Cardina and Jorge had great expectations for his physical acumen, but Kuklo was doubtful. It was true that his years of abuse had endowed him with perseverance. He was confident that he could put up with hell and not give up.
But what good is that against a Titan? A single blow from a Titan’s fist would be enough to send Kuklo to the afterlife. Feral quickness and keen senses might help one run away but were clearly insignificant pitted against a Titan’s powerful frame.
“Just the fact you stood against a Titan is worthy of praise. Do you know how many soldiers’ spirits got crushed in the last expedition?”
The first Survey Corps mission in fifteen years had exposed the troops’ mental unpreparedness. As for the personnel who’d deserted the cargo team they’d been ordered to guard, they seemed unlikely to venture outside the walls with the Survey Corps again. The fear that Titans planted in people wasn’t easy to wipe away.
“You may have gotten your courage from Heath.”
“You mean my father?”
“Heath Mansell served under me, and he trained and served alongside Carlo. He was a daring, fearless exemplar of a soldier.”
“Hmph…” Kuklo’s uninterested reaction owed to never having known his father.
“And maybe it was fate that Ogre attacked you.”
“Ogre?”
“The name of the Titan you encountered during the expedition.”
“That big one…” Kuklo did not have to think back to it. He’d just met the Titan in a dream. The image of its monstrous body, over ten meters tall, clung to his mind like a scab.
“Ogre was the one who got Heath. One might say that you and it are linked by fate.”
“So that’s what you meant…” But Kuklo didn’t feel the bond implied by Jorge. By the time Kuklo was dropped into this world, both of his parents had already left it. A cage had been his cradle, and derision his only lullaby. He felt no particular emotions sprouting in him for Heath, his father.
“Heath wasn’t the only one who fell victim to the Titans. Elena’s life, too, spiraled out of control when she lost him.”
A heretic who worshipped the Titans and wished for the things to enter the city, Elena was the perpetrator of a grave, unprecedented crime. She was also Kuklo’s mother. She died after being eaten by the Titan she allowed in, and Kuklo was born from its vomit, earning him the name of “Titan’s son.”
So both of my parents had their lives ruined by Titans. He seemed bound by a string of fate to the Titans, just as Jorge had pointed out. It was an accursed string, red from the pools of fresh blood it had been soaked in.
That wasn’t enough to make him want to avenge his parents. Vengeance for himself was another thing entirely. He’d been forced to live his life as a Titan’s son thanks to the Titans, and he was dead set on destroying them.
I hadn’t cut my link to the Titans. He’d hoped coming face to face with a Titan outside the walls and learning for sure that he was not a Titan’s son might set him off on a fresh new life as a human. Unfortunately, the odd bond seemed to persist.
“Can I take them on if I use the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment?”
“The machine can make that a reality. If you master it, you can fell them,” Jorge assured.
And it might let me sever my ties to those monsters. But to do that, Kuklo would have to head outside of the walls and face the Titans once again. Do I have it in me?
He’d be up against monsters that he feared so deeply they appeared even in his dreams. He’d rather not encounter them again. No one did.
But I have to do it. Until he severed his ties of fate to the Titans, he’d have to live in perpetual fear of their shadow. That was something he had absolutely no interest in, and he was being offered a perfect opportunity to rid himself of the moniker of “Titan’s son.” He had no choice but to gather his courage and fight.
That was not all Kuklo had to worry about, though. His thoughts next turned to a precarious young girl who looked like a bisque doll─Sharle Inocencio. Kuklo’s savior, she’d bestowed him with knowledge and led him to the world. Without Sharle, Kuklo would undoubtedly still be on display somewhere as a Titan’s son.
I’m sure she’ll be angry…
It was Kuklo’s selfish wish to meet a Titan that had ended up getting him exiled in the first place. He’d reaped what he’d sown. The entire affair must have been unbearable for Sharle, who’d been swept into it. After fleeing her home empty-handed following an unforeseen attack on her family by cultists, she and Kuklo had survived by relying on each other and no one else. It wasn’t hard for him to imagine her anxiety. It was only thanks to Sharle’s wits and tact that Kuklo had returned safely from beyond Wall Maria.
And I’m going back out there anyway? The mere thought was enough to dampen his mood, but now that he’d learned more about his relationship to the Titans, Kuklo couldn’t go on living pretending that he hadn’t. He would have to convince Sharle.
“Well, do your best. I’ll be cheering for you from the curtains.” Cardina spoke like it wasn’t his business.
“Hah?” Kuklo’s voice cracked. Patting Cardina on the shoulder, he said, “You’re coming with me.”
“Wha?!” It was Cardina’s voice’s turn to crack.
“If not for me, you wouldn’t have been able to come back. You should join me.”
“I’ve already withdrawn from training, and I’m not talented like you…”
“Jorge said you could make it into the top ten with some work.”
“Ugh… I feel like I’ve dug my own grave.”
“You’ve saved me the hassle of roping him in,” Jorge thanked, still looking straight ahead and muffling a chuckle. “Both of you have what it takes. I guarantee you that much.”
“So he says.”
Cardina grimaced and scratched his head. “Oh, fine. I do owe you.”
By the time their conversation had come to a close, a gigantic wall that seemed to scrape the heavens came into view ahead of them. The sheer cliff was Wall Rose, a distillation of the human intellect. The solemn structure boasted a height of fifty meters, the same as Wall Maria, and its presence was overwhelming. While less prominent due to its central placement, it would be humanity’s new defense line if Wall Maria were ever to be breached. It went without saying that it played an important role both politically and militarily.
“We’re at the halfway point. Why don’t we get a little food and rest in Trost District,” Jorge proposed.
Kuklo’s stomach grumbled his reply for him.