Chapter 14

-[Liam]-

It had been a few days since their return to Paradis. With Annie no longer allied with Bertholdt and Reiner, things were going to change.

She wasn't going to attack during the expedition this time so it was unknown what Bertholdt and Reiner would do. As far as they knew, she was still on their side and they fully expected her to attempt to capture Eren during the expedition.

Crazily enough, Bertholdt was less of a threat to Liam than Reiner despite being the colossal titan. He was too indecisive and his strong point in his titan form was the heat and steam that didn't allow anyone to get close.

A few potions and some ice magic could easily solve that problem and allow Liam to take him down should the time come. Reiner's armored titan was the real problem.

He used the term 'was' because he could still use ice magic to somewhat hold his own and he now had the female titan, her martial prowess and hardening on his side to break said armor.

On a different matter, he had gotten to studying the titan blood. He had quickly gotten irritated with the inability of the blood to stay out of the syringe long enough to conduct proper research which led to him once again calling on [Alchemy].

Whipping up a preservative that didn't affect the properties and makeup of the blood didn't take too long, making him feel a bit dumb at how he didn't think of it earlier.

In his assigned room, he was seated at the desk with different materials and equipment laid out neatly.

A Petri dish sat under the microscope in front of him, holding a small amount of titan blood. He held a dropper with a dark orange liquid inside it.

He let a few drops of the orange liquid fall into the small container, quickly moving his eyes to the viewing lens of the microscope.

In front of his microscope assisted eyes, the cells and DNA of the titan blood began to change. He watched with undivided attention as they underwent a retrogression.

Within a minute, the change ended as he observed it carefully, then putting a small amount of normal blood under the microscope to examine it as well.

'It worked. It actually worked.' He thought as his eyes traveled to the dropper which still held some of the orange liquid.

•••

Item - [<<Choose Name>>]

Effect - [Reverts the genetic mutation of the user to its original state]

•••

He had used [Observe] on it beforehand but there was still the tiny chance that it wouldn't work.

'I'll think of a name later.' He had underestimated the feeling of accomplishment he felt when he made progress in scientific or magical problems. 'Is this why dad was so happy with his job? I can't say I didn't enjoy the challenge.'

"Now, what to do with you…" he muttered out loud as he poured the rest of the orange liquid into an empty vial, pocketing it as he got up to leave.

He quickly made his way to the stables, frowning a bit at the thought of using one of them. Though he still disliked using horses, it was necessary.

As he got to the stables, he found a petite blonde haired girl tending to the horses, specifically the one that was supposed to be his own.

He was once again reminded that the cadets had already moved into the HQ. "If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you stop that. I need to use it."

He did his best to avoid the sardonic tone that threatened to leak into his words. He really hated the horse.

The girl who was petting said horse was startled at his sudden arrival. "I'm sorry." She apologized immediately, backing away to allow him to open the stable door and lead the horse out.

"Excuse me."

He turned back to the girl who called his attention. "What is it?"

She looked genuinely confused as she stared at him. "Are you part of the survey corp?" She asked, causing him to raise a brow.

'Why else would I be here if I wasn't?' He wondered at the absurd mess of her question.

"It's just that you're no older than the rest of us and I don't think I've seen you before." She added hurriedly but politely upon seeing his confusion.

Liam could only sigh as he adjusted the reins and saddle on the horse. "To answer your question, yes. I'm part of the survey corps. As for why you haven't seen me, that's a different matter entirely." He got on the horse as he prepared to move, pausing for a moment as he got a good look at her.

"Another thing, drop the act." He said, confusing her but he could see the panic in her eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"I mean drop the whole good girl act you're trying to put on. I can see right through you." He said, flicking the horse's rein as it took off running, leaving a visibly stunned and somewhat scared Christa behind.

'Christa Lenz, a.k.a Historian Reiss…the eventual queen of Paradis.' While he wasn't interested in ruling Paradis, he could see the appeal in having its ruler in his corner.

'Though, it means I'll have to do something about Ymir.' He thought, seeds of a plan coming together in his mind.

Ymir was a wild card, she was too unpredictable and not in a good way.

-[Later]-

With him being Hange's assistant in experimenting on titan, he had a certain degree of freedom which allowed him to move freely between the HQ and Trost district where the titans were being held.

As he rode the horse into Trost district, he found three soldiers from the military police in front of him, stopping the animal.

He didn't recognize the three men but they looked like three generic corrupt soldiers.

"Liam Ross, come with us." One of them said as the other walked towards the horse to take its reins and make sure it didn't move.

"What for?" Liam asked, his eyes following the man who was now holding his horse's rein.

"I'm afraid that's private business. You'll know when you get there." The same man spoke as the last man walked to the side of the horse, directly staring at him in an attempt to intimidate him.

Liam pushed down his amusement as he realized what was happening. Lifting himself from the saddle, he turned to the first man who spoke.

"Well then, I guess I can't keep you waiting." Liam replied, causing them to smirk at each other.

They led him until they reached a decent house in the district. They didn't knock, simply opening the door and escorting him in.

As soon as he entered, he heard the door being locked. He turned behind him to see the three of them looking confident and imposing.

"I'd appreciate it if we could sort this out quickly. I have somewhere I need to be right now." Liam said, almost politely.

The sound of footsteps behind him alerted him to two more people behind him holding guns aimed at him. "Fool, you're not going anywhere! By the order of the king, you are under arrest." One of them said as they brandished the gun in their hands.

The other three did the same, bringing out their guns and aiming at him. Liam's expression didn't change from its amusement.

"Like I said earlier, I have somewhere to be right now." He said as ice immediately spread from his foot on the floor and in all directions of the room, spikes of ice violently stabbing through each of them.

"""Aaackk-!"""

They were barely able to comprehend what they saw as they died immediately. With but a thought, the ice shattered into nothingness, leaving no traces behind its dispersion.

'Military Police huh? I knew they would start sniffing around but I didn't think they'd find my name so fast.' He thought as he adjusted his clothing.

He was very well aware that the royal government had their eyes on him now. It only meant that someone had blabbed and now the government knew who exactly they were looking for.

'Finally, you've taken the bait.' He thought cruelly as he looked at the bodies around him. 'They could prove useful.'

He quickly dumped them into his inventory before leaving a clone there to mop up the blood. He wanted the royal government to make their move.

His aim was to take down another unpredictable variable. A variable in the name of Kenny Ackermann. With the soldiers he killed out of the picture, they were more to take it seriously and eventually send the man.

That would allow him to end that threat when it came crawling to him. Using the word 'threat' was a stretch seeing as how he could easily deal with him. The problem laid with the fact that Kenny could indirectly ruin his plans by affecting others.

He threw those thoughts out of his mind as he went on his way to the area where the captured titans were being held down.