Roy Alphard (ロイ・アルファルド) is a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing the Bizarre Eating aspect of Gluttony, and he is the brother of Lye Batenkaitos and Rui Arneb. He was one of the main antagonists of Arc 5 and Arc 6 and a secondary antagonist of Arc 9.
During the events of Arc 5, he ate Julius' name, causing everyone but Subaru to forget about him. In Arc 6, however, he made a big mistake when he tried to devour Reid Astrea, only to have his body taken over. While he regained control of his body after Reid's soul shattered due to it being incompatible with Roy's body, the fatal wound rendered him unconscious, and he was sealed away with the usage of Yin Magic. In Arc 9, Aldebaran frees Roy from confinement and forces him to obey him as part of his plan to remove Subaru from the world.
Roy has long, disheveled red-tipped, dark brown hair tied into a braid behind his head, along with emerald green eyes that are yellow in the center and have a poisonous glimmer to them. He also has a young look, a mischievous smile, and wears a ripped, green cloth reminiscent of a men's cheongsam around his body. Like his siblings, his teeth are all pointed like fangs.
Personality
Unlike Lye, Roy doesn't care about what he eats, nor does he place any special emphasis on who he eats with like Rui. As Bizarre Eating, his approach towards his meals is much more casual, emphasizing quantity over quality as seen when he ate Julius despite admitting he had a bland taste. As described by his brother, he simply wants to eat without any thought or preparation put into it, for which he was repeatedly criticized by his siblings. He isn't as close to Rui as Lye is, but he is nonetheless devoted and caring towards her. He speaks in a collective manner using us and we instead of first or third person.
In combat, Roy strives to exploit his opponents' weaknesses, unlike his brother who likes to give his opponents a chance to compete with him. He views combat as nothing more than a violent way of getting his meals.
History
Although much of Roy's past is unknown, according to Roy, he and Lye's birth parents, as well as Rui, died shortly after their births. He also mentions that his and Lye's foster parents after that were not likeable people. According to Reid Astrea, he got involved in unknown circumstances because he did not have a “stance” of his own. Sometime after coming into contact with the Witch Factor of Gluttony, Roy met his younger sister, Rui Arneb, for the first time when she possessed Lye's body. He later gained access to Eclipse after discovering it alongside Lye and began utilizing it to devour as many people as he wanted.
Abilities
Authority of Gluttony (暴食の権能 Bōshoku no Ken'nō): Roy is able to use the Authority of Gluttony. Due to the uniqueness of the Witch Factor's ability to split, Roy can sense others who bear the same Witch Factor, something he can use to determine whether or not his siblings are alive.
Gluttony (暴食 Bōshoku): Roy can eat the name and memories of his opponent. To eat a name, he touches them with his left hand, then licks the palm of the same hand. Things such as experience, talent, and the likes and dislikes of human relationships serve as food for him, allowing him to take advantage of any abilities or memories his opponents had. Likewise, he can choose whether or not to eat only names, only memories, or both, though he claims that it difficult and is like trying to eat only the ingredients in a sandwich without removing the buns. However, if Roy eats a fake name, he becomes plagued with severe nausea. Similarly, attempting to devour the name and memories of someone with a soul too large and powerful puts Roy at the risk being taken over by said spirit, as in the case of Reid Astrea. Even after killing Roy, the names and memories of his victims will not return to their original owners. However, he can regurgitate specific names and memories in order shake those who were at some point attached to certain people. According to Roy, anything that the siblings eat goes to the same "Stomach of Souls", from which they can share and pull the same names and memories that their siblings have eaten.
Those that have had their names eaten have their existences erased from the world, destroying any human relationships along with negating any contracts with spirits.
Those that have their memories eaten become amnesic and any characteristics they may have had are reset, effectively making them into a different person.
Those that have both their name and memories eaten simply become a shell, and although they live, they no longer eat, excrete waste, or age, putting them in suspended animation.
They cannot eat the same person twice until that individual gains enough new memories to establish a different sense of self from their old one.
Roy could not eat the names or memories of non-humanoid beings, such as different animals, witchbeasts, or earth dragons.
Eclipse (蝕): Eclipse is considered to be the trump card of Gluttony. It is split into two types: Solar Eclipse (日食 Nisshoku) and Lunar Eclipse (月食 Gesshoku).
Lunar Eclipse: This allows the holder to use their victims' memories and harvest their skills and knowledge. Roy used Lunar Eclipse to boost his physical strength and speed in his fight against Julius and Ricardo Welkin. It is worth noting that by eating a person's name and using Lunar Eclipse, Roy does not gain his victims' Divine Protections, spiritual arts, or Authorities.
Solar Eclipse: This allows the holder to harvest their victims' name and transform their appearance accordingly. Rui, for example, transformed into Neiji Lockhart and numerous other victims she and her two brothers had eaten throughout the years using her sibling's body.
Life Creation: Rui stated she and her brothers can create life with the usage of her Witch Factor of Gluttony, just like how Daphne created the witchbeasts four centuries ago. However, Rui has also stated she and her brothers had no reason to do so, hence they never followed through the idea.[1] While all of this has been strictly stated by Rui, it's safe to assume Roy can also create life through the usage of his Witch Factor of Gluttony.
