Becoming a Monster

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Looming Presence Is Here

Both Fenrir’s and Arachne’s battles were the epitome of destruction, their fighting reverberating through the battlefield, overshadowing the efforts of the other people fighting for their lives.

With Raven no longer able to stand at the forefront, and with Peterson no longer able to provide support fire, the defenders were forced to retreat further towards the base walls. Lives were being lost with no one to bear witness to their last struggle; people yelling for assistance before being drowned in the swarms’ numbers, their cries for help quickly escalating into cries for mercy while inwardly hoping for a quick death.

The battlefield had transformed into a hellscape of death and despair. The once-hopeful defenders were now barely holding on, their spirits crushed under the relentless advance of the insect horde. Raven’s towering presence, though faltering, was the only thing keeping the last vestiges of hope alive among the survivors. Her massive form, battered and bloodied, still stood as a symbol of resistance, even as the situation grew increasingly dire.

But the reality of their situation was undeniable. The cries for help, and the morale-boosting roars that had once filled the air were now fewer and farther between, replaced by the hunger crazed shrills and shrieks of insects. The defenders could feel the walls of death closing in around them. The very air seemed to tremble with the collective fear of those who remained, their hearts pounding in their chest as they realized the grim truth: they were running out of time.

The choice that lay before them was a cruel one. They could fight to the bitter end, hoping for a miracle that might never come, or they could flee, abandoning the station and the defenseless innocents within to be devoured by the swarm.

And as their miracle seemed to never appear, a major spectacle took forth. A wall of fire emerged between the defenders and the insects. Both creatures and humans alike were startled by the event, with both fearfully gaining distance in fear of being burned alive.

For a moment, the chaos of their battle paused, both sides affected by the initial shock. The defenders’ hearts pounded in their chest, not being able to believe what they were seeing. Was this the miracle they were praying for, or just another twist in the nightmare they were being forced to endure?

Levi’s voice rang out, cutting through the stunned silence, ”Now! While they are distracted, kill the bugs near you and regroup, the illusion won’t last for long!” The people quickly jolted from their daze by his words, quickly moving into action. Now that they were aware of the illusion, it became noticeably clear that the fire had two glaring flaws; not only did the flame not emit any heat, but the flames were not capable of moving. The entire wall of flames was just that, only a stationary wall of flames akin to a picture brought into reality.

It took quite some time for the others to finally realize that one of the three faction leaders were fighting alongside them. Not only was Levi’s presence seemingly non-existent, but his presence on the battlefield wasn’t as significant as the other two awakener’s. But there was nothing that Levi could do about that, his abilities were mainly suited for human or human-like creatures. With his unique ability, he could make a physical double of him, wielding the exact same gear as him. If he were to carry a rocket launcher, then his copy would also appear with one while the one it wielded would be just as real as the original.

However, not only did he not have a rocket launcher, but the insects’ physical traits inhibited his main source of combat. Guns were only effective on a minority of the present insects, forcing him to use a melee weapon for the first time, an action that he wasn’t yet accustomed to. His attacks are without fitness, lacking both accuracy and lethality.

Despite the stats he should have as an awakener, his attributes were even less than Mark’s when under the effects of his Heroic Spirit ability. Not to mention that the use of weapons had drastic fallbacks; The lack of dropped chest, preventing him from gaining orbs to increase his stats further than what just leveling up would give him, and receiving a lackluster awakened class compared to others.

His class only ascended from apprentice mage to wizard. The class name was underwhelming, especially when compared to others who had achieved more powerful and specialized classes. Even Levi initially felt a deep sense of frustration as he couldn’t understand why Peterson received a specialized class when he didn’t.

However, his intelligent mind soon understood that the wizard class still provided him with more growth than Peterson, albeit not initially. The wizard class gave him the passive of increasing the progression of all of his magical abilities quicker than normal, depending on the class. While also increasing the efficiency of supportive spells used and also passively increasing the power of damaging spells. All three of the abilities he gained from his class were only passive abilities, but the last passive was better than any skill, a passive that doubles the time limit for any non-damaging spell.

Levi eventually was able to foresee his potential, but his lack of attributes was significantly holding him back. His mana reserves were abysmal for being awakened, while a multitude of his abilities, including his unique skill, all relied on having a significant amount of mana to be truly effective.

This led him to using his abilities sparingly, resorting to using a sword from the small collection of weapons Raven and her team had obtained.

And although he had these limitations, he still managed to find a loophole. His unique skill relied on mana to activate, but his clone not only was able to use the same weapons as he did, but also his abilities. The clone would materialize with the same amount of mana as the caster, minus the initial use of mana to summon it, using the mana as its own without parasitizing off of Levi’s reserves.

So after creating the illusionary fire, Levi summoned his clone who began to fire off a series of fireballs at the insects on the other side of his illusionary flames, hoping to keep up with the illusion of the illusion being real.

His actions gave hope to the people who were disparaged, fueled by the sudden turn of events as they moved in tandem, working together to dispatch the nearest insects and reforming their ranks. Hope, though fragile, began to flicker back into their hearts as they took advantage of the reprieve.

