My Family in the Novel?

"Hmm... as expected, they don't taste good when they're already dead," Adrian mumbled to himself, his voice echoing amidst the eerie silence that enveloped the scene.

He surveyed the aftermath of his macabre experiment, his eyes flickering with a mix of curiosity and satisfaction.

Among the six angels he had used for his study, he had discovered a grim truth: the fresher the kill, the more delectable the soul.

With each step he took, Adrian's laughter reverberated through the air, mingling with the scent of golden blood that stained the ground beneath him.

The last remaining angel, her once-pristine white body now marred with claw marks, cowered before him in a futile attempt to escape her inevitable fate.

Her eyes widened with dread and fear as she beheld the monstrous entity before her—a being whose very presence exuded an aura of darkness and malevolence.

"What's your name, Dove?" Adrian inquired, his voice laced with a twisted sense of curiosity.

The angel, overcome by a sense of terror that gripped her very soul, could only stare at Adrian in stunned silence.

The weight of the situation bore down upon her, rendering her momentarily speechless.

But as she caught sight of Adrian's snarling teeth and the dark energy that radiated from them, her faculties returned, and she hastily responded, her voice trembling with fear.

"E-Emilia... my name is Emilia," she stammered, her words faltering despite her efforts to maintain composure.

The realization of her predicament washed over her like a tidal wave, filling her with a sense of despair as she braced herself for the horrors that awaited her at the hands of this monstrous being.

"Emilia, huh... that's a very beautiful name," Adrian murmured, his voice dripping with a perverse sense of admiration as he studied the trembling angel before him. With a predatory grin, he licked his lips, savoring the fear that radiated from her.

His hands, composed of swirling darkness, caressed her cheek before trailing down to her chin as he knelt before her.

"You know what would happen if I just close my hand like this, right?" he whispered, his tone laced with a sinister edge.

Emilia hesitantly nodded, fully aware of the immense power at Adrian's disposal. With just a flick of his wrist, he could crush her fragile form into nothingness.

"You see, during that little experiment, there was something I almost forgot," Adrian continued, his voice low and hypnotic.

"A question that I have always been curious about ever since your creator started to make a move."

His spikey hands then moved to her chest, the sharp claws threatening to pierce through her delicate skin.

Despite inflicting little physical harm, the sensation of his touch sent waves of excruciating pain coursing through Emilia's body. It was a torment beyond comprehension—a pain that seemed to sear her very soul.

As golden blood spilled from the wounds, Emilia struggled to comprehend the depths of Adrian's depravity.

He had become a natural poison to their kind, a being far more insidious and crueler than any demon she had encountered.

And in that moment, she realized the true extent of the danger they faced—a danger embodied by the monstrous entity kneeling before her.

The true reason as to why their revered mother was acting so paranoid...

"What exactly is the goddess planning?" Adrian's voice dripped with curiosity as a sinister smile played upon his lips.

"I-I don't know—" Emilia began to explain, but her words were cut short by a sudden jolt of agony that tore through her being. A guttural scream escaped her lips as the claw pointed at her chest pierced through her skin, injecting a dark, poisonous miasma into her divine body.

Adrian's smile widened at her torment. "I don't like lies, you know, Emilia," he taunted, his voice laced with cruelty.

"P-Please, I really don't know... Ahhh!!!" Emilia's plea was drowned out by another wave of excruciating pain. With each passing moment, the agony intensified, threatening to consume her completely.

As the torment persisted, Emilia felt a sense of despair wash over her. Her once-pristine white wings began to undergo a grotesque transformation, their divine radiance fading as they darkened and became tainted by corruption. For an angel of her stature, the degradation of her divinity was an unthinkable disgrace—a fate worse than death.

Despite her best efforts to resist, Emilia found herself powerless against the relentless onslaught of pain and corruption. Trapped in a nightmarish cycle of torment, she could only watch helplessly as her essence was twisted and defiled by the malevolent force that surrounded her.

"Please, I really don't know," she pleaded desperately, her voice barely audible amidst the chaos of her suffering. But in the presence of the monstrous being before her, she knew that her words held little sway.

Emilia trembled with fear, her body paralyzed by the sheer terror of her predicament. In her heart, she longed for escape, even if it meant being devoured rather than enduring the degradation she now faced. For an archangel of her stature, this was a fate worse than death—a humiliation that cut to the core of her being.

As Adrian grinned, reveling in the anguish of his prey, his sadistic enjoyment was abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of another figure. A doll-like being interposed itself between them, its lifeless eyes fixed upon Adrian with a silent intensity.

"Sis?"

"Ian... calm down," the doll-like figure spoke, its voice soft yet firm.

Adrian cocked his head in confusion….

"But I am calm," he protested, his gaze shifting to meet the reflection of his own monstrous visage in his sister's porcelain eyes. In that moment, he saw the truth—the malevolent grin etched upon his face, the joy he derived from tormenting the helpless angel before him.

