Spitelout was in the courtyard of the Palace, setting up the platform for Historia's coronation.

"Commander, we're good to go," said an MP.

Spitelout nodded. "Now, drop it!"

The MPs on the platform then rolled down a red carpet bearing the seal of the Royal house.

At the same time, Eret was checking the ruins of the underground cavern in case there are any survivors. So far, all he found were some mangled bodies that were barely recognisable.

"Captain Eret!" said a Scout rushing towards him.

"What?" he said, turning to face him. "You look like you're going to shit yourself."

"We found Grimmel Huntsman; he's still alive!"

Eret stared at him in shock.

Grimmel was thinking back to when he first met the king of the wall. He was hired by a noble to eliminate a certain man and his brother. The job seemed easy enough, they were travelling alone with no escort, and the target in question was rather frail.

However, when he confronted them, his target transformed into a Titan, and he was forced to fend it off with his knife. Sadly, his knife did very little to the Titan and grabbed him, lifting him up into the air.

'For a long time, I actually figured that I was the strongest man in the world.'

Grimmel saw his target, who apparently had used himself with the carcass of the Titan and somehow was able to control it.

'So this is a Titan,' he said. 'I guess they really do exist within the Walls, no less.'

His targets brother then immediately rushed forwards with a rifle in hand. "Good! You hold him right there, Ake!"

"Hold on, Johann, don't shoot," said Ake. "Someone must have told him that we'd be here. Probably a council member, we need to determine who it was."

"Fine, make him talk with your power, and then I'll shoot him after."

"That I cannot do, this is a guess, but he's either member of the Haddock or Huntsman clans, but I'm fairly certain that he is a member of the Huntsman clan. Either way, his motivations for raising a bladed me are entirely his own."

Grimmel then tossed his knife at Ake, aiming straight for his throat, but he merely blocked it with his forearm.

"Ake!" Johann yelled.

Ake didn't flinch in the slightest; in fact, he showed no signs of any kind of pain.

"If you're not willing to kill him the bastard, I'll do it for you," said Johann raising his rifle.

"Aww, shit!" Grimmel yelled. "Hey, are you really the king or what? Why don't you do the magnanimous thing and let go of me? Get your big hand off me; I've got a get out of here! Come on, just give me one more chance, and I'll do it right next time!"

'Against such overwhelming power, I had nothing. After all, he could have crushed me to death at any moment. Violence was all I had, and for the first time, it had failed me. Looking back on it now, I don't think my family persecution was all that big part of what drove me.'

Grimmel kept on yelling while trying to think way out of this mess, but then the most surprising thing happened. Ake lowered him to the ground and released him.

"No, why did you?" said Johann looking equally stunned.

Grimmel then fell on his backside, and he clutched his leg, which had suffered the brunt of Ake's attack.

"You hurt my leg!" Grimmel cursed.

Ake then began pulling himself from the Titans carcass.

"Hey, Ake," said Johann, still looking confused as he began to approach Grimmel. "You're crazy; what you let him go for? Your voice will work on a Huntsman; we have to kill him."

Grimmel suddenly pulled out the rifle, aiming directly at Ake's head, but his hand began to tremble. He had never felt like this in his entire life, he was actually scared of another man, and then he fell to his knees.

"Considering the persecution that your family has been put through on my behalf, you have a right to hate me," said Ake. "That said, I must apologise because I cannot die just yet." He then lowered his head towards the ground. "Please forgive me."

Grimmel had no idea who was more shocked him or Johann.

"Even within the tiny world of the Walls, I couldn't build paradise," he continued. "I am such a fool."

Grimmel just stared at him and then lowered his pistol.

'He was an omnipotent King, and he bowed down to a piece of trash like me. His Titan form had shocked me plenty, but when he bowed, that rattled something inside of me like nothing ever had before. I have asked if he had any use for my blade, and Ake nodded.'

The first mission that Ake had given him was to eliminate his contact, the one that betrayed him. It only took a few days, and Grimmel had now taken the place of the nobleman who had contracted him on the king's council.

'The next time the council met, the man who tipped me off about Ake was gone. In that place at Tradesman's new dog, legs kicked up on the table. I found myself a new line of work. I felt a bit pathetic for doing it, but that did bring an end to the Huntsman's persecution. Now walking around in broad daylight was still more risk than it was worth, but I have fewer enemies.'

Grimmel then went to the Underground to find his sister, who had been working in a brothel.

"Greta, huh?" said the manager looking through his books. "Ah, if you mean Olympia, that woman has been so sick for so long now that even her old regulars have quit using her."

The manager gave him her address, which was basically a shabby apartment. He stepped inside and found her lying on the bed, but she looked more like a skeleton than a person.

"You look rough," said Grimmel looking down at her. "Damn, have you lost some weight? You're like a skeleton."

However, she didn't say a word.

"Hey, Greta," said Grimmel.

"She's dead," said a small voice.

Grimmel turned his head and saw a small boy sitting there in the corner; he was pale looking and looked as if he hadn't had a bite to eat for days. Grimmel assumed that he was her son, no doubt one of her patrons had knocked her up.

