Becoming a Monster

Chapter 548 - 547: Born From Suppression

For the first time since its creation, the shadow showed a lapse in its smug confidence.

The change in its expression was subtle, but Ailetta caught it all.

And unfortunately for the shadow, that only made her smile widen further.

"Oh?" she said almost innocently. "Why did you stop talking?"

The shadow’s glowing eyes narrowed sharply toward her.

"Because what you’re saying is ridiculous." Its response came out smoother this time, as it tried to pretend its earlier mishap hadn’t happened.

"I am not throwing a tantrum."

"Mm." Ailetta nodded along casually. "Then you also definitely don’t sound like someone bitter about being ignored all this time."

"Ignored?" The shadow scoffed. "Please, I merely find it irritating watching the original continuously suppress themselves for mundane reasons, and is too afraid to acknowledge it."

"Something that small that doesn’t have anything to do with you shouldn’t bother, right?"

The shadow’s expression remained unchanged, but something behind its eyes shifted.

"Small?" The shadow questioned as if the word didn’t exist.

Its gaze somehow found its way to Alexandria, who didn’t have the same reaction as it had. The lack of reaction was the last straw.

"Small..." Then again, but this time its body quivered. A small chuckle soon entered everyone’s ears before it laughed unabated.

And yet there was not a sign of humorous joy in its eyes.

"You call years of being torn down small?"

"Every desire being buried because someone was afraid of what someone else would feel about it?"

Its voice gradually more of whatever was left of its detached composure.

"Every moment of pride, hidden away because she convinced herself someone else deserved it more."

"You call that... small?!"

Its eyes remained locked entirely on Alexandria now.

"Is wanting acknowledgement shameful?"

"Is wanting validation also shameful?"

Alexandria didn’t know how to answer. She was stuck in a daze, a daze of someone who realized something that was there all along.

By then, the shadow returned its gaze back to Ailetta.

"That’s not small..."

"And that doesn’t make me feel ignored either." It made sure to add before Ailetta to backtrack.

Ailetta’s amused smile didn’t disappear, but it wasn’t the same either. She felt more emotionally driven to the interaction before.

"Oh?"

Ailetta’s smile became almost painful to look at. That single word was devastating. And it was then that it realized it had made a mistake.

"I guess I really was wrong about you. You don’t sound angry at her at all."

Her words continued to sound like a lifeline, yet the shadow knew it was anything but.

"You sound angry for her."

The silence came first. But it was the way that the shadow avoided making eye contact that sealed it.

Meanwhile, Alexandria slowly stared at the silhouette beside her with growing disbelief.

Because now that Ailetta pointed it out... The shadow genuinely did sound like it cared about her. And somehow, that concern was exactly what made it so angry.

It was only then that Alexandria tried to think about their discussion from her shadow’s point of view.

An absurd amount of time was spent trapped, watching her reject parts of herself over and over. And what was worse... if she understood it properly, those parts she was rejecting was the shadow standing before her.

The shadow still refused to meet anyone’s eyes directly after that, yet the damage had already been done.

Then, as if it couldn’t bear being looked at anymore, the shadow suddenly snapped towards Alexandria again, glaring.

"And you! Stop looking at me like that."

Alexandria blinked dazedly after being addressed so suddenly.

"Like what?"

"Don’t ’like what’ me. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I don’t need your pity."

Ailetta nearly laughed again, while Alexandria was far less inclined to say anything after confirming the truth.

"Oh no..." She covered her mouth again. "Now you sound even more emotional than Alexandria."

"I am not emotional."

"You’ve been answering far too quickly for someone unbothered."

The shadow opened its mouth again before stopping itself halfway through. Because, unfortunately, Ailetta was right.

Every response it gave only seemed to expose more of itself instead.

It wanted to lash out at her. At this point, it genuinely felt like Ailetta had targeted it from the very beginning.

Every sentence she spoke somehow twisted the conversation back onto it instead. And the worst part was that Ailetta wasn’t even trying to be cruel about it.

She genuinely looked like she was enjoying herself.

So it made the smartest decision since its creation. It didn’t poke the hornet’s nest.

