Becoming a Monster

Chapter 16 Not Following The Plan

”You have your trump card and I have mine...May the better skill wins!”

ʼKilling Instinct!ʼ

Attributes

Defense: 10

Strength:14(18)

Agility:14(18)

Constitution:30(39)+5

Stamina:17(22)

Magic: 11(12)

Spirit:48->72(75)

Any planning that he originally had went out the window. The only thought he had now was to kill. He couldnʼt afford to keep some of his sanity in exchange for lower stats when he needed to make sure he could survive the hit approaching. Besides…he wasnʼt the main character of this fight, itʼll all come down to his spider. He was 70 percent sure that no matter how enraged Derrick may be, any man should be taken out of commission after losing their manhood.

Booom!*

The collision of the axe meeting the shield was so loud that it even caused the groups fighting off the encroaching zombies to get distracted. One poor soul even managed to lose his life since he was so startled that he let down his entire guard to turn around. This Allowed the zombie he was pushing back to clumsily force him to the ground, his miserable screams overlapped with the heavy sounds of fighting around him.

Even though everyone was curious concerning Derricks and Noahʼs confrontation, they still had to worry about their own lives. The only two people who didnʼt bother about their surroundings were the two who were most affiliated with the two fighting. One being Isabelle, who at this moment wasnʼt sure what to do anymore. Derrick was her mental pillar at the start of everything thatʼs happened. She could still remember it vividly when she reawakened after the voice fell and her roommate happened to become one of the zombies.

In her half daze, she was about to be eaten alive without realizing she was in danger. It was Derrick, who spent the night with her, realized something was wrong and saved her from her unfortunate fate. Not only could she rely on him during a peaceful era but even now when their life was at risk she could still rely on him.

Now, looking towards the overly muscular guy in front of her. She could only think back to a few moments ago. This left her confused…should she attempt to help him? She still had enough mana to at least heal him one last time.

Or….she looked towards her arm which was bruising red to purple. A small burst of anger sparked in her eyes, she also thought it would be nice to see Derrick have a setback during this time. She didnʼt think of the fact that either one could die. Even though sheʼs seen many people get eaten during this time and she constantly saw former humans dying in front of her. It was never people killing people, it hasnʼt hit home yet that morals and the law doesnʼt matter anymore.

The last person who was intently watching the fight, but was also more distraught, was the friend of Matt, Chris. He saw it all when Matt was first killed by the spider that Noah was now in control of and then proceeded to be tossed as if his life was worthless.

He was brought to his knees at the sight of Matt being impaled. He then rushed to Mattʼs side out of desperation after he was thrown, hoping that he could still be saved. ʼWe were given powers so he could still be alive…ʼ He thought as he made it to Mattʼs side only to find his body no longer breathing, his eyes were wide open in shock. Mattʼs hand was still holding onto his dagger that he was so proud of receiving for killing his first zombie.

Chris, who was still in shock after seeing that his only friend of 3 years was gone from this world, was startled out of his depression when he heard the loud impact of the fight transpiring.

After being startled by the sound of their fighting, he continued to look down while deep in thought.

ʼThi-this isnʼt right, THIS ISNʼT RIGHT! Mattʼs dead…they killed him…in cold blood and no one is saying anything??

Does Mattʼs life mean anything? And they…ʼ Chris finally looked away from Mattʼs body to view Derrick and Noah with a heated glare.

”This isnʼt over….”

Meanwhile, both Derick and Noah, who now had a target painted on their backs, didnʼt know that even after their current life and death battle they were destined to be in danger again in the future.

And looking onto the battle scene now, it wasnʼt looking good.

At this moment, the dust was clearing from the impact. Noah was able to just barely prevent himself from being demolished by the heavy handed attack but it was at the cost of his left arm which could now be seen dangling at his side. Just before the axe made contact with Noahʼs shield, he was able to move to the side just enough so that the axe made contact with the angled shield before being directed towards the ground. This caused the axe to not only break his arm that had to support the overwhelming force, but it also chipped the ax before it proceeded to slam into the ground, shattering completely.

Derrick on the other hand, no matter how enraged he was, wasnʼt able to shrug off the rebound of not only impacting the shield with such momentum but the ground as well. This caused a little bit of clarity to recover in Derricks hatred filled glare. If Noah could have known that this would happen then he would have had less precautions into going to this fight. Before, he believed he had a 70% percent chance of winning if the spider achieved its goal, but now? If Derrick was now a little bit aware then Noah was guaranteed to come out of this since itʼll be almost impossible for him to shrug off the pain.

Too bad that Noah couldnʼt realize this subtle observation and plan accordingly since his skill prevented him from doing so, but the skill still had its pros.

Noah attempted to lift the broken shield to use as a weapon against Derrick only to notice that his arm wasnʼt following his commands.

”Arrgggh!” An unintellectual growl escaped his lips in his frustrations. The skill prevented him from having more intellectual thoughts but even still, his body which only was concerned with killing knew what it needed to do to obtain its goal.

Crack! Crack!*

Multiple sounds of bones readjusting took place from his direction as he repositioned the bones that were out of place and popped them back one by one with the only sign of pain being the slight wincing of his eyes occasionally.

