Chapter 13
Thick dust still choked the air, and the thunderous footsteps of Titans echoed like rolling storms. The ground trembled, and the sky burned with the color of ash and blood.
Carla, stunned and injured, slowly turned her head to see who had saved her.
She saw familiar blue eyes, jet-black hair swaying in the smoky air, and a soft voice whispering:
"Don't worry, Auntie… I'm here."
She screamed—not for herself, but for him:
"Rio!! Run!! The Titans are coming from all sides!"
But Rio, soaked in sweat and breathing steadily despite the exertion, replied with calm determination:
"I've cleared this whole side. The path is safe. We're getting out of here—I swear to you."
Carla tried to stand, but her legs betrayed her. Her right leg was broken from the rubble, and the left was covered in bruises.
"No… You can't carry me! Just run, Rio!"
But he didn't listen.
He knelt before her, slid his arms under her knees and back, and lifted her with ease.
"I'm sorry, Auntie… but you're not dying today."
---
Meanwhile, Eren was still sobbing into Mikasa's arms, his eyes fixed on the corpse that could've been his mother's—before the female Titan fell, before someone soared in and saved her.
Eren suddenly grabbed Hannes by the back and shouted, his voice cracked with emotion:
"Stop!! Please stop!!"
Hannes thought the boy had lost his mind, begging him to go back for his mother, and said without turning:
"Eren… we can't go back! No one can stand against them!"
But Eren cried louder, his tears pouring:
"My mom was saved!! She's alive!! Look!!"
Hannes froze.
He turned, and his eyes widened in disbelief:
A young man flew through the air, carrying a woman on his back, twisting smoothly between buildings as debris rained around him.
Rio.
Hannes gasped:
"How… how is that possible?!"
And then he heard it again.
Carla?
Rio reached them, fired his gear toward a wall, and landed smoothly in front of them despite the weight on his back.
Hannes, stunned and flustered, took a step forward:
"What are you doing here, Rio?!"
But Rio didn't answer. His face was dripping with sweat, his heartbeat thundered like war drums—but his composure never wavered.
"No time, Uncle Hannes! We have to leave now!"
He locked eyes with him, confidence in his gaze:
"The ship… it's by the nearby river. My mom is waiting there. We'll meet her—you all have to come too!"
Without waiting for a reply, he pressed the trigger again, launched his cables, and flew skyward—Carla clinging to his shoulders, sobbing silently.
The air blazed, the screams never ceased, and the sky seemed to bleed ash.
Rio Ackerman soared through the ruins, slicing the air like an arrow shot by fate. In his arms, Carla Yeager clung to him, trembling, eyes lost in the vast horror below.
He passed the face of a massive Titan, its features twisted, eyes lifeless as it sniffed the air, hunting prey.
Rio dropped low, then launched himself again.
Suddenly, he shouted without looking back:
"Auntie! Close your eyes now!! Don't look at them!!"
Carla had already started to cry, staring at the Titans' gaping mouths. She obeyed, closed her eyes tightly, and buried her face against his trembling back.
A Titan reached for him—Rio veered, fired his cable at a slanted rooftop, and rebounded toward two Titans blocking the way to the river.
In a flash of lightning, he hooked a wall, swung around, and dove straight at the first Titan.
A shriek!
He sliced the nape cleanly—the Titan collapsed before it could react.
The second Titan roared at him, but Rio had already soared above it, spun, and with a deadly strike—finished it too.
Steam and blood exploded—but Rio didn't slow down.
Seconds later, the river came into view.
A rickety wooden bridge stretched across it, crowded with desperate people. A large ship, half-full, docked nearby. Men were shouting, helping people board in total chaos.
Rio landed heavily at the foot of the bridge, his knees touching the ground. His breath came in ragged gasps.
He gently lowered Carla and said:
"We made it… we're safe now."
Moments later, a shadow fell from the sky.
Hannes landed clumsily, tripping before catching his balance. His face was drenched in sweat, his hands shaking.
