Clang!
Levi's blade was stopped midair by Lillian, who held his weapon horizontally to block the strike. The collision rang out with a sharp metallic clang.
Levi froze for a split second—clearly not expecting Lillian to interfere.
"She's not the enemy!"
Lillian felt the terrifying force transmitted through the blades. He could clearly tell—Levi's strike had been meant to kill. And with his stamina already running dangerously low, there was no way he could hold Levi back for long.
More importantly, two Titans were already in the middle of transforming. There was no time left to explain anything.
From a purely tactical standpoint, Annie—Reiner and Bertholdt's companion—had to be restrained immediately to eliminate further threats.
"Captain!"
The four elite soldiers of Levi Squad attacked from two different directions at the same time, charging straight at Annie.
This time, Lillian couldn't stop them.
Their assault was swift and ruthless, giving Annie no time to hesitate.
Left with no other choice, her eyes hardened. Her finger struck the metal trigger hidden in her ring—
And in the very next second, she transformed!
BOOM—!!
Three Titans transformed simultaneously.
The psychological shock to the soldiers was unimaginable. A massive surge of steam blasted outward, sending many of them flying through the air, unable to keep their footing.
Lillian was thrown back as well.
But he had anticipated this outcome long ago—that was why he had already equipped his ODM gear. A war scythe worked well against mindless Titans, but against intelligent Titans, mobility was far more important.
Whoosh—!
Gas blasted from the canisters, stabilizing his body midair. Lillian looked up.
Reiner's Armored Titan had already seized Eren and was sliding down the Wall.
Bertholdt had also completed his transformation—but only halfway.
Only his upper body had manifested.
On the Wall, fully transforming into a sixty-meter Titan would be impractical for combat. Bertholdt had deliberately limited his transformation, a skill born of long experience—much like how Uri once manifested only a single Titan arm to seize Kenny, or how Eren once partially transformed to grab a spoon during early experiments. The difference was that Bertholdt had full control over it, while Eren still did not.
On the other side, Annie had finished transforming as well.
Because of Lillian's interference, this was the first time her Female Titan had appeared—and the first time everyone had seen it.
No—not everyone.
The moment Erwin saw the Female Titan, a realization struck him.
"So it was you…" he said grimly. "Back then… the one who led the Titans toward the Wall from afar."
Suddenly, Erwin roared:
"Levi! Immediately engage the Female Titan! Everyone else—focus all attacks on the Colossal Titan! We cannot let them take Eren away!"
"Yes, sir!!"
The soldiers surged toward the Colossal Titan.
Levi shot straight toward the Female Titan.
But Annie, after completing her transformation, stood perfectly still. Her arms were raised in a combat stance—yet she didn't seem to know who she was supposed to fight.
Whoosh—!
Lillian moved even faster than Levi.
He fired his grappling hook, anchoring it into Annie's shoulder. She noticed—but made no move to attack.
Thud!
Lillian landed on her shoulder.
Annie turned her head slightly. Her enormous deep-blue eyes reflected his small figure.
"If you can't fight," Lillian shouted, saying something she never expected to hear, "then leave!"
"Go!"
At the same time, he hurled himself directly into Levi's path.
Levi's expression darkened. For a split second, he almost treated Lillian as an enemy—but in the end, he chose to evade rather than strike.
That hesitation cost him the perfect opening.
"ROAR—!!"
The Female Titan let out a deafening cry—and then leapt forward.
She jumped straight off the Wall.
BOOM—!
She slammed into the ground below, turned her head to glance back once—
And then ran.
She ran without looking back.
"Damn it!"
Levi wanted to pursue, but Erwin shouted sharply:
"Levi! Don't chase her! Retrieve Eren first!"
As he spoke, Erwin glanced at Lillian.
So he knew all along… that Annie was a Titan too.
BOOM!!
Another explosion of lightning and thunder erupted—
Eren.
After confusion and anguish, his emotions finally ignited into pure rage. He transformed.
Reiner and Bertholdt both saw Annie fleeing the battlefield into the distance. They were completely stunned, unable to understand what had just happened.
Reiner had sensed something was off for a long time. He'd thought Annie was simply soft-hearted, hesitant.
After all, she often said it herself:
"What must be done, must be done—no matter what."
He had believed she understood her role.
Yet now…
She had made this choice.
"I'm sorry."
Standing at the edge of the Wall, Lillian whispered softly to the figure disappearing into the distance.
He had never expected Annie to fight in the first place.
Because that would have been far too cruel to her.
No matter what, Reiner and Bertholdt were her companions of many years.
Could she really turn her fists against them?
That would be unbearable.
But could she stand on their side and attack the Scout Regiment instead?
That was impossible too—because she had already come to accept Lillian's way of thinking, his beliefs.
Trapped between those contradictions, how was she supposed to choose?
