Becoming a Monster

Chapter 634: Chapter 633: No Shortage of Pride

Everyone’s transformations had finally come to an end.

That didn’t mean the surroundings became any calmer.

If anything, the creatures became even more lively once they had the opportunity to properly experience what had changed.

Almost everyone became preoccupied with one another.

Some eagerly showed off their new abilities, while others immediately sought out those they were accustomed to competing with. It hadn’t even been that long since their transformations ended, yet arguments were already starting over who had improved the most.

Naturally, the cats and dogs were among the worst.

One of the cats would show what its new ability could do, only for a dog to immediately attempt something of its own. If one of them appeared faster than before, another wanted to prove that they were faster. Even the ones whose changes weren’t suited for direct competition found some reason why theirs was better.

However, one argument didn’t occur nearly as often anymore.

Which group was stronger?

Only a few days ago, that would’ve been one of the first things the cats and dogs argued about. It was practically impossible for one group to improve without the other immediately treating it as another reason to compete.

Noah had gradually put an end to that.

Not their rivalry itself. He doubted anything he did would completely get rid of that.

What he stopped was their habit of treating the cats and dogs as two separate forces.

Whenever they sparred now, Noah no longer allowed them to fight solely beside their own kind. Alexandria and Dog were responsible for separating everyone into teams, mixing cats and dogs together while making sure those teams were different each time.

If they were going to fight together in the future, then Noah wanted them accustomed to doing so now.

The change had worked better than he expected.

The cats and dogs still competed over almost everything, but now it wasn’t strange to see a cat bragging alongside two dogs because their team had won against another group made up of both.

The rivalry between the two groups hadn’t disappeared because of it. They had simply found far more individual things to argue about.

And they weren’t the only ones eager to compare themselves.

Fenrir had already approached Kratos.

The beast walked over without saying anything before stopping near the Kaiju. The two silently stared each other down, fighting a battle of the eyes before it took another turn.

The pressure surrounding Fenrir suddenly intensified, and it didn’t take long before the Kaiju responded in kind.

Neither attempted to overwhelm the other. Their collision of auras only pressed against one another, each judging how much the other had grown.

There wasn’t any hostility behind it.

Fenrir acknowledged Kratos’s strength enough to consider him a genuine threat to his position, while Kratos clearly acknowledged Fenrir enough to understand that surpassing him wouldn’t be easy.

Unfortunately, that mutual acknowledgment only made both of them want to fight even more.

If anything, the longer they stood there, the more obvious it became that both were waiting for an excuse to find out which of them was the strongest.

Their silent battle continued until a presence came up beside Fenrir.

“Can I touch?” Eve asked after noticing Fenrir’s head turn toward her, but her hands were already reaching for the flames surrounding his legs.

Before Fenrir could even grasp what she was asking, Eve had already touched them.

Anyone watching would’ve expected the little vampire to immediately pull her hand back with severe burns.

Eve apparently hadn’t considered that possibility at all.

The girl possessed almost no caution when it came to putting herself in danger, especially since Diablo had always taken on any pain she experienced in her place.

Yet even as Eve allowed her hand to remain within the black and crimson flames, nothing happened.

She could feel the warmth surrounding her fingers, but the flames weren’t anywhere near as hot as their appearance suggested.

Noah had noticed what Eve was doing from farther away. His attention immediately shifted toward Diablo, expecting the skeletal warrior to show some indication that Eve had been injured even if she couldn’t feel it herself.

But nothing happened to him either.

Noah’s attention returned to Fenrir.

Just from that small interaction, he already understood that Fenrir’s flames were relatively harmless while in their passive state. But there was nothing about Fenrir’s skill that indicated they should behave that way, which could only mean Fenrir’s control over his flames had become even better after his growth.

Eve continued running her hands through the flames, seemingly fascinated by how something that looked so dangerous only felt warm against her skin.

After a while, Fenrir tried to ignore her, but Eve only took his lack of response as acceptance that she could continue.

And Eve took a lot more liberties than what Fenrir was prepared for when he felt her climbing up on his sides in order to sit on his back.

With Fenrir distracted, the confrontation between him and Kratos naturally came to an end.

The same gradually happened with everyone else.

Dobby had finally left Noah’s side to join the other cats and dogs. After spending most of their transformations observing them from a distance, the sage now found himself surrounded by several of his kin who were just as interested in his changes as he was in theirs.

Gwen was one of the few who didn’t have anyone to share her excitement with.

With Arachne still inside, Noah eventually allowed the elf to enter his home so she could speak with Pandora’s main body instead. Ailetta had already returned inside as well, although her reasons were different. She wanted to check on Arachne and see how much longer her transformation would take.

That left Arachne’s brood without their Queen.

Unlike everyone else, however, the spiders didn’t spend much time celebrating their changes.

Atlas made sure of that.

With Arachne still undergoing her transformation, the Royal Dreadguard seemed to consider her current state more important than anything they had just gained. If anything, their Queen being vulnerable meant there was even less reason for the brood to remain gathered around showing off their improvements.

Those improvements should be used to protect her even more.

It didn’t take long before Atlas began ordering the other spiders to disperse.

Some returned to the webs surrounding the territory, while the others resumed whatever duties they had abandoned when Bolas forced everyone to gather.

Even Atlas didn’t remain for long. Once he was satisfied that the others had returned to their positions, he made his way atop the building containing his Queen.

Gradually, the excitement that had taken over the surroundings began to settle.

Bolas and the goblins were the only ones unsatisfied in the end.

The other goblins could only look enviously toward Genghis. There was just as much awe as there was bitterness. The children especially held immense respect for the one who had saved them, but that didn’t stop an equal amount of envy from appearing when they saw that the oni had once again blessed him with power.

Bolas, meanwhile, had no one who was giving him the attention he felt he deserved.

The dragon constantly looked around at everyone mingling amongst themselves.

All that time, barely anyone spared him a glance.

Bolas couldn’t understand it.

Was he not strong? Was he not fierce? Did no one understand the majestic beauty of his wings?

He had already shown them off once, but apparently everyone had been too distracted by being blown off their feet to properly appreciate them.

Unfortunately, Bolas was far too proud to openly demand their admiration.

Instead, the dragon released a heavy huff before ever so slightly spreading his wings, hoping to catch even the slightest hint of awe on someone’s face.

The movement did, in fact, earn him several glances.

Bola’s chest immediately swelled with pride, his neck turning in the right angle to show his best side.

But as he glanced to see their reactions, he was forced to see their expressions.

Or lack thereof.

Several creatures had stiffened the moment his wings began opening. It was an act of self-preservation. No one there had forgotten that quickly what had happened the last time Bolas wanted to show off.

And then the others cautiously watched him as though they were worried he was about to start ordering everyone to go back to digging.

Only after realizing that Bolas didn’t want anything did their gazes just as quickly turn away.

Bolas stared at everyone in disbelief.

He had finally obtained the strongest and most magnificent wings in existence, and somehow these creatures were oblivious to it.

The dragon could only come to one conclusion.

They had absolutely no appreciation for beauty.

While Bolas suffered from the lack of attention, Morvyr was grateful for it.

He had been waiting for an opportunity to approach Noah for some time now, but the devil had been completely engrossed in observing the changes of his subordinates.

Morvyr hadn’t wanted to interrupt him.

Now, with most of the creatures occupied with themselves and that gleam in the devil’s eyes had died down, Morvyr finally felt the opportunity had presented itself.