"Ha!"
With a sharp shout, Eren lunged forward.
His movements were fast, precise, and conventional—skills forged by years of disciplined training.
Lillian, while diligent, still lagged slightly behind Eren in raw technique.
Lillian and Eren were like students at school: similar talent, but different routines. Lillian would go home after class, eat, rest, and sleep. Eren, on the other hand, would eat and then spend a few hours studying.
Over time, this created a significant gap despite their comparable natural abilities.
At this moment, Eren's movements were clean and precise, without a trace of hesitation, while Lillian's defense still showed flaws.
"Too slow, Lillian!"
Eren charged, grabbed Lillian's arm, twisted, and attempted a shoulder throw. But as he exerted force, he realized that Lillian's body had turned into a small mountain—his legs rooted deep into the ground. He couldn't budge him!
"What the—?!"
"Exactly," Lillian said, grabbing Eren's belt and using a controlled push to fling him two to three meters away. Eren stumbled back, almost falling. Lillian sighed, looking at Eren's stunned expression. "Guess your nickname fits you after all."
"…"
Eren looked both frustrated and surprised. "Lillian, I see you just eat bread and drink soup every day… how are you so strong?"
"Yeah, for such a lean body…" Reiner nodded in agreement. "It's really strange."
You actor, and you dare talk about me? Lillian thought.
Lillian glanced at Reiner. He chuckled briefly, then suddenly noticed something. "Look over there."
Following his gaze, they spotted Annie, idly avoiding work.
"Annie again, playing her usual sneaky games so the instructors won't notice," Eren remarked, clearly accustomed to Annie's tactics.
"That won't do. We can't let that attitude slide," Reiner said mischievously. "Let's go teach her what a real soldier looks like."
"… …"
Lillian watched Reiner's expression, thinking: This top actor among Titans hasn't started his mental breakdown yet, right?
Indeed, Reiner was so deep in character that he even fooled himself. That's the mark of a great actor—completely immersed in the role.
---
Soon, the three approached Annie.
Reiner loomed over her, teasing with a mock scolding expression. "You don't want to get hit by the instructor's headbutt, right? If you don't want to shrink even more, remember why you came here and train seriously!"
"… …"
Annie's expression visibly shifted from cold indifference to pure intensity, startling even fearless Eren.
"Hey, hey Reiner, why'd you say that—"
"Your turn!" Reiner goaded, then shamelessly pushed Eren forward.
Surprised but not resisting, Eren still warned Annie, concerned for her safety. She, however, raised her hands and shifted her stance like a Muay Thai fighter.
"I'm going in!"
Eren mimicked an attacker with his wooden sword, rushing at her—but Annie's kick struck his calf instantly, sending him sprawling.
So fast…
Lillian watched silently from behind, impressed by her speed and precision. A bad premonition made him quietly step aside.
"Can I go now?" he muttered.
Annie's voice called out, but Reiner grabbed Lillian. "Not yet! There's still one 'attacker' left!"
"… Reiner, you're better at playing the attacker than I am."
"No, no, no." Reiner pushed Lillian in front of Annie. "A fight between two little shorties! Should be fun! Remember, victory only counts if you take the other's wooden sword!"
"… …"
Before Lillian could retort with a word like dumb giant, Annie attacked first.
She aimed a kick at his calf, just like before, but Lillian wasn't the same as Eren. With his guard up, he stepped aside effortlessly.
Whoosh!
Next, Annie lunged, trying to grab his collar and throw him using hip strength. But Lillian added his own force, instantly making his body feel impossibly heavy—just like he had done to Eren earlier.
The sudden shift in weight prevented Annie's throw. Her eyes flashed with realization.
"Slack off, and this is the result," Lillian said, gripping her shoulders.
Annie's knees shot upward toward his chest—but Lillian had anticipated it. He pushed down with overwhelming force, pinning her to the ground, then straddled her, pressing her hands down so she couldn't move.
Their eyes met. Annie's icy blue gaze blazed with anger, clearly reaching the peak of frustration.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Reiner, seeing her eyes, seemed frightened and rushed over to pull them apart, signaling Annie with a glance. Eren quickly shouted, "What are you two doing?! Follow the proper moves!"
"… …"
After Reiner separated them, Annie, reflecting on her defeat, shot Lillian a glance but said nothing, turning and walking away.
Reiner let out a sigh of relief, looking at Lillian with surprise. "I didn't expect… Lillian, you actually managed to subdue her…"
"Yes."
Lillian nodded, but inwardly cursed himself for being reckless.
He should have let Annie slam him to the ground just now instead of resisting.
To be honest, with his current physical strength, no human could withstand his full-power punch. Even humanity's strongest, Levi, couldn't. So in one-on-one hand-to-hand combat he held a huge advantage.
But if Annie, in a fit of anger, had released her Titan strength just now—
Lillian would have been waiting to die.
Really—next time he mustn't act so impulsively...