Becoming a Monster

Chapter 671: Chapter 670: No Going Back

Malachi’s decision to speak confused more than a few of the people standing behind him.

No one had been informed that there would be any attempt at discussion before the fighting started. Thalric had initially suggested they try communicating with Noah after Bailey finally opened up about his origins, only for the idea to be rejected.

The Church had no interest in negotiating with something they considered unholy, while the nobles were far more interested in avenging House Ignivar’s prodigious heir. With both groups already determined to fight, there hadn’t been much reason for Thalric to continue arguing the matter.

Yet now, it was Malachi who had chosen to speak.

Several people looked toward him, clearly just as confused by the sudden change. They had no idea what he intended to accomplish by addressing Morvyr after being one of the people most against Thalric’s suggestion in the first place.

But Malachi didn’t sound like someone who had suddenly changed his mind.

There was enough confidence behind his words that those around him could only assume he had a reason for what he was doing. And after truly understanding what they were about to face, none of them were willing to interfere before seeing what that reason was.

Morvyr was one of the few who wasn’t surprised.

He had always kept in mind how his alliance with the devil would appear to the humans. In fact, he had hoped they would bring it up eventually.

The more attention the humans brought to his presence here, the easier it would be for Noah to understand what it meant for him to continue residing in this forest while openly associating with the demons.

That was something Morvyr could use.

He still wanted to convince Noah to relocate to his Queen’s territory, and having the humans themselves demonstrate the problems that could come from remaining here could only make that argument easier.

So rather than being bothered by Malachi drawing attention to their alliance, Morvyr was more interested in seeing where he intended to take it.

“Consequences? I am here only as a helper. If you want to take my presence here as my Quee- no, as the Demon King’s decision, then-“

“Morvyr… that’s enough.”

Morvyr stopped, doing his best not to show his disappointment.

He had been eager to make the situation worse. If the humans wanted to believe his presence meant the Demon King himself had chosen to support Noah, then Morvyr was more than willing to encourage a misunderstanding that would become nearly impossible to correct afterward.

Was there a chance the humans could use something like that as a reason to finally involve the other nations?

Perhaps.

But that wasn’t something Morvyr had the authority to worry about. Besides, he wasn’t convinced the other nations would interfere even if word of what happened here eventually reached them.

It wasn’t as though they were unaware of the possibility that a demon had appeared in Ashenveil forest.

The human nation was open to every race, with Ashenveil City being no exception. The other nations had ears spread throughout the kingdom, and there was little reason for them not to. Humanity was far too important in holding back the demons for the rest of the world to remain ignorant of anything that could threaten their stability.

Yet despite everything that had happened in Ashenveil, none of them had offered their aid. They hadn’t even stepped forward to question what should be done if the worst of the rumors surrounding Noah turned out to be true.

They were waiting to see what happened.

And with that in mind, Morvyr believed there was very little he could say here that would immediately bring consequences he needed to concern himself with. By the time anyone outside the human kingdom decided how seriously they wanted to take his involvement, whatever happened between Noah and the army standing before them would already be over.

More importantly, after finally realizing just how strong Noah actually was, Morvyr wanted to make sure that battle happened.

With that thought in mind, there was very little he wouldn’t be willing to say if it pushed the humans closer to attacking.

In fact, if there still wasn’t a chance of offending Noah by acting without his permission, Morvyr would’ve attacked already just to force the battle to begin sooner.

Instead, he had settled for words.

And before he could even start, Noah stopped him.

Noah silencing Morvyr didn’t mean much to most of the people there. However, for those who knew who Morvyr was and understood the significance of his position, commanding him to stop talking was nearly as surprising as discovering that someone of his status had come here to support an unknown demon.

Noah didn’t care what any of them thought about it.

He wasn’t concerned with anything they had come here to say. They would either threaten him into leaving, probe for weakness before attacking, or try to put a leash on him just as they had with Bolas.

Although Noah had little doubt that whatever leash they prepared for him would come with a much shorter chain.

No… he didn’t care about any of that.

The people standing across from him were going to die one way or another.

There was only one person he cared to hear from first.