Witchbeast Control: Because Roy, Lye, and Rui each possess the Witch Factor of Gluttony previously owned by Daphne, they can direct witchbeasts to attack certain areas. This was why the White Whale’s attacks were coordinated with those of the Witch Cult. In Arc 6, Lye and Roy are able to get to the Pleiades Watchtower in half a day by commanding the witchbeasts in the Augria Sand Dunes and order them to attack the Watchtower. Despite his ability to control the White Whale and the Great Rabbit, even if Roy had help from his brother and sister, they wouldn't be capable of controlling the Black Serpent, according to the author.
Roy employing Lunar Eclipse to apply Ultimate Palm against Julius.
Master Martial Prowess: Through the accumulation of souls eaten with his Authority, Roy gains any abilities his victims once had such as martial art techniques and weapon skills by using Lunar Eclipse. In turn, this grants him extraordinary combat strength. He was able to overpower both Julius and Ricardo, who are noted to be very strong.
Ultimate Palm (絶掌): Ultimate Palm is a powerful palm strike granting Roy the sheer power to push people flying back with the force of a car and to destroy physical objects like swords by merely colliding with them. This ability is implied to originally belong to an individual who claimed to slay eighty-eight “pretty boys”.[2]
Serpent of the Twin Swords (双剣の蛇): With Serpent of the Twin Swords, Roy has the technique to swiftly use his daggers at high speeds, granting him the skill to direct a flurry of slashes at an opponent.
Magic: Like with his martial prowess, due to having eaten numerous names and memories, Roy has obtained access to numerous magic abilities. However, this does not increase his mana pool, meaning that he might not be able to use spells to their fullest potential depending on the spells' respective mana consumptions.
Twilight Mage (逢魔術師):
Roy employing Lunar Eclipse to apply Twilight Mage against Ricardo.
Twilight Mage grants unique magical abilities to Roy, such as manipulating a stream of water into a pair of massive serpentine water dragons that can tear someone's body apart or countering the effects of others' magic by nullifying it with his own. This ability is implied to originally belong to an insignificant sorcerer who was a social outcast unloved by even their family.[3]
Oath Bound Curse Mark (誓約の呪印, Seiyaku no Juin): Upon being freed from his prison by Al, Roy had an oath bound curse mark carved onto himself. According to his oath, if he is to ever break his promise and consume anyone with his Authority of Gluttony besides the one person Al has told him to eat, he shall be engulfed in a purifying flame, scorching his body and tainting his soul, never allowing it to return to Od Lagna.[4]
Equipment:
Claws & Daggers: Roy wields two claws from his hands that he uses with his speed and lightness. He also wields daggers that were hidden inside of his clothes.
Gospel (福音): As a member of the Witch Cult, Roy is the owner of a copy of a Gospel. Each Gospel was a replica of the Book of Wisdom, a book that had been in the possession of the Witch of Greed Echidna. The Book of Wisdom would provide exact details of future events concerning the Witch of Greed, essentially bestowing Echidna with a form of precognition. Unlike the original Book of Wisdom, the Gospels of the Witch Cult were imperfect replicas, meaning that, although they detailed the future of its owner, the events conveyed were subject to change and the information provided was often up for interpretation. The Gospels took the form of small black books that could only be read by their owners.
Trivia
Like the other Sin Archbishops (with the exception of Stride Vollachia), Roy received his namesake from a celestial body. Alphard, meaning "the individual", is the name of the brightest star in the Hydra constellation. The star's meaning is also known as "the backbone of the serpent".
The reason why he has the moniker "Bizarre Eating" is that he has no standards when it comes to who he eats.
Roy, like Lye, dislikes using Solar Eclipse. According to him and his brother, it seems to make him experience the victims' thoughts which make him feel like he's being damaged. He describes this feeling as unbearable.
It is hinted that Roy is working for Mother, being one of her "children", just like Elsa and Meili.[5][6]
In a Q&A, the author stated that if Daphne and a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony were to fight, it would most likely end in a draw. It is unknown if this answer was stating that a fight with Roy and his siblings would end in a draw against the Witch of Gluttony if they fought her all at once, nor is it known if the resulting draw would only come from a match with one of them.
Roy was sealed off in the same way as the Witch of Envy; with the usage of a complex application of Yin Magic, rendering him stuck in time.
Originally, Roy was the one who devoured the name and memories of Joshua Juukulius in the shop special release of Joshua Juukulius's Careful Second Encyclopedia, but the illustration incorrectly depicted his brother Lye instead. In Tanpenshuu Volume 11, this was remedied by having the story rewritten to feature Lye rather than Roy.
References
↑“You know the Three Great Witchbeasts? It’s said that those, are monsters created by the owner of our Witch Factor long before us. We too, can do something similar. We didn’t do that because there wasn’t really any meaning in doing so…… but, you see.” Arc 6 Chapter 75
↑“This strike has slain eighty-eight other pretty boys… Did you feel it in the marrow of your bones, nii-sama?”Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Prologue, Section 3.
↑“We are but a poor, insignificant, unknown mage. A social outcast unloved even by our family. Was that how it went?”Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Prologue, Section 3.
↑“Should I renounce this oath, my soul shall be tainted and my flesh enveloped and burned away by purifying flame. And my soul shall fall into the void, never to return to Od Lagna again.”Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 15, Closing Chapter, Section 5.
↑“If it’s just us, then that’s still something, but if guys like Regulus or Sirius, and even Mama on top of that, have shown up, then hell would be more preferable anyway.”Malice Before the Theater, Section 3.
↑“Onii-chan has been defeated decisively, and even nii-sama is that woman’s yes-man. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Gourmet or Bizarre Eating for us. ――Really, neither of them understand.”Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Chapter 1, Section 6.
