《The Slime of Slaughter: Become Monster》


 Prologue. The road to Hell.

    "Brother, you are amazing!" she said.


    "Brother, I admire you!" she said.


    "I want to be more like you!" she said.


    No, Lily, you are wrong. I''m incompetent. I''m just trash. Or else how could I be unable to see through your pretense? How could I didn''t notice all the pain you felt inside? How couldn''t I see the suffering behind your smiling face?


    I don''t deserve your admiration. Don''t deserve your kind words, nor your warm smile.


    Why I never even tried to find out how are you doing at school? Not from your words, but by visiting it and seeing for myself.


    Why you never told me about your hardships? I''m so untrustworthy? Why you kept everything to yourself?


    I firmly hold my favorite baseball bat in my hands. Sorry, old friend. But the games are over. Sorry, my friend. I''ll make you taste the blood.


    Why is the police so useless? Is it because of the lack of a suicide note? Because the culprits are underage? Or maybe because one of the bullies'' father is a big shot? Doesn''t matter. I don''t give a fuck.


    Should I accept her loss and move on? Just accept the fact that monsters who made her kill herself will live on as if nothing happened?


    "Ahahahah..."


    Finding their hang out spot wasn''t hard, really. One of the abandoned buildings not too far from the middle school they attend. Isn''t exactly the place "kids" should be so late in the evening.


    "No rush, no rush."


    The building isn''t small, so I assume it would take me some time to find them.


    What kind of atrocities they did to my Lily? I talked to their classmates. My sister became a victim because she tried to defend a girl and a boy from being bullied. It seems very much like her. She always was kind, courageous, and her sense of justice is strong. But she is just a little girl, what can she do against a group of devils?


    Calling her words is nothing. She will bear it. But how could horny teenagers ignore such a beautiful flower? Yes, sexual harassment.


    I don''t know all the details, I don''t want to, I don''t need to. Was she actually raped by them? Doesn''t matter. They will die even if they didn''t.


    "Brother, you are so strong! Will you protect me from bad guys?"


    "Yes, of course! I will always protect you!"


    How long time passed since I said this lie? She was nine, I was thirteen, so it was five years ago. Sorry, Lily. I really am. But it''s alright. Everyone responsible would be punished. Including this incompetent brother of yours.


    "P-please, stop it!"


    Pleading voice of the young girl. It seems I''m at my destination.


    "Hey, shut up, slut! You already not a virgin, right? I know it, your stupid boyfriend already told pretty much everyone how lucky he was to get laid, hahaha. What, you think he is better than us? Whaddya think, boys?"


    "You will forget about his little dick very fast! Be our girl, or else..."


    "Hey, hold her, you two!"


    "L-let go of me, I beg you! Y-you promised to tell me with whom he cheated, I don''t want to cheat on him!"


    "Are you stupid? It was a lie. Well, like it or not, but from today onward, you are our toy. After all, we lost our old one after using her just once! What an unfortunate incident, haha."


    "No!!!"


    Hearing this exchange, I felt that my determination became as strong as ever. This isn''t human.


    Thud!


    It seems the door is closed from the inside. Well, no big deal. It is just some wood, after all.


    "Who is it!"


    Instead of answering, I just kicked the door again. And again. And again.


    Thud!


    Oops. It was more fragile than I expected.


    "You! Aren''t you are this bitch''s brother? What the fuck are you doing here?"


    Oh, it seems the trash just talked to me. Am I hallucinating? Nah, never mind.


    "Hello, boys. How are you doing? Sorry for interrupting the fun, I wouldn''t take too much of your time, really."


    I said cheerfully. I guess my smirk should be really creepy right now, as their expressions were somehow wary. Five boys in total, from what I know, three of them are fourteen, one is fifteen, and the leader is sixteen.


    "What, you come here to fight or something? You think this bat will help you, dude?"


    Was his name Bill? The leader asked me as if amused. It seems I''m underestimated, alright. The best hitter in our city''s junior baseball team isn''t the most intimidating guy, eh?


    "Help me!"


    A girl who seems to be in her mid-teens still restricted by two younger dudes. They all were Lily''s classmates, right?This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Looking for a fight? No, no. Why should I fight some underage brats? We will just play baseball, alright?"


    It would be troublesome if the girl would be hurt because of me. So, let''s make them lose their guard for now.


    "Have you heard him, boys? The big bro wants to play with us, hahaha!"


    Other than the leader, the rest of the gang doesn''t seem to be so carefree, though. The two who didn''t hold a girl seems to be in search of some kind of weapon, a stick, or something. It seems I shouldn''t waste much time. The leader is the first. Then the two holding a girl should be knocked out before they think of something stupid.


    "Billy, right? Do you know what time it is?"


    The moment he tried to answer, I moved as fast as I could. All the time we talked, I got closer and closer to him, so now we were just two meters apart. In a moment, my bat already approached his head.


    "Shit!"


    I guess he tried to stall for time with the conversation, but I just waited until they lost their guard. And they did. Billy blocked my bat with his hand - good reflexes, but it wasn''t a nice idea. I guess his arm is broken, and it isn''t like it took me much time to hit you again, you know!


    "The answer is - it is the time to get punished, boys!"


