Becoming a Monster

Chapter 710: Chapter 709: Strength Without Satisfaction

The Amazonian screamed as her leg disappeared farther into the shadow, causing her to lose her balance and begin falling into the rest of the shadow.

Fortunately, before the Amazonian could fall any farther, someone caught her.

An armored hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the shadow before the rest of her body could fall into it.

Her rescuer was an undead warrior whose pale blue skin and lifeless appearance made him difficult to mistake for anything else. Yet unlike most zombies, his body showed little sign of decay, and the intelligence remaining within his otherwise dead eyes made him appear almost human.

He was also someone the Amazonian knew better than most.

Her brother.

Or rather, what remained of him after his death, now serving as her tamed creature.

Unfortunately, saving her from the shadow hadn’t done anything to change the severity of her injuries.

Her leg was gone, and with how much blood she was losing, her situation was hardly any better than Alicia’s.

And that presented another problem.

All three healers were already struggling to keep Alicia alive, leaving no one available to treat the Amazonian. And with how severely she was bleeding, there was little chance she would survive without immediate assistance.

Even so, one of them had little choice but to abandon Alicia’s treatment and rush toward the injured Amazonian.

Meanwhile, the others had begun putting as much distance between themselves and the shadow as possible.

If they had been frightened of Malachi before, they were beginning to realize that whatever was lurking within his shadow might be considerably worse.

And as they watched it continue moving across the ground, they noticed something that made their fear grow even stronger.

The shadow was approaching Malachi’s severed arm.

No one dared interfere as the darkness spread underneath it.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the arm began sinking into the ground.

And almost immediately, they heard it.

A series of sharp cracks, followed by the sound of something being torn apart.

It all happened so quickly that by the time the sounds finally stopped, the shadow had already returned to Malachi’s side, settling beneath him as though nothing had happened.

For a moment, no one knew what to make of what they’d witnessed.

Why would Malachi consume his own severed arm? Was it something he’d consciously done, or was whatever existed within his shadow acting independently of him?

They had no way of knowing.

But regardless of what was happening, one thing remained certain.

Malachi was still dangerous.

Even with one arm missing, none of them believed he would be easy to defeat. His speed and strength alone were enough to make confronting him a terrifying prospect, and that was without considering the numerous mouths across his body that could stretch out as if they were acting on their own.

However, there was something they could take comfort in.

They had managed to injure him.

Ishii had successfully severed his arm, proving that Malachi’s body was capable of not only bleeding but also wasn’t as strong as his aura appeared. And if they could injure him once, there was no reason to believe they couldn’t do so again.

At least, that was what Ishii wanted to believe.

His eyes remained fixed on Malachi, his anger growing increasingly difficult to contain.

He could still hear Alicia’s screams, and although he desperately wanted to turn around and see whether Jasmine had managed to stabilize her condition, he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the creature responsible for her injuries.

The thought that Alicia might die because of Malachi was almost unbearable.

And the longer he stood there, the more desperate he became to end the fight.

Despite the damage his body had already suffered, Ishii slowly began lowering himself into his drawing stance, preparing to use his ability once again.

He had no intention of waiting for the others.

Unfortunately, before he could make his move, something happened that caused him to hesitate.

The stump of Malachi’s severed arm suddenly began to move.

At first, it was difficult to understand what they were seeing.

Something thin and elongated began forcing its way out of the open wound, extending farther from what remained of his bicep until it gradually took the shape of a forearm.

But there was something terribly wrong with it.

It was unnaturally skinny, with exposed muscles and tendons stretching along its length. Steam rose continuously from its surface, obscuring portions of the newly formed limb as it continued growing.

And before anyone could fully comprehend what was happening, the arm began changing again.

Its muscles thickened, gradually filling out the skeletal frame as new tissue formed over the exposed flesh. The fingers extended and regained their original proportions, while the skin covering the limb rapidly spread until there was no longer any indication that it had been severed.

Within seconds, Malachi had completely regenerated his missing arm.

The others could only stare.

All the effort Ishii had put into severing that arm, the damage he’d inflicted upon his own body to accomplish it, had been rendered meaningless in a matter of seconds.

And what made the situation particularly dreadful was that Malachi didn’t appear particularly pleased with what he’d accomplished.

If anything, he looked furious.

And considering what had just happened, it wasn’t difficult to understand why.

Malachi knew exactly who he was dealing with. Long before his transformation, he’d made a point of investigating the individuals Thalric had taken under his protection, learning their identities and gathering whatever information he could about their abilities.

