Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound

What should I do? Kuklo rode on a spare horse as though he was a member of the Survey Corps, but he was painfully out of place. Mere happenstance had led to this outcome, and by all rights he should have been bound and led at the end of a rope. Still, things could have been worse. I need to get away somehow.

Kuklo saw the crowd of nearly a thousand that had gathered to see the Survey Corps. They might aid his escape. The problem was timing. While the scene looked like a victory parade, the Survey Corps couldn’t have shared the mood. Unresponsive to the cheering throngs, every soldier, without exception, wore a sullen face. As far as the troops were concerned, they were just riding back to their barracks. And of course, as soon as they got there, Kuklo would be tied up. He needed to find an opening for his escape before then.

As he kept an eye on the movements of the soldiers and the spectators, planning his escape route, he suddenly heard a voice ask, “Did you fulfill your purpose?”

It caught Kuklo off guard and he almost screamed.

The voice belonged to Carlo. He rode alongside Kuklo, possibly as a measure to prevent his escape. “You said you wanted to see a Titan. Did you get anything from it?”

“I did,” Kuklo managed, but his response was anything but crisp. He was now certain that he was not a Titan’s son, and in that sense, he’d fulfilled his long-standing wish. Yet, there was no decisive change in how he felt. What could it be? I feel so gloomy…

Perhaps he had expected a dramatic metamorphosis on the order of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. He wasn’t disappointed, but he felt like something was missing. After all, despite having narrowly escaped a Titan’s clutches, he’d confirmed nothing beyond the self-evident fact that he was a child of men. It was not meaningless, but perhaps the cost he’d paid along the way had been too great.

“Using the wagon to stop the Titan was a brilliant idea.”

“Thank you,” Kuklo replied curtly. He had absolutely no interest in talking to Carlo about the expedition. I just need to get away…

He’d thought the spectators would aid his escape, but the turnout was actually inconveniently large. He’d meant to hide among them to shake off pursuit, but there were no gaps to slip through. The crowd was a barrier that cut off potential routes, and taking advantage of the turnout seemed impossible.

“You are very nimble on your feet, boy. A burglar, perhaps?”

“No.”

“Did someone teach you to fight?”

My chance to escape is slipping away. At this rate, they might reach the barracks before their little chat was over. “Don’t mind me. You should wave to the crowds,” he urged the commander.

“It is an expedition, not an exhibition.”

“Then why did you go beyond the wall?”

“For observation and experience. Of course, we could’ve surveyed better, but a certain someone prevented that.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Our poor job is to blame, too,” Carlo casually admitted.

If Kuklo was able to sneak along, that proved there were holes in the expedition’s planning. It seemed like a foolish oversight, but they hadn’t shirked their preparations. Kuklo knew firsthand, though, that the unexpected could occur despite the most careful planning.

“By the way, I haven’t heard your name yet,” Carlo asked for a second time.

“Oh,” Kuklo replied evasively. There was no reason to be an honest fool. “I am…” he began, considering what to say. That was when the parade suddenly came to a halt.

For a moment, everything fell silent, as though time stood still. Then the spectators began to stir. The Military Police Brigade, lined up in front of the troops, prevented their progress.

“Looks like something happened,” Carlo said, wary.

Kuklo’s face turned grim. He could guess why the Military Police had stopped them. Their gazes, directed at him atop the horse, only seemed to prove him right. This couldn’t be about him going past Wall Maria without permission. In that case, Carlo would have been expecting them.

Kuklo didn’t know how the Military Police had found him, but all eyes were on the expedition. It wasn’t hard to imagine him catching someone’s attention. Perhaps the Green Star he’d mistakenly fired had put the soldiers on alert.

The Military Police gave orders to the soldiers guarding the sidewalks, who began closing in on Kuklo from all sides.

“Did you do something that would make people keep an eye out for you?” Carlo asked.

“I didn’t do anything.” While Kuklo was at the scene of the crime, he couldn’t think of anything he’d done that was against the law. In fact, to the extent that his rights as a human had been so flagrantly ignored, he might be considered a victim.

I have to explain. He had no choice but to meekly cooperate with the investigation. He was guilty of nothing, so simply offering his account ought to do─assuming, of course, that they’d bother to heed the words of a Titan’s son.

Meanwhile, the soldiers continued to inch closer as if to encircle Kuklo. To judge from the tight, unbroken ring that they formed, their orders must have been to apprehend him without fail.

Kuklo let out a deep sigh. So they’re treating me like a criminal…

Just as he made up his mind and began to dismount, he met eyes with a girl pushing through the crowd toward him.

Sharle, he nearly called out to her reflexively, but stopped himself in time. He couldn’t let the Military Police Brigade know she was there. Sharle seemed to see the fix he was in. Her face was noticeably pale, and she looked ready to faint at any moment.

I can’t get her involved… Staring at Sharle, he shook his head slightly so only she would notice. That sufficed to convey his thinking to her, and she stood frozen, her eyes wide open.

Good. Kuklo scouted the area unobtrusively. It seemed as though no soldiers had noticed Sharle. The only person who followed his gaze was Carlo, who nevertheless showed no signs of taking action.

“You should have no problems as long as you have a clear conscience,” noted the Survey Corps’ commander.