    This asshole sure is aggressive - instead of retreating, he tries to kick me! He isn''t very bright, I guess. After dodging the kick, I hit him again - this time, the bat grazed his head, and the boy fell on the ground. Let''s get read of the other pest before finishing him off.


    "Ha!"


    One of the boys has a wood stick, the other is luckier - there is a metal stick in his hands. It could be dangerous. I''m not engaging those two, approaching the girl and her captors, instead.


    Boys try to use her as a shield, obviously afraid of a scary guy with a bloody bat.


    "Hey, I''ll let you two go if you free the girl, ok?"


    There are two armed brats behind me, and the leader could get up at any moment, so I don''t have the time to waste. After they heard the offer, those two hesitated for a moment, and it was enough for the girl to bite one fellow''s hand and to kick the other one''s balls.


    "Run."


    I guess even without me telling her she would do it. It wasn''t for naught that I decided to do the deed today, at least one girl was saved from misery.


    The two armed boys probably knew that if they tried to stop her, they would be open to my attack, so a girl successfully left a scene.


    "Let''s have some fun, kids?"


    I''m now surrounded by four people, two of them with weapons (even if lame). Just because those guys are underage doesn''t mean they are small and weak though, at least two of them are as tall as me, and the leader who is yet to stand up is almost one head taller. The most significant difference is our weapons and skill level.


    "Let''s attack him all at once!"


    It seems they aren''t stupid. Too bad, but the terrain of this room is rather messy. I jump over the sofa and avoid encircliment while striking one of the weaponless boys with my bat. One down.


    It seems someone decided that it is better to run. But too late. Showing me your back isn''t smart, and the lad learned it with his body after being hit in the back of his head. Only two guys with sticks left.


    The most dangerous of them - the one with the metal stick, decided to go all out. Unfortunately, the other boy hesitated, and so I only need to deal with one opponent at a time.


    The strike was horizontal and aimed at my arm. I guess brat assumed that if I lose the weapon fight would be over. And he is right, honestly, without my bat, I have no chance against two of them. This is why my action was rather simple - I just did the same thing as he did. The result was a terrible pain in my right hand. And his own being broken. I endure. This pain is nothing, right, Lily?


    "Hehehe. I''m ambidextrous. My left hand is still alright, you know?"


    So, I changed my grip, and a second later, only one opponent left.


    "P-please! Let me go! I... I never touched Lily! It was Bill! Everything was his idea! I... I wanted to help her, I really did! Please, believe me!"


    It seems the guy knows that there is no escape from me. Does he think that his crying face would make me waver? What I''ll just believe him, forgive him, let him go?


    "I see... so you aren''t like them. It is right, you seem to be a nice person. What is your name?"


    I asked him calmly.


    "Leo...I''m Leo Seagull. C-can I go?"


    What a stupid question?


    "I see, you are Leo. What a nice name. It would be good if you are telling the truth. It would mean that you''ll go to Heaven instead of Hell and then will be able to apologize to Lily on behalf of your friends. Please tell her that I''m sorry as well. Goodbye, Leo."


    "Ahhh!!!"


    It seems my words were able to touch his heart. He threw his stick in my face while trying to run away from here. Nice try, Leo, nice try. Too bad, you aren''t accurate enough, so the wooden stick hit the wall instead of me. Too bad, what showing me your back helped me more than helped you.


    And so, each of my adversaries sprawling on the floor before me. Some still moving a little bit. Others seem to lose their consciousness completely. Well, it doesn''t matter. I should finish things quickly, in case the girl bringing people here or calling the cops.


    Let''s start with the most hateful guy. He seems to be unconscious. Or is he just pretending to make a surprise attack?


    I approached Billy slowly, but surely. I was ready to immediately answer if he moves, but he did nothing. Still wary, I took a swing of my bat and successfully landed a weak hit on his back. Nothing happened.


    Okay, let''s start then! But when I was just ready for another, more powerful, swing, the body moved quickly. We were too close, so I was unable to dodge, and it wouldn''t be convenient to use my weapon. When Bill tackled me, I hit him with my knee a few times and then finished him off with my bat.


    "You piece of shit, just die!"


    It really made me angry, so I didn''t stop after the first strike, I hit his body again and again and again until my old baseball friend became utterly crimson.


    Can you see it, Lily? No one who ever hurts you will go unpunished. No one.


    My emotions are boiling, my breath is heavy. I look at the bloody mess before me - something that was "human" just a while ago. I just don''t feel like I just killed someone. I just don''t. My work isn''t over, not yet.


    Suddenly, something strange caught my attention. There is blood. Not only on my bat, not only on my hands but also on my torso. And it doesn''t stop flowing. I checked my body - sure enough, a wound. It isn''t too deep, but it seems that aorta was damaged. I look around and see something shiny lying not far from the bloody mess I just did. A knife.


    "Hahaha, it seems my punishment was delivered faster than I thought."


    Sorry, mom. Sorry, dad. Well, at least you still have older sis.


    In the first place, my purpose of going here wasn''t just revenge. I want to punish not only those little monsters but another person responsible for Lily''s death. I wanted to punish myself. By being caught, by spending time in prison, by ruining my future. I know it is unfair to my parents, to my family. I know it very well. But I can''t just live with this burden of losing her, of being incompetent. If I die, so be it. But, before that... I should finish my business before I lose consciousness. I should hurry.


