Becoming a Monster

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Underestimated

The zombie had grown in size since the time it had rampaged through the entire marketplace, absorbing and devouring every human in its vicinity. And yet its size wasn’t able to contend with Fenrir’s own. If left uninterrupted, Fenrir’s jaws would envelop the zombie’s entire head.

Noah’s mind churned, thinking about his creatures’ chances and the extent of the zombie’s powers. So far, he began to believe that his creatures could contend with the monster without his aid. Just Arachne and Fenrir’s joint cooperation led to the monster being put in such a state. If the two were able to put this much pressure on the monster this early, then when Ailetta makes her move, the battle should be entirely in their favor. At least that was Noah’s initial thoughts.

The moment Fenrir’s teeth latched down, his teeth were able to dig through the monster’s skin.”Fresh” blood squirted from the deep bite that enveloped around its shoulders, while the zombie’s head could no longer be seen inside of Fenrir’s jaws. His loyal beast threatened to rip off the zombie’s head along with its shoulders. Yet, the zombie’s physical body proved too tenacious for even Fenrir to fully bite through even with his enhanced stats. During the time, Fenrir’s teeth managed to breach through its dense muscular structure, loud thuds resonated at the same time Fenrir’s teeth made impact with the zombie’s bones.

Noah’s eyes narrowed as he heard the sound. The impact of teeth meeting bone didn’t create a sound that fit the scenario. The bone didn’t sound as if it was bone at all. The thudding noise made its bone sound far denser than any material he encountered.

He wasn’t certain if the zombie’s overly dense bones were just the result of its stats alone, or if it became that way using an ability. Either way, it made him wonder if he had underestimated the gap in power between his companions and the monster.

If the latter was the reason, then his creatures still stood a chance. If the skill only affected its bones, they could find alternative ways of bypassing its reinforced structure. But, if it were the former...then that would mean not only its bones, but every body part of it was also unnaturally reinforced. Blunt force wouldn’t be enough, and if its constitution was really that drastic, then without Noah’s buff to increase their strengths, he doubted that any of them besides Ailetta would be able to fully damage it.

’This is why I wish she used the other orb...’ He slightly admonishes her in his thoughts. He vividly remembered how she was able to merge the serpents heads into one, creating a snake strong enough to even bypass the spider’s fortified exoskeleton.

He was forced to put his thoughts aside when he scrutinized Fenrir’s next action. The deranged beast was preparing to twist and tug at the zombie’s body, using momentum to dig his teeth in further in a savage attempt to rip through its body.

”Get away from it!”

Noah turned, finding that out of the humans who continued to flee. Among them, only the same woman from before stayed. Her expression showed a panicked concern rather than her once paralyzing fear.

”That thing can absorb us!” She shouted madly. Her efforts to warn Noah were frantic, her voice straining to properly pronounce her words.

”Don’t let it get stronger!”

Noah’s head sharply turned towards the monster in question. It may have seemed difficult to understand what she meant without having prior knowledge, but for Noah whose skill was somewhat identical to what she described, his mind instantly processed the implications. No sooner when he turned, he had already begun to see what she feared.

Fenrir struggled to uplift the zombie, but its weight proved to be stronger than his physical strength. Still, that didn’t stop the beast from sinking his teeth deeper, savagely tearing into its flesh. But as soon as Noah locked onto the area around Fenrir’s teeth, he noticed the zombie’s flesh moving, squirming like thousands of little worms that were trying to envelope Fenrir bit by bit.

Noah’s jaw tightened instantly, the scene changed everything. He wasn’t going to adhere to his companion’s request anymore, they needed to end it, fast.

His eyes gleamed, his aura surged as he used his ability in an attempt to control the creature. Already he had the inclination that the skill wouldn’t be as effective, but what he didn’t expect was that the skill only lasted half a second. He felt a powerful pushback from the zombie’s soul, a force that elicited a jolt of pain into his mind. But that pain was inconsequential compared to potentially losing Fenrir as he ignored the pain to rush in.

”Noah!” Despite his resolve to rush in, he still paused, his hands that were starting to build up compressed mana to release a powerful mana bolt dissipating the moment he heard Ailetta’s urging voice in front of him.

Eyes looking behind her, a somber gaze rested on him as tiny mouths emerged on her backside.

”I told you, you can trust in us. Trust in Fenrir.”

Her slimy visage had yet to move, not because she was overly confident, but because of what Fenrir was about to do.

Through Fenrir’s struggles, the more he couldn’t release himself from the zombie’s body, the more frustrated he became and that frustration led to his body becoming hotter, his throat bloating, and then finally, a torrent of flames flowed into the zombies body that already begun the process of trying to absorb him.

The zombie’s pale-like skin alarmingly turned into a crimson hue far more quickly than what was possible if it was simply attacked by Fenrir’s flames before. Its skin went from simply red to burning at high levels, its flesh festered and boiled from the extreme heat, steam enveloped the entire zombie’s body.

The zombie roared in retaliation, its skin losing its wormy substance from before after giving up its attempt to absorb Fenrir. But now, it still had to get rid of the beast spewing flames. The sparks around it grew fiercer, all of its electricity went towards its hands that strongly gripped Fenrir’s fur.

Fenrir’s fur sizzled more strongly than before, his muscles spasmed uncontrollably, causing him to loosen his grip without his own volition, and yet the severe seizing of his muscles caused his teeth to only clamp down harder.

”Get.....OFFFF!”

Noah and Ailetta both quickly picked up on the estranged words coming out of the zombie’s mouth before an intense pulse spread outward like a shockwave. The ground cracked with the zombie at its center, the very air distorted, creating a vacuum inches around the zombie.

The zombie didn’t seem to be affected by the change, Fenrir on the other hand was being affected by an unseen force. His fiery flames were rejected back into his face before being smother, while his snout grew a bit distorted. A pressure was pushing back into him, giving the impression of someone pressing their face onto glass. His arms were strongly thrown back behind him, his body was being pushed back, creating a trench along the ground.

With Fenrir’s body sliding back even more, his teeth that were now barely hanging on finally relinquished its hold. The moment he lost his last remaining grip, his body was thrown back violently. His massive form rolled and thumped across the ground, sending dust and debris flying in every direction.

The scene was unexpected, but both Arachne and Ailetta reacted instinctively.

Ailetta’s attacks were the first to descend. As she firmly planted herself on the ground, the violet energies within her surged, activating her ability to lengthen the duration of all of her other abilities. The energy within each of her spider appendages shined with an even stronger luster, making the speed to which they moved even faster than before. Each strike was a blur as her ten legs aimed to pierce into the zombie. She didn’t expect to be able to kill the creature with such an attack, her attack was more of a probe, hoping to find the extent to how often the zombie could use its latest attack.

Despite her attacks being just a probe, the countless glowing eyes of hers showed that she was taking this attack seriously. The giant legs weren’t able to attack simultaneously, but the repeated attacks were made to ensure that the zombie wouldn’t have time to think if it could.

Two of her attacks quickly punctured through its body, one into its torso while the other one was able to directly penetrate its head. The speed of her attacks were just too fast for the zombie to react. Its head violently snapped back, while its upper body jerked back. Yet, despite the force of the strike, the damage was minimal, only the familiar sound of its reinforced bones echoing as its bones absorbed the impact.

Normally one would only despair, seeing their attacks proven to be so ineffective, and yet Ailetta didn’t seem to mind. The stronger the creature, the more she could test herself to her limits. Her first two strikes were just the beginning, she still had eight more to go, and that would only be the first round.