Becoming a Monster

Chapter 485: Chapter 484: A Perfect Union

What Noah expected to happen didn’t go as he assumed at all. He expected the archon to once again place a barrier to protect himself. At the least, he envisioned the being sensing his intention and dropping everything to protect its summoner.

Instead, it propelled forward without acknowledging Noah’s ploy, closing the distance as though it didn’t care about its summoner’s safety.

That was the moment Noah acted. Instead of shooting the sphere in his hand towards the archon, he instead shot both towards the cleric.

With both spheres released, he refocused his attention back towards the archon. He didn’t expect the cleric to be able to avoid it, not after seeing the man’s appearance; he barely looked as if he could stand.

The cleric was already weakened, his body visibly strained as he struggled to maintain himself. In his current state, it was as if he was concentrating to maintain all three spells: the field, the summon, and the barrier.

Even if Noah couldn’t destroy it, it should at least put the cleric in a difficult situation. In the likely case, he would have to choose which skills to still maintain between the three.

This time, he gave up trying to fight the archon. When it approached, Noah simply didn’t attack at all; instead, he maneuvered around it as he watched his attack land.

He was expecting the same interaction as the barrier the archon summoned.

But when it landed. Nothing happened.

There wasn’t a ripple or a distortion in sight. Even the miasma within the attack was nullified on contact. In fact, the collision suspiciously didn’t create a sound either.

This wasn’t what he was expecting.

"What am I not seeing...?"

"Is this one of those moments where I have to defeat the summon just for the barrier to go away? How can someone so weak have such a strong skill?"

Noah continued to move, avoiding the archon while simultaneously creating three mini spheres to see how the creature would react.

When he released all three spheres, the archon reacted in a way that he didn’t think was possible.

The entity created three different small barriers that formed directly in the sphere’s path before they could fully stabilize. The moment they made contact, the shield managed to fully take on the brunt of it without wasting mana or disrupting its charge.

That kind of ability to respond within the smallest span, using the most optimal choice every time. Noah couldn’t tell if this thing was actually alive or just a machine.

If the archon could perfectly respond to anything directed at it, then attacking it directly was meaningless. Its reactions weren’t just fast, they were exact, as if every outcome had already been calculated before he even moved.

He only had two choices left: to use everything he had in an attempt to overwhelm the archon’s uncanny perception, or to fuse with one of his creatures and change the nature of the fight entirely.

His choice was already made, but before he could act on it, Ava forced her way back into the battle once again.

Noah’s expression darkened, and it was rare for him to feel this level of irritation for one of his own creatures.

"Eve!"

His shout was spoken not with the power of his mana, but of his soul. His voice shook every creature spiritually connected to him, regardless of their distance.

Ava responded immediately, but the reaction to stop did not belong to her.

"How long will you continue to let her do as she pleases?" Noah’s voice was nearly hollow.

How could he not see that each time Ava was even remotely close, the archon would ignore him completely just to try to eliminate her?

Because of her, he was forced to confront the archon back into melee combat to prevent the entity from changing its target.

"What did you train for? Is this what you wanted to show me? Is this what you meant by being able to fight with us?"

Ava’s movements slowed considerably. Her expression was still that of a blood thirsty feral vampire with a score to settle, but her eyes wavered. Eve was trying to regain control.

The resistance came instantly as Ava tightened her control, forcing her presence back into place, but this time it didn’t completely suppress her. Their shared body grew uneven as control shifted between them. Traits of Eve slowly began to show.

During this struggle, Ava’s aura only became more dangerous. Her obsession with the archon intensified to the point where she was willing to damage her own vessel just to continue the fight, even if it meant harming Eve in the process.

At first, it seemed like Eve was gaining ground, but that advantage didn’t last for long. The deeper the struggle went, the clearer the truth became, because while Eve held the stronger presence, Ava was superior where it mattered most in that moment, which was the soul itself.

The balance began to shift.

Eve felt it immediately as the pressure around her changed from something she could resist into something that steadily forced her back.

The fight slowly turned into Eve purely resisting, but even then, she was losing control completely.

Slowly, she was pushed back further into the subconscious, her presence weakening as Ava reclaimed more of their body. The resistance she offered didn’t disappear, but it became weaker and dangerously close to breaking.

If this continued, she would be sealed away completely, locked beneath Ava’s control until she was allowed to surface again.

Worse still, every moment Eve continued to resist came at a cost. The strain on her soul intensified, cracks forming under the pressure as the connection between them began to destabilize. If it reached its limit, it wouldn’t just result in her losing control; it would fracture the bond between them entirely.

That outcome was approaching. Within their soul, time seemed to stretch, while barely any time passed outside in reality.

But then something changed.

A core, floating as if guided by an unseen will, shot forward and embedded itself into Ava’s chest, fusing seamlessly into her body without resistance.

Inside their shared subconscious, where Eve drifted alone while trying to hold onto what remained of her control, Diablo suddenly appeared beside her.

He manifested without being called, his form taking shape as that familiar, slightly human version he assumed when merging with her. His presence alone stabilized the space around her, pushing back against the crushing pressure just enough to allow her time to register his presence.

Eve stared at him, dazed, as something within his gaze became clear for the first time.

There was emotion.

It was subtle and almost impossible to notice, but Eve felt it completely. It carried a sense of steadiness, a quiet assurance that could only be granted by a parent’s love.

Instead of drawing his weapon or confronting Ava’s overwhelming force, Diablo extended his hand toward her.

Eve hesitated only for a moment before taking it.

The instant their hands met, a surge of power erupted from them, their combined presence expanding until it rivaled Ava’s overwhelming force. Their forms began to glow as their existence intertwined, merging into something entirely new.

Within that space, their figure became a single silhouette, but the scale of their presence completely transformed the balance.

For the first time, Ava’s dominance was no longer absolute.

When the new Eve began to take over, she didn’t move to suppress Ava, nor did she plan to completely take over, forcing Ava to be a bystander within their soul.

She couldn’t bring herself to resent Ava.

Because throughout this entire time, she could feel everything Ava was feeling. The rage was there, but it wasn’t the only emotion. Beneath it lay betrayal, pain, and something far deeper that even made Eve unsettled without knowing why.

Jealousy.

Instead of rejecting those feelings, she accepted them.

She was willing to give Ava a chance to keep fighting, to continue what she had started. But this time they would do it together. All three of them.

Outside, their body began to change as the chaotic aura began to stabilize.

The unstable fluctuations smoothed into something controlled, yet far more powerful.

A faint glow formed at the center of her forehead, a concentrated point of power that pulsed with their merged soul. Her eyes were a combination of violet and red, contained by a golden halo.

Black wings spread from her back. They were unlike the ugly wings of energy Ava normally created; they were a mixture between bat and bird. Each feather carried a dense, oppressive energy.

Armor caressed her figure that wasn’t there before. It was armor created from the excess mana, shaped by the guidance of all three minds. Dark edges layered over one another, reinforcing her form while still allowing her to move without restriction.

Finally, energy gathered in her hand. Just like her armor, the energy first materialized in a hard substance reminiscent of a sword hilt. And soon after, more energy condensed at the hilt to form a blade.

The weapon formed from her miasma and stabilized mana, taking shape as a dark sword with a glowing violet core.

From her age, demeanor, confidence, power, and control, everything about her changed.