Lord Of Beasts

’Why aren’t they scared?’

Kaela was confused, to say the least.

Even trained soldiers would hesitate when facing a C Rank Titled, let alone an A Rank like her. Yet these men didn’t. They continued shooting and advancing as though they hadn’t just witnessed someone of vastly superior strength casually walk through their gunfire.

Despite seeing their bullets do absolutely nothing, not one of them turned and ran.

That wasn’t normal.

’It means there’s something they’re protecting in this place, and that they have a trick up their sleeves.’

Kaela slowly cracked her neck, the movement accompanied by a series of quiet pops. A menacing grin spread across her face as she looked over the courtyard.

Whatever they were, she was about to find out.

One of the men screamed.

”Keep firing!”

The rifles opened up again.

Kaela laughed.

This time, there was nothing cheerful about it.

Her violet aura suddenly surged outward, and the pressure rolling from her body made loose dust lift from the surrounding concrete. Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she lowered herself slightly, her body instinctively preparing to move.

”Fine.”

Her grin widened.

”Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Then she vanished.

The ground beneath her feet exploded as a violet blur tore across the courtyard. The first gunman barely had time to react before Kaela appeared directly in front of him.

Her fist slammed into his chest.

Boom!

The man left the ground like he’d been fired from a cannon. His body crashed through the windshield of a parked truck before disappearing over the other side.

Kaela didn’t even slow down.

She spun as another man raised his rifle, reaching out and closing her hand around the barrel before he could pull the trigger. With a sharp tug, she yanked the weapon downward and drove her forehead straight into his face.

Crack!

He collapsed instantly.

A third man charged from behind.

Kaela caught him by the throat before he could get close enough to attack.

”Hi.”

She smiled.

Then she threw him into two others.

All three crashed into the side of a warehouse with enough force to send dust and debris raining down around them.

The courtyard erupted into panic as the remaining gunmen scrambled to reposition themselves, some shouting orders while others desperately tried to put distance between themselves and the woman who had just torn through three of their comrades.

All the while, Elara watched from above.

The crimson-eyed woman hovered over the battlefield, observing the chaos below with a remarkably casual expression. Her attention remained fixed on Kaela and the surrounding enemies, ready to get involved when things got interesting.

’Not all of them are panicking,’ she observed.

Several remained completely calm even after her display of power, almost as if watching and waiting.

Kaela noticed almost immediately.

Her instincts sharpened as she slowly looked across the courtyard, searching for the source of that unnatural confidence.

’There.’

Near one of the larger buildings stood a group of men who hadn’t fired a single shot. They weren’t carrying rifles, shouting, or even moving. One of them slowly reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small plastic container.

Kaela’s grin faded slightly.

Inside were several dark-coloured pills.

He removed one and held it between two fingers before casually swallowing it.

Kaela stared at him.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the man’s entire body violently convulsed.

His back arched as his muscles began swelling beneath his clothes. Veins bulged across his neck and arms, while his skin flushed red as an unnatural surge of mana erupted from somewhere deep inside his body.

His jaw clenched, and his fingers curled.

Then his bones began shifting.

A sickening series of cracks echoed through the courtyard as his shoulders broadened and his spine lengthened. The fingers on one hand stretched into thick, claw-like digits while coarse patches of fur began spreading across his forearms.

His eyes changed as well.

The pupils narrowed until they resembled those of a predator.

Kaela’s eyes widened.

Another man beside him reached for the container.

He swallowed a pill.

Then another.

And another.

Within seconds, the courtyard was filled with the sounds of men choking, screaming, and groaning as their bodies began changing. Kaela slowly turned her head, watching the transformations spread through the group.

She could very well have stopped many of them from taking the drug.

’But what’s the fun in that?’

Instead, everything made sense. The strange feeling she’d sensed when they’d first arrived, the confidence, and the way these men had been willing to stand against an A Rank without hesitation.

It wasn’t because they believed they were stronger.

They had something else that they were saving to fall back on.

Kaela’s grin slowly returned.

”Now this is more like it.”

The transformations continued around her.

One man’s skin hardened into thick, overlapping plates that resembled the armour of some enormous beast. The plates spread across his chest, shoulders, and back, forming a natural shell that made his body look more like a walking creature than a human being.

Another developed elongated arms and massive claws, his fingers becoming almost talon-like as his hands grew larger and more powerful.

A third man’s jaw pushed forward as his teeth lengthened into jagged fangs. Patches of brown fur spread across his face and neck, while his nose flattened into something closer to a predatory snout.

Another developed thick, muscular legs that bent slightly differently beneath him, giving his body the appearance of some grotesque humanoid predator. His muscles bulged with unnatural density as he adjusted to his new centre of gravity.

Some changes were more subtle.

Several men’s eyes changed, their pupils adapting to the darkness and allowing them to see far beyond what ordinary humans could. Others developed sharper hearing as their ears altered, twitching at every distant sound within the compound.

Some simply became denser.

Their muscles tightened beneath their skin, their bodies becoming heavier and more powerful without any obvious mutation beyond the sheer increase in physical strength.

Others were far more dramatic.

One man’s entire forearm transformed into something resembling the limb of a massive reptilian beast. Rough scales covered the altered flesh, and three hooked claws extended from the end of his hand.

Another developed a thick tail that violently smashed against the ground as he struggled to control his newly altered body. The appendage whipped behind him with enough force to crack the concrete.

These weren’t random mutations.

Kaela could see it now.

Each transformation carried characteristics of some otherworldly creature.

The drugs weren’t simply increasing their strength; they were forcing their bodies to imitate creatures. Some were based on beasts, while others appeared to have been derived from monsters.

Whatever the source, the result was horrifying.

One thing she noticed was that they had varying effects, be it because of the potency of the drug or the receptivity of the consumer.

Either way, mana erupted from dozens of bodies at once.

The pressure rolling through the compound made the air itself feel heavier. Dust lifted from the ground as windows rattled in their frames, and several of the ordinary gunmen stumbled backwards while watching their allies transform into things that barely resembled humans anymore.

Kaela rolled her shoulders.

Her violet aura flared violently around her body, pushing against the unnatural pressure filling the courtyard.

”So...”

She glanced around at the growing number of transformed men.

”This is what you guys were hiding.”

Her grin became almost feral.

The nearest mutated man suddenly threw his head back.

A monstrous roar erupted from his throat, so deep and powerful that several of the remaining ordinary gunmen instinctively covered their ears.

Kaela’s eyes lit up.

”Come on, then.”

She raised her fists, settling into a fighting stance as her violet aura continued to surge around her.

”Show me what you can do!”