Lord Of Beasts

{Objective: Clear the Gate alone}

Seeing the floating objective appear in front of him, Ethan couldn’t help but smile to himself.

He had already been planning on entering the Gate anyway. The mysterious woman had disappeared inside, and if he wanted answers, following her was the obvious choice. She had even signalled for him to do exactly that, making the decision considerably easier for him.

’I can’t refuse the request of such a hotty.’

A grin tugged at the corner of Ethan’s mouth as he thought about it.

Then an image of an angry Elara suddenly appeared in his mind, and the sheepish smile immediately disappeared.

He cleared his throat and looked back towards the Gate.

’Focus.’

He had no reason to hesitate.

Whether the System took over the Gate or not didn’t particularly matter to him. He had already decided that he was going in alone, and if he was going to enter alone, then he would take on all the risk himself.

And while in there, he might as well clear the entire thing himself and get a reward from the system.

’To think I’d enter a Gate so soon after being banned.’

The thought amused him.

Technically, the Association had banned him from entering Gates without authorisation, which meant stepping into an unregistered Gate wasn’t against their rules.

They didn’t even know this Gate existed.

’Not that I give a shit either way.’

He was an Enforcer who could do whatever he wanted and was in pursuit of a dangerous Titled.

That logic was good enough for Ethan.

As such, he entered it.

He trusted Kaela, Elara, and Mark to handle themselves outside. Kaela and Elara were more than capable of dealing with the mutated men, while Mark wasn’t an idiot and had Elara keeping an eye on him.

If anything, he had to be more worried about himself as he was sucked into the crack in space itself.

The instant Ethan crossed the threshold, the world changed.

Everything snapped back into place.

His feet touched solid ground, and he quickly opened his eyes.

"...Huh."

He had expected something dramatic.

Something similar to the strange and hostile environments he’d become accustomed to inside the Tower.

Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast field.

Soft green grass stretched across the landscape in every direction, its blades swaying gently in a cool breeze that swept across the open plain. Above him, the sky was a brilliant blue, almost completely free of clouds, while warm sunlight washed over the field, illuminating the distant landscape with an almost peaceful beauty.

Far ahead, a dense woodland stretched across the horizon.

The trees were enormous, their trunks thick and twisted, with branches reaching high into the sky before intertwining into a dark canopy that seemed to swallow much of the sunlight beneath it.

Scattered rocky hills broke up the otherwise open field, their surfaces covered with patches of moss and strange vegetation that Ethan didn’t recognise. Clusters of unfamiliar plants grew between the taller grass, some with broad leaves and others with strangely coloured flowers that seemed almost too vibrant to be natural.

There was even a distant stream that reflected the sunlight as it wound its way between the trees, the faint sound of flowing water barely audible across the open field.

It looked almost...

Beautiful.

Which made it considerably more unsettling.

The Tower had taught Ethan that appearances meant very little.

A peaceful landscape could hide something capable of tearing him apart without warning, and after everything he’d experienced since gaining his Title, he knew better than to drop his guard.

He slowly turned, examining the surrounding landscape. There was no sign of the vampire woman or the Gate he’d entered through, for that matter.

’Of course...’

Ethan sighed.

The system’s domineering voice resounded throughout the Gate moments later.

{Gate Takeover Initiated}

{Gate difficulty increased from C to B Rank}

{Gate entrance has now been sealed and will only appear to the lone survivor.}

His expression remained calm.

He had expected the Gate Takeover after his previous two experiences, and sure enough, there wasn’t even a trace of the portal he’d just walked through.

But the final condition caught his attention.

’Lone survivor...’

His eyes narrowed slightly as he reread the notification.

’So I have to kill the boss of this Gate, that vampire bitch, and any other fucker in this place.’

There was no other interpretation.

Ethan shrugged, a small smile appearing on his face.

’I can do that.’

He hadn’t even used his skills against her or those of his beasts, and he wouldn’t exactly feel guilty after killing her.

’She’s not even human...’

That thought made him wonder if he or any other Titled were anymore.

’I guess I’m not either anymore.’

But rather than being bothered by it, he smiled.

’I always knew I was special. It just took me twenty-five years and an error in a fucked-up trial to realise it.’

