I Became a Monster in a Novel

The sudden change made the Wolf’s fur bristle. Hong Yu-ri’s magic, which should’ve been depleted, was growing stronger. No, she was forcibly drawing magic from a deeper place.

The Wolf’s eyes shone brightly.

Using magic from deep within was a sign of great power. However, at the same time, she had to grit her teeth as the scales sprouting on the back of her neck blazed a deeper crimson.

It wasn’t just great power; transformation was also taking place. No, it was the other way around. The transformation was accelerating the advancement of the great power. She was becoming a Dragon, the pinnacle of biological species, making it easier to obtain great power.

As her eyes, stained in crimson, elongated vertically, the Wolf’s expression changed. Baek So-yul swallowed hard, while the Fairy, who had been choking on denial, tilted her head.

Though the Wolf thought it should stop, he hesitated. Clearly, the transformation was happening faster. But… at the same time, the great power was getting closer to completion.

Should I let it go this way or intervene?

Even knowing that using magic would trigger the transformation, he pressed on. After all, he had backup plans in case the worst happened.

‘I’ll use the Mock Elixir if I have to…’

If it’s the imitated blood of a god, it’ll crush the Dragon Blood in an instant. But if the transformation fully progressed, it would be too late. With this in mind, the Wolf decided not to think further and started running.

***

His vision was slowly changing.

Despite the same scenery, it looked entirely different. Piercing through the hazy fog, it became clearer. More distinct. Yet it still bled red.

Even as he was trapped by a strong force, he had no mental space to think about it. His insides were shaking and screaming as the transformation unfolded.

…Just a bit more. Just a little bit more.

The whispering voice was calling his name in his mind, urging him to use magic.

The single red scale sprouting from the back of her neck was unusually hot. It felt like something was about to burst out from her forehead. It felt like something was growing between her shoulder blades—!

She was changing enough to realize herself.

No matter how much she ground her teeth, the whispering voice in her mind was loud. She felt dizzy and disoriented. She just wanted to let go of everything. Amidst those emotions and pain, Hong Yu-ri tightly closed her eyes.

Struggling against the grip around her throat, she weakly clutched the monster’s wrist, but with her stamina now at its end, she couldn’t even resist.

…Stamina was so. Yet strangely, her magic remained.

But what could she do encased in black mist?

As her eyes began to close in resignation, the monster, having seen Hong Yu-ri’s vertically split pupils, thought it had to kill her now. An unknown heat was beginning to ignite the fog.

Persistent. She thought it could squash her in one go, but she was still alive. Like a creature that wouldn’t die. A looming anxiety that if it didn’t kill, it would be killed gripped it. Yet it simply wouldn’t die. Shaking the neck held in its grasp, it exerted more strength, but the slender neck wouldn’t snap.

As it contemplated giving up, when the black mist began to clear, the monster laughed maniacally. The favor had been revoked. If so, killing this female wouldn’t be difficult—!

A flash of light erupted from the empty eye sockets of the monster turned Mage. The moment it uttered some incomprehensible spell, the mist gathered like waves to pounce on Hong Yu-ri.

As she opened her eyes, a strained exclamation escaped her lips, leading the monster to think she had given up and accepted death.

That was an illusion.

“―――!”

When her red eyes opened, the Mage turned monster screamed. It tried to snap the girl’s neck instantly, but it couldn’t. Because its arm, gripping her neck, was burning from shoulder to fingertips.

Then, her eyes widened. The arm that had held her neck was pulled away. Some red chains that had appeared from who knows when forcibly took its shoulder away.

Seeing its own arm burning while bound by chains in mid-air, the monster realized it had been mistaken.

The black mist was no favor. On the contrary, it was merely a shackle holding her down.

But in the midst of this, it realized one last remaining arm was broken. Having acknowledged it was not in a state to fight any longer, the monster began to retreat in horror.

The girl, once held by the monster’s arm, naturally fell and clutched her throat. Yet she remained unscathed. Her cervical spine hadn’t been broken. It wouldn’t have been strange for it to have snapped already, but why? The whispering voice had been shouting for some time. The urging voice had transformed from suggestion to command.

Use it. Move forward. Accept it—!

The raucous whining voice. Even without that sound, Hong Yu-ri instinctively knew that using magic just once would pull the trigger. No, the trigger had already been pulled….

Because she had already changed.

A strong temptation. A dizzying sense of omnipotence. Her once wrecked body was at its peak, more than ever. Breathing heavily from excitement.

The voice asked if this wasn’t what she wanted. Hong Yu-ri swallowed hard.

Right. It was to bring Dorothy, that insufferable girl, down a peg. And not only that, it would also help in subjugating the disease. Perhaps the Alpha wouldn’t have to push himself too hard. It would undoubtedly aid in fulfilling humanity’s long-held desires. Losing her sanity or turning into a monster… Who could definitively say so? If transformation is truly a positive change, then there’s no need to fear the uncertainty…?

As Hong Yu-ri slowly raised her hand, she froze in shock.

Her scales had already begun to sprout on her arm. Claw-like nails that extended into blades and her vision had completely changed… As a stream of blood dripped from her forehead down her cheek, Hong Yu-ri chuckled softly.

The blood flowing inside her became heated. The identity of the voice that had been continuously whispering and shouting. It wasn’t anyone else. She realized it had been her murmuring for some time.

