Becoming a Monster

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: Devastation and Redemption

The momentary silence was just a prelude to the destruction that happened next. The scale of the attack was catastrophic within the confines of the shockwave. With the zombie at its origins, a mass repulsive barrier spread out from the creature’s body. The ability that it has only ever shown possible to be used when making physical contact was now being exerted from its figure. It was yet another unique change alongside its other abilities being enhanced.

From where it stood, the ground caved in, nothing was excluded from its destructive force, even the surrounding air was violently stripped away, creating a near-vacuum effect. The ground crumbled like brittle stone, the golem that attempted to submerge the zombie within its ooze was completely blown away. Its physically created form completely crumbled, allowing its dense slime substance to splatter across the road and buildings alike. Only a small bit of residue was left on the core that was expelled out to nowhere.

Caught up in the eruption, Noah’s body moved before his mind fully processed the magnitude of what was happening. He twisted in midair, his legs kicking off against the fractured ground to propel himself backward. But even then, the force caught up with him, slamming into his exoskeleton, his spider legs instinctively placed in front of him to absorb the invisible impact that sent a piercing shock through his nerves. His smaller, more refined frame had fewer defensive capabilities than his other forms, even when compared to his normal state, however, his current form allowed him to adjust mid-flight, but the pain still rippled through him.

Just like Noah, Ailetta wasn’t exempt from the blast. Her slimes experienced the impact before she did. With proper timing she could’ve braced herself from impact, using her serpents to absorb the initial blow just like Noah has. And yet, it was her serpents that prevented her from being able to react accordingly. Each serpent was blasted in separate directions, with a force that sent them crashing through what little remained of the battlefield’s structures.

The connection she shared with them not only made the impact reverberate through her. The serpents were more physically made than just simply appendages that could expand and attack at will. When the serpents were thrown further than what they could potentially stretch to, Ailetta’s body was forcibly pulled along with them.

She barely had time to react before the barrier smashed into her. Her serpents snapped back towards her, but the damage was already done. Her mana condensed solely around the three cores that existed within her as her body almost experienced the same tragic fate as the golem. She was forced to consume the majority of her mana to maintain her solid form, or her body would have also witnessed the same splattering fate.

Slime splatter partially dispersed from her body as her body became malleable under its force. The serpents that were recoiled back in her direction each made an attempt to stabilize her, each head sinking their teeth into the ground, while her body continued to shift, adjusting to absorb the impact as best as she could. Her expression remained neutral, yet her mind was racing.

Ailetta had calculated countless scenarios in mere seconds, adjusting her form on instinct alone. She had suffered damage, but it wasn’t irreparable, her three cores were still intact, and as long as they remained, she could rebuild. However, the amount of mana she had burned through just to resist the force of that attack was unacceptable.

”Another change. Another damn change.”

Rarely had she ever gotten upset, but the zombie defied reason. They were so close! All of her actions were made and preemptively decided based on carefully analyzing the creatures’ abilities, but this time was completely different. It wasn’t just gaining strength. It was evolving its abilities in the middle of battle, it was as if something else was giving it strength, a trait that reminded her of the very thing that was within Noah. That thought only left her more frustrated.

Her gaze flicked toward Noah, still recovering from the shockwave, but faring much better than her.

__________

Fenrir and the others, despite being outside the initial range, were still forced to brace themselves. The shockwave had passed them by, but the second wave, the true eruption of force, was another story. Dust clouds and debris stormed toward them. Fenrir rushed in front of the others, adhering to Noah’s command to guard them. Its claws dug deep within the concrete before the barrier hit.

Boom!*

The wave threatened to completely knock him over. Both Diablo and Eve were able to steadfastly stand behind him, Eve’s two minions were completely blown away without even being able to struggle. Their only threat to their body depended on how long Fenrir could last.

All four of Fenrir’s arms sunk deep down into the ground, reaching past his forearms. The force nearly knocked him over, but he held firm, his claws digging deeper, his muscles tensing past their threshold. Fenrir let out a deep, painful growl, his fangs bared as the tearing and ripping of his muscles and flesh accompanied the rest of the noise. Still, he endured.

No matter how much destruction came his way, no matter how much pain he needed to go through, as long as he could stand, he wouldn’t let Noah down.