The answer Lillian gave her was simple:
Leave.
Run away.
And at a moment like this…it was okay to run.
Slash—!
With fresh blades equipped, Lillian's gaze locked onto the Colossal Titan.
The Armored Titan was currently locked in combat with Eren—this was not a fight Lillian could interfere in. Even at full strength, he wouldn't be able to break through the Armored Titan's defenses, let alone in his current exhausted state.
In truth, humanity still had no real method to deal with the Armored Titan. Weapons like Thunder Spears hadn't been developed yet—only Eren himself could fight it.
But the Colossal Titan…
Whoosh—!
A massive arm swept sideways. Lillian was standing directly in its path and immediately leapt upward to evade it.
"Bertholdt… are you blaming me? That was Annie's own choice."
"Attack!"
The elite squad—including Levi—charged at the Colossal Titan together. Its reactions were slow; even Levi alone would be a threat, let alone so many elites attacking at once.
Under this pressure, Bertholdt had no choice but to abandon any thought of attacking Lillian—the "culprit" in his eyes—and focus entirely on defense.
He activated his special ability.
Hiss—!
The Colossal Titan opened its mouth wide.
An immense volume of superheated steam erupted from its entire body!
The scorching heatwave blasted everyone away who tried to approach, making it impossible to get close.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Soldiers crashed back onto the Wall in disarray. Many were burned, some collapsing immediately, unable to stand.
Now the Colossal Titan was shrouded in boiling steam, completely unreachable.
And on the other side, the Armored Titan was still fighting Eren—where no one could meaningfully intervene. Soldiers who tried to assist found their blades snapping uselessly against Reiner's armor.
"What now, Erwin?" Levi wiped steam from his face.
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward Lillian, who was escorting Ymir and Krista to the rear—they hadn't changed into ODM gear yet and were in extreme danger.
"If he hadn't interfered just now…"
"No," Erwin said quietly. "The Female Titan chose to leave the battlefield. Perhaps Lillian is right—perhaps she truly isn't our enemy."
His eyes remained fixed on the Colossal Titan.
"This steam can't last forever. All we can do is wait. But…"
His gaze shifted downward—to where Eren and Reiner were fighting.
There was no doubt about it.
Eren was being completely suppressed.
In the original timeline, Eren had been able to restrain Reiner with grappling techniques for several reasons:
He was mentally prepared. He had already fought Annie twice and gained experience. He had time to stabilize himself psychologically.
But now?
He had no preparation. No experience fighting intelligent Titans. No hardened combat mindset. And his Titan body was weaker than Reiner's armor.
He was being steadily overwhelmed—on the verge of defeat.
If Eren were taken…
Erwin closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they were filled with resolve.
He raised his blade and shouted:
"All units! Attack the Armored Titan! Cover Eren's retreat!!"
It was a desperate, near-suicidal order—but there was no choice.
Humanity could not lose Eren.
"AAAAAH!!"
The soldiers surged forward.
Mikasa reached Eren first and screamed at him:
"Eren! Stop fighting! Run!!"
Run…?
Eren heard her voice.
But how could he run?
The one responsible for that massacre— The one who killed so many people— Was standing right in front of him.
ROAR!!
He threw his head back and howled in rage.
Reiner crushed another charging soldier with a single punch, thinking coldly:
'It's useless. Eren. Soldiers. None of you can defeat me. None of you'
Then—
He saw Lillian.
Standing on Eren's shoulder.
"Eren," Lillian shouted, "don't rely on brute force! You trained with Annie, didn't you? Think about her grappling techniques—then—"
"MOVE!!"
Lillian's eyes widened.
Reiner's fist was already flying toward him.
'Lillian Kafka… I don't know what's wrong with your body,' Reiner thought, 'but you're in the way. And you made Annie betray us.'
'You can't be allowed to live.'
Lillian was exhausted. Reiner's charge was too fast. There was no way to dodge.
BOOM!!
At the last second, Eren raised his arm in front of Lillian to block the blow.
The impact shattered Eren's arm bones first—
Then sent Lillian flying.
He slammed into the edge of the Wall.
One of his arms was completely pulverized into flesh and bone fragments.
"LILLIAN!!"
Krista screamed, tears instantly streaming down her face.
Reiner wasn't done.
Another punch came flying in.
Eren couldn't intercept in time.
But—
In that instant—
A figure descended from the sky using ODM gear and landed firmly in front of Lillian.
She looked down at his dying body.
Clenched her teeth.
And sliced her palm open with a blade.
Blood sprayed out.
ZZZRRRR—!
Lightning erupted.
Everyone stared in shock at the light.
At Ymir.
"You bastard armored midget!" she roared, lunging forward and biting into Reiner's arm.
"Don't ever let Krista cry for you again!!"