Becoming a Monster

Chapter 698: Chapter 697: Would God Be Disappointed?

The moment Noah’s presence began to change, the Seraphim sensed the danger.

Its attention immediately sharpened as darkness erupted from Noah’s body, quickly engulfing him until his figure was completely concealed. The sudden change was enough for the celestial being to recognize that allowing him to continue would be dangerous.

Without wasting any time, holy energy began gathering around the Seraphim, forming several concentrated beams aimed directly at the darkness.

Yet just as it was about to release them, the celestial being hesitated.

For a brief moment, the Seraphim remained motionless, unable to understand why it had stopped itself from attacking. It had already recognized Noah as a threat, and there was nothing preventing it from unleashing the holy energy it had gathered.

At least, nothing it was aware of.

The holy energy surrounding its body was already being contaminated by the darkness emanating from Noah. The changes were so subtle that the Seraphim had yet to recognize them, much less realize that they were beginning to influence its actions.

It was only when the celestial being noticed the countless souls rising from the forest and disappearing into Noah’s body that it finally forced itself to act.

Whatever had caused its hesitation, it couldn’t afford to remain idle while Noah continued absorbing the souls of the dead.

Even then, however, the Seraphim showed no intention of approaching the darkness concealing him.

Instead, it remained where it was and finally released the holy energy it had been gathering. Several enormous beams tore across the sky, converging on Noah’s position with enough force to illuminate the darkened clouds in their path.

—

The first barrage struck the darkness, burning several openings through it. For a moment, the holy light pushed deeper, but the darkness quickly closed around the beams, swallowing them before the Seraphim could tell whether they had struck Noah himself.

And as the celestial being prepared to attack again, the hesitation returned.

This time, however, it could recognize where that hesitation was coming from.

Somewhere within its consciousness, it had already begun to believe that another attack would accomplish nothing. The thought interfered with its attempt to gather more holy energy, making it hesitate over something that should’ve required no consideration at all.

But when had the possibility of failure ever stopped it before?

In the presence of God’s enemies, it had never needed assurance that it would prevail. Even if fulfilling its purpose required sacrificing itself, it would’ve done so without regret.

So why was its own powerlessness troubling it now?

And why, of all things, had it begun to wonder what its creator would think if it failed?

The thought was so foreign that the Seraphim couldn’t understand why it had occurred to it. Its purpose had always been to carry out God’s will, regardless of the sacrifices required. Whether it succeeded or perished in the attempt shouldn’t have mattered, so long as it had devoted everything to fulfilling that purpose.

Yet the possibility that its strength might not be enough had begun to trouble it in a way that the prospect of death never had.

Would its creator be disappointed?

As that question took root, more of the holy energy surrounding its body began to darken.

Unknown to the Seraphim, the divine energy that composed its existence was beginning to lose its hold over something that had remained contained since its creation.

Sin.

The Seraphim had been created from sin, but the divine energy within its body had always kept it from influencing its thoughts. There had never been a reason for it to question its purpose, much less concern itself with whether it was worthy of fulfilling it.

Yet as Noah’s darkness continued contaminating that energy, the sin that had remained suppressed for so long was gradually beginning to resurface.

And with it came feelings that the celestial being had never experienced before.

“Continue attacking!”

An angel’s voice echoed within its consciousness, the urgency in the command immediately drawing its attention.

“Do not give in to the darkness! If the Anathema completes its transformation, it will be too late to stop God’s enemy!”

The Seraphim forced its wavering thoughts aside and drew its holy energy into its blade. Light gathered along the weapon, growing increasingly concentrated as the celestial being prepared to continue attacking until it could no longer maintain the effort.

Yet just before it could unleash that energy, a pair of eyes appeared within the darkness.

They had no pupils. A deep violet colored their outer edges, gradually lightening toward centers that were almost white. Their gaze settled directly on the Seraphim, and for reasons it couldn’t understand, the celestial being found itself unable to look away.

There was no anger in those eyes. Even with the holy energy gathering around its blade, Noah showed no concern over what the Seraphim was preparing to do.

And somehow, that indifference was more troubling than any hostility would’ve been.

