A Choice with Regrets [Levi Ackerman]

1

Year 824
Beyond the Walls

Outside the walls, the branch of the military called the Survey Corps is actively slaughtering titans... or the other way around.

The Titans... not even humanity knows where they came from, but they know very well that they are a race of giant man-eating monsters serving as manslaughter. They eat humans not to satisfy their needs, but to eat for fun.

The Survey Corps, the symbol of freedom and hope to humanity has ventured to the outside world to bring peace to those who have no choice but to live inside the walls. This is the way to prove of being human.

The reason for their departure is to further the research of the titan race. Decades ago, the Survey Corps only fought with swords and mounts, which made it impossible to kill a single titan. Not long after, a new device was invented by an unknown craftsman called the 3D maneuver gear, a trump card to defeat the titans. While using this device to defeat the titans, the Survey Corps also discovered that the only way to instantly kill a titan is by slicing the nape.

Despite having a glimpse of success, they will fight to symbolize the hope of mankind and be known as the "Wings of Freedom." They hope that one day, their sacrifices will change the world and restore what has been taken away from humanity inside the walls.

Now to the present, the remaining soldiers and recruits are finally on their way to return to the walls after losing most of their comrades. It was a defeat, and defeat was normal.

"Captain!" A fifteen-year-old recruit picks up the pace on his horse to follow up with his leader, and they both come to a halt.

"What is it, Erwin Smith? You better make it quick or else we'll be eaten in a blink of an eye." The captain gives him a gloomy look, feeling the guilt of not giving meaning to their sacrifices.

Erwin tries to speak in a hurried manner, "Wouldn't it be best to bring our fallen soldiers with us?"

The captain's cold expression did not leave his face, and he finally sighed, "Bringing eaten bodies to the walls is an urgent task, and doing so can possibly bring diseases. We should retreat now and start moving as soldiers."

"But we can't confirm that titans may be carriers of diseases, after all, right?" Another young recruit, named Nile Dok, sides with his close friend Erwin. "It's safe to say that the area is already clear, so as soldiers, the right thing to do is to put our fallen soldiers to rest."

The captain resisted until he finally gave in. "Fine, but when a titan appears on sight, we will fully retreat."

And so then, the remaining soldiers and the recovery squad searched for their eaten friends and allies. The smell of corpses reeked so badly that it made their eyes sting, but no matter what, they would bring back their bodies including limbs.

Everyone stayed close together until Erwin discovered a pile of vomit that a titan left behind next to a forest. The sight of it made his stomach turn and there were too many corpses to count. He recognized some faces and wished to unsee it all until his eyes landed on a woman.

The woman stood out to him because she was completely dissolved in the vomit and he could tell that she was freshly eaten. At least a few days back...

"Erwin! What did you find!?" Nile hurried over to find the pile of corpses, and he nearly vomited in his mouth. "Man, what a terrible diet... they just spit them back up without even digesting them properly."

There is no rest for the ones that got swallowed. No one knows how the titans behave, but humans know for a fact that the titans are the natural enemies of mankind. And that's a cruel fact.

"Nile, look..."

Nile followed Erwin's finger as their eyes traced down together to find the woman's extended belly, thinking she was eaten while pregnant. They were both in complete shock, wondering how a pregnant corpse like her was led to this. It was such a pity, for both her and the unborn child.

"Wait, Erwin! Did you see that!?" Nile points a finger, but Erwin does not catch anything.

"See what, Nile?"

Nile stuttered in fear, "H-Her belly!"

Erwin thought his friend was just imagining things until he saw it himself. The corpse's belly is suddenly moving on its own and at that moment, they realize that the offspring inside is possibly alive.

"E-Erwin?" Nile watched as his friend approached the pregnant corpse with a blade from his gear. "You're not planning to—"

"She was vomited up by a titan, so could a new titan be born like this...?" Erwin questioned, but Nile was against the idea.

"You can't be so sure! We know nothing about the titan's anatomy, but we do know that they lack reproductive systems!"

"But... what if this unborn child is a part of the titan's regurgitated food?" Erwin then stops at his feet, holding the blade in his hand tightly. "I'm going to do it..."

Nile didn't stop him this time, and Erwin finally slits her belly open.

A baby...?

They were both stunned to see a baby spill out of the belly along with blood and fall into the grass, crying.

Erwin didn't know how to react. "I-It's alive... even after being swallowed by a titan. The baby is alive..."

What sort of fate awaits this child, born from the corpse of its mother, who was eaten by a titan?

- - -

This story has been republished due to some major changes.
I've recently read a prequel of Attack on Titan called "Before the Fall" and I was pretty influenced by it... so yeah lol. The plot will be a little different tho