He laughed to himself for a moment before refocusing and remembering that he was in a B Rank Gate.

’If it’s anything like the Orc Gate Elara just cleared, it might be tough.’

He was still on C Tier Floors in the Tower, so this was a taste of the level above. But Ethan wasn’t afraid, and since the vampire woman was nowhere to be seen, he decided to begin clearing the Gate.

’She’ll have to show herself eventually.’

There was no point searching for her blindly when he could eliminate everything else first. He had considered that she might try to ambush him while he was weakened, but to avoid that, he just had to not let himself become vulnerable.

’Sounds easy enough.’

And since he wasn’t getting out of this Gate until she was dead anyway, there was no reason to hide his abilities or hold anything back.

’She already seemed to know about me.’

His smile widened slightly.

’And she can’t tell anyone if she’s dead.’

Ethan looked towards the distant woodland.

Then he rolled his shoulders, feeling the anticipation beginning to build inside him.

"Let’s have some fun."

The flaming tattoo on his forearm began to flow and melt into his skin.

’Partial Assimilation: Spark.’

Mana immediately gathered around him, swirling through the air as the space beside him began to distort.

Then he put out his hand.

"Come out."

The command was simple, but the response was immediate.

One after another, his remaining beasts emerged.

The first was Wolfy.

The giant Fenrir appeared with a burst of mana before immediately spotting Ethan. His ears perked up, and his tail began wagging almost violently. Then, without hesitation, Wolfy launched himself forward.

"Whoa!"

Wolfy slammed into Ethan’s chest, which felt like being hit by a truck.

He fell backwards as the Fenrir enthusiastically began licking his face, completely ignoring any attempt Ethan made to maintain his dignity.

"Alright, alright."

Ethan laughed as he pushed the beast away.

"Good to see you, too."

Wolfy happily circled around him, his tail continuing to wag as though it hadn’t seen his master in years instead of whatever amount of time had actually passed.

Talon emerged next.

The Griffling appeared in the air above Ethan before spreading its wings and descending gracefully, landing nearby with considerably less enthusiasm than Wolfy.

Unlike Wolfy, Talon merely gave Ethan a brief look.

Then he immediately turned his attention towards the surrounding landscape. His sharp eyes scanned the field and distant woodland, constantly shifting as he examined the unfamiliar environment.

Ethan chuckled.

"Still acting like you’re better than everyone, huh?"

Talon ignored him, but he could sense it greeting him indifferently.

He nodded in response, admiring his Griffling despite its failed evolutions.

Storm appeared last.

The Lightning Dragonfly materialised in the air with a faint crackle of electricity, its delicate wings immediately beginning to vibrate as it hovered several feet above the ground.

But unlike the other two, Storm immediately looked tense.

Its wings vibrated rapidly as its compound eyes scanned the surroundings, while faint blue sparks danced across its body.

Ethan activated Beast Communication, which he was constantly suppressing so as not to go crazy. The moment the connection reformed, he felt the uneasiness running through Storm.

’Something in this Gate is bothering it...’

He wasn’t sure whether it was the creatures awaiting them or the vampire woman who had disappeared, but either way there was no avoiding them.

Then Storm’s attention shifted towards Wolfy.

The Fenrir’s ears stood on end as a rough growl escaped his throat.

Ethan sighed.

"Not again."

The two beasts stared at one another.

Lightning crackled faintly around Storm, and Wolfy’s claws dug into the ground as his body lowered instinctively.

He immediately stepped between them.

"Enough."

Both beasts looked at him, instantly submitting without even needing to use Beast Suppression.

"I understand you guys don’t get along yet, but we’re inside a Gate."

His voice was stern.

"You don’t have to like each other, and you can fight each other another time. But for now, stick together and kill everything you see."

Wolfy nodded intently, Talon almost seemed to shrug nonchalantly, and Storm hesitantly accepted. Their body language, when matched with Beast Communication, made it easy to read them.

They also had no trouble understanding him.

Ethan smiled to himself for a moment, feeling like a father to very unusual children, before pointing towards the woodland.

"If you see a woman..."

His expression hardened.

"Retreat, and I will unsummon you all."

The beasts all understood the seriousness in his voice as he added, "She’s dangerous."

With that simple order, they dispersed...

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