Time looper in AOT

An Unknown Basement

"Eren, why are we doing this?" Armin asked, irritation evident in his voice.

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were dressed in black, their faces hidden behind plain white masks.

"Armin, I thought we already talked about this. These bastards tried to kidnap Rae (orphan girl)," Eren replied in a quiet but firm tone.

"But sti—"

"No buts, Armin. We have to eliminate these guys before they hurt anyone else."

After the failed reclamation mission, many children became orphans. Seeing this, Carla, along with some other women, decided to open an orphanage in the east side of Wall Rose. Of course, the funding came from Eren.

'Damn, all that hard-earned money... I didn't know Mom was actually into this.'

But what he was really doing here tonight was simple—not playing hero, but protecting the children by eliminating the threat at its source.

"Eren, someone's coming," Mikasa, the only one taking the mission completely seriously, whispered.

"Don't worry, I got this."

Eren gripped a small knife tightly. As the man neared their hiding spot, he swiftly slashed his throat before he could make a sound.

Armin, seeing the corpse, felt uneasy, but this wasn't his first time witnessing death. He forced himself to remain composed.

"Alright, you guys remember the plan, right?" Eren asked after dealing with the body.

"Plan?" Mikasa tilted her head.

"What plan? You mean the one where we kill everyone in sight, then bust the boss's balls while saying, 'You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain'? Also, why do we even say that?" Armin groaned, clearly regretting his life choices.

"Hahaha! C'mon, Armin, that's every man's dream! Also, call me Batman," Eren said, grinning.

Eren glanced at Mikasa, who was unreadable as always.

"Mikasa, remember what I taught you?"

She gave a small nod. "I am Black Widow." She spoke in a monotone, completely serious.

"Stop teaching her weird stuff! And what the hell do you mean by 'Deku'?" Armin asked, looking exasperated.

"Ah... it means 'You can do it.' Oh, wait—I hear footsteps!" Eren quickly shifted focus.

The three of them moved stealthily to the other side of the corridor. Soon, several men arrived, stopping when they noticed the dead body.

"What now?" Armin whispered.

"Now... we see the results of our training," Eren said confidently.

He had trained hard, his strength now comparable to that of a newly enlisted soldier.

"Alright, Mikasa, get ready. Armin, stay at the back and watch our backs," Eren instructed.

The two of them gripped their knives and launched a sneak attack. However, their enemies were on alert, and Eren failed to land a fatal blow, only managing to slash his target's arm.

Mikasa, however, was on another level. In an instant, she adjusted her angle and plunged her blade straight into her opponent's heart.

'Damn, I can't let her steal all the spotlight,' Eren thought.

Four men remained—one with an injured arm. Two of them charged at Mikasa, while the other two attacked Eren.

One man swung a sharp knife at Eren. He dodged, but the second man aimed a kick at him. Reacting quickly, Eren avoided the attack and retaliated by striking the first man... right in the groin.

"AAAHHHH!!!" The man let out a blood-curdling scream.

His partner flinched, frozen in place as the sound of something cracking echoed in the basement.

The terrified man turned to run, only to be met with a swift strike from Armin, who swung an iron rod with all his might.

"Argh! You two are way too reckless!" Armin gasped, trying to steady his breathing.

"Hehe," Eren chuckled.

"Anyway, let's hurry. We still have eleven more to deal with."

"Huh? How do you know that?" Armin asked, puzzled.

Of course, Eren knew. He had already died five times and looped back to this moment each time.

The battle continued. By the end, Eren had taken down four more enemies, Mikasa had killed five, and Armin—well, he had assisted in one takedown (without actually killing anyone).

"So... why are you holding that guy?" Armin asked, watching as Eren restrained the man he had knocked out.

"Just watch. And you two, be ready," Eren warned.

Standing in front of a door, he used the unconscious man as a human shield and charged in. The oversized boss inside instinctively fired his rifle—something resembling a Carcano M1891—only to realize too late that he had shot his own man.

'Like hell I'm falling for the same trick twice,' Eren smirked.

Before the boss could reload, Armin's iron rod smashed into his hand, making him drop the gun. The next second, a shadow darted forward, and the man's head was severed clean off.

"Good job, you two," Eren said, nodding at Mikasa and Armin.

"Why did we have to do this? Couldn't we have just reported them to the Military Police?" Armin asked, still shaken by all the blood.

"Armin, you're smarter than us when it comes to these things. Surely, you understand—the MPs are nothing more than lapdogs for the nobles. These human traffickers are their suppliers," Eren said seriously.

"Eren is right, Armin," Mikasa added. She, more than anyone, despised human traffickers—after all, because of them, she had lost her parents.

"You're right. This shady business operates because there's demand for it. I guess if we wipe them out, the nobles will be pissed," Armin muttered in deep thought.

"Exactly... DAMN IT!" Eren suddenly shouted, startling Mikasa and Armin.

"Wh-What?!" Armin panicked while Mikasa instinctively scanned the surroundings.

"I forgot to say 'I am Batman'... What was the point of coming here then?" Eren groaned.

Mikasa and Armin looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Why are you guys laughing? It's not funny!" Eren pouted. He had practiced all night to perfect his deep, heroic voice!

"Nothing, you're just such an idiot, Eren," Armin chuckled before pulling him into a hug. Mikasa quickly joined in.

'Seriously, it's not funny…' Eren sulked.

To be continued…