Chapter 705 - 704: A Villain is Never Born

Chapter 705: Chapter 704: A Villain is Never Born

The angel offered no immediate response, prompting Malachi to continue.

’We’ve already suffered enough losses, and you’ve admitted that you might not possess the power to defeat him alone. So why insist on continuing this battle when we could withdraw and gather our remaining strength?’

His frustration grew as he considered just how many resources they had yet to employ.

’There are other archbishops we can call upon, and the cardinals can definitely help if we involve them. And if the Devil is truly as dangerous as you claim, then we can request the apostles’ intervention!’

To Malachi, the solution seemed obvious.

Even if Noah managed to escape today, that didn’t mean he would remain beyond their reach forever. The Church had spent centuries establishing its influence, and there was no reason to believe that a single defeat would leave it incapable of mounting another offensive.

’We don’t need to defeat him today. As long as we survive, we can regroup and return with enough strength to ensure that he won’t stand a chance!’

But the angel didn’t share his opinion.

’You continue to place the preservation of your life above the duty entrusted to you.’

Malachi’s expression darkened.

’I’m talking about preserving our forces! What good will it do Heaven if everyone here dies attempting something we might not even be capable of accomplishing?’

’Those who serve God must never allow their fear of death to prevent them from carrying out His will. And the Devil is not an enemy we can afford to leave alive.’

The angel’s voice remained unwavering.

’You have witnessed how rapidly his strength has grown. Every creature he consumes, every enemy he overcomes, presents another opportunity for him to become more powerful. If we allow him to escape now, there is no guarantee that even the forces you speak of will be capable of defeating him when we confront him again.’

Malachi couldn’t entirely dismiss that possibility.

He had witnessed enough of the devil’s abilities to recognize how dangerous his continued growth could be. But that didn’t change the fact that they were gambling everything on a battle whose outcome was far from certain.

’And what if you fail? What if the Devil defeats you as well? Wouldn’t that leave us in an even worse position than if we had retreated?’

’Then I will have given my existence in service of God’s will. There is no greater purpose for which one of His servants could perish.’

Malachi fell silent.

For the angel, the possibility of dying seemed to carry little significance compared to the importance of destroying God’s enemy.

But Malachi couldn’t understand why she was so unwilling to consider the alternatives he had presented. Was it really so unreasonable to suggest that they should preserve their remaining strength rather than throw away the lives of everyone already present?

And if Heaven truly valued those who devoted themselves to its service, shouldn’t preserving them matter as well?

The thought brought Malachi back to some of the decisions he had made throughout his years in the Church.

He had ordered executions, permitted innocent people to suffer, and justified countless sacrifices in God’s name. And deep down, Malachi had always known that many of those actions were anything but righteous.

But that had never particularly troubled him.

If anything, there had been a certain satisfaction in knowing that he could commit acts others would be condemned for, all while being praised for his devotion to God. As long as he claimed to be carrying out Heaven’s will, even the most questionable of his decisions could be treated as righteous.

And for years, he had enjoyed that privilege without giving much thought to those who suffered because of it.

Never once had he imagined that he might find himself on the receiving end of that same justification.

Yet now that his own life was being treated as expendable, Malachi was beginning to understand just how different those justifications felt when he was the one expected to suffer for them.

’You cannot seriously believe that wanting to preserve our lives makes us unworthy of serving God. I’ve spent decades advancing Heaven’s interests, and there are still countless ways I could continue doing so. Why should all of that be discarded when we haven’t even exhausted our options?’

But the angel had no intention of entertaining his argument any further.

’You have already received your judgment.’

Malachi opened his mouth to protest, but before he could utter another word, a strange weakness began spreading throughout his body.

At first, he assumed it was merely exhaustion from the ritual. But when he attempted to summon his holy energy, he discovered that his power wasn’t responding as it should.

And even more troubling was the sensation that something deep within him was gradually being drawn away.

’Wait! What are you doing?’

His anger began giving way to alarm as he realized that the angel’s presence within his consciousness was growing increasingly faint.

’We haven’t finished speaking! You can’t just take away everything I’ve earned because I refused to die for you!’

But there was no response.

Instead, through the sight Heaven had granted him, Malachi caught a glimpse of something emerging from his body.

A translucent, golden figure.

He could barely distinguish its shape before it began ascending toward the Seraphim, and when he attempted to follow its movements, he realized that his vision was beginning to fail.

