The world was ending.
Again.
Daniel Cross was beginning to suspect that the universe had a personal grudge against him.
"MOVE YOUR LEGS!" he shouted.
"I'm moving!" Arlen screamed back.
"THEN MOVE THEM FASTER!"
"WHY DON'T YOU MOVE FASTER?"
"BECAUSE I'M BUSY COMPLAINING!"
A tremendous crash shook the street behind them.
Both boys stumbled.
Daniel caught himself against a wooden cart, while Arlen nearly went face-first into a pile of discarded vegetables.
Somewhere nearby, a woman screamed for her children. Soldiers shouted contradictory orders. Horses bolted through the streets, dragging broken harnesses behind them.
And above everything else came the terrible sound of stone breaking.
The Colossal Titan had breached Trost's outer gate.
Daniel knew what that meant.
He knew what was supposed to happen next.
The Titans would enter the district. Soldiers would attempt to contain the breach. Civilians would flee toward the inner gate, clogging the streets and turning an already desperate situation into a massacre.
People would die.
Thousands of them.
And Daniel?
Daniel couldn't even transform into the monster living inside his own body.
"Wonderful," he muttered.
Arlen grabbed his shoulder.
"Stop talking to yourself!"
"I'm processing!"
"PROCESS FASTER!"
For once, Daniel couldn't argue with him.
They rounded a corner and found themselves facing a street packed with fleeing civilians.
A wooden wagon had overturned across the road. Its wheels spun uselessly in the dirt, while frightened people scrambled over its broken frame.
A little boy stood beside the wreckage.
He couldn't have been older than six.
He was crying, calling for his mother, and clutching a stuffed rabbit so tightly that its head had nearly come off.
Daniel slowed.
Arlen noticed immediately.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Whatever you're thinking."
Daniel looked at the boy.
Then at the crowd surging toward them.
Then back at Arlen.
"I'm not leaving a child here."
Arlen's expression tightened.
"You don't know him."
"Does that matter?"
"Yes! We're going to die if we stop!"
Daniel didn't answer.
Because Arlen was right.
They were frightened, exhausted, poorly equipped, and being hunted by something that had emerged from beneath the city.
Every sensible instinct told Daniel to keep running.
Unfortunately, he had never been particularly good at obeying sensible instincts.
He sprinted toward the boy.
"Hey! Rabbit boy!"
The child looked up.
"Where's your mother?"
The boy pointed toward the overturned wagon.
Daniel followed his finger.
A woman was trapped beneath one of the wooden beams, her leg pinned under the wreckage.
Her face was pale with pain.
"Please!" she cried. "Help me!"
Daniel stared at the beam.
It was heavy.
Far heavier than anything he could safely lift without risking further injury to the woman.
He crouched beside her.
"Okay. Don't panic."
"I'm trying!"
"Good. Keep trying. It's a very useful skill."
The woman stared at him as though she couldn't decide whether to slap him or beg him for help.
Daniel grabbed the beam and pulled.
Nothing happened.
He adjusted his grip.
Pulled again.
His muscles strained.
The wood shifted slightly before settling back into place.
Pain shot through his shoulders.
"Arlen!"
The boy appeared beside him, breathing hard.
"I told you this was a bad idea!"
"Congratulations! You were right! Now help me!"
Together, they lifted.
The beam rose several inches.
The woman screamed as she dragged her leg free.
Daniel immediately released his grip.
The beam crashed down.
Arlen stumbled backward.
Daniel fell onto his knees, gasping.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then the woman grabbed her son and pulled him against her chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Daniel forced a tired smile.
"You're welcome. Now run."
The woman hesitated.
"Come with us."
Daniel shook his head.
"We'll catch up."
He knew it was a lie.
He also knew she would move faster if she didn't have to argue with him.
The woman gathered her son and disappeared into the crowd.
Arlen watched them go.
Then he turned toward Daniel.
"You almost got yourself killed."
"Almost is a very important word."
"You're an idiot."
"I've been told."
Arlen shook his head.
But something in his expression had changed.
It wasn't trust.
Not yet.
However, for the first time since they had met, Daniel thought the boy might be beginning to understand him.
Then the ground trembled.
