Marley.
Liberio Internment Zone.
Roger leaned on his crutch and stepped out the door.
Outside was a bustling crowd, all of them wearing the same armband, marked with a jagged symbol.
Roger also wore an armband, but the color was different. His was yellow.
In Marley, the color of the armband marked the rank of Eldians.
Ordinary Eldians wore silver-white. The highest rank was crimson red, belonging to those who inherited the "Power of the Titans."
Roger dreamed of turning his armband red, because he was a "warrior candidate" of the Marley Empire.
Every warrior candidate longed to inherit the Titan power, to earn the loud title of "Honored Marleyan."
Because that not only meant gaining incredible Titan power, but also "freedom" and "privilege." They could leave the internment zone and walk freely in Marley, talk openly with other Marleyans without being chased off by the military police.
But for Roger, those were secondary.
What he wanted most was that once he became a Titan warrior, he could send his cancer-stricken grandmother to Marley's top hospitals, so she could receive advanced treatment and extend her life.
Only…
All of that was now just an illusion.
Because now he was a damned cripple!
Marley's selection of Titan warriors was extremely strict. Fearing hidden risks of rampaging or weak Titans, no warrior candidate could have any illness.
Roger was otherwise healthy, but fate cursed him with the loss of a leg.
Even though Titan power could heal all wounds of its inheritor, would Marleyans, who treated Eldians as trash, really give such a power to a cripple?
Absolutely not!!
"Porco…" Roger gripped his crutch tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. "Just wait. Even if you inherit a Titan, I'll tear you to pieces!!"
He roared, startling the Eldian crowd on the street.
If an Eldian shouted in the internment zone, patrolling soldiers might seize them and smash their teeth with rifle butts.
But Roger no longer cared. He had already lost everything. His grandmother's illness could no longer be cured.
All of this, thanks to that man named "Porco."
They were both warrior candidates, but Roger's combat talent far outshone Porco's.
What disgusted him was that both he and Porco's brother had been listed as candidates for the Jaw Titan.
Roger knew Porco and his brother Marcel were inseparable since childhood. If Marcel risked being eliminated, Porco would not sit idly by.
Still, he never imagined Porco would take advantage of a stormy night's training to ram him off a cliff.
Thanks to quick reflexes, Roger only broke a leg.
But even just one broken leg was a huge loss!
With his heart full of hatred, Roger hobbled on his crutch, not knowing how long he walked until he found himself at the gate of a school.
The school had been founded by an old Eldian, but constant harassment from Marley forced it to close.
Still, Roger often came here to play ball.
Ping pong.
Peering through the fence, he looked inside.
As he expected, many young men were playing. Most, however, were crowded around one table.
"Senior Anderson? He's back?" Roger muttered in surprise.
Anderson was the current Jaw Titan inheritor, who loved playing ping pong. Roger had met him that way.
He hadn't appeared recently, so Roger guessed he was on a mission.
Thinking this, Roger considered greeting him, but then remembered he was just a useless cripple now, so he gave up.
"Forget it, I should head to the hospital first."
Roger sighed, turning to take another road.
But just then—
"Hey! Roger!!"
A shout rang from inside the school, calling him by name.
Roger turned to see Anderson himself, paddle in hand, running toward him at speed.
When he reached Roger, his first glance landed on the missing leg, and a complicated look flickered in his eyes.
Someone followed behind him, wearing Marleyan military police uniform, but oddly showed no intent to chase Roger away.
Roger figured he must be Anderson's friend.
"Roger, I heard about you. I'm sorry," Anderson sighed. "If not for that accident, you would have surely inherited the Jaw Titan. In fact, of all the candidates, you're the one I always thought most fit for it."
"Thank you, Senior Anderson, but now it's too late for words."
Roger smiled politely and turned to leave.
But Anderson wasn't willing to just let him go.
"Excuse me a moment, Mr. Torin."
He apologized to the man behind him, vaulted over the two-meter fence, landed, and caught Roger by the shoulder.
"Walk with me, Roger. Hmm?" He looked at him directly.
Roger knew Anderson was stubborn. If he didn't let him finish what he wanted to say, he'd probably follow him all the way to the hospital.
"Alright."
Roger nodded.
The two of them, one supporting the other, walked down the street.
Nearby was an execution ground, where Eldians who broke rules were often killed. Normally, no one dared pass here.
Roger didn't know why they ended up here.
Maybe despair, he thought.
"I've always felt you were someone like me," Anderson finally spoke. "Maybe I was biased toward you, but among this batch of candidates, you were the one I believed in most."
"You always say that. Why?" Roger asked.
"Why?" Anderson chuckled. "Maybe because you're so good at ping pong. In all of Marley, no one can match my speed. But you? I've never won a single game against you."
"You flatter me. It's just ping pong," Roger looked away, his mind racing.
"'Just' ping pong?" Anderson suddenly shouted. "Don't joke with me. I could only match you if I turned into a Titan, and you dismiss it so lightly?!"
Roger had nothing to say, staring straight ahead in silence.
The two fell quiet for a while.
At last, Anderson sighed long and deep, breaking the silence.
"Roger."
"Mm."
…
…
"Do you… want to inherit the Jaw Titan?"
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