“I hope so.” Kuklo laughed drily and took the knife on his waist, presenting it to Carlo.

“What’s that?”

“I’ll leave it with you. It wasn’t mine in the first place…”

“This isn’t one of our weapons.”

“But if not for this knife, I would be in that Titan’s belly by now.”

“I see.” Carlo took it with no further questions.

“You’re kind of different,” Kuklo remarked.

“Not as much as yourself.”

With another dry laugh, Kuklo hopped off his horse and walked to where the soldiers stood.

***

What should I do… She could not act thoughtlessly, Kuklo having stayed her. It was unlikely to improve the situation and could even put her in danger, and he’d motioned her not to come out of concern for her. Yet, it was pure agony for Sharle to be left with no clue as to how many days he’d be detained and where she should wait in the meantime. It was like a bad dream.

Still, she did have some hope. She turned to look at the Survey Corps, still halted in their tracks. Among the rows of stalwarts, the one that held her particular interest was the commander, Carlo.

Kuklo gave him something. Wasn’t that…

She recalled the odd exchange between the two. She had no way of making out the words, but Kuklo had passed Carlo her charm. Of that she was certain. Perhaps he’d been forced to disarm himself before surrendering, but the circumstances suggested that he concealed some other intention.

Or maybe I’m just hoping he did. Sharle saw it as a good luck charm, but to a soldier, a knife was a deadly tool. But…

As Sharle struggled with her thoughts, her eyes met Carlo’s. By the time she tried to look away he was already facing in a different direction, but she was certain she’d been subjected to his razor-sharp gaze. Her goose bumps said as much.

Maybe he noticed, she wondered, regarding her and Kuklo’s eye contact. Eavesdropping on their silent understanding seemed like an impossible feat, but then again, Carlo was the sort of man who’d been chosen to command the Survey Corps. Perhaps a couple of amateurs’ tricks didn’t stand a chance of getting past him. Which means…

The soldiers began to move forward once again, Kuklo apparently handed over to the Military Police Brigade. As the brave troops pulled away, Sharle considered her next move.

***

“Boy, oh boy…” Carlo lamented theatrically, eyeing the documents that sat on his wide desk. It was an application for transfer and dismissal he’d just received from a subordinate. He hadn’t read through it, but he made a point of accepting all of these. Useless even if dissuaded from leaving, such personnel would only drag down morale.

Carlo did not boast ample combat experience, either. Yes, he had participated in Survey Corps expeditions under his father Jorge Piquer’s command, and he had nearly died in a fight with a Titan. He even witnessed the historic moment when a Titan was felled. He had no remarkable achievements of his own, however, and graded himself an average soldier. He’d viewed his promotion to commander as some sort of mistake.

My father was more suited to the role… Jorge was now bringing up the next generation as a Training Corps instructor. Though as virile as ever, considering his age there was no way he could reassume command of the Survey Corps.

The ranks who had joined the same year as Carlo were also out of the picture. They all tread their own paths, and not a single one of them had ended up with the reformed Survey Corps.

If only Solm were alive… If either he or Heath, their team leader, were alive, perhaps they could give him some advice. But that was a vain wish.

I have no right to complain about my men. Just as Carlo grimaced, a knock announcing a visitor echoed through the room.

The girl who opened the door and entered the office looked nervous and out of place in the barracks. Her expression was stiff, and she had the creaky movements of an unoiled machine. Of course, this was a natural reaction given her identity and the dilemma she faced.

So she mustered up some courage to come here. She doesn’t seem like some aristocratic family’s little princess, either.

Carlo had foreseen that Sharle Inocencio would come to visit him in order to save Kuklo. She’d been able to reach his office without ado only because he’d instructed his men to that end. It was not something Carlo had done thoughtlessly. He had made his decision after getting information on both her and Kuklo from the Military Police Brigade. Since they’d interrupted his procession, the commander had a right to know why and he had exercised it.

I would have never guessed he was the Titan’s son, though… The Military Police’s explanation had made Carlo doubt his ears, but their encounter somehow also made sense. It is destiny…

Nodding to himself, Carlo offered Sharle a chair and said, “Don’t get too nervous, you won’t be able to tell me what you’re here to say.”

She took the chair, but her eyes wandered around the room even after she sat.

Yet Sharle was the first to break the silence. “Um… I’ve come here to ask for your guidance about something.”

“About him? Or about something personal, Miss Sharle Inocencio?”

Having only phrased herself in a hackneyed way, Sharle looked shocked. She realized that Carlo already knew everything. This only strengthened her resolve, and her hesitation vanished. “What is he…Kuklo doing now?”

I see. So she’s more worried about the boy than about herself. Her words could be considered proof of her determination. “He is on his way to Wall Sheena in a convoy carriage right about now.”

“To Wall Sheena…” Sharle murmured with a ponderous expression. Perhaps she was already trying to figure out how to get there.

“And I have a question for you.”

“Yes?”

“Is he a criminal?”

“No, he’s not!” she denied without missing a beat.

