Wall Rose, Trost District.
On top of the wall, quite a few people were already standing there: Commander Pixis, Erwin, priests of the Wall Church, Queen Historia, and others.
The purpose of the group's visit was to see the latest weapon developed by Squad Leader Hange of the Survey Corps. It was said that it could eliminate Titans without soldiers having to fight them directly. This astonished everyone present at the meeting, so representatives were sent to verify it.
Historia, who had grown tired of staying in the royal palace, also strongly demanded to come along. However, considering her status, everyone was initially reluctant to agree.
But the current Historia was no longer the frail Historia from older Eren's memories. Possessing one of the Nine Titans' powers—the Jaw Titan—Historia could domineeringly throw out a line:
"If you don't let me go out, I'll turn into a Titan and go out myself!"
With no other choice, the upper ranks could only assign more Military Police as guards for Historia. But what drew the most attention were the five black-robed figures standing around her, all equipped with Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
These five were naturally A-One and the other Ackermans. Their terrifying talent allowed them to master the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment in an extremely short time. In Levi's words, once on the battlefield, the number of Titans they would slay would not be much less than his own.
To protect Historia's safety, the five Ackermans received their first mission in the Survey Corps—as bodyguards.
...
Standing atop the towering wall, Yago stared at the crystal pillars that had begun intertwining from the ground below, extending all the way up to the wall. At the very top was a special device, like an enlarged crane, suspending a massive log in midair through hinges.
Yago was momentarily stunned. It really was that device from older Eren's memories—the Titan meat grinder made through Eren's full-body hardening ability.
Yago walked to the other side of the wall and looked at the crystal shell below. Well, how should he put it—those buttocks were quite smooth and glossy. Eren's Titan physique was pretty good.
"Achoo!" Eren let out a huge sneeze and rubbed his nose in confusion.
"Eren, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold?" Mikasa asked with some concern.
Eren said, "No, it's just… it feels like someone's talking about me."
Hange excitedly waved toward the Titans gathering below the wall. Inside the crystal pillars, Moblit noticed Hange's movement and immediately began waving his arms wildly.
"Hey! Look over here! Fresh, delicious humans! Look this way!" Under Moblit's loud shouting, a Titan was quickly drawn over. Unfortunately for it, rows of horizontal crystal pillars blocked its path.
So, very naturally, the Titan stuffed its head into the gap between the crystal pillars.
"Now!" Hange shouted.
Bang! The massive log hanging in midair was immediately released by the Survey Corps soldiers.
The log fell freely, slamming viciously toward the Titan's nape, which was stuck between the crystal pillars.
Bang! Without any suspense, the platinum-colored log smashed the Titan's nape into pulp.
"Beautiful! Easily took down a fifteen-meter-class Titan. There are plenty of gaps between the crystal pillars—some as small as two meters, some as large as fifty meters. Plenty of room to stick them in, hahaha!" Hange laughed loudly with her hands on her hips.
Everyone else was also extremely surprised. Commander Pixis stroked his small mustache and said,
"In that case, as long as we lure the Titans beneath this device, we can easily grind them up. This really is quite excellent."
Erwin nodded and said, "Yes. So we should reclaim Wall Maria as soon as possible and eliminate as many Titans as we can. After all, Commander, you've seen the intelligence Yago provided—outside the walls, there are still other humans."
A trace of gravity flashed through Pixis's eyes. He had once told Eren that before the Titans appeared, humans fought each other. But in the face of Titans with the power to destroy humanity, humans could only set aside their prejudices and fight together. Now, if Titans were no longer a threat, then what would happen between humans themselves?
...
Yago leaned against the wall, expressionless. Suddenly, someone appeared beside him. Yago was startled and turned to look—turns out it was Historia.
Historia smiled. "You were staring off so intently that I didn't want to disturb you. I'm not interrupting you thinking about something good, am I?"
Seeing the slightly mischievous smile at the corner of Historia's mouth, Yago didn't know what to say. She seemed a bit different. Now she felt a bit lively? Or perhaps… scheming?
"Yago, lately I keep feeling like you don't seem very happy. You're always frowning, like someone owes you a huge sum of money," Historia said as she leaned against the wall beside him.
Hearing this, Yago froze slightly.
"What? I'm always frowning? That can't be right. I clearly—eh? Wait, that's not right!"
Yago was about to refute it, but thinking carefully, he realized that lately he really had been constantly pondering older Eren's memories, thinking about how to respond to the coming situation, thinking…
With Historia's reminder, Yago suddenly realized—why was he considering so many things?
Yago suddenly thought of something, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
"Hey, hey, hey, this is a bit ridiculous."
His current state reminded him of someone. That's right—older Eren, or rather, the Eren in his memories who had once glimpsed the future.
"Eren, you bastard, that's really unprincipled. You never told me that looking at memories would affect a person's mood," Yago muttered. Clearly, during this period, Yago had been influenced by older Eren's memories.
But wasn't that Yago's own choice?
After a moment of silence, Yago suddenly felt enlightened. He had figured it out.
"I am the Fate Titan! A Titan meant to change fate! Why should I be in despair?"
Fate had already changed. Why should Yago still be entangled in older Eren's memories? That was older Eren's past and future, not Yago's own.
After thinking it through, Yago relaxed completely. He no longer kept a cold expression. At the same time, a not-yet-mature idea emerged in his mind.
Soon, a slight smile curved at the corner of Yago's mouth. He softly said,
"Zeke, it seems we should find an opportunity to meet and talk." He turned his head and glanced at several Ackermans, including Levi, and thought,
"You definitely won't refuse."
Seeing the sudden smile on Yago's face, Historia immediately stepped a little farther away from him, because that smile was just a bit… evil.