Lord Of Beasts

"No!"

Ethan and Elara both moved at the same time.

They had no idea how this mental space worked, but watching the Demon prepare to finally strike Mark was enough to make them forget their own situation. Mark had been the aggressor from the beginning, but neither of them could ignore the fact that he wasn’t himself.

Whatever had happened to him, the man attacking the Demon was still their friend.

’If this place is anything like the Tower, if Mark dies here...’

Ethan didn’t want to find out what would happen.

He and Elara were ready to throw themselves at the Blood Demon, even within its own domain.

But they didn’t even get the chance.

Crimson chains erupted from the darkness and wrapped around their legs. The restraints tightened instantly, locking them in place before they could take another step.

At the same time, the strength drained from their bodies.

Ethan’s connection to his beasts vanished, and Elara’s crimson mana was sealed. Their Titled abilities, and even the physical strength that came with them, seemed to have been stripped away in an instant.

It was as though they had never been Titled at all.

The Demon gave them an arrogant smile.

"I control this place."

Its voice carried effortlessly through the endless darkness.

"And you and your friend will thank me later after I knock some sense into him."

Ethan’s eyes widened.

"Wait-"

The Demon raised one hand, condensing the gathered mana around its palm.

Then it fired.

"Crimson Flash."

The blast struck Mark’s arm and tore it clean off.

Mark’s enormous body staggered from the impact, the energy scattering across the darkness.

Ethan’s stomach tightened.

’It could have aimed for Mark’s head.’

Thankfully, the demon hadn’t.

Whether that was mercy or simply confidence, Ethan couldn’t tell.

Mark dropped to one knee.

Then his massive body began to change.

The wound closed.

Muscle twisted and knitted together as bone reformed beneath it. A new layer of reinforced flesh spread over the regenerating limb, followed by the same metallic exterior that had covered the rest of his body.

The arm slowly took shape.

It wasn’t anything like Kaela’s clean regeneration.

Mark’s recovery was crude and disturbing. His body seemed to force itself back together through sheer instinct, rebuilding whatever had been destroyed and reinforcing it in the process.

The Demon watched without concern.

"Still want to continue?"

Mark roared.

The sound echoed through the endless darkness.

He charged.

His enormous body accelerated with terrifying speed, each step carrying enough force to distort the ground beneath him. His newly regenerated fist swung toward the Demon.

The Demon caught Mark’s enormous fist again as though it weighed nothing. Mark’s giant, condensed muscles bulged, pushing harder, but his hand didn’t move even an inch.

"Pathetic."

With a casual twist, it redirected Mark’s momentum and sent the giant flying.

Mark crashed through the darkness, his enormous body tumbling across the infinite space before he slammed into the ground. The demon followed it up with another Crimson Flash that tore through its leg.

Ethan gritted his teeth.

"Mark!"

Mark immediately pushed himself upright, his leg recovering as his arm had.

His body continued adapting.

The metallic plating around his body thickened, especially around the two limbs he had lost. And somehow his muscles became even denser beneath the reinforced exterior.

He charged again.

This time, he was faster, incredibly so, and launched himself into the air.

The Demon smiled.

"Better."

Mark’s fist came down.

The Demon vanished, the punch striking the ground instead.

A massive crater erupted beneath Mark’s fist.

Before he could recover, the Demon appeared behind him.

Its crimson-coated fist slammed into Mark’s back.

BOOM!

Mark was driven face-first into the ground.

The Demon didn’t stop.

It grabbed him by the leg and swung his enormous body through the darkness before releasing him. Mark flew, then the Demon appeared where he was going to land and struck him again.

BOOM!

The giant was sent in another direction.

Then another.

And another.

Mark became little more than a massive projectile being thrown around the Demon’s domain.

Ethan could only watch.

Every time Mark recovered, he changed as his body desperately tried to adapt to the Demon. But the difference between them was simply too great, and it was always one step ahead.

Elara strained against the crimson chains.

"Stop!"

The Demon didn’t even look at her.

"You can’t show mercy to these kinds of creatures."

It caught Mark’s next punch and drove its knee into his stomach.

The giant folded around the impact.

It then grabbed Mark by the throat and lifted him from the ground.

"I watched you pathetic fools trying to restrain him."

It threw Mark down, the impact shaking the entire dark space.

"And it angered me how stupid you were."

Mark rolled onto his side.

He tried to rise, but the Demon appeared above him.

"If you couldn’t restrain him, which you should have been able to do, then you must overwhelm him."

Its fist descended.

BOOM!

Mark’s head was driven into the ground.

"You don’t fight a monster like this by matching it."

Another strike.

BOOM!

"You crush it."

Another.

BOOM!

"You overpower it until it has nothing left!"

The Demon continued demonstrating exactly what it meant.

Mark’s body adapted with every attack.

His muscles reinforced themselves, his metallic hide thickened, and his regenerative ability accelerated. Even his movements began changing, his enormous frame becoming more efficient and his reactions sharper as his body learned from every blow.

But none of it was enough.

Mark swung.

The Demon slipped beneath the attack and struck his ribs.

Crack!

Mark stumbled.

A second blow struck his chest.

Boom!

A third caught him beneath the jaw.

His enormous body lifted from the ground.

Ethan’s hands clenched uselessly against the crimson restraints, as did Elara’s, but it was pointless.

"He’s not himself!" she tried to plead.

The Demon finally glanced toward them with an almost disappointed look in its crimson eyes.

"Exactly."

Its expression remained calm.

"Which is why you cannot afford to treat him like he is."

Mark crashed down again.

His body twitched.

For the first time, his adaptations seemed to be slowing.

His enormous chest heaved.

The metallic plating covering his body was cracked and battered, while fresh layers continued trying to form over the damage. He still tried to stand as the Demon slowly stepped toward him.

Mark roared and forced himself upright.

The Demon sighed.

"Still?"

Mark lunged.

The Demon met him head-on.

Mark’s fist was knocked aside, and it struck his stomach, chest, jaw, and abdomen, landing hundreds of punches in seconds. Each blow landed with enough force to send the giant staggering farther backward.

Yet the demon continued its flurry of attacks.

Mark tried to adapt, but he couldn’t.

His body had reached a point where even its incredible recovery and evolution could no longer keep pace with the punishment being inflicted upon it.

That’s when the Demon raised one hand.

Crimson mana surged around its hands as the darkness itself seemed to tremble.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

"Wait!"

Elara pulled desperately against the chains.

"Don’t!"

That attack was clearly overkill and would annihilate Mark even in his transformed state.

The Demon ignored them.

"Sayonara."

A blinding crimson light erupted, one so powerful it consumed everything. For a split second, the entire mental space disappeared beneath the radiance. Ethan felt himself being pulled backwards, and Elara vanished from beside him.

Mark’s enormous silhouette also disappeared within the light.

Then everything went black...

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