I Became the Villain of Attack on Titan

The sun blazed overhead at noon, casting harsh shadows over the rows of recruits standing in formation, dressed in their training uniforms.

"From this moment, the 104th Cadet Corps induction ceremony will commence!" A man stood before them, arms crossed behind his back, barking orders.

"I am the instructor who will turn you lot into real human beings, Keith Shadis!" 

Keith Shadis, the imposing instructor, had a hulking frame and a face hardened by years of battle. As he moved between the rows of cadets, his very presence seemed to instill fear and tension. 

"My goal is to train you for three years so that you can face Titans in battle! Right now, you're nothing but Titan fodder!"

Boom!

He stomped his foot loudly, the resounding thud grabbing the attention of every cadet even more. 

"If any of you wish to leave, you can walk away now. But..." Shadis's lips curled into a cruel smile.

"For those who stay... congratulations... welcome to hell."

The cadets gulped nervously, standing even straighter than before. A few could barely hold back tears, trembling under the pressure of Shadis's harsh words. 

Just as Shadis's intimidation tactics were in full swing, a voice chimed in from the sidelines. 

"Look at that, are these the new recruits for this year?" It was a garrison soldier, here to deliver supplies, watching the spectacle unfold.

"Yeah, makes you remember the old days, huh?" his senior replied, wearing a wistful smile.

"Totally. I remember getting yelled at just like that. He's still as sharp as ever."

"Heh, I heard you were bawling your eyes out back then."

"Wh-what? No way! Who said that?! I never cried!"

As the two garrison soldiers chuckled amongst themselves, Shadis's voice boomed again, kicking off his second round of intimidation.

"You there! Why did you even join the cadet corps?!"

"Cadet Jean Kirschtein! To join the Military Police and live safely in the interior, sir!"

"Tsk tsk, aiming for the interior, huh? That's the wrong answer."

"No kidding," murmured the garrison soldiers. But before they could finish their comments, Keith Shadis, the instructor, suddenly headbutted Jean.

"Argh!" Jean yelped in pain.

"Look at this fool! How can a Military Police recruit be so soft?!"

"Heh, there's always one like that every year," one of the garrison soldiers chuckled.

"And you! What's your reason for joining?" Shadis barked, turning to the next cadet.

"Marco Bott, sir! I joined to serve His Majesty and protect the kingdom!"

The two garrison soldiers nodded in approval.

"Now that sounds like the right answer," one commented.

"Yeah, that's a solid response."

"And you!" Shadis turned to the next recruit.

"I'm Connie Sp-Spri-GAAAH!" Connie stuttered.

"You idiot! Is your heart on the wrong side of your body?!" Shadis roared, pointing out Connie's backward salute.

"Whoa, look at that! He's saluting backward!" one garrison soldier laughed.

"That one's a total disaster," the other soldier agreed.

"Wait, hold on a second," one soldier said, suddenly noticing something strange. 

"Is that kid... eating something?"

"Wait, what do you mean... oh, hold on, you're right."

Shadis stormed over to the next cadet. "And what about you?!"

"Sasha Blouse, sir!" she replied, her voice slightly muffled.

"...Why are you eating a potato right now?" Shadis asked, incredulous.

"Ah, well, there wasn't much choice, sir. Here, you can have half."

Between the backward salute and now this potato-eating recruit, the garrison soldiers could only shake their heads and laugh in disbelief.

"Wow, this year's batch is a total disaster."

"Yeah... the 104th Cadet Corps might just go down in history."

"Tch, let's head out. Doesn't seem like anything will be more entertaining than that potato."

**********************

As the induction ceremony concluded and evening approached, the cadets gathered in small groups, chatting about their hometowns and other personal stories. Unlike the lively buzz around us, I sat quietly at a table with Reiner, both of us eating in silence.

"Ugh, this soup's terrible. I miss Bertholdt's cooking," Reiner muttered, taking a spoonful of the bland soup.

"You used to complain that it was too salty," I replied.

"Heh, you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone," Reiner said with a grin. I just shrugged and glanced around, scanning for familiar faces.

"Hmm..."

