Becoming a Monster

Chapter 554 - 553: No Longer Prey

The territory had gradually become far noisier than before.

There was another gathering.

And it was this gathering that Dobby came to retrieve Alexandria for.

The two of them now stood alongside the other cats and dogs gathered throughout the clearing while Noah remained at the center of it all.

The atmosphere was noticeably more lively than before.

The creatures couldn’t stop murmuring amongst themselves after Noah announced that he intended to give them the same opportunity their leaders received.

A chance at growing stronger or even a chance at gaining a mutation. None of them could deny the temptation behind that.

Especially after witnessing the overwhelming changes Dog, Dobby, and Alexandria went through afterward.

The natural rivalry between the felines and canines only made things even louder.

Several of the dogs were already loudly insisting that Fenrir’s side would obviously produce the strongest evolutions.

Meanwhile, the cats looked equally offended by the claim.

One of them even pointed directly toward Dobby while arguing that the canines were already losing simply because none of them possessed ”wisdom.”

That immediately devolved into several growls and hisses from both sides.

Their excitement was strangely contagious.

And yet...

Alexandria couldn’t bring herself to feel the same enthusiasm as everyone else around her.

Every single time she looked toward Dobby, the memory of him hearing nearly everything yesterday immediately resurfaced in her mind again.

Which only made her want to bury herself alive.

Meanwhile, Dobby himself remained perfectly calm beside her. If anything, the sage looked far more relaxed than usual. Being around so much positivity was a warm, welcoming atmosphere that he rarely experienced.

Eventually, his silver eyes shifted quietly toward Alexandria.

”Would you prefer assistance with it?”

The feline sage offered to help with that embarrassment by absorbing those thoughts, only to be instantly denied.

”No! If I’m annoyed with you, then let me be annoyed with you, okay?”

It was probably one of the strangest requests anyone had ever made. Yet Dobby didn’t seem bothered by it whatsoever.

Several nearby felines immediately turned toward her outburst.

Alexandria’s ears flattened slightly afterward as she lowered her voice again.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Several cats were openly staring at her now with visible confusion.

Even a few of the canines looked mildly concerned.

Dobby remained completely calm beside her, seemingly unaffected by the attention whatsoever.

”...Understood.”

His agreement only made Alexandria feel even more embarrassed somehow.

Her gaze lingered on her shadow. It was only then that she forced herself to ignore the bewildered stares.

Despite the shadow refusing to reveal itself again, Alexandria knew it was listening, experiencing every second of this alongside her.

Unfortunately, pretending became significantly harder when she felt the faintest ripple beneath her feet.

”...Don’t you dare be laughing at me,” Alexandria muttered quietly beneath her breath.

”...Your relationship already appears healthier,” Dobby observed the interaction with a smile.

Alexandria looked ready to argue further before a sudden pressure swept past them all.

The excited murmuring from the surrounding cats and dogs gradually died down one by one as everyone instinctively turned their attention forward.

Noah allowed them to continue talking amongst themselves for a while longer.

But that wasn’t simply because he wanted them to relax beforehand. The truth was, Noah was trying to see if he could predict the direction the others would take before the process even began.

More importantly...

He wanted to test whether his own will could subtly influence those transformations if he already possessed a strong enough image of what they should become.

Now, he was ready.

He looked around him. Everyone else came to spectate. Not only because they were curious, but Noah had already made them aware that he planned to do the same thing for them afterward.

Even Bolas had come out to spectate. But only because Noah had told him that if he didn’t, then he would lose the chance to have his blood.

Only one person in the entire group was missing, and it was for good reason.

While his gaze shifted past them, he briefly stopped on Gwen. The newest inhabitant of the territory immediately stiffened afterward before subtly looking away.

Unfortunately for her, the motion only made Noah notice the way she nervously glanced toward their little vampire.

Or more specifically, it was ”every time” Eve entered her field of vision.

Noah wouldn’t be surprised if Gwen were traumatized by that little event.

