Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound

Such perhaps was the Titan’s son’s destiny─or curse…

Still, the intrusion by the believers was the only unexpected element. Everything else was going as planned.

Kuklo and Sharle headed for Wall Sheena’s underground city.

Originally an evacuation shelter in the case of a Titan attack─a special location set up for the privileged classes such as the royal family and individuals in the royal government─the city now had a unique identity as the country’s pleasure quarters. It was, in essence, a red light district. It was also Kuklo’s hometown; “Titan children” tended to be bought or sold in the underground city, and the sideshow Dario had visited was also located there.

The underground city’s population was in the hundreds to the thousands, and its size was indistinct. The city’s boundaries were constantly spreading out like a net as its population grew. It was likely that no one person had an accurate grasp of the entirety of the underground city’s structure. None tried to know or fancied to create a map. The name of anyone who undertook such a project would surely be added to the list of missing persons by the next day.

The place was a hotbed of crime of all stripes. While it would normally be targeted for crackdowns and arrests, its existence was tolerated thanks to the pleasures it offered the wealthy. As the roster of clients and patrons included the keepers of the very laws it broke, the city’s character could be said to be as underground as its location. The residents knew more than a few of the visitors’ secrets, and a roundup would cause troubles for a host of individuals. All of this led Kuklo and Sharle to choose the underground city as their hiding place. Its inhabitants, who had come there for a multitude of reasons, didn’t scrutinize others’ pasts in exchange for not revealing their own. So it was that Kuklo and Sharle avoided inviting undue suspicion despite having appeared out of nowhere.

One thing that was essential to living in the underground city was hard currency. Simple coins, these were spheres of metal the size of the tip of a pinky that bore the seal of the factory city and nothing more. While they were made of low-quality steel, a byproduct of the Iron Bamboo refinement process, thanks to their provenance they were undeniably hard and difficult to forge, and thus widely circulated.

Sharle had readied about five hundred of these coins as their war chest. One was enough to feed an average family for a day, meaning they were well funded. Aside, of course, from daily living expenses, the coins also paid for treatment for Kuklo’s eye. Ultimately, his right eye was useless and had to be surgically removed. Half of their holdings went to an unlicensed doctor for his services.

***

While Kuklo wrestled with his freedom, Sharle, the once-caged princess, naturally struggled with the burden of subsisting in the underground city. All her life she had left maids to perform the most basic of daily tasks, leaving her a well-bred but utterly inexperienced lady in practical matters.

While the two stood in contrast, Sharle was the first to adapt. This was not because her gender made her more adaptable but simply due to her wealth of life experiences. Compared to Kuklo’s, that is.

***

“Hup!” Waking from a shallow sleep, Kuklo raised his body. He moved his limbs, checking how he felt, then put his hand over his now-darkened right eye. “Kuklops, eh…”

It was half a year ago that he’d tumbled into the underground city to have his eye extracted. He suffered from poor health for a long time after the procedure, but he had finally recovered.

However, he was not exactly satisfied with his post-surgery appearance. He was now one-eyed and a Titan’s son, or in other words, a Cyclops.

Adjusting his appearance in front of a mirror was not something Kuklo was used to doing, but since Sharle lived with him, they did at least have a hand mirror in the room. He would occasionally see himself while walking the city too. While he couldn’t but feel conscious of the Titan’s son, only he seemed to care. Word of him was not widespread in society as it turned out.

Sharle was nowhere to be found in the room, and her bed had already grown cold. Perhaps she had gone out shopping.

I need to do something, too…

The idle time Kuklo spent in the underground city was a true luxury to him. He quite liked it. He had also taken a liking to keeping up his personal appearance, and though clothes once felt foreign on his body, he was beginning to get used to them. A soft bed still didn’t suit him and he frequently slept on the floor, but he did feel as though he was now able to act in a more human way. His ability to communicate was growing, too, as he began to speak to more people than Sharle.

But I’m still tied down.

Kuklo focused on his wrists. While he had removed his shackles soon after coming to the underground city, he yet felt them vividly, to the point of hearing chains clang. His body was now free, but his mind was still a prisoner to the Titans. His unresolved feelings about them twisted around his body as unseen chains as it were.

I have to meet a Titan.

It was the only way to break the bonds of fate. It was his goal from the time he decided to escape, but his physical condition had held him back. That concern out of the way, he felt that the time had come to face a Titan so he could be truly free.

Fortunately for Kuklo, there were talks of expeditions being resumed. An unconfirmed rumor was lately the talk of the underground city: a newly reformed Survey Corps, commanded by Carlo Piquer, would survey the area beyond the walls.

The source of this rumor was unknown, and its veracity uncertain, but this was the underground city. A rumor probably meant that someone in the military or the royal government had flapped his mouth. There was other evidence suggesting the Survey Corps might be reformed. A plot had brought about the downfall of the conservative faction’s vanguard, Bruno Baumeister, and the reformers had made a political comeback.

