Becoming a Monster-Chapter 84: You’re no Queen

"That’s not what the spell looks like..." she uttered, making the group appear more clueless than they were before. Her saying that didn’t really clarify anything for them.

"Urgh! I’m saying that ’person’ is a freak!" Katrina became agitated that she couldn’t get them to understand what she was trying to say. Did they not think about how freakish that spell was to knock out that giant ant? Did they assume that anyone with the same skill could do the same?? That was what was on her mind during this time. She still couldn’t forget the fear she experienced when she first encountered Noah in the cafeteria. Seeing the display of the spell, which was supposed to be just a low-level skill that she owned, now incited that phobia even further.

She turned towards one of the ants on the ground and raised her palm towards it like Noah, but without all of the gusto. A gaseous sphere started to form, the sphere was almost identical to Noahs when comparing the forming, that was where the similarities ended. The students who saw the skill forming now realized that the skill Noah used was in fact mana bolt, but it was better to consider his spell a mutated and improved version, especially after seeing the result of her sphere after being released.

Her spell visualized into a whitish-blue sphere, soon growing to the size that Noah’s sphere had started from before Katrina released it. The sphere turned into a bolt before impacting the ant’s shell, causing the ant’s body to flinch and a small dent to appear on the area that was impacted. The result of her spell finally relayed the girl’s distraught feelings concerning Noah.

There were different reactions from all of them, but the biggest was Ailetta’s, who not only felt immense pride but also a growing fear of being left behind every time she saw him. ’What else should I do to catch up? I need to get better skills... Or...’ She began to ponder deeply about what she could do to inspire a greater change regarding her strength. Like the time she was able to gain insight after Jasmine created her own spell, she felt inspired when she saw the way Noah used his blood to make a drastic change to his creatures.

However, buried deep within her mind was a notion she had encountered in stories she and Noah had read together, the concept of pledging or sacrificing for immense power. But those were mere tales, often involving pacts with entities resembling devils. Unsure if such practices held any merit in reality, Ailetta hesitated to entertain the idea further. Yet, the allure of greater strength tugged at her, tempting her to explore uncharted territories in her quest for growth, all just to stand by his side.

As excited as Ailetta, Ishii found himself admiring Noah even more. Inspired by Noah’s display of power, Ishii felt a burning desire to seek out a creature for an epic battle right in front of his idol, hoping to earn Noah’s acknowledgement.

Meanwhile, Mark’s frustration simmered, threatening to boil over. He seethed with anger at himself and directed even more ire towards Noah, his fists clenched tightly as he glared daggers at Noah’s oblivious figure. Yet meanwhile, Noah was too engrossed in admiring his handiwork that he had forgotten that the queen wasn’t dead yet.

"Ha...HahaHa~That was sick! Ah! I wonder if I can do it with bot-"

"Awwwhhoo!"

Noah’s words were abruptly halted by Fenrir’s resounding howl. Fenrir wasted no time in recovering from the earlier setback; fueled by nothing but pure hatred after being tossed away, the monstrous creature sprinted toward the still-recovering Queen with a vengeance.

Struggling to regain her footing, the Queen’s massive size hindered her efforts. However, the beast closing in on her spurred her to endure through whatever injuries she was under. By the time she managed to stand, Fenrir was already upon her, his jaws gripping her backside as he attempted to tear through her tough exterior.

Crunch!*

Loud, audible crunching noises could be heard from Fenrir’s direction as he continued to gnaw his way through the Queen’s exterior. The relentless sound was punctuated by the creaking and snapping of her shell giving way under his powerful jaws. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was succeeding.

With each powerful bite, Fenrir pierced deeper into the Queen’s defenses. Three enormous, forceful bites were enough to puncture through the shell, creating gaping holes in the form of his teeth. Viscous liquid seeped out from the wounds, a dark yellow hue of blood pooling around the mangled shell. The sight was both horrifying and mesmerizing.

This caused the Queen to go into a frenzy. Fenrir’s danger levels forced her survival instincts to an all-time high. She first attempted to reach behind her to remove the beast that never ceased feasting on her, but Fenrir was worse than a leech. When she rotated her body to reach her sides, Fenrir would stay attached to her with his claws deeply embedded into her sides, sinking deeper with every twist and turn, while his mouth continued to bite into her shell.

By this time, more of the queen’s blood had flowed enough to create puddles on the ground leading up to the Queen becoming more frantic. In a final act of desperation, the Queen summoned every ounce of her remaining strength, lifting her massive backside, uplifting Fenrir along with it, before bringing it down with reckless abandon. The force of her descent collided into the ground with enough velocity to injure both Fenrir and herself.

Boom!

She accomplished her goal of ridding herself of Fenrir, but at what cost? After Fenrir was slammed into the ground, a large hole was left in her backside as big as his jaws could open, leaving her with a two-foot wound that continuously gushed blood.

Despite the searing pain radiating from her injuries, the Queen’s first instinct wasn’t to try to finish off the beast that did this to her. Her survival instincts began to overwhelm her desire for retaliation, she needed to preserve the colony! Her colony may be gone now, but as long as she lives, the colony will never die. It was impossible for her to dig underground fast enough to get away. She needed to flee back to the hole she emerged from but she felt something stirring in the air and what sounded like a whistle closing the distance.

Boom! Boom!

Then, with a deafening boom, a manabolt struck her side, followed by another that tore through one of her legs before detonating against the ground. The force of the impact threatened to send her sprawling once more, but with a desperate effort, she managed to steady herself on her remaining legs.

