Becoming a Monster-Chapter 47: Giving in

As the situation declined, Noah felt exasperated. "How can everyone be so useless? What have they been doing this entire time?" he thought, witnessing the students’ struggles against the runners. However, he couldn’t afford to dwell on his frustration.

With each passing moment, the chaos intensified. The seemingly strong Lucas’s continuous whining only added to the panic, causing the group to lose ground rapidly. It was becoming increasingly apparent to Noah that running away seemed to be the better option.

Noah’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. ’But if I do that then this bastard would only grow stronger... I won’t be able to fight him and his little army if I leave everyone to die...’

As he glanced toward the advancing Zombie King, Noah felt a surge of anxiousness. Over time, he had grown increasingly concerned that if he didn’t defeat the King soon, the poison’s effects would wear off. His fingers twitched nervously, his attention seemed to be elsewhere.

Suddenly, his body showed a trace of relief, and he couldn’t hold back a smile. He felt it; that familiar, addictive sensation that coursed through his body whenever he gained more stats.

This was what he was hoping for when he allowed Grim to go around focusing only on the runners.

He didn’t have the luxury to check his stats at that moment, but he urgently needed to allocate the five unused points. Instinctively Noah knew there was only one attribute he felt could help him turn the tables.

Placing all of his stats into his agility, Noah refocused all of his attention towards the King. Although eyes reflected a heavy state of turmoil going through his mind, the feeling was fleeting. He struggled with himself ever since he gained the chimera trait. He was always hesitant with progressing the skill and the unique traits he’s obtained, afraid that he would lose the only part of himself that truly made him who he was.

Yet, time and time again, Noah’s been forced to realize that he’s been holding himself back. He understood that if he wanted to experience the future he dreamed of then he would have to overcome his fear of losing a part of himself. If his only options were to rid himself of his identity or live and create a new life for himself, then he would gladly shed his old self. As he ventures through life with the power and freedom to fulfill all of his desires, he’s likely to discover other qualities about himself that he can be proud of.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." Slowly, his expression became decisive, his blood flow quickened while the pressure of his blood began to build enough that you could slightly make out the darkening purplish hue in his veins.

That decisiveness began to grow bloodthirsty as he glared towards the King with disdain.

"If I must become a monster... then I’ll become a monster that even monsters must fear..." Noah let himself be consumed in his instincts, his thoughts overshadowed by his emotions and desires. As his consciousness was being consumed with his most primal emotions, a deep seate burning awakened within him as he stared into the king’s empowering gems, the need to devour everything that made the king what it was.

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For the first time since the King’s interaction with any human, this would be the first time it felt an instinctual fear. It didn’t understand the concept of fear, but its body reacted nonetheless, driven by primal instincts. Agitated and unsettled by this unfamiliar sensation, it was compelled to eliminate the source of its unease. With brute force, it took another heavy step forward despite the paralyzing venom coursing through its legs, determined to confront and neutralize the perceived threat.

"Grrraalll."

As the King attempted to assert its dominance over Noah with a deafening roar and a powerful swing of its sword, it abandoned all caution. Its instincts screamed for the elimination of the human before it, urging it to prioritize the kill at any cost. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

However, as the sword descended towards Noah, it noticed the human’s mouth was salivating while a crazed grin graced his face.

Bang!*

With a resounding band, an impact unlike any other shattered the area of the court where Noah had stood moments before, but Noah was no longer there. The King could still keep up with his movements, but that didn’t mean it could react to what was going to happen.

It has been relying on its sword skills all this time and was its greatest strength, but the fear ruling over its body governed it to use more force than necessary in its attack. Sensing the opening, Noah seized the opportunity to breach the King’s defenses and achieve what Lucas had failed to do.

"Aaaaeerrrerrgg!"

The King roared as its Achilles’ tendon was severed, rendering its leg unable to support its weight. Despite the injury, the King refused to yield, catching itself before falling and landing on one knee. Noah continued to approach; he was subconsciously aware the King wasn’t a creature that would stop fighting just because it could feel pain.

