Becoming a Monster

Chapter 614: Chapter 613: The Final Preparation

Morvyr gradually found himself becoming more uneasy.

It was only after Noah pointed it out that he fully realized how troublesome the fire mage would be in this particular situation.

Under normal circumstances, using fire inside an environment such as this would never be considered.

The humans valued this forest far too much.

It supplied Ashenveil with countless resources that simply couldn’t be replaced elsewhere, unless they were going to dig deeper into their treasury for it.

From edible monster meat to rare alchemical ingredients, much of what sustained the city ultimately traced back to these woods.

Even many of the city’s younger adventurers spent months to years training here before they were considered experienced enough to venture farther from the city to accept higher-ranked missions.

To deliberately burn down such a place would mean sacrificing far more than the forest itself.

—

Yet as that thought crossed his mind, Morvyr slowly realized why that reasoning no longer applied.

Ever since the devil established himself here, the city had already lost the ability to gather those resources from the forest like they were able to before.

Ordinary adventurers were no longer permitted to enter.

Only C-rank parties were still allowed to venture inside, and even then they were instructed to remain near the outskirts whenever possible.

That alone had already reduced the value of the forest considerably.

Then Noah’s influence over the surrounding territory gradually forced the trolls toward the forest’s borders.

There weren’t many of them. But just two trolls were enough to destroy an entire C-rank party that wasn’t properly prepared.

Eventually, even those limited expeditions became increasingly uncommon.

From the humans’ perspective, the forest had already stopped being one of Ashenveil’s greatest assets.

Because of that, there was little reason preventing them from burning the forest down.

In that case, what reason remained to preserve it?

If burning down one section of the forest meant eliminating the devil, Morvyr found it difficult to believe they would hesitate.

Especially if they believed they could keep the destruction contained to the portion surrounding Noah’s territory.

That realization caused Morvyr’s expression to tighten gradually.

If the humans truly resorted to that…

Then he and his elves would immediately lose nearly half of what made them so dangerous.

The forest had always been as much a weapon as the blades they carried. It was one of their greatest advantages.

Without it, many of their abilities would become considerably less effective.

His nervous thoughts eventually led him back toward Noah.

There was an answer to this problem. In fact, it was probably the most sensible one.

If the humans truly were determined to burn down the forest, then there was little reason to continue defending it.

For that reason, the devil should relocate instead of trying to defend his ground.

In doing so, the humans would be forced to make a choice. Either abandon their pursuit after sacrificing part of Ashenveil’s greatest resource.

Or continue burning down even more of the forest in order to chase them. Regardless of which they chose, their city would ultimately lose far more than what they expected.

Because their attack on the humans’ city will still go on.

More importantly, destroying Noah’s base would create the perfect opportunity for him to bring the devil under Her Majesty’s grace.

Besides, even if Noah emerged victorious without leaving, remaining here afterward would no longer benefit him.

This territory had already attracted far more attention that made staying here for the devil irreconcilable.

The devil would be seen as a force that was growing too quickly. Eventually, there would no longer be anyone left beneath the level of a general capable of dealing with him.

Sooner or later, the other nations would inevitably turn their attention toward the devil.

Morvyr was convinced that if humanity failed to eliminate Noah with the forces currently assembled, then the next attack would be entirely more efficient.

Whether or not Ashenveil officially requested aid would no longer matter.

A threat of this magnitude would eventually draw the attention of individuals whose appearance would require multiple of the Queen’s Arbors, or perhaps even a general, to personally intervene.

That in itself was another reason Morvyr never intended to voice these thoughts aloud.

He understood humanity well enough to recognize what many of them truly wanted.

They wanted this silent war to end. But it wasn’t because they desired peace.

The silent war had become nothing more than a prolonged struggle where both sides slowly bled each other dry without ever delivering a decisive blow.

Humanity needed a true war to happen.

They wanted the opportunity to finish demonkind once and for all, just as demonkind sought to eradicate humanity.

Of course, humankind didn’t believe such a war would be easy. They understood better than anyone how costly it would become.