The first faces I noticed were Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. There was something about Eren—he had this magnetic presence, drawing people in. A group of curious cadets had gathered around him, eager to hear his story.

"Eren, did you really see the Colossal Titan?"

"Yeah, I saw it up close."

"Wow... so, did you see the Titan that broke Wall Maria too?"

"Hmm... from what I remember, it looked pretty ordinary for a Titan."

It was the same scene as in the original storyline. The other cadets bombarded Eren with questions, and he was enthusiastically recounting the events of that day.

'Eren Yeager...'

I watched him thoughtfully. The protagonist of Attack on Titan, the one who would go on to wreak havoc on the world. And now, in this moment, the person who stood in direct opposition to me.

'I'm still unsure what to do in the future…'

There were a few possibilities running through my mind: break through Wall Rose to create chaos, then kidnap Eren.

Alternatively, let another mindless Titan eat him, allowing the Founding Titan to be passed on before taking it back to Marley.

If neither of those options worked, there was always the possibility of inheriting the Founding Titan myself.

Various scenarios spun through my thoughts, but each had its own difficulties.

Securing Eren as the Founding Titan would require undeniable evidence and a clear chain of causality.

In other words, it had to be confirmed that Eren had inherited the Founding Titan.

'Nothing about this is going to be easy.'

Of course, I could just devour Eren without any proof, but the aftermath of such a reckless action was unpredictable. It would have to remain as my last resort.

"Did you see normal Titans too?"

I was lost in thought when suddenly, Eren dropped his spoon. One of the kids had asked him about encountering normal Titans, prompting the reaction.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ask…"

"No, it's fine. Honestly, Titans weren't even that big of a deal."

Eren quickly picked up his spoon again, as if nothing had happened. His hand clenched into a fist, as if reaffirming his resolve.

"If you master the ODM gear, there's no problem at all."

His eyes blazed with determination.

"I finally feel like I'm becoming a real soldier. I'll definitely join the Survey Corps, and I'll wipe out every last Titan!"

Watching him, Reiner smirked slightly, his lips curling up on one side.

"Bravery or recklessness… either way, the kid's got guts."

However, not everyone shared Reiner's perspective.

Somewhere, a mocking voice echoed.

"Hey, friend, are you out of your mind?"

Eren quickly turned, visibly irritated.

The one mocking him was none other than Jean, the recruit who had openly declared his desire to join the Military Police and live a comfortable life in the interior.

Even in Eren's memories, Jean wasn't exactly someone he liked.

"I never thought I'd meet someone who's eager to join the Survey Corps just to get themselves killed…"

"So, you're the guy who said you wanted to join the Military Police, huh?"

"That's right. Unlike you, I'm a pretty straightforward person."

I silently observed the brewing confrontation.

"Straightforward? More like scared."

"Maybe. But at least I'm not pretending to be fearless, unlike someone here."

"You..."

The tension spiked in an instant.

Fortunately, the bell for dismissal rang before the situation could escalate further. But it was clear to me—those two were going to butt heads often.

*********************

In a dark, empty field, Sasha, the girl who had eaten a potato in front of the instructor, was now running laps as punishment.

After running all day, the moment the midnight bell tolled, she collapsed to the ground.

"Ugh…"

She knew she should make her way to the dormitory to sleep, but her body refused to move. Worse than the exhaustion, though, was the hunger gnawing at her stomach.

"Hey..."

Suddenly, a kind voice broke through the silence.

In her hands, she held some water and bread. 

"You look really exhausted... would you like to eat this?" 

Sasha, in that moment, felt as if there was a halo of light shining from behind the girl. 

"An angel...?" 

Without hesitation, Sasha devoured the food in front of her and promptly collapsed from exhaustion.

The girl stared in surprise at Sasha, who had suddenly fainted. Then, a man who had been watching the scene from a distance approached. 

"Huh? You didn't poison that food, did you?" 

Startled by the sudden voice, the girl quickly turned around. 

"Sorry for scaring you. She just dropped like a rock out of nowhere, so I stuck around to see what would happen. Kind of funny, actually." 

"Oh, no, it's fine..." 

