Two hours before the Colossal Titan's explosion.
Marley, Warrior Training Camp.
Theo went to inform General Calvi about his observations of Paradis Island. He laid out all the letters and photographs the islanders had given him, vividly and indignantly describing the disdain the Eldians of the island felt.
General Calvi, his face grim, picked up the photographs and asked, "So not only did you fail to recover the power of the warriors, but you were also captured by the demons and spent two months as a tourist on the island."
Theo hesitated, raised a finger, and said in a gloomy tone, "One month. We only spent the first month traveling and investigating; the rest of the month, we were prisoners of war in a Paradis prisoner-of-war camp."
"You must listen to me, sir!" Theo shouted in desperation. "Zeke and that woman had no intention of serving the Marleyan Empire! We didn't even see them transform into Titans and fight the Paradis forces there!"
"Those two are Eldians as well; they definitely want to betray Marley!"
"Where are Zeke Yeager and Pieck now?" Calvi asked in a low voice. "Didn't the Paradis forces send them back?"
"Those two are at the port. I've put the navy in charge of watching them and left orders to kill them if they try anything." Theo said, convinced that Zeke had betrayed Marley for quite some time. "They could rebel, Commander Calvi. I didn't dare bring them here, near you. Who knows if they're conspiring with the people of Paradis? If they turn into Titans here, we're finished. We have to do something!"
Calvi ignored Theo's rambling and focused on the photographs and letters.
He was shocked by what they showed him; he could hardly believe it.
The Pure Titans they had deployed on Paradis over the last century had not only failed to stop the expansion of the Walls, but had become tools that allowed others to advance at a breathtaking pace.
Colossal Titan power plants, Titan railway construction, mining Titans... Just by looking at the photographs and the simple descriptions beneath them, he could almost visualize the scene.
Calvi took Theo's words seriously because he was undoubtedly one of the Marleyans who understood Titans best; he knew perfectly well how much they could contribute to production.
He had been the highest-ranking officer at the Warrior Training Camp for fifteen years and was about to be promoted as a General.
Zeke, Reiner, Pieck, Bertolt, Annie, Marcel—without a doubt, Theo knew them better than anyone because he had been the one to select them, and there was no better way to identify a traitor than through their commander.
On the battlefield, Calvi was the commander of the Marleyan army, and the soldiers' actions and operations usually fell under his direction.
But it was Theo who had originally sent Reiner and the other three to Paradis Island, telling them that the Marleyan army would be waiting for them at the port at specific times.
Perhaps he had placed too much trust in those four, since they had just joined forces to destroy a small country.
Calvi had high expectations for them, believing they would quickly recover the Founding Titan.
In the eyes of Calvi and the Marleyan high command, the success of the plan should have been simple: the four would transform into Titans and sow chaos, just as they had done when destroying other countries, then secretly infiltrate the Walls, devour the successor of the Founding Titan before being discovered, and bring it back.
But Theo, with his despicable nature, soon realized that those four were nothing more than underage children when they landed on the island.
What kind of decision was it to send a child to do something like that?
Had Marley, which had depended on the power of the Titans for so long, lost its mind?
Calvi gritted his teeth and shouted, "Go immediately and inform Mr. Tybur! I need to see him!"
...
Five minutes before the Colossus's explosion, at the Warrior Training Camp,
Willy Tybur and his entourage arrived shortly afterward at the main building of the Marleyan army.
An hour earlier, he had received some photographs, and what they showed, if not fake, was absolutely shocking.
To meet with the Marleyans who had seen the photographs in person and gather more information from them, he immediately abandoned his speech at the Capitol and rushed here.
He hurried out of the carriage to meet Calvi, accompanied by soldiers and guards.
As the hidden leader of Marley, his personal escort was extremely powerful.
"Commander Calvi, what happened?!" Willy, still wearing his white suit, stormed into the warrior camp.
There were still warrior candidates training there, mostly Eldian children, running laps around the field or attending classes in their rooms.
The training camp was very close to the Eldian-controlled zone and was heavily guarded to restrict their freedom.
"The situation is very serious, Mr. Tybur..." Calvi whispered as he took a long drink of alcohol to calm his nerves. "I think we tempted fate by invading Paradis, and it seems we've touched the hand of the sleeping devil." Calvi spoke gravely, his voice trembling.
"Not a single warrior returned?" Willy's face darkened.
Marley was at war with the Mid-East Allied Forces and had already suffered heavy losses at the front.
What reassured them was the power of the Titans, which was why he had been desperately waiting for news that Zeke's team would bring their soldiers back.
But the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Not only had they failed to recover the Founding Titan, but according to the brief message, they had also lost all their warriors and, with them, the power of the intelligent Titans.
This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire of Marley's already critical situation; no, it was as though two blizzards had struck at once, threatening their very survival!
"The Beast Titan and the Cart Titan have returned, but as Theo says..." Calvi clenched his hands and said, "I think we've been betrayed by them, though it hasn't been confirmed."
"I know it, they've betrayed us. How is it possible that they were simply released?" Theo shouted angrily, his words still not being taken seriously.
Willy, somewhat confused, tried to process everything and looked at Calvi with doubt.
"I'm considering it. Zeke and Pieck are currently under naval supervision, and I ordered them to stay where they are." Theo looked at Willy, seeking an answer that could reassure him.
"The letter from Paradis Island says they want to establish diplomatic negotiations... But I don't think that's their true intention."
"This is a real headache." Willy rubbed his forehead, feeling as though his head was about to explode.
He sat down and then fell into a long silence.
He had no idea what to do; things had developed far too quickly.
But what he had not anticipated was that something even more sudden was about to happen.
"Wait a second, two warriors were returned to Marley while the others were taken by Paradis?" Willy suddenly opened his eyes, realizing what that meant.
However, before he could say anything more, the world suddenly turned into an apocalypse.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three massive explosions shook the buildings and shattered the glass windows.
"What the hell is happening?"
"An earthquake?"
"Ahhhhh!"
Willy had barely sat down when panic overwhelmed him once again. "No, we're under attack..."
His guards evacuated him from the building, but as soon as they stepped outside, they saw a dark red sky filled with sparks.
It wasn't an earthquake; it was the Colossal Titan!
"The islanders of Paradis have attacked Cape City, the capital of Marley!"
"How dare they? Why now? How many people from Paradis have come? What is the navy doing? Didn't they give any warning before such a large army entered the country?"
Calvi and Willy still had not realized that the number of people from Paradis was fewer than 300.
But to their surprise, ten minutes later, before they even had time to reorganize their troops, the shadow of the Armored Titan loomed over them with the whistling sound of slings.