Sharle was right to leave home.

Even if the raid by the cultists had never happened, Sharle would have ended up unhappy. Dario’s choice of the Baumeister family had been off the mark. Then again, perhaps Dario’s judgment had been off the mark from the moment he purchased Kuklo.

In any case, an excellent chance to encounter a Titan had offered itself. The only problem was that there were extremely few ways of leaving the walls. Climb over Wall Maria, or slip through the gate─but climbing over was essentially impossible. Even if Kuklo managed to elude the Garrison’s watchful gaze to reach the top, its fifty-meter height ruled out a safe descent, and touching down served no purpose if he couldn’t make it back.

In other words, sneaking through the gate was his only option.

The Survey Corps’ resumption of expeditions after fifteen years was like a godsend to Kuklo. If he could find some way to tag along, he could stroll straight through the main gate─though his way would have to be illegal… Moreover, he might just get eaten by a Titan, but surely the Survey Corps didn’t mean to be slaughtered.

One thing that troubled Kuklo was that the Survey Corps had gone so long without actual experience on the battlefield. Even if they did have the know-how, applying it when it mattered was a wholly different issue. Still, they had the confidence to embark on an expedition, so perhaps his worries were misplaced.

The problem is…

As Kuklo scratched his head wildly, Sharle returned to the room holding a large bag. She grinned at him, then briskly began unpacking her purchases. She had grown handy at housework, her spoiled ways gone without a trace.

“I heard something about my brother…” Having tidied up, Sharle sat on the edge of her bed, which doubled as a chair. “It sounds like he joined the Training Corps like he planned.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“An information dealer.”

Kuklo nodded. “I see. Xavi would make a good soldier.”

“I agree.”

In light of his callousness─he’d unflinchingly skewered a believer─there were few other paths for him to take. The question was what Xavi would do next. As long as he was in the Training Corps, he was unlikely to meddle with Kuklo’s or Sharle’s affairs. But having been knocked out by Kuklo, Xavi’s pride had to be in tatters. It had done Kuklo good to avenge his months of resentment, but Xavi was no doubt stuck with feelings of rage. The outrages he’d try to perpetrate if they ever met again weren’t hard to imagine. Then again, they’d probably never meet…

What worried Kuklo and Sharle more than Xavi’s actions were those of the Military Police Brigade. Between the death of Dario, a man close to the royal government, and the raid by Titan-worshipping cultists, there was more than enough reason for the Brigade to claim the case.

“I just hope they give up soon…”

Kuklo felt the same way, but the Military Police would probably not give up easily with the believers involved. Standing above the Survey Corps and the Garrison, the Brigade was comprised of around a thousand members and was responsible for administering and overseeing the military as well as commanding the police and fire duties in each town. There was yet another side to the group. It acted as a secret police that exposed wrongdoing within the military and by antiestablishment organizations. Not only did they have power in military affairs, their authority stretched into internal politics. In other words, the Military Police were the elite among the elite, and they would never allow any entity that threatened the security of the country to run amok.

Fifteen years ago, none other than the Brigade had investigated the breaching incident and driven the believers’ organization to near-extinction. That a Titan’s son had occasioned the raid on the Ino-cencio home must have been established before long. It was a thorny situation where Kuklo was liable to be treated as the culprit just for being the Titan’s son.

While running from the scene had been the right choice, it only fanned suspicion, especially because he’d left with Sharle.

There was much reason to feel anxious, but the problem Kuklo had to solve for the time being was a separate one.

“I’m thinking of going to Shiganshina District.”

As soon as the words left Kuklo’s mouth, Sharle froze in place. Then she let out a long sigh. “I was wondering if you’d say that… You want to see a Titan, right?”

“So you’d figured it out.”

“It wasn’t hard to notice.”

“Are you against it, Sharle?”

“Of course I am.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at Kuklo. “If I told you not to go, would you give up?”

“Well…”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I’m for or against it.”

Kuklo scratched his head. “Will you come, too?”

“Would you take no for an answer?”

Kuklo scratched his head again.

That means saying goodbye to this place… While Kuklo had never felt attached to possessions or places, this was the first time he had a space he could call his own. The thought of clearing out gave him pause.

Not only that, staying in the underground city meant his safety was assured. There was no need to defy danger and leave. He could tell, though, that until he saw a Titan for himself, the desire would linger in him. If he wanted to put a quick end to the problem, he had to make contact.

What do I want to do by meeting a Titan? He didn’t think that communication was possible with a Titan. His being a “Titan’s son” didn’t mean they’d see him as one of their own. What he himself might think or do upon encountering a Titan wasn’t something he felt he could predict. I’ll find out soon enough.

