One day later.
The Survey Corps rested overnight in the Forest of Giant Trees and reached Wall Maria under cover of night the following day. As soon as they arrived, they saw the gray-white Titan sealing the gate. Everyone was startled, thinking it was some never-before-seen abnormal Titan.
Once they prepared for battle, they realized it wasn't a living Titan at all, but an incomparably hard, statue-like structure.
"The gate… it's already sealed. Who did this?!"
Hange looked up and noticed a wisp of smoke rising from the top of the wall. "There are people up there!"
Erwin exchanged a glance with the officers and immediately used his ODM gear to ascend the wall. When he arrived, he saw Lillian, Ymir, and Annie sitting around a small campfire, drinking hot tea.
"You're here," Lillian said, glancing at Erwin. They had already noticed the Survey Corps' arrival. Originally, Lillian hadn't wanted to make contact, but after some thought, he decided it would be better to talk things through with Erwin after all.
"Have you sealed the wall?" Erwin asked.
"Yes."
Not only had the wall been sealed—over the course of the day, most of the Titans inside the wall had been eliminated as well. Nearly all of those wandering the streets were dealt with. Any that might still be hiding inside buildings were left to the Survey Corps to handle. Lillian had no intention of wasting more time hunting Titans.
"That white Titan—was that a hardened state?!" Hange asked urgently. The Survey Corps had long known that Titans existed inside the walls, and therefore were also aware of hardening. What they had never figured out was how to control this ability. Eren had tried countless times, but had been unable to activate it.
"Yes," Lillian replied.
"As expected!" Hange was visibly excited. "Using hardening to seal the gates really is the fastest and most efficient method! But Lillian—" She glanced at Annie, then at Ymir. "Is this ability something only certain people can use? No… there must be some special method, right?"
If only specific individuals could use it, how could all the Titans inside the walls have hardened themselves? Clearly, this wasn't an ability limited to a select few.
"Was it Annie who did it?" Eren suddenly asked from behind.
Annie remained silent.
To be honest, she didn't really want to face the other members of the 104th Training Corps. After all, she bore responsibility for the fall of Wall Maria, and it was because of her that Titans had been drawn in, leading to massive casualties.
Even though Annie now believed that what she had done was wrong, it was already beyond redemption. Facing Eren in particular made things even harder—during their days in training, he had always spoken obsessively about revenge.
As a result, the looks directed at Annie were anything but friendly. Lillian was well aware of this, which was why he had deliberately avoided excessive contact between the two sides. Not wanting to waste time, he spoke directly to Erwin.
"Commander Erwin, let's talk."
"All right."
Lillian walked aside with Erwin, bringing Hange and Levi along as well.
"What do you want to say?" Levi asked.
"About the military," Lillian replied.
"..."
No one had expected him to bring that up. Hange looked at him seriously. "Lillian, you do realize that what you did back then went way too far, right?"
"Perhaps," Lillian said calmly.
"Then why bring this up now?" Levi's tone was cold. "Don't think the Survey Corps will automatically side with you."
Levi's attitude was understandable. That day had been far too bloody. Even someone like him—who had grown up in the Underground and was used to fighting and killing—had found it hard to stomach. His subordinates fared even worse.
Including the elite squad and Eren's group, many soldiers needed several days just to recover after returning to the Corps. Describing the scene as rivers of blood was no exaggeration. Nearly eighty percent of the surviving soldiers ended up leaving the military, and some developed severe psychological trauma—just hearing Lillian's name was enough to make them tremble.
It had to be said that Lillian's goal of intimidation had been achieved—perhaps too well. As a result, even though the Survey Corps hadn't openly severed ties with him, they had clearly grown distant.
"What I want to explain," Lillian said, "is exactly why I did what I did."
He paused briefly, then continued. "I'm about to leave for a while."
"Leave?" Erwin spoke up. "Outside the island?"
Lillian nodded. "I won't be able to return for some time. But you're well aware of the situation inside the walls. There are many people watching me closely. Otherwise, do you really think over a thousand soldiers would have surrounded our headquarters just because I arrested a few corrupt officials?"
"..."
The three of them weren't fools. They knew perfectly well that certain factions within the military couldn't tolerate someone like Lillian—young, lacking seniority and background—holding so much power. That incident had simply been a pretext to strike, an attempt to seize the Titan powers and royal bloodline he controlled.
"I had to make them feel real pain so they'd remember," Lillian said. "But my departure won't stay secret for long. So, to prevent anyone from making reckless moves while I'm gone, I need the Survey Corps' help."
"What kind of help?" Erwin asked.
"Protect my people in the Stohess District," Lillian said. "This is my request—and also my demand."
"..."
Erwin thought for a moment, then, to Hange and Levi's surprise, nodded. "All right. I can move the Survey Corps' headquarters into the Stohess District."
"Erwin?!"
Both of them stared at him in shock. That was a clear and public declaration of allegiance.
"Why?" Levi asked, puzzled. Erwin glanced at him. "Levi, I assume Lillian has more to say—something closer to a threat. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used the word 'demand.'"
"A threat?"
"As expected of Commander Erwin," Lillian said. "Yes, there is a threat." His gaze sharpened, his voice turning chillingly cold. "If I return and find that anything has happened to my people, I will destroy the entire world inside the walls."
"..."
Hange stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm not joking," Lillian said calmly, though his words were terrifying. "If something happens to them, I will assume it's the fault of the people inside the walls. In that case, they'll all be buried alongside them."
Levi and Hange both turned pale. Only Erwin remained composed, clearly having anticipated this.
No one doubted that Lillian was capable of carrying it out. If he truly wanted to, he could destroy the world within the walls. Such naked threat—and his utter indifference toward the fate of humanity inside the walls—left the two of them deeply shaken.
Lillian ignored their reactions and looked only at Erwin. He understood that Erwin alone could truly grasp his thinking. In that sense, the two of them were alike: each had a single core priority, and for that core, everything else could be sacrificed.
Erwin understood perfectly what Lillian's core was. As for the world within the walls and humanity itself—those lay outside that core, and were expendable.
"I understand," Erwin said. "But in exchange, I need more information. For example, the conditions required to use hardening."
"No problem."
If Erwin had agreed without asking for anything in return, Lillian would have been suspicious. An exchange of interests, however, put him at ease.
Asking the Survey Corps for protection was a necessity. Even though Annie and the others would be more than capable of handling the military in his absence, Lillian still worried about unforeseen accidents. For the sake of caution, bringing the Survey Corps on board added another layer of insurance.
For them, the destruction of the world inside the walls was simply an unacceptable reality. Most members of the Survey Corps were still, at heart, "good people," and threats like this, to be honest, only worked on good people. As for those who were already mad or vicious, people who cared only about themselves and were indifferent to whether others lived or died—even indifferent to their own lives—who lived by the creed of "just get through today," threats meant nothing to them.
So even if it was somewhat despicable, Lillian had no choice but to resort to this method.