Chapter 555: Chapter 554: Blood Never Lies
The atmosphere became increasingly restless after the transformations stabilized completely.
The newly mutated beasts could barely remain still anymore.
Several of the canines were already circling one another with visible playful aggression.
Meat slammed his paw into the ground, cracking the ground beneath him, before proudly looking around as if expecting praise for it.
Meanwhile, the felines behaved differently.
Although they were far less openly stimulated than the canines, their excitement wasn’t any less.
Their sharpened eyes continuously wandered across one another while several repeatedly tested their abilities in the open as if gauging who had the best one.
The Savannah cat had already separated itself again.
Now there were three of them.
Unfortunately, the newly created copies immediately started hissing at one another over absolutely nothing, despite sharing the same mind.
Noah could sense their eagerness. He, too, wanted to take them to perform their normal group battle exercise.
Simple observation alone could only tell him so much. Actual combat would reveal far more about their instincts, physical growth, coordination, and the practical applications of their newly developed abilities.
And judging from the way the beasts could barely restrain themselves anymore, they would agree in a heartbeat if he asked.
"You already know where to go if you want to test yourselves," Noah finally spoke.
Every head snapped towards him as if they couldn’t believe what he said. And when his words finally registered, their reactions became an amusing scene to witness.
Several canines practically launched themselves away before he even fully finished speaking.
The felines reacted only slightly slower, though many of them still tried maintaining some semblance of dignity while following behind.
That dignity immediately disappeared once one of the dogs shouted something about "showing the cats real strength."
A chorus of hisses instantly followed.
Noah nearly laughed watching the chaos among them.
The rivalry between the two groups had only intensified as they gained strength.
Yet strangely enough, that wasn’t a bad thing.
Competition would force them to continue growing faster.
Dog watched the others leave before slowly standing himself.
The newly evolved beast looked noticeably larger now, even while remaining on all fours.
Alexandria also glanced toward the dispersing felines. Her tails fluttered around one another with a rather strong intensity before her gaze shifted toward Noah.
Neither of them needed instructions. As the leaders of their respective groups, they needed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those beneath them better than anyone else.
Especially now that every creature had mutated differently and could no longer be considered the same.
Dog was the first to leave.
Several canines immediately gathered around him the moment he started walking away, almost instinctively placing themselves behind him despite their excitement.
Alexandria left shortly, alongside Dobby.
Although the felines lacked the same openly obedient structure as the canines, they still naturally gravitated toward her presence regardless.
Eventually, the area quieted down.
Unlike earlier, however, Noah’s attention toward them was far more focused.
The creatures from before had served as a successful test.
But these ones were different.
These were the true core of his territory. And because of that, he had to be even stricter with himself in the process.
"Before we begin... Pandora, you can let him out now."
There wasn’t any confusion about who Noah was referring to.
Most of their gazes gradually shifted toward the massive construct resting near the edge of the territory.
The thick roots blocking every opening immediately began retracting afterward. And almost immediately, something massive stumbled outward.
Dummy nearly tripped over himself the moment the roots were fully released.
The gluttonous beast visibly swayed before catching itself at the last second. Several bits of shredded roots were still hanging from the corners of his mouth.
There were even visible portions of Pandora’s roots that were completely gone.
Truthfully, nobody could determine whether Dummy had been chewing through the roots because he was genuinely trying to escape, or because he simply got hungry while imprisoned.
Probably both.
The beast himself only looked momentarily disoriented after being released.
Then suddenly his head snapped upward. Dummy immediately noticed everyone gathered around Noah.
More specifically, he recognized the scent. The same scent that he smelt so much of while he was trapped inside his own den.
The gluttonous beast instantly lunged forward with alarming speed.
Several nearby creatures immediately tensed. Fenrir was already preparing to move.
"Dummy."
Noah’s voice wasn’t loud. If anything, it almost sounded like a tired parent calling out toward an unruly child.
Yet the moment the words reached Dummy, the beast reacted as though an overwhelming pressure slammed directly into him.
Dummy’s entire body jerked while desperately trying to stop himself mid-charge.
His claws dug deeply into the ground, leaving a noteworthy trench behind him. The momentum still carried him several more feet before he finally stopped.
