Free Web NovelChapter 340: Sole God Of Earth
"Damian..." Clara gasped softly, but the words died in her throat before she could continue.
Ever since joining the Order of Moses, she had been exposed to the hidden side of the world ordinary humans never knew existed. She had seen demons butcher innocent people, angels wage unseen wars across the globe, and monsters capable of erasing entire cities if left unchecked.
Yet through all of those experiences, every time she remembered the Damian she once knew, she could never find any resemblance between him and those creatures.
The Damian she remembered smiled. He laughed and cared about ordinary people. He rarely got embarrassed but it occasionally happens.
He was human.
But the towering giant standing before her now looked no different from the demons she had spent months hunting.
For the first time, a frightening thought entered her mind.
Was it because she left?
Had her absence driven him down this path?
Damian’s three pupils slowly shifted toward her. He stared silently for a brief moment before looking away as though the answer no longer mattered.
His attention returned to Linda. Without warning, his massive hand stretched forward.
Thud!
His palm wrapped around her entire head.
Compared to his enormous fingers, Linda’s head looked no bigger than a football held in the hand of an ordinary man. Her feet instinctively left the floor as she struggled to steady herself, both hands grabbing his wrist in pure instinct.
"Wait!" she cried desperately.
Damian stopped.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
His grip remained firm, but it loosened just enough for her to breathe comfortably.
"You are a good person," Linda said quickly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact despite the overwhelming pressure. "I have always known that."
Damian frowned faintly.
He could not deny those words.
Their encounters had been rare throughout the years, but every single time Linda had spoken in his defense. Even when Corbin became obsessed with proving Damian was the Sin of Lust, Linda had repeatedly dismissed him as paranoid.
She had never hated him. If anything she had always had a crush on him.
"And I know you don’t want to hurt humans," she continued carefully. "So don’t you think destroying the church will expose this world to demons?"
Damian raised an eyebrow. Under normal circumstances, her concern would have been perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, the demons she feared were already his.
"When was the last time you heard of supernatural activity claiming the lives of innocent people anywhere in Chicago after the Order withdrew from the state?"
Buzz!
Linda froze as she instinctively searched her memories.
The last large scale supernatural conflict within Chicago had indeed involved several rogue demons fleeing from Damian’s own subordinates. After that battle, both the Order and the Church shifted most of their attention overseas because of the conflict in Lebanon.
Since then there had been political upheaval and the explosive rise of the Ministry of Love. But there had not been a single major supernatural attack against civilians.
Not one.
Linda’s breathing slowed. The more she thought about it, the stranger everything became.
Gang violence had practically disappeared after Twenty unified Chicago’s criminal underworld. The city’s poorest neighborhoods had begun receiving aid through Damian’s growing political influence.
Faceless had healed the sick, restored the crippled and inspired hope across the nation. The city had become quieter, safer and arguably more prosperous.
It was difficult to admit but Chicago was arguably experiencing the greatest period of peace in its modern history.
Her eyes slowly widened.
"All of this..." she whispered. "Was you?"
Damian slowly nodded.
"Under my watch, Chicago has become the safest place in the world both physically and spiritually." His voice remained calm. "Now tell me..."
He looked directly into Linda’s eyes.
"Do you truly believe your angels care about humans as much as I do?"
Before she could answer, his fingers tightened slightly around her head.
Buzz!
Her vision blurred as Damian forced her memories to surface. Despite trying to resist the stinging pain in her head, memories surged uncontrollably through her mind.
She saw herself running desperately through deserted streets while two demons pursued her. She remembered looking upward and her guardian angel had been there, watching and dloating silently above the battle.
It never intervened simply because it believed her faith had wavered for a single moment.
More memories surfaced yet every pair of heavenly eyes carried the same detached expression. It always felt as if they protected humanity because it was their assignment.
Not because they loved humans.
Deep down Linda was afraid to be left alone with an angel.
Damian released her and Linda collapsed onto both knees.
Thud!
Her breathing became ragged as she stared blankly at the floor, unable to process what she had just witnessed.
"This planet is safer under my protection," Damian said coldly while looking down at her trembling figure. "And you know it."
Without another word, he turned away. His enormous wings folded neatly behind his back as he calmly walked toward the couch.
He sat down once again and crossed one leg over the other.
Rin leapt gracefully onto his lap, curling comfortably against him while Damian rested his jaw upon one hand.
"Angels won’t hurt you so long as you continue praying to them," Damian explained evenly. "Demons hurt you so you fear them. Both manipulate humanity through emotion. They simply harvest different kinds."
His gaze swept across both women.
"I am neither."
He gently stroked Rin’s back.
"I am a human who possesses the powers that can challenge both heaven and hell. The only being on this planet truly capable of protecting humanity from those who see mankind as nothing more than livestock."
Silence consumed the living room as Clara and Linda simply stared.
Every instinct drilled into them by the Church screamed that demons were evil while angels represented justice. Yet every piece of evidence Damian presented supported the opposite conclusion.
The conflict inside their minds became visible upon their faces and Damian observed them quietly.
This was exactly why he intended to eradicate every senior member of the Church and the Order of Moses.
People with decades of indoctrination could not simply forget. Even wiping away their memories would never guarantee the chains placed upon their souls had truly been broken.
He refused to gamble humanity’s future on uncertainty. The weeds had to be uprooted completely.
"So..." Linda finally asked after gathering herself, her voice noticeably calmer than before. "What exactly is your grand plan?"
Damian answered without hesitation.
"Wipe out every religious faction on this planet then replace them with mine. Humanity requires one religion and one God. That God is me."
Linda remained silent. Suddenly Clara pulled herself free from Hazel’s already relaxed grip. She hurried across the room before stopping directly before Damian.
"Well... I have an angel companion now. I’m officially part of the Order of Moses" she declared while looking hom directly in the eyes. "So tell me. Will you kill me too?"
The room became utterly silent and Damian slowly raised his head. His gray eyes darkened into pools of murderous violet.
"You what?"
Boom!
An overwhelming wave of killing intent erupted from Damian’s body. The temperature inside the room plummeted instantly. Every window rattled violently and furniture groaned beneath the crushing pressure.
Clara finally understood that for the first time since arriving, she had truly angered him.
