Lord Of Beasts

Now that Harold had finished addressing everyone, the atmosphere inside the aircraft shifted. The Association Head had dealt with the official matters, and now it was Holt’s turn.

The detective had remained silent throughout the entire briefing, sitting casually at the giant table while listening intently. He hadn’t interrupted once, yet his amber eyes had rarely left Ethan.

Unlike Harold, who cared about reports, promotions, and policies...

Holt was here for one reason.

To investigate the growing string of anomalies surrounding the man who had somehow gone from an E Rank nobody to a newly promoted B Rank capable of slaying an A Rank Boss Beast.

He gave Ethan a small nod to follow him.

"Figured this was coming."

The blue-eyed man rose from his seat and followed the detective deeper into the enormous aircraft.

Despite looking like a military transport from the outside, the interior resembled a flying headquarters. Hallways branched off into meeting rooms, offices, lounges and private cabins, all lavishly furnished to accommodate high-ranking Titled or officials during long-distance travel.

Holt eventually pushed open a polished wooden door.

Inside was a luxurious lounge.

Soft leather sofas surrounded a low glass table, while floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the endless sea of clouds drifting beneath them. The room was soundproof, perfect for a private conversation or... an interrogation.

"So Ethan, it seems like-"

The door burst open before he could finish.

"I ain’t missing this shit."

Kaela strolled inside without the slightest hint of shame, a fresh bottle already in her hand as though she’d raided the aircraft’s minibar on the way over. Behind her, Elara quietly stepped into the room.

Unlike Kaela, she wasn’t smiling.

She simply walked over until she stood beside Ethan, so close that she almost seemed to be guarding him. It was clear that she didn’t trust Holt, and that was purely because Ethan didn’t seem to.

Harold merely glanced toward the open doorway that the two A Ranks had run down before receiving another alert on his smartwatch.

"The rest of you rest and stay here," he said without looking up. "I’ll be in the operations room."

He paused.

"And we should be landing shortly."

With that, the Association Head disappeared into another section of the aircraft, already taking another phone call before the door had even finished closing behind him.

Back inside the lounge, Kaela flopped sideways onto one of the sofas, threw one leg over the armrest and took a long swig from her bottle.

"Don’t mind us."

She waved lazily as she took another swig of her drink.

"Just carry on."

Holt looked from Kaela to Elara, then back to Ethan as if to ask if he was fine with them being there.

To his surprise, he simply shrugged.

"Kaela’s fine."

He then nodded toward Elara.

"And she’s my partner, so she can hear anything you have to say to me."

Elara blinked while Kaela nearly spat out her drink.

"Oh?"

A grin slowly spread across her face.

"You’ve made it official?"

Elara’s face immediately flushed red, so red it looked like her head might explode.

"N-No..."

She instinctively looked toward Ethan, who rubbed the back of his neck.

’I didn’t mean it like that, but...’

To him, a partner simply meant the person who was always with him and trusted to have his back. She lived with him, fought alongside him, and had spent the most time with him since he’d been released.

If Mark was the person he trusted most outside the world of Titled, then Elara was undoubtedly the one he trusted within it. And judging by the way she’d followed him without hesitation, the feeling seemed mutual.

Kaela only laughed harder as Elara’s face somehow became even redder.

Ethan decided there were more important things to deal with, and so didn’t even acknowledge their relationship status and looked back at Holt.

"What do you want?" he asked directly and bluntly.

The detective smiled faintly.

"The last time we met, you were more careful with your words... You were afraid."

His eyes narrowed with interest.

"But look at you now."

Ethan couldn’t deny it.

Back then, he had only just awakened and was a mere E Rank in front of an A Rank detective who was like a character straight out of a comic book. It was only natural he was cautious, since a wrong answer could very easily get him killed.

But things had definitely changed since then.

He had fought A Ranks, fought alongside A Ranks, and he could also see himself becoming an A Rank on the horizon.

"I’ve grown a little," Ethan answered casually.

"I noticed."