“Move forward. Do it. Accept it…”

Upon that realization, Hong Yu-ri gasped and covered her mouth. The fact that the Dragon’s blood that had once flowed in the Alpha now raced through her veins. She understood what that meant now.

“Ah……”

Something in her mind snapped. It felt like everything had gone out of alignment.

Common sense? Ethics? Morality? She couldn’t quite grasp what had changed, but something had indeed changed. It had definitely changed.

As a headache accompanied her confusion, she covered her face with her hands. She could tell that a horn was protruding from her forehead. The blood was flowing because of that.

Herself, becoming a monster. And the Mage transformed into a monster as well. …What was the actual difference?

In that moment, a dizzying sense of omnipotence washed over her.

Yes. Transformation. Shedding her human guise and being baptized in the blood of a dragon. An unmatched opportunity to leap to the top of a biological species. As the surging magic flowed from her mouth, steam carried with it. Boiling blood yearned for something. Not yet. Use it a little more.

She willingly wanted to respond to that intense temptation. She wanted to scream while pouring out all her magic.

But she couldn’t because, at some point, she had seen those red eyes on the other side. Chomp, she bit her lip and gritted her teeth. What was it all for…!

It was because she disliked this…!

If she gave up here, she’d end up with neither food nor rice. The red eyes, which had never given up until now, had not given up even till here. Right in front of her, they were coming steadily. But, but she couldn’t just throw in the towel looking foolish. As the fierce wind blew away the fog, something else began to whirl within Hong Yu-ri.

That very something began to seize transformation and pull it down. In the chaotic mix, the thread of consciousness gradually thinned and finally snapped.

***

Stepping back, the monster realized its back had touched a tree. There was no further retreat, and there couldn’t be. But the fallen female—now that the monster had fallen, there was no need to care anymore.

The monster, blindly and vacantly approaching, realized that the Mage had already shed her transformation. The lone arm remaining was broken, and the approaching Mage, with slowly raised legs, wanted nothing more than to stomp her head. But she couldn’t move.

Hearing the low whimper from behind, she had already accepted she was dead.

In the face of impending death, it humbly relinquished life.

Thus, the Mage was swallowed by the shadow.

***

“……Teacher?!”

Baek So-yul’s expression filled with shock. The image reflected in her wide-open eyes was so alien.

Though she was clearly collapsed and unconscious, crimson magic was seeping out. It was evidence that she was unable to control her magic.

However, what shocked Baek So-yul was not that, but rather Hong Yu-ri’s appearance.

On her back, where she lay face down, the red scales protruded. Not only that, her nails were long, and her fingers were deformed. A horn protruded from her forehead and something protruded from her shoulder blades. It was clear that they were wings. Moreover, there was even a tail that would have degenerated in a human.

Scales and wings. Horns and a tail. The transformation could be said to have been completed. With an anxious look, Baek So-yul asked.

“What has happened to you, Teacher…?”

The Wolf that had summoned the Black Magic covered Hong Yu-ri. The moment the black mist that swallowed the seeping crimson magic vanished, she had returned to her previous form.

For a brief time, Hong Yu-ri had undoubtedly become a Dragon, as the Wolf’s foresight had claimed.

[Hong Yu-ri (―)] → [Hong Yu-ri (In Transformation)]

But with the great power that came with the transformation, she was pulled back by her will, cooling the boiling dragon’s blood back down. Thankfully she could return, but the issue was still not over.

“…….”

Although it had temporarily subsided, the transformation would soon progress again.

In that very short moment when she had become a Dragon, Hong Yu-ri had indeed touched great power. But the great power that had been just about to activate as a skill had disappeared along with the initiation of the transformation.

The silver lining was that, as expected, if she did have great power, she might resist the Dragon Blood to some extent.

And the grim reality was that even so, completely halting the transformation was impossible… The Dragon Blood she had ingested was hers. Its blood still contained great power.

“Ki-yuu~?”

She patted the head of the tilting Fairy.

In the end, it was already a foregone conclusion that the transformation was coming. It meant she couldn’t remain a genuine human. …Unless she forced herself to drink the Mock Elixir. The Wolf, carrying the collapsed Hong Yu-ri with Baek So-yul, strolled through the dungeon, which had collapsed back into the Fantasy World.

The remaining choices were two. Force feed her the Mock Elixir to suppress the Dragon Blood or first manifest the great power to become a Dragon that was closer to humanity. However, in the latter case, if she failed… she would have to be prepared to truly become a Dragon.

This kind of stroke of luck wouldn’t happen again.

For now, she just had to wait for her to wake up. Hoping the Butterfly of Covenant would find a way to suppress her transformation.

***

From deep within the earth, that which had been holding its breath opened its eyes.

Broken scales were regrowing and the lost blood was returning. But the wounds consumed by an unknown power wouldn’t heal easily. Its body trembled, reminiscent of the Marang with those red eyes.

The fact that the mouse spreading the plague had died didn’t stir any emotions. But it could tell that it was the next target. The monster’s eyes revealed such intent. Such arrogance and contempt. This insolent insect would dare to bare its fangs at it.

At that moment, it would devour it. It would feast on arrogant humans and make them realize. The time left was very short. It would take little time for the wound to heal.

The one who sickened the land—the Disease remained hidden deep underground, waiting for that moment to come.