[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-becoming-a-monster":3,"chapter-becoming-a-monster-becoming-a-monster-chapter-530":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Becoming a Monster",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1879420,2494,"Chapter 530 - 529: Our Time Will Come","becoming-a-monster-chapter-530",530,"\u003Cp>The possibility immediately sent countless thoughts spiraling through his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t pay much mind to it till now, but now that he thought about it, Diablo had always been abnormal from the very beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah’s gaze slowly narrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had always been things about Diablo that never fully made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His swordsmanship was one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diablo had never been taught how to wield a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet from the very beginning, the skeletal guardian handled his spine sword with unnatural proficiency. It wasn’t crude, instinctive swinging like most monsters relied on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At times, it genuinely felt as though an experienced swordsman was controlling the weapon rather than a newly born undead creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Noah had subconsciously accepted it because Diablo’s role as Eve’s guardian felt so natural that nobody questioned it deeply enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But looking back now, Noah realized how strange that truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A skeleton that was just created shouldn’t have possessed that level of familiarity with a weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially not one that resembled experience accumulated over years of combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was the possibility that Diablo knew how to wield a sword while he was human, but Noah considered that unlikely. If he truly possessed this level of mastery while alive, he wouldn’t have died so easily in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then there was Ava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since her existence came into being, Diablo had remained even closer to Eve than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Noah assumed Diablo viewed Ava as another extension of Eve herself. But now that explanation no longer felt sufficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was almost as though Diablo had instinctively recognized something within Ava from the very beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or perhaps... feared it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah’s expression gradually darkened as another memory surfaced within his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle against the Archon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Eve and Ava’s transformation had gone completely beyond Eve’s control. Even now, he still didn’t fully understand what truly happened during that fusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one thing was undeniable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diablo decided to intervene without any guidance from Eve whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skeletal guardian had inserted himself into the transformation entirely on his own simply to protect Eve from Ava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah’s eyes hardened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t something a dormant consciousness acting on shallow instinct should have been capable of doing. No matter how strong those instincts were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially not when that fusion involved Ava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because if Ava truly housed an ancient existence within her soul, then forcibly merging into that transformation should have been impossible for a mindless subconscious acting on instinct alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Diablo forced his way in anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Noah thought about it, the more his earlier theory began falling apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps Diablo’s \"awakening\" today wasn’t the birth of a personality at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe something inside him had truly been dormant, and the real consciousness had finally taken control of the subconscious layer that acted in its place all this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was even a chance that, if Noah was right, then the soul that once belonged to Eve’s father had gradually been overtaken by this other existence from the very beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Diablo’s unwavering role as Eve’s \"father\" suddenly felt less simple now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could pursue the thought further, Eve’s laughter reached his ears nearby as Diablo awkwardly lifted her slightly off the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight immediately disrupted the tension building within Noah’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He let out a quiet breath before temporarily setting those thoughts aside, his suspicion toward Diablo weakening almost instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, there simply wasn’t enough information to reach a proper conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if it was, would that change anything?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Diablo turned out to be a soul that took over Eve’s actual father’s soul, would that change the fact that Diablo has been protecting her all this time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would it change the way he protected her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would it change Eve’s feelings toward him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah’s gaze lingered on the laughing vampire girl for a moment longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And more importantly... Who was to say Eve herself was still truly the same person she once was?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The human girl she used to be had long since died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that came the undead. Then the vampire she had become. The soul inside of her now could be a different soul, just like the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet despite all of that, Noah still saw her as Eve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because, regardless of who she was before, it was the version that he was here with today that he grew to care for. And the same should be for Diablo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah was about to say something when a loud bang sounded behind the others. The metal clanging caused all of them to turn to the source just to find Dummy’s snout poking through the cage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Done? I was quiet!