The golden figure grew increasingly difficult to perceive, followed by the forest and then the world itself.

Malachi desperately tried to maintain his sight, but the darkness continued spreading until he could no longer perceive anything at all.

And with the disappearance of that vision came another realization.

The strength he had relied upon for so many years was gone with it.

His legs trembled, and he struggled to remain standing as he attempted once more to summon his holy energy.

His attempts were met with the same terrifying emptiness, leaving him with no choice but to confront the possibility that the power he had relied upon for so many years had truly been taken from him.

Malachi had known that the angel intended to strip him of his position, but until that moment, some part of him had refused to believe she would actually go through with it.

What made it even more infuriating was how easily she had done it. There had been no hesitation, no consideration for the years he had spent serving Heaven, and certainly no concern for what would become of him afterward. She had simply decided that he was no longer worthy, and everything he had worked for had been taken away.

Yet no matter how desperately he attempted to contact her, the presence that had accompanied him for so many years was no longer there to answer.

And as Malachi stood there, abandoned by the very Heaven he had spent his life serving, the fear of what might happen to him was gradually being overshadowed by his growing hatred toward those responsible.

Meanwhile, the golden figure that had departed from Malachi continued ascending until it finally reached the Seraphim.

The celestial being’s wings stiffened, and the countless blue eyes scattered across their feathers began closing as another consciousness entered its body.

Its own awareness gradually receded, yielding control to the angel who had been waiting for the ritual’s completion.

And as her presence settled within the vessel, the Seraphim’s appearance began to change.

The feathers concealing its face slowly parted, revealing the features of a woman. Long strands of pale hair emerged and flowed over her shoulders, while ornate armor began forming across her chest and arms.

The feathers covering her lower half remained, settling into overlapping layers as the transformation continued.

Eventually, the changes came to an end.

The angel spared Malachi a brief glance, but her attention didn’t remain on him for long.

As she surveyed the battlefield, her eyes reflected their dire situation.

Their losses were already approaching a point from which there would be little hope of recovering, and the sight nearly caused her anger to surface.

After all, much of this could have been avoided if Malachi’s faith hadn’t wavered when Heaven needed him most.

Unfortunately, there was little she could do about that now.

The remaining celestial beings were no longer fighting. If she had any hope of defeating the devil as he was now, she couldn’t let him take any of their souls. It would be better to send them back to heaven.

There was still a chance to fight alongside them while the devil was preoccupied. If she could make the devil suffer a loss by killing his strongest subordinates, she still had a chance to minimize their losses.

But doing so would waste time they could no longer afford.

The Seraphim currently fighting the Devil was the only reason she had been given this opportunity in the first place. Without its assistance, she had little hope of gathering enough power to confront the Devil herself.

And considering what was happening when the Devil blocked her consciousness out, the seraphim couldn’t hold on much longer.

She couldn’t afford to delay.

Her gaze lingered on the remaining humans, who continued fighting alongside them and the faithful who had carried Heaven’s will by summoning its warriors.

She knew what would likely happen to them once she left. Without her or the other celestials’ intervention, there was little reason to believe they would survive.

Yet there was no hesitation in her decision.

Their sacrifices would not be meaningless as long as she succeeded in destroying the devil. If their deaths were what it took to ensure that God’s will was fulfilled, then they would have served their purpose.

With that thought, the angel spread her wings and took flight, leaving the battlefield behind as she hurried toward the Devil.

But in her haste, she failed to notice something taking place below.

Malachi, who had remained motionless ever since losing his connection to Heaven, suddenly began to chuckle.

At first, it was little more than a faint, almost disbelieving laugh. But rather than subsiding, it gradually grew louder, taking on an increasingly unsettling quality.

There was something almost hysterical about it, as though the despair of losing everything he had spent his life working toward had finally begun to overwhelm his sanity.

As his laughter continued, the dark aura still lingering across the battlefield began seeping into his body.

But unlike the other creatures who had willingly accepted Noah’s influence, Malachi’s body was absorbing it at an astonishing rate.

It was almost as though something deep within him was greedily devouring every trace of the aura it could grab, drawing in far more than even those who had willingly surrendered themselves to the Devil.

And despite the extraordinary amount he had already absorbed, his body showed no signs of reaching its limit.

If anything, the more he absorbed, the more desperately his body seemed to crave it.

Yet Malachi showed no signs of noticing.

He simply continued laughing, his voice growing increasingly unhinged as Noah’s influence slowly took hold.