Lord Of Beasts

Before diving back into the gate, Ethan took a moment to prepare.

Not physically, but mentally.

Because the moment he exited the Tower, there would be no pause, no breathing room, no second chances to rethink anything.

He would return to the exact instant he had left.

’I need to get rid of that damned butterfly creature first.’

His thoughts were sharp, focused, and methodical.

He replayed the battlefield in his mind, with each of the three B Rank Beasts being dangerous in its own way.

But one of them stood above the rest.

’That butterfly is the problem.’

Its hypnosis, control, and ability to turn allies into enemies - that was the real threat.

’Then once Dave is free from its mental grasp, he can zap the other two beasts.’

Ethan’s lips curled slightly.

He had seen the power of those blasts, and although it required time to charge, they were devastating.

’And with Wolfy now a B Rank Fenrir...’

His confidence solidified.

’We’ll dominate easily even without Dave’s attacks.’

It felt foolproof.

’That shit fly is basically as good as done.’

It was already half-crippled, grounded, and predictable, with Ethan having experienced all of its attacks firsthand.

’And that beetle that seems invincible...’

His eyes narrowed.

’We’ll just knock it off the island and let it fall into oblivion.’

He exhaled slowly.

Everything lined up in his mind, and he was as ready as he would ever be.

As such, he brought up the System Interface.

{Exit The Tower}

The transition hit him instantly, violent and disorienting as always; his soul was literally being ripped from one body and forced back into another after all.

His senses snapped back, and immediately he grimaced.

’Fuck...’

His real body felt horrible.

It was heavy and drained in comparison, his left shoulder burning as the decaying wound slowly spread. His mana reserves also felt shallow compared to the overflowing energy he had in the Tower after hours of using Beast Recovery.

For a split second, he was taken aback by the change in his condition.

But then he smiled.

A confident, almost arrogant smile spread across his face.

To everyone else, nothing had changed.

The Bulldozer stood there, staring at him in confusion.

For him, Ethan had said, ”Be right back,” and simply closed his eyes before opening them again a fraction of a second later.

The grey-skinned man frowned slightly, examining him.

Ethan looked and felt exactly the same and didn’t suddenly unleash some secret power he had been hiding.

’What did I expect? Only a second had passed.’

But for Ethan, it had been over twenty hours of auto-hunting in the Tower, after which he had successfully evolved one of his beasts.

’Has he lost it?’

The Bulldozer scratched his head slightly, unsettled by the man’s confident smile because nothing about this situation should have inspired confidence.

Absolutely nothing.

Dave stood nearby, unmoving with a black expression, his eyes open yet unfocused. He was still trapped in his mind, fighting something no one could see, but at least he wasn’t being controlled to attack them with his beams.

Despite that, the situation felt hopeless.

Both Dave and the Bulldozer had already started to give up.

How could they not?

They were on their last legs, while one wasn’t even able to move, and even at their best, these opponents were beyond them. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the air shifted - a presence suddenly emerged, one even more oppressive and terrifying.

It was another B Rank Beast that had appeared out of literally nowhere.

The Bulldozer’s eyes widened.

”You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Because this one felt worse.

Way worse.

It was predatory and looked like a wolf that had grown up in the pits of hell. The massive, dark beast had a body that seemed sculpted for violence itself. Its fur was thick, almost shadow-like, with faint crimson undertones glowing beneath the surface.

And most intimidating were its eyes, which burned a deep, unnatural red.

For a moment, everything froze.

If that thing was hostile, it was over for the C Rank Titled without question.

But then, they noticed something.

Ethan was standing beside the beast that had appeared out of thin air like it was nothing. Even more insane, he rested his hand on its fur before rubbing it like it was some oversized dog.

”What...”

The Bulldozer blinked.

Once.

Twice.

”What the fuck am I looking at?”

The Fenrir remained still, calm, and controlled.

But despite not acting immediately, the moment Wolfy appeared, everything changed.

The three insect beasts were taken aback for a moment.

That’s when all three of them burst into action.

The Steel Scarab stepped forward, positioning itself between them like a shield, while the Rotwing Fly buzzed erratically, its damaged wings struggling to stabilise its body.

As for the Dreamveil Monarch, it calmly elevated itself.

Its wings fluttered slowly, but then sped up.

Faster.

And faster.

The patterns on its wings began to shift, merge, and evolve, forming something hypnotic, beautiful, and ethereal.

Ethan and the Bulldozer looked away instinctively.

They had already learned their lesson, but they weren’t the target.

The butterfly-like beast had found something new that was much more worth controlling.

The Fenrir.

A flash of light erupted, and instantly Wolfy froze.

Its body tensed, its movements becoming stiff and unnatural as if something was taking root inside his body.

The Dreamveil Monarch focused.

Its wings glowed brighter as it poured more and more mana into its hypnosis, trying to get deeper into the mind of the Fenrir that was resisting its control.

Ethan watched calmly, casually taking a step back.

The butterfly continued struggling against the strength of Wolfy’s will, but it didn’t give up. Instead, it pushed harder, pouring even more mana into the control. It even released its hypnosis of Dave entirely, having to focus entirely on the Fenrir.

And finally, it succeeded.

Wolfy suddenly turned and lunged straight at Dave, who had only just regained control of his body.

’I guess this is it?’

The man thought it was all over for him, but everything was going exactly as Ethan had expected it to...