"Huh?"
Levi looked at the head Lock handed over, and he suddenly recognized its identity.
He asked in a deep voice, "You did this?"
Lock nodded. "Captain... no, Kenny Ackerman asked me to give you a message."
Levi looked at the rare smile on that familiar face and asked softly, "What message?"
"Kenny said your mother was actually his younger sister. He regretted not being able to protect her or take care of you."
Levi's eyes widened, and he stood frozen in place.
After a long silence, he said, "That guy would never say something like that. If you're going to make something up, at least make it believable."
Lock smiled. "Well, although I made it up, everything in it is true."
Levi took Kenny's head. "He told you all this?"
Lock didn't admit it directly. "Actually, he cared about you very much, Captain."
After a moment of silence, Levi instructed, "Don't tell anyone."
"Alright."
...
After finishing his rest, Lock stood up. Levi and the others were gathered around Eren.
Seeing Lock approach, Levi mocked, "Alright, now there are three people who need help being carried up."
Sasha saw Lock and immediately turned away with a red face.
Lock was a bit confused, but didn't take it to heart.
"Alright, let's head up immediately. According to what Armin said, we still have to find a way to deal with that Titan Rod transformed up there."
"Yes!"
...
Lock was helped up by Jean and Levi.
Midway, Jean complained, "Lock, you don't look fat, but you're really heavy. I really don't know how you fly so fast with your Omni-Directional Mobility Gear?"
Lock laughed, "I use up gas quickly, too."
Ascending to the "skylight" Connie and the others had opened and secured, Nifa, standing above, reached out to help pull Lock up.
Lock was glad to see someone who should have died still alive, but he only said thank you to Nifa.
Lock looked back; the underground palace had collapsed into a canyon thousands of meters long and hundreds of meters wide.
And at the end of this canyon was the Rod Reiss Titan, emitting high-temperature mist.
Armin said to everyone, "Its size is twice that of the Colossal Titan, and its body is emitting extremely high temperatures."
"Moreover, it has no interest in the humans around it—that is, us."
Jean said, "So, it's an Abnormal Titan?"
Levi ordered, "We'll go after that Titan. There might be Central Military Police lurking around, stay alert!"
Everyone mounted their horses. Lock, along with Eren, Historia, and the injured Hange, got into the carriage.
Historia told Hange what Rod had told her.
Including the Founding Titan and its connection to the Reiss Family Bloodline.
"In other words, if the Founding Titan isn't in someone with the Reiss Family Bloodline, it won't work, right?" Hange summarized.
Eren nodded. "That means we still have a choice now. If I let that Titan eat me, Rod Reiss will turn back into a human and fully restore the Founding Titan."
Mikasa, beside the carriage, said urgently, "How can that be okay?!"
Levi said, "From the sounds of it, that's indeed the case! Eren, are you saying you're mentally prepared to sacrifice yourself?"
Eren's eyes were firm. "Yes!"
Mikasa lowered her eyes. "Eren, this is absolutely..."
"Hahahaha...!"
Before Mikasa could finish, she was interrupted by a burst of unrestrained laughter.
Levi frowned. "Hey, Noble boy, what are you laughing at?"
Lock wiped the corners of his eyes and said, "Why do you think that guy Rod would save the world?"
"What if, after he gets the Founding Titan, he uses the memory-altering ability to turn us all into pigs that only know how to eat shit?"
Eren said hesitantly, "He... also said back then that he wanted Historia to save the world."
"That was his lie!"
Lock looked at Historia and said, "Historia, you know the Founding Titan has been passed down in the Reiss Family for nearly a hundred years, through many generations."
"Including your grandfather, your uncle, your sister..."
"Why didn't any of them choose to drive out the Titans outside the walls?"
Everyone was stunned. Levi said, "Noble boy, stop being mysterious. If you know, just say it."
Lock looked at everyone. "Because the first king inside the walls believed we should live in a world ruled by Titans. He firmly believed this was the correct way."
"And he passed this thought down to all descendants who obtained the Founding Titan."
"Rod calls this thought of the first king the Vow Renouncing War!"
"I saw all of this in Rod's notes; it shouldn't be fake."
Historia remembered her sister's abnormal behavior.
Frieda grabbed young Historia's shoulders and shouted, "Krista, how could you think of climbing over the fence?! You have to stay inside this fence, do you hear me!"
Lock continued, "The power of the Founding Titan is quite strong, and the Vow Renouncing War is something we cannot eliminate."
"So, we cannot give the Founding Titan back to the Reiss Family."
Lock looked at Eren. "Eren, your father actually knew more. He stole the Founding Titan from the Reiss Family,y probably to save all of humanity from the first king's hands!"
Eren held his forehead and murmured, "Father..."
Armin immediately chimed in, "That's right! Dr. Jaeger couldn't have done something like that for no reason!"
Mikasa also agreed, "Exactly! Even without the Reiss Bloodline, there must be other ways to save humanity."
"That's why your father gave the Basement key to you, Eren."
Jean also spoke up, "Now we finally have a way to plug into the wall. There must be more than one choice."
Speaking of Eren's Hardening, Levi remembered the box Lock had brought out.
Levi looked at Lock. "Noble boy, there's another vial in that box of yours, right? What is that?"
Lock took the box from his coat. "I stole this from Rod. This Serum can turn a person into a Pure Titan, but not a colossal one like Rod's."
He handed the box to Hange and smiled. "Can this be considered another item for me to atone for my crimes?"
Before Hange could speak, Levi said coldly, "Regarding your punishment, the Corps will naturally decide, but I guess it will likely be the same as last time."
"However, as for the matter of you drugging us, I'll settle that with you properly when we get back."
Lock smiled wryly. "That would be for the best."
Hange said, "You keep it for now. It's not convenient for me to look after it while lying here. Just hand it over to The Corps directly after we return."
Lock obediently put it back into his coat.
Hange glanced at Historia and suddenly pointed at the distant, crawling Rod Reiss Titan, saying, "Historia, if we can't use him according to what Lock said..."
"We can't just let that Titan stroll freely inside the walls. We can't restrain something that size... in short... it's..."
Toward the end, Hange was a bit hesitant...
Levi said plainly,
"What Hange means is, we must kill your father!"
---
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