The talk of restarting expeditions was just a rumor. It seemed to be a reliable one, whose authenticity would be verified soon, but that did not mean today or tomorrow.

We can leave the room after that, Kuklo persuaded himself. Then, he began to kick around his plan to meet a Titan.

***

After moving out of their room, Kuklo and Sharle hitched a ride on a carriage with a merchant who said he planned to go to Shiganshina on business. Naturally, the ride came at a cost. They could only get on if they handed over steel coins for the fare and for using the title of trader. Without the latter, their stories would not check out during any inspections, and they needed to avoid any conflicts they could.

Fortunately, they gained the merchant’s trust easily. All they needed to make his breed a superb, loyal partner was a handful of coins. Of course, that also meant their relationship would last only as long as their tender did.

***

Shiganshina District was the town at the southernmost edge of Wall Maria. With a population a little over forty thousand, it was the largest in the country and important both militarily and politically─factors that conceivably underlay the calamity fifteen years ago. On top of it all, it was the place where Kuklo was born.

While a Titan had been allowed in, that was firmly in the past. No signs of damage could be found around the place, and none of the citizens seemed to live in terror of the Titans who were still a menace to humanity. Since the Survey Corps had proven they could be defeated, fears were toned down to a more rational level.

Shiganshina District was stirring with talk of the first expedition in fifteen years, and the mood was already celebratory. Of course the citizens were excited─there was hope that the Titans might be driven away, and in that event, humanity could finally move into the outside world.

“Wow…”

Kuklo was slack-jawed as he stared at the towering Wall Maria. He knew that it was fifty meters tall, and he’d already seen Wall Sheena and Wall Rose from the carriage, but the difference in impression between seeing them from afar and up close was like day and night. He almost felt like prostrating himself before it.

Scaling the wall would be an absolutely impossible feat. A single glance revealed the hilarity of the wishful scenarios he’d concocted. A human hoping to scale the wall couldn’t do so without the Equipment, which allowed for vertical movement. There were records that its creator, Angel Aaltonen, had wielded it to return alive from the other side of the wall.

If Kuklo had the Equipment, he could easily surmount the wall and forget about tagging along on the Survey Corps’ expedition. Yet it could be found for sale nowhere, not even the black markets, nor were there any rumors of its continued production. If it had been developed for use on the battlefield, there were no traces of that fact, either. Perhaps it had been put on hold, but there was no reason for its development to be halted.

Kuklo scratched his head, shifted his gaze to the gates, and said, “Even the gate is huge.”

“It’s over ten meters on its own,” concurred Sharle.

“So Mammon came through this gate…”

The Titan that had eaten Kuklo’s mother and turned Shiganshina District into a smoldering plain was also ten meters in height, just as tall as the main gate. That was enough to make it clear how ghastly the Titans were.

“They’re monsters.”

“Yes…” Sharle agreed.

“What are Titans like?”

“Human-shaped beasts. It’s like they were plucked straight out of a nightmare…” Perhaps recalling what the Titans looked like, Sharle shivered and said, “Kuklo? Do you really have to go outside the wall?”

Kuklo shifted his eyes away from the main gate to look at Sharle, who stood next to him.

He could tell from the fearful color she’d turned that the experience must have been truly terrifying. Sharle clearly had a strong antipathy for the Titans. After all, she had once come to kill Kuklo, the Titan’s son. That they were so abominable it drove her to attempt murder was proof of their monstrosity, but Kuklo still couldn’t form a mental image of a Titan. It was as though he was trying to see one through a pane of clouded glass.

“It’s okay. I will be back right away.” Kuklo smiled as he put his hand on Sharle’s shoulder, but it wasn’t enough to dispel her anxiety. “Let’s move,” he changed the topic, but as soon as he spoke, he noticed the sound of distant footfalls.

He stared at Wall Maria with a frown on his face.

“Was that…”

“Is something wrong, Kuklo?”

“I hear footsteps.”

They were surrounded by noise, but he could hear the footfalls coming from beyond the wall. Which must mean─

A Titan…

But the sound was so faint that even Kuklo barely registered it. Sharle, whose hearing failed to pick it up, repeatedly angled her head, but it was steadily closing in on the town.

With every step the Titan took, the ground shook slightly. It was clear that the specimen responsible for the footsteps was a gigantic creature.

The moment Sharle made to strain her ears, a thunderous roar tore through the sky overhead. The air shook, and she reflexively cowered. Her legs gave out and she plopped down on the ground.

Kuklo looked up at the sky, but he could not espy any thunderclouds. In fact, the sky was utterly clear, with not a single cloud in sight. No sign of rain, either─the only thing of note was a slightly burnt smell that lingered in the air.

“The cannons…sure are loud. That was my first time hearing them.”

When Kuklo heard Sharle’s explanation, it made sense to him. It was the smell of gunpowder that had stimulated his nose.

