"By the way… how many days has it been now?"
Survey Corps Base, Ehrmich District
Among the 104th Cadet Corps, aside from Eren and Mikasa, everyone else in the Survey Corps was gathered here. In addition to them, there were also two elite squads—one led by Mike, and the other by Levi.
Because of Lillian's interference, the Female Titan never appeared to fight the Survey Corps. As a result, none of Levi's elite squad members had died; everyone was still alive and well. In fact, the Survey Corps was currently at its peak in terms of talent—an unprecedented golden age.
"Five days, I think," Connie replied to Sasha, staring blankly out the window.
"So… what exactly are we doing here?"
"No idea. But this place is pretty close to my hometown," Sasha said.
"Same here. My village is just south of here," Connie muttered.
"Why won't they let us go back… Maybe we should just sneak out tonight."
"Connie, if you're serious, I can help you," Reiner said from behind them—his tone not joking in the slightest.
"Huh? Why?"
"Don't you find it strange?" Reiner continued as he stood and walked toward the window, glancing at the veterans below.
"They made us stay on standby in civilian clothes. No equipment. Said we were here to train—but all we do is sit around all day. Meanwhile, the officers are fully armed. This isn't the front line, so why?"
Though Reiner spoke calmly, a sense of unease had already taken root in his mind.
Ever since Annie failed to appear during the last expedition beyond the Walls, everything had felt like it was sliding in a bad direction. When he'd spoken with her afterward, he'd sensed something was off—though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
That feeling never went away. Now, it was almost reaching a breaking point.
And most of all… Eren and Mikasa weren't here.
Where had they gone?
What were they doing?
What exactly was the commander's objective?
---
In a corner of the room, Armin sat alone on a bench, deep in thought.
Because Lillian had disrupted the original course of events, Armin never got the chance to fully demonstrate his brilliance. He hadn't deduced the identities of the Titans, nor had he inferred—through Annie's crystallization—that the Walls could be sealed using a similar ability.
Still, even so, his everyday intelligence was evident to everyone. He was widely recognized as smart—just not as dazzling as he had been in the original timeline. And so, like the others, he'd been sent here for this so-called "training."
This, too, had been Erwin's decision.
Erwin didn't suspect Armin. The trio of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin had grown up together, which didn't match the timeline of the enemy's appearance five years ago. Armin had no motive or opportunity. Bringing him here was simply a precaution—Erwin hoped his sharp mind might notice something others missed.
If we're not allowed to carry equipment, but the veterans are fully armed…
Armin's heart skipped.
Could it be… that we're the targets?
That they're guarding against someone… among us?
His eyes slowly swept across the room.
The sweet Krista and sharp-tongued Ymir.
Connie and Sasha, staring vacantly out the window.
Bertholdt and Reiner playing a board game.
Marco chatting with Jean…
Could one of them be an enemy—someone who needs to be isolated from Eren?
If that were true—
"Ah!"
A sudden scream rang out, startling everyone. All eyes snapped toward the source—it was Sasha. Her eyes were wide, her face pale with shock.
"Sasha, what's wrong with you—"
"I heard it!" she shouted.
"Footsteps—like an earthquake! It's… Titans!"
---
Bang!
Inside the training room, Lillian forced Annie back with a spinning kick before landing firmly on the floor.
"..."
Fine beads of sweat covered Annie's pale face, dripping from her chin onto the ground. Lillian froze for a moment before realizing what was happening.
"Sorry, Annie," he said belatedly.
"I didn't realize you were already at your limit… It's only been a little over an hour."
"…You monster."
Annie relaxed her stance and wiped the sweat that had run into her eyes, stinging slightly.
After more than an hour of nonstop high-intensity combat, most people would've collapsed long ago. Even Annie—trained since childhood—was completely spent.
Yet Lillian wasn't even breathing hard.
Unable to help herself, she said it out loud.
"Wouldn't 'genius' sound nicer than 'monster'?" Lillian said with a grin, clearly unbothered.
He was in a great mood.
Ever since returning from the capital, he'd been waiting for President Zachary's response while constantly pushing his body to new limits. Whenever he had free time, he dragged Annie along for live combat training.
Under this level of intensity, his growth was explosive. His physical conditioning had improved dramatically, especially his speed and jumping ability—both had increased by a huge margin. He'd reached a level he was very satisfied with.
As for hand-to-hand combat, he'd basically learned everything Annie knew—though only at a beginner's level. Mastery was still far off; that would take years.
But Lillian didn't need mastery.
His physical stats more than compensated for the gap. Just reaching the basics already caused a massive boost in overall combat effectiveness.
It was like an FPS player who'd just learned how to shoot. He didn't understand recoil control or precision firing—but his body was basically a massive auto-aim system. Even a total rookie could wipe the map under those conditions.
Of course, against true masters, he'd still lose.
