Becoming a Monster

Chapter 676: Chapter 675: Not So Strong Out Here

The moment God’s warriors began acting on their own, the little order that remained among the humans quickly fell apart.

Malachi wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Several Church members immediately called out to the beings they had brought into the world.

Even after countless generations of calling upon Heaven for aid, the Church still didn’t truly understand what happened when their prayers were answered.

They understood the sacrifices involved and had learned enough to know what was required to receive an answer, but they had always assumed that being responsible for bringing one of God’s warriors into their world also gave them authority over it.

Malachi had never had a reason to question that belief until now, and his confusion lasted only until the familiar voice within him explained why the others had moved on their own.

You have hesitated long enough.

Malachi’s expression tightened as he understood exactly what the accusation meant. He had spent the entire confrontation finding reasons to delay letting the being within him descend, convincing himself he was waiting for the right moment rather than avoiding a sacrifice he had spent his life claiming he would willingly make.

Perhaps those excuses could’ve convinced another person, but the being within him had long since been cleared of the sins that allowed mortals to hide behind their own lies.

Malachi didn’t need to speak for it to perceive the difference between genuine caution and the fear he refused to acknowledge, especially when that fear was preventing one of God’s chosen from descending to fulfill their Father’s will.

The other celestial beings moving without orders was the consequence of that hesitation. If Malachi continued refusing to give up his body willingly, they had no intention of standing idle with a true devil in front of them just because one of the Father’s supposedly most faithful servants was afraid to fulfill his promise.

—

For everyone unaware of what was happening between Malachi and the Angel within him, however, seeing God’s warriors finally take the initiative brought relief instead of confusion. Noah’s attack was still growing in front of them, and none of them wanted to discover what would happen if they continued standing there long enough for him to finish preparing it.

The hesitation that had kept both sides staring at one another disappeared almost immediately as the battle that would determine Ashenveil’s fate finally began. Whatever questions the Church had about why God’s warriors moved without them would have to wait.

There was no stopping to demand answers in the middle of a fight, leaving them with little choice but to support the attack that had already begun.

Different verses of prayer quickly spread throughout their ranks, and with each one came another surge of holy energy. This was where the sheer number of Church members among the army began to show its value, as even those who weren’t S-rank released energy that gradually materialized around them before expanding far enough to overlap with the influence of those nearby.

It didn’t take long for those overlapping prayers to encompass the human forces. Some strengthened their bodies while others reinforced their minds or protected their souls, with additional effects continuing to layer over them until dozens of individual blessings were supporting the same people at once.

The fear that had followed many of them through the forest became easier to suppress as their morale rose alongside their physical abilities.

Resistance against attacks targeting their minds and souls settled over them as well, leaving the humans who had spent so long struggling under Noah’s presence feeling empowered now that the full support of the Church surrounded them.

Their prayers were only one part of what the Church brought to the battlefield.

The celestial being Malachi had summoned finally took action, revealing why it held such importance over the others. Its aura erupted outward with the being at its center, engulfing everyone almost instantly as an overwhelming concentration of holy energy spread across the battlefield.

The resulting Holy Field was far greater in scale than any the Church members themselves could produce, though the distance separating the two sides kept its influence from reaching Noah’s forces.

Every holy ability within its reach was strengthened to twice what it would’ve normally been, including the overlapping blessings already covering the humans. The same amplification extended to God’s warriors, whose bodies were composed entirely of the energy the field empowered.

That amplification was only one side of what made the field so dangerous. Any tainted being caught within its influence would instead be subjected to the holy energy’s constant purification, weakening them as their bodies were forced to resist being cleansed of what the field recognized as corruption.

For now, the distance kept Noah’s forces beyond its reach, but that protection would only last as long as the celestial being remained where it was.

The storm revealed another effect almost immediately. Every drop of rain entering the Holy Field changed as it passed through the concentration of energy.

The water itself became infused with holy energy.

