Attack on Titan: Aftermath

The Headhunter

"Luka the party is tomorrow. As much as I'd like it not to happen at an event like my daughter's birthday, it'll look like a statement. A proper political assassination. You're a seasoned headhunter. But, if it's too much for you at this age, now is your only and last time to choose to back out. Now remember, there's lots of money with your name on it, I'm sure you'll get everything you've ever wanted too. You're the best in your field, Luka." King Otto said to me in a trembling voice.

"Sir... it'll be done." I had replied. I'd been offered a whole ten million gelds in order to assassinate Queen Historia at her daughter's birthday party. Sigmond Durchdenwald had put me up to it. I'd excelled in his training as a headhunter faster than any of his other men and woman, and was even rumored to be an Ackerman by most due to how many bounties I'd brought in. Sigmond took quick notice and realized I could be the key to his wealth, while I get the ten million gelds he gets a good fifty hundred of them. My father left when I was young, my brother died when I was only a bit older, and my mother had fallen ill in my mid teens and was hard to take care of without a well paying job. Bounty hunting or enlisting as an MP were my only options. Not wanting to leave my mother alone for three years, I chose the former and at 15 became the youngest bounty hunter in Sigmond's arsenal.

As I climbed up the ranks, I was given more and more shady tasks to follow through with. It wasn't just catching petty thieves, it later went on to torturing people Sigmond had a grudge against, getting blackmail pornography photos of politicians, selling exclusive drugs to MPs, to kidnapping woman to sell on the blackmarket, to organized murders, theivery, and I slowly became the people I once hunted, myself. I didn't care though. I had a goal, and I'd die trying to accomplish it. If it meant killing, stealing, torturing, whatever it was, it didn't matter. I later had to erase my last name from existence due to my mother being targeted, which is why the Ackerman rumor began. She didn't know what my real job was, she'd disown me if she knew the things I did to get here.

Sigmond grew a liking towards me and acted like a father figure. We'd go out drinking, we'd do missions together, it was a lot of fun actually. Although this mission would be enough to pay for me and my mother's living expenses for a lifetime. Therefore, I'd told him it'd be my last.

The nights and days prepping weighed heavy on me. I was expected to murder a beautiful woman, a mother, a sister to some, the queen of my homeland for a big prize check given to me by her own husband. I didn't care for his motives but only knew that King Otto wanted to take the throne. It'd make the most sense. I'd visited the palace undercover the night before, ran into an ex-ambassador, and left with an ache in my stomach. I knew what needed to be done. And I remembered who I was doing it for. I left the palace escorted by MPs who were even aware of the rumors of King Otto wishing to exterminate the queen, and some have said even Historia was aware of the rumors.

I inhaled the late cool night air and walked through the palace gardens, and thoughts circled my mind as the MPs escorted me off the property. I had one more errand to tend to before I went home, I needed to visit Sigmond for the final time. Thankfully his headhunter agency wasn't too far from the castle. I had a taxi take me to his office which wasn't a very long ride. I tipped the driver and wished him a good night, then proceeded to walk onto the building porch which had several men guarding the premises.

"Good evening Luka, what are you doing here so late?" One of the well built ones asked me. He had a rifle resting his hands and a vest on, but a friendly grin on his face. I couldn't have been bothered to remember his name but seeing how popular I was in the business the fact he knew my name and look didn't surprise me.

"Just visiting Sigmond, I'm sure he's still up and here right? Business has been busy lately." I smiled back at him.

"Yeah that old man never sleeps, he's in his office, you're welcome in." He replied, opening the door as the porch light flickered. The building appeared to be a stereotypical office building but underneath it were training facilities and the amount of gunmen around proved suspicious, since owning a gun legally was a rarity. Of course, headhunters, bar owners, and MPs were all an exception. I climbed up the cramped stairs and the several floors with other offices that were mostly empty. However, there was a guard on each floor that each gave an assuring smile.