Becoming a Monster

Chapter 684: Chapter 683: One Last Push

The scene was as baffling as it was frightening to witness.

To everyone else watching, it probably looked as though the lightning was destroying the strange space little by little. With each bolt that disappeared inside, its boundary receded farther, allowing more of the forest to return to the world around it.

Noah’s Nexus Eye showed him something different.

The moment each bolt vanished, an enormous amount of mana was left behind at the boundary. The strange space immediately began absorbing it, greedily consuming everything the lightning provided as its edges slowly receded.

Noah’s expression gradually changed when he realized just how much mana he was looking at. The residual energy left behind by a single bolt already exceeded his entire mana reserve, and that was only what remained after the rest of the lightning disappeared inside.

Which left him with a far more troubling question.

If that much mana was being left behind, how much energy did one of those bolts actually contain when it entered?

Noah looked toward the shrinking boundary again. He couldn’t tell whether some godly being was responsible for the lightning or if the world itself was reacting to what they had created, but its purpose was becoming easier to understand. Something was trying to repair the space before whatever Noah sensed inside could emerge.

And apparently, doing so required so much mana that his existence felt insignificant.

That realization forced Noah to reconsider the precautions he had already been making. He had treated whatever was coming as something beyond what he could currently fight, enough that he was already considering merging the demon’s soul into his own or bargaining with the entity inside him.

Yet if repairing the damage required this much power, then even those precautions were based on underestimating what was trying to come through.

‘If the thing inside was actually that powerful and was let out…’

Noah didn’t want to finish the thought.

The lightning continued descending as he finally raised his head toward the clouds. Another flash spread across the darkened sky before an enormous bolt tore downward, carrying more power than he could currently comprehend before disappearing into the shrinking space.

Nature was terrifying.

It didn’t matter whether someone viewed it through the eyes of a human, a monster, or even a Devil. There were still forces in the world that demanded respect regardless of what someone was.

—

Now that the strange space was gradually disappearing, another problem was beginning to weigh on the humans.

What were they supposed to do once it was gone?

They had come here to kill Noah, but continuing the battle no longer seemed worth what it might cost them. As long as the Demon and the Seraphim were capable of creating something like that again, there was little reason to resume fighting unless they had some way to break the stalemate between them.

Otherwise, another exchange could put them right back in the same situation, assuming the next one didn’t end even worse.

Even the nobles who had been among the most determined to see Noah dead no longer argued against retreating. They still wanted revenge for the death of their heir, but vengeance wasn’t worth sacrificing the S-rankers their houses depended on. A noble family’s status meant very little if they lost the strength that allowed them to maintain it.

Unfortunately, retreating was no longer a decision everyone could make.

Those who had summoned one of God’s servants had bound themselves to something far less willing to abandon its purpose. Until the task they had been called for was completed, the celestial beings would remain, and their summoners had no way to send them back. It was one of the dangers that came with calling upon strength far beyond their own.

Perhaps God’s servants could choose to return on their own. None of them truly knew. But after discovering that the Demon they had come to kill was actually a Devil, expecting them to willingly abandon the battle was no longer realistic.

That left Malachi in an increasingly terrible position.

His own summon had been chosen to remain behind the others and support them rather than fight at the front. Even now, when everything had gone so far beyond what Malachi expected, his decision reflected the same thing that had allowed him to rise so high within the Church.

He was willing to sacrifice others in God’s name, but had always been far more careful when his own life was the one being placed at risk.

Now that caution was leaving him with fewer options. The Seraphim could match Noah, but another battle between them risked creating the same phenomenon they had only narrowly contained. What they needed was enough strength to overwhelm the Devil before another stalemate could form.

There was one way Malachi could provide that strength himself.

The angel had already told him what was required for her to descend. Yet sacrificing himself to bring her here would defeat the very reason he wanted her help in the first place. Victory meant little to Malachi if he needed to die to achieve it.

Which left Bailey.

