"Historia! I'm so glad you're okay!" Even though one of her arms was wrapped in layers of bandages, Ymir still rushed forward excitedly and hugged Historia as she had just emerged from the underground passage.
Yago looked at the scene before him. Before he even had time to feel anything about it, another figure also rushed straight into his arms.
Yago froze slightly, but when he sensed that familiar presence, he still smiled.
"I'm fine, Annie."
Annie's eyes were slightly red as she punched Yago lightly in the chest and said in a low voice,
"Bastard, Yago."
Yago hugged Annie back.
The Military Police and the Garrison were escorting away the still-screaming Claude and his wild-boar-of-a-son.
Under the pursuit of the Military Police and the Garrison, Claude's few subordinates hadn't managed to take their young master very far. Of course, their young master's mobility itself was a huge problem—just look at the unwilling expressions on the faces of the Military Police pushing that oversized reclining chair and you could tell.
Naturally, the five Ackermans dressed in black were also being escorted together.
Commander-in-Chief Zackly was receiving treatment from military doctors. Among the kidnapped individuals, his injuries were the most severe.
Mikasa looked somewhat hesitantly toward the escorted Ackermans. They were Ackermans as well.
Yago patted Annie on the back and gently comforted her with a few words. Annie wasn't the sentimental type; she simply said that she wouldn't let herself be separated too far from Yago again, then finally stepped out of his embrace.
Walking over to the Military Police escorting the Ackermans, Yago patted one of them on the shoulder and pointed at the man at the very front, A-Five.
"Could you let me talk to him?"
The Military Policeman looked shocked. Who are you? This is a dangerous criminal who kidnapped the queen and the commander-in-chief of the army, and you want to chat? Who do you think you are?
This ordinary Military Policeman didn't recognize Yago at all.
"Let them talk." Before the Military Policeman could scold him, a voice spoke up beside them. The Military Policeman turned his head and immediately snapped to attention, giving a military salute.
"Commander Nile!"
The commander of the Military Police, Nile, merely glanced at Yago a bit longer and said nothing more.
Following the order, the Military Policeman handed the lead rope binding A-Five's hands to Yago. Heavy shackles were also fastened to A-Five's wrists and ankles.
"Give me the keys as well." Yago said with a smile to the Military Policeman.
The Military Policeman raised an eyebrow—pushing his luck, weren't you?
"Give him the keys." After saying that, Nile rode off on his horse.
With a sour expression, the Military Policeman very unwillingly handed the keys to Yago.
Then he led the other Military Police away, escorting the remaining three Ackermans. As for A-One, Yago had used too much force earlier, and A-One had been squeezed unconscious.
A-Five, brought to Yago's side, was very quiet. The other Ackermans were quiet as well. Only after the three Ackermans were escorted by the Military Police into a specially made cage did Yago tug lightly on A-Five's lead rope.
"Let's go. Let's have a talk."
Yago brought A-Five to a small pavilion in Claude's estate. He unlocked A-Five's shackles and untied the rope.
A-Five rolled his wrists, then looked at Yago with slight confusion on his scarred face. Yago didn't speak. The two of them just stood there in silence.
"You're not afraid I'll make a move?" A-Five finally spoke first.
Yago looked at him amusedly.
"Do you think you can defeat a Titan?"
After a moment of silence, A-Five said,
"With the Survey Corps' Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and dual blades, it might not be impossible."
"Haha, unfortunately, you don't have them. Alright, tell me—why did you betray Claude? He seemed to say that you were raised by him." Yago said with a smile as he plopped down onto a bench inside the pavilion.
A-Five was silent for a moment, then sat down opposite Yago. As if recalling something, he suddenly smiled. The smile tugged at the scars on his face, making it look somewhat ferocious.
"What are you smiling at? Is it that funny?" Yago's curiosity was piqued.
But A-Five suddenly said something inexplicable.
"I'm the oldest."
Yago asked,
"Oldest? What do you mean? You mean your, uh, names aren't arranged by age?"
Yago thought carefully. A-One, A-Two, A-Three, A-Four, A-Five—these sounded more like code names.
"Ever since I can remember, I lived in a sealed training room. Every day, the only food was a few pieces of hard bread. Later on, every once in a while, new children would be sent in—one, two, until three."
"After the third child was sent in, someone who claimed to be an instructor arrived."
Yago suddenly interrupted,
"To train you?"
A-Five shot Yago a glance.
"Never. He only tortured us. The scars on my face—he left them."
A-Five pointed to the two scars on his face.
"The awakening of an Ackerman requires stimulation. Claude's method of stimulating us was insane torture."
"How A-Two, A-Three, A-Four, and I awakened our power—my face gained two scars, A-Two lost the ability to speak, A-Three lost an eye, and A-Four lost four fingers."
Hearing this, Yago was a little shocked. He hadn't expected these formidable Ackerman warriors to have such a past.
"Under that madness of torture, we almost became numb. Claude forged us into the sharpest killing weapons. He had always been waiting for an opportunity. Toward that former royal family, the Reiss, he never had any intention of pledging allegiance. We, too, had been waiting for his command—until that day."
...
Clack. Just as Yago was listening intently, a sudden sound came from behind. With their sharp reflexes, both Yago and A-Five turned their heads at the same time.
Historia was standing somewhat awkwardly behind a rock, with Ymir beside her. A bit farther away stood Annie, her arms crossed over her chest.
Having been discovered, Historia said somewhat embarrassedly,
"Um, we—we didn't mean to eavesdrop."
Yago and A-Five exchanged a glance in unison.