Becoming a Monster

Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Death Wish in the Form of a Fireball

The morning sun felt warmer than usual, even the air being breathed was refreshing. And looking up into the sky, the scene from above was as if the world was flipped upside down, with the ocean placed among the clouds.

The world appeared beautiful in its current state, one would believe that the apocalypse never happened, but....once anyone fell back to what was around them, they would be quickly reminded of the hell they were in. However, Noah and his group trekked through the streets, filled with cars and corpses alike, all overtaken by vines and vegetation, without any concern.

They walked with a sense of belonging; the journey was being taken as a leisure stroll towards their destination. Ailetta walked besides Naoh, her expression was unreadable, but there was a calmness to her that she rarely had before. Most of her eyes she intentionally had closed, using her human placed eyes so she could allow herself to take in the moment, one scene at a time.

Noah, on her side, had his left hand down by his side, and the small ’delicate’ figure of Eve had her hand clasped within his grip. She was excitedly nibbling on the arm of one of the zombies they had recently killed. The blood spatter dripping from her face didn’t offput anyone there, and Noah no longer had to worry about Eve wearing such tattered clothing anymore now that her own body was partially covered by her exoskeleton. Just like his own clothing, he made her an entirely dark violet dress made from his webs. The webs used were thinner than his own, making sure that Eve would find comfort wearing them instead of just for protection.

Her small mouth continued to nimble, occasionally she would look up towards what Noah was doing, but then she would always completely glance over to Ailetta, making sure that Ailetta was properly holding her book while she ate. Although her munching presence should be distracting, Noah was currently looking at the palm of his real hand. Above it was a miniature sphere, reminiscent of his mana bolt, but as he controlled the sphere, his brow was furrowed, concentrating hard, slowly attempting to reshape the sphere into his will.

The delicate task of shaping the sphere was far more intricate than it appeared. The energy inside was volatile, always threatening to slip out of his control. Each time it did, he would either release it harmlessly into the air or absorb it back into his hand, his instinctive control over his body preventing any damage. It was an exercise he had decided to do, not only to advance his progression in the skill, but to use the exercise as a way to come up with skills of his own.

Always following nearby Eve was Diablo not too far behind her. Out of everyone in the group, it was the most vigilant. Its hollow eyes would snap at any source of movement. The clanking of its dense bones was louder than any of the other footsteps there. Accompanying the sounds of his steps were also the clatter of a very familiar bronze shield in his arm, one that was almost pristine in its appearance as if it was brand new, and half of Diablo’s size. It was the very shield that Noah had obtained on his first day at the campus.

As Noah focused on his delicate task of molding the sphere of mana, Fenrir trotted ahead, his large wolfish form moving with surprising grace despite his size. He was always scouting, searching for anything new to devour, though today his curiosity seemed to extend to the newly emerged plants and flowers dotting their path. His attempts to eat them were almost comical, his massive jaws, usually reserved for tearing through flesh, now nipping at the fragile vegetation. His carefree prance, so at odds with his fearsome reputation, brought a rare sense of lightness to their journey.

Trailing behind the group was Dummy, the pack’s newest and oddest member. While Fenrir led from the front, Dummy lagged far behind, its enormous mouth gaping as it devoured anything in sight, whether it was edible or not. Its attention constantly shifted from one object to the next, making its movements erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes it would dart forward, then abruptly fall back, too distracted by the latest piece of debris or oddity it decided to sample.

On Noah’s right, Arachne walked in silent contemplation, her many eyes intensely observing the sphere of mana Noah was shaping. She reached out her hand, mirroring his movements, her mind racing with thoughts of possibility. Her connection to Noah had always been strong, and the Ant Queen, who had once shared in Noah’s power, had managed to wield similar abilities after receiving his mana. Arachne, now bearing the Queen’s genes within her, couldn’t help but wonder if she too could unlock this skill.

Her hand hovered over her palm, her brow furrowing in concentration. Unlike the Ant Queen, Arachne had never faced Noah’s mana bolt directly, and she’d never had to exert mana consciously. Her power had always been tied to her innate abilities as a creature born of Noah’s influence. But now, watching the sphere flicker and reform in Noah’s hand, a dangerous curiosity began to take root in her mind.

She questioned whether the key to learning this ability was to endure the same force that had struck the Ant Queen. The idea of letting Noah’s mana bolt hit her, to see if it would trigger something inside her, was tempting.

Arachne flexed her fingers, the tension in her body rising as her desire to understand this new power grew. She had always been protective of Noah, loyal to him in every way, but now, a hunger for growth stirred within her. If the Ant could do it, so could she. The only question was whether Noah would actually accept her bizarre request.

The urge to ask was strong, but Alietta’s recent transgression was still fresh on her mind, preventing her from asking for anything else. She felt that she should be satisfied with Noah still spoiling them with the empowering delicacies he made for them last night and this morning.

No one spoke after traveling in further, but the atmosphere was something that Ailetta couldn’t keep to herself anymore as she broke the silence.

”I wonder if this will be how our life is when we finally reach there....” Ailetta smiled softly, her gaze sweeping over the chaotic landscape as though it were a masterpiece of destruction. The overgrown streets, the collapsed buildings, and the corpses scattered around no longer invoked fear or sadness in her. To her, it was a peaceful chaos, one that made sense in a way the old world never did.

She enjoyed the serenity of their current situation, the quiet moments they had in between the battles. The constant danger, the crumbling world, they didn’t bother her. In fact, they seemed to enhance her appreciation for the life they had now. The apocalypse had brought a clarity and simplicity to life that the old world, with all its rules and meaningless distractions, never could.

Noah’s steps slightly slowed, absorbing the freshly created mana back into him. He curiously looked towards Ailetta, his eyes thoughtful as he then took in his surroundings as if he never took the time to purely acknowledge it, during that time his eyes narrowed towards a certain direction, causing him to hesitate for a bit before he returned to their conversation. He couldn’t help to agree with her sentiment, but when he was about to respond to her, he saw Arachne jumping in front of him, not far behind her was Diablo rushing to jump in front of Eve.

As soon as the two moved, a giant fireball that held a six-foot circumference came hurling towards them from a nearby building. A building that his Nexus eye was able to pick up high amounts of auras radiating from it.

Time seemed to slow for a moment as the fireball surged toward them, its intense heat radiating outward, distorting the air around it. Noah’s mind processed the situation in an instant, but Arachne and Diablo had already taken action, positioning themselves as shields. Arachne’s legs extended outward, anchoring her into the ground, while Diablo’s massive figure crouched protectively in front of Eve, who was still nibbling without a care in the world.

Noah’s eyes flickered with a hint of annoyance, not at the imminent danger, but at the audacity of the attack. His instincts kicked in, and he quickly recalculated their next move.

His slime instantaneously wrapped around his spider appendages, the shine within their gelatinous form showed that Noah spent a generous amount of mana to enhance them. Each leg shot out as fast; maybe even faster than Arachne had moved, appearing between them and the approaching fire ball. The legs came together at one point, merging to create a funnel large enough for the fireball to enter. And as soon as the fireball entered, the slime/spider appendages closed off the funnel. There wasn’t an explosion or damage to Noah’s appendages afterwards. Even as Noah brought his legs back to their original resting place, the scene appeared as if nothing happened.

But now all eyes were on the building the attack came from, and each pair of eyes were out for blood.