Nick (Anime)

"I've had enough of this blasphemy! You vile insect! Wall Rose was granted to us, by the Lord, and it is not in human rights to maim it!"

- Pastor Nick arguing with a merchant

Nick (ニック), often formally referred to as Pastor Nick (ニック司祭), is a high standing, devoted member of the Church of the Walls, a religion that worships the Walls and considers them to be holy.

Appearance
Nick is a very tall and older looking man with noticeable wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes, which have dark circles over them despite an overall pale tone to the rest of his skin. His hair was high up on his head and is parted to the left, with the sides and back being much shorter. He wears a black cassock with three golden colored bands near the top that had the symbols of the Walls, or three goddesses or saints, on them.

Personality
Nick can be characterized by one word: extreme. Any attempt to interfere with the Walls is a sin and considered the worst kind of offense in his mind. He never hesitates to make his opinion known and is extremely quick to condemn anyone who disagrees with him. This is proven true at the trial of Eren Jaeger, where he loudly called for his execution and publicly argued with a merchant who suggested sealing the Walls. Any viewpoint besides his is considered horribly wrong.

So great was his devotion to keeping the Wall Titans a secret, even the threat of death could not sway him.

History
As a religious leader, Nick used his influence to oppose any modification of the Walls, be it permanently sealing the gates or even mounting Cannons on the top. Though he claimed it was blasphemy for humans to "maim" the Wall, the real reason was to reduce the risk of workers discovering the Titans within during renovations.

Eve of the Counterattack arc
Pastor Nick first appears when he advocates for the execution of Eren upon the revelation of his ability to transform into a Titan. He also has an argument with a merchant who proposes modifying the Walls.

Assault on Stohess arc
He later appears preaching in a church about the sanctity of the Walls, when Eren punches the Female Titan into the building, killing everyone but Nick. Dread fills him as he realizes a Titan is inside Wall Sina, causing havoc across Stohess District.

Clash of the Titans arc
After Annie breaks a portion of Wall Sina and exposes a Titan within, Nick pleads that it be covered up immediately to prevent sunlight from awakening it. Realizing that Nick knew the truth about the Titans within the Walls the entire time, Hange Zoë threatens him in an attempt to get him to reveal more, but he refuses. She responds by threatening to throw him off the Wall, but he responds by claiming to be a sinner and that it is his duty to not divulge secrets. Nick is later seen in a cart with Levi and Hange, traveling to Ehrmich District supposedly of his own free will, but Levi has a hidden gun pointed at him.

After arriving in Ehrmich, Nick comes to see the hundreds of refugees fleeing from Wall Rose, with looks of despair. Nick is shocked to see this and as he tries to flee form seeing them, Levi kicks him in the back and forces him to accept the reality of his decision to withhold information. Nick later meets with Hange and reveals that the decision to speak is too much for one man to make. Hange gets angry and begins to storm off but Nick stops her and reveals the false name of someone the church monitors from the 104th Cadet Corps in the Scout Regiment who may chose to tell them more information. The soldiers then head toward Utgard Castle in search of Christa Lenz.