His entire body drained and powerless, Yago leaned against a giant tree. Beneath it, the shattered body of a Titan was continuously evaporating, while several other Titans still surrounded the gradually vanishing remains, gnawing at it.
Yago lifted his eyelids and glanced at the Titans gathered below. Only after confirming that none of them could climb up did he finally relax. Enduring the soreness wracking his body, he pulled the girl lying beside him into his arms.
"Annie, it's okay now."
Annie lay unconscious in Yago's arms, her eyes closed. The left arm that had been bitten off by a Titan was emitting faint steam. Watching the Titan power slowly repair Annie's body, Yago finally felt at ease.
Back then, after losing both arms himself, he could only barely escape by holding Annie in his mouth. Now Yago's stamina was completely spent, his mind in utter chaos. Bursts of memories that seemed to appear out of nowhere were being dumped into his head all at once, like trash being tipped out.
Just like that, Yago closed his eyes in a daze, though his arms still held Annie tightly. Night gradually fell, and Yago and Annie leaned against each other like this.
...
"Levi, is what you said true? Yago can also turn into a Titan?" Erwin frowned as he looked at the devastated forest before them. There was no doubt a fierce battle had taken place here.
"Yes. Mikasa and I witnessed the entire process of him transforming into a Titan," Levi replied calmly at Erwin's side.
A trace of concern appeared in Erwin's eyes as he murmured,
"Is that so? Then was it the Titan that destroyed the wall that we brought back back then?"
Levi said, "Not necessarily. Mikasa said that the Titan Yago turned into seemed to have helped them. When we arrived, Yago was also using Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to fight the Female Titan, so…"
"So you think Yago isn't on the same side as the Armored Titan, the Colossal Titan, and the Female Titan that appeared today?" Erwin continued Levi's line of thought.
Levi nodded. The killing intent in his heart toward the Female Titan deepened. Oluo was severely injured and still unconscious. Eld had nearly lost his life while fighting the horde of Titans summoned by the Female Titan. The entire Levi Squad had practically lost its combat capability.
Erwin stared at the completely darkened sky and said,
"Now we can confirm that the Female Titan's identity should be a soldier from within our Survey Corps. Otherwise, she couldn't possibly know Eren's exact location. And it's almost certain she's a new recruit. We need to investigate this thoroughly."
Levi asked, "Then do we still need to search for Yago?" Levi understood Erwin's longing to pursue the truth beyond the walls. Now that Yago could also transform into a Titan, he must surely carry secrets Erwin wanted to know.
Erwin shook his head. He recalled the timid little boy once brought back from outside the walls by the Survey Corps, stammering as he asked if he could join them, and the words Yago had said to him the night before joining the Survey Corps: "Commander, I'm willing to give my heart for humanity!"
"There's no time. We can't determine whether the Female Titan has accomplices within the Survey Corps. The top priority is to protect Eren. Withdraw first, then make a decision. How is Eren now?"
"He's still unconscious, but his body has recovered. Tch, these kids really are a headache," Levi answered flatly.
Erwin muttered to himself, "I can feel it—we're getting closer and closer to the truth. Father, was what you said really true?"
Soon, Erwin issued the withdrawal order, and the entire Survey Corps began retreating to a base they had long prepared.
"What? Yago is also a Titan? That… how is that possible?" Armin stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that Yago could be a Titan.
Although the commander had issued a gag order, Mikasa clearly wasn't going to hide it from Eren and Armin.
"That red-eyed Titan? The one who once helped Eren plug the gate—Yago is that red-eyed Titan?" Armin murmured, his mind racing. Yago shouldn't be an enemy. If he were, with Yago's strength, abducting Eren wouldn't have been difficult at all. But now?
Mikasa didn't speak. She slowly walked over to Eren's side. Eren lay on a cart covered with blankets, still unconscious, but the legs that had been bitten off by the Female Titan had already grown back.
"Eren." Mikasa looked at him with concern.
...
"Erwin! Is this true? Little Yago can also turn into a Titan?" Hange, wearing glasses, burst anxiously into Erwin's tent and asked the moment she entered.
There were several people in the tent. Besides Erwin, Levi was there, as well as Mike, the squad leader known as humanity's second strongest soldier.
Seeing Hange's frantic manner, Levi frowned.
"Hey, you—could you be any louder? Afraid others won't hear you?"
Hange waved her hand nonchalantly. "An accident, an accident."
Erwin raised a hand to signal them, then said calmly,
"We just received an order from the capital. The King wants to meet Eren and recall our Survey Corps."
"Tch, a bunch of parasites drunk on comfort," Levi said irritably. Having grown up in the dark underground city of the capital, he naturally had no goodwill toward the royal government.
Mike also briefly voiced his opinion.
"Something's wrong."
Erwin looked at the Wall Maria recapture operation plan on the table and asked Hange for her thoughts.
"Hange, what do you think?"
Although Hange acted like a madman when facing Titans, in normal times she was also a capable strategist. Light reflected off her glasses.
"Oh? The King wants to meet the Survey Corps, whom he hasn't met in decades? Or rather, does he only want to meet Eren, and what role does the Survey Corps play in this?" Hange said obliquely.
Erwin nodded. For the Female Titan capture operation, the Survey Corps had paid a heavy price. Unfortunately, the capture ultimately failed, and over ten percent of their soldiers had died.
"We'll deal with the capital later. Mike, how are the results of the new recruit screening?"
Mike took a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Erwin.
"Twelve new recruits lost. Four of them are missing."
Missing—in the Survey Corps, that usually meant soldiers presumed eaten by Titans, with no remains recovered.
Erwin scanned the list on the paper, his gaze lingering on the four missing names.
"Missing recruits, four people: Juan Oyeda, Javier Calleja, Yago Norman, Annie Leonhart."
...
"Reiner, what do we do? Did Annie fail? What should we do now?" Bertholdt couldn't suppress the panic on his face. When he learned that Eren had returned completely unharmed, Bertholdt immediately panicked.
But Reiner seemed off. He didn't seem to hear Bertholdt's words at all, only staring blankly in one direction. Bertholdt followed Reiner's gaze and saw Historia, dressed in casual clothes, helping the logistics squad organize some medicine.
Bertholdt: ????
(A/N: The next few chapters will introduce the protagonist's past.)