Becoming a Monster

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Experiment Number One

Unlike Noah, it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to differentiate the slime abomination from the once fragile girl. Despite the humanoid figure, there wasn’t anything else of her humanity beyond that.

Her body was now a semi-transparent, gelatinous mass, standing upright with a semblance of two arms and legs. Her entire form was an abyssal black, a shade so dark it seemed to swallow light itself. Yet within this darkness, sentient violet gases swirled and pulsed, moving through her body like the glowing energy within a mana orb, giving her an eerie, almost mesmerizing beauty.

Her form was in a constant state of subtle motion, as if her body was perpetually on the verge of melting, with portions of her figure slowly shifting and liquefying, creating a hauntingly fluid movement. The sight was made even more unsettling by the presence of scattered eyes and mouths that occasionally emerged and receded across her form, adding to the sense of something deeply unnatural.

Though her body was semi-transparent, the only things visible within were the swirling violet gases; nothing else could be discerned inside her or through her.

What made her identity truly indecipherable was the complete absence of a face. Her gelatinous form was devoid of any clothing or human features, save for the faintly feminine shape of her body and slight bulges where her chest once was.

The only remaining vestige of her former self was her hair, which, despite being the same abyssal black as the rest of her form, still maintained the same length and style as when she was human. This one familiar trait, a striking contrast against her otherwise monstrous form, served as a chilling reminder of the girl she once was.

Ailetta looked towards Noah again, her eyes moving across her body, relieving her of the issue of having to turn her head. Her head tilted in a way that showed that she was confused about something.

”You’re confused....confused about who I am?” Her voice trailed off, and her tone was a clear indication of her confusion. Yet, strangely, it lacked the sorrow or despair one might expect after such a question from someone she once held dear. Instead, there was a clinical detachment, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle rather than grappling with the emotions that should have accompanied her words.

Ailetta’s thoughts looped through her memories, seeking validation for her reasoning. Her gaze sharpened, each of her violet eyes widening simultaneously as a sudden epiphany struck her.

”Hmmm, that must be it. You’ve grown attached to my old appearance,” she mused, her voice softening as if the realization itself brought her some comfort. ”It’s no wonder you’re having trouble seeing me for who I am now.”

There was a pause as if she was letting the weight of her words sink in, both for herself and for Noah. Her tone became almost teasing, and a bit twisted, a dark remnant of her once quirky self.

”But don’t worry, my dear Noah. I’m still here.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, the words carrying a sinister edge, as if she was trying, and failing to reassure him. ”You’ll get used to this new me...eventually.

Soon after, her form rippled, and the shadows around her shifted. Two of her eyes aligned themselves where her human eyes once were, followed by a mouth that curled into a sinister approximation of a smile. ”But, I suppose I should reward my love for recognizing me, even in this state.”

Noah continued to watch, his expression filled with awe despite his pain, while his eyes seemed lost in a blank trance, overwhelmed by a wave of conflicting thoughts, filled with all kinds of conspiracies and self-doubts.

It was when he witnessed Ailetta’s transformation that he finally recovered a semblance of life in his eyes. Starting from the tips of her hair, her once slime-like hair began to slowly regain her once ginger hue. The change started from the tips of her hair before reaching her scalp. Unlike her hair, the slime that originated at the top of her forehead began to descend down her face, beneath the slime began to show the clear pale skin of the girl Noah fell for underneath it.

The slime unveiled her face as if it was being washed away, but in reality, it was simply merging with the rest of her gelatinous body. Little by little, Ailetta’s familiar face became almost completely visible. However, the new Ailetta wasn’t able to rid her face of all of the slime; patches still lingered around different areas.

Seeing the familiar sight, Noah felt the grip on his heart loosen, if only slightly. In his eyes, Ailetta was still Ailetta, no matter if she became a monster or a god. Yet, his worries continued to haunt him as he couldn’t help wondering what she must’ve done to change to what she is now, and more importantly, what she had to sacrifice to gain this power.

As someone who believed to have sacrificed his own humanity for his strength, Noah was already under the assumption that Ailetta had sacrificed something of herself in equal proportions.

Ailetta’s eyes, now partially human, locked onto his, searching for something, searching for any hint of disgust. What she saw actually left her bemused; despite their circumstances, the seemingly heartless Noah still looked at her with such tenderness and concern.

”See?” she whispered, under the guise of holding back a crazed smile. ”I’m still here, Noah...I’m still me.”

Though their reunion was touching, and Ailetta cleary was aware of his physical state, her attention soon shifted away from Noah, who was still unable to move. Her two human eyes locked onto the Ant Queen, while her other eyes swirled around before locking onto different enemies.

”Back to where we were...Oh yes...experiment number one is now in session.” A cruel tone sounded amongst her whispers before she finally took action.