    Adrenaline and overexcitement made me completely ignore the pain of being stabbed and bleeding to death. Unlike Bill, the rest were finished off in a less bloody, but more effective way. I didn''t have time to do it properly, however breaking their necks and Adam''s apples was good enough, I guess.


    I just sit there, in blood, surrounded by corpses. How long it was since I was stabbed? My head is heavy, I''m about to lose my consciousness. To never be awake again.


    "Lily... It seems I''ll go to meet you soon."


    Isn''t it stupid thought, though? Look around you. Look what you did. Do you really think that Heaven will accept you?


    "I assume that instead of Lily, I''ll meet those bastards instead."


    Though is it really a sin? To bring justice with my own hands? Is it a sin to punish evil? Can''t you really kill monsters without becoming one himself? If it is so, then so be it. To protect what I love. I will become a sinner. To avenge what I lost. I will become a monster. I wouldn''t regret that I did, I wouldn''t ask for forgiveness.


    Those were my last thoughts before the void consumed my consciousness. And then, I was sent to Hell.

 Chapter 1. What am I?

    There is nothing, just void. But why I still have thoughts? Am I in a coma? Or just dreaming? I should be dead, right? No. I think, therefore I am.  Is it my Hell then? Anyone would go mad with their senses deprived, but the mind remained. Though, was I sane in the first place?


    After the unknown time passed, there was something new. A sense. That sense was different from anything I ever felt before.


    Puddle. I''m a puddle of liquid. It seems to be a sense of touch. Except, I also can feel the things outside, far from me. Can sense the air, the objects.


    I''m not sure how big I''m, but smaller than the things around me. I can feel, but I can''t move. Not yet. I just try to adjust to those new sensations. What am I? A toddler inside someone''s belly? No, wrong.


    There is no sense of time. I just think and exist. My body is strange, it is a liquid that can''t move. At least it is how it was until that moment. The movement. And also, the feeling.


    The instinct that shouldn''t exist tells me something. What is it? My body moves, but I can''t control it. It approached some object. It is a few times larger than me. I enveloped part of that thing.


    A bliss. This is the only way I can describe this feeling of absorbing someone inside of me. I absorb more. And more. And more. But my body is still as small as it was.


    Is it a sense of taste? The taste of this thing reminds me of a chicken barbecue. The difference is, instead of feeling it with just your tongue, my whole body enjoys the food. Really amazing.


    At the same time, something changes inside of me. Something develops. I somehow know it - I''m not complete, not yet.


    After completing absorbing the first object, my sense of touch became stronger. Now I could feel surroundings much better. And the form of those things surrounding me. The thought of what it could be, makes my thoughts wander into a disturbing direction.


    But nonetheless, I can''t control my newfound body. I''m just a mind existing inside of something odd.


    At last, after absorbing another three tasty objects, my new senses awakened. It wasn''t like I expected, though.


    What I could "see" shocked me. Firstly, because  I can see everything 360 degrees around me, unlike limited human vision. Secondly, because there are more colors than I ever thought possible. The world I see is beyond just being vivid. It is as if I was colorblind in my past days. My visual world no longer created from only three primary colors. I''m not sure about the actual number, but there are at least another two.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Hearing isn''t much different from my human days. I can hear the wind, but otherwise, the surroundings are silent. Creepily so. After all...


    ...everywhere around me are corpses. As I guessed and was afraid of - the things I eat were humans, all dead.


    Should I feel disgusted now? Should I be regretful? Yes, but I can''t. My emotions are no longer that of a human. Instead, when I see those bodies around me, I feel how appetizing they are.


    Strange. It is way too weird. My memories that of a human, my thoughts as well. But why are my feelings are so sick, so immoral, so disturbing?


    What exactly am I? The liquid that absorbs corpses... I try to control that body, even if just a little. With all my willpower, a small tentacle was created. Crimson tentacle.


    Am I a living ball of viscous blood? It should be a nightmare, but my world is more bright than ever, I feel amazing, tasting the "food" with all your body at once is incomprehensibly pleasant...


    My instinct tells me to eat more. But my mind, my morality, and my past beg me to stop this madness.


    My struggle is witnessed by no one. No one, but dazzling night sky with countless stars and the Moon as Crimson as my body. Though is it really the same Moon from Earth? The form is similar, but instead of familiar "swirl" patterns, there are some triangles... It doesn''t look like cheese, not at all.


    I decided to struggle against the instincts of this lifeform I became. Instead, I try to examine my surroundings in more detail.


    There are wooden buildings here and there. It seems to be a village. At the central square of it, there are about a hundred corpses. It is where I awakened.


    There are kids, adults, elderly people, men, women... But more interestingly is the fact that not all of them are actual humans, only about half of them. The rest are strange; most of them have cat or dog ears and tails. And few corpses are similar to elves from fantasy.


    I start to get ahold of this body, just a little bit. It isn''t big - about the size of a basketball. But the corpses I absorbed completely disappeared - bones and clothed included. It seems I''m somehow dangerous, even if somehow small.