His reaction was the same. When he’d probed Kuklo about it, his denial had been just as immediate, as if any such accusation misconstrued him. It indicated a clear conscience, but unfortunately the Military Police did not see things the same way. If they were to be believed, Kuklo was a vile criminal with few precedents in the annals of history. But─

Carlo tilted his head, wondering if he really was that. They hadn’t spoken at length, but he understood Kuklo’s character all too well. Beyond the walls, proximity to death laid bare one’s temperament. Masks fell off within moments. Troops tasked to protect the cargo team taking flight to save themselves was a case in point.

“He is accused of several crimes. For the murder of your father, Dario Inocencio, of servants of the Inocencio family, as well as the murders of several devout believers. As well as your abduction, I expect. Of course, the abductee herself is now safe and sound in my office.”

There was also the matter of going past Wall Maria without permission, but adding the charge wouldn’t worsen Kuklo’s plight─not unless a punishment worse than the death penalty existed.

Carlo had spelled out the gravity of the situation, and Sharle looked even grimmer than before. “Kuklo…didn’t do anything wrong,” she objected.

“However, there was a witness.”

“A witness?!”

Carlo presented her with the exact information he’d received from the Military Police. “Your brother, Xavi Inocencio, has testified that Kuklo committed the crimes.”

“My brother…”

“Is he wrong?”

“He is!” Sharle cried. “I’m also a witness! I was there! Kuklo did nothing at all!”

“Then who did it?”

“The cultists. They snuck into the mansion that night and unleashed that horror…”

“He did not command them to do it?”

“He couldn’t possibly have.”

“Why not?”

“He was locked up at our home. There was no way for him to send any orders…”

“So he was held prisoner…”

Sharle nodded in reply.

A life befitting the son of a Titan. It would seem that he is yoked to a cruel fate, Carlo mused as though it wasn’t his business. In truth, he had played a part, if only incidentally. Either way, his face did not betray any of his thinking. His first priority was to draw out whatever information Sharle had to offer.

“Is it possible that he met with the believers in secret, without your knowledge?”

“I don’t think so! He was chained up. And besides…”

“And?”

“He only just recently learned to speak…”

Sharle explained how, bought and sold in black markets, Kuklo had gone without any education.

So the boy has lived not as a human being, but as a “Titan’s son.” The toughness and nimbleness Kuklo exhibited owed to years of abuse, then. There was another reason, too. Like father, like son, I suppose. The boy’s father was Heath. No surprise if his nerves were made of steel.

“Kuklo’s life was ruined because of the Titans. There’s no way he would ever join the cultists’ side.”

“And what is the reason he snuck outside of the wall?”

“He needed to know that he wasn’t the son of a Titan.”

This lined up with what Kuklo had said about his goal being to see a Titan.

So he went out there to become confident he was a human. The deed was incredibly risky, near suicidal, and foolish, but it made sense given Kuklo’s background. It must have been like a ritual he had no choice but to undergo. He’d wanted to exorcise the label of “Titan’s son” that haunted him.

“Was there a reason for the abduction?”

“I had reasons…for not wanting to be at home anymore. So when Kuklo plotted to escape, I decided to join him.” Sharle explained how her own circumstances matched up with the plan Kuklo had been forming─in other words, the fact of her marriage of convenience.

So just as they were off to their fresh start, something huge got in their way. Carlo felt as though he had gotten to the truth of the situation, but one large question still weighed on his mind.

“So why did your brother provide false testimony?” Things would be quite different had Xavi not lied.

“He was knocked off his feet by Kuklo as we escaped. Perhaps he is holding a grudge over his defeat…”

“I see,” Carlo said, satisfied. He took out the knife he’d stored in his table’s drawer and presented it to Sharle. “I don’t think he wanted the Military Police to confiscate the weapon, so he slipped it to me first. It’s yours, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Sharle took the knife and held it close to her chest. “This is my good luck charm.”

“A rather deadly good luck charm, if you ask me. He said that the knife saved his life.”

“Is that so?”

Carlo had no idea how she came to regard it as a charm, but he could tell it was like a treasure to her.

“Actually, I was planning to use this to kill Kuklo.”

“Well, that’s very brave of you.” He had no way of knowing what had happened between the two, but Sharle neither spoke nor acted like the stereotypical aristocratic girl.

“Um, so… What’s going to happen to Kuklo?”

“If nothing changes, he won’t be able to avoid punishment. Of course, if you were willing to testify, he might have a chance.” But that, Carlo realized, wasn’t to be taken for granted considering Sharle’s position. It meant not only giving up the freedom she’d finally earned but also cornering her brother, Xavi, who’d given false testimony. When he saw the look of determination on her face, however, he realized she was up for it. On the other hand, Kuklo might not be happy to be freed in such a way…

He even seemed liable to take the blame if it meant saving Sharle. In other words, there was no point in a plan that only saved one of them. Carlo saw that solving this problem involved overcoming a host of challenges, but there was nothing but to tackle them. If he made good use of his place as commander, freeing Kuklo wasn’t impossible.

“It may take time,” he warned, “but I might be able to use my connections to make something happen.”

“Really?!” Sharle leapt out of her chair with a smile.

“I want to talk to him as much as you do. And there’s someone else I want him to meet as well.”

That man was his father, who now trained recruits. If I can give him Kuklo, he might make the boy into an even greater soldier than Team Leader Heath. Whether Kuklo would agree was another question, but it was worth trying to convince him. He would surely be a major addition to the Survey Corps, as freshly reformed and short on talent as it was. Plus, I suspect he might be able to master that thing.

