"Don't attack from the side, and don't aim for the Female Titan's nape! She has the ability to harden parts of her skin."
"Understood. Let's start with other areas first!"
After responding to Levi, Haruya closed the distance with the Female Titan alongside him. He noticed that the Female Titan's stamina was running low, as her running speed had significantly decreased compared to before.
Seizing this opportunity, Haruya believed the best approach was to destroy the tendons in her legs, rendering her immobile and achieving their goal.
They were only a few hundred meters away from exiting the giant forest. Eren and Mikasa were still ahead, about to be caught.
"Now!"
Upon hearing Levi's command, Haruya immediately charged forward, using his ODM hooks to pierce the Female Titan's back.
Since the Female Titan was running, Haruya's speed increased as well, propelling him toward her back.
Sensing the impending attack, the Female Titan slowed down slightly. As Haruya flew toward her, she raised her left arm and swung it backward.
To avoid the attack, Haruya used his right hook to latch onto a tree, then swung back toward the Female Titan.
Unlike Haruya's approach, Levi's movements were more precise and decisive. Facing the Female Titan's attempt to block with her arm, Levi's spinning blades sliced through her fingers.
'So fast! Even with her hardening ability, she couldn't react in time!ʼ
While marveling at Levi's speed, Haruya saw that Levi had already used his ODM Gear to close in on the Female Titan's heel. At that moment, hardened skin appeared where Levi intended to strike.
As Levi attacked, Haruya noticed an opening in the Female Titan's defense.
To protect her heel, she had likely left her nape exposed...
In short, if they could subdue the Female Titan here and capture Annie, 'That might be mission success!ʼ
Thinking this, Haruya immediately took action...
Mimicking Levi's grip on his blades, he confirmed his target and used his ODM Gear to pierce the Female Titan's shoulder, then quickly flew toward her.
"Idiot! It's a trap!" Levi shouted.
Suddenly, the Female Titan's left eye, hidden beneath her hair, moved, locking onto Haruya.
Realizing the change, Haruya tried to escape using his ODM Gear, but the Female Titan leaped into the air, causing him to lose balance!
"Damn it!"
In his field of vision, the Female Titan's right fist swung toward him in mid-air. Death was imminent... Using a Save seemed to be his only option now...
Just as Haruya thought this, someone collided with him. Levi quickly flew to Haruya's side, pushing him away and taking the brunt of the Female Titan's attack. Fortunately, Levi moved with the force of the blow, avoiding the full impact.
Haruya was sent flying, and Levi crashed into a tree trunk. He immediately stood up, frowning as he dodged the Female Titan's follow-up attack.
"I told you! Don't aim for the nape!"
"Sorry!"
"Damn brat, you're way too reckless."
Levi's body was slightly tilted, clearly indicating that his leg had been severely injured. This gave Haruya a bad feeling.
This was part of the original plot, except Haruya had replaced Mikasa's role...
Could it be that everything he did was gradually bringing the plot back on track?
Many people had probably watched Sword Art Online. Just like how skill corrections worked in SAO, Haruya guessed that his actions were being "corrected" by the "world" to fit the original plot.
In simpler terms, everything he did would subtly influence the story, steering it back toward the original script.
This wasn't something to admire, as Haruya's enemy was essentially the entire world.
With Levi's leg now injured, the only option was to reload a Checkpoint, right?
He couldn't let the plot progress like this, or all his previous efforts would be wasted.
Although Haruya had considered transforming into a Titan now to capture the exhausted Female Titan and pull Annie out, what if Eren also transformed?
If Haruya got entangled with Eren, and the main force arrived, both he and Annie could be captured as traitors.
In that case, he would have to waste another save, which Haruya didn't want to do.
Taking risks to achieve victory was the right approach, but blindly believing in his current strength was a mistake.
To be safe, he decided to reload a Checkpoint to prevent Levi from getting injured.
Haruya made his decision...
...
<< Checkpoint: Reload >>
< Remaining Saves: 4 >
The surroundings hadn't changed much. In front of Haruya, he saw Levi attempting to slice through the Female Titan's leg muscles.
