Becoming a Monster

Chapter 477: Chapter 476: Ten A-Rank Is Not Enough

Arachne landed several paces away as the twin beams scorched past the space she had occupied a moment earlier.

Her eyes narrowed.

Without the priest sustaining their blessings and the cleric’s holy field weakening the corruption within her body, the balance of the battlefield would shift immediately. As long as the woman remained alive, the others would continue recovering from injuries that should have ended the fight.

Which meant she had to die first.

Ophelia, unaware of the silent decision forming in Arachne’s mind, hurried forward the moment the spider retreated. The two spheres of light remained floating beside her shoulders as she moved, while she began reciting another prayer.

Golden energy gathered through her staff as she released streams of golden light, wrapping around both men at once. The healing energy was able to destroy and heal the corruption eating through both Clayton’s hand and the knight’s injury.

Neither of them noticed Arachne’s gaze settling onto the priest.

Before either side could move again, the ground trembled.

The shock covered nearly the entire battlefield as the lingering flames from the earlier explosion began to collapse inward.

—

Moments earlier, Roy and the older man’s combined attack had swallowed Fenrir in a torrent of violent purple fire.

The inferno burst apart with Fenrir emerging from the firestorm, but the damage he carried was unmistakable. Much of the thick fur that had once covered his body had been burned away, leaving blackened patches and torn flesh where the combined flames had struck him directly.

Yet what the attack revealed beneath the ruined fur looked even worse.

Beneath the charred remains of his coat, a hardened exoskeleton spread across his frame.

Thin fissures trailed throughout his body, glowing with molten light as if magma flowed through his veins.

The flames may have damaged him, but in the process, they had stripped away the outer layer that concealed what he truly was.

Fenrir inhaled sharply as he lunged forward again. Each breath forced burning air from his jaws.

Roy’s eyes widened.

Beside him, the older man’s expression hardened as the realization struck them both at the same time.

The monster charging toward them was not merely strong. Its very nature was made up of the element they relied on the most.

And their flames had only made it angrier.

"We need to switch opponents," The old man gnashed his teeth. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have wasted the opportunity to allow the beast to get so close.

Still, he didn’t lose his composure. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword as sparks of electricity began to gather along the blade, replacing the flames that had burned there moments before.

Unlike Roy, his arsenal of abilities was far more diverse.

He had already accepted that Roy would not be able to assist him against this monster.

"Gwen, your party is better equipped to handle this monster. We need to swi—"

Another violent explosion cut him off before he could finish.

The blast erupted from the very direction where the elf and the rest of her party were fighting, forcing the older man to glance over despite the danger rushing toward him.

Kratos stood at the center of them all.

Like Arachne, the creature’s body burned faintly beneath the holy field that covered the battlefield, but the damage seemed meaningless to him. The wisp of energy burning off of him only made his appearance that more daunting.

Moments earlier, one of his explosive bombs had detonated near Gwen and the mage behind her, forcing them to scatter and leaving the bear beastkin alone to intercept him.

Kratos immediately followed up his initial attack, landing beside the bear beastkin first.

His fists began to move in a relentless barrage, driving the bear backward step by step.

The first punch slammed into the beastkin’s stomach and forced the air from his lungs. The second strike crashed into his jaw and snapped his head to the side. Before he could regain his balance, Kratos grabbed the top of the bear’s head and forced it downward while continuing the brutal assault.

Each blow disrupted the bear’s footing and prevented him from mounting any real defense.

Even with the enhancements provided by both the priest and the cleric, the bear struggled to endure the monster’s overwhelming strength. Only the natural durability of his body, thick layers of muscle and fat strengthened by his unique trait, kept him from collapsing under the first few blows.

The tiger beastkin reacted a moment later.

At first, he had turned back to check on Gwen and the mage after the explosion, but the repeated impacts of Kratos’s fists striking the bear’s body quickly drew his attention back to the fight.

By the time he understood what was happening, the bear was already being overwhelmed.

The tiger hesitated briefly as frustration crossed his face.

He hated that the situation had reached this point, but he couldn’t allow his comrade to die.

Both of his swords ignited with razor-sharp energy as an orange glow spread across his body, and the light flared violently as he launched forward in a sudden burst of speed.

He aimed directly for Kratos’s blind spot.

However, just as he prepared to strike, a long tail whipped through the air and smashed toward him.

The attack came so suddenly that even the tiger beastkin felt a flash of surprise, but his instincts reacted within the smallest margin that seemed almost unnatural.

He stomped his foot into the ground and forced his body to halt mid-lunge, twisting his stance just enough for the tail to sweep past him instead of striking him head-on.

For an instant, he believed he had avoided the attack.

Then the tail moved mid strike again.

Before he could launch another strike, the appendage that had just passed him flicked sharply and drove back toward him like a spear.

The tiger had no time to evade.

He crossed both swords in front of his chest just as the impact struck.

The blow slammed into the guard of his blades and forced him backward several steps as the force traveled through his arms and into his body.

At the same time, Kratos continued his relentless assault.

While the tiger struggled to recover, the monster’s fists kept raining down on the bear beastkin, each strike landing threatening to break into bone as the larger beast fought desperately to withstand the barrage.

Not far away, the aftermath of the explosion began to clear.

When the dust finally settled, Gwen emerged from behind a wall of earth that had risen in front of her during the blast. The protective barrier crumbled almost immediately after absorbing the shock, scattering chunks of broken stone across the ground.

Not far from her, the mage had taken a different approach.

Mana exploded from his body as he released a burst of repulsive invisible power that forced the remaining shockwaves away from him, dispersing the lingering energy before it could reach him.

It took them only a second to understand the situation their comrade was in.

Gwen moved to rush forward, but the sound of her name being called pulled her attention away. She turned and caught sight of Roy and the older man locked in their own desperate struggle.

In that moment, she hesitated, because the decision in front of her was not one she could afford to make lightly.

On one side were the companions she had already formed bonds with, people she trusted to stand beside her. On the other hand was the threat of the others falling, which would leave her group to face the monsters alone.

She was not ignorant of her own strength, nor of the advantage the two members of the church held against creatures born from corruption. If they wanted to survive this encounter, then those two couldn’t be allowed to fall.

A single breath passed as she made her decision.

Her gaze shifted back to the battlefield where the unknown creature was forcing both beastkin onto the defensive, and even with their natural strength and the enhancements supporting them, they were being driven back by just one of the monster’s subordinates.

At the thought, her head snapped toward Noah.

The remaining creatures in the distance were already closing the gap, while several others had yet to act. As her eyes narrowed, she realized that something was there that was there before.

A shifting mass of dark mist lingered beside them. Her thoughts were too chaotic, but she was positive that a monster was missing.

A chill ran through her as the uncertainty of the situation deepened, but even that did not weigh on her as heavily as the fact that their leader had yet to move. If the creatures under his command were this strong, then what would happen if he entered the fight himself?

A flicker of regret surfaced as the thought crossed her mind that they should have left when they had the chance.

Now more than ever, she needed to decide.

Gwen turned toward the mage beside her, knowing that with his arsenal of magical abilities, he would be far more effective against the large beast breathing flames rather than her, who could only use earth and plant-based magic.

"Ethanel," she called, raising her voice as she noticed the four shards of ice forming around him.

He glanced toward her while still maintaining his spell.

"The others need help more than we do; without them, our loss is certain. I’ll stay here to help them, but you need t-"

"Gwen, look out!"