'Royal Minotaur? Is that a Monster Species related to the Guardian?'
[No information available.]
'Umm... Great Abyssal Weretiger would make me bigger and stronger, also would grow my left arm back. The first one is a no-no. I don't feel like going back to walking on four limbs just yet...'
Mark looked at his Underlings.
Only those he had come into the Eighth Floor with, were left.
'Can I get some opinions?'
Kalès took a knee while the other Underlings, Kira and Light, sat on the ground.
'No reason to ask you, huh? Mark thought as he chuckled.
Mark walked towards the Boss Room's wall.
'The Guardian and the Boss Room were protected by Minotaur Guards. Guards. It's probable that the Guardian was royalty then, right? Its pelt was golden. Mmm... Just like that of the Calamity Of Minos. Maybe both of them were royalty? They were too different though...'
He rested his back against the wall.
'The king and a disfigured brother? Something like that...?'
Mark chuckled
'No need to choose too fast...'
He raised his gaze towards the ceiling.
'Mmm. It's possible that Royal Minotaur is simply a bigger version of the Guards. They were already a bit taller than Kira. That wouldn't be my favorite choice then. But it could also be the same size as the Guardian. Great Abyssal Weretiger would make me a bit bigger. Maybe as big as Kalès? Plus, I would still be an Abyssal Monster then, which would allow me to keep the ability to fuse myself with other Abyssal Monsters-'
[Your reward has been chosen.]
[You have Devoured the Eight Floor's Guardian.]
[Your Unique Title "Devourer" gives birth to a new Unique Title.]
[You have earned the Unique Title "Heart Devourer".]
[Devouring a Monster's heart gives you a chance to capture its essence.]
'Essence? What do you mean?'
[Among other things, you have a certain chance to develop that creature's Skill(s).]
'Among others? You mean the rest isn't important?'
[That information is unavailable.]
'Tsk. No need to think about it too much then. So basically, I can devour a Monster and obtain its Skills?'
[Only one Skill can be obtained at a time.]
[Obtaining one of the creature's Skills is not guaranteed.]
'Yeah.... Getting all of a Monster's Skills would have been too good to be true, I guess. That's pretty good though. Do I get a reward like this every time I eat a Guardian?'
[A reward is given after Devouring a Floor's Guardian.]
Mark turned towards Kalès and Kira.
'Maybe I should have devoured you both...'
He shook his head.
'Anyways. Alright, I guess... Mm. If there's a chance to turn into the Guardian, then it's definitely worth it. If I don't like the form I get, I'll just have to Evolve sooner on the next Floor.'
Mark stood up.
'I'll take the Royal Minotaur. Let's seen what it's abo...ut....'
He fell asleep mid-sentence.
Mark fell to the ground, unconscious.
His body started changing.
***
Shrouded in darkness, Mark couldn't see a thing.
'Where am I? Did I fall asleep again?'
The next second, something appeared in front of him.
'Is that... That's-'
A mirror.
Reflected, was the image of a young man.
Mark stared.
And the young man stared back.
Brown eyes.
Long black hair that fell over his narrow shoulders.
Mark studied the reflected image.
The young man wore white clothes, in which he seemed to drown.
The young man was frail.
Very frail.
Mark tried raising his arm, and so did the young man.
Mark lowered his gaze.
Instantly, the darkness, that covered his body, faded.
Mark clenched his fists.
He moved his limbs.
'That's me. That's... Definitely me.'
Mark studied his body.
Perplexed.
That body was his.
And yet, it felt foreign.
A lone thought, could not escape Mark's mind.
'Was I really this skinny-'
Lightning struck through the darkness.
Mark's body twitched.
He directed his gaze back to the mirror.
A second later, the young man's body started changing.
His face was deformed.
The frail muscles started growing.
The young man grew taller.
His black hair, turned red.
Mark's eyes widened, as a ferocious beast stared at him.
He would've taken a step back, had he not recognized the beast.
Mark lowered his gaze, before looking at the mirror once more.
'So that's the form I have now. Staring at it is...'
Mixed feelings.
The Monster opened its mouth wide, showing its numerous fangs.
'It truly is-'
The mirror cracked.
The next second, it broke into pieces.
Once more, Mark was surrounded by nothing but darkness.
