Lock followed the direction Gunther Schultz was pointing.
At the southernmost edge of the Shiganshina District, near the massive hole kicked open by the Colossal Titan, several Titans wandering the streets suddenly began rushing toward the breach as if drawn by some unseen force.
"The Titans' behavior… it must be because they saw humans!" Eld Jinn concluded sharply.
Everyone immediately agreed.
Before Lock could even process the situation, three figures burst through the hole into the district. With Titans swarming toward them, the newcomers launched their ODM Gear and soared up the city wall, narrowly escaping the horde below.
"That's—!" Gunther exclaimed in disbelief. "Squad Leader Mike Zacharius and his team!"
Eld and the others recognized them as well, excitement lighting up their weary faces.
Every member of the Survey Corps knew of Mike Zacharius's squad — the elite team stationed deep in the Forest of Giant Trees. They had been left isolated and surrounded by Titans when the royal government forbade any resupply expeditions after the fall of Wall Maria. To the Corps, Mike's team were heroes — men and women who had been openly abandoned yet refused to yield.
Everyone had assumed they were long dead.
To see them alive now, standing atop the wall, felt almost unreal.
"You must be devastated," Lock thought as he watched them from afar. "After struggling so hard to make it back… only to see the world in ruins."
A quiet respect stirred within him.
Still, something didn't add up. By Lock's calculations, the supplies left in their outpost should have lasted at least four months. Without new orders, there was no reason for Mike's team to have returned so early — and certainly not in such a state.
His instincts told him the base in the Forest of Giant Trees was gone.
"Lock, should we go pick them up?" Eld asked urgently.
That pulled Lock back to the moment. He looked toward Mike and his two surviving soldiers — standing exhausted and bloodstained atop the distant wall, Titans raging below them — and shook his head slightly.
"Fire a signal flare," he ordered calmly. "Let them come to us from the city wall."
Rushing to them now would be suicide. With so many Titans between them and Mike's squad, the risk was too great. Lock's plan was safer — draw them over from above, avoiding confrontation.
Realizing the logic, Eld and the others nodded and fired the flare.
The crimson smoke arced across the gray sky. Spotting it, Mike and his soldiers immediately understood. Instead of descending, they turned and began moving along the wall toward Lock's position.
Because their horses were still below and the ODM Gear tanks were nearly empty, they had no choice but to continue on foot. It took over three grueling hours before they finally reunited.
"Captain Mike, why are you back?" Eld blurted out as the exhausted squad approached.
Lock sighed — couldn't he see how exhausted they were? He signaled for Petra Rall and Ymir to fetch food and water.
Without hesitation, Petra handed them bread and canteens. Ymir, unusually quiet, followed her lead. Ever since joining the team, she had shown no trace of her former sharp tongue — always doing exactly as Lock instructed.
To her, Lock was terrifyingly capable — a man both respected and feared.
"Gulp—gulp—gulp…"
Mike and his men devoured the water and food desperately, too starved to care about appearances.
"Slow down," Lock warned gently. "You'll hurt your stomach if you eat too fast."
As if to prove him right, the three began coughing violently, pounding their chests until they finally caught their breath.
"It'd be embarrassing to survive the Titans only to choke to death on bread," Lock thought dryly but kept it to himself. The others, sensing his silence, simply waited for Mike's team to recover.
After several minutes, Mike exhaled heavily, color returning to his face. He looked at Lock with heartfelt gratitude.
"Lock… thank you. If we hadn't run into you, we might've starved to death before the Titans got us."
His two soldiers nodded weakly in agreement.
Seeing their ragged condition, Lock frowned. "Your base… It's gone, isn't it?"
For a long moment, Mike said nothing. His expression darkened, eyes distant — haunted. Then he nodded slowly.
"It was destroyed… by a Titan unlike any I've ever seen."
Lock's brow furrowed. A new type of Titan? His thoughts immediately went to the Armored Titan, the Colossal Titan, and then — the Female Titan.
Mike's next words confirmed his fear.
"It was a woman… a towering Female Titan," he said grimly, his voice trembling with restrained anger. "Her scent was unlike anything I've ever encountered."
His sharp nose twitched instinctively as he spoke — the same uncanny sense of smell that had earned him his reputation. "Our lookout platform was built forty-five meters high on a giant tree. It should have been safe — but she climbed up as if gravity didn't exist."
"You didn't fight back?" Oluo Bozado asked, stunned.
"Of course we fought back," Mike snapped, recalling the scene with lingering dread. "But she had some kind of… crystalline armor around her neck. Our blades couldn't cut through it!"
"Crystallization…" Eld murmured, his expression hardening. "No wonder our blades were useless."
Mike took a deep, shaky breath and went on. "Even worse… I swear that Titan was self-aware. She wasn't acting on instinct — she was thinking."
Silence fell.
Everyone froze, their minds caught between disbelief and horror.
Lock's gaze darkened, the pieces fitting together all too perfectly.
The Female Titan… intelligent, powerful, and now confirmed to be real.
The war for humanity had just taken another step into a nightmare.
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