But the losses they were steadily incurring made them realize that the war was becoming inevitable regardless.

The variant undead that came from another world had changed everything.

Their losses were rising to a point that even they wouldn’t be able to recover from, as they were facing losses from both the demons and now undead beings.

They understood that the other nations weren’t faring much better against the monstrosities from the other world. But they weren’t the ones who had to deal with the demons either.

If they had to shoulder everything, then they would make everyone shoulder it with them.

The problem was that humanity couldn’t afford to be the ones responsible for starting it. At least not without good reason.

The fragile peace between the nations still existed because no kingdom wished to become the one remembered for shattering it.

If humanity openly marched against demonkind first, the other nations would never support such a decision.

Many would likely condemn them for dragging the world into another war.

They would still fight. Humankind was far too valuable to lose, but they would also ensure that the humans lost far more than they did.

That was what truly worried Morvyr. If Noah stayed here after showing that even eight S-rank humans weren’t his match, the humans could then claim that Noah’s strength was near general level.

Morvyr’s own presence complicated the matter even further. Humanity would view it as Noah being in league with demons, presenting it as though demons had broken the agreement first.

Whether that claim was entirely true would cease to matter.

At the very least, that alone would be enough to convince many among the other nations that humanity was no longer the aggressor.

Once that happened, there would no longer be any room for the other nations to object when humanity called for an all-out war against demonkind; neither could they use it as an excuse to force humans to expend more resources than them.

And once the other nations became fully involved, the war would have officially begun.

—

The discussion gradually came to an end.

Morvyr remained seated for a few moments longer, still debating whether he should mention the possibility of abandoning the forest.

In the end, he remained silent. He believed he understood the devil well enough by now to know that Noah would never willingly abandon the territory he had built.

Besides, Morvyr had nothing worthwhile to offer beyond the suggestion itself.

There was little point in raising an idea he already knew would be rejected.

His attention eventually shifted back toward Noah. The devil’s thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

—

Now that the idea was planted, Noah had no intention of postponing it any longer.

He excused himself, making his way back to Pandora.

But before he left, he stopped to look back towards Morvyr.

“If you plan on staying, you can take that building there.” He pointed towards the shelter initially built for Kratos.

With the battle drawing closer, Kratos had quietly abandoned it altogether, choosing instead to spend every night standing guard outside Noah’s home. Even sleeping while standing in place.

It was as touching as it was creepy.

Morvyr nodded absentmindedly; his thoughts were more focused on what Noah was about to do.

“Also,” Noah continued. “Any creature you or your soldiers encounter inside this territory is off limits. If you need food, someone will provide it. We can discuss everything else after I’m finished.”

“Bolas,” he immediately removed his attention from Morvyr. Until the fight started, he felt that there was little need to interact with him anymore.

“This doesn’t change what still needs to be done. Can I leave the preparations for the storm to you?”

“Tch, even if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve handled it,” Bolas grumbled as he stood all the same.

Out of everyone present, he was probably the one most concerned about the approaching storm.

That alone left Noah with little reason to worry.

“Fenrir, Kratos. Make sure everyone here has enough food. I still can’t guarantee they’ll avoid hunting something they shouldn’t.”

Noah left the rest in Bolas’ hands.

However, the moment he began walking away, Eve, Ailetta, and Arachne quietly rose from their seats and followed after him.

Their curiosity had already gotten the better of them.

Whatever Noah intended to do next, none of them intended to miss it.

The entrance to Noah’s lair opened just long enough for the four of them to enter before Pandora’s vines immediately sealed it shut once more.

Morvyr’s expression visibly twitched.

He wasn’t accustomed to being ignored quite so thoroughly.

Even so…

His curiosity eventually won.

When he turned toward Bolas, hoping the drake might explain what Noah intended to do, Bolas merely snorted before barking orders at everyone else to begin working.

Apparently, he had no intention of satisfying Morvyr’s curiosity either.

Left with no other choice, Morvyr quietly followed behind the drake instead to see what they were up to.

—

Meanwhile, four spectators watch with rapt attention as Noah commits to combining his werebeast and necrotic drake genes.