In the distance, shiny stars appeared.
They seemed to be getting closer.
Once they were close enough,
'Butterflies...?'
Mark tried to step back, but his body refused to answer his commands.
'What is-'
The butterflies got closer and closer.
Their wings were long and blue.
They flapped those wings repeatedly, until they were right in front of Mark.
With grace and dignity, they hovered in the air.
'It's... Beautiful-'
The butterflies flew closer.
They landed on Mark's left shoulder.
Unable to move his limbs, all he could do, was spectate.
With weightless steps, that Mark could not feel, the harmless butterflies walked on the red fur that covered his body.
A second time, lightning struck.
The sudden outburst of both light and sound, made Mark's heart rate shoot up.
Surprise.
Confusion.
Which quickly turned into anxiety.
'This is... A dream. No need to...'
Anxiety gave birth to slight fear, as the butterflies' wings turned red.
Blood red.
For some reason, Mark managed to raise his left arm.
He stared at the gentle creatures.
The butterflies stood on Mark's left arm.
Right between his shoulder and arm muscles.
A weak smile on his face.
'They really are beautiful. Compared to this form I have, they're-'
Lightning struck.
The next second,
'Stop-'
Fangs, that the butterflies did not previously possess, sank into his skin.
Worry.
Fright.
Mark tried to move his arms, but couldn't.
Only his legs complied.
He took a step back
One of the butterflies flapped its wings.
As if it was nothing more than loosely attached scotch tape, Mark's skin was pulled away.
Torn.
Freight turned to horror.
Mark wanted to scream, but couldn't.
His mind went blank.
His heart rate went through the roof, as one by one, the delicate creatures ripped the skin off his arm.
Seconds later, the butterflies were hovering in front of Mark once more.
He stared at them, as they started flying away.
Dangling below each one of them, as if colorful red ribbons, were portions of Mark's skin.
As the butterflies got further and further, Mark wanted to keep staring at them.
He didn't want to look away.
Or rather, he didn't want to look.
And yet, he did.
Muscles.
Tendons.
Bones.
An arm that had been cleanly undressed.
Horrified, Mark's legs gave out.
On the dark and invisible ground, he fell.
Not a sound could leave his mouth.
Mark crawled back while extending his left arm as much as possible.
As if trying to increase the distance between that arm and himself.
The next second, something fell on his body.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Droplets.
Rain.
'What the hell... Is this-'
The muscles that constituted Mark's left arm started melting.
The melted muscles fell off and disappeared into the darkness.
Only white bones were left.
Soon after, cracks appeared on those bones.
They shattered.
As if it had become one with the darkness surrounding him, Mark's left arm had disappeared.
Lightning struck.
A blinding light forced him to close his eyes.
Once he opened them back up, a cloudy sky welcomed him.
'Rain...?'
Mark looked around him.
A field covered in grass.
Suddenly, a voice resonated, and the clouds thickened.
A storm was approaching.
"Hey there!"
Somehow, Mark recognized that voice.
'That voice, it's...!'
He turned around.
"Oh my... How you've changed..."
A gentle and cheerful voice.
Filled with playfulness.
It was only seconds earlier, that Mark was surrounded by nothing other than darkness.
It was scary.
Cold
Frightening.
Lonely.
And yet, somehow, the scene in front of him felt worse.
The woman he once knew, was out of reach.
So out of reach, that even his sight could not be laid on her.
Shrouded in a dark fog, the woman talked.
"Not answering? It's me! Don't tell me you've forgotten about me?"
Mark tried standing up.
He tried to get closer.
But his body refused to move.
'No. It's just... I'm-'
Mark tried talking, but only growls and roars left his mouth.
The falling rain got heavier.
"Fangs, claws... Wow. That's horrible."
Mark's heart shook.
"You're scary. So scary."
Mark opened his mouth in an attempt to say something.
The woman's playful tone suddenly turned cold.
Unwelcoming.
"Hideous. You're not the same Mark anymore, huh?"
'It's not... No. I haven't changed. I'm not a Monster. I... It's... It's just my appearance. I'm Mark! I'm not...'
His body started twitching, as he tried to come up with excuses.
Excuses that couldn't even reach the one they were addressed to.
Mark clenched his teeth.
He lowered his gaze.