The King swung its sword in a horizontal arc, aiming to cleave Noah in half or at least push him back. But Noah was moving like a fish in water; ducking the sword and then hurriedly circling around the King when he saw its hand approaching. This would’ve been the time for Noah to try to end it all.

It’s a shame he wasn’t able to think logically and performed an action that was surprising and utterly disgusting to anyone watching his fight right now.

Crunch!

Noah’s teeth tore into its neck before it contacted bone. Quickly, he bounced back when he sensed the King about to retaliate, narrowly avoiding another blow.

But Noah didn’t leave without gaining anything. His cheeks swollen as he savagely gnawed on the torn skin and muscles in his mouth. Blood gushed out with each voracious bite, and yet his bloodthirsty eyes betrayed an unsatisfied and insatiable hunger.

The King became so fixated on Noah that he forgot about the other participant, leaving Arachne to witness her master eating the flesh of a creature for the first time. Astonishingly, it happened to be the same creature she also enjoys eating. She assumed that this creature must be tastier than anything she had eaten before, but sadly, she couldn’t consume flesh like her master could.

Nonetheless, her yearning to taste the larger prey burned strongly. To accomplish this, she needed to assist Noah in bringing down the creature. With this new goal driving her, Arachne grew even more fervent in her attacks. As the King turned to assault Noah, she sprang onto its back, sinking her fangs near its nape.

Yet, she had to swiftly retreat at the sound of the King roaring once more. This roar, unlike before, resembled the cry of a cornered animal with nothing to lose.

It wasn’t the cry itself that prompted her retreat, but rather the eerie greenish gas from earlier. Unlike its previous effect of creating zombie subordinates, disturbing changes were now occurring among the creatures on the court and the nearby zombies.

Under everyone’s fearful gaze, the zombies’ bodies began emitting the same ethereal glow. Suddenly, a gas, predominantly black with a subtle green undertone, continuously seeped from their bodies, converging towards the king.

In real-time, as the King absorbed these energies, his body underwent a physical transformation. Muscles bulged, giving him a physique akin to a fitness enthusiast, while he grew slightly taller.

Unaware of the effects of the energy, the King became more alluring to his adversary. If Noah was hungry before, now he was insatiable. Though the King remained motionless during these changes, he was acutely aware of his surroundings. Helpless, he could only watch as Noah devoured him alive.

The zombies being absorbed ceased all movement, and disturbingly their bodies were losing their physical mass. The spectacle resembled a grotesque form of liposuction, where instead of fat, every aspect of their being was being drained away.

This horrifying sight left the bewildered students with no choice but to follow the trajectory of the gas. Their expressions shifted from the initial fear of zombie attacks to something even more unsettling.

"H-he’s ea-eating it???"

"Blaargh!"

Each student reacted differently to the scene; some felt disgust, others confusion, and the rest pure terror. Yet, none could tear their eyes away.

Among them, those who were somewhat acquainted with Noah, like LeRoy and his group, struggled with even deeper conflicts.

"Sh-should we help him?" the summoner, Joe, asked hesitantly.

"..." Zoe was speechless. She hadn’t anticipated witnessing such a scene. Was Noah still human? That question replayed in her head over and over. What if they helped him and he happened to be worse than what they were fighting now? She was unsure if she should take this chance to kill Noah, leaving them to only have to worry about the Zombie King.

"Luc! LUCAS!" Unlike the others, LeRoy’s primary concern was for his friend. Lucas, no longer pathetically whimpering as before, persisted in growling in pain while tearing at the fur around his wound. Despite witnessing the unfolding scene, LeRoy refrained from questioning why Lucas failed to revert to his human form.

Meanwhile, as Noah was feasted on the King, an almost inconceivable boon was taking place. His mind was bombarded with a relentless stream of notifications, one after the other.

[+1 magic]

[+1 magic]

[+1 stamina]

Unaware of it, Noah was constantly receiving updates on the unfolding event.

Normally, consuming the body of another wouldn’t grant attributes, at least not for humans, as Noah understood it. However, this situation was different. The King was steadily growing stronger by absorbing the life energy of the surrounding zombies.

