Lord Of Beasts

Ethan was still falling.

The sky stretched endlessly above him, the shattered remnants of floating islands drifting like broken glass in a sea of nothingness, and far below there was only the abyss.

And yet, he looked completely relaxed.

His hands rested behind his head as if he were lying on a bed rather than plummeting through the open air, his expression calm, almost amused.

’There’s Elara, Liora, Rowan, and even Talon who can help me.’

But they weren’t the reason he was relaxed, nor was he planning on relying on them. It was his confidence that things would work out despite the surrounding chaos.

More black hornets poured out of the burning nest in a furious tide, their buzzing no longer just noise but something oppressive, something that seemed to vibrate through bone and mind alike. Their stingers gleamed like sharpened obsidian, each one capable of ending a life with a single graze.

Yet none approached Ethan, as if they had been instructed not to.

His descent felt slow, almost surreal due to the reduced gravity between the floating islands, and for a brief moment, he simply watched everything from above.

Like a spectator in his own insanity.

His eyes moved across the battlefield, taking everything in, in ascending rank order.

Dave lay unconscious on a distant floating island, his small body still and unmoving. Seraphina had caught him before he could fall, placing him somewhere safe, but now he was out of the fight entirely.

”Damn, the monk really went all out,” Ethan muttered.

Nearby, the Bulldozer stood guard over him, looking tense, out of place, and frankly overwhelmed. His massive frame only made him a target rather than an asset against aerial enemies like these.

Ethan snorted quietly.

”To think he would have been scary for me to face at one point.”

Then his gaze shifted to the B Ranks.

Darius moved with sharp precision, his flaming spear cutting through the air as a hornet lunged at him. The moment the weapon connected, the beast detonated in a burst of fire and chitin, its remains scattering into the void.

Despite his injuries, he was holding his own.

Rowan fought differently.

Where Darius was explosive, Rowan was controlled.

Vines shot upward from conjured plant constructs, wrapping around hornets mid-flight and dragging them down onto the floating islands. Thick roots coiled and tightened, crushing and restraining before finishing them off.

And then there was Seraphina.

A pink blur.

She moved faster than the eye could properly follow, weaving between attacks, slipping past stingers by margins so small they seemed impossible. She spun around one hornet, her movements disorienting it, before unleashing a rapid barrage of strikes that sent it spiralling downward.

Then, with one final glowing punch, she shattered it.

”Damn,” Ethan murmured, impressed. ”They actually work pretty well together.”

Rowan anchored beasts, and Seraphina executed.

It was efficient and impressive, considering they had been foes in the UFC the night prior.

And then there were the A Ranks, who were on another level.

Liora stood at the centre of controlled chaos, her hands moving constantly as shimmering constructs formed and reformed around her. Barriers flickered into existence, intercepting attacks, redirecting movement, and controlling the flow of battle.

Her abilities were absurdly versatile.

Defence, concealment, reflection, and even illusions.

She could practically do whatever she put her mind to with her Title.

And yet, she had always limited herself.

Until now.

Her eyes flicked upward briefly towards Ethan, who was calmly descending from the sky as if this was all a part of his plan.

”He’s nuts,” she muttered.

But there was something else there too.

Admiration, and a strange kind of inspiration.

Her gaze hardened.

”Fine,” she said quietly. ”If he can do it... so can I.”

A hornet shot toward her, its pincer-like mandibles snapping as it closed the distance in an instant.

But rather than blocking or retreating, she raised both her hands.

Two razor-thin barrier constructs formed on either side of the incoming beast.

Then she crossed her arms sharply.

Shing!

The barriers moved with them, like blades.

The hornet was sliced cleanly in half before it even reached her, its body splitting apart mid-flight, falling in two lifeless pieces.

Moving her constructs was much more straining than forming them, but that allowed for an entirely new way of using her abilities. It was as if a limitation had been placed on her Titled abilities to stop her from being overpowered, but she was still more than powerful enough.

Liora blinked.

Then exhaled slowly.

”That felt good.”

There was something different about attacking, something that was real and satisfying.

A small smile formed on her lips.

”I think I get it now.”

Though she didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as some of her other companions.

Not far from her, Kaela was laughing.

Her purple aura flared violently around her body, crackling with energy as she tore through the swarm. Even in her injured state, she was overwhelming.

She didn’t dodge or hesitate.

The Riot Valkyrie swatted hornets out of the air like they were nothing more than pests, her fists colliding with them and sending shockwaves through their bodies.

Each strike was brutal, each movement wild, and yet perfectly controlled.

A grin stretched across her face despite the clear strain in her body and the lingering ache in her very bones.

”This is more like it!”

She was a true monster who, while enduring debilitating agony, looked like she was having the time of her life.

And then there was Elara.

She was something else entirely.

Her body flickered in and out of existence, teleporting across short distances as crimson energy surged around her. Each movement was rough and sporadic, but each attack was still devastating.

It was almost like she was experimenting, learning, and adapting even in the middle of chaos.

She too glanced upwards at Ethan, drawn in by the flaming man.

”He’ll be fine,” she murmured.

Elara believed it completely, but then something changed...

BOOM!

A deep, resonant vibration tore through the battlefield.

The remnants of the shattered nest exploded outward as something massive forced its way through the debris. Instantly, the swarm of black wasps that had been holding off from attacking Ethan parted, both out of fear and instinct.

The Boss had arrived, and boy, had he made an entrance.

The massive black hornet emerged from the ruins, its body gleaming like polished obsidian, its wings beating with enough force to distort the air around it.

Its presence alone was suffocating.

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

”There it is.”

A translucent screen flickered into existence before him, the only one that interested him among the hundreds floating above the heads of the beasts.

{Hymenoptera Boss Beast}

{Race: Void Hornet

Growth Stage: Mature

Beast Rank: A

Strength: 57

Speed: 82

Stamina: 65

MP: 71/71}

He let out a low whistle.

”Not bad.”

Those numbers were absurd and higher than anything he had seen before. And that was without even accounting for its abilities, its intelligence, and its lethality.

As if proving the point, the Boss turned.

Its compound eyes locked directly onto the falling man, who was responsible for the lingering destruction of its nest.

Ethan grinned.

”Of course it’s coming for me.”