He had lost.
As Reiner felt his strength draining away bit by bit, he had no choice but to admit that he was no match for Annie. Once Ymir joined in to help, resistance became pointless—he could only surrender.
Just as he had done with Pieck, Lillian knocked him unconscious without hesitation. After all, neither Reiner nor Pieck harbored any intention of defecting. Lillian's original preference had been to keep the two of them and let only Zeke return. However, Zeke strongly objected, arguing that if he returned alone, the Marleyan military would never trust him.
After some consideration, Lillian had to admit that Zeke had a point. In the end, he decided not to keep either of them. Even if he did, he had no idea who could inherit their Titan powers anyway.
Still, overhearing their conversation left Ymir and Annie deeply shaken—especially Annie. She had never imagined that the Warrior Chief himself was also a supporter of the Restorationists. In her eyes, Zeke had always seemed like Marley's most loyal hound.
But sometimes, reality had a way of revealing itself abruptly, catching people completely off guard.
"If we return empty-handed this time," Zeke said, glancing at Annie, who had remained silent and expressionless from the beginning, "our loyalty may come under suspicion. So I hope Annie can return with me."
"..."
"According to Reiner's report, she was captured by the enemy—not a traitor. I can claim that I 'rescued' her and give Marley an explanation. That way, we at least bring back something. Otherwise, we're likely to be restricted."
As Zeke spoke, Annie's face grew pale. She said nothing, only looked quietly at Lillian.
"Impossible," Lillian replied flatly.
"You don't need to worry about her safety."
"I said no," Lillian said indifferently. "Don't make me repeat it a third time."
In his view, agreeing would amount to a real betrayal of Annie. And there was no such thing as no risk. Zeke might appear powerful within Marley's military hierarchy, but that status was hollow. In reality, even these "Warriors" dared not offend ordinary Marleyan soldiers without rank.
The root reason was simple: they were not irreplaceable.
If a Warrior disobeyed orders, there were plenty of Eldians waiting to inherit Titan powers. Marley never lacked candidates. That was why all Warriors walked on thin ice.
If Annie really returned with Zeke, even assuming Zeke told the truth and did everything he could to protect her, there was no guarantee he would succeed. Marley might easily assume she had leaked intelligence while captured. If something went wrong, who would bear that responsibility?
So as far as Lillian was concerned, this idea was dead on arrival.
"You don't need to take anyone else back," Lillian said, removing the ODM gear from his waist. "But you can take the gas canisters."
"..."
In fact, Zeke had already obtained this equipment the first time he landed on the island—he had simply chosen not to hand it over to Marley. Now Lillian was offering it as a bargaining chip. That was… acceptable.
After all, the reason Marley was so desperate to seize the island was its critical energy resources—among them was the fuel that powered the ODM gear: Iceburst Stone, a rare material found only within the walls.
Deep underground within the walls were vast caverns filled with a strange ice that could burn at room temperature—known as Iceburst Stone. The gas in the ODM gear was produced by vaporizing this stone. Once vaporized, its volume expanded to two hundred times its solid state, making it an astonishingly powerful energy source.
This was exactly the resource Marley coveted.
Bringing this back might not earn much praise, but it would at least keep Zeke alive—and further convince Marley that seizing the island was urgent. From their perspective, the fact that the people inside the walls had already learned how to vaporize Iceburst Stone and compress it into metal canisters meant that technological development had begun. That was the last thing Marley wanted to see.
"Fine," Zeke nodded. "Since you're this firm, I won't be taking Annie."
"As for Hizuru… I'll make contact as soon as possible."
"Good."
Lillian nodded. Hizuru was the nation of the Orientals in this world.
Long ago, before the Eldian Empire fell, Hizuru had been its ally. The son of a Hizuru general had fled to the island. Later, when war broke out and both nations were defeated, that son remained behind. Generations passed, and eventually his bloodline led to Mikasa.
In other words, Mikasa was the general's descendant.
Considering that the title of "general" in Hizuru was closer to that of a national leader than a mere military rank, Mikasa could very well be considered a princess.
Because of this connection, Zeke believed that if any nation were willing to help the Eldians, it would be Hizuru. That was why he had maintained secret contact with them.
But in Lillian's view, Hizuru was unreliable.
Past alliances meant little. Eldia had fallen and was now hated by the entire world. What kind of power or incentive would Hizuru have to openly defy global consensus and befriend the island? Where was the benefit? Nations did not act on sentiment. Only interests were eternal. Once interests diverged, even so-called "brother nations" meant nothing.
As for Mikasa—the so-called "princess"—after all these years, even if Hizuru had been searching for the general's bloodline, would they truly welcome her back to inherit the throne? Unlikely. That would require many people to give up their power to a ruler who appeared out of nowhere. Who would agree to that?
In Lillian's eyes, if Mikasa ever went to Hizuru, her fate would likely mirror that of the drowsy king within the walls—reduced to a mascot, a puppet. Fortunately, things had not reached that point, and there was no need to dwell on it yet.
"If there's nothing else, take them and leave," Lillian said, glancing at Pieck and Reiner. "If they wake up and see us sitting here chatting so peacefully, that'll be hard to explain."
"True," Zeke said, standing up. Then he asked, "So why were you here anyway? You couldn't have known we'd be here."
"Yes," Lillian replied. "We came to seal the wall."
"Oh? Using—" Zeke suddenly realized. "The royal family inside the walls… they have stored spinal fluid, don't they?"
Lillian did not answer, but Zeke smiled and glanced at Annie.
"I see. Then it looks like Bertholdt isn't coming back, is he?"
"..."
Annie bit her lip and said nothing.
"Well then…"
Zeke retreated more than ten meters. His body rapidly expanded, and within seconds, the Beast Titan emerged once more. He grabbed Reiner and Pieck, looked deeply at Lillian, and said, "Until next time."
With that, he leapt off the wall.
As they watched him disappear, Annie and Ymir were left somewhat dazed. Everything had unfolded far too quickly. Yet Lillian looked as though he had anticipated this outcome all along, which only deepened their curiosity about him.
"Rest for now," Lillian said to them. "Don't overthink it. Once you've recovered some strength, Annie, seal the wall. Then we'll head back."
"…I want to know more about Hizuru," Annie said quietly.
"Alright," Lillian replied. "I'll tell you everything I know."