“I want to ask you a question,” Sharle said looking straight at Carlo, who was lost in thought. “Why are you helping us? We’re total strangers to you.”

“Strangers? That’s not quite true.”

“Have you met either of us before?”

“Well, you see, I was there the moment he was born.”

Sharle blinked. “Huh?”

“You could say it was me who burdened him with the fate of being the ‘Titan’s son.’”

With a solemn look, Carlo closed his eyes.

***

He had been given no privacy. His cell was completely visible from the corridor, with only its bars obstructing the view. True, with nothing but a crudely made iron bed and toilet adorning the cell, being seen posed no particular problems. Degrading environments were familiar habitats to Kuklo. He was not shivering from the cold, nor was he suffering from starvation, so it was downright pleasant compared to his old shed.

Still, the cell amounted to a cage for a beast of prey. The other ones confined various offenders, from jaw-droppingly fiendish criminals to political prisoners who aimed to overthrow the government. Everyone placed in the dungeon was there because of serious crimes, and many could barely be called human. Any inmates with a chance of being released were held in shared cells aboveground.

Will I ever get out of this prison alive?

Kuklo wasn’t sure how many nights he’d spent locked up. With no way of keeping time, it felt in turn like a few days or a few months.

Breaking out would be extremely difficult. Unlike his escape from the shed, this facility wasn’t one that he could overcome given time. Jailers patrolled the corridor, making it hard to tamper with the iron bars. Made of Iron Bamboo at that, they admitted nary a scratch no matter how hard he tried.

Still, Kuklo wasn’t the type to give up. He rose from his bed and carefully observed his cell. Severing the bars was a nearly impossible task, but the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of stone and could be bored through. Of course, not only would that take an enormous amount of time, he also had no tools, so it was hardly practical.

“Hey, kitty-corner. You looking to escape? Very bold of you,” the prisoner in the cell opposite the corridor, an airy fellow in his late teens, called out casually.

Despite his time in prison, his skin looked healthy, and while he was thin, he was not emaciated. He looked like some well-bred beau, but he must have been deemed guilty of an appropriate crime to be imprisoned underground. Kuklo had no interest in learning what it was, though.

“If the guards catch you trying any funny business, they’re going to beat you black and blue again,” the guy snickered. He seemed more interested in watching Kuklo’s next confrontation with the guards than his wellbeing.

Kuklo didn’t care to oblige him, but the run-ins with the guards would persist as long as he kept trying to escape. Kuklo ignored the fellow and continued his work.

“Give it up. You’re underground, you can’t get out to the surface by digging.”

That much was obvious, but Kuklo ignored him again and kept at his investigation. He might give up on his hopes of escaping if he were only looking out for himself, but he knew Sharle was waiting for him. He had to get out before she took desperate measures.

“What’s your name? You look real young. What’re you in for? Theft? Murder? Could you be a revolutionary?” The words came at a machine-gun pace to no reply. “Is your scarred eye a badge of honor?” The guy seemed to be a born talker, and he prattled on. “It’s a waste of your time trying to escape this place. You’ll only wind up hurting yourself, like just now. Give it up.”

Indeed, Kuklo had already earned a number of beatings. The guards kept an eye on him due to his clear determination to escape.

“If you’re going to try this, you need to be smart about it. I mean, the patrols come at the same time every day.”

What is this guy’s deal? Kuklo furrowed his brow, annoyance writ large on his face, but he chose to pretend not to hear. It was vexing to find himself in agreement now and then. Yet, silencing the fellow would be difficult thanks to the iron bars between them. He scrubbed the fellow’s existence from his mind, resigned to letting his statements pass through one ear and go out the other.

“It’s actually quite easy to get out of here.”

“Really?” Kuklo’s voice cracked with surprise, and he turned to the speaker.

The youth chortled, having managed to ensnare Kuklo. “Oh, so you can hear me.”

“You tricked me…”

“No way. Would I really be that wicked?”

“Well, why else would you be in here?”

“Not all people in prison are criminals.”

“You’re saying that describes you?” When the guy responded with a smile, Kuklo followed up with another question. “Is it true that you can escape this place?”

“Of course.”

You lie. The guy’s presence in the cell was proof. If escape was easy, then he would be celebrating his freedom by now.

“You don’t believe me? But it’s true.”

“How, then?”

“Just sleep and wait.”

“That’s not funny!” Kuklo spat. If not for their bars, he’d have gone over to punch the guy.

“What I’m telling you is true, but I admit it sounds like a lie,” the inmate continued in his casual tone. “In two weeks, we’ll all be banished out, right through the main gate of Shiganshina.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean nothing. That’s just what we’ve been sentenced to. The fact that we’re here means that is the fate that awaits us,” he said jestingly, perhaps not understanding what banishment signified.

As he said, they would be freed in time. But exile meant being thrown outside the walls, in other words, a death sentence─no, something even more vicious.

There the prisoners would find their starved executioners waiting for them with bated breath. Humans could die by way of accident, disease, and a host of other causes that also happened to include capital punishment, but having one’s life end in despair in a Titan’s jaws was the worst fate imaginable. Familiar with the irrationality that was the Titans, Kuklo understood the cruelty of banishment more than he cared to.

