Becoming a Monster-Chapter 336: Demonic Ritual

"What was that?" Ailetta, the most perceptive out of the group besides Noah, asked with a somewhat fascinated curiosity. She noted Noah’s surprise, making her realize that her question was a little too vague.

"That eye of yours...when it looked at me, it felt as if I was naked in front of it. What did you do? What does that," She pointed towards the golden layer around the eye. "Supposed to do."

Noah could have explained it. If it was someone else, he would have rather done just that. But when it came to Ailetta, he believed that her insight was oftentimes better than his own.

"It’d be better to just show you." He suggested as he used the skill again, looking towards the others.

With just a thought, Ailetta synchronized with his eye to see from his perspective. Her expression turned to awe the moment she took in the sight. Noah only left the skill up for no more than ten seconds, but that was enough for her.

"Well?"

She took time to digest what he saw. Instead of immediately answering, she accounted for what he already knew after synchronizing with his soul during the time she was able to look through the eye.

There was a gleam in her eyes that Noah noticed, and already, she had picked up something he had missed.

"Try focusing on the gear."

"The gear?" Noah thought aloud before his eyes grew enlightened. He activated his eye again. His gaze shifted, sharpening as he took a deeper look at Mark. This time turning his attention away from the people and on to the gear, specifically Mark’s sword.

Mark’s aura almost smothered the sword’s aura, masking it so it was barely noticeable, but now that he narrowed his thoughts, he saw it instantly.

Instead of concepts, what he could perceive was the weapons’ intention. It was as if he could feel the goal in which the weapon was made. He couldn’t analyze its specific effects, but as he looked upon the sword’s "coding," the words amplification and enhancement came to mind.

It wasn’t as if all he gathered were those two words, but he had an understanding of what those two words entailed, just through their intentions. Amplification was the swords ability to amplify the wielders abilities, while enhancement pertained to empowering their stats. The amount itself was not discernible, but just knowing what the weapon could do was enough for him.

Not only would this skill come in handy against future enemies, but Noah realized that he could also use this very skill to determine the usage of his loot.

"Le, remind me to kiss you later." Noah responded with anticipation as he disregarded everything else, pulling out the next item he felt his body calling for.

Despite his enthusiasm, when he reached for the next item, his movements when he pulled it out were full of caution. What he held in his hand was a piece of a page, a page that looked mystical and ancient as if it came out of a magical tome.

What was odd about the page was when he held the page within his hands, he was never actually gripping its surface. The page was hovering slightly around his fingers, as if resisting being touched.

The parchment was made from a pale gold hide, with streaks of dark tainted veins.

Just like the chest, runes drawn from the blood of an ancient being that glowed a holy residual light the moment he placed his hands around it.

There was nothing about the object that would even hint how to use it. The only clue was the was-like sigil made from the same blood that was centered on the page. It was created from the same blood, but unlike the runes, sigil glowed with a mixture of gold and violet light.

This was the perfect chance to try out his new sight. But before he did, something about the sigil felt enticing. His hand hovered over the page as his finger lightly touched it. It was the only part of the parchment that he was able to make contact with.

In the exact moment he did, his mind was pulled into what he felt to be a vision, almost a dream. What he saw was a demon in the purest sense. The demon was what he would consider a devil, unlike what the masses called him. It had four bat-like wings, its figure was almost entirely made from the darkness of hell’s depths itself.

The creature was shackled at the center of what appeared to be a ritual. Surrounding it were demons whose aura was more maleficent than that creature but their appearances were more refined, less demonic in nature.

Noah noticed a leading figure approached the chained demon, in its hand was a book that revealed its open pages to resemble closely to the very parchment he received.

The book glowed, and underneath the demon, a sigil no different than the sigil that brought Noah here, glowed underneath it. The sigil released a barrier of both crimson energy and energy of that of an angel, intertwined as one.

The demon raged and shrieked from pain unbecoming of its nature. Around it, none of the other demons baited an eye, accustomed to this before.

The aura gradually grew smaller, and as the energy diminished, the demon’s own energy was being amplified, and its form was being modified, refined to something greater, something close to what the demons in the surroundings were.

Noah watched in stunned silence. He realized that the demon was being purified, nor was it being cleansed. It was an enforced evolution using the polar opposite energy as the catalyst.

Noah’s breath caught as he began to feel the overwhelming presence of a being noticing him. Its glowing crimson eyes locked onto his. For some reason, he was unable to discern its appearance, only a silhouette was visible.

The vision snapped. The sound of his heartbeat thundered in his ears as Noah gasped. The feeling of that gaze was too lifelike to just be a vision. Those eyes clearly saw him as if past and present were one of the same cloth. He could sense it as if he was physically there. Those eyes weren’t just looking at him, they were marking him. And within that gaze, that being looked at him as if amused of his presence.

"Noah?" Ailetta crouched beside him. Even when they faced almost certain death when they faced the Seraphim, she didn’t see him have such a strong reaction. This time she didn’t hesitate to sync with his soul, linking herself to his feelings and to his thoughts.

Even after understanding what he went through, Ailetta didn’t say anything, and neither did Noah. The two stared at the page, now hovering inches above the ground , as if refusing to let itself fall.

Without Noah’s touch, the sigil had lost its glow. However, Noah could feel the parchment calling out to him once again. And this time, so did Ailetta.

"Will you still use it?" Ailetta asked him. Deep down she felt that it was a foolish question. Noah would never run away from power.

He gazed absently towards the parchment, tempted to use it for himself. He sought power, he was desperate for it. Tired of stronger creatures always appearing when he believed his strength was sufficient to live freely.

But the previous fight affirmed his earlier belief. Being strong alone wasn’t the answer. In fact, for his situation, it was far from it. If Ailetta was stronger, if Arachne skills were more diverse, maybe the fight would have gone differently when he merged with them.

And what about Kratos and Fenrir? The two powerful creatures who had contended with an army of zombies on their own were demoted to mere spectators.

No...

Noah no longer wanted to be strong alone. He desired for his creatures, for his family to be even stronger than him. As long as they were powerful, his own power would naturally follow. He thought long and hard about this. About how he would kill the entity living inside him. How could he kill an enemy that grew alongside him.

And now the answer was simple. The entity would only have his strength. But what about his creatures? By the time he faced against the being, he would be able to merge with all of his creatures, and their combined power would be overwhelmingly stronger than he is as an individual.

Turning to Ailetta, his eyes glimmered. Of course he still had other creatures he could give it to. Since his blood, and his mana was within them, he was sure they would respond to the parchment in the same manner.

But what exactly has he given Ailetta all this time? He had yet to still make her into a Fallen. For the person that loves him and he loves in return, he wanted to do more for her.

"I want you to use it. Become stronger to continue to help me protect everyone."

She was surprised. Not expecting for him to give away such power, especially after that being supposedly marked.

That initial shock turned into a hardened resolve.

She wouldn’t reject power.

Not if it meant standing at Noah’s side, not if it meant protecting the family they were building.

She reached for the parchment, standing up as she stepped away from him.

"Don’t regret it when I become stronger than you." She smiled before breaking the seal.

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