Becoming a Monster-Chapter 42: Extortion

"Wait! Isn’t that Noah? It is you isn’t it? What happened to you?"

Noah’s body tensed at the sound of the familiar voice , his pupils hurriedly searched for the source, hoping it wasn’t her.

But alas, it was Regina, the girl who triggered his parents abusive change when he was a child. The very same person who he was sure was the orchestrator behind the "thugs" unrevoked appearances.

Regina happened to catch the moment Noah’s body language changed, and a sinister smile crept across her lips. Despite the two threatening creatures at his side and his new imposing presence, she grew confident in her ability to still manipulate him, a reminder of the power she held over him in the past and present.

"Why do you need to know?" In spite of her confidence, she was mistaken. He had to hold back the urge, and that urge was to strangle her then and there. Every encounter when a "gang" would "randomly" show up, his hatred for the woman grew. But he needed to control himself; he had recently taken a life, one who probably didn’t deserve it. He refused to believe he was becoming a cold-blooded killer. At least he hoped he wasn’t.

To avoid dealing with Regina, he directed his attention towards the others who were closely observing their interaction.

"So you probably got your answer now, right? How about you worry about the situation behind you, or do we still have a problem?" Noah questioned them in a way that made it appear as if he was in a hurry.

"! What? You still hav-"

"Elroy, enough!" Lucas interrupted, aiming to redirect everyone’s attention to the threat at hand. "It’s true, we need to focus on the zombies behind us. I don’t think anything we put in front of the door will hold ’it’ back, and we still have to worry about the zombies alongside it. Barricade the door, and then we can make our way to the gymnasium. With more people, I’m sure we can take that thing out."

"Sigh...fine, Lucas..."

As the others scrambled to find objects to barricade the door, the sound of banging grew louder from the other side. Amidst the chaos, two figures remained still, their attention fixed on Noah. One was Lucas, who had questioned Noah, while the other was Regina.

But Noah wasn’t paying attention to her, or at least he wasn’t trying to, but the irritating stare she was giving him was starting to grate on his nerves, making it impossible to have cordial conversation.

"Well? What else do you want?" He snapped, his patience wearing thin.

"What? Why does it sound like you’re trying to pick a fight with us?" Lucas shot back. "You should’ve heard us just now, but there are tons of zombies trying to get through at this very moment! and then there’s another..."

His expression turned solemn as he thought about the monster approaching.

"We need your help; you’re in the same situation as us, so why don’t you fight with us? You seem to be pretty confident in yourself, but believe me... what’s out there isn’t something you alone can handle. Trust me, you’re not the only one confident in themselves."

With that said, a fierce glint illuminated in his eyes that turned golden, while his pupils elongated into long vertical slits. Simultaneously, his hair, including the strands visible on his arms, began to sprout, thickening until it fully covered his skin, creating a wild, primal aura around him, before his transformation could go any further he reverted back to its original state.

’Oh!’ The show of ’strength’ surprised Noah, which clearly showed on his face. The expression Noah showed satisfied Lucas, thinking he got his point across until he heard Noah reply.

"But I don’t need you, honestly, you have some gall, bringing them here and then saying that crap to me. The only reason I’m in the same position as you is because you put me in it. Just hurry up and finish what you need to do and go on, I was fine before your group barged in."

"....." The silence that followed was thick with tension, leaving both Lucas and Regina at a loss for words. Regina’s eyes narrowed as she struggled to process Noah’s unexpected response, for she was still unable to adjust to Noah’s newfound assertiveness.

"Lucas! We did what we could! We think that should be enough to buy time. Let’s head over with everyone else." urged one of Lucas’s companions, breaking the uncomfortable silence and redirecting their focus.

Lucas turned to see Leroy returning, his gaze sweeping over the barricade they had hastily constructed. It seemed sturdy enough to withstand the onslaught, at least for the time being. Although doubts lingered in his mind towards the runners, especially regarding the monstrosity that was behind the attack.

His eyes briefly glazed over when he thought about the identity of the monster. However, the increasing banging noise snapped him back to the present.

"Come on everyone, we don’t have much time!" Lucas directed everyone to the back, but not without giving Noah one last look and parting words.

"Pride kills, but I’ll be sure to remember your name." His words caused Noah to laugh, though not for the reasons they suspected.

Confusion clouded the group as they encountered the foreign substance blocking the doorway. "Wh-what? What is this? This is the way to get to the other side right?"

"Urgh! I think it’s webs! Look! weapon is stuck, I can’t get it out."

"Webs?" The word hung in the air, realization dawning on the group.

Lucas turned, suspicion in his eyes, eliciting everyone else to follow his line of sight as they looked to the most likely source behind the webs. All gazes settled on Noah, watching them while he smiled in amusement.