"And you? Are you alive?" Grimmel asked.

The boy just sat there in silence.

"Ah, give me a break; you're not deaf, are you?" he said, looking, inpatient. "Can you hear me, or can't you? You got a name?"

"Eret, it's just Eret," he said.

Grimmel dropped his case and leaned against the wall, looking at Greta. "I get it, Greta. That's probably a good call; the family name did you no favours." He then slid down against the wall until you hit the floor. "Well, I'm Grimmel; that's my only name. Me and your mother knew each other; it's nice to meet you."

Grimmel then took Eret to the tavern and bought him a meal, which immediately began to scoff down. After that, he began teaching him things like how to defend himself and other steels he would need to survive on his own.

'The only thing that Greta left behind was an unsociable brat on the brink of death. I wasn't so heartless that I'd let the runt die, but I wasn't about to step in as a parent either. There wasn't much I could teach the brat. Figured gripping a knife was a good place to start, and then was getting along with others and how to say hello. How to swing a deal and how to swing a knife. I taught him everything that he needed to know to survive in the Underground. I figured that he might try to make a go of it on the surface someday, but when the time came while I was something he would have to do himself.'

Grimmel returned to the surface and watched as Ake was beginning to preach in the Tradesman's chapel. Most of the people in attendance were either nobles or members of the Interior Police.

"Join me; let us pray for peace in this world," said Ake.

"Interior Police," said Grimmel as he stood next to Lael. "Ah, so you're with the MPs then, are you? Apologies, I bet I killed a fair few of your pals."

"And yet look at you now, the king convinced you to change your ways," he said. "The grace and glory of our king is truly boundless."

"Yeah, he's something," Grimmel agreed. "It seems like he just about everything to you, hey Lael."

"Because of that, I would do anything that he needs me to. Are you any different? Why did you choose to serve the king?"

"That's tough, I don't know," he said honestly. "Probably because he is the strongest around."

Grimmel returned to the underground and watched as Eret beat down several thugs twice this size with nothing but a knife with jagged edges.

'Yeah, in our world, the one on top is whoever can prove to be the strongest. All you need is power; if you have that, then at the very least, you won't go out like my sister did.'

Grimmel then began to leave, knowing there was nothing more strategic Eret and left him to Ben for his own.

One morning, Grimmel stood next to Ake as the two of them looked over a pond that glistened within the sunlight.

"I don't have much time left," said Ake.

"I could have told you that," said Grimmel. It wasn't really much of a surprise, Ake had been looking a lot more drained of recently, and he was barely able to move about his walking stick. "Funny how your monster, yet you still can't beat disease or old age. Seeing you die will be a letdown."

"That isn't what I meant," said Grimmel.

Grimmel looked at him, confused.

"This power will soon pass to Johann's children, and I will live on inside of their memories."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Grimmel stared. "You can give that power away?"

"Grimmel, in the not too distant future, this world will crumble. In humanities fading twilight, it's my wish to build us a paradise. You believe in violence, do you not? It's the unavoidable truth of our world, although, on the day we first met, something turned us from mortal enemies to friends. What was it?"

"No idea, but I'll tell you this if you hadn't squeezed me in that stupidly big hand of yours, I would have stuffed your skull full of shit for sure. You would really have to wear me out before I'd be your friend."

"Yeah, the world's unavoidable truth. Even so, I believe the miracle that happened between us."

'Me and Ake never quite saw eye to eye, not on that.'

A few weeks later, Ake passed on his power to Helga and, just like uncle, began preaching the same stuff he did at the chapel.

'Just like he said, the monster was passed on. It only took a glance for me to know that he wasn't gone. Johann's daughter preached to anyone who listened to that same talk about love and peace. His words from her mouth. How did they found to talk about such useless shit? Is it only a luxury that the powerful can afford? Would anyone feel that way if they just had that power? What about me?'

Two years after the fall of Wall Maria, Grimmel finally managed to push the council to create an Anti Personnel Control Squad under his command. The nobles only allow this formation as they predicted that civilian unrest might occur, and they needed someone to eliminate those threats, more specifically the Scouts.

"My name is Grimmel Huntsman," he said, looking at his new squad. "Not a fan of the name, but I've also been called Grimmel the Grisly. That's because I slid so many MPs throats like yours that I got bored of it, but a lots happened since. And as of today, it looks like I'm going to be the captain of this new Anti Personnel Control Squad; nice to meet you."

He saw that all the MPs were looking directly at him, understandable considering that they were now following the commands of a serial killer that killed many of their compatriots.

"So yeah, I realise that it doesn't make sense," he said. "If I were you, I would be pissed too, being led by a crazed killer that's not even from the military."

"It doesn't matter," said a voice.

Grimmel turned around and saw that it was Shard who spoke.

"The Wall fell 2 years ago; we've given up on fighting the Titans. Instead, we'll fight each other over what little land we have left. That's the whole reason this squad was created, right? That's what all of us are here for; we follow the rules, climbed up through the ranks, and now here we are. What do I care? It's fine by me."

Grimmel then laughed, much of everyone's confusion.

