Becoming a Monster

Chapter 593: Chapter 592: Cracks in Composure

The elven leader slowly raised his head, only to find that Noah’s caution hadn’t lessened in the slightest.

His gaze continued moving across the gathering, carefully observing every goblin, troll, and elf standing beyond the walls. Even the threat of losing his head had done little to intimidate him. For only a moment, a faint twinkle passed through Noah’s eyes, almost as though he found the very idea laughable.

The elven leader noticed it immediately.

Rather than taking offense, the reaction only gave him another reason to believe the rumors surrounding Noah’s origins might hold some truth. Whatever else remained uncertain, the creature standing before him possessed at least the confidence expected of a demon born from the lineage they suspected.

The creatures gathered behind Noah were far less restrained.

Their displeasure became obvious the moment the elf threatened him. Mana flared from several of their bodies as they prepared themselves to act, yet none of them moved ahead of Noah or attempted to interrupt the conversation.

That alone was enough to surprise the elven leader for the second time since their arrival.

As a demon who held authority over numerous followers of his own, he could clearly sense the connection binding many of the creatures before him to Noah. It was too consistent to dismiss as simple loyalty, especially when so many of them carried traces of demonic energy despite belonging to completely different species.

His eyes instinctively swept across Noah’s hands in search of a ring. The ring on his hand didn’t have the majestic appeal or powerful demonic energy that a ring created by the Demon King would have.

It caused his breathing to unconsciously quicken before he caught himself.

The elf’s brows furrowed slightly, but nothing else in his expression revealed how greatly the discovery had unsettled him.

The Demon Kings’ rings were what allowed unbirthed demons to be created in the first place.

Yet Noah appeared to have accomplished something similar across numerous creatures without possessing a ring of his own.

Still, the elf refused to make any immediate assumptions.

There lies the possibility that the “demon” was created by someone else.

Or the ring was kept hidden in a safe place.

He was here as his Queen’s representative. Any conclusion he reached, along with every word he spoke, would inevitably reflect upon her. He couldn’t allow his growing curiosity to make him careless for a second time.

Only after ensuring his emotions were once again under control did he finally begin the introduction.

“My name is Morvyr Vaelthorn.”

“I am the Queen’s Root, one of the Five Arbors who serve beneath Her Majesty… a General of the Demon King…”

Morvyr deliberately paused at the end. His introduction had never been meant as anything more than a courtesy.

Titles carried weight. And the way someone reacted to them often revealed far more than any answer given to a direct question could.

In this case, Noah didn’t disappoint.

For the briefest of moments, surprise flashed across the demon’s face before disappearing beneath an even greater sense of scrutiny.

The way Noah observed them changed.

Moments ago, he had been studying them as though preparing for battle.

Now, it was as though he became more pensive. His caution was seemingly focused more on why they were here.

Morvyr committed the reaction to memory.

—

“…Noah.”

Ailetta’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Doesn’t this remind you of-“

“Don’t jinx it, Le.”

Noah answered before she had the opportunity to finish.

There had been a story both Noah and Ailetta enjoyed together. A story the two were reminded of before.

It followed a man named Valtura, whose strength eventually became great enough to attract the attention of the Demon King himself. Rather than trying to eliminate him, the Demon King first sought to recruit him.

Valtura refused.

From that point onward, he found himself fighting a battle he was never meant to win. The humans continued pursuing him as they always had, while the Demon King manipulated events from the shadows until his own forces also began hunting him.

Valtura ultimately survived, but only after sacrificing everything he had spent the entire story trying to protect.

Noah knew it was nothing more than a story. Even so, the possibilities that happened in that story and what could happen here were difficult to ignore.

You didn’t need an army to ask for an alliance. That in itself would only be an invitation disguised as a threat.

He wondered if that was really their true reason for coming here. But looking at Otuk, he didn’t believe so.

At least he was confident that it wasn’t the only reason. Either way, whatever they wanted was going to be troublesome.

