Becoming a Monster
Chapter 357: The Warning’s Reckoning

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: The Warning’s Reckoning

The light around the forest dimmed as Ailetta’s body released a dark aura that absorbed the surrounding light. Temporarily, the violet energy constantly surfacing within her body was diverted deeper within her, with her entire figure becoming a silhouette.

A pool, no different from a shadow, seeped from her feet, yet the "shadow," crazy as it seemed, was tangible. The shadow continued to grow, stretching, and then that creature began to submerge from the ground, revealing its figure.

It was similar to her abyssal slimes, but this one wasn’t so simple. It wasn’t spherical in shape, and it was independent from the other slimes.

Its body rippled like slow boiling tar, it was thick and fluid all at once. It held no defined limbs or even a torso. It was just a central mass that hovered above the ground, wobbling faintly with every shift. Two arms jutted from it, condensed and more defined than the rest of its slime body. Its hands had crude claws that stretched and contracted mischievously. Though it lacked bones, its clawed fingers looked unnaturally sharp.

Its "face" floated near the top of its mass. A warped asymmetrical grin rested there, almost as if it was stuck in place. Its crooked, toothy maw shifted subtly with its mood, sometimes grinning, sometimes twitching, but it never closed. Above that eerie smile were its two eyes, yet the two were without pupils, they were pits of lightless violet, like something had burned holes into the slime and its energy was leaking out.

The creature moved restlessly, its body constantly rippled as it hovered behind Ailetta, its size nearly dwarfing hers despite not having a lower body.

Unlike the typical abyssal slimes that mindlessly obeyed Ailetta’s commands, this one seemed to have a personality of its own. Yet for all its menace, it remained obedient. Because it was her guardian.

It simply waited for Ailetta to finish her transformation. It was patient, but its uneasy movement made it appear as if patience wasn’t in its vocabulary.

Not long afterwards, Ailetta’s body suddenly erupted. It wasn’t just her aura that exploded, a huge wave of herself gushed outward, soaring towards the ceiling. It was feet away from the Arachne’s nest before it fanned out, nearly engulfing the entire ceiling that blocked out any remaining light.

The scene was even more ominous than her new guardian, but when the torrent of slime finally stopped fanning, the unsettling scene resembled a nightmare, and also a scene that was very similar to when Noah and her had merged before.

Eyes, both giant and small, were looking down on them. Nothing within the span of their gaze went unnoticed. The air turned thick, heavy with an unnatural pressure that made the creatures in the area falter, all except Noah. Those eyes, dozens, nearly a hundred, stared, blinking with unreadable expressions.

The small ones glowed with a pale violet light. It was the larger ones that truly made the others feel uncomfortable.

Those eyes, despite seeming to have a life of their own, they still shared their vision with Ailetta. And although she was still transforming, she was always mindful of everyone.

With just a thought, all of the slime swarmed back to whence they came. Reverting back into her body like time had re-winded itself.

As the slime returned back inside of her, all around her, lights began to appear, and those very same eyes quickly unveiled themselves around the entirety of her body.

Not just the eyes, but light returned from underneath the darkness of her slime. And her form finally shifted to her final stage, a stage that looked almost completely identical to when she had forced fused with the core back at the mall. She recovered her crown, and in the center of her chest was an eye almost the same size as Noah’s.

That one eye was more unnerving than all the others combined. It didn’t just make one feel uneasy, it surfaced your deepest most subconscious thoughts and made the unbelievable seem like the truth.

That eye was an unsheathed sword, one that couldn’t distinguish friend from foe. So when that eye opened, she quickly snapped it shut, but everyone was able to see that pupil layered with the golden aura that resembled the seraphim from back then.

How do you feel? Noah asked her after observing her in silence. He noticed how she forcibly closed off the eyes around her, how even her newfound guardian returned to act as her shadow. He worried that she was holding herself back far too much.

Then she looked at him, about to speak. But she realized something wasn’t right, remembering that her face went back to being covered in slime. She didn’t mind her normal appearance, but just like now, how she was able to see Noah’s expressions, she wanted him to be able to see her own.

With the slime peeling back, it revealed a face with skin that was almost flawless. Not necessarily in beauty, but her skin was without blemishes, wrinkles or even pores. Her features were familiar, but just enough from her former self that they no longer felt entirely human. Her expression was still gentle, not disturbed at all about how she looked. She only cared about how Noah’s expression was always the same even when she lifted the veil. Whether it was with a face of a monster, or one that mimicked a perfect doll, he still viewed her the same, still loved her the same.

Her face resembled a smile that showcased her teeth, her eyes flickered with obsession that almost made her act on her impulses, impulses that she had to rein in before she did something Noah wouldn’t want her to do while the others were around. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to take his question seriously. But when she opened them again, a hatred reflected from them that was resolved to kill.

"I feel as if we were to face that damned angel again, we could kill it ourselves."

Her answer startled Noah, it wasn’t exactly what he was referring to when he inquired about her well-being. But the answer was more than good enough of a response.

His eyes shifted, looking her over once more. He still wanted to understand more about her transformation, to delve into the psychological reasons why she kept the eyes around her closed. But he would wait until she was ready. He didn’t mind it when she used their peculiar bond to understand his thoughts and feelings, but he was trying to limit himself in doing such a thing. For someone who found it difficult to trust anyone, to choose to become a tamer only because the bond they shared would almost guarantee trust. He wanted to trust them more, without having to rely on his connection with them to feel reassured.

So instead of pressing further, he nodded. "Who knows when we will get the chance, but that doesn’t mean we won’t face weaker enemies in the future. Right now you’ll probably get that chance to try out your new strength. Before we go, I’ll need you t-"

"To stay here and protect the fort, I know." Ailetta interrupted, a small knowing smile spread across her face.

He stared, giving her one last glance before he turned to the others. He couldn’t get a word out before Kratos already approached him. His soldier didn’t need orders, as long as there was a battle, he would fight.

Arachne had yet to move. She too wanted to follow Noah, more than anything, but she also knew that Noah would have Kratos and Fenrir by his side while Ailetta would only have Pandora, who had recently lost to Dummy, the one she perceived to be the weakest of the bunch.

She didn’t want the person she had begun bonding with to be left alone.

Her difficult decision was answered when she saw Eve about to bounce over to Noah’s side just before being caught in Ailetta’s embrace.

"Arachne, you can go with Noah. Me and this little troublemaker are going to spend some time together until you come back. Isn’t that right, Eve?"

There was a soft purr in her pronunciation of Eve’s name. The vampire didn’t want to stay, she wanted to show Noah how strong she had become so he could see her to be just as dependable as Ailetta and Arachne. But caught in Ailetta’s hold, she was unable to resist. When she turned her head, ready to convince Ailetta to let her go, she was met with the dozens of eyes residing within the woman she knew best not to get on the bad side of. Each eye was begging her, egging her to disagree. Eve wasn’t ready to find out what would happen if she didn’t.

Seeing his family interact in such a "charming" way, Noah was half-tempted to give the creatures one more day of living so he could finally relax and let everyone actually enjoy themselves.

Only half tempted.

He couldn’t let a creature that only invaded his home while he’s away live any longer.

His lips began to move to give the command to urge his companions to move. But suddenly the ground shook.

No... The world itself began to quake.

Noah’s first instinct was to rush outside. He moved with difficulty, as each step felt as if it was one more step than needed. It was when he reached outside, he saw what was happening. It was a scene that defied logic.

The world was expanding.