Becoming a Monster

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Everything Led Up to This Moment

The scene was reminiscent of a past encounter, with the Queen now in Noah’s position and the new abomination in hers.

Its eerie image was almost complete. Although the centipede’s form supposedly won in the tug of war of who can out it who, this competition was not a deciding factor of how its appearance would turn out. Its size alone was insignificant compared to the centipede’s original size, its size was close to half of what it once was. However, its appearance was still more for domineering than before.

And although the creature retained much of the centipede’s original form, three distinct characteristics of the beetle were prominent, marking it as something far more impressionable.

Its hide was now a blend of both the beetle and the centipede, combining the centipede’s flexible body while also gaining the beetle’s seemingly indestructible hide. Now the new presence was encased in thick, overlapping plates of spiked armor.

Protruding from the creature’s head were a pair of enormous mandibles that seemed to defy the original purpose they were made for. No longer simple tools for grasping prey, these mandibles resembled the beetle’s massive horn. Each mandible was nearly an exact replica, but with edges sharper than knives, extending outward like twin scythes that were ready to cleave through anything in their path.

The last trait the creature gained from the beetle was its most unique and most powerful feature. At the end of its tail, the delicate antennae had been replaced by something far more devastating. The segment that once held those antennae now bore a massive, steel-like hammer, an extension of pure destructive power. This hammer was twice the size of the beetle’s original gauntlets, its surface lined with jagged edges that seemed to be designed to tear and rip through both flesh and structure alike, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

But perhaps the most unsettling feature of its transformation was the single, beetle-like eye that dominated the creature’s head. Unlike the multiple eyes that characterized its previous forms, this eye was massive, glowing with an intense, malevolent violet light. It scanned the battlefield with a terrifying awareness as the rest of its body neared the end of its transformation, a sign of the heightened sentience that had now taken root within the slime’s new form.

All of these fine details shouldn’t have been noticeable, as the creature’s body was supposed to be entirely composed of the advanced slime’s gelatinous form, fully submerging the insect’s natural body underneath. However, the true threat of the advanced slimes lay in their instinctual drive to adapt and survive, ensuring they could live to consume another day.

This inherent nature of the slimes led them to understand the grave threat the Queen’s mana posed to their existence. The painful experience of being corroded by her mana was still fresh in their collective memory. But now, having learned from that ordeal, they made a calculated decision to hide in plain sight. They used their new creation not only as a stronger puppet but also as their protective shield.

—-

Ailetta watched eagerly as the Queen finally unleashed her most lethal attack yet. The mana sphere left a trail of mist, a mist that seemed to corrode the very air around it. While it may not have emitted the same destructiveness as Noah’s final attack, it was by far, much more lethal.

The newly transformed slime-beast saw the attack coming, its numerous eyes fixated on the deadly sphere. Despite its awareness, the creature remained rooted in place, paralyzed as its transformation neared completion.

As the mana sphere closed in, the air around it hissed and crackled, reacting violently to the corrosive mist that surrounded it.

Ailetta’s heart raced in anticipation. The Queen’s attack was a true test, not just for the abomination she had created, but for her own calculations and experiments. If her creation failed to live up to her expectations, then not only would she lose out on the massive amount of mana needed to create her advanced zombies, but she would also likely be forced to use her third experiment, an action that she wanted to perform under a more controlled environment.

Meanwhile, as the sphere of lethal mana finally reached the slime monstrosity, Noah was weakly staring in awe, his vulnerable expressions going through a roller coaster of emotions. When he first witnessed the Queen surviving his all or nothing attack, he felt that everything was over. He despaired, not for himself, but the foreshadowed deaths of his creatures and of Ailetta.

But then he was struck again with another shock when seeing Ailetta’s new transformation, followed by her overwhelming display of strength that came with her change, and most importantly, the change in her demeanor and her personality. Her unhinged display of emotions, despite the position she was in was a chilling sign that she was possibly no longer the same Ailetta as before. It was a change that he willingly accepted, to accept power of her caliber, weakness must be sacrificed, a natural ritual that he himself had undertaken to become who he was now.

Her crazed eyes and ominous giggles as she watched her army being destroyed held its own charm as his gaze continued to wander to the fight and then back to her.

With the way things were going, Noah believed that Ailetta had everything within her control, especially because she had yet to take anything that happened seriously, even to the point that her most strongest creation was on the verge of being destroyed.

Up until her slimes merge, beginning to form a creation that felt much more diabolical than before, Noah was fully absorbed into watching the fight, as if he was living out a fantastic play. He had always desired for Ailetta to be able to have the power to defend herself, to no longer be a burden and actively help the two of them grow stronger together. It was this desire that also made him resentful of his own weakness, itching to join the fight that was so crucial to their livelihood. However, no matter how strong his will was, his body was incapable of drawing any more strength.