“Bailey.”

His voice was low, but it carried far enough for everyone to hear.

Almost immediately, eyes began searching through the gathered forces. Many of the soldiers had no idea what the name meant or why Noah had singled out one person from an army this large. Some looked between those around them, while others followed the gazes of the people who clearly knew exactly who he was calling for.

Those who had been present when Bailey finally revealed her connection to Noah didn’t need to search.

Their attention turned toward her almost at once.

Bailey felt it happen before she could decide how to respond. She came here only to ensure Noah died. She didn’t believe that she could physically take a part in it.

It was only because Malachi said that she had a power within her that he could bring out against Noah that she gained the resolve to come here.

So, sensing all eyes directed toward her, she instinctively shrank closer to the divine being Malachi had summoned. It was only that being’s aura that made her feel protected in this moment

—

Noah’s gaze followed theirs.

He had already seen her hiding behind the people around her earlier, and nothing about her reaction now matched the determination she had apparently shown when deciding to come here.

That didn’t matter to him.

It also didn’t matter that Bailey looked toward Malachi for help. The blind man didn’t say anything.

“You can decide not to answer, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” Noah continued watching her. “I’ll only take your silence as an answer of its own.”

Bailey still didn’t respond.

Neither did anyone else.

Besides the heavy winds moving through the forest, no one moved or made a sound. For many of the people there, hearing the demon they had come to kill suddenly call one of them by name had come as a surprise, leaving several looking around in confusion as they tried to understand what Bailey could possibly mean to him.

Others saw an opportunity in Noah singling her out. If some connection between the two still remained, then perhaps Bailey could become the one person capable of preventing this from turning into a fight.

Thalric was among them.

If any part of Noah still remembered the people he had known before becoming… this, then perhaps Bailey could accomplish what the rest of them couldn’t.

Maybe this didn’t have to end in a fight.

“Did you know that these people came here to kill me?”

Noah’s first question nearly caused some of the weaker people among them to shudder.

The threat of death looming over her from Noah’s gaze alone made Bailey instinctively want to answer no.

If she told Noah that she hadn’t known why they were coming here, then it would mean the people around her had deceived her into following them. She could separate herself from their decision and make it clear that she hadn’t knowingly come here with people who intended to kill him.

Right now, Bailey wanted to give that answer more than anything.

But she couldn’t.

No matter how badly she wanted to claim otherwise now that she stood in front of him, too many people around her knew the truth.

Yet saying yes would be even worse.

It would mean admitting to Noah that she knew these people intended to kill him and still chose to come with them.

As the seconds passed without her answering, the thoughts racing through Bailey’s mind finally reminded her of something she had forgotten about Noah.

Friends, bonds, love… None of that mattered once someone crossed a line he had set. And it was that line that made them all give a person who was once human, and who was their savior on more than one occasion… the title of the devil.

Perhaps there was no way to go back now.

And whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, she didn’t have to answer anymore. Noah had already moved on to his next question.

“The others…”

Noah still appeared unbothered by her silence, but before he could finish, the atmosphere surrounding him changed.

Killing intent poured from his body.

It was far beyond what Bailey had felt from him earlier. The pressure spread across the space between the two groups, smothering everyone beneath an irrational hostility that made it hard to believe the person releasing it had appeared so calm only moments before.

The moment that bloodlust was unleashed, nearly everyone there who was barely stronger than A-rank doubled over from fear. His killing intent alone shared elements with his aura, carrying enough of his spirit that resisting it wasn’t only a matter of overcoming their own fear.

Then the holy entities proved that their presence hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Their holy energies expanded almost simultaneously, forming a wall against Noah’s killing intent and preventing it from continuing any farther.

For many of the humans, it was difficult to know what to take from the exchange. Noah had overwhelmed some of their strongest people with killing intent alone, yet the heavenly creatures they had summoned had stopped it before it could go any further.

Whether that meant Noah was simply that powerful, or that the beings sent by their God were strong enough to fight him, none of them could tell yet.

Despite having his killing intent stopped, Noah paid the holy entities no mind.

His attention never left Bailey.

“The others… do they want me dead too?”