He wondered how she would react if she learned that Eve found her blood to be one of the most disgusting things she had?

Would she feel relieved to know that she wouldn’t have to worry about a future attack? Or would she, in some weird way, be insulted that Eve, in her own words, thought Gwen’s blood was inedible?

Especially because the vampire herself showed absolutely no restraint whenever she disliked something.

As if sensing Noah’s thoughts somehow, Eve immediately put on the most innocent smile she could muster.

At this point, the only thing he could do was shake his head as he readdressed the awaiting felines and canines.

”You all already know what to do.” At the same time he began speaking, his tendrils spread out to each and every one of them.

Sixteen tendrils moved in front of each awaiting creature.

Out of all the creatures gathered, only eight felines and eleven canines remained.

But it was because of those small numbers that the two had developed a healthy rivalry.

Noah wasn’t in the mood for speeches. He delivered his blood without further ado.

A series of different painful noises was released.

Several creatures instinctively staggered backward while their bodies immediately began reacting to Noah’s blood.

Noah was focused on everyone, but some more than others.

The ones he focused on the most were those whose abilities were the most predictable, making it the easiest to predict how their changes would come to fruition.

The Maine coon was one of those particular ones. Its original ability was electrical discharge. Unlike what the name suggested, it couldn’t send out bolts of electricity. Instead, it would discharge the built-in electricity upon physical contact.

Noah had a septic path in mind as he tried to ”control” its path. A picture of a popular yellow four-legged creature was used as a reference. But, not only didn’t the cat’s grey fur turn yellow, or even a golden sheen. The tips of its bristled fur turned into a vibrant blue.

Not only that, the tips lost their fur-like traits, becoming as hard as gems. Whenever static was transmitted to the other tips, even brighter light-blue veins would glow within them.

The same happened to the rest of them. Each creature barely changed in a way that emphasized in any way that Noah was in control of it.

He was expecting it, but it was somewhat disappointing. The ideas he had were as creative as they were ridiculous. The small dream of having magical battle monsters to vocally command was already stripped from him before it could begin.

Eventually, the mana surrounding the first wave stabilized.

Several of the transformed beasts immediately started inspecting their own altered bodies in excitement.

The canines aggressively compared physiques almost instantly.

Meanwhile, the felines reacted more subtly, though their tails and widened eyes betrayed their satisfaction just as much.

Noah quietly observed all of them one final time. Although he couldn’t control their progressions, the fact that each creature was able to grow stronger made the failed test successful in his opinion.

The next step was even more crucial, since it would provide the biggest changes.

The atmosphere surrounding them had completely changed now.

Before, there had still been hesitation mixed into their excitement.

Now? There was only hunger.

The beasts could barely contain themselves anymore.

Their excessive excitement initially made it seem as though it would take them a while to settle down.

But the moment they noticed Noah’s tendrils approaching them again, they all filed back into positions.

The shift was so abrupt that Noah nearly laughed.

Without hesitating to check if they were ready, the mana-infused blood was already falling into hungry mouths all at once.

Meat’s transformation was by far one of the most violent.

His already monstrous body rapidly swelled larger before the area around his neck began to twist in unsettling ways.

Then, a second head forced itself outward beside the first. The red muscle and tissue emerged first before the rest of its skin grew over it.

The pressure radiating from him became noticeably heavier than before.

And somehow...

The second head appeared even more aggressive than the first.

A Savannah cat suddenly twitched repeatedly before its body abruptly split apart entirely.

A second identical Savannah cat separated directly from the original.

Both bodies were real. It seemed like a more enhanced version than Alexandria’s.

But Noah didn’t see it that way.

The newly separated body was noticeably weaker, and so was the original.

From what he saw, the feline gained the ability to divide itself repeatedly, each new body inheriting roughly half the strength of the previous one.

No matter whether it was the dogs or the cats, each developed in its own unique way.

And more importantly, they were no longer weak.

If they were to meet the goblins again, the roles of the hunter and the prey would not remain the same.