\" The gluttonous creature salivated heavily even while speaking. With each syllable, the wet sound of saliva shifting around inside his mouth sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dummy’s sudden interruption shattered the heavy atmosphere surrounding the group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Kratos found himself distracted from testing his newly gained strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah stared blankly at Dummy for a moment. He didn’t feel like they had taken that long. But then realization slowly dawned on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Diablo and Kratos finished their transformations, nobody had moved afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because Noah himself became lost in thought this entire time, he never actually said anything either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dummy wasn’t wrong for asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah suddenly felt a little bad for the creature, especially because Dummy had genuinely behaved himself this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast was still practically vibrating from hunger, yet he really had stayed inside the cage quietly without trying to force his way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah rubbed the side of his head with a faint sigh before looking back toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry. You just need to wait a little longer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dummy’s entire body immediately drooped. Before the creature could spiral into despair, Noah continued speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But since you did a good job...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dummy’s eyes instantly lit up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can have two humans instead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The depression vanished so quickly that it almost looked painful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dummy slammed himself against the cage in excitement, hard enough to make the cage tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"QUIET! STILL QUIET!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The creature immediately tried to correct himself despite screaming loudly enough for everyone present to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several of the others looked away while Fenrir physically lowered his head in secondhand embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further away, near the outer edges of the territory, the atmosphere among the gathered cats and dogs was noticeably quieter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had watched everything from a distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after hearing everything Dog told them earlier, many of them could no longer stop certain thoughts from surfacing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some began to wonder whether Noah didn’t trust them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though they had already started viewing themselves as part of Noah’s group, perhaps Noah himself never truly saw them that way at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others reached a different conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe they weren’t strong enough yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or perhaps Noah feared they would lose control the same way the spider supposedly had before being forced to die by Arachne’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alexandra was one of the few who believed that they were weak. She watched with an unsettling trepidation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze went towards Kratos and Diablo, the creatures who were just given the opportunity to become stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then she shifted her glance to her side; Dog sat there proudly, his tail wagging without a hint of anxiousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then her eyes shifted slightly toward Dog, who was sitting nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The canine sat proudly, his chest puffed out and his tail wagging lazily behind him, completely lacking the anxiety spreading among many of the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, the other canines stood proudly, affected by their leader’s presence. They looked to him with passionate envy, eagerly anticipating the time when they would become just as strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that only made Alexandra’s irritation grow stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jealousy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bitter feeling she didn’t particularly enjoy acknowledging. She wanted that opportunity too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only for herself, but for the others following behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before those thoughts could spiral further, something lightly brushed against her paw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alexandra blinked before lowering her gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dobby sat quietly beside her. His half-closed, seemingly blind eyes stared directly toward her despite their cloudy appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t say anything. And this time, he didn’t need to. Alexandra had already heard his thoughts once before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the agitation within her began settling back down. Her ears twitched faintly before she finally let out a quiet breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I know, Dobby.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice softened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our time will come.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feline followers gathered nearby immediately turned their attention toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of them had been among those harboring the most negative thoughts moments ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as they watched Alexandra regain her composure, those emotions began to stabilize as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their leader wasn’t panicking. So neither would they.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever Noah’s reasons were, they would become strong enough that he could no longer overlook them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, it felt as if Noah could sense their thoughts when his gaze turned towards them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared, but for a moment, but even that was enough to make them nervous enough to stop breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They watched as he then turned to Arachne, and following that, she turned towards them too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before they could understand what was going on, Arachne disappeared, emerging in front of them as if she had teleported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all knew Arachne’s status, and after hearing what she did to her own, none of the weaker ones dared to meet her gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arachne didn’t bother to look at the others besides Alexandria and Dog. The open disregard only made the others grow more anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alexandria straightened immediately while Dog’s wagging tail slowed slightly beneath Arachne’s stare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Noah wants to speak to both of you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1600,"2026-06-10T06:25:06.703Z",1,"novelbin.me","1f8e305bb27a4e038a19005afe4ac4b8ab70fc9c4fd9ea182a68062f525fa85d","becoming-a-monster-chapter-531","becoming-a-monster-chapter-529",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecoming-a-monster-cover.jpg"]