The Beast Titan wasn't good at close combat; directing the fight from range was what he did best.
Even so, he shouldn't have been forced into such a state by a mere human.
Like livestock awaiting slaughter, Zeke in his Beast Titan found he had absolutely no way—even as a Titan—to deliver a killing blow the instant Levi swept in on him.
Catching him in hand was simply unrealistic.
Zeke knew that as long as Levi's gas didn't run out, he could keep dancing through the air.
This couldn't go on.
If Zeke couldn't break Levi, then yes—Levi really would shave away every inch of flesh on him except the nape.
At that point, even if Zeke knew the blades used inside the Walls couldn't truly damage his hardened crystal, being reduced to a lone crystal with people ringed around it, waiting for him to thaw himself out so they could chop him down—what would be the point?
His Achilles tendons severed, the Beast Titan crashed to the ground, face pressed into the dirt.
Though a Titan's tactile sense doesn't translate to the host, Zeke still felt unbearable pain.
Lying prone, he looked off to where Roger was still locked in a desperate struggle against his Titans.
There were simply too many of them; Roger had no way to break free and come this way.
Otherwise, the Beast Titan would already be dead.
He'd never imagined a human could push him this far.
Out of options, Zeke thought about calling the Titans back to support him.
But if he did that, no one would tie up Roger—and Roger would kill them even faster.
Like a ball game: you must lock down the star, or he spreads like a cancer and the consequences get worse.
With that, Zeke stopped overthinking.
As his tendons knit, he had to keep fighting—to keep dealing with that Titan who fought with inhuman ferocity.
In this embarrassing moment, he remembered something Pieck had mentioned offhand:
Inside the Walls, besides Roger Eikam, there were many whose abilities in human form were not far off Roger's.
Zeke hadn't known who they were—but now he did.
This man was one of those as strong as Roger.
You could tell by the economy of his movement.
But recognizing it now meant little.
Zeke couldn't handle this one.
He could already picture it—in a few minutes this human would scrape every scrap of his flesh away, leaving only a hardened crystal.
And that hardened crystal would be his crystal coffin.
He lifted his gaze to the airship overhead, mortified. He hadn't expected to be the butt of Marley's joke one day.
"If it were those officers, they'd be doubled over laughing by now," he thought.
In truth, Marley didn't see it that way.
Seeing the Beast Titan fall behind, they immediately committed their last two trump cards—
the Cart Titan and the Female Titan.
Under everyone's upturned eyes, two golden bolts of lightning flared in the sky.
When the light faded, the Female Titan and the Cart Titan stood firm on the ground.
Boom! Boom!
Two thunderclaps—and the two Titans sprinted in different directions.
Annie, in the Female Titan, moved to execute her mission—she charged Levi, who was entangling the Beast Titan.
As a Female Titan, her range of motion and flexibility were far beyond other Titans.
On the field, many Survey Corps soldiers tried to bar her path, but they were erased in movements so fast they couldn't be seen clearly.
She was simply too fast!
Boom! Boom!!
It was almost muscle memory now. Annie snatched soldiers from the air, slammed them into the ground and into nearby houses.
Blood sprayed; flesh burst apart.
They all died at the Female Titan's hands.
At that moment, Levi saw the Female Titan—
and for the first time, his movements hitched.
The Beast Titan seized the chance, snatching one of Levi's cables and winding it into his palm.
"Got you!"
Zeke exulted, yanking the line tight like a kite string.
Feeling the brutal pull, Levi instantly understood.
Without hesitation, he made his decision—and severed his own line.
Snap!
With the cable cut, the Captain had only one hook left driving his body.
Thwip!
He withdrew in a blur.
But with just one line, he couldn't keep his balance.
He smashed hard onto a rooftop—his leg snapping.
"Damn it!"
Levi swore, dragging the broken leg as he dropped from the building.
Seeing it, the Female Titan moved to pursue—but Zeke suddenly shouted:
"The Founding Coordinate! That Titan is the Founder!"
He thrust a finger toward the Titan in front of them.
Annie glanced up at the Marleyan airship, then broke into a run toward that Titan.
In the distance, machine guns opened up.
An airship settled into an open space and offloaded the machine-gun pillbox for the Cart Titan.
The Cart Titan mounted the pillbox—becoming a mobile gun platform.
From its back, the rattle of machine guns poured out nonstop.
Many Survey Corps and Garrison soldiers, caught under the Cart Titan's brutal fire, were cut down and sent skidding across the ground.
"Retreat!"
Someone shouted. Under the withering fire, the Survey Corps pulled back behind buildings.
With the enemy broken, Pieck pressed the advantage, angling toward the Beast Titan to support him.
But as she ran, the Female Titan had already reached the "Founder."
Eren had lost the stamina to regenerate. If he wanted to keep fighting, he'd need time to rest and recover.
Now he was sunk in a deep faint, unable to respond to anything around him.
He lay by a house; Mikasa called in his ear, and Armin rushed up as well.
"Eat him and it should be over."
Without overthinking it, Annie drove the Female Titan forward.
As she loomed over Eren, something happened she hadn't expected.
The boy she thought unconscious suddenly stood—
and dropped into a fighting stance!
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