Becoming a Monster

Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Fighting for a Place to Call Our Own

”Why does it have to be so big?” Noah spoke exasperatedly. The spider was the first creature that caught his eyes as they entered the clearing.

If it was one thing he learned during his short life in the apocalypse, is that size does matter. Size equates to both strength and tenacity, even if the stats don’t represent it. Even now, Noah observed how the spider’s twelve enormous legs supported its massive weight, each ending in curved talons that gouged into the ground as if claiming the very land beneath it. The spider had to weigh several tons and yet its strength was probably less than Fenrir’s. However, if the two were to physically duke it out, the spider would probably come out superior, just because of its size.

”Great,” he muttered under his breath, glancing sideways at Arachne, whose eyes glimmered with a tempered fury.

”I take it you’re still eager to fight that thing by yourself?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Arachne gave a slow nod, her focus glued to the creature whose attention was also now focused on her.

Noah quickly noticed the spider’s gaze, smirking to himself as he walked near Arachne’s side, placing his arm around her side.

The reaction was immediate. Noah’s casual yet possessive gesture threw Arachne off balance, her rage flickering as her focus wavered between her enemy and the unexpected warmth of Noah’s embrace. She was tense but still leaned into him slightly, trying to make sense of his intent.

But Noah’s attention remained fixed on the monstrous spider, which bristled with newfound aggression. Its eyes narrowed, mandibles clicking faster as its body tensed with the intensity of its rising aura. It was almost as if it could understand the challenge Noah was throwing its way. By holding Arachne close, he wasn’t just offering support, he was making a statement, a bold claim that only fueled the creature’s fury.

”She’s mine!”

The spider finally burst forth with emboldened, passionate anger. Its clicks and hisses were easily deciphered by Noah, who didn’t hear the spider’s words as mere noise, but an actual language of its own, one that he easily understood.

”Sorry,” Noah responded, his tone brimming with an icy confidence, ”but she’s mine.”

He shot a sidelong glance at Arachne, who was already bristling with a newfound fervor. With his words, any lingering doubt was erased from her mind. Her body shifted, ready to acknowledge Noah’s declaration with her victory.

Noah’s hand dropped to his side, giving her the space she needed to face her foe alone. This was her fight, her chance to show the creature, to show everyone that no one can have her besides Noah, and anyone that tries will only meet their end.

Noah turned towards the others, his selfish goal accomplished. If he couldn’t personally inflict the torture he oh so desired, then he might as well agonized the spider in the only other way he knows. He wasn’t going to deprive Arachne of her own selfish satisfaction.

Now that his petty ruse was out of the way, it was time to start. Conversations? Wanting to come to an understanding? The spider had relinquished the right, the moment they entered the forest. He wanted to get this over with quickly.

”Le, can you do the honors?” Ailetta smiled mischievously to his question, her eyes dangerously eyeing all of the creatures.

”Is there anyone here that piques your interest?” She asked, scanning potential recruits. She was aware that Noah could still tame another creature. From her understanding of Noah, she was full of certainty that the spider wasn’t on that list. But the bee, in particular, was something she felt Noah would fancy.

”No, kill them all. Starting with monsters in the forest. Fenrir and the others can stall until then, that was your plan anyways, right?”

Ailetta’s smile grew wickedly, eyes glinting with a gleeful malice. ”Only to ensure that my experiment is as grand as I hope it is.”

”Go, my baby!” With her order, her slime abomination quickly slithered into the edges of the forest. Its mouth began to break at the jaw, opening its maw extremely wide to even egulf some of the smaller insects. Its first target was one of the giant beetles. Before the beetle could make sense of what was happening, the snakelike mutation bit down, holding it completely in place. Its methods of attacks appeared to be hindered, but the beetle’s shrieks quickly disproved that idea.

Giant mouths materialized on the abomination’s body, with teeth that dug through the beetle’s hide as if it was nonexistent. One bite, two....half of the beetle’s body was gone before the slime moved onto, its next target was one of the nearby spiders.

