Gale was no fool; he took advantage of this opportunity to reveal Ymir's identity, which he had kept hidden for his own safety.
That was why now, while everyone was still processing what they had just read, he exposed Ymir's identity. As for how and when he discovered it, he would leave that for later.
…
Wall Maria, outside the walls.
Gale and the others entered the outside world through the newly opened outer gate.
Although it was night, the moon shone brightly. Its brilliant light illuminated the sky, and my eyes quickly adapted to the darkness.
Within their field of vision, many Titans could be seen lying on the ground.
They were in various positions, and even though they could not move, their eyes were open, as if they might move at any moment.
But it was only a fleeting thought; it was already late at night, and they would remain there until dawn.
Gale glanced at his pocket watch; it read eleven at night. "We must be back before sunrise. Ymir, can you manage?"
"I can handle it without a problem," Ymir said, looking at the people behind her. "But it's my first time carrying anyone."
"Well, just don't squeeze too hard. I don't want to get crushed by a Titan," Gale said, holding back a joke he was about to make.
Ymir frowned slightly, a bit concerned.
When she regained consciousness after many years, she crossed the desert and Wall Maria.
The distance from Wall Maria to Wall Rose is 130 kilometers. For her safety, she maintained her Titan form throughout the journey.
Whether because she had been a Pure Titan for too long or because the Titan power she inherited possessed great endurance, she could remain in Titan form for an extremely long time.
To this day, she had not reached her limit, though at most she could remain a Titan for just over a day.
"Try it first and see for yourself if it works." Gale handed a small knife to Ymir.
"Alright." Ymir took the knife, made a few practice motions, took a deep breath, and then cut her palm.
Blood flowed from the wound, a golden lightning bolt surrounded her, her skeleton extended, flesh and blood intertwined, and she quickly transformed into a five-meter-tall giant.
As for her appearance… well, it was simply average. If a child saw it, they would probably have nightmares until they grew up.
But none of those present feared Ymir's Titan, even though… well, to be honest, it was a bit ugly.
"Can I touch your teeth?" Hange asked, not surprised at all by what she had just seen—in fact, she was extremely interested. "It's the first time I've seen such peculiar Titan teeth!"
"They're uneven, sharp, and irregular. Do they belong to one of the Nine Titans? When you transform into a Titan, does food get stuck between your teeth?"
"Who would turn into a Titan just to eat…?" Ymir asked, at a loss for words.
Her true body resided in the nape of the Titan. For her, the Titan had no sense of pain or taste.
Even if it had a sense of taste, eating as a Titan would be a waste—especially since… she knew her teeth were sharp.
If she ate fried chicken like that, she wouldn't even be able to taste the food.
"She talked…" Hange stared at Ymir blankly, then suddenly lunged at her.
"Hey! Can Titans talk?! This is a new discovery! Talking Titans! Even the Titan Eren transforms into can't speak!"
"Hey… can you stop her?" Ymir tried to push Hange away with her hands, but she was afraid of hurting her with her sharp claws.
"That's just how Hange is—you'll get used to it." Erwin turned to Hange and said, "Hange, there will be plenty of opportunities to study Titans in the future. Don't forget why we left the walls tonight. Let's confirm whether Grisha Yeager's notes are true."
"That's right…" Hange said reluctantly as she stepped away from Ymir.
"Climb onto my back," Ymir said, extending her hand. "Hold onto my hair. I'll run a bit first so you can see how it feels."
"Thanks…" Eren looked at Ymir, stepped onto her palm, and then climbed onto her back.
In total, there were six people: Eren, Hange, Gale, Erwin, Erwin, and Levi.
Ymir was roughly the size of a small truck and could easily carry five people on her back.
"There might be some bumps, so hold on tight."
"Don't worry about us! Run as fast as you want!" Hange's eyes lit up. "Riding a Titan is like a dream!"
Ymir ignored that "giant fanatic" and started running.
This was the posture she had maintained for sixty years. After being injected with a drug by the Marleyans, she became an aberrant being and had run on all fours ever since.
Although she had returned to being human, those memories had not disappeared; they were simply blurry and dreamlike. Her instincts reminded her of the sensation, as if she had returned to that endless era.
However, unlike the past, today she was conscious.
What would become of this island in the future? After hearing Erwin read Grisha's notes, she finally understood that the child she had eaten that day was a Marleyan warrior, which was why she regained consciousness.
The fact that the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan destroyed the wall suggested that Marley was about to launch an attack against the people of the island.
"Sixty years have passed… I wonder what has become of Marley," Ymir thought, without emotional attachment, yet subtly intrigued.
"Forget it, it doesn't matter. In any case, I don't have much time left. Counting the days, I only have twelve years of life remaining."
"Since inheriting the power of the Titans only gives me a lifespan of thirteen years, there's only one thing I, Ymir, must do: a tribute to fried chicken and French fries."
"Even after I die, I'll be a well-fed ghost!"
"When we get back, I'll eat until I can't move anymore!"
As Ymir continued running, the surrounding scenery gradually changed.
The once vibrant oasis had turned into an arid desert.
The ground was covered in yellow sand, and the bright moon hung in the starry sky. The number of giants here was significantly lower.
At 2 a.m., they finally saw something different.
At a glance, it was clearly not naturally formed.
An elevated platform built from carefully stacked stone bricks.
Grisha Yeager had described it in his notes: "The Marleyans used ships to transport Eldians who had broken the law to the port of Paradis Island, injected them with a special drug, turned them into Titans, and exiled them to 'Paradise.'"
"My wife, Dina Fritz, and I were captured by the Marleyans because we organized the Restorationist movement, and they cut off our fingers. Before my wife turned into a Titan, she told me: 'I will find you.'"
"I watched her transform into a Titan…"
Everyone realized that the elevated platform before them was the Marleyan port.
Ymir stopped at the foot of the platform, gazing at the cold, pale stone bricks.
Memories of the past tormented her; it was precisely in this place that she had transformed into a Titan.
The fear and helplessness of that day were still engraved in her heart.
How many Eldians had been exiled to Paradis by the Marleyans up to now?
They did not obtain an exact figure from Grisha's notes, but they were able to gather information from certain sources.
During the thirteen years he worked as a spy for the Restorationists, they learned that the numbers were in the thousands.
Thousands of souls!