Becoming a Monster

Chapter 657: Chapter 656: Leading the Lamb

For several moments, everyone’s attention remained on Bailey.

She had already been nervous when Thalric first looked toward her, but standing there with the attention of nearly every person involved in the discussion made that nervousness considerably worse. More than anything, it was the way Thalric continued staring at her that finally made Bailey question whether coming here had been a mistake.

Until now, she had been so focused on Paul that she hadn’t allowed herself to think much about what would happen afterward.

Everything she had done was meant to keep him with her.

Ever since Paul was “saved” by Noah and turned into a monster, Bailey had watched with growing unease as he grew stronger. He had become bolder, more willing to speak when something bothered him, and there were even times when he acted more like a leader than the quiet man who once seemed content remaining in the background.

Perhaps the others saw it as Paul finally coming out of his shell, but Bailey couldn’t help seeing something different.

To her, every change was another reminder of what Noah had done to him, and lately, she had begun to wonder if these changes were due to Paul’s experience… or if whatever Noah had done to him was changing Paul just like he did with Ailetta.

At first, Bailey thought keeping the two of them apart would be enough. Noah couldn’t take Paul away if she made sure he never was given the chance.

But the more Paul changed, the more Bailey feared she had been looking at it the wrong way.

What if Noah never needed to come for him?

What if one day Paul decided to leave on his own?

That was what Bailey couldn’t accept. She had already watched Noah take one of her friends away, and she wasn’t going to wait around until the same thing happened with Paul.

Keeping them apart wasn’t enough anymore.

Noah needed to die.

And if the Church couldn’t kill him, then at the very least, Fenrir needed to die. Without Fenrir, Bailey hoped that the lost connection between Paul and the beast would cure Paul once and for all.

If helping the Church was the only way to make sure she never lost Paul to Noah, Bailey had convinced herself that whatever came afterward was something she could deal with.

It was only now, standing under Thalric’s stare, that she finally started to question whether she had thought far enough ahead.

Even if everything went exactly as she hoped and they returned to Ashenveil with the threat of Noah taking Paul away no longer hanging over her, what was she supposed to tell Thalric?

Bailey could say that coming here had been entirely her decision. She could tell him that Paul, Alicia, Jasmine, and the others knew nothing about it.

But would Thalric believe her?

They had all come to this world together. They lived together, took missions together, and until now, Thalric had little reason to believe any of them would hide something this important from each other.

And more importantly, Noah was supposed to be their savior. Without him, even Paul wouldn’t be here.

Bailey’s lips parted slightly, but whatever she had been preparing to say never made it out. She didn’t know where to start anymore. And as she thought about what she wanted to say, even she realized how bad it sounded.

Even though Noah had saved Paul’s life, he still needed to die because Bailey was afraid Paul might eventually leave her for him?

That she was doing all of this for Paul’s well-being, even though Paul had already told Thalric what happened to him and made it clear that he was fine with it? What was she supposed to say after that? That Paul didn’t understand what was best for his well-being, but somehow she did?

Every excuse sounded worse than the last. But just as she was on the verge of letting the wrong thing slip, another voice stepped in to save her from the embarrassment.

“Now, now. Let’s not scare our important guests here.”

Malachi wore the same pleasant smile that rarely left his face. This time, there were two gazes that despised that smile with the utmost hatred.

“Guild Master, I never expected someone as magnanimous as yourself could direct such a frightening glare toward one of your own.” His smile widened ever so slightly. “Perhaps some of those rumors about you aren’t as far-fetched as people claim.”

Thalric fought the urge to deny the man’s claims immediately.

There were times when fighting the Demon King himself seemed preferable to having a conversation with the man standing across from him.

It wasn’t quite what Malachi said that bothered him. Thalric had dealt with enough people throughout his life to become accustomed to insults hidden behind polite words, and if the two of them were alone, there was very little Malachi could say that would get much of a reaction out of him.

What made Malachi so irritating was that he always seemed aware of everyone listening.

Even something as simple as defending Bailey had been turned into an opportunity to take a jab at Thalric. Malachi hadn’t directly accused him of mistreating one of his own, nor had he actually said what those supposed rumors were. Instead, he left the accusation vague enough for those listening to fill in the blanks themselves.

What made it worse was that Thalric really had been glaring at Bailey. Malachi might have been lying about the reason behind it, but everyone gathered around them had seen the way Thalric looked at her. All Malachi had done was take something that was true and twist the reasoning behind it into something that suited the picture he wanted everyone else to see.

Thalric knew what the man was doing, but knowing didn’t give him much of a way to stop it.

Malachi wasn’t just good with words. He was even more adept at manipulating the emotions of the people listening to them, and unfortunately for Thalric, nearly everyone gathered here already had some reason to dislike him.

Some blamed him for what happened in the forest. Others distrusted him because of his position, his decisions, or the simple fact that he had made no effort to hide how little he wanted this expedition to happen in the first place.

And then there were those who were always vying for his power and status as the Guild Master.

Malachi didn’t have to make any of them hate Thalric. That part had already been done for him.

All he had to do was give those feelings somewhere to go.

As long as he could paint Thalric in a way that confirmed what they already wanted to believe about him, it didn’t seem to matter how much of that picture was actually true.

If Thalric became angry and confronted him, Malachi could make his reaction look like proof. If he tried to defend himself, there were plenty of people here who would already be inclined to believe Malachi instead.

Then there were people like Bailey.

Conflicted, vulnerable, and already uncertain about the decision that had brought her here, and even more unsettled by confronting the people who had trusted her.

Malachi’s words didn’t need to convince someone in that state of anything. As long as they played on the emotions that were already there, he could guide those emotions in whatever direction benefited him most.

And by doing so, he could alienate Bailey from Thalric, tying her to Malachi’s cause. Or worse… manipulating her to allow the cruel “saint” to finally achieve what he’s been after all this time.

Judging by the way Bailey had reacted to Malachi stepping in, Thalric suspected that was exactly what the man was trying to do.

If at first Thalric believed that Malachi was trying to get more information out of Bailey to defeat the demon, he no longer had such a naive belief.

For Bailey to even be by his side, she had to already give him a significant amount of information.

No, what Malachi wanted was much more cruel than that.

Thalric had spent enough time on the battlefield to understand how the minds of these crazed zealots worked. To die for a cause was a glorious endeavor as long as that death was offered in service to their god. They could march toward an enemy knowing they wouldn’t return and somehow convince themselves there was no greater honor waiting for them.

However, when it came to zealots like Malachi, Thalric had learned that they were often just as eager to give that “glorious” opportunity to others.

There was always another life to spend for the greater cause. Another person whose death could accomplish something their own couldn’t. And the Church had spent centuries finding ways to make those people believe that giving up their lives was an honor rather than a loss.

That was the part Thalric couldn’t ignore.

Malachi couldn’t force Bailey into something like that. Whatever value he saw in her would disappear the moment she was dragged toward her death unwillingly.

For the kind of sacrifice Thalric suspected Malachi had in mind, Bailey needed to believe in it herself. She needed to believe that whatever happened to her was necessary, that her death would accomplish something important enough to make giving her life worthwhile.

Only then could that sacrifice prove her worthy in the eyes of their god.

And suddenly, Malachi’s behavior toward Bailey made far more sense.

He wasn’t trying to recruit her.

He was preparing her to die willingly.