The man shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. He gave Sasha a few light taps on her shoulder before letting out a deep sigh. 

"She's completely out cold." 

"Yeah... she hasn't stopped running since this afternoon, so I guess it's no surprise." 

The girl looked at Sasha with concern. The man chuckled at the sight. 

"Well, she kind of had it coming. Eating a potato during the induction ceremony? Not exactly normal." 

"Still... this feels a bit too harsh." 

"Honestly, she's lucky she didn't get kicked out. I'd say that's a win." 

His reply was flat, lacking any real emotion. Then, without a second thought, he hoisted Sasha up and slung her over his shoulder. 

"Still, I suppose I should help out a bit. Lead the way." 

"...Huh? Oh, okay." 

The man and the girl walked in silence for a while, save for the occasional sleep-talking coming from Sasha, who mumbled incoherently as she dangled over his shoulder.

In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, the girl spoke up first. 

"So... what's your name?" 

"Oh, you're asking pretty quickly, huh?", the man replied playfully.

Krista, seemingly not used to such teasing, quickly introduced herself first. 

"Ahem, my name is Krista." 

"I'm Shiniro Yang. You can just call me Shiniro." 

"Hmm, Shiniro Yang... Shiniro..." 

Krista repeated his name to herself, letting it roll off her tongue.

She was relieved that it was a relatively easy name to remember.

The last time she had exchanged names with someone—was it Bertholdo? Bertolt?—she still struggled to get that one right. 

"By the way, why did you help this girl out?" Shiniro asked, gesturing to Sasha, still draped over his shoulder. 

"Well... it's just a good thing to help others, isn't it?" 

"Is that so?" 

Krista nodded.

Shiniro gazed at her with a sly look, then let out a small, amused scoff. 

"You know, you act like some character straight out of a fairy tale." 

"...Huh?" 

For a moment, Krista looked back at Shiniro with a surprised expression.

Like someone from a fairy tale? She suddenly felt her heart drop.

Could he possibly know about the story of Krista she was connected to? Or was he just teasing her? 

All sorts of questions began swirling around in her mind.

Just as she was about to ask what that remark meant, Shiniro casually brushed it off. 

"Forget about it." 

Shiniro turned his gaze away, and Krista lost her chance to ask her question, leaving an uneasy silence between them.

**********************

I watched Historia as she walked ahead of me. 

She was someone worth bringing to Marley if it meant she could be with Eren.

The heir of the Reiss royal bloodline. A bearer of the bloodline that could fully control the Founding Titan. 

'Although she's currently bound by the Treaty of Utgard...' 

Marley was likely to have information that could break the treaty.

In fact, there were speculations in the previous world that Marley might already know how to break the treaty.

Furthermore, even if I succeeded in inheriting the Founding Titan, I would still need her royal bloodline.

In other words, getting close to her in some way could be highly beneficial in the future.

I carefully placed Sasha down in front of the women's dormitory.

"...It's a pity, but if I go in there, I'd probably be kicked out." 

I had expected Sasha to be heavier due to her strong appetite, but her weight was surprisingly ordinary.

After all, there wasn't really any food in this world that would make someone gain weight.

"...Anyway, thanks, Shiniro." 

Historia looked up at me as she spoke. Although she said thank you, her expression seemed somewhat uneasy. 

I pointed to Sasha and replied jokingly, 

"Tell her I dropped her off today. She needs to pay me back some time." 

"...Alright, I will." 

Historia looked slightly flustered. 

"You should also not just be nice all the time. Make sure to collect when you need to collect." 

"..."

"If you get labeled as a pushover once, life gets hard." 

Historia struggled to respond to the unexpected advice.

As she tried to form an answer, Shiniro had already left.

She stared blankly at the spot where he had been. 

"Seriously...?"

What kind of person was he?

This was the first time she had ever met someone like him.

Someone who only said what they wanted to say. A person whose intentions were unclear.

And when she tried to respond, he vanished. It was the first time she had ever felt this confused.

She almost lost the composure she had worked hard to maintain.

"Sigh..." 

Trying to clear her tangled thoughts, Historia dragged Sasha inside the dormitory.