Becoming a Monster

Chapter 452: Chapter 452: The Truth We Didn’t Want to Hear

Later on that day, Paul and the other followers were all dispersed. They were sent out to prepare for the mission, while some were sent to find corresponding missions in the same area to earn more income.

Because, despite the animosity built upon the fact that their party consists of so many people, finances are the reason that other guild members have not tried to increase their party’s numbers.

The success rate of missions increased, and the risk of injury diminished proportionally. However, missions didn’t pay for the number of people it took to complete it. A mission could pay 50 gold to one person completing it and still pay out 50 gold if fifty people completed it in half the time.

The benefits didn’t outweigh the financial cons.

An inn could cost anything from 7-15 gold a night, and that’s not accounting for food. When the cost of maintaining and upgrading equipment for everyone in the group was also introduced, expenses rose faster than rewards.

So how were Paul and the others able to do it? That was precisely why the other members were jealous of them. It was because two things could still overcome the financial burden. One, completing more missions, which gained the ire of countless D-Rankers at the time when Paul’s group first debuted.

The D-Rank missions were nearly wiped clean from the board within three days of their arrival.

Paul’s group didn’t take them one at a time. They took them in batches. And this was allowed because their party had separated themselves into smaller groups; thus, the guild couldn’t prevent them from monopolizing the missions.

While one division cleared vermin from farmland, another escorted merchants along the same road. A third gathered materials requested by the alchemists in town.

The second reason was what triggered even those who were of a higher rank. Many parties were searching for strong members, or even replacements. Yet Paul’s group kept so many within their party, and almost every single one of them had the potential to rise to C-Rank easily.

If the others were able to get just a few members from Paul’s group, then their parties, too, could advance in the rankings. They, too, could begin to accomplish missions more efficiently and with less risk.

That was why invitations had quietly started circulating.

Private offers, better lodging, higher percentage cuts, and promises of faster promotion.

A few of Paul’s members had already been approached, yet none had accepted.

Even the main seven were offered by parties that were either B- or A-Rank.

That was where resentment grew. It wasn’t just that Paul’s group was succeeding.

It was that they kept succeeding after turning everyone down.

______________________

While the followers went to prepare, the main group was now in a different private room, one that was far more lavish than the one before.

Dark polished wood lined the walls. A long carpet softened every step. And a faint silver sigil carved into the doorframe sealed the room in silence, ensuring no sound escaped.

Inside, Paul and the other six sat across from four seated figures.

If Noah had been present, he would have recognized the woman in the center instantly.

Amara.

She sat straight-backed, hands folded neatly in her lap. The fear she once carried had dulled into something steadier. Her clothes were simple but clean. She looked healthier than the day she had stumbled into the city.

After arriving, they had been taken in under temporary protection. The Church provided housing near the cathedral. Warm meals, clean beds. For the first time since the apocalypse, they were able to experience something close to normal.

It was the kind of peace they had once prayed for.

But peace in this world was temporary.

They all understood that their stay in the cathedral district would not last forever. The Church did not offer protection without expectation. Sooner or later, they would be asked to give something in return.

For some, that meant service. For others, it meant stepping back into danger.

This was not the first time they had been summoned to speak.

The Guild had questioned them first. Then the Church. Then, an A-rank party, seeking information before they went to verify it themselves.

Now, Paul and the others stood before them as well. All for the same purpose.

But now, Amara didn’t look towards the new questioners with full compliance. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to say it; she was tired of experiencing the same thing.

The guild didn’t believe them; the church had almost accused them of being tainted. And the A-Rank party believed that they imagined it all from sheer fear.

Not one person believed that a creature, a drake would listen to and respect, had not only appeared within the forest, but had also saved them.

The story grew even more ridiculous when she recounted the new monster’s appearance and its subordinates. From the guild’s point of view, the creatures she was describing were predators of the strongest races, all mingling together.

Between demons, werewolves, vampires, and even liches, not one of those creatures would mingle together, let alone save and shelter a human.

Demons weren’t creatures who allied with others. If they viewed you as potential allies, then you either become one of them or you die.

Vampires were even more prideful than Elves and Dwarves combined, and the rivalry was built upon hatred between them. Werewolves were so strong that the two couldn’t come upon one another without there being bloodshed.

And from the church’s perspective, when she described the monster that led them all, the church’s expressions took a turn from horror to unintellectual fury.

According to them, the creature they encountered was a creature that shouldn’t exist. A creature that their God had abolished from their world.

A devil. Only a devil could integrate so many creatures of different species, and only a devil could absorb the souls as efficiently as she described.

They didn’t answer any of her questions, seemingly avoiding the concept of a devil altogether. But since then, they have had little interaction with her and her people, as if they were a curse altogether.

And now she was prepared for these people to react in the same manner.

As she spoke, she didn’t become emotional, and she didn’t attempt to overexplain. She had learned that part already. The more she tried to explain, the more desperate she sounded. And the more desperate she sounded, the less they believed her.

But this time, as she was mentally prepared for the same reactions, the expressions they should have were far different than the others. At first, she wasn’t so sure; she had only recounted the demon’s appearance and the abilities it displayed, and their expressions all changed, some more than others.

And when she went to explain how that demon protected them, even sheltering them, their expressions began to differ even more. Two of them were of pure disbelief, while one was full of anger. And then there were those that were...relieved?

Amara couldn’t understand at first. However, when she went on to describe the other creatures among the demon’s group, when she described the woman made of living slime, the atmosphere shifted.

Jasmine’s posture stiffened almost imperceptibly.

And when Amara described the wolf, Paul’s breathing slowed, something deep within his chest stirred; it was an instinctive recognition that bypassed doubt entirely.

Beside him, Bailey’s anger flared to undisguised hatred.

Amara went on to describe the others. By now, she understood why their reactions differed from the others. She wasn’t sure before, but now she no longer had any doubts.

"You all know these mons-creatures?" She hastily corrected herself. She both respected and feared Noah. If the people in front of her knew the demon, she wouldn’t want to experience what the demon would do if it heard her calling it a monster.

The others didn’t speak at first. Their eyes glanced at one another, as if verifying what information they were allowed to say.

During their silence, Bailey couldn’t keep it in anymore. She almost sprang from her seat to spill all of the negative things that Noah and his creatures have done. But a giant hand had stopped her.

At first, she glared in the direction of that hand, meeting Paul’s somber gaze. Her emotions calmed down considerably at that moment.

Paul didn’t judge her for it. He understood the source of her hate. He was now under Noah’s control. And the reason it came to that was because he was infected, and that infection had happened because of an abomination that Fenrir himself made.

In the end, it all seemed as if it was instigated by Noah. Paul, however, didn’t care about that anymore. He was alive, and he had been given the power to protect those closest to him.

But more importantly, he wanted to prevent Bailey from doing something stupid. He now had the power to protect her from monsters that he couldn’t fight before, but he could not protect her and she incurred Noah’s wrath, not like he is now. And probably not in the future either when his power is linked to Fenrir’s own.

Paul finally looked back at Amara.

"We think we know who they are, but... not certain." The moment he spoke, his aura began to press down within the room. It wasn’t intentionally supposed to be a threat, but it was how Paul conveyed how serious the situation was.

"And until we are...it’s best if you don’t say anything about this..."