Becoming a Monster

Chapter 606: Chapter 605: Their Contingency

Noah’s question hit exactly where the crux of this whole interaction lay. Because he now understood that if their general wasn’t here, that meant they intended to use him to be able to attack a key human settlement without breaching the unspoken treaty.

Somehow, knowing exactly how he was going to be used didn’t upset Noah. He somewhat admired just how sneaky these demons were. But it also made him that much more cautious. A demon is still a demon in the end. So if he was going to work with them, he had to make sure he gained the most out of it and not the other way around.

Morvyr’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Noah had reached the conclusion far faster than he expected.

For a brief moment, Morvyr considered denying it. Confirming that his general would remain absent would reveal just how much the Queen’s plan depended upon the coming battle. Noah could use that knowledge to demand more than they were prepared to offer.

From Morvyr’s earlier perspective, they were already conceding too much.

He had been sent here while the majority of his forces marched alongside another of the Queen’s Arbors. Even his personal involvement in Noah’s battle felt like a greater benefit to the devil than anything they stood to receive in return.

But Noah’s potential identity conflicted greatly with Morvyr’s earlier goal.

Morvyr no longer regarded his participation as a needless concession. If Noah truly possessed the potential he had witnessed, then standing beside him now might prove far more valuable than preserving every advantage between them.

Even so, Morvyr didn’t answer the question directly.

“Normally, an attack as we plan couldn’t be achieved unless one of our generals were directly involved. Otherwise we would have to exert forces from multiple of our generals’ armies to make a direct assault worth considering.”

“Even then it would infringe on what we’ve been trying to avoid all this time.”

Morvyr paused as his aura sharpened, and his gaze focused on Noah’s.

“And I say this so you can understand just how much of an importance that Ashenveil has placed on you.”

“Because of you, the individuals they are sending here are the very same ones who make attacking that settlement so difficult in the first place.”

That answered Noah’s earlier question without Morvyr ever needing to say it outright.

The demon general would not participate.

To put so much effort into this, Noah was overly curious about their goal. Why exactly are they so determined to attack that city?

But Noah was aware that although his other questions were infringing on the demons’ secrets, that one specifically would be overstepping.

Instead, there was one last question that bothered him about all this. And only depending on the elf’s question would he definitively choose to go along with this.

“If I were to believe everything you said. That means that the ones who are coming here are strong enough to even warrant your general to have to face them.”

“So why is it that they only sent you here and with this….” He looked over to the elf’s troops; their auras were pitiful when compared to the troll he just killed. “Rather weak army of all things to help me?”

Noah’s words weren’t intended as an insult, but Morvyr’s subordinates clearly took them as one.

Several of the elves immediately gripped their weapons. One even allowed a trace of killing intent to slip free before Morvyr raised a hand.

The gesture alone was enough to silence them.

Morvyr understood the question for what it was.

Noah wasn’t mocking the strength of those he brought. He was pointing out the obvious contradiction.

If the enemy was so strong, and they were supposed to help, then why would their Queen consider this to be enough?

Morvyr hoped Noah wouldn’t ask, but so far he has barely been able to hide anything from this devil.

Strangely enough, that comforted him more than it worried him. A being worthy of the title they had revered for so long shouldn’t be someone easily manipulated by its lesser counterpart.

The elf took a deep breath. What he was about to reveal could easily destroy what little trust he had managed to build.

“That is because you are misunderstanding what we were actually sent here to do.”

Morvyr paid extra attention to Noah’s reaction but only noticed that he was patiently waiting for him to continue.

That was when he released an exasperated sigh of resignation.

“Or perhaps you already knew… hence your question…”

“When Her Majesty sent me here, it was only to confirm whether or not you were a created demon or a natural demon. Other than that, we knew nothing about you.”

“It was only after we started gathering information that our Majesty had a genuine interest in you. But even then, it wasn’t enough to risk anything for you. Hence why I was sent here.”

“My orders were never to ensure that you won. But to make certain that the battle happened and act accordingly to what benefited us.”

The atmosphere around them immediately began to change, making it even more difficult for Morvyr to want to proceed.

“If… if you were to lose to the humans too quickly, then there would have been little reason for us to sacrifice valuable forces trying to save you.”

“We would have waited until the battle ended, taken your remains before the humans could properly study them, and brought whatever was left back to Her Majes-“

He could barely finish before a combination of strong killing intent erupted around him.

There was only so much that Noah’s companions could withstand hearing. If not for Noah not making a move, they would’ve already attacked, regardless of understanding that Morvyr was being open with them and it was Noah who had asked.

The killing intent was too strong; it was impossible for Morvyr’s subordinates not to take it as an actual threat. Each of them had their weapons at the ready, while the orc’s staff began building up energy.

However, a steady hand from Morvyr rose to stop them.

“Did I tell any of you to move?” The arrogance of the demon leader Noah was used to finally reveal itself again.

And yet when he turned to face Noah again, that arrogance was nowhere to be seen.

“Before you decide what to think of that. At least hear the rest.” Although his statement was meant to de-escalate the situation, the pressure didn’t lessen for a second.

“If you proved that the reports were actually true, and you were capable of defending against them, then the plan would change. It would only be then that we would help you, but only when you had the greatest reason to accept our help, and offer you a place under Her Majesty’s protection.”

“I am aware of how that sounds now that I am saying it to your face.”

Morvyr gave a faint, humorless smile in response to Noah’s expression getting colder and colder.

Noah hated how much sense it made.

It was a calculated plan built around guaranteeing that the demons benefited regardless of how the battle ended.

Had he been looking at it from the outside, he might have even admired it.

But he wasn’t outside of it.

He was the one whose life had been reduced to another outcome in someone else’s plan.

Worse, so had the lives of everyone connected to him. That was what began to change his expression.

Noah had spent too much of his life watching people with greater power decide what happened to those who lacked it. Intentions rarely mattered when someone else possessed enough strength to force their decision upon you.

He had no difficulty understanding Morvyr’s reasoning.

Understanding it did nothing to stop the anger building inside him.

“I’m assuming you’re telling me this now because that plan has changed.”

Noah tried his best to separate his personal feelings from this. And Morvyr could also tell that Noah wouldn’t hold it completely against him, allowing him a small respite of peace.

“It has.”

Noah continued to stare with that same detached stare.

“All of it?”

He had already decided where he stood. After everything he witnessed, Morvyr was willing to stake far more on an alliance with Noah than he ever intended before coming here.

But he couldn’t speak for his Queen. He couldn’t promise that every intention she held toward Noah had changed simply because his own had.

That hesitation was enough to make Noah explode.

The pressure erupted so suddenly that nearly everyone was unable to properly prepare themselves.

Several of Morvyr’s elves stumbled backward before reinforcing themselves with mana.

The goblin chieftain fared far worse.

The moment Noah’s aura washed over him, his body locked up. His knees buckled almost immediately as his instincts screamed at him to submit, and only by driving his staff into the ground did he manage to keep himself from collapsing completely.

Fenrir and the others were affected as well, but their reactions were more controlled.

They knew this feeling.

They had experienced Noah’s aura before when his anger became strong enough that his presence seemed to detach from the bonds connecting them, washing over ally and enemy alike.

Even so, familiarity only helped them endure it.

It didn’t make them immune.