He shouted:
"Damn it! That Titan almost cut me in two!!"
Eren sprinted past him, rushing straight toward his mother.
He threw himself into her arms, sobbing:
"Mom!! Mom!! You're okay!! Thank God… I couldn't take it anymore! Why did you do this? Why did you leave me?!"
Despite her pain, Carla smiled as she hugged him tightly, tears pouring down:
"Eren… Mikasa… you're both alive… nothing matters more than that now."
Mikasa ran up and joined their embrace, her tears spilling for the first time in a long while. She whispered:
"I missed you so much… I was so afraid of losing you."
In that moment, Eren turned his tear-filled eyes toward Rio.
He walked up to him slowly, grabbed his hand tightly, and placed it against his cheek, whispering:
"Thank you… Thank you, Rio. You saved my mom."
"I'll never forget this… ever."
Rio, who hadn't said a word yet, looked into his eyes and replied calmly:
"There's no need for thanks… Aunt Carla is like a mother to me. If I didn't do it, then who would?"
But out of sight, Hannes clenched his jaw, swallowing bitterness.
He looked at his hands, then back at Rio.
"A boy… did what I couldn't."
"I thought I was brave… but all I did was run."
Inside, a voice choked him:
"What a miserable man you are… Hannes."
Suddenly, the warning sirens blared again. A deep rumble came from afar, shaking the earth.
---
Two years passed since the day the world was torn apart… two years since Wall Maria collapsed before their eyes, and the monsters were unleashed upon the cities, devouring everything in their path.
While the ruins still bore witness to the tragedy, life slowly began to seep back into the days—forcing the survivors to adapt to a harsh new reality.
In a distant rural region inside Wall Rose, there was a small, secluded patch of land bathed in sunlight and surrounded by green fields. It wasn't much—just a lonely stretch of dirt—but to Rio Ackerman and his loved ones, it was the land of hope.
Within a few weeks, with help from kind villagers, they built a modest wooden house. It had no luxuries, but it was warm enough to offer shelter from the night's chill and lingering fear.
The house had a single floor, a slanted roof, and a small front window facing a narrow dirt path crossed only by farmers. Inside, old cooking tools salvaged from their old homes hung on the walls, while the raw wooden walls were covered with blankets and curtains for warmth.
They spent two whole years in that house.
During those two years, Rio made countless discoveries about his power. He realized he had an intense reflex to danger—and more importantly, he discovered he could transform into a Titan again.
It happened by accident—while fighting off Titans inside Wall Maria, a metal rod fell on his hand, causing a bleeding wound. That pain… triggered his transformation.
---
One morning, Rio woke early as sunlight crept through cracks in the wood. He rose from his straw bed, washed his face with cold water from a pitcher, and stepped outside.
There, his mother Arya Stanz sat on a small wooden bench, sipping tea and staring into the horizon. Her face was calmer now, though her eyes still bore the trauma she had lived through.
Rio sat beside her silently. They didn't need to speak—his presence alone told her that he was alive.
On the other side of the house, Carla Yeager, Eren's mother, was preparing breakfast. Though she smiled at times, sorrow still lingered in her features. Since hearing of her husband's death, she had never been the same. She never cried in front of others—but everyone knew she cried in silence every night. They heard her quiet sobs as she lay on her side, clutching his photo to her chest.
But little by little… she began to heal.
She stood at the stove, cutting vegetables in silence—but she began talking more. She called for Eren in a soft voice, smiled when he helped her, and even shared stories about her past and her unfulfilled dreams.
It wasn't forgetfulness—it was courage.
The courage of a mother who had tried to save her son on the day the wall fell…
And was saved by fate instead.
Armin and Mikasa also lived with them—for now, they had nowhere else to go.
Armin spent most of his
time reading or staring at the sky, trying to understand the world. Mikasa helped Carla and Arya with chores and stood guard at night, holding a small knife, her eyes ever-watchful.
To be continued...