Becoming a Monster

Chapter 714: Chapter 713: The First Apostle

After swallowing Malachi, the enormous mouth gradually sank back into the darkness.

But instead of disappearing, something else began emerging from within.

The creature’s upper body rose from the shadow, revealing a monstrous figure whose surface barely resembled flesh. Its lower half, however, remained submerged in the darkness, making it impossible to determine where its body actually ended.

And considering what had just happened, there was no telling whether Malachi was still alive or if this was simply another form he’d taken.

What was certain was that the creature possessed strength far beyond anything he’d demonstrated before.

Even Arachne could recognize that much.

It appeared that dealing with this opponent would be considerably more difficult, especially when its body didn’t seem to possess anything resembling ordinary flesh.

But that didn’t necessarily mean her venom would be ineffective.

And Arachne was rather interested in finding out.

Unfortunately, before she could test that possibility, the creature began lowering its enormous upper body toward the ground.

As it did, the shadow beneath it expanded, allowing more of its body to sink into the darkness until nearly half of it was submerged.

Then, without any warning, it began fleeing.

And what made its retreat particularly strange was how effortlessly it moved across the terrain.

Despite having much of its enormous body protruding from the ground, the creature moved almost like a fish swimming through water, with the darkness beneath it carrying the rest of its body along.

The terrain seemed to offer little resistance, allowing it to rapidly put distance between itself and Arachne.

Arachne wanted to pursue, but her senses suddenly flared when she noticed a dark figure fall from the sky.

When the figure landed, the ground shifted in waves as though it was a ripple of water before it returned to normal. At almost the same moment, Arachne brought all her appendages across the front of her body.

A fraction of a second later, a beam of pale gold energy, surrounding a silvery-white core, struck her crossed appendages and hurled her backward.

The force was stronger than she anticipated; the beam lifted her off her feet, preventing her from absorbing the impact, and sent her nearly twenty meters away before the energy dissipated.

Ailetta, who was still wrestling control with the other consciousness, suddenly stopped.

Both of their original intentions halted as they addressed the intruder. Despite their personal problems, an enemy to Noah and everything he built was an enemy to both of them.

When Ailetta made out the enemy, she was surprised to see that it was just a human. The man had long, silvery-white hair that fell messily around his face, with several strands extending past his shoulders. Dark markings covered one side of his face, contrasting with his pale complexion and the stern expression he wore.

His clothing was predominantly black, consisting of a high-collared outfit beneath a long cloak adorned with golden patterns. Several peculiar insignias decorated his chest and shoulders, while golden chains connected portions of his attire.

But perhaps the most unusual parts of his appearance were his limbs.

His right arm appeared to be made almost entirely of dark metal, with intricate golden markings engraved across its surface. Similar metallic plating covered one of his legs, making it difficult to determine whether they were simply pieces of armor or something that had replaced his original limbs.

Despite his rather imposing appearance, there was nothing about him that suggested he was anything other than human.

With the strength of that attack, she thought it would be another angel, or at least something similar. But that didn’t stop her from staying on her guard. She could sense that this man was dangerous; not only that, she already “saw” that he wasn’t alone. The person with him was confronting Noah at that moment.

And the person with him was even more dangerous.

Ailetta planned to play it by ear. That blast from before had the same signature energy as hers, so this person was obviously someone from the same batch as the other humans who could freely wield holy energy and possibly summon celestial beings.

With no information to go off of, she summoned her two guardians again. Her pride-related eye began to glow immediately as she focused on the man. It was better to use the eye that the opponent would be more swayed by to get better results, and pride was perhaps the only one that she was confident that this opponent would be affected by.

Those with power wouldn’t easily be affected by fear, and considering that he was most likely part of the church, his lust shouldn’t be as strong as his pride or fear.

As long as the fight dragged on, eventually their emotions would surface. However, she was also on a time limit. Too long and her transformation would disappear.

But she didn’t let that worry her. She wasn’t fighting alone.

That didn’t stop her displeasure that she had to rely on others’ help. Internally, she was already dismissing the other consciousness. To her, the other consciousness was now a false version of her original self. Her human self was weak and naive, but now? The current Ailetta was determined that the consciousness cared more about itself than Noah.

If it truly cared for Noah, then it would allow itself to be devoured so she could finally become strong enough to properly support him, and possibly protect him. Because even now he was fighting a dangerous opponent that none of them could help him with.

Despite those thoughts, Ailetta hadn’t allowed her displeasure to distract her from the man before her.