But at least I’ll be free. It seemed like the only way to overcome his present difficulties. The eventuality probably allowed for far more constructive plans than plotting a jailbreak in his current cell.

“I suppose I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Cardina Baumeister. And you?”

“…Kuklo.”

“Hmm? Where have I heard that name?” wondered Cardina, staring without reserve.

“It is common,” came Kuklo’s blunt reply. While he didn’t know what kind of information was out there about a Titan’s son, he was sure the facts had been embellished into a bunch of worthless stories he had no interest in hearing. “I think I’ve heard your name before, too,” he countered.

“Well, it’s a pretty famous name.” Cardina shrugged. “So, why did you get thrown in here?”

“I didn’t do anything!!”

“No need to stare daggers at me…”

While Kuklo had no defense for his unauthorized trip past Wall Maria, he was in prison for “leading the cultists in an attack on the Inocencio family.” It was a ridiculous charge, but the victim’s testimony provided by Xavi had ruled the day, and unable to mount a proper rebuttal, Kuklo had ended up incarcerated. The alias of “Titan’s son” may have worked against him as well.

Shit… While he knew Xavi bore a grudge, he hadn’t expected to be smeared with a crime. If either of them was a murderer, it was Xavi, who had killed the cultists. Yet, between the remonstrations of the Titan’s son who had fled the scene and the testimony of the victim of a cultist assault lay a large gap in credibility.

“It’s a pretty common story down in these cells. People caught in political warfare, and so on,” Cardina remarked with a shrug. “That would be me, as it happens.”

Kuklo suddenly remembered. Oh… He was Sharle’s…

Of course he remembered hearing Cardina’s last name. Sharle was going to be married into the Baumeister family. In other words, Cardina’s father was Bruno Baumeister, who’d fallen to a plot. Known as a conservative vanguard, he’d been made the reformers’ prime target. It wasn’t shocking in any kind of political struggle.

Kuklo now knew Cardina’s background, but there was something he still couldn’t understand: his level of composure. Being banished to the outside world meant certain death.

Finding Cardina’s demeanor unnatural, Kuklo demanded, “What happens once we’re outside? Eaten by a Titan, and that’s it?!”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“I don’t want to be eaten by one of those things.”

“Well, neither do I.”

“So…”

“Have you ever heard of a town named Naraka?”

Kuklo shook his head.

“It’s a town outside the walls. Supposedly, it was built by criminals who were no longer allowed in the country. Oh, and Naraka means Hell. Seems like an unimaginative name, but that’s just my opinion.”

“Supposedly?”

“No one knows if Naraka really exists or not. It’s only a rumor,” Cardina said matter-of-factly. “But it makes sense. It’s a hiding place for criminals, so they don’t want anyone knowing where it is.”

“What if it’s not real?”

“Then we can build Naraka for ourselves.” Cardina hardly seemed hopeful about its existence and apparently intended to create the place.

But things wouldn’t go that smoothly. With Titans roaming around, even the most cunning plans were meaningless. Kuklo knew down to his bones how ruthless the outside world was; he could see that creating a town there was just wishful thinking. The unreasonably powerful Titans wielded such destructive force they could turn all to dust, and Cardina’s plan would be crushed with the flick of a wrist.

“I understand why you’d be worried, though.”

“Because it’s impossible.”

“But that’s not quite true,” Cardina said, oddly confident. “Are you aware that the Titans supposedly come from the south?”

“South?”

“I don’t know the full details, myself. But all of the soldiers stationed in Shiganshina District are proof that there are a lot of Titans down there, right? The royal government also softens taxes and whatnot to make life easier for the residents there.”

“Because they’re using humans as bait.”

“It’s a convenient way to draw them in.”

“So?”

“The Titans come from the south, lured by the smell of their food, and get stuck around Shiganshina District. Which means…”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t be thick. It means, if you get banished, go north.”

“I see…” In other words, they could find the town of criminals Cardina spoke of there. “But why? Why would you tell me this?”

“Nobody else around here is going to believe a story like that.”

“But I will?”

“Well, you have to admit, you’re pretty stupid,” Cardina said, not mincing words. “Even after all you’ve been through, you keep on trying to escape. Only an idiot would fail to take the hint.”

“I can’t tell…if you’re insulting or praising me.”

“Why, it’s a compliment, of course. Regardless of your motive, it’s a sign of your strength of will. That’s why I decided to tell you about it.”

Kuklo nodded in understanding, then began considering Cardina’s plan. He already knew in his heart what he would do, though.

I cannot escape from this prison. My only hope is that his story is true. With no prospects for escape, exile was unavoidable. It was a gamble, and a long shot at that, but his only option was to accept Cardina’s proposal. Kuklo had no desire to lend a hand to a criminal, nor did he intend to live in Naraka, but there was no telling what could happen outside the walls. He needed to search for any way back even if it meant working with outlaws.

“I’ll help you. It’s hell out there…” Kuklo muttered with a grave look. “But I have business on the inside.”

“I see. And that’s why you want to escape. Keeping someone waiting?”

“…You might say that.”

“It’s a girl, isn’t it?” Cardina teased, but Kuklo didn’t answer.