—

Malachi turned his attention toward her while another bolt descended in the distance. He had spent most of their time waiting for the right opportunity to push her toward what he needed, offering concern whenever her fear became too obvious and reassurance whenever she seemed ready to pull away.

But with the strange space continuing to shrink, there was no longer enough time to slowly guide her toward the decision.

“Bailey, I need you to listen to me.”

She looked toward him with reddened eyes, appearing more lost than anything else. “I don’t know what you want me to do anymore. I came here because I wanted Noah dead. I still do. I want him dead more than anything, but how are we supposed to do that?”

Bailey looked toward the Seraphim. Seeing something so far beyond anything she had seen before, a warrior of God called to defeat the devil, gave her hope just as it did everyone else there. If that wasn’t enough to kill Noah, then she no longer understood what possibly could be.

“I just want to go back. I want to see everyone again.”

“I know it can’t really go back to how it was after everything that’s happened…” Bailey wiped at her eyes before more tears could fall, but that was useless as the rain replaced them. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do anymore. I just don’t want to be here.”

Malachi had spent enough time around frightened people to know that telling her she needed courage would accomplish nothing.

Bailey wasn’t lacking a reason to hate Noah, and reminding her of everyone who might die on this battlefield would only make leaving seem more appealing. What she needed was a reason to believe that leaving wouldn’t give her what she desperately wanted.

“I know you want to go back to them, Bailey, and I wish I could tell you that walking away right now would let you do exactly that,” Malachi said gently, even as he watched the space disappear.

“But aren’t you worried why that… de- demon asked about them? Maybe you can leave here, and never see him again. But can you truly go back to them and convince yourself that he would leave any of you alone after all of this?”

Bailey’s expression tightened as she shook her head. “Don’t bring them into this.”

“I’m not the one who did.” Malachi gave her little opportunity to retreat from what he was saying. “Think about what happens if we leave Noah alive. He’ll be even stronger than he is now. And he will still remember that you came here to kill him. Your friends, even if they weren’t part of this, would try to help. What would happen to them?”

Bailey’s breathing grew uneven as Malachi continued, the fear on her face making it clear that she understood where he was going long before he said it.

“Imagine watching him kill them because you let him live today. Imagine him devouring their souls as they cried out for his mercy, not understanding that you are the reason that even in death they would never rest in peace.”

“Stop.” Bailey’s voice cracked as her fear finally gave way to anger. “Please. I already know what he can do. I’m here because I don’t want that to ever happen.”

Malachi would have preferred more time to let that fear settle, but once the strange space disappeared completely, he had no idea what would happen next.

“Then help me make sure you never have to see it.” His words came with the same calm certainty he had maintained throughout their conversation. “The Seraphim wasn’t defeated, Bailey. One of God’s strongest warriors can fight the demon as an equal, which means we still have a chance to kill him. But we are still missing the strength to break the balance. And you are that missing piece.”

Bailey stared at him through her reddened eyes, unable to understand what he was asking.

“Faith is a powerful thing, Bailey. And faith carries the emotions of us all with it. God has felt your love for your friends and your desire for justice against this demon. He knows how much you’ve already suffered because of him, and how desperately you want to protect the people you still have.”

Malachi reached for her hand as his voice softened.

“That is why I believe you can reach Him in a way the others here cannot. You don’t need years of prayer or knowledge of our rituals. You only need to offer those feelings to our Heavenly Father and ask Him for the strength to protect the people you love. Ask Him to send another of His greatest warriors to stand beside the Seraphim and give us the strength we need to finally kill this demon.”

Bailey’s eyes moved toward the Seraphim before settling on Noah farther away. “And you really think God would listen to me?”

“I know He will hear you.” Malachi squeezed her hand. “I will be here to guide you through everything else. All you need to do is trust me, and put everything you’re feeling into calling for His help.”

She then looked toward Noah again. She still appeared terrified and uncertain, but Malachi hadn’t needed those feelings to disappear. He only needed her fear of leaving Noah alive to become greater than whatever was making her hesitate now.

“Tell me what I have to do.”