She had yet to attack, keeping her guardians nearby as portions of her slime separated from her body and began to hover in the air around them. After witnessing what the others had done, she had no intention of giving him the opportunity to establish a Holy Field of his own.

Unfortunately, that brief moment of preparation had also given the man enough time to take on the battlefield.

And the more he saw, the further his expression fell.

This could hardly be considered a battle anymore. Why hadn’t they informed the council that they were facing a demon this powerful?

No, that wasn’t right.

The angel communicating with him had already made certain that he understood what they were facing.

A devil.

Of course, having an angel communicating with him wasn’t particularly unusual, especially considering his position within the Church.

As one of its four apostles, he’d been personally selected by Heaven’s Legate, an angel entrusted by the archangels with overseeing Heaven’s affairs in the mortal realm.

It was the Legate who appointed those worthy of acting in God’s name, bestowing upon them the power necessary to fulfill their responsibilities.

And that was what made his circumstances different from Malachi’s.

While Malachi had received his power through an individual angel who’d chosen him to serve as her eyes and ears, the apostle’s strength came directly from his appointment. The angel residing within him was merely there to offer guidance and relay Heaven’s instructions.

Naturally, such a position didn’t mean he was the strongest individual within the Church.

The cardinals and the pope still surpassed him in both strength and authority when it came to the Church’s affairs.

But when Heaven’s Legate entrusted him with a task, it was his responsibility to see it fulfilled.

And judging by the devastation surrounding him, the man was beginning to understand just how necessary his intervention had become.

This was no longer something the local Church could handle on its own.

–

Ailetta had barely begun moving when the man suddenly snapped his fingers.

The same pale gold energy he’d used against Arachne began coursing through his body, concentrating primarily around his legs.

Then, without warning, he stomped his foot against the ground.

Ailetta had noticed the movement, but she hadn’t anticipated what would happen next.

The earth surrounding Ishii suddenly shifted, forming a thin blade of polished stone that rose from the ground and sliced cleanly through the tentacle holding him.

However, now that she understood what the man was attempting to accomplish, Ailetta made no effort to interfere.

If he realized that she was particularly interested in Ishii, he might begin questioning her intentions. For now, it was better to allow things to play out.

The man raised the front of his foot and brought it down again.

This time, the ground surrounding each of the humans began separating from the rest of the terrain, leaving narrow gaps only a few inches wide around them.

And with a slight backward movement of his foot, those isolated sections of earth began sliding toward him, carrying Ishii and the others along with them.

However, not everyone had been included.

Raven was perhaps understandable, considering her enormous size. But Paul and the undead creature their group had tamed were another matter entirely.

It seemed the man hadn’t been able to distinguish them from the monsters they were fighting.

And because of that, both had been left behind.

Naturally, the three had no intention of remaining where they were.

Raven began making her way toward the others, while Paul followed closely behind, his attention focused almost entirely on Ishii.

He was still worried about the young samurai’s condition, especially after everything he’d witnessed. And with Ishii finally out of Malachi’s reach, Paul wanted nothing more than to make sure he was alright.

Unfortunately, their movements hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The man suddenly turned toward Paul and the undead creature accompanying him, his expression hardening as pale gold energy began gathering around his body.

It was clear what he intended to do.

“Wait! They’re with us!”

Several voices called out almost simultaneously, causing the man to hesitate before he could unleash his attack.

He glanced toward the people he’d just rescued, seemingly surprised to discover that the two creatures he’d mistaken for enemies were actually their companions.

Paul, meanwhile, had already begun releasing his transformation earlier than he’d intended. Considering what they were facing, he saw little reason to continue holding it back.

And fortunately, with the misunderstanding resolved, there was nothing preventing the three of them from rejoining the others.

Soon enough, the entire group had gathered behind the mysterious man.

But even with their immediate safety secured, there was little relief to be found among them.

Their attention had turned toward Ailetta.

And judging by the expressions on their faces, it was becoming increasingly apparent that they wanted nothing more than to see her dead.

Ailetta found the sight rather amusing.

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as she observed the humans gathered behind their newfound protector.

Then, as though she’d reached some sort of conclusion, she suddenly raised her voice.

“Do you see? These are the people you’re so determined to protect.”

Her words weren’t directed toward the humans standing before her.

“They’re standing alongside the very people who came here to kill us. To kill our beloved.”

Ailetta’s expression gradually became more serious.

“If you truly care about him, then you should already know what you have to do.”