"Damn it."
Everyone's scalps tingled as they watched the massive corpse of the Colossal Titan plummet like a meteor. Despair painted every face as the night sky tore open, the flames of destruction illuminating everything beneath it.
A deafening roar shook the heavens. The ground buckled, collapsing beneath the force. The Titan's enormous body split apart midair, and chunks of burning flesh rained down like meteors.
A violent wave of scalding steam swept across the ruins. The land was shredded layer by layer, the earth cracking open as pillars of fire burst outward in all directions.
But before the survivors could even catch their breath, the sky split again.
Golden lightning connected heaven and earth — and a third Colossal Titan fell from the clouds.
The ground convulsed, rising and breaking apart as mountains and craters formed in mere seconds. The entire landscape had changed beyond recognition.
Lucien hovered ten meters above the ground, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. His face was pale, his entire body trembling from exhaustion. Even without moving, transforming into a Colossal Titan three times in succession had pushed him to a limit.
"Are they all dead?" he muttered, gripping his twin blade tightly. His gaze swept the burning wasteland below, wary and alert.
Then, a sharp whoosh split the air.
From beneath a mound of rubble, a streak of violet light burst forth. With a deafening roar that shook the heavens, six colossal dragons of energy spiraled upward, coiling around Zhou Wei before hurtling straight toward Lucien.
"Dragon Fighting in the Wild!"
"Damn it!"
Lucien's instincts screamed danger. He crossed his arms just in time — but the impact was like a cannon blast. His chest caved inward as blood sprayed from his mouth. He was sent flying through the air, organs twisting from the sheer force.
Zhou Wei's figure flashed through the flames, his body wrapped in violet energy. The roar of dragons echoed as he activated his Nine Yang Skill, his aura surging like a storming sea.
"Flying Dragon!"
Lucien twisted midair, kicking off invisible footholds using Geppo, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike. The blast obliterated a nearby hill, reducing it to dust.
Without hesitation, Lucien continued using Geppo, vanishing from sight in a flurry of rapid bursts, retreating to gain distance.
"You still want to run?" Zhou Wei's voice roared through the flames. "Leaping in the Abyss!"
Killing intent radiated from him as the golden dragons around his body slammed down like divine judgment.
Lucien had no time to dodge. He met the attack head-on, his right foot kicking forward with explosive force. The collision shattered the air, but Zhou Wei's power was overwhelming.
Lucien's right leg burst open, blood spraying as bone and muscle tore apart.
Steam hissed violently around him.
Losing his footing, Lucien plummeted. With only one functioning leg, he couldn't sustain Geppo.
But he wasn't done yet.
"Crack…"
Golden lightning descended once more, splitting the clouds with divine wrath.
With a roar that shook the earth, Lucien transformed into the Female Titan.
The shockwave of the transformation blew Zhou Wei away, hurling him into a sea of fire. His skin turned an unnatural shade of purple, his breathing shallow and ragged.
Using two Blood Burst Pills in such a short time had destroyed his body from within. Combined with the aftereffects of the Colossal Titan impacts, it was a miracle he was still alive.
"Zhou Wei… you're ruthless," Lucien said hoarsely.
Without hesitation, Lucien retreated.
He had chosen the Female Titan for one reason — speed. The Female Titan possessed unmatched mobility among the Nine Titans. The ground quaked beneath each stride as she dashed through the forest, moving faster than a warhorse at full gallop.
"Damn it! After her!" Hange shouted.
In the ruins, Connie and the others struggled to stand. Blood trickled from their foreheads, and even Eren, protected by his Hardening, was barely conscious.
"How are we supposed to chase that?" Connie cried, despair in his voice.
Their horses were dead. Their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was broken. The terrain was impossible to navigate — and their injuries made movement painful.
Eren's Hardening had shielded them from the brunt of three Colossal Titan detonations, but it had nearly drained his life force. Without his protection, none of them would have survived.
"The noise must've drawn the other regiments' attention," Armin said weakly, coughing blood. "They'll come soon… the best thing we can do now is stay put."
