Becoming a Monster

Chapter 598: Chapter 597: An Unfavorable Match

Morvyr was staring intensely towards Fenrir.

The beast stood there quietly, yet the anticipation radiating from it had only continued to rise.

Morvyr then looked toward Otuk.

The troll was powerful. Far more powerful than it had been when it first encountered them. And from the troll’s words, it could have defeated them back then if only it could’ve fought one-on-one.

If it were now, the troll should have very low odds of losing. In fact, there shouldn’t be any possibility of losing.

Even so, Noah had agreed far too easily. That confidence bothered him greatly. He would’ve been more confident if Noah had at least acted as if he really didn’t want to do this.

"What do you receive if your beast wins?" Morvyr had to ask.

Noah’s hand finally stopped. That same hand pointed to Otuk.

"I don’t really ask for a lot. The only thing I want is his corpse."

Morvyr didn’t answer.

His eyes shifted slightly as his mind raced through every possible reason Noah could have for wanting the troll’s corpse.

Why would he risk so much for something that appeared so insignificant compared to what Morvyr stood to gain?

Was it the demonic energy contained within Otuk’s body?

Did the request have something to do with whatever method Noah used to strengthen his creatures?

Or were the rumors surrounding the Devil true after all?

There were stories claiming that the Devil could devour souls, taking everything a being possessed and making it part of himself.

At that moment, Morvyr wished he had waited just a little longer before coming here.

Their informants were still gathering information, and several reports concerning Noah had yet to be properly confirmed. If he accepted the terms only to hand the devil another source of power, then he could be strengthening the very being Her Majesty was still trying to evaluate.

More importantly, the stronger Noah became on his own, the less reason he would have to depend upon them later.

Morvyr nearly rejected the request immediately. Yet before the refusal could leave his mouth, he stopped himself.

He had no reasonable grounds to object.

Everything that had led them to this point had been decided by him. He had chosen Otuk as his representative. He had changed the rules. He had demanded that both warriors basically fight to the death.

Now Noah was offering something far more valuable in exchange for a corpse Morvyr would have no use for if Otuk lost.

If he rejected the terms after making so many demands of his own, Noah would undoubtedly use that contradiction against him.

"Fine."

That was all Morvyr intended to say.

Otuk’s head snapped toward him.

The disbelief in the troll’s expression was impossible to miss. It stared at Morvyr as though it couldn’t understand how he had so casually agreed to surrender its corpse.

Morvyr met the look without the slightest trace of sympathy.

"You were the one who demanded the opportunity to take revenge."

"Isn’t this what you wanted?"

"If you don’t believe you can lose, then the terms should mean nothing to you."

Even though Morvyr was right, Otuk’s disbelief slowly gave way to anger. For a brief moment, that anger appeared to turn toward Morvyr himself.

Then the ring on the elf’s finger gave off the faintest pulse, making Otuk immediately lower his gaze.

His hands tightened into fists as he turned back toward Fenrir, allowing every trace of resentment to fall upon the beast instead.

—

It didn’t take long for the two to finally square off. But before they did, both Morvyr and Noah were now standing side by side.

Morvyr still didn’t trust Noah. With his strength and experience, it wasn’t hard to sense that Fenrir was out of his league against Otuk.

So just to ensure that this devil really didn’t plan to manipulate the fight behind the scenes, he requested that the two were to stand next to one another to prevent either of them from interrupting the fight to save their own.

But even while standing next to him, Morvyr somehow felt even more uncertain. Just as the fight was about to start, he noticed that the eye centered on the devil’s chest was glowing.

"We agreed not to interfere."

Noah spared barely a glance at the elf before returning his attention to the fight.

"If you see me interfering, then you can stop me however you wish. This is the first time I get to see one of your kind in action, so of course I’m going to study as much as I can."

Morvyr didn’t rush to challenge the claim. He already knew that Noah had done nothing.

At least not yet.