Without hesitation, parts of her gelatinous form began to shift and detach, transforming into miniature slimes. These slimes were reminiscent of the ones she had once used to control the undead, but this time, the sheer number was overwhelming—almost a hundred small slimes broke away from her, swarming the area. Among them, five larger slimes emerged, each one bearing the same unsettling eyes and mouths that adorned Ailetta’s new form. These larger slimes descended, splitting off to three different locations.

——

Meanwhile, the Queen remained paralyzed, her mind still reeling from the world-ending aura she had just experienced. Even though Ailetta was no longer emitting such oppressive power, the memory of it left her rooted in place, her body trembling with an instinctual fear she couldn’t shake.

She had planned to wait, hopefully discovering the ”powerful” creatures’ intentions, but what she witnessed only left her befuddled with riddled thoughts. She couldn’t understand what made Noah so special or why three powerful creatures who could rule territories of their own bother to remain under his authority?

The impulse to question Ailetta’s motive surged within her, and when she finally gathered the will to voice it, Aiettla finally began to make her move.

The Queen watched, her confusion growing, as Ailetta’s slimes merged with the corpses of her fallen army. Lacking prior experience with these slimes, the Queen had no idea what Ailetta intended, nor was she confident enough to launch an attack. The memory of Ailetta’s earlier display of power still haunted her, holding her back.

Her bewilderment deepened as each slime merged with the dead corpses of her army, with five unusual slimes merging with those of her generals and two subordinate leaders.

Ailetta didn’t leave anyone in suspense. Within seconds of her slimes disappearing among the dead, every affected corpse began to stir.

The Queen’s confusion turned to heightened vigilance, and her budding fear was being replaced by a simmering rage. For a Queen, seeing her fallen army defiled in such a manner was an unforgivable insult; a violation of the highest order. To not only desecrate their bodies but to use them as weapons against her, this was the ultimate sign of disrespect. It was an affront to her authority, a challenge to her very identity as a ruler.

If mental trauma was holding her back before, her fury now freed her from the shackles of fear. The Queen resolved to crush Ailetta with all the power she had left, determined to make Ailetta pay dearly for her transgressions.

The Queen’s mandibles clicked in agitation, and her antenna swayed with a menacing rhythm. She felt no fear from the undead army, not when she was already stronger than the entire army before her mutation.

But imagine her surprise when the army of the undead began to march towards her, displaying a presence and speed that surpassed their prowess when they were still alive.

The surprise struck a heavy blow to her mentality, her arrogance receding as she realized she had to change her strategy.

Initially planning to have her army re-enter the battle so she could focus solely on Ailetta, she quickly decided to handle everything herself. Her army, despite their residual numbers, would not be a match for what she was seeing. She still needed an army to lead when this was all over, and she still planned to create another puppet queen with the sole for breeding purposes.

Reluctantly, she resolved to take matters into her own hands. Yet, in her urgency, she failed to notice that as the undead grew in strength, Ailetta’s once overwhelming aura had begun to wane, shrinking back to something far less oppressive.

”Go, my babies!” Ailetta cheered, as if she were merely a bystander enjoying the show. If her aura happened to weaken with each consecutive corpse that was raised, then her lack of seriousness of the situation made it impossible to notice.

With the start of the new deciding battle, Arachne wanted to join the fight, not only to redeem her failure but also to exact revenge for what the Queen had done to Noah and Fenrir. However, as she prepared herself to leap into action, her name was called, the frail whisper of a voice caused her reaction to instantly move faster than before, arriving at Noah’s side.

The resentment that threatened to consume her instantly dissipated when seeing Noah’s tragic state up close. Her emotions became a chaotic mess as she reached out to him, pausing in her actions when she realized she didn’t know what she should do.

If not for Noah’s high constitution, the blood loss from his arm alone would have been fatal. Yet, life was strong within his gaze despite his weakened state, especially after seeing Ailetta’s transformation. Still waiting for orders, Arachne watched as Noah’s hand twitched, trying to point before giving up. His gaze stared into Arachne’s many eyes as he struggled to convey something that might give her an edge to finally enact her revenge.

”Yo-your’e hands...” Arachne struggled to comprehend the significance of her hands in this situation. Nonetheless, she lifted her hands to her face, inspecting claw-like appendages still stained with the Ant Queen’s residual blood from her surprise attack. Amidst her confusion, Noah followed with an order that made her heart thump loudly in her chest.

”Consume....her blood....make her strength your own...become a stronger queen.” Despite his labored speech, his words were the trigger for Arachne to no longer disparage. She plucked all ten of her fingers into her mouth without hesitation, greedily sucking any residual residue off of her fingertips. As Noah watched her, waiting for a change, her body completely froze. Gradually, her entire body stiffened, becoming a husk of her former self. Her pale violet skin took on the appearance of a dried up zombie, while her exoskeleton features hardened, losing the color of its hue as if all life was dried up from within her.

Noah should’ve been worried, but with his spirit, he could feel it, a deep power resonated within that husk of a shell.