Humm—
The Altar of Wrath gave a low, mournful groan.
The silver cloud of data enveloping it churned and evaporated beneath the black-red beam, hissing like cold water splashed into boiling oil.
The data streams that had been analyzing the altar's structure were scattered in an instant by the violent surge of soul energy.
"Warning: high-concentration soul contamination detected."
"Analysis protocol interrupted. Logic units overloaded."
"Activating emergency isolation procedure..."
Inside the Annihilator Mecha, crimson warning windows flashed across Season Star's display.
On the city wall, Richard's body shook violently.
Countless strange black-red patterns surfaced on his skin. They seemed alive, slowly crawling across his body.
Power beyond anything he had known filled every part of him, but an overwhelming madness was eating away at his reason.
He felt he was no longer Richard. He was wrath itself.
The soldiers and commanders around him stared in horror.
They could sense that Richard's presence had become utterly alien and terrifying.
He was no longer a divine envoy, but a Demon God risen from hell.
"For my lord..."
An inhuman growl escaped Richard's throat as he reached for another trembling general.
Fear was the best fuel.
Just then, the Altar of Wrath outside the city underwent a startling transformation.
The altar, built from the bones of Fallen Angels, began to swell and warp violently after absorbing that pure soul energy.
Black-red energy spread across its surface like flesh, swallowing the stark white bones whole.
At the altar's summit, a denser mass of black-red energy gathered above the empty throne.
The mass writhed without pause, finally taking on the vague outline of a person.
It had no features or limbs, only a body of energy formed from pure wrath and hatred.
But the moment it "sat" upon the throne, the entire battlefield fell silent.