Lord Of Beasts

Ethan surprised himself with his memory. He dialled the number he remembered, only to discover that it was already saved on Elara’s phone anyway.

"You know him too?" he asked, holding the phone out toward her.

Elara shook her head, suppressing a laugh as she glanced at the screen.

"Who’s Greg?"

Kaela didn’t bother suppressing it.

"Some stuck-up loser."

Ethan dialled the number, and it was answered almost immediately. A familiar voice came through the speaker.

"To think I would get a call from Ms Veyne."

"Nope. It’s me, Greg."

There was a brief silence on the other end before the man sighed.

"Do you miss me already? You’ve been calling me so much I might need to change numbers."

Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Listen here, asshole. I have some information for you."

He glanced toward the burning compound, where flames still consumed what remained of the facility.

"And some of those drugs you’ve been looking for."

He had picked some up earlier, but those were long gone, claimed by the flames spouted from his very body. But he was sure they would still be able to get something from the flaming compound.

’I mean, I tried.’

Turns out he wasn’t as good at this Enforcer thing as he thought.

’There are probably close to a hundred casualties, a Gate that was cleared under their radar, and most of the evidence was burned up just like that Aisha woman wanted. So it doesn’t exactly feel like a mission accomplished.’

He sighed.

’Not to mention Mark...’

But Greg was instantly interested upon the mention of information and those pills that he was after.

"My operatives are on their way."

"Good."

Ethan leaned back slightly.

"Does the name Aisha ring a bell?"

"Nope."

The answer came far too quickly, but Ethan couldn’t tell whether Greg was lying. There was no way to read his expression through a phone, and his voice hadn’t given him anything useful to work with.

’He wouldn’t be in that position if it had.’

Still, his fingers unconsciously moved toward his neck.

He rubbed the strange marking Aisha had left behind, the sensation reminding him that whatever had happened tonight wasn’t over.

’I definitely haven’t seen the last of her.’

He suspected their next meeting would be considerably worse, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it.

"Okay."

Ethan paused.

"Just tell those black suits of yours to hurry up."

He glanced down at himself, then at Kaela, and lastly at Mark, who lay sprawled on the ground.

"And tell them to bring some clothes and new phones for us."

"Sure. But what about-"

Ethan spoke before Greg could finish.

"I’ll give your black suits a full report when they arrive, then you can thank me later."

"Sounds good."

Greg had no choice but to agree, quickly ending the call but eagerly awaiting the news from his subordinates. Ethan handed the phone back to Elara, and for a while, the three of them simply waited among the ruins.

The man covered in lifelike beast tattoos with an unusual marking on his neck closed his eyes and focused inwards.

’Beast Recovery.’

A familiar sensation spread through his body as he began restoring his mana and healing some of the damage he had accumulated. His muscles relaxed slightly, and the worst of the pain dulled.

The exhaustion remained, but at least his body was no longer screaming quite as loudly. Beside him, Elara used her own recovery ability that mimicked his own, quietly recovering the mana she had expended.

Kaela, meanwhile, apparently had a completely different approach to recovery.

She simply lay down beside Mark, and in seconds was fast asleep.

Then came the snoring.

Ethan opened one eye and stared at her.

"...Seriously?"

Kaela didn’t respond, already completely unconscious.

’It’s like she has a tower of her own.’

He laughed before looking toward Mark.

His friend still hadn’t moved, but thankfully, his breathing continued steadily.

That was what mattered.

Eventually, distant lights appeared beyond the horizon.

Then more.

And even more.

"What the..."

Vehicles began approaching from multiple directions, their headlights cutting through the smoke and darkness. Black SUVs and black cars rolled toward the ruined compound, followed by even more black SUVs.

They just kept coming.

Within minutes, an absurd number of black-suited operatives had gathered around the remains of the facility.

Ethan stared at them.

’Did Greg send every black suit in the country?’

It certainly looked that way.

The operatives quickly spread throughout the area, checking the surroundings and securing what remained of the compound. Several approached Ethan, Elara, and Kaela almost immediately.

"Do any of you require medical attention?"

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

Elara gave the same answer, while Kaela continued snoring.

"I’m fine."

The operative looked at Ethan.

"And him?"

Ethan’s expression immediately became serious.

"Just make sure he’s alive."

Several operatives immediately moved toward Mark. One knelt beside him and began checking his pulse while another examined his breathing. A third pulled out an advanced piece of medical equipment and began scanning his body.

After several minutes, the lead operative finally looked toward Ethan.

"He’s definitely alive."

Ethan released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.

The operative hesitated before adding, "Although there is something unusual."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"His heartbeat."

The operative looked down at Mark.

"It’s irregular."

"How?"

"Not dangerously so, but it’s abnormal."

He placed a hand against Mark’s chest and listened carefully.

"A normal human heart follows a repeating two-part rhythm. The upper chambers contract first, followed by the lower chambers, pushing blood through the heart and into the rest of the body. That’s the familiar two-part pattern you hear as the heartbeat."

The man’s expression tightened.

"His heartbeat isn’t following that rhythm."

Ethan stared at him.

"What is it doing?"

The operative looked uncertain.

"It’s almost as if there’s an additional beat in the cycle."

Ethan was confused.

"An additional beat?"

"Yes."

He listened again, seemingly trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

"Instead of the usual two-part pattern, his heart seems to be beating in threes. Like he has a completely different cardiovascular system."

Ethan looked down at Mark with deep concern.

"Is that bad?"

The operative shook his head.

"I would need to take more scans and do more tests to be sure, but his unique constitution is remarkable and unlike anything I’ve seen before."

Then the suited man asked the obvious question.

"He’s a Titled, though, right?"

Ethan nodded.

"Yeah."

He didn’t elaborate.

Instead, he immediately changed the subject, having received the confirmation he was looking for.

"Just keep monitoring his condition."

Ethan looked away.

’Whatever those drugs did to him, he’s alive, which is all that matters. The rest I’ll figure out just like I always do.’

Though what exactly he was would very quickly become clear...

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