"The titans of the island... were born here..." Hange murmured as she adjusted her glasses and said, "Then... on the other side... is the sea, right?"
"Go take a look over there, Ymir." Gale heard the sound of the waves and became a little excited.
Ymir carried everyone around the elevated platform. What appeared before their eyes was the endless sea.
The sound of the tide surged, the vast ocean reflected the moonlight, shimmering, the salty sea breeze blew against my face, and the waves washed white foam, one after another, back and forth along the shore.
"Armin would have loved to be here..." Eren murmured to himself.
Armin had read about all kinds of things in a book, and the sea was one of them. The book described the sea, volcanoes, and all kinds of strange landscapes—things that people living within the walls could not imagine.
And at that precise moment, the ocean was right in front of Eren.
Everyone jumped off Ymir's back and, like children, cautiously touched the seawater.
Hange crouched down, dipped her finger into some seawater, licked it, and exclaimed, "Ugh, so salty!"
"Idiot! Be careful, it's poisonous!" Levi scolded, unable to resist the temptation to take off his shoes and put his feet into the seawater. He picked up a shell, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Gale opened his arms and felt the sea breeze.
It was the second time he had seen the sea, but if only considering the course of this life, it was the first.
The vastness of the ocean felt overwhelming to him; no matter how many times he saw it, it made him fully aware of his own insignificance.
Ymir looked toward the sea, observing in silence, her thoughts hidden.
"On the other side of the sea... is Marley?" Erwin calmly gazed at the sea on the horizon.
He had found the truth of the world.
Humanity had not gone extinct; the titans had not devoured all the humans living outside the walls.
Ironically, all the titans slain by the Survey Corps over the years were Eldians.
"Hannes, what do you think of Marley?" Erwin asked Hannes, who was beside him.
"Commander, I don't have any particular opinion," Hannes said calmly and pointed out, "I simply followed orders and came here. Honestly, I'm not suited to give opinions."
There was no confusion in his eyes; he simply remained by Gale's side like a guardian and someone who carried out his orders.
"Gale, what do you think?" Erwin then focused on Gale, who seemed extremely calm.
"Commander Erwin, why do you think Marley keeps turning Eldians into titans and abandoning them on Paradis Island? Is it only because of discrimination?" Gale and Erwin looked at each other.
Erwin remained silent. As commander of the Survey Corps, he could quickly analyze the purpose of this action.
Pure Titans regarded humans as enemies, and according to Grisha Yeager's notes, there were even objects called "Titan Bombs" in Marley.
During war, Marley used Eldians as weapons.
The Marleyans used aircraft to transport Eldians who had broken the law, injected them with a drug, and then dropped them like bombs.
The Eldians transformed into titans formed the first wave of attack, bombing enemy cities. The surviving titans, guided by instinct, slaughtered the humans around them.
Marley's high command used Eldians as weapons.
This would explain why they crossed the entire ocean to send titans to Paradis Island:
"To confine the Eldians within the walls."
Beyond the sea were the Marleyans, and the Marleyans were their enemies.
"The Colossal Titan, the Armored Titan, the Female Titan, and the titan power inherited by Ymir already make up four of the seven titan powers possessed by Marley," Gale said in a low voice.
After saying that, Gale turned around, and his usually calm eyes showed a coldness that froze everyone's hearts.
"The people of Marley rely on the power of the titans to gain constant advantages in war; the power of the titans is a strategic resource for them."
"They sent four titans to our land with a single purpose: they were not satisfied with the power of the seven titans and were so greedy that they wanted to seize the power of the Founding Titan."
"As for why they were interested in obtaining the Founding Titan, there could be many reasons. Perhaps they felt the Founding Titan would threaten their status as a great power, or perhaps the weapons of the outside world had developed to the point of being able to fight even against Titans, leaving them no choice but to take the Founding Titan to deal with their other enemies."
"Whatever the reason, once the Marleyan government takes our ancestor from us, our fate will be very tragic."
Erwin thought of Grisha's sister, an Eldian who had absolutely no human rights in Marley's territory.
"The enemies are on the other side of the sea...?" Erwin understood everything clearly, but it was difficult to accept the fact that the titans were not their true enemies.
"Commander, are you willing to trust me blindly?" Gale asked, turning his gaze toward the sea.
"Do you think I don't trust you enough?" Erwin asked, somewhat confused, and pointed out, "I have already defended you a lot regarding the Female Titan incident. I ignored the fact that you ordered the extermination of all the nobles in front of Commander Pixis."
"It's not enough." Gale said in a louder tone and pointed out, "Marley possesses scientific and technological capabilities that we can only dream of right now, but I have a way to defeat the enemy on the other side of the sea and prevent them from daring to attack our land again. For that, I need trust and help."
Gale extended his hand toward the sea as if he wanted to grasp the world in his hands.
The prolonged and resonant sound of the ocean waves echoed in Erwin's ears as he looked at his calloused right hand.
Gale's hands were very rough, with many scars and burns—they were not the hands of a twelve-year-old boy.
He used to work in a factory, and staying up all night was something common. Although he possessed considerable power, as Erwin recalled, he had never seemed to use it for personal gain.
He did not live in a large house until he exterminated his family, did not hire young and beautiful maids after gaining power, nor did he host extravagant banquets. Instead, he seemed increasingly tired and covered in dust.
How does one determine if someone is trustworthy?
"Listen to rumors, trust your feelings, or... look at what he has done." Erwin mentally reviewed everything Gale had done, and in the end, it was the people of this land who benefited.
"I have a dream… It was a dream that shone like gold." Gale said, clenching his hand into a fist, then extending it toward Erwin.
Erwin then thought of the past and said, "Well, I have seen the truth of the world and have already walked a long path in the first half of my life. Listening to you talk about how to walk the path ahead of me does not seem like a bad thing."
"We will win this war…" Gale said confidently.
Erwin let out a breath of stale air and grabbed that rough right hand. "I hope your dream comes true."
"Thank you, Commander."
…
Before dawn, the group turned around and returned to the Special District of Shiganshina.
The outer gate was successfully repaired. At dawn, the cement had completely hardened, and the titans could no longer break through the wall.
The source of the titans had been cut off.
The repair work on the inner gate was completed on the second day, and just like with the outer gate, Eren was the main force.
That day, Eren said he had seen part of his father's memories, Dina Fritz, and described in detail what the royal Titan looked like, which was then drawn by the team's artist.
Supplies arrived on the fourth day of the inner gate repairs, including food, ammunition, and reports on the number of titans eliminated from various outposts over the past few days.
During the return journey of the expedition, portraits of Dina Fritz were distributed to various outposts and the four special districts of Wall Rose.
On the eighth day of their return journey, Gale received special news.
In the Karanes District, on Wall Rose, the "blonde and smiling Titan" from the portrait had been discovered.