Sören was again outside the city, but not yet to fight wars. He would transform into the Armoured Titan for the first time and there were cases of past shifters going berserk. Gunnar Jung, the Jaw Titan, Alexamenos, and a dozen slaves and servants observed the event. Sören was standing far away from them, while Gunnar stood midway between him and the non-shifters.
— Alright, Sören! I'm going to transform now! Do it when you're ready! — Gunnar shouted, cupping his mouth with both hands.
He took out a knife and cut his own hand, transforming into a lean but muscular quadrupedal titan with long, flowing blond hair and emerald-green eyes, just like its bearer. Its face was elongated, like a wolf's muzzle, and covered by a layer of hardening. Its teeth, or rather, the extension of the face hardening, were in a jagged, zigzag pattern across the face. The nose was no more than two oval openings. Its hardened fingers with clawed tips scratched the ground in anticipation.
Sören cut his hand with a knife as well, but he wouldn't transform. He looked at the blood spouting from his palm and breathed deeply. "I'll have to do this sooner or later." Then his whole body lit up in a blinding flash of light and the Armoured Titan was in his place, kneeled on the ground. It was muscular and much like Klaus' version, but his armoured plates were instead light yellow, and its hair was longer, like Sören's. It had no lips or mouth guard, leaving all his teeth exposed. As Sören got up, Gunnar approached swiftly, moving like a feline, leaving deep claw marks on the ground. Sören raised his hand, signalling that he was on control, and began to walk around. His heavy steps echoed throughout the grasslands. "It's just like walking in human form, but heavier somehow. I feel like I can tear down any fortress with this titan." — He thought. Gunnar climbed on his back and partially emerged from the Jaw Titan's nape as strips of flesh extended from under his eyes into the titan's body.
— Did you get the gist of it? Spend some more minutes in this form to get used to being transformed. — He shouted in the direction of the titan's ear.
Sören nodded and kept walking. He expected the Jaw Titan to weigh more, but it seemed like his titan form had enhanced strength besides having an impenetrable armour. He began to run, and Gunnar held tighter, cracking Sören's armoured skin. "So this armour is not unbreakable…" — He wondered.
— I'm going to wait on the ground while you run around. Just make a sign if you need help. — He shouted again, returning to the nape shortly afterwards.
He climbed down and stood still while observing Sören. Gunnar thought he almost looked like a child running around aimlessly. Alexamenos and the servants approached on horseback and observed the titan as well, being amazed and fearful at the same time.
— Isn't it incredible? — Alexamenos asked a slave while slapping his back.
— Indeed, my lord. — He answered, breaking into a cold sweat.
By seeing two of the Nine Titans in action, all the slaves thought about how their homelands were trampled, how their people were devoured, and how they couldn't do anything to fight against Eldia. There were even some religions and cults around the titans being formed among the non-Eldians in a desperate attempt to cope with the conquest and slaughter. Some thought Eldians were deities, some believed they were demons. One of the servants broke into tears but held back so that his sobbing would not be heard.
Half an hour later, the Armoured Titan laid on the ground with its back facing upwards. The hardened plate on the nape cracked, and Sören emerged amidst a gust of steam. There were markings around his eyes, forehead, and chin, mimicking his titan form's face.
— I am ready for battle, Alexamenos. — He said, determined.
— Good. Let's go back to the city and request an audience with the ministry or wait for orders directly from the queen.
Gunnar joined them. He had gone back to human form a few moments before Sören, so his face was marked with a jagged line from the corners of his mouth and his eyes seemed more sunken in the skull.
— The question is, where has the queen gone to? The court is almost in disarray.
Alexamenos thoughtfully scratched his chin.
— Good question. Perhaps she was kidnapped? — He scoffed at his own remark. — Heh, there's no way that would happen. I think she just took a break.
…
In a dimly lit, dusty room with only one broken window, Hildegard and Octavia were tied back-to-back in chairs facing away from each other. They were gone for at least two days and none of them knew where they had been taken to. The door creaked open. It was the man with the red moustache and two other young men, both also red-haired and with a slight resemblance to the older one. They spoke something in their foreign language, though neither Octavia or Hildegard understood their words.
— Finally, uncle. Are you sure this is the queen of the devils?
— I assure you. Now, while our messengers are on their way back to the capital to make negotiations, why don't we have some fun?
He took out a sharp knife and handed it to one of the young men.
— You can cut away as many fingers as you want, they will grow back some time later.
He left the room, loudly closing the wooden door behind him. The men looked at each other in a hesitant excitement. The one holding the knife approached Hildegard and made a small cut on her hand. Upon seeing the wound closing a moment later, their courage increased, and their lips formed devilish grins.
— Is this other one a titan as well? — One of them asked.
As the man approached with the knife, Octavia frantically shook her head and made muffled noises. He firmly grabbed her hand and cut off almost half of her index. Her pained wail could almost be heard despite her mouth being muffled. They observed for some moments but saw no steam rising from the wound.
— Leave this one to me, then. Cut off the devil's fingers while I punch her friend here.
He ungagged Octavia and punched her face with force. She let out an ear-shattering scream and was slapped in the cheek. The man tried to communicate in the Eldian language.
— I like scream, but no loud sound. If loud again, finger is severed.
— Why are you talking in the devil's language? Did you forget how their titans devoured everyone from our town, including our parents? — The other man said in their foreign language.
He chopped off one of Hildegard's fingers. She tried to hold back and just moaned in pain. The man continued to talk.
— This is less than what you deserve. Your people will pay for their crimes!
Octavia screamed between blows to her face.
— My queen! Please… transform! I can't… take it anymore!
Hildegard hesitated.
— It will be… an act of mercy! I prefer death… to being tortured!
The beating was unrelenting. Hildegard's eyes were flowing with tears. A yellow light came from her body. The torturers tried to run away, startled, and tripping along the way.
— Thank you, my queen… I hope we can reunite in the afterlife…
A titan's body broke through the wooden shack. Hildegard quickly looked at her surroundings: a valley cut through by a river and surrounded by mountains. She gazed down and saw two men, small like insects, running away from her and screaming in terror. It seemed one of the three wasn't distant enough from the transformation. With slow steps that covered a great distance, she walked towards her captors. The last thing they saw before being stepped on was a frightening, but strangely beautiful titan.