Falco stood up blankly, staring at Gabi as she sprinted away. He didn't know what was happening—suddenly, his head throbbed with pain. Gabi's icy gaze felt like a devastating blow straight to his heart.
For a moment, Falco didn't know what to do. Should he chase after her again and try to stop her? Or should he, as Gabi had just said, stop meddling?
"Don't get in the way."
Those words pierced straight through him.
But the Middle Easterners weren't going to give him time for some melodramatic soul-searching. When one burst missed, another wave of machine-gun fire was already sweeping in. And Falco, standing there in a daze, was the perfect target.
In that single second of hesitation, the bullets were already flying toward him.
Suddenly, Falco felt someone shove him hard from behind. His body pitched forward uncontrollably, and he crashed to the ground with a thud. Turning his head in shock, he saw bright red blood seeping through a white military uniform.
Zofia's eyes were wide open. Several bloody holes had appeared in her body, and she collapsed like a limp sack.
To save Falco, Zofia had taken multiple bullets.
Falco's brain froze for several seconds before he reacted. His pupils shrank violently. Scrambling on all fours, he crawled to Zofia's side. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her wounds were bleeding everywhere.
Panicking, Falco tore off his jacket and pressed it against her wounds while turning toward Gabi, who hadn't yet run far, and shouting with all his strength:
"Gabi! Come back! Zofia's hurt! Please!"
But in the distance, Gabi only glanced back without emotion before continuing to dodge the Middle Easterners' bullets and closing in on the fortress.
Falco fell into complete despair. He turned to Zofia in his arms. Her gaze was becoming vacant. Her body trembled slightly. In an almost inaudible whisper, she murmured:
"It hurts… it hurts…"
Tears streamed down Falco's face as he cried out helplessly to the sky:
"Someone! Help Zofia!"
...
On the forward position, Yago frowned slightly. Colt, whom he was holding down, was struggling violently. Extreme worry and panic had overtaken him. The shrieking of the Middle Easterners' machine guns shattered what little reason he had left. He thrashed and roared:
"Let me go! Let me go! I have to save my brother! Damn Warrior candidates! I don't want to be one anymore! Let me go!!"
Udo, who was also being restrained by Eldian soldiers, bit and kicked at the men holding him. He wanted to save his companions.
Serena and Yago remained expressionless. But as they watched the Middle Eastern machine guns continuously raking the area around those children, a flicker passed through their eyes.
When they saw Zofia struck by bullets and heard Falco's desperate cry faintly reach the position, someone moved.
A nimble figure leapt out of the trench. Gray hair streamed in the wind, her pretty face cold. Airi Ambers couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand by and watch the children who had sweetly called her "Airi" on the train be trapped there to die.
Golden lightning enveloped her body. Steam burst forth. The overwhelming presence of a Titan transformation seized everyone's attention. Beneath the sky-splitting golden lightning, the gray-white form of the Sea-Diving Titan let out a roar and swung its massive tail, charging fiercely toward the Middle Eastern fortress.
The sudden appearance of the Sea-Diving Titan caught the Middle Easterners completely off guard. They had never expected a hidden Marleyan Titan Warrior at this moment!
The Marleyans were truly despicable! Using children to distract them, then sending a Titan Warrior to launch a sneak attack—utterly shameless!
In his heart, a Middle Eastern officer cursed the opposing Marleyan commander's ancestors.
The Sea-Diving Titan drew all the Middle Eastern firepower. Countless machine-gun bullets rained down upon its body. Though bursts of blood exploded under the relentless fire, machine guns were no match for artillery—they couldn't halt its charge.
The Middle Easterners had prepared plenty of anti-Titan cannons. But since the battle began, they hadn't seen a single Titan, and their vigilance had slackened. When one suddenly appeared, they were thrown into chaos, unable to react in time.
Taking advantage of the Sea-Diving Titan drawing all the fire, Gabi clutched her grenades and rapidly approached the fortress.
"Ahhh!!!"
Middle Eastern soldiers frantically pulled their triggers, bullets pouring out nonstop. Yet the red-eyed, fish-like Titan was getting closer and closer.
"Die!"
A soldier, eyes bloodshot, swung his gun and unleashed a torrent of bullets that blasted apart the Sea-Diving Titan's crimson eye. But before he could rejoice, a massive mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth was already roaring at him through the firing slit.
The Titan's roar made the soldier's entire body tremble. He didn't even notice the bundle of grenades that had fallen at his feet.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion rang out. The grenades detonated, triggering the ammunition stored inside the fortress.
Flames from the blast devoured every Middle Eastern soldier within.
The enormous explosion also caught the attention of a small group of Middle Eastern soldiers. They were disheveled, fleeing desperately toward Grayle Fortress. Leading them was the Middle Eastern officer who had originally been stationed there. At the final moment, he had deceived his subordinates and escaped with his trusted men. As for facing a court-martial later, he didn't care. Staying meant certain death. Escape first.
Gabi stood before the exploding fortress, arms spread wide, eyes gleaming with excitement.
All of this—this was her achievement!
Shouts of battle rose behind her. Soldiers of the Eldian Third Regiment charged forward with rifles and bazookas. The timing was a gift from heaven. The main fortress had been destroyed, and the remaining Middle Eastern soldiers had lost all will to fight, retreating in utter disarray.
This was the perfect moment to strike down a drowning dog.
Hearing the noise behind her, Gabi spun around excitedly. She thought she would see the soldiers and her companions cheering for her.
But the scene before her made her freeze.
The Eldian soldiers ignored the child entirely, merely running around her as they charged.
And her companions?
Falco was still crying, holding Zofia's blood-soaked body. Colt and Udo, who had just rushed out of the trench, were scrambling toward Falco.
Even Airi Ambers, who had just reverted from her Titan form, was hurrying toward Falco and the gravely wounded Zofia.
No one noticed Gabi.
Or rather—no one cared about her.
The smile on Gabi's face slowly faded. Her expression grew vacant, confused. Being ignored by everyone, she suddenly felt as though she had lost something. Standing there blankly, she murmured softly:
"Blowing up the fortress… it was my… my achievement… so why…?"
Among everyone present, only one pair of eyes was fixed on Gabi.
And those eyes were just as emotionless.