Becoming a Monster

Chapter 568 - 567: What Really Happened

Neither Ishii nor the others ever realized that someone had followed them to the inn.

Let alone the fact that they were being tracked for the past few days.

The people trailing them had never once allowed themselves to be seen, nor had they given the group any reason to believe they were being watched.

They were experts at what they did.

And at the same time, this showed the gap between the powers within the city compared to the fresh group of adventurers who had just arrived in this world.

More importantly, the possibility never even crossed their minds because none of them believed the guild had any reason to suspect them.

In that regard, they were mistaken.

Ever since the day Paul’s group returned from their encounter with the werebeast, Thalric had quietly arranged for them to be observed whenever the situation called for it.

The order wasn’t given because he believed they had betrayed the city, nor because he thought they were conspiring with monsters.

If anything, the Guild Master had done everything within his power to prevent that very accusation from taking root.

Thalric had always believed that an adventurer deserved the benefit of the doubt until there was sufficient reason to think otherwise.

That was the reason he never disclosed the real details of their encounter to the public, in case the Church ever decided to get involved.

The moment Paul reported that the monster had willingly allowed them to leave because of a faint kinship within their species, Thalric understood how dangerous that piece of information truly was.

The Church didn’t need proof to begin asking questions. All they needed was a connection and a reasonable doubt.

A monster that spared a group of adventurers.

Or

A group of adventurers that returned alive.

To most people, the distinction meant very little. To someone like Malachi, they were enough to begin weaving a story.

Thalric could already picture how that story would go.

The Church would question why they had been spared.

Then they would question whether Paul’s group had ever been human to begin with.

After that, they would begin questioning where the adventurers’ loyalties truly lay.

It wouldn’t take long before someone suggested that perhaps Paul himself had already been corrupted.

After all, weren’t werewolves infamous for hiding amongst humanity? If that accusation gained enough support, then the Church would have everything it needed to act, and by that point, it wouldn’t matter whether the accusation was true.

That was why Thalric buried the report.

He refused to sacrifice his own adventurers based upon suspicion alone.

Unfortunately, extending someone the benefit of the doubt didn’t mean ignoring the possibility that they were hiding something.

Ever since hearing Paul’s account, Thalric had quietly entertained a possibility that he desperately hoped was wrong.

The demon spoken of by the Hero and Savior. One that supposedly came from the world they originated from.

The sudden appearance of strange demonic energy within the forest. Followed by the werebeast that spared Paul’s party, a beast that also came from the forest that was never there before.

And now the intelligent creature described by Varkesh, a dark entity never heard of before, that led that very werebeast, along with other questionable monsters.

The more information he gathered, the more difficult it became to believe those were unrelated incidents.

He believed they were all connected. However, he still lacked proof, and proof was the one thing Thalric refused to substitute with instinct.

Varkesh’s testimony had finally given him a way to obtain it.

If Paul’s group truly knew something about the creature in the forest, then sooner or later they would seek out the only person who had survived an encounter with it.

Thalric simply needed to wait and see whether that prediction came true.

And it had, a lot quicker than he assumed. Which meant that this event had pressured them enough to make them unable to wait.

The question was no longer whether Paul’s group shared a connection with the creature within the forest.

The only thing left to determine was the nature of that connection.

Because there was a difference between knowing a monster...

And choosing to stand beside one after it had killed fellow people.

Thalric intended to find out which side they belonged to.

If it ended with them proving his suspicions wrong, then no one would be happier than he was.

But if even the slightest indication that his own adventurers were actively aiding the creature responsible for the deaths inside that forest...

Then he would personally ensure they never left Ashenveil alive.

No matter how much potential they possessed or what they could accomplish for Ashenveil.

The safety of the city had always come first.

And it always would.

—

Inside the inn.

The conversation started off awkward.

Bailey and the others expected Varkesh to begin recounting his story, but the tiger-kin insisted on hearing about their part in all of this first.

The scenario that they talked about, and how there was even the slightest possibility that they had any connection to Noah.

That put the two groups in a stand-off on who would reveal themselves first.

However, surprisingly, it was Paul who took the initiative.

The big lug, slowly but dutifully, recounted the world they came from. How their world was deprived of mana or any magical aspects, leading up to the day that ”Judgment Day” transpired.

Varkesh’s eyes were awestruck. He had heard the rumors, and he had briefly interacted with a few of those ”otherworldly” humans. But he had never talked to one to understand where they came from.

What was even more shocking was the ”demon” that he feared more than any being or any horror tale, was once a human.

It wouldn’t have been shocking if it had happened in their present world. Humans betraying humanity to side with the demons were ample examples of humans being turned into demons.

But it happened in a world that had only begun to accumulate mana. For a human to become as powerful as Noah is now, he had to be changed by a being more powerful than himself currently.

Like the Demon King.

Varkesh found himself having his own conspiracies. The thought of the Demon King being the one who brought everyone here kept recirculating.

By now, Varkesh was willing to believe that anything they said next was the truth.

Because as he continued to listen to the rest of the story, they had already mentioned most of the monsters by the demon’s side.

The werebeast, the slime monster, the spider, the vampire, and the one monster he would never forget, the kaiju.

Just thinking about that creature initiated a phantom pain across his face.

Varkesh rubbed his hand across his face. As he looked at the group of people in front of him, another thought began to take shape.

If the people had a good relationship with the demon, then perhaps they could help him.

However, it wasn’t a thought Varkesh believed he had the right to entertain.

The demon had already spared his and Gwen’s life when he didn’t have to. Asking someone else to interfere felt selfish.

Yet the possibility refused to leave him.

The question escaped his mouth before he had the chance to stop it.

”What... do you think the chances are that the demo- I mean, Noah, would let Gwen go?”

The room immediately fell silent.

Several pairs of eyes shifted toward him in confusion before slowly exchanging glances with one another.

It took everyone a moment to realize the same thing.

They had spent the entire conversation recounting their own experiences.

Varkesh hadn’t even begun explaining what happened inside the forest.

A long sigh escaped the tiger beastkin before he slowly leaned back into his chair.

”...It’s only fair that I tell you my side.”

—

For several moments, Varkesh stared at the bottle resting on the table. Just thinking about having to relieve those memories made him want to drink again.

Unlike the others, Varkesh didn’t begin with the monster. Instead, he began with the mission itself.

From accepting the guild request, to entering the forest, to realizing that the forest had doubled in size since the last expedition. Every detail was recounted exactly as he remembered it.

As the story continued, Varkesh never attempted to make himself or the others appear more righteous than they truly were.

He openly admitted that they had killed every monster they encountered along the way.

To them, if a monster attacked, then they should kill it. It was the same for every person. But as he spoke, one could tell that he wasn’t so sure of that anymore.

Eventually, his story reached the moment everything changed. Varkesh found himself slowing down without realizing it.

He spoke about how the demon warned them, giving them the opportunity to leave.

And then, with far more difficulty than he expected, he admitted that none of it mattered because one person refused to listen.

Roy continued provoking the creature despite every opportunity to stop.

In the end, they all chose to support him.

In hindsight, Varkesh acknowledged that they were more arrogant than the demon was.

It had every right to want them out of its territory. It would be the same for them if the demon came to their city and started killing people.

From that point onward, the story progressed towards the end. But Varkesh was more distracted than usual.

He didn’t notice before, but something was strangely off about this group.