If Cardina learned it was Sharle waiting for him, he’d surely be surprised, but Kuklo wanted to stay out of any further trouble. Fortunately, Cardina didn’t press the issue, but there couldn’t have been a worse place to run into him.

Kuklo scratched his head and snorted at his luck. Soon, though, his expression clouded over, and his thoughts began to take him outside the walls.

***

A punishment worse than the death penalty… For humanitarian reasons, executions were carried out in ways that inflicted minimal, if lethal, suffering. Meanwhile, exile brought with it the highest degree of mental and physical agony, eclipsing the death penalty to make it the ultimate punishment. Kuklo couldn’t help but think that it was an outrageous sentence.

The Titans seemed to live only to eat humans. They were undeniably monsters. But that was all they were.

They’re just hungry… Their stomachs were empty, so they ate. Their bodies were large, but it was a normal thing to do. Humans were no strangers to the act.

Humans are scarier. Seeking the cruelest way to kill their own kind was nothing but demonic.

In any case, Kuklo had no choice but to do anything he could to survive. It was hard to imagine any worse circumstances, with neither weapons to fight with nor a mount upon which to flee. His only option was to pray to the heavens that he didn’t encounter a Titan as he pushed northward with all his strength. He couldn’t rely on the mirage that was Naraka, but the bit about the Titans coming from the south was persuasive enough. If Cardina was right, the farther north they went, the lower their chances would be of meeting a Titan.

“My life has always been like this…” Kuklo sighed deeply.

“Hey, chaos can be fun,” Cardina pointed out in a carefree tone.

“Speak for yourself…”

“Well, all that desperation makes you feel alive, right?”

It also meant living on the brink of death. Perhaps it was the perfect way to describe Kuklo’s life.

***

About twenty criminals, including Kuklo, were to be exiled. They had been split into groups and sat waiting in covered wagons by the main gates of Shiganshina District.

The gates would open before long, and the wagons were ready to head straight into the depths of hell. There were, of course, no drivers, nor did any of the damned take the reins. The wagons would be left to run freely with no guidance at all.

This is bad… It was impossible for Kuklo to stay calm.

Cardina, who rode in the same wagon, had a solemn look on his face. Everyone there had their hands tied behind their back in order to prevent escape, and they had been gagged in order to keep them quiet. They were in no shape to search for Naraka. For all they knew, they were headed straight into the Titans’ embrace.

Kuklo tried wriggling his arms to loosen the ropes, but they seemed expertly tied, not budging an inch. The same went for the gag. In his state, he could not so much as confirm his intentions with Cardina. In the worst case, he would have to leap out of the wagon and accept whatever injuries came as a result. Even if things went well for them, restrained thus, surviving the impossibly dangerous lands outside was hardly guaranteed.

The first thing I need to do is get these ropes off. Kuklo continued to try to wrest his wrists free, but all he sensed was his skin being worn down. As he struggled, an aging soldier, seemingly with the Garrison, flipped back the wagon’s canvas and inspected the interior. He seemed to want to be extra sure. He began to check the prisoners’ ropes and gags one by one.

Shit! A string of curses would have spewed from Kuklo’s mouth had it not been shut for him. Coming to Kuklo, the soldier stared at him for a while and nodded some sort of understanding. That I’m a Titan’s son, probably.

His piercing gaze seemed to bore into Kuklo’s darkened right eye. Being the target of an inquisitive stare hardly bothered Kuklo at this late date, but the intensity of the soldier’s gaze gave him pause. Few men’s eyes could make him shrink into himself, and Kuklo had only met one.

Pretending to inspect Kuklo, the soldier handed him something resembling a wooden stick.

This is… The item felt familiar in his hands. It was not the first time he’d held it. The charm? Why did he have it?!

Kuklo wanted to ask the soldier, but the gag forbade him. Instead, he pled with his eye to extract some sort of information, but the soldier got off the carriage without a single look back at Kuklo.

What does this mean? He was unable to digest the situation, but one thing seemed clear. Am I supposed to use it to escape?

Carlo must have instructed the soldier. The commander was using the knife to inform Kuklo that he was pulling strings behind the scenes.

What is he thinking? Even the head of the Survey Corps had no right to interfere with the execution of a criminal’s sentence. Kuklo could not think of any benefit to be reaped from taking this risk to save him. But reasons did not matter to him at the moment, only ways out of his bind. If he wanted to know why, he could meet Carlo later and ask him.

The gates seemed ready to open, and the wagon began to storm off.

It’s starting…

Kuklo tried to calm himself as he wiggled the knife back and forth. It was difficult to use due to the ropes binding his hands, but the blade’s sharpness made up for that. As soon as they passed the wall, the worn-out carriage began to bounce violently up and down. It had no suspension.

Kuklo had to move as quickly as possible and get off right away. They were being pulled by a slow draft horse, but it was a horse nonetheless. Every moment he wasted put him that much farther away from the town and hurt his chances.

Kuklo slowly cut through the rope─it felt like one thread at a time. When he was nearly through, he put all of his strength in his arms to snap free. He immediately removed his gag and proceeded to undo the other prisoners’ bonds with the knife.

Once he completed his chain of actions, Kuklo looked down at the knife in his hands.

