Becoming a Monster

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Desires Manifested

For the first time since he had been dealing with the new Ailetta, Noah was left speechless. He had witnessed her personality shift through so many extremes, cold, teasing, affectionate; that he had almost become numb to her peculiarities. Yet the blunt intensity with which she voiced her desires now caught him completely off guard, stirring something unfamiliar within him.

Despite his lack of a verbal response, his smile betrayed his thoughts. It wasn’t the kind of grin that reflected amusement or mockery, but rather an acknowledgment of the boldness she now carried so unapologetically. A faint chuckle escaped him, almost involuntarily, as he finally met her gaze.

”You really don’t hold back anymore, do you?” he murmured, his steps beginning to move towards her.

”Holding back has gotten me nowhere. I’ve been able to obtain what I’ve always wanted when I stopped caring about the consequences.” Her tone matched her dangerous desire within her gaze.

Noah paused just a step away. His gaze flickered over her, not with fear or uncertainty, but with reflective thoughts of what might have happened if Ailetta had remained as she was before, if she were still, human. If the human Ailetta had been a sacred treasure, one that he not only feared losing but dreaded to be tainted by unwelcome hands. Then the Ailetta now was a sacred curse, one that held immense power and untold secrets, with the potential to taint everything in its existence, a curse that Noah didn’t have to fear someone else acquiring or tainting, an existence that was his alone.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence felt heavier than it had any right to be, and Noah found himself captivated by how much she’d change; not just physically, but in every way about her he desired with a deep seeded passion.

Out of the two, Noah was the first to awake from his trance. An embarrassment within himself began to build, a sight that he didn’t want to reveal. To avoid acknowledging it, Noah continued from where they left off in the previous conversation. His claws that were untouched by his exoskeleton extended; claws so dangerously sharp that its appearance even threatened to cut through air. He slightly traced the claws across into palm by curling up his hand, but unlike before, only sparks were ignited from the friction of his densely packed armor.

His brows naturally furrowed from his over sightedness. Instead of piercing an area that was less fortified, Noah was now determined to test the strength between his claws and his gauntlet. Balling up his hand, he retracted his claws until his hand formed a fist, while the tips pointed towards his palm. Then gradually he began to extract his claws. His hand threatened to pry open as the two opposing forces gave way, but Noah was determined; tightly closing his hand with more than half of his strength. However, his brows furrowed once again, pain as he was feeling pain coming from the root of his claws. There was a touch of surprise on his face as he realized that his gauntlet was enveloped by an exoskeleton that was seemingly impenetrable, at least by normal standards.

His curiosity about the toughness of his gauntlets was beginning to outweigh his priorities. Ailetta could see his thoughts churning, but she wasn’t going to allow Noah to deny her any longer.

”Noah...” Her chilling voice awoke Noah from his distracting thoughts.

”Heh, my bad, my bad,” Noah chuckled outwardly in an attempt to diffuse his mistake. He was about to tunnel back in on what he was doing, but then he faltered again. His hesitation caused Ailetta’s eyes to narrow even further, and a malignant aura began to unconsciously leak from her form.

Noah slightly panicked; he wasn’t hesitating intentionally. His eyes glanced towards the stump of his removed arm. How was he going to present his blood to her this way? He thought about cutting open his skin, allowing Ailetta to absorb the blood directly from his body. But observing her, he also wanted to find a way to please her. That’s when he thought of a solution that could achieve both.

Ailetta was scrutinizing his every move, every expression, and when she saw his next action, the dangerous aura dissipated as if it was never there. Blood began to suddenly leak from his mouth, and along with the blood, that aroma; an aroma even more enticing than before began to drift through her senses.

The blood within Noah’s mouth began to collect itself into a sphere. And when he finally opened his mouth ever so slightly, an invisible wave pulsated, spreading around him at least in a mile’s radius. The wave carried the scent of Noah’s blood, enveloping everyone’s senses who were sensitive to the possibility of its evolutionary trait. The cats and dogs from before had to be forced back by their pack leader, as their desire for the blood won out over their reason. Other creatures, however, snapped their heads toward the source of the smell. Blood attracted them; evolution drove them. And Noah’s blood... it was their salvation, the answer to what their previous existence had constantly cried out for.

Noah’s blood had seemingly transcended its usual purpose. It had become a beacon, a challenge, and an invitation all at once.

Despite this, Noah didn’t care. His thoughts, his focus, everything was centered on his other half. He discerned that his blood had concentrated his energies and the skill he was going to impart to her. His body suddenly moved, taking one firm stride closer to her while grasping the back of her head with his hand.

The action struck her by surprise; never would she believe that Noah would be so....daring! Despite her astonishment, her body reacted to his movements. Her lips parted, and she accepted the offering. In the back of her mind, she held thoughts of using this interaction to steal a long overdue kiss. But as the blood touched her tongue, her body reacted instantly; any lustful desires she previously had evaporated due to the blood’s potent power. A violent surge of energy coursed through her, more potent than anything she had experienced before. Her form seemed to momentarily shift, destabilizing and reforming as the blood integrated with her essence.

Noah watched in silence as he took a step back to admire her transformation. However, after just a few moments of her change, he realized that something was wrong. Violet and black swirls of energy danced across her figure. Her form, once resembling a humanoid presence, was now stretching and contorting into something that wasn’t close to being the form she once was. Legions of eyes materialized within her, each eye; an eye that radiated dread and discomfort. Their irises resembled the revolving energy with her semi-transparent form. While swirls of violet and dark hues continued to rotate within those beady eyes while a still, white pupil calmly rooted itself within the gas.

Her aura continued to flare, as the violet energies began to stabilize themselves. It was when the energy began to stabilize that the tens of eyes encompassing her form all snapped in one direction. Noah under the scrutiny of such eyes never wavered, because within those eyes, he still felt the possessiveness of Ailetta’s love just as before.

The atmosphere around them turned ominously quiet now that her rising aura was dispelled. Noah had every right to call out to her, but he continued to patiently wait. He observed how her eyes were analyzing her new form, contemplating their next actions amidst the other eyes confused and pondering gazes. Collectively, the eyes narrowed, furrowing in concentration before her body began to shift again. This time, her form started to recede, collapsing inward and forming an egg-like mass that was almost a foot taller than Noah himself.

The egg-like mass pulsed with energy, its violet and black hues shimmering in the air. Noah watched intently, his heart racing due to his eager expectation. The mass began to contract and expand, as if Ailetta was gathering herself.

Soon, the surface of the egg shimmered. Slowly, the mass began to reshape, elongating and smoothing out until it formed the contours of her previous humanoid figure. However, nothing about her besides her gelatinous body, was the same.

From the neck down, her entire body was entirely black, with only the swirling violet energy within being different. While in contrast, the entirety of her face was a glowing vibrant hue of her violet energy. The colors even cascading down throughout her hair that had an appearance of slimish water than it did actual hair.

Her facial features were all but erased, leaving only faint imprints of where they once were. But she didn’t need them; her body was fully encompassed by a myriad of eyes and mouths, their numbers doubled compared to her previous form. Unlike the earlier embedded eyes, these new ones seemed to emerge from her being, each one wide and alert. Fluid strands of her untamed slime flowed and scattered around her, adding to her unsettling beauty.

At the ends of these strands, eyes identical to those embedded in her body opened, mirroring their eerie beauty and unsettling gaze. Each strand writhed and twisted, enhancing her menacing presence and creating an almost hypnotic display of movement.