Rain that had been pouring indiscriminately only moments earlier was transformed into holy water wherever it entered the field, causing every drop falling over the human forces to carry the same cleansing properties.

It was unknown what other benefits the rain was given, and until Noah’s forces entered the holy field, it was impossible to tell what it would do to them too.

But remaining outside its reach came with an advantage of its own. The moment God’s warriors rushed forward to stop Noah’s attack, they left behind the field that had been strengthening them.

Both Archons advanced alongside three of the five unfamiliar beings, closing the distance at speeds most of the humans struggled to follow. Unsurprisingly, the three with wings quickly pulled ahead, each approaching Noah from a different angle while the concentrated holy energy surrounding their blades aimed for whatever opening they could find.

Even with all three converging on him, Noah never stopped gathering mana into the massive sphere above his hand. To those watching, it almost seemed as though he had failed to react to how quickly God’s warriors had reached him, but the truth was far simpler. Without the Holy Field strengthening them, none of the three had given him a reason to stop.

Dense miasma coated Noah’s wings as he folded them around his body, meeting the first two blades before either could reach him. The collisions struck with enough force to make it seem as though two immovable objects had slammed into one another, while the opposing energies reacted far more violently as holy power and miasma tore against each other at the points of impact.

Neither attack made it through.

The third celestial being was already descending from above by the time the other two were stopped, leaving Noah with an attack his folded wings couldn’t intercept. He finally lifted his head toward it while raising the same hand that continued feeding mana into the raging sphere.

The celestial being stared down into Noah’s abyssal eyes as the mass of energy rose directly into its path. With something that large expanding beneath it, evading was no longer an option, leaving it to force even more holy energy into its blade and attempt to cut straight through.

Light swelled around the weapon until its outline expanded into something closer to a greatsword, concentrating the being’s power into a single downward strike. The blade plunged into the sphere and continued through its surface, destabilizing the mana badly enough that the entire mass began to distort around it.

For a moment, the attack appeared to be working. The raging energy twisted around the blade as though the structure holding it together was beginning to collapse, giving the humans watching from a distance reason to believe one of God’s warriors had stopped Noah’s attack before he could release it.

Instead of breaking apart, the sphere continued expanding.

The celestial being disappeared deeper into the raging mana as its blade failed to divide it, and by the time the sphere grew large enough to envelop its body completely, the humans finally realized something had gone wrong.

A muffled screech tore through the downpour, loud enough to become almost unbearable even through the raging storm. The sound lasted only moments before abruptly disappearing, leaving the humans staring at the enormous sphere as one of God’s warriors was destroyed before the battle had even begun.

The entity’s last cries led the two archons who had yet to reach their targets to stop in their tracks. At the same time, before the two unfamiliar entities could even react, both Arachne and Bolas moved to intercept them.

The two weren’t nearly as strong as Noah, but they were strong enough to match the beings that had been designated as humankind’s hope. Flames nearly identical to the energy contained within Noah’s sphere erupted from Bolas’s jaws, threatening to submerge one of the entities entirely.

Arachne’s eyes were already glowing as she set them on the other, intent on driving it back into the air. Wisps of smoke radiated from its body as its aura fought against Arachne’s ability, but even the small effect she managed was enough to weaken it and give her the opportunity to leap after it.

Within moments, Arachne appeared above the entity, revealing that her speed was even greater than theirs. Each of her legs was coated in dense miasma as she brought them down toward its back, threatening to pierce through the back of its head and both of its wings.

Before the blows could land, a giant transparent shield in the shape of a cross formed over the entity. Arachne’s legs crashed against it instead, stopping attacks that could’ve dealt significant, perhaps even lethal, damage.

It wasn’t the only one protected. A similar shield appeared around the entity engulfed in Bolas’s flames, giving both of them the opportunity to retreat toward the safety of the Holy Field.

Neither shield had come from the beings they protected. As both were forced back toward the humans, attention shifted toward the celestial entity that had remained behind since the battle began.