Becoming a Monster

Chapter 616: Chapter 615: Ancient Blood Awakening

Without his slime covering him, that meant the armor created by that slime was also gone.

And yet what was revealed underneath revealed something more imposing.

Jet-black scales spread across his body, first covering his chest before gradually extending over his shoulders, back, and portions of his limbs. They didn’t consume his entire body. Instead, they settled into places where protection was needed the most.

Everything the scales left untouched was covered in fur.

Dense black fur rapidly emerged across the uncovered portions of his body. The ends of every strand glowed with a faint violet radiance, as though mana constantly lingered within it.

The scales and fur fit together naturally.

Neither obstructed the other. Instead, they formed a single layer of protection.

Noah’s body suddenly convulsed.

His frame continued changing as muscles swelled beneath the scales and fur, his bones audibly shifting until he stood nearly a foot taller than before.

The black veil concealing his face slowly lifted away.

It retained the sharp features of his human appearance, yet they had become noticeably more predatory. His jaw had broadened slightly, his cheekbones had become more pronounced, while subtle draconic scales traced upward from the corners of his jaw toward his temples.

Elongated canines protruded past his lips, and narrow violet eyes now held unmistakable draconic pupils.

Then the transformation continued.

Two familiar horns suddenly forced their way through his hair.

However, they were no longer the smooth draconic horns Noah had inherited from Bolas. As they continued growing, the black horns swept farther back over his head before curving outward and slightly upward. Thick ridges gradually formed along them, giving them a more savage appearance.

Almost simultaneously, Noah’s back arched. A pair of giant wings burst from his back.

They expanded nearly double the size of his previous wings. And unlike his original wings that were made entirely from his slime and miasma, these were real, genuine wings.

Black scales reinforced the leading edges before gradually giving way to dense fur near the shoulders. Even the membranes darkened until they were nearly black, faint violet mana drifting through them with every slow flex.

Before anyone could recover from the grand sight, a tail lashed from behind him, nearly shattering the ground that shook the lair for a second time.

The already familiar draconic tail rapidly lengthened, thickening until it reached well past Noah’s height. Layer after layer of overlapping black armor spread down its length before ending in three elongated spikes that slowly unfolded around the tip like a jagged crown. Each movement caused the spikes to scrape across the floor, leaving deep grooves wherever they passed.

His hands and feet changed next, growing broader and taking on the heavier proportions of a werebeast. Dense black fur covered their upper surfaces, while overlapping scales reinforced his palms and soles, with coarse strands growing between the armored sections.

Long black claws extended from every finger and toe, their dangerous sheen making them appear sharp enough to tear through steel. His hands had grown so large that one nearly covered Eve’s entire torso.

Lastly, his hair, which had remained flared upward as though defying gravity, began spreading down past his shoulders.

As it continued growing, its texture gradually changed. By the time it reached his waist, it had thickened into long coarse bristles, resembling the mane of a monstrous beast.

The tips glowed with the same violet luster as the rest of his fur, while thin wisps of miasma constantly leaked from between the strands, refusing to disperse.

Noah’s final appearance left the chamber silent.

Ailetta’s heart fluttered while Arachne subconsciously took a step back.

His eyes, for a moment, didn’t look at any of them with the same warmth, nor was there the slightest trace of familiarity within them.

Those eyes viewed everything as something to conquer, something to prey upon, something that was completely beneath him.

For the briefest moment, Arachne genuinely believed something had gone wrong.

Then Noah’s gaze flickered.

The savage arrogance filling his eyes gradually receded before recognition slowly returned.

Only afterward did everyone realize what had happened.

The violent clash between the two bloodlines had unintentionally activated one of Noah’s newly evolved abilities. His Wrathful Fury had changed into something far more potent, overwhelming his instincts before he had the chance to suppress it.

As Noah fully regained control over himself, the towering form surrounding him gradually began to shrink.

The overwhelming pressure diminished, and the monstrous frame compressed until he barely resembled the Noah they knew.

