired upon seeing him. However, it mattered little at this point.
He would find out why immediately.
He shifted forward slightly, feeling the weight of the Susanoo respond to his intent. It wasn't fully materialized yet—only the ribs and faint traces of an arm had formed.
This was currently the strongest offensive skill in his arsenal. Familiarity with it was essential, even at the cost of a little eye damage.
Plus, despite not having Hashirama cells, Seiji had already discovered a way to recover from the damage caused to his eyes.
Nevertheless, The first form was more than enough.
The next moment, he moved. Or rather, The black skeleton did. Faster than any of them could have expected.
A deep thud resonated as the barely condensed skeletal arm lashed out—fast enough that the wind howled in its wake.
Elongating further as its full arm materialized as it stretches towards its target. One of the soldiers barely had time to react before something massive crashed into him.
He was sent flying.
Not cut.
Not crushed.
Simply swatted out of the air like an insect. Nevertheless, what reaction would a fleshy human body have when being hit by the full force of a Titan's strike?
The answer was obvious. The soldier who was struck instantly fell apart. Flesh, blood, and bones scattering in all directions.
Forget the soldiers, even Seiji was stunned at what he had done. Not expecting what he considered a light exertion to turn a human into blood mist.
Everywhere fell silent as the Gunfire ceased. The only exception being the sound of the Moving Cart.
Then as if one cue,
"Marcel!" A voice screamed in horror.
Seiji's eyes turned to that one, who looked oddly similar to the one he just killed. In a matter of seconds, his face changed from shock, to horror, to grief, to rage.
The next moment, he reloaded his guns, his face turning rather frightening as he aimed again.
"That Was My Brother You Bastard!"
'Oh. So that's why they look alike'.
"Lombov, …"
The Captain yelled out loud, a few seconds too late.
The bullets already arrived. However, to Seiji's surprise, the bullets weren't aimed at his Susanoo at all.
Instead, they slowly flew towards the horse drawing the cart under his gaze.
The bullets hit head on and the horse was instantly killed. Tumbling to the floor and everything else following a chain reaction.
The human Trafficker still under Genjutsu lurched forward, his head slamming straight into the earth, his neck creating a sickening crunching sound.
No surprise, he was dead for sure. Seiji didn't care for that, his mind focused on the actions of the male who thought to aim for his horse rather than at the unbreakable Susanoo.
'Not bad at all.' Seiji thought, a bit surprised at how the boy's mind turned quickly for a solution. Whatever fear he previously had had been sucked away in the moment of rage, allowing the brain to function normally.
That surprise lasted for a quarter of a second before his mind drifted to his next course of action.
'I guess I picked the wrong practice targets. '
Instantly realizing that whatever level of control he wanted to exercise with the Susanoo was pointless when the targets would be turned into a mass of human insides regardless of how hard he struck, Seiji decided to end it then and there.
The dark aura of Chakra enveloping him condensed even further as he channeled chakra into his legs.
Then ... ... Seiji vanished.
Or at least, that's what it looked like to them.
In reality, he had simply moved. His Sharingan could perceive their every motion, every minuscule twitch of muscle, every subtle shift in weight that telegraphed their next move. And with his speed—
He was already behind the soldier who fired before he even realized it.
The man didn't even have time to turn before Seiji reached out, pulling his sword from his waist and slashing in one fluid motion.
SQUELCH!
Instantly, a head was severed from its body. Seiji continued to move forward, his figure descending before landing on a tree.
Only then did what he had done register with everyone else.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK THIS INSTANT!" Their leader shouted, finally understanding.
It had bugged him ever since he saw the boy enveloped in whatever the hell that was. Turns out he was right.
He didn't bother to note the reactions of his squad members and turned around, firing his cables before being pulled away without delay.
His actions remarkably fluid. This wasn't just a target.
This was a monster.
They had faced Titans before. They had faced humans before.
This was neither.
"Huh ... Captain ..." The others were still reeling in from the shock of what just happened. Only to discover that their Captain was already Jetting away as fast as his Maneuver gear could carry him.
But Seiji wasn't done.
With a flicker of movement, he kicked off the wooden cart, launching himself toward the next closest enemy. A blur of black and crimson, his Susanoo flickering around him like a deathly aura.
A fist formed—a skeletal construct of pure chakra.
And then it swung.
The air exploded.
The force of the blow didn't just hit—it rippled, sending shockwaves outward. Three soldiers were caught in the blast, their bodies sent flying in all directions, their screams barely audible over the deafening sound of destruction.
