Too Little, Too Late

""The whole world now knows of the threat of the Eldian Empire, just as Willy Tybur had planned. This world can no longer allow any of you to live.""

- Theo Magath about the fate of the invaders from Paradis.

Too Little, Too Late (後の祭り) is the 4th and final chapter of the 25th volume and the 102nd chapter overall of the Attack on Titan manga, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama.

Overview
Commander Theo Magath orders the entire Marleyan military to gather in order to fight the invaders from Paradis, but as he ponders that everything is going according to Willy Tybur's plan to make the Eldians earn the hatred of the entire world, the roof he was hiding in is exploded by the Survey Corps. Jean and Floch argue about the latter exploding buildings full of civilians, while Mikasa asks Eren if he realizes that he has killed civilians too; but suddenly they see the War Hammer Titan standing up again, and Eren comes up with a plan to defeat and eat it.

In grief for Udo's and Zofia's deaths, Gabi goes to join the fight despite Colt's pleas, but on her way she runs into Sasha and Connie attacking a convoy of reinforcements. While Mikasa distracts the War Hammer Titan, Eren transforms back into the Attack Titan and discovers a crystalized Ms. Tybur controlling the Titan's body from under the ground via a cord, and cuts off the connection. However, as he is about to eat her, the Jaw Titan bites his nape and tries to eat him in turn. He is saved by Levi, and Galliard is soon surrounded by more Survey Corps members. The Corps are however attacked by the Cart Titan's Panzer Unit, and they are soon joined by Gabi and the Beast Titan. The two enemy groups face each other decided to survive.

Summary


Hiding inside a building, Commander Theo Magath makes a call to order the entire Marleyan army division and the off-shore fleet to gather at the battlefield and seal off the internment zone, emphasizing that none of the "island devils" of Paradis should be allowed to escape; and especially the holder of the Founding Titan, Eren Yeager.

After this, he reflects that the fates of the invaders are sealed, since they have earned the wrath of every major nation that lost government officials during the massacre, and that the whole world now knows of the threat of the Eldian Empire; all in accordance to Willy Tybur's plan. However, he realizes that the enemies are probably already aware of this, and as he tries to figure out what they are planning, a bomb enters through the window and explodes near him.

As the room is blown up by the Survey Corps, the Marleyan soldiers located on the roofs try to shoot them, but the Corps retaliate by impaling them with spears fired from their anti-personnel vertical maneuvering equipments. After throwing a soldier off the roof, Jean Kirstein notices that another building has been exploded by Floch, and reminds him that they need to keep civilian losses to a minimum; but Floch replies that all people in the internment zone are enemies, as they have killed many more of the people of the Walls. He states that Eren is an example of what they need to do.



Atop of the headless body of the Attack Titan, Mikasa questions Eren if he has an idea of what he has done, as he has killed civilians, including children, and there is no way to undo that. However, Eren does not answer the question and instead points out that the War Hammer Titan is still alive. Mikasa is shocked to see the Titan standing up, as she is sure that she destroyed its nape completely, and the War Hammer Titan then fires a pike of its hardened substance towards them. Mikasa quickly grabs Eren and flees away of the Attack Titan's body, barely evading the pike. Eren comes up with a plan to defeat and eat the War Hammer Titan, and asks Mikasa to distract the enemy enough for him to enact it.

Outside a hospital, Colt begs a doctor to take a look at the badly injured body of Udo, but the doctor refuses, stating that their beds are full and Udo is already dead. Disheartened, Colt puts Udo's corpse on the ground and asks Gabi to stay with her family and get as far away from the plaza as possible while he goes to look for Falco, ensuring her that the Warrior Unit will defeat the invading Titans. However, Gabi refuses, and announces that she will go to fight too, because she cannot understand why Udo and Zofia were killed. She then runs towards the battle zone, as Colt vainly tries to stop her.



Finding a convoy of reinforcements, Gabi requests to be allowed in one of the cars, but one of the officials orders her to go home. At that moment, the area is attacked by the Survey Corps, who strike the soldiers with bombs and spears. As the official tells Gabi to run, he is also killed by a spear and Gabi spots his attacker, Sasha Blouse, atop a nearby roof.

Sasha is then joined by Connie Springer, who declares that they have finished blocking that street, but Sasha reminds him that he has forgotten to light his lamp. Connie then places a lamp in the corner of a roof and the two go to join their comrades. Watching them flee, Gabi grabs the rifle left by one of the fallen soldiers.

Connie, Sasha and other Survey Corps members join Jean and Floch, announcing that they have taken care of the enemy reinforcements, as Jean says that they have done the same with the enemies of that area. Sasha adds that the lights are in place too, and Jean concludes that the plan is moving forward for now, as long as they can disable the War Hammer Titan in time; but whatever happens after that is unknown and they will only figure it out if they survive the battle.

As Mikasa fights the War Hammer Titan, Eren remembers that this Titan's body materialized from its feet up rather than its nape, and deduces that its human body is located underground, in the point where it originally appeared. Transforming back into the Attack Titan, he sees a hole in the street from where a long cord comes out, attached to the War Hammer Titan's left heel. Eren puts his hand through the hole and grabs the crystallized body of Ms. Tybur connected to the other end of the cord, who has been controlling the Titan from there. Eren severs the connection and the now inanimate body of the War Hammer Titan falls to the ground.



Alarmed, an injured Magath watches these events from behind a column, but just as Eren is about to eat Ms. Tybur, Galliard appears behind him in his Jaw Titan form and bites Eren's neck, trying to eat him and regain the founder. However, before he can bite through, his jaw is slashed by Levi Ackerman, preventing him from moving it. Eren smashes Galliard against the building and tries to take him off his back, but Galliard manages to flee, realizing that he is facing an Ackerman.

Galliard has not run too far when he is knocked down off the wall by Mikasa with her Thunder Spears, and is quickly surrounded by more Survey Corps soldiers; amidst Galliard's shock to see to the Corps fighting him despite him being a Titan. The Corps are then in turn struck by shots fired by the Panzer Unit on top Pieck's Cart Titan; and as Eren is distracted by the commotion, he fails to realize that Ms. Tybur has been generating a new cord towards the ground, from which the War Hammer Titan materializes again, impaling the Attack Titan in a tree-like structure made of its hardened substance.

Before the Corps can react to this, they see Zeke Yeager approaching in his Beast Titan form, as Gabi runs towards Eren holding the rifle and declaring that she will kill him. Zeke joins Galliard and Pieck and orders them not to let anyone escape and wipe them all out, as the Corps face their enemies, decided to survive.

Trivia

 * "後の祭り" (ato no matsuri) literally means "after the festival", but it is also an expression for "too late"; similar to the English expression "late to the party".

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