Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 20: The Truth Revealed

Levi let out a sigh, massaging his head as he rode out of the forest with a team of Scouts. It had been half an hour since the fight, and he was exhausted. He considered his squad lucky that the Female Titan had started showing mercy, but the same couldn't be said for Oluo or the people she killed prior to the change of heart. Oluo had a rather large family, and Levi was not looking forward to telling them that he was dead. No matter the man's faults, Levi was honored to fight alongside Oluo, and Levi would never forget him.

Eren had passed out shortly after Mikasa carried him away, and Levi was greatly worried for the boy's future. None of what happened was his fault. The Female Titan was just too experienced, and he was too green. The Military Police wouldn't care about that as long as they got their precious Titan to experiment on and dissect. If worse came to worse, Levi would break him out of there and get him into hiding. He was humanity's last hope and a good kid, and he refused to let him suffer at their hands. He also decided to meet up with Carolyn to make sure she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire if things went south.

The minute he thought of Carolyn, he immediately thought of Dillon. No one had seen him since the Expedition started. He was with Darius's squad, a squad that he also hadn't heard from. If the Female Titan encountered them, and he was as headstrong as they said he was...

Am I going to find your body, Amsdale? He wondered. If I do, will I recognize it?

"Captain, we found more survivors," one of the Scouts announced, riding back with a couple wounded.

"Just like the others," Levi noted. "Injured, but alive."

"There's a village across the bridge," he continued as the wounded were led to a wagon to be checked on. "Seemed like there was a fight over there."

"Let's check it out," Levi suggested, riding forward.

Nodding, the Scouts followed him as they entered the village and what they saw made them stop. There were four bodies lying on the ground. One of them was a bloodstain, the second was crushed into a house, the third was horrible mangled with an open-mouthed scream, and fourth seemed to be in a sitting position nearby.

"We've got a live one," Levi stated, jumping off the horse and rushing to him. "Soldier, are you injured?"

There was no response.

"I asked you a question," he said, kneeling down next to him. "Are you–? Amsdale."

Sure enough, it was Dillon and looked like he had been through the worst kind of hell. His eyes were vacant, almost as if they were dead. His breathing was shallow, and he just sat there without moving. He didn't even give an inclination that he heard Levi.

"Kid, can you hear me?" Levi asked quietly.

Dillon still didn't move or talk.

The captain let out a sad sigh, looking at the other Scouts. "He's in shock. We'll have to carry him back."

"Yes, sir," the Scouts replied, helping Dillon onto one of their horses.

"The rest of you gather the bodies," Levi ordered. "We're bringing them home."

They saluted and got right to work.

Before he left, Levi took notice of something. This was the first carnage he had seen. These people were killed brutally and effectively, but outside the village, the rest became wounded. This was where the bloodshed ended. Whatever the Female Titan was doing before changed after she left this village, and something in his gut told him Dillon knew what.

What does the kid have to do with any of this? He wondered as he galloped out of there. I won't know until he talks... if he talks.

For the next couple of hours, the Scouts were persistent in searching the fields for every wounded soldier or corpse they could find. Once they passed the boundaries of the village, that's when the bodies started piling up. They found Darius's corpse near his horse, what was left of him, that is. Many of the bodies were chewed up, but the majority of them were crushed in some fashion. It just reminded the Scouts of how easily hope could be taken away. They wrapped the bodies up in with cloth with the intention of burying them once they got back to the Walls. At least they could give them and their families that small shred of decency.