Coughs* Noah coughed as he lifted himself off the ground, retrieving his sword with an embarrassed smile after committing such a blunder. He had really wanted to try using both hands to shoot out the spheres. Taken into account for the enormous kickback after his first experience, he braced himself efficiently. And yet he still miscalculated the kickback from overloading the spell using both hands.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Noah glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed his mishap. The attempt, though earnest, had left him sprawled on the ground, the collision into the ground left him a bit shaken despite his fortified constitution.

’Ok well that didn’t go as planned...Wait! Is it trying to run away now?’ Noah’s heart raced with a mix of confusion and adrenaline. He had anticipated the Queen’s retaliation, but her sudden retreat caught him off guard. As he watched the giant ant’s frantic retreat, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have prompted her change in behavior. Was it fear? Desperation? Or something else entirely? He thought creatures would be easier to understand, this was a life and death battle, how could she suddenly retreat?

"Oh no you don’t!" He yelled after her before taking off on her trail. With a quick motion, he replaced his sword back into the ring to rid himself of the excess weight, allowing him to move more swiftly. Activating his elusive skill in spurts, he surged forward, closing the distance between them with each stride.

As he raced onward, Noah’s brows furrowed, worry gnawed at him as he watched the transaction between Fenrir and the runaway queen. Fenrir had already recovered from their previous encounter and was once again on the offensive, his massive form looming over the battlefield as he relentlessly mauled the ant’s shell in any location he could reach. The damage was accumulating rapidly, yet the Queen’s speed remained unchanged.

With a sense of urgency, Noah realized that the Queen seemed to have a destination in mind in her retreat. A premonition emerged in his heart, if this chase continued then he could potentially lose out on securing the kill.

Noah needed to close the gap, and fast. He could try to slow the ant down with his webs, but given how strong the ant was to fling Fenrir, that option was quickly weeded out. Fenrir was the key to victory. Under the influence of his killing instinct, Fenrir was a powerhouse, and Noah’s role was clear: to support his companion with his own skills or land a decisive blow with his mana bolt to secure their success.

"Tsk! If I can find that shop again, I’m definitely grabbing that skill for reasons like this," Noah muttered, imagining how the fight could have ended quicker with a skill to lower defense. His regret was fleeting as he focused on the task at hand. He activated his skill to exchange 20% of Fenrir’s agility and stamina for an extra 23 points in his own speed, allowing him to catch up to the duo swiftly. His target wasn’t the Queen, but Fenrir.

"I know you can’t hear me big guy, but let’s see what you can do with this." Noah arrived at Fenrir’s side, the wolf oblivious to his presence, focused solely on mauling the Queen. Noah placed his palm on Fenrir’s side, maintaining contact as best as he could before activating the skill ’grant lesser strength.’ The skill was supposed to increase Fenrir’s strength by only 10%, but Noah knew that his spirit would amplify the effect, and that was what he was counting on.

A purple aura emanated from Noah’s hand, momentarily engulfing Fenrir’s entire body.

"Grrrr"

Fenrir’s growls deepened, punctuated by guttural grunts, clearly invigorated by the skill. Noah couldn’t measure the exact increase in power, but the results were undeniable. Fenrir tore through one of the Queen’s legs with his claws, a limb on the same side where another leg had been blown apart by Noah’s spell. The Queen teetered, her balance shattered, and she crashed to the ground, making her an easier target for Fenrir’s relentless assault, ravaging her body with his overpowering claws.

Noah didn’t end it there. Reusing his exchange ability, he gave Fenrir 20% of his strength and agility. It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped in taking down the Queen faster. While Fenrir was busy tearing through the Queen’s shell, Noah made his way around her huge body to arrive at her head.

"Queen my ass! What queen runs away after sending all of her followers to their deaths, and worse!" Noah’s voice dripped with contempt as he confronted the struggling ant. With both palms raised towards her, he watched her futile attempts to rise, each effort thwarted by Fenrir’s relentless assault. As she neared standing, Fenrir’s jaws clamped down on another of her legs, sending her crashing to the ground once more.

Three seconds stretched into an eternity as Noah’s spell pulsed through his veins, its power building to a crescendo, his final attack was ready to be released.

"Now I have to run all the way back because of you!" He yelled in frustration while simultaneously releasing the two bolts, which forced him to recoil back. One of the bolts crashed into the Queen’s eye, puncturing it and causing the eye to explode, splurging out its innards. Meanwhile, the other bolt made its way to the center of her head, heading straight for the area that was already cracked.

The bolt shattered through the ant’s shell with a resounding crunch, unleashing havoc within. The Queen convulsed uncontrollably, her spasms rippling through her body for what felt like an eternity before finally stilling. As her movements ceased entirely, silence descended upon the battlefield, broken only by the relentless strikes of Fenrir. The wolf’s relentless assault continued unabated, who knows how much the wolf needed to vent before his rage subsided.

Noah couldn’t help but steal a glance at Fenrir, his ferocious yet playful beast, still locked in a frenzy with the fallen Queen ant’s body. With a shake of his head, he muttered, "It’s the skill... The reason has to be the skill; he’s a lot smarter than this." Doubt lingered as he stole another glance at Fenrir, but his attention swiftly shifted.

Thankfully, the treasure he had been eagerly awaiting finally appeared. "My first chest after awakening!" With a surge of excitement, he approached the platinum chest that had dropped. Despite its lower grade compared to the one from his previous battle with the evolved zombie, Noah’s anticipation remained high. While this fight had been relatively easier, it didn’t diminish his thrill in the slightest.

’I wonder if my luck got any better now...’

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