Becoming a Monster

Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Creating Believers

In response to Vincent’s question. The Angel lifted herself slightly above the crowd, her wings flaring wide, casting radiant shadows over the onlookers. Her voice rang out, sonorous and absolute.

”What is there to question?” she answered, her tone wrapped in righteous warmth. ”To submit to the Heavenly Father is to be embraced by his mercy. Those who lend themselves to his will, who take part in the divine cleansing of this world, will ascend beyond mortal suffering. They will become his instruments. His vessels. Perhaps even his chosen...”

There was no room for doubt in her words. Only beneficial promises. But Vincent heard something else: A plea. Not for their salvation, but for her own.

”You speak of promises, but you have yet to answer my question!” Despite the identity of the Angel, despite the promises she claimed, ones that would pull at the hearts of those who were lost; Vincent understood that she was avoiding to directly answer the question. He didn’t believe her to be lying, but she wasn’t speaking in good conscience either.

”What would happen to us!? Will we share the same fate as Burke?! Is submitting the same as sacri-”

The momentum Vincent was building was starting to crumble the illusion of grandeur the Angel was building. However, their heated conversation was interrupted. Before the tension could climax.

Noah made his move.

The Angel noticed him first, but the others were only made aware when they heard the echo of his massive fist striking against the skeletons’ shield.

After striking the shield, Noah growled in irritation, not because the skeleton withstood his attack, but because after Noah made contact with the shield, his body felt noticeably heavier than before.

In that one transaction, Noah already came to understand what was happening. His appendages that were descending to stab and pierce into the skeleton’s body had halted. His body pulled back, and what replaced his appendages was the slime that remained merged within his exoskeleton, a glossy and surge of slime pushed forward, spreading like oil through cracks of his armor.

His spider legs morphed, at the ends of his new appendage were barrel life funnels that began to glow with the same light that flickers when he released the sphere of energy before. Except this time the power being used was much more controlled and limited than before.

The skeleton didn’t have an ability to shorten the distance between them, and his speed wasn’t up to par to escape the attack. And Noah had no intention of letting him try.

Within a few seconds, four explosive energy spheres were about to descend. For the second time, the skeleton materialized another wall, a wall that was much smaller than before but still just as durable; maybe even sturdier than before now that most of its mana was used to create a sturdier shield than just a larger one.

When Noah was about to release his attack, a green mist approached him from behind, a gaseous substance that had the same appearance as poison. The poison washed over his body, almost completely blocking his figure.

It wasn’t clear if the poison would have an effect on him. He didn’t scream, and his silhouette within the gas didn’t budge. Even the Angel didn’t believe he could stay in that attack forever. The undead mage attack wasn’t just a simple poison. The mage was mutated from the unique trait to enhance the power of any power being used, whether it was someone else’s or its own skill.

The poison spell was much stronger than normal poison. She didn’t mind if Noah stayed in the poison even longer.

But suddenly, her ”gaze” snapped behind her skeletal warrior. It wasn’t just her, but the skeleton snapped its body in the same direction, rotating its shield to block whatever was behind it. And that was when four compressed spheres connected with its shield. The attack destroyed the ground surrounding it, digging nearly five feet deep from where the skeletons’ shield was implanted.

Seeing Noah behind her creature, the angel looked back to the silhouette that was caught in the poison to see that he was no longer there. Her confusion lingered for a second, her mind quickly processing everything that had happened when she realized the signs. The bloodthirst aura that particular Noah carried wasn’t there, his abyssal aura didn’t have a scent that was prevalent for all Angels to pick up. She realized it was an illusion all along.

Panic wasn’t something angels were meant to feel. Not truly. But when she heard the murmurs. The faltering of blind praise. The cracking of awe. She became aware that the humans were losing faith in her.

She turned back to the humans in a hurry, her radiant aura pulsing, sparing part of her energy to invigorate them. She spoke quickly, but with the forced calm of someone who was trying to keep their emotions in order.

”I cannot defeat this evil creature alone! If I die, I will be welcomed back in the graces of the heavenly father, for I have done everything I can to uphold his ideals. But what will happen to you? I can sense it, that devil has the power to bind your souls to his, you will not receive salvation after you die by his hands, nor will the almighty hear your cries once your souls are chained to that devil’s will!”

Her voice echoed, impossibly beautiful, but less divine, her tone was almost commanding, but her divinity allowed the human emotional state to look past it. She floated slightly higher, extending her arms so the light would sweep over the crowd once more.

”I don’t ask for your worship. I ask for faith. Let me fight with you, not just for you. Submit, not to me, but for the opportunity to prosper. Trust in the path, and I will lead you through the fire.”

For a few seconds, there was only silence.

But when another explosion sounded, when Noah’s deranged roars entered their ears, his savagery seemed to be growing stronger, it was the trigger to what the angel was waiting for.

From the many people within the room, a man raised his hands to the sky, shouting. ”I believe! I believe! Save us, please!” and his cries lit a flame among those nearest him. Others echoed the words, their voices desperate to cling to anything that promised survival.

The Angel looked down to them, in that moment she realized the crowd was hers. But now was the hardest part.

She could feel their devotion; she could feel her grasp on their soul. With just one thought she could simply remove the souls from those who had willingly offered themselves to her. But the souls available weren’t enough for what she needed. She needed just a few more. Or...someone who could be used as a proper catalyst for what she planned.

”I can feel your sincerity, and the heavenly father can hear your devotion to his cause. For that, I have been given the right, the opportunity, to allow one of you to transcend your mortality, to fight with me against the purge of this world. Are any of you willing?”

The silence that followed was short, but heavy. The idea of transcending was almost too great to grasp. The mortal minds struggled to wrap around it. But the Angel could feel their eagerness. The yearning.

On the floor above, where those of imaginary higher status were hidden. They pressed to the edges of the stairway, peering down in awe-struck silence as they looked upon the angel. They heard the voices rising in fervent chants. Screams of ”Save us!”, of ”Take me.” They originally heard the angel’s plea for submission, to give her power, but just a one-sided deal wasn’t enough to risk their safety.

Yet when they heard the angel giving a sole individual the option to obtain divine power, power that would take no effort to obtain besides to offer their ”loyalty,” their...”faith.” The greedy and selfish of those above began to make their presence known.

”Why only them?” Someone hissed from above.

”We deserve the same! We believe too, our faith is no less worthy than theirs!”

”I have served the Church my whole life! Choose me! I shall abide to Gods’ will.”

The Angel turned her gaze upward. She was pleased but not satisfied. The humans residing on the upper floors weren’t as useful as those in front of her. Their souls were more polluted than the others, weaker. Five of those meager souls would equal one of the humans that were considered awakened.

But the Angel wouldn’t shy away from more resources to secure her victory. And these souls would still serve their purpose and be rewarded when they are directed to the almighty.

The humans pulled themselves down the stairs. Each human that descended was bathed in the same holy aura as the others, making them feel even more ecstatic in their decision.

Meanwhile, when the angel’s aura engulfed two particular humans, she sensed something within them that was tied to the devil. And that’s when she remembered the pair.

Deep down she was both relieved and filled with the pride of a child that had received the acknowledgement of her parents, she felt that God had given her a blessing, he didn’t send her on this test blindly.