South of Paradis Island, atop the wall of the Shiganshina District—
Bang—bang—bang—
A series of rapid, heavy steps approached from afar. A massive figure sprinted toward the southernmost edge of the wall, leapt from the forty-meter height without hesitation, and landed with ease. The fall was nothing to him.
Drawn by the impact, several Pure Titans turned toward the disturbance. But before they could converge, the figure had already broken through their loose encirclement and rushed south at tremendous speed.
"We'll rest once we reach the Forest of Giant Trees. Thank you for your hard work, Commander," Lock said to Erwin, who now carried the form of the Cart Titan.
Zeke, sitting beside him, watched with a complicated expression.
"The Cart Titan isn't as fragile as you think… Under normal conditions, it can maintain its Titan form for a month. With Erwin's stamina—despite no formal training—he should handle at least a week."
Petra shook her head, still worried.
"Even so, we shouldn't push it. The Corps has only just begun using these Titan abilities. Once we reach the Forest, we should rest properly. It's safer."
The massive Titan rumbled in a hoarse voice:
"There's an abandoned base at the forest's edge. We can stay there for the night—assuming we reach it without issue."
Erwin had already devoured Pieck and inherited the power of the Cart Titan. Now, in Titan form, he was carrying Lock, Petra, and Zeke toward the southern coastline—Marley's primary landing point.
Once there, Zeke was to establish contact with the secret operatives of the Volunteer Army—the anti-Marleyan alliance hidden within the Marley military. Through them, Lock hoped to forge an initial connection with forces outside the island.
Whether that cooperation would succeed, Zeke could not guarantee. Everything depended on how Lock handled the negotiations.
But in essence, their goals aligned.
Most members of the Volunteer Army were survivors of nations Marley had destroyed—people who had lost their homes and families. Their final objective was to take revenge and bring down the Marley Empire.
Lock's ultimate goal was similar:
Liberate the Eldians.
Destroy Marley's colonial empire.
Marley would never willingly abandon the Eldian people—they were its most powerful weapons of conquest. Peaceful negotiations were impossible. In an unequal world, brute force remained the true arbiter.
Lock accepted this reality.
If they avoided the fight, slavery was the only future awaiting the island.
He refused to allow that future to arrive.
Zeke understood this as well. Though he hid it expertly throughout his life, his loyalty to Marley was shallow at best. He had long harbored doubts, long kept secret contact with the Volunteers, long waited for a chance to shift the fate of the Eldians.
That opportunity now stood before him.
Lock was using Zeke.
Zeke was using Lock.
For now, that mutual exploitation created cooperation.
But one day it would collapse—their ultimate goals were simply too different.
The Cart Titan continued its steady, powerful gallop. Its speed and endurance far outmatched any horse. Pure Titans were left behind almost instantly, unable to catch up or even track the blur moving across the plains.
Even Abnormal Titans posed no real threat unless something obstructed Erwin's path.
Compared to the Armored Titan, the Cart Titan's utility was far greater right now. It could carry people and equipment across the island with unmatched speed, completely changing Paradis's mobility and communication.
Had Dina Fritz been able to fully master the Founding Titan's power, none of this would have been necessary. But she could not—and Lock did not trust her enough to bring her.
He brought only Petra.
With the Cart Titan's speed, a journey that would normally take days was completed in less than one. When the towering trees of the giant forest finally came into view, Lock exhaled softly.
Once they crossed the forest, the sea awaited them.
His first real chance to see it.
"If Armin knew about this, he'd be beside himself… Eren and Mikasa, too."
The thought brought a small, gentle smile to Lock's face—something that made Zeke pause. In his mind, Lock was like Levi: cold, unshakable, terrifying.
A smile did not belong on that kind of man.
But Petra noticed something else entirely.
It had been a long time since she'd seen Lock smile like this.
Ever since the coup, the death of the old king, and the burden of rebuilding an entire nation, Lock had rarely shown that softness. It had been buried under pressure—pressure only Petra, Ymir, and a handful of others had truly witnessed.
The past few months had changed everything.
Steam engines were already in mass production.
Paradis Island had stepped into the Industrial Age.
The world was changing—and so was he.
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