Lord Of Beasts

Another shockwave ripped through the stadium.

Ethan ducked instinctively, grabbing the Barrier Bastion again and leaping backwards as a chunk of concrete crashed where they had just been standing.

”Okay, yeah, we can’t stay here anymore,” he murmured.

Even with Partial Assimilation activated, he was still struggling not to get crushed or killed in the crossfire. The residual force alone was enough to kill weaker Titled, and had done so.

And with the A Ranks ramping up and Titan matching their output, it was only getting harder. Though he really didn’t want to leave, not when he was witnessing something like this.

His eyes flicked toward the small woman in his grasp.

”Hey.”

She blinked up at him, clearly exhausted.

”What?”

”Can you put up a barrier?”

She stared at him.

”Are you serious?”

”To protect the three of us,” he added, nodding toward the Pink Flash beside him.

The pink-haired speedster zipped into place beside them, leaving a faint trail of light as she stopped, completely unfazed by the chaos.

”Yeah,” she added casually. ”That’d be nice.”

The woman groaned.

”I mean... I might be able to with the energy I’ve recovered,” she admitted reluctantly. ”But not for long.”

”Good enough.”

Ethan set her down.

The three of them instinctively huddled closer together as another blast shook the ground beneath them.

Liora, the Barrier Bastion, took a shaky breath and raised her arms.

Translucent energy formed instantly as a glass-like substance expanded outward, enclosing them in a small, cube-shaped barrier. It shimmered faintly, and despite being thin and fragile-looking, it was stable.

At least for now.

”There,” she said, already sweating slightly. ”Let’s see how long I can keep this up.”

Inside the barrier, for the first time since the chaos began, they were still and relatively safe. And so all three of them turned their full attention back to the battlefield...

-

Titan hovered slightly above the ground now.

Below him, Kaela and Elara stood side by side, breathing heavily but still dangerous as they unleashed their full power.

For the first time, Titan’s expression shifted slightly.

”Alright,” he muttered. ”Now you’re starting to try.”

Ethan leaned forward slightly, eyes locked, and heart racing.

The battle-crazed Valkyrie and the ominous Red Demon that had been tearing each other apart only moments ago now surged forward as one, their auras intertwining in violent shades of crimson and violet.

Two A Ranks working together, and surprisingly well.

Yet it still wasn’t enough...

-

Kaela came in first.

A blur of purple energy and raw instinct, her body twisting unnaturally as she closed the distance in an instant, her fist cocked back with enough force to shatter mountains.

Elara followed, or rather, she blinked forward in a flicker of red. Appearing above Titan, her arm already morphed into a jagged crimson spear that pulsed with destructive energy.

They struck at the same time again, a perfect collision of timing and power.

Boom!

The impact alone sent a shockwave tearing through the stadium, ripping apart what little structure remained and sending debris flying across the surrounding streets.

But Titan didn’t move, simply raising an arm to catch Kaela’s fist.

At the same time, his other hand snapped upward, grabbing Elara’s descending strike mid-air. The crimson energy around her arm, flaring violently, was crushed, dispersing like mist.

”Seriously?” Titan muttered, sounding more tired than impressed. ”You’ve tried this already.”

And then, he pushed them away casually.

Kaela was launched backwards, her body skidding across the ground before flipping back onto her feet, laughing through the blood on her lips. Elara twisted mid-air, teleporting away in a flash of red before reappearing behind him.

They attacked again.

And again.

And again.

It was relentless and unpredictable, a barrage of instantaneous attacks that would have overwhelmed anyone else.

But Titan, track them all.

Each flicker, every shift, every strike, none of it seemed to faze him.

He dodged some, blocked others, and when he couldn’t be bothered, he simply took them head-on.

Ethan watched it all, barely breathing.

’He’s containing them...’

What stood out most wasn’t his strength and durability, but the absolute dominance that allowed for suppression.

Every time a stray beam of crimson energy threatened to tear beyond the stadium, Titan stepped in and took it directly. Every time Kaela’s wild, explosive strikes threatened to send shockwaves further into the city, he intercepted them.

He was doing everything he could to suppress them.

’Like an actual superhero.’

Ethan wasn’t sure whether to be amused or impressed.

Titan couldn’t stop the ground from shaking; the entire city could probably feel the tremors, but he was reducing the damage in ways that shouldn’t have been possible.

That was all while fighting two of the most frightening Titled in the country and even the world.

-

”Come on!” Kaela roared, her grin manic as blood dripped from her chin.

Her arm twisted unnaturally, a clear break, yet it snapped back into place instantly. As it did, her aura surged again, with each injury still making her stronger. She was a perfect war machine, spiralling deeper into controlled chaos.

”You’re insane,” Titan muttered, ducking under a wild swing before casually driving his fist into her stomach.

The impact folded her in half and sent her flying.

And yet, she laughed even as she coughed up blood mid-air.

Though Ethan couldn’t help but notice that while her exterior was recovering, she was bleeding more and more from her mouth and nose.

’I guess even she has her limits.’

Meanwhile, Elara’s body was beginning to change.

The demon within her was no longer holding back. Crimson energy poured from her like a storm, forming weapons, tendrils, and constructs that lashed out from every angle.

Blades, spears, beams, all at once in an endless onslaught of attacks.

She had no fixed skills or limits; she simply did as she pleased with her infinite well of mana.

”Now this is more interesting,” Titan admitted, his tone shifting slightly as he weaved through the onslaught.

’He’s dodging more now?’ Ethan noticed.

’Maybe the S Rank has limits too...’

But he quickly found out that even with supposed limits, Titan was still far beyond anything he could imagine...