Zachary shuddered. "No need—you ate your father…"
Swearing an oath clearly meant nothing to this man anymore.
As for whether his words were true, they had no choice but to believe him for now.
"All right, let's set aside where you came from," Zachary said. "Zeke, I'm most concerned about one issue right now. You said so many people participated in the Titan transformation experiments. How many were successful? How many failed? Can the failures ever turn back into humans? And if so—how?"
"If they could turn back into humans, they wouldn't be called failures," Zeke replied flatly.
Zachary took a deep breath.
Erwin seized the chance to add, "That makes sense. Otherwise, Zeke wouldn't have shot and killed his own mother. If there were a way to turn back, why would a child ever kill his mother?"
Zeke's eyes twitched.
Enough already!
Must they remind him again and again—of that?
Ever since he'd set foot on Paradis Island, the thought had haunted him: How can I turn Mother back into a human?
Step one: find Father and obtain the Founding Titan's power.
Step two: find Mother and feed her one of the Titan children. That way, she could return to human form.
Which one should it be? he'd wondered bitterly. The Armored Titan? The Colossal Titan? Or the Female Titan?
Mother was terrified of heights and wouldn't like a body that massive. So—of course—it would have to be the Female Titan. That was why he'd always been so gentle toward Annie, imagining his mother's face in hers.
But it had all been a fantasy.
Between saving his mother and killing her, he'd chosen the latter.
It was the choice he made—for her.
"As for how many 'successful products' there are…" Zeke continued after a pause, "I don't know. I only know my number—Zero-Nine."
"Number 09?" Zachary repeated. "You mean there were eight successful experiments before you?"
"Not necessarily," Erwin interjected. "It doesn't mean there were new successful ones after him either."
Zachary nodded, calming down. "That's true. Zeke, have you ever seen other test subjects?"
"No."
"Then the Armored and Colossal Titans that appeared in Shiganshina District—were they also successful Titan transformation experiments?"
"Yes."
"Their numbers?"
"Zero-Two and Twenty-Two."
Annie couldn't stop herself. "That's so stupid."
Bertholdt: "…"
"Were they killed by you?" Zachary asked.
"Yes."
Zachary let out a breath of relief.
At least two successful specimens were gone. Two fewer was still something.
"Then," Zachary pressed on, "among the successful experiments, which Titan is the strongest?"
"Of course, Number One—Ackerman."
"???" Levi's head snapped up. Those three syllables sounded… disturbingly familiar.
"???" Mikasa stiffened. She'd heard that name before too!
Zachary frowned. "The 'Ackerman Titan'? Its name tells us nothing. Can you describe its characteristics?"
"His main feature," Zeke said seriously, "is that he's very short."
Levi: "…"
That familiar sinking feeling again…
"Extremely short?" Zachary frowned. "Could it be… three meters tall? Our Corps has always believed the taller a Titan, the more dangerous it is. Smaller ones are easier to deal with. Why do you think the opposite?"
Zeke sighed. "Who said three meters? He's one point six."
Before he could finish, a sharp thud! interrupted him.
Pain exploded through his head.
"Hey!" someone shouted. "The President is still questioning him! How dare you hit a prisoner?!"
In the next instant, Zeke was yanked up by the collar.
"You were talking about me, weren't you?" Levi snarled. "You little bastard! Enough of your nonsense! How could I be a Titan?!"
His furious voice echoed through the hall, drawing every pair of eyes toward them.
The soldier standing beside Zeke—barely one point six meters tall—stared back at the assembly.
Instant uproar.
Even President Zachary couldn't hide his shock.
"A six-foot-tall Titan? Are you serious?"
"He's one point six meters now," someone muttered, "but maybe he's six-point-one after transformation?"
"Holy crap! I thought the rumor about Titans hiding among humans was a joke—but it's true!"
"A short Titan—unbelievable!"
From the witness stand, Mikasa sighed in relief. "So that's the brother he was talking about. Not me. Thank goodness."
Armin eyed her carefully. "Mikasa… you're not even one point six meters."
Mikasa froze.
Chaos erupted among the Survey Corps' seats.
Franco gasped. "Oh my god… that guy's actually a Titan?! I used to argue with him all the time!"
"Unbelievable! We've been killing Titans for years—and one's been right beside us!"
"I was skeptical when they said Zeke was a Titan," another muttered, "but when they said Levi was… honestly, it kind of made sense."
"Right? You thought so too?"
"Yeah, now that I think about it…"
The entire Survey Corps was in shock.
"L-Lie… Big Brother can't be a monster!" Isabel cried, her worldview shattering. "He eats the same food as us!"
Erwin's voice cracked. "I… picked up a Titan?"
Keith remained calm, almost proud. "hidden talents in my ranks… truly."
Only Hange was ecstatic, nearly bouncing in her seat. "Levi! I'm coming to your room tonight—we need to talk!"