Becoming a Monster

Chapter 441: Chapter 441: A Boundary Takes Shape

Enough time had passed where Ailetta felt she had given Arachne enough time alone with Noah.

Her interest in a certain cat wasn’t as important as her position within the relationship. And not being able to communicate with the feline wasn’t helping either.

When she arrived back to them, both Noah and Arachne were already disengaged with one another. It was something that Ailetta was already aware of. Despite their earlier passion, she already knew that Noah wasn’t someone who could stay entangled for long.

Arachne stood by the bed, staring with a blank gaze towards Noah, whose consciousness was entwined with the dungeon’s core.

The moment he shared with Arachne made him remember his plans that he had yet to put into motion. He wanted to add on to his home, to create more rooms that could give each other privacy. He wanted to build a proper home.

Within the confines of the dungeon core, he overlooked his home while also inspecting the rest of the territory. There was still so much he wanted to do. So much needed to be done so his territory could become a boundary that couldn’t be so easily penetrated like before.

The roots were strong, but they only prevented weak-willed creatures from getting in. It acted more as a ward than an actual barrier.

Noah exhaled slowly. That wouldn’t be enough.

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Ailetta stopped beside the doorway. Her eyes scanned the room, reading both Arachne and Noah before she walked in.

Despite Arachne’s keen sensitivity, she didn’t notice Ailetta’s presence until her shadow was directly atop her.

Arachne jerked out of surprise at first. But after thinking about what she and Noah had done, her usual stoic expression was gone, replaced by a shy woman unable to look Ailetta in the eye.

"Heh~ that look fits you more." Ailetta teased. Earlier, she allowed her emotions to get the best of her. However, right now, there wasn’t a hint of jealousy as she watched Arachne squirm. It’s been a while since she’s been happy seeing someone else’s happiness that wasn’t Noah’s.

Arachne’s fingers twitched at her side. She wanted to say something, anything, but the words tangled before reaching her lips.

Ailetta didn’t push her.

She stepped past her instead, stopping near the bed where she sat down, staring towards the center of the room. Her gaze lingered on Noah for a moment longer than necessary before shifting back to Arachne.

"You don’t need to look like that," Ailetta said gently. "I already know."

Arachne stiffened. "You... do?" Behind the prideful spider, her feelings for Ailetta were genuine. Despite Ailetta pushing her to express her feelings to Noah, her pride as not only a Queen, but also Ailetta’s friend, made it impossible for her not to feel uncomfortable taking something from Ailetta.

Ailetta simply smiled under Arachne’s emotional gaze before simply nodding once, not offering to explain how she knew. Instead, her legs turned more solid as she placed one leg over the other. "There’s no reason to look at me like that. Honestly? I would’ve been more upset if nothing happened."

That made Arachne freeze.

"You’re a part of us now," Ailetta continued, allowing a few eyes to surface across her body, every single one narrowing towards Arachne. "It won’t be like before. What you do, what you say, everything you are will be a reflection of not only Noah, but also me."

Under Ailetta’s pressuring gaze, she took a step back as Ailetta rose, advancing towards her in her retreat.

"We can’t be weak, we can’t hesitate, we can’t be the ones dragging Noah down..." She stopped when she felt a brief gaze sweep over her, realizing that Noah was listening, but she didn’t care. What she was saying was never anything she planned to hide.

"And now that Noah accepted you, truly accepted you..." Although Ailetta didn’t mean to, killing intent leaked from her body as she processed her warning.

"Don’t ever betray him."

The warning made Arachne pause. It was a warning that was as confusing as it was important. She already could never see herself betraying Noah in the first place.

Ailetta could read the confusion on her face. But she didn’t feel comforted by the fact that Arachne had never once thought about it, because she understood something far more troubling.

Arachne was still too emotionally immature to understand.

Betrayal didn’t have to only come from choosing a side.