    Those corpses are strange.  There is no visible damage to them. But their dying expressions are that of agony. Something sinister killed them, very likely all at once, while leaving complete bodies. It doesn''t matter to me. I''m getting the hell out of here.


    I slowly move my body while making efforts to ignore this tasty stuff here and there. It seems that whatever the thing I become is carnivorous. But there should be no reason why it wouldn''t eat animals instead of humans, right?


    There is a forest surrounding that village, so I should be able to find some small beasts to eat. Assuming that my body is strong enough to take them out... Speaking of this, what is that uncomfortable feeling? As if someone is spying on me.


    With my new sense of sight that could cover everything around, it should be very hard to secretly observe me. At least in theory, but on practice, I just can''t concentrate my attention everywhere at all times. So now I do exactly this.


    And so, my enemy was found. My first dangerous foe in this unfamiliar world. The animal with sharp claws, protruding fangs, and menacing eyes. The fluffy white monstrosity, rivaling me in size - the cat.

 Chapter 2. The first adversary.

    Why does it look at me with such hatred? Maybe I accidentally eat one of its owners?


    The cat approached me while hissing. As a former human, it doesn''t scare me at all. What can the cute little puffball do to me, anyway?


    But it proved me wrong. I don''t know if it was actually so fast, or the reaction speed of my new body wasn''t sufficient, but I was barely able to keep with its movements when the cat suddenly leaped. And then the pain came.


    The cat''s claw moved through my round body, and fluids were splashed around. It hurts. Hurts so much what I want to scream, but there are no vocal cords. In the same way as my sense of taste was amplified, I felt the pain with my whole existence.


    It wasn''t even close to anything I experienced before. When I was bleeding to death, I barely felt anything, probably due to the adrenaline. It seems now I don''t have such a useful function.


    Just why? It moved so fast, and it even avoided the fluids splashed from my wound and was completely unhurt.


    Possible because of the pain, but my senses sharpened. I can not only see the cat but also feel its heat, each agile movement it does. Right, maybe it was the wrong choice to rely on visual clues in the first place?


    After damaging me once, the predator started to make circles around me. Well, I''m not sure if there is any significance in it, considering that I don''t even have front or back sides.


    It seems my body somehow regenerated in a few seconds that passed from being attacked, but I also became smaller. The pain disappeared as well.


    What should I do? Being killed like this would be ridiculous. I should fight; there is no chance to run away as my movement speed is way too slow.


    Let''s start by making a tentacle. It is the only way I can imagine damaging the animal. And so, before it resumed its attacks, I used my willpower to make a small extension out of my liquid body.


    It took me less than a second to create the half-meter long tentacle. I''ll wait until the cat tries to attack me again and then hit it as fast as I could. I concentrated on its body, not with my sight, but with tactile sense. Let''s call it the Tactile Zone as I can sense everything within a certain range. For now, it is about three meters around me.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    With the sound of angry hissing, the cat leaped again. It approached within my Tactile Zone. I can perfectly feel each of his movements, unlike the last time.


    Tentacle Slash! I decided to give a name to my improvised attack. Woah! It was faster than I expected. And because of that, it missed. There is no way for me to dodge, so the intense pain, even greater than before, assaulted me.


    Am I still alive? My body is almost half of how it was before. Both my tentacle and Tactile Zone became smaller. Would I be able to survive another hit? I don''t know.


    Should I resist at all, though? Is there any meaning to live in this form? No, stop it. If I was reincarnated, then there could be other people as well - what if Lily is in this world? I should survive and find out more. I can''t die, not yet.


    The last time I missed my Tentacle Slash because its speed was unpredictable, so now I should repeat the same mistake. I can do it. To be sure, I tried to move my tentacle for a bit. It is slower than before, but it is fine. It is more than enough to counterattack.


    I wait. I wait for it to approach me again. The cat still hisses, but now it doesn''t look so wary of me. It is good.


    It moves faster than I can see, yet again. But of course, after it entered my Tactile Zone, everything became clear. Just a little bit, and I will destroy you, little beast.


    Just when the cat was about to enter my attack range, its movements changed. It jumped back and then to the left side. Does it try to avoid my tentacle?


    It leaped at me "from the side", but it doesn''t matter. The cat is quick, but my Tentacle Slash is faster!


    I sent my adversary flying. With a loud whimper, it landed on its back about two meters from me. It landed on the small pool of my liquid that was splashed from its previous attacks. Was it coincidence, or my instinct? Or maybe it was the karma?


    It whimpers in the pool of acidic liquid, big wound from my attack on its side. It squirms and suffers, but nothing could help it. The cat''s death is unavoidable.


    Should I feel sorry for it? Maybe if I were still a human. Instead, my instinct tells me something else - assimilate it. While it is still alive, make it the part of you.


    What does it mean? I don''t know. But maybe I should find out. I''m too weak to do it right now, so first I should gather the lost parts of my body.


    The crimson liquid is easy to see. More than that, I can still feel it somehow. Maybe in the future, I would be able to control it even when it is outside of my body?


    It took me about ten seconds to gather all lost parts together, other than the pool under the cat. In this time, it no longer struggles so much, but it is still alive. Don''t be afraid, little friend. You wouldn''t suffer for long.