____________

The shattering eruption should’ve left a silent devastation in its wake, however, the zombie was left unaffected by its attack. Its body was already moving towards its next target. its time was running out, it needed to do something. Run? The idea seemed much more enticing than before, if not for the mysterious influence on its will to obtain victory at all costs.

It needed to sustain its transformation if it was going to win, and to do that, it needed to absorb something, someone that had enough energy that it could impact its transformation. And out of all of its targets, only two seemed to fit the criteria, and only one seemed to be the easiest of the two targets.

It only glanced towards the slippery eel, ignoring the fact that Noah had already recovered. Its explosion had sent him too far to interfere.

It had already traversed half the distance between it and Ailetta. Her serpents were already beginning to stir. Her vigilance was fully heightened; however, her body wasn’t quite as receptive to her will as she wanted it to be, and that moment was all the zombie needed.

Ailetta gritted her teeth, her mind racing. She needed time. Death wasn’t something that she feared, as long as the other part of her soul was tied to Noah, she could eventually rebuild herself. But she couldn’t allow herself to. In order for her ”rebirth”, she would need to consume part of the slime that made Noah whole, while also weaking his soul in the process.

Her mind was leaning to a dangerous method, one that could potentially give her power that was beyond even the being in front of her but could also lead to the collapse of her core.

__________

Noah perceived it all, but out of everyone there, only he was aware that only two people were able to avoid the early attack. One of those two didn’t matter, its strength wouldn’t play a factor in this battle, and its name truly suited its usefulness. While the other gave Noah the sense of security to allow him not to worry about Aietta’s safety.

The zombie wasn’t able to breach the gap when a shadow approached it. The frequent ambushes had already made it vigilant, allowing for its reaction to be more aggressive than before. Its head pulled back just in time to avoid something sharp, bathed in a green ooze that flicked off of its silhouette. Its body rotated; its hand that was bathed in lightened headed directly towards the enemy.

”!”

The zombie’s eyes widened in the midst of its attacks. If Noah was one that predicted its actions, currently it not only felt as if its entire body had grown weaker, but it even felt as if its punch was going in a direction that it didn’t intend.

A leg, similar yet different than Noah’s, intercepted the arm before it gained its momentum. Another leg was already aiming for the zombie’s head. This same one bathed in the same eerie ooze. And yet, unlike before, the leg was glowing with green runes, its end giving off a luster that made the leg appear sharper, more dangerous than before.

The attack went straight towards the zombie’s forehead, entering and impacting its resilient skull that gave in just enough to dig partially into its brain.

The zombie’s body convulsed as its brain was punctured. A feat that wasn’t possible even with Noah’s and Ailetta’s combined effort.

Arachne should’ve been proud, she won against a foe that was unbelievably stronger than her. Yet her leg was quickly pulled out, a hand was approaching her, gravity descended on her, a field that was much smaller than before. And at the same time, a burst of lightning burst forth her way.

The attack was too close for her to avoid. Arachne, who had the ability to sense danger to herself should have already been aware and tried to avoid it.

Instead, Arachne’s eyes dangerously narrowed. Her legs were already being sent to intercept the approaching arm, two legs were needed to deflect it.

Arachne didn’t understand how the zombie could still retaliate in such a situation, nor did she care. From the time she had failed to kill Fenrir’s first abomination, she was determined to make sure her kills stayed dead.

Two of her other legs were already shooting forward, while her outstretched hands extended, her fingertips sharpened and slightly extended as she reached for the zombie’s chest. She wouldn’t forget how she was able to take down the abomination that couldn’t die. As long as it no longer had its core, not even its brain could be repaired.

Her attempt was first met with the surge of electricity that shot into her body. It’s ravaging power that even haltered Noah’s action should’ve left a devastating impact on her. And yet, the electricity only caused her to grit her teeth as her attacks descended onto her targets without falter.

Her body wasn’t the same anymore. Her transformation impacted her in a way that was both different to Ailetta, and to Noah. Where Ailetta’s essence was completely turned into a slime, and Noah’s body fully acclimated itself with the slime. Arachne on the other hand, her slime merged with her exoskeleton. Giving her a unique feature that allowed her to not have the same disadvantage to magic like the other two.

And it wasn’t just the slime properties itself. If one could see the material of her new hide, and the comparison of a certain armor that she had once wore before her transformation, they would notice an odd similarity. The appearance of her exoskeleton was no different that the armored bracelet she once wore, but now, the entire armor was the same color as her slime-infused exoskeleton.