Roger had never seen Dior before.
The first time he'd even heard the name "Dior" was just recently, from the self-introduction of that guy who called himself "Vanilla."
Ken Kaneki had told him these people were here to steal the Source of the World—that is, the Founding Coordinate.
Since Vanilla called this Dior "my lord," that meant he was Vanilla's superior.
He was very likely the true final boss behind this whole group, including Yoshikage Kira, the one who blew up the statue.
According to Ken Kaneki, each of them possessed some bizarre supernatural ability.
Yoshikage Kira's power was to make anything he touched explode, and Vanilla's power was most likely invisibility and the ability to erase or destroy whatever he collided with.
Both were extremely offensive abilities.
Roger could already picture it.
If he transformed into a Titan and Kira managed to lay a hand on him, his whole body would instantly become a walking bomb and eventually explode to pieces.
And Vanilla's ability was no joke either.
The moment you made contact with that invisible body of his, you were dead.
Total domination.
Their powers completely overwhelmed his Titan power—
like a human facing an ant.
In front of them, the world of Titans was just a swarm of ants slaughtering each other. It might look hot-blooded and passionate, but in the end it was nothing more than a show for their amusement.
They didn't care at all.
If they wanted, stomping these "ants" to death would be nothing but a trivial chore.
But Roger had no intention of being stomped to death.
He even wanted to kill these people—or rather…
Plunder more valuable things from them.
Except…
How was he supposed to do that?
Roger looked around.
He could clearly feel that everything around him was moving in slow motion.
A man with an ostentatious outfit and slightly wavy hair was walking through the air toward him. He looked at Roger and flashed a sinister smile.
This was Dior.
The "Lord Dior" Vanilla had spoken of.
"Oh? You're pretty quick to react…"
He gave a contemptuous little chuckle, walking slowly toward Roger until he stood right in front of him.
Roger looked at him like that and wanted to swing his arm and punch him.
But he couldn't.
For some reason, he just couldn't move.
Could this be his ability?
All of a sudden, Roger remembered something.
Tours Beak, at the moment of death, had clutched an alarm clock tightly in his arms.
He'd done that for a reason—there had to be some special meaning.
Most likely, it was a hint.
That the power of the person who killed him had to do with that alarm clock.
And what does an alarm clock represent?
[Time].
Roger wasn't guessing at random.
In Vanilla's two earlier attacks, he'd already noticed it: Vanilla seemingly teleporting as he attacked.
In this now-frozen world, Roger could clearly see Vanilla slowly tearing at his Titan's flesh, while he himself fought desperately to dodge.
It was just that both of them were moving at an extremely slow speed.
Only Dior was moving at normal speed, completely free to act.
So, his power was to slow and freeze time?
[It's only freezing time.]
[It's the power of the Source of the World suppressing the "rules" from Dior's world.]
[The combined power of the two Sources of the World—yours and mine—outweighs the Source of the World in Dior's world.]
[That's why time is only congealed and slowed, and not fully stopped.]
Ken Kaneki explained.
As a Parasite, he enjoyed the same treatment as his host.
Ymir had entrusted the authority over the Source of the World to Roger, allowing him at last to freely control that power.
Now, he had also figured out Dior's ability.
It was just like before, when he had once encountered another group of freakishly powered people.
That night had shattered the entire trajectory of his life and turned his world completely upside down.
If not for that old man stepping in to help, he probably wouldn't even be alive today.
And now, if nothing unexpected had happened, that old man was likely already dead.
So all they could rely on now was Roger.
Roger watched Dior in front of him.
He used only the corner of his eye to observe, trying not to let Dior realize he could still move, in case that made Dior extra cautious.
Vanilla had already devoured the Titan's leg and was now eroding his way upward toward the upper body.
Roger remained perfectly still.
He waited, silently counting the seconds in his heart.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Dior was very careful, very cautious. Even with time stopped, he hadn't fully closed in on Roger yet, which made Roger afraid to move recklessly.
"Hmph."
All of a sudden, Dior's eyes took on a "see-through-everything" look.
He stared at Roger and suddenly stepped back.
"Don't think I don't know you can move right now."
As he spoke, he circled around to the back of the Titan.
Roger watched him quietly, making no move at all.
Sure enough, Dior had just been testing him. He hadn't actually confirmed that Roger could move.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have walked straight toward the Titan's nape.
Roger didn't know why he was heading for the nape, but it was obvious he knew the Titan's weak point, and that the real body was in the nape.
Since that was the case, Roger had every reason to suspect Dior knew even more.
But he still couldn't move yet.
Roger didn't disturb him.
He just watched Dior slowly walk toward the nape.
Suddenly, Dior carefully examined the Titan, then stretched out a hand.
In an instant, the Titan's body was twisted around by some unknown force, exposing its vulnerable nape right in front of Vanilla.
Scree—
The sound of friction and slicing rang out. Roger knew the Titan's nape was being carved open.
But it still wasn't the time!
Clenching his teeth, Roger forced himself to stay calm and not react to any of Dior's actions.
Dior finally lowered that pointless vigilance of his and slowly walked back around to stand in front of Roger.
However…
Right at that moment—!
Swish!!
Roger suddenly made his Titan move, slamming the two giant hands together.
Boom!
Dior was squashed into a bloody paste, mercilessly crushed to death in the Titan's palms.
"Die."
Roger said coldly.
Killing Dior was like swatting a fly.
But then…
A familiar voice sounded.
"Hmph, heh heh, hahahahaha!"
The voice came from inside the Titan's palms.
Roger frowned.
He's not dead?
"How fascinating. This is getting more and more exciting." Dior's voice echoed as he, with his strength alone, held back the Titan's power and casually slipped out from between Roger's giant hands. "Roger Eikam. Don't get cocky. You're nothing but a vessel carrying the Source of the World. You have no right to defy me, Dior!"
As he spoke, he slowly walked toward Roger again.
"The World!!"
He shouted once more.
Time was about to stop again.
But just then—
Someone called out to stop him.
"Please wait, Lord Dior!"
A black hole suddenly opened, and a man stepped out from within.
He had no wings on his back, yet he floated easily in midair.
"You promised to leave Roger's life to me," he said, looking at Dior. "You said I would be the one to kill him."
Roger stared at the newcomer, puzzled.
You are…
…
…
Polk?
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