"Dissolve?!"
Hange slammed both hands on the table in front of Asahi, her face filled with disbelief. Startled, she realized her action was too rude toward her superior and quickly drew back.
Asahi didn't pay much attention. Working with her for nearly half a year as her superior was enough for him to understand this person a bit: not bad, just a little "crazy" and outspoken.
Truthfully, Hange was somewhat born in the wrong era. With her personality, becoming a biologist and explorer would be perfectly reasonable, rather than struggling in this age, carrying weapons to fight a bunch of giants.
But it wasn't entirely wrong, as few things were more worthy of research and exploration than a pile of organic structures seemingly growing out of nowhere.
"Hange, calm down."
"I apologize, Commander-in-Chief, but... but..."
"Say no more, I have my own reasons. Now, I hope you can execute one final order."
Hange bit her lip. It was genuinely difficult to give up; the past few months felt like realizing her greatest dream. Now, having to leave it, anyone would feel reluctant.
Asahi was going to dissolve the research facility, initially intending to leave it to Hange, but fate intervened. He was forced to dismantle this overly conspicuous target.
The loss wasn't significant, anyway, as the facility had already fulfilled its mission.
"Understood?"
"Understood, Commander-in-Chief."
Hange solemnly placed her fist over her heart, the most formal salute in this world's military.
Asahi nodded slightly, stood up, and left the room without a sound.
From here on, this place no longer had a director, nor a Commander-in-Chief.
Moving like the wind across challenging terrain, Asahi never stopped thinking.
Stohess.
This was all Erwin had managed to convey through the note left for Hange, but why?
Looking at the situation, it was not surprising that something was amiss on Darius Zackly's side; if anything, it was expected. The two sides only had a loose verbal agreement, outwardly peaceful but inwardly distrustful. He just hadn't expected the balance to be shattered so quickly.
The external enemy, the Marley Empire, was still out there, coveting the Founding Titan. He thought Darius would restrain himself at least a little.
But that wasn't the biggest problem.
Just the single word, Stohess?
Erwin was not one to play games, nor would he be in this situation. If he wanted to convey something, he needed to provide the most precise information, the clearest request. Not muddy the waters with just one word.
Therefore, eliminating the unlikely and illogical reasons above, Erwin's action must have had its own reason, or he was forced to do so.
Stohess.
"Is it to go to Stohess, or to stay away from Stohess?"
Asahi pondered, his eyes fixed on the distance, feeling the wind rushing through his hair, and the Wall gradually taking shape ahead.
Given Darius Zackly's forces, Asahi didn't think he could be killed in Stohess, whether by ambush or outright siege. For an individual, or even a small organization, the head of the government's forces might be nearly insurmountable, but by the same logic, Asahi was also nearly insurmountable against the government.
Based on that, staying away from Stohess was highly unlikely. Erwin wasn't so sentimental as to not allow him to face any danger.
So he went.
Even though his intuition seemed to be warning him about something, a very bad premonition.
Time passed, and Asahi finally approached Wall Sina, which enclosed the Stohess District, in secret.
He moved like a ghost, darting past the guards while they were momentarily distracted. His dark armor, which looked large and heavy, did not affect his movement at all; there was only absolute silence, moving with instinct honed through countless experiences.
He crossed the Wall, concealing himself in the darkness. As the sun gradually set and the shadows lengthened, Asahi had more room to maneuver.
Very quickly, he reached the City Hall, located next to the palace, which was also Darius Zackly's workplace.
Because it was near sunset, the transition hour between day and night, the guards were preparing for a shift change, causing the defense at the City Hall to drop to its lowest level.
Exploiting this opportunity, Asahi quickly infiltrated the building as if it were deserted. He finally reached the office located in the center of the building.
Silently knocking out the patrolling guards, Asahi gently opened the door.
Darius Zackly simultaneously looked up from his desk, witnessing the figure appear less than ten meters away.
"Truly surprising. Half a day ago, you were still near Wall Maria."
Asahi did not reply, merely asking one question.
"Where is Erwin?"
"He escaped."
He frowned, his entire body flashing forward like a phantom, approaching Darius. The two were now separated only by the desk.
A powerful aura, seemingly solidifying, appeared to bend and scatter the light around. Regardless of whether it was an illusion or not, Darius across the desk could feel his entire body being weighed down, a feeling he often inflicted on others.
As for Asahi, he had never intentionally unleashed his pressure. This was merely the effect when he focused intently and ceased restraining himself—a "normal state."
"Don't try to extract anything from this old man. Erwin truly escaped, and so did his scout squad. They scattered as quickly as rats in a dark corner."
Asahi slightly exhaled, sensing the vibrations from the opponent's heartbeat. The probability of Darius lying was very low. This eased one of his concerns.
But before he could proceed further, the man continued speaking.
"To be honest, even if they were caught, the fate of the scout squad would at most be imprisonment, suffering a bit of hardship. Of course, that's assuming there are no other individuals who resist too strongly."
Asahi frowned, wondering what this former Commander-in-Chief was trying to convey.
"In any case... this is an internal matter among the Eldians. And you, the outsider, what... right do you have?"
"Huh?"
Darius Zackly suddenly scraped his arm against a sharp object that had been prepared beforehand beneath the desk. In that instant, time and space seemed to freeze, hovering indefinitely. A surge of danger erupted; Asahi's pupils contracted, and he saw dazzling electric sparks begin to appear in the air.
He also saw Darius Zackly's face tear apart like a piece of paper, but beneath it was not flesh and blood, but another, completely unfamiliar face.
It wasn't Darius Zackly!
Asahi quickly leaped backward before the entire office exploded. It did indeed explode—not just the office, but the entire top section of the City Hall was ripped apart. From above, a colossal figure emerged. It was a Titan, but its bodily structure was far more grotesque than "normal" Titans, despite their inherent strangeness. Its arms were abnormally long, and its body was covered in thick fur. If a comparison had to be made, it resembled an ape more.
Asahi was blasted away by the shockwave, slamming through a wall. He turned his head and saw the Beast Titan staring intently at him from a distance, its body trampling the lower half of the City Hall.
"Let's play, outsider."