But Levi didn’t share in their optimism, he knew their reprieve was only temporary. Not only would his clone run out of mana soon, but the insects would also soon discover the flames’ true nature. While his clone continued to rain down fireballs, Levi acted the part of supporting nearby people with his sword, but his movements were particular. Little by little his figure was gaining distance from his own group, drawing closer to where Mark and his company were banded together.

With everyone now fighting harder than ever, Levi’s entourage was too focused on their own battle to notice Levi’s subtle retreat. His clone maintained the illusion that he was still fighting by their side.

’I’m not going to die with those fools...’ Levi thought to himself, admonishing the group who still falsely embraced the illusion that their weapons were still useful. Again, Levi chided himself for his naivety, but he was going to atone for his mistakes by growing stronger. Except, he needed to be alive to do that, and fighting with a group of idiots that would endanger his life would not aid in his survival. So, his plan was to join the group with the highest combat power in the area. Raven’s group of women were a good option, but he was sure that they would question his actions after all of this was over.

However, his plan was forced to a halt. Unlike the miraculous event that his illusion brought to everyone, an even bigger spectacle unfolded. A screech, far louder and overbearing than any noise made thus far, entered everyone’s ears. Almost everyone stopped in their actions to cover their ears, instinctively to provide comfort to their eardrums. Others were heavily influenced by the screech, their minds dazed over, fear clung ever deeper at their hearts, their weapons dropping out of their hands.

And just like the humans, the surrounding swarms of insects were affected by the screech as well. Their actions were far more erratic than the people under its influence. Each insect, no matter their size or species, faltered in their advance. It was as if the screech had disrupted their collective consciousness.

Then, as if driven by the unseen force, the insects began to retreat in masse. The battlefield, once a chaotic tug of war between life and death, was now a scene of utter confusion. A massive stampede ensued, with every insect scrambling to escape the area. The once relentless tide of creatures now fled in a rush, more frantic than they had done when expecting the arrival of the two giant insects, leaving the humans in stunned silence. The more stable and aware of the people amongst them understood that the fight was far from over, something else was coming.

The giant centipede and beetle were also affected by the alarming screech, but unlike their smaller versions, the two grew more desperate to overcome their battles. Their actions hinted at a deep fear, a deeper horror than what the swarm of insects were showing. Whatever was coming made them fear that failure was worse than death.

The beetle no longer showed its usual strong reactions whenever Fenrir took off another layer of shell. It began to punch with greater fervor, each punch delivered would send Fenrir crashing into an obstacle before Fenrir would rebound from the blow, engaging back with an even stronger presence.

The more the beetle was losing, the crazier its actions became. The centipede was no different. After losing an eye, its vigilance amplified, no longer persisting to take Raven down in fear that Arachne would make a daring attempt on its other eye. But that only allowed Raven to finally mix in offensive stabs of her own. But that all changed after the screech.

The centipede’s sudden, frenzied behavior was a dramatic shift from its previously calculated movements. In its desperation, it abandoned all sense of self-preservation. With a guttural screech, it hurled itself at Raven, latching onto her shield with a vise-like grip using its mandibles and legs. Its body, despite its inability to fully coil around her due to being held back by Raven’s shield, still strained and twisted in an attempt to constrict Raven.

Even as Arachne landed atop the centipede’s face again, in preparation to attack the other eye, the centipede still focused solely on constricted Raven, desperate to take out one variable before the new entity arrived.

——

Levi, Mark, and the others watched in disbelief as the horde receded. The insects seemed to be regrouping in the distance, but not all of them headed in the same location, only the ants continued in another direction. A direction that both Levi and Mark made sure to be aware of. Mark starred in Noah’s direction, his expression one of both extreme curiosity and a looming concern. ”What did you do this time...?” Mark muttered to himself before regaining his bearings. His body naturally relaxed now that they were out of danger for the moment, but when seeing that the sudden change on the battlefield was caused by Noah, Mark was driven by a sense of reciprocation to repay his life debt.

Turning to the others, just as he opened his mouth to speak, a new noise filled the air, a deep, resonant buzzing that sent chills down his spine. The sound was unmistakable, the buzz was unmistakable, it was eerie, sounding almost as a high pitch scream throughout the entire time of its flight.

Mark’s heart pounded in his chest as the noise grew louder at an insane pace. He had only enough time to blink twice before a shadow passed his vision. A dark blur raced past everyone, locked onto Noah’s location who was standing over the last ant general. Although Noah was using the full potential of his Ruler’s Fury ability, losing himself to his violent urges, his instinctive awareness was on full blast, instantly noticing the creature’s arrival.

However, the new creature’s speed surpassed even Noah’s reaction time. It’s still blurred figure rammed into Noah’s body, slamming Noah’s body strongly into the ground. The collision into the ground gave out a small tremor, creating a crater in the ground, with Noah at its center and the new creature standing menacing above him.