"Not a Monster? Who are you lying to?"
'Huh?'
"I know what you've done."
Mark was both surprised and shocked.
"We both know it. You've fought like a monster. Killed like a monster... It's disgusting really. Your appearance changed, and that was enough for you to become this?"
'But I had to, I-'
"Not only that, but you feast upon them. Killing and eating the things you kill. Absolutely disgusting. You look like a monster and live like one. How can you say you're not one? And the worse of it is that..."
Mark's mind went blank.
"... You enjoy it."
Mark lowered his gaze to the ground.
"You enjoy it, don't you? Admit it. Eating what you find to survive, I could understand doing that. But to enjoy killing, to enjoy living like a monster... Still, I should've known, right?"
The light in Mark's eyes grew darker.
"There was always something wrong with you."
'Stop.'
"It was always there. This hideous part of you."
'I said stop.'
"I knew it was there too. But I had to act like I couldn't see it. I had to take care of you, even though... Even though... Tsk."
Mark's heart ached at the woman's words.
He couldn't remember who she was.
He couldn't remember how she took care of him.
But Mark believed her words to be true.
"Do you know how hard it was for me? I had to see you every day. I had to force myself to smile every day, even though..."
Mark knew it was true.
His sinking heart was reason enough to prove it.
Mark's memories weren't lost.
They had been buried somewhere.
Somewhere far away.
"I've always hated you. Always have. And you've proven me right. I was right to hate you. You monster."
Raging thunder struck above the plain field.
Mark's melancholic gaze changed.
Anger.
Rage.
His gaze turned vicious.
Hateful.
Before Mark could realize it, he was standing.
Before he could realize it, his legs were moving towards the dark fog.
Before he could realize it, words were coming out of his mouth.
Standing in front of the dark fog, Mark's blood was boiling.
"I've had enough of you. Judging me? Who do you even think you are? You think I'll make excuses? That I'll apologize for what I've done? I've killed Monsters. So? You think I'll feel bad about that?"
The wind became violent.
"I can't remember a thing from my past. Actually, I don't even care about it. It doesn't interest me. Know why? You've made it clear. If I'm enjoying this life, if I'm enjoying turning into a Monster like you say, then it's obvious..."
A powerful storm ruled over the plain field.
"...This past life of mine, in which you were a part, must have been the worst."
Mark's rage wasn't close to being quenched.
On the contrary, it burned fiercer and fiercer.
Yet, the expression on his face changed.
"So if my past life was that bad, then what's the harm? I'll make the best of this life. Turning into a monster? Living like a monster? That's fine by me. I'll live this life to the fullest. I won't be tied down. Not by my past, not by my previous perceptions of what's right and what's wrong, and certainly not by you. Seeing my past self did make me hesitant but... Actually, even before that..."
Mark clenched his fist.
He stared at that clenched fist profoundly.
"That's right. Even before, I was thinking of myself as if stuck inside a Monster's body, but that's not it. That's not quite right... After defeating the Chimera, I even asked questions about what there was, outside of the Dungeon, for someone stuck in a Monster's body. Hear that? Someone stuck in a Monster's body? It's so foolish I could laugh. Acting as if I was trapped inside this body. "
A wide and horrific smile appeared on his face.
"I became a Monster. This body is mine. That's all there is to it. No reason to feel bad about becoming a monster. No reason to feel bad about living like one. I'll live however I want to. Act however I decide to. Freely. And I'll enjoy it as much as I can."
Mark raised his gaze once more.
"I am a Monster. And so-"
The raging thunder was no more.
The storm had passed.
Rays of gentle sunlight passed through the clouds, as the dark fog faded.
And in front of Mark, stood a woman.
Red hair that barely fell below her chin.
Vibrant green eyes.
A warm smile.
Mark's body froze in place, as the woman raised her arms.
"Right."
Gently, her hands were laid on Mark's cheeks.
"Live freely."
The tone of her voice became, once more, cheerful.
Radiant.
"That's more like it, Mark."
***
[Congratulations!]
[You have developed the Passive Skill: "Royal Minotaur's Aura [C-]".]
[You have developed the Magic Skill: "Protective Barrier [D+]".]
[You have Evolved into a: "Royal Minotaur[C+]".]
The slumbering Master's eyes opened.