It could come from silence. From hesitation. From choosing to endure alone instead of speaking up. From letting fear, pride, or self-doubt fester until it led to actions that went beyond saving.

Or the worst possible outcome, betraying his love.

Ailetta let out a slow breath, the killing intent finally receding as she steadied herself. She couldn’t expect Arachne to understand yet. Not when she didn’t truly know what it meant to love someone.

But that was fine. She would make sure teaching her became her highest priority.

Arachne was still confused about what had just transpired, even when the tension de-escalated. The killing intent directed towards her was real. The intent itself wasn’t what surprised her, but it was the person behind that intent that shook her.

Ailetta could sense the countless thoughts running through Arachne’s mind. A rare moment of guilt filled her, but at the same time, she believed that this moment was important for both her and Arachne.

Arachne stiffened when she saw Ailetta step closer. The legs on her back flexed on instinct, tension coiling through her body. Yet Ailetta didn’t slow, didn’t flinch, didn’t react to the warning at all. There was no pressure in her approach. Only a complicated smile and warmth in her eyes.

In the end, Arachne stood unmoving as Ailetta gently held her hand.

"You don’t need to understand everything right now," she said softly. "You just need to remember one thing."

"If you ever feel confused about your feelings. If something hurts, if something scares you, if you imagine that me or Noah is pulling away from you, tell us. Even if you doubt yourself. Even if we had a fight, I still want you to tell us."

Her grip tightened just slightly. "That’s all, I’m asking."

For a moment, Arachne was unable to speak. Then she nodded once, with a stiff and awkward demeanor, yet it was sincere.

"I... will," she said.

Before anything more could be said, the air shifted.

A low rumble rolled through the room, vibrating through the floors and the walls.

Two pairs of eyes quickly locked onto the source as Noah’s body was illuminated by the dungeons’ core.

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Outside, the others who felt the rumble had a better perspective of what was happening. The ground was rising on its own, rising to heights that were equal to the home already created.

The earth hardened into stone, connecting itself to the original structure. And just like the newly added structure, the original home took on the same qualitative change, hardening into the same stone-like texture.

The structure came with an open doorway, along with three open holes on each side that served as windows, reaching higher than the doorway.

Witnessing the land morphing right in front of it, the drake looked upward at the suddenly appearing construct, full of surprise and suspicion.

’Just how many secrets did the Devil have?’

It noticed movement behind it as it saw the dogs and cats, even more surprised than itself. For some reason, a sense of satisfaction passed through it. But then its gaze passed Noah’s companions. Their eyes observed the newly added building, yet it lacked the shock and awe like the others.

The drake felt its grip on reality slipping.

To shape the earth in such a way wasn’t impossible. The elves alone had many mages who could do the same.

However, those elves specialized in earth magic. What about Noah?

The drake couldn’t bring itself to believe that Noah alone could pull it off. It focused on the power it sensed just moments before it happened.

’If it were the dungeon core, then what would make sense. No, it has to be the core!’ The drake was adamant about its theory. It couldn’t believe that Noah was so well-rounded and was only relying on the core’s power.

But then it sensed a powerful surge of energy filtering through the outskirts of the forest, leaking in every direction.

This time, even Noah’s companions showed a sense of unease.

Necks snapped in different locations in order to sense what was happening.

In the end, they didn’t have to look hard. Above the trees, they witnessed new growth forcing its way past what already stood there.

And it wasn’t just in direction. The trees completely encircled them.

At the outskirts of their territory, Noah enriched the trees with the remainder of the dungeons’ reserves, but not just for the sole purpose of their growth.

Where the barricade once resided, an even taller one took its place. The wall of roots was nearly twice the size as before. Roots the size of tree trunks made up most of the wall, while smaller ones braided themselves between the gaps.

Each root carried a faint trace of mana, making them more resistant against both physical and magical forces alike.

If they were to be attacked again, if the enemy didn’t resort to climbing over it, they would have to exert a strenuous amount of effort before the fight even began.