Becoming a Monster

Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Mirrored Differences

Just one look was all it took for Noah to understand what Ailetta was planning. The first slime creation was one that didn’t hold any refined taste. Its stature was one that was nearly 14 feet tall. Its body was rugged, yet its skin wasn’t able to hide the muscles bulging from its decaying flesh. Its limbs were thick and disproportionate, with one arm longer than the other, both ending in enormous hands. Its face looked hideous and undeveloped, as if its entire face was a full mask of its hardened skin, only leaving one of its eyes and its small mouth that lacked teeth, fully showcasing its carnivorous teeth that looked more like shards of broken stone than anything natural.

The creature’s broad frame and muscular build, standing next to Ailetta’s other creation allowed one to see that the tall giant zombie was completely merged with the male zombies from the group, with many of them being the titan formed zombies. It had to be said that although Ailetta had merged the creatures together, she had been selective in her methods, handpicking certain creatures to actually merge, while using the others as simple fodder so she could keep certain characteristics.

On the other hand, that left the last creation with needing no imagination to figure out what zombies were used in its making. However, unlike the titan-like creature on one side, the female zombie she created was that of the height of a young teen. Its body was...peculiar; without knowing what type of traits would suit Eve’s taste, the abomination in front of her was left to suit her own. The creature’s skin consisted of the pale skin of a zombie, but it retained a black tar-like substance around the majority of its body. If one didn’t know any better, one would simply believe that the tar substance originated from Ailetta’s own slime.

Along with the unique substance, its limbs, mainly its forearms and its legs, leading up to its knees were missing flesh. The skinless parts were covered with slim bone that was entirely black, the same tar-like black that continued to drip from its body. And from those bones, red strips adorned its sides, eventually leading to its fingers and toes. These red strips were hardened, possibly even more so than its actual bones. The bones spiked out from its forearms and shins, creating small yet penetrable spikes on both. But its nails were the most attentive feature, each nail, from its fingers to its toes were long, elongated, and deadly.

The female zombie was already unique in its bodily appearance alone, but its face continued to add on to its abnormal appearance. Just like its male counterpart, its face lacked any lips, showcasing an even wider set of teeth that were no different than a demon. Its features made its face into a permanent sinister smile. Its face was more angular than, making its mouth appear to take up the majority of its face. And then there were its eyes, like most zombies, especially evolved zombies, their eyes were usually pitch black, whilst containing a small crimson gem. However, this creature’s eyes were only red, a blood red hue that reflected a slight sheen when the moonlight hit it.

Ailetta’s advanced slimes, which had once adorned the corpses they controlled, had adapted after their encounter with the Queen Ant. That corrosive attack had taught them a bitter lesson, one that no amount of their regenerative capability could erase. The pain they endured left a lasting impression, one that reshaped their instinctive behaviors entirely.

No longer did they cloak their controlled bodies with their viscous, sinister exteriors. Instead, they embedded themselves deep within the corpses, protecting themselves until they were assured that their opponents weren’t capable of attacks that could cause them pain.

”Fufuu~” Ailetta chuckled to herself as she gazed upon the zombie that would potentially become the catalyst for Eve’s ascension. ”What do you think, Eve? Are you happy that you listened to me?”

The little zombie heard the question being directed towards her, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to look away from the zombie in question. Appearances weren’t of concern to her; what she cared about was how strong would the creature make her. At least, those were her initial thoughts, because she was unsure, she looked to the person who was most knowledgeable about it. Looking up to Noah, she was originally wanting to ask Noah about his opinion of the zombie, but then her eyes widened when she realized a glaring issue with the zombie. The zombie was too tall!

How could Noah baby her if she were to grow taller? How could she continue to get what she wanted if Noah no longer would see her as a cute, innocent girl? This put her in a predicament...she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to become stronger anymore.

Noah, on the other hand, ignored Eve’s life crisis. His sight was set on the chest that appeared not too far away from the two creations in question. The silver didn’t give rise to excitement, but it at least was something he was looking forward to. If his thoughts were correct, then no matter what it was, he was sure it would be something he needed. This only made him appreciate his insights to venture out even more.

”Hmm, but where do we go from here?” He stood above the chest, tapping his chin as he spectated the area. From where he stood, there were currently three directions to choose from. Besides the roots and foliage growing in the streets, there wasn’t much to aid in his decision. Off-handedly, he searched with Nexus Eye, noticing different traces of residual mana within a few of the buildings.

”If I remember correctly...” Ailetta paused, searching her memories that were still seemingly foreign to her and not at the same time. ”There should be a hotel not too far from here. If we want to find more things to kill then we should probably pick the place where there would be people, or atleast, where there should be a lot of people.”

Arachne, who was busy eyeing the sky, stopped to look over to Ailetta. She found herself inwardly agreeing, in her own words, as she always believed in prey attracting bigger prey. And with both Ailetta and Eve taking care of the zombies, she was left unsatisfied with not being able to do anything.

Her input wasn’t a bad idea at all, Noah was of the same opinion. However, being a recluse like him, he wasn’t really aware of the places around the area. That made her information even more worthwhile, and yet he found himself ignoring her. His gaze, more specifically his Nexus Eye, was now staring towards a particular street.

”What is it? Do you see something”

Ailetta’s question caused Noah to finally turn towards her. His unfocused eyes showed that he was still processing the information he had just gained.

”I think I found the perfect place.” His grave expression contradicted the optimism of his words. Despite saying it was the perfect place; Noah was unsure where the place actually was. He could only tell that there was an oppressive mana that diluted his sight the further down the street he peered.

From the distance where he stood, it was hard to get a read on the mana, but it was partly because of this same reason that he felt a bit of pressure. From what he could tell, the mana was further than what even his ”normal” eyes could reach, and he could still somewhat see the mana from here. There were only two situations that Noah could think of that could be the reason for such an event; either the source of the mana was extremely powerful, more powerful than anything they ever experienced, or whatever it was released an ability so potent that it lingered and festered into the air.

’Either way, it’s an opportunity for us that we can’t ignore...’ Noah determinedly thought to himself, his eyes glowing with passion at the aspect of finding a strong opponent that would provide him and his creatures with even more strength.

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The place Noah was traveling to was much further than he had thought, almost two miles away from their initial location. The fact that it was visible to his Nexus Eye from such a distance was both impressive and unnerving.

Without his Nexus Eye, no one would be able to see the clouded building festering with such an evil and festering mix of mana. However, one didn’t need to be able to see it; the feeling one would get just from being near it was enough to understand the danger within it.

The place was a central market, one of the biggest local markets in the area, a place that any survivor would thrive if they were able to claim the area as their base, provided they could handle the other survivors with the same thoughts and ambition to do the same.

What Noah wouldn’t have known is that the oppressive sight wasn’t like this in the beginning of the day. The market was controlled by a particular person who was similar to Noah in two regards, the first was his sadistic love for the new world they were in, and the second, he was also capable of gaining power from absorbing other beings, although...It was because of these two traits that the scene led to what it was now.