Lord Of Beasts

The butterflies hovering above continued pouring impossible amounts of mana into the Golden Flutterer, maintaining the soul prison that trapped everyone inside their own minds.

Elara’s breathing quickened as she rushed over to Ethan, who always seemed to have an answer for everything.

Her hands grabbed his shoulders and shook him frantically.

Nothing.

She shook him harder.

Still nothing.

His eyes remained completely lifeless.

She glanced toward the butterflies, unsure what to do.

’I can’t attack...’

What if damaging the Golden Flutterer while everyone remained trapped hurt them?

What if breaking the spell left them trapped in there forever?

She wasn’t sure and couldn’t risk losing Ethan over acting without thinking it through.

Her fists clenched.

The only thing that came to mind was trying to reach the man she had almost grown dependent on. He was so reliable when needed and was never fazed by anything, so to see him in such a state was troubling.

Then again, it was an A Rank Beast with infinite mana, so it made sense that it could do so.

’I’m just lucky I have this demon, I guess.’

Though the Golden Flutterer seemed to have noticed that she wasn’t under its control, which it definitely didn’t like.

’Wake up, Ethan!’

She leaned close until her forehead almost touched his.

Her lips parted.

”...”

Nothing came out, not even a sound.

Frustration filled her face, her throat tightening again.

’Are you telling me I can control that demon’s power and even beat it, but I still can’t speak?’

Inside the Blood Demon’s domain, she had spoken effortlessly and had always been able to do so in her mind. There had been no fear or invisible hand squeezing her throat shut.

She had also called out his name earlier when she thought he was going to be killed by the Void Hornet.

’I just need to do that again now.’

”E...”

Her voice broke apart.

”Et...”

Another failure.

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

’No!’

She clenched her fists so tightly they trembled.

Then she forced every ounce of determination she possessed into one single word.

”Ethan.”

It was barely louder than a whisper.

Soft, gentle, and almost fragile, but it carried further than any scream would have and reached Ethan. It reached something far deeper than his ears, touching something buried beneath months of violence and years of anger.

His eyelids twitched.

”Ethan,” she repeated, causing fractures in his mental prison.

But ultimately, her voice alone wasn’t able to free him.

Instead, it only made him sink deeper into despair and feel like he was losing what little sanity remained.

’Damn, this isn’t going to work.’

Elara channelled her crimson mana and just as she was about to risk everything and attack the Golden Flutterer...

Ethan’s body suddenly convulsed.

His muscles seized violently, forcing him to his knees before he collapsed onto the floating island.

At first glance, it looked like he was having a seizure.

His body trembled uncontrollably, every muscle tightening as though something inside him was desperately fighting to break free.

Then, the beast tattoos covering his body began to glow.

The Fenrir emblazoned across his chest, the Griffling stretching over his back, the flickering Cinder Wisp wrapped around one forearm, and the newly acquired Lightning Dragonfly coiled around the other.

One after another, each tattoo pulsed with brilliant light.

Elara stared.

”...?”

Her crimson eyes widened.

’What’s happening...?’

What she couldn’t see was that the moment Ethan heard her voice, she had created the smallest crack within the illusion.

It wasn’t enough to free him, but it was enough.

For what felt like an eternity, the beasts bound to Ethan’s soul had been battering against the spiritual prison trapping their master. No matter how they struggled, the Golden Flutterer’s illusion refused to yield.

It was simply too powerful.

While there were four of them, the A Rank beast had hundreds of beasts behind it.

But the instant Elara’s voice reached him, they seized the opening.

For the briefest moment, the prison cell rippled.

Its cold stone walls blurred like reflections upon disturbed water.

Ethan frowned.

”...”

It reinforced the feeling that something was missing, but once again, it vanished just as quickly.

’At this point, I might just be a Skitzo.’

He closed his eyes, thinking his hallucinations were linked to his sleep deprivation, only for...

”Woof!”

Ethan’s eyes snapped open.

”...?”

A deep howl echoed somewhere from the depths of his very soul.

”Awooooo!”

Then came a sharp, familiar screech.

”Kreee!”

A tiny, excited buzzing followed.

”Bzzzzzz!”

Finally, a high-pitched electrical squeak he’d never heard before.

”Skree!”

The sounds weren’t words, but they didn’t need to be, with him somehow recognising and understanding each one.

His heart skipped.

”Wolfy...” he spoke instinctively.

There was another bark as if to respond, along with constant chirping, buzzing, and electrical crackles.

Crack!

The reality around him literally began to break apart as unique markings slowly began to appear beneath his prison uniform. A fearsome Fenrir, a prideful Griffling, an excited Cinder Wisp, and a crackling Lightning Dragonfly.

Crack!

The brighter the tattoos grew, the more fractures appeared as the entire prison trembled and distorted.

Then, his memories came flooding back.

It was as though he had relived his entire life all over again in a matter of seconds, most of which wasn’t pleasant. But throughout it all, some key figures stood out and reminded him that he still had a lot to live for.

The dark mental state he had been in while in prison and for some time upon leaving made him feel like dying might be less painful. It took him receiving a Title and Mark being there for him to realise that was far from the case.

He had a brother and a family despite not sharing blood, and now he had...

Friends?

Ethan wasn’t sure what to call the Titled he had come across and fought alongside, but some of which he was definitely fonder of than others. There was one in particular who had called out to him and helped him break free.

But he quickly realised he didn’t have time to be reminiscing.

His eyes widened.

”I need to get back to that gate.”

CRACK!

The prison exploded apart like shattered glass, golden fragments scattering into endless darkness.

Reality rushed back toward him.

Just like that, he was finally out of that torturous nightmare, and this time he was ready to take on the Lepidoptera Boss Beast without succumbing to its mental control.

At least he hoped so...