"Roger!"
Standing below the high wall, Hange stood tall and called up to Roger, who was high above.
Roger didn't bother to pay attention. Right now, he just wanted to see who dared to hold a knife to his neck.
He turned slightly, and sure enough, he saw the Wings of Freedom insignia, but the person holding the knife was not Erwin—it was a young man.
After a moment of thought, Roger recalled the man's identity through Eren's memories.
"Moblit…"
He spoke his name aloud, locking eyes with him.
Hearing his name called by such a legendary figure, Moblit felt both anxious and somewhat excited.
But he didn't forget his mission. He sternly commanded:
"Turn your head around! Or I'll cut you!"
"Go ahead," Roger yawned.
"What…?"
Moblit was shocked.
Could this man really not die even after having his neck slashed?
Thinking to test it, Moblit made a move, but just then, Hange shouted again.
"Roger!"
This time, Roger finally acknowledged her presence.
Putting on his glasses, Hange became serious.
"I'm sorry, but we can't go along with your plan. As the people have said, turning humans into Titans is absurd—we can't accept it!"
"For a long time, the Survey Corps has been committed to killing all Titans and reclaiming what humanity lost. We've sacrificed countless brave souls for this. Now that we've finally wiped out the Titans and fulfilled this long-held wish, we don't want to see the ugly face of a Titan in our world again. So, sorry, Roger! I know that even if a hundred or a thousand people rush at you, it won't be a threat to you, but I just want you to hear our thoughts. We are not war machines—we have hearts and souls. We are living people! We will never give up our right to live as humans!"
As she spoke, the people around her echoed her words.
When she spoke about "living as humans," their faces flushed red. They cheered, shouting for freedom and human rights.
"Nice lines, Armin," Hange whispered to a soldier beside her.
The soldier, with yellow hair, stood with his heart in his hand.
Hearing the compliment from his commander, he didn't feel proud, but instead remained silent, muttering.
"If Eren were still here…"
"If that guy Eren were alive, he wouldn't let this bastard get away with it."
Levi, who had come closer, added, "What if Roger gets desperate and does something rash? With so many people here, what if…"
"If he dares harm any of the civilians, it will only prove that he has ill intentions," Hange adjusted her glasses. "While there may be unnecessary casualties, at least we'll see his true nature. Otherwise, by the time he turns everyone into Titans, it'll be too late."
"Mm-hmm, you're right."
Sasha nodded, though she didn't really care much for Roger. If her comrades hated him, so would she.
"Don't worry, I've already sent people up," Marco said. "If anything goes wrong, they'll definitely sever Roger's neck at the first opportunity."
But what they couldn't possibly expect was...
At that very moment, Moblit's blade had already sunk into the back of Roger's neck.
But!
Roger seemed completely unaffected, still standing and living as if nothing had happened.
Black markings crept up Moblit's blade, snapping it in half and spitting it out onto the ground.
"No way?!"
Moblit stumbled backward in terror, falling to the ground.
Yet Roger remained calm, unaffected.
"What did Erwin say, Hange?" Roger asked, as if not even noticing the blade at his neck.
Hange, hearing Roger ask about Erwin, froze for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.
Yes, she had asked the retired Erwin.
For something this big, or even for smaller matters, she always sought out the old commander, Erwin.
One, she wasn't sure of her own decision.
Two, she feared giving the wrong orders.
She didn't have the confidence to be a good commander.
Ever since Erwin transformed into a Titan and fought foreign enemies, he had suddenly seemed like a different person.
It was as if the passion had been drained from him, and he no longer had the same vigor as before.
He knew the reason for this change, but he had never been willing to speak about it.
When Hange found him, he finally told her what he had been holding onto for so long.
It was the truth.
The truth about the Titans.
For that, he would even die if necessary—to understand where the Titans had come from.
And this truth had emerged when Marley's airships dropped countless Titans onto them.
He had always craved this truth, but also feared its arrival.
He knew that once he learned the truth about the Titans, he wouldn't be able to do anything he had done before.
He would live aimlessly and drag humanity down with him.
That was why he stepped down from the commander's position, handing over the decision-making power to someone else.
So, even when Hange came to ask him about Roger's plan, he didn't want to say anything more.
He could only tell Hange, "Think carefully."
What to think after that? He didn't know.
He only knew that before that, she had to think carefully.
Hange understood part of it, but she thought she had figured it out.
"Going against human nature is humanity's greatest tragedy."
"The biggest difference between humans and Titans is that humans have humanity, and Titans don't. They only know killing, and don't understand the value of emotions."
Hange said, her gaze still on Roger up on the Wall.
Roger looked down at her, seemingly seeing through everything.
"Did he tell you that?"
"…" Hange was silent for a moment. "Yes," she said.
Roger looked disappointed.
His face was filled with disappointment.
"Sigh."
He sighed and turned back to Moblit.
"Take me away."
"What?"
"Lock me up."
Roger said.
Seeing Moblit unmoved, he continued to urge:
"At this point, it would be hard to quell the public anger without locking me up," Roger sneered, "Humans are like this—unless they're beaten, they'll never learn. Unless there's some bloodshed, they always think they can negotiate."
Looking at Roger's face, Moblit overcame his fear and gave him a disdainful glance.
Humans aren't what you say they are.
Moblit bound Roger and gave him a shove.
"Let's go!"
He said, pushing Roger toward the prison.
Roger didn't resist at all.
As they passed by the crowd, everyone threw the most vicious insults at him and spat on him.
But Roger never once dropped his head.
He looked straight ahead, as if he were familiar with all the changes, knowing they would ultimately lead to a reasonable conclusion.
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