"No need to worry, I didn't really ask for this squad because I want to fight the Scouts," Grimmel admitted. "No, there was a little pretence I thought of. Something to make those jackasses on the council to knock their heads. So why are we here? I'll tell you why; it's all for a grand dream!"

'That godlike power, whoever gets their hands on it suddenly becomes compassionate. Would it be the same for a bastard like me? I've got to know what it feels like to be at that vantage point? What is it you could see? Could trash like me ever be able to see this world in the same light you did?'

Grimmel and now been discovered by Eret and had just showed him the syringe.

"Swipe this sucker out of Johann's bag, back in the cave," he said. "It seems as if I just stick myself; I'll turn into a big strong Titan. One of the dumb ones, unfortunately, but for a while, it oughta keep me alive."

"You have the time and strength to inject yourself before I got here if you wanted," Eret noted. "Why didn't you?"

"Fair point," saud Grimmel. "I guess that I'm just scared. If I don't inject it right, then I might turn out the same as Johann, all messed up like."

"I know that you're not just sitting here to bleed to death. Surely you have a better excuse than that."

"Well, Eret, the thing is, I don't feel like dying without my dream coming true. But I see, after all this time, I think I see why he did it."

"Huh?" Eret frowned.

Grimmel began to chuckle. "We humans, we're all the same. Every last one of us, for some it's drinking, for some, it's women, for some even religion, family, a King, dreams, children, power. All of us had to spend our lives drunk on something, else we would have no cause to keep pushing on. Everyone was a slave to something, even him."

He then coughed out some blood and then looked up at Eret. "So, what's your poison? Heroics?"

Eret had had enough and immediately grabbed his shoulders. "Grimmel, tell me everything you know about the King! The first king! Why did he want mankind to survive?"

"Don't know, beats me," said Grimmel honestly. "That said, I know that's part of the reason that we Huntsman and the Haddocks decided to turncoat."

He then coughed out some more blood which landed on Eret's cheek.

"So apparently, I am a Huntsman," said Eret, not looking surprised. "Tell me, who are you? What were you to my mum?"

Grimmel laughed. "You dumbass, I'm just her brother."

Eret looked at him; he had always assumed that Grimmel was his father. "That day… why? Why did you leave me?"

"Because… I just wasn't cut out to be somebody's dad," he said and then handed him the case containing the syringe.

Eret took, and a few seconds later, Grimmel's body went limp.

"Grimmel…" said Eret slowly.

The next day was Historia's coronation, but this hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing regal clothes with a red cape over her shoulders. She knelt before Zachary as he slowly placed the crown upon her head, and the people that had gathered immediately cheered.

"Did that girl really bring down a Titan bigger than the Wall?"

"Yeah, all the people Hunter District witnessed it!"

"As small as she is, she still saved us from that Titan?"

"Her father ruled as king from the shadows, but she brought his tyranny to an end!"

"Long live the true ruler of the Walls!" Cleaver yelled at the top of his voice.

"Long live Queen Historia!"

Stoick stood there as he bowed and a small smile appeared on his face as he remembered what she told him before facing down her father.

'You need to let me be the wanted deal the killing blow to the Titan,' she said. 'Because then we will have a story the people can get behind, a story to unite the Walls.'

Stoick had to admit that this wouldn't have gone so smoothly if she hadn't dealt the final blow, proving that she knew how to motivate the people.

'To think that she actually dealt the killing blow,' he said to himself.

Historia then turned and faced her people saluting, and everyone cheered at the top of their voices.

Later that afternoon, Historia was walking down the halls of the Palace with Hiccup and the others.

"Wait, you're actually going to do it?" said Fishlegs stunned.

"Yeah, I am," she said.

"And here I thought you were joking," said Ragnar.

"Personally, I envy her; I wish I was the one to hit him," said Astrid. "Not yet you should say this, 'idea you to hit me back.'"

"You're not helping," said Hiccup and then looked back at Historia. "If this is not a serious grudge, just let it go."

"If I can't even do this, then how can I call myself a Queen?"

"That's the spirit," Snotlout smirked. "Pound the big lug."

As they made their way down the court, they found that Eret stood there waiting. Historia slowly approached him, looking quite nervous, and then she yelled before punching Eret.

Everyone just stared at her stunned, none actually believe that she would have to go through it.

"Did that hurt," said Historia. "What I'm Queen now so too bad! If you have a problem—"

Eret then laughed, much to everyone's confusion.

"Thanks, you guys, I needed that."

Meanwhile, in Berk District, Dogsbreath was in his Titan form and was flat on the ground. Clueless rushed over to him to see if he was all right or not.

"Dogsbreath!" he yelled.

He then began pulling him from the Titan's carcass; he then looked up and saw the Beast Titan overlooking the two of them.

"I won," it said. "Which means we'll wait to rescue Eir. Retrieving the Coordinate is our priority as it should be."

Then exiting from the Beast Titan's body was a muscular woman, who bore an almost stunning resemblance to Ragnar's mother, Freida.

"And if we wait right here, well, it will come to us on its own," she said and began to clean her glasses.