"Did you do this?" LeRoy spoke out loudly, his clear frustration unrestrained. At this point, even if Noah said he didn’t do it, Lucas wouldn’t believe it. Though whether or not Lucas believed him didn’t matter to Noah. He considered himself a lot of things, but being a liar wasn’t one of them.

"Yeah it was me, what can I say? You guys just came at a bad ti-"

"Well take them down then! Or should we make you?" Lucas interrupted, his eyes blazing with a declaration for violence.

"Yeah! We don’t want to die with you!"

The rest of the group started to chant loudly. Soon the smile Noah wore turned into laughter, leaving the group confused and angry.

"I don’t think this is funny..." Lucas spoke up, his expression showing his annoyance and something darker, his eyes slowly flickering back to their primal form from earlier.

"You act like we really need you, but remember this moment, you’ll definitely regret this soon...ugh!" Lucas grunted softly, his body began to go through a frightened transformation. Starting with his body hair that started to spread throughout his body, the parts that were uncovered sprouted more hair. His muscle mass began to grow while his face gradually started to change features. The mouth and nose stretched out from his face to form a snout, while his hair quickly emerged from his skin, covering the rest.

Noah watched as the change unfolded, noting the speed with which Lucas adapted to his werewolf form compared to Derrick’s. This man clearly was used to using the skill. If Lucas was average height before, standing around 5’11", he was now 6’3". But any semblance of the man before was gone. What stood before him was a tall dark gray bipedal wolf, a creature straight out of legend.

The transformation was staggering! Ferocious eyes, thick midnight fur, razor-sharp teeth, and long claws, each extended claw was a deadly weapon. Even his hands and feet had grown larger while his arms almost dangled past his knees. Noah definitely wouldn’t want to go against something like him in the past.

Noah and his group prepared themselves, awaiting Lucas to initiate their next blood bath. Yet, to their surprise, Lucas turned away from them, his attention fixed on the wall of webs before him.

"Awwwhooooo!" He howled before raising his right claw that revealed his massive nine-inch fully extracted claws. The speed of the attack was fast as it seemingly ripped through the air. The gang behind him gathered as they all anticipated the same situation. They all envisioned his claws shredding through the webs like paper.

Roars!*

Yet, the scene that they envisioned didn’t occur. His claws struck through the webs, cutting down just a few inches to reveal the other side before it stopped in its tracks. Lucus frantically tried to retract his claw, but as he pulled away, the webs refused to yield, the webs tenacity proved to be more stubborn than Lucas’ pride.

Lucas was very prideful after the change of his race, that trait becoming even more pronounced after his transformation. How could he consider himself an alpha when he couldn’t even break through some measly webs? He even took the time to criticize Noah and made a huge entrance with his transformation. He felt embarrassed, his stung ego only led him further down the path of rash decisions.

Angrily, Lucas fixed his gaze on his other hand, a wild notion taking root in his mind: if one claw couldn’t succeed, why not two?

With another resounding howl, Lucas thrust his second claw into the webs, positioning it next to the first. His plan was that if he couldn’t cut through it then he would rip it apart with sheer brute force!

Growls!*

Just like a beast, Lucas began to growl loudly as he tried to exert all of his strength. His muscles tensed, veins bulging beneath his fur as he poured every ounce of strength into his efforts.

"You can do it, Lucas!" The encouraging shouts from the crowd spurring him on.

"I’ve seen him sliced through a zombie’s skull before, this should be easy for him!"

Poke poke*

But amidst the cheers and encouragement, three figures stood apart, their interest waning. Noah felt a gentle poke on his back and turned to face Arachne, whose intention reflected utter confusion.

’Why are they playing with your webs?’ She asked, the question made Noah chuckle, granting Arachne another session of head rubs.

"This is what happens when people don’t ask for things nicely." he explained cryptically, knowing that a full explanation would likely be lost on her.

"Grim? What’s wrong with you?" Noah observed Grim’s distracted gaze, directed towards the barricaded door, which was starting to bulge under pressure. The creatures outside appeared far more interesting than the creatures in front of him, especially since he wasn’t able to cut off their heads.

"Oh? Well, we still have time for them. Why don’t you feast on the zombies, Arac-"

"Noah, help him!" Regina’s urgent plea cut through Noah’s words, drawing his attention to Lucas, who was already returning to his normal state.

Apparently, Lucas managed to create a large enough hole that even his enlarged head could fit through, but that was the most he could achieve after all that effort. What Noah didn’t realize was that even though Lucas’ transformation appeared as if it held no drawbacks. Physically, the skill was draining and would only become less of a burden when his physical stats were increased.

