Lord Of Beasts

Kaela vanished from Elias’s sight, not because she had become invisible, but because she was simply too fast.

Elias’s pupils contracted.

He twisted his body sideways just as Kaela’s fist passed within a hair’s breadth of his face, and the air exploded behind it.

BOOM!

Elias grinned.

“Fascinating.”

Kaela swept her foot toward his legs.

Elias jumped, and his body changed before he landed.

His thighs thickened, his muscles tightening as he struck the ground.

BOOM!

The force launched him backwards, but Kaela was already following.

She appeared above him and drove her fist downward. Elias raised both arms just before the attack connected.

CRASH!

The impact drove him into the floor, denting the reinforced metal beneath him.

Kaela landed lightly as Elias rolled away and forced himself back to his feet. His damaged muscles tightened, while the bones beneath them reinforced themselves and shifted back into place.

Kaela frowned.

“You really don’t know when to stay down.”

“I’ve spent years studying monsters.”

Elias wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression filled with fascination rather than fear.

“Do you really think a few punches are enough to stop me?”

Kaela smiled.

“No.”

She cracked her knuckles.

“But I don’t think you’re strong enough to stop me either.”

Elias attacked again.

His left arm expanded dramatically as he swung, but Kaela sidestepped the punch. His fist missed her and shattered part of the wall behind her.

Before Elias could retract the limb, Kaela grabbed his arm and twisted. Rather than resisting, Elias allowed the momentum to carry him around, using the motion to reposition himself.

His free arm elongated, and the claws shot toward Kaela’s throat.

She released him and leaned backwards, letting the claws pass over her face. She immediately grabbed his wrist and drove her knee into his stomach.

THUD!

Elias doubled over.

Kaela followed with an elbow to his back.

CRACK!

He crashed to the floor.

Elias coughed, but despite being battered, he laughed.

Kaela looked down at him.

“You’re enjoying this way too much.”

Elias pushed himself upright.

“You have no idea.”

His eyes glowed as he looked around the destroyed laboratory.

“This is proof.”

He gestured toward the wreckage around them.

“Every attack gives me information. Every wound teaches my body, and every second brings me closer to perfection.”

Kaela’s expression remained flat.

“You talk too much.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Elias rushed forward.

His body changed again.

His legs became thinner, his body dropped lower, and his right arm transformed into a long, bladed limb.

Kaela leaned away.

The blade passed across her stomach, leaving a thin line of blood.

She looked down at the wound before looking back at Elias.

He grinned.

“I got you.”

Kaela touched the cut that was already closing.

“Congratulations.”

She stepped forward.

“You’re still fucked.”

Her fist slammed into his face.

BANG!

Elias flew backwards and crashed through a series of walls.

Kaela crossed the distance before he could recover, driving her fist into his chest.

BOOM!

The transformed doctor was driven through another section of reinforced wall.

Kaela followed him into the next room.

Elias was already standing.

His body was changing again.

The damage to his chest disappeared as his bones shifted and his skin hardened, repairing the injuries almost as quickly as they appeared.

Kaela stared at him.

“You really can keep doing that.”

“Of course.”

Elias spread his arms.

“That’s the beauty of it.”

His voice became more excited as he looked down at his transformed body.

“Mark Reed’s body adapts because it has no choice. Mine adapts because I tell it to.”

His claws flexed.

“I am not simply becoming a monster.”

He smiled.

“I am mastering what monsters are.”

Kaela sighed.

“I’ve heard enough.”

Elias lunged.

Kaela met him.

The battle accelerated as their movements tore through the laboratory. Walls shook, equipment was destroyed, and reinforced structures buckled whenever the two collided.

Kaela fought with refined precision.

Every movement had purpose, and she wasted nothing.

Elias fought like a scientist solving a problem.

He experimented with his body, changing his limbs, altering his muscles, and testing different combinations of speed and strength. Whenever Kaela damaged him, he learned from it and immediately adjusted.

But learning wasn’t enough.

Kaela was simply too experienced and powerful.

She anticipated his attacks and exploited the moments when his body shifted between configurations. Every transformation gave her another opportunity to strike, and the more Elias changed, the more clearly she understood how his new body worked.

Elias’s confidence began to crack.

Kaela noticed and smiled.

“There it is.”

Elias frowned.

“What?”

“You’re realising it.”

She stepped forward.

“You’re not on the level of an A Rank like you thought.”

Elias’s expression hardened.

“I will be.”

“Maybe.”

Kaela disappeared.

“But you’re not one now.”

Her fist slammed into his stomach.

BOOM!

Elias’s body folded from the impact.

Kaela grabbed his head and smashed him into the floor.

CRASH!

The laboratory shook.

Elias lay motionless for a moment before slowly pushing himself upright.

His body was wrecked, and his breathing was heavier, but he was still conscious and smiling.

“I can still do it.”

Kaela frowned.

“Do what?”

“Evolve.”

His eyes burned with obsession.

“Even if this body isn’t enough, I’ll make it enough.”

He looked around the ruined laboratory.

“More samples. More experiments. More transformations.”

His gaze returned to Kaela.

“And eventually, I’ll surpass you.”

Kaela stared at him, but she didn’t bother arguing with the deranged man.

‘He makes me seem normal.’

She refocused on why she had come here in the first place.

The monsters.

She needed living specimens for Mark, not another lecture, not another experiment, and certainly not another one of Elias’s speeches.

Living monsters.

Kaela glanced toward the deeper section of the facility.

“Where are they?”

Elias blinked.

“What?”

“The monsters.”

Kaela walked past him.

“I came here for living monsters, remember?”

Elias’s expression changed.

“You would simply ignore everything I have accomplished?”

“Yep.”

Kaela continued walking.

“You’re doing my head in.”

Elias slowly turned toward her, then he lifted one clawed hand.

“I’m not done yet.”

The laboratory suddenly fell silent.

Then a deep mechanical sound echoed from somewhere beneath them.

KRRRRRNNNNG.

Kaela looked down.

A section of the floor began to open.

Heavy metal plates separated, revealing darkness beneath the laboratory.

That’s when something moved below.

Kaela’s eyes widened.

Elias laughed.

“You wanted living monsters, right?”

The opening widened, and a deep growl echoed from below.

Then another.

Then several more.

Elias spread his arms.

“I have plenty.”

He tinkered with something, and things began slamming against the walls around them.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Kaela’s smile slowly returned.

“Now we’re talking.”

She could feel it.

The dense mana and the presence of living monsters packed beneath the facility were exactly what she had come for.

Kaela lowered herself slightly.

“Alright.”

Her grin widened.

“Let’s get Mark some food.”

Elias’s eyes gleamed.

“You won’t be taking a single one.”

Kaela laughed.

The true fight had begun…