    The cat lovers will probably hate me for this. But don''t they eat kittens in some countries? I guess it is still much better than what I ate just a little bit before.


    Something inside tells me - assimilate it, and you will be complete. And so I did. My body gently enveloped the still alive cat. We become one. And slowly, I accepted it as part of me.

 Chapter 3. Foreign memories.

    It was the strangest experience I ever had. The feeling of enveloping something alive completely. The state of becoming the one existence with it. It was entirely different from the simple absorption of nutrients I did before.


    More than anything, it was comparable to growing a new organ inside yourself. Something new appears within¡ªsomething you make your own.


    Alongside this feeling, foreign experiences come¡ªthe memories of the cat. Those are strange, indistinct, and primitive memories. Of its home, its owners, how a little girl (rather a cat-girl, considering her ears and tail) petted it, fed by an old woman (of the same race), how it hunted for mice and slept, slept, slept...


    Then, everything changed. Its... no, his world changed. Just a few hours ago, when he, the cat called Zeyl, enjoyed the gentle embrace of his younger female owner, the strange melody reverberated at the center of the village. It didn''t affect Zeyl, but each human lost the ability to think, and just mindlessly followed the sound source.


    He wasn''t glad that his subordinate was controlled by something! So the cat left the house to check what happened.


    At the center of the village''s square was a man. Instead of standing on the ground like he supposed to, the man in dark cloak levitated two meters above the ground.


    The man was too far away for Zeyl to see him properly, but it was evident that he was the perpetrator behind the strange phenomenon.


    But the sight wasn''t cat''s forte in the first place. He could smell the man even from hundreds of meters¡ªthe pleasant scent full of danger.


    Instinctive fear paralyzed Zeyl. He could only observe the unsettling situation from a distance.


    Humans, demi-beasts, and elves gathered around the floating man. Each of them was mesmerized by the creepy music.


    Then the man started to chant something while looking at the raising Crimson Moon. The dark fog began to expand out of his body and enveloped everyone. And then, Zeyl witnessed the nightmare.


    Each humanoid lifeform trembled in anguish¡ªhundreds of screams and terrified shrieks: foaming mouths and crazed eyes. The pandemonium lasted for minutes before each life was lost.


    The dark fog became the crimson and then returned to the man; it gathered under his levitating body. The gruesome scene made the man hysterically laugh in happiness.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Then, he took away something spherical from his cloak and threw it in the fog.


    Something was created from the unknown sphere and the fog. It something was... me. But bigger. Stronger.


    Then it started to absorb bodies. About one minute was enough for this two meters high version of me to "eat" three adult-sized corpses.


    But I already know what it wouldn''t be able to do it for long... And sure enough, after about half a hundred bodies were annihilated, the change happened.


    From afar, something blue attacked the thing at lightning speed. The cloaked man was unable to react in time. And so, the monstrosity was frozen solid just a few moments later.


    The man screamed. He was unhappy. He raised his hand, and the green light approached the thing. But alas, something was faster. The flying spear pierced his frozen creation and shattered it in countless pieces.


    Then a woman appeared at the scene. In heroic white armor, tall and beautiful, she was the true embodiment of the word Valkyrie. The same as the man, the gravitation didn''t bound her movement in the slightest.


    She picked her spear, then chanted something, and the iced pieces of the creature get enveloped in gentle silver light, seemingly obliterated forever.


    After witnessing the true form of his opponent, the man didn''t look relaxed nor brave. Deciding that his chances are slim, he immediately fled the scene. In less than a second, both he and the woman left the scene.


    Zeyl was terrified, but also angry. His obedient and kind servants were killed and then eaten by something incomprehensible. I don''t know why a cat could hold such complex emotions. I also don''t understand why cat-girl and cat-granny would take care of the actual cat... But what I know is the reason why he attacked me. And the reason behind my existence.


    Some parts of that creature survived. And then, revived. And then, got the human mind - my mind.


    I should feel sick and disgusted, knowing the origin of my newfound body. The cat was entirely right in attacking me. But alas, I feel nothing¡ªjust pure enjoyment of getting a new form. The emotions of the thing that kill others, absorb others and become others. This village and the cat are my first victims, but would they be the last?


    Should I seek self-destruction? Do I have the right to live as something so twisted and sickening? Just the existence of this body is the sin, at least from the human morality point of view.


    But what about it? How many lives do we humans consume just to exist? How many living things are sacrificed to give birth to one baby? We eat animals, some of them are very close to us. Heck, they eat cats in China, don''t they? And what about plants? I suppose vegans don''t know that even banana has 50% of human DNA.


    Do I need to align with human morality so much now, when I''m not even sure what kind of lifeform I became?


    No, this thought process is dangerous. What would Lily think about current me? Would she hate me? No. She wouldn''t.


    It wasn''t my choice to be born like this. What truly matters is what kind of conscious decisions I make. Even if my body and instinct tell me otherwise, I''m still me. I wouldn''t kill innocent or make anyone who doesn''t deserve it to suffer. I wouldn''t indiscriminately attack just because I''m hungry or want to taste the delicious flesh.


    But the main question is - should I eat the already dead?

 Chapter 4. Im the cat now.

