Becoming a Monster

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: What Kind of Deal

The behemoth’s shrieks echoed throughout the entire forest. Its pain of defeat signified more than just its death, it also signified the loss of its authority. Its verily claim as ruler of its territory was crumbling. The few remaining creatures under its command cowered or fled, their instincts urging them to abandon the once-mighty predator.

Without its spiderlings to enforce its rule, without its towering presence to instill fear, the behemoth’s reign was over.

Arachne stood still while next to Noah’s side, her eyes locked onto the colossal creature’s less than dignified form. Yes, she could admit that Ailetta was stronger than her, but at least now Arachne could say that she wasn’t that far behind her. Her position as Noah’s Queen wasn’t out of reach. Her breathing was now steady, her raging emotions, expressed by furrowed brows and glaring eyes, were now replaced by the slight quirk of her lips that betrayed her satisfaction.

”Complete domination....” Arachne muttered to herself, remembering what Noah told her about having a complete victory. Her eyes glimmered with a sharp resolve as she reevaluated her path to strength, once believing that her goal to her strength should be through her future spiderlings that she created. But now, after witnessing the impact of her ability on a foe whose prowess surpassed hers...she wanted spiderlings with abilities that could replicate what she did just now. Loyal subordinates who can aid her in achieving the requisite of her judgement ability in a much faster timeframe than now.

Noah glanced over to her, deciding not to comment, though his expression betrayed his thoughts. Her victory wasn’t a complete victory at all. Arachne had fought well, but the signs of her struggle were undeniable. Her ragged breathing, the faint tremble in her legs, and the deep gashes marking her exoskeleton, all were reminders that her victory was hard-fought, not absolute.

Ailetta, on the other hand, completely dominated the opponent the moment she stepped in. As Noah watched the behemoth’s last stand; Ailetta, once again spamming her ability to empower her serpent-like appendages who continued to mercilessly strike and remove flesh, he noticed that ground becoming covered with the creature’s blood, a foul discharge that mixed within, courtesy of Arachne’s poison.

Ailetta continued to hover in the air, her eyes filled with fascination as she continued to dismantle her ”undying” opponent. The overflowing energy within the spider continued to heal it, filling the gaping holes throughout its body with its hardened skin, but Ailetta noticed that the speed of its recovery was remarkably slower than it once was....and the spider knew it too.

Its cry bellowed forth. With no one to come to its aid, one would expect for it to have given up. There was no one else to reply to its calls, the bees were completely decimated, Fenrir relished in his enjoyable battle, eating his toys before the dummy could take notice.

The ants weren’t spared either. Eve now had an extra ant under her undead arsenal, while the others weren’t able to escape Dummy’s insatiable hunger. Unfortunately, Dummy wasn’t able to understand that the ants under Eve’s control were off limits, leading Eve to activate her hallucination ability. If not for the influence Fenrir had exerted during Dummy’s transformation, Eve might have succeeded in making the creature her puppet. Now the insatiable beast was lying prone, trying to gather what remaining energy it had so it could reach the nearest corpse to replenish its drained

Now, the ravenous beast lay prone, its massive form heaving as it struggled to gather the strength it needed. Its unquenchable hunger drove it toward the nearest corpse, desperate to replenish its drained reserves. Its beady eyes gazed in a certain direction, its arms reaching out to make out a crawl towards the little food that remained in the area while trying to call out to its alpha who was the beholder of such food, only for Fenrir to remain oblivious to its situation. However, the increase in Fenrir’s tempo as he fed indicated that he was aware of Dummy’s shortcomings.

With no one left to respond, one would wonder why the behemoth’s cries changed. Everyone but Noah and Arachne were aware, the behemoth’s cries were just as they sounded; it was a cry for help. It wasn’t calling to its fallen swarm or the minions that had failed it. The behemoth was pleading to the unseen powers, the leaders of the species it ruled, the titanic entities that, like itself, dominated their domains.

”If I die, you’ll be next! Fight! Weaklings!”

