Time looper in AOT

Deep in the Woods

"Ahhh, run—this son of—" Before the man could finish, his neck was severed.

"Damn, damn! How did these guys get here?!" The man, who seemed to be the leader, trembled as he watched his men get slaughtered by two figures who looked like mere kids based on their build.

He lifted his head, only to find a short sword pressed against his neck.

"Don't try to run," Armin said, deepening his voice in an attempt to sound mature.

'What's the point? Anyone can tell we're just kids. Not to mention, talking like this hurts my throat,' Armin grumbled internally.

"Mikasa, one of them is trying to escape!" Armin's job was to ensure no one got away, capture the boss, and support Eren and Mikasa if someone attempted a sneak attack.

This put him in a delicate situation, but Eren and Mikasa made sure to protect him.

"Got it," Mikasa replied. She swiftly twisted her body to evade an attack, then threw a small knife she had been carrying, aiming for the back of the escaping man's neck. In the same motion, she stabbed her short sword into the stomach of another attacker.

"Haaah…" Eren exhaled heavily after finishing off the last man. Looking around, he saw that Mikasa had also taken care of her side.

They had been operating like this for a month now, gaining quite the reputation in the underworld and even among the Military Police. The MPs had even given them a nickname—The Three Kid Killers.

"What the hell is wrong with these people? What kind of name is that?!" Eren internally screamed. "I deliberately left a note every time saying Justice League! I even shouted my name when the MPs chased us!"

Which caused him to loop sometimes and afterall that, the MPs still tried to hunt them down.

And the worst part? He couldn't kill them.

'So unreasonable. I'm literally helping them, and they still want to kill us!'

Even the newspapers only reported their actions, detailing how they killed criminals, but instead of praising them, they were treated as dangerous vigilantes.

Not that it mattered. Eren's heart was bigger than the ocean.

'Honestly, this is kind of thrilling. Feels like I'm Spider-Man. Maybe next time, I should say something like—"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"'(N/A: This is our Protagonist)

"But I can't shoot webs, so that doesn't really fit…" Eren muttered.

"Batman, stop daydreaming. We need to escape," Mikasa said with a serious expression.

'Mikas—Black Widow! Damn, she's really into this!' Eren thought, looking at her with full satisfaction.

Armin, meanwhile, just felt second-hand embarrassment.

Eren approached a nearby cart and peeked inside. He found two girls, about fifteen years old, tied up. He and Mikasa quickly freed them.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the girls repeated, tears in their eyes.

They explained that they were traveling to Trost with their father, who had been killed by the traffickers.

If the victims they rescued were children, they took them to their orphanage. For adults, they simply escorted them to safety before letting them go their own way.

While Mikasa was bandaging their wounds, Eren examined the wooden containers in the cart.

"Ba—Batman, what do we do with this guy?" Armin—aka Deku—asked, clearly embarrassed by his own alias.

"Deku, keep him restrained. My gut tells me this guy will be useful," Eren said in a deep voice, causing the man to shiver.

'Months of practice are finally paying off! Look at this guy—he's about to piss himself!' Eren laughed internally.

He pried open one of the containers, expecting alcohol or some other contraband.

Instead, he was greeted by a thick, black liquid.

His eyes widened.

"Petroleum? What the f—"

"Eren, what is that? Doesn't look like alcohol," Armin asked, confused.

Eren grabbed the man's collar and pulled him closer.

"What is this? Where did you get it? Talk, if you want to live." His tone was sharp and menacing.

"I—I don't kn-know!" the man stuttered in panic. "W-we found it in an underground cave to the south! W-we thought it might be valuable!"

"Oh?"

"Now you'll let me go, right?" the man asked, his tone filled with false hope.

"A hero never goes back on his word," Eren said, releasing him.

The man wasted no time. He turned around, ready to bolt—

Only to be greeted by two swords plunging into his chest.

"Wha—?!"

"Well, I kept my word," Eren said nonchalantly. "I never said anything about them."

The two girls, their faces twisted in hatred, repeatedly stabbed the man. They cursed him as they cried.

The trio silently watched.

This wasn't the first time they had seen something like this.

It was one of the reasons they always left some of the criminals alive—to allow the victims to take revenge. Holding onto that much pain wasn't healthy. It didn't solve much, but at least it allowed them to vent.

Once everything was done, they escorted the girls to a safe location.

"Thank you. If you ever need help, please let us know. We might not be able to do much, but we owe you our lives," the girls said before leaving with the cart.

"It's fine. Stay safe," Armin told them.

"So, what is that black stuff, Eren?" Armin asked, still curious. Mikasa also leaned in to listen.

"I don't know," Eren admitted, "but it might be an important resource. We're going to that underground cave to see if there's more."

"Eren, Aunt Carla will be furious if we're gone too long," Mikasa said, concerned.

"Don't worry about that. We'll think of an excuse later," Eren replied casually, guiding the horse toward the south.

---

The Cave

As they ventured deeper into the underground cave, they searched for more of the strange black liquid.

"Huh?" Armin stopped in his tracks. He felt something strange beneath his foot.

Lowering his lamp, he examined the ground more closely.

Mikasa and Eren also moved closer, and sure enough, there it was—pools of the black substance.

"It's real," Eren muttered, dipping his fingers into it.

'With this, I can do so many things. But I have to be careful. The government can't know about this—not until I figure out what's really going on.'

"Let's go," Eren said, leading the way back home.

----

Back Home

"Where were you three for the last two days?!"

Carla Jaeger had her hands firmly twisting Eren's ears, making him yelp in pain. In the background, some kids watched and laughed.

Armin and Mikasa kept their heads down, avoiding her piercing gaze.

"Mom, I told you—we were with Hannes! We went to Trost with him to sell land—ahh, that hurts!" Eren whined, trying to explain.

"Really?" Carla narrowed her eyes at them.

"Yes," they all replied in unison.

It wasn't exactly a lie. They had gone to Trost—just for a completely different reason.

Carla finally let go of Eren's ear and sighed heavily.

"I'll believe you this time."

"Hehehe," Eren laughed nervously.

Armin let out an awkward chuckle, while Mikasa simply looked away in shame.

To be continued…