Becoming a Monster
Chapter 231: Mist and Subjugation

Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Mist and Subjugation

With no enemies appearing since the end of the fight, and with the tree finally finished with its transformation; Noah now was left with two unfinished tasks. The first was now lying in front of him, fear, expectation and genuine confusion was layered in its gaze.

The snake was uncertain of what to expect from Noah after everything it had witnessed. It wanted to prevent Noah from growing stronger by obtaining the fruit, only to realize that Noah’s blood was even more potent than the fruit ever could have been. It witnessed the tree’s entire transformation the moment it absorbed Noah’s blood. For a moment, it wished to be in the tree’s position. To become "one" with such a powerful figure, being granted power that seemingly guaranteed ascension, something that every creature desired.

Now that figure was standing in front of it. It remembered the promise Noah had given it; not only would he free it from his webs, but he was also going to allow it to still have the fruit.

Its hesitation grew as it looked onto the figure that was small enough to fit in the gaps of its teeth.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you still doubt that I’m going to free you?" Noah asked, a bit of irritation in his voice at the insinuation of being called a liar.

The snake flinched at his tone, shaking its head profusely in denial. After a moment, the snake’s body shifted, relaxing itself once more as it rested its head before Noah as a sign of trust.

Although Noah’s irritation didn’t fully fade, he wasn’t one to back out of his word. He raised his giant hand, placing it over the snake’s mouth. The moment his hand made contact with the webs, webs seemed to come alive. The hand began to suction the webs into itself, reabsorbing the webs and regaining some of the lost mana used to create it.

Within seconds, the webs that proved impossible for the snake to escape from on its own, were gone. Instinctively, the snake raised its head, opening its mouth as a reflex from its tensed state, revealing its four fangs that proved longer than Noah’s body.

"Do you still want the fruit or not?" Its action was momentarily stalled as it heard the voice echoing from the ground. Its head tilted to look down at Noah who stood with an air of complete indifference. A sinister glint appeared in its eyes, its natural instincts urged it to take the chance to strike, but its intelligence allowed it to curb its instincts. Its body returned back to the ground facing Noah, its tongue habitually flickering out of its mouth.

"Smart choice," Noah’s early irritation disappeared as he witnessed the subtle tension in the snake’s eyes being replaced by submissiveness. Noah had a firm belief in only trusting those he had bonded with. His vigilance was always on high alert towards the snake despite his superiority. All it takes is for one moment of carelessness for anyone to lose their life to someone weaker than them. Noah himself has proven that multiple times.

Satisfied, Noah’s head turned, lifting his slime arm towards the tree. With just a thought, his arm extended, stretching endlessly until it reached the fruit. As the snake’s gaze followed his hand, its eyes finally rested on the fruit.

Its body shook from the sight. With eyes that could see mana, how could it not see the changes that took place in not only the tree, but in the fruit as well? The mana pulsing within the fruit was no longer merely abundant, it was otherworldly. The mana it radiated, the scent it emitted, everything about it seemed part of nature. But now, that sense of order was transformed into a completely chaotic yet alluring energy that dwarfed what the fruit had originally possessed.

The snake’s tongue flickered with an even greater fervor than before as its eagerness to consume the fruit gave way to reasoning. Its instinct screamed at the danger of consuming the new fruit, it was aware of what such power might demand in return, however it still found itself glued in place.

"Decide," Its attention snapped onto Noah’s sudden voice, noticing Noah’s hand extending out with the fruit placed atop it. "You can take it and become more than what you are now, or leave it and remain as you are. But understand this..." Noah’s gaze harded, his mana releasing a dangerous pressure. "I plan on becoming the ruler of this place. If you take it, you’ll essentially be serving me."

Noah’s lips curled into a faint, cold smile. "You should know resisting me is pointless. Serve me, and you won’t just survive, you’ll thrive. But if you decide to reject my offer, I’ll let you go, but you should watch your back."

The snake froze, its massive form trembled under the weight of Noah’s words. Its eyes fixated on the fruit, understanding that the key to its future lied with it. The warning in Noah’s tone forced it to understand that this was no simple exchange. No matter what decision it made it understood that its decision would come with a heavy cost.

"If it doesn’t want it, can I have it?" The tense atmosphere was destroyed by the small childish voice, quick little steps quickly approaching them.

The snake’s trembling subsided for a moment as its attention shifted to the small figure approaching with unrestrained curiosity. Eve stopped a few feet away, her bright eyes gleaming with fascination as they flicked between Noah, the fruit, and the massive serpent.

"Eve, behave." Noah’s stern tone, along with a firm glance was all it took for the little girl to not interfere.

Her body jumped, sensing Noah’s impatience as she scurried over to Ailetta, a playful giggle trailing behind her as she still didn’t take the matter seriously.

"If that big thing doesn’t want it, you’ll help me get it won’t you?" Eve beckoned to Ailetta, trying to whisper to avoid drawing Noah’s ire. However, her senses picked up a heavy gaze boring into her, cutting through her playful demeanor with a weight that froze her in place. Helplessly she looked in the direction of the gaze to find Noah with an eerie calm expression looking back at her.

Noah’s gaze softened after making sure that Eve was behaving before he returned his attention back to the snake. He didn’t want to be so hard on Eve, but she was unaware of the consequences of eating the tree’s fruit. Even their bond wouldn’t be strong enough to hold over the parasitic nature of the fruit’s effects.

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After what felt like an eternity, the serpent slowly uncoiled, lowering its massive head toward Noah. Its glowing eyes locked onto his as its intent became clear. With a deliberate motion, it extended its tongue, curling around the fruit in Noah’s hand.

A satisfied gleam flickered in Noah’s eyes as he released the fruit. "Wise choice," he said softly, stepping back as the serpent’s jaws closed around it.

The moment the fruit was swallowed, an immense wave of energy erupted from the serpent’s body. Its body radiated an ethereal glow of violet power, and at the same time, tens of roots shot out from ground, tethering itself into the snake’s body. The roots writhed and pulsed as if alive, embedding themselves deeply into the snake’s scales.

The serpent’s body convulsed as the roots burrowed deeper, connecting its lifeforce to the tree.

The serpent’s scales darkened, turning into an abyssal black with veins of violet energy coursing through them like liquid fire. Black mist constantly released from its scales, heavily obscuring its form. If not for the flowing violet veins within it, one wouldn’t be able to make its stature in the darkness of the forest. The mist seemed alive, swirling and expanding outward, as though challenging anything that dared approach. Its body length remained the same size as before; however, its transformation exclusively targeted its strength, its poison.

Its eyes were no longer the same azure blue as before. A dark violet replaced its earlier hue. With its eyes being one of its more important features, its evolution found a way to protect its assets, as well as increasing its threatening potential. Every few seconds, its eyes would seemingly blink. During those times, the lid that would cover it was almost as black as its body. Instead of ordinary eyelids, a thick, black membrane slid over them. The membrane was as impenetrable as its scales, a shield that promised to guard its sight from harm while not also interfering with its special vision in any way.

Its transformation was nearing its end, the roots that tethered themselves into the snake’s body began to unlatch themselves, burrowing back into the ground.

It was different from when the tree was "bonded" to the spider, who was permanently attached to the tree’s roots, unable to leave the tree’s vicinity. The relationship between the two was....special. The snake wouldn’t have to be perpetually attached to the tree’s roots. But within a specific timespan, it would have to return to the tree to replenish its "battery" or lose the energy within it, essentially losing its life.