You... cowards!
Just shut up...
...and invest everything in me!
What you need now
is to be taught a lesson, not given a talking-to.
I've reached my decision.
Eren was placed in the Scout Regiment's custody
in preparation for a scouting mission beyond the wall.
I won't let your deaths be meaningless
even if I'm the last one standing
In both hands, Gloria
What sings is Sieg
On my back, Flügel der Freiheit
Clenched determination to my left chest
What slashes across is Linie der Torheit
Soaring across the azure skies
Flügel der Freiheit
The old Scout Regiment headquarters...
Just as you'd expect from a renovated old castle,
it looks fancy and all.
But being so far from the wall and the river
it wound up being totally useless for the Scouts.
That was back in the early days, when everyone had high hopes.
Still, to think that this oversized decoration
would end up as the perfect holding place for you now...
Don't get cocky, rookie.
Come again?!
I dunno if you're a Titan or what,
but don't assume Captain Levi's gonna stick with some wet-behind-the-ears brat like--
Talking on a horse is a guaranteed way to bite your tongue.
First impressions are important. I had that rookie scared stiff.
Actually, I think he was shocked at how dumb you are.
Whatever the case, it went exactly as I planned.
Hey. You didn't used to talk like that, you know.
If, by some chance, you're trying to imitate Captain Levi...
...could you cut it out?
You're nothing like him at all, actually.
Are you trying to nag me, Petra?
If you wanna act like you're my wife, there's more you need to do first...
I wish you had bitten your tongue off and died,
bragging all about how many Titans you've killed...
Don't worry.
I bragged about you too, while I was at it.
They're the members of the Scout Regiment's Special Operations Squad...
Also known as the "Levi Squad."
Sheesh, you're disgraceful!
Petra Rall.
10 Titans killed, and 48 kill-assists.
Oruo Bozad. 39 kills and 9 assists.
They're as elite as they come.
Eld Gin. 14 kills, 32 assists.
Gunther Schultz. 7 kills, 40 assists.
Each is an accomplished Scout personally handpicked by Captain Levi.
And...
They're the people who'll end up killing me if I ever go out of control.
There are weeds everywhere.
The place has really gone to hell...
It hasn't been used in a long time.
I bet it's plenty dusty on the inside too.
That's a serious problem.
Let's get to work at once.
I've finished cleaning upstairs!
Where in this facility am I to sleep, Sir?
Your room's in the basement.
The basement... again?
Of course.
You don't have full control of yourself.
Should you turn into a Titan in your sleep,
we can keep you restrained right there in the basement.
That was one of the conditions I was given when I took custody of you.
It's a rule we have to follow.
I'll go check your work.
You take over here, Eren.
Yes, Sir.
You look disappointed, Eren.
Huh?!
Oh, I hope you don't mind if I call you "Eren" like Captain Levi does.
He sets the rules here.
I see.
I don't mind, but did I really look disappointed just now?
It's not an unusual reaction.
He's not quite the great, perfect hero society makes him out to be, huh?
The real Captain Levi is shorter than you'd expect,
temperamental, crude, and unsociable.
No, what surprises me is how serious he is
about adhering to the higher-ups' arrangement.
You thought that because he's strong and skilled
he didn't have to follow the rules like everyone else?
Right.
I thought that he didn't take orders from anyone...
I don't really know the details myself,
but I think he might've been like that at one time.
They say before he joined the Scouts,
Captain Levi was an infamous rogue in the capital's underground market.
So how did he...?
Beats me.
I don't know what happened,
but I hear he wound up being dragged into the Scouts
after giving in to Commander Erwin.
The commander?
Hey, Eren!
Y-Yes?!
It's completely unacceptable.
Do it all over again.
An expedition thirty days from now
to establish a logistic base outside the wall...
...and newly-graduated rookies will be participating too?
Assuming any rookies do join us.
Whatever the case, this all seems a bit too hasty if you ask me.
Eren's current treatment is only temporary.
We need to demonstrate to the central powers as quickly as possible
that his existence is beneficial for humankind.
Otherwise, the Military Police or someone else will interfere again--
Are you using rhetoric on me too, Erwin?
I see your nose is as sharp as ever, Miche.
Not as sharp as yours, though.
