Lord Of Beasts

As soon as Ethan saw that it was the bulldozer, he turned and walked away.

’I’d rather be alone than with this fucker.’

Still, the grey-skinned man was persistent and rushed over to him, following him closely.

”All we need to do is survive together until one of the A Ranks deals with the Boss Monster,” the grey-skinned man said, trying again, his voice carrying a nervous edge that hadn’t been there before.

That made Ethan pause and slow slightly.

”How does that actually work?” he asked without turning around.

There was a brief pause.

”You mean you don’t know how gates usually work?”

Ethan shot him a sharp glare over his shoulder.

The effect was immediate, and the Bulldozer stiffened, stumbling over his words.

”I-I mean-uh, basically, the boss monster usually acts as the gate’s core,” he explained quickly. ”It’s the strongest creature inside. Once it’s killed, the gate starts destabilising.”

Ethan turned forward again, listening.

”And then?” he prompted.

”That’s when extraction squads come in,” the man continued, more steadily now. ”They secure the area, and the clearance squad exits. After a certain amount of time, the gate collapses completely. The world inside just... ceases to exist.”

Ethan nodded slightly.

’So it’s like cutting the head off a snake.’

Simple in theory, but probably a nightmare in practice.

And for this gate, where the system had ominously said Boss Beasts in plural, things wouldn’t be that simple in this gate. There was also no backing out since the entrance had been sealed.

Still, he couldn’t help but notice something.

For someone who looked like a walking brick wall, the guy was surprisingly articulate. And more importantly, he was very different to their first meeting, unnaturally so.

Now?

He just seemed... nervous.

Ethan sighed.

”Fine,” he muttered.

If nothing else, he’d make a decent distraction.

’I’ll use him as a human shield until I find someone more useful.’

With that, Ethan didn’t bother trying to ditch him anymore.

They moved together.

-

The floating island they traversed was eerily similar to Ethan’s spawn point, a jagged rock suspended in an endless void. There were scattered trees, and among them, cracked ruins that looked ancient, like remnants of a civilisation that had long since vanished.

It was quiet, almost too quiet.

”Did you face a beast as well?” Ethan asked.

The grey-skinned man nodded.

”It was some kind of-”

Boom!

The ground suddenly trembled, and both of them snapped toward the source as something massive emerged from behind a cluster of broken stone.

Ethan’s expression darkened.

”You’ve got to be kidding me.”

It was another insect-like beast.

A massive, armoured beetle, its shell thick, glossy, and metallic, reflecting faint purple hues from the distorted sky above. Its mandibles clicked, and its legs dug into the ground.

And then, the system window appeared.

{Coleoptera Beast}

{Race: Ironclad Beetle

Growth Stage: Mature

Beast Rank: C+

Strength: 68

Speed: 42

Stamina: 53

MP: 32/32}

Ethan exhaled slowly.

’Coleoptera? It has to be making things up at this point. And those stats...’

They were ridiculous for a C Rank Beast, and it was practically a B Rank threat.

”Of course it is,” he muttered.

The beetle didn’t wait.

It curled its massive body, compressing into a dense sphere, then...

Boom!

It launched forward like a living cannonball.

Ethan reacted instantly.

”Partial Assimilation: Talon.”

His body shifted mid-motion, muscles tightening, perception sharpening as he leapt, barely clearing the charging mass as it tore through the ground beneath him like a wrecking ball.

But the Bulldozer, who had been behind him, didn’t dodge.

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly as the man planted his feet, then he scraped one against the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

And then he charged straight at it.

BAM!

The collision was deafening.

Shockwaves rippled outward as head met shell, and unbelievably, the beetle was knocked back.

Ethan blinked.

”What the fuck?”

The Bulldozer staggered slightly, then steadied himself.

Up close, Ethan could see that the man’s hair had hardened solid white, like a natural helmet encasing his skull. Combined with his thick neck and dense, grey skin, it made sense.

’I guess he lives up to his name.’

”My Title is Raging Rhino,” the man said quickly, breathing heavier now. ”I’m basically a rhino in human form, and when my blood starts pumping, like when I lift weights, I get angrier. That’s why back then-”

”No one gives a shit! Focus on the beast!” Ethan snapped.

The beetle was already moving again.

It uncurled, then lunged faster this time. The Bulldozer barely raised his arms before...

Boom!

He was sent flying.

Rolling across the ground, smashing through stone before coming to a stop with a grunt. The beetle turned and looked at Ethan, the remaining target.

”Great...”

-

The fight turned quickly chaotic.

Ethan didn’t engage directly, both because he didn’t need to and didn’t want to.

Instead, he watched, moved, and adapted.

The beetle charged again.

Ethan sidestepped, barely avoiding the impact as it tore through the terrain.

Behind him, the Bulldozer got back up with blood trickling from his lip.

”Again!” he roared, charging forward.

He slammed into the beetle once more, but this time it didn’t budge. Instead, a low, guttural vibration echoed from its body.

Then, a wave of stench hit.

Ethan froze mid-step.

”What the-”

The smell was unbearable: rotten, thick, and suffocating. Many beasts he had come across had a similar skill to this, a literal shitty defence mechanism, and this was one of the worst Ethan had smelt.

Even from a distance, it clawed at his senses, so much so that his stomach churned and his head spun.

’Thankfully I’m not assimilated with Wolfy...’

If his sense of smell was heightened right now, he might’ve actually been incapacitated.

The Bulldozer wasn’t so lucky.

He staggered, coughed, and was dazed by the sudden green odour.

The beetle instantly took advantage and slammed into him again, harder, faster, and relentlessly. He grunted, struggling to keep up as blow after blow landed, his durability keeping him alive, but barely.

Ethan narrowed his eyes as he continued watching their exchange. And it wasn’t long before he was confident of defeating such a beast despite its impressive stats.

’Alright... I’ve seen enough.’

The charge, the stench, its outer shell, and most importantly, its weakness.

’When it uncurls...’

That was the moment its underbelly would be exposed, and that’s when Ethan would strike. He shifted his stance, prepared to move and end it, but then something changed.

There was a sudden presence, one that seemed to appear out of thin air.

Both Ethan and the Bulldozer felt it at the same time.

Even the beetle paused for a split second.

And in that moment, the figure that neither of them expected intervened in their fight...