Jahr Unseres Gründers c.854

Heimat Territory, Continental Marley

The rumble of the tracks beneath the rail-carriage helped to distract Reiner's mind from dwelling on more unpleasant thoughts.

And, Helos be praised, there were so, so many unpleasant things to think about.

For one, the Marleyan officers in the army were cracking down on his fellow Eldians harder than Reiner could ever remember. The warning they had all been given two weeks ago that had interrupted the Oberbefehlshaber's speech had in no way remained contained to the Eldian units at Ul'uma- as it would turn out, every Eldian had heard those words. It had not taken too long before the Oberkommando had been informed of what had occurred.

And how could they not have been informed immediately, seeing as, in the perspective of every other person in those parade-grounds, the Eldian units had simply stopped cheering in unison for some reason.

Reiner thanked every deity under the sun that Zeke had quickly left the parade lines to inform Calvi of what had occurred, because the fact that they had stopped cheering when the Oberbefehlshaber denounced the Island Devils had dangerous connotations otherwise. The kind of connotations that got families tortured and killed, or tortured more whilst wandering Paradise.

(Although, that last punishment was no longer truly an option, was it?)

Of course, that left the question as to what had happened, and who had done it. Of course, there was only one conceivable person that could do such a thing on such a wide scale, and the top-brass knew it.

Which was most likely the reason as to the crackdowns.

During the two-week return to the fatherland, strict curfews had been set, even more so than the usual ones. Though he and his fellow Warriors were seemingly exempt from them (no doubt thanks to the Warchief and Kommandant Magath) seeing as they had never been stopped from walking about late at night during the rare times they got to stretch their legs of the rails, the same could not be said for Reiner's fellow Eldian soldiers. Of course, said curfew did little enough, seeing as most of the army's time was spent hopping from one rail to another, all heading north.

After the confused chaos that followed the aftermath of Liberio's invasion, intelligence began to stream back to the top-brass more consistently, though that made said news no less alarming. The Island Devils, after taking Liberio and several other cities and ports on the east coast, began to campaign west. And from what Zeke says, their moving to cut us off from the northern territories. The enemy had advanced in a relative straight line west, garrisoning captured towns and forts while simultaneously moving up the continent, which Reiner knew made the most sense.

It's be suicide to attack the central territories with the northern ones unconquered. Leaving an enemy at your back like that is a quick way to end a campaign, especially in enemy territory. It was a lesson he had learned well during the past four years, when Marley struggled to cut a path through Vatanlar and end the War in the East, and it was one the Island Devils had apparently taken to heart, all but leaving the rest of Marley alone for the time being, save a few border skirmishes. While such a move worked out for them, however, it also gave Marley to fortify themselves and begin to dig a line of trenches from one to the other. Such an endeavor, of course, would take months, but it would be made all the quicker with some of the Nine at their disposal, which was why both Zeke, Peick, and Marcel were currently on a different rail heading straight to what the Große Armee had begun to call the Hellfront, leaving just him, Annie, and the Heirs on the current train.

And speaking of hell...

The Große Armee as a whole, since the Oberbefehlshaber's speech, had become much more hostile to the Eldians in its ranks, which, honestly? Reiner had expected almost as soon as he had heard about the invasion. The Marleyans, save a select few, glared at them with a hatred that only seemed to intensify as the days went by. The auxiliaries from the newer protectorates and colonies stared at the Eldians as well with that same hatred, but yet, somehow… lessened? Most likely because they were being forced to fight for Marley like the Eldians w-

Reiner blinked.

...What? No, no no no. I'm not being forced. This is an honor, to fight for Marley. To repent for the sins of Eldia's past. To prove to the world that we're just as human as them, just as good as any other race. I do this of my own free will.

"Do you really think that?"

Reiner jolted slight at the quiet voice that cut through his thoughts, only to relax when he realized that the question had not been aimed at him, but had rather been a part of an independent conversation between a group of soldiers, hunkered down in the cart-train's corner. Though the sudden furtive glances said group of soldiers quickly shot around the area before abruptly turning back to their friend gained his attention, for some odd reason.

