"Lucien."
Eren froze in disbelief, and so did Levi and Petra.
Normally, Lucien wasn't the type to falter. Could it be that he had only been bluffing this whole time?
The sudden turn of events hit everyone like a bucket of ice water — the disappointment was crushing.
Yet, the only one who appeared genuinely confused was the Female Titan herself. She hadn't felt anything when she attacked. Every time she had crushed someone before, there had always been that familiar, sickening resistance — bones snapping, flesh giving way. But just now, it had felt like hitting thin air.
"Damn it!"
"Corporal Levi, the Female Titan's catching up again!"
After Lucien was seemingly killed in an instant, the squad regained focus and continued sprinting deeper into the Giant Tree Forest. But the Female Titan was fast — far faster than they'd anticipated.
That useless guy, they thought bitterly. He hadn't even managed to hold her off for thirty seconds.
"Keep moving forward," Levi ordered coldly, his eyes locked ahead. He had to lure the Female Titan to the ambush point.
Eren looked back at the towering monster closing in on them. Fury boiled inside him as he raised his hand to his mouth, ready to transform.
"Eren, what do you think you're doing?"
Petra's voice trembled slightly, though her eyes burned with conviction as she stepped in front of him.
"I'm going to kill her," Eren growled, teeth clenched. The Female Titan's thundering footsteps were drawing closer by the second.
"Eren, do you trust us?" Petra suddenly smiled.
"Of course," Eren answered without hesitation.
"Then leave it to us."
"She's getting too close. I'll hold her off!"
Eld and Gunther launched themselves from their horses, soaring toward the Female Titan using their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
Moments later, the air filled with screams and red mist. Both were swatted out of the sky like flies, their remains scattering across the forest floor.
"Eld! Gunther!"
"Damn it!"
The others gritted their teeth, their eyes burning red with fury and grief.
"Corporal Levi!"
"Keep moving forward," Levi snapped. His voice was sharp and composed despite the chaos.
Just as the Female Titan drew close again and Oruo prepared to engage, they reached the ambush site.
"Fire!"
Hange's voice echoed through the trees.
From both sides, a volley of steel cables fired out, whistling through the air like a storm of arrows. The Female Titan reacted instantly, crossing her arms to protect her nape — but the trap was already sprung. Within seconds, she was pinned in place, surrounded by reinforced bindings.
"You continue forward," Levi commanded as he leaped from his horse, soaring toward Erwin. "Take Eren with you, Petra, Oruo, Miche — don't stop."
"Understood," Petra replied firmly, urging her horse onward without hesitation.
"Target restrained," Levi reported as he landed beside Erwin, blades drawn and eyes glinting coldly.
"What about Lucien?" Erwin asked, not taking his eyes off the Female Titan.
"He's dead," Levi said flatly, gaze still fixed on their captured enemy.
"Is that so?" Erwin's brows furrowed briefly, but his expression soon returned to calm. "No... it seems he isn't."
"Indeed," Levi murmured. "Should we eliminate her?"
"The objective is capture, not execution," Erwin replied. "If we wanted her dead, now would be the best chance. But our mission is to take her alive."
"Do you think there's a man or woman inside that Titan?" Hange asked, her eyes gleaming with manic curiosity. There was a hint of madness there — a scientist teetering between fascination and obsession.
"Roaaar!"
The Female Titan suddenly let out a thunderous roar that shook the forest, a sound so loud it pierced their eardrums.
"Is that her last cry? Does she know she's trapped?" Levi said coldly.
"Commander! Corporal Levi! Titans — there are dozens approaching!" a soldier shouted as he zipped in from above, panic in his voice.
"What?" Erwin turned sharply, eyes narrowing.
The Female Titan was still roaring.
"This is bad — she's calling them here!"
The ground rumbled violently as countless Titans closed in from every direction, drawn to the sound.
In an instant, high-temperature steam burst from the Female Titan's body, flooding the forest with blinding white vapor.
"She's... summoning Titans to devour herself?" Hange muttered, puzzled.
"Does she refuse to be captured even at the cost of her life?" Erwin's voice grew heavy. Through the steam, they could faintly see the grotesque silhouettes of Titans tearing her apart. The scene was brutally grotesque.
"Corporal Levi," Erwin said grimly, "refuel your gas tanks and pursue Eren's squad."
Levi turned to him sharply. "You mean—?"
"If this Female Titan is like Eren," Erwin said, eyes narrowing, "then her real body may have already escaped. She could transform again."
The thought sent a chill down Levi's spine. If Erwin was right, then Eren was in grave danger. And if the Armored Titan or Colossal Titan appeared as well...
"I'll move out immediately." Levi's tone hardened as he launched into the air.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, Eren and his squad raced through the trees. Miche and Petra stayed close, but suddenly, a cloaked figure appeared ahead.
"Who's there?" Miche demanded.
Before he could react, golden lightning flashed through the forest, followed by a fierce gust of wind. The Female Titan descended from above, crushing the ground as she landed, her eyes locked on Eren.
"Damn it!" Miche shouted, drawing his blade. "Eren, keep moving!"
He launched himself forward, followed closely by Petra — but the power difference was overwhelming.
Within moments, both were dead.
Eren's mind went blank. Watching his comrades die one after another snapped something inside him. He bit into his hand, blood dripping between his teeth.
With a deafening roar and a flash of golden lightning, Eren transformed into the Attack Titan. The two Titans collided violently, shaking the very earth beneath them.
From all across the forest, Survey Corps members stopped in their tracks, turning toward the explosion of light and sound.
At the forest's edge, Zhou Wei stood on a towering branch, watching the flickering glow in the distance as countless Mindless Titans began climbing the trees below.
"It's started," he murmured.
High above, on another branch, Lucien Graves stood silently, his cloak fluttering in the rushing wind. The roar that echoed through the forest — filled with rage and sorrow — told him everything. That was Eren.
Lucien wasn't dead. He had only used the Female Titan's attack to mask his escape.
He vanished from the branch, reappearing silently on another treetop. Hidden by dense foliage, he was invisible to anyone below.
He didn't use the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment — it was too noisy. Instead, he relied on Soru and Geppo, techniques far faster and more discreet.
Moving swiftly, Lucien reached the clearing where Eren and the Female Titan were locked in battle.
Steam rose thickly around them as their massive fists collided, shaking the ground.
Eren pinned the Female Titan, hammering down blow after blow, dirt and splinters flying. The ground cracked and cratered beneath them.
But the Female Titan twisted aside at the last second, avoiding his strike.
Eren's wrist was torn off, but regenerated instantly amid the hissing steam.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
So this was the difference between Intelligent and Mindless Titans.
Mindless Titans could regenerate endlessly as long as their nape wasn't destroyed, no matter how much of their body was obliterated. But the process was slower, more mechanical.
Intelligent Titans, like Eren and the Female Titan, relied on stamina — their regeneration was powerful but finite, limited by human endurance.
That was the price of intelligence, Lucien thought.
Mindless Titans could persist without will or hunger, while Intelligent Titans bore the cost of consciousness — a fragile balance between strength and exhaustion.
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