The ground trembled beneath heavy artillery fire. Birds burst from the treetops as Marley's soldiers advanced across the plains near Ragako. Dust rolled like smoke across the horizon.
Erwin's scouts watched from the ridge. "They're deploying early," Levi said, lowering his binoculars. "No Titans. Just infantry and mechs."
Erwin's eyes narrowed. "Which means they don't need Titans anymore."
Hange spread the open ledger on the ground. "Look here. Marley's Project Restoration wasn't just about Titans. It's about merging Titan spinal fluid with mechanical frameworks. Hybrids. They're building controllable weapons."
Levi exhaled through his nose. "So Titans with machine parts now."
"Not Titans," Hange replied. "Humans who think like soldiers, fight like monsters."
Erwin stood. "Then we have no time to waste. Our target is still Subject 73. If he's the prototype, we find him before they do."
---
In the valley below, the hybrid—known in the records as Subject 73—moved between shadows. His breathing was shallow. His body still burned from transformation residue. Every step left a faint trail of steam.
He could feel them closing in. Not Marley's soldiers. The scouts.
He remembered Eren Yeager's words from the recordings Grisha left behind:
> "If freedom costs everything, then everything is the price."
Subject 73—his name once was Lio—touched the scar on his neck again. The fluid inside him pulsed, responding to his rage. He had spent months hiding, killing to survive, waiting for purpose. Now it found him.
He saw the first Marleyan unit through the trees—five soldiers, rifles raised. One of them shouted, "Target sighted! Engage!"
Lio moved before the first bullet flew.
A burst of steam erupted as muscle veins lit red. His eyes glowed gold. He didn't transform fully—only enough. Skin split, bone reformed, and his right arm became a Titan limb. He crushed the first soldier like paper, ripped another's weapon away, and hurled it through the rest.
When the smoke cleared, the forest was silent.
He stood among the bodies, half-human, half-Titan, trembling. "You'll never own me," he muttered.
Then he heard it—gas hiss, metal clicks, the whine of cables. ODM gear.
Levi dropped from above, blades gleaming. "So you're Subject 73."
Lio turned, eyes flashing. "You're late."
Levi's expression was unreadable. "You're making a mess."
Lio's lips curled. "They came first."
"Doesn't matter," Levi said. "You're coming with us."
Before he could answer, a second sound tore through the air—artillery. A shell exploded nearby, throwing dirt and fire.
"Marley found you too," Levi muttered.
Erwin's voice crackled in Levi's earpiece. "Pull back. We'll flank them from the west. Do not engage the hybrid alone."
Levi ignored him. "You want to live?"
Lio glanced at the burning treeline. "Not sure I'm alive now."
"Then prove it," Levi said. "Fight with us."
---
By noon, the forest had turned into chaos. Marleyan exo-suits—massive steel constructs powered by compressed gas—stormed through the trees. Scouts darted between them, slicing cables, dodging gunfire.
Hange launched a flare. "Levi! Erwin's cutting off their retreat route. Push them toward the ridge!"
Levi and Lio fought side by side. Lio's Titan arm shattered metal frames while Levi struck joints and gas tanks with surgical precision.
When the last exo-suit fell, the air was thick with smoke and steam.
Levi sheathed his blades. "Not bad for half a monster."
Lio's breathing was rough. "Not bad for a human still fighting ghosts."
Levi stared at him. "You talk too much like Eren."
Lio smirked. "Maybe that's why they made me."
---
Later, around the campfire, Erwin studied Lio from across the flames. "You said they made you. Who's they?"
Lio's eyes were dull now, drained of that gold glow. "Marley's Restoration Division. I was a soldier. They injected me after Eren destroyed Liberio. Said they'd rebuild what they lost. I escaped before they finished."
Hange leaned forward. "You mean you weren't born with Titan power?"
Lio shook his head. "They mixed spinal fluid with nanotech. The machine keeps my body stable. But it's killing me slowly."
Erwin exchanged a look with Levi. "Can you control it?"
"Barely," Lio said. "Every time I shift, it burns more of what's left."
Hange whispered, "A dying weapon."
Levi said, "Then we use what time you have."
Lio looked up. "Use me?"
Levi didn't blink. "You want freedom? Help us finish theirs."
---
That night, Erwin stood outside his tent, eyes fixed on the stars.
Levi joined him. "You think he'll stay?"
Erwin nodded slightly. "He doesn't have anywhere else to go."
Levi folded his arms. "And if he loses control?"
Erwin's voice was quiet. "Then you'll do what you always do."
Levi looked back at the fire, where Lio sat alone, staring at his hands. Steam rose faintly from his skin.
"Yeah," Levi said. "I always do."
---
In a Marley command bunker miles away, Commander Magath stood before a screen showing the battle footage recovered by drones. The image froze on Lio's half-Titan form.
One of his officers said, "Sir, he's still alive."
Magath's expression was grim. "Then we haven't lost the war. We've only delayed it."
He turned to the scientists in the room. "Activate the next phase. Prepare Subjects 74 through 80."
The lights dimmed. Behind the glass, seven capsules hissed open. Inside each floated a figure—half human, half Titan, eyes glowing in unison.
"Humanity thought the Titans ended with Eren Yeager," Magath said. "They were wrong."
---
At dawn, the scouts broke camp. Lio stood beside his horse, adjusting the strap on his gear. Levi walked past him, checking his blades.
"You ever ridden before?" Levi asked.
Lio smirked faintly. "Only into hell."
Levi mounted up. "Good. That's where we're going."
As they rode east toward Marley's border, the rising sun lit the steam rising from Lio's body like a warning.
A new war was beginning—one born not from Titans, but from what humanity had become to fight them.
---