He didn't dare look behind him. The corpses of countless Survey Corps members littered the ruins — their comrades, gone in an instant.
"Bang…"
Zhou Wei collapsed to the ground, blood spreading beneath him. His body was motionless, nerves burned out, unable to move even a finger.
He was done. His exchange points were gone, every one of them spent on the Blood Burst Pills.
"Zhou Wei!"
Armin staggered over, his body trembling as he knelt beside him. Seeing Zhou Wei's skin cracking like broken glass, he clenched his fists in frustration.
They had all survived only because of him.
"Clip-clop… clip-clop…"
The distant rhythm of hooves echoed through the smoke. Moments later, a large formation of Military Police and Garrison soldiers arrived.
Their expressions twisted in horror as they beheld the scorched land, the smoldering skeletons of the three Colossal Titans still steaming under the morning light. The heat was so intense that it singed their faces.
"Erwin… was it that man?" Commander Pixis asked grimly, his eyes darting toward the devastated horizon.
"This time," Erwin muttered, sitting on a rock, his uniform torn and soaked with blood, "I felt… powerless."
He covered his forehead, his voice trembling. "We couldn't even fight back."
Their enemy wasn't just strong — he could fly and wielded the power of at least six Titans. How could they possibly win against that?
Pixis uncorked a bottle of wine and took a long sip. "Even you've lost your fighting spirit, Erwin…"
His voice faded into the wind.
Meanwhile, deep within a forest far from the battlefield, Lucien stood quietly atop a branch, half of his Titan form already dissolving into steam. He hadn't truly left.
He closed his eyes, regulating his breathing as he recovered.
Zhou Wei's last attack had been fierce, but Lucien knew it couldn't have come without a cost. He was betting on Zhou Wei being too injured to move.
Once he regained his strength, he would strike again.
It wasn't honorable — but Lucien Graves didn't care about honor. Only victory.
He rested with his back against a tree, eyes half-open, waiting.
He could have used a senzu bean to recover instantly, but that would have been a waste. Those beans were priceless — a single one could save his life later.
He'd rather suffer through exhaustion than waste it now.
Steam rose from his body as his injuries slowly knit together.
An hour passed. Then two. Then three.
When dawn began to creep through the trees, Lucien finally opened his eyes, stretching his arms with a faint grin.
"Back to full strength," he murmured. "About time."
He leapt down from the branch, disappearing into the forest. Moments later, a small fire burned beneath the trees as he roasted a wild deer.
"Can't fight on an empty stomach," he said quietly, tearing off a piece of meat.
Half an hour later, he finished eating, tossed the bone aside, and lit a cigarette. Thin trails of smoke curled through the morning air.
"Time to move."
The wind grew cooler as dawn brightened the sky.
When Lucien returned to the battlefield, the Survey Corps' stronghold was empty. Tracks stretched far into the distance — signs of carriages and horses leaving in a hurry.
"So they've already moved…" he muttered, squinting.
"I'll need a ride."
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single usable horse or piece of equipment left.
Lucien sighed, following the tracks on foot for a while. After twenty minutes of running, he reached the edge of another forest.
Suddenly, a loud squeal echoed.
Moments later, a massive wild boar burst from the trees, eyes wide with panic — and standing atop it, balancing effortlessly in sandals and a torn T-shirt, was Lucien Graves himself.
His green shorts fluttered in the wind as he rode the beast like a mount, cigarette still between his lips.
"Not bad," he said with a grin.
The wild boar screeched as Lucien steered it forward, galloping down the forest path — a strange, absurd, yet undeniably majestic sight.
The forest seemed to part for him as he moved, fallen trees and scattered debris sliding aside like water. Birds took to the sky in a frenzy, and the faint smell of smoke lingered in the air, mingling with the scent of wet earth and scorched vegetation.
Lucien allowed himself a brief moment of satisfaction as he felt the raw power coursing through him. The morning light reflected off the glinting tips of his twin blades, reminding him of the battles yet to come. The battlefield behind him was a graveyard, but ahead lay opportunity — and Lucien Graves was never one to let it slip away.