No one could have imagined that among the 104th Cadet Corps, there would still be another Titan.
In less than ten minutes, five Titans had already appeared.
This was no longer confusion or disbelief—it was utterly inconceivable.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Everyone had already been sinking into despair. Eren was no match for the Armored Titan, and no one else could break through its defenses.
Yet Ymir's transformation brought a sliver of hope.
At the very least, it meant she was fighting on the side of humanity inside the Walls.
However, once people saw her Titan form, many fell back into despair.
It was simply too small.
Compared to the Colossal Titan, it didn't even need to be mentioned—but even next to the Armored Titan, Eren's Attack Titan, or the Female Titan from before, it looked tiny.
And it was ugly.
A mouth full of sharp fangs, far more beastlike than human.
A Titan like that couldn't possibly withstand even a single punch from the Armored Titan…
That thought had barely formed when Ymir's jaws clamped down on Reiner's arm.
Crack—!
A crisp, shattering sound rang out.
The armor on the Armored Titan's arm had been bitten clean through.
"She can actually break his defenses?!" Levi, clinging to the Wall as he observed, narrowed his eyes in surprise.
Even he was shocked by Ymir's transformation—but the fact that she stood on their side tipped the scales slightly back toward humanity.
'Damn it… Ymir!!'
Inside the Titan, Reiner's face twisted with rage.
He had suspected before that Ymir might know something about Marley—but he never could have imagined that she was the Titan that attacked them when the Warrior candidates first arrived on the island.
Back then, the holder of the Jaw Titan—Marcel—had been devoured by Ymir while trying to save Reiner.
Frozen in terror, Reiner made the wrong choice.
He ran.
Bertholdt and Annie followed him.
Only after they had escaped did they realize the truth: with their combined strength, they could have easily dealt with a newly transformed Jaw Titan and restrained her.
But regret came too late.
Ever since then, Reiner had been consumed by guilt—and subconsciously began imitating Marcel's personality, adopting the role of the "reliable big brother."
Now that he knew Ymir was that Titan, there was no way he would let her go.
He would capture her—no matter what.
"Roar!"
Just as Reiner prepared to slam into Ymir, Eren roared and charged from behind, wrapping both arms around Reiner's waist and yanking backward with all his strength.
The Armored Titan was slammed into the ground.
Slash—!
Ymir seized the opening and lunged.
Among the Nine Titans, the Jaw Titan was unquestionably the fastest and most agile.
And it had one defining trait—
Terrifying bite force.
That was why it was called the Jaw Titan.
That bite could even crush crystallization—let alone Reiner's hardened armor.
Crack!
She bit into Reiner's shoulder.
The armor shattered instantly.
'This is bad.'
Reiner immediately sensed the danger.
In a one-on-one fight, he was confident he could defeat Ymir.
But with Ymir and Eren working together—
One restraining his movement. One tearing apart his armor—
The situation became extremely dangerous.
And it was obvious that Eren had taken Lillian's advice to heart.
He was no longer attacking recklessly, but instead using grappling techniques to lock Reiner down completely.
"Ymir…"
Up on the Wall, Krista stared down at the small Titan in disbelief.
She knew Ymir had secrets—but never something like this.
But then—
Her gaze shifted.
To the motionless body lying against the Wall.
Lillian.
Ever since he had been smashed into it, he hadn't moved at all.
Alive or dead—no one knew.
And there was no way to reach him.
Three Titans were locked in combat nearby. No soldier could get close.
If this continued… if this continued…
Krista clenched her teeth.
She turned abruptly, ran to a soldier who had been burned by the steam and lay immobilized on the ground, and knelt down to rapidly unfasten her ODM gear.
"Krista! What are you doing?!" Sasha shouted in alarm.
Without looking up, Krista replied, hands moving nonstop:
"Isn't it obvious?! I'm going to save him!"
"But—"
"If no one else will go, then I will!"
Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.
No one said anything.
They had all seen that impact.
After taking a blow like that, survival was almost impossible.
More importantly, with three Titans battling below, the elevator platform couldn't be lowered.
And Lillian hadn't just lost an arm—his internal organs must have suffered catastrophic damage.
In that condition, even moving him slightly could kill him.
Dragging or carrying him up with ODM gear would cause fatal secondary injuries.
But Krista didn't care anymore.
All she wanted was to get down there.
