President Zachary stepped in to stop the gendarmes. "Zeke, are you certain this child actually has Titan power?"
"Confirmed," Zeke said, looking at the still-weak Mikasa. "The Ackerman bloodline is comparable to that of a Titan. Moreover, she has already awakened and has 'recognized her master.' Even at her age, for the person she recognizes, she can become immeasurably strong."
"'Recognize a master'?" Zachary echoed.
Levi's brow knitted. He felt both puzzled and a flash of indignation—pride made him resistant to the idea that anything could make him bow.
Eren's face showed his own displeasure, but no one noticed him.
Zeke explained to Zachary, "Recognizing a master is an Ackerman trait. Once an Ackerman recognizes someone as their master, they will follow that person for life. Because of that person, they will grow extremely powerful. For example—"
"Kenny followed Uri Fritz, Levi follows Erwin Smith, and Mikasa will grow stronger and stronger by following my brother Eren Yeager."
The sentence hit the hall like cold water.
"Levi follows Erwin?" someone whispered.
"This guy has a master too?"
"That explains why he calmed down the moment Captain Erwin spoke—no one else could control him."
"Yeah, Levi used to get into trouble every day at headquarters, but only Captain Erwin could make him behave."
Erwin turned and looked at Levi, incredulous even to himself.
Levi's expression hardened. "You said Kenny follows who?"
"Uri Fritz."
Levi's voice dropped. "Are you joking? Kenny follow the royal family?!!"
He remembered Kenny as Slitthroat—young, violent, and fiercely opposed to the Central Military Police Brigade. Kenny had been famous for cutting gendarmes' throats; killing Military Police Brigade was effectively opposing the king. How could Kenny, who'd once fought the king's power so ferociously, now be in the royal family's thrall?
Zeke's next words cut through Levi's confusion. "This explains why you grew up safe in the underground: otherwise, with your surname, you wouldn't have survived. The truth is your family was hunted—your safety here was arranged."
Levi had no answer. He genuinely didn't know. He hadn't known what Kenny had been doing all those years. Now the picture Zeke painted—uncanny and bitter—began to make terrifying sense.
And if Kenny truly followed the royal family, then where the royals were, Kenny should be nearby. That was why Zeke was so certain Kenny would be present now.
Levi had searched the crowd frantically and still had found no sign of him.
You don't want to see me, Kenny? Levi thought, his voice hoarse in his chest.
Zachary asked, "So you're saying this child has already recognized her master and awakened the Ackerman bloodline. You want us to let her handle two soldiers as proof?"
Zeke looked at Mikasa. The girl trembled, clutching the dagger the Military Police Brigade had pressed into her hand. She had no combat experience; the way she held the knife betrayed it. Still, the soldiers chosen to test her were the tallest and strongest the garrison could spare.
Could an untrained, newly awakened child face two veteran soldiers?
Zeke didn't hesitate. "Yes. For the master, an Ackerman will do anything."
Zachary waved his hand. "Begin."
The gendarmes rushed forward. Mikasa, bewildered and terrified, wondered silently, How could Eren be my master? Eren is my family… he's so important— before she was shoved to the ground by a single blow.
A collective gasp swept the courtroom.
"Is that the Ackerman power?" someone scoffed. "She fell after one hit. That's weak."
Others murmured in disappointment. The soldiers beat the fallen girl harder, kicks and blows raining down with deliberate cruelty.
"Are you Ackerman?" one jeered. "A monster born of experiments?"
"Monsters must die!"
"Freaks like you will not be allowed to run loose!"
The jeers echoed; the boots kept coming down.
Mikasa curled inward, clutching the dagger uselessly. The scene looked grim—pitiful, even—but beneath that fragile shell, something was beginning to stir.