The world was so ridiculous.
The one who feared snipers the most had left behind a sniper rifle;
The one least at peace with her family was the one who longed most to go home.
Zeke had believed these contradictions might persuade Annie to bend, but the girl only froze for a heartbeat before breaking down, struggling with tears:
"Forget it! I'm sorry, everyone. I shouldn't have left the gun with the captain. I thought—I thought he would use it only to protect his family! I never imagined he would turn it against us. This whole failure is my fault! If Reiner and Bertholdt die, I won't live on my own!"
"You really don't want to go home?" Zeke asked coldly.
Or was she trying to threaten him with her own life? Naïve. To think she could blackmail him in such a way was laughable.
"Fine," Zeke said at last. "I asked, you answered. Since this is your choice, I won't be polite."
He let Annie drop from his grasp.
She blinked, stunned.
She hadn't expected her warrior commander to accept her resolve so easily.
And in that instant, she thought of her father's desperate words back in Marley:
"No matter what happens, even if the whole world hates you, even if the whole world stands against you, Daddy will always be on your side. Please, come back alive!"
But she knew she could never return home. Her body shook, tears streaming freely as she closed her eyes to accept defeat.
"Wait!"
The cry tore through the silence. Bertholdt's voice, hoarse but desperate.
"Captain—you said you would spare Annie's life, right? Annie! You have a chance, don't throw it away! Wake up! You don't want to die, do you? You still want to go home, right? Just say a few words to him, anything! If you plead, if you show him, he'll let you live. Please, survive!"
He was sobbing now, voice breaking.
"Even if you must hide your name, change your face, live here as an ordinary islander—it doesn't matter! Paradis Island isn't hell, it's… it's actually beautiful. If you live, maybe one day you can even bring your father here. Please, live!"
"Captain!" Bertholdt turned then, addressing Zeke with shaking conviction. "I was the one who kicked in the gate. Annie only left you that rifle. Reiner didn't do anything! If anyone deserves execution, it's me. The destruction of Shiganshina was mine alone. Please, spare them!"
"Bertholdt!" Reiner's roar cut across his words. His body trembled, his voice cracked, but his fury was absolute. "What nonsense are you spouting? What's wrong with us? These people are demons! Demons don't deserve life in this world! We don't deserve it! Your only mistake—your only failure—was not kicking down the inner gate as planned! I bled, I fought, I bought you time, and you wasted it!"
"You really are hopeless." Zeke leveled the gun at him.
The barrel pressed to Reiner's forehead. For an instant, all breath in the ruined district seemed to halt.
The boy who had once shouted,
"Marley is justice!"—did he regret it now? Was he afraid? Would he still claim to sacrifice his life proudly for Marley?
Zeke's face was stone. "Let's start with you, Reiner. I once wanted to save you. When we landed here, I told you: never do something you'll regret. But you did. You made choice after choice, until you ended up like this."
His voice softened, almost regretful. "I've bullied you all my life, in my last life and this one, but at least I cared enough to notice. That's more than Marley ever did."
Reiner's eyes hardened. "I don't regret it. Even if I die now, I'll die as a warrior of Marley. Marley will remember my loyalty!"
Zeke's lips curved in a mocking half-smile. "If you truly had no regrets, you wouldn't have developed a 'soldier' personality."
"What is a soldier's personality? What are you babbling about?!" Reiner's voice cracked with rage. "I am me! Reiner Braun! Marley's most loyal warrior!"
Zeke's gaze was piercing. "You're split in two. The 'warrior' Marley raised—brutal, unquestioning, brainwashed. And the 'soldier' born here on Paradis—hesitant, guilty, desperate to belong. That soldier existed before you ever joined their training corps. Maybe it began the moment you caught Marcel's knife."
Reiner's fury spilled over, incoherent. "Nonsense! I am not some island soldier! I am Marley's warrior! I would die for Marley!"
Annie's pale face twisted. "What? You expect us to follow the orders of a lunatic now?"
Bertholdt murmured, stunned, "No wonder… no wonder he's been different since Marcel died."
But Reiner's roar drowned them out: "Shut up! I haven't changed! I'm a warrior!"
"Then give your life for Marley," Zeke said flatly.
The gun's safety clicked off.
Reiner's face was drained of blood. His bravado faltered, fear betraying him. His legs trembled.
But Zeke only smirked and lowered the weapon.
"No. If you die here, your Titan will pass on randomly—to someone inside or outside these walls. That won't serve me."
He dropped the gun, drew Marcel's knife, and sliced his palm open. Steam burst forth as the body before them warped and stretched. In seconds, a seventeen-meter Beast Titan loomed above, fur bristling, amber eyes glowing.
The three young warriors froze in horror. They finally understood his intent.
Not beheading.
Not bullets.
Devouring.
He would consume them one by one, claiming their Titans for himself, ensuring no power was wasted.
The Beast Titan bent down, claws curling around the tiny form of Reiner. Zeke's voice rumbled from its maw:
"Remember this, Reiner Braun. You die defeated. The Armored Titan's power will remain here, trapped on this island forever. Marley won't call you a hero. They'll brand you a sinner. Your mother, your family—they'll be punished, injected with spinal fluid, cast into this same hell. The next demons wandering these streets will be your kin."
Reiner's body went cold.
"And nine years from now…" Zeke chuckled, cruel and amused, "…your little cousin will be grown. Sweet little Gabi. A perfect shot. She'll land on this island and aim her rifle at your mother, your aunt, your uncle—all Titans now, all begging for flesh. Hahaha… how poetic!"
Reiner's jaw fell open. "How… how do you know my cousin's name is Gabi?"
For a fleeting instant, even the Beast Titan hesitated.
…
Zeke was a talkative man. Too talkative. If he hadn't run his mouth in his past life, maybe his grandmother wouldn't have been taken away by Eren.