"Wh-what?! Are you kidding?!"
"You're insane, Lillian!"
"If anything happens to us, the Corps won't forgive you!"
"Let us go!"
"God will punish you!"
The group shouted curses and protests, but surrounded by soldiers, no one dared make a move. Words were loud, bodies were cautious.
"Raise your guns."
At Lillian's command, the circle of soldiers lifted their weapons, aiming at the dozen or so prisoners.
"You have one minute to decide. If you don't fight, fine—then we execute all of you."
"Lillian! You…"
The prisoners panicked. One captain wept, begging desperately:
"Please… spare us! I have children and elders at home…"
"Oh? Well, that's convenient. At least someone will have a gravestone."
"Lillian! Spare me! I'll obey everything you say! Anything! Please—spare us!"
Lillian's patience thinned. His cold gaze swept over them.
"Why should I spare a bunch of trash like you? Forty seconds left."
He stepped aside, motionless. Kenny stood beside him, grinning, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
The twenty-plus soldiers remained impassive. The prisoners glanced at each other, realizing the instant resistance would be suicidal.
One captain picked up a long sword from the ground.
"Hey… Misai, what are you doing?!"
"Didn't you hear him clearly? Out of all of us, only one can live… and I want to live."
"You bastard—ugh!!"
The young man holding the long blade made his move. With a clean, decisive swing, he cut down the person beside him. That single strike was like opening Pandora's box—almost instantly, the others scrambled to grab whatever weapons lay on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, a brutal internal slaughter erupted across the small plaza.
---
"So what do we do now?"
That night, upon receiving the news, the commanders of the various military branches gathered together. Major figures—including Pixis and Zachary—arrived at the Scout Regiment headquarters to confront Erwin.
"It's only been a few days! Just a few days, and Lillian has already done something like this?!"
"He's gone way too far!" Pixis was the most furious, his face dark with anger. "Without any justification or paperwork, he abducted one of my deputy commanders. This is a complete insult to me!"
"The Military Police lost two officers as well," said Nile, commander of the MPs, his arms crossed. "Erwin, are you really just going to stand by and do nothing?"
"…"
Erwin naturally understood why they had come—to use the Scouts' influence to suppress Lillian. However, there was a more pressing matter at hand.
"Everyone," Erwin said, "the operation to retake Wall Maria begins next week. Lillian has already agreed to assist. That alone suggests there must be some internal reason behind this. The people he captured must be connected in some way."
"Connected how? Military Police, Garrison, the Wall Church, nobles—all connected?"
Some voiced doubt, while others fell silent.
People weren't completely ignorant of these intertwined interest groups. Such matters couldn't be fully concealed internally. Even so, that didn't mean they could accept Lillian's brutal methods.
"No matter what, arresting military officers without cause is absolutely unacceptable," Pixis said, turning toward Zachary. "President Zachary, you've always supported him. Are you still going to stand on Lillian's side now?"
"I've never stood on anyone's side," Zachary replied calmly, adjusting his glasses. "Our top priority right now is locating the missing people. Only after that can we take further action."
"Hmph. That sly brat probably hid them somewhere no one can find. By the time we do, they'll likely already be corpses."
"…"
Pixis swept his gaze across the room. "I believe we need to take decisive action."
"What kind?"
"Take control of the Stohess District. That will force him to yield."
"This…"
The room fell quiet. Everyone knew Stohess was Lillian's territory—and taking it would be anything but easy. Leaving aside the danger posed by the Titans there, just the newly expanded Military Police force alone numbered close to two hundred.
Everyone had been shocked before, wondering where Lillian had gotten so many men. They had all objected—after all, recruiting MPs on that scale blatantly violated regulations. But Lillian ignored them entirely. After staging a coup, who would still care about such rules?
In the end, they had no choice but to endure it. Now, however, attacking Stohess would inevitably provoke fierce resistance.
"I think it's feasible," someone said in support of Pixis. "If we don't respond firmly, Lillian will only go further. Think about it—if abducting deputy commanders has no consequences, what's next? Capturing commanders? We can't allow this to continue."
"I agree."
"We'll need the Scouts' cooperation."
"Right… there are Titans inside that district."
As the discussion continued, Pixis turned to Erwin. "Erwin, what do you think?"
"…"
After a moment of silence, Erwin spoke. "I believe this could trigger massive unrest. If the Titans under Lillian's control transform and fight within Stohess, it would result in enormous civilian casualties and property damage."
"So you're saying we do nothing?"
"No. Soldiers can enter Stohess—but we should avoid bloodshed as much as possible."
Zachary nodded. "Exactly. There's no point in slaughtering each other."