With a soft exhale, Adrian's energy subsided, the poison that had been seeping into Emilia's being coming to an abrupt halt. Collapsing to the ground amidst the remnants of her kind, Emilia gasped for air, her body wracked with sobs as she coughed up golden blood.

In the wake of the chaos, a sense of relief washed over her—a fleeting respite from the torment that had threatened to consume her soul.

And as she lay amidst the debris of her fallen brethren, Emilia wept, her tears mingling with the golden blood that stained the muddy ground beneath her.

"You're getting too intoxicated with your newfound powers, Ian," Nyarla's voice cut through the tense atmosphere, her eyes narrowing as she observed Adrian's transformation.

"You can't even access your human form anymore," she pointed out, her tone laced with concern.

As Nyarla approached, Adrian instinctively raised his hands, but instead of reaching out to her, tendrils of darkness snaked forth, ensnaring her in their grasp.

Despite his efforts to control himself, Adrian found himself succumbing to the overwhelming power coursing through his veins.

"I know you're having a hard time controlling yourself right now, Ian," Nyarla continued, her voice soft yet firm. "But the more you succumb to such power, the more likely you'll forget about the humanity you've securely locked deep inside of you. Do you want Elena, Aria, Louise, and Ana to see you like this?"

With a gentle touch, Nyarla reached out and traced Adrian's ever-changing face, a gesture imbued with both warmth and authority.

In that moment, memories long buried beneath layers of darkness began to stir, rising to the surface like a dam bursting forth.

As if her words had triggered a floodgate, Adrian felt a surge of emotion wash over him.

Memories of the best moments of his life flooded his mind, each one a testament to the humanity he had fought so hard to suppress.

And in that moment of clarity, he realized the truth of Nyarla's words.

'Yeah... that's right... how could I forget?'

As the darkness surrounding him began to dissipate, Adrian felt a sense of relief wash over him.

Slowly but surely, his grotesque form shifted, his features morphing into those of a man with black hair and sharp, defined features. His ashen gray eyes, once obscured by darkness, now gleamed with a glimmer of humanity.

Though the shadows still clung to him, Adrian had regained a semblance of his former self—a testament to the power of Nyarla's words and the bond they shared as siblings. Despite the lingering intoxication of his newfound abilities, he could feel a sense of calm settling over him, a respite from the insatiable hunger for destruction that had consumed him.

"Thank you, sis," Adrian murmured, his voice tinged with gratitude as he looked up at Nyarla.

"You're welcome," Nyarla replied softly, her hand gently patting his head in a gesture of comfort and reassurance.

With each stroke of her hand, Adrian felt the corrupted rhythm of his heart begin to steady, the tumultuous storm within him gradually subsiding.

Memories of their childhood flooded his mind, each one a testament to the unwavering support and love she had always shown him.

Truly, during his darkest moments, Nyarla had been his constant anchor—a guiding light in the midst of chaos.

As he basked in her presence, Adrian couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude swell within him. "I can't thank you enough, sis," he whispered, his voice filled with genuine appreciation for the sister who had always been there for him, no matter the cost.

Satisfied with Adrian's response, Nyarla turned her attention back to the struggling Emilia, a calculating glint in her eyes. "Ian... do you want to eat her?" she inquired, her voice laced with a hint of malice.

Adrian paused, his hunger for souls gnawing at him, but his newly regained logic and reasoning prevailed. With a shake of his head, he dismissed the idea.

There was no need to further torment or consume Emilia; he had already achieved what he set out to do with his experiment.

As for the unanswered question lingering in his mind, he knew he could seek answers from the goddess herself when they eventually confronted each other.

"No... there's no point in doing that now,"

"Then how about you make use of her?" Nyarla suggested, her words accompanied by the encroaching darkness that wrapped around Emilia like tentacles.

The inky shadows seized hold of her limbs, spreading them in opposite directions, tearing at her pristine white dress as they burned with black flames.

With her legs forcibly spread open, Emilia lay vulnerable and exposed before them, her dignity stripped away by the merciless grip of darkness.

"N-no... Please, I'm begging you..." Emilia's voice trembled with fear and desperation as she pleaded for mercy, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized the horrifying position she was in. "Please, anything but that," she implored, her words strained and broken as she struggled against the darkness that ensnared her.

"…." As Adrian watched the scene unfold, confusion furrowed his brow.

"What are you doing, sis?" he questioned, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Hmm? Do you not like it?"

Nyarla's response was laced with amusement, her smile never faltering as she met Adrian's gaze with an enigmatic glint in her eyes.

"…." Adrian could only stare in disbelief at his sister's words, the absurdity of the situation leaving him momentarily speechless.

While he knew Nyarla wasn't particularly fond of humans, her actions towards Emilia seemed to defy logic. The thought of subjecting the angel to such degradation went against everything he knew about his sister's character.

Yet, as he looked upon her unwavering smile, Adrian realized that Nyarla was deadly serious.