Both boys froze.
A distant scream rose above the chaos.
Daniel turned toward the sound.
At the far end of the street, a Titan had appeared between the buildings.
It was relatively small by Titan standards, perhaps five meters tall, but its disproportionate limbs made it look like a badly assembled puppet.
Its head lolled to one side.
Its mouth hung open.
Its eyes wandered aimlessly across the street until they settled on a fleeing civilian.
The Titan smiled.
Then it ran.
Daniel watched the creature seize the unfortunate man.
The scream lasted three seconds.
The Titan swallowed.
Arlen went pale.
Daniel felt something inside him twist.
He had seen Titans before.
He had even fought one.
But watching a human being eaten in front of him never became normal.
It wasn't supposed to.
"Move," Daniel said quietly.
Arlen didn't respond.
"Arlen."
The boy stared at the Titan.
His hands were trembling.
Daniel grabbed his collar and pulled him backward just as the creature turned toward them.
Its grin widened.
"Run!"
They sprinted into a side street.
Behind them, the Titan crashed through a wooden stall.
Daniel heard the splintering of timber and the screams of people who hadn't managed to escape.
He pushed himself harder.
His lungs burned.
His legs felt like lead.
And his body was still recovering from the strange interference that had prevented him from transforming.
He was exhausted.
He was terrified.
And he was beginning to run out of places to hide.
A narrow passage appeared between two buildings.
Daniel shoved Arlen into it and followed.
They raced through the passage until it opened into a small courtyard surrounded by abandoned houses.
Daniel slammed the nearest door shut behind them.
"Don't make a sound."
Arlen bent forward, gasping.
"That thing... it's coming..."
"I know."
Daniel pressed his back against the door.
The footsteps grew louder.
One.
Two.
Three.
The Titan passed the entrance to the courtyard.
Its shadow swept across the ground.
Daniel held his breath.
For several agonizing seconds, the creature remained outside.
Then it moved away.
Silence returned.
Daniel slowly exhaled.
Arlen slid down the wall and covered his face with his hands.
"I can't do this."
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
"I can't do this anymore."
Arlen's voice cracked.
"I can't keep running. I can't keep watching people die. I can't even protect myself."
He stared at his trembling hands.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Because he didn't have a good answer.
He could tell the boy that everything would be fine.
He could promise that they would survive.
He could pretend he had some brilliant plan that would lead them safely out of the district.
But that would be a lie.
And Daniel was beginning to understand that lies were a luxury he could no longer afford.
"I don't know," he admitted.
Arlen looked up.
Daniel sat beside him.
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
"We're still alive."
Arlen gave a bitter laugh.
"That's your big speech?"
"No. My big speech requires better lighting."
Despite himself, Arlen snorted.
Daniel smiled faintly.
Then his expression became serious.
"Listen. Being scared doesn't mean you're weak. It means you understand what's happening around you."
He glanced toward the door.
"The people who aren't scared of those things are either stupid, delusional, or already dead."
Arlen wiped his face.
"And what about you?"
Daniel considered the question.
"I'm terrified."
"You don't look terrified."
"That's because I'm very handsome."
Arlen stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was brief and shaky, but it was genuine.
Daniel allowed himself a small smile.
Sometimes, he thought, laughter was the only thing separating a person from complete despair.
Then the system chimed.
[DEVOURER SYSTEM]
[Emergency survival analysis complete.]
[Host condition: Degraded.]
[Biological stability: 68%.]
[Transformation pathway: Restricted.]
[Available evolutionary resources: Insufficient.]
[Recommendation: Acquire compatible biological material.]
Daniel's smile disappeared.
Biological material.
He knew what the system meant.
The Devourer System gained evolutionary resources by consuming living creatures.
That was how he had obtained his first traits.
But the thought of deliberately hunting something in the middle of a Titan invasion was absurd.
He was barely capable of defending himself in his current condition.
Besides, the system had warned him that his transformation pathway was restricted.
Even if he obtained enough resources, there was no guarantee he could use them.
He dismissed the interface.
Then another message appeared.
[NOTICE]
[Host has entered an active evolutionary pressure zone.]
[Emergency adaptation protocol available.]
Daniel frowned.
