Leah's Recovered Memories
Graveyard Preservation Record – 34th (2) The record of Leah ended with the appearance of the Colossal Titan Ouroboros. The preserved 34th record of Graveyard concluded there.
“Ugh… Uweeeek…!! Cough, cough!!” Leah Gilliard, having regained consciousness, collapsed to the floor and continued retching. Now. Only now did the memories return. Who the figure that appeared in her dreams every night had been. Who the person she had projected onto the Captain from the Security Bureau was. The very man who had clutched her dead body and sobbed. The man who had stood beside her, smiling at her. The commander who had always stood behind her like an old tree, watching over her. His features were appropriately sharp, yet to her he had always been as warm as sunlight. His build was tall and sturdy beyond words. No man could be more of a true man than he was. Moreover, whenever she found herself in crisis, he would appear like a prince and save her. There was no end to the reasons she had been drawn to Lutus. He was, after all, Leah Gilliard’s perfect ideal type—the lover she had ultimately won.
Ah. She had no choice but to fall in love. Even through thirty-nine deaths and the newly begun fortieth life, she had ended up loving this man. The person she must never forget. The person she must find at all costs. Yet she had completely forgotten him. That fact was unbearable.
“Why, in the world… Why this time, why this time… the memories…” At the same time, she could not understand. It had always been Lutus who restored their memories. Why had he not restored them in this cycle? Why had he left us? Why had he cast me aside? When I showed my affection, why did he push me away? Without knowing that, I ended up hurting you. I even spoke ill of you to others, calling you a strange person. If I had known you were this kind of person. If you were the one I loved, the one I wanted to protect, the one I wanted to embrace even at the cost of my life, I would never have spoken that way.
“Why, why on earth…!!! Lutus, Commander Lutus!!!! Why!!! Why did you do that…? Are you going to say now that you never expected me to regain my memories…?” Previous memories flashed through her mind like a film. Whenever Lutus pushed her away, claiming it was for her own good, she had gone to the bar to drink and chat with her comrades, her pathetic pride intact. When everyone at Graveyard cursed Lutus, she had not refuted them—instead, she had laughed and agreed. She had even acted like a fool, trying to seduce him. That was… that was not simply an emotion born of affection. It had been a kind of stubbornness. Even though she could never have him, she had arbitrarily judged his worth. She had been the one to insult him, yet she had delusionally believed he had insulted her.
Yet you remembered all of it. You carried all of it, and in the end, you saved the world? Lutus Edan’s voice rang clearly in her ears.
-I once told you to lay down your life for humanity’s victory, Leah.
-I did, didn’t I?
-I will lay down my life for your happiness. If, at the very end, when this journey is over, all of you can smile happily, that would be more than welcome.
“Aah…, Aaaaaah—!!!” Lutus Edan. My beloved. More precious than anyone. The one in whose arms I fell asleep. The one with whom I laughed while gazing at the moonlit night. The one with whom I walked hand in hand. The one with whom I danced beneath the campfire. The one to whom I showed a side of myself no one else knew. The one who warmly embraced my clumsy self. The one who cried with me when I wept. Whether I was annoyed, angry, or sad, he always welcomed me. Lutus Edan.
“Kyaaaaak!! Leah, Leah…!! What on earth have you done!!!!!” Leah screamed, tearing at her own hair. Tuft after tuft of her precious brown hair was ripped out crudely. Tears flowed endlessly. Her body was already exhausted beyond measure, yet her emotions refused to be controlled.
“Ugh, hic… sob… keuh… U, ugh…!! Uweeeek!! Cough, kheuk, cough cough!! Keuhueuk……” It was then that Akasha’s dry voice reached Leah, who had been struggling in endless despair and guilt.
Leah Gilliard’s record restoration has been completed. Would you like to view Lutus Edan’s record from the 34th cycle next?
“……” Restoring memories was an unbearably horrific act. She had to fully experience her comrades dying and the terrible ends she herself met. That was why Lutus had always stopped the restoration at this point. There was no need to peek into his own memories, he would say. But now there was no Lutus to say that. No. This time, she had to see it. She had to read even a fragment of the weight Lutus Edan carried. Only then would she understand. He had never once spoken of the regressions. He had insisted his memories were his alone and refused to show them to anyone—not even to Arhen Orca, whom he had cherished more than the other women. All they could do was hold his hand and embrace him whenever he had nightmares.
