Becoming a Monster

Chapter 327: Chapter 327: Dread Disguised as Hope

The Seraphim’s victory was close at hand. Each injury inflicted with its divine sword was consuming the slime that made up Noah’s body. The pool of slime that covered the ground was completely gone. Noah had to absorb any residual slime into his body unless he wanted to lose it needlessly to the Seraphim’s Domain.

And yet, even with this advantage, even though she knew the devil was not that far away from being dealt his rightful judgement, the Angel was going to flee.

What she saw was a creature that her instincts told her was something that should not exist, something that rejected creation itself, rejected her father’s Divine energy.

The creature’s body was slowly coming out of the mist. No...it was better to say that the mist was creating the creature’s body.

Only the frontal part of the creature was distinguishable, a creature, a monstrous vampire that looked deranged, far beyond any curse or bloodthirst.

The creature stood tall, nearing 7 feet. its entire body was a pale white. The texture was as if bone had become flesh. Even now she could see gaps within that ”flesh” as if the flesh was functioning as an outer skeleton.

Muscles formed all around the creature, muscles made out of that same ”flesh” but darker than its exterior layer.

The creature’s body itself looked to be a deadly weapon. Hands that could grip her entire face were further accentuated with bladed fingers twice the size of its palms. Around her body, almost every part of her sprouted tiny sharp looking spikes that it wore as decoration, a sign that even its physical existence was as twisted and malevolent as the energy that created it. And alongside its forearms and shoulders were curved spikes created with nefarious intentions.

The only thing that mirrored the vampires she knew were the eyes, those bottomless, starved eyes, and the pointed teeth, wickedly protruding even when its mouth was closed in a mockery of a smile.

As the creature took another step forward, the mist behind it finally receded to where it wildly floated behind the creature’s head. It wasn’t there to create anything else; it merely became an extension of the creature’s hair. The ends floated slightly, never settling, as if the energy had its own will.

The angel was already in the air preparing for her escape. She had already calculated her path to leave, but before she left, one lone ball of holy energy materialized between her two palms. The energy wasn’t nearly as strong as even one of Noah’s condensed mana spheres, but still, she hoped the attack would dissuade the creature from attacking her.

The sphere darted towards the creature, the speed was fast, but not so fast that it couldn’t be evaded. And yet the creature didn’t move, its ”smile” widened more, sadistically, as if it took joy in watching the angel squirm.

The sphere landed squarely into the creature’s face. The Angel’s turbulent emotions felt a sense of relief, believing that maybe she had nothing to be afraid of after all if the creature was unable to even react to her attack.

But the relief shattered a moment later. The light exploded against the creature’s face; holy fire burst into a radiant flare. The angel hovered near the ceiling, edging toward the skylight, her gaze locked on the outcome of her attack.

Watching closely, the results of her attack were revealed, and it was then that the light within the angel flickered.

The creature wasn’t damaged at all, instead...it was...laughing?

The creature’s mouth moved strangely up and down, it was cackling, yet no sound was coming out.

And the intensity in its eyes became much more expressive. It gave off the sensation of a creature that would prey on its target without hesitation, without waste. Without any other reason other than the pleasure of devouring her.

The creature didn’t move, not just yet. It seemed to already know what the Angel was planning. And before the Angels eyes, two giant, twisted bat-like wings suddenly sprouted behind it. They were malformed, veined with blackened pulsing tendrils while the exterior of its wings was coated with the mysterious dark energy soon after.

Crash!

The Angel didn’t need to see anymore. There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation when the sound of the skylight sounded. She was already gone, soaring through the broken opening, trailing streaks of holy light. Her form blurred, not from speed alone, but from sheer desperation. She didn’t look back; she didn’t need to. She could feel it, behind her that presence was locked onto once again. The creature was too fast!

If the Angel could, she would cry, cry from the unnamable dread of what might happen to her if the creature caught her. She didn’t know what would happen to her; she didn’t need to know. Her instincts, her soul, told her that she would no longer exist if that creature was to catch her.

There would be no judgment, no punishment, no purification. There would be nothing. Not even ashes. Not even a whisper of her existence left.

Her soul wouldn’t rise, wouldn’t fall. Wouldn’t be reborn. Wouldn’t return to God.

Because in the depths of that creature’s mana, she felt the end of all cycles, a hunger that devoured the concept of salvation itself.

The Angel had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. But she had to hope, she desperately prayed for a miracle.

This led her to fly towards the sun, her hands in prayer as she called for God to hear her plea. She had long noticed before that her connection to heaven was distinct, almost nonexistent. It didn’t make sense to her. The mortal realm was always connected to heaven, yet four days ago the connection to that bridge was somehow cut off for unknown reasons.

If she had known this was going to happen, she would’ve never answered the call to that mortal. But it wasn’t just her, other Angels were being called to the mortal realm, and everyone desired to understand why the mortal realm was cut off from heaven.

And now, those days had passed, witnessing the abominations that should only belong in hell. She began to believe that this was a trap. A lure from hell, set by The Devil himself. First it was the surge of Revenants, and then the devil spawn, and now the creature behind her was the final proof she needed.

But this is what led her to believe in one more miracle. If hell was able to manipulate the mortal realm, then surely, the Heavenly Father, the one who The Devil feared, would be able to break through whatever barrier The Devil placed over the realm, even if only once.

She didn’t care if she was punished for leaving the battle, for letting a devil roam free. She didn’t care that she’d abandoned the Seraphim. She wanted to live.

She poured everything into that single desperate prayer as she soared higher.

”If you hear me,” She whispered, her voice cracking from overwhelming emotions and yet she still controlled herself not to raise her voice when asking for God’s ears. ”Then please...Let your light reach me...Let me come ho-”

Before she could finish her prayer, she only briefly felt a presence hovering above her before she felt two prodding fangs enter her neck. her voice suddenly froze. Her body stiffened.

The energy that radiated from the creature was injected directly into her, tainting her. Her halo shimmered, flickering from its usual brightness to a transparent nothingness. The darkness in her wings spread even more, much more quickly than before.

But those changes were inconsequential to what was happening inside of her. The Angel felt the blood of the vessel she took over being drained. Blood that was directly merged with her divinity. And at the same time, she felt her divine faith being drained along with it.

She had never heard of creatures that could do this. Not even vampires were capable of such atrocities.

And it wasn’t just her divinity. As Ava was draining the Angel of everything that made up her existence, the Angel began to relive memories. Memories of the time she spent as an angel, the memory of when she was first accepted into the pearly gates. Then...she remembered when she was a mortal, the family she once had, the family she had lost.

In her final moments, what should have been holy fury or pleading resistance collapsed into quiet awe. She remembered the scent of her mother’s hair, her child’s laughter. For a moment, she unknowingly wished to delve into those memories just a bit longer.

But then, those memories slowly started to fade. Each memory becoming distant... cold.

”N-No!”

Her hand reached out. Not towards God, but towards the loving family she wished to see once again. The memories of her child that were once so vivid. Now all she could see was a child with a blurred face. The silhouette of people she felt she knew.

And slowly, she was even forgetting about her experiences in heaven.

All the while, Ava hovered in the air. Her nails sunk into the Angel’s flesh as she savored the first taste of her revenge. Her eyes reflected a sense of memories transferring into her consciousness. And at the same time, a faint ring of golden pupils entered her eyes.