His draconic and werebeast changes didn’t fully disappear. They simply shifted in proportion to match his smaller frame, leaving behind a version of Noah that somehow looked even more human while appearing infinitely more dangerous.

—

Noah barely registered the changes. The moment his thoughts cleared, his head immediately snapped downward.

“Eve.”

Seeing the little vampire still clinging to him didn’t bring the sense of relief that he wanted.

Something was different about her.

No…

He could already tell from the moment he saw her that something was different.

Two curved horns now protruded from her head, while a smooth white tail extended from behind her. Unlike his own, it lacked any trace of scales, giving it a far more impish appearance.

Her wings had also emerged, noticeably larger than before. Considering her small stature, they would likely dwarf her the moment she spread them.

More importantly, she had grown stronger.

He could feel it. Her mana had improved by leaps and bounds.

Yet none of that eased the knot tightening in his chest.

Thin wisps of miasma lingered around the tips of her horns and the end of her tail.

And worse yet, the mana that subconsciously flowed around her reminded Noah of the same unfathomable and ominous mana that Ava emits when they merge.

During the transformation, he had felt his instincts spiral beyond his control. His miasma had erupted without restraint, his strength had increased severalfold, and even Wrathful Fury had activated on its own.

There had been countless opportunities for him to hurt her, and she still hadn’t moved.

Slowly, almost afraid of what he might find, Noah loosened his own arms.

“Eve…” He called out to her again. Only this time did she flinch before she slowly looked up, locking her gaze with his.

For a moment, Noah’s aura flared aggressively when he saw those eyes. It was the gaze of a monster who saw him as something to feed on. A gaze that sent a clear warning through Noah’s instincts that she was dangerous.

But then, just like himself, her eyes fluttered before they also regained a bit of clarity.

She looked back towards Noah’s face, and then around her, and once again returned to his eyes.

“You’re still here.” She spoke softly to herself.

Seeing those eyes becoming filled with emotion, Noah came to his own senses, pulling her back into a hug.

“Of course I’m still here, silly girl.” He held her a bit longer without saying anything.

Within his arms, he could hear the soft cries that had been bottled up all this time.

This gave Noah the opportunity to quickly go through his changes.

But what he focused on first was what could’ve caused Eve to change like this, especially since he couldn’t get the image and the feeling that he felt when he was under that gaze.

His thoughts immediately settled upon one of the new abilities born from the mutation.

Ancient Blood Awakening.

As Noah focused on the skill, understanding naturally surfaced within his mind.

Every demonic and tainted creature carried within them the remnants of countless forgotten ancestors. Through the passage of time, the dilution of bloodlines, repeated evolutions, and even corruption itself, those ancient lineages had long since faded into obscurity. Yet no matter how faint they became, they were never truly lost.

This ability allowed Noah to awaken the strongest ancestral bloodline still slumbering within such a creature. By forcing the creature to submit to his authority, that forgotten lineage could once again assert itself, merging with the tainted essence already dwelling within its body.

The awakening did not simply restore what had once existed. Noah’s own essence became intertwined with the transformation, shaping the ancient bloodline into something entirely new. The resulting evolution reflected the creature’s forgotten ancestry, its demonic nature, and Noah’s own monstrous lineage, creating a unique species unlike any that had existed before.

Noah’s eyes slowly returned to Eve.

‘Ancestral bloodline…’ Noah repeated in his thoughts. It all was beginning to make sense.

Images of that vial of blood he obtained repeated in his mind. The same blood that housed that spirit that now lived in Eve’s grimoire.

‘Did that… awaken within her?’ He first thought the worst before mentally shaking it away.

‘That shouldn’t be possible. What most likely happened is that she awakened the bloodline within her and her race changed to whatever that blood belonged to.’

‘What in the world is that thing that could make me feel afraid of Eve of all people?’

There was a lot on his mind, but when he felt another tug on his waist, he decided to think about it another time.

For now, he should console the little vampire while he inwardly sensed the rest of the changes that happened to him.