The activation of the Rumbling undoubtedly caused the attacking Marleyan forces to scatter. Now, only Reiner and Magath, clinging to life, understood that there was little else they could do; they possessed no means to stop the Rumbling. Nevertheless, Captain Magath still believed they had to struggle until the very end.
Just then, Hange appeared behind the two. Reiner, in his Titan form, immediately lunged to bite Hange. Hange, however, declared that she harbored no hostility and was unarmed.
Hange then pointed to the carriage behind her, upon which lay the severely wounded Captain Levi.
The scene shifts back one day. Hange had been escaping the river, carrying the gravely injured Levi, but pursued relentlessly by Yelena's followers. Though reluctant to harm her own kind, Hange steeled herself and shot down the pursuers.
After dispatching the pursuers, Hange quickly tended to Levi's wounds.
Frankly, Hange had not expected Levi to survive such severe injuries. This was perhaps due to Levi's Ackerman bloodline.
Having finished bandaging the wounds, Hange found herself in a state of bewilderment. She had no idea what to do next; there was no way to stop Zeke anymore.
Honestly, Hange had already resigned herself to a life of seclusion, far from the world's chaos.
Hange then began to prepare a cart to transport Levi.
However, at that very moment, Eren's declaration suddenly resonated in Hange's mind. Levi, too, awoke due to Eren's words.
Upon waking, Levi immediately demanded to know the whereabouts of that beastly scoundrel.
Hange quickly urged Levi to lie down and then inquired about what had transpired. Levi responded that he hadn't expected that monkey to have such a death wish, and that the bastard had managed to escape.
Though both were filled with regret, they were utterly powerless. However, the Captain knew that Hange would not idly stand by as an observer. The Captain's sole objective was to kill Zeke.
Thus, their interests were aligned.
Magath heard that Levi's strength was not inferior to the Nine Titans, but in his current state, how could he evade bullets? Hearing this, Levi calmly replied, "I cannot dodge bullets, but I can still appear before the enemy in this state."
Upon hearing this, Magath lowered his guard.
Magath decided to accept Hange's offer of cooperation. Although they didn't know how they would stop that giant entity, for now, they could only work together and face it head-on.
Night soon fell, and the quiet depths of the night seemed to be disturbed by the sounds of the Rumbling. Connie covered his ears, trying to suppress his thoughts. All he wanted was to drift through life aimlessly.
On the other side, Mikasa was also awake. In the tranquil night, Mikasa pondered many things. But then, Hange's voice suddenly echoed in Mikasa's ears. At the same time, Connie was taking Falco to Ragako Village. He didn't know how he would make his mother eat Falco, while Armin and Gabi were desperately chasing Connie on horseback.
Thus, on the morning of the fourth day, Connie arrived at Ragako Village with Falco. Falco immediately sensed that something was amiss. He couldn't understand why Mr. Connie had brought him here.
Connie, however, calmly opened the large tent before them. A Titan trapped within a house came into view. Connie stated calmly, "He won't move. He's been in this state for years."
Falco didn't understand why Connie wanted him to see this. Connie, with a twisted expression, began to speak.
At that moment, Armin and Gabi arrived on horseback, chasing after them. Gabi frantically called out to Falco, "Falco, hurry and leave! Connie intends to let the Titan eat you because you inherited the Armored Titan!"
Falco hadn't fully registered this when Connie raised his blade, holding Falco hostage. "You all shut up!" Connie declared. "My mother is going to eat Falco." Seeing this, Armin immediately used his ODM gear and flew towards the eaves of the house. Connie was bewildered, asking what Armin intended to do.
"If you come any closer," Connie threatened, "I'll kill Falco."
However, Armin remained unfazed. He then leaped directly into the Titan's mouth, a move that stunned Gabi.
In that critical moment, Connie fortunately pushed Armin away, saving him. Falco, now safe, wept and embraced Gabi.
Connie asked Armin, "If I hadn't saved you, what would you have done?"
Armin calmly replied, "If you hadn't saved me, your mother would have turned back into a human."
When his mother sent Connie away, she had wanted him to become a fine soldier. Yet now, Connie was a soldier who might kill children and friends. Hearing this, Armin lamented that he could never become the Commander's successor.
Connie stated that he wanted to be a soldier his mother would be proud of, and that he would go and save those in need.
Meanwhile, Mikasa found Louis in the infirmary. Mikasa had already guessed that Louis had taken her scarf. Shards of the Thunder Spear were lodged in Louis's stomach, impossible to remove. Louis expressed regret at not being able to witness the free world Eren Yeager had envisioned.
Hearing this, Mikasa showed no emotional reaction.
Louis continued weakly, "I spoke with Mr. Yeager earlier about you. Eren wanted me to throw this scarf away, but after careful consideration, I decided it would be better to keep it with me rather than discard it."
Mikasa coldly took her scarf back from Louis and turned to leave. Louis, still filled with anticipation, proudly whispered, "I have no regrets, for I have always offered my heart in pursuit of Mikasa."