"Emergency adaptation?"
Arlen looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Daniel focused on the notification.
A new window opened.
[EMERGENCY ADAPTATION PROTOCOL]
Under extreme survival conditions, the host may acquire limited biological adaptations without completing a full transformation.
Requirements:
- Compatible biological sample.
- Sufficient cellular energy.
- Successful integration.
Potential benefits:
- Temporary enhancement of a single biological function.
Risks:
- Severe pain.
- Cellular rejection.
- Permanent physiological damage.
[WARNING: ADAPTATION MAY FAIL.]
Daniel read the message twice.
A limited adaptation.
Not a full transformation.
That was different.
He might be able to develop a useful trait without triggering the transformation pathway that the mysterious stranger had somehow disrupted.
But the risks were considerable.
Permanent physiological damage.
Cellular rejection.
He could lose the use of a limb.
He could damage his nervous system.
He could die.
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Of course there's a catch."
Arlen stood.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing you would believe."
"Try me."
Daniel hesitated.
He had been keeping the system secret because he had no idea how Arlen would react.
Now, however, he was beginning to understand the danger of fighting alone.
The boy had already seen him experience unexplained pain. He had witnessed the strange messages that appeared before Daniel's eyes. Pretending nothing was happening would only create more problems.
Still, Daniel wasn't ready to explain everything.
"Let's just say I have a way to make myself more useful."
Arlen looked skeptical.
"Can you turn into one of those things?"
Daniel's silence answered the question.
"Not right now," he admitted.
Arlen swallowed.
"Then what can you do?"
Daniel looked at the system.
"I don't know yet."
A loud crash interrupted them.
The courtyard wall shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then came a sound Daniel had learned to associate with impending disaster.
The wet, heavy impact of a Titan's hand striking stone.
Arlen backed away from the door.
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
Daniel drew a slow breath.
"That depends. Are you thinking about a giant, flesh-eating monster with the intellectual capacity of a drunk chicken?"
Arlen stared at him.
"Yes."
"Then I'm afraid your instincts are excellent."
The door exploded inward.
Wooden splinters filled the room.
A Titan's hand reached through the opening, grasping blindly.
Daniel threw himself sideways.
Arlen rolled beneath a broken table.
The hand closed around empty air.
Then the Titan's face appeared in the doorway.
Its mouth stretched into a grotesque smile.
Daniel recognized the creature.
It was the same five-meter Titan that had chased them through the streets.
Apparently, the thing had decided they were worth a second visit.
"You're persistent," Daniel muttered.
The Titan shoved its head through the doorway.
Its teeth clicked together.
Daniel backed away.
There was nowhere to run.
The courtyard had only one entrance, and the Titan was blocking it.
Arlen scrambled to his feet and grabbed a broken chair leg.
Daniel looked at the boy.
Then at the Titan.
Then at the chair leg.
"That's your weapon?"
Arlen tightened his grip.
"It's better than nothing!"
"Fair point."
The Titan reached into the room.
Daniel ducked beneath its fingers.
One hand slammed against the wall, crushing a wooden shelf.
The impact threw him off balance.
He hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through his ribs.
The Titan's other hand came down.
Daniel rolled away.
The fingers scraped across the floor inches from his head.
He scrambled toward the courtyard's rear wall.
Arlen shouted something.
Daniel couldn't hear him over the pounding of his own heart.
The Titan reached again.
This time, its fingers closed around Daniel's ankle.
His blood turned cold.
He kicked desperately.
The grip tightened.
The creature pulled him toward its mouth.
Daniel clawed at the floor, his fingernails breaking against the stone.
"LET GO!"
The Titan laughed.
A low, wet sound.
Its mouth opened wider.
Daniel could see the darkness inside its throat.
He could smell its breath.
Rotting meat.
Old blood.
Something sour and strangely sweet.
He kicked again.
Nothing.
The Titan lifted him off the ground.
Daniel's mind went blank.
For one horrifying moment, he understood exactly how the people he had watched die must have felt.
Powerless.
Terrified.
Completely at the mercy of something that didn't care whether they lived or died.
The system flashed before his eyes.
[CRITICAL SURVIVAL EVENT]
[Host life expectancy: Severely compromised.]