    I look at the scene. Hundreds of dead bodies. Would be me eating them qualify for proper burial?


    I don''t think so. Let''s imagine that someone I care about died - would I want them to be absorbed into something inhuman? The answer is obvious.


    I''m already guilty of indirectly killing them; I at least owe them a proper burial. Though I don''t know how exactly people do it in this world. I guess someone should arrive here in the next few days, considering the appearance of that woman.


    Now what I think about it, it would be an idiotic choice to absorb those corpses. What if that scary woman will return here only to find out that bodies are gone? She would know what I wasn''t annihilated, and it would be really bad. Even worse - what if she returns while I enjoy my meal?


    Anyway, for now, I will try to ignore dead humans unless I''m sure they deserved the fate of being eaten by me. Or if there is no chance for them to be buried in the first place. What I should do now, though, is to run away from here as fast as I could.


    I feel the changes in my body. The cat became a part of me. My agility improved a lot. But it was the smallest change I experienced.


    "Meow, meow."


    There is a new mind inside of me.


    "Meow, meow."


    And it is annoying, to say the least.


    "Meow, meow... Hiss!"


    Well, I can''t actually feel annoyance, it is just knowledge from my past life of how it should feel.


    "Shut up."


    It seems that after being absorbed, the animal became a little bit more obedient.


    Would it happen each time when I absorb a living body? I would go crazy rather soon then. Or, more likely, it only happens the first time around? I wish it would be the case.


    Zeyl became quiet. But I can also feel that he wants something from me. Not only he, but my inner instinct tells me the same thing.


    Change your body. Experience the new form. Become the other existence.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Understanding what I should do exist inside of me. It is the instinct of my body. And so, I started to change from the inside.


    The process wasn''t exactly pleasant. My cells changed on the fundamental level, and it is a bizarre experience, to say the least.


    Boned appear inside of me, then muscles and tendons, inner organs, brain, skin, and fur... It probably lasted about five minutes, and then I lost my senses for a few seconds.


    When my senses returned, they were different from before. My sight is no longer covering 360 degrees. The number of colors I perceive dropped tremendously as well, even less than a human can discern. In exchange, my hearing experienced an unprecedented upgrade. The previously almost silent world now filled with sounds. Sounds of wind, of insects, of trees...


    The biggest difference, though, is the sense of smell. I didn''t pay attention to it before, but it seems that in my liquid form, I can''t sense the scents at all. And now, my world is felt with different fragrances and odors. The most prominent one is the smell of death...


    My Tactile Zone disappeared, but I still have very similar, though somewhat limited, tactile sense thanks to my whiskers.


    I''m the cat now. Both in appearance and in my senses. I try to move around, but it isn''t as simple as I thought. Movements feel awkward. After running around for a little bit, I even lost my balance and fell down as a result.


    What else I expected? It makes sense that you can''t just get used to the completely new body in a few seconds. On the contrary, my previous situation is a strange one.


    I feel the urges from another mind inside of me. What does he want?


    "Meow, meow!"


    Could it be? Does he want to control the body instead of me?


    Hm... I guess it shouldn''t hurt, right? After all, I have some control over him. It feels that he is just my subordinate and couldn''t disobey me too much.


    I try to feel Zeyl inside of my mental world. He exists there as a separate mental concept. Rather than the other personality, he should be considered an "imaginary friend", I guess. Except, he isn''t imaginary, but real.


    I try to give Zeyl permission to act like he was. I still can feel everything the cat''s body feels, but I don''t control it anymore.


    He seems to be happy... Could it be? I took away control from him to check something. Then, I approach the corpses and... get disappointed, at least in my thoughts.


    I still consider them appetizing. It shouldn''t be the case for a cat, right? I try to look at some small insects and find no interest in them. I still have the same emotions as my liquid body.


    If I really could borrow emotions of absorbed bodies, wouldn''t it be easy to regain my humanity? Just take away some evil criminal''s body, and that is it. Though, wouldn''t his emotions would be twisted because of his evil personality? Well, no reason to think about it now.


    I returned the control over the cat''s body to its rightful owner and ordered him to go hunt in the forest. Preferably, on the opposite side from where cloaked man and Valkyrie-like woman disappeared.


    "Hiss, hiss!"


    It seems Zeyl can read my thoughts somehow, and at the mention of the man who killed his "servants", the cat became rather agitated. Well, I guess if one day I''ll be strong enough then the meeting with my "creator" would be necessary for many reasons.


    Zeyl, obeying my words, moves to the forest while catching some insects along the way.


    It is the beginning of our first hunt. First, but hardly the last.

 Interlude 1. The chase.

    Under the Crimson Moon, two people played the game of cat and mouse. A man and a woman.


    "Brian, it is only a matter of time until your artifact will lose its power. Just give up and allow me to catch you."


    Woman in beautiful shining armor spoke in a tranquil voice.


    "I''m honored to be chased by such an attractive woman, Linne. Don''t ruin the little fun I still can have in this shitty world."


    Cloaked man only teased her, with some bitterness mixed with playfulness.


    Both of them flew in the air at a ridiculous speed of two hundred kilometers per hour, all the while skillfully dodging the countless trees.