'Five down, Four to go'. Their numbers didn't exceed nine. In less than Ten seconds, Seiji had already killed five. His Sharingan turned as he dissipated Susanoo, his legs touching the earth before leaping forward once more.
The deaths of the last three immediately woke up the others. Fear and horror marring their faces as they grappled away like crazy.
Nevertheless, the figure rose higher under their frightful gazes. The first attempted to raise her gun, however Seiji got to her first.
His sword slashing to leave a deep wound in her neck before redirecting towards the next one a distance away, penetrating his heart before he could react.
"No! Get away from me!" The third managed to react, raising his two guns and firing.
Bang! Bang!
Two shells shot towards Seiji in midair. His Sharingan spun as he twisted his body to dodge the first while slashing his sword to split apart the second.
The man barely had time to widen his eyes before Seiji reached out, gripping his throat with a vice-like hold.
CRACK!
The neck cracked, Seiji threw away the corpse without looking back. From Nine to One, Seiji looked at the Captain who was fleeing for his life and simply took out a Kunai.
In an instant of calculation, he fired. The bladed weapon cut through the air like a laser beam, not aimed for any of the Man's vital points or his body for that matter.
Instead, it simply aimed for the ODM wire that was pulling him forward.
The result?
The wire cut and the Man lost his balance midair, quickly falling to the ground.
'Shit!'
He quickly reacted, firing another cable at a nearby tree. It managed to hold him up for a few more seconds before he ultimately crashed to the ground.
"Ugh." Pain flared over his body, especially from the shoulder on which he first landed on.
He was pretty sure he broke something. However, he ignored it, quickly attempting to stand to his feet.
He couldn't afford to fall. Not here, not now. And so, the man lifted his body from the floor, raising his head only to stop as a pair of feet in sandals walked into his vision.
He froze in place for a moment, eyes fixed on the feet in his line of sight.
"Do tell me if you're going to keep staring at my feet all night." a calm, young voice fell into his ears.
"..."
Silence carried on for a moment. Until finally, he raised his gaze to meet those of his enemy.
'Those .. Those eyes'.
Demonic red.
Those were the first words that came to mind when he looked into his eyes. He has never seen anyone with such eye color.
'Dammit! Who is this guy?' Seiji didn't know what he was thinking.
"Good. I have a few …" his voice halted as something in the distance drew his attention. The Reiss Chapel could be seen in the distance. He could see it clearly with his Sharingan. Similarly, he could also see the Carriage that just pulled up at the Chapel doorstep.
"You know what? Nevermind."
Seiji said calmly, much to the soldiers surprise.
The next moment, however, his sword moved at lightning speed, slicing the neck of the squad captain before he could even utter a word.
The poor guy, thinking he still had a chance at life didn't understand what happened and what was the sudden change until he was bleeding out in torrents. Ten seconds later, the man fell to the floor lifeless with blood beginning to pool off his neck area, soaking the soil near him in red.
Silence fell.
Only the wind remained.
Noting that everyone else was dead, Seiji wiped his blade clean against the tattered remains of the captain's uniform, his expression unreadable.
In the distance, a carriage stood outside the Reiss Chapel entrance. Instantly, Seiji was enlightened. Not on everything but enough to speculate on why he had been attacked.
The Carriage at the Reiss Chapel meant a lot of things.
The most important being, more people. More essential people, like his prime Target, Rod Reiss.
'It seems Fate is in my favor'.
The captain had served his purpose. There was no need to drag him along any further.
Without another thought, Seiji stepped away from the corpses, sheathing his weapon as he disappeared on the spot with a body flicker.
Meanwhile,
At the Reiss Chapel
The carriage had finally arrived as its inhabitants disembarked. The remaining soldiers stood at the ready outside the chapel, tension thick in the air.
Stepping out of the Carriage, Lord Reiss asked
"Is it over?"
"Perhaps." The brown haired woman replied as she looked further away without spotting anything.
"Nevertheless, it would be better staying inside the Chapel until we receive word, just to be safe."
The so-called Lord Reiss hesitated, his gaze flicking toward the chapel doors. "Indeed."
On this point, the Man didn't argue as he headed for the door of the Chapel.
The door creaked while pushed open by a soldier, as the group filed in. However, the moment he stepped inside, the Man immediately noticed a dark figure sitting on a bench at the end of the building.
"There's …." He felt his breath hitch. The brown haired woman walking behind noticed instantly "There's someone here."
Everyone's eyes widened. Instantly, multiple soldiers rushed into the room with torches, weapons aimed at the figure sitting in the dimly lit chapel exterior.
