The audience thus went from one person to four.
To this, Ymir argued confidently, "He's the one who injured me. What's wrong with me listening?" That's right—back then, the one who injured Ymir at the manor where Historia worked was A-Five.
Annie, meanwhile, stated, "I said I wouldn't stay too far away from you again. That's the only way I can feel at ease." She very firmly insisted on staying.
And as for Historia—being the queen who was about to inherit the throne—how could Yago possibly refuse?
Besides, A-Five didn't seem to mind having a few more people know his story.
"That day, a little girl came—she was younger than all of us, dressed in rags. Even now I still remember the timid look in her eyes when she first saw us. Claude's subordinates abandoned this girl and left."
"At the time, we didn't know anything at all. We only had killing techniques ingrained into us. But A-Two, A-Three, A-Four, and I all liked this little girl very much. The first time she smiled at us, we all smiled too. We did our best to give her the best things— the softest bread in our food, the most intact coat among our clothes."
"She was different from us. Our minds had been stuffed full of all kinds of ways to kill, but her mind was filled with thoughts. Tirelessly, she told us how blue the sky was outside, how prosperous the cities were. Even though we all had the same black eyes, there was no light in ours, while in hers it was as if a rainbow lived there."
"But one day, the four of us were sent by Claude to carry out a mission for him—assassinating a chairman of the Reeves Company. That chairman was just as greedy as he was. After we completed the mission and came back, the little girl had changed. Her head was covered in blood, there was no light left in her eyes, and she no longer recognized us."
At this point, A-Five's gaze suddenly turned vicious.
"It was the instructor who did it. A-One awakened just like that. Her talent was better than all of ours, her skills far superior to ours. She became the strongest Ackerman among us, and also the first to receive a name from Claude—A-One Ackerman. According to the strength of our combat ability, the rest of us received our names in sequence."
"But A-One never smiled again. It was like she lost all her emotions and became cold. Even her memories seemed optional to her."
"The instructor died. I stabbed him seventy-one times. He bled out completely before he died. Before dying, he told me a secret."
"Claude didn't actually know anything about cultivating warrior-retainers. The knowledge of his ancestors had already been lost by his generation. He was nothing more than an ordinary noble who raised pigs. It was only by chance that he found half a family notebook passed down through generations in a pigsty and learned about his ancestors' deeds."
"Using the method recorded in that notebook to identify members of the Ackerman clan, Claude went mad searching for Ackermans inside the walls. The half notebook only mentioned that the Ackermans' power would erupt after being stimulated—it never explained how Claude's ancestors stimulated that power. It only recorded a pile of brainwashing methods."
"Bloated with greed, Claude brought in Sean, the most infamous brutalizer from the Underground City—an outlaw as notorious as the throat-slitter Kenny—someone famous for all kinds of hellish, cruel methods of torture. He was made the instructor, who brutally tortured and stimulated the Ackerman children that were found, forcing their powers to awaken, and then Claude himself would brainwash and control them."
"After killing the instructor, I didn't feel relieved. But A-One, A-Two, A-Three, and A-Four had already been controlled by Claude. I wanted to kill him many times but never found the opportunity. So I should thank you." A-Five looked toward Yago and the others.
"Thank you for giving me this chance. Claude won't live much longer. The dagger was poisoned—he'll probably die in about fifteen minutes."
Yago froze. "You…"
He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say. Stop him? But was there any need?
Historia beside him frowned slightly as she listened. Even Ymir didn't speak.
"There's nothing else to say. Your Majesty the Queen, we are willing to accept any punishment you see fit." A-Five bowed to Historia.
"Ah, me?" Historia hesitated.
...
Shiganshina District
"Warrior Chief, should we withdraw? The Jaw Titan, the Female Titan, and now even the Colossal Titan have been taken. Our advantage is gone."
The Cart Titan spoke human words, shouting toward the figure ahead.
Standing before the Cart Titan was Zeke, wearing a long coat, atop Wall Maria. The wind stirred his blond hair as he focused intently on the map in his hands—the one obtained last time from a market inside the walls.
Looking at the rough symbols on the map, Zeke murmured to himself,
"It seems they don't even know about the existence of the ocean. Then they must know even less about the outside world. Wait—if they were to find out… there might be some possibilities."
Bang! A dull impact made Zeke turn around. He saw Reiner with a grim face, gritting his teeth, his fist smashed into Wall Maria, blood dripping down the wall.
"We can't leave. Bertholdt is still in their hands. We can't abandon him!" Reiner said firmly.
"If the power of the Colossal Titan falls into the hands of those inside the walls, that really would be quite troublesome," Zeke said, putting away the map and walking to the edge of the wall, gazing into the distance.
After watching for a while, Zeke suddenly asked,
"Reiner, if I remember correctly, didn't you say those soldiers would come back to reclaim this wall?"
Reiner was momentarily stunned and replied,
"Yes, Warrior Chief. Survey Corps Commander Erwin Smith said that beneath Eren's home in Shiganshina lies the key to humanity's victory."
Zeke heard that familiar name again.
"Eren… heh, Eren. Eren Yeager. Yeager… Father, what secrets did you leave behind?"