this is what it's like to be a beast (edited)

If you are in any chapter between 41 and 49 before 'redoing'/(edited) I ask you to read chapter 41 again, or else you will get confused xd

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(POV: Noah)

I grabbed a drawing from the pile, scrutinizing the face on the page. The person had a black blindfold covering his eyes, short brown hair, and a rather ordinary appearance otherwise.

I placed the drawing back on the bed, surrounded by notes detailing information about Andrew. I had planned to sketch the different royal guards, but my motivation waned. For now, having information on Andrew was sufficient.

I twirled the pencil absentmindedly, contemplating various strategies. Andrew was a long-range attacker, relying on his puppets to fight. He was also incredibly arrogant.

Sitting on the bed, I pondered possible attack scenarios in this area or even directly here.

"Well... so he attacked us, right?" Seras asked beside me, looking at the drawing.

"Yes, it's complicated. His ability is long-range, meaning he doesn't fight himself. He uses external objects, living beings like humans and animals, anything alive that he can control," I explained, staring at Andrew's face on the paper.

Rubbing my forehead, I said, "I'm going to rest for a while..."

I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Seras got up and asked, "Do you want something to eat?"

"Nah..." I replied casually.

She seems a bit off...

"Well," she said, leaving the room. I felt mentally drained, not physically. Waking up from a three-week "sleep" and immediately having to fight was exhausting. I needed to rest.

Closing my eyes, I decided to relax for a bit. At least I had explained the situation to Seras. Andrew was undoubtedly in the city, attacking from a distance. He could be at one end of the city and send a puppet to the other to attack. His range was vast.

///

I opened my eyes slowly, noticing the darkness. Who turned off the light...?

I got up, stretched, and yawned, then walked over to the light switch and turned it on. Sighing, I looked behind me to find the room empty. I left and wandered down the hallway, arriving at the main room where John and Jess were asleep on the couch. It seemed like they were getting along better.

I spotted Seras watching television. Approaching her, I asked, "Do you want to take a walk outside?"

"Yes... the others are sleeping," she replied.

///

I yawned loudly as we walked through a large forest outside the city. The night was calm, and Seras walked beside me. We had flown here in a few minutes—I had carried Seras, and despite her initial screams, she seemed to get used to it.

Finding a log on the ground, I sat down with a sigh. "Well... sometimes it's better to go out than always be in the same place."

Seras sat next to me. "Hey, Master..."

"What's up?" I yawned again, waiting for her to continue. She opened her mouth but then closed it, hesitating.

"Just say it. I don't want something emotional, but I might make an exception," I said, twirling a stick like a sword and slashing at the air.

"Am I a waste...?" Her question took me by surprise. Waste...?

"Nah... you're strong, that's enough. That guy with the whip said something about you being useless, right? I'm sure it was just to make you angry," I said, still playing with the stick.

She nodded, looking troubled. "It's just..."

I looked at her, sensing this was about to get emotional. I rarely indulged in these moments. The last time I got emotional was when I got Alucard's memories or when I saved those children from the world the system created.

I sighed, "Tell me..."

"I... sometimes I think... that I'm just... useless..." Her voice cracked a little. Damn... I hate this, but she's my partner, so I'll make an exception.

Her eyes were a bit wet. "Do you want to keep talking?"

She nodded. "I was never good at making friends... in the orphanage... I only fought... I was never able to make a real friend... but... since I came here I finally felt like I had very nice moments with Jess and John... and also with you..."

I nodded. It seemed she felt comfortable with us. Progress...

I sighed and said, "Well...that's bad..."

"Yes..." Seras said, wiping a tear from her eye. I looked at the sky and said, "Well, if I'm honest, I don't know what to tell you to help you... I'm terrible at this kind of thing. But, at least for me, you're not useless. Jess and John like you, and I like you too. If I'm being direct, well... probably if I hadn't met you, I'd be pretty bored right now..."

She remained silent, so I continued, "At the beginning, my life was simple... very simple. Being a crazy person without sense, making stupid decisions... I was just someone who wanted excitement, the thrill of a fight. I felt free when I fought...for a while, it was always like that. Even though I had a conversation with a person—well, actually two people—one made me think about my future, and the other about my life..."

