Reborn As An Evolving Monster



'Don't want him getting any more intoxicated. At this point, I'm sure I could convince him. In his own way, he understands. I just need to find the right buttons to push.' Yarnha thought while staring at the Monster. 

"And that's why I'm sure that I'll leave this place."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"You're sure?"

"Well, yeah. As I said, you can't kill me."

Yarnha's eyes narrowed.

"What makes you think that?"

"You weren't listening, huh? I don't feel like repeating everything. Why wouldn't you be listening anyways? You're trying to trap me in here but won't even-"

"What makes you think that?" Yarnha repeated.

The Spirit was used to conversing with those intoxicated by the Green Mist. Which is why it knew that repeating a question or request could lead to a different response.

And it did.

"Ugh..." Mark sighed. "As I said, it's..." He talked as if he was explaining the simplest thing ever. "Not how Nature works."

"You know nothing, Monster."

"I mean, that' why..." With a hand, Mark held the side of his neck. "Only the dead were affected earlier, isn't it?"

"You think you know so much about Nature, but my roots could pierce your heart just as easily as they pierced your leg earlier."

"See, that's the thing." A wide smile was drawn on the Monster's face." I don't think they could."

"Ha! You think your scales are that tough? Those on your chest don't look any different from those covering your legs."

"Mmm... No. It's not that the roots can't. More like..." The Monster's gaze became much more intense. "You can't. Get it?"

"I don't."

"Hahaha! Don't worry about it then."

Yarnha sighed. The exhausted droop of her shoulders showed her exasperation.

"I'm offering a gentle death. But I can give a horrible one just as easily."

The Monster crossed its right arm.

With its left hand, it grabbed its right elbow.

'Stretching?'

"A horrible death, huh?" The Monster's eyes were sparkling. "Please do."

Yarnha brought a hand to her forehead and massaged it for a bit.

"What's wrong with you?"

"WITH ME? Why would there be anything wrong with me?"

"You want your body shredded and torn to pieces, when I'm offering a quiet and gentle-"

"Quiet and gentle..." The Monster repeated. The smile on its face didn't seem keen on disappearing. "I've had enough of that already."

"Perverse..." Yarnha extended a hand towards Mark. "And depraved."

The next second, three roots left the ground below her feet with great speed.

Their sharp tips approached Mark rapidly, and yet,

"Why aren't you moving?"

"Mmm... Do I have to explain everything?"

Yarnha stared silently, as the roots hung in the air inches away from Mark's body.

"Spirits sure do love to talk, huh?"

"What would a Monster know about Spirits?"

"Spirits, huh?" Mark raised his gaze to the sky. "I've only known one."

"You've known one and you-"

"Man, I miss him sometimes, you know? He..."

Yarnha was quickly growing tired of the intoxicated rambling.

"... Can you believe it? No matter what I tried, he just wouldn't do any damage. Until I used Ice Magic. I guess Water Magic would have been the best counter. Still, crazy, isn't it? Fairness, where? You know?"

"Aha...?" The Spirit nodded.

"I mean without those two, how are you supposed to beat that? I was convinced there was something in the room that I had missed but..."

'Should I just kill him?' Yarnha wondered. 'No... I want him to come willingly. I'm sure he...'

"And that's the difference between Fire And Nature, isn't it?"

"You think so?"

"Of course. The Fire Spirit couldn't be hurt by anything, but his attacks come from him. Your attacks come from, well, all around us. That's another difference between the Fire Spirits and... Nature Spirits, I guess?"

"What's the first difference?"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? Fire can hurt by itself. Nature on the other hand-" Mark bent his head, closely dodging the root that left a graze on his cheek. "Did I hit a nerve? Didn't mean to."

Instantly, a succession of a dozen tree roots emerged from the ground.

"Now that I think about it, the two of you are similar. Fire and Nature, rather." Mark said as he dodged the succession of attacks which were powerful enough to easily leave holes in the ground.

"I don't care anymore. Time for you to-"

"It's that you can't do anything on your own."

The roots immediately froze.

A vein appeared on Yarnha's forehead.

"What... Did you just say?"

"Sacrifice this... Sacrifice that... Haha! You need the remains of the dead to nurture the earth so that trees can grow. So that the forest can exist. The same is true with Fire, isn't it? Haha!" Mark chuckled. "If there's a Fire, then something has got to be burning, isn't that right?"

Yarnha clenched her twitched hand.

"Fire only exists because something is burning. Nature only exists because of the living. Your lame excuse of turning the ugly into beauty, I'm not buying it. You thrive on the ugliness. You need it to be alive!"

The trees surrounding the area suddenly started shaking violently.

"You should be thankful to those living in this Forest. It's thanks to them that there is a Forest!

"Shut up."

"The Forest isn't anything more than a collection of trees. A bunch of trees sticking close to one another. Forest Of Yarnha, is that Title supposed to scare me?"

"Shut up."

"You're overstepping your bounds, Nature Spirit. You don't get to choose what dies inside the Forest. You don't get to choose what feeds the earth below."

"Shut up."

"You just..." The sight of the crazed and ecstatic smile on Mark's face could have sent a chill down any living being's spine. "Take what you get. What you find. You don't get a choice, Spirit."

"SHUT UP!" Yarnha shouted, and the trees shaking immediately seized.

"You can't kill me, Nature Spirit. The only thing that can, is the living beings within the Forest. Isn't that right?"

Yarnha clenched her fists, but she could barely hide her hands' shaking.

"That's how low you believe the power of Nature to be? If that's the case, then..." Yarnha raised a hand, and the whole ground started shaking.

A plot of land was slowly raised into the air.

Due to the numerous trees surrounding the area, Mark couldn't exactly tell how large the plot of land was.

"You're in for a world of pain."