[Emergency adaptation protocol available.]
[Compatible biological sample detected.]
Daniel's gaze snapped toward the Titan's hand.
The creature's skin had been torn during its attack on the doorway.
A strip of exposed tissue glistened beneath its wrist.
Compatible biological sample.
He understood.
The system was offering him a chance to acquire a trait from the Titan itself.
But he had no time to analyze the risks.
The creature was already opening its mouth.
Daniel forced himself to concentrate.
"System!"
The interface appeared.
[EMERGENCY ADAPTATION PROTOCOL]
[Potential adaptation identified: Muscular Output Enhancement.]
[Source: Abnormal Titan tissue.]
[Estimated success probability: 41%.]
[Warning: Cellular rejection may cause catastrophic tissue damage.]
Daniel stared at the number.
Forty-one percent.
Less than half.
He laughed weakly.
"That's the worst sales pitch I've ever heard."
The Titan brought him closer to its mouth.
Daniel's fingers brushed against its exposed wrist.
The system chimed.
[Biological contact established.]
[Initiating emergency integration...]
Pain detonated through his body.
Daniel screamed.
It felt as though someone had poured molten metal into his veins.
His muscles contracted violently.
His spine arched.
His vision blurred.
The Titan dropped him.
Daniel struck the ground and rolled across the stone.
For several seconds, he couldn't move.
He could barely breathe.
The system flooded his vision with warnings.
[WARNING!]
[Cellular rejection detected.]
[Integration stability: 23%.]
[Host nervous system under extreme stress.]
[Emergency integration continuing.]
Daniel tried to cancel the process.
The system refused.
[NOTICE: ABORTING INTEGRATION MAY RESULT IN SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE.]
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"
His scream echoed through the courtyard.
The Titan reached for him again.
Daniel saw its hand approaching.
He tried to move.
His body refused.
The fingers closed around his torso.
Something cracked.
Daniel gasped.
The Titan lifted him again.
His vision darkened at the edges.
Then something inside his chest snapped into place.
A sharp, unfamiliar sensation spread through his muscles.
The pain didn't disappear.
It changed.
The burning became pressure.
The pressure became strength.
And for the first time since entering this world, Daniel felt the monster inside him respond.
Not with hunger.
Not with rage.
With resistance.
The system chimed.
[EMERGENCY INTEGRATION COMPLETE.]
[Adaptation acquired: Titan Muscular Recruitment.]
[Effect: Temporarily increases the efficiency of muscular fiber activation.]
[Limitations:
- Significant energy consumption.
- Increased risk of muscle tearing.
- No direct enhancement of bone strength.
- Cannot be sustained indefinitely.]
[Integration stability: 61%.]
[Biological stability: 52%.]
Daniel stared at the messages.
He had done it.
He had acquired a Titan-derived trait without transforming.
Unfortunately, he was still being held by a giant that wanted to eat him.
"Right," he wheezed. "Let's see if this actually works."
He clenched his fists.
The new trait activated.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
The Titan's grip loosened slightly as Daniel forced his arms outward.
Pain ripped through his shoulders.
He pushed harder.
The creature's fingers shifted.
One.
Then another.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
"COME ON!"
His muscles trembled violently.
A sharp pain tore through his left shoulder, but he ignored it.
He pushed again.
The Titan's grip broke.
Daniel fell.
He hit the ground shoulder-first, rolled across the floor, and slammed into the wall.
For several seconds, he lay motionless.
Then he began laughing.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he was alive.
Because he had just forced open the hand of a Titan.
And because, for the first time since his arrival in this world, he had proof that the system could give him something beyond a terrifying transformation.
Arlen stared at him.
"What did you just do?"
Daniel struggled to sit up.
"Honestly? I'm still trying to figure that out."
The Titan roared.
Daniel looked up.
Its expression had changed.
The creature wasn't smiling anymore.
It was angry.
Very angry.
It lunged toward him.
Daniel attempted to stand.
His legs buckled.
The adaptation had consumed too much energy.
His muscles felt as though they had been torn apart and stitched back together incorrectly.
The Titan's hand swept toward him.
Daniel couldn't move fast enough.
Then Arlen appeared.
