Lord Of Beasts

Up in the shattered remains of the stadium stands, Ethan stared in awe.

The entire time, he had maintained Partial Assimilation with Talon, his body light and responsive as he darted across broken flooring, avoiding falling debris and stray shockwaves from the clash below.

At one point, he had even grabbed the small and surprisingly light woman, throwing her over his shoulder mid-dash to evade a series of crimson projectiles coming their way.

”Put me down!” she had yelled, half-panicked, half-offended.

”Relax,” Ethan shot back, leaping over a falling beam. ”Unless you want to get killed.”

She couldn’t argue with that, though it did feel weird for Ethan to say that to an A Rank. Without mana or whatever she called the energy she wielded, she seemed helpless.

So, to keep her from getting crushed or killed in the crossfire, Ethan carried her and occasionally passed her to the Pink Flash. Both of them moved around as needed, while tossing the Barrier Bastion between them like a football.

It was insane how many famous and powerful Titled somehow ended up around him, but there was something much crazier.

They all stared at the man in the crater in awe.

”Who is that guy?” Ethan asked in a hushed tone.

Both women turned to him instantly, both looking at him in disbelief.

”Are you being for real?” the pink-haired speedster asked, eyes wide.

Ethan shrugged.

”Yeah?”

The Barrier Bastion stared at him like he had just confessed to not knowing what gravity was.

”Have you been living under a rock or something?!” she snapped.

”That,” the Pink Flash added, pointing dramatically toward the man, ”is Titan.”

Ethan tilted his head slightly.

”Titan....”

He paused, thinking, before adding casually.

”Oh. Right. That’s my nephew’s favourite Titled.”

The silence that followed was painful, both looking at him as if he’d lost the plot.

”Your nephew?” the Barrier Bastion repeated slowly.

”Yeah,” Ethan said casually. ”Kid’s got posters and everything. Cape, merch, the whole deal.”

The Pink Flash dragged a hand down her face.

”Practically everyone in the world knows who he is,” she said. ”Even people without internet know who Titan is.”

Ethan shrugged again.

”There’s just too many to keep up with.”

”What do you mean?!” she snapped.

”He’s literally the only S Rank in the country that you need to remember!”

Ethan couldn’t argue with that.

”Fair enough.”

And just like that, their attention snapped back to the arena.

’Let me see what an S Rank can do.’

Ethan’s eyes sharpened.

He had chased power since entering the Tower Of Beasts and receiving his Title, and at the top of that climb stood beings like this.

S Ranks.

Entities that existed above normal standards, above laws, and even above logic.

They weren’t just strong, but simply on another level.

Or at least that’s what was said about them, but what did that really mean?

’I guess I’m about to find out.’

The one standing in front of him now had no overwhelming aura, no suffocating pressure like Kaela or Elara, and no visible power leaking from his body. It was like he didn’t have any supernatural energy within him.

He just looked like a tired guy in a cape complaining about pizza.

Yet his crash landing alone spoke volumes about what he was capable of, leaving them all curious about how he would fare against two powerful A Ranks...

-

Down below, the tension snapped.

”Bug off, boy,” Elara snarled, her crimson aura flaring violently, the air around her distorting under its weight. ”I’m in the middle of something.”

Her blood-red eyes locked onto Titan with open hostility. Meanwhile, Kaela rolled her shoulders, purple energy crackling across her skin like lightning.

”Took the words right out of my mouth,” she added, grinning ferally. ”Titan, get out of the way.”

Despite recognising him and knowing his evaluated rank, neither of them backed down.

If anything, they became more fired up.

Titan sighed, letting out a long, tired exhale.

”I was really hoping you’d just listen,” he muttered.

He cracked his neck lazily as he glanced between them.

”Guess I’ll have to use force.”

There was no build-up, dramatic stance, or surge of power.

He just moved.

Zoom!

Ethan didn’t even see it happen.

One moment, Titan was standing there.

The next, he was gone with barely a blur, faster than anything Ethan had seen, including the pink-haired B Rank huddled beside him.

Then there was the impact.

Kaela’s eyes widened as her body was jerked sideways, instantly erased from her position. A fraction of a second later, a distant explosion echoed from the far side of the stadium as her body slammed through multiple layers of ruined concrete.

Before anyone could react, Titan moved again, this time floating towards her coolly.

Elara’s eyes snapped toward him, red energy surging instinctively.

She fired a beam of condensed crimson power at point-blank range, a devastating attack that had moments ago been tearing through structures like paper.

Titan raised a hand and casually swatted it away.

”That tickles, you know,” he said flatly.

Elara’s expression shifted.

For the first time, something close to surprise flickered across her face.

Then he moved again.

Zoom!

Ethan’s heart pounded as he watched what was happening.

’What the hell...’

This wasn’t speed, not like Talon or the Pink Flash; it was something much more absolute. It was even more frightening than Elara’s teleportation, since it was so effortless.

’And what the fuck is he made of?!’

He reappeared behind Elara and slammed down on her shoulder lazily, as if patting her back.

Boom!

The ground beneath her imploded as she was driven straight down, her body smashing into the arena floor with a force that cratered the flooring. Elara’s legs were embedded deep into the ground, and it was a miracle they weren’t shattered.

Dust exploded upward, shockwaves rippled outward, and the already ruined stadium trembled violently.

Up above, no one spoke.

Because what they were watching wasn’t a fight, but complete suppression...