“Hic, hic, the record…. Keup, hueueuk…, I’ll view it… I’ll see it. The story beyond my death that he witnessed… I must see it.” Leah reached out toward Akasha. Once again, her vision blazed with light. Within Lutus Edan’s memories, which no one had ever invaded. He stood alone in the ruined fortress.
***
“Headquarters, respond. Headquarters. Communications? Respond!” How long had he walked? Lutus Edan sensed something was wrong. There was no reply. The Infinite Labyrinth was far from Graveyard, so that was understandable, but it was strange that there was no response from a distance of less than five kilometers in a straight line. The more he advanced, the tighter his chest grew. Surely not this time as well? ‘No, that can’t be.’ Lutus immediately denied the worst-case scenario that had risen in his mind. His heart was urgent, but rash action in Titan-occupied territory would only lead to death. It had taken longer than expected because he had taken a detour. Still, it had only been a few days. Three days inside the Infinite Labyrinth. Three days to return. Not even a week had passed—there was no way Graveyard Fortress’s command had suddenly fallen. In truth, when the reconnaissance regiment was annihilated after being caught in the Infinite Labyrinth, he had considered suicide. But since it was his first time entering the Infinite Labyrinth, he had decided to see it through to the end, and thanks to that, he had grasped the entire structure of the labyrinth. That alone could be said to have fulfilled his duty in this life.
‘Still… I need to confirm what happened. It won’t be too late to die after that.’ He could never grow accustomed to the deaths of Arhen, Leah, Charlotte, Durand, Drake, Heinz, Lidiya… and the countless soldiers and officers who had fought alongside him at Graveyard. Yet Lutus had long since grown accustomed to his own death. Therefore, he had to confirm. What had happened at Graveyard. What had occurred in this graveyard while he was away—he had to see and feel it himself. Only then could he use it as nourishment for the next cycle. When it was impossible to take even a single step forward, he could not afford to repeat the same mistakes of the past.
“…?!” As Lutus pushed through the undergrowth and crossed the trench line toward the fortress, he discovered a gruesome corpse and a single vehicle. The body had not been dead for many days. The vehicle left beside the corpse belonged to Graveyard. Though the upper half of the body had been severed, making identification impossible, Lutus could not shake off his ominous premonition.
“…I need to move faster.” Regression was inevitable anyway. With Durand, a key personnel, and the entire reconnaissance regiment dead, it was obvious they would have to start over. He had resolved to prevent even a single death. Lutus Edan examined the abandoned vehicle. Fortunately, it seemed undamaged. Judging by the hole in the driver’s side window, it had likely been hit by a long-range sniper-type Titan. However, when he started the engine, the date on the clock seemed off. He had thought less than a week had passed, yet nearly two months had gone by. There were two possibilities. Either the vehicle’s clock was broken, or the spacetime within the Infinite Labyrinth had been distorted.
“….” Lutus’s parched lips twitched. If nearly two months had truly passed, the situation would have deteriorated beyond control. “Those damned Titan bastards… They even twisted spacetime, calling it a labyrinth…?” He was no longer surprised. It was only natural that humanity had been driven to extinction over thirty-three regressions. Beep-beep-beep. Lutus activated the biological signal jammer, which had only a few hours of battery left. He could not hide the vehicle, but at least his own signal would not be detected, allowing him to confuse the Titans. Boarding the vehicle, Lutus sped straight toward Graveyard. Soon, the distant view of the fortress came into sight. Parts of it were damaged, and black smoke rose into the air. The fortress had been attacked. Lutus pressed the accelerator harder. The moment he passed through the ruined fortress gate and entered the parade ground—
“…U, di, a.” A voice, as if modulated by machinery, reached his ears. A chilling sensation that pierced from head to toe made Lutus slam on the brakes. Screeeeeech—!!!! The vehicle skidded, leaving deep skid marks across the parade ground. As the thick cloud of dust raised by the storm settled—
“Lu, tus.” There stood a Titan. Wearing Leah’s face, speaking with Leah’s voice.