Becoming a Monster

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: The Demon’s Terms

The drake lay in the dark, its massive body curled in on itself. Its thoughts were at their lowest they had been. The pride it once carried, the same pride that made it challenge the demon, was long gone.

The truth didn’t burn as much anymore. No... the darkness and the quiet helped it to accept its place.

Then, it felt it.

A familiar presence was entering the cavern. The steps echoed softly across its cavern walls.

Its eyes opened, a faint glint running across its surface.

The drake’s first reaction was instinct. Its lips curled back, the muscles in its neck tightening as its face twisted into a scowl, ready to hide its weakness again beneath the last shred of its pride.

But then it stopped itself.

The aura approaching it wasn’t the same as before. It was more stable, and stronger. The demon had changed.

Its suspicions were confirmed. The demon was in possession of a dungeon core.

Just like that, the realization made something bitter stir in its chest. It was another chance lost to its own greed.

It let out a slow breath and lowered its head again. The gesture carried no dignity, only its quiet defeat.

When Noah entered the cavern, he was somewhat surprised to be met with silence. Then when he got closer, he noticed the creature’s once fiery gaze was dull now.

If this had been before, Noah might’ve been inclined to understand what was going on. Maybe he would’ve even felt pity. But right now, he didn’t care for either.

He came here only for two things.

As Noah drew nearer, the drake was finally unable to keep quiet. "What do you want, demon?"

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly. Even while putting on such a pathetic display, the creature’s tone still carried pride buried beneath it. But what caught his attention the most wasn’t the underlying arrogance, it was how pitiful it looked trying to present itself like something it wasn’t.

Noah could sense that one of the things he came here for wouldn’t be accomplished after experiencing this. But as long as he achieved his other goal, it wouldn’t matter.

He stepped forward again, testing to see just how much fight was still left in the creature that held so much power. With that one step, Noah felt the sharp shift in the creature’s aura. When most people would’ve been on guard, Noah felt relieved instead. "Relax," he said. "If I wanted to fight you, you’d know."

The drake’s nostrils flared, but it said nothing.

Seeing that it was actually going to listen, Noah continued. "I don’t know if you are aware, but currently we are surrounded. Apparently, the monsters of the forest want what I have, and they have allied, preparing to attack us at any moment."

The drake blinked slowly, its gaze was almost spiteful and uninterested at the same time. "And what does that have to do with me?"

Noah just stared in silence. He’d expected as much, but hearing it out loud still made him see the drake as a child instead of a ferocious beast.

"Don’t pretend to be stupid... I know you can sense what I’ve done. It may not benefit you directly, but still benefits you." He stared deeply into the drakes eyes trying to discern its lingering emotions. "For a fake dragon wanting to gain its wings, what would happen if you let those monsters take it for themselves? In fact, what do you think will happen to you once they acquire it?"

The drake’s eyes flickered, "You’re saying that to threaten me?"

Its aura flared, yet Noah didn’t react in the slightest. Instead, he felt the drake was truly hopeless, still hiding behind a foolish pride.

"I said you were pathetic before," Noah’s voice became low, "but I didn’t think you’d fall this far."

The drake’s eyes widened. The insult hit deep, deeper than the suppressed depression it was still trying to hold back.

"You have the blood of dragons in your veins," Noah continued, his tone growing colder. "You use to act like that meant something. Now look at you."

The drake bared its teeth, but it wasn’t anger that flashed in its eyes, it was shame.

"One failure, and you curl up to die," Noah said. "You’re powerful enough to tear half the forest apart, but you’d rather sulk in a hole."

The drake felt its blood boil, instincts screaming at it to rise. Rage drowned out thought, it wanted to prove him wrong, to show that it wasn’t some broken beast waiting to die.

Its body rose, but the moment it lifted its chest, pain ripped through its chest. The corrupted mana stirred to life once again, while its still rotten flesh sent out waves of agony. A strangled growl escaped before its strength left its limbs, and its body dropped heavily back to the ground.

Whatever battle intent that had begun in its heart died instantly it remembered how it was reduced to such a state.

Noah’s expression didn’t soften. He watched the drake’s drive deplete, but even now, when it could barely move, he could see the flicker of defiance shining brighter than before. It still wanted to fight, it still desired to become stronger, it just needed the right push.

And through that push, he could achieve what he came here for. Both of the things he wanted.

"If your wound is what’s holding you back..." Noah’s calm voice entered its ears like a tempting devil. "Then I can fix that right now."

The drakes head shot up, eyes wide and alert. It should have doubted the demon’s words, not even it could purge the mana corroding its flesh when a day had already passed. But the thought lingered.

The demon’s mana was just as dark as the mana plaguing it, perhaps he understood how to remove it too.

Still, the drake’s instinct flared. It couldn’t forget the demon’s cunning. There was not a chance in hell that the demon would do anything unless he was going to benefit from it.

"Don’t try to trick me again, demon. I’m done playing games. Just tell me what you want?"

Noah didn’t insist on beating around the bush, he preferred it this way. "Two things." He raised up two fingers habitually. "First, I want your cooperation. When the fighting starts, you’ll deal with one of the factions. It doesn’t matter to me which one you choose. If possible, I’d prefer you choose the monsters you are certain you can defeat or at least can drive them away. We have trolls coming from the west, goblins from the north, and the lizard things coming from the east.

"Is their ’leader’ with them?" The drake interrupted. Seeing the internal rage in its eyes, Noah didn’t care that he was interrupted. Instead, he paused to use his slime to look again. "I wouldn’t know, but there is one among them that acts like a lizard..." He went on to describe the orange scaled lizard with armor. The drake’s eyes appeared to be reflecting on the details for a moment before it shook its head. "It’s not the same one. This one would be noticeable upon a glance...." Its tail swished in agitation, but its eyes were slowly steadying as if it was done making its decision. "I’ll take the ’lizards...’ Now hurry and tell me the other thing so you can heal me."

Noah didn’t mind the hurried request; more like an order. It only meant that the drake was regaining its spirit. What he was thinking about now was the two factions he would have to face. Between the goblins and the trolls, he had to quickly plan to decide who will face who. But deep down, he felt that he would have to do something drastic.

His expression shifted, his aura became calmly disturbing as he lowered his voice. "The second thing is simple," he said matter-of-factly, yet this raised alarms in the drakes mind. "When I heal you, I’ll be taking something in return, of course. Just some of your flesh and blood from the wound that I have to heal. "

The drake froze. Its breathing hitched for a moment before its pupils narrowed into thin, dangerous slits. "Yo-you what?"

"I’m not going to repeat myself."

The air in the cavern thickened. The drake’s tone was low, but it rumbled with the full force of its mana. "You dare demand such a thing from me after what you did?"

Noah met its glare without blinking. "I don’t know what you mean by that. I was as fair in that deal as you were. Even now I’m not asking for much. I’ll only take the damaged skin that I was going to remove anyway. I didn’t have to tell you; I could’ve just taken it without you knowing."

The drake’s muscles tensed. It wanted to lunge, to crush the small figure standing so smugly before it. Despite the demon’s stature, the way the demon toyed with its intelligence began to make the drake feel small and feeble standing before him. It didn’t feel that the demon was that much smarter than it was. No... the demon was just shameless!

Yet, as it felt its wound acting up again, it growled instead, forcing the question that was lingering in its mind the moment the demon made the request.

"You... what are you going to do with it?"

To its question, Noah just smiled. The drake couldn’t see that evil smile, but Noah’s eyes reflected his sly delight. "You’ll see."