He sighed and reached his hand out toward Sharle, who still sat on the ground.

***

The mood in Shiganshina District was a lively one as though a festival was taking place. The avenue that ran from north to south through the center of town was jammed full of people, and their numbers were only increasing.

The majority of them were not Shiganshina citizens but sightseers from around the country there to get a glimpse of the expedition. In other words, the activity in the city was a representation of people’s high hopes for the Survey Corps. It might be said that the fifteen-year freeze had been a Dark Age for humanity.

“This has gotten annoying,” Kuklo muttered sternly as he walked through the avenue with Sharle. Soldiers had been stationed at key points in order to keep a watchful eye. The majority of them were members of the Garrison, but some Military Police Brigade personnel could be spotted here and there, the signature unicorn emblems on their back. It was inconvenient for Kuklo.

The wound suffered by his right eye made him stand out, but going out of the way to hide it would only draw more attention to him. He had to mind the soldiers’ movements but couldn’t seem so preoccupied as to arouse suspicion.

An unusually large force had been deployed to Shiganshina District because military brass and royal government officials were headed there. In essence, the troops were serving as bodyguards.

“It doesn’t seem like they would have anything to do with us,” observed Sharle.

“They might remember. I have my scar, too.”

“It’s dark, you won’t stand out.”

Sharle took a look at Kuklo and nodded to confirm that nothing was amiss.

Eventually, the Survey Corps barracks appeared in front of them. It seemed as though the preparations for the expedition were already complete. Light filtered through from the windows, but barely any soldiers were walking around. A number of troops, grunts from the look of it, serviced a wagon on the premises, but that was all. It was most likely the carriage to be used by the cargo team the next day during the expedition.

Maybe I can use it. Kuklo reviewed the wagon’s specs surreptitiously. A canopy made it impossible to see inside, but he assumed it was full of supplies, food, and medicine. It was an ideal vehicle to stow away on. If he could disappear into the cargo, getting outside the wall would be easy. The expedition might find out when they resupplied, but he could worry about that if and when it happened. Just as long as he could get past the wall.

Given Kuklo’s simple goal to come into contact with a Titan, the existence of a cargo team was fortunate. Consisting of non-combat troops and managing a large amount of supplies, such units generally stayed toward the back of formations. It went without saying that they did not participate in battles. Moreover, they were in a position to be protected by other soldiers and were thus relatively safe. Of course, their opponents were Titans so there was no telling until the game was on.

“That might work out,” Kuklo said.

“Oh. That’s good.”

Sharle’s anxious, dissatisfied expression betrayed that she wasn’t convinced. She let out a deep sigh.

“Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be a long day,” she lamented.

“Do you want to get dinner, then?”

“A really long day…” Sharle groaned, placing her hand on her forehead.

***

Three hours until dawn. Only the soldiers on watch atop Wall Maria or patrolling the town would be awake.

Aside from us, of course.

With a wry smile, Kuklo stepped toward the window and took a careful look outside. Following his lead, Sharle also peeked at the darkened world.

Hardly anyone was out─unsurprising, considering the hour. Soldiers occasionally walked by on patrol, lanterns in hand, but did not seem to be on alert. While more troops than usual were around because of the big event, moving around undetected seemed feasible under the cover of night.

The Military Police Brigade’s movements were worrisome, but they were there to protect persons of interest, not to search for Kuklo. Bumping into a member of the Brigade on the street at night would be no laughing matter, but if they were on special guard duty, encountering any was unlikely. The elite would never be assigned a task as menial as patrolling.

“Are you going?”

“Yes.” Kuklo nodded and calmly headed toward the exit. He had no gear or supplies to speak of. Only his body.

“Sure you want to go empty-handed?”

“No problem.”

Sharle shrugged her shoulders. “Isn’t it a bit brash of you to leave all the preparations to the Survey Corps?”

Everything needed for an expedition─weapons, food, medical supplies, and more─would be loaded into the wagon. Since the professionals could be counted on to do their jobs to perfection, Kuklo didn’t have to draw on his non-existent expertise.

“Please, at least take this,” Sharle said, holding out a small, familiar knife.

“Is this from when you─”

“It’s my good luck charm. It might just weigh you down, but…”

“For good luck?”

“That, and I think you’ll need it to survive.”

“Survive…”

Kuklo took the knife. He promptly drew it an inch out of its sheath to reveal a silvery-white blade. It seemed to have kept well, as he could see no rust on its sharp edge. While not ideal for combat, it would surely come in handy for miscellaneous tasks. Satisfied, Kuklo sheathed the knife and placed it on his waist.

“It’s time for me to go.”

“I’ll be here, waiting.”

“I will be back by noon.”

Kuklo gently opened the door. As soon as he did, a blast of freezing air surged toward him, but it did nothing to wither his spirit. He braced himself, then went forth into the darkness.

***