Becoming a Monster

Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Path of Confrontation

The surprise on Noah’s face was more extreme than it should have been, and for the first time in a while, Noah felt....aggrieved. All of the mana he spent just to create a tower from the earth, the heavy pondering he went through trying to figure out how else he could improve their base. And now, here was Pandora, standing before him, revealing a capability that could have eased so much of that burden.

All this time, he thought bitterly, ’share the burden’. Those words recently echoed by Ailetta, were now being replayed in his mind.

Noah exhaled, allowing the tension in his shoulders to dissipate. His eyes had a calmness within them that was rare to see ever since the start of this new world. Every day, every second, he couldn’t remember the time where he fully could rely on anyone else. Even during the times where he fought alongside his creatures, even in the moments where he did have to rely on them for their survival, in the depths of his heart, he was always cautious of letting his guard down completely.

But this moment caused him to look deeper into all of those moments, looking past the ”wall” that was influencing the way he viewed the struggles and triumphs he overcame with his creatures, with his family. Even when he made bad decisions, even during the times where he was weak to defeat an enemy on his own, no one blamed him for his indecisiveness or his weakness. They all continued to lean on him and support him.

Noah’s eyes moistened as his eyes instinctively traveled to those around him. The atmosphere was unlike what he had ever felt before; nothing had changed and yet to him, the place finally felt like a home, no...It was already a home, he just had to see it. And it wasn’t because of the dungeon core, it was his creatures, his family, that gave the home meaning.

An invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders as he looked at Pandora, her non expressive illusion still stood there motionlessly, waiting.

”Pandora,” Noah spoke with a strained, steady voice, holding himself back from letting his current emotions spill. ”What you’ve done is already enough to make up for all that I’ve done for you, thank you.” Noah’s response was short, hardly enough to properly convey how he felt. The emotions he was experiencing were new for him, an emotion that he subconsciously didn’t want others to see. However, his lack of wording didn’t downplay the impact that it had on Pandora.

Just a simple thank you would’ve been enough to satiate her sense of fulfillment, and yet, the fact that Noah compared her efforts to not only the purpose he granted her, but also the undeniable growth and power she was given only bestowed upon her a sense of untapped joy she never felt before.

Her illusionary figure didn’t show any noticeable changes, but if one could glimpse at the tree rooted within the confines of their home, one would see the intensity of her glowing veins, shiny with an intense luster. The brightness flickering in intensity with the changes in her emotions that she has never felt before.

There was a notion in her mind to take the wall even further, expanding the wall into a grand barricade that was more secure than a fortress. Despite the strain the changes would inflict on the surrounding trees. The idea filled her with a sense of purpose so intoxicating that, for a fleeting moment, it threatened to consume her. Yet, even as the thought swelled, her innate connection to the forest tempered her. She could feel the strain such an expansion would place on the surrounding trees.

The glowing veins in her bark dimmed momentarily as she fought back the urge, her instinctual knowledge of the forest preventing her from making her impulsive urge into a reality. Instead, Pandora redirected her focus to a different matter; the ’real’ reason she confronted Noah. Her illusion flickered as her focus shifted to the forest outside of Noah’s territory, where the snake bonded to her was taking shelter amidst the trees. The snake seemed to be resting, however underneath the snake, sprinkles of blood dripped from its body, making it appear as if the sky was lightly raining blood.

Its body held multiple injuries spread across its entire figure, the multitude of injuries and the severity of the wounds suggested that it encountered a foe that was worthy of its transcended power. And despite coming out from the encounter equal to those that caused it, the snake was in a state of panic as it processed the beings it fought.

____________________

No sooner than when it left the confines of Noah’s territory, it had left in a certain direction. Although it was now under Noah’s rule, it still held a sense of pride of its own. With its own animalistic senses being able to sense the extension of Noah’s territory, the snake ventured to expand an area under its own authority now that it was more powerful than before. Knowing what lurked on the other half of the forest, the snake was blinded by power, instead it gravitated towards the direction of the last two powerhouses lurking within the forest outside of the hidden beast and Noah’s rule.

But it was then that it was confronted with a peculiar encounter. Two groups of very familiar creatures came to confront it. Both groups consisted of the worker bees and ants that were dispensable in the eyes of their queens. The snake was confused by the encounter; it was used to messages being delivered to it by the Queen’s lackeys, but never had it witnessed both parties traveling together.

Its vigilance went up a notch when those said parties both delivered the same message, their formation, actions and communication were all eerie synchronized. ”Our Queens wants to speak to you.”

The message was clear and yet the snake found the content difficult to comprehend. If it was still its previous weaker self, a version that it considered to be just on par with the strength of the two Queens individually, then it would hesitate, confiding in its new ruler for its own safety. However, its newfound pride led it to follow the creatures without addressing its concerns.

As the snake followed, it realized the insects were leading it towards a direction it wasn’t expecting. Gradually it found itself slowing down, almost coming to a complete halt when it realized the part of the forest it was in was now in the territory of the beast it wanted to avoid.

It couldn’t understand why it was being led here, nor did it want to stand here in the beasts’ territory arguing with mere subordinates to understand.

The snake immediately turned to leave, once it did, it heard a chaotic hum sounding from the forest depth. The different beats of wings were beating vehemently, reaching its direction in a matter of seconds. The snake’s wariness awakened within it a curiosity to seek out the unknown intruders, and no sooner that it had the thought it had its answer.

A group of seven creatures came flying from between the tree’s cover, landing on the tree’s massive branches as they faced off against it.

The snake’s vigilance initially wavered after seeing that none of the seven creatures were the Queen’s themselves. It believed that any subordinate shouldn’t necessitate a hint of caution from its transcended self. However, as it observed the seven creatures more closely, the snake realized these were no ordinary creatures.

It was already confused about why the two different insects were traveling together, and now it realized that the two insects weren’t just mere partners, but the two were mixing their colonies to become one. It had never encountered such a blatant merging of two different species, challenging its perception of the natural order.

Six of the insects were completely identical, each of these resembled the bearlike bees from before that were covered with thick bristled fur. However now, each bee was elongated further, a new segment addition was now incorporated in their midsection where a new addition of limbs was attached to, allowing the creature to still maneuver as its once bipedal form, but now also allowing it to rise lift its torso, standing upright to more devastating and coordinated actions.

The changes extended further, each leg and arm were adorned with small, serrated spines that ran down each leg, enveloping even the palms of the creature’s claws. And lastly, the bee’s face now was masked with two extremely powerful dense mandibles, making it the most threatening aspect of its new appearance.

The six new entities restlessly stood at attention, their claws digging into the branches, creating small cracks that began to tear further in further, threatening to break through. Their mandibles clicked together in tandem with their eagerness to challenge the snake. The speed and power at which the mandibles clicked together created a noise so powerful that each sound was no different than a gunshot.

Their aggressiveness warranted a side of caution, even for the snake. However, their presence was tantamount to being nonexistent when it came to the being that led them.

”Another Queen?”