But there weren't many of those.
At this point, purely in terms of individual combat power, Lillian could already walk sideways through this world.
Not that it was anything to brag about—after all, the only real fighters here were Ackermans and Titans. There weren't many weaklings to bully.
"I've taught you everything I can," Annie said after resting for a bit.
"What's left is daily, relentless practice—using accumulation to create a qualitative change."
"Yeah. Thanks for the hard work."
Seeing her drenched in sweat, Lillian felt a little guilty. He grabbed a bottle of water from the wooden cabinet nearby and handed it to her.
Annie looked at him coldly and didn't take it at all.
Lillian found that a little strange.
"Do you really think I'd still drink something you give me?"
"..."
Lillian immediately knew he was done for.
That old score was never going to be settled.
Annie shot him a frosty glance, turned away, and walked to the side to grab a bottle of water she'd brought herself. She took a few sips, making her distrust perfectly clear.
Sigh…
Lillian let out a helpless breath. Just then, there was a knock at the training room door. A Military Police officer outside called out loudly:
"Deputy commander! The weapon you requested has been completed and delivered."
"It's here?" Lillian's eyes lit up instantly. He turned to Annie with a grin.
"Come on—let's go take a look at my new weapon!"
"…"
---
At the entrance to the Military Police headquarters, a flatbed cart was parked, carrying a massive wooden crate nearly two meters long. Several MPs had gathered around it out of curiosity. Lillian hadn't bothered to keep it a secret, so they all knew the crate contained a custom weapon forged by military craftsmen at his request.
"Open it up, open it up."
Lillian was visibly excited. He walked over to the crate. Presumably to prevent damage during transport, thick nails had been driven into all four corners of the wooden panels. Just as an MP approached with a pair of iron pliers, Lillian casually grabbed one corner of the crate with a single hand—
Crack!
With a sharp snap, he tore the board loose, nails and all.
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
But in the very next second, all attention was stolen by the weapon inside.
"Whoa…"
Someone couldn't help but gasp.
Inside lay a massive polearm scythe.
A long, jet-black metal shaft connected to a scythe blade over half a meter long. The main cutting edge was forged from black-gold steel, gleaming with a cold, razor-sharp light. The back edge, however, was far more terrifying—a special double-layered cross-shaped serrated blade that looked vicious enough to shred anything it touched.
Just looking at it made people swallow nervously.
If this thing hit you head-on, flesh and bone would be cleaved clean in two.
And if the serrated back edge caught you… that wouldn't even be death—it'd be agony. One pull and a huge strip of flesh would tear away. Pain enough to drive someone insane.
Lillian noticed a special joint built into the middle of the handle. He examined it briefly, then gripped the weapon with both hands and twisted.
Click—clack!
The long handle split cleanly in two.
Everyone jumped, thinking he'd just broken his brand-new weapon. But on closer inspection, they realized the two halves had folded together, overlapping neatly—transforming the scythe into a short-handled version with a thick, solid grip.
Same thickness, different length.
Long-handled for wide, open terrain.
Short-handled for tight, confined spaces.
An incredibly clever design.
"I didn't expect the craftsmen to actually pull this off," Lillian muttered in satisfaction.
"They really know their stuff."
He'd specifically included this concept in the design drawings, though he hadn't held out much hope. Yet somehow, they'd made it work.
"Everyone, stand back a little."
As he spoke, Lillian twisted the handle again, restoring it to its nearly two-meter-long form. Standing upright, the massive war scythe towered over him by more than a head, radiating pure menace.
What was even more terrifying was what happened next.
Lillian swung it casually with one hand.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The violent wind pressure alone made the MPs' hair stand on end. They stared at him as if they were looking at some kind of monster.
Robert from Marlo's squad watched with burning curiosity and couldn't help blurting out:
"Deputy commander, let me try it! I want to give it a go!"
"Sure," Lillian said easily, extending the scythe toward him.
"Come take it."
"R-Right!"
Robert hurried over—and the instant he took hold of it, an overwhelming force slammed downward.
His face changed instantly.
Clang!
Lillian reacted in time, grabbing the scythe before it hit the ground. Robert, however, lost control completely and tumbled head over heels.
Seeing his dust-covered, miserable state, everyone burst out laughing.
"Hey, Robert, are you an idiot?"
"Do you think you've got the same strength as the deputy commander?"
"What a dumbass."
"I just wanted to try it!" Robert protested as he scrambled to his feet, glaring at them.
"Who told him to make it look so light?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The laughter grew even louder.
Even Annie's lips curved slightly—clearly infected by the cheerful mood.
But at that moment, a Garrison soldier came running from the distance.
"It's bad!" he shouted as he stumbled forward.
"Wall Rose… has been breached!"
In an instant, every smile froze—then vanished completely.
Lillian's expression sharpened. He reached out and tightly gripped the war scythe.