The Beast Titan crouched down its enormous body, stretched out its long fingers, and scratched its head. Seeing the Fate Titan collapse to the ground, the steam from its wound recovery also grew thin.
"At the limit already? That's really strange. Hasn't the Attack Titan already appeared? Then what are you?" The Beast Titan was extremely puzzled by the identity of the suddenly appearing Fate Titan.
There should only be nine intelligent Titans. This Titan that popped out of nowhere clearly possessed intelligence as well, but aside from the Founding Titan, all other Titan powers should already have hosts, right? Could it be the Jaw? But the Jaw's power absolutely shouldn't be like this.
"Hardening ability… no, this shouldn't be the Armored Titan's power. Could it be…?" A thought suddenly popped into the Beast Titan's mind.
The massive body moved, coming beside the Fate Titan. Looking down at it, the Beast Titan said coldly,
"You… you didn't steal the Female Titan's power, did you?" Yet the only response was silence.
"Although the Female Titan's power has always been inherited by female warriors, it doesn't seem like there's ever been a rule saying men can't inherit the Female Titan's power. Hmph, Annie, to think the Female Titan's power would be taken by some nobody—what a surprise. In that case, I'll just take the Female Titan's power back." After muttering to himself for quite a while, the Beast Titan stretched out its giant hand straight toward the Fate Titan's nape.
Rip— the muscles at the nape were easily torn apart by the Beast Titan's sharp claws, revealing the back of someone wearing a Survey Corps uniform.
Seeing the blue-and-white Wings of Freedom emblem, the Beast Titan couldn't help scratching its head again.
"Eh? Wearing the same clothes as that soldier who flies around?" The Beast Titan froze.
While the Beast Titan was momentarily distracted, that figure suddenly moved, struggling free from the surrounding flesh and blood.
Breaking free of the restraints of flesh, Yago's face still had muscle fibers connected to it.
He tore off the flesh on his face with one hand, raised his head, and looked up at the Beast Titan, his expression calm and composed.
"Hello there, Captain Zeke."
The Beast Titan stared at the black-haired youth below, pitch-black eyes, a handsome face with a faint smile—especially upon hearing the youth speak so calmly.
"What?!" The Beast Titan was utterly shocked, but the youth had already raised his arm.
"It really wasn't easy to lure you over. What a pity—just now, you should've thrown a couple more boulders. Maybe then it would've hurt a bit more."
Blood flowed down his arm. Sharp nails pierced into his palm as threads of yellow lightning surged over Yago's body.
"Damn it! What kind of monster is this?!" The Beast Titan immediately realized this was a trap. In close combat, the Beast Titan wasn't strong. But it was too late to dodge. Gritting its teeth, the Beast Titan roared and clenched its fist, smashing it toward Yago, who was in the midst of transforming.
Damn it! To think I'd be fooled so easily! The Beast Titan was filled with regret; all the caution it usually had seemed to have vanished just now.
Bang! Amid the surging yellow lightning, a gigantic, skinless arm blocked the Beast Titan's massive fist. Immediately after, before the Beast Titan's stunned eyes, enormous flesh and bones intertwined out of thin air, forming a colossal body.
Crimson eyes reappeared. A mouth full of sharp teeth let out a terrifying roar, followed by the Fate Titan's full-powered punch.
Crack—because of the difference in height and posture, the Fate Titan's all-out punch pierced straight through the Beast Titan's chest.
The Beast Titan's massive body immediately lost balance and began to fall.
"Hiss!!" As it fell, the Beast Titan suddenly took a deep breath—but really, trying this again? Did it think Yago was an idiot?
With one swift motion, both hands were shoved into the Beast Titan's mouth, cutting its sound off abruptly.
"Roar!" The Fate Titan threw its head back and roared. With both hands exerting force, it tore along the Beast Titan's upper and lower jaws. Half of the Beast Titan's head spun through the air as it was flung away.
"Come out here!!" Yago shouted inside the Titan's nape. Outside, the Fate Titan suddenly exerted force as well, pressing down on the Beast Titan's nape and tearing with all its strength.
"Roar!" "Aah!!" The Beast Titan's nape, unable to harden in time, was ripped open. A half-naked man howled as he emerged from the Beast Titan's nape.
Golden hair and beard, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose—he looked like a learned teacher. Yet the solid muscles of his upper body showed that he was no frail academic. He was the one who, relying on the Beast Titan's overwhelming power, made all Marley's enemies tremble: the Marley Captain, Zeke Yeager.
But now, this Captain Zeke was in a sorry state. Half his body was exposed outside the Titan's body, gasping for breath, utterly exhausted. The burden of transforming twice was no small thing. Even Yago himself only had such endurance after being strengthened by the Female Titan's power.
"Warrior Captain Zeke, what an honor." Unable to speak aloud, Yago thought silently within the Fate Titan's nape.
At the horizon, only the last sliver of sunlight remained. The sun's rays reflected off Zeke's glasses, the glare preventing Yago from seeing Zeke's expression clearly.
"So… I underestimated the Eldians on the island. But this isn't over yet."
Hearing Zeke's words, Yago frowned slightly, instantly becoming wary. Without hesitation, the Fate Titan stretched out its hand, preparing to pull Zeke out of the Beast Titan. Capturing Zeke alive would be extremely valuable—both for the Eldians on the island and for Yago, who lacked understanding of the current state of the world.
A powerful impact sent the Fate Titan flying backward. Inside the nape, Yago wanted to curse aloud:
"Damn it! This again?!" Thinking he had already stopped the Beast Titan from using its roar to summon Titans, Yago had naturally relaxed his guard against the forest.
The Fate Titan's body crashed backward, smashing into several giant trees. Struggling to stand up, what appeared before Yago's eyes was a strange Titan—its head long, moving on all fours in a bizarre posture, with a huge wooden box strapped to its back.
"Captain? Are you all right?"
This Titan could actually speak?!
"The Cart Titan." Yago recognized its appearance immediately. Having seen Annie's memories, Yago naturally recognized this Titan as one of Marley's intelligent Titans—the Cart Titan.
What struck Yago as odd, though, was that in Annie's memories, beneath the nape of this ugly-looking Titan seemed to be a very beautiful black-haired woman.
"Pieck, retreat first." Zeke struggled onto the Cart Titan's head. The Cart Titan turned and took a deep look at the Fate Titan. "Yes, Captain!"
The Cart Titan was incredibly fast. After chasing for several hundred meters, Yago gave up—the Cart Titan had already run several kilometers away.
Rip— the Fate Titan lowered its head. The nape split open, and Yago emerged from within, his brows slightly furrowed.
The sound of gas propulsion rang out beside his ears as Annie flew over to Yago's side.
"I didn't expect the Cart Titan to show up here as well. Marley really did use all its strength for the Founding Titan," Yago said.
Annie, however, wore a trace of worry on her face. Yago smiled and said,
"Although we let them escape, it's not like we gained nothing. Zeke seems to think I stole your Female Titan power, Annie."
Annie said, "But if that's the case, Yago, you'll become their target too."
Yago waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
"But right now, Eren's situation seems even more dangerous."