Becoming a Monster

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Ailetta Did the Thing

To the Queen, the oppressive thumping was if it was heralding the arrival of something far beyond her comprehension.

Slowly she turned, her movement was hesitant, the fear continuously layered upon her with each pulse of Noah’s heart that her body wasn’t reacting to her thoughts. The source of the noise made her attention to everything else negligible. Not only did she not realize that the giant manifestation she had confronted earlier was still very much ”alive” even moments after Aieltta’s death. She didn’t notice the same monstrosity beginning to break itself down, its slime components seeping out from the grotesque creation, leaving the mutation as just an empty shell.

What remained was a slime, how much larger than it had been during its initial summoning, at least four times its original size. Without missing a beat, the slime began to float toward the station, moving toward the very spot from which Ailetta had first emerged.

At the station’s entrance, the interplay of shadows and light from the sun created an eerie, unnatural quality, obscuring much of the scene. Yet, in the midst of this shadowed veil, a single, soft glowing eye peeked out, fixated on Noah’s transformation. The eye, filled with a mix of eager expectation and something darker, marveled at the spectacle unfolding before it.

As the enlarged slime finally reached the building, the presence behind the lone eye began to reveal itself. Slowly, Ailetta stepped into view, her form much altered from before. She had reverted to the shape she had first revealed before her transformation into her more human-like appearance. But now, there was an even more drastic change, her form was more transparent than what it was before. The violet energy within her made it possible to see the background behind her. Her size had diminished dramatically, shrinking to that of a small toddler. This new form made her once horrifying appearance take on a creepier identity. However, her aura was a stark contrast to the powerful presence her other form had.

Seeing her slime returning to her, Ailetta pouted childishly after being reminded of what happened to her other ”half”, casting an annoyed glance at the melted remains of her former self.

”Well, I guess experiment number three could be called a success... or maybe not... that stupid bug destroyed everything!” She continued to pout, clearly upset by the loss of so much mana she had separated from herself, now gone permanently.

”But that’s why I have you!” Her mood shifted abruptly from sulking to one of tender joy as she turned with open arms toward the slime that was almost twice her size. ”Come, come to mommy...” she cooed, her voice sweet, yet the revealing eyes and smiling mouths around her body gave her a sinister edge, welcoming the returning slime like a cherished child.

In response to her love, the slime’s many mouths all began to move in tandem, emitting a strange high-pitched gurgle that almost sounded like distorted giggling.

”I’m happy too, welcome home...” Aietta soon embraced the slime in its entirety. The moment the two established a physical connection to one another, the slime began to be absorbed within her body. During this time, Ailetta began to experience a growth spurt in real time. Not only did her height increase, but her aura began to expand as well, making her presence even more overwhelming than the version of herself that was destroyed.

Feeling that budding energy flowing through her, Ailetta let out a relieved breath, knowing that the risk was worth it.

”In the end, everything I do is still for you, my love.” Her gaze shifted back to Noah. Her warm, tender gaze was anything but; her intense stare reflected borderline obsession. If there was anything she remembered, it was that Noah always desired to grow stronger. And even though he never brought it up again, her new self was able to keenly remember that single moment where she had truly started to fear Noah’s existence. She may have not been able to understand before, but now her eyes were open to the truth.

Noah always possessed a deep-rooted power within him; the only thing that prevented him from realizing his potential was the fact that he was always holding himself back, never fully allowing himself to follow his true desires. And it was because of her that was causing him to hold back, whether consciously or not.

And like a good lover, Ailetta had aimed to support him the best way that she knew she could....by releasing the true monster within him. Despite her first two selfish experiments, even they had their merits that helped to lead up to this moment. Nowhere in her plans did she believe that she could take on the Queen, not without proper planning and time to create a creature much more powerful than the one she had created before. It was all just a ruse to trigger her fake death, understanding that ”losing” her would be the trigger for his transformation. The only factor that didn’t go as planned was the full destruction of her other self that withheld the majority of her mana.

Spurt!*

Ailetta’s smiles widen further than humanly possible to the ”beautiful” sight before her. The abrupt ripping sounds of flesh, accompanied by Noah’s maddening and manic roar, played like a melody. His changes weren’t like the others; the intensity of such a transition, one that not only amplified his mana, but also significant physical changes should’ve taken just as long, but reality spoke for itself.

