Becoming a Monster

Chapter 688: Chapter 687: Complicit

The four Potentates should’ve reached Ailetta before anyone else could interfere.

They had been right behind the two Archons throughout their advance, and even with Arachne arriving at Ailetta’s side, all four were already close enough to commit to their attacks. Kratos was still some distance away when he launched himself forward, but the moment the two Archons ahead of them were forced to stop, the situation changed.

Their attack on Ailetta never came.

All four Potentates pulled back before reaching her, retreating from the position they had been so eager to take only moments earlier. The Archons were too important for this exchange, and once those two were hindered, continuing forward would’ve meant leaving them behind while Kratos would be there soon after their initial attack.

Ordinarily, that shouldn’t have concerned them. Potentates possessed an overwhelming advantage against creatures of tainted origins, and nearly every monster there should’ve been exactly the kind of enemy they were created to destroy.

But they had already learned that Noah’s creatures didn’t always obey that expectation.

Arachne was the clearest example. She had already proven that she was capable of matching them. And now that she was there, more creatures were still approaching, and several of those presences didn’t feel much weaker than Arachne’s.

The opportunity the Potentates had tried to exploit was gone.

But that didn’t deter them from the battle; it only changed how the battle would go from here on.

Despite Malachi not wanting it, the Virtue that had always stayed back had finally begun to move forward on its own. This time it would fight directly with the others, but more importantly, the field it maintained would move along with it.

The Church members who had summoned their respective celestial didn’t move forward. Instead, they each conjured the barrier that came with summoning one of God’s servants, a barrier that was nigh impenetrable to all beings not connected to the Heavenly Father.

Meanwhile, the nobles and everyone else began to advance, away from where the celestials were headed.

—

The monsters responded in turn. Morvyr moved out to meet the approaching army, but he wasn’t alone for long. Bolas took the lead alongside him, with Baka and Dummy following close behind as the rest of their group kept the same distance from Morvyr’s army.

The sight immediately made the difference between both sides harder for the humans to ignore. Excluding the church, they had six S-rankers, while the opposing side appeared to have only two beings that could be placed in the same rank. Under normal circumstances, that difference alone would’ve given them an overwhelming advantage.

Bolas made those numbers almost meaningless.

The dragon hadn’t even done anything yet, but none of the S-rankers looking at him believed a single one of them could handle him alone. If their judgment of his strength was even close, nearly all six of them might be needed just to bring him down, and even then it might not be enough.

The confidence spreading through them quickly suffered because of it.

“Leave the dragon to us!”

Thalric’s voice carried far enough for those around him to hear as he stepped forward with Soren and Arden. “The other S-rankers will fight with me. The rest of you focus on everything else!”

That was enough to keep the hesitation from spreading any further, even if Thalric himself wasn’t nearly as confident as he made the order sound.

He didn’t need Bailey or anyone else to connect the dots: the dragon and the drake were one and the same.

Thalric had known about the drake living within Ashenveil Forest for years, and after everything Bailey’s group had revealed about Noah, it wasn’t difficult to determine what had happened. Noah had somehow tamed the creature and helped it evolve into something completely different from what Thalric had ever encountered.

There had been a time when Thalric would’ve been confident fighting that drake on his own. Looking at Bolas now, he couldn’t afford to judge the creature by anything it had been before.

They would need everyone they could spare.

House Ignivar would be especially important. Their family’s specialization in fire gave them something worth bringing against the dragon, and together with the S-rankers, Thalric could at least see a path toward bringing Bolas down.

In theory, they could manage it.

The problem was Morvyr.

Thalric didn’t believe the demon could be compared to Bolas in strength, but a high-ranking demon couldn’t be allowed to move freely through an army. He still remembered what Morvyr’s power could do to people.

Leaving him alone for even a short time could end with soldiers turning into those cannibalistic tree monsters before anyone strong enough to stop him could respond.

The weaker troops could occupy the creatures Morvyr and Bolas brought with them. But Morvyr himself would need another S-ranker to contain him.

There was only one person Thalric could think of who might be capable of keeping the demon under control while the rest of them dealt with Bolas.

His gaze immediately searched toward the side of their formation.

It didn’t take long to find Malachi.

The Church’s Right Hand stood with his back turned to nearly everything happening on the battlefield, protected behind the same forces that had allowed him to remain removed from most of the danger until now.

Thalric’s expression darkened. It was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress the murderous thoughts he held toward the man responsible for bringing all of them here.

Malachi had coerced him into leaving Ashenveil when the city needed its Guild Master most, dragged them into a battle Thalric had repeatedly tried to prevent, and now that everyone else was preparing to risk their lives because of it, the man wasn’t even looking at them.

And unfortunately, Thalric still needed his help.

He was already preparing to call out to Malachi, hoping that drawing attention to how removed the man had kept himself from the fighting would be enough to force his hand. But before Thalric could say anything, his gaze narrowed at the faint glow coming from somewhere in front of him.

With the heavy rain obscuring nearly everything at a distance, it was easy to understand why he hadn’t noticed it sooner. Now that he had, the way Malachi positioned himself suddenly took on an entirely different meaning.

His back wasn’t turned to hide from the battle.

It was turned to hide what he was doing from everyone else.

Thalric’s attention shifted slightly, allowing him to make out the smaller figure standing directly in front of the Church’s Right Hand. His expression immediately hardened.

‘That stupid girl…’

Frustration didn’t come close to describing what he felt. Once Thalric understood what Malachi was hiding, the details became increasingly obvious.

One of the man’s hands rested over Bailey’s head, while the position of his other arm left little doubt that he was holding one of the Church’s crosses. His lips continued moving through words Thalric couldn’t hear over the rain.

He had already begun reciting the rites for a sacrificial offering.

Thalric couldn’t understand how Bailey could’ve agreed to it. Was she truly so determined to kill Noah that she was willing to go through with something like this despite knowing what would happen to her? Or had Malachi conveniently left that part out while convincing the girl to participate?

Considering the man involved, Thalric couldn’t dismiss the latter.

Everything in him wanted to walk over there and put an end to it, yet once again, circumstances left him staring at something he despised while knowing he couldn’t interfere.

The army had finally committed itself to fighting. Exposing what Malachi was doing now could destroy what little morale remained, and with both sides beginning to move, Thalric couldn’t abandon his position or spare someone else to do it for him.

Worse, the part of him that had survived as Guild Master for so many years refused to let him ignore what Soren had pointed out.

What happened if Noah defeated the Seraphim?

Thalric clenched his jaw. Bailey had no responsibility to be standing on this battlefield in the first place, yet he was allowing a child to be sacrificed to deal with a disaster created by decisions she never should’ve been involved in. Malachi might’ve been the one performing the offering, but knowing what was happening and choosing not to stop it made Thalric feel complicit all the same.

His teeth ground together before he forced his attention away from Bailey and back toward the approaching enemies. When he finally gave his next order, the hostility in his voice drew several confused looks from those around him, none of them knowing what had caused the sudden change.

“Gregory!”

The name came out with enough hostility that several members of House Ignivar immediately turned toward him, their expressions suggesting they weren’t entirely sure whether Thalric was calling for their patriarch or preparing to attack him.

“Let me and my men take care of the dragon.” Thalric’s gaze settled on Morvyr as he continued. “Until Malachi finishes his preparations, you and your House will hold back the demon.”

Gregory immediately snapped his attention to where Malachi was supposed to be. His eyes strained, just as Thalric’s had before. It took him longer than Thalric, but eventually he noticed.

He didn’t care about Bailey’s well-being. In fact, his eyes became excited.

They really could win this!