A single bullet is often enough to change countless things.
The bullet that entered Ferdinand's head became the fuse that ignited World War I. In the film Babel, a single bullet affected four countries and peoples. And Marlo's shot likewise ignited the extremely tense nerves on both sides.
"Fire!"
The situation spiraled out of control in an instant. Everyone feared being the next one to fall to a gun barrel, so with the mindset of one kill breaks even, two kills is profit, they all rushed to shoot first.
Hundreds of bullets flew in all directions. They struck sandbags with dull thud sounds, shattered glass with sharp cracks, echoed through the streets.
Screams and cries of pain overlapped. Lights in nearby houses flickered on—then immediately went dark again. Yet under the bright moonlight, pairs of eyes could still be seen behind shattered windows, all watching the chaotic firefight unfold.
Marlo and his Military Police unit were suppressed almost immediately. Their numbers were far too small. Even with sandbags for cover, the enemy's volley fire kept them pinned down. Anyone who dared to lift their head would start convulsing within seconds before collapsing into a corpse.
At this density of gunfire, more than twenty casualties appeared almost instantly on both sides combined.
Only after pulling the trigger did Marlo fully realize the situation: their forces were already few, and many of them hadn't received proper training. Some of the soldiers—former civilians—had only learned how to fire a gun a few days ago.
Such troops could only suffer rapid losses in real combat.
"They've been suppressed,"
Nile observed from the rear.
"Their combat ability is too weak. This battle will be over in five minutes."
"…I never thought it would really come to this."
"They fired first. The moment they lost their nerve, they already lost."
"Yes."
Pixis narrowed his eyes.
"I wonder if the Titans on their side will make a move. Levi and the others are already prepared. If Titans appear, they'll strike immediately… If it really comes to that, even if some damage is done to the city, taking two Titans out of Lillian's hands wouldn't be a bad outcome."
"Mm…"
Nile nodded in agreement and lit a cigarette. For some reason, he felt deeply uneasy.
He believed their actions were justified—but whenever he thought of Lillian, a chill crept into his chest. Erwin had once warned him not to provoke Lillian if possible, yet now…
This definitely counted as provocation.
But there was no other choice. Lillian had made the first move by arresting one of his deputy commanders. If he ignored that and pretended nothing happened, what authority would he have left within the Military Police? Who would still follow him?
That was why, when Pixis approached him, he had no choice but to agree.
Thud, thud, thud!
Another soldier fell, collapsing right in front of Ymir and Historia. Both of them were holding guns now. Seeing the enemy soldiers steadily advancing, Ymir was starting to lose her restraint.
Marlo was in the same state. Only after the firefight truly erupted did he fully realize just how disadvantaged they were. If this continued… they might be completely wiped out.
Surrender?
He clenched his fist, his gaze falling on his own palm.
If he used the Titan's power… transforming would destroy the nearby houses… But still…
Every second he hesitated, another comrade fell. And he wasn't the only one hesitating—Ymir was as well. She had promised Lillian that she wouldn't use this power lightly, but now that things had come to this point, there seemed to be no other choice.
"Historia, stay behind me," Ymir said.
Annie, on the opposite side, glanced at her. Realizing what Ymir intended to do, she immediately lowered her voice.
"Are you sure?"
"About what?"
Annie cast a sideways glance toward a nearby residential building.
"There are Scout Regiment soldiers hidden up there. If we make a move, they definitely will too."
"..."
Ymir froze. If what Annie said was true—if the Scouts were really here, if Eren was here—then things really might…
She looked at Historia beside her and made a swift decision.
"Annie, we take Historia and get out of here. Immediately."
"No need."
"What?!"
Ymir grew anxious. "Historia has royal blood! She's definitely one of their targets!"
She wasn't wrong. The military hadn't mobilized such a massive force just because a few officers had been arrested. The entire military within the Walls numbered only around five thousand soldiers—and now they had deployed a thousand of them.
