Eren Kruger

"There is no such thing as truth in this world. That is our reality. Anyone can become a god or a devil. All it takes is for someone to claim that to be the truth."

- Kruger about the variations of Ymir Fritz's story

Eren Kruger (エレン・クルーガー) was an Eldian spy posing as a Marleyan officer in the Public Security Authorities. He founded the Eldia Restorationists, and used the pseudonym the Owl (フクロウ) to communicate. Secretly, he possessed the power of the Attack Titan.

Human Form
Kruger was a fairly large, well-built, older man. He had shaggy dark hair with gray in it which he kept combed to the side. Kruger had a very slender face and pronounced cheekbones, and he was seen wearing the standard uniform for Marleyan soldiers, although he only wore his uniform's hat when he was facing civilians. He also heavily resembled Eren Yeager as a young child.

Titan Form
As a Titan, Kruger's form shared some features with Grisha and Eren Yeager's Titan forms due to them all being of the same type; he had sunken eye sockets, was very muscular, and had long dark hair. However, his Titan form also shared some unique facial characteristics with his human form, such as his pronounced cheekbones. In addition, though his hair was long, it was noticeably neater than Grisha or Eren Yeager's.

Personality
Kruger appeared to be unconcerned with the well-being of others and never showed his emotions. After finding Grisha and Faye Yeager outside of their internment zone, he felt no qualms in punishing Grisha physically. He again seemed to show a lack of empathy when the Yeagers learned of Faye's death, remaining stone-faced at the sight of their sorrow.

However, it can be indicated that, due to his job as a mole, Kruger had to behave like that in order keep his identity from being exposed. In his true heart, he felt remorse for all that he did to his brethren, but thought it was necessary for the good of Eldia.

History
Kruger was born to an Eldian family living in Marley. His father had joined an Eldian revolutionary army led by the remnants of the royal Fritz family who remained on the mainland. Unfortunately, the army was very ineffective, and its members, including Kruger's father, were captured and burned alive by the Public Security Authorities as he hid in a closet. Sometime later, Kruger was able to join the Public Security Authorities as a spy thanks to an Eldian doctor who was able to fake his blood tests as he had done for himself sometime earlier. As a spy in the military, Kruger would refer to himself in correspondence with the Eldia Restorationists as "the Owl," all while spending his military career turning thousands of Eldians into Titans over the years in order to hide his identity. While spending his downtime watching blimps with one of his fellow soldiers, Kruger caught sight of Grisha and Faye Yeager following the blimp. Observing their armbands, Kruger deduced that they are from the Liberio internment zone. Because they had left their Internment Zone without permission, Kruger offered them a choice between hard labor or "physical punishment." Grisha chose to take both his and Faye's punishment, and Kruger proceeded to savagely beat him. Afterward, however, Kruger showed a hint of compassion, allowing Grisha to stay with him to watch the blimp for a while longer. Kruger accompanied his fellow soldier to inform the Yeagers of Faye's death and observed quietly as they grieved for Faye.

Two years later, Kruger inherited the power of the "Attack Titan" from an unknown predecessor, gaining the power of the Titans.

Thirteen years after inheriting his power, when the "Curse of Ymir" was beginning to take hold of his health, Kruger was present when Grisha was tortured by the Public Security Authorities. He asked if he confessed the Owl's identity, and Grisha assured he did not know. Kruger announced the boat that will send the Restorationists to Paradis was ready.

During the operation, he calmly watched the Restorationists being turned into mindless Titans and chase after their comrade. As it was Dina Yeager's turn to be transformed, Kruger violently silenced a yelling Grisha. When Gross was about to throw Grisha off the Wall, Kruger suddenly pushed his comrade and revealed to a shocked Grisha that he was the Owl. While mutilating his hand, he taught Grisha how to use the power of the Titans before, in his Titan form, destroying the Marleyan steamboat and slaughtering all the soldiers. He then set Grisha free and answered all the questions of the latter, justifying his deeds and telling him about his life. Before letting a determined Grisha inherit his ability in order to fulfill the Eldia Restorationists goal, Kruger revealed him the name of the Titan he would become and explained the history of the Founding Titan and King Fritz's vow with the Founding Titan renouncing all war. As he prepared to inject Grisha with a Titan serum, he urged him to find a family and complete his mission for the sake of Armin and Mikasa. Grisha was confused by these names, and Kruger admitted that he did not know whose memories he was seeing.

People Killed

 * Previous holder of the Attack Titan (as a mindless Titan)
 * At least 9 Marleyan soldiers

Indirectly

 * Gross
 * Thousands of Eldian civilians

Trivia

 * Kruger bears an almost identical resemblance to Eren Yeager as a child.
 * Eren Yeager would later use the name Kruger as an alias whilst in Marley in homage to him.
 * It is unclear how Kruger knew about Armin and Mikasa, having never met either of them. It is possible that the Attack Titan's power allows its holder to access memories of future holders in addition to past holders, and that Kruger was seeing memories of Eren Yaeger.

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