Ailetta stared at it for a few moments longer before suddenly bringing a hand over her mouth again. However, unlike before, this time she wasn’t suppressing laughter.

Her eyes curved almost affectionately instead.

"Oh no..." she murmured softly. "You’re actually adorable."

Not only the shadow, Alexandria also recoiled from the shock. The shadow was one thing, but Alexandria couldn’t reconcile with the subconscious thought that Ailetta could possibly be favoring the shadow over her.

"...What?" The shadow had displayed many different emotions throughout this ordeal, yet this is the first time it has been filled with genuine confusion.

"You act all prideful and superior, but all this time you were trying to hide how much you care about Alexandria. This is the first time I actually was able to encounter a tsundere."

This time it was Noah who had a strong reaction. They had a giant example of one in the cave behind them.

’Or maybe it doesn’t count because she doesn’t find him cute,’ he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the shadow didn’t respond to Ailetta at all. Its mouth opened like it was going to, but it eventually decided against it.

It had fully accepted that the conversation was impossible to have anymore. Every direction would just lead it down a deeper hole.

Eventually, the shadow exhaled long and slow.

"...You are exhausting." Despite the insult, there was no hostility left.

Then, as though it could no longer tolerate remaining the center of attention any longer, its body gradually began sinking downward.

The silhouette slowly dissolved as it connected back to Alexandria.

Alexandria instinctively took a small step away. The motion caused the shadow to pause midway through disappearing.

For several moments, it remained silent before slowly turning its glowing eyes back toward her one final time.

Alexandria was addressed by hardened glare, but Alexandria was able to be swayed by her shadows’ surface expressions after what she heard.

And the moment that the shadow connected to her again, she felt that she could sense the hidden emotions behind the glare.

The frustration, the concern, and most importantly, its embarrassment.

"And you," it muttered irritably, "are annoying."

Then the shadow fully dissolved back beneath Alexandria’s feet.

Both Alexandria and Ailetta scrutinized the shadow as time passed by.

Despite how long they watched, the shadow didn’t show any signs that it was any different than an ordinary shadow.

Eventually, Alexandria’s ears slowly lowered.

"Are you feeling sorry for it now?"

Alexandria’s ears twitched faintly.

Truthfully, she didn’t know how to answer that question anymore.

Because after understanding what the shadow actually felt, calling it simply "her shadow" suddenly felt wrong.

It wasn’t just some mutation mindlessly lashing out at her.

It had its own emotions, its own thoughts...

"...I don’t know," she admitted quietly.

Ailetta stared at her for a few moments afterward before her expression softened slightly.

"If you want to make it up to it, then stop acting like you don’t know what you need to do."

Alexandria slowly looked toward her.

"Stop holding yourself back so much."

The words immediately caused Alexandria to stiffen again.

Meanwhile, Ailetta simply shrugged.

"Any child would start acting out if they kept getting ignored."

The moment those words left her mouth... Both of them suddenly looked downward at the same time.

Because Alexandria’s shadow visibly trembled on its own.

Ailetta immediately covered her mouth again, though this time she failed to stop the laughter escaping her.

"Oh no..." she giggled softly to herself. "A tsundere indeed."

—

There was no longer anything else that Noah needed from the others.

He just watched as Dog and Alexandria both trekked back to their group, who were anxiously waiting to discuss their changes.

As they walked away, Noah recollected what they had gained from their transformation.

It was slightly surprising because, unlike Dobby, both Alexandria and Dog each only gained one ability from their change.

One would even believe that it meant their potential was rather limited compared to their current strength.

However, Noah understood that the interpretation was wrong almost immediately.

Without a doubt in his mind, the thought of limited potential didn’t exist when it came to his blood.

If a creature’s potential possessed limits, then Noah’s blood would simply force those limits to evolve alongside it.

However, that didn’t undermine a creature’s species. A dragon would naturally possess advantages that weaker creatures couldn’t compare to.

But with his blood, even some stray beast wandering outside his territory could eventually become terrifying in its own way if enough time and effort were invested into it while being fed his blood.

As he scrutinized their skills, he became more assured of himself.

Any abilities gained from his blood were never random.