Becoming a Monster
Chapter 183: Family, Even After Death

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Family, Even After Death

The transformation of the little zombie was nearing completion, and the once-innocent visage of the girl began to shift into something both captivating and unsettling. At the center of her cross-shaped forehead, a singular eye opened, an eye that struck a striking resemblance to Noah’s nexus eye. This new eye, however, bore its own unique characteristics: its sclera and iris seemed to be composed of a swirling, gaseous energy that shifted and flowed like a living entity.

While Noah’s nexus eye radiated a viridian green, this little girl’s sclera glimmered with the shimmering silver mana that pulsed from her whenever she unleashed her abilities. In stark contrast, her iris flickered with the haunting violet hue of Noah’s mana, and within its depths blazed a pupil of fierce crimson red, emanating a power that belied her diminutive size.

The void-like quality of her former eyes was replaced by an eerie sense of awareness. They no longer appeared as mere hollow sockets; instead, they were imbued with a twisted sense of mischief and curiosity. The darkness within them hinted at an intelligence far beyond her previous state, as if she could see and understand more than anyone realized.

Her lips had turned an unsettling shade of black, resembling a permanent application of dark lipstick.

To complete her transformation, two medium-sized black horns sprouted from the sides of her head, curving gracefully upward to form a delicate yet ominous point at their tips.

The aura within her intensified. If Noah were to observe her aura with his eye now, then he could see that her aura increased by almost a quarter more potent than before, radiating with a density twice as menacing than her previous state.

Noah found himself marveling more to the power she wielded than to the physical changes itself. Using the ability for the first time, he also realized that, in a diabolic sense, the ability made him feel more connected to his vassals than even his tamed creatures. If he wanted to, he felt that he could force the little zombie to do anything he wanted.

Her large, despairing eyes blinked slowly, a hint of confusion clouding them as she became more aware of her surroundings. The once feral mischief had faded, giving way to a childlike curiosity as her gaze fixed on Noah; the person she now felt an unbreakable connection to. Her finger rested gently on her lip, head tilting to the side in a subtle, almost innocent manner, as if she were trying to piece together the thoughts racing through her mind.

"Papa?"

Noah’s eyes widened slightly at the word before he came to accept such a reaction. He looked down at the zombie child whose expressions were that of a lost child seeking comfort. For a moment, Noah didn’t mind the thought of replacing that role. Since he was going to make sure any creature bonded to him was going to be protected and provided for, in that sense, he wasn’t that different from a father figure. However, he noticed the furrowing of her little brows, her eyes then gazing towards him, as if she was skeptical of her own judgment.

"Papa..." Her voice matched the longing in her eyes when her sight focused on a figure on her side.

Noah’s eyes followed her gaze, landing on the skeleton. A faint flicker of understanding and amusement crossed his expression. He now realized why the skeleton was so protective of her and how their abilities came about. Even in death, the pair’s bond clung onto the remnants of their familial love.

For a moment, Noah wondered why the skeleton didn’t go through a similar transformation following the little girl’s since it was connected to her. That lingering doubt didn’t last long after filtering through all that he gained from obtaining his vassal.

The control Noah had over the skeleton was soon released deliberately, the pressure from his command fading as the skeletal form began to revert. The once hardened and mutated bones, which had been infused with the power of his skill, started to crack. Fractures spread across its body, creating a series of snapping sounds that filled what little noise remained around them.

Despite the skeleton no longer being under his control, the skeleton never showed an ounce of hostility towards them. Its boney frame turned towards the little girl instead as it walked to her side. The moment it reached her side, the skeleton kneeled forcibly to the ground, its head pointed towards the ground, as if waiting for an order.

"Papa, stronger!" The little girl’s expression grew excited, her palms grabbing hold of the skeletons head, releasing a burst of her overflowing mana into it. The silver aura that now contained strong wisp of violet pressuring energy fully enveloped the monster.

