Days leading up to the official release of Shingeki no Kyojin chapter 81, several pages of the chapter have already found its way online. And honestly, from the moment I laid my eyeballs on the copy I never had a single doubt that it's going to be up there among the most epic release from manga creator Hajime Isayama.
Attack on Titan chapter 81, which is reportedly titled 'Promise,' will narrate the ensuing moments after commander Erwin Smith decided to initiate a 'suicide mission' that would allow humanity's strongest soldier, Levi Ackerman, to have a close quarter battle with the Beast Titan.
Was he successful? Well, his gutsy maneuver did pave way to arguably the most badass scene so far in Shingeki no Kyojin, but he nevertheless had to pay a hefty price. Here are the top spoilers for Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) chapter 81.
Marlowe Sand meets his end: In his first full-fledged mission since ditching away the comfortable life of a Military Police for the perils of Survey Corps, Marlowe meets his demise at the hands of Beast Titan. He is one of many casualties in the battle of Shiganshina, particularly when Erwin leads the charge towards the Beast Titan.
Erwin Smith also dead?: For now, putting a question mark at the end of this statement is necessary for the reason Isayama never illustrated a scene that depicts the commander's death or even mentioned one in Chapter 81. However, the possibility of him being alive looks bleak, considering the carnage the Beast Titan laid upon him and his comrades.
The truth is the only chance I can see Smith surviving that brutal attack is he had already acquired Titan power of regeneration by injecting the serum (the one left by Kenny Ackerman to Levi). Other than that, Smith looks dead to me.
Levi Ackerman overwhelms Beast Titan: All of the sacrifices his friend Erwin and Survey Corps comrades made was somehow compensated with the way Levi Ackerman beat down Beast Titan. Without that gallant sacrificial rush by the Survey Corps, Levi would have never come close to the Warriors' top man.
At the price of almost the entire battalion, Levi finally got the opportunity to draw near the Beast Titan and the rest is history. The succeeding scene may wind up as the most thrilling battle scene in Attack on Titan as Levi simply dominated the battle that the Beast Titan never had a chance to react. It's a one-sided showdown with Levi inflicting serious injury on Zeke. The SC captain had all the intention to kill his foe at that very moment. However, he remembered the instruction of Erwin about injecting the titan serum to someone so that he can eat Zeke and acquire his Titan power in the process. That mere split second of hesitation shown by Levi allowed the quadrupedal titan to snatch Zeke, who then the remainder of his titans to attack the SC soldier.
Levi dropped his last pair of blades and once again reiterated his promise to Erwin.
Armin FINALLY has a battle plan: The brain of the Survey of Corps finally shakes off his mental block. After noticing that Colossal Titan shrinks significantly, Armin flies to the top of the wall where Eren is lying unconsciously. There, he's planning to wake up the Titan shifter so he can share his make or break plan to his childhood friend.