That alone made one thing clear.

Noah wasn’t going to uncover their intentions by continuing to speculate.

The elf had already made it obvious that he intended to talk before anything else.

As long as that remained the case, Noah had no reason to reject the opportunity.

Understanding why they had come here was far more important than satisfying his own curiosity.

If that meant entertaining the elf’s introductions for a little while…

Then so be it.

“Well, it seems you were already aware of who I am.”

Noah’s gaze briefly settled upon Otuk.

“…Or at least, you believe you are.”

“As for me, I don’t have any grand titles like yours. You can simply call me Noah.

He paused for only a brief moment before the corner of his mouth rose ever so slightly. An expression Morvyr couldn’t see behind his veil.

Noah the demon… the devil… Take your pick; I don’t really care. The names keep on coming.”

This time it was Morvyr who recoiled from the titles Noah deliberately chose. Calling himself a demon was one thing.

Calling himself the Devil was another altogether.

After decades of fighting against humans whose holy faith centered around God, it was impossible for demonkind not to know the name of the one being said to stand in opposition to Him.

The Devil.

A being who all demons alike sought to bring about into the world.

However, unlike most demons, only the generals and their closest aides knew a particular detail about the Devil.

And that was that demonkind itself traced its origins back to a devil.

Whether it was from the Devil or the human faith… Only the Demon King himself would know.

The revelation alone cost Morvyr the initiative he had worked so hard to establish.

So much so that he missed the glint in Noah’s eyes. A gleam that took great amusement in messing with him.

“Why are you so bad?” Ailetta sounded exasperated, but deep down she was enjoying this.

“Who told him to threaten me and act like I should be grateful for it? He was the one who decided to play games first. I don’t see why I shouldn’t play along.”

—

The elf had to take a somewhat deep breath before choosing not to dwell upon the titles Noah had just used.

Whether the names held any truth behind them or not could be addressed later.

The reason he had come here remained unchanged.

“We first learned of your existence through this troll.”

His eyes barely glanced toward Otuk before returning to Noah. Even now, he would never lower himself to say Otuk’s name.

“I’m certain that you are aware of its identity by now.”

“Ordinarily, the words of a single troll wouldn’t have been enough to warrant Her Majesty’s attention.”

“However, not long after, when we began to look into you, rumors had already begun spreading throughout the nearby human settlements. They all pointed toward the existence of a demon residing within this forest.”

“On their own, those rumors meant very little. Humans have a habit of creating stories whenever they fail to understand something.”

“But when their stories began matching the troll’s account, they became far more difficult to ignore.”

“Her Majesty had no interest in dismissing either side without first confirming the truth herself.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“That was also when we decided to continue observing the humans after their first attempt to attack you failed.”

“And during that time, we learned something that I believe should concern you-“

“I know.”

Noah answered before the elf had the opportunity to continue.

“The humans have already decided to attack me within the next few days.”

—

Morvyr didn’t answer.

The silence lingered far longer than he wanted it to last.

The elf simply continued looking at him, his expression betraying nothing. Yet Noah could almost see the thoughts running through his mind as he quietly reevaluated the conversation they had only just begun.

“Do you know exactly which day?” Morvyr’s tone sounded cold, but to Noah, he sounded desperate. And desperate he was. At this rate, how was he supposed to get Noah to answer any of their questions if he had nothing to exchange?

“Does the particular day matter?” Noah asked. “If they come tomorrow, it’ll end the same way as if they come the day after.”

A faint chuckle escaped Morvyr.

It was the first genuine emotion Noah had seen from him since the conversation began.

“You believe that because you don’t yet know who the humans intend to bring.”

“If you did… I’m afraid you wouldn’t be nearly as composed.”

“Even I would have no choice but to abandon my post if I found myself in your position.”

Finally, Morvyr noticed Noah’s attention sharpened. He finally found a way in.

“And that…”

“…is exactly why I’m here.”

For those who are interested in these types of things, “Arbors” means “tree.”