Becoming a Monster

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Uninvited Negotiator

The air was strange.

Noah stood there, waiting for the woman to finally leave. They had benefited from a mutual exchange. He didn’t care about the woman’s gratitude. But when she didn’t move, when her bowed head lingered longer than normal, he knew.

This wasn’t over.

This scenario was beginning to remind him of another time. The memory was faint, but the woman in front of him helped him recall the past. The first time he met Bailey. She had come to him, saying she only wanted to check if he was all right. And when she saw that he was, she still stayed.

And not only did she stay but she lied about her initial purpose.

If this situation was anything like that one, then it wasn’t gratitude that kept her waiting here for so long.

She wanted something from him... they always did.

Noah’s gaze became cold and steady on the woman who still hadn’t raised her head.

"I don’t care what else you want," he said finally. His tone was calm, almost bored, but it was a tangible coldness that made Amara flinch. "Just tell me what’s in it for me."

Amara’s hands tightened. She hadn’t expected him to be so direct. His tone made it impossible to tell whether he was threatening her or was merely a blunt creature at heart.

But... her hand relaxed slightly. She also expected that he wouldn’t care about them either. If her god respected such a being, why would this being show compassion toward someone as insignificant as her?

Still, she wasn’t completely shut down so there was still a chance.

The only problem was...what else could she possibly give him?

Noah watched her struggle to process his words, his confusion growing. His request wasn’t difficult; she should already know what he wanted.

"Just let the big guy out to talk to me," he said plainly. "There’s nothing else you could offer me that I’m interested in."

Amara froze. Her eyes darted away from his, guilt flickering in her expression.

That single reaction told him more than any words could.

His brow furrowed, irritation settling over his features as her hesitation stretched too long.

Amara straightened quickly under his stare, her breath catching. "I... I would, if I still could," she stammered. Her voice trembled but she forced herself to continue. "But to bring him out again, right now...it would be impossible. You should understand... His soul is much greater than someone like me can compare to. My soul is still recovering. And..."

She looked up. Noah didn’t expect the expression that met him, eyes both resolved and uncertain, strong and yet utterly fragile.

"Even if I wanted to force it, he would never allow it. Even if it meant letting me die first."

Amara laid everything bare before him. She wasn’t sure if she was being so open to make him believe her, or because, deep down, she wanted someone to pity her.

Noah, however, wasn’t moved. Despite her honesty, he didn’t care about the rest. All that mattered was that she couldn’t give him what he wanted. If that was the case, then there was no further business between them.

Then, his gaze shifted, landing on the staff still clutched tightly in her hands.

The eye in his chest flickered faintly.

He remembered that staff. A weapon, judged by his eye to contain the abilities that enhanced spirit, empowered hell’s servants, and... two other functions even he couldn’t fully see. He remembered it clearly because its aura was a cut above almost anything he had seen in other’s possessions. It was far too refined to be a mere relic, its energy pulsed like something inside it was alive. It reminded him of the same aura contained in Eve’s grimoire.

Ignoring everything she had just said, he spoke again. "If that’s the case... What about the staff?" He pointed toward it.

Amara’s reaction said everything. The way her grip tightened, the way her body subconsciously shifted back.

It was instinctive.

When she realized what she’d done, her eyes widened slightly in an emotion Noah wasn’t expecting, guilt.

The staff was too dear to her. It wasn’t just important, it was bound to her. A gift from her god who had judged her to be his servant.

To her, it was a blessing. To others, the staff was no different from a cursed object.

She clutched the staff tightly against her chest, her expression turned to worry. "I’m sorry," she whispered." I can’t do that either. My god gave this to me. It only responds to me. And to others..."

Her voice faltered. Her gaze unfocused as an old memory surfaced.

She remembered the day she dropped the staff, only for a child to pick it up for her. The instant their hands touched it, the child screamed and let it fall, crying as if they’d seen a ghost. From that moment, their thread turned an irreversible dark red. It never changed again, no matter what she tried, no matter the situation, even when everyone else’s thread was said to be safe.

It stayed that way... Until the day that child died. And when it did, Amara was the only person who saw it, but she saw the child’s soul being pulled from its body, only to be absorbed into the staff.

She never spoke of what would happen if someone else were to touch it, but Noah didn’t have to know. If he couldn’t use it, then it was just as worthless.

His attention was pulled by the tugging of his arm. He turned to see Eve motioning back towards their home. Curiously, he looked over too, only to find the corpses of creatures that weren’t monsters, but the mutated animals of his world. Judging by Fenrir’s annoyed expression beside Kratos’s smug, unbothered stance, the two must have tested each other again over who could gather this morning’s breakfast.

Noah exasperatedly shook his head and released Eve’s hand, letting her go. She could never sit still unless something caught her interest.

When he turned back, Amara was watching them, more specifically, watching Eve. There was a strange softness in her gaze as she took in how the girl clung to him, a monster who was seen as a murderous devil amongst her fellow survivors. The scene resembled that of a child and a parent, but she didn’t dare voice it.

Her gaze snapped back to panic when she saw the aloofness in his eyes. She knew that whatever she wanted to voice would be meaningless. They say to never make a deal with the devil, but this time, the devil wasn’t interested.

For Noah, he wasn’t interested anymore. The conversation was over. She had nothing else to offer, nothing he desired. Whatever she planned to ask, he didn’t want to hear it.

"I think we’re done here, then," he said, already turning away. "Leave bef-"

His words were cut short by a booming voice echoing behind them. It overlapped as if there was a true echo, one that shouldn’t be possible in the forest. But as Noah felt the ground tremor, he knew why the voice had an echo, and the sound suddenly became familiar.

The drake was emerging from its cave.

"If the human doesn’t have anything of value," it called out, huffing in between breaths, but when it cleared out of its cave, its tone turned into smug confidence, "then what about me?"

The drake stopped just short of its clearing. Even in its injured state, it refused to leave the safety of its cave. From there, it could only be attacked from one direction, a comfort and survival instinct it wasn’t willing to abandon.

Yet its expression betrayed none of that caution. Its eyes burned with a determined intensity, locked squarely on Noah.

"Human," it glanced over, speaking proudly to Amara, ignoring the way the woman retreated at the intensity of its excitement. "Just say what you need. I’ll help you."

It paused, eyes reverted back on its real target.

"Fa- Demon! In return, you’ll give me your blood!"

It declared its scheme with such gusto, such absolute pride in its own intelligence, that it almost sounded as if it had cornered the demon to finally give it the blood it so desperately desired.

Noah just blinked, his mind blanked as he tried to understand what was happening.

"Wait a minute... what?" Noah didn’t voice his thoughts. In fact, he still couldn’t speak. It felt as if he was mishearing what the drake had said.

He refocused, giving the drake a look over just to be sure. That haughty gaze. The smudges on the drake’s lips that were imperceptible to most, but Noah could see it. No, the drake radiated that smugness, all around him. Noah felt his fist clench, it’s been awhile since someone managed to get under his skin in such a way.

"Why aren’t you grateful? Demon, I’m saving you the trouble of having to deal with this. Handling these kinds of problems shouldn’t be too hard for me. In return... just a bit of your blood would do... a bucket’s worth should be fine."

The drake continued on. He spoke as if he had already decided on everything. It was so serious about it that Noah finally couldn’t resist.

"Wait... You said that you would have something of value for me." He paused. As he watched the light in the drake’s eyes dimming, it seemed that the drake finally was understanding something.

"So, what do I actually get out of this?"

"...."