Her charm… He was sure of what it was from the moment he felt it, but now he knew he was right. It saved me again.

Kuklo thought of how much he owed it and smiled in spite of himself.

“When did you get that thing?!” Cardina asked, but he soon lost interest and peeled back the canvas.

It was too dark to judge distance, but the light from what appeared to be a watch fire atop Wall Maria hinted that they were already four or five hundred meters from Shiganshina District.

“All right, let’s hurry and jump off,” invited Cardina.

“Jump off? What about the wagon?!”

“We need it to keep running off. They’re probably watching it.”

“So what?”

“They might do something if they realize we escaped.”

“Oh, that’s what you’re worried about…”

“I mean, they probably won’t send anyone after us, but I suppose they might shoot their cannons.” Perhaps picturing this, Cardina’s body shivered. Then he casually raised his hand and said, “Well, so long!” And just like that, he jumped out of the wagon with a derring-do that belied appearances.

Kuklo was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and followed suit. He tried to absorb the shock of the impact as he hit the ground, but his momentum made it hard to come to a stop. He rolled, banging one part of his body after the other before he finally lay unmoving.

“Kuklo! You still alive?”

“Yeah…” He rose slowly, checking to make sure his body was still functional. As dramatic as his tumble had been, he seemed to have gotten away with just a few scrapes, along with whatever bruises that might show up. He breathed a sigh of relief, but soon gasped and tensed himself. This was no time to be celebrating merely getting off the wagon.

We’re now outside the walls… A chill shot down his spine, and a desperate scene played in his mind all too vividly. Nightmarish images of being chased down by preposterously gigantic monsters─just remembering the Titans dealt a fierce, electric jolt.

While fear had been driven deep into Kuklo’s heart, he rarely thought of the Titans inside the walls, thanks perhaps to the sense of security they afforded. But as soon as it sank in that he’d stepped outside them, the image of a Titan came back to him, broad smile and all.

Keeping calm was a tall order outside of the walls, but if he allowed himself to despair or panic, he’d be done for even before encountering a Titan. Maintaining composure had to be his first priority.

Calm down… Calm down… Kuklo put his hand to his chest and exhaled deeply, repeating the words over and over as if to hypnotize himself. Yet, while it might muster some makeshift bravado, mere chanting didn’t dispel his gnawing fears. He had to overcome his terror if he wanted to return alive. In other words, an unyielding will, certain of survival at any cost, was vital.

Kuklo looked at his knife, nodded, and slapped his cheeks to gather his focus. He opened his left eye wide and listened closely for any signs.

The darkness was covered in a thin haze that made it hard to see, and all he could hear was the wagon running off into the distance and the blowing wind. Luckily, he didn’t detect any signs of the Titans he so feared.

Kuklo sighed again, this time in more honest relief. He turned to Cardina and asked, “Where are the others?”

“It seems we’re the only ones who jumped off.”

“Huh?!” Kuklo looked toward where the wagon had gone off, but he could make out nothing.

“Perhaps they’d already given up long ago.”

“Give up on what?”

“On life.”

“Oh…”

They must have lost hope as soon as their punishment had been decided. Thinking back, Kuklo realized that none of the other prisoners in the carriage had made any attempts to escape. They’d all worn lifeless expressions like they were no more than breathing corpses. Resignation was a reasonable reaction to being tossed out of the walls.

Meanwhile, Cardina did not seem that tense, thanks either to his positivity or to a sense of daring sustained by ignorance. After all, if not for the Titans, the outside world was simply an uncivilized expanse. It would still be a spooky place, but not one that froze one into a stupor.

The noise made by the wagon faded away as Kuklo and Cardina chatted. The fate of the prisoners on it was sure to be as dark as the world that spread before the two. Kuklo felt bad for the others, but there was nothing he could do now.

“Perhaps we ought to be off before we’re set upon by Titans,” Cardina suggested.

“Yes.”

They nodded at each other, and in unspoken agreement, began retracing their path. They’d been thrown into an empty wasteland, but by no means were they at a loss as to which way to head. The watch fire was to their north, and the gate leading into Shiganshina District would be nearby. Since they wouldn’t be able to pass through, the gate only acted as a landmark, but it helped. Dawn would come soon.

“Do you mind if I ask a question?” Cardina said as he ran panting next to Kuklo. “Where did you get that thing from?” he asked, referring to the knife.

“This…” Kuklo struggled for words and scratched his head.

He couldn’t rightly tell him that the Survey Corps commander had helped out. Kuklo still questioned whether such a thing was really possible. Since Carlo’s intentions were unclear, Kuklo was reluctant to offer any false hope.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna save us?”

“I don’t know.” Kuklo indeed did not. The Survey Corps wasn’t about to ride in gallantly to their rescue. That was why he’d been handed the knife.

We can only proceed north.

Even if Carlo was pulling strings behind the scenes, they hadn’t hashed things out together, and Kuklo had no way of knowing what was in store. God knew, indeed, while he had to believe in his instincts and act on them to find a way not to die.

But aimlessly wandering a wasteland that offered neither food nor water promised physical and mental hardship. If they at least knew Naraka’s location, he’d force his body to its limits. With its very existence in doubt, the town might not do much to spur him on. At the same time, Kuklo was accustomed to crude environments. He was confident he could adapt as long as he wasn’t attacked by any Titans.