To prevent her mobility from being compromised, the Female Titan used her hardening ability, instantly hardening the skin on her leg. Levi's blade shattered upon impact.
The broken blade reflected the sunlight, and Haruya used this as a signal to move to the Female Titan's side using his ODM Gear.
Since Levi had successfully drawn the Female Titan's attention, Haruya needed to find a way to damage other parts of her body.
The goal wasn't to defeat the Female Titan, but to slow her down, allowing Eren and Mikasa to escape.
Of course, the best outcome would be to deal with the Female Titan within the forest.
But...
Haruya paused mid-movement.
Misfortune struck...
"Huh?"
The gas canister of his ODM Gear let out a loud hiss as all the gas was suddenly depleted.
Without the gas, the ODM Gear was useless...
As a result, Haruya, who had been relying on the momentum from his previous swing, began to sway in mid-air. The next moment, the Female Titan's right fist came at him again.
"What are you doing?!"
"This...!!!!!"
Haruya was once again pushed away by Levi...
...Levi quickly flew to Haruya's side, pushed him away, and took the Female Titan's attack. Fortunately, he moved with the force of the blow, avoiding the full impact.
"Damn it, out of gas?"
"Y-yes!"
Leaning against a tree trunk, Haruya gasped for breath.
'This is such a scam...'
He had used a save to change Causality, but Levi still got injured. Could it be that the fate involving a key character like him was hard to alter?
No, the fate involving Eren and Mikasa had been changed. Levi's shouldn't be impossible to change.
Even if he was humanity's strongest, he couldn't be this "unfair"...
'What a waste...'
Watching the Female Titan run off again, Haruya no longer felt like using his cheat here.
If he encountered such misfortune again, it would likely trigger the flag for Levi's injury, rendering his efforts useless...
"You should stay here. Without gas, you can't do anything."
Levi didn't say much else. He simply jumped off the tree trunk and chased after the Female Titan.
Haruya could only hope that the original plot wouldn't unfold here.
After all, the scenario where Eren transforms, gets defeated by the Female Titan, and is then rescued by Mikasa and Levi shouldn't happen so easily, right?
The Female Titan was now facing three opponents; Eren, Mikasa, and Levi... none of whom were pushovers.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Breathing in the forest air, Haruya knew that the Survey Corps' main force was likely still fighting some Titans further back.
Everything had been going relatively smoothly, but now because of this misfortune, everything was falling apart.
It seemed impossible for one person to control the entire plot's development.
No, it was just extremely difficult.
That was probably why the annoying Supreme Deity had made such a deal with him. Even with Titan powers, the mission wouldn't become much easier...
"I'm so unlucky..." Haruya muttered aloud as he looked ahead.
Suddenly, he heard the Female Titan roar again.
*Roar!!!!!!*
After roaring, the Female Titan immediately canceled her Titan transformation and fled into the forest on the right. Levi chased after her.
'Why did she do that?'
The Abnormal and regular Titans in the giant forest would gather here, but by canceling her Titan transformation, she would no longer be a target.
This meant...
"Is she trying to make all the Titans attack the humans in the giant forest?"
With the Female Titan hiding in the giant forest, the Survey Corps would have to remain on high alert, guarding against her sudden appearance.
To leave the giant forest, they would have to face hordes of Titans. The main force of the Survey Corps wouldn't be able to retreat easily and would inevitably face a brutal battle.
Thus, by roaring, the Female Titan had trapped the entire Survey Corps in the giant forest.
The plot had changed...
But Haruya wasn't sure whether to feel happy or uneasy.
Looking at his right hand, he wondered if he should bite it.
If he transformed into a Titan, could he handle this sudden change?
This thought didn't become reality. Through the gaps between the towering trees of the giant forest, Haruya saw a signal flare rising high into the sky.
The color of the flare indicated a retreat.
Had Eren and the others regrouped?
Was that why the Female Titan had roared, signaling the Survey Corps to ignore her?
Regardless of the Female Titan's intentions, Haruya knew it was time to make his move...