"I always do what I want. If I want to fight, I fight. If I want to rest, I rest. If I want to smile, I smile. If I want to cry, I cry. My decisions made me who I am now. Decisions decide how someone's life turns out. Some decisions you can hate, others you can love. You could say everything is guided by decisions. God created the world because He decided to. Nature decided evolution. War was decided by people. Death is a day-to-day decision," I said with a smile.

"If you want to kill, you have to decide. Decision is something that opens up endless paths. My life will be full of decisions, endless paths that will decide my future," I finished explaining and threw the stick to the ground.

I looked at Seras, who was staring at the ground. "So... Seras Victoria, what is your decision for your future? Every person in the world, every being, every thing can make their own decisions."

"I think... I already decided..." she said.

I smiled at her answer. Standing up from the log, I said, "Well, this is a good place... let's train. Now that I think about it, we never trained this way..."

Seras stood up from the log and said with a smile, "Thank you..."

I raised my arms a little and said, "Well... I'm not good at talking about this... I'm just saying what I think."

I moved a little away from her and said, "Get in position."

She nodded. I got into position and kicked a small stone into the air. As the stone began to fall, both Seras and I disappeared in a blur. I dodged a blow that destroyed a tree in half and quickly kicked her in the leg, making her kneel in pain. I gave her a light punch to the chest, sending her crashing into some trees.

I approached a tree and grabbed it with my hand, noticing her improved strength—a good sign. Ripping the tree from its roots, I hurled it hard in her direction. The tree flew with a sonic boom echoing through the forest. Seras dodged it and grabbed a piece of the trunk, throwing it back at me. I easily dodged it.

A fist came close to my face. With surprising speed, I grabbed it in the middle of the attack. The force of her punch sent the wind roaring behind me, trees snapping like bullets. I grabbed her leg with my other hand and threw her into the air.

Scratching my hand, blood formed a small red ball. "Red dot."

The red ball flew towards Seras. She covered herself with her arms, and when the ball made contact, it exploded, sending blood like bullets in all directions. Seras plummeted towards the ground.

I ran to where she fell. She looked hurt but jumped up, ready to continue.

"Do you want to continue, or are you already tired?" I asked, looking for an answer.

I looked at Seras with a smile and said, "Try to free yourself...be a beast."

"A beast?" she said with confusion on her face. She narrowed her eyes and then said, "I think... I think I know how to do it..."

Before she could proceed, I activated an isolated dimension, ensuring nothing would escape from here. Plus, I'll have to fix the destruction from before...

She sighed slowly and closed her eyes. I watched as she clenched her fists tightly, feeling her strength increase with every passing second. She disappeared in a blur, and suddenly, something hit my face hard. I went flying, splinters from the trees piercing my face. It felt like someone was grabbing my face and slamming it through dozens of trees each second. I watched with a smile as Seras looked at me with crimson eyes, not smiling. The interesting thing is, she's not even a true vampire yet...

She threw me into the air, and I felt myself getting impaled on a thick tree branch. With a big smile, I saw the branch go through my stomach. I grabbed the branch and broke it, stood up, and pulled out what was left of the branch from my stomach. I cleaned my stomach as the wounds healed—the pieces of wood were annoying.

I stretched my arms a little and saw two crimson eyes watching me from a distance. She now truly looked like a beast. She began to run in circles quickly. I grabbed her leg suddenly and threw Seras to the ground hard. She gasped from the unexpected damage, but she quickly retaliated. She hit me in the face, and I felt my eye get sunken into its socket. My vision became strange, uncomfortable.

I grabbed Seras's face and ran through the forest, smashing her into several trees. I heard her grunt in pain but she didn't scream. I threw her to the ground once again, breaking the ground into pieces. She kicked me in the jaw, making me lose my balance. Ha...she's skilled.

She grabbed my head, delivering a blow to my forehead that made my vision go back to normal. It felt like my eyes were looking in opposite directions... oh, that's literally happening.

She hit my face hard, each blow making the wind roar. Her punches grew faster with every second. Well...since she's doing that...

I grabbed her face and moved her away a little. I kneed her in the chest, making her lean over and vomit blood. I smiled and hit her on the head again, this time with my elbow. Her face embedded in the ground, but she quickly jumped up, her face covered in blood, yet her crimson eyes continued to stare at me.