“Wait a second!” Somehow Cardina had gone from running next to Kuklo to falling ten meters behind. He seemed to lack endurance and was heaving.

“You’re slow.”

“You’re just abnormally fast,” Cardina complained, but Kuklo did not feel the same way. He’d simply been moving forward at his own pace. Having had few opportunities to compare his physical abilities to anyone else’s, he honestly had no idea how they rated. He now knew he had more stamina than Cardina, at least. Kuklo was in fact constantly conserving some of his strength because he lost control of his body when he pushed it as hard as he could.

It was about five hundred meters to Shiganshina District’s main gate. While their ultimate goal was to the north, at the moment they had to choose between east and west.

“Now, do we take the eastern or western route?”

“I don’t care which,” Kuklo said. The choice wouldn’t affect their fate. Still, he balked at the idea of picking at random, so he studied both routes. All he could make out were watch fires placed at regular intervals on the wall, nothing that helped decide one way or the other.

East…or west? He trained his eye to the east but only saw a vast darkness. For the most part, the west route offered more of the same. A weak source of light somewhat away from Shiganshina District caught his eye─it looked like a torch─but that was all.

Why there? As he focused on the irregular, unnatural illumination, Kuklo’s hearing seized on a faint sound. He stopped, turned around, and sought it out, his hands to his ears.

This… The south wind was blowing, and it bore the sound of those footsteps on the ground.

Not one. Two, three, four─he could distinguish differing scales.

“Titans…” Kuklo gulped. Nothing else made footsteps outside the walls.

“I don’t hear anything, but could it mean the sentence was executed with due haste?”

“I suppose so.”

The footsteps could be explained by a Titan attacking the prisoners’ wagons. What worried Kuklo was that he could hear other steps, too. Something seemed to have roused and attracted wandering Titans, whether it was the sound or the smell of the prisoners’ blood being spilled. It was only a matter of time before they noticed Kuklo and Cardina. In fact, some of the footsteps were already heading their way.

Cardina began to run off to the northeast, apparently hearing the Titans’ footsteps now. “Let’s go!”

“This way!” Kuklo called to him, taking off toward the northwest.

“Is there a reason for this?”

“I see a light.”

He was referring to the torchlight that he’d made out earlier and that still glowed like a will o’ the wisp atop Wall Maria. Floating at a spot a few kilometers from Shiganshina District, the faint illumination looked awfully out of place.

“Does this have something to do with that thing?” Cardina said, pointing to the knife.

Kuklo only replied, “Maybe.” But in his heart, he headed to the west with similar hopes. They were better than nothing at all.

Nearing dawn, the sky began to brighten. The sun would soon appear out of the horizon, its rays assisting their progress but also increasing their likelihood of being discovered by the Titans. If the creatures acted based on their vision, of course.

Kuklo turned back to look, but it was still too dark to see around him. He couldn’t make out so much as a Titan’s shadow. While he didn’t know exactly how far from them the Titans were, considering their ability to run at a horse’s pace, he knew the situation was dire. It was about two kilometers to their destination, but even a full dash meant several minutes on human feet. There was a very real danger of a Titan catching up to them.

Kuklo and Cardina ran across the wasteland with all their strength, but their athletic abilities were no match for the Titans. The footsteps that had been distant just moments ago were now keenly audible.

“Hurry!”

There was no longer any doubt that Kuklo and Cardina were being chased by a Titan. If they wanted to stay alive, they had to tear through the wasteland like madmen and somehow work their way back in.

But how?! It would be another story if the wall contained hidden passages, but overcoming its fifty-meter height was impossible without help. What if there’s nothing there?

Kuklo had a bad feeling, but he put aside idle thoughts and rushed ahead.

The sun appeared from across the plain when only five hundred meters remained to the spot on Wall Maria. In an instant, the darkness was wiped out and the world rapidly regained its hues. The sky was a beautiful, cloudless blue, and it would have been a refreshing new day had they not been outside the walls.

Kuklo set his sights on the area above the wall and rushed toward it at full speed.

That’s… Up on Wall Maria, he saw a familiar soldier waiting for him. It was the same aging man who had given him the knife. He seemed to have noticed Kuklo and was eagerly beckoning him on.

About a hundred meters to the soldier. While their likelihood of survival had increased, the footfalls of the Titan, advancing with the wind on its back, swooped closer. Kuklo didn’t have the time to turn back and see how close, nor did he have the courage. Whether he lived or died still seemed like a coin flip.

“Make haste! Titan approaching!!” the soldier on the wall yelled out as Kuklo came within fifty meters. The rescue method was a simple one. One look at the rope dangling down from the top indicated what he had to do. Additional fugitives seemed not to have been expected, as only one length of rope offered itself.

Can it support us?! They didn’t have the luxury of climbing up one at a time. Both of them would have to use the rope at once.

The problem was the order: Kuklo first, or Cardina first?

Kuklo tried to catch Cardina’s eyes, unaware that his partner had lagged behind. Clicking his tongue, he looked back to find Cardina about fifty meters away, still running but out of breath. Right behind him was a giant male figure roaring forward with the sun on its back.