Out of his back shot a long, deadly thick spear. The spear then contorted to the side after its first joint fully emerged from the now gaping hole, until the last joint fully unearthed itself and pierced into the ground, lifting part of his body as the same scene repeated itself five more times. The jointed spears were finally able to be appreciated for what they were; six spider legs, each one was longer than his original body. With each leg, each joint curved with a deadly point, while the first segment of the leg was twice as thick as the others. The first half of the initial segment was a vibrant purple, while the rest of it, following up until the half of the next segment was a faded purple before the rest receded to a voided black.

Despite the awestruck change, his transformation was far from over. From the parts of where his insectoid exoskeleton was located, the animalistic parts began to spread itself, attempting to fully shroud both his feet and hands, extending to the point where even his biceps and thighs were almost fully covered. Not only that, but the exoskeleton on his legs developed many jagged edges, resembling mini stalactites. Their hard hide left a long incision on the inside of both his arm and legs, revealing his new skin that was as dark as night. However, his skin now retained glowing violet veins, an eerily familiar trait that his wolf companion possessed.

The exoskeleton continued to expand from his thighs and arm, spreading towards his torso as if it had its own sentience. The two separate hides aim to join together, fully protecting his sides while leaving his midsection bare. From his chest down to his lower abdomen, his skin was exposed, now showing the same dark hue as the patches on his arms and legs. Unlike his arms, his torso had barely visible glows of violet, too faint to take notice of unless seen from up close.

The spider-like traits he had gained were apparent in his lower body, but the influence of Fenrir’s blood was just as evident. From his shoulders and upper back, an intense coat of silver fur suddenly sprouted, coarse yet gleaming with a metallic sheen. Each strand bristled as if it could pierce through concrete.

Not only his shoulders but his hair underwent a similar transformation. It grew wilder, longer, and took on the same silver hue as his fur. Its texture was extremely thick, while the ends of each individual strand of fur retain the black fur that made up the rest of Fenrir’s body. His hair now resembled a mane of razor-sharp blades, each strand seemed alive, crackling and flowing with the energy that his body was releasing.

The merging of his insectoid and werewolf features was most evident in his face. The exoskeleton that had crawled up to his collarbones continued its ascent, converging up his neck until it began to encase the outer exterior of his face. The once-human visage was rapidly being overtaken by this new, fearsome armor.

His jawline was the first to be covered, the exoskeleton forming sharp, angular plates that gave his face a more predatory appearance. The sides of his face sprouted short, bristled fur, forming what resembled thick, feral sideburns. These were among the less monstrous changes to his facial structure, but they only served to highlight the other, more fearsome alterations.

As the transformation continued, his mouth and nose began to elongate, gradually forming a short, menacing snout. This new feature pushed his once-human appearance further into the realm of the beast. The snout revealed a set of sharp fangs, which jutted out from his mouth, gleaming with a deadly sharpness. Each tooth was perfectly suited for tearing through flesh and bone, marking the final step in his metamorphosis into a creature of pure, unbridled power. As his snout fully took on its form, Noah’s breathing grew heavier, his roars more animalistic and bloodthirsty. With each heavy breath, a faint violet vapor escaped from his jaws, rising just a few inches before dissipating.

His changes were almost near completed, but there was one final, striking change. In the very center of his chest rested an obsidian black orb, engraved with dark green alien writing that faintly glowing. Intermixed with the engravings was a glowing orb that pulsated at the same rhythm of the thumping resounding in the air. With each palpitation, the glowing orb would brighten before dimming again, its light growing stronger over time. Few would understand the significance of the orb, but Noah noticed the striking resemblance of the orb to the ring that should still be on his hand; that was now a deadly elongated claw. The back of the claw was covered in a patch of white fur, while the underside of his palm was covered in his exoskeleton.

—-

With one final, resounding roar, the very ground trembled violently from the sheer power of his voice. The air threatened to create a vacuum around him from the heavy thickness of his uncontrolled mana.

All the while, Ailetta continued to watch with an ever-growing fervor. Her crazed expression instantly turned solemn just a second later as if she had two different personalities.

”Welcome back, Noah,” she whispered. ”Show that bug who the true monster is.”