That’s when, without warning, an overwhelming pressure flooded the room.

Darkness spilt across the floor, and Holt’s shadow stretched unnaturally along the walls before twisting into something monstrous. It no longer resembled a human silhouette, transforming into the vague outline of an enormous creature lurking behind him.

Its shape constantly shifted.

Meanwhile, his amber eyes gleamed from within the darkness.

Last time, the aura had nearly crushed Ethan, with him almost collapsing to his knees and struggling to breathe. But this time, despite it being even stronger, it didn’t faze him in the slightest, his expression barely shifting.

If anything, it intrigued Ethan, to whom it felt familiar, and not because he had experienced it before.

’It’s like his own version of Absolute Suppression...’

That gave him an idea as he stepped forward, closer to the man trying to intimidate him.

"What are you playing at, Holt?"

Mana erupted from Ethan as he instinctively activated Absolute Suppression to match him. An invisible pressure burst from his body, colliding head-on with Holt’s oppressive presence.

The lounge trembled, the entire aircraft shaking because of their clashing auras.

Crimson mana instantly ignited around Elara’s hands, her eyes becoming completely red. She was clearly ready to attack without hesitation if Holt made a move. As for the others on the aircraft, they couldn’t help but be panicked both because they were scared the plane might crash, and because of the powerful presences they felt.

Darius instinctively reached for his spear, Dave opened his eyes from meditation, and Rowan looked toward the lounge in concern. Even Seraphina paused halfway through demolishing another meal.

Worst of all was the Bulldozer who hid under the table.

Liora was the only one who remained relatively calm, likely because she was confident she could form a construct to protect herself and stop her from falling to her death. As small and timid as she might seem, she was still an A Rank.

The only other A Rank on board was Harold, who was completely unfazed and continued with the work he was doing. He was like a father ignoring children arguing in the next room.

Ironically, the first person to defuse the situation was Kaela, likely the only person aside from the Association Head who could do so.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

She stood up, bottle still in hand.

"Let’s all calm down and have a drink."

She casually stepped between the two men.

"If you idiots bring this thing down," she muttered, "I’m gonna be pissed."

Holt chuckled.

His monstrous shadow slowly shrank, the pressure vanishing alongside it. Ethan reciprocated, also deactivating Absolute Suppression. He wasn’t in great condition and definitely wasn’t looking for a fight, but he wouldn’t back down either.

And with the two female A Ranks seemingly on his side, his confidence wasn’t empty.

Elara didn’t lower her guard and still seemed tense and ready to blast Holt at any moment, that was until Ethan gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him.

He smiled reassuringly.

"It’s fine."

Only then did the crimson energy around her fingertips finally fade.

Holt watched the interaction carefully, interested in their relationship and even more so in Elara herself. He then addressed Ethan directly, his attitude completely different from a moment ago, when he almost seemed to be testing him.

"You’re growing faster than even I expected."

He adjusted his hat.

"Fast enough that you might actually prove useful for what’s to come."

Ethan frowned. "What’s coming?"

Rather than answering, Holt asked a question of his own.

"Tell me. How much do you actually know about where our powers come from?"

The question wasn’t directed solely at Ethan, but Kaela and Elara didn’t seem to know any more than Ethan did, which was nothing.

Holt continued.

"Who gave us these Titles? Why were we given these abilities? And what causes the Gates?"

Silence filled the room.

"I’ve chased those three questions for years," Holt said quietly. "I still don’t have the answers. But..."

He paused for effect.

"I think I’ve finally figured out the root of it all."

Ethan folded his arms.

"Which is?"

Holt’s smile widened as he slowly looked between the three of them.

"This is all one big game, and we are nothing more than entertainment and vessels."

The moment Ethan heard the word "vessels", his eyes widened. He had heard that before and couldn’t hide his reaction, which Holt, of course, noticed. The detective’s smile deepened ever so slightly after receiving confirmation that he was on the right trail.

But his answer didn’t satisfy them in the slightest as they began bombarding Holt with questions...

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