Chapter 7: The Colossal Titan Descends!

“Tomorrow we’ll finally be able to choose which of the four military branches to join, Eren. Have you really made up your mind to join the Survey Corps?” Early the next morning after the graduation ceremony, after finishing breakfast and wandering through the city, Sikong Xu asked Eren once again.

“Of course! I’m determined to wipe out every last Titan!” Eren clenched his fists, his face serious and resolute.

Though Sikong Xu had always known what Eren’s answer would be, he was still moved by the earnestness in Eren’s eyes. Watching the anime had never evoked such strong emotions, but now, immersed in this reality, Sikong Xu could genuinely feel, through the words of those around him, the terror of the Titans and the immense resolve required to join the Survey Corps.

“They’re here! The main force of the Survey Corps!” Suddenly, a commotion arose in the nearby crowd.

“Commander Erwin, please destroy all the Titans for us!”

“Look, it’s Captain Levi! They say his combat power alone equals that of an entire brigade!”

Following the direction of the crowd’s excitement, Sikong Xu finally laid eyes on the legendary Captain Levi, famed for his short stature. He sat astride a handsome warhorse, his hair as black and short as Mikasa’s, and beneath that hair, a pair of deep-set eyes. Incidentally, the dark circles under his eyes were shockingly prominent.

“How different things are from five years ago—so many people waiting in anticipation for the Survey Corps.” Seeing the Corps so admired and supported by the masses, Eren couldn’t help but remark with emotion.

Hearing Eren’s words, Sikong Xu almost laughed. The reason the people now revered the Survey Corps was thanks to the prestige of Commander Erwin and Captain Levi, and the peace enjoyed over the past five years. When the Colossal Titan returns, these same people will finally understand the true meaning of despair.

…

Though everyone had graduated from the Cadet Corps, formal assignment to one of the three main branches wouldn’t happen until tomorrow. Not wanting to waste the precious resource of fresh recruits, the instructors assigned them to maintenance work atop Wall Rose.

“What! You’re joining the Survey Corps?” On the wall, Eren exclaimed. “Connie! Haven’t you always wanted to join the Military Police?”

“That’s right, but…” Connie Springer, his head shaved and busy cleaning a cannon, replied in a tone of forced indifference, “Even Sikong Xu, the one who always finished last, has decided to join the Survey Corps. How could I possibly accept losing to him?”

“What the—! How did this suddenly become about me?” Sikong Xu, standing next to Mikasa and just about to slack off and maybe sneak a little affection, stumbled in surprise. Wasn’t everyone inspired by Eren’s passionate speech last night? How did this get pinned on him?

“Haha, well said!” added Thomas, another new recruit. “If even Sikong Xu, our perennial last-placer, is joining the Survey Corps, there’s no way we can let him outdo us!”

“That’s right!”

“If even the last-placer dares to join, if we don’t, wouldn’t that make us less than him?”

In an instant, voices rose in a chorus of teasing, everyone chiming in, each comment directing the focus onto Sikong Xu.

“Hey, come on! If you want to join, just do it! Don’t use me as your excuse!” Flustered by their words, Sikong Xu himself began to feel embarrassed about his reputation as the class underachiever.

Still, thanks to this raucous exchange, the atmosphere atop the wall grew lively and cheerful.

Ordinarily, the graduates of the 104th Cadet Corps would have spent their final day in training amidst laughter and banter, preparing to part ways the next morning. But fate has a way of leaving the deepest marks in life’s most precious moments. Perhaps the same could be said of the Colossal Titan, that sixty-meter giant—once just a member of the Cadet Corps—returning at this very moment.

Boom—

The once cloudless sky suddenly shuddered! Out of nowhere, a deafening thunderclap split the air behind Sikong Xu.

A gigantic figure, sixty meters tall, manifested outside Wall Rose in an instant. It had no skin, only exposed, blood-red muscles and a mouth full of bared teeth. Scalding steam radiated off its body. This was the Colossal Titan—the very monster that had breached Wall Maria five years ago!

For a moment, everything around seemed frozen. The cadets stood rooted to the spot, stunned into stillness.

The terrifying sense of oppression, the figure blotting out the sky, left everyone paralyzed. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to move—they simply couldn’t. A primal terror emanated from their very souls, suppressing all movement. No one could have imagined that the Colossal Titan, missing for five years, would reappear—and so close!

This was Sikong Xu’s first time facing a real Titan—and not just any Titan, but the sixty-meter Colossal Titan. The searing steam, the throbbing blood-red muscles, those eyes gleaming with intelligence—Sikong Xu was frozen on the spot.

A feeling named fear surged from the depths of his heart. Sikong Xu felt like a helpless animal cornered by a mortal predator—the oppression from the very core of his being left him unable even to tremble.

“Damn it! I’m not that useless loser anymore!” Sikong Xu screamed inwardly in desperation.

Though he had crossed into this world, he retained all the memories and emotions of his former self. He knew all too well what it felt like to always come in last, to always be looked down upon, to be scorned. But now he was determined to rise, to fight back, to challenge fate itself!

Swish! Sikong Xu moved! With the Infinite Martial Refinement—a power honing heart, technique, and body into one—he could master his emotions at will. Though he’d frozen in terror for a moment, in the next instant, he sprang into action!

He knew full well that with his current strength, stopping the Colossal Titan from breaching the wall was impossible. So, his first move was to grab Mikasa's slender waist beside him and trigger the vertical maneuvering equipment at his waist, bracing against the massive shockwave that would come when the Colossal Titan struck the wall.

Though Sikong Xu had never actually used the maneuvering gear before, the moment he activated it, the power of the Infinite Martial Refinement took over, making maneuvering feel as natural as breathing.

He reacted with astonishing speed. The moment the Colossal Titan destroyed the wall, Sikong Xu was already in motion.

The rest of the 104th Cadet Corps, by contrast, only managed to pull themselves together after the wall had been breached and the shockwave had struck.

“Mikasa, are you alright?” Sikong Xu, using his maneuvering gear, secured both himself and Mikasa against the sloped surface of the wall, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.

“I’m fine,” Mikasa replied coolly. Her voice was calm, but her expression, still frozen in shock, betrayed her true feelings.

“The wall… it’s been breached…”