Becoming a Monster

Chapter 546 - 545: Resolve to Become Stronger

The question immediately put Alexandria on the spot, causing her to stiffen afterward.

"I-I am." Her response came out far less confidently than she intended.

Noah’s eyes became strikingly similar to Ailetta’s. There was a faintly amused look within them that almost resembled a smug grin.

"Then why are you standing there looking like you’re waiting to be executed?"

The blunt question instantly caused Ailetta to snort behind him.

Alexandria’s face visibly heated.

"Can you stop saying things like that so casually!?" she snapped instinctively before immediately regretting it afterward.

Noah, however, looked completely unaffected by her reaction.

"If you’re this nervous already, maybe we should wait until you stop overthinking."

Alexandria’s tails immediately puffed slightly behind her.

"I’m not overthinking!"

"You are."

"I’m not!"

"If she’s not ready, then let me go next." Both Noah and Alexandria turned towards Dog, who was about to make his way between them.

Compared to Alexandria, Dog’s reasoning was much simpler.

The weak became prey for the strong.

That truth had already been carved too deeply into him to ignore anymore.

He still remembered the goblins. The screams, the blood, the helplessness while his kind were hunted down one after another.

Dog would never forget it, nor did he want to. He wanted to remember what weakness felt like, to remember his failure as a leader. And that reminder would ensure it didn’t happen again.

Alexandria stood there staring at him for several moments afterward.

Because, unlike her... Dog’s resolve felt painfully straightforward.

And strangely enough...

That straightforward resolve was exactly what caused something inside Alexandria to snap.

Before Dog could fully move past her, Alexandria suddenly rushed forward and shoved herself directly back in front of Noah again.

"This has nothing to do with me being scared," she blurted out immediately.

Then paused. Because even she knew that sounded wrong the moment it left her mouth.

Her ears twitched once before flattening again.

"...Okay, maybe I’m scared."

Immediately, she turned to glare directly at Dog.

"But don’t act like you’re the only one who wants this either."

Her twin tails lashed sharply behind her.

"I know what it feels like to be powerless, too."

Dog stared at her silently for several moments. Then slowly stepped back without arguing further.

Not because he felt Alexandria wanted it more, but because he understood exactly how she felt.

Watching the two of them, Noah’s impatience slightly eased.

"...Good."

Both of them looked toward him afterward.

"If neither of you can gain the resolve to strive for power despite your fears, then any power you receive would only be wasted on you."

The atmosphere quieted slightly after those words.

Neither Alexandria nor Dog argued back. Because both understood Noah wasn’t trying to comfort them.

He was acknowledging them.

"So stop competing over who gets traumatized first. I’ve had a long day."

Two dark tendrils slowly rose beside him afterward.

"So we’ll just do this all at once."

The response immediately caused both Alexandria and Dog to pause.

Truthfully, neither expected that answer. The two stared at Noah before slowly looking toward one another instead.

Eventually, both nodded. Neither one intended to back down anymore.

Then both of them turned back toward Noah at the same time. The resolve within their eyes no longer looked any weaker than the others.

Noah raised his tendrils, preparing to begin. But then his gaze shifted past them toward the distance behind them instead. Alexandria and Dog instinctively followed his line of sight.

Their companions had returned. Only this time, unlike before, none dared to come close. They remained even further than where they were last time.

Whether it was fear from what they witnessed earlier or shame for how they reacted to Dobby before...

At the very least, they had learned something from the experience.

Noah’s gaze passed over them before settling onto the one creature standing taller than the rest.

Dobby.

Naturally, he was the one leading them here. Noah didn’t believe they would come on their own after what happened.

Yet Noah doubted Dobby brought them back because of his own desires.

With what Noah understood about him, Dobby most likely sensed the anxiety and unease lingering within the others and chose to accompany them rather than leave them alone.

Noah studied them all for several moments before speaking.

"What happened earlier will most likely happen again." It didn’t have to be mentioned what he was talking about; the lowered heads were enough evidence that they didn’t forget either.

Then Noah’s gaze settled entirely onto Dobby.

