Becoming a Monster

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Desperate Resolve

Everyone stopped what they were doing, their mind emptied of whatever meaningful thought, everything was considered useless in the presence of the fruit’s allure.

”I..want it!”

Arachne and Fenrir both were affected by the fruit’s temptation. Maybe it was their bond to Noah, their personal growth, or maybe they were acclimated to such temptations because of Noah’s blood skill which held a greater hold over their instincts than the fruit’s allure. Yet, even with these advantages, they were not entirely immune. Arachne’s legs twitched; her mandibles clicked uncontrollably. Her usual stern eyes were now glazed, fixated on the fruit dangling from the tree.

Fenrir, the embodiment of self-indulgence, took a hesitant step forward, his massive frame trembling as if caught in an internal battle. His jaws parted slightly, and drool seeped from between his teeth. He growled slowly, his voice hinted at his struggles to hold himself back. ”So good....” His nose lifted into the air to fully take in the aroma. His thoughts didn’t care about the fruit’s potential to boost his strength, his tongue swished hungrily in his mouth, his jaws parting as he licked the air, imagining the taste.

Despite the two allowing their inhibitions to almost control them, they still stood rooted in their spots. However, there was still one ”little” monster, whose selfish desires and weak will was unable to hold back the temptation. Eve’s figure, still merged with Diablo, ran forth, her figure quick while her running form still resembled that of a little child not knowing how to properly swing their arms.

Noah’s gaze quickly snapped to her direction. His eyes carried with it a sense of helplessness, but he wasn’t upset. The mana emitting from the fruit was more than five times stronger than the core that merged from Ailetta’s slimes, and while the smell wasn’t as exaggerated as when he infused his blood with his mana, it was still far more potent than his blood without his mana being fused.

When all of those factors were tied into the fact that Eve was still mentally a zombified child, he was already prepared for such a situation. Noah’s eyes shimmered with a bright whiteness, the same light that was triggered when making her into one of his vessels, a light that also signified their bond and his control over her.

The moment the light flickered in his eyes, a similar light showed within Eve’s, making her immediately halt within her unorthodox run.

Eve blinked, her childlike expression twisting into one of confusion as her mind slowly processed the command overriding her desires. Her lips quivered, and for a moment, it seemed as though she might resist, but the bond between them held firm. She turned, her steps hesitant, as if fighting against invisible strings, but she moved toward Arachne, her frown showing that she wasn’t fond of what was happening.

Noah didn’t spare her any words, his gaze quickly retreated from her figure to another location. Ailetta and the others were also sensitive to the disturbance, a rather ’large’ disturbance as a giant white snake, normally depicted in shadows till now, finally showed its completely white form. Its form appeared endless as it came crashing down from the trees. From the distance it lunged, its body had to spring itself from its position just to reach the distance between it and the tree.

Seeing the ever-lengthening creature, Noah realized two important aspects that he overlooked. One, the creature was much larger than he had originally stated. The blockage of trees had hidden most of its form that was out of reach of his eyesight, an idea that seemed impossible considering how abnormal his eyesight was. And two, the creature’s eyes radiated a bluish glow, and if Noah was able to get a proper look, he would be able to notice a sense of awareness in the creature’s eyes that hinted at something far more sensible than a mere beast set to attain the fruit out of pure desire.

Its glowing blue eyes carried with it an intelligence that was higher than the spider that they had just killed. It was aware of the tree’s hidden mechanism, the fact that it would be used as a mere tool for the tree’s growth. And yet it still lunged for the fruit, if becoming a tool meant that it would gain unimaginable power, it would rather have that power than allow someone else like the spider to gain its benefits.

It thought that with Noah invading the forest that it could use Noah as a way to whittle down the spider’s strength so it could eat the spider afterwards, therefore also gaining the fruit’s essence. What it didn’t account for was Noah’s complete dominance with not only the spider, but also the surrounding animals that followed the spider’s rule.

Noah’s group’s prowess made it fearful to continue with its ruse; the idea of just letting everything unfold naturally while it behaved as a mere spectator, was tempting. But all that had changed as it witnessed Noah’s actions.

If it was merely the act of Noah’s group killing the others out of cold blood, its decisions would have remained unchanged. It too would kill others without a shred of hesitation, its brutality would depend on both its mood and the amount of effort the opposition took to being an annoyance. It was neither the fact that Noah’s were invaders to their forest. It nor the other potential powerhouses neither cared or were privy to having the ruler of the forest being a native to their territory. In their world, it was always survival of the fittest.

No, it was act of Ailetta’s powerplay that made it resolved to not let them, who would potentially disrupt the balance and the ’rules’ they had all nonverbally set for one another, take the very thing that could allow them to stand up to their power. The way Ailetta’s army of slimes killed and desecrated her enemies’ bodies even after death, not only controlling their corpses but further merging their bodies together to create a power to enhance herself. The snake could only see those slimes combing through every inch of the forest, killing and absorbing every living organism to merge and create the perfect power up for herself.

As long as Ailetta stayed within the forest, every living being would lose its life.

With Noah edging closer to the fruit, the snake couldn’t hesitate any longer.

While it was in the air, it had Noah clearly in its sights, its vigilance heightened like never before. Its eyes were able to clearly see that although Ailetta was triggered for its decision, the power hidden with Noah was the very reason why the others followed him. The snake only had one shot at this. Noah was relatively small compared to his giant maw, even if Noah’s body contained unfathomable power, he surely couldn’t defend against the snake if it were to engulf him whole. And most importantly, its greed had different thoughts: overwhelm him, consume him, and claim both the fruit and the mysterious energy swirling within his very being.

The snake’s muscles tensed as it struck. Its jaws, capable of swallowing even the largest beast’s whole, widened with terrifying force, glistening fangs dripping with a glowing blue venom shimmered in the light. In its mind, the possibilities bloomed: If Noah’s energy could amplify its strength beyond what even the fruit could offer, it would ascend. No predator, no army, not even Ailetta’s monstrosities would dare challenge it. And maybe it could become strong enough to not have to rely on the fruit to become the ruler of the forest, ending the tree’s twisted manipulation game.

Its thoughts made it too excited, even more so as it saw Noah merely glance towards it before proceeding towards the fruit. The lack of caution should be an insult to the snake’s strength, but instead, it became the trigger for the snake’s confidence.

However, its confidence was very short-lived. The thing that it dreaded the most out of Noah’s group had quickly arrived to intercept it. The bottom portion of Ailetta, the serpent that was merged into her being was already upon it.

The snake was forced to halt its advance mid-air, its enormous body contorting in a desperate attempt to evade the attack. Its confidence, so absolute just moments ago, dissolved into panic as it realized that they were aware of its presence all along.

The monstrous serpent appendage struck with the intention of latching onto the side of the snake’s neck. The snake barely managed to coil back, its scales scraping against the ground as it used the end part of its body that had yet to leave the trees to pull itself out of harm’s way. The moment its body rebounded back, the serpent, in turn, crashed into the spot that it was just moments prior.

The snake’s mind raced after barely making it out safely. Its eyes scanning every inch of both the serpent and Ailetta respectively. From the first attack alone, the snake understood that the serpent was much faster than it, perhaps even stronger than it as well.

There was a hint of doubt of what it should do, but as it glanced towards Noah once more, its eyes shone with resolve as it initiated the fight towards the superior serpent on its own accord.