"Armin....."
Hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Armin's body couldn't help but tremble. His eyes widened as he stared at the figure in front of him, stumbling out from the shattered fragnts of hardened crystal.
At that mont, Armin's mind completely froze, going blank. Then a single thought filled his head—Bertholdt was about to escape! Right here! Right now!
Bertholdt had actually broken free from the hardening!? This person who possessed the power of the Colossal Titan—if he transford here, it would cause irreversible damage to the entire Trost District!
Instinctively, Armin took a few steps back, wanting to alert the soldiers stationed outside, to warn them that the Colossal Titan had broken free.
But Bertholdt seed to notice Armin's small movent and said softly, "Armin, don't be nervous. I won't transform into the Colossal Titan. Relax."
Even so, Armin remained tense and on guard. He didn't dare believe Bertholdt's words. Facing soone who could transform into the Colossal Titan at any mont, anyone would be nervous.
anwhile, Bertholdt, who had just escaped the restraints of hardening, stretched lazily for the first ti in a long while, then sat down heavily, his face filled with exhaustion.
Seeing Armin still silent and wary of him, Bertholdt grinned and said,
"Armin, look at how weak I am right now—do you think I even have the strength to transform? No need to be so tense. Relax, let's talk."
However, Armin—who always prided himself on being soone who talked things through—hesitated in the face of Bertholdt's request. But after thinking for a long ti, he still gathered his courage and sat down across from him. No matter what, if Bertholdt really transford, he probably wouldn't be able to escape anyway. Since that was the case, he chose to calm himself and properly talk with Bertholdt.
"Bertholdt, you—" Armin had just started to speak when Bertholdt interrupted him. "Don't ask why I was able to escape from the hardening. I don't know either. It just suddenly collapsed."
Armin choked on his words, but that wasn't what he cared about most right now. So he asked firmly,
"Bertholdt, do you still want to be our enemy? Do you still want to beco the Colossal Titan?"
Bertholdt froze for a second, then tilted his head.
"That's not how you asked before. Weren't you trying to persuade to help Paradis Island? You even said we used to be good friends. Speaking of which, Armin, the way you talk is really kind of cheesy. If I were a girl, I might've been so moved that I'd devote myself to you."
Bertholdt's teasing made Armin's face turn slightly red.
"That was before. Back then, you were restrained, so I wanted to persuade you. But now that you've broken free, I understand that I probably can't convince you. So now I just want an answer—Bertholdt, are you an enemy or a friend?"
"Friend?" Bertholdt murmured the word, imdiately feeling a bitterness in his mouth. He thought of Reiner, Annie, and Pieck. Were they friends? And what had beco of them over these years?
"Back when we were in the training corps, I was your friend. But I'm truly sorry—our experiences are different. Becoming enemies wasn't my choice. But now… I realize I'm nothing at all....."
Armin's pupils shrank slightly. He could hear a hint of regret in Bertholdt's words. That ant persuading him wasn't entirely hopeless!
You might be wondering—Bertholdt was sealed inside hardening, so how did Armin communicate with him before? And how did Bertholdt respond?
This brings up what Yago did before leaving Paradis Island. Before he left, he left a small hollow space within Bertholdt's hardened shell—just enough to fit half a finger. So Armin and Bertholdt communicated through that. Usually, Armin would ask whether Bertholdt was willing to surrender—if yes, move one finger; if no, move it twice.
But in reality, Bertholdt hardly responded to Armin at all—only giving silent replies.
"Bertholdt, actually, we might still be able to beco friends again. Right now, we need your help, so..."
Bertholdt: "Need my help? Or rather, you need the power of the Colossal Titan inside , right? Armin, you don't need to lie to . Otherwise, can you tell —was your purpose in coming here today really to persuade ?"
Armin fell silent. Indeed, he hadn't co today to persuade Bertholdt. He had co to deliver bad news. After deliberation, the council had decided to forcibly strip Bertholdt of the power of the Colossal Titan. When Armin heard this decision, his feelings were complicated, but he had nothing to say about it. He just wanted to co today to inform Bertholdt—and perhaps say goodbye to an old friend.
Bertholdt suddenly laughed, though it sounded forced.
"Hahaha, Armin, the way you look when you're silent right now is really interesting. You used to be like a girl, but now you're like a kid who hasn't grown up. Hahaha—cough, cough, cough…"
After laughing, perhaps because the air was too dry, Bertholdt suddenly began coughing violently, as if tearing his lungs apart.
Seeing this, Armin handed him the water flask he carried with him. Bertholdt didn't refuse—he took it and drank, gulping down half the flask in one breath before finally showing a satisfied expression.
"Three years without water… it's so sweet. Armin, do you have anything to eat?"
Armin handed him a pack of biscuits. Bertholdt tore it open and stuffed them into his mouth impatiently.
An ordinary pack of biscuits—thanks to Hizuru's support, Paradis Island could now mass-produce all kinds of convenient food. With the support of various resources, the island no longer faced the threat of famine, and soldiers from all the regints had even grown tired of this kind of ready-to-eat biscuit.
But for Bertholdt, who hadn't eaten in three years, this pack of biscuits was incredibly delicious.
After finishing the entire pack of biscuits and the remaining water in the flask, Bertholdt finally showed a satisfied expression.
"Armin, do you know? Having the power of the Colossal Titan isn't sothing worth being happy about. It's like a curse—a curse that fills you with guilt. If I could choose, I truly wish the power of the Titans had never appeared in this world."
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