Time looper in AOT

Eren smiled, seeing they were safe.

'Good. Now we just have to reach the inner gate and esc—'

Thud.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

Eren's heart pounded as he looked up. A 7-meter Titan loomed over them.

'Why? Why does this have to happen? We escaped the first time!'

Hopelessness clawed at him. The Smiling Titan could return at any moment, and Hannes couldn't fight while protecting them. Could he even win this fight alone?

"Run! I'll distract it!"

Mikasa's voice jolted him back to reality. Before he could react, she was already sprinting toward the Titan.

'I have to fight!'

She snatched up a small stone while running. The Titan stretched out its massive hand to grab her.

Her instincts screamed at her. Every fiber of her being urged her to move.

With a sudden stop, just as the Titan's hand reached for her, she jumped onto its arm and slid down. The Titan stretched out its other hand, but Mikasa rolled on the ground, barely dodging.

The Titan screeched in frustration.

Mikasa was already behind it, hurling the stone to draw its attention. The creature turned toward her.

Everything happened so fast that Eren barely had time to process it.

Watching Mikasa fearlessly face the Titan, a memory surfaced—that rainy day in the mountains.

'Fight! Fight! FIGHT!'

"Hannes!"

Hannes snapped his gaze to Eren.

Carla screamed for Mikasa, her voice raw with terror.

"Leave Mom and cut the Titan down while it's distracted!"

Hannes hesitated. His eyes flickered between Mikasa—calm and determined even in the face of death—and Eren, whose gaze burned with resolve.

He gritted his teeth.

He put Carla down and readied his ODM gear.

"Hannes, save her!" Carla sobbed.

"Don't worry... That's why I'm a soldier."

With a determined glare, he fired his hooks into the Titan's arm.

Gas burst from his ODM gear as he shot forward, gripping the hilts of his twin blades.

The Titan roared, flailing wildly, blinded by its own rage. Hannes swung over its shoulder and landed on its back. He took a deep breath, his muscles tensing.

"This is for all the lives you've taken!"

With a powerful swing, he plunged his twin swords deep into the nape, slicing through flesh in a decisive strike.

Steam burst from the wound.

The Titan staggered.

A final tremor shook the ground before it collapsed, lifeless.

Eren stared at Hannes, dumbfounded.

'Dude, you were so cool… I was already prepared for another loop.'

Of course, Hannes had only managed to kill the Titan so easily because it was distracted. If it had been focused, things wouldn't have ended this cleanly. Titans were big, but their reflexes were terrifying.

Still, Hannes had skill.

"Mikasa!"

Carla pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Don't do reckless things like that!"

"Yes…" Mikasa nodded lightly.

----

The once-peaceful district of Shiganshina was now a nightmare.

Titans towered over the ruins, devouring people without mercy. Smoke and screams filled the air as what remained of humanity within the outer walls desperately tried to escape.

Eren, Mikasa, and Carla boarded an evacuation boat, where Armin was already waiting with his grandfather.

"You guys are alright… Thank god," Armin sighed in relief.

Mikasa helped Carla sit down. Her legs had been crushed, but thanks to Hannes, the bleeding had stopped. Still, she would never walk again.

The sun hung low over the devastated city, casting an eerie orange glow over the destruction. Flames consumed what was left. The air was thick with the stench of blood and ash.

Suddenly—

BOOM!

A deafening shockwave rocked the district.

The ground trembled.

Eren turned—his body frozen in horror.

Then, he saw it.

A monstrous figure, taller than any other Titan in sight, charging forward with unnatural speed.

It wasn't mindless like the others.

Its entire body was covered in thick, armored plating—unyielding, indestructible. The ground cracked beneath its weight as it sprinted toward Wall Maria's inner gate.

"It's coming!"

A soldier on the wall screamed, voice cracking in terror.

"The Armored Titan—it's heading straight for the gate!"

The garrison scrambled to ready the cannons, but it was too late.

The Titan lowered its head, its plated shoulders gleaming under the dim light.

With a final, thunderous step—

CRASH!

The impact sent a shockwave through the district.

The once-impenetrable inner gate shattered like glass. Rubble rained down, crushing soldiers and civilians alike.

Dust filled the air. The wall was breached.

For a moment, the Armored Titan stood still, its glowing eyes surveying the chaos it had created.

And then, without hesitation, it turned and disappeared beyond the smoke—vanishing into the night.

Armin fell to his knees.

"We lost… again," he whispered, hollow.

There was no time to mourn. The last defense was gone. The Titans were coming.

Humanity was one step closer to extinction.

And then—

Eren heard something.

A voice.

"KILL THEM. KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. FOR MIKASA… MOM… ARMIN…"

It wasn't a thought. It was an order.

A command filled with hate and rage.

His body trembled. His breath came in ragged gasps. His nails dug into his palms until blood dripped onto the ground.

"I… I-I'LL KILL THEM!"

His voice cracked, his eyes wide with fury.

"I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!"

"EVERY SINGLE TITAN—"

"I'LL SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"

Fear, doubt, hesitation—none of it mattered anymore.

He had no delusions of being some "chosen hero."

If he wanted to live… if he wanted to protect the ones he loved—

He had to destroy them first.

[Changed a destiny.]

To be continued…