Looking at that magnificent figure, Asahi involuntarily fell silent, and his hands dropped to his sides. It was as if he had anticipated it, guessed it, and known it, yet still could not believe it.
The battlefield fell still. The Titans, even the hulking Beast Titan, turned toward the Founding Titan as if in reverence, worshipping their true King.
In the glow of the sunset, the Founding Titan gradually dissolved into a colossal cloud of vapor that obscured a large section of the Wall. Although it was hard to see, Asahi's superhuman eyesight could still discern a small figure appearing atop it.
Frieda Reiss.
The smoke from the Founding Titan's body dispersed. His helmet was removed. Two faces, two pairs of eyes, met directly.
"Why? Why... do you have to go to this extreme?!"
Asahi spoke first, like an accusation, yet also like a question to himself.
Why did the situation become like this?
He had stabilized the interior, causing the factions to at least unite toward a single goal. He had unearthed secrets about the outside world and the Titans, gaining the initial advantage.
This should have been a war against a common enemy... No!
That wasn't it...
A thought, like a flash of lightning, streaked through Asahi's mind. Simultaneously, Frieda's voice emerged.
"So what? What do you plan to do next?"
"I... we will fight against..."
Asahi stopped. No, that wasn't his goal!
He wanted to save everyone! Not to...
"Asahi, it's impossible. Hatred that has lasted for a millennium, passed down through generations, cannot be erased."
"The people outside no longer see us Eldians as human beings. We are only vessels for a blasphemous creation, the egg of a demon. You know what that is."
The hope Asahi offered her ultimately proved false. It was warm, but it couldn't help the Eldian people teetering on the brink of annihilation. This hope was pure poison, and she could not accept it.
Deep within hope lies despair.
Frieda paused, watching Asahi intently, awaiting his reply.
He couldn't say anything, as anything would only be a dishonest justification and unfair.
Tell the other races to forgive Eldia? Then where would the two brutal millennia go?
Tell Eldia to forget? Then would the countless sufferings inflicted upon the people of Eldia simply be thrown into the trash?
Everything was too deeply entangled, crisscrossing each other—sin upon sin, despair upon despair. Even the roles of victim and aggressor seemed blurred.
Who should be blamed, and whose side should one take to stand with "justice"?
There was no one. Truly, there was no one.
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"Wipe out everything outside the Walls. With only Eldians remaining, conflict will naturally cease, and this debt of fate will naturally end."
Frieda spoke calmly, but the content of her words made him shudder.
Wipe out everything outside the Walls?
Isn't this an attempt at global genocide?
"You..."
"This is the only way, Asahi. This world cannot accommodate the Eldian people, so I will destroy it!"
Frieda's voice rose, her eyes gradually becoming dark and sharp.
She was the Queen, the true sovereign of the entire race. She... also had no other choice. Therefore, this profoundly anti-human, cruel decision was the last thing that remained.
"Asahi, stay put right here. You can certainly avoid this genocide, and I will grant you the position of an independent lord when the new world is born."
"Or you can assist me, and we will split the world in half."
Faced with the olive branch extended by Frieda, Asahi's only answer was to put his helmet back on. His cold gaze fixed upon the Eldian Queen, and he re-entered the fighting state.
He... absolutely could not accept such a thing!
"Very well..."
Frieda narrowed her eyes, perhaps issuing a command through some mysterious method that only the Founder could achieve. In that instant, Asahi's senses picked up a wave of heat... no, countless large waves of heat spreading beneath the ground right where he stood.
In a certain corner, Darius Zackly had indeed ordered the detonation of bombs buried in the ground. They knew that relying solely on the Titans, the suicide soldiers, or even the Beast Titan would not be enough to corner Asahi to his death. Therefore, this was the plan Darius had proposed.
A colossal chain of explosions churned the earth. Asahi realized it, but it was too late. He tried to run out of the explosion's radius, but the bombs were scattered wide enough that even his speed couldn't allow him to escape in time.
And this was the ultimate strategy: the purpose of the bombs was not to kill him, which they couldn't do. Their intended effect was to cause the structural elements supporting the ground to collapse, burying Asahi alive under hundreds of thousands of tons of earth and debris.
"No! It can't end like this!"
Asahi struggled to rise, but at that moment, the Beast Titan commanded the remaining Titans to pounce and cover him, preventing him from getting out. They also contributed to burying him alive. And then, the entire Stohess District "sank," and Asahi's voice vanished.
The plan was successful.
Using the Beast Titan's battle as bait to exhaust his strength and focus, followed by the final strike.
Zeke Yeager emerged from the Titan's nape, looking down at more than half of the Stohess District, which had been buried just to take down that "monster." Fear still lingered in his heart. Initially, he had been somewhat disdainful of a pile of proposals aimed at defeating just one person. But after fighting Asahi, he realized he was lucky to still have his head on his shoulders.
Fortunately, it was all over. No creature could escape a tomb like this.
He walked up onto the Wall, saw Frieda still somewhat stunned, looking toward the location where Asahi was buried, and spoke.
"Queen, please continue to issue directives. I will carry them out."
It took a second for her to react to Zeke's words. All regret in her eyes vanished, replaced only by the cold dignity of a true leader.
"Begin the evacuation of the population. All three layers of the Walls must be activated."
"I fear that the area inside Sina, even counting the underground cities, cannot accommodate the entire population."
"It doesn't matter. I will personally regulate it. Besides..."
Frieda mused for a moment.
"If people die, it cannot be avoided. They can only blame their own misfortune. Compared to the survival of a race, a few lives are insignificant."
"Understood. I will go immediately."
Initially, Frieda only needed to use Wall Maria on the outermost edge, but through what she learned from Zeke about the military capabilities of the outside nations, especially Marley, she knew that sooner or later, Titan power would no longer be invincible. Therefore, she had no choice but to use all available force to crush everything.
All her subordinates retreated, leaving Frieda alone on the colossal Wall, her gaze fixed toward the sunset, which was about to give way to darkness. She glanced backward and murmured.
"Farewell."