Becoming a Monster

Chapter 683: Chapter 682: A Threat to Heaven and Hell

Neither Noah nor the Seraphim moved.

Everyone else seemed content to follow their example. The humans remained within the Holy Field while Noah’s creatures stayed where they were, with both sides waiting to see what the two would do after everything that had just happened.

At the same time, the storm continued growing worse. What had already been heavy rain became a downpour that made it difficult for the average person to see very far ahead of them. Thunder grew louder and more frequent, while flashes of lightning lit up the dark sky every few minutes.

With everything happening around them, it truly felt as though judgment day was approaching. Nearly a hundred humans had gathered to fight a Demon alongside God’s servants, and now a part of the forest had become something none of them understood while the storm raged overhead.

“Why aren’t they doing anything?”

The question came from somewhere among the soldiers, quiet enough that only those nearby should’ve heard it. Yet it wasn’t long before similar whispers began spreading through the masses as more people started wondering the same thing.

“Thalric, do you know what’s happening?”

Several of Thalric’s closest friends stood warily beside him. They weren’t concerned that the fighting had stopped. What worried them was what had been left behind. Anyone strong enough could sense the inexplicable danger coming from that place, despite there being nothing within it for them to sense.

Even they could tell that the space was almost cut off from the rest of the world.

Thalric had no answer for them. He was still having difficulty accepting how powerful Noah had become, and after witnessing that last exchange, he couldn’t help wondering how any of this was supposed to end. If the opportunity presented itself, retreating would probably be their best option.

Noah had already crossed into the strength of generals. There was a reason beings at that level normally fought away from the masses during war, yet Thalric couldn’t trust either side to care about those unspoken rules anymore.

The demon was defending his home, while the Seraphim had shown itself willing to match whatever force he used regardless of who was nearby.

That made the sudden end to their attacks one of the few things Thalric could be grateful for. Whatever distorted space they created was dangerous, but at least it appeared contained.

His relief didn’t last long. The Seraphim suddenly repositioned itself, and the other servants of God quickly followed, gathering together as though preparing to face another enemy.

Only none of them were facing Noah. Their attention had settled entirely on the empty space in front of them.

Thalric continued watching them, and the longer he did, the more their behavior reminded him of battles he would’ve preferred to forget.

There had been times throughout his life when he was forced to face something he knew was stronger than him, where retreat was no longer an option, and all he could do was prepare himself for a fight he wasn’t confident he would survive.

He faintly sensed that same feeling from God’s servants now.

Thalric’s eyes narrowed. Their purpose here was to deal with Noah, yet something had made every one of them shift their attention away from him. For that to happen, whatever they were looking at had to be dangerous enough to take priority over the demon they had come here to kill.

He looked at the space again, only now Thalric found himself questioning what exactly he was looking at. Until now, he had viewed it as nothing more than the result of Noah and the Seraphim’s attacks colliding, dangerous enough that neither side wanted to approach it. The behavior of God’s servants made that explanation suddenly feel inadequate.

His attention returned to the grey expanse, searching for anything he might’ve overlooked, and eventually drifted upward.

That was when he looked at the rain, really looked at it. At first, he thought the space was cut off from the world, preventing anything from entering it. But what if the rain was entering it?

What if it only appeared to stop at the boundary because there was nothing left for him to see once it crossed?

Thalric’s eyes widened. Countless drops vanished at exactly the same point, and the possibility of what was actually happening made his expression harden as he tried to keep the fear from showing.

“Soren.”

His friends were still waiting for him to answer their question, but the sudden edge in Thalric’s voice caught them by surprise. They rarely heard that kind of anxiousness from their leader.

“Can you see what’s wrong with that space?” Thalric asked, his words coming faster than usual. “Can you see anything?”

Soren didn’t hesitate. He had never tried using his ability on something like this before, but Thalric’s reaction was enough for him to try. Nothing about him visibly changed as he stared ahead, though Thalric already knew his ability was at work.

His eyes gradually narrowed as the seconds passed. No matter how deeply he tried to look, his ability gave him nothing to work with. There were no patterns for him to follow or possibilities beginning to take shape, which wasn’t entirely unexpected when even his normal senses struggled to recognize what existed there.

Continuing to search wouldn’t help anyone. Soren eventually drew in a breath, preparing himself to give Thalric the disappointing answer.

Noah had noticed the change in the celestial beings as well. They had stopped paying attention to him entirely, but by then, he was doing much the same to them.

“Noah.”

Arachne approached his side despite his earlier command to remain where she was. Under any other circumstances, she would’ve listened, but the ability she relied on to perceive threats to herself and those within her hierarchy had begun reacting so violently that she could no longer convince herself to stay back.

The Seraphim had never caused anything close to this. Its presence had been enough to make the ability react, warning her of the danger it represented, but there had always been something else mixed into that warning. An instinctive certainty that Noah could handle it.

She felt none of that now.

The warning had grown into something closer to fear, carrying with it the feeling that whatever existed inside that empty space was something they might not be capable of overcoming. Even the Queen Ant at the police station, when Arachne had believed they were moments away from losing their lives, hadn’t caused her to react this badly.

“I know. I feel it too.” Noah’s voice had grown unusually grave.

What he sensed was even worse. The eye on his chest was nearly flaring on its own as his ability strained against the empty space, and although Noah still couldn’t determine what existed inside, one thing was becoming increasingly clear.

Something was preparing to come out.

The danger Noah perceived from it already surpassed what he had felt from the hooded beings. Even merging with one of his creatures no longer seemed like it would be enough, and for once, the celestial beings gathering to face the same threat offered him some reassurance. Their actions made it clear they knew what they were dealing with, which meant there was at least a chance they also knew how to fight it.

Noah couldn’t say the same for himself.

His thoughts immediately went to what still rested inside his storage ring. The core of a powerful demon whose consciousness had never disappeared.

Absorbing it wouldn’t be enough. If things reached the point where he had no other choice, he would need to merge its soul directly into his own and hope the resulting increase in strength gave him enough power to protect everyone behind him.

And if even that wasn’t enough, there was still one option Noah had avoided considering until now.

He would have to bargain with the entity inside himself…

But just as he was about to decide, the sky roared. The sound tore across the battlefield with enough force to drown out the rest of the storm, louder than any thunder those gathered there had ever heard.

A pressure built over them in the clouds that made everyone’s skin crawl. And before anyone could make sense of what was about to happen next, lightning descended directly into the grey space.

Another bolt descended, followed by another only seconds later. Then two came almost at once. The intervals between them continued shrinking until enormous streaks of lightning were repeatedly tearing through the clouds, every one of them aimed toward those same hundred yards.

Each carried enough power to make the ground tremble before disappearing the instant it crossed into the grey space. Several of the weaker humans were thrown from their feet as the strikes continued, while those who remained standing could only watch as more descended, trying to understand what was happening.

They would soon have their answer. With every bolt that disappeared inside, the space it occupied grew a little smaller.