Lord Of Beasts

Ethan definitely looked insane.

There was no other way to put it.

From their perspective, he had zoned out mid-conversation, stood there silently while staring into nothing, muttered to himself like a lunatic, and then, as if that was not enough, a glowing tattoo had quite literally appeared on his arm out of thin air.

Anyone with even half a brain would connect it to what had just happened.

There was the A Rank beast Kaela had defeated, which Ethan’s Fenrir had been tearing into moments ago before vanishing into thin air. And now Ethan had a glowing, crackling tattoo that looked disturbingly alive and related to it.

If that was not suspicious, nothing was.

And somehow, he was about to look even crazier...

-

They did not hold back.

"What the hell was that?" Darius asked immediately, stepping forward.

"Where did it go?" the Bulldozer added, his deep voice tense.

Dave said nothing, but his white eyes were locked onto Ethan, analysing him in silence.

Liora crossed her arms, clearly thinking.

"You’re a C Rank," she said slowly. "So explain to me how a C Rank can summon a B Rank beast whenever they want."

"And not just summon it," Darius added, pointing. "Control it and unsummon it whenever you want."

"And then this," Liora continued, gesturing toward Ethan’s arm. "That thing looks alive and just like that beast there."

Ethan glanced down at his forearm casually, as if they were talking about a new watch.

He shrugged.

"Good questions."

They stared at him.

"That’s it?" Darius asked flatly.

Ethan gave them a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"I mean... shouldn’t we be more focused on clearing the gate?"

They couldn’t argue with that, despite how much they felt like pouncing on him and forcing the answers out of him.

Kaela snorted from behind them.

"He’s got a point. And who cares about what his Title is or how it works? As long as he’s useful, I’m not complaining."

Her Title was public knowledge, and be it because she was confident or simply didn’t care, she was an anomaly for doing so. But her abilities spoke for themselves, and she had quickly shifted the conversation, which Ethan appreciated.

He stretched slightly, rolling his shoulders.

"Alright, so we’ve got two options."

Everyone’s attention shifted back to him.

"We either split up again," he said, raising one finger. "Or..."

He raised another.

"We go together and smash through all five bases and bosses as a group."

It was simple, but those really were the only two viable strategies.

Splitting up would cover more ground, but it would also be much more dangerous. And while staying together would likely be slower, it would be safer. It might even be faster since they could hypothetically deal with the Boss Beasts more efficiently.

But before anyone else could speak, Kaela stepped forward.

"We will stick together."

Everyone turned to her, surprised.

She had always been the type of person to charge ahead, fight, and win alone.

So hearing that from her?

It was definitely unexpected.

She frowned at their expressions.

"I’m the squad lead, right?" she snapped. "So you’ll all stick with me, and we’ll squash every overgrown insect in no time."

No one argued, not just because of her authority, but because it made sense.

And more importantly, because they could all feel it.

Something had changed.

Kaela had faced something that had pushed her to the brink and forced her to be careful, which was terrifying to the rest of them, who couldn’t compare to her.

Ethan glanced at her briefly, seeing the lingering damage on her body.

Then he smiled faintly.

’And now that beast is mine.’

His attention then shifted to the Lightning Dragonfly, or what remained of it.

Wolfy had eaten a large portion of it, but not all.

Ethan had made sure of that.

If he hadn’t unsummoned it, the hungry Fenrir would have devoured it entirely.

’And that would have left me without anyway.’

He walked over to it casually, like he was approaching a meal.

"Hey," Kaela asked. "What are you doing?"

Ethan crouched down.

"Just curious."

He reached out, grabbed a chunk of flesh and tore it free from its shattered exoskeleton.

The sound alone was enough to make several people wince.

Then, without hesitation, he took a bite.

"What the fuck?!" Darius said.

Ethan chewed, paused for a moment, then nodded.

"It’s good stuff."

There was silence, complete and utter silence, as they watched him continue eating mouthfuls with his bare hands.

His method of consuming it was one thing.

It was what he was eating that was insane: a giant insect which also happened to be an A Rank Beast, which he had also acquired a version of.

’Doesn’t get much crazier than that.’

Despite knowing that, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to get a taste of such a high-ranking beast and continued eating it as if it were completely normal. Beast meat was notoriously difficult to digest, dangerous, and unpredictable, so it was strongly recommended to avoid consuming it.

And yet, Ethan continued chewing.

"You’re actually insane," Liora said.

Ethan swallowed.

"Honestly?"

He took another bite.

"It tastes like seafood."

They stared at him.

"Seafood?!" Even Kaela was bewildered, but most of all she was amused.

"Yeah," Ethan nodded thoughtfully. "Bit like chicken, too."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Dragonfly might be one of my new favourites."

The group collectively recoiled.

"That’s disgusting," Liora muttered, wrinkling her nose.

Ethan shrugged.

"More for me."

And just like that, he kept eating, completely unfazed.

If anything, his body was being filled with energy, feeling light and better than it had ever been.

’It’s hard to describe, but it feels amazing.’

But that was to be expected from eating the flesh of such a powerful creature.

Then, after eating his fill, he finally backed away, wiping his hands and face on his shirt like a true caveman. He then picked at his teeth with a piece of the beast’s blue exoskeleton before casually turning back to the others.

They were looking at him as if he wasn’t even human anymore, but he didn’t mind.

And honestly?

Day by day, he himself was feeling less human.

"We need the others," he said, breaking the silence.

Elara, Seraphina, and Rowan were the strongest among those not present, and with them on board, things were much more feasible. Currently, although they had two A Ranks, one was on death’s door and still recovering, while the other wasn’t the most proficient in combat.

As such, it was a no-brainer.

"That’s if they’re even alive," Darius added.

Ethan’s expression changed immediately.

"They’re alive," he said firmly.

Everyone paused, surprised by his reaction and not used to this side of the blue-eyed man. He always seemed relaxed, joking, and carefree.

But now?

There was something else there.

Something intense.

"Especially Elara," he murmured under his breath.

No one pushed further, even Kaela, who rarely missed a chance to taunt someone.

But they didn’t have the time to roam around and find them.

Knowing that, Ethan turned to Liora, who was already ahead of him and raised her hands.

"Then let’s draw them out."

She focused as a massive construct formed above them, a towering structure of light and energy. It was a beacon that hopefully drew in the rest of them that had entered rather than any dangerous beasts.

"Now we wait," she said.

And it didn’t take long for them to show up...

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