The energy poured into the skeleton, rapidly compressing and condensing around it. The mana became so dense that it transformed into a visible, tangible substance, wrapping around the skeleton like a second skin. It was no longer just an aura anymore; the power seeped into every crevice, every fracture, coaxing itself deep into the very marrow of the bones.

Under the strain of the overwhelming power, the skeleton’s body began to shift. Its size grew, and the density of its bones became denser than it previously was, giving its form a surreal, muscular physique despite its body lacking anything other than bone. The greyish hue took on a deep shade of the violet mana that now gleamed with a metallic sheen, while its eye sockets still maintained the deep crimson glow.

The little zombie giggled; her voice full of dark delight as she watched the transformation. "Papa... stronger now... much stronger."

Her cheers coincidingly sounded at the same time of the skeletons’ more significant changes. Its shoulders that flared out, similar to shoulder guards, began to grow a series of jagged thorns that extended out at least half a foot into the air. The jagged parts slightly curved upwards, while the deadly looking spikes closer to his collarbone curved backwards while bending in a way that arched towards the spikes opposite from each other.

The moment the spikes finished their placement, the skeleton’s core began to glow, its glow shone brightly in synchronization with its pulse. Each time its core pulsed; the tips of its spikes glowed with a dangerous energy. As the energy gradually built into a stronger current, sparks began to generate within those tips, eventually creating a current of energy that danced from spike to spike until it began to coalesce at the base of its neck. The energy steadily beamed into one area of its spine, temporarily disconnecting from its neck. The end of its spine continued to take in the energy, its form drastically becoming malleable under its force.

From his angle, Noah wasn’t able to tell what was happening. It was only when the skeleton reached back, retrieving only a hilt that was made completely out of its spine, that he realized what it was. The hilt was once just its bone that extended outwards to hold what should be a blade, while its grip was the same extended spine that was once attached to its body.

But it appeared that under the energy’s effect, the hilt was now a darker sheen compared to its bone counterpart, resembling almost an indestructible marble material. As the skeleton wielded the hilt in its hand, the energy formed around it began to shift around both the unfinished sword. The energy soon tethered itself to its hilt, reaching out into the air. A sword made out of pure energy presents itself.

The sword was made up of all three sources of mana within the skeleton. The newly acquired violet mana solidified, becoming the very foundation of the blade. The silver mana coated its edges, creating a sharp sheen that was sharper than Noah’s original Zombie King’s sword. And while the first two energies materialized into a physical substance, the black energy that was so hard for Arachne to deal with, burned around the entirety of the blade without a show of stopping.

A heavy ding sounded as the skeleton dislodged its shattered shield from its grip. With its transformation completed, it rose onto its feet, its arm wielding the sword began to reach behind itself, threatening to inflict accidental self-harm. Yet, as the sword almost pierced its figure, the energies making up the blade disappeared, only leaving it with the hilt that the skeleton eventually placed back into its rightful place. It then continued to wordlessly stand by the child’s side, showing no improvements to its intelligence or even emotional awareness to its child.

On the side, Ailetta was even more amused than Noah, as if she was the one who had acquired the creature. But, her eyes were somehow restless, and it all started the moment Noah was mistaken for the child’s father.

"Noah..." Her interruption quickly caught his attention. The moment he turned around he realized that her emotions were spiraling out of control again. "I want a child...your child...our child.." Each word generated an aura around her that gave an illusion of absorbing all the light around her that threatened to consume the whole world in darkness.

Her abrupt outburst was a curveball Noah wasn’t expecting. His eyes blankly blinked, trying to confirm if his ears were working. His thoughts began to circulate, wondering what led to such a question and why it sparked such an intense reaction.

The moment he recalled the exact moment, he smirked.

"How about we talk about it after we acquire our home?" He gently coaxed her, leaving her before she his attention fueled her emotional desires even further.

Besides gathering the cores from the creatures in the area, what was now left for him to do was something that may not be important, but since he was now bonded to the little girl, giving her a name was paramount compared to anything else.