"I know everything about you."
Zeke's voice carried a smug chill as he looked at the stunned Levi, his mouth twisting into a sneer of superiority.
"Huh? You want me to be careful… of a human soldier?"
He remembered it clearly—years ago, Reiner and Bertholdt had returned from Paradis and warned him:
"Be careful of a human soldier named Levi."
At the time, Zeke had laughed.
Be careful?
Him, Zeke Yeager—the inheritor of the Beast Titan, bearer of royal blood—be careful of a human?
What a joke.
Humans were fragile. Insignificant.
He could crush an entire regiment beneath his palm.
Be careful of a human soldier?
Ridiculous.
Until, of course… that human soldier shoved a blade straight down his throat.
After escaping back to Marley, humiliated and bleeding, Zeke immediately scoured his mentor Ksaver's research library.
He had one desperate question:
"What the hell is that human soldier?"
"Who the hell is Levi Ackerman?"
"What even is an Ackerman?!"
Fortunately, Ksaver—though never a warrior himself—was a scholar obsessed with Titans. His archives were vast, filled with notes on Titan physiology, Eldian genetics, and ancient royal experiments.
Zeke searched every shelf until, finally, he found it:
the truth about the Ackerman family.
The Titan Killers
"In order to completely control the power of the Titans, King Fritz once conducted secret experiments on humans—seeking to give Titan strength to mankind without the need for Titan transformation or inheritance."
"After three hundred years of experimentation, a bloodline perfectly blending human and Titan was born. This bloodline was called… Ackerman."
"Ackermans cannot transform into Titans, but they can channel Titan power in human form. Their strength grows the more they fight."
"[The Fritz royal family relied on the Ackermans to suppress the Nine Titans.]"
Those were the few surviving words describing the once-glorious Ackerman clan.
Their downfall came later—after the 145th King, Karl Fritz, fled to Paradis and erased the memories of his people. Ksaver's records ended before that time, so the only modern knowledge Zeke gained came later… through Eren.
At the time, Eren was still undercover in Marley. They had met in secret several times—Zeke wanting to understand Levi, and Eren wanting to understand his own bloodline.
They traded information.
Information exchange: complete.
Zeke now faced Levi with that same cold, knowing smile.
"I know everything about you," he repeated, savoring Levi's flicker of unease. "Your mother was once the eldest daughter of the Ackerman family. But not every Ackerman could awaken their power. When the royal family ordered the clan's extermination, she was one of the unawakened. She escaped… only to fall to the lowest depths. To survive, she sold her body. And in the end, she gave birth to you—father unknown.
Tell me, am I wrong?"
Levi's glare was murderous. "Who told you this?"
He could barely remember those years—memories buried deep, almost erased by time and pain.
And yet Zeke stood there, digging up his past in front of an entire courtroom.
"Don't bother asking how I know," Zeke said calmly. "Just remember: your bloodline carries Titan power. Your family's extinction—and your mother's fall—were no accident. That was the price of the experiment that created you."
Levi's voice shook. "But I was never hunted! I've used the Ackerman name all my life. If the Ackermans were being exterminated, why hasn't anyone ever come after me?"
Zeke smiled faintly. "Then you should ask your uncle."
Levi blinked. "Uncle…?"
"Yes. Kenny."
Levi froze. "Who did you just say?"
Zeke's eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't tell me… you didn't know? You really don't know he's your uncle?"
"…" Levi's face went blank. His mind was a storm of disbelief.
"Well," Zeke muttered, half to himself, "then I suppose you don't know. But he shouldn't be dead yet. He should be here…"
He didn't even finish before Levi lunged forward, grabbing him by the collar again.
"Are you sure he's here?" Levi demanded.
Zeke stammered, "He—he should be—"
"Kenny!" Levi's shout split the air. He released Zeke and spun toward the crowded hall, eyes scanning the faces, searching desperately for a figure he thought he'd never see again.
"Kenny—!"