At this moment, Lucien stood atop the wall, his gaze fixed toward Wall Rose. There stood a man with short golden hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and glasses that glinted in the sunlight.
This was Zeke Yeager, the current holder of the Beast Titan—and Eren Yeager's half-brother.
"How strange," Zeke muttered.
Bare-chested, his muscular frame rippled with power, while his lower half was clad in standard military trousers, a belt, and tall boots. He adjusted his glasses with a single finger, brow furrowed, his expression laced with impatience.
According to the timeline, Reiner and Bertholdt should have contacted him by now. But after all this time, there had been no word.
"Could something have gone wrong?"
From the nape of the Cart Titan, a woman with long black hair emerged. The strands danced lightly in the wind, framing a face that carried both beauty and intelligence—Pieck Finger.
"It must have," she said calmly.
Zeke rubbed his temple, sighing with frustration. "Annie is missing, Reiner and Bertholdt are gone, and Marcel was eaten—taking the Jaw Titan with him. I've clearly underestimated these humans inside the walls."
Pieck's tone was steady, but her expression tightened. "Our priority now is to find Reiner and Bertholdt. The Jaw Titan is gone, and we can't risk losing the Armored, Colossal, or Female Titans as well."
Without another word, Pieck returned to the nape of her Titan, her voice now echoing from the Cart Titan's mouth.
"Hey! What are you looking for?"
A calm, unfamiliar voice came from their left.
Both Zeke and Pieck froze, their eyes darting toward the sound. Their pupils constricted sharply.
"When did he appear?"
Zeke took several quick steps back, every muscle tensing. His body was ready to transform in an instant.
The Cart Titan's cannons swiveled toward the source of the voice.
Lucien stood there.
He wore light yellow flip-flops, green beach shorts, and a simple white T-shirt—an outfit that looked more suited for a beach vacation than a battlefield.
The reason for his presence here was simple. For the past month, Lucien had occasionally stood on the wall, looking toward Wall Rose. According to the timeline, Eren and his comrades would soon attempt to seal the gate of Wall Maria below them, reclaiming it for humanity.
He'd been watching, waiting.
And not long ago, he had seen Zeke and Pieck brazenly climb the wall.
"Who are you?" Zeke demanded, his tone cautious and sharp.
Neither he nor Pieck felt at ease. The stranger's sudden appearance was unnatural, and their instincts screamed of danger.
Lucien took two unhurried steps forward.
"Stop," Zeke barked, slicing his arm slightly—ready to transform.
Lucien raised a brow, smiling lightly. "No need to be so nervous. You must be the Beast Titan, right? And you…" He glanced toward the Cart Titan. "You must be the Cart Titan. You looked like quite the beautiful woman earlier."
His tone was casual, almost teasing.
Zeke's expression darkened. "Pieck, kill him."
"Understood."
The moment the words left his mouth, the Cart Titan's weapons fired.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Three shots split the air—only to hit empty space.
In the blink of an eye, Lucien vanished, using Soru and Geppo in tandem. He reappeared in front of the Cart Titan, less than a meter away.
Zeke and Pieck's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"How—how did he move that fast?!"
Before they could react, twin blades flashed in Lucien's hands—kukris gleaming like lightning. With a swift, surgical strike, he tore through the Titan's nape, slicing away flesh in a single motion.
Pieck's upper body was suddenly exposed to the open air.
"Boom!"
Golden lightning tore across the sky as Zeke transformed into the Beast Titan, his massive, fur-covered form roaring like an enraged ape.
"Ah—!" Pieck gasped, pain twisting her face.
Lucien grabbed a fistful of her long hair, yanking her out of the Titan's nape. Her body was torn apart at the waist, intestines spilling through the air as she screamed in agony.
Suspended midair, supported by Geppo, Lucien held her effortlessly. He looked down at the roaring Beast Titan below, his expression calm—almost innocent.
"What a shame," he said softly. "Such a beautiful woman."
He leaned closer, tilting his head as if studying her.
"If things were different, I wouldn't have minded spending a pleasant evening with you."
Pieck's eyes widened in horror, her voice trembling. "You…"
Blood poured from her nose and mouth, her lower body already gone. Yet she didn't die. Steam poured from her wound as her Titan healing began. Given enough time, she could have regenerated completely.
But Lucien had no intention of letting her.
He snapped his fingers. A small cut appeared on his thumb as blood dripped freely.
Golden lightning connected heaven and earth, enveloping him. In an instant, flesh and armor grew across his body—Lucien transformed into the Armored Titan.
"Impossible," Zeke growled, raising his arms to shield himself from the shockwave. His golden eyes burned with disbelief and fury.
The Armored Titan wasn't Reiner. It was this unknown man.
"Save me!" Pieck cried, her voice breaking.
The Armored Titan glanced down at her with no hint of mercy and opened its mouth.
With a single motion, he tossed her inside.
"Roar!!!"
The Beast Titan howled and lunged forward. Its long arms hardened instantly, shooting toward Lucien like cannonballs.
Lucien didn't dodge. His right fist also hardened as he countered the attack head-on.
When the two blows met, the collision created a shockwave so powerful that the very wall beneath them cracked apart. Chunks of stone exploded outward, raining down like hail.
Lucien slid one step back, while the Beast Titan stumbled several paces, nearly falling from the wall entirely.
"How… how could this be?!"
Zeke stared in disbelief at his shattered right hand, steam rising from the wound.
He had been overpowered.
"Ahhh!" Pieck's scream echoed across the battlefield, filled with terror and despair.
Then—silence.
"Pieck!" Zeke roared, his voice filled with rage and grief.
His eyes burned with murderous intent, but a flicker of fear ran beneath it.
Then, unexpectedly, the Beast Titan turned and leaped from the wall. Using his long arms, he hardened them midair, slamming them into the stone to slow his descent as he fled.
"Running away already?" Lucien muttered.
He jumped from the wall as well, his hardened hands gripping the stone surface to steady his fall. Dust exploded as he landed, knees bent to absorb the impact.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he charged forward.
The Beast Titan was huge—seventeen meters tall—but Lucien's Armored Titan, at fifteen meters, was faster and more compact. The sight of the smaller Titan pursuing the larger one was almost absurd.
"Damn it," Zeke hissed, glancing back. The Armored Titan was gaining speed—faster than Reiner had ever been.
The Beast Titan hardened his hand again, grabbing a mound of rubble and dirt. Spinning, he hurled it like a barrage of cannonballs.
"Hardening."
Lucien's entire Titan body gleamed as his armor turned crystalline, reflecting brilliant light like a diamond under the sun.
"What?! Full-body Hardening?"
Zeke's heart pounded in terror. He hadn't even achieved such mastery, and yet this stranger had.
He had to escape.
Lucien's Titan charged, earth shattering beneath his feet. The sheer force of his movements sent tremors across the plain.
Each step echoed like thunder, every motion radiating overwhelming power and precision.
He smashed through the debris effortlessly and continued forward—unyielding, unstoppable.