Arachne’s expression darkened, she had forgotten that there could be enemies that were just as powerful as the spider nearby. Her vigilance spiked, especially now that her mana was nearly spent. What she couldn’t understand was how could there be danger when her senses had yet to pick it up? Not one had her senses failed her. She was uncertain what it could mean, rather that the foreseeable danger wasn’t enough to threaten Noah, or if the danger was too unfathomable for her skill to perceive.

Noah’s expression on the other hand only grew stern, his gaze sharpened as he looked around, vigilant, yet expectant. This was the reason he has been holding back all this time. It wouldn’t make sense for the behemoth to be the only powerhouse here, he was assured of that fact the moment he saw the massive snake atop the trees when they entered.

Thinking of the behemoth, Noah’s eyes narrowed in a specific direction, outside of the open field, bordering around the edge of the trees. The snake’s presence was still there, stalking them since the moment they arrived. What Noah couldn’t understand was why.

Noah’s thoughts churned. The serpent hadn’t intervened, even as the behemoth cried out in its final moments. It hadn’t attacked, nor had it fled. It simply...stayed. Waiting. Observing. His eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities. The snake’s inaction wasn’t comforting; it was unnerving. Powerful creatures don’t stalk prey like this without purpose.

Without the snake answering the behemoth’s cries, Noah waited in suspense for another powerful creature to come, but no answer came to the behemoth’s cries. The battlefield remained filled with anguish cries, and desperate thrashing. Whatever powers the behemoth had hoped to summon, they either chose not to respond like the snake had, or were unable to come to its aid.

And as the behemoth roared moments after its cry, Noah could guess that the other creatures did in fact leave and ignore its cries.

”He’s no King...” Noah looked over to find Arachne frowning as she looked around the forest. Her loathing eyes returned to the behemoth, surprisingly reflecting disdain.

”He acted as a King, but remained a predator. If he could kill his own, then he did worse to the others who served him...”

Noah’s eyes widened in surprise to her outburst. The amount of wisdom contained in her words that showed how much she was able to reflect was beyond anything he’s seen her do before. He realized that gaining more of a ”human” side proved to be much more beneficial than he realized.

”You’re growing up so fast...” he muttered softly, almost to himself.

Arachne’s eyes flicked toward him , narrowing slightly as though daring him to elaborate, but she didn’t comment. Instead, her attention returned to the behemoth. Noah too noticed the oddity of its cries, as it now roared something incomprehensible.

”No! You serve me!! No! What about our deal??”

The behemoth’s anguish was even more pronounced now, its once-mighty roars devolving into panicked, almost pleading cries. At first, Noah thought the behemoth was talking to the other animals of the forest, creatures like the snake for instance, or both the ant and bee Queens. But then, through his Nexus eye saw it, both the behemoth’s mana and life essence was being absorbed by the very thing that seemed the least inconspicuous out of everyone there.

”I gave you food! I gave you my kin! I protected you! Traitor!” The tree’s roots glowed brighter, undeterred for the spider’s outburst. In fact, the rate that the tree absorbed only increased.

With the tree interfering, there was no other reason for Ailetta to continue in her onslaught. She could tell that the behemoth was dying, its death was inevitable. However, she understood Noah well, and his tendencies were slowly wearing off on her. If the tree interfered and completely killed the spider, then that would also mean that it would be taking away a substantial amount of experience meant for both her, Arachne, and Noah. But more importantly, it could affect the potential chest.

Determined to finish it off once and for all, the four serpents aligned themselves with one another, their seemingly physical form soon began to dissolve, melting and conjoining together to create one giant serpent that, despite being made of the four, was actually twice the size of what the four should have been when bonded together, its size wasn’t that far different than the size of the slime aberration from before.

”No one steals from us!” She spoke decisively, not allowing another moment to pass by before sending out the giant snake. All the while, Noah was unable to take his eyes off the tree, specifically, the object beginning to form from one of its branches.