"Falco? Where are you headed this late?" Reiner asked. Falco was panting heavily in front of him.

"I forgot something at HQ, so I'm going back to get it." Falco said with a smile. "See you later!" He ran off and Reiner looked after him.

He ran with a wide smile. "Falco, could you do me a favor?" Eren's and Falco's conversation rang in his head. "What's that, Mr. Kruger?"

"I want to send a letter, but... if it's sent from the internment zone, they'll check it." The scene flashed back to Eren and Falco's conversation.

"That's right." "They might find out I'm not really sick, so could you send it from outside?" Eren was holding the letter.

"Sure thing. Is it to your family?" It zoomed to the letter. "Yeah. I wanna tell 'em I'm here and doing just fine." Falco grabbed the letter.

Falco stood in front of the postbox and threw the letter in.

Magath was walking outside when he noticed that other Marleyans were running hurriedly past him. He turned to a Marleyan in front of him. "Hey, why all the commotion?"

"The whole Tybur family has come to visit!" He answered.

"Excuse me?" Magath asked with wide eyes.

They stood in front of a door, with guards guarding it. Magath knocked and glanced at the guards.

"It's the Tyburs personal guard. They're not part of our military." The man beside him said.

A guard opened the door. "Come in."

They walked in and a young man with long blonde hair walked toward them. "Sorry to drop in on you. I'm Willy, the head of the Tybur family."

"Commander of the Warrior unit, Theo Magath." They shook hands. "It's an honor to meet you, Lord Tybur."

"Nice to meet you, Commander Magath. Allow me to introduce you to the family."

Children were playing around. Two old people were sitting in armchairs. A young blonde woman tried to calm down two little boys. The couch they were sitting on fell over. Another black-haired woman stood at the wall.

Willy Tybur and Magath were standing outside on a balcony. "Having managed the Warrior unit from the outset, are you able to tell which of us is the War Hammer Titan?"

"No, I haven't a clue. One might wonder if it's even here at all."

Willy laughed. "You're very astute, just like I've heard. But it's here. The War Hammer Titan is among us." The family members were shown. Willy looked down. "I came here to see the statue of Helos." The statue was shown. "A century ago, a mere human slayed the devil of all earth and became the renowned Marleyan hero who saved the world - Helos. How marvelous. So brave and beautiful, with not a scratch. Truly, the spirit of Marley."

"The spirit indeed." Magath agreed. "For within, it's empty inside."

Willy laughed again and turned around to face Magath. "You're a tough critic, Commander. I hear you're working to reinstate Marleyan conscription?"

"War, for Marleyans, exists solely inside their newspapers. They're content to just read about our lands expanding. If our tamed devils or conquered armies are eating the bullets, all the better. One hopes letting Marleyans hear the sound of bullets whizzing by their ears will be enough to stop our self-destructive march towards war."

It was silent for a moment until Magath continued. "If someone controlled Marley from the shadows, I'd tell them: It's already too late."

Willy chuckled. "You truly don't hold back, Commander. What can I say? As you noted, this nation is controlled by the Tyburs. But this path of warmongering was one that Marley chose on its own. We gave Marley both freedom and power in hopes of atonement. But in the end, Eldia and Marley were thrown into darkness. The Tyburs are responsible for that. I intend to reveal the truth to the world at the upcoming festival. My coming to see the statue was no lie. Marley is in need of a hero once more. Theo Magath... Will you join hands with me?" Magath stared at him.

Unknown to them, Jean was disguising himself as one of the guards, and he heard everything.

The next morning, Porco walked up the stairs yawning. At the top of the stairs was Pieck on all fours on the ground. Porco jumped and took a step back. "Huh?!"

"Morning, Pock!" Porco was panting. "Pieck! What are you doing?!"

"This way's more natural to me. Did I scare you?" A short silence before Porco asks, "Can you just walk upright?"

A map of Paradis island appeared. "Titans come from the south." Reiner explained. "The wall will be less defended the closer you get to these mountains up north."

"Then, we should attack from the north?" Reiner and a Marleyan were standing above the map.

"That's one option. However, the wharf is the only place where our large ships can dock." Reiner pointed to the south. "We could press our advantage."

"So, the south?" "But the south is where our scout ships were lost. It's where they're most focused. The wharf might even be destroyed."

"So what are you trying to say?" "I'm merely trying to share the information I gathered."

"All right, enough. It was dumb to let an Eldian talk." The other Warriors, Colt, and Magath were also in the room.

The Warriors stood outside of the room. Porco and Pieck leaned against the railing. "The Paradis Island planning is going just well. The brass in charge is oh so intelligent." Porco mocked. "Can't wait to hear what they come up with."

"Like entrusting the whole thing to four kids?" They were watching the Warrior candidates running with heavy bags and rifles in their hands. Falco was overtaking Gabi.

"He's ahead." Reiner stated. "Falco passed up Gabi!"

Both of them were panting heavily. Udo and Zofia were celebrating Falco.

"Look at 'em celebrate one little win. Jeez. They've got no idea." Porco said.

"No matter how well Falco does at this point, he'll never surpass Gabi." Colt said.

The four kids were walking back to the internment zone. "Did you see him take off at the end?" Udo asked.