    The distance between them was only about three hundred meters, so even a second of distraction could decide the result of their little game.


    "You were very different when we first met each other, Brian. If I knew what kind of person you''ll become..."


    The calmness of her voice was mixed with sadness.


    "Then what?"


    The man asked without slowing down at all.


    "Then, instead of saving you from slavery, I would kill you with my own hands."


    Suddenly her tone changed completely, and, at the same time, her speed increased. Just in a second, she caught up to him and used the Light Art to restrain Brian''s movements.


    "Well, well. Do you want to kill me now?"


    The man asked without betraying any emotions.


    "No. For everything you did, death is way too lenient punishment. I will lock you in prison and make sure that you are properly tortured, broken both in mind and body."


    Her cold voice was void of any emotions. It was hard to guess how true her threats actually were.


    "Oh, thank goodness. And here I was afraid that my life is in danger. Instead, you offer me some temporary vacation? Could it be that you want me to fall in love with you? I''m not so easy, you know."


    The handsome young face under the cloak looked directly at the silver-haired woman. For this man, this world isn''t real. For this man, nothing truly matters. He has the only sole objective, and he will sacrifice anything else to achieve it, including this woman who saved his life more than once.


    "Even if I felt even a sliver of goodwill towards you, it disappeared a long time ago, Brian. Now I truly understand that you, the Summoned ones, are not like us."


    The chains made of silver light entirely restricted the man''s movements, but he didn''t seem to be bothered by it.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Oh, right? I can say the same. Any goodwill I did have for you people disappeared when I learned that slavery is a completely acceptable thing for you."


    The woman furrowed her brows.


    "What do you understand? Slaves are necessary for our society to flourish. Without it, we will lose to other nations who use slaves for labor and magic experimentations. Do you think I like it? No. But what I, alone, can do? It is a necessary evil. In comparison, what you did today is pure evil."


    Hearing this, the man burst out in laughter, as if hearing a funny joke.


    "Linne, you are truly ignorant. It seems your subordinates don''t tell you all of their plans, aren''t they? Sure, to create my Blood Slime Avatar, sacrifices are needed. Preferably those with pure and simple minds and of different races and ages. But why do you think I chose this village even if I knew about the risk of being caught by you?"


    He then continued without waiting for her reply.


    "The reason is simple - this village would be destroyed in any case, even if I did nothing. The settlement with humans, "beastards", and "long-earers" just a few kilometers away from the Dark River City? The mayor wouldn''t tolerate it for long, right? The extermination was already scheduled to be done three days later. Shouldn''t you thank me for doing your people''s work?"


    The woman was shocked, just for a moment. But it was enough for Brian to activate his cloak and escape the restriction spell. For a second, he became the immaterial darkness. But instead of running away, he attacked his captor with the green ball of mana.


    Taken by surprise, Linne didn''t have time to dodge, so she attacked the ball with her spear instead. She falsely thought that it was the same type of attack she already has seen him using many times before, but it wasn''t the case. The green ball exploded in the blinding light and made her lose her senses for a few seconds. It was enough for Brian to increase the distance between them to a few hundred meters. But as someone with a higher level of power, Linne still was confident in her ability to caught him. It was just a matter of time.


    The scene repeated itself as they played the cat-and-mouse game again.


    "Why are you running away, Brian? Didn''t you said that you aren''t afraid of the prison?"


    Linne was more and more impatient; the strange sense of urgency filled her for no reason.


    "I''m sure it would be an interesting experience, but I have other things to do, you know? Now what you ruined my plan of getting supreme body for myself, I need to try something else."


    His leisure tone still was unable to cover exhaustion hidden in his voice. If it weren''t for his powerful artifact, he wouldn''t be able to compete with her in speed.


    "Be honest, Brian. You are already at your limit, right? The Cloak of True Shadows isn''t something the person of your level can utilize fully. If you continue, both your body and mind would be damaged."


    Linne said it while getting ready to repeat her outburst of power from before. The cooldown time was almost over.


    "Thank you very much for caring about my health. I appreciate it a lot. Fortunately, I don''t need to endure for too long. We are almost here, hehe."


    After hearing his words, she, at last, sensed it¡ªthe powerful source of mana. Realizing the implications of its existence, she tried to activate Valkyrie Rush forcefully before the cooldown time ended. It put a strain on her body, but if she just wasted a little bit more of her time - he would be gone!


    "Don''t you dare to run away again, Brian!"


    She charged at him twice as fast as before. The last time it worked, but now it was too late.


    The dim magic circle, hidden under the grass, activated. And cloaked man disappeared in it, leaving the parting words to his female companion.


    "It was nice to see you again, Linne! The next time we meet each other, I will be stronger than you, believe it or not. Don''t be afraid; for the sake of our past friendship, I wouldn''t harm you. We''ll just play around a little bit, heh. Nothing erotic though, I keep my chastity for my future wife."


    She, at last, was unable to keep her true emotions and screamed.


    "Brian!"


    And then she dropped on her knees and burst into tears. Now, when no one is around, she is just a weak girl, not majestic Valkyrie admired by masses.


    "Just why you became like this?"


    She asked herself, again and again, unable to find the answer.

 Chapter 5. Lets hunt.

