On the bare rooftop, Eren and Yago opened their eyes at the same time. Eren subconsciously touched his face, and then a strange, inexplicable sensation appeared in his mind.
Unable to resist, Eren walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked out over the chaotic Shiganshina District. Suddenly, he let out a piercing shout, "Ah!!"
With Eren's cry, an unbelievable change swept across the entire Shiganshina District.
Levi raised his twin blades high. Just as he was about to slash down at a Titan's nape, the Titan suddenly twisted in an eerie spasm, then collapsed straight to the ground and gradually dissipated. Levi watched as the Titan evaporated into nothingness.
It wasn't just Levi. All across the Shiganshina District, the Titans vanished just as strangely into the air. One Titan had been gripping a member of the Survey Corps, about to stuff them into its mouth
When the Titan's body disintegrated, the Survey Corps soldier, who had been in utter despair, simply fell down. The surrounding Survey Corps soldiers were all stunned, until the fallen comrade cried out in pain and snapped them back to their senses.
...
At the Survey Corps command post, Erwin and Hange stood side by side. Before them were the remains of two Titans that had suddenly evaporated.
Hange's eyes went wide as she shouted,
"Unbelievable! Those Titans just disappeared like that?? What's going on?"
Erwin had also noticed the scene. The Titans had been wiped out so easily? To Erwin, this wasn't exactly good news. Had the Survey Corps' century-long, blood-soaked struggle against the Titans been so utterly insignificant before the so-called power of the Founder Ymir?
Floch knelt on the ground, his expression bleak. A Titan's body lay to the side, most of it already evaporated. In front of him was Scott's corpse. Usually cowardly, Floch had erupted just moments ago. The man whose legs normally trembled at the sight of a Titan had, not long before, gone madly swinging his twin blades, fighting to the death to slay the Titan that had killed Scott.
"Squad Leader… I'm sorry…" Floch knelt there, both hands gripping the hilts tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
...
By Wall Maria, the Titans carrying Zeke and the others suddenly jerked several times, then violently flung Zeke and the rest away. Their bodies began to evaporate. Zeke looked toward the Shiganshina District, battered and shocked. The disturbance coming from there made his heart quake. The Beast Titan's power seemed to be boiling and roaring within his body—was that the boiling of blood?
Zeke could think of only one answer.
"The Founder?? How is that possible? The royal family inside the walls?"
But the pursuers behind him gave Zeke no time to think. He twisted his head and shouted, "Pieck!"
At the brink of life and death, Pieck—who had been focusing with all her might on recovering her injuries—didn't even bother with her disheveled hair. She raised her hand straight to her mouth and bit down hard.
Crack!! Yellow arcs of electricity surged forth. The Cart Titan, with its flat, wide mouth, scooped up Zeke and Reiner, then took off at full speed on all fours.
"See you next time!" That was Zeke's final thought.
...
"Stop shouting, Eren. You're too loud." A weak, listless voice sounded from behind Eren.
Eren suddenly felt an itch at the roots of his teeth. What was this? He couldn't even shout anymore?
At that moment, everyone gathered on the rooftop. Mikasa came to Eren's side, anxiously looking him up and down, but thankfully, Eren was completely fine.
Armin said, "Eren, Yago, Historia, are you all okay?"
Sasha helped the slightly dazed Historia to her feet. Historia said in confusion,
"Eh? What happened? Just now, I think I only saw a blue light."
Annie whispered into Yago's ear, "Did you really use the Founder's power?"
Levi sheathed his twin blades and asked with a frown, "What exactly happened?"
"This is the power of the Founder Ymir." Yago plopped down onto the ground and said dryly.
Jean looked at Yago and asked, "The Founder's power? Is it really that strong? Can the Founder make all the Titans on the island disappear?"
Hearing this, Levi also turned to Yago and asked, word by word,
"The Founder—can it really eliminate all the Titans on the island?"
Yago shook his head. In the brief time within the coordinate space, Yago indeed hadn't thought of making all the Titans on the entire island of Paradis disappear. Besides, older Eren's words were still echoing in his ears:
"The power of the Founder is temporarily sealed."
Yago said, "The Founder's power is sealed. It can't eliminate the Titans on the island. Besides, Connie's mother is still in the Trost District."
At Yago's words, Connie's body trembled slightly. He asked carefully,
"Yago, do you mean… my mother might have hope of turning back into a human?"
Yago hesitated. After all, in older Eren's memories, it was only when all Titan powers in the world disappeared that those Titans turned back into humans. But when the Titan powers vanished, Yago himself would also dissipate from this world. Still, seeing the excitement on Connie's face, Yago didn't say it was impossible. He only replied vaguely, "It's possible."
The gloom that had long hung over Connie's face finally eased a little. At least for him, there was finally some genuinely good news.
Green signal flares rose into the sky from all corners of the Shiganshina District.
The battle to recapture Wall Maria—complete victory.
...
Erwin learned the situation from Levi and nodded.
"The Founder's power is sealed, is it? Then humanity's victory will be reclaimed by humanity itself." Erwin's gaze was deep as he looked into the distance.
Watching the signal flares rising into the sky, Yago felt a trace of confusion. What would the future be like? Could he really change fate?
Annie's voice came from behind Yago.
"Everyone's going to Eren's basement. Do you want to come take a look too?"
Yago turned around and stared unblinkingly at Annie's face. Annie grew a little embarrassed under his direct gaze.
But Yago stepped forward without hesitation, took Annie's hand, and said,
"Let's go. We'll go together."
Fate had already changed, hadn't it?