Lord Of Beasts

After Holt’s vague explanation, the lounge fell into silence, the irritating kind.

Ethan folded his arms, his blue eyes fixed on the detective.

”What else do you know?” he asked, refusing to let the subject drop. ”How is this a game? For whose entertainment? God? And what exactly are we vessels for?”

Lucas Holt simply looked back at him.

That same infuriating smile never left his face, which only made them more frustrated. And while Ethan could restrain himself, the same couldn’t be said for Kaela, who slammed her bottle onto the table hard enough for the liquid inside to slosh over the rim.

”Stop acting like some cryptic old bastard,” she snapped. ”If you know something, then spit it the fuck out!”

Holt slowly raised both hands in mock surrender.

”I wish I could.”

His tone remained maddeningly calm.

”I have genuinely told you all I can say for sure.”

He shifted his gaze back to Ethan, who clearly didn’t believe him.

”But what I do know is that you’re going to play a much bigger role than you realise.”

Then, for the briefest moment, his amber eyes drifted toward Elara.

”And you’re not the only one.”

Ethan frowned.

”What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

For a second, it looked like Holt might actually answer, but he just smiled. Then, before any of them could move, he reached up and tipped the brim of his detective’s hat.

It was a silent farewell.

The shadows beneath his feet suddenly stirred. In an instant, darkness spread across the polished floor like spilt ink, climbing up his legs before swallowing his entire body.

There wasn’t a flash of light, spatial distortion, or burst of mana.

He simply melted into the darkness.

The shadows receded, and just like that, he was gone.

”That bastard’s done it again!”

She stormed over to where he’d been standing moments earlier before kicking the floor in annoyance. Meanwhile, Ethan clicked his tongue, annoyed that the conversation couldn’t continue to get more answers.

If anything, he now had more questions than before.

And unlike their earlier, he couldn’t even sense where Holt had gone, and it was as though the detective had never existed in the first place. Beside him, Elara remained unusually quiet, her crimson eyes fixed on the patch of floor where Holt had vanished.

The single word he’d used still echoed through Ethan’s mind.

’Vessels...’

He wasn’t sure exactly what Holt or the Blood Demon had meant by it, but it definitely seemed important.

Meanwhile, elsewhere aboard the aircraft, Harold stood inside the operations room. He was calmly coordinating another Gate clearance on the opposite side of the country with several holographic displays floating before him.

Even while travelling, the Association Head never truly stopped working.

Without warning, a shadow behind him rippled.

Lucas Holt stepped out from it as naturally as someone walking through an open doorway. A faint smile rested beneath the brim of his hat, satisfied with what he gathered from this sudden detour.

’To think he has changed so much already and has also joined hands with another one of them.’

The detective couldn’t wait to see how things played out.

”Was it worth your time?” Harold asked without even bothering to turn around.

”Definitely.”

The detective adjusted his hat before continuing.

”Like I always say, there are no coincidences and he really is one of those vessels.”

His thoughts shifted toward the quiet blonde who always seemed to be by Ethan’s side.

”And it seems his so-called partner might be one too.”

Harold finally stopped what he was doing.

”It can’t-”

Before the sentence could be finished, the shadow behind Holt swallowed him whole, and he vanished without leaving behind so much as a ripple of mana. Harold stared at the empty space for several long seconds before rubbing his temples.

”Lucas really needs to start explaining things fully.”

Harold didn’t dwell on it, continuing with what he had been doing, though the duo of Ethan and Elara remained imprinted in the back of his mind.

It wasn’t long after that the Association’s enormous aircraft descended through the clouds before touching down with remarkable smoothness. Its massive wheels screeched briefly against the runway before settling into a gentle roll.

Outside, an enormous private airfield stretched as far as Ethan could see. Unlike the crowded commercial airports he’d known before becoming a Titled, this place was almost eerily quiet.

Military transport aircrafts sat lined up beside Association helicopters, while sleek black executive jets occupied another section of the runway. There were also several armoured cargo planes being loaded in the distance.

Every vehicle here screamed money or power, and usually both.

One by one, they all stepped off and admired their surroundings and their companions, especially the Association Head. As they did, Ethan couldn’t help but appreciate how absurd his life had become.

Only a short while ago, he’d been an ex-con living in his best friend’s basement.

Now, he was a B Rank Titled and had just spent nearly twenty-four hours trapped inside an A Rank Gate alongside some of the strongest Titled in the country.

Although he did still live in his best friend’s basement.

Harold stood a short distance away, speaking with several Black Suits, and while not having the strongest aura, he still commanded respect. He didn’t need strength with the influence and authority that he had. He could literally mobilise hundreds if not thousands of superhumans with a single phone call.

And that wasn’t to say that he himself was weak either.

He was very difficult to read, almost as much as Holt, who Ethan was certain was hiding a lot from them.

Ethan frowned.

’And I’m almost certain he never actually left the plane.’

His senses were exceptionally sharp, especially while assimilated with his beasts, but when Holt sank into his shadow, he was truly gone.

’I don’t think he teleported, and I doubt he can fly...’

’So how the hell did he disappear?’

He wasn’t about to let it go.

His eyes found Dave, who floated nearby with his usual calm expression, already returning to his habitual meditation.

’If anyone can sense unusual mana...’

Ethan started walking over, planning to ask for the monk’s help in identifying where the mysterious detective might be among them since they had only just stepped off the plane. But he only managed two steps before his entire body froze.

A strange chill crept up his spine.

His own shadow felt wrong, and while it remained attached to his feet exactly as it should, something inside it had changed.

It felt heavier, almost as if occupied by something he couldn’t see.

That’s when, without warning, a familiar voice echoed directly inside his mind.

”Don’t slow down now, Lord Of Beasts.”

Ethan’s eyes widened.

”You might be one of our last hopes.”

The voice remained calm, and it was clearly Holt’s.

”So get as strong as possible as quickly as you can... for all our sakes.”

Before Ethan could react or respond, the strange sensation disappeared, and his shadow became ordinary once more. The detective was gone again, but this time there was going to be no tracking him.

Ethan stared silently at the ground beneath his feet.

’Moving in shadows... That’s honestly cool as fuck, and he can speak through them too.’

Holt’s abilities were perfect for stealth and espionage, but also for assassination. And what unsettled him was that the man was able to make him freeze by entering his shadow. Not to mention the man still seemed to know more about his Title than he did.

But he left Ethan with a useful reminder.

’I’ve gotten a lot stronger, but with the existence of S Ranks and an unknown future, I’m only just getting started.’

Compared to whatever game Holt seemed to understand, Ethan was still a mere pawn that could only see a small part of the board. However, knowing that only strengthened his resolve as he worked his way to living up to his Title...