An absurd fight.
Right then, Erwin, Levi, the soldiers of the three branches, and trainees like Eren were all seared with the memory of Roger's punch.
In all their lives, none of them had ever seen something so bizarre.
Like an ant suddenly stomping an elephant to death.
Like a mere mortal surging and toppling a god.
"Could this really be human strength?"
Quietly, Erwin wondered.
He felt shock—then a heavy curiosity toward Roger.
In his mind, he cataloged Roger's "strange form" in detail:
Black sclera with scarlet eyes, and dark, worm-like matter writhing over his body.
Obviously, that inhuman power had everything to do with the black substance crawling across him. But what that substance was—Erwin had never seen nor heard of anything like it.
Which, in turn, confirmed something else:
Beyond the Walls were not only other civilizations, but other unknown powers.
Behind Commander Erwin, Hange Zoë seemed to flip some inner switch, sweat beading across her brow.
"The world really is amazing~"
She breathed it out, and a weird warmth rose in her chest.
Inside the crystal cage, Levi watched, brow furrowed.
Roger had admitted he was a thoroughgoing monster, hoping to accomplish something earth-shaking before he fully understood this power.
Now he'd become this—feral and grim.
Levi didn't know the source of that power, but he could see one thing clearly: Roger didn't have long.
He moved fast, yes, but each step left a heavy, bloody footprint.
Plain as day, those things crawling on him were eating his life. If he didn't kill the War Hammer Titan quickly and finish the job, that damned thing would gnaw him out and he'd die.
"Idiot. Why fight it? Why not just run?"
Levi swore, snatching up a broken blade. Ignoring the pain in his fingers, he hacked at the unyielding cage.
Not far away, Eren tore free from Mikasa's grip and rushed for Levi's prison.
He didn't know the man, but he understood this much: if that person stayed trapped, the battle would swallow him sooner or later.
"Are you human?"
Eren drew his steel and asked.
Levi looked up at the trainee trying to free him and shook his head.
"Useless," he said. "Wall steel can't cut it."
"Huh?"
Eren blinked—then Mikasa, who had ghosted up beside him at some point, slashed down hard.
Crack!
Sure enough, the blade snapped and clattered to the stones.
"Can't cut it."
Mikasa sighed.
If people stronger than her couldn't do it, there was no point in Eren trying.
"Then what do we do?!"
"Get back, kid," Levi warned, still sawing the broken edge against the crystal bars. "For now, our only hope is that monster." After a beat, he added.
Eren and the others followed Levi's gaze.
By now Roger was half-mad. He had knocked the War Hammer Titan flat, then vaulted onto its back and shattered the other leg.
"Ah!!"
Crippled, Lara Tybur's War Hammer Titan lay prone. It thrashed and tried to swat Roger away.
But Roger's body moved like a wraith across its back—no matter how it grabbed, it couldn't catch him.
Boom! Boom!
Two punches cracked the War Hammer's palm.
By then Roger had completely disabled it—like a limbless husk—arms and legs ruined, no ability to move.
Steam roiled. The War Hammer Titan's regeneration was abysmal; even a single hand would take more than ten minutes to recover. And that gave Roger all the time he needed—
Time enough to smash the crystal at the back of her neck.
Slowly, Roger stopped his high-speed movement and staggered toward the nape.
He stood over the crystal, looking down in silence. The black markings over him suddenly flared—as if set alight—and turned almost completely crimson.
At the same time, strange voices brushed his ears.
[Only one percent of the power, and you can use it this well?]
[Ah, you truly are a fine vessel.]
[Thank you, thank you, much obliged!]
[But…]
[Be careful.]
[They're still watching you.]
[Don't be fooled.]
[Relax. I'll help you.]
[It's just…]
[A tiny, trivial—]
[Price.]
"Ah!!"
Suddenly, Roger felt his body slip out of his control.
It moved on its own. His hands rose, fists clenched tight. He gathered everything—and hammered down on the hardened crystal at his feet!
Crack!
K-k-k!
BOOM!!
Two all-out blows.
The hardened crystal split and burst apart.
Shards screamed through the air, scattering everywhere.
Lara Tybur's heart plunged. Inside the crystal, she stared wide-eyed at Roger—at the unknown monster before her.
Her brother's gentle voice echoed in her ears.
"Lara, the generals have lost their senses. The older generation of the Tybur family is finished. Only we can fulfill our duty now.
"You bear the Tybur's most glorious, most noble War Hammer power. We've kept our edge sheathed for years, but it's time to act. Please, Lara. You must kill Roger. He is the source of the world's calamity!"
"I understand, brother."
She had kissed his cheek and stepped down from the ship's deck.
A pang of reluctance rose; she looked back. The wind of Paradis tumbled her neat, lovely hair.
Mother, father, her brother, her little sister and brother—all stood there, seeing her off.
Then—
The memory shattered.
The hardened crystal broke. Lara Tybur was dismembered and cast in pieces.
Roger's consciousness snapped back; the color of his eyes darkened once more.
He rubbed his neck—sharp pain there. A strand of the markings had slipped past his mental guard and bored into his brain.
"So you really are a parasite on me," Roger said, taking it in stride. He had suspected as much. He walked to the crystal that held Lara Tybur's spine, crushed it, and drank the spinal fluid pooling into his palm.
His pupils returned to normal. The black markings slowly faded.
Just then—
Boom! Boom!
The Female Titan climbed up, rose to her full height at the Wall's edge, and looked toward Roger in the near distance.
"It's over. The War Hammer… has been devoured."
From the Female Titan's collarbone, the Cart Titan—Pieck Finger—spoke, turning toward the Colossal Titan—Bertolt Hoover.
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