Leader of the Soldiers
Levi- heishichō is a character from Hajime Isayama’s manga Shingeki no Kyojin that was later turned into an animated television show. The story focuses on fifteen year-old Eren Jaeger and his two friends living and fighting in a post-apocalyptic world to protect their society and seek answers to the mysteries surrounding the walls that protect their society. Levi becomes Eren’s commanding officer and mentor; the man is a vital key to the boy’s development.
It was a grim world where humans had been pushed to the brink of extinction by mindless hordes of repulsive, man-eating giants referred to as titans, and as a result, one and a half million survivors were forced to retreat behind the safety of three walls fifty meters in height. Captain Levi served as a beacon of hope and as second-in-command for the Scouting Legion, one of the three branches of the military, which meant his job was to leave the walls to research and fight the titans. He was humanity’s strongest soldier, but he didn’t appear to be due to his small stature—a mere five feet. He was said to be worth a brigade of soldiers, and after years of training, perfecting his technique with the three-dimensional maneuver gear, and fighting the titans, his actions confirmed it. However, none of those things are what made Levi admirable. What truly set him apart was, that in order to lead mankind to victory, he was willing to discard his humanity to defeat the enemy.
Outwardly Capt. Levi gave the impression that he was a callous, ruthless man who commanded his men with a remorseless disregard for human life. He had great respect for structure and authority; he never questioned orders. So he didn’t hesitate when ordered to charge into Trost to drive back the titans infesting the city even though it meant certain death for at least forty percent of his men. Instead he pressed on through the town that now lay in ruin. He piston-shot a grapple hook from his gear into the side of a slowly crumbling tower, it pierced the building with a splintering sound as the drab material cracked and split from the intrusion. Levi’s gear consisted of two hand grips that controlled two iron wire propellers powered by a high-pressure gas mechanism with two blade sheaths that hung on both hips and a full-body harness. He was propelled forward and maneuvered himself onto the roof of the teetering structure. It was a stark contrast; looking down on the city with his crisp, clean, white uniform and harness belts in order, expression apathetic, thin eyebrows only slightly drawn together as if in annoyed boredom—the captain was calm. Buildings were reduced to piles of rubble, the air was filled with the putrid stench of death, and bits and pieces of human corpses littered the streets like common trash—the city was chaos. The contrast is what made him fit to lead, so when he saw a soldier being snatched up by a giant with a disturbingly wide grin and his petrified team helplessly watching Levi’s readied his grips and dove into the turmoil.
While Levi did take extreme measures to follow orders almost mercilessly, he did value the lives of his men. He swung down, forest-green cloak with the emblem of the wings of freedom fluttering in the wind, only to find that he was too late. His subordinate was sprawled out on the grimy pavement, thick crimson liquid spewed from his half-severed abdomen with entrails exposed as he sucked in his last jagged breaths. Levi took the young blonde’s hand and ignored the red fluid soaking through the pristine white material of his uniform. His tiny steel eyes met the eyes of the young man that were the color of the ocean during a raging storm, the light in them quickly diminishing. The captain’s intense gaze never left the soldier as he promised him his sacrifice was not in vain because the resolve he leaves behind will give him the strength to defeat the giants. Levi watched the soldier’s life slip away wearing a small frown and slightly