The boy struck the Titan's fingers with the broken chair leg.
It accomplished absolutely nothing.
The Titan barely noticed him.
But the distraction bought Daniel a fraction of a second.
He grabbed Arlen's collar and dragged him sideways.
The Titan's hand smashed into the floor where they had been standing.
Stone cracked.
Daniel rolled onto his knees.
"RUN!"
This time, Arlen didn't argue.
They scrambled through a narrow opening in the courtyard wall and emerged into the street beyond.
Daniel nearly collapsed.
Every step sent pain through his body.
His left shoulder was barely functional.
His breathing came in ragged bursts.
But he kept moving.
Behind them, the Titan struggled to force its enormous body through the damaged courtyard entrance.
They had seconds.
Maybe less.
Daniel spotted a staircase leading to the roof of a nearby building.
"Up there!"
Arlen looked at him as though he had suggested climbing the Colossal Titan.
"Are you insane?"
"Almost certainly!"
They climbed.
Daniel stumbled twice.
On the third step, his injured shoulder struck the railing.
He nearly blacked out.
Arlen caught him.
"Keep moving!"
Daniel gave a weak laugh.
"Look at you. You've finally learned to be encouraging."
"Shut up and climb!"
They reached the roof.
The street stretched below them, filled with fleeing civilians and soldiers struggling to establish defensive positions.
Far in the distance, smoke rose above the outer gate.
The Colossal Titan's enormous head was barely visible through the steam.
Daniel sank against a chimney.
His entire body trembled.
The system appeared again.
[POST-ADAPTATION ASSESSMENT]
Host condition: Critical but stable.
Biological stability: 52%.
Muscular adaptation: Active.
Remaining duration: Approximately 94 seconds.
Estimated recovery period: Unknown.
Evolution points: 0.
[NOTICE]
A permanent evolutionary pathway has been established.
Future compatible biological integrations may improve adaptation stability.
Daniel stared at the words.
A permanent evolutionary pathway.
He didn't know what that meant yet.
But he suspected it was important.
Arlen crouched beside him.
"Are you going to die?"
Daniel considered the question.
"Not if I can help it."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the best one I've got."
Arlen looked down at the street.
A group of soldiers rushed past, carrying a wounded comrade between them.
A woman screamed as another Titan appeared beyond the rooftops.
Daniel followed her gaze.
The invasion was spreading.
And they were still trapped inside the district.
He forced himself to stand.
Arlen immediately grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Finding somewhere safer."
"You can barely stand!"
"Then I'll walk badly."
Daniel took one step.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
He took another.
The system's timer continued counting down.
Eighty-seven seconds.
Eighty-six.
Eighty-five.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
He wasn't strong enough to fight an army of Titans.
He wasn't even strong enough to fight one reliably.
But he had survived.
He had adapted.
And somewhere beneath the fear and exhaustion, a dangerous realization was beginning to take shape.
The Devourer System wasn't simply giving him the ability to become a Titan.
It was teaching his human body to evolve.
One desperate adaptation at a time.
Daniel looked toward the smoke rising over Trost.
"All right," he whispered.
Arlen glanced at him.
"What?"
Daniel's expression hardened.
"If this world insists on turning me into a monster..."
He flexed his injured hand.
"...then I'm going to make damn sure I'm the kind of monster that can protect people."
For a moment, he believed it.
Then a voice spoke behind him.
"An admirable ambition."
Daniel froze.
Arlen spun around.
A man stood beside the rooftop entrance.
He wore a dark military uniform and carried a long blade at his waist.
His expression was calm.
His posture was relaxed.
And his eyes were completely white.
Daniel felt every drop of warmth leave his body.
The same man.
The same impossible smile.
The same presence that had restricted his transformation.
The stranger looked at Daniel's trembling arms.
Then at the system interface Daniel could no longer hide from his own awareness.
"Ah," the man said softly.
"You've begun to evolve."
He took one step forward.
Daniel tried to summon his Titan form.
Nothing happened.
The stranger smiled.
"Don't worry, Daniel."
His white eyes gleamed in the fading light.
"I'm not here to kill you."
A pause.
"I'm here to collect what belongs to us."
END OF CHAPTER 18