Unbeknownst to the King, this action inadvertently allowed Noah to absorb that same energy as he devoured it during the process of absorption.

And with the aid of Noah’s recent skill ’budding feeder,’ no matter how much he ate, he would never grow full. But there was also a hidden function that ’budding feeder’ harbored, and was the sole reason why zombies were able to grow so rapidly even when they were incapable of killing at the rate of everyone else.

Unfortunately, Noah remained unaware of what was transpiring and wouldn’t discover the truth until much later.

Minutes passed in silence while everyone watched what was happening. The only audible sounds were the biting of flesh and the faint roars of an unintelligible zombie. Arachne and Grim weren’t sure of what to do. While they both understood the pleasure of eating, they also recognized the unwritten rule: food wasn’t meant to be shared. Thus they both silently agreed to just sit and watch.

Strangely, they didn’t mind not being a part of the feast. Somehow, they both sensed an gradually increasing strength welling within them as their master satisfied his hunger.

ROAAAAR!

The oppressive voice echoed, sending shivers down everyone’s spines, causing many to collapse onto the floor.

Meanwhile,the King has finally completed its transformation. The metamorphosis not only bestowed upon it insurmountable power, but also regenerated a fully formed and functional leg, restoring it to its full height. As it stood tall once more, an overwhelming aura of power radiated from its being, now twice as oppressive as before.

Despite its towering height, the King’s appearance was less imposing than expected. Standing well above 12 feet tall, it struggled to maintain a domineering presence as Noah hung from its shoulder, relentlessly tearing through its skin with his teeth.

Noah’s relentless assault left multiple wounds bleeding profusely, some of the bones he failed to bite through visible even from a distance.

Although the multitude of bleeding wounds added to its terrifying appearance, the bloody figure clinging to its body seemed even more terrifying.

With its transformation complete, the Zombie King immediately shifted its focus to Noah. Decisively, it drove its sword into the ground, extending its gnarled hand towards him. Meanwhile, its other arm lay useless, its shoulder missing multiple large pieces of flesh due to Noah’s relentless feeding. Unlike a Lich made entirely of bone that could operate its body without flesh and muscles, the king still relied on its physical form.

Its brain was still operating at a functional level and was connected to its nerves. Without its muscles and nerves attached to its arm anymore, it wasn’t able to use it.

Instinctively, Noah sensed the massive menacing hand approaching and swiftly jumped down from its body to retrieve his weapons. But before he could fully land, he had to dodge again as the Zombie King reached for his sword and launched an attack. The fierce stabbing motion from the King’s thrust unexpectedly generated strong sharp wind as it cut against the airs’ resistance. The king’s newfound alarming speed and reaction demonstrated just how much the absorption of energy had triggered significant changes within the king beyond just its physical appearance.

Thankfully, Noah also benefited from it. Otherwise, regardless of his body’s ability to perceive the attacks, he wouldn’t be fast enough to dodge them. Swing after swing, the King relentlessly attacked, leaving Noah with no choice but to stay on the defensive.

Though he desired to counterattack as he did before, he found little opportunity to do so. Every time he sought a chance, his senses warned him of another impending strike, forcing him to abandon the idea.

Grim and Arachne grew restless as they watched the exchange, their instincts urging them to act. Arachne struggled to find an opening now that the King appeared to have regained control over its movements, free from the effects of her venom. Meanwhile, both creatures were oppressed by the king’s aura, their spirits not strong enough to resist now that the King had grown even more powerful.

"Awwwhhhhooooo!"

"Ahhhh! NOOOOO! HEL-"

Crunch!

Amidst the exchange between Noah and the king, another significant event was taking place. Suddenly, a chilling howl pierced the air, followed by panicked screams. The attention of everyone present shifted to the source of the disturbance, where they witnessed the unthinkable: Lucas? viciously biting LeRoy in half with a sickening crunch.

However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that something was amiss. The Lucas they saw didn’t resemble the same werewolf from before, raising questions and instilling a sense of dread among the onlookers.

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