Becoming a Monster

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: In the Presence of an Oni

The chieftain skidded to a halt, its heavy breaths coming out in ragged bursts. For a moment, it stared in the direction Arachne and Fenrir were retreating.

Then, its lips twisted back over its teeth.

It had already resolved itself to take on both of them. Returning empty-handed was the last option it wanted to take. It needed at least one trophy as long as it could get them to cross that boundary.

It released a bellowing roar, one that sent vibrations through the grass and leaves around it. It was a challenge layered as a taunt.

It was demanding for them to come back and finish what they had started.

This time, Fenrir stopped.

This time, Fenrir stopped, staring at the troll with a look full of hatred. It remembered that the troll was the reason Arachne came all the way here. It was "its" fault that he had to be here.

The chieftain mistook that hatred for hesitation. Its chest swelled with a predator’s arrogance. It braced itself, planting its feet wide, ensuring enough distance between itself and the barrier to lure Fenrir out, provokingly striking its chest. Prepared to strike the moment he crossed.

But Fenrir never crossed, nor did he move. Instead, he snorted, a violent exhale that burst into a puff of flame. Although he wasn’t yet aware of the changes that would occur when he steps out of the domain, he couldn’t be tempted by the chieftain’s taunts.

The troll had the nerve to taunt him after it was the one who ran away in the first place? Even his skin wasn’t that thick.

Fenrir’s eyes narrowed, his gaze looking at the troll with the same kind of expression Arachne would often spare him.

Without another glance, Fenrir turned and left, vanishing with the distant trees.

The chieftain stood frozen. It watched Fenrir’s silhouette fade...its mind blanked, not expecting the beast’s reaction.

Its eyes blinked; it had to accept that it had nothing now. No trophy, and not even the satisfaction of saying that they at least took down one enemy.

Now what was it supposed to return with?

Slowly, its gaze drifted toward the domain it had just escaped from. Even thinking about stepping back inside triggered a violent shudder; the memory of that overwhelming force washed over it again.

It wouldn’t risk going back in there. Whatever ruled that territory... it was far worse than the drake, a being its tribe could not challenge.

Its fist trembled, its teeth gnashed against each other. Unable to contain the frustration boiling under its skin, it spun and slammed its fist through a tree, shattering it into splinters.

Its chest heaved, breath coming sharper and deeper.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

The chieftain finally turned away, retreating deeper into the forest. Its steps quickened the farther it got, the heaviness in its legs lifting. At least now it understands:

Those monsters were only a threat inside their territory.

Out here, the troll convinced itself...it still ruled. As long as they still withdrew closer to the outer parts of the forest, nothing else had to change. It just needed to get stronger. When it does, it could then focus on raising elites to its current level.

Its thoughts were completely set on how to get stronger now. It would’ve to take risks that it wouldn’t have before. Those risks would involve the humans who would often come into their forest to hunt.

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Back in Noah’s territory, around the same time before Arachne and the others initiated their battle with the trolls, Noah alone was facing off against the goblin army.

His lone presence stirred a heavy commotion from the other party. First, there was wariness, confusion... and then, the goblins were consumed with madness.

They remembered Noah, the monster that devoured souls. But then, when they noticed that the fearsome monster was by itself, caution made them wonder if it was truly alone. Their gazes went to their surroundings, believing that more enemies would overtake them. When they were truly certain it was only one opponent, their courage soared.

No monster of this world wouldn’t be excited to consume the flesh of another more powerful creature. And when it came to that monster’s core, even the chieftain couldn’t hold its desires back.

The goblins immediately moved. They didn’t rush Noah to attack; they began to separate in an attempt to surround him, hoping to block off any escape.

"What...Stupid creatures..." Ailetta spoke within his consciousness. Her words weren’t filled with contempt for the goblins, though she certainly had that too.

They were directed at the goblins’ assumption. They truly believed he needed to escape.

Noah’s eyes tracked the movements around him, multiple eyes opened across his body, making sure that not even a twitch escaped his gaze.

