Chapter 7: Lingering Feelings

Only once, whenas mine heart was stirred within me,

I lifted up mine eyes and did behold thee.

Yet from that day forth, beneath the firmament of heaven,

have I beheld none save thee alone.

— Byron

"My name is Werner. Werner. Can you say it?"

"W-We... nar?"

I taught her my name as she sat cross-legged on the crystal bed, tilting her head.

"That's right. Try saying it one more time."

"We, We, r... Wer, Werna... Werner!"

She answered, joy lighting up her face, her voice possessing a mature, dignified, yet lovely tone.

"Werner! Werner!"

"Yes. Exactly. I am Werner. Well done."

I gently stroked her head.

Her hair was as smooth as purplish-silver silk. From it, bizarre, long horns grew out.

"...Hehehe, that tickles, Werner."

She closed her eyes and accepted it contentedly, much like a cat or a dog. A non-human girl with glossy, lightly glowing brown skin clad in purple crystal dragon scales, swaying a long, thick tail back and forth.

Beautiful. That one word summed it up perfectly. Any healthy man might fantasize, even if just once, about sharing a bed with her. Ashamed as I might be, I am a man too. She possessed that much allure.

However, despite her age-appropriate appearance, her bewitching and inhuman form meant she was an Aragami.

What's more, she was presumed to be a high-tier variant of the powerful and dangerous species, a Hannibal.

"...I haven't asked for your name yet. What is it?"

In my opinion, she is human. Or rather, a former human. And she was a God Eater.

The weapon she wielded, which had assimilated into her arm, was undoubtedly a God Arc. From that, I surmised she was a former God Arc user.

God Arc users turn into Aragami for various reasons. Failed Bias Factor administration, God Arc compatibility failure, and a wide array of other causes.

I didn't know the specific circumstances that led to her Aragami transformation, but it seemed a fraction of her human reasoning still remained.

Perhaps that was why my life had been spared. Otherwise, I would have been devoured a long time ago.

Back in my days as a researcher, I had seen cases of God Arc compatibility failures, but they always ended in one of two ways: either their bodies couldn't withstand it and they perished, or they self-destructed before fully mutating into an Aragami.

During my time at the Red Queen, there were exceedingly rare cases where I had to mercy-kill someone who failed compatibility before they became a complete Aragami, but this was my first time seeing someone mutate to this extent. In most cases, they turn into a dangerous Aragami known as a "Susanoo," but she was an exception.

But of all things, a Hannibal.

The origin of the name is Hannibal Barca. 247 BC - 183 BC, a Carthaginian general and the eldest son of Hamilcar Barca. A famous historical figure who fought against the Roman army for many years, known for being cruel and fierce, and for pioneering the tactic of encirclement.

"Name? I... Name... Name..."

The Aragami girl swayed her body back and forth, staring into the void as she muttered.

Was her memory impaired, or was it an effect of the Aragami transformation? It seemed she couldn't even remember her own name.

"...Name... Name... I... Name... I don't know... I don't know my name..."

The girl looked down sadly.

"You don't have to force yourself to remember. It's alright."

A girl whose form could be seen as either Aragami or human. For now, her human rationality was more prominent. However, from the Human-Dragon form I had seen earlier, I caught glimpses of the innate ferocity, savagery, and brutal ravenousness of an Aragami.

She was likely in an extremely unstable condition. Swaying like a pendulum, the boundary between human and Aragami was blurred. One misstep, and she could very well bare her fangs at humanity as a true "Raging God."

If so, what should I do? Right now, I have a God Arc on hand. She is currently defenseless. It would be a different story if she were in her Human-Dragon form, but in this vulnerable state, I could easily reap her core.

Perhaps I should end it painlessly and put her out of her misery—

...What foolishness... Did she not save this life I had already thrown away? Am I to repay that debt with betrayal? Unthinkable.

In that case, the only thing I can do is guide her toward her humanity so she doesn't become a complete Aragami. Whether I can actually do it is unknown, but I must do what I can. That is my duty as someone whose life she saved.

Therefore, a name is necessary after all. Going nameless won't do.

"...Bell. Your name is Bell."

"Bell? Name? My name?"

The name Hannibal Barca is thought to mean "Grace of Baal," "Merciful Baal," or "Baal is my Lord," while Barca means "Lightning."