    It is rather bizarre to experience everything your body does and feels while allowing someone else to control it instead. Especially so if "your" body isn''t even yours in the first place.


    Zeyl seems to be very familiar with the forest around the village. It makes sense, considering that he spent all five years of his life here. Traveling around his home is a natural thing to do for a cat.


    It took him about half an hour to arrive far enough in the forest to be unable to recognize the terrain. Somehow, the atmosphere around changed as well.


    Many foreign animal scents, some of them too dangerous for us to approach. If before he was able to catch some small rodents and insects without many efforts, then now we should be cautious.


    Was it a good idea to leave the place blindly? But then again, there weren''t any big roads that could lead to any neighboring cities either. From Zeys'' memories, I understood the fact that this village was isolated from the rest of the world. What was this place anyway?


    It doesn''t matter, though, for now, I just need to become stronger, somehow. And for that, we need to absorb more animals.


    Zeyl sensed another small mouse-like rodent under the tree similar to Earth''s birch. It doesn''t take long for him to catch it without killing. Then, I changed part of the body in liquid form and absorbed it gently.


    The taste wasn''t as good as that of a human, but still not too bad. As our hunt proceeded, one fact became obvious - absorbing Zeyl was a special process. Even when I eat those small animals or insects alive, it doesn''t feel much different from eating their corpses. Well, I can read their minuscule memories, but there is nothing important in them. I can''t change my form to them, and they don''t keep any thoughts.


    Is it because they are small and unintelligent in the first place? Or because I already integrated my body with Zeyl? I''m not sure, but I still get more energy out of eating them alive, so I''ll continue to do just this.


    Still, I don''t feel that it makes me much stronger - are there other requirements? Should I try to hunt something bigger? Humans would be out of the question. Even if I became stronger, I still pretty much sure that the average human should kick a cat''s ass easily. And what if it would be a flying freak like those two from before?


    Okey, Zeyl. Try to find a bigger prey. An animal similar to you in size, but somehow weaker. Can you do it?


    "Meow! (affirmative)"


    Do it then, my loyal servant!If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Meow, meow! (unpleased)"


    Ok, ok. I just wanted to say it. Do it then, my good companion!


    "Meow! (sir, yes, sir!)"


    It seems I started to understand him better. Did his mental development advance after becoming a part of me?


    Zeyl cautiously avoided some dangerous scents and tried to find something that could be a nice opponent. It isn''t an easy goal as he never was so far in the forest and can''t be sure about each scent''s owner. Still, after another ten minutes, we were able to find our biggest prey so far.


    Indeed, it was about as big as Zeyl. And indeed it shouldn''t be much stronger either... What strange is - why exactly it looks like a giant squirrel? And why is it holds a mouse-like corpse in its mouth?


    The giant squirrel seems to found us as well and looked in our direction curiously. It then swallowed its prey in one gulp and got ready for the fight.


    Is fighting a giant squirrel is considered an upgrade compared to fighting the cat? I''m not sure. But at least I can test our combined fighting capabilities and effects of absorbing alive something as big as me.


    "Hiss!"


    It wasn''t Zeyl who hissed, but the squirrel. It tried to intimidate us, I guess.


    "Hiss!"


    And my cat didn''t like it.


    So, the fight started. Zeyl moved significantly faster than when he fought against me. He leaped on the squirrel, and his claw already grazed its head. The squirrel reacted in the last moment, dodging the hit and then tried to run away. But the cat was faster.


    Just when I thought that we already won, our opponent changed its actions. Instead of running away, it opened its mouth as wide as it could. Then something strange happened. Its tooths started to vibrate and gather air in the ball. Everything happened in a second, and then that ball of air already moved in our direction at a frightening speed. We were too close to dodge it. Before I can think of countermeasure, Zeyl''s head already became a bloody mess. If it was his old body, I guess he would be already dead.


    It hurts. It doesn''t hurt as much as being damaged in liquid form, but still, the feeling of your head being half-destroyed isn''t something you experience daily.


    I took away the control from Zeyl and wait. It seems that being damaged in the cat form doesn''t cancel it. My best bet, for now, would be to play dead and then counter-attack when the creature tries to approach. It wouldn''t be able to make another such attack, right?


    Thankfully, either this ability can''t be used often, or this squirrel is just stupid, but there was no other attack. I patiently pretended to be dead and waited. At the same time, I also changed my inner body into liquid form. Just come here, little friend.


    With my original body form slowly restored, Tactile Zone returned as well. It is only one meter big, but I don''t need more.


    If squirrel just escaped now, the plan would fail. But how can it abandon its spoil so easily? Of course, it wouldn''t.


    So, after waiting for a minute and not seeing any reaction from me, it approached without any caution. Caught you.


    When it was less than half a meter from me - I acted. The cat body changed into the crimson liquid, and my prey was completely enveloped a moment later.


    It tried to move in an attempt to struggle its way out, but it was useless. My liquid was both outside and inside of it. The resistance is futile.


    And so, the process of becoming one started. Alas, something unexpected happened in the process.


    Mana absorption by a new lifeform is detected.


    Analyzing the cell structure.


    Access is accepted.


    High-level mental processes detected.


    Status function initiated.