Chapter 13: Unfading Scars

"Lovely boy, come with me. My daughters shall care for you. They shall sing and dance for you."

Father, Father! Can't you see it? The Demon King's daughters in the shadows!

My son, I see it clearly. It is but the old, grey willows.

— Schubert,The play "Der Erlkönig" (The Erlking)

What am I looking at?

Is this reality?

Werner stood completely frozen.

In the spacious hall, two Aragami were locked in a mortal struggle.

One was a massive Vajra, radiating a golden brilliance.

The other was a young girl clad in blue-black crystalline scales.

They unleashed lightning upon each other, annihilating everything in their wake.

Scattered around them were the corpses of numerous humans, presumably killed as collateral damage in the crossfire.

"What on earth is this...?! Aside from the Aragami in the intel, there's another one? Is that a God Eater? No, she's not human... is she... an Aragami...?!"

Behind me, Gou Baran stared intently at the clash between the two Aragami.

The golden Vajra held the upper hand. Tracing unpredictable, three-dimensional trajectories, it cornered the girl-shaped Aragami.

The one fighting was Bell. However, her aura was completely different. Radiating a sinister, murderous intent, she was like a different entity entirely. Should I lend a hand? No... she was laughing.

She was enjoying the fight.

Who is that? What is "that"?

The something that used to be Bell let out a genuinely amused laugh even as her body was pierced, and her slender form began to mutate.

Her head, her arms, her hands, her body, her legs—they rapidly expanded in the blink of an eye, transforming into a horrifying humanoid dragon.

"Impossible... A human turned into an Aragami? What is that... a Caligula? No, a Hannibal...? But that's an Ash Forged... Why is it in a place like this...?!"

Gou gasped and muttered, his face contorted in a grimace.

My body refused to move.

The girl had transformed into a Hannibal, boasting a massive blue-black body.

And the tide of battle instantly reversed.

With overwhelming power, the blue-black Hannibal began to toy with the golden Vajra.

Defenseless, the golden Vajra was swallowed by a barrage of unleashed lightning dragons and collapsed to the ground.

The blue-black Hannibal let out a triumphant roar and swung a massive scythe down, aiming straight for the Vajra's chest.

Its figure was the very image of a grim reaper.

A hunter of death, reaping lives.

Piercing it with a blade of nothingness, it gouged out the Aragami's core─────

And devoured it.

Letting out a low, satisfied growl, it slowly fell backward.

As it fell, its body gradually shrank, reverting to the form of the young girl.

"Bell!"

As if a binding spell had just been broken, I moved my newly freed body and rushed toward the fallen girl.

Lying on her back, the grotesque girl was breathing softly with the peaceful sleeping face of an ordinary child her age.

Like a fierce beast falling asleep after gorging itself on prey.

Her entire body was heavily stained with blood.

The thick stench of human blood made me cover my mouth. There was no mistaking it. She had devoured humans. I understood now. This girl had crossed the boundary between human and Aragami.

What a nightmare.

Just then, I felt the presence of several humans approaching from behind. At the same time, an exceptionally sharp killing intent struck me.

Not at me.

But at the sleeping, blood-soaked girl.

Werner's Biting Edge twin blades deflected Gou's Short Blade.

Gripping his God Arc in a reverse hold, Gou glared intently.

"Why are you stopping me? That girl is an Aragami in disguise. A terrifyingly dangerous one at that. You saw it yourself."

"She is my companion. I'd appreciate it if you didn't act out of line."

Werner draped his own robe over the sleeping girl and pulled her close to his chest.

"Are you insane? An Aragami as your companion...? You... That face..."

Gou recognized Werner, whose face was now exposed.

"......"

"To think I'd run into such a big shot in a place like this... I never would have thought you were still alive... Leader of Crimson Queen. Werner Gadolin."

The soldiers standing by murmured in commotion. It was completely understandable. The leader of the terrorist group opposing Gleipnir. A man widely believed to be dead was standing right in front of them.

"...That name no longer holds any meaning. I am nothing more than a God Eater who failed to die."

"I see. So the one standing here now is a ghost. In that case, you don't exist to begin with. It would be a nuisance if you started touting your grand pipe dreams again. All units, take battle stations!"

At Gou's command, the soldiers raised their firearms in unison. They might have hesitated slightly, but they were soldiers. Well-trained ones at that.

Heavily outnumbered. A God Arc in one hand. A sleeping girl held in the other. It was an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position for a fight.

"...Don't try anything funny. If you resist, we will show no mercy."

"...Hmph. Resist, at this point...? The man I am now has no reason to fight you─────"

Werner mocked himself. In that split second.

A superhuman leap.

He vanished in an instant through a gaping hole in the hall's ceiling.

Everyone was left dumbfounded.

Even taking a God Eater's physical capabilities into account, that was extraordinary—and completely unexpected.

"...Tch... I won't make it in time. Everyone, rescue the survivors."

Gou looked up at the destroyed ceiling of the hall.

It had been several months since the Great Ash Storm Incident. Amidst a situation where the treatment of AGEs remained unresolved, intel was leaked that children with low AGE compatibility rates were being subjected to human trafficking.

Accompanied by a mercenary group, they had launched a raid on an Aragami-worshipping cult to rescue the trafficked AGE children.

As the intel stated, they seemed to be worshipping an Aragami, but there had been unforeseen complications.

Werner, the son of Abraham Gadolin, who was supposedly dead.

...And the mysterious humanoid Aragami that slaughtered their subjugation target.

They were acting together. A coincidence?

Cults were a given in this post-apocalyptic world. According to the intel, multiple such groups existed. Some shady corporations were involved as well. Once the post-incident cleanup was complete, he had to head to the next site.

Something was being set into motion.

Was it his own intuition making a fuss? Or was it his Aragami factor?

The pouring rain.

Cradled closely to his chest so she wouldn't get wet, the sleeping girl slumbered on like a toddler.

Sitting directly beneath some rubble, Werner took shelter from the rain.

If they've come this far, they won't be able to pursue.

Complex thoughts crossed his mind.

Is she currently a human, or an Aragami?

Which is it?

When she wakes up, what should I do?

To guide her toward the human side. He had resolved to do so, and yet.

If she were to wake up as an Aragami, then he would──────

Light shone through the ruined walls of rubble.

A raindrop fell with a splash.

"...Mnn, mhm... Wer...ner?"

The girl in his arms rubbed her eyelids and opened her purplish-crimson eyes.

"...Good morning. Did you sleep well, my princess?"

"...? Good morning, Werner?"

Bell looked up at him curiously, her gaze completely innocent.

He had made a vow. There was no need to hesitate.

He would walk alongside this girl.

No matter the outcome.

Until the very end.

The rain had stopped.