Lord Of Beasts

The rogue B Rank’s body slammed across the fractured concrete before bouncing uncontrollably into a collapsed support column.

Boom!

Chunks of rubble rained down around him, but he forced himself back to his feet almost instantly, only to launch forward again with another explosive burst of kinetic energy.

Boom!

Ethan sidestepped.

A Gale Rend carved across the man’s side.

Before he could rebound again, Ethan was already upon him.

Swoosh!

His boot crashed into the man’s ribs.

Crack!

The rogue flew sideways, ricocheting off a concrete pillar before crashing through the remains of an abandoned sedan. He tried to compress his muscles again, but his legs trembled.

They no longer responded as cleanly.

The elastic rhythm that had carried him throughout the battle was beginning to fall apart. His entire body had turned an angry crimson, and he was riddled with torn flesh and cuts from Ethan.

Aside from the blood he was losing, he had torn hundreds of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. His body was literally being shredded by his ability, yet he continued attacking as though he had gone berserk.

”You heathen! You don’t understand anything about the world!” he yelled as blood splattered from his mouth.

Ethan sighed.

”Can we stop now? You’re going to kill yourself at this rate.”

He was no longer interested in this battle and had seen everything the man was capable of. Now it just felt like he was beating on a crippled man who had lost the plot.

But he just wouldn’t stop.

The criminal tried launching himself once more, but it was far slower than his previous attacks.

Swoosh!

This time Ethan caught him halfway through the leap.

A punch.

A knee.

An elbow.

Then another kick, which sent him tumbling across the broken construction site like a ragdoll. Each impact robbed him of more momentum, and each interruption prevented him from building another chain of explosive movement.

His greatest strength was also his greatest weakness.

Without rhythm and space to build momentum and energy, he was nowhere near as lethal.

The man crashed to one knee, coughing violently. He was breathing heavily, and what remained of his torn muscles spasmed all over his body. It would be a miracle if he even managed to stand again, let alone continue their fight.

Ethan slowly walked toward him calmly.

He almost felt disappointed.

”As skilled as you are...”

He shook his head.

”...you’re nowhere near as powerful as you pretend to be.”

The man glared upward through bloodshot eyes.

Ethan continued.

”You’ve got explosive speed and strikes, and a tough body.”

He gestured casually.

”Against C Ranks? You’d flatten pretty much all of them.”

He glanced back toward the underground garage where Kaela had already dismantled them while counting them down.

”You could probably beat your entire crew yourself.”

He smiled faintly.

”Just... not nearly as easily as my friend did.”

His gaze returned to the rogue.

”But against someone your own level? Against someone who actually knows how to fight?”

He tapped his own chest with a smile.

”Someone like me.”

The man spat blood at him, but it was too weak to reach Ethan, and that only earned him another kick. He skipped across the broken ground before finally collapsing again.

”You’re nothing special.”

The man tried forcing himself upright again, but his legs gave way.

Ethan walked over to him again.

”You gonna worship me now because I’m stronger?”

The criminal looked up in confusion.

”Isn’t that what you believe?”

Ethan laughed.

”That might’ve been how things worked in prison, but you and I are just lucky humans. We’re not superior or chosen. We’re just...”

His smile faded.

”Vessels.”

For just a moment, the rogue smiled a strange smile.

Then, he lifted a trembling hand toward his mouth. Between his bloodstained fingers rested a small crimson capsule.

Ethan noticed it, but let the man swallow it out of interest.

”I’m already blessed...”

His voice suddenly became rough.

”But I’ll gladly accept another blessing to show you the truth.”

”What are you even talking about?”

Boom!

A pulse of crimson mana exploded from his body, but unlike Elara’s, this was crude and unstable. The pressure alone blasted loose debris across the construction site as the wounds covering his body closed almost instantly.

His breathing steadied, and his broken muscles regenerated just as quickly as Kaela’s body was able to heal.

Then he began to transform.

Bones cracked, his spine bent, and his legs thickened dramatically as the muscles swelled far beyond human proportions. His feet lengthened and his entire lower body transformed into something built entirely for explosive jumping.

A long, muscular tail burst from behind him, slamming against the ground hard enough to shatter concrete. Brown fur rapidly spread across parts of his body while his face elongated slightly, becoming something caught between man and beast.

’Half-human and half... kangaroo?’

Ethan laughed.

The newly formed creature slowly stood to its full height, now towering over Ethan and bursting with power.

”I guess it makes sense because you’re so bouncy.”

His hawk-like eyes gleamed with interest.

’That’s like Partial Assimilation. No, that’s more like Complete Assimilation.’

He watched the creature flex its transformed legs.

His grin widened.

’But that doesn’t seem reversible.’

He wasn’t borrowing a beast’s traits; he was becoming the beast himself.

’So that’s the drug.’

Greg hadn’t been exaggerating.

To think it could force something like this...

Now it made perfect sense why the Association wanted it investigated before it spread, and why that sly man wanted his hands on it.

That’s when Kaela casually wandered onto the battlefield, somehow carrying a half-eaten protein bar she’d found somewhere during the chaos. She glanced at the transformed rogue, then at Ethan.

And she didn’t even react, simply yawning.

”You two done yet?”

Neither answered.

One no longer seemed capable of speaking, and the other couldn’t stop studying the creature standing before him.

”Just use your beasts already, stop dragging this out,” she groaned. ”I’m hungry!”

Ethan sighed.

He was hungry too, even more than she was.

”If he’s not human, I guess there’s no reason to hold back anymore.”

And while Talon’s skills alone likely weren’t enough to end things quickly, Ethan had plenty of other skills he could use...