"Very well," Pixis said. "But if they resist to the end, then bloodshed will be unavoidable."
With that, Pixis left with his men. Zachary departed as well.
The group split up to prepare individually. As Zachary walked away, he sighed and summoned his trusted aide.
"You heard everything just now, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Then go to Stohess District."
The aide looked startled. "You mean…?"
"I have no choice," Zachary said with a bitter smile. "This isn't for his sake—it's for mine. I need to distance myself first. If that kid decides to retaliate, at my age, I won't be able to handle it."
"…"
"Go. Tell him everything you heard. Let him prepare."
"Understood."
The aide departed swiftly. Zachary watched his figure fade into the distance, thinking to himself:
Whether Lillian harbors ambition or not, from the moment he joined the Military Police until now, he has never exploited the common people for personal gain.
To Zachary, who came from a civilian background, someone like that—even if he were to ascend to supreme power—wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. That was why Zachary had always supported and protected Lillian in various ways. And Lillian understood this well, which was why he had shown such sincere gratitude when he visited previously.
"Getting old… really getting old."
Zachary muttered to himself. Everyone in their generation was already in their fifties or sixties—what was the point of constantly trying to suppress the younger generation? In his eyes, Lillian was fully capable of becoming a central pillar of the world inside the walls in the future. He might still be immature now, but that was only because of his age.
Zachary had always imagined that once Lillian reached thirty—once he was fully mature, with overwhelming military strength and a powerful intelligence network in his hands—there would likely be no one left inside the walls capable of restraining him. To be honest, Zachary rather looked forward to such a scene. The only regret was that he would probably be long dead by then.
---
Meanwhile, in Connie's village, a brutal melee fought with cold weapons was gradually coming to an end.
Out of more than a dozen people, only two were still standing. All the others lay scattered across the ground. With no medical treatment, bleeding to death was only a matter of time.
The two remaining survivors were Misai—the young man who had picked up a blade first—and Stanley, the deputy commander Lillian had captured.
Both were drenched in blood, their expressions no longer human, but animalistic. There was no doubt that this kind of fight for survival was the most effective way to force out the primal evil within a person—what could be called beast nature.
Humans raised under social norms usually maintain their ego, striving toward the superego while suppressing the id. But in extreme environments, the ego is often overwhelmed—either by the id or by the superego.
During disasters, for example, some people's id is awakened, making them more aggressive and willing to do anything to survive. Others have their superego activated instead, sacrificing themselves to save others, even at great personal cost.
Neither is inherently good or bad. Society promotes the superego—acts of righteousness—simply because it benefits society as a whole. On an individual level, however, it often brings little benefit and can even cause great trouble. After all, safety should not depend on citizens forcibly awakening their superego, but on sound systems and institutions.
"Die!"
The two roared and lunged at each other, both thinking the same thing—kill the other, and I live.
Misai, younger and more agile, circled behind Stanley and slashed downward at his shoulder. Stanley, however, suddenly froze, as if he had gone stupid. Seeing this, Misai's face lit up with joy.
But Lillian and Kenny, watching from the sidelines, both knew—Misai was already dead.
"Pshhk!"
The blade buried itself deep into Stanley's shoulder. Before Misai could even celebrate, the "stunned" Stanley suddenly spun around, feral light flashing in his eyes, and swung the wooden club in his hand with all his strength!
Misai tried to pull his blade free to block—but it was stuck fast in Stanley's shoulder. The next instant, the club smashed down on his head.
Bang!
Blood instantly streamed down his face. Misai's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Trading a shoulder for a life—without question, a profitable exchange.
Stanley stared at Misai's fallen body and still wasn't satisfied. He raised the club and struck several more times, his face twisted into a crazed victor's grin as he did so.
Only after confirming Misai's death did Stanley finally come back to his senses. The smile faded. He dropped the club and cautiously looked at Lillian.
"I… I won… right?"
"Yes. Wait a moment."
Lillian stood up and walked into a nearby ruined house. Stanley was confused, and even Kenny didn't know what he intended to do.
Moments later, a shocking sight unfolded.
Lillian dragged a Titan out of the house.
A three-meter-class Titan.
"Stanley, you did well," Lillian said with a smile. He threw the Titan in front of him, where it crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom. "Come on—this is your final opponent."
"You… you… you…"
Stanley stared at the Titan as it stood up, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"Fight," Lillian said calmly. "It's only a three-meter Titan. Humans can reach the nape with weapons. I'm not denying you a chance—there's a dagger made of black-gold bamboo on the ground. It can hurt a Titan. Whether you can find it is up to you."