"Mikasa, Armin, you two stay put," Eren said as he focused on the moving cart.
"But Eren—"
"No buts, Mikasa. Stick to the plan. I'll be the bait, and you two follow in secret." Eren's tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Mikasa wanted to protest, but before she could say another word, Eren had already dashed toward the cart.
"Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing?" the man driving the cart shouted as Eren suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Ahh, mister! I was traveling with my father, but out of nowhere, some people attacked us! I ran away the moment I got the chance!" Eren said, his voice panicked, tears welling up in his eyes.
'Heh, my acting deserves an Oscar.'
The man looked at him with caution. After all, rumors about child killers were spreading fast. But seeing Eren's terrified expression, pity flickered in his eyes.
"Calm down, kid. I will—"
Before he could finish, a cold, indifferent voice came from inside the cart.
"Kill the kid and be done with it."
"What? B-but, sir—" The driver's hands trembled.
"Hmph. It seems you no longer care about your daughter."
The man flinched, his face drained of color.
Mikasa and Armin, hiding in the shadows, heard everything. They gritted their teeth and loaded their guns, ready for the worst.
"Damn it..." The man, his hands shaking, slowly loaded his gun. Tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he muttered repeatedly, aiming the gun at Eren.
"H-hey, mister... you're scaring me..." Eren took a few steps back, his voice trembling.
BOOM!
A gunshot echoed through the air.
The man froze, his finger still on the trigger.
Eren, who had been crying and begging, now stood completely still, his expression blank as he stared at the fresh bullet hole in the cart.
Smoke rose from Mikasa's gun. She had fired first.
Armin, gripping his own weapon tightly, aimed with unwavering focus.
Inside the cart, a pained scream rang out.
Two armed men burst out, scanning the area for the shooter.
Armin didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced one man's head instantly.
The second man turned in shock—only for Mikasa to shoot him down before he could react.
The driver watched in horror.
"D-Don't worry, mister. We'll take it from here," Eren said casually.
While the man was distracted, Eren swiftly took his gun and fired another shot into the cart.
Another agonized scream echoed.
The driver stood frozen, his body trembling in fear. He had just witnessed three children take down four trained adults.
"Hmm... That should be all of them." Eren scanned the scene before smirking. 'This time, I didn't die. A new record.'
Then, he looked over at Armin, who was vomiting.
'Well... He really killed for the first time.'
Mikasa patted Armin's back as he struggled to calm himself.
"I... I took a life..." Armin stared at his shaking hands, his expression filled with a mix of shock and guilt.
"You did nothing wrong, Armin," Mikasa said gently.
"Yeah, yeah. Now pull yourself together, crybaby," Eren said nonchalantly as he inspected the cart.
"Y-Yeah!" Armin responded, still shaken.
Eren opened the cart to see what was inside.
"Hey, don't—!" the driver started, but Eren ignored him.
The three of them peered inside, their eyes widening in shock.
Two corpses.
And blue, glowing stones that illuminated the dark space.
"What the...? They're glowing on their own!" Armin exclaimed.
"Damn it... we're all finished now. The king won't spare us... my family... my daughter..." The driver gripped his hair in despair, rocking back and forth.
"Oh, come on, man," Eren sighed, patting his shoulder. "Now that we're all 'done for,' why don't you tell us what these are?"
"Damn it... Damn it... My family... My little girl..." the man muttered.
Eren shook his head with a sigh and glanced at Mikasa. She nodded and stepped forward.
"Sorry, mister."
Before he could react, Mikasa delivered a gut punch.
"AGHH!" The man groaned, coughing violently, spitting saliva as his insides twisted in pain.
"Now, talk," Eren demanded, arms crossed.
"Cough... Why are you kids even involved in this?" the man asked, utterly confused.
Eren smirked.
"So you don't know who we are?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plain white mask.
The man's eyes widened in shock.
"Y-You're... the kid killers... Why? Why are you doing this?"
Eren glanced at Mikasa and Armin before smirking.
"Because where there is light—"
"There is darkness," Mikasa added, mimicking Eren's posture.
"And we are the shadows that strike at darkness," Armin said, his face red with embarrassment.
Together, they declared—
"We are... Shadow Garden!"
...
Silence.
...
"Ahhhh, that was so embarrassing!" Armin groaned, covering his face.
"Hey! Stay in formation!" Eren scolded.
"Good job, Mikasa." He nodded at her approvingly.
"Hmm." Mikasa nodded back.
"You two are hopeless," Armin sighed in defeat.
The man sat there, stunned.
"Alright, now talk. If you ever want to see your daughter again," Eren said without an ounce of shame.
The man let out a long, defeated sigh.
"It's hopeless anyway, so listen up," he muttered dryly.
"These stones... They're called Iceburst Stones. They're used as fuel for ODM gear."
"WHAT?!" Eren and Armin shouted in unison.
"But why keep them such a secret? I mean, I get that they must be rare, but to go as far as killing for them?" Armin asked, puzzled.
"I don't know, kid," the man answered weakly.
Eren examined the glowing crystals, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Interesting… So this is what powers ODM gear."
"How long have you been doing this?" Armin asked.
"About a year and a half," the man replied, slumping to the ground.
"Oh? What did you do before this?"
"Transporting people. Damn, how did I end up in this mess? Damn those damn MPs..." he cursed, his anger flaring.
"Damn Scott, damn Noval... Oh, and especially that motherf*er Kenny!"**
"Huh? Who's this Kenny?" Armin perked up at the name.
"Kenny... That guy... I don't know much, but he's infamous for killing a hundred MPs they call him Kenny the Ripper.. That psycho is a complete monster."
Hearing this, Mikasa and Eren both turned toward the man.
"A hundred MPs?" Armin muttered.
"Hmm... Interesting. He killed a hundred MPs... yet still works with them," Eren mused.
"Leaving that aside for now—where do you get these stones?"
"Northeast of the Orvud District."
To be continued...