"Looks like we might survive after all," Levi said quietly as he returned to the Wall.
Ever since Ymir transformed, Erwin hadn't taken his eyes off the battlefield. When he saw her biting through Reiner's armor, a spark of hope ignited in his eyes.
If that armor could be destroyed—
Then Reiner could be killed.
"Levi," Erwin said calmly, "it's up to you. Seize the moment. Kill him in one strike."
"…Yeah. Got it."
Levi nodded and dropped back down, clinging to the Wall once more, ready to move at any moment.
Reiner was now tightly restrained by Eren, barely able to move, while Ymir relentlessly destroyed his armor.
Though the armor regenerated automatically, its recovery speed couldn't keep up with Ymir's damage.
Levi was waiting for one thing—
A critical opening.
Only then would he strike.
For now…
He glanced toward the body lying not far away.
Lillian.
Levi wanted to save him.
The information Lillian had provided was valuable.
But from a rational standpoint—
There was no saving him anymore.
So he could only abandon that thought.
"Ymir…"
On the ground, Lillian's eyes shifted slightly, turning toward the battle.
He wasn't dead yet.
But he was close.
He could feel it—his body was already ruined inside.
If not for his abnormal constitution and Titan-level regeneration, he would have died the instant he hit the Wall.
Now…
It was only a matter of time.
At this moment, Lillian's consciousness was still clear, and he could accurately judge the situation unfolding before him.
In a one-on-one fight, neither Ymir nor Eren was a match for Reiner. But if the two of them worked together, Reiner had no chance of winning.
Which meant—
Bertholdt would definitely intervene using his "descending strike from above."
Struggling, Lillian turned his head.
On the Wall, the Titan that was still venting steam seemed to be looking straight back at him.
I miscalculated, Lillian thought bitterly.
If only he had warned Eren earlier and told him to drag Reiner somewhere else to fight… then neither Reiner nor Bertholdt would have had any chance of escaping.
"ROAR!!"
Reiner let out a furious howl.
His arms were locked tightly by Eren, and Ymir seized the opening—biting down hard on his head. In an instant, the armor on his face shattered.
An opening!
In that split second, Levi shot down from the Wall like a gust of wind.
Before Reiner could react at all, darkness swallowed his vision—his eyes had already been destroyed by Levi.
"Hey! Bite through the armor on this bastard's nape!" Levi shouted, standing atop Reiner's head after blinding him.
But Ymir hesitated.
To be honest, she had never truly wanted to fight Reiner and the others—especially after recalling what happened back then.
She had always felt guilty.
Even though Marley had turned her into a mindless Titan, she never redirected that hatred toward Reiner's group. Instead, she had long blamed herself for devouring Marcel.
That guilt was precisely why, in the original timeline, she chose to follow Reiner and Bertholdt back to Marley.
Now, because of Lillian's existence, she had no choice but to fight.
But still—only to fight.
She knew that if she destroyed the armor on Reiner's nape, then with Levi's speed and strength, Reiner would be killed instantly.
So in that brief moment—
She hesitated.
And in that very instant, Reiner let out another deafening roar.
On the Wall, Erwin heard it. His brow furrowed—and then his eyes snapped toward the Colossal Titan.
The steam had stopped.
The massive body was tilting.
Faster and faster.
Erwin took one look at the position below, his face changing drastically.
"Get out of the way!!" he shouted.
What?!
Below, Levi was still waiting for Ymir to act. Hearing the shout, he looked up—and his heart skipped.
He made the decision instantly.
Abandoning Reiner, Levi leapt away, landing behind Eren. His blades flashed as he sliced open the nape of the Attack Titan, yanked Eren out, and retreated at full speed.
At the same time, Ymir also saw the Colossal Titan falling from above.
Driven by instinctive fear, she immediately withdrew.
But she didn't forget about Lillian.
Turning her head, she froze in shock.
Lillian was crawling toward them.
What are you doing?!
Ymir's heart nearly stopped.
If you can still move, you should be crawling away! Don't you see what's above you?!
She was right.
Lillian saw it.
And it was because he saw it that he crawled forward.
'It's all your fault…'
As Bertholdt fell from the sky, his eyes locked onto the still-moving Lillian, rage burning so fiercely it seemed ready to burst from his pupils.
'Everything had turned out this way…'
'Annie…'
'How could it be anything but your fault, Lillian?!'