”Le, if you can, try not to absorb the spider’s cores, I’ll need those.”

Of course,” she replied, glancing back at Noah with a hint of amusement. ”I’ll make sure the cores remain intact for you.”

The slime creature seemed to acknowledge her command, its ravenous mouths pausing just shy of fully consuming its prey. It adjusted, swiftly shifting to bite into the spider’s head with its snakelike maw, leaving behind a chilling scene of a headless spider. With a small gesture from Ailetta, a small orb, a slime, flowed towards the corpse, entering it whilst mimicking the spider’s eaten face as it aided the abomination in its attacks.

The moment Ailetta’s creature killed its first enemy, the behemoth spider shrieked again with anger. Not that one of its minions were killed right in front of it, but because they took the initiative to attack its army within its own territory.

”Eat them!” The spider roared, finally giving the order.

The animals outside the forest weren’t sure who to target. The auras and suppression of the hierarchy of their superiors in the center prevented them from directly interfering. So with no other choice, they were left with the snaklike mutation that was currently hunting them down.

The first creatures to respond out of the mutated, evolved guards were the bees. Their reaction time to battle was instantaneous, rushing headlong in Noah’s direction.

As they closed in, Noah’s eyes narrowed, studying their approach.

”Fenrir, you’re up. Leave Dummy to fight the other group.” At the que of Noah’s command, Fenrir roared, his howl signaling Dummy on what to do while simultaneously releasing his excitement. Dust and dirt kicked up from his explosive start. Still within his beetle transformation, Fenrir held no thought of using any of his other two forms, especially after what happened with the dragonflies.

But unlike last time, flying creatures would have a harder time participating within the confines of the battle, especially with the spider webs entrenching the sky’s.

As Fenrir rushed towards his battle, Dummy also took off. Its mind didn’t try to reason whether or not it was out of its league. Its mind was focused on two things, following orders and eating.

”Would you want to use that with Diablo?” Noah motioned for Eve, who was now standing in front of Ailetta. The little zombie tilted her head, her finger pointing towards her lip while deep in thought. Moments later, she quickly shook her head, her eyes glowing that signaled for Diablo to advance with his sword and shield drawn.

”No...Papa can handle it!” She proudly announced.

There was a brief second of disappointment. It wasn’t that Noah was disappointed in Eve not wanting to participate. She could’ve done a lot more if he had allowed her to keep her control of the zombies on the way here. What disappointed him was seeing her skill in action. A skill she obtained after being transformed into his vessel. Diablo was more than just her guard; he was her power, a power that could fuse back with her, unlocking her fullest potential, changing her into something that left Noah eager to understand what it was.

With everyone assigned their roles, only one person remained, the one most eager to attack.

Noah wouldn’t mind if she was the one to have intimated the battle, but despite her eagerness to take down the behemoth boss, he wanted to play it safe. He placed the palm of his hand on Arachne’s back, eliciting a small jerk. Before Arachne could perceive what he was up to, her body was enveloped by a blue light, a light that was faint at first, but intensified a second later before flowing into her body. She felt her body growing extremely light, time itself slowed down, or atleast, everything her eyes could perceive was perceptively slower in her vision.

Among the items Noah had acquired on his journey, the basic skill ’Grant Lesser Agility’ was a skill that he didn’t hesitate to put in his repertoire after receiving the scroll.

Following with, her body glowed red. The aura reenacting the same process as the other aura. However this time Arachne felt her muscles and tendons bulging, an incredible sense of strength enveloping her.

With both her strength and agility now being increased by nearly 94%, nearly 6% more after increasing his spirit by another fifty points.

”Show them what you’re capable of,” Noah murmured with a grin, his tone carrying a challenge as much as encouragement.

Arachne looked up at him, her fierce gaze alight with determination. The behemoth boss waited, its massive form looming, its own intent clear. But with Noah’s support fueling her, Arachne no longer felt any hesitation. Her entire form tensed as she prepared to strike, the air around her charged with her readiness to unleash everything she had.