Baal is an ancient god of fertility in Ugaritic mythology, a god of storms and merciful rain worshiped primarily in the Canaanite region. An alternate name for Baal is Bel. Although originally a male deity, I thought it was fitting for this brave and beautiful girl.

"...Bell... My name is Bell... Bell..."

The girl muttered the name repeatedly, as if etching it into her mind.

"My name, Werner, and your name, Bell. They sound similar, don't they? I figured it would be easy to remember, what do you think?"

"Werner, together? Werner, Bell, similar... I like it! Bell! My name is Bell! I like it!!"

A radiant smile bloomed across the girl's face as she rejoiced.

She must have been incredibly happy, as her tail was wagging around and around at a tremendous speed.

"Werner! Thank you!!"

"Whoa!?"

The Aragami girl—now named Bell—lunged at Werner with great momentum, pinning him down onto the crystal bed.

Against his startled cheek, a large, smooth, and soft sensation was pressed.

It was Bell's—her chest.

Then, she embraced him. An earnest, yet rough hug. What incredible strength. A tremendous embracing power that one wouldn't expect from such a slender girl. Her fine-grained, smooth brown skin clung to him, her plentiful twin mounds pressing against his airways. They were incredibly supple and smelled incredibly sweet.

"Mmph! Guuh!"

He writhed under the torment of her soft flesh, unable to even draw a breath.

He couldn't breathe. Yet, her narcotic, fragrant scent threatened to burn away his thoughts, paralyzing his mind. He even felt a sense of peace, as if he were resting on a cloud.

As he struggled for even a fraction of oxygen, she finally released Werner from her perilous, deadly embrace.

"...Werner, thanks for the name... I'm really happy... I want to thank you..."

"B-Bell? What are you..."

A soft, fragrant sensation was pressed against his slightly parted lips as he voiced his question.

Bell's lips.

For a brief moment, he almost fell into a trance from that gentle, sweet sensation... An indescribable ecstasy... But a contradictory sense of wrongness rapidly snapped Werner's consciousness awake.

Through the gaps in his teeth, the small, bewitchingly writhing tip of a tongue slowly slipped in, slickly tracing the inside of his mouth.

"~~~~!!!"

Even as he writhed and tried to resist, Werner couldn't break free from her pinning strength.

When he managed to close his mouth to reject the intrusion, her sharp fangs cut his lip, and crimson blood trickled down his chin.

"...It tastes like Werner."

Bell smiled with an alluring, bewitching charm.

Both her lips and the red tip of the tongue peeking from her mouth were dyed in the color of Werner's blood, gleaming wetly.

Just like a prostitute wearing vividly colored lipstick.

"Bell, you're..."

"I remembered a little. ——I know. I know what to do to make men feel good..."

Gazing down at Werner with a look that was affectionate, pitiful, and somewhat enlightened, Bell moved her lower body over his waist, straddling him.

"...Various men, they were always angry, hitting me... They bullied me, mounted me, and when they did, they made such good-feeling faces..."

"...!!!"

Her fingertips and palms slipped beneath Werner's clothes, trailing seductively from his chest down to his lower abdomen.

As if fully aware of exactly what kind of reaction doing such a thing would elicit from a male body.

The click of his belt being unbuckled echoed.

"...Stop, it..."

His body burned with feverish heat. Despite that, he couldn't move a muscle.

He wasn't asking for this. This was an act that could never be forgiven.

He shuddered at the horrifyingly hyper-sensitive feeling of being touched.

Her eyes harbored the hollow color of complete despair, of having given up on everything.

Hadn't he seen those kinds of eyes more times than he could stand?

Wasn't that exactly why he had founded the Red Queen—to save those with eyes like that?

"I am... not like... the bastards who put you through that...!!!"

Whether out of anger and patheticness toward himself, or directed at everything that had unreasonably broken the girl, a trembling, overflowing wail jolted his paralyzed body into motion.

No sooner had he spoken, Werner forcefully threw his upper body up, wrapping his arms around the straddling Bell's back and pulling her into a tight embrace.

Powerfully, refusing to lose to her strength—he held her tightly, so tightly.

"...Ah..."

"...It's alright. You don't have to do that anymore. It's okay now..."

He continued to embrace the bewildered girl.

Tilting her head in confusion with a blank stare, she patted Werner's head.

As gently as a mother soothing a child.

What was this? The roles were reversed now.

Werner smiled wryly and continued to hold her close, letting her stroke his head.