Which only made his current situation that much more humiliating.

He’d lost an arm to a weakling!

A weakling who, along with most of his companions, was barely recognized as a C-ranker!

And yet, despite how ridiculous the situation seemed, Malachi couldn’t bring himself to believe that his newfound strength was insufficient.

If anything, he was more powerful than he’d ever been before. His physical capabilities had reached a level that would’ve been unimaginable to his former self, and the sheer amount of vitality coursing through his body was enough to make regrowing an entire arm seem insignificant.

That was precisely what made the situation so infuriating.

With the strength he now possessed, Ishii’s sword shouldn’t have been capable of cutting through his arm so easily.

And unfortunately for Malachi, he already had a fairly good understanding of why it had happened.

Although his transformation had affected much of his rationality, his intelligence hadn’t disappeared. He’d recognized Ishii’s drawing stance from the information he’d previously gathered, and the sudden weakening of his body had only confirmed what the boy had done to him.

However, knowing what had happened and being capable of preventing it were two entirely different matters.

His strength was extraordinary, and his vitality was even more impressive.

But his soul was another matter entirely.

It was weak.

Pathetically weak!

And Malachi had little doubt about who was responsible.

That damned angel!

She’d done something to him when she abandoned him. He might not have understood the full extent of what she’d taken away, but he was certain that the weakness Ishii had exploited was somehow connected to her departure.

And in that regard, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

After all, the angel had remained with Malachi for years, influencing nearly every aspect of his existence. From the moment she’d found him, when he was still blind and powerless, she’d been responsible for granting him the abilities that had allowed him to become who he was.

Her influence hadn’t been limited to his soul, either.

Even his physical body had undergone tremendous changes because of her, gradually becoming accustomed to the extraordinary power she provided.

And when she finally decided to leave him, she was fully aware that taking away everything she’d given him would have consequences.

What she hadn’t anticipated was what would happen afterward.

Her departure had left Malachi’s entire existence resembling an enormous, nearly empty vessel.

And that was precisely what made his circumstances so extraordinary.

After all, Noah’s aura didn’t simply strengthen someone’s physical body. Its influence extended to their very existence, transforming them according to how much of that power they could accommodate.

Under ordinary circumstances, there was only so much of Noah’s aura a being could receive. Their existence was already established, leaving little room for such an overwhelming influence.

Malachi, however, was different.

The emptiness left behind by the angel allowed him to accommodate far more of Noah’s aura than an ordinary being ever could, granting him strength and vitality that would’ve otherwise been impossible to obtain.

Unfortunately, that extraordinary transformation hadn’t erased the damage her departure had caused to his soul.

After spending so many years under her influence, losing that connection had severely weakened his soul, leaving his Spirit far below what someone possessing his physical capabilities should’ve had.

And that was where his greatest weakness lay.

A person’s Spirit was closely connected to the strength of their soul, determining how effectively they could resist spells and abilities used against them.

Someone possessing a sufficiently powerful soul could’ve resisted Ishii’s ability, preventing him from weakening their body to such an extent.

Malachi, however, was in no position to do so.

Despite his overwhelming physical capabilities, his weakened Spirit left him exceptionally vulnerable to abilities like Ishii’s, allowing the boy to temporarily reduce his strength while borrowing a portion of it for himself.

The very circumstances that had allowed Malachi to obtain such extraordinary power had also left him with a weakness that even his overwhelming physical capabilities couldn’t compensate for.

This wasn’t enough for him. This weakness was too glaring.

“No…”

Malachi’s voice was barely audible, his eyes remaining fixed on the arm he’d just regenerated.

“This isn’t enough…”

His expression continued to twist as he repeated those words, seemingly oblivious to the people watching him.

“Not enough… Not enough…”

Paul and the others exchanged uneasy glances.

They couldn’t understand what Malachi was muttering about, but the growing agitation in his expression was enough to make them wary.

After everything they’d witnessed, none of them believed he would suddenly allow them to leave. If anything, they were beginning to suspect that his next attack would be even more dangerous than the last.

And considering how much trouble they’d already had dealing with him, that was hardly an encouraging thought.

Yet despite their expectations, Malachi made no attempt to attack.

Instead, something far worse began to happen.

The black aura surrounding him suddenly stirred.

At first, the change was subtle, with portions of the darkness beginning to flow toward his body.

But as the others watched, the movement grew increasingly pronounced, until enormous amounts of the surrounding aura were being drawn directly into him.

And with every passing moment, they could feel his presence growing stronger.