Lord Of Beasts

Back on another island, Ethan was fighting for his life.

’The only reason we aren’t dead already is that these beasts aren’t working together and are facing us separately. They also aren’t the most predatory creatures, so even though they’re stronger, they can’t kill us as easily.’

He was right on the money and knew that already; he was the Lord Of Beasts after all.

And more than that, his experience in the tower, despite being less than a third of the way up the floors, was more than most Titled had, even A Ranks.

’But they can definitely still kill us.’

Not that he was going to let that happen.

He surged forward and unleashed Beast Impact on the Rotwing Fly, his body moving with incredible speed in a lethal line.

Swoosh!

He became a living blade of wind and managed to land the strike.

But when he had faced Mace and managed to decapitate him with it, the damage to the giant fly was very minimal.

And yet Ethan didn’t care.

Damaging it with that attack wasn’t the goal.

’I’ve already gotten a read of its abilities. There’s that gunk it can spit that rots things, as its race name makes obvious. Its other three skills seem to be that disorienting buzzing sound, those annoying zigzagging bursts of movement, and that it can decay anything it touches.’

It was impressive as a beast, but nothing special either.

The only reason it was so fearsome was that it was B Rank with high stats, but its abilities weren’t effective if they didn’t land. With Talon’s speed and vision, he weaved between its attacks and maintained a safe distance while getting a gauge of its range.

Evading it while it used those sudden bursts of movement, where it could instantly change directions as if bouncing off an invisible trampoline, was the hardest part. But whenever it got too close, he would use Skyshatter Cry to launch it away and knock it off course.

Thankfully, its stamina was also relatively low compared to the rest of its stats, which was already starting to show in its slowing movements.

Ethan had lasted a couple of minutes without any debilitating injuries; the worst of it was that he had a rotted shoulder. And now that it seemed to be tiring was the perfect time to begin his counterattack.

His MP was also being drained with each of his Skyshatter Cries, and by the minute, not to mention his throat that was torn and his body that was being strained.

So he had to act decisively.

And he did exactly that, instantly following up the Beast Impact, his eyes locked onto his true target...

The creature’s wings.

’That big fat body that rots anything it touches, of course I wasn’t going for that. But those thin wings, those are perfect.’

He twisted mid-motion and struck again, his sharp palm slicing through the air with precision.

’Gale Rend!’

Wind augmented his cutting palm as it tore through its left set of wings.

Though it wasn’t completely severed, he clipped off almost half of the thin, fluttering wings.

The grotesque insect was left spiralling unevenly as it struggled to maintain balance before crashing onto the ground, buzzing erratically. There was a mix of fizzing and bubbling where it landed, the ground rotting in real time.

’Why is it called a Rotwing Fly when its wings seem to be the only part of its body that doesn’t do the rotting?’ he questioned internally.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it, with the beast in front of him still being alive, dangerous, and very much a threat. And that also wasn’t the only beast he had to worry about, which Ethan was reminded of the hard way.

There was a sudden glimmer in his peripheral vision from the Dreamveil Monarch. The giant butterfly-like beast hovered gracefully, its wings shimmering with hypnotic beauty.

And this was a time that his wide field of view backfired.

The next thing he knew, he was slamming the Bulldozer’s massive head into the ground repeatedly.

’What the fuck?’ Ethan was baffled at how he had even gotten here and what he was doing.

Meanwhile, the man being battered was yelling, not exactly appreciative of the abuse.

”W-Why is it always me?!” the Raging Rhino yelled, flinging Ethan off him before charging towards him.

Ethan leapt over him effortlessly, landing lightly and immediately reassessing the battlefield.

’I really didn’t think hypnosis would work on me. I guess my mind’s not as strong as I thought.’

Willpower, experience, pain tolerance - he thought it would all play a part, but it clearly didn’t, at least not as much as he had expected. It was also really frightening to think that all it took was a glimmer of light for him to lose control of his body and start attacking his companion.

’Is that how Elara feels?’ he wondered, and with that thought, he couldn’t help but feel concerned about her.

’But with that thing inside her, she’ll be fine,’ he assured himself, not being in a position to worry about anyone.

His next thought was a dirty one off the back of his last thought

’I always have these intrusive thoughts at the worst times.’

Ethan shook his head with a smile, watching as the Bulldozer who had missed him continued his charge towards the Rotwing Fly. But the grey-skinned man was intercepted by the Steel Scarab.

”AAAAHHHH!”

The Bulldozer was angrier than he had ever been after constantly being flung around and disrespected by both beasts and Titled alike. But even with his increased strength, the giant beetle slammed into him and sent him tumbling again.

That unnerved Ethan deeply.

Not because the Steel Scarab was strong; he already knew that.

But because...

’They’re starting to work together.’

Ethan didn’t know what had happened while he was hypnotised or how long had passed, but he doubted it had been more than a couple of seconds.

And yet the three different insect species had now banded together.

Be it because it took them time to understand each other’s abilities or because they were only now taking it seriously, he had no idea. But either way, things were about to get a whole lot more difficult than they already were...