The Seraphim had been created to carry out God’s will. It had never questioned that purpose, nor had it ever needed to consider what would happen if it proved incapable of fulfilling it.

But what if it couldn’t?

What if, despite everything it had been given, its strength wasn’t even enough to make God’s enemy acknowledge it as a threat?

The thought left the Seraphim feeling smaller than it ever had before. It had always believed that its existence held meaning because it served its creator. Yet here it was, facing an enemy it had been commanded to destroy, and it couldn’t even convince itself that its attacks would accomplish anything.

If it couldn’t fulfill the purpose for which it had been created, then what did that say about its existence?

And if its existence held no purpose, what did it even mean to exist?

The question was enough to bring about another change.

Until now, the darkness had been spreading through the holy energy surrounding the Seraphim. But as its thoughts continued to deteriorate, a portion of that corruption finally reached the celestial being’s body.

A faint darkness appeared within its own celestial body.

The Seraphim failed to notice.

Its attention had remained on the eyes watching it from within the darkness, and as the surrounding shadows gradually began to recede, more of Noah’s transformed figure came into view.

Green flames suddenly ignited above the Devil’s head, gathering into a crown that burned between his horns. Yet the flames had barely finished taking shape when another mass of energy began forming above them.

The Seraphim watched as the energy gathered into something resembling an enormous eye.

It was the same eye that had once been embedded in Noah’s chest.

And the moment it opened, its gaze settled directly on the celestial being.

For the first time since its creation, the Seraphim felt something it had never believed itself capable of experiencing.

Fear.

Whatever uncertainty had been troubling it before was immediately overshadowed by the overwhelming desire to escape that gaze. Its grip tightened around its blade, but even the holy energy gathered within the weapon offered none of the reassurance it desperately sought.

It wanted to move.

It wanted to put as much distance between itself and that eye as possible.

Yet the Seraphim couldn’t bring itself to turn away.

“Attack!”

The angel’s command echoed through its consciousness once more, and this time, the Seraphim responded immediately.

The angel believed its warning had finally compelled the celestial being to act.

But the Seraphim hadn’t attacked because it had overcome its fear.

It attacked because it was afraid.

Forcing its holy energy through the weapon, the Seraphim unleashed an enormous beam into the darkness, continuing to feed it with its own power even after the initial impact.

The attack tore through the darkness surrounding Noah, striking his body before he could defend himself.

His eyes narrowed as the holy energy burned against him, but aside from that brief reaction, he gave little indication of the pain he was experiencing.

Instead, Noah raised one of his arms.

A mass of black energy gathered before him, spreading until it intercepted the beam that had continued pouring against his body.

At first, the Seraphim noticed little difference. Its holy energy continued crashing against the darkness, and with Noah no longer being struck directly, the celestial being concentrated on maintaining its attack.

If the devil needed to block the attack, that meant that its power could harm it.

Yet as the two energies continued coming into contact, something began to change.

The black energy was gradually consuming the holy light, breaking it down as it spread farther into the beam. What had initially been confined to the point of impact was now advancing toward the Seraphim, using the very attack it had unleashed to reach its body.

By the time the celestial being recognized what was happening, portions of its beam had already turned black.

Without wasting another moment, it stopped channeling its holy energy, severing the connection before the corruption could reach its blade.

The remaining beam dissipated, leaving the Seraphim staring at the darkness that had nearly reached it.

The darkness surrounding Noah gradually receded, revealing the full extent of his transformation.

His arms spread to either side as massive wings unfurled behind him, their sheer size giving the illusion that they covered the entire sky. Countless fragments broke away from their edges, scattering through the air before dissolving into the surrounding shadows.

Long strands of pale hair flowed past his shoulders, framing a face that had become almost entirely black. Several horns curved upward from his head, surrounding the crown of green flames that burned above him.

His imposing figure was covered in jagged formations of condensed energy, particularly around his shoulders and chest, while his hands ended in long, sharpened claws.

Below his waist, his body extended into a flowing mass of darkness, with enormous tendrils twisting and coiling through the air around him.

The seraphim wasn’t smaller than the devil, but as a witness to the descent of the devil’s true form, it felt feebly small.