"If you still choose to stay despite that, then I’m guessing you’re confident you can suppress them."

Almost instantly, every gaze shifted toward Dobby. And with that attention came guilt.

Not only because of what happened earlier... But because if they lost control again, Dobby would bear the consequences for it.

Yet despite all of those gazes landing on him at once, Dobby remained calm. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of tension within his posture.

"It is not confidence in myself that allows me to remain here."

Dobby’s gaze slowly shifted toward the others behind him.

"It is confidence in them."

Several of the cats and dogs froze afterward.

"The same way they continue placing their trust in me..." Dobby’s eyes softened slightly. "I, too, wish to trust in them. So nothing will happen."

Noah stared at him. Then, eventually, he gave a small nod. After his transformation, he didn’t doubt Dobby’s abilities at all.

He then turned to the two waiting. The atmosphere between them became tense again instantly.

Alexandria slowly released a deep breath while Dog’s gaze remained fixed entirely on the tendril above them.

The moment his blood entered their bodies, Noah’s attention shifted from the two transforming.

Instead, his focus locked directly onto Dobby and the others behind him.

He didn’t know exactly what to expect. However, what he witnessed definitely came as a surprise.

For a second, the cats and dogs became visibly belligerent. Their emotions violently fluctuated beneath the influence of Noah’s blood.

And almost at the same time, the markings across Dobby’s body immediately reignited with silver light.

The pressure surrounding him visibly deepened.

But then that same pressure gradually decreased. Noah watched as Dobby gained control of the explosion of negative energy.

The emotional disturbance surrounding the others proceeded to stabilize without incident.

Several of the cats and dogs looked toward Dobby afterward with visible worry.

Dobby released a steady breath before turning towards them, giving them a small smile and a nod to indicate that he was ok.

That simple gesture eased their tension. However, now some of them were watching Dobby rather than the ongoing transformation itself to make sure he wasn’t simply pretending to be alright for their sake.

Meanwhile, Alexandria and Dog no longer had the awareness to pay attention to anything around them anymore.

Dog had skipped the first stage of Noah’s blood, making the result of his infused blood far more drastic than it would have ordinarily been.

However, since his body was stronger after his mutation, it was also much more straightforward.

His body slammed against the ground as his muscles rapidly expanded beneath his fur.

His body continued growing larger while his fur thickened considerably around his neck and shoulders, forming a far denser mane than before.

Even his jaw broadened slightly as his fangs sharpened further.

At the same time, Alexandria’s change was less physically violent but more unstable.

The shadow beneath her body gradually stretched outward on its own while dense mana continuously lashed from her beyond her control.

Then her tails sharply expanded behind her.

A third tail slowly formed beside the other two while sharp bristles spread throughout all three tails afterward.

Following that, short spikes of dark energy gradually protruded along parts of her spine and shoulders.

Her shadow twisted unnaturally around her feet before glowing eyes emerged from within, disappearing and reappearing. It was as though the shadow was blinking.

Noah quickly noticed something else afterward.

The mana erupting from Alexandria’s body wasn’t dissipating naturally into the surroundings.

It was being absorbed.

More specifically, it was leaking directly into her shadow.

He activated his Nexus eye, focusing on the fluctuations occurring beneath her.

More than half of her transformed mana was being drawn into her shadow, which now acted more like a separate entity than an abnormal ability.

The pair of glowing eyes emerging from within the darkness gradually became clearer the more mana flowed into it.

Then slowly, the shadow stretched upward directly beside Alexandria.

Unlike Alexandria’s actual body, no mana visibly leaked from it, nor were there any unstable fluctuations surrounding it.

And despite vaguely resembling Alexandria’s shape, none of its features properly existed.

Its entire body was nothing more than a massive black silhouette.

Yet one thing remained completely identical between them. The glowing eyes staring out from within the darkness perfectly matched Alexandria’s own.

Well...

Not entirely.

Because unlike Alexandria’s hesitant and emotionally conflicted gaze, the eyes within the shadow carried an unmistakably pompous arrogance.

As though the existence staring back at the world viewed everything around it with instinctive superiority.