At first, Derrick was feeling immense satisfaction at the outcome of breaking Noahʼs arm. After regaining a bit of clarity, he took a few moments to enjoy the scene of his battered enemy before him. His hatred for him couldnʼt disappear nor the need to show that he was the more superior one. The thought of squashing Noah in his arms made a disturbing smile across his face which quickly dissipated after witnessing him readjust his arm as if he wasnʼt fazed.

Derrick then made contact with Noahʼs jet black eyes that appeared lifeless, it slowly stirred a feeling of fear within him. His eyes made him feel as if his very life essence was threatened to being drained.

That brief realization that he could still be inferior to him reignited the rage within Derrick. He locked his eyes onto his axe and was about to charge at him again when he realized that it was shattered. So instead, he flung the handle as hard as he could towards Noah, lunging towards him afterwards. Derrick was now a solid meter taller than him now and Noah only had a shield, he didnʼt need a weapon to finish him off and using his bare hands would bring him more satisfaction.

The out of control throw sailed past Noah without him having to move but the attempt made him brace for the attack nonetheless. Thankfully the spider was still on standby off to the side or it wouldʼve been an easier target to hit if Derrick were to have chosen it as a target instead.

Yet not only did Derrick not target it, but his entire focus was on Noah. Maybe since the spider hasnʼt moved all this time, he subconsciously viewed it as something he could just finish off after he was done with Noah. With the current power he wielded, he felt that the spider wouldnʼt last a second against him.

Even Noah had forgotten about his own tamed creature due to his skill. Thankfully he was using his skill otherwise he would be distracted wondering why hasnʼt the spider used that moment of him blocking to attack!

What he did not consider was that he didnʼt specify to the spider when to attack, but that it should take the opportunity to retrieve and eat Derricks sausage when it got the chance and spiders, who could be considered a natural hunter, were very good at waiting for its chance.

Instinctively it realized that Derrick was more aware of his surroundings after the heavy impact and didnʼt feel as if it could pull off the attack successfully. So it decided to continue to wait. The bond with his owner wasnʼt strong enough to make it feel as if it had to throw its life away for Noah so it wasnʼt completely anxious after witnessing the confrontation which caused harm to his owner. What made it anxious was Derricksʼ meat stick that seemed to entice the spider to eat it. After evolving, its sense of taste was enhanced. It craved the two legged mammals after finally getting a taste of the one previously.

And its master told it that this part in particular is the best part that could make it stronger, so that made it more anxious to try it for itself.

Boom!*

It became vigilant again after seeing the two make what perhaps would be their final confrontation.

The scene played out differently than what Others would expect. Noahʼs body was only acting instinctively at this point, he was prepared to engage Derrick, avoid his attacks and find a way to overturn the situation yet he found himself on the defensive. His body wasnʼt fast enough to avoid Derricks advances who wasnʼt focused on literally attacking him but was constantly making grabbing motions towards Noah with his now enlarged hands. Because Derrick didnʼt have to over commit while trying to grasp him, it created less leeway for Derrick to be outmaneuver and since Noah didnʼt have a suitable weapon, he couldnʼt respond appropriately to the situation.

Whoosh!*

Moments later, Noah was now being held in the air with his arms to his sides while Derrick stared at him triumphantly.

”Arrgh DAMNIT!”

At first, Noahʼs skill was still in effect, he kicked and struggled frantically while he was being held up, but when Derrick started to slowly apply pressure attempting to completely crush Noahʼs body. The ever growing pain managed to overcome the pain factor of his skill, bringing him to the awkward painful moment heʼs in now.

ʼUrgh…ho-how do I...how do I keep getting into these situations!ʼ

He bitterly struggled in Derekʼs arms while the pressure increased. He tried his hardest to alleviate the pressure and preserve. His first instinct was to try to bite Derricks hands but because of the position he was being held, it made it impossible. So he tried to kick at his elbows, realizing that it actually had a small effect, he desperately placed both feet on the adjacent elbows of Derrick and pushed out.

It didnʼt cause Derrick to release him but it relieved him of the unbearable pain he was being put through. The small lapse of not having to endure such agony let him glimpse towards his spider who seemed to be slowly creeping towards its target. The cautiousness the spider was exhibiting almost made Noah ruin the surprise factor. He was angry!

ʼIf you donʼt hurry your ass up! I swear! If this is how itʼs going to be- shit! I get distracted for a moment and this bear tries to squeeze me to death!ʼ Because of his lapse of focus, he let up his resistance against Derrick, allowing him to apply pressure again.

Either because the spider sensed an uncomfortable pressure coming from Noah or it was able to sense his negative feelings directed towards it, but it no longer continued to slowly stalk its prey. Ever since the mental battle it held with Noah, it instinctively feared Noah and respected him. That feeling of disappointment originating from its master made it think about before when Noah stirred it on when it gave up.

It began to apply pressure on all of its back legs before using the rest of its reserved strength to pounce towards its target who was unaware the entire time as Derrick was enjoying watching the thorn in his heart squirm.