It seems like the animal inside her has taken control...

"Well...since she's like this...I think I'll be a little more serious... I can't let myself be humiliated by her, right?" I murmured with a smile.

I pointed my hand at her, and Seras opened her eyes in surprise when an unexpected cut slashed across her chest. Blood started pouring out quickly as she leaned over, grunting in pain.

I appeared in front of her and kneed her in the face. I won't be gentle about this... a fight is a fight...

I clenched my fist, and a crimson flame appeared around it. I punched her chest, sending her flying. She fell to the ground hundreds of meters in front of me.

I appeared in front of her again. Seras was breathing hard, clearly tired, but she stood up and said, "More...stronger...fight more..."

I smiled and said, "Yes...you feel it, right? BE A BEAST!!"

She growled and ran towards me, hitting me nonstop in the face and chest. Each hit felt like hundreds or thousands of trains crashing into me at once. The air around us roared like a tornado. She looked angry, her eyes redder and wilder.

I grabbed her fist and said through broken teeth, "Not bad...but...this is what it feels like to be a real beast..."

I clenched my fist and punched her chest hard. The ground behind her shattered into pieces,the trees flying everywhere. The ground sank quickly as she went flying, soaring hundreds of meters in a second.

I appeared where Seras had crashed, a large rock broken in half with her back against it. She looked at me with red eyes, blood slowly trickling from her head. Despite the unsteadiness in her walk, she got up and approached me, her fists clenched. She began hitting my chest slowly, the blood from her head dripping down, making her appear as though she was about to faint.

"Hey...calm down, you're tired, aren't you?" I said to Seras, but she continued to hit my chest slowly. Suddenly, I opened my eyes in surprise as a kick with great speed made me fly and crash against another nearby rock.

I crossed the rock, jumped up, and wiped the dust off my head. I looked at her, watching her slowly heal. Her previous red eyes, which had shone like a spark about to go out, seemed to be filled with vitality again. She suddenly disappeared, and I covered my left side with my arms, flying hundreds of meters quickly. I felt myself falling into a small river. Getting up, I saw her in the distance. Hmmmmm... that physical strength is comparable to level 5... not bad, but how did she defeat a royal guard...?

To kill the other two, I had to go to level 3... although it is possible that the guy with the whip was weaker than the other two...

I grabbed a fist aimed at my face and brought Seras's face closer to mine, saying, "Bad luck..."

I clenched my fist, and a large crimson flame became a dark black fire. "Level activation...level 4."

I felt my energy increase significantly. I hit Seras's chest, and she opened her eyes wide as she flew like a rocket, passing through everything in front of her. I heard a great noise and a tremor that shook a large part of the forest.

"Well...since she wants to go rougher..." I ran quickly towards her, jumping into the sky and seeing her quickly recovering from her injuries. She jumped towards me with her fist ready. I clenched my fist, and red flames with black tinges covered it. Our fists collided, and a small part of the forest below us was destroyed. Trees flew away, the ground sank, and a large crater appeared below us. This will take a long time, huh...

///

I sat on the destroyed ground, looking around at the large part of the forest that was destroyed. The broken trees lay on the ground, and Seras was asleep nearby. She has great potential. I had to go half-serious at level 4, and she put up a good fight, although I didn't use all my skills. I moved my hands and murmured some incantations. Everything began to deform, and a sound like a broken mirror echoed in the place.

In front of me, the forest was in good condition, almost nothing destroyed. I sighed in relief and looked at Seras. She has pretty good power. What would it be like when she becomes a true vampire? Surely a massive increase in power...

I got up and grabbed Seras in my arms. Time to return home...

///

I came home and put her in her bed. Jess opened the door for me, and she looked like a mummy when she did, haha...

I left Seras' room and thought about going back to a specific place. Once, Seras told me that during the three weeks when I was asleep, she went out to hunt vampires when John and Jess were asleep. It seems that she got rid of almost all of them...

Should I go back to New York...?

Maybe... I walked towards the couch and saw it was empty. I think Jess and John had already gone to their rooms. I lay down on the couch and thought about going back to New York. There are always interesting things in that place... besides, I want to get "something" from there...