What he wanted was to understand the meaning behind the glowing eye. And just from that one tidbit of information alone, he was able to understand that the eye acted as some sort of advanced analysis skill.

—

Otuk’s eyes had become completely bloodshot by the time the two finally faced one another.

The anticipation he had carried since returning to the forest had grown into something dangerously intoxicating. Every breath came heavier than the last, while the muscles throughout his body remained tense enough to move the instant the opportunity appeared.

"I’ve dreamt of this moment for many days."

The troll’s mouth pulled into the same provoking smile Fenrir remembered from their first encounter.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Fenrir’s fighting spirit remained completely undisturbed by the bloodlust pouring from him.

He had waited for this day as well.

The troll had been powerful even before becoming a demon, but that wasn’t what Fenrir remembered most clearly. What remained with him was the way Otuk had taunted him after fleeing from their battle.

Fenrir had promised himself that he would tear that smile from the troll’s face if they ever met again.

Yet even that promise mattered less than what was at stake now.

He wasn’t merely fighting for himself. Noah had chosen him to stand in his place, and Noah was watching every movement he made.

Fenrir couldn’t allow himself to lose. His body began changing before Otuk could say anything more.

The muscles beneath his fur rapidly expanded as his physical abilities increased at an alarming rate. Heat gathered throughout his body, spreading along the darkened seams beneath his skin while the claws extending from each paw became coated in a powerful venom.

The ground beneath Fenrir cracked as the tension in his legs braced to attack.

Otuk’s smile widened.

For all the restraint Morvyr had forced upon him earlier, the troll now understood that nothing stood between him and the revenge he had wanted.

Fenrir lowered his body closer to the ground.

Both sides had expected Otuk to make the first move.

The troll had barely begun shifting his weight when Fenrir disappeared from where he stood.

The earth erupted behind him.

Otuk’s eyes widened as Fenrir crossed the distance between them far faster than he remembered.

A venom-coated claw tore toward the troll’s throat, beginning a battle that only one of them was expected to survive.

—

The fight was supposed to be intense. A battle of powerfully equal beings would take a bitterly long back and forth to gain momentum over the other.

However, sadly, that wasn’t the case here.

Fenrir was faster than Otuk, but that was all.

Otuk truly displayed the gulf of power between the two. His giant sword rose to block the attack; sparks flew alongside the unsettling noise Fenrir’s claws made against the crude sword.

With all of Fenrir’s strength, Otuk barely budged an inch. And even more unbelievable, the sword barely had a mark left on it.

Fenrir was barely able to follow up on the attack when an oppressive foot crashed straight into his midsection, sending the wolf crashing to the ground, only to rebound quickly to his feet.

Morvyr was more than satisfied with the first exchange. This is exactly how he predicted it should be in the first place.

Instinctively, he looked to Noah, wanting to see what expression he would have.

Instead, the devil’s expression remained completely unchanged.

The first exchange had unfolded almost exactly as Noah expected.

Otuk’s aura had already made the difference between them obvious. The troll possessed far more raw power than Fenrir, and the ability strengthening him while he remained connected to the earth only widened that gap.

It was also the reason his crude sword had withstood Fenrir’s claws without suffering any meaningful damage.

As long as Otuk remained firmly planted, every part of him became akin to an immovable fortress. His body, his weapon, and even the force behind his attacks were reinforced by the earth.

Fenrir would remain at a disadvantage for most of the battle.

But... That was also exactly what Noah wanted.

There would have been little value in choosing an opponent Fenrir could defeat without being pushed beyond his current limits.

More importantly, Noah knew how Fenrir fought.

The beast’s strongest trait was a drawn-out fight. The longer a battle continued, the more punishment his body endured and the stronger his hardened defenses became.

And then... There was the main reason he chose Fenrir for this fight. And the reason why he was paying so much attention to it.

He wanted to stimulate Fenrir’s new ability. And only when his body was close to death would it take effect.

If Fenrir wins this fight, his power may even exceed the others after all this is over.