The dark clouds gradually dispersed. Ebson removed his black-framed glasses, took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his white coat, and gently wiped the lenses clean.
In front of Ebson, Bill held a person up with one hand. The man's limbs were twisted at grotesque angles, his brown hair a tangled mess. His face looked young, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, steam rising from his body in waves.
When they reached Ebson, Bill casually tossed the man to the ground. His black leather boot came down hard on the young man's back. With his arms and legs broken, he couldn't move at all, yet the hatred in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
Bill rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds.
"A flying brat is a bit troublesome to deal with. Kid, try that again next time and I'll crush your head finer than the sand here."
Not far away, the once-flat desert had become riddled with craters. Pits of all sizes scarred the land, rainwater collecting in them. From above, it looked as though countless crystal shards had been scattered across the yellow sands.
Behind a sand dune lay the shattered body of a Titan. Its torso was mangled and bloody, evaporating at high speed. What drew the most attention were its arms—beneath them hung a massive cluster of torn flesh, like ragged bat wings made of meat.
Ebson put his cleaned glasses back on and looked calmly at the brown-haired youth.
"Futile. I granted you extraordinary Titan power not so you'd have the audacity to offend me. Foolish. I can grant you strength, and I can strip it away at any moment."
But the young man paid no attention to his words. His eyes bloodshot, he let out a grief-stricken, furious roar.
"Marley!!"
At that, a strange glint flickered in Ebson's eyes. He crouched down, grabbed the young man's chin, and laughed.
"Hahaha, what personality. Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity. If I remember correctly, your family died right beside you, didn't they? There was even a three-year-old girl.
Pitiful. You should be thanking me. If I hadn't bribed the execution squad, the shot to your head wouldn't have been a blank round."
Ebson's words dragged the young man back into unbearable memories—gunfire cracking like bursting beans, the wails and sobs of his loved ones—echoing over and over in his mind. The brown-haired youth struggled madly, roaring in rage, but Bill merely pressed down slightly harder with his boot. The young man coughed up a large mouthful of blood and immediately grew weak and listless.
"Heh, don't worry. I keep my word. You'll have your chance for revenge against Marley—but only if you submit to me completely. Otherwise, without this power, as nothing more than the remnant of a fallen nation, you'll need eight lifetimes to even think about revenge. Now, tell me your choice."
Ebson looked down at him from above. He did indeed need a tool filled with hatred toward Marley. The Tybur family had been getting far too restless lately. If it didn't interfere with his plans, Ebson wouldn't mind lending Marley a little help—after all, he was technically a Marleyan noble himself.
But the Tybur family had crossed the line. Or rather, their greed had blinded them. Just a few Titan powers were enough to make the Tyburs unable to sit still. Ebson was disappointed. It seemed there was nothing worth helping them with anymore. Those Titan powers? He might as well let them play with them.
After a brief silence, the young man finally spoke.
Spitting blood, he forced the words out.
"...Sub…mit."
The corner of Ebson's lips curled upward. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other two people standing nearby. Startled by his cold gaze, they quickly lowered their heads.
"Submit!"
Bill lifted his foot and shot the young man on the ground a glance before reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.
Seeing all three submit, Ebson finally nodded in satisfaction. Only a few final steps remained. He took out a small brown vial from his white coat pocket and looked at the faded yellow label stuck to it—"y.n."
"Norman, Norman. That name really does have a certain magic to it, old friend. Heh heh heh."
...
In an instant, just as Yago was about to step out of the camp gates, he froze in place. He raised his hand and looked down. The veins on the back of his hand bulged suddenly, and an extremely uncomfortable sensation surged through him. This wasn't the first time it had happened. Instinctively, Yago felt something was wrong.
"Th-That person looks so familiar!" Falco suddenly cried out, eyes wide as if he'd seen something astonishing.
The Warrior Candidates followed Falco's gaze and saw a tall Marleyan officer shaking hands with Colonel Koslow.
That familiar face made the young Warrior Candidates all draw in a sharp breath—especially Gabi, whose body was visibly trembling.
Airi and Colt looked confused, scratching their heads. Airi also saw Yago shaking hands with Colonel Koslow. After staring for quite a while, she couldn't find anything particularly strange—just a somewhat handsome Marleyan officer. Well, if only not for the scar on his face.
"It… it shouldn't be that person, right? That one didn't have a scar, and he was younger." Falco noticed Gabi's terror and could only offer that as comfort.
But Gabi stared fixedly at Yago. She could feel it—this was the man who had grabbed her by the throat that day! The faint, seemingly casual glance he had just cast her way sent the same bone-chilling sensation crawling up her spine.
On Yago's side, he smiled and shook hands with Colonel Koslow.
"Welcome, Colonel Koslow. And welcome to the Warrior Candidates."
"You flatter us, Lieutenant Colonel Loya. I've brought the Warrior Candidates here so they can be trained into qualified Marleyan soldiers on the battlefield."
As Yago exchanged perfunctory pleasantries, his gaze swept over the Warrior Candidates standing behind Koslow.
Gabi, Falco, Zofia, Udo—and a slightly older candidate whom older Eren had seen in his memories. That should be Falco's brother, Colt, right?
When his eyes fell on the girl standing beside the Warrior Candidates, Yago's gaze sharpened. Though she wore a loose-fitting military uniform and appeared somewhat frail, Yago could sense that this gray-haired girl was anything but simple.
"A Titan Warrior?" Yago suddenly asked in a low voice, looking at Colonel Koslow.
Colonel Koslow was taken aback for a moment, then turned his head to glance back before realizing Yago must be referring to Airi. He replied casually,
"Ah, yes. That's the Sea-Diving Titan Warrior. Well… she's also an excellent Marleyan soldier. During the capture of Monroe Fortress last time, she single-handedly wiped out an entire Middle Eastern fleet."
Although he wasn't entirely satisfied with Airi's performance, she was still a Marleyan Warrior and represented the Warrior Unit. So Koslow chose his words carefully.
"Sea-Diving Titan?" Yago suddenly recalled the white shadow beneath the sea that day.
...
Check out my new interesting story "Naruto: Starting by Possessing Kimimaro." A transmigrator appears in Kimimaro's body, inheriting a powerful bloodline limit.