Becoming a Monster

Chapter 601: Chapter 600: A Necessary Disadvantage

There was much more for Morvyr to reconsider now. And with that new outlook, he finally turned his full attention toward Noah.

The devil’s composure hadn’t wavered once. Even when the tension between both groups reached the point where a single mistake could have started a battle, Noah remained entirely certain of his position.

That certainty confirmed what Morvyr had already begun to suspect.

Noah’s confidence wasn’t reckless.

It came from understanding exactly what would happen if anyone challenged him within his own domain.

The elf cleared his throat, unable to completely hide the embarrassment caused by his earlier outburst.

“Excuse me. That reaction was rather unbecoming of me, and entirely unintentional.”

Noah looked toward him.

For several moments, his eyes appeared to consider the apology while the battle continued drawing closer to its climax.

“Think nothing of it,” Noah finally replied. “It’s not as though you would be the sort of person to choose violence over such a small matter.”

A wry smile showed on Morvyrs’ face. He couldn’t determine whether the words were sincere or merely another jab directed toward him.

The fact that both possibilities sounded equally believable only made the uncertainty worse.

“Although…”

Noah’s attention briefly returned to the battle.

“If you’re upset with how this has turned out, we can always renegotiate the terms.”

A faint shiver passed through Morvyr’s body. His heart pounded strongly soon after.

Once again, Noah had taken words Morvyr used earlier and returned them with an entirely different weight behind them.

There was no longer any doubt that the devil was deliberately provoking him.

Even so, Morvyr couldn’t ignore how much more ominous the same offer sounded when it came from Noah. He had no confidence that asking what the devil had in mind would lead anywhere beneficial for him.

“There’s no need,” Morvyr answered quickly. “No need.”

The repetition escaped him naturally, as though he needed to make certain there was no room for misunderstanding.

There was little reason to continue approaching the conversation with the same degree of arrogance.

Being domineering during a negotiation was most effective when what Morvyr offered placed the other party in a position where refusal would cost them far more than acceptance.

That was the advantage he believed he possessed when he entered the territory. With the humans preparing to attack, Noah’s need for information and additional forces should have given Morvyr control over the terms.

Everything he had witnessed since entering the territory had gradually stripped that advantage away. Or, to put it better, it revealed that they never had the advantage to begin with.

Noah’s creatures were far stronger than their reports suggested. The battle right now clearly proved that.

A beast that was completely outmatched at the beginning of the battle had somehow grown powerful enough to overturn that disadvantage before Morvyr’s eyes.

And then there was still the territory itself that presented dangers Morvyr still couldn’t fully understand. If Noah could lure the invading army within these walls, there was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t need their aid at all.

Continuing to act as though the devil had no choice but to accept their offer would no longer strengthen Morvyr’s position. It would only reveal that he had failed to recognize how much the balance between them had changed.

That pride the elf always wore gradually gave way to acceptance, and beneath it was a slight hint of respect.

Noah seemed mildly surprised by how quickly the elf’s attitude changed.

What he failed to understand was that demons were all naturally like this. What demons had never respected was weakness.

Their arrogance was rarely directed toward beings they considered equals. Power demanded acknowledgment, and any demon incapable of proving their strength had no right to expect courtesy from those above them.

Morvyr had arrived believing Noah was an unknown demon whose value still needed to be determined.

Now, that belief was rapidly changing. And that belief was further shaken by Noah’s other identity.

No one serving under the Demon King had ever encountered a true devil.

Their existence survived only through ancient records and fragmented legends that shaped demonkind long before Morvyr was born.

Yet everything he had witnessed continued drawing him toward the same impossible conclusion.

Noah’s origins.

The dungeon core was brought from another world. The creatures were strengthened and altered, nearly identical to demons but in ways that appeared much more advanced.

Then there was Noah himself.

The ease with which he guided every exchange, offering and conceding to his demands just enough while constantly drawing more from the other side, reminded Morvyr of the ancient accounts that had shaped demonkind’s understanding of devils in the first place.

The possibility that he had spoken the truth was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.

And if Noah truly was a devil, then his arrival could represent something demonkind had sought for generations.

Someone powerful enough to stand against the God humanity worshipped.

—

Somewhere within Morvyr’s shifting perception of Noah, a faint sense of hope had begun to take root.

The possibility that Noah truly was a devil should have unsettled him. Instead, Morvyr found himself wanting it to be true.

“If you’re willing to enlighten me,” Morvyr began, “what exactly has that eye of yours been doing all this time?”

Even his manner of asking had changed.

The pride remained, but the hostility that had accompanied nearly every question before it had disappeared. He sounded almost inviting, as though he were no longer searching for something he could use against Noah and was simply interested in hearing the answer.

This time, the change genuinely caught Noah by surprise.

The elf standing beside him seemed like the complete opposite of the one he had been speaking with only moments earlier. His sincerity was convincing enough that Noah briefly wondered whether someone else had taken control of his body.

The eye within his chest immediately turned its attention toward Morvyr.

Noah searched for any sudden changes within the elf, yet the demonic protection surrounding his soul prevented him from seeing anything useful.

He had expected the inspection to irritate Morvyr all over again.

Instead, the elf’s gaze merely settled upon the glowing eye with open curiosity.

Noah almost preferred the earlier version of him.

At least when Morvyr was being openly arrogant, his intentions were easy to understand. This sudden willingness to accommodate him felt far more suspicious.

Even so, Noah had no reason to refuse the question entirely.

“It’s similar to what you thought it was before,” he answered. “Just a little more advanced.”

The explanation was deliberately vague, and yet Morvyr nodded as though the answer had actually satisfied him.

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly at that.

Something is definitely wrong with him.

Noah might have continued examining the sudden change in Morvyr’s behavior, but another violent exchange between Fenrir and Otuk drew his attention back to the battle.

The fight transpiring had become nearly unrecognizable compared to how it began.

Black smoke rose from almost every section of Otuk’s body. His sword had nearly fused with his hand, both from the softened handle and the flesh that continued healing around it each time the searing heat burned through his palm.

Large tears and deep indentations covered the troll’s armor. The stone hide glowed with enough heat that the cracks separating them resembled molten seams.

During the brief moments when neither fighter moved, the sizzling of Otuk’s flesh could be heard under the sound of his strained breathing.

The scent of scorched meat spreading from the battlefield had begun affecting several of Noah’s creatures, and a constant feral growl soon rose from among them.

Dummy had become increasingly restless from the scent of scorched flesh. Several of his mouths were already opening as he was getting closer to losing control before Ailetta enclosed him within her slime, leaving only his head exposed while the rest of him struggled uselessly inside.

Noah barely spared him a glance.

More than anyone else watching, Noah couldn’t afford to keep looking away.

This was one of the reasons he had chosen Fenrir in the first place.

Otuk had possessed a clear advantage from the beginning. His strength and unique ability made him the kind of opponent capable of pushing Fenrir beyond anything Noah could safely recreate himself.

Noah had known all of that before allowing the fight to begin. More importantly, that danger was exactly what Fenrir needed.

The ability Noah wanted to awaken wouldn’t respond without the right triggers. He tried more than once to trigger Fenrir’s ability that would allow him to grow stronger when his body is put under extreme duress.

Even when the injuries had been severe enough to kill him, the skill never responded.

Fenrir trusted Noah too deeply.

No matter how much pain Noah put him through, some part of Fenrir always understood that Noah would never truly allow him to die.

That certainty prevented his body from recognizing the situation as a genuine crisis.

It had to be someone outside of himself. Someone Fenrir knew would kill him without hesitation if given the chance.

And that trigger was Otuk.