I'll fill you in when the time is right.
I assume our orders to remain on standby will last for a few more days,
but I hear they're planning a major expedition beyond the wall
thirty days from now.
And that fresh graduates are going to participate right off the bat too.
Is that true, Eld?
That seems pretty sudden to me,
especially since the rookies already had to endure this latest Titan attack.
I bet those brats were scared out of their wits.
Is this true, Sir?
I'm not in charge of coming up with missions.
But, knowing Erwin,
he's put far more thought into this than we have.
Indeed, there's never been a situation like this before.
So many lives were lost establishing a route to reclaim Wall Maria.
Just when it seemed like it went up in smoke,
suddenly a completely different hope has presented itself.
It's still hard to believe,
but how does this "changing into a Titan" thing work anyway, Eren?
My memories of it aren't very clear,
but it's like being in a trance...
I set it off by inflicting self-harm, though.
I take my hand like so and...
Huh?
Come to think of it, why is this the only thing I know?
You guys know you can't get any more info out of him
than what's in the reports.
Not that she won't try, of course.
Better hope you don't end up dead when she tinkers with you, Eren.
Huh? Who's "she"?!
Good evening, members of the Levi Squad!
How is castle life treating you?
You're early.
I just couldn't help myself!
Section Commander Hange...
Sorry for the wait, Eren!
I'm actually in charge of examining two Titans we caught in town.
I'd like you to help with my experiments tomorrow,
so I came to get your permission.
Experiments?
--What would I have to do? --Why...
...the most exhilarating thing of all, of course!
U-Umm, I'm not in a position to give permission myself.
I don't have authority over myself, you see...
Levi! What are Eren's plans for tomorrow?
Cleaning the garden.
Great! It's decided!
Eren! I look forward to tomorrow!
Uh... right.
But what kind of Titan experiments are we talking about here?
Hmm?
Err, as I said, what kind of experiments are we...
Hey, stop! Don't ask that!
Ah... I knew it...
I thought you might be curious enough to ask...
You want to know that badly, do you?
Well, if you insist,
then I guess I'd better tell you all about
the little ones we recently caught...
I began by repeating the same experiment
that we've conducted during five previous captures.
Hello!
First was an attempt at communication.
How are you feeling?
What's your name?
Are you in pain?
S-Section Commander! You're too close!
Hello!
Nice weather, isn't it?
Are you hungry?
Whoa! That was close!
That's dangerous, Section Commander!
Unfortunately, I had to conclude
that there's no hope of communicating with these ones either.
However, my time spent interacting with the Titans
was fulfilling enough to make me forget my daily exhaustion.
Once upon a time, there existed a clan that ate humans.
And I don't mean you Titans. I'm talking about a clan of people.
They would hide in caves on mountainsides
and attack any travelers who passed by.
They would steal their valuables, kill them, and eat their flesh.
Here we go again. Another of her naming ceremonies.
Yeah. What'd she call the last ones again?
Chikatiloni and Albert.
Ultimately, they kept this up for twenty-five years,
during which time they supposedly preyed upon over 500 people.
Probably more humans than you've eaten, in fact.
They also tried eating them in all sorts of ways.
Making steaks out of rump meat...
Dicing up leg meat and adding it to a stew...
Grinding tough meat into patties and frying it...
Making sausages from blood clots and innards...
Indeed, they possessed the concept of "cooking"!
That's where they differ from you.
However, this clan of cannibals was caught and executed
after making one single mistake.
That's where you're just like them.
You guys made the mistake of attacking humankind
and wound up caught.
So I'm going to name you two
after the man who was the leader of this clan.
You're "Sawney."
You're "Beane."
But don't worry.
I'm not going to execute you.
Nice to meet you, Sawney.
And you too, Beane.
Let's all be friends!
And that's how I named the 7-meter Titan "Beane"
and the 4-meter Titan "Sawney."
Next, I tested blocking them from sunlight.
From the fact that Titans become less active as the night progresses,
this experiment corroborates that they somehow use sunlight for energy.
It was from this that I found a substantial difference between the two.
Mm. You did great, Sawney.
Good night. I'll see you tomorrow.
While Sawney became sluggish only one hour out of sunlight...
