Becoming a Monster

Chapter 224: Chapter 224: In The Palm of My Webs

Noah’s second pair of eyes glowed, for the brief interaction, all four of his pupils turned into a holy-like white, comparable to the energy he unleashed within his soul. With all eight of his pupils being empowered by his skill, Noah viewed time almost an entire second faster than before.

Seeing the snake approaching him in almost slow motion, Noah’s original hand raised, instead of circulating mana for an attack, a massive pillage of dark webs were ejected. The webs seemingly had a will of their own as they were manipulated the moment they shot out. The webs expanded out, stretching not only into the air but also spreading out to eventually create a massive net.

His slime could’ve performed the same feat, and perhaps in a much quicker timeframe. However, despite the seemingly impressive feat, his slime was better in turns absorption and being able to be empowered by expanding his mana. His webs, on the other hand, were extremely tenacious when being compared.

The snake, still lunging, saw the massive spiraling of silk that quickly created a net suspended that was able to suspend and hold itself in midair. It knew that it was too late to avoid colliding into it at this rate. Its eyes showed the initial surprise it had for the net that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, especially one that was large enough to potentially entrap its entire head.

The snake could see the mana imbued in the webs to maintain and strengthen them, and from what it could see, the webs weren’t enough to hold it back. As long as it continued on its path, it had no doubt that the webs would tear apart under the sheer momentum and power of its massive form. Then not only would it swallow the webs, but it’ll continue to push forward, devouring Noah in the process.

However, as the snake’s colossal form collided with the net, something unexpected occurred. The webs didn’t behave as the snake had anticipated. Instead of snapping or crumbling under the immense force of its charge, the webs cave outward, following along its momentum while the outer parts of the webs latch forward, enveloping almost the entirety of its head. Even its eyes were overlapped by the invigorous silk, blocking most of its view. Its jaws flexed in a failed attempt to completely open.

With the snake flawlessly falling into the improvised trap, Noah wasn’t delusional to believe that the webs would halt its attack. Its open maw was prevented from opening as wide, but its fangs were still present, and the threat of being trapped within both the snake’s mouth and his own webs were ever present.

With the snake continuing its charge, Noah’s glowing white pupils flickered as one of his spider appendages dug into the ground simultaneously as his knees slightly bent, allowing him to propel himself from his position to avoid the attack.

The snake’s massive form surged forward, its eyes narrowing in frustration as it realized, too late, that it had fallen into the trap. Not only had it missed its target, but its momentum now betrayed it. Unable to halt its colossal charge, its body slammed into the ground where Noah had been moments before.

The impact was thunderous, shattering the ground beneath it and sending tremors through the surrounding area. Dust and debris erupted in a chaotic cloud, momentarily obscuring the snake’s massive form as the rest of its body followed the force of its head’s collision.

Noah landed a short distance away, his glowing eyes locked on the dust cluster, his expression was both calm and calculating. He didn’t need to see the snake to know that it was unable to rid itself from his webs, but what he wanted to know was how effective it was.

As Noah observed, he noticed a twitch in the snake’s body, his body picking up the change in the air behind him as well as the heavy vibrations getting closer. Without considering what it was, Noah had already leaped away once again, followed by the snake’s massive tail lashing out, carving through the ground and air in a desperate attempt to rectify the bad situation it was in.

The snake’s body was too large to be able to recognize if it was successful in its sneak attempt. It wanted to immediately uplift itself to see for itself, but there was a problem. The webbing not only tightened around its face during the impact, but now it found itself tethered into the ground, the webs anchoring it in place. It writhed in frustration, its powerful muscles straining to remove itself.

Noah once again landed a distance away, watching as the snake struggled. His eyes reflected a weird patience, one that was observing what the snake was going to do next instead of outright attacking it or further releasing more of his webs to completely trap the creature.

As if meeting his expectations, the ground began to crumble beneath and around the snake’s head. Its strength destroyed the pit it dug its head into as it uplifted its head from the ground, releasing a frustrated hiss. Instead of looking for the source of its tormentor, the snake’s upper body writhed and jerked, flailing onto the ground, rubbing, digging its head further along the ground, uprooting large chunks of soil, rock and the tree’s eerie roots. The snake hissed in frustration, the muffled sound carrying an undertone of fury and panic as the sticky webbing seemed not budging from its face that it so desperately tried to remove.

”You’re wasting your energy,” Noah finally said, his words causing a sharp reaction from the snake even during its chaotic struggle. Its head snapped to the direction of the sound, jerking its body to whip out its tail in the direction out of irritation, causing Noah to have to leap out the way once again.

”I know you can hear me,” The snake stiffened as it realized the close proximity the voice was to it. Its head tilted, trying to use the small gaps to see exactly where the owner of the voice was so it could make sure to succeed in taking him out this time. But how could Noah not see the way the snake’s body was coiling in anticipation for its next move? In fact, he could see the cracks forming in its composure.

”Even if you killed me, you’d be stuck with those webs over your face for the rest of your life. Not only will you not be able to eat anymore, but even that fruit will be out of your reach.” Noah continued, his tone cold and taunting, an effect that immediately brought about a change within the snake who prolonged its spiteful attack even longer.

”You’d starve eventually, and it would be for a foolish reason. But maybe I’m wrong,” he said in an almost mocking tone. ”Maybe you think you’re strong enough to break free after all. Go on, prove me wrong.”

The snake, its senses frazzled by Noah’s voice and the tight webbing, trembled with heavy emotions. Its presence was unyielding, but beyond its gaze held a sense of doubt, and fear. If it was any other creature in its situation, they would most likely cave into their rage, thrashing and lashing out in every direction to prove Noah wrong. But its senses were sharp, its mind was more sensible than the other natural creatures within the area.

Although it subtly acknowledged the truth in Noah’s underlying threat, it still tilted its head towards the air. A loud pop resounded, and then another as it dislocated its jaw in its last attempt to forcibly pry the webs apart by fully opening its mouth with raw strength. Despite its intelligence, it would still rather not have to succumb to another. Its instincts as a powerhouse predator constantly fought against its reasoning, even as doubt gnawed at the edges of its mind.

Noah watched with quiet amusement, his eyes narrowing slightly as the snake struggled. There were moments when the snake managed to open its jaws, revealing its partial fangs, and allowing its tongue to slither out once more. Its eyes grew fierce and determined in those brief instances, as if searching for a weakness, a way to break free. However, just as swiftly, its jaw would clamp shut with such force that the sound traveled through the air, a reminder of the creature’s raw power, power that, in the end, was futile against the webs that had trapped it.

With its repeated failure, the snake had to resist spiraling out of control due to its fear. It could tell that Noah wanted something from it, and if it wanted the webs removed, if it wanted to live, then it would have to listen to Noah’s terms.

The snake’s movements eventually began to calm, its towering figure lowering itself to meekly lay closer to the ground as a sign of surrender.

”Good,” Noah said as he turned his back towards the snake, making his way to his original destination. While hearing Noah walk away, the snake believed it was being tricked, its heart thumped with restlessness until it heard Noah’s voice again.

”I’ll remove the webs after I’m done, but for now, just wait while me and this ’tree’ is finished with our discussion. Afterwards, I can even allow you to still have the fruit.”