Crack, crack. A layer of hardening covered the hands of the Fate Titan as it slowly walked to the lifeless body of the Sea-Diving Titan and crouched down beside it.
The hardened claws at its fingertips easily pierced into the Sea-Diving Titan's nape. From the neck upward, after the Fate Titan's earlier brutal hammer strike, it had already turned into a steaming mess of pulp.
After carefully feeling around for a moment, the Fate Titan gave a strong pull, and a figure was forcibly dragged out from the Sea-Diving Titan's nape.
With a thought, Yago placed Airi—who was being held in the Fate Titan's grasp—onto the ground. Then the Fate Titan slowly lowered its head, the crimson light fading from its eyes. Steam erupted, and Yago climbed out from the nape of the Fate Titan.
Tearing away the sinew connected to his face, Yago took several deep breaths of fresh air in relief before climbing down along the Fate Titan's body back to the ground.
The battle was decided. Serena, who had been watching from the sidelines, cautiously approached while holding Yago's coat.
As for Airi, who had just been forcibly dragged from the Sea-Diving Titan's nape by Yago, her condition was terrible—miserable would be a more accurate word.
Her once relatively smooth gray hair was now a tangled mess, with strands stuck to her forehead. Her loose military uniform was soaked with the damp fluids from inside the Titan's body. Although a Titan's bodily fluids would gradually evaporate, at least for now, it was extremely uncomfortable.
Her face was pale. Bits of Titan sinew still clung beneath her eyes, not yet removed, and her pupils were slightly bloodshot.
Fighting on land had always been the Sea-Diving Titan's weakness, let alone facing another absurdly powerful Titan warrior.
Having severely overdrawn her stamina, Airi no longer had any strength left to resist. She could only watch Yago and Serena approach her in despair and helplessness. Perhaps from exhaustion—or perhaps from overwhelming fear—Airi, lying on the ground, rolled her eyes back and fainted on the spot.
When Yago and Serena arrived before the unconscious Airi, both of them were stunned. They stared at each other in silence for quite a while.
...
Twenty minutes later.
Dawn broke, and sunlight gradually began to shine across the land. Yet within the desolate valley, a bonfire was burning.
A dagger had been heated until it glowed red within the flames. Yago now held the red-hot blade, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
Opposite him, Serena pressed down on the tightly bound Airi, forcing her to sit on a rock.
Yago poured some water from his canteen onto the dagger, and it immediately sizzled as steam burst forth.
Airi's eyes were wide with terror. Serena, who was holding her down, could feel her body trembling slightly.
Holding the dagger, Yago walked up to Airi and put on a deliberately cruel smile.
"Airi, as the saying goes, a wise person understands the times. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be burned by this red-hot dagger, would you? So just answer our questions obediently."
The glowing blade was held five centimeters from Airi's face. The wave of heat rushing toward her frightened her badly. From childhood until now, Airi had never seen such a scene. A red-hot iron? Wasn't that the kind of terrifying torture only described in cheap street novels?
Tears welled up in her eyes. Trembling as she suppressed her fear, she finally blurted out what she had been wanting to say all along.
"What questions are you even talking about? You haven't asked anything! How am I supposed to answer you?!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yago was left speechless. Serena covered her eyes, unable to bear looking. For the past twenty minutes, Yago had simply been cackling strangely while building the fire and roasting the dagger.
Casually tossing the dagger aside, Yago coughed twice to cover his embarrassment.
"Enough joking around, Miss Airi. You should understand your situation now, right?"
Airi silently lowered her head, clearly having accepted the reality of her defeat and capture.
"Unfortunately, just as you said, we're sorry as well. We cannot let a Marleyan warrior who possesses Titan power walk free—especially one who now knows the secrets of our Eldian Revival Army," Yago said in a grave tone.
Though she had been mentally prepared, Airi still began to tremble uncontrollably at those words. She raised her head timidly and stammered,
"Y-you… are you going to kill me?"
Yago chuckled softly.
"Not necessarily. If Miss Airi is willing to cooperate with us—or even better, to join our Eldian Revival Army and become our comrade—then you wouldn't have to worry about that problem. So? Care to consider it?"
Airi fell silent.
Did she even have a choice?
She reviewed her life in her mind. From the moment she was old enough to understand, her mother had taught her never to resist the Marleyans, to be cautious and compliant for the sake of their family.
Growing up without a father, Airi had never understood why her mother feared the Marleyans so much. Only later did she overhear a neighbor mention that her father had been beaten to death by Marleyans for helping some so-called Restorationists.
At the time, her mother—pregnant with Airi's youngest sister—had knelt on the ground, begging desperately. Fortunately, one of the Marleyan police officers had felt a trace of sympathy, and her mother had managed to save herself and her children.
As a child, Airi had never understood why the Marleyans bullied them. She had felt anger. But over time, worn down by life and her mother's constant warnings, she gradually grew numb. What did Eldians or Marleyans even mean to her?
When she grew older, all she wanted was for her perpetually exhausted mother to have an easier life, and for her younger siblings to grow up healthy.
Being chosen as a Marleyan warrior was nothing. At least it could ease her family's burdens. Before she left, her mother's tearful words of warning still echoed in her mind.
"Airi, I've always taught you to obey the Marleyans. But remember this—when real danger comes, protecting yourself is enough. You must protect yourself. Don't worry about the Marleyans. You are my daughter, not theirs."
Thinking of her mother and siblings—if she joined some Eldian Revival Army, she might secure her own safety. But what about her family in the internment zone? The Marleyans would never let them go.
Though Airi feared death, she feared even more seeing her family die because of her.
"I… I won't join you!" Airi gritted out through clenched teeth.
Yago frowned, deeply puzzled. From what he had heard from Koslow, most of the descriptions of Airi were things like lazy, lacking energy, gluttonous, cowardly. Never once had he heard that she was so loyal to Marley.
But looking at Airi now—eyes tightly shut, face slightly twisted, as if ready to die for her cause—Yago's expression turned cold. A trace of anger rose within him. An Eldian, loyal to Marley? What a joke.
"Serena, give me the knife," Yago said coldly.
Serena looked at Yago, then at Airi, before pulling the dagger from her waist and handing it to him. Yago had thrown his own aside earlier after heating it red.
"What a pity."
Airi heard Yago's voice by her ear.
The next moment, she felt the cold blade press against her neck.