Mike's 3DM gear malfunctioned, each one of his squad members had lost their lives, their bodies having either been swallowed or thrown to the side like a ragdoll. His screams of pain were muffled by his own saliva as he was bitten on by a 4-meter titan, its jaw clamping down on his abdomen, his lower body engulfed by its mouth.

The wholly abnormal titan crouched down, its large golden eyes watching the section commander struggle. "Hmm? Did I not say to wait?" Without another second spared it reached a hand out, wrapping its long fingers around the titan's head and quashing it. Vaporizing blood splattered across the ground, a large eye popped out of the 4-meter head. Without the pressure of its maw, Mike fell, his injured body landing roughly on the ground. His body trembled as he struggled to raise himself into a seated position, his arms keeping him propped up. His breath was labored, saliva spilling unceremoniously past his lips as he fearfully gazed up at the hairy beast titan.

The expression of the 17-meter-tall titan changed; it held an almost cheeky curiosity to it. Once again, it spoke, the deep sound rumbling. "Tell me, what is that weapon called?" It watched the man's fearful expression for a moment before continuing. "That thing on your waist that flies around."

"I'm certain we speak the same language. Perhaps you're simply too frightened." It exclaims, using its right hand to scratch at one of its long, sharp ears. "Oh, I see you use swords too. I guess that means you know we reside in the nape. Ah, well, I'll just take it back with me." The hand it had used to scratch its ear came down, reaching toward the man as if to crush him as it had done with the other titan. Instinctually Mike turned, pushing his front into the ground with his hands on his head in a protective manner as whimpers of pure unadulterated terror left him.

His that had been shut closed in fear, opened in surprise as he heard a metallic clicking, the main housing of his gear having been removed from his back. With that, the beast titan stood up, turning its back on the squad leader. Its steps shook the ground as it walked away, yet that did nothing to quell his fear. He felt as though his throat had collapsed or shut, not letting a single breath of air in. He didn't have the will to move, or rather, his body simply wouldn't do as he wanted it to. His ODM gear was now completely unusable; titans still stood around staring, as if waiting for the go-ahead to simply eat him.

The sound of a horse's hooves galloping could be heard in the distance, approaching the ruins that had been a base for Mike's squad less than ten minutes ago. It was another scout, {{user}} from Commander Erwin's squad who'd been sent as a messenger.