Perhaps he could rationalize it as a "necessary sacrifice for a greater purpose," but should sacrifice be evaluated that way?
Asahi couldn't answer, because any response would be unfair. The only thing he knew he should do was respect life, and death.
"Kenny, take me to the owner of the Armored Titan."
"Alright."
Asahi returned to his normal demeanor, but an indescribable coldness arose deep within his eyes.
...
Splash!
A bucket of ice-cold water splashed directly onto Reiner, jolting him awake. However, Reiner's vision was still pitch black, with only a faint glimmer from the external environment filtering through the tiny gaps in the black cloth.
He had been blindfolded.
And it wasn't just a blindfold; Reiner tried to move his body, but it was rigidly restrained by numerous devices. Not only his limbs, but also his torso, neck, and even his fingertips were secured.
Most terrifyingly, even the movement of his tongue was rigidly blocked by some device that separated his jaws and isolated his tongue. The design of this device was somewhat similar to the dental examination tools in Asahi's world, but slightly modified. This way, Reiner would not be able to move even slightly, and thus could not activate his ability to transform into a Titan by injuring himself. Although Kenny had asked if this was overkill, Asahi had bluntly dismissed the concern.
There was no room for error here.
Reiner Braun was extremely tense. The enemy had used the water to wake him, meaning the interrogation had begun. Thinking of these things, the young man's whole body trembled slightly.
"Remove the mouth restraint."
A voice filled with coldness rang out. One second later, the device sealing his oral cavity was withdrawn. But just before he could contemplate any further action, Asahi's next sentence froze Reiner like stone.
"Don't do anything unnecessary. Even if all the shackles on your hands were removed, I could still kill you in an instant before you could transform."
Immediately, a chill ran down Reiner's spine. Something sharp and cold was hovering over the center of his forehead. He had a feeling that if he made any sudden movement, this thing would split him in half—even though it sounded quite impossible, that feeling alone was enough to keep him from moving.
"Answer all my questions."
"..."
"Name?"
"..."
"Age?"
"..."
"Where are you from?"
"..."
"Who are your comrades?"
"..."
Asahi asked many questions, but all he received was silence; Reiner did not utter a single word.
He took no other action, simply repeating the exact same questions like a machine, and of course, Reiner remained silent. After repeating the questions three times without receiving any answer, Asahi stopped. Just as Reiner thought he would be tortured for information, footsteps sounded.
He had left. Simultaneously, the surrounding soldiers reapplied the oral cavity restraint device on him. Then they, too, left, leaving behind a prison of absolute silence.
Reiner realized he might not be tortured with beatings and physical pain, but with solitary confinement.
In the pitch-black room, the faint glimmer of light that remained was taken away. Reiner could no longer see anything.
There was nothing left but the darkness, and him alone.
...
Asahi did not let Reiner off so easily. He simply had more important things to do.
Barely a day had passed since the battle between the Founding Titan and the Armored Titan. Although the Armored Titan's comrades had recognized the situation and promptly transformed to flee, due to the distance, they had not yet left the Wall Maria territory, nor escaped the Walls; they must be hiding somewhere.
The colossal footprints left by the Female Titan were 10 kilometers away from the battle site. It wasn't that they didn't want to run anymore; it was that they didn't want Asahi to catch up. His movement speed was near-supersonic, even breaking the sound barrier. What is the speed of sound? It is 343 meters per second; a few dozen kilometers is merely a moment's chase. Not to mention that the Titan is too large, truly a live signal beacon for him to track.
Currently, both the Survey Corps and the Garrison Regiment in the cordoned-off area had mobilized their entire forces. They were steadily narrowing the perimeter of control. Asahi had also informed them of the target: young adolescents; all must be investigated, absolutely none can be overlooked.
Asahi sat on horseback, followed by a fully equipped formation of Garrison troops, every one of them bearing an extremely serious expression.
"It's raining."
He looked up at the gloomy sky and muttered to himself. Immediately afterward, heavy raindrops fell from the clouds. Fog arose, beginning to restrict visibility.
"Commander-in-Chief, these conditions are not suitable for searching. The rainwater has washed away and obscured too many traces." A soldier approached him to report.
They had managed to narrow the cordoned area to only the forest ahead. Still, it was too vast to search in a moment. On top of that, the rain arrived just in time, making tracking difficult and erasing traces. Asahi's senses were also disrupted by the rain. If they were too far away and not moving much, he practically couldn't sense them.
It was as if the heavens were trying to help them escape.
Asahi's expression was grim, but it was indeed not the right time for a needle-in-a-haystack search like this, even for him.
"Turn back, continue the guard."
"Understood!"
A column of riders departed, causing Annie Leonheart and Bertolt Hoover, secretly hiding in a high spot and watching, to let out a sigh of relief as if a burden had been lifted. However, it was only a small burden; a large rock still weighed heavily on them.
Reiner Braun was captured, the mission had failed. Both of them were trapped here, and a monster was hunting them down.
"Ann... Annie, what... what do we do now..." Bertolt's voice trembled.
Annie did not reply, or perhaps she didn't know how to reply. What to do now? A seemingly normal question, yet filled with crossroads.
Bertolt currently only wanted to escape these troubles as far as possible, or in other words, to return home. But would returning really be that good? Annie saw very clearly: although they, the Titan shifters, were called "Honorary Marleyans," they were fundamentally just tools. Losing two Titans, failing to capture the Founding Titan—Annie dared not imagine what punishment they would receive upon returning. It was highly likely that both of them would be fed to successors to take their Titan power. Just like how both she and Bertolt had acquired their Titan power by eating their predecessors. Thinking of this, Annie shuddered.
Simultaneously, a little deeper into the forest, a black figure quietly emerged.
From start to finish, he had never left.