Lord Of Beasts

Ethan had just used an incredible attack, one that a C Rank definitely shouldn’t have been capable of using. And yet nobody was asking him about it, and they were all still reeling from the mental torment they had just experienced. He was no different, with everything he had suppressed momentarily returning to him all at once.

He sat down on a stone ruin, his shattered arm resting limply beside him, throbbing with every heartbeat. Yet strangely, despite the pain and extreme fatigue, he felt lighter than he had in a very long time.

His thoughts drifted back to the illusion.

Back to that damned prison that was filled with hatred, violence, and loneliness.

It had felt like he’d spent months trapped there again, forcing him to become the person he’d fought so hard to leave behind, which was the only way to survive in that place.

Either get killed or survive by losing your sanity.

And now that Ethan had to relive that time, he couldn’t help but take a moment to look back on his life.

’That place really fucked me up...’

His eyes drifted toward the endless sky above the floating islands.

’As if I wasn’t fucked up enough before it.’

A quiet breath escaped him.

’But... I guess it also made me who I am.’

It was strange.

Back then, every single day had been a fight for survival, every encounter could become a beating, every meal could become a riot, and every night could end with someone trying to kill him.

Not that his life was exactly peaceful now.

He hunted monsters, entered Gates with beasts that could wipe cities off the map, and nearly died on a daily basis each time he entered the Tower Of Beasts in his sleep.

’And yet...’

Ethan laughed quietly to himself.

’I’m feel so much fucking happier now.’

The thought surprised even himself, and he’d rarely felt contentment in his life.

But he had found people worth fighting beside, had beasts that he could rely on, and most importantly, a purpose beyond simply surviving until tomorrow. He was in the pursuit of power and unfolding the mystery of gates and Titled, which he was quickly finding himself a key part of.

And in hindsight, this last encounter had been the easiest of the lot.

He had essentially managed to deal with the Lepidoptera Boss Beast, an A Rank, alone, which he highly doubted he could have done with any of the others. As for the remaining Lepidoptera Beasts, they scattered or were picked off by Elara.

But despite its supposed ease, he definitely hadn’t come out of it unscathed.

His broken arm twitched painfully, and his head ached even more after the Golden Flutterer ripped open wounds he wasn’t sure would ever fully heal.

Still, there was a smile on his face, especially with the twisted marker of progression.

’If I’d tried that attack a couple of weeks ago...’

He was fairly certain his entire body would’ve exploded under the strain, not that he even had the MP to reproduce it. And not only had his body and mana improved, but he also had far more skills at his disposal through his beasts.

However, as much as he had progressed, Ethan was far from satisfied yet, not while freaks like Kaela, Elara, and Titan existed.

’I’ve still got a long way to go.’

For now, though, he leaned back against the ruin, closed his eyes, and allowed himself a rare moment of peace.

-

The moment the Golden Flutterer was defeated, the entire Gate seemed to fall silent. There was no more buzzing, screeching, or giant insect-like beasts to take on. The endless stream of golden mana that had flooded the skies vanished as though someone had extinguished the sun itself.

For several long seconds...

Nothing happened.

Then, a familiar, powerful voice echoed throughout the Gate.

{Phase Three has been completed, and thus the Gate has successfully been cleared.}

The words reverberated through the endless floating islands, reaching every corner of the enclosed realm.

A second notification followed almost immediately.

{Commencing Gate Dissolution...}

The words had barely finished before the atmosphere itself seemed to change.

Instantly, the suffocating pressure that had hung over them for nearly an entire day disappeared, and the hostile mana permeating every inch of the Gate faded away.

It no longer felt like a tense battlefield.

And immediately, all the Titled, who remained on edge in case there were any other sudden threats, dropped one after the other.

Darius let his spear fall beside him before sitting down heavily, finally allowing the exhaustion he’d stubbornly ignored to catch up with him. Kaela flopped backwards onto the rocky ground with absolutely no elegance whatsoever.