Several moments passed while Dummy behaved almost meekly under Noah’s gaze.
Fenrir quietly released a breath of relief from nearby. At least this time, Dummy hadn’t embarrassed him immediately in front of everyone.
"Noah, I won’t question the company you keep, but..."
Bolas finally emerged from his cave, now that the only thing he cared about was beginning.
His massive figure slowly approached while his gaze remained entirely fixed on Dummy.
As he looked into the gluttonous creature’s eyes. He didn’t see a hint of intelligence within them.
Dummy looked back toward Bolas briefly before immediately trying to sniff the air around him instead.
The drake’s expression stiffened, and then he exhaled.
"...Forget I said anything."
Originally, Bolas intended to question how Noah could possibly trust a creature like this around the others when the beast looked moments away from attempting to eat even Noah himself.
But after looking directly into those empty eyes...
He no longer believed Dummy possessed enough awareness to be nearly as malicious as he initially assumed.
Dummy continued sniffing toward the drake again.
Then suddenly sneezed hard enough from his mouths to cause himself to fall over.
The silence somehow made the situation even stranger.
Eventually, Bolas looked back toward Noah again.
"...I’m still not convinced this thing should be allowed to roam freely."
Noah considered the statement honestly, then he released a small chuckle.
"That’s a fair point. But I have a lot of hope for this guy. He may be slow, but I acknowledge him as part of this dysfunctional family."
The words caused Fenrir to feel a hint of pride, one of the few times he didn’t regret bringing Dummy into his pack.
Meanwhile, Bolas stared at Noah in complete silence before slowly looking back toward Dummy again.
At almost the exact same moment, thick saliva was already dripping from Dummy’s mouths out of pure impatience.
The gluttonous beast looked moments away from attempting to eat the ground itself if Noah delayed any longer.
Bolas’ expression flattened at the sight.
"...Your standards for family concern me."
"Hey," Noah replied immediately. "If you thought I welcomed you into this family because you were different, then I have some terrible news for you."
That shut Bolas up surprisingly quickly.
The drake stared at Noah for several long moments, waiting for a grand comeback to strike him, only to end up with nothing.
Noah didn’t pay the drake any more attention; he was ready to begin.
"Before we start, don’t expect any grand changes. The others were significantly weaker than you all, and that’s the reason their mutations became so dramatic."
"And Arachne," Noah added while glancing toward her briefly. "We’ll take care of your underlings after this."
The spider immediately perked up. After witnessing the transformations of the cats and dogs, her expectations for her brood had already risen dramatically.
If creatures like them could undergo such drastic growth, then what about creatures born directly from her nest?
If her brood understood the significance and they had worse reactions, then they may not want to go through with the process.
With that settled, Noah replayed the scene with him sending out his tendrils to them all.
Gwen was surprised when she discovered a tendril hovering above her face. Her expression shifted between confusion and alarm.
"...Wait."
"You are a part of our group now," Noah said before she could fully protest.
"And I won’t allow anyone meant to protect Pandora to remain weak."
For several moments, she simply stared at Noah. The initial shock of being included in the process quickly gave way to how easily Noah accepted her.
First, it was allowing him to sleep in the same room with someone he deeply cared for, and now this.
Each moment was decided without hesitation or suspicion.
Did he truly have that much faith in her already?
Or perhaps Noah simply didn’t fear what would happen even if she betrayed him someday.
Truthfully...
After witnessing everything within this territory so far, Gwen was beginning to suspect it was the latter.
Meanwhile nearby, Dummy narrowed both sets of eyes suspiciously while observing the tendril approaching him.
Noah immediately pointed toward him.
"Don’t bite it."
The creature looked genuinely conflicted, as though Noah had just denied him the greatest joy he could possibly experience.
Ignoring the scene entirely, Noah allowed his infused blood to drop towards them.
And immediately, a pure overwhelming pressure was released.
Noah didn’t expect such a reaction, but recounting how strong each one was individually, the results of their combined mana being released should’ve been expected.
If anything, the changes happening within them felt far more controlled.
It made him relieved that the cats and dogs had left before this happened.