What are they talking abou-

Then the soldier stood up, annoyance on his face. "Is that really what all of you think?" he spoke, voice clearly emanating through the rail-carriage, nd suddenly, that group of soldiers became the center of attention for everyone in the cart, Reiner included.

"Krüger, sit the fuck down!" one of the man's friends hissed, grabbing his arm and tugging violently, only for Krüger to shrug it off and take a step away from the group, glaring at everyone, seemingly.

"Are you all really content to not talk about it? Not at all?! Nobody's going to mention that message we all saw?!"

Reiner's eyes narrowed at that. While talking about the event that had taken place during Calvi's speech was not officially forbidden from being spoken about, it was highly discouraged by the top-brass to the point that several soldiers had already been taken away for 'reconditioning.'

Which meant that talking about it in the open like this, where any Eldian seeking to gain favor from the top-brass could report it in, could get them all killed.

So Reiner stood, matching the soldier's glare with his own. "To talk about that is tantamount to treason," he growled. "Shut up and stand down, Krüger."

Krüger's eyes met his, green meeting golden-hazel, before he spoke.

"It's not treason if I'm not loyal to Marley, is it?"

And the room went cold.

Before anyone else could act on the heretical words, Krüger moved again, this time to the rail-carriage's door, grabbing it's handle and shoving it open, exposing them all to the nighttime breeze. That alone elicited a few cries of surprise as several people who'd been asleep were rudely awoke by the sudden wind.

Reiner spied several more making the the doors connecting the rail-carriage to that of the officers, no doubt to report what was happening, and the Shifter could not blame them. He would have done the same if he wasn't currently trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

(Un)Fortunately for him, Krüger was all-too-willing to elaborate- not him Reiner, no, but to the group of friends he had been sitting with all this time.

"Sorry you had to find out this way, you guys," he spoke, turning to the group, who looked just as shocked as the rest, Reiner noted.

Then the (rogue?) soldier continued on, to Reiner's slow understanding.

And then, to his dawning horror.

"I once thought of everyone on the other side of the ocean as my enemy, you know?" Krüger shrugged. "But then... I crossed it. I slept under the same roof as my enemies, ate the same food as them, fought besides them, and bled alongside them. And when I did, I learned."

Krüger grimaced, then, as if remembering something painful, before pressing on.

"You were taught that everyone inside the Walls was different from you," he uttered. "That they were demons- devils conceived of the bleakest wombs, that threatened you Eldians who lived in Marley along with the rest of the world. You were taught all that, never knowing what it was like to teach something yo yourselves, like we did."

Lacking context, Krüger's words made little sense, and Reiner was left reeling until he suddenly connected the dots.

And Reiner knew.

Helos help us.

He's one of them. A spy.

A Devil of Paradise.

"Sure, there were people who pissed me off…" Krüger continued, "...But there are good people too. Across the ocean, or inside the Walls... We are all the same."

The momentary silence that fell upon them as shattered by the rapid thuds of footsteps from the other parts of the training honing in on their cart, and Krüger turned away from them, towards the open door. "Seems like it's time for me to go," he mused, and Reiner surged forward then, grabbing the man's arm.

"You're not going anywhere!" the Holder growled. "What the fuck do you think your d-!?"

Reiner stopped.

He stopped for Krüger, who gripped the arm holding his and shoved it away with his free hand.

His free, bloody hand.

And Reiner felt fear.

"I'm moving forward, Reiner," Krüger spoke, with no hesitation whatsoever." As a soldier to my Queen…"

The hand began to steam.

"...And as the King of her people."

Reiner had just enough time to through himself back and bring his hand to his teeth before Krüger calmly stepped out the moving trail and disappeared into the dark woods flying past them.

He stood there, pale, almost unable to comprehend what had just happened, and it was only when the door from the officer's compartment flung open that the Holder of the Armour found it within himself to move at last. He turned to the arriving Marleyans, among which was Magath, and prepared to explain himself-

-only for flash of blinding gold to cut him off abruptly.

There was a deafening quiet.

Then the King of the Devils emerged from the darkness and derailed the train, officers, soldiers, and all.

A/N: After two years spent stalking it's prey, the Hunter reveals himself.