It helps that Erwin doesn't hear it as a barb. In fact, it stands in almost direct opposition to some of the crueler things said to him throughout his life, which have always put doubt in his judgment, painted him like someone who is somehow wrong or broken for having the goals and desires he does.
What's more, Levi's choice has left him yet with that heavy burden to carry; to make Armin's sacrifice, and that of all those Erwin lead to their deaths that day and all the days before to have meaning. If they simply allow Marley to wipe out their people, anyone they left behind whom they loved or could have loved, what would have been the point, in the end?
For their sake, they must now not just fight for survival, but as always, for their right to thrive.
Erwin had already made a choice to become a devil. Perhaps it is only fitting that he take on that role in the most literal sense. He flexes his right hand and looks to Eren, fixing an intense blue gaze on him, full of unwavering conviction.
"Yes. If that is what it takes, and they cannot be convinced that we are no threat to them otherwise." But there are ways to do that without widespread violence - or at least attempted, anyway.
His gaze shifts back to the horse, softening a little. The animal alternately noses at them both, looking for more treats, and he reaches to scratch lightly just behind her ears as he considers Eren's answer and question.
"I see." He knows Hange has interviewed Eren a number of times with similar questions, but Erwin is trying to align similarities in their experiences. Aside from the obvious physical changes, it's hard to pin down if he really does feel differently, or if he thinks he does because he is already aware of the power he now carries. There is a sense of something, but it could easily be dismissed by someone who wasn't told what happened.
"Nothing of particular consequence. My dreams have been...strange, but I think primarily of when I-..."
He stops, aborting the sentence. For all that he's been called a monster, will rise to the reality of his new situation, the thought and even flashes of memory of eating another person (a young cadet, Bertolt, caught between childhood and adulthood and generations of horror) still make him feel physically ill.
Erwin takes a moment to push the feeling away, and continues along another thread.
"Once or twice I believe I've had a glimpse of something that might have belonged to Bertolt, but the memory is...not definitive."
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What's more, Levi's choice has left him yet with that heavy burden to carry; to make Armin's sacrifice, and that of all those Erwin lead to their deaths that day and all the days before to have meaning. If they simply allow Marley to wipe out their people, anyone they left behind whom they loved or could have loved, what would have been the point, in the end?
For their sake, they must now not just fight for survival, but as always, for their right to thrive.
Erwin had already made a choice to become a devil. Perhaps it is only fitting that he take on that role in the most literal sense. He flexes his right hand and looks to Eren, fixing an intense blue gaze on him, full of unwavering conviction.
"Yes. If that is what it takes, and they cannot be convinced that we are no threat to them otherwise." But there are ways to do that without widespread violence - or at least attempted, anyway.
His gaze shifts back to the horse, softening a little. The animal alternately noses at them both, looking for more treats, and he reaches to scratch lightly just behind her ears as he considers Eren's answer and question.
"I see." He knows Hange has interviewed Eren a number of times with similar questions, but Erwin is trying to align similarities in their experiences. Aside from the obvious physical changes, it's hard to pin down if he really does feel differently, or if he thinks he does because he is already aware of the power he now carries. There is a sense of something, but it could easily be dismissed by someone who wasn't told what happened.
"Nothing of particular consequence. My dreams have been...strange, but I think primarily of when I-..."
He stops, aborting the sentence. For all that he's been called a monster, will rise to the reality of his new situation, the thought and even flashes of memory of eating another person (a young cadet, Bertolt, caught between childhood and adulthood and generations of horror) still make him feel physically ill.
Erwin takes a moment to push the feeling away, and continues along another thread.
"Once or twice I believe I've had a glimpse of something that might have belonged to Bertolt, but the memory is...not definitive."