Chapter 58: The God Among Mortals
"Oh my God!!!"
Everyone looked as though they had seen a ghost—no, as though they had seen God.
Were their eyes deceiving them? Could the wings on Chang Wei's back possibly be an illusion or some elaborate special effect?
The wings on Chang Wei's back were modeled after Moonlit lunar form, or rather, their true form's wings. After all, the angel wings often depicted in paintings and sculptures were far too small and unimposing for his taste. He wanted something that could leave a lasting impact. Judging by the stunned expressions on so many faces, he had succeeded.
His eyes had also transformed into a regal, icy gold. This slight yet profound change completely altered Chang Wei's aura, making him an entirely different being from before.
At the very least, Alice and Jill could no longer associate Chang Wei with the goofy priest from earlier. Now, he was nothing less than a god walking among mortals.
Clad in his immaculate, pure white priestly uniform, Chang Wei stood out even more. In an era where the Holy Church had swept away all other religions and left them in mere survival mode—especially here in Umbrella-controlled America—such an appearance was more effective than any weapon.
For Alice and her companions, this shock was relatively manageable. After all, they had already been led to believe by Chang Wei's prior antics that he was an exorcist priest. Even Peyton, infected with the T-virus, had been cured by him. But discovering that this "exorcist priest" wasn't an exorcist priest at all, but an angel? How could they not be astounded?
An angel!!!
Even Dr. Ashford, a staunch materialist, involuntarily slid from his wheelchair onto his knees.
"Holy Lord above…"
Some of the devoutly religious soldiers under Umbrella even dropped to their knees outright.
"Stand up! Do not kneel! This is merely a projection!"
Supervisor Lewis Witt was terrified, drenched in cold sweat. However, as a staunch atheist, he managed to maintain some level of composure despite Chang Wei's awe-inspiring display.
But Umbrella's soldiers weren't fools. They may not have had Lewis Witt's level of education, but they had witnessed supernatural events firsthand. That enormous pair of wings could not possibly be man-made. If it were just a projection, could it be this vivid? This lifelike?
"Fire!"
Left with no other choice, Lewis Witt ordered the Nemesis to fire at Chang Wei. It was the only entity he could still command to act.
The bio-weapon raised its arm-mounted Gatling gun and opened fire at Chang Wei.
"Ratatatatatata…!"
The deafening gunfire filled the air, as everyone fixed their eyes on the collision between modern weaponry and a mythical being. After all, aside from mythological creatures, humanity had no opponents left on Earth.
Lewis Witt brimmed with confidence. As long as it was made of flesh and blood, nothing could withstand the firepower of modern weaponry. Guns and artillery—tools capable of grinding steel into powder—were humanity's triumph over primitive existence, their ultimate means of domination atop the food chain.
"Oh my God! Lord above!"
Then, what happened next left everyone with a single, unified thought.
Angels are real.
The bullets, speeding out of the barrel, visibly slowed to a crawl as they neared Chang Wei. At such a close distance, they seemed to decelerate dozens—no, hundreds—of times over, before stopping entirely in mid-air. They didn't even fall to the ground but remained floating, the bullet heads intact.
For Alice, who had yet to develop telekinesis, this was nothing short of a miracle.
Supervisor Lewis Witt's spirit shattered. He muttered to himself, "Impossible… Absolutely impossible… How can angels exist in this world?"
As for Umbrella's soldiers, they threw their guns aside, dropped to their knees, and pressed their heads firmly to the ground, terrified of drawing the angel's attention.
Even Peyton and Jill knelt. Atheists, agnostics, and casual believers alike all submitted to the overwhelming display of supernatural power.
The Nemesis, receiving no further orders, continued to hold down the trigger, expending 4,000 rounds of ammunition. When it was out, it raised its rocket launcher and fired a rocket at Chang Wei.
"Boom!"
The explosion's shrapnel, shockwave, and flames had barely begun to spread before being forcibly compressed into a tiny sphere, vanishing in an instant. The sight delivered yet another jolt to everyone's hearts.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Chang Wei didn't make a single move. His cold, golden eyes merely gazed indifferently at the kneeling crowd.
With telekinesis refined to a molecular level, Chang Wei could have stood in place and tanked a nuclear bomb without messing up his hair, let alone a mere rocket.
"Pitiful creature."
Chang Wei's gaze shifted to the Nemesis, which was attempting to fire another rocket. Suddenly, the Nemesis was lifted off the ground, struggling in vain against an invisible force it could not overcome.
At this time, Alice had yet to engage the Nemesis in a one-on-one fight or extract any information about the T-virus from it. She had no idea that the Nemesis was, in fact, Matt.
Chang Wei, having revealed himself to this extent, was determined to see it through to the end. Manipulating the T-virus within Matt's body, he began suppressing and reversing it, using the Blacklight virus as an invisible helper.
To the onlookers, the grotesque monster began reverting to a human form at a speed visible to the naked eye. Alice froze as recognition dawned upon her.
"Matt!"