One-fifth of the total force.
If a country ever had to mobilize one-fifth of its army for battle, that was practically a national war. Their objective clearly wasn't just to demand accountability—they intended to seize everything important while they had the chance.
Ymir understood this, which was why she made her decision so quickly.
She stared coldly at Annie.
"Historia is different from us! If she gets shot… she'll die!"
"You misunderstand," Annie said calmly, pointing behind Ymir.
"I'm not saying Historia doesn't matter. I'm saying… there's no need to run."
Ymir and Historia both froze and turned around.
Lillian had appeared at some point, carrying his massive war scythe on his shoulder. He was standing there, staring at the opposing soldiers.
"Lillian?!"
"You're only back now?!"
"Sorry."
Lillian glanced at the fallen soldiers on his side.
"This was my oversight. I didn't expect them to move so fast. I'm sorry. But from here on, you don't need to do anything. And you probably shouldn't watch either… the scene might be a little too graphic."
"..."
Ymir looked at the scythe in his hands and recalled the image of him cleaving a Titan clean in half at Utgard Castle. A chill ran down her spine.
Because of Lillian's sudden appearance, both sides briefly ceased fire.
All the military's guns swung around to aim at him. On the rooftops, the Scout Regiment soldiers grew tense as well. Levi tightened his grip on his blades. Having grown up in the Underground City, he could already smell a thick, spreading killing intent in the air.
"So," Lillian said as he walked to the middle of the street, "what did you all do while I was gone?"
Behind the sandbags, Historia tried to stand up anxiously, but Ymir immediately pressed her back down, not allowing even her head to rise above the cover.
"Lillian Kafka,"
Nile stepped forward first. The nearly two-meter-long scythe in Lillian's hands made his heart uneasy, but he kept his tone stern.
"You led people to abduct several high-ranking military officers, two direct heirs of noble families, and a senior bishop of the Wall Church. Are these crimes really not enough for us to arrest you?"
"Yes," Pixis added.
"This old man originally had no intention of taking things this far. But your subordinates were quite 'valiant'—they opened fire first in defiance of orders. We had no choice."
He paused, then continued, "However, if you surrender peacefully, we can overlook their crimes."
"..."
Lillian looked at the two of them, then casually glanced up at the rooftops before withdrawing his gaze.
"I'd like to ask first," he said calmly.
"You claim I arrested those people. Do you have any evidence?"
"..."
Pixis and Nile exchanged a look. Indeed, they had no concrete evidence. It was simply obvious to anyone with eyes that Lillian was responsible—and only he had the capability to abduct so many important figures at once.
"No evidence, huh."
"Lillian! At a time like this, you're still arguing sophistry?!" Nile shouted angrily.
"Whether you did it or not—don't you know perfectly well yourself?!"
"Oh?"
"And what kind of people were the ones who got arrested? What have they done?"
"You don't know yourselves?"
"..."
"But regardless," Lillian continued calmly,
"you still don't have evidence."
"Arresting someone without evidence—is that reasonable?"
He drove the scythe into the ground, letting it stand upright, then interlocked his fingers and cracked his knuckles, producing a sharp crack.
"No evidence, yet you convict me. No trial, yet you want to execute me."
"You're impressive."
"So this is the kind of world we live in."
"Evidence doesn't matter. As long as you say someone is guilty, they're guilty… and all you need after that is the power to enforce it."
"…What are you trying to say?" Pixis frowned.
"I want to learn from you."
Lillian looked down at the glass shards scattered across the street. Under the moonlight, they reflected shimmering light, like polished crystals—cold, beautiful, and merciless.
"I hereby declare," he said evenly, "that all of you have formed cliques, conspired, and carried out an armed attack against your own nation."
"You have caused massive casualties, created severe consequences, and committed an extremely serious offense."
His hand closed around the scythe's shaft as he pulled it from the ground. The cold gleam of its blade illuminated his eyes.
"The sentence is… death."