The Anti Personnel Control Squad Members didn't rush in but turned and watched the rear, warily observing for any ambushes.
Inside, Multiple weapons aimed at a single soul. A hooded figure sitting motionlessly on a bench right in front of the altar.
'Dammit!'
Protected at the Center, the brown haired female officer frowned deeply. The enemy had definitely planned Far ahead and knew their routine.
From the previous ambush of the Ambush squad and this scene before her, she was sure that their plans had been leaked thoroughly.
It was supposed to be simple. Now Tonight's events were escalating beyond control.
Nevertheless, her voice remained emotionless, maintaining her facade of calm and control as best she could.
"I have to say, I'm impressed you managed to push us this far …" She began with an acknowledgement.
"Honestly, I have should have expected you to be waiting For us here after all that's happened. No wonder you were able to evade the Military Police this long."
Her expression grew more solemn.
"Hence, since you've gone through all this trouble to get us here, do tell us …." "Who are you? And why have you been investigating The Reiss Family?"
"…"
The silence that followed was suffocating. The hooded figure, covered from head to toe in a black robe, remained motionless without responding.
"Hey … Answer, you stupid piece of Crap."
Seeing no response, an officer of the APCS uttered through gritted teeth, the Tension getting to him.
The earlier explosions indicated that something had gone wrong with the ambush squad. The second response team hadn't responded.
They knew that while their Leader might sound calm, the current situation had drastically evolved beyond the original plan.
The seconds elapsed. Finally, the figure sitting in the pews had a reaction. Getting up from the Pews and standing upright.
The soldier's grip on their weapons tightened.
"Hey! What do you think you are? …."
"King Of The Walls." The voice came from underneath the hood. 'A Woman?' The brown haired Female was surprised. That voice was undoubtedly a female. 'Hold on … She said …'. Then, her attention was drawn to something else.
The Female seemed unbothered about the weapons aimed at her, Her attention focused on a specific person.
Everyone looked over.
"Huh?"
Standing behind the soldiers, the Fat, middle-aged Man stood slightly stunned before his expression returned to indifference.
"I see, you Truly are after me."
"I wish to speak with you In Private." The female replied, not denying it.
Click!
"It seems you don't understand the situation here, Missy …" An APCS officer uttered coldly. "What's stopping us From pumping you with Lead right this Instant?…"
The hooded figure grew silent for a moment. Then, she removed her hands from underneath the black robe.
Next, what fell under everyone's gaze was a fair-skinned arm. The Most striking feature being the bleeding cut on the Palm of her hand.
"I suppose you should understand … What this means …" No one moved.
Not the soldiers, nor Lord Reiss, batted an eyelid.
"Is that supposed to even mean anything? Do you think we're …" Hearing her words, the same soldier gritted his teeth, fury almost erupting in his eyes.
However …
"Stand Down." a Familiar voice fell into his ears, causing his anger to dissipate.
"Huh? Department Leader, what did you just say?…"
He turned to look behind him. And he was stunned at what he saw.
Alma Lin, The brown haired woman, his Commanding superior stood wide-eyed, Facial features stiff, sweat drops sliding on the side of her cheek, and her mouth wide open revealing slightly clenched teeth.
Her expression was one of seeing something unbelievable, carrying a mixture of shock and panic.
In his Three years of service, he had never seen her look this way.
"I said put down your weapons, Now." It lasted several Moments. Following which, Alma's expression returned to Normal.
Now sporting a grim look that contrasted to her earlier expressionless facade.
"John, take Everyone and wait outside."
If the last order wasn't enough to spell something had gone Terribly wrong, this one certainly was.
"Unit Commander, you can't be serious."
"Ma'am, It's too dangerous."
"…"
In response to all this, she replied. "That's an order, My decision is Final …" while thinking inwardly.
'If she's what I think she is, then staying is irrelevant. Our guns will be useless, and if she transforms, Then we're all done for.'
The heavy wooden doors of the chapel groaned as they closed. The soldiers exited, leaving only Three people.
"Now, do you mind Telling us who you are and what you want?" Alma said after the doors closed. "Are you one of them? The armored or Colossal Titan that breached Wall Maria?"
The hooded figure was silent for a moment. Until …
"My name … Is Dina Fritz."
The voice came from under the hood, clearly female this time. Under their gazes, the hood was removed to reveal a woman with blonde hair and fair features.
'Fritz?' Hearing that name, Alma was stunned. However, the shocking part was yet to come.
"I am an Eldian from beyond the walls…"