The two guards at the gate turned to the kids. "Hey, runts. What's the big deal?" One of them asked.

"Falco finally beat Gabi!" Udo answered.

"In grades?! Really?!"

"No, just in a race!" Zofia replied.

"That is a historic feat!" Udo said.

"Can you cut it out? You're embarrassing me." Falco was blushing.

"That's pretty awesome! Maybe you'll be the next Armor!" the guard said.

Gabi walked up to Falco with a dark face and headbutted him.

"Ow!" Falco held his head.

"It's way too late to compete against me!" she yelled at him. "I made our motherland proud in the war!"

"I know." he answered. "But they still haven't announced a successor yet. Until then, I'll do everything I can." He walked away.

"Man, talk about showing off." the guard commented.

"Your brother's already inheriting the Beast!" she yelled after him. "You'll be an Honorary Marleyan! What's the point of trying so hard?!"

Falco stopped and turned around, blushing. "I'm doing this for you!"

"Whoa..."

"He totally said it!" the guard said.

Gabi looked confused. "Huh?! You're getting in my way, but you're doing it for me? That doesn't make any sense!"

Falco ran away.

"Guess it didn't get through." the guard said and the others sighed.

"Huh?! What's his problem?! What gives?!"

Falco was seen running in the distance.

"Oh! Welcome back, our little Warriors!" A woman said.

A drunk man threw his arm over Zofia's shoulder. "Gabi! I heard what you did, Gabi! You're our savior, Gabi!"

"Well, I'm Zofia, so..."

"Huh?" He looked confused.

The woman jerked the man off Zofia. "What's wrong with you?! Quit day drinking and grabbing girls, you geezer!"

"Shuddap, you nincompoop!" He yelled at her. "What's wrong with praising a hero?!"

"If anything, being praised by you is bad luck! Go on! Stumble back home to your mom!"

The man walked away. The woman turned back to the kids, smiling. "Now then, I have a treat for you kids!" Gabi was holding a big bag with a lot of bread in it. "Eat up and grow big like Vice Chief Braun!"

"Thank you!" They thanked her. While moving on, they also spot a stand with meat as Connie and Sasha were the ones selling to customers.

"Mr. Springer! Ms. Braus!" Gabi, Udo, and Zofia greeted the two people. Connie said, "Ah, good to see you again."

"Look at all the meat here... today must have been a great catch, right?" Udo asked.

"Of course, and all of them are juicy as well."  Sasha said while holding the meat.

"Sasha. The meat is for customers, you're not going to take them all for yourself." Connie said while stopping her.

The Warrior candidates knew Sasha and Connie because there was one time Zofia accidentally bumped into Connie and caused the meat to fall to the ground. Both Connie and Sasha weren't angry at them and they also gave them some as gifts.

"We'll be going, see you." After they left, Sasha sighed, "To think when they grew up, they were going to destroy our home..."

"We can't let them happen..." Connie muttered.

People are building a stage. "Whoa!" Udo said. "Will they really declare war right here in the zone?"

"Reminds me of a theater." Zofia commented.

"I heard they're inviting VIPs here and after doing this festival, the world will be on our side." Gabi said.

"Fantastic!" Udo said sarcastically. He knolled his empty paper bag and threw it away. "All of Marley's problems will magically go away!"

"You think it won't work?" Gabi asked him.

"You actually do?" Udo asked her. "The Mid-East Forces we were just slaughtering will be there. My family came from an internment zone abroad, so I know how awful it is. The hate for Eldians abroad makes here seem like nothing."

"Well, all the more reason we've gotta try something. They might've chosen to hold it here so people understand us! We can show 'em were not devils!"

"But how?" Udo asked her.

She grabbed his face. "Smile! I know you can't wait to show the world they're wrong, but stop looking so smug." She turned to Zofia. "And, Zofia... Cut it out with your weird act."

"Um, this is who I am..." she answered.

"Fine!" Udo said. "So what are you gonna fix?!"

Gabi took her hand off Udo's face. "Huh? There's no need, 'cuz I'm perfect as-is! I'm smart and cute as a button! And when I captivate all the VIPs, it'll secure my spot even more!"

"I think I spot a devil." Zofia commented dryly.

Gabi threw her arms around their throats, choking them. "If you guys cheer for Falco again, I'll make you cry!"

"You really are a devil!" Udo choked out.

Gabi looked up and saw Magath and Willy Tybur sitting on two benches. "It's Commander Magath."

Magath lay a book beside Willy. "Here."

He lay his newspaper, he was reading to the side and took the book. "Oh? A large-scale demolition is required?"

"It has decayed beyond repair." Magath answered.

Willy handed the book to the guard beside him, and he walked away with it. "Congratulations, General. The military is yours."

"No. The military serves the nation, and this nation's supreme commander is you."

"That's not quite true. I'm simply the one who holds the wheel. Now I know why my predecessors never tried to grab it." He looked down at his hands. "It's so heavy. I wish I could let go of this very moment, but a time has come when I must not. It just happened to be me. I'm simply the man this responsibility fell upon."

Magath stood up. "The house was in danger of collapsing, but some pillars remained usable." They looked at the house behind the stage. "According to them, the house is already infested with rats."

And here is a new chapter, you can see where the others are doing in this chapter and I hope you like it.