Lock did not rush into the fray immediately. Instead, he halted a short distance away, his sharp eyes fixed on the clash between Kenny Ackerman and the Female Titan.
He was not armed with blades designed specifically for slaying Titans. The bayonet-like blades affixed to the muzzles of Kenny's dual guns lacked the length and strength to sever Titan flesh cleanly, even if the wielder targeted their weak point. Bullets, though fast, could not pierce deeply enough into the nape to ensure a kill. Against the Female Titan, whose hardening ability could crystallize her body at will, Kenny's weapons were even less effective.
But Kenny was still Kenny—deadly and precise. Even without towering trees around them to aid maneuverability, he darted through the battlefield with unnerving agility. His dual guns roared, bullets flying in relentless volleys. Under his assault, the Female Titan's right eye had been blasted out, leaving Annie momentarily blinded and unable to heal it immediately.
The wound stalled her escape.
Still, Kenny was beginning to show signs of strain. His movements, while still sharp, carried a subtle hesitation. His gas supply was running low, his ammunition nearly exhausted. Even the most flawless technique couldn't overcome dwindling resources.
And worse—his orders weren't to kill Annie. He was tasked with bringing her back alive.
Kenny was never one to obey orders to the letter, but he wasn't foolish either. Killing Annie without cause would put him in direct opposition to the higher powers he served. Unless he had no choice, he would not deliver a corpse.
Lock observed all of this from the shadows, his arms folded. He saw the ebb and flow of the fight, the small details—the way Kenny had started conserving gas, the slight change in tempo that betrayed caution rather than aggression. Lock knew the tide of battle would soon shift.
Annie Leonhart could not be allowed to escape. If she did, everything the Survey Corps had risked in Stohess would collapse into failure. Their sacrifices would be meaningless.
The wall breach had already drained resources. The hole had been patched crudely for the time being, but more stone would be needed to reinforce it. Transporting and securing that stone would cost manpower, money, and time—luxuries the kingdom could barely afford.
The royal government, already struggling under the weight of a reduced territory and an unchanged population, was barely holding together. Its coffers ran dry faster with every demand placed upon it. And yet, the nobles continued their indulgent lives, blind to the tightening noose around humanity's neck.
To wake them from their arrogance, they had to feel fear. They had to taste the helplessness that came from staring down Titans. Only then would they understand the stakes.
For that reason alone, Annie's capture was vital. She was proof of the enemy within—proof humanity needed.
"Good. The damage caused so far is still within acceptable limits," Lock thought, eyes narrowing.
Then the battle shifted. Kenny's evasions grew sharper, but less aggressive. His gas sputtered faintly. His shots grew fewer. He was changing tactics—less pressure, more defense. He was running out of steam.
"It's time."
With that thought, Lock spurred his horse forward, cutting across the broken terrain toward the battlefield.
The thunder of hooves reached Annie first. Her healing eye widened, and though blurred by partial recovery, she recognized the silhouette rushing toward them. Lock.
Her chest tightened.
Another fighter. Another enemy.
Even without his blades, Lock was formidable. If he joined Kenny, there would be no chance of escape. Her mind raced. With what little stamina she had left, facing both of them meant only one thing—capture.
Annie's eyes flickered with grim resolve.
Kenny noticed the approaching rider as well. When his gaze confirmed it was Lock, his lips curled in satisfaction. Whatever tension lingered between them earlier was irrelevant now. At this moment, they shared the same enemy. Their eyes met briefly, and in that fleeting exchange, an unspoken understanding formed.
No words were needed.
Lock burst forward, his 3D maneuver gear firing with a sharp hiss. He closed in from behind while Kenny pressed Annie from the front, firing relentlessly. The bullets forced her to guard, crystal hardening flashing across her arms as she blocked and countered, unable to focus elsewhere.
"Pshhhhhh!"
Gas hissed as Lock launched his hooks into the ground, propelling himself upward. In the moonlight, his twin blades gleamed, catching Annie's eye. She spun on instinct, her foot planting firmly into the earth, her body twisting with a sudden whip-like motion. Her massive leg swept toward Lock with frightening speed, the air cracking from the force.
"WHOOSH—!"
But Lock had never intended to face her strike head-on. He redirected midair, his line snapping taut and pulling him downward past her guard.
The cold steel in his hands gleamed once more—
"SHHKKK!"
With one clean slash, he severed the tendons in her right ankle. Annie's leg buckled, her Titan form collapsing to one knee with a thunderous impact.
"Bang! Bang!!"
Kenny didn't hesitate. He fired straight into her recovering eyes, blinding her once again. Darkness consumed Annie's vision, her Titan body faltering.
Her chest heaved, exhaustion consuming her. Her mind blurred with fragments of thought.
If you won't let me go… why did you help me before?
The memory struck her—Lock slipping her a hidden blade in the cell, a fleeting gesture of mercy. Had she misunderstood? Was it only pity?
None of it mattered now. She had lost. Her body was heavy, every nerve screaming.
"We should have escaped earlier…" Her thoughts spiraled. We underestimated them—the people of this island…
A tear slipped down her Titan cheek.
"I'm sorry, Father. I've let you down."
Outside her collapsing Titan shell, the battlefield was eerily quiet.
Kenny landed heavily on the ground, his guns still raised. For a moment, he simply stared, disbelief flickering in his eyes. He had faced Titans before and lost—brought to his knees by Uri Reiss and spared only by mercy. To stand here now, to see a Titan brought low by his hands, was surreal.
But he ignored the fact that Lock's blade had been the deciding strike. His pride swelled nonetheless.
Lock landed beside him, calm and cold as ever. His words cut through Kenny's silence:
"Don't celebrate yet."
Kenny scowled but nodded. "Fine. Let's drag her out."
But even as he spoke, steam rose violently from the Female Titan's body. Her flesh began to disintegrate, vaporizing into the night air.
Lock's brows furrowed as Annie's face surfaced briefly in his mind—stubborn, cold, unyielding. He sighed and sheathed his blades.
"In the end, it still comes to this."
"What the hell are you doing?!" Kenny snapped. "Get her out before she—"
"It's meaningless now," Lock interrupted evenly. His tone never wavered, calm even as Annie's Titan shell dissolved into smoke.
Kenny gritted his teeth, frustration flaring in his eyes. But deep down, even he knew the truth. Annie Leonhart was gone.
And the battlefield was theirs—for now.
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