Chapter 139: Floch, Make a Contract With Me and Become a Magical Girl!
Marley. A blood-soaked corner of the battlefield.
Floch leaned against the cold rock wall, covered in blood. His vision was a red haze, the world twisting and distorting before him.
Despair. Bottomless despair. It was so thick he could barely breathe. The final, furious roars and agonizing screams of his comrades still echoed in his ears. The intel—the intelligence bought with their lives—absolutely could not fall into Marleyan hands. Paradis Island… they were still waiting for this life-saving information.
Just then, through the blurry, crimson world, a pure white figure entered his vision. It was Kyubey. It was sitting just as before, perched on the broken statue of the goddess, its ruby-red eyes watching him calmly.
"Kyubey…" Floch's cracked lips moved, a faint wisp of air escaping.
In a flash, Eren's warning exploded in his mind. "...If you're unlucky and end up in a desperate situation, remember that little white thing… If you have to, it can…"
At the time, he'd just thought it was Eren's roundabout way of warning him about something. But now… the intel. It had to get back. He couldn't die here for nothing.
With the last of his will, Floch directed a silent, ferocious roar at the white figure perched above him.
[I want to return to Paradis Island!!!]
[Now! Immediately! Back to Eren Jaeger's side!!!]
[Is that your wish? Then, the contract is made.]
The next instant, a blinding light swallowed him.
"That's—the light of a contract?! Kyubey?!" Pieck's pupils shrank. She knew that magical fluctuation all too well. "That signature, blinding light… that damned island devil—he's with Kyubey?!"
"Don't let him get away!!!"
"All units! Open fire! Stop him!!!" She unleashed an energy shockwave mixed with black lightning and shattered rock, blasting it at the crimson light enveloping Floch.
BOOM—!!!
A destructive wave of energy swept the area. The two half-dead Jaegerists near Floch were instantly torn into a red mist, not even having time to grunt.
However, just before the annihilating blast could touch Floch, his twisting, flickering figure suddenly turned ethereal and vanished into thin air, leaving only a scorched, caved-in patch of ground.
A dead silence fell over the pass. Floch's loyal comrades were now just an unrecognizable pile of gore.
Kyubey still sat on the broken goddess statue, its white fur looking almost ominous against the backdrop of smoke and blood. It tilted its head, as if completely unsurprised by what had just happened.
Pieck stared at the spot where Floch had disappeared, then turned to Kyubey, demanding, "Why?! Isn't Marley enough to satisfy your appetite?! Why are you still making deals with… with those devils from inside the Walls?! What… what are you trying to do?!"
Kyubey's red eyes were like timeless gems. Its voice remained perfectly flat, stating a simple fact. "I observed an individual on the verge of expiring. His soul's Karmic Load was… acceptable. So, I granted his wish. Is there a problem with that?"
It swished its long tail and added, "Besides, if we were really to 'take sides'… you wouldn't be alive right now, would you?"
Pieck was struck speechless. She had no choice but to retreat and report to high command. They had to act immediately, before Paradis had time to react.
…
Paradis Island. Shiganshina District.
Night had fallen. A warm light glowed from the windows of the Jaeger home. Carla hummed a slightly off-key hometown tune as she carefully placed a steaming pot of beef and potato stew on the table. The rich, savory aroma filled the dining room.
Grisha, a gentle smile on his face, listened patiently as Armin talked about the new things he'd read in his books. Mikasa sat quietly beside Eren, gently blowing on his soup to cool it.
Eren, after a long day of hunting down every Kyubey that tried to appear within the Walls, felt the heavy burden lift from his shoulders as he looked at his family around the table. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips, a genuine happiness from deep within. He just wanted to enjoy this hard-won family time. The flickering candlelight cast their happy shadows onto the wall.
But this happiness was all too brief, as fragile as a dream.
Suddenly—VWOOM—!!!!
A blinding light erupted in the middle of the dining room. When it faded, a figure stumbled into the center.
It was Floch Forster.
But his appearance… The tattered, blood-soaked uniform was gone, replaced by a deep red Magical Girl dress, its cut bizarre and clashing. The dress was the color of dried blood, an unsettling dark red, trimmed with ragged black lace. His face was still streaked with blood and grime, and he looked utterly exhausted, though his wounds from the pass were gone. He was clutching a bundle of papers and parts, soaked in the blood of his fallen comrades, their edges torn. The overwhelming stench of death and blood—his sacrificed comrades'—clung to him. He was trembling uncontrollably, his face a deathly pale.
"Eren… Eren—" Floch's voice was a hoarse, broken rasp. His bloodshot eyes, burning with a paranoid fire, locked onto Eren.
"Marley… Marley is already… mass-recruiting Magical Girls… and forming them into special combat units!"
"Their propaganda… everyone's scrambling to sign up…"
"We… don't have… much time!!!"
"We have to… immediately… prepare for… for all-out war!!!!!"
He held up the blood-soaked, blurry maps and samples, a testament to his fallen comrades.
"This is… this is the intel… me and everyone who died… we traded our lives… our everything… to bring this back—!!!"
The dining room fell deathly silent. The warm, happy family atmosphere was, in that instant, completely shattered. All that remained was the thick smell of blood, and the imminent arrival… of war.