Now nearly back to his original form, Lucas remained ensnared in the webs, looking slightly fatigued and frustrated. Lucas’ visible exhaustion froze as he heard Regina’s plea for his stead.

"No! We don’t need his help, if we all come together and pull then we shou-"

"Lucas, shut up! Do you want us to be stuck just like you? We would definitely die when the zombies come through. Noah, please! We’ve known each other since we were little. We were actually close once, can you help us this one time? Please..."

"No..." Noah quickly uttered, but his tone sounded conflicted, giving Regina reason to believe that there was still a chance to convince him. However, her hopes were dashed when she heard his following words.

"Now that you politely asked me, ’considering our past history,’ I will only free him if you all pay me in gold. I’m glad you still remember the past, so don’t you DARE try to manipulate me into doing what you want." The earlier smile he had was nowhere to be seen. He was angry, and rightfully so. She actually had the audacity to bring up when they were younger and make it seem as if they were close?

He clenched his fist hard enough to draw blood as he revisited the memories that turned his life into a living hell. The time where he believed in his parents’ false compassion, the time where he was naive to believe that fake persona of a smile of the miniature version of the girl in front of her. Her comforting smile, her soothing laughter, all of it was a disguise, concealing a monster more heartless than what he experienced today.

They were so young, yet even in his solitude, he became a target for her devious schemes. Deep down he knew something wasn’t right, an inner warning he couldn’t ignore despite his desire for companionship.

The overwhelming niceness unnerved him, and when he turned her away, the sight of her tears only deepened his anguish.

’So why.....? Why did she still accuse me of molesting her?!’ Anger engulfed his heart as he was forced to relive that hellish past.

His voice meant nothing when compared to the countless accusations that "witnessed" his evil deed. Not to mention the betrayal of his parents, who once showered him with praises everyday. Instead of the praise he always looked forward to when coming home, he was then only met with abuse and derogatory insults.

Noah was trapped, and confused, he was unable to feel any rage at this injustice. He was still unable to process why this was happening to him. Desperate for answers, he sought out Regina the day he was allowed back into school, hoping to confront her.

However, to his surprise, she was the one to approach him first. That angelic smile she still wore even now didn’t have the same effect as he did before. Her mask of innocence she wore figuratively reopened the many wounds that he suffered everyday. His heart and mind was too distraught to voice the question he oh so desperately wanted to ask, and yet, in a cruel twist, Regina seemingly answered his question, her response, one that broke whatever sense of belonging Noah ever had, shattering any remnants of trust he had left.

"Now you see what happens when you tell ’me’ no, don’t you?" Her voice dripped with malice as she taunted Noah. She then began to menacingly laugh to herself relishing in his ashen expression. "At first I just wanted to play a little joke on you, but now...I just want to see your whole world burn! You don’t want to be ’my’ friend? You think you are better than me?! Fine! Hehe~ I’ll make sure that you’ll be alone forever!" Her words echoed in his mind long after she walked away, her childish laughter showing just how much she was pleased with herself.

Reflecting on his past, Noah even surprised him at the fact that his rage hasn’t spurred him on to seek revenge, killing Regina and anyone that dared to protect her.

Regina paled under Noah’s intense gaze, trying to maintain an air of obliviousness to the trauma she had inflicted. However, how was the rest supposed to know? Lucas, overhearing Noah’s drastic demand while still struggling to free himself, couldn’t help but feel his own anger intensify.

"Money?? Are you really trying to extort us right now? How low could you poss-"

"LUCAS, I SAID, SHUT! UP!" Regina screamed at the top of her lungs, startling everyone. Their attention quickly shifted from Noah to her. She stared into Noah’s eyes, her fearful gaze concealed under her practiced mask, but she was unable to hide her confusion. This was the same person she got beaten up by every week and never told a soul. The same person whose life was turned upside down continued on with his life knowing his place. ’How could someone change so much? Is this really Noah?’

But she had to accept it; there would be no other reason why someone would show such animosity to someone as beautiful as her, right?

"Sigh! Fine... how much do you want?"

"Of course I want it all," Noah replied instantaneously to her question, dumbfounding not only her but everyone else.

"Wh-what? All? We don’t even know what it’s for yet, and you want all of it?"

"You’re still stuck in here with us! Why should we give you anything?"

The backlash continued, but Noah didn’t care in the slightest. After taking so many lives and seeing so many die, he couldn’t fathom why they were still arguing with him over something they might not even get to use.

"It’s either that or we stay here ’together’. It doesn’t matter to me, but are your lives worth less than the gold you carry? I’m sure many of you don’t even have any. Are you gonna let those few let you all die? Besides, your main fighter is out of the fight. Do you think you’ll survive long enough when they get in without him?"

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fre(𝒆)novelkiss.com Only