He no longer saw the monsters as a threat. What he truly cared about was how strong he had become and what abilities he could claim for his creatures.

The eye that rested in his chest had nearly scanned through them all. From the restless goblin soldiers to the hobgoblins who were prepping their arrows or weapons to ambush him. Then to the Leader, whose attention was being stolen by two... highly agitated shamans.

Expert Tracking, Dark Vision, Keen Sense, Basic Camouflage... The skills he could see from each goblin ranged out of many, but they all weren’t enough to garner his intention. It was only when his gaze rested on their leader and the two shaman-like goblins by its side that he finally showed interest.

Survival Ascendancy, Pain Channeling.

The goblin leader had almost every other ability that the other goblins had. However, it also had two rather unique abilities, ones that were not inferior to the troll chieftains. Going by the skills’ intentions alone, he could sense that the first ability had something to do with growing stronger after surviving danger, while the other one increased its pain tolerance. The two, if they worked as he expected, went hand in hand.

He wanted both, but that was not possible, only if he bestowed its entire soul to one of his creatures could he grant the two abilities to them. But that was fine; he only needed the first one.

Bone catalyzation, Bone Ward, Blight Touch, Mana Sense, Sapcurse, Last-breath Hex...

The two shamans, however, had abilities completely different from the others, and the two had more abilities than most individual goblins.

After seeing the shamans had mana sense, it finally made sense why their expressions were different than everyone else, even the leader was unaware of Noah’s true strength.

His initial analysis was done. He didn’t wait a second more for the goblins to surround him further before he took complete control of the battle.

A large shadow seemed to spread from his feet, expanding in almost every direction. The shadow stretched meters in front of him and even on his side, leaving no space near him uncovered.

The nearest goblins weren’t able to avoid it. At first, they panicked, urgently trying to avoid it, especially when their feet squished within the tangible substance. But in the end, they all failed to do so; the shadow spread too fast.

In the end, nothing happened. The goblins soon began to think that the weird elastic substance was nothing more than some trick, something meant to intimidate them rather than harm them.

Their fear simmered down, replaced by a confidence filled with anger.

But seeing the shadow under nearly twenty goblins, it was the shamans who protested. Its sounds were pure gibberish, yet Noah understood it without them realizing it.

"Out of the shadows!"

"Oni’s in the darkness!"

Both shamans could sense numerous mana signatures within the pool of slime.

Noah wanted to let his slime spread further, but twenty was already enough.

A sudden pulse rippled from beneath the feet of everyone standing in the pool. Tens of eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness, eyes that were truly unnerving, causing anyone who made contact with them to feel extremely nauseous. Their earlier fears instantly unearthed from their hearts. Fears that they once all tried to hold in when they first heard about the monsters.

Their souls were going to be devoured!

And for those who looked directly into his Nexus Eye... their bodies nearly collapsed from the thought of dying seemed almost too real.

Then the screaming started. Not because of their fear, but because the goblins that were standing in the slime pool had suddenly dropped into the ground.

Blood spurted in the air, which was followed by the sound of bone and flesh being bitten into.

It wasn’t just the eyes that they had to worry about. Giant mouths, capable of nearly swallowing the goblins who had suddenly appeared under them like a trap hole.

The goblins didn’t die cleanly. The lucky few barely outside the slime stared in stupefied horror, unable to ignore the grind of flesh being torn apart. Out of nearly twenty goblins, only two hobgoblins were able to escape. Their instincts were sharper than the others.

Seeing the scene, for many...stole their ability to breathe.

"Oni..." a shaman croaked. Its body trembled, its hand trembling as it pulled out a dagger from its waist. The dagger bore small baby goblin trolls on its hilt. Blood soaked its blade, just like their leader’s weapon.

Its eyes suddenly bore a crazed resolve when it suddenly pierced the dagger into its chest.

In its death, a black energy came forth from its mouth bearing a face reminiscent of the goblin before it lunged towards Noah.