”We survived...”

She stared blankly into the sky.

”...Somehow.”

Rowan slowly lowered himself against a tree stump, the bark covering his skin already beginning to recede now that he was no longer forcing his ability. Seraphina simply lay where she’d stopped walking, and even breathing seemed like too much effort.

Dave rubbed his eyes continuously despite knowing it wouldn’t help. The lingering phantom pain from witnessing that overwhelming surge of mana still remained.

”My head...”

He muttered.

”...I never want to see that much mana again.”

The Bulldozer was beside Dave, appearing pale despite his grey skin as if he had just seen a ghost, which he very well might have. Meanwhile, Liora quietly hugged her knees, staring into the distance blankly.

As much as they tried to hide it, Ethan could see that none of them had escaped those illusions unchanged. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what torment they had all experienced and how long had passed for them in that nightmare.

And just as he was about to ask, not caring about being insensitive, a familiar blue screen appeared before him.

{Congratulations on completing the Objective: Survive the Gate.}

{Reward Granted: Beast Suppression (B)}

Ethan’s tired eyes immediately brightened.

’Another skill?!’

He honestly hadn’t expected much of a reward after everything they’d already gained, maybe a couple of stat points, which was the cop-out reward the system would give him at times.

’I’m definitely not complaining.’

The description unfolded before him.

{Beast Suppression (B) - Allows the host to suppress, intimidate, and dominate beasts through overwhelming spiritual presence. Weaker beasts may submit without combat, and effectiveness greatly increases against injured, exhausted, or defeated beasts.}

{Cost: Variable amounts of MP, at least 1.}

{Warning: Extended use causes increasing mental strain.}

Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

’So, it’s basically Beast Call. Except instead of attracting beasts...’

A grin spread across his face.

’...it scares the living hell out of them.’

Immediately, several ideas began forming inside his head.

’Can I use this to tame beasts without acquiring them? Is the activation fast enough to use mid-combat? If it is, I can use it to make beasts hesitate before attacking. But does it affect my own beasts?’

He had so many questions, but there weren’t any beasts left to experiment on.

His eyes slowly wandered across the exhausted squad, and that’s when another thought sparked as his gaze settled on one particular individual...

The Bulldozer.

’His Title is Raging Rhino, right? At least that’s what he told us.’

Ethan’s grin widened.

’He’s too much of an idiot to try lie, and it makes sense looking at him and his abilities. Which raises the question...’

’Would Beast Suppression work on him?’

Beasts were evidently related to animals, at least so far, and Ethan had started to think of them as creatures with Titles. As such, it wasn’t far-fetched to think that his abilities would work on usual animals, and even a Titled whose abilities were based on an animal.

’Only one way to find out.’

He raised one hand slightly and used barely a single point of MP that remained in his mana core, with even moving it feeling difficult. Still, the skill activated instinctively like always, as if his body had always known how to use it.

An invisible pressure spread outward.

It was incredibly weak and almost impossible to notice, yet the Bulldozer suddenly stiffened.

”...Huh?”

A chill raced down his spine.

Every instinct inside him screamed at him to submit, and without even understanding why, he instinctively took several hurried steps backwards.

”What the hell...”

He looked around nervously, shaken to his core.

”Did anyone else feel that?”

Nobody answered immediately, but Liora frowned slightly.

”Something...”

She placed a hand against her temple.

”...very faint.”

Dave also nodded uncertainly.

”I think I did...”

He shook his head.

”...although maybe I’m imagining it after what happened.”

Their mana senses had been fried by the Golden Flutterer’s ocean of mana, and compared to that, Ethan’s single MP might as well have been a candle beside the sun. Though one person seemed to have felt what had happened clearly, Elara’s crimson gaze was locked onto him.

Not that he cared even if they did.

He was amazed that it had actually worked, and was curious if he could adjust it to work on all people and not just Titled who had an animal-related ability.

And that’s when another notification from the system suddenly appeared...