Lord Of Beasts

Ethan and Elara zoomed straight over to Mark’s family home.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t any quieter.

If anything, it was worse.

The moment they turned onto the street, Ethan eased off the throttle, and his expression darkened.

”Seriously?”

People surrounded the house.

News vans lined the curb, and reporters stood behind temporary barriers with cameras resting on their shoulders. Curious neighbours lingered nearby, while civilians crowded the sidewalk with their phones raised, hoping to catch a glimpse of the newest heroes from the A Rank Gate.

The peaceful suburban street had transformed into a media circus.

Camera flashes erupted the instant they were spotted.

”They’re here!”

”Ethan!”

”Elara!”

The motorcycle hadn’t even stopped before questions came flying from every direction.

”Is this where you live?”

”Are the two of you a couple?”

”How did you go from E Rank to B Rank so quickly?”

”Are you finished progressing, or do you think you’ll keep climbing?”

”Miss Veyne! Look this way!”

Ethan’s grip tightened around the handlebars.

’This is really starting to piss me off.’

He could tolerate attention despite preferring his space, and also overlooked the people crowding the Black Howl, as annoying as it was. That was a place of business, and he even thought it might bring some customers.

But this...

This was Mark’s home, where the people Ethan cared about most lived. He wasn’t about to let strangers think they could gather outside whenever they pleased, nor did he feel comfortable with them looking into his personal life.

His gaze slowly swept across the crowd.

’Mark’s lucky.’

His eyes narrowed.

’I’m about to test it on these fuckers instead.’

Without another thought, he activated his newest skill.

’Absolute Suppression!’

Ethan had used it against Holt to counteract his oppressive aura, but everyone present in that room had been an A Rank Titled, so he didn’t get a gauge of how effective it was. But he didn’t want to overdo it and accidentally kill anyone, which would definitely cause some complications.

’Five MP should do it.’

He controlled the output of the skill and estimated that it would be enough to scare them off, but wouldn’t do much.

But it turned out he was a little off...

-

A giant invisible pressure burst outward from Ethan.

It wasn’t physical like wind, and it wasn’t a wave of pure mana either.

He had manifested his beastly power, similar to how Holt had attempted to intimidate him with his aura. It was predatory, oppressive, and dominating. For the briefest instant, everyone in the street felt as though something unimaginably dangerous had fixed its gaze upon them.

Their hearts skipped, and their breathing stopped.

An overwhelming fear flooded their minds as their instincts screamed at them to run. But their bodies refused to listen, as if frozen in place by what they had just experienced.

One reporter’s knees buckled.

Another collapsed backwards.

A cameraman dropped his equipment before falling face-first onto the pavement.

Then another.

And another.

Within seconds, people began dropping like dominoes.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Phones clattered onto the concrete, and camera equipment crashed to the ground. It looked as though an invisible giant had walked through the crowd, casually knocking everyone unconscious with a flick of a finger.

Ethan blinked in shock.

’I mean, I know they aren’t Titled, but I didn’t think it would affect them that much.’

Beside him, Elara’s crimson eyes widened slightly, recognising it as what Ethan had used against Holt.

’Just how many abilities does he have? And can I do that...?’

It seemed simple enough in application, and the Blood Demon was definitely intimidating, so she just had to replicate that. But it was something she could try another time. Instead, she looked at Ethan, who seemed taken aback.

’I used even less mana than last time, and it still reached that far.’

The range was even more surprising than its potency, and it felt like Ethan could almost control it the same way he did the targets of the skill. Elara beside him hadn’t been affected by it, not only because she was powerful but also because he had subconsciously excluded her.

He calmly looked around, and everyone had fallen.

Well, almost...

Ethan’s smile disappeared seeing one person remaining standing.

A hooded figure near the edge of the crowd staggered backwards several steps before steadying himself, though it almost seemed like he was exaggerating his movements.

He then turned and tried to run away.

Ethan’s grin returned.

’Partial Assimilation: Talon.’

Wind burst around him as feathers of emerald mana raced across his body before vanishing beneath his skin.

Swoosh!

He shot forward.

Air split around him as Talon’s speed flooded his body, propelling him across the street in a blur. It wasn’t true flight, but it felt close enough as the wind seemed to carry him straight toward his target.

The hooded man barely managed to turn his head.

”What the-”

Elara had also vanished, and unlike Ethan, she didn’t need speed.

She was there one moment, and the next she appeared directly beside the fleeing man in a crimson blink, silently cutting off every escape route. But she didn’t escape, letting Ethan have the honours.

Instead, her eyes remained fixated on his home and protecting those within it in case something kicked off. Seeing that, Ethan gave her an appreciative nod before slamming his fist into the man’s stomach.

”Blurgh!”

The hooded figure folded around the punch as every ounce of air exploded from his lungs.

His feet left the ground, and he flew backwards like a ragdoll before crashing spine-first into a nearby lamppost. The stranger crumpled to the pavement, gasping desperately for breath.

Ethan hadn’t held back in the slightest.

Why would he, after finding a Titled lurking among the crowd outside the house he had grown up in?

’If he can shrug off that skill...’

He slowly cracked his knuckles with a grin.

’...he can survive one punch.’

The hooded man coughed violently, clutching his stomach as he struggled to look up.

Ethan casually walked toward him, each step unhurried as if to savour the beating he was about to give this man. But as he did, he couldn’t help but be confused by the mysterious figure who definitely wasn’t normal...