Even as he struggled with his own limitations, his desire for Ailetta’s success remained unwavering. That was until the Queen had showcased an attack that released an aura much more oppressive than the attack he had staked everything on. And it was at this moment that he began to fear the worst.

”Please, Arachne,” he whispered urgently, ”finish in time...”

—--

Different from Noah’s explosion, the results from the Queen’s attack wasn’t excessively explosive enough to create any obstacles to obscure the aftereffects of her attack. Massive streams of vapor were emitting from the slime’s very figure, radiating across the front of its body. Its new form appeared as if it reverted in its transformation, a significant proportion of its features were fully melted under the intensity of the Queen’s compressed mana. From its legs, to its oppressive mandibles, all the way down to its once impressive exoskeleton. Everything about its appearance was now a grotesque distortion of what it once was. The only frontal feature that was able to maintain its appearance was the overly large eye located at its face center.

However, its eye was no longer the same violet hue as before. Its iris was so badly damaged that it had taken on a faded, washed out violet appearance, with patches of its iris appearing almost white.

The Queen felt a sense of intoxicating pride seeing the potency of her attack, especially so when that sight was accompanied by multiple excruciating screeches now that the slimes’ mouths were fully exposed. These screeches were like a soothing orchestra to her soul.

With slow, deliberate steps, she approached the creature, manipulating her mana once more, determined to finish it off before it gained the chance to start showing signs of resisting her mana any further.

As she edged closer, she couldn’t contain herself as she marveled at the strength. Her hand raised, about to release another attack.

Just as she was about to release it, the slime’s cries ceased abruptly, as if it had all been a ruse. Its giant eye immediately snapped onto her figure, a burning rage; contained within its damaged eye. Its mouths let out an indescribable laughter before its body twisted with speed that belied its immense size.

The Queen wasn’t able to fully register the sudden change before her entire vision was soon blocked off a massive shadow. All she could do to defend herself was to release the unfinished mana sphere at the giant mass, while using her now occupied arm to shield herself.

Boom!

The collision against the Queen’s body thundered, making one believe that a wrecking ball had collided into a building. The impact pulsated throughout the Queen’s body, sending shockwaves of pain coursing through her. Her body soared just as fast as Arachne could move, creating a path of destruction with her body that crushed through cars and poles alike. Finally, her momentum carried her into the side of a building, her body smashing through walls and debris before coming to a complete stop deep within the structure’s remains.

Everyone barely had time to process what had happened. Their minds were finally coming to terms that the slime had completely wrecked the Queen, but then their ears picked up on a high pitch whistle entering the air, while the building the Queen was just submerged in was beginning to collapse on itself from its weakened structure.

Not even a few seconds passed before she collided and approached the slime again, her infuriated emotions making her impulsive in her actions as she wanted more than anything to physically send it flying the same way she was made to. But in the split second when she was about to forego the harsh lesson she had learned before, she suddenly clenched her fist, her mandibles, creating a numb chilling hum as she forced herself to give up her pride, bypassing the creature in its entirety.

She had to come to terms with reality, and the slime abomination forced her to accept it. It only took her a brief moment within the time she approached it. Its disfigured appearance had vanished, it almost looked just like its original form, except all of its insectoid features were not being impersonated by its gelatin characteristics. Nonetheless, she was forced to smell the coffee; her strength was not as omniscient as she pridefully believed. A statement that she should’ve come to terms with the moment was inflicted with injuries that disfigured her own figure.

Her action was fast, too fast for anyone to take account of what happened. Her body quickly arrived in front of Ailetta, and for the first time, Ailetta’s face showed an expression of surprise before her vision was clouded by a ball of energy that was all too familiar.

In the end, when the once arrogant Queen would have used this moment to boast of her superiority, monologuing about her greatness and her inevitable victory. But now, she was no longer in the mood for such word play. Instead, she simply delivered one final line.

”You can die now..” She disdainfully muttered before unleashing the attack that engulfed Ailetta’s still shocked face.

The attack, unlike her former slimes, did not produce the same agozing shrieks. Her death was noticeably swift and, in a grim sense, somewhat humane.

And all of this was unfortunately witnessed by Noah. His expression went blank; no words escaped him, no attempt to cry out her name, not even an effort to move was shown. But! As his body was in silence, something deep within him began to change. A man that resembled the frail human he once was. A human whose body was now completely within the jaws of an aberration more horrifying than the very aura that was released by Ailetta during the first occurrence of her transformation. That human didn’t fight nor cry to escape from being consumed.

He simply let it happen, as if he no longer cared about preserving his life, no longer having a reason to want to live on.

With the death of his human soul, something darker and far more menacing began to act on Noah’s body. The Queen, believing everything was finally over, was then struck by the sound of a heartbeat. Each beat instilled an instinctive fear with each palpitation, fear that would amplify more with each time it sounded, a heartbeat that grew stronger and more oppressive with each wave.