Darius Zackly

Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackly (ダリス・ザックレー総統) is the head of all three divisions of the Military: the Survey Corps, the Garrison, and the Military Police Brigade.

Appearance
Zackly has the typical appearance of an old man. His eyes are sunken and tired-looking, he wears glasses, he has noticeable wrinkles on his face, and his hair is receded and grey. He also has a grey scruffy looking full beard and moustache. In addition, he is rather short which gives him a presence uncommon for a man of his rank. Zackly's casual attire consists of a plain white shirt with normal dark coloured pants. In a more formal setting he adds a bolo tie, much like the three commanders under him, Nile Dok, Erwin Smith, and Dot Pixis. Over this he wears a brown trench coat that has a white cross over a black background for the symbol.

Personality
When he was first introduced, Zackly was said to be a strict military leader who was only concerned with the best interests of humanity. As the head of the entire military, his priorities were said to lie within what is best for all of humanity. Only after being logically convinced of Eren's usefulness did he pardon him. At this time he appeared to take most things lightly, as if he had experienced them previously. During the trial of Eren he wore simple clothes and conducted the trial without any drama or passion. Similarly, he overthrew the monarchy with an incredibly casual demeanour. This indicates that Zackly has no time for drama and is solely focused on carrying out his judgements. He remains ever serious but at the same time appears tired as if his age is catching up to him.

However, after Zackly assisted in the revolution against the monarchy he shows a completely different personality. He noted to Erwin that his only interest in participating was due to an intense and long-standing hatred of those in charge. He took great delight in seeing their fear when they fell from power. In direct contrast to the idea that he acts in the best interest of humanity, he told Erwin that he does not care if the revolution helps humanity or not. His only interest is his own desire to humiliate the monarchy, such that he set up a torture machine that fed one of them their own feces and called it a beautiful work of art. Ultimately, he was willing to admit that he values his own life more than humanity.

According to Armin, Zackly is among the people capable of abandoning their humanity to outdo the Titans as well as having the guts to also abandon things important to them in order to change something in the world, along with Erwin Smith, Ian Dietrich, and Dot Pixis.

The Female Titan arc
Zackly first appears when Eren is put on trial. He confirms who Eren is and then announces that the sole right of judgement rests with himself. Eren will either survive and go with the Survey Corps, or he will go the Military Police and be killed. Nile Dok, Commander of the Military Police, advocates for Eren's death by reasoning that Eren causes too much strife within the walls, potentially starting a civil war. While he is prepared to acknowledge that Eren saved Trost, Nile concludes that Eren must be executed after being named a war hero. Zackly calms Minister Nick down after he called for Eren's immediate destruction and then offers Erwin the chance to speak. Erwin calmly announces that with Eren they can retake Wall Maria, which should be the top priority of humanity. A merchant panics and reasons that only the gates can be destroyed so they should all be removed, a plan that Levi disagrees with since there is no guarantee it will work. Nick interrupts again and begins arguing with the merchant, prompting another call for order from Zackly. Zackly asks if Eren can use his powers for good, Eren replies yes and Zackly counters that Eren reportedly attacked Mikasa Ackerman, another soldier. Mikasa reluctantly admits that he did attack her. However, she also requests that it be taken into consideration that Eren saved her life twice before that. Nile disagrees with this by citing an incident from Eren's past where he stabbed 2 robbers. Nile orders the Military Police to point their rifles at Eren but Levi has already intervened and is mercilessly beating Eren. Levi states his belief that pain is the best form of discipline. Nile cautions Levi that he could awaken Eren's Titan power and Levi wonders how the Military Police were going to execute him if they are apparently afraid of him. Erwin offers a proposition to Zackly: the Survey Corps will take Eren and assess his usefulness to humanity and if anything goes wrong, Levi will kill him. Zackly agrees with this deal and announces that Eren will join the Survey Corps and return to trial after his ability has been assessed.

The Uprising arc
Zackly appears again during the trial of Erwin Smith in the King's Throne room. After Anka Rheinberger falsely reports that Wall Rose has been breached by the Colossus Titan and Armored Titan, Dot Pixis orders an immediate response from the Garrison. This is overruled by a government official who orders that Wall Sheena be sealed off, in case refugees came in and started a civil war. This action would reduce humanities population by half. Anka, after hearing this, quickly leaves the room to go and tell Zackly. Nile Dok refuses to follow this order and proclaims that he is betraying the King, to which Zackly responds that he is in as well. He appears with a large group of soldiers and calmly notes that he is not surprised by the Monarchy's actions. He declares that the announcement from Anka was a fabrication, while Pixis reveals that he planned this with Erwin. Had the Monarchy responded reasonably, then Pixis would have confessed the plot and served them. However, the Monarchy didn't do that and therefore forfeited their right to rule the citizens. Pixis says that despite the nature of Titans being a mystery and the origins of the world also being unknown, overthrowing people who don't care about them is the better alternative. Anka adds that the First Interior Squad have been subdued. The same government official calls the conspirators foolish and shouts that the people, especially the nobility, are loyal to the King. Zackly tells him that it is no longer up to him and hands Erwin a report. It is from the Belk Agency and announces the testimony of Flegel Reeves that the First Interior Squad killed his father and framed the Survey Corps. It also unveils how the monarchy has been forcing the media to print propaganda and that King Fritz is a puppet for the real rulers, a noble family who remain hidden. The government official shouts at Fritz to wake up, revealing him as a senile old man. Erwin realizes that despite their victory they must now embark on a perilous path. Zackly has the government officials arrested and he becomes the ruler of the capitol and its administrative areas.

Darius announces Erwin's role in rooting out the corruption present within the royal government. After Erwin's name is cleared, they board a carriage, where Erwin wonders if he should have sacrificed his own life and kept the government intact. Darius comments that with the state of things now, death would seem a preferable option. He goes on to reveal that he himself has long since despised the government, and has waited his entire life for this day. He appears rather amused as he recalls the hysteria that the arrested officials displayed, remarking that he has been contriving various methods of humiliating them. He claims that he does not care whether or not the revolution benefits humanity, acknowledging that this puts his morality into question, though he believes Erwin is no different than him.

Soon after, he is seen torturing an official by hanging him upside down and forcing him to eat his own feces, and says that he will only be allowed to wear clothes from the knees down. He also mentions that the official will be publicly humiliated this way, as retribution for the vile acts against his people. He also remarks at how the torture device is the greatest work of art ever conceived. The official taunts him, saying that he has slave's blood and the official's royal blood will enable him to erase Darius' memories to the point where he couldn't remember how to defecate, but Darius shuts him up by plugging the device's tube onto the official's mouth.

Abilities
As commander-in-chief he is the highest authority within the military structure. The three military divisions, the Garrison, the Military Police, and the Survey Corps are all officially under his command, despite having their own leaders. In matters of military law he is the sole decision maker that cannot be argued against. Within the context of a Military Court, he has the power to condemn the defendant to death if he chooses.

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Daris Zackley