Shiganshina District. A bunker stood tall, surrounded by many Survey Corps soldiers standing guard.
"Yo, A-Five, what a coincidence? It's your shift today?" Yago greeted as he entered the bunker, calling out to Ackerman A-Five who was leaning against the wall.
A-Five, wearing a half-mask, turned his head and nodded in acknowledgment.
Beside A-Five was a row after row of cells. Held here were the Marleyan prisoners captured during the battle to retake Wall Maria. For absolute secrecy, these prisoners were guarded by the most elite soldiers of the Survey Corps.
Aside from a small number of top officials in the new parliamentary government, no one inside the walls knew of these prisoners' existence. For the parliamentary government, whether to reveal the truth of the world to the public was also a major issue, and it was still being heatedly debated.
In the battle of Wall Maria, the more than fifty Titans that fell beneath the five pairs of blades said everything. Thus, Erwin would assign one Ackerman each day to help guard the prisoners.
Yago lifted his foot to leave, but suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned back to A-Five and said,
"Oh right, has A-One been free lately? Could you invite her to come over to my place as a guest?"
Shhk! Yago's hair stood on end. The previously lazy-looking A-Five suddenly raised his head, his black eyes locking onto Yago. A trace of killing intent seeped out, and even the two thin scars at the corners of his eyes turned ferocious.
"What do you mean? Don't you already have a girlfriend? What are you trying to do to A-One?"
A triple question of death. Realizing something was wrong, Yago hurriedly explained,
"No, A-Five, don't misunderstand. It was Annie who invited A-One, and Hitch too. They just haven't seen A-One in a long time and wanted to get together."
Hearing this, A-Five finally calmed down and said in a slightly hoarse voice,
"A-One went out with Squad Leader Hange. I'll tell her when she gets back."
Don't misunderstand—A-Five didn't have any strange feelings toward A-One. He regarded her as a younger sister. He would not allow anyone to harbor ill intentions toward his sister. This was also the unanimous view of the four Ackermans who had once been at Claude Manor.
The youngest, A-One, could be said to be the darling of all five Ackermans.
After explaining, Yago left somewhat awkwardly.
The bunker was very quiet. Even the sound of leather boots rubbing against the ground could be heard clearly. Dozens of Marleyan soldiers were scattered and imprisoned in different cells.
Hearing the noise, the Marleyan soldiers would also raise their heads to take a look. Many of their eyes held complicated expressions.
Unlike what most Marleyan soldiers had expected—that the island devils would cruelly torture them before killing them—the "devils" they imagined had no intention of abusing them at all. They ate their fill and slept soundly, and aside from occasionally being taken away to be asked some questions, nothing else happened.
This left the Marleyan soldiers, who had already been in despair and even prepared for death, utterly baffled. The ideology they had been indoctrinated with all along was that Eldians were devils, and that Paradis Island was the island of devils.
The brutal assassination operations carried out by the underground Eldian Restorationists in the Marleyan capital against Marleyan soldiers or officers had also made Marleyan soldiers firmly believe that Eldians were devils.
But today, some of the soldiers imprisoned here were truly shaken—especially those wounded Marleyan soldiers who had been saved by doctors inside the walls. And as time passed, the convictions of these Marleyan soldiers might continue to waver.
Putting that aside for now, Yago walked straight to the deepest cell. After two Survey Corps soldiers confirmed that the note in Yago's hand was Erwin's personal letter, they opened the cell door.
Yago walked in. This cell was very large and very empty. Aside from a brand-new gas lamp hanging from the ceiling, there was nothing else inside.
And at the very center of the cell was the purpose of Yago's visit.
Heavy iron chains were wound tightly around it. The light from the gas lamp refracted through gleaming crystal, scattering many light spots across the floor. Beneath the layers of chains was an enormous crystal. Within the crystal, a tall, slender figure was sealed inside with eyes closed.
That's right—standing before Yago was Bertholdt, sealed within hardening. A Marleyan warrior, the inheritor of the Colossal Titan's power.
If possible, Yago didn't want Bertholdt to be their enemy. Back in the days at the training corps, it was hard to believe that the gentle, quiet, yet always helpful Bertholdt would be the Colossal Titan who kicked down Wall Maria and plunged humanity into the abyss.
With no stool, Yago simply stood there, looking at Bertholdt inside the hardening as he slowly spoke,
"Long time no see, Bertholdt. I know you can hear me. I believe you already know that outside, the ones being held are all Marleyan soldiers. Let's talk."
Yago suddenly extended his hand. His fingernail scraped across his palm, opening a small cut that emitted faint steam, yet Yago showed no intention of transforming into a Titan.
Instead, an unbelievable scene appeared. From the wound on Yago's hand, a thread of translucent hardening actually spread outward. The hardening quickly wrapped around his hand, forming a clear, hardened claw.
This was a technique Yago had recently explored with Titan power—forming a small portion of hardening through a wound while remaining in human form.
Extending the hardened claw toward Bertholdt, without hesitation, Yago struck. The hardening directly in front of Bertholdt's face was quickly scored with several marks.
After some time, with Yago's final strike, a fist-sized chunk of hardening fell away, and Bertholdt's face was revealed.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Before Bertholdt could even open his eyes, a bout of violent coughing erupted, accompanied by rapid, labored breathing.
Yago glanced at the hardening covering his own hand—it was already in terrible shape.
"Cough… cough cough… Ya, Yago, it really has been a long, long time. You seem to have changed quite a bit." Bertholdt said hoarsely as he coughed, opening his eyes.
Bertholdt looked utterly miserable now. His body was still trapped within the hardening, with only his face free to show expressions and speak.
Yago shook off the hardening on his hand and said,
"Changed? Have I? Speaking of which, Bertholdt, you and Reiner are probably the ones who changed the most among the 104th trainees, aren't you?"