You sure love to stay up late, don't you, Beane?
That's okay. I'll hang out with you as long as you'd like.
...Beane was still his energetic self three hours later.
It came as another shock to me.
They don't require food or water,
and even though they have vocal organs, they don't need to breathe.
The only thing they need is sunlight.
I'm curious to know what happens after prolonged sunlight withdrawal,
but I can't risk having them die, y'know?
We've accidentally killed previous ones we've caught.
We tried decapitating some as an experiment
but accidentally cut the napes of their necks too...
Their names were Chikatiloni and Albert.
They had such cute smiles.
I did something truly terrible to them.
I never want that to happen again...
Ms. Hange...
After that...!
The next step was physical contact with the Titans!
I tested to see if they felt pain!
Section Commander! There's no need for you to scream!
I can't do this and not scream!
Beane is in so much pain!
Beane! Hang in there!
Stay strong!
I needed to determine if Titans have any weaknesses
besides their napes, you see.
It was an agonizing task.
Sawney...
Hey... I've stabbed you in the heart...
Does it not hurt? How does it feel?
Compared to Beane, Sawney seemed more introverted
and didn't respond much at all.
Hmm? What?
What is it?!
Section Commander! Please step back!
Almost got me that time, Sawney!
You're seriously gonna die!
So Sawney's not very good at expressing himself.
He just keeps trying to chomp my head off.
Umm... Ms. Hange.
How can you be so lighthearted when dealing with Titans?
I mean...
They're our natural enemy; they've driven humanity to the verge of extinction.
Surely you experienced the threat they pose countless times yourself...
I have.
I've watched Titans kill friend after friend right before my very eyes.
When I first joined the Scouts, I fought the Titans out of hate.
But, one day, I made a realization
after I kicked the severed head of a 3-meter-tall Titan.
It was light. Unusually light.
The Titan's body, I mean.
Huh?
When you think about it, it shouldn't even be possible
for such large creatures to stand and walk on two legs.
Every Titan was the same.
Severed limbs weren't nearly as heavy as they should have been.
And when you transformed,
I'm told your Titan body appeared out of nowhere.
It's my belief
that how they appear to us is nothing like what they really are.
For decades we've tried an offensive approach that feeds off of hate.
I want to try to view the Titans
from a different angle than the existing one.
It might end as a waste of time...
...but I'm going to do it.
Joining the Scouts has been nothing but surprise after surprise.
It's not just Ms. Hange. Everyone is strange.
It's practically a haven of oddballs.
Still...
A group of people that seeks change...
That's what the Scouts are all about!
Ms. Hange!
Would you mind telling me even more about your experiments?!
Huh? Are you sure?!
Yes!
I think it would be good to know as much as possible
before tomorrow's experiments!
G-Good point.
Mm. I did gloss over a lot of things just now.
I should go into further detail!
--This could take a while... --That's okay!
I'll start off with the hypothesis I had the first time we caught a Titan!
As such, that experiment provided no new information!
I'm sure they teach everyone this stuff during cadet training.
You knew all this, right?
Yes... I already knew it all...
So now I'll explain things further
by going over everything again with my own theories!
Huh?!
Umm... I'm...
First is how Titans--
Is Section Commander Hange here?!
The test subjects...
Both of the Titans have been killed!
Sawney! Beane!
No... Tell me this isn't happening!
They were such valuable test subjects...
Did soldiers do this?
Yeah. They haven't yet found who's responsible.
Apparently both were killed at the same time just before dawn.
By the time the guards noticed, whoever did it had used ODM to get away.
So a team of at least two people planned this, huh?
Sawney!
Just look.
Section Commander Hange is raving mad.
How did this happen...?
Let's go. The rest is the Military Police's job.
Y-Yes, Sir...
What do you see here?
What do you think the enemy is?
Huh?
Sorry. That was a strange thing to ask.
If, by chance, I'm not me
then who's to say that you're you?
Can you pick up the pieces of your heart
that fell apart like a broken sand castle?
The voice of someone calling out
changed into ringing in my ears
It's as if time has stopped
Now wake up
I made my way out of the deep darkness
I fled like a swift wind
We used to be like living corpses,
but now we head beyond the walls
Let's meet again
in a place not on any map