The members of Class 104 rushed toward the slowly collapsing giant.
Lock stayed by Sasha's side, who was still unconscious, while Erwin, Levi, and Hange watched over Lock.
After listening to Erwin and Levi, Hange said in a daze, "I just noticed that Lock has the distinctive markings around his eyes that are unique to Titans when they transform."
"I never imagined he really was a Titan!"
Levi coldly replied, "Yeah, we only recently found out ourselves. This guy really knows how to keep things under wraps."
Recalling the father and son's last conversation before their departure, Levi frowned and continued, "His Power of the Titans is probably related to Ash."
Erwin looked at Levi: "Levi, didn't you recognize him? Wasn't his Titan seen in the Stohess District?"
Levi said, "Of course I know that, but isn't the Female Titan herself still in the underground prison in the capital?"
Erwin casually remarked, "Have you forgotten their relationship?"
What's the connection between these two things?
...
While the two were still talking, Hange walked up to Lock and put her arm around his shoulder.
"Hello, Mr. Lock!"
"What's wrong, Captain Hange?" Lock was a little uncomfortable with Hange's enthusiasm.
"I just heard from Erwin that you turned into a Titan and saved them. Is that true?" Hange's face was very close.
"Ah, yes, that's true," Lock said somewhat awkwardly.
Hange widened her remaining eye and asked rapidly, "How tall is your Titan? Can you Harden? How long can you stay in Titan form? How many times can you transform in a short period of time..."
"You've seen our experiments on Eren, haven't you? Have you tried them yourself?"
"Um…" Lock hadn't actually tested these things with the System, but he still knew a general range of his limits.
"He must have tried it; his Hardening is even more proficient than Eren's."
Levi and Erwin also walked up.
Levi said coldly, "Noble boy, now you can tell me, where did you get your Power of the Titans?"
Lock hesitated for a moment and was about to speak when a sudden, intense headache struck.
"Ah!" Lock screamed as he knelt on the ground, clutching his head.
The pain this time was more than ten times stronger than it was a while ago!
Lock's vision blurred, he experienced a deafening ringing in his ears, and blood began to flow from all seven orifices.
In a daze, Lock felt that Hange, Levi, nd the others were talking to him, but he couldn't hear anything clearly.
In a daze, he saw Ymir slowly walking towards him...
[WARNING! Intrusion detected]
[WARNING! Intrusion detected]
...
Lock gradually lost consciousness...
When Lock opened his eyes again, he found himself walking in an incredibly dense jungle.
The surroundings were humid and stuffy, yet unusually quiet.
Lock could only hear his own footsteps and the footsteps of a girl in front of him.
He followed slowly behind the girl he had met not long ago.
He couldn't control his body.
Lock was speechless and could only let the Founder Ymir lead him deeper into the jungle.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ymir led Lock to a giant tree that was hundreds of meters tall.
There is a huge hole in the tree.
Ymir turned to look at Lock, then pointed to the tree hole.
Lock continued walking towards the tree hollow.
As the darkness drew ever closer into the tree hollow, his body instinctively began to scream warnings at that moment!
Don't go!
It's terrifying inside!
Don't go!
...
Nevertheless, Lock continued walking forward uncontrollably.
[Stop]
A familiar voice came from behind.
The lock stopped in front of the tree hole.
He couldn't turn back, but he knew who had just saved him.
That's Lin Youde's voice.
"You finally couldn't resist."
"If you keep hiding and don't come out, I really won't be able to do anything about you."
Is Lin Youde talking to Ymir?
What did he mean by what he said?
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Lock saw Ymir fly backward and crash into the tree in front of him.
Before Lock could react, a red-tasseled spear flew past his ear and pierced Ymir's chest.
It nailed her tightly to the tree hole.
Lock stared blankly at this scene.
The next moment, he felt his body could move again.
He turned around, and Lin Youde, dressed in black martial arts attire, happened to walk up to him.
Lock wanted to say something, but Lin Youde raised his hand to stop him.
"This is none of your business. Don't worry, you won't feel manipulated anymore."
Lin Youde walked to the tree hole and pulled out the long spear.
Ymir lay motionless on the ground.
Lock had a vague idea of what this scene meant, but he was also deeply skeptical about it all.
Was Lock always being controlled by Ymir?
Is Lin Youde the one he should trust?
Watching Lin Youde's retreating figure, Lock directly asked, "Are you putting on an act for me on purpose?"
The world is quiet again...
for a long time...
"You're overthinking it."
Leaving those words behind, Lin Youde picked up his spear and walked into the tree hollow.
Soon, a massive golden lightning bolt, unlike anything Lock had ever seen, descended from the sky and struck the giant tree in front of him.
The giant tree was completely torn apart, and a giant over 240 meters tall stood between heaven and earth.
The giant opened its mouth wide and let out its first roar at the world!
"Roar!"
Everything will change!
[System update complete]
[System is starting automatically]
[Host: Lin Youde]
...
...
Lock opened his eyes, looked at the sun in the sky, and realized that he had been unconscious for a long time.
He lifted the covers and sat up, finding Armin and Sasha lying next to him.
Looking around, this is the top of Wall Maria.
Lock stood up and stretched.
With the sky high and the clouds light, Lock felt full of energy and relaxed all over.
With a whooshing sound, Levi climbed the city wall.
"You're finally awake, kid."
Lock twisted his waist and said, "I think I slept for three or four hours."
"Bang!"
Levi fired a Signal Flare into the sky and said casually, "Yeah, you're really good at slacking off."
...
Soon, Erwin, Hange, and their classmates from Class 104 arrived at the city wall.
Seeing the complicated looks on his companions' faces, Lock smiled and said, "Looks like you told them all, Captain."
Levi calmly replied, "They only know that you can become a Titan."
"Speak up, tell me what you know."
"If you pretend to cough up blood and faint again, I'll just cut off your leg. It'll grow back anyway."
"What a cruel Captain," Lock remarked.
He sat cross-legged, rubbing the ring on his right index finger.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "This Power of the Titans was given to me by Annie."
"Annie?" everyone exclaimed.
Levi frowned, and Hange's eyes widened.
Erwin said, "Annie Leonhart should still be in the underground of the Royal Capital."
Lock calmly replied, "That's fake."
---
A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San