What Lillian gained from killing that Titan wasn't just raw strength. His body had been upgraded in multiple ways: strength, endurance, stamina… and regenerative ability.
It's well known that a Titan's body, aside from the nape, can regenerate from most injuries. Lillian had inherited a portion of that.
He had once secretly cut his own skin with a blade. While it didn't heal instantly like a Titan, a half-centimeter-deep wound had fully closed overnight. This was already amazing.
This meant that, as long as he didn't suffer a fatal injury in an instant, his survival chances were very high.
So even now, after the wolf had bitten off a large chunk of flesh, the pain was real—but the damage was already quickly healing.
Perhaps for an ordinary person, such an injury would indeed make it difficult to continue as a soldier, as the doctor had said. But Lillian knew his arm would likely heal completely in just a few days, so he wasn't worried at all.
It was worth noting that the island's medical standards were extremely poor. This was one reason why, when Eren's father, Grisha, first arrived on the island, he quickly became a renowned medical expert—like a max-level character showing up in a beginner village, still unbeatable.
Of course, Grisha truly was talented. But on the continent, this injury wouldn't have been considered serious; after all, it hadn't reached the bone.
Krista was still quietly sobbing. She seemed to believe that if Lillian could never be a soldier again, she would never forgive herself—for her weakness, for her inability to act at that critical moment.
"Alright, Krista," Lillian said gently. "You should go rest."
"No!"
Krista limped forward, her twisted right ankle making walking difficult. She reached Lillian's bedside and looked at him stubbornly. "I'm not leaving until your injury is fully healed!"
"..."
Lillian wanted to insist she didn't need to, but her clear, lake-blue eyes were resolute. He sighed and swallowed his words.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Krista finally felt some relief at hearing this. She needed to hear those words—they gave her a little comfort. Even a rebuke like "It's all your fault I'm like this!" felt better than hearing "I'm fine, really fine", which couldn't lighten the crushing weight of guilt she carried.
She looked at Lillian, who lowered his gaze, his long curled lashes partly shading his dark eyes. She liked his eyes—they were rare. Among all the trainees, only he and Mikasa had eyes like that. Like black gemstones, staring into them felt like falling into endless darkness.
"Lillian, are you tired? Rest for a while. I'll be right here—anything you need, I'll get it for you."
"Hey… I'm not paralyzed, and my legs are fine." Lillian sighed, looking up at her. "And what could you, with your clumsy legs, possibly bring me? Just rest."
"I…"
Creak—the door opened. Ymir entered, eyeing the two. She frowned slightly. "Krista, your ankle is injured. What are you doing?"
"Ymir, I just… ah!"
Krista hadn't finished speaking before Ymir swooped in and scooped her up in a princess carry. She set Krista down on the bed beside Lillian and said sternly, "Don't move."
"But—"
"But what? The little guy only has an arm injury. He's not paralyzed."
"… …"
Both Krista and Lillian fell silent. Lillian thought to himself: it's fine if I say it, but why does it feel so annoying when she says it?
Ymir moved a chair to sit beside Krista's bed. "Go to sleep now."
"Ymir…"
Krista felt deeply moved, but Ymir only gave a small smile and said nothing more. Meanwhile, Lillian lay down and closed his eyes to sleep.
Krista glanced at him resting and then lay down herself. Even though her body felt exhausted, sleep wouldn't come. Her mind replayed the terrifying scenes from before, and she remembered the words Ymir and Lillian had said to her.
She turned to Ymir, who was quietly watching her, a look in her eyes she couldn't quite understand—almost as if she were looking at her past self.
"Ymir," she whispered, "what should I do…"
She seemed to be asking Ymir, yet also asking herself. Her identity was too special, and too many things were tied to it. As Ymir had said, she couldn't live openly, and she didn't even dare use her real name.
"That's something you have to figure out yourself," Ymir said seriously. "You need to come to terms with it on your own."
"… …"
"It's a long process," Ymir said gently, holding Krista's hand. "But it's okay. I'll be with you along the way."
"…Okay!"
Krista smiled, held Ymir's hand, and slowly fell asleep with a peaceful expression.
Ymir watched her sleeping face and let out a quiet sigh. Then she turned toward Lillian, a trace of curiosity in her eyes.
She remembered the moment Krista had been attacked by the wolf, and the way Lillian had looked at her.
Why did you look at me like that back then…
---
The next day.
Lillian woke early and went outside. In a private spot, he carefully unwrapped the bandage to check his arm. As expected, about one-fifth of the wound had already healed. At this rate, it would fully recover in about a week.
Clearly, this far exceeded normal human healing. He rebandaged it immediately—he didn't want anyone to know, especially the three Warrior trainees.
The human side didn't yet know that humans could transform into Titans, so they wouldn't realize that even if a person's body was severely injured, once they Titanized and then reverted, the body would be fully restored.
It was incredible—and completely unimaginable for ordinary humans.
But the Warrior trainees were different. If they found out Lillian could heal so rapidly, they might make a grave mistake—like targeting him as the Founding Titan during their infiltration of the island.
That would be disastrous. Right now, Lillian couldn't even handle ordinary Titans, let alone intelligent ones. He had survived outside the Wall only because the 8-meter Titan that ate him was not a particularly powerful or intelligent one.
So he had to hide his abilities carefully. And if he noticed